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Our nostrils flare, searching out a scent map, but only a fairly faint trail remains. It’s been hours since anyone was in this area.
I shift back to my human form, and the others do the same, unclipping the packs off our backs.
Zeke:We’re in position.
I quickly send off another text to Arsenio, letting him know we’re in place, and get out the sniper rifle from my pack along with the explosives. Sam is the closest to me, while Silas and Seline are closer to the other side, waiting for my signal before we place the charges.
Glancing down at my phone, my heart races as I wait for Arsenio’s response. My skin pebbles into goosebumps as the night air sweeps in with a chilly gust.
Arsenio:We’re ready.
I sigh in relief as my phone lights up with his response and shove it back in my bag. It’s time. Nodding to Silas, I give him the signal. We each grab our pistols and explosives and rush forward, laying them strategically around the back of the barrier. I stick low to the ground, almost holding my breath as I set up the explosives and run the wires back.
I double-check my phone to make sure there aren’t any messages, but only the time shines back at me. It’s five after eleven, late enough that children and most adults should be in bed. That will give us an advantage as most of the bears not on watch will be disoriented from being woken up abruptly. Sam runs his wire over to me, then Silas brings his and Seline’s before they each take cover behind thick trees. We’re spaced out about ten feet apart, with Silas and me in the center and Sam and Seline on either end.
I connect the wire to the detonator and check the time again: nine minutes after eleven. Perfect timing.
I nod to the others, giving them the signal, and we switch to our rifles.
My heart thunders in anticipation, and a small smile forms on my lips as I wait for the final minute to pass. I can’t lie and say that I won’t enjoy this. Taking someone out is what I’m good at.
I position my rifle beside the tree and line up my sights, grateful for the cover of bushes and trees surrounding us.
Three. Two. One.
The forest grows silent around me, my mind blocking out everything else as I push down on the plunger.
The four charges go off at once, blasting the back of the metal barricade into smoking chunks of debris. They fly into the air only to come raining back down, littering the inside of the compound and the forest floor with burning metal shards. Fire erupts where the wall used to be, the sparks from the explosion catching on the dead brush surrounding the compound, sending plumes of black smoke billowing up into the air.
Screams echo from fear and pain, and panicked shouts grow louder in the distance. I look through the sight, readying my aim. My finger pauses on the trigger as the first person comes into view. The guard clasps his neck, trying in vain to staunch the flow of blood as it pours from his neck around a jagged piece of metal. A few more guards lie around him, with shrapnel in their legs and chests, unable to move away from the rapidly approaching flames.
I press the trigger without a second thought, putting them out of their misery. There’s no way they’re going to survive that damage, and a bullet through their head is the only mercy I can show them.
Flames dance menacingly along the worn path and rapidly spread along the building. That should give us more time since they’ll be busy battling the blaze, unable to go around the front of the compound to get to us.
We’ll pick them off one by one, at least until we have to retreat from the fire that’s sneaking closer with each second that ticks by. I only hope we can buy the others enough time to get in and out without getting caught.
Chapter Seventeen
Skylar
“Hourlychecktime,”theguard grumbles as he walks out from the bushes and over to the alarm control pad.
A bear shifts to his human form and heads to the door while the two remaining bears take their positions on either side of the entrance, just like yesterday. We watch carefully, our enhanced wolf vision following each number as the first guard punches them in, ensuring the code hasn’t been changed.
The two men enter the bunker to perform their checks, and we glance at Arsenio. Pale moonlight shines down on him through a gap in the trees, illuminating his handsome face as he nods and shoves his phone back in his backpack, letting me know Zeke and the betas are in position.
The minutes pass as though they’re in slow motion, our heart pounding like seconds ticking by on a clock as we wait for the two guards to emerge.
“Let’s do our sweep of the perimeter,” the first guard says as he and the other shifter in human form walk out of the bunker and re-engage the alarm behind them.
Anxiety hums through our legs, sinking into the damp earth beneath our paws. The cool night breeze whistles through the trees and ruffles our fur, sending shivers up our spine. Arsenio’s lips pull down into a frown as he opens his bag and glances in, not wanting the faint illumination from the screen to give us away, not when we’re this close. He holds up a finger, and I shift uncomfortably as the bears lumber towards the road to make their sweep around the bunker.
Fuck. Their patrol inside was a bit quicker than yesterday, which was not in the plans.
We’re so close to the trail that even if we leave now, they’ll still be able to scent us, and tonight will be for nothing.
We wait with bated breath, laser-focused on the compound in the distance. There’s no room for error now. If the explosions don’t go off in time, we’ll have to come up with a plan B, and it won’t be pretty.
