Instinct: A Chess Team Adventure - By Jeremy Robinson Page 0,131

exit. A moment later they burst from the circle like a nucleus being withdrawn from a cell.

The hybrids snapped out of their daze and launched after the three. The hair on their backs rose up. Their teeth gnashed. Their voices growled. They became as inhuman as the mothers . . . or grandmothers . . . who suddenly appeared at the courtyard exit, partly concealed in shadow.

King, Queen, and Sara slid to a stop on the wet courtyard floor. King looked back at the temple as he stopped. They were still too close, though the inch-deep water already flowing quickly past their feet was a good sign. The problem was that they would be torn to shreds before his plan could come to fruition. Either way they would be killed.

Still, he thought, I may have to risk it. He pulled the wireless detonator from his pocket and held it tight.

The hybrids stopped as well, confused by the sudden appearance of their ancestors.

Without pause, the old mothers charged.

King took aim despite the situation now being totally hopeless.

But he held his fire. Something wasn’t right.

The wall of charging Neanderthal women wasn’t converging on their position. In fact, the wall of fur opened up as it passed by them. The mothers were charging Weston and the hybrids!

King spun, watching as Weston’s and the hybrids’ shock turned to anger. This fight had been a long time coming. The two forces stopped short, sizing each other up and calling out like a horde of angry apes. Weston stepped back, looking fearfully at the mothers . . . and his children.

A heavy hand took King’s shoulder. He spun and raised the weapon between a pair of blue eyes that hovered above a wide smile.

“What do you think of my cavalry?”

Rook.

He was shirtless and bore a bloody bite mark on his shoulder and three broad slices across his chest. King lowered the weapon and smiled.

A second large body stepped out from behind him. “We should go.”

Bishop.

The hooting reached a crescendo, but the mothers were still waiting for something. As King wondered what they were waiting for, Rook stepped forward and shouted, “Now!”

King watched in shock as the old mothers followed Rook’s command and launched forward, fifteen five-foot-tall demolition balls. Their hair raised up, shimmering with wetness, and bouncing with every confident stride. Their yellow eyes glowed in the wet orange light delivered by the crystals through the still-falling torrent of rain.

Some of the younger and smaller hybrids ran straight off. As did Weston. But the larger males stood their ground. The old mothers launched at them, biting, swiping, and leaping from the larger males as though they were trees. Screams of pain and roars of anger rolled up through the cavern and cut through the sound of the falling rain.

“C’mon!” Rook shouted. “Knight is waiting for us by the river.”

They climbed over the ruined balustrades and made for the large gate, its massive opening a beacon of hope.

As they ran, Queen looked at Rook, his bleeding chest glowing orange in the surreal light. She looked at the bite wound on his shoulder. “You didn’t actually . . .”

Rook looked incredulous. “Hell no! I just made all sorts of promises I couldn’t keep, blah blah blah.”

“Like most of your relationships,” King added.

Rook smiled and nodded. “What can I say? I’m a ladies’ man.”

They passed through the gate as the hoots of hybrids in pursuit sounded out behind and around them. The city was alive. Full of hybrids. They would never escape, even with the help of the old mothers, who would most likely die as well.

As they neared the fourth gallery gate, five hybrids launched into the street, stalking toward them. King led the group to one of the nearby houses, pushing the button on the detonator once. When the team was off the street and headed up the stairs behind him, he stopped and let the others pass.

He looked out at the amazing city, lost for thousands of years and home to a forgotten civilization. The beauty and history of the place made King cringe at what he was about to do. This wonder could not be duplicated. It couldn’t be replaced.

But neither could the human race. Seeing no other option for escape, he shook his head, closed his eyes, and pushed the detonator button a second time.

SIXTY-THREE

THE FOUR HYBRIDS charging up the street toward the team’s position on the staircase stumbled and fell as the massive amount of explosives planted by King detonated. The temple burst