The Alliance Boxset Books 4-6

Chapter 18-1

Chapter Eighteen

Taylor didn’t know why she did what she did, it just suddenly dawned on her what needed to be done if they were going to get out of there. Out of all of them, she was the most likely to be successful at the stupid, crazy stunt she was about to do. There were two things that she knew for certain: one, she didn’t want to get eaten, and, two, she was pretty sure from the sharp bite in Saber’s voice, she was not likely to hear the end of it if she survived.

She hadn’t cut very deep along her arm, but it stung. Her hand groped for her sleeve and she tugged on it, trying to rip it free as she ran. Finding a thin line cut through it, she pulled. It took three tries before she heard the sound of tearing.

“Hey, here you go,” she yelled, waving her arm so that it could catch the scent of her blood. “Dumbo! Yeah, you! Come and get it!”

Taylor ignored the curses of the men. They were yelling for her to run. She wanted to yell back that she was, but didn’t want to lose her focus.

She rolled when the long trunk of the creature swung out. Rising to her hands and feet, she crawled under its belly as it searched wildly for her. She jumped to her feet once she was on the other side.

Ripping the rest of her sleeve off, she waved it like a flag and continued yelling. The Gartaian might be almost blind, but it had an excellent sense of smell. She almost fell when it suddenly swung around.

“That’s it,” she said, waving the sleeve slowly back and forth as she backed away from the huge beast. “Come on, lard butt, you know you want it.”

Taylor continued stepping down the corridor until the creature roared and charged. Turning on her heel, she bolted toward the end of the hall and the open door to the dome. She swept through the door and continued across the floor of the arena. Dropping her bloody sleeve in the center of it, she jumped the last few feet, grabbing the thick bars, and climbed upward as fast as she could. Near the top, she twisted and used her hands to cross the curved dome like it was a set of monkey bars.

She glanced down as she passed over the top of the creature. It had its head down and was trying to wrap its trunk around the remains of her sleeve. She was almost past it when its head suddenly jerked up. A loud curse escaped Saber. He was standing just inside the entrance to the dome with the laser rifle pressed against his shoulder.

“Don’t shoot!” she cried out, pulling her legs up when the beast’s trunk swung upward just under them. “All it will do is make the Gartaian mad and it might escape.”

“Get her out of there!” Dagger yelled as he and Thunder ran around the other side of the dome.

Taylor raised her legs again, locking her feet through the bars and flattening her body as close as she could against the top when the Gartaian rose up on its back legs. She turned her head and bit her lip to keep from screaming when she felt it run the cold tip of its trunk along her back.

“Come here, you ugly bastard!” Dagger shouted, waving his arm inside the cage.

Taylor turned and looked upside down at Dagger. He had run a long cut along his arm, deeper than the one she had drawn with the knife and was waving his blood-covered limb as bait. She watched in horror as the creature lowered itself and charged.

Dagger pulled back just before it struck the bars. The impact shook the dome with such a force that it knocked Dagger backwards over the bench seating and knocked Taylor’s feet free from where she had them braced. A scream tore from her throat as she started to fall. Her right hand wrapped around the bar and she swung in a crazy arc for a moment before she was able to grab the bar again with her left hand.

“Taylor, move it!” Saber roared as the Gartaian rose drunkenly to its feet.

Taylor swallowed down her fear and swiftly continued down the other side of the dome. She was almost fifteen feet up when the creature roared again. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see it twist around, this time facing her.

“Let go!” Saber ordered.

She didn’t think twice. She released her grip on the bar and dropped the remaining few feet. Saber caught her in midair and turned, pulling her out of the dome just as Ace and Trig released the gate, trapping the beast inside while Sword engaged the heavy metal lock.

The loud shrieks of the Gartaian drew a shudder from Taylor. She wrapped her arms tightly around Saber’s neck and buried her face against his shoulder. Her body was trembling uncontrollably from shock, fear, and adrenaline.

“That was amazing, Taylor,” Lonnie whispered, staring at the Gartaian then at her.

“That was crazy,” Trig muttered with a shake of his head. “Let’s get out of here.”