Hammer

5

After crawling away from the edge of the pit, Charlie sat up, taking large breaths to calm not only her nerves but her mind. She needed a clear head to think her way out of this one. Her best chance of escape would be to the eastern side. It was underdeveloped and messy. If she could make it over there, she’d be able to escape into the forest. The forest, admittedly, came with its own set of problems. She’d do well to gather some supplies first.

Charlie set out, stealing her way from tent to tent, staying low, and using cover to hide from the patrols. Thankfully, no one was on any higher alert than before. Their shouts at the pit must have gone unnoticed.

She found herself at the provisions tent, but guards spoke on the inside. Damn it. I should have known they’d have locked this down. She couldn’t get what she needed there, so she moved on. Guards came up an aisle of tents, and she ducked under a tent flap to escape their notice.

“Charlie?” Angie asked. “What the f**k is going on?”

Charlie turned to Angie, one of her graduate assistants. The woman’s dark brown hair clung to her acne-riddled face. Buck teeth under a set of thick glasses completed her prototypical nerd look. She was as nice a girl as Charlie had ever met, sweet as can be, and sharp as a tack.

Charlie held a finger to her lips as the guards passed. Once they were gone, she whispered. “Ajmal is trying to kill me because of something I know.”

“What?”

“I can’t say. If he found out I told you, he’d try to kill you too. Do you have your phone?”

Angie shook her head. “They took everyone’s phones and shut down all the computers. Then they put us into separate tents so we couldn’t even talk to each other. What are we supposed to do?”

“The best thing is to do as they say and then get the hell out of this expedition as soon as you can. I’m going to have to run for it, but you just stay quiet and keep your head down.”

Angie nodded, her brown eyes full of worry.

Charlie slipped out of the tent and kept working her way to the edge of the camp.

While hiding behind a box to let a patrol pass, she noticed a canteen on the other side of the tent aisle. She slunk over to it as soon as they were gone and picked it up, but a large shadow covered her. s**t. Well, here we go.

Her best bet was to talk her way out of being hurt and then use her bone to stab. “Okay, listen, I was …”

Massive claws wrapped around her then she was airborne, wind rushing past her as if she’d stuck her head out of a moving car.

She screamed and dropped the canteen as she gripped the scaled maul that wrapped her. She risked a glance up but only saw the underbelly of a giant bird creature.

What in the actual f**k? How was this possible? She’d escaped every danger of the camp, only to be taken by some giant predator to be its dinner.

HAMMER

Ajmal’s hubris was showing. Hammer snorted as he scoped out the camp. His old ally probably thought that his defenses were impenetrable.

The urge to discard the conditions of the mission and attack Ajmal burned inside Hammer. He gritted his teeth as he took another quiet lap around the camp. He remained in the shadows.

He had prowled around the place for several hours. He waited patiently, ready to see any weakness in the security. The guards were no match for him. He knew that. But he certainly didn’t need any extra attention drawn to him.

The woman, Charlie, was some rich kid from the States. How she had gotten into this situation, Hammer didn’t know. He just could not wait to get her out of there.

He could not wait to resume his life. He could not wait to get the f*****g GPS off him. Even shifting again felt like some kind of luxury. Even though it was his birthright.

And all because of Ajmal. His old friend would never see him coming. The day Hammer would rip Ajmal’s throat out would be a sweet one.

He shifted into his dragon form easily. He sighed with relief. His muscles stretched and strained, a painful pleasure. Then he moved slowly, making his way into one of the trees.

He landed lightly on a thick tree branch perched right above a huddle of guards. He listened to their conversation and absorbed the information they gave him.

They were in the middle of a shift change. Security was lax. And Charlie, his target, had been thrown in a pit. A pit that Hammer knew well.

The pits where the enemies of the government had lost their lives years ago. They were graves and would be filled with skeletons. Even though Hammer couldn’t give a s**t about Charlie, it was still a grim thought.

For a woman to be chucked into one like yesterday’s garbage.

The shift change happened with much frivolity. It was clear that the guards were happy to be let off. The night shift would only have two guards who would stand over the pit.

Only two guards. Idiots. Hammer smiled. His body relaxed as he flexed his wings. He took several deep breaths. Then he merged back into the shadows.

Dusk had fallen when he arrived at the pit. He was still in the air and had moved from one tree to another.

He saw her as he moved over the tree branches that obscured his view. She was beautiful even though she was covered with muck. And she had climbed out of the pit like a pro.

She might be some rich kid, but she vaulted herself out of the pit with ease. Her arms and legs were strong and lean, and her hair was pulled away from her face. She was also smart enough to remain in the shadows.

The tension left his body as he watched her move. She managed to take care of the guards who tried to grab her, and she didn’t wait for anyone to notice but fled quickly. Hammer followed the line of her movements toward the edge of the camp. He heard her breathing as he watched her. Her breath was controlled, steady. Her heart thudded on time, not one beat out of place. She was in complete control. Hammer swept aside his admiration as he lifted into the air.

It was time to grab her and go. She had already done most of his work, and he didn’t mind. He liked a woman who took the initiative.