Part 8 (1/2)

'Nance, stay here with Lou as guard,' Derek said to one of his men, then turned back to Lou as he buckled on his ammo belt and grabbed his eyeshades. 'Lou, you gotta tell them. You can't let them go on thinking this is a game.'

'I'll handle it,' Lou said, studying the laptop. 'I've already closed the signal to the new people and alerted our hunters out there.'

's.h.i.+t, our hunters have no weapons.' What a G.o.dd.a.m.n disaster. Derek glanced over Lou's shoulder. Imagery was showing the locations of the team and their own demons. So far no sign of anything else. 'Where are they? Nothing's showing up on imagery.'

'I don't know. But I'll signal you. Get going.'

'I'm already gone.' Six others followed as he hightailed it into the jungle, his heart racing madly.

What the h.e.l.l were they doing here? How had they found this location, and more importantly, how had they gotten here without Lou knowing?

'Okay, hunters. We've gotta move our a.s.ses and get to these people before the demons do.'

Now they were talking actual life and death, and if Derek and his team didn't get to the others in a hurry Game over.

Something wasn't right. Gina had gotten in two more kills, and after that the demons had justdisappeared. No matter how deep in the a.s.signed area she searched, she couldn't find them.

'Anyone see anything?'

'No,' Shay replied. 'It's gone dead quiet. Are we out of time or something?'

'I didn't hear Derek call time,' Jake answered.

Gina looked at her watch. No, they still had twenty minutes left. 'We're not done yet. Wonder what's going on? Derek, can you hear me?'

No answer.

'Derek, this is Gina. We've got nothing going on out here.'

Again, no reply.

'I don't like this,' Ryder said.

'Ditto,' Trace shot back.

An eerie sense of foreboding crawled over Gina's skin, making goose b.u.mps pop out despite the overwhelming heat of the night. 'I think we all need to meet up and head back to base,' she suggested.

'Good idea,' Ryder said.

'This is Lou. I need you all to remain calm.'

Finally! 'Lou, what's going on?'

'We have a problem. A big one. I need you all to stay quiet, meet up with the men a.s.signed as demons, and follow them back to camp as quickly as you can.'

Gina frowned and kept walking, following the lighted torches and marked tape. 'What kind of problem?'

Suddenly, there was a demon in front of her. She gasped and raised her gun, which he grabbed away from her. She was about to object when he lifted his finger to his mouth. 'Shhh, this isn't a game anymore and you're talking way too loud.'

Okay, what the h.e.l.l was going on? He lifted his sensor mask off, his hair spiked out all over and his expression ominous. He stepped closer and whispered, 'We need to get back to camp ASAP. So just shut up, stay close, and follow me. Lou will explain when we get back.'

Now she was really feeling wonky. Was this part of the game?

'I've got Bliss, Derek,' he said into his mic. 'Heading toward base now.'

Why wasn't she getting this conversation in her headset? 'Can you please tell me what's going on?'

'We'll fill you in when we get back. G.o.ddammit, I wish I had a weapon.' He cast a worried look to the camera guy standing next to Gina.

A weapon? What did he need a weapon for? Just then a flash of light blinded her as the camera turned directly in her face. She pulled off her night-vision goggles. 'What is that camera doing in my face?'

As soon as she said it, the camera dropped to the ground. She heard it shatter and everything went black. A high-pitched scream rent the air next to her. Something warm splattered across the right side of her face and arm, but in the darkness she couldn't make it out.

's.h.i.+t,' the demon guy said. 'Get down, Gina, now!'

He shoved her, hard, and she went flying several feet, her goggles and weapon flinging from her hands. When she hit the ground, instinct drove her to her belly and she put her hands over her head, expecting gunshots or explosions.

Instead, she heard noises. A grunt, a thud, scuffling around her, leaves and twigs snapping as if something was being dragged.

Then, nothing.

'h.e.l.lo?' she whispered, almost afraid to speak.

No response.

'Anyone there?'

Again, nothing.

Dammit, where did her goggles go? It was pitch-black and she couldn't see a d.a.m.n thing. Where was everybody? Her headset was gone, too. Great. No way to even contact anyone.

Dead silence. Okay, this was not not good. And she was almost afraid to move. Something had just happened around her, there was wet stuff on her face and she didn't know what it was, and the two guys who'd been with her a few seconds ago were now gone. good. And she was almost afraid to move. Something had just happened around her, there was wet stuff on her face and she didn't know what it was, and the two guys who'd been with her a few seconds ago were now gone.

But the quiet maybe meant whatever bad thing was around had now left. Or at least wasn't standing right next to her. G.o.ddammit, where was Derek? She couldn't very well lie there on the ground frozen with fear all night, and she wasn't about to hope someone was going to come out there and find her. Especially if it was the wrong someone.

Rising up on her haunches, she felt around the ground near her feet in search of her goggles or headset. No such luck, considering the guy had pushed her so hard. Now she was alone and blind as a bat. She couldn't even see the torches or the glow-in-the-dark tape marking the playing field.

She was lost. Alone and lost. With something really bad happening. She stood and looked around, hoping for a sign, a light, something that would give her a direction.

Nothing.

Pus.h.i.+ng fear and frustration to the back of her mind, she focused on what she needed to do. If she chose a direction and started walking, she could end up heading miles in the wrong direction, or walk right into whatever mess she was trying to avoid.

No. Common sense told her to stay put before she ended up hopelessly lost. She couldn't be that far from the main path. Eventually someone would come along and find her, or she'd see lights or hear noises from Derek or one of the others.

She'd just stand here. In this spot. And not move at all. She wrapped her arms around herself, chilled despite the oppressive heat.