“God, that junkyard suits him. Be on the lookout for traps. I’ll go straight through the front gate. Hopefully, I will get his attention while you scale the wall and outflank him. Then we’ll play it by ear. One, or both of us, should get the jump on him,” Cole said, eyeing the entire barrier which surrounded the compound.
Nick silently nodded in agreement and crept forward. Reaching the wall, he waited until he heard the front gates squealing open. It was obvious that Cole was making his arrival known.
Satisfied that Cole had made it inside, Nick quickly climbed the wall. Perched atop the structure, he listened carefully. The only sounds he picked up were Cole’s distinct footsteps as he made his way to the trailers.
Somewhere in the shadows to his right, Nick picked up Gavin’s scent. It was clear he was sneaking up in hopes of ambushing Cole before he even made it to the trailers.
Crouching at the edge of an old shipping container, Nick peered down and picked up movement. It was Gavin in his bear form. Every muscle in Nick’s body tightened like a spring under pressure, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
As soon as Gavin was directly below him, he launched straight down, claws extended, and teeth bared. His timing was exact, and he made a direct hit onto Gavin’s back. Sinking his claws in, he gripped his prey tightly and bit down on the back of Gavin’s neck in hopes of piercing the spine. But Gavin’s hide was thick with scarring from a lifetime of bloody battles, and it proved more than an effective natural armor to thwart Nick’s bite.
The bears rolled across the gravel, snarling as they fiercely wrestled to gain an advantage. Their heavy paws pounded each other relentlessly, and their long claws ripped away bloody ribbons in their fur.
Realizing he was outmatched, even just bear to bear, Gavin broke free. Leading Nick on a high-speed chase, he bolted behind the last trailer in the compound. As soon as Nick rounded the corner, a floodlight tripped. Temporarily blinded by the light, Nick froze in place and attempted to assess the situation he found himself in.
The second he heard a loud groan of metal sliding against metal, he knew what was happening. The ground shook, and he tumbled down into a pit. Gavin was back in human form, staring down at him with a look of satisfaction.
“That’s right motherfucker, you ran right into a trap. You should know I have a house of horrors set up just for asshole intruders like you. And yeah, you’ll probably figure out how to crawl out. But it’ll be just in time for me to get you into something worse. In fact, I’m looking forward to playing with you all night long. But don’t worry. I’ll be sure to bring your little bitch back here so she can enjoy the festivities. I wouldn’t want her to feel left out, after all.” Gavin laughed.
Nick’s painful roars were so loud that the sheets of rusted metal shook.
“Oh, you’re mad. I know how to get you even madder. Tell you what. Enjoy yourself for a minute. I might have just the thing to really get you going. A little battery acid shower. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Gavin’s maniacal laugh echoed throughout the compound as he disappeared.
Nick clawed against the sides of the pit trap. One side was made of a corrugated sheet of steel, the same junkyard scrap he’d spotted on Gavin’s roofs. Punching his claws through, he realized he could climb his way out. The only question was whether he could do it before Gavin returned. Each excruciating punch through the metal left his paws bloody. Despite the pain, he managed to crawl to the top.
Just as he reached the edge, he heard the most terrifying sound. It was a thunderous, supernatural roar, unlike anything he’d ever heard. There wasn’t a beast he knew of with that bloodcurdling boom.
The frightening reverberation was followed by a scream. Not just any scream, but a scream which could only come from deep in the psyche of the most terrified victims. He heard Gavin’s voice, begging for his life. His pleas for mercy were interrupted by the horrendous roars of the mysterious beast. Another round of even more terrified screams built to a crescendo and then stopped.
Nick finally pulled himself from the pit and forced himself to creep on his bloodied paws. Following Gavin’s scent, the trail led him to the source of the horrific sounds.
Cole stood alone, his arms locked at his side, his fists clenched. He was staring at two heaps piled in front of him.
Nick shift to human form. His hands began to heal as he walked up to examine the piles. It was what remained of Gavin. He’d been ripped in two and discarded like trash.
“What happened here?” he asked.
But Cole didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed on the gruesome sight.
“Cole, are you all right?”
Cole still didn’t respond.
“Listen, man, you’ve got to snap out of this. Something worse than Gavin is out here. We’ve got to get the fuck out of here now and get back to the girls.”
Cole nodded. “Definitely something more dangerous than Gavin out here. But don’t worry, everyone will be safe.”
“Uh, what did this? What did you see?”
“Somethings are better left unknown, Nick.”
“You act like I shouldn’t be asking,” Nick said, eyeing Cole suspiciously. He definitely had plenty of questions. And Cole wasn’t going to give him any answers. That was for sure. It was becoming clear that Cole was responsible for Gavin’s death. But how? What were those sounds? What the fuck was Cole?
Cole shrugged. “Let’s get back and let everyone know that Gavin and his bears are finished.”
Silently walking down the gravel road, Nick looked back one last time at Gavin’s compound. “I’ll ask Gina and the girls to wipe this eyesore off the map with a little magic.”
“It’s probably for the best. We don’t want anyone or anything else taking up residence here.”