novelraw Chapter 461: Themselves To Blame
Chapter 461: Themselves To Blame
Sera could have pulled another truck from her space and driven straight through whatever was up there, but the knot under her ribs loosened at the thought of doing something more entertaining.
And more filling.
"I want to get out," she said with a smile. "I want to see who thought this was a good idea... and my creature wants to taste to see if their courage is as good as their fear."
The creature stretched in agreement. We were bored and hungry. Might as well try meat seasoned with different flavors.
She opened her door and dropped lightly to the ground. The Region T heat rose from the cracked pavement, setting off little plumes of steam with every step she took.
Luci hopped down from the bed of the truck, landing beside her with a low rumble and a shake of his head. Without missing a beat, Zubair stepped out on her other side as Lachlan and Alexei joined them. Aerenyx emerged last and closed the truck door with a quiet click.
They hadn’t taken three steps away from the vehicle when a voice carried down from the ridge on the right. It was amplified and flat, clearly spoken by someone who thought that the louder you were, the more important you were.
"Vehicle occupants," the voice called out even as the device they were using let out a high pitched squeal of feedback. "You are entering a secured zone. Put your hands where we can see them and do not attempt to flee. This does not have to escalate."
Sera stopped and lifted her face toward the sound.
She couldn’t see the speaker clearly yet, just the dark shapes of armor and weapons. Whoever they were, they were not the checkpoint soldiers. These ones seemed to move with more purpose, and even their armor looked cleaner.
Their faces—those not hidden behind helmets—watched with the focused caution of people who had hunted other humans before.
But she felt no fear at the sight.
Her creature did not even bother to snarl. They think they are hunters because they stand on a rock and shout with a toy, it said. They are not even close. If they ever saw a real hunter they would piss their pants like children and run away.
Zubair shifted his stance slightly, enough to put his body more between Sera and the higher ground without making a show of it.
Lachlan rolled his shoulders once and eyed the slope while Alexei’s attention was on the muzzle directions of the guns pointed down at them.
Aerenyx inhaled slowly, cataloguing whatever chemical traces the ambushers carried.
"Do we know them?" Lachlan asked, keeping his voice low. "You’d think I’d remember pissing off anyone with that many fun toys."
"We have pissed off a lot of people," Alexei replied with a shrug. "It is hard to keep track."
The amplified voice spoke again. "You have been flagged as high-risk and unregistered. We are here to process and relocate you. Cooperation is recommended."
Sera blinked up at them.
They didn’t wear the bright CDC letters she had grown used to avoiding, but the way they spoke screamed of the same type of arrogance. She lifted one bare hand and flexed her fingers, mostly because the creature liked the feeling of the joints loosening before a fight.
"We broke their lab," she said quietly with a shrug of her shoulders. "Maybe someone cares more than we thought they would."
Then they should have left us a better apology gift, the creature replied. This feels lazy.
The drones dropped a little lower. Their panels shifted, exposing the emitters recessed in their undersides. The hum in the air rose, not loud yet, but enough to irritate Luci. The dire wolf’s lips curled back from his teeth and his tail lowered into a straight line.
Zubair glanced at Sera. "Do you want to talk," he asked, "or do you want to feed?"
She considered the armed silhouettes on the ridge. They were not parasites. They were not dead. They were human and warm and full of the kind of blood that tasted better than lab sludge. Her hunger wasn’t clawing at her yet, but it was awake enough to pay attention.
"Let’s see what they do first," she decided. "If they bore me, we can eat them."
Her men did not argue.
The voice on the ridge called again. "Last warning. Kneel on the ground and place your hands behind your head. Failure to comply will result in force being used."
Sera’s creature laughed inside her head, a sound that warmed her bones. They want you to kneel for them. That is new. Someone like us never kneels.
Sera shifted her weight onto one hip and tilted her head, genuinely curious. "Do they think that ever works?" she asked.
Lachlan grinned. "Probably on people who still think they are human."
She did not raise her voice when she answered, but she knew the amplification would carry the tone even if the words blurred. "No thank you," she said, directing her words at the ridge. "We’re fine down here."
There was a brief silence as one of the drones above them whined as its systems ramped up.
The hum rose, drilling into the back of her skull. For a heartbeat, her vision shimmered at the edges before nothing but disgust filled her system. They weren’t even willing to hunt their prey properly. Instead, they relied on their toys.
Her creature shut the attempt down with a lazy push. No, it said again. This is not for us. They did not build it with us in mind.
The hum faded into background noise. Whatever the drone had expected to happen, it had not found the right target.
Sera reached back and stroked Luci once along his neck. His muscles jumped under her hand, but the touch grounded him. He took a breath, let it out slow, and kept his focus on the ridge.
"Someone up there is getting very frustrated," Aerenyx observed. "Their toys are not behaving as advertised."
"Good," Alexei said. "Maybe they will get sloppy."
The drone shifted again, panel sliding. This time, when it fired, the blast hit closer, sending a visible ring through the air that rippled across Sera’s chest and face. The pavement cracked further and dust jumped up around them.
Still, she didn’t move. "Cute," she smiled.
The creature purred. They keep trying. That makes them stubborn. Stubborn things often taste good. They fight more. They bleed harder.
The knot under her ribs finally dissolved entirely.
Zubair straightened, eyes on the slope. "We should move before they get lucky by accident," he said. "Do you want me to take the left or the right?"
"Left," she answered. "I’ll take whoever is talking."
"Are you finally going to eat someone without a parasite inside?" Lachlan asked, almost cheerfully. "Because I’m thinking it has been a while."
"If they keep shouting at us," she replied, "then yes. They only have themselves to blame."
He seemed fine with that answer.
The men shifted as one.
Zubair shifted toward the left flank. Lachlan rolled his shoulders and took the other side. Alexei watched for the first sign of muzzle flash. Aerenyx drifted back half a step, anchoring the center where Sera stood.
The drones above them dropped lower still.
Her creature rose fully now, eager and ready, teeth bared metaphorically against anything that dared to pretend it could put Sera on her knees. Real prey, it said. Not jars. Not hosts in chains. Let us show them what they chased.
Sera bared her own teeth in a smile that never reached fear.
"Fine," she murmured. "Let’s play."
The drones fired again.
And she moved.