New Species 02 Slade (10 page)

were attacked. Maybe they even thought I was driving

Justice North. They really hate him.”

Slade came back carrying Trisha’s overnight bag. He

moved to Trisha and dropped it over her head and

under her arm similar to a sling without asking first. He

avoided resting the strap on her sore shoulder. It

surprised her that he’d obviously noticed her favoring

that side. He looked furious as he glared at Bart.

“We’re leaving. I think they will kill you so get your

ass up and move if you want to live.” Slade snarled the

words. “You’re going to die if you stay here, kid. I don’t

have time to hold your hand while you try to find your

brain. I won’t lose my life or hers standing here

reasoning with you. Get on your feet.”

Bart glared back at Slade. “I’m human and they aren’t

going to hurt me. They will call me an ambulance.”

“You’ll die but I don’t have time to argue. You were

warned. I tried and that’s all I can do for you.” Slade

turned and cupped Trisha’s face in his large hand,

forcing her to look up at him. His intense gaze met hers.

“We need to move fast and put distance between us and

them. You are limping and I’m going to carry you on my

back. I’d put you in front of me in my arms but it’s rough

terrain and I’ll need my hands free. Don’t argue with me,

Doc. They are coming. We’ll die if we stay.”

Trisha had to agree. She had no doubt those men

were dangerous. “Okay.”

Slade turned his back to her and crouched down. He

twisted his head to peer at her and opened his arms at

his sides. “Climb on.”

She hadn’t gotten a piggyback ride since she’d been a

little girl. She didn’t hesitate though as she climbed onto

Slade’s back. She wrapped her arms loosely around his

neck, making sure she wasn’t about to choke him and he

gripped her thighs at his hips as he rose. Trisha stared at

Bart on the ground.

“Come with us. Please?”

“They aren’t going to hurt me. I’ll call Homeland

when I reach a hospital. I’ll tell them what happened and

they’ll send help for you.”

“Last chance,” Slade growled as he turned away

from the SUV. “Follow us or die.”

He moved quickly through the dense trees, not

waiting for Bart to respond. Trisha held on.

Slade shifted Trisha’s weight slightly. She looped her

arms over his shoulders, trying to support her weight

and not slide down his back. He had lifted her higher up

onto his back, hooked his arms under her bent knees,

and locked his hands together at his waist.

“You could put me down. I can walk. My knee isn’t

that bad.”

“You’re fine. I want to make another mile before the

sun is totally down. We’ll keep moving for as long as

there is light for them to track us.”

The sky filled with pink streaks above them as the

sun lowered. The wind picked up and blew chilly air at

them from behind. Trisha was cold on her back but was

toasty warm down the front of her body where it pressed

against Slade. Her arms hurt from holding onto him and

she tried to ignore the achy muscles between her thighs.

She wasn’t used to straddling something for a long

period of time.

“You have to be getting tired, Slade. Come on. Put

me down. I’m heavy. I know you are strong but this is a

bit much. You said that we’ve covered a few miles so far.

At least slow your pace. You’re going to wear yourself

out.”

“Shut up,” he ordered. “I’m trying to concentrate by

telling myself you aren’t there. You screw that up every

time you talk.”

“Thanks.”

“That wasn’t an insult but you aren’t as light as a

feather. I’m trying to forget you are there to convince my

brain my muscles aren’t aching.”

She bit her lip. “Sorry.”

“Shut up,” he sighed.

She refrained from speaking as she darted a glance

around the area. Slade really could move, walking faster

than she could jog with his long legs. He only slowed

down when they climbed uphill or if he had to get them

both over a fallen log. They’d had to do that twice.

“BOOM!” Pause. “BOOM! BOOM!”

“What was that?” Trisha’s heart raced.

Slade stopped, tilted his head at a slight angle, and

tensed. “They must have found Bart.”

“Those were gunshots, right?”

“Three shots. Yeah.” Slade started walking again. “I

guess they didn’t care if he was pure human after all.”

Trisha couldn’t stop the tears that welled in her eyes.

Those men wouldn’t have shot something unless they

meant to kill it. Bart had been sure they’d care he wasn’t

New Species. He’d just been a scared kid who hadn’t

deserved to die.

“Don’t cry for him, Doc,” Slade growled. “I know this

is tough but survive first and grieve later. You can’t do

anything for him now.”

She fought the urge to weep, knowing Slade had a

valid point. They would both die too if those men caught

up with them. Slade moved faster as Trisha clung to him

while darkness slowly fell. Slade slowed eventually but

kept moving.

“How can you see?”

He breathed heavily now. “My night vision is better

than yours. I can’t see really well but I haven’t walked us

into anything yet.”

“You need to rest.”

Slade uttered a soft curse as he stopped. His arms

slid out from under her knees. Trisha groaned when he

lowered her to the ground until her feet touched. Her

knees held her weight and she released him but was a

little shaky. It was so dark she couldn’t even see him. She

jumped when his hands touched her waist.

“Walk this way. I’ll lead you. We’ll lie down for a

little while to rest. They could still be tracking if they

have flashlights but it would severely slow them down. I

also walked on rocks as much as I could to hide our

tracks and they didn’t have hunting dogs with them.

We’re also downwind and it will be harder for them to

scent us. That’s why I kept it at our backs.”

He helped her to the ground where she sat on soft

grass. She moved and bumped something hard and

rough with her elbow.

