her. I just hope it’s worth it. This would go a whole lot smoother if we knew exactly where to find you, but if I don’t hear from you in an hour, we’ll try to get as close as possible.”
She nodded and steeled herself as a low howl crept through town. Everytime she heard that sound, it reached deeper inside her. “You said the IRD is there. What about Rico?”
“He came with the helicopters and soldiers. Seems to be back to his old self.”
“Keep an eye on him.”
She heard another explosion, followed by a howl and what sounded like grating interference over the digital connection. This time, all of it came from Cole’s side. “Just try to stay alive long enough for me to see you again, okay?” he said.
“I will.”
The next two seconds were heavy with sentiments that neither one of them bothered to express. They knew they could not afford to drift away from the mind-set required to kill or die if the opportunity presented itself. After some bare-bones farewells that slipped from Paige’s mind the moment she said them, the connection was cut and she was on her own once more.
After handing over the plastic bucket to Bill, she stepped outside through a shattered window and surveyed the street while her concoction was loaded onto the green truck and driven away. Cars were situated at odd angles on the curb, in parking lots or on lawns where they’d stopped after hitting a tree that was solid enough to do the job. The smoky air reeked of burning oil, gasoline, and charred wood. Sections of concrete were cracked after too many Mongrels had tunneled beneath it, and nearly every pane of glass in sight had been smashed to pieces.
Paige looked through the remnants of the shop’s front window as the ever-present heat in her hands flared up. Two Half Breeds approached the green pickup, drawn by the scents drifting out from the paint store. Bill had gone out the back and Jesse was next door checking to see if any supplies could be salvaged from a discount bakery thrift shop. When one of the werewolves stared directly at her and perked its ears, Paige gripped her machete in one hand and her Beretta in the other. Rather than take cover inside the paint store, she stood just inside the shattered front window where the Half Breeds would have to come at her head-on.
The first one sprung forward, and as soon as it left its feet, she responded with a clubbing downward swing. The flat of the machete’s blade thumped against fur-covered muscle, sending the creature down onto a jagged landscape of broken glass sticking up from the bottom of the window frame. The glass didn’t go in far after being snagged in the natural armor of the creature’s furry hide, but it was enough to hold it there so she could get in a few uncontested shots with the Beretta. The shots were still ringing in her ears when she swung her machete again. The steel coated edge hacked through the Half Breed’s neck and lodged in its spine. Rather than remove the blade, she used the gun in her hand like a hammer to hit the machete and drive it the rest of the way through.
Then she turned toward the other Half Breed. No sooner had it set its sights on her than the creature was stuck by an arrow. It entered its right ear and carved a tunnel through the middle of its skull. Staggering like a drunk, the Half Breed tried to look for the whoever had fired the arrow, and meanwhile caught another one in the mouth. Waggoner stepped up and notched a third arrow. When the Half Breed dropped and began convulsing, he slung the bow over one shoulder.
“Now that,” he said, snapping a photo of the Half Breed with the arrows through its skull, “was one hell of a shot. Reminds me of that guy with the white hair and the arrow through his head.”
“Steve Martin?” Paige offered, looking down the street.
“No. That’s not the one.”
“Yes it is. He’s the one who wore the arrow through his head back in the seventies.”
Waggoner pocketed his phone and reached down to retrieve the arrow protruding from the Half Breed’s ear. “You know. He was the wild and crazy guy. I think that was George Carlin.”
“It’s not, but whatever. The others are headed back to Al’s house, right?”