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He was right; it didn’t.
“It’s the nomads,” Heather said. “Has to be. They used to gloat to anyone who’d listen about using the scourge against their enemies.”
“But what’s an attack like that supposed to accomplish?” Mo asked. “Sure, it’s at night, so there’s an element of surprise if it weren’t for the perimeter alarms. But they know we can handle waves and waves of scuttlers. We do it every year during the swarms.”
“Maybe those fuckers just want to piss us off by waking us the fuck up and making us go out there in the fucking cold?” Oh my. Apparently, Louisa had a potty mouth when forced out of bed in the middle of the night. She was our resident Xarc’n-human baby specialist. She’d helped raise all the troublemakers back in Franklin and now she had come to help Mary with Mina.
“It’s a distraction technique, I think,” I said.
Mo nodded. “Yeah, could be. We should keep our eyes open.”
We each went to a window, watching the edges of our property.
The fighters, having finished dealing with the bugs on the roof, came down to mop up the stragglers still outside. There were still a few scuttlers here and there that had lost their way.
“There are some people sneaking in the back!” someone called.
They had dressed in white and gray in an attempt to camouflage themselves against the rocks and snow, but it hadn’t worked. The interlopers were met with several potshots from our rifles. Realizing that they had been spotted, the group retreated slightly, ducking behind a boulder.
Mo called out their position over the loudspeakers, alerting our fighters outside. Terrance, Curtis and Kan’n came around to the back, ready to take out the garbage.
“I thought they were out of ammo,” Kat muttered as the nomads poked their weapons out and aimed.
They must have found more somewhere because they started shooting. Our guys ducked for cover behind a concrete barricade we’d put up specifically for moments like this. But Terrance, normally our nimblest fighter, was favoring a leg. He was too slow. There was a collective gasp as he was hit several times. He crumpled to the ground just shy of the barrier.
“Shit! He’s a sitting duck out there!” Aanya cried.
Sure enough, our enemies were aiming at him to make sure the job was done. It was Kan’n who dashed out from behind the barrier, taking several bullets himself as he and Curtis pulled Terrance to safety.
I held my breath, watching. The shot had most definitely hit him, but Kan’n didn’t seem injured. He was already shooting back with a blaster. Deciding the mission wasn’t worth it anymore, the assholes turned tail and ran.
We kept our eyes on our perimeter alarms while the hunters and fighters continued mopping up the rest of the scourge. It wasn’t until we were dragging the last of the scourge carcasses away from our home that I realized Kan’n and Pip were missing.The last I had seen him, Kan’n was helping Terrance back into the building.
I ran in to check. He wasn’t in there either.
“Mo! Kan’n’s gone.” I reached out a hand to steady myself. “And so is Pip.”
“It’s the same group that attacked them before. They probably went charging after them. You know, for old time’s sake. He shouldn’t have gone off on his own, but I understand.”
“Yes. Let them have their revenge,” Kat said. “Those assholes put Kan’n and Pip through hell. I, for one, am going to turn a blind eye if these particular assholes disappear from the area. Sometimes, murder is really the only way.”
“He’d be doing our job for us,” Mo added.
Technically, we’d done half the job already. This particular group hated us because we’d had multiple run-ins with them, and each time, it resulted in their numbers dwindling. They must be really desperate to try to attack us again.
I grabbed my phone, glad I had thought to pick it up before running out of the shuttle earlier. I only needed to be stuck without my phone for two days to realize I never wanted that to happen again. I called my hunter.
“I will return shortly,” he said when he picked up. “After I rid the world of these miscreants.”
“I know I can’t stop you. But you should’ve asked for backup. Plenty of our guys would have loved to sink their teeth into this group too.”
He made a sound of disgust. “I am sure they would not taste good.”
That had me chuckling. “Stay safe, Kan’n. Don’t get yourself hurt.”
“I wouldn’t dare. I have a mate to pleasure when I return.”
Chapter 24: Kan’n
