Evolve Read online

  There wasn’t much knowledge to gain from the victim’s face either. It was frozen in a combination of fear and pain.

  “Why…? Who…?” CJ’s trembling voice cut out, not being able to finish her question.

  “The Ru’kan are not to be trifled with,” Kiani replied, her voice filled with sorrow. “As ritualistic cannibals, things like this have been rumored, but obviously never seen. I would have known about it if it were discovered beforehand. At first, the stories were comprehensible—easy to digest—”

  “Ugh,” Ares said, “don’t say digest…”

  “But as the years went by,” Kiani continued, “the legends got more and more outlandish and even more violent.”

  “Like a fisherman’s tale,” Zeus said. “As the stories live on, the catch just keeps getting bigger and bigger with every telling. Every interpretation makes it more gruesome than the one before. People’s imaginations and fears can do that when speaking of such horrors.”

  “But the ones about the Ru’kan were only legends and—”

  “Until now,” Logan said, interrupting Kiani’s rebuttal. While his voice was likewise filled with disgust, it was also laced with disdain.

  Fitz saw Kiani’s shaved head bob up and down ever so slightly, agreeing with Logan. This was no longer a legend. This was real and it was beyond vile.

  “Look,” Zeus said, pointing to one of the bodies.

  They all did, knowing they needed to keep searching for clues.

  At the center of the soiled forest floor was a large flat rectangular stone, standing about hip height. And with the charred body still tied atop it, it was apparent that the rock was used as an altar of some kind.

  Zeus stepped up. “The surrounding blood is relatively fresh and the body burnt to a crisp—maybe even warm.” He turned to Logan. “We may have just missed them.” He turned to Kiani. “I doubt the locals around here carry any type of ID?”

  She shook her head.

  “Over here.”

  They all turned and found Logan kneeling off to one side, near a secondary opening. Everyone joined him and looked over the narrow passage, seeing that it led back into the trees. Fitz’s gaze went from the trees to the ground, seeing what Logan did.

  Footprints.

  Logan looked up to Kiani. “Is this back towards our target?”

  She nodded, staring at the bloodied tracks.

  “Right then,” Logan said, standing, moving off into the dense tree-lined brush.

  Kiani watched as he jammed his rifle’s stock tightly into his shoulder. Then, the others did the same. No one was taking any chances.

  Fitz followed closely behind Logan, as did everyone else behind him. It seemed as though whoever had done this was moving in the same direction as they were. What would they find if, or possibly when, they caught up? Would they discover another circle of death like the one they just left behind, like a terrifying game of ‘connect the dots,’ or would they find a hidden village populated entirely by savage man-eaters?

  As the last member of the team, a man that went by the callsign, Hades, re-entered the jungle, he was quickly lifted off the ground and yanked up into the trees like he stepped into a survivalist’s snare trap. He barely got out a cry for help before something punctured his throat. Before he lost consciousness, Hades heard a sickening pop and saw a wet geyser of crimson.

  Then, blackness.

  As soon as the operator disappeared, everyone’s weapons went skyward to the thick canopy above, but no one fired. They couldn’t find anything to shoot and wouldn’t risk hitting their own man instead of the enemy. But once they were showered in Hades’ blood, they knew exactly where to aim.

  Logan was the first to react, heading back towards the spray’s origin. As he moved, he unloaded a barrage of whispered coughs into the leaves above, all the while getting drenched in the crimson shower. He stood his ground, though, pumping round after round into the trees, altering his aim slightly after every three round burst.

  A roar erupted as someone—something—was hit. Immediately following the outcry, a body dropped to Earth, covered in blood and very dead. Only, it wasn’t their attacker who fell, it was the Delta member, and he was missing his throat and most of his face. The discarded figure landed in front of Logan and rolled to a stop when it hit his feet. Gritting his teeth, he paid the dead man no attention and calmly stepped over the corpse, keeping his laser-like focus on the overhead growth.

  “Fitz,” he whispered, as the scene in front of him quieted, “back away slowly and get us the hell out of here.”