“They can’t smell us, Slade. New Species have that

ability but humans don’t.”

“I keep forgetting that.” He paused. “That’s a small

tree next to you so be careful not to hit it.”

“Thanks. I can barely see my hand in front of my

face.” Trisha peered up at the sky. “I don’t even see a

moon.”

“Too much forest is in the way. The trees are thick in

this area. That’s good for us.”

“Shouldn’t we double back and try to find the

highway?”

“No.” Slade moved, touching her. His fingers

brushed her breast and he yanked his hand away

instantly. “Sorry. Give me the bag.”

Trisha removed it and held it out blindly in the

direction she thought he was. The weight of the bag

eased from the strap and she let it go, knowing he had it.

She heard the zipper before Slade pressed something

against her arm.

“It’s all we have so just take a sip. I’m hoping we run

into water soon.”

Trisha uncapped the bottled water by feel and took a

sip to soothe her dry throat. She took another tiny sip

before putting the cap back on.

“Thanks. Here.”

His hand brushed hers as he took it from her grasp.

She heard him take a drink.

“Why shouldn’t we find the highway?”

“They could have more people searching for us.

They could be driving the roads hoping we’ll pop up.

That’s what I’d do if I had prey I wanted to hunt. We’re

safer lost. All our vehicles have tracking systems. It

might take a while for my people to locate the signal

since there wasn’t even a cell reception this far out but

they know where to look. Justice knew our route. By now

he knows something happened to us. We should have

arrived before dark. He would have tried to call me and

when I didn’t answer, he would have known we were in

trouble. We’ll stay out here. My people will hopefully

find us before those humans do.”

“Do you think we’ll be found by your people

tomorrow?”

Slade hesitated. “I don’t know, Doc.”

“I have a first name, you know. It’s Trisha. Would it

kill you to use it?”

Silence. “It wouldn’t kill me.”

Trisha took a deep breath. She’d had a hellish day,

didn’t feel well, her body ached, and hunger clawed at

her belly. Her frustration level rose. “But you won’t use

it, will you? Why do you go out of your way to try to

annoy me? What did I ever do to you?”

Long minutes of silence passed. Trisha shook her

head, guessing he wasn’t going to answer. A hand

touched her arm and she jumped, startled. She hadn’t

expected that at all.

“Let’s lie down. We should sleep a few hours while

we can.”

“What if they find us? Should we take shifts sleeping

while one of us keeps guard?”

“No. We’re downwind from them. I’d smell them if

they were near enough to us for them to reach us that

soon. I’m going to lie down next to you. You can use me

for a pillow, Doc. You need my body heat to stay warm.”

“No thanks.”

She heard him either snort or chuckle but wasn’t sure

which. “It’s getting pretty cold and the ground is hard,

Doc. When you get tired of both you can curl up to me.

Good night.”

His hand left Trisha and he stretched out next to her

because his body settled against part of her thigh. Her

vision adjusted somewhat until she could nearly make

out his shape on the ground. The wind blew colder as

time passed. Trisha settled down, moving a few inches

away from Slade. She turned on her side and used her

arm as a pillow. Hunger and exhaustion nagged at her.

As she lay there another problem arose.

“Slade?”

“What?”

“I have to use the bathroom.”

He sighed. “Fine.” He sat up. “Give me your hand

and I’ll lead you somewhere farther downwind.”

“Why?”

He hesitated. “I don’t want to smell urine. I really

don’t want to be downwind if you have to do more than

that.”

“Oh.” She blushed. She’d never thought of that.

He gently pulled Trisha to her feet and she followed

him. He walked about twenty feet before stopping. “You

can go right here. I’ll go about fifteen feet away. I may as

well go while you’re at it.”

“How do I know you won’t watch?”

He suddenly laughed. “I’m perverse but that doesn’t

do it for me, Doc. I’ll be back real soon so hurry.”

It had been fifteen years since Trisha had been

camping. She unfastened her slacks and dropped her

pants. Being blind didn’t help. She prayed that Slade

really wasn’t somewhere he could see her. She heard

something faintly and smiled. She envied him being a

man at that moment. She quickly finished up and righted

her clothes. She stepped a few feet forward and waited.

“Hope you don’t wipe with your hand,” he snorted

softly. “Tell me now if you did and I don’t take that one.”

“I didn’t.” Trisha sighed. “You are just sick. Did

anyone ever tell you that? Who would do that?”

He laughed. “I don’t know but I wanted to make

sure.” He clasped her hand in his and led her back to

their resting spot. “Good night, Doc.”

“Stop calling me that. It’s Trisha. Why won’t you say

my name? What did I ever do to you to make you not

like me so much?”

Silence.

Anger gripped her. “I’ll keep talking if you don’t

answer me. I thought you wanted to get some sleep.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I saved your life by carrying

you for miles on my back today.”

“I totally would. Tell me what I did to deserve you

not even saying my name. I want an answer. You have no

idea how annoying it is. I’m going to start calling you 215

if you don’t knock it off or at least explain to me why you

feel the need to make me mad.”

A growl tore through the silence of the night. Trisha

instantly knew she’d gone too far. She had known it the

second the words passed her lips but it was too late to

take it back. She’d read somewhere that all the New

Species absolutely hated being called by their file

numbers. She hadn’t meant to really insult him. She’d

only thought it would annoy him the way he did her by

calling her anything but her name.