  Quickly and silently, they backed away. As they did, Logan saw to it to get Hades’ blood off his face but it was to no avail. All he did was smear it worse and there was no way of properly cleaning it off while on the run. He’d have to make do for now.

  “Hang on,” a voice said, halting their retreat. “Look!”

  They all turned and saw something strange. A glow emanated from a tree to the side of the trail. It grew in intensity as the seconds waned, giving Logan’s mind time to process what he was looking at.

  “It’s the same,” CJ said, also understanding. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak again. “Just…like Jan.”

  “Blood…” Logan thought aloud, recalling how the four-armed, pureblooded Nach bled a florescent-green plasma instead of the glowing crimson the others did. Jan had injured the beast, causing it to bleed badly. The fluid eventually found itself on Jan’s shoulder and burned its way through to the bone. It’s there that the virus took hold and infected him.

  “And if it touches us like it did Jan?” Fitz asked quietly.

  “No idea,” Logan answered, motioning for them to move on. “Either way, don’t let it.”

  “Is that the Ru’kan?” Fitz asked.

  “Has to be,” Logan replied. “What else could it be? The blood can’t be a coincidence.”

  Not only were the Ru’kan as stealthy as a jungle predator but they also contained the same demonic blood as their Nazi relative, Wustenfuchs. If they came across any more of the tribe, they’d have to be extra cautious. If Logan and his team weren’t careful, killing one of them could result in the rest of the team’s deaths too.

  “Right,” Fitz said, “so the nicer you can kill them, the better. Good to know.”

  Logan again thought back to when CJ put a bullet in Jan’s forehead. He’d hate to have to do the same to her or anyone else in his unit. Not only was this last attack brutally efficient, showing the cunningness of their enemy, but it also showed off its incredible strength and agility.

  Lucky there was only one.

  A rustling sound made him instantly wish he could take back his last thought. He glanced over his shoulder but saw nothing…until he looked up. Three separate forms could be seen leaping from tree to tree, their bodies flashing like a deep-sea predator. It was hard to get a good look at them as they kept to the shadows, but he’d seen enough to know better than to stop and fight. They’d shot the one that killed their man, and in the end, the group got nothing for it except an anger-filled shout and a series of grunts.

  “Bloody hell,” Logan said, looking forward again. “Screw it... Run!”

  He sprinted ahead of everyone, thanking himself for his continued training regimen. As he passed CJ, he saw the look on her face. The sight of the green plasma had almost completely unhinged her. But while she was tearing up, she also had a look of determination beneath her sorrow, a look of vengeance. She wanted to kill these things for Jan and everyone else they lost.

  We’ll have to survive first…

  “Kiani,” he said, “up front with me. Lead the way.”

  Seeing the sun almost completely gone, Logan flipped down his night vision device. “Everyone, go green.”

  8

  Nightfall came quickly and with it…terror. Two more of the Ru’kan joined in the chase, giving them five in all. With one man dead, Logan’s team now stood at nine. On any other day nine heavily armed, well-trained people would have been able to resolve a situation like this rather swiftly.

  But this is far from normal, he thought, tripping on an exposed root. He stumbled but was caught by his running mate.

  “Thanks,” he said, looking back over his shoulder again.

  But instead of getting the customary “you’re welcome” in return, he got a knock to the shoulder.

  “If I were you,” Kiani said, “I’d keep your eyes forward.”

  Logan knew she had a point. He’d tripped because he didn’t see the large root sticking out of the ground. The next time he stumbled, it could be his last.

  His head swung back around and he saw her in his green-tinted vision. Thankfully, Zeus had gotten them all the most state-of-the-art equipment, having it shipped in from the Manda Bay base in Kenya. These particular night vision devices were the lightest, most streamlined Logan had ever worn. Zeus had explained that they weren’t in regular circulation yet and that they were still in their test phases.

  So far, so good.

  “How much further!” someone shouted from behind.

  “They’re gaining on us!” another added.

  Logan watched Kiani as she looked at her display. She had to turn the screen’s brightness down to its lowest setting for fear of blinding herself when waking the sleeping GPS unit. Its glow was still harsh but manageable.

  As she calculated, Logan could hear cursing and coughing. The cursing was Fitz. The coughing was the men shooting into the trees. Every so often they’d hear a howl or bark of some kind, indicating that they’d hit one of them. But he figured it was one hit to every five or six shots.

  “Cease fire!” Logan shouted. “Conserve your ammo for when we get to wherever we’re going.”

  “And once we get there?” Ares asked from
directly behind Logan.

  “Give ‘em hell.”

  Logan could see Ares’ glowing white teeth as he smiled. Like the rest of them, Ares already had it up to here with the Ru’kan—if that’s, in fact, who was after them. They still weren’t a hundred percent certain who was attacking them. It really didn’t matter one way or the other, though. Regardless of who it was, they’d fight back and kill anything that wanted to do the same to them.

  “You’d kind of figured…” CJ said, inbetween breaths, “that they’d already be on us by now.”

  Zeus groaned but agreed. “She’s right. They’ve shown the ability to navigate silently through the jungle. Why haven’t they just bull rushed us and ended it?”

  While Logan was happy they hadn’t, he’d been thinking the same thing. Why haven’t they been taken out yet? Were they being led away from the killer’s territory, or worse, being pushed deeper into it?

  “We’re coming up on it,” Kiani said, getting Logan’s attention.

  He followed her outstretched arm and saw a black void in the trees in front of them. Normally, he’d see the vertical outline of green-tinted tree trunks and whatever other shrubbery was nearby. Now, there was only darkness ahead.

  Logan gripped his SCAR and spoke. “Get ready to turn and fire. On my mark.”

  He took three more steps and yelled, “Now!”

  Everyone skidded to a halt and pivoted as one and attempted to acquire a target, but as soon as the sound of their grinding feet ceased, they noticed something.

  “Where’d they go?” Fitz whispered, rifle tightly pressed into his shoulder.

  “Shhh,” Kiani whispered. “Listen.”

  Everyone went silent. What they heard was unexpected, giving them further insight into their assailants. Utterances could be overheard off in the trees around them. The voices were speaking to one another. So far, they’d only displayed feral traits, killing one of the Delta operators in cold blood without probable cause.

  “They’re conversing with one another,” Kiani said softly.

  “But where are—”

  A rustling sound interrupted CJ’s question. Then, just inside of his night vision’s range, Logan saw something step into view from behind a tree trunk. It was built like a man, walking on two legs, and was of average height. Muscles bulged from every part of its body and it had zero body fat, giving it a twenty-five-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger-in-a-loincloth kind of look.

  Huh, Logan thought. He was actually expecting something a little more monstrous.

  The blood on the man’s face and chest, as well as his hands, however, told Logan a different story. It confirmed that this was the one that killed Hades. It again stepped forward brandishing a pair of bullet wounds—both in its shoulder.

  “You see that?” Fitz asked.

  “Yep,” Logan replied, understanding his friend's question. “Bullets didn’t even phase it—didn’t even slow it down.”

  “Why are you trying to kill us?” Kiani asked, speaking in Swahili.

  But the man kept coming.

  “Why!” she shouted, finally stopping him in place.

  After a beat of silence, Logan was surprised when he replied.

  “We…hunter. You…find. You…die.” While as straightforward and disturbing as his reasoning was, Logan was also fascinated at how the hunter understood the language. Contact with the outside world had definitely happened.

  I wonder who taught them Swahili?

  In a display of primal behavior, the Ru’kan tribesman turned his head up to the sky and howled. As he looked their way again, his eyes were glowing a bright white in Logan’s night vision.

  Just like the bloody Nach, he thought, the same feeling of dread washing over him as it did back at the SS burial pit back home. It was their first encounter with the virus-infected poachers. This was different, though. The Ru’kan—at least this member—could turn the effects of the God Blood on and off.

  “They can control it,” he mumbled to himself.

  The blood-covered half-naked man, launched himself into the air, higher than any person should’ve been able to while standing flatfooted. Everyone’s weapons turned up, but the attack didn’t come from overhead. Instead, the tribesman just disappeared into the foliage above like a wraith into the night. No, the attack came from the sides. Two green-tinted blurs lashed out at the group. One of the other Delta men was grabbed and thrown into the brush like he weighed nothing. Logan caught a glimpse of the man disappearing into the brush, hearing his body hit the ground hard. Then, another explosion of rustling leaves and branches started up.

  His screams were short-lived.

  Two quick booms from Kiani’s unsuppressed shotgun caught one of the attackers in the chest, sending him flying back into the surrounding overgrowth. While that happened, another slashed a clawed hand across Logan’s chest, scraping a wicked looking set of cuts into his Kevlar vest. They tore at the outer fabric but thankfully didn’t do any other damage.

  The tribesman grunted in frustration and went for Logan’s face, but he instinctively countered and sidestepped, using the man’s own momentum against him. Logan quickly grabbed his wrist and leaned into him with his hip, flipping him over to the ground. It was a perfectly executed judo toss, one he learned in the army from a fellow serviceman. He and Fitz still practice those same moves to this day in the boxing ring inside the Bullpen’s massive first-floor garage.

  With the enemy in tight, Logan drew the only useable weapon he had, his trusted M9 Bayonet. He’d be able to kill it with the knife, but needed to be careful and avoid contact with the thing’s blood.

  He didn’t get a chance to use it, though.

  As the creature stood and faced him—and that’s what it truly was, a creature—it was sent fleeing into the trees by a barrage of gunfire from Logan’s right. Zeus and Ares had gotten a better angle and opened fire, using their polished aim to miss the SDF captain. The two Americans pursued the demon, chasing it back down the main path with a relentless volley of gunfire.

  “Hold up,” Logan said, catching his breath, “don’t get too far.”

  Both men ceased fire and quickly rejoined the rest of the group, guarding their rears. Another attack could come at any moment and they needed to be prepared for it.

  “Logan.”

  He turned and sheathed his knife. Grunting, he bent over to retrieve his fallen rifle, glancing back to the trees as he did. As he stood, he looked for the owner’s voice, finding it. CJ, along with Kiani, was closing in on the black void. He was about to chastise them for leaving the safety of the team but quickly saw that they were actually trying to catch up to Fitz.

  Bugger, Logan thought. He was lucky he saw Fitz and kept his mouth shut. The last thing he needed right now was CJ chewing him out for chewing her out.

  “Logan,” CJ called again, stopping at the mouth of what Logan now recognized as a cave.

  “Yea?” he asked, still trying to wipe away Hades’ blood. Normally, it would’ve started to dry by now but the humidity was such that it wouldn’t.

  “You need to see this, mate,” Fitz answered. “Everyone does.”

  The other five members of the eight-man team joined Fitz, CJ, and Kiani at the ten-by-ten opening. It looked worn and appeared to bore right into the side of a small rocky mountain. The slight downward angle and smooth weathered stone flooring gave Logan the impression that something lived there.

  Or at least used to, he thought.

  “What do you think is in here?” Fitz asked.

  No one answered. Who could?

  “Whatever it is,” Ares said, breaking the silence, “it sure as hell can’t be worse than the demon brood roaming the jungle.”

  “I agree,” Fitz added. “I say we go in and at least have a look-see—pop in for a round.”

  Logan was about to argue against it but was beat to the punch when someone unexpected agreed with Fitz. He glanced to his left and listened as his sister explained.

  “We need to camp for the night anyways, right?” she said. “I can’t see why we shouldn’t do it in there.” She pointed towards the darkness. “For all we know, this entrance is the only way in or out. We can at least be content in knowing that nothing can sneak up on us.” She looked at her brother. “Am I wrong?”