Surviving Demon Island Part 28

Pitch-black. He didn't want to turn on his lights because he didn't know if he was alone, so he grabbed his shades from around his neck and slipped them on, illuminating the room he found himself in.

Interesting. G.o.d, it smelled awful down here!like the hybrid demons' stink on the surface times a million. He wrinkled his nose at the stench and surveyed the tiny room. It looked like they'd excavated and plastered some sticky wet s.h.i.+t on the walls and floor to keep the dirt from caving in. His boots stuck in the slime. He lifted them, and the muck was a mixture of dirt and something clear and stringy.

He probably didn't even want to know what it was, but it reminded him of something he'd seen in ghost movies. Ectoplasm or something like that.

The room narrowed and led to a tunnel on the right, but it was dark, and he couldn't make out anything beyond. There was nothing in the room. And the room was small; no more than two or three people, or creatures, could fit in it.

When he heard movement, he grabbed his laser, his gut tightening in antic.i.p.ation. He stilled, waiting, but no one appeared. Instinct told him he'd been allowed down here, that they'd brought him. If these creatures had wanted him dead, he'd be dead already. Maybe they wanted to change him into one of them and that's why he was still alive. It didn't really matter what their agenda was. He had one of his own. Find Gina and get both of them out of there. In the meantime, this was an opportunity to gather whatever information he could.

He started moving, lifting his boots and shaking off the muck as he left the narrow room and headed down the tunnel. It was wide enough for the hybrid demons to move single file through it, but that was about it. Reminded him of studying ant colonies in those narrow gla.s.s cases when he was a kid. The tunnels snaked this way and that, and he had no freakin' idea which way to go next. But he did make a mental note of which way he'd come in, because as far as he was concerned, that was the way out.

The further he moved through their tunnels, the more he realized no one was around. No demons rushed at him, no hulking hybrids blocked his way. It was as if they had been ordered to let him pa.s.s.

As if he were purposely being allowed to move freely.

But why?

He hated when someone f.u.c.ked with him this way.

And that weird energy he'd been feeling for weeks now was growing stronger. Uncomfortably stronger. He liked that even less, because it was powerful. An ugly power, unsettling, like voices in his head. Was he going crazy?

Maybe.

But before he did, he was going to find Gina and get her the h.e.l.l out of here. No way were these a.s.sholes going to use her as a baby-making machine.

Not the woman he loved.

I'm gonna get you out of here, Gina. Hang tough.

He moved down the tunnels, knowing they were aware he was here.

Oh, but they didn't know what he was capable of.

They were about to find out.

Gina woke with a start, confusion fogging her brain. Her entire body was ice cold and she was s.h.i.+vering. She wanted to turn around to curl up for warmth, but she couldn't. When she tried to sit up, something held her back.

Her eyes shot open, but it was dark and she couldn't see. She blinked to focus, allowing her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She wiggled her fingers, trying to feel what had her bound at her middle, but she couldn't reach.

Dammit! Where the h.e.l.l was she?

She remembered the battle with the demons, and being surrounded by cold hands, frozen bodies, a sudden drop like falling in an elevator without brakes. Then everything went black.

Which meant she had to be in the tunnels. With the demons.

Ceasing her struggles, she let her head rest on the flat surface. Fear snaked along her spine, her breathing shallow and quick. Nausea rolled in her stomach and she swallowed, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to slow down her breaths.

Okay, don't panic. Forcing a calm she didn't feel, she had to relax. Terror wasn't going to get her anywhere and what she really wanted right now was out of here. Forcing a calm she didn't feel, she had to relax. Terror wasn't going to get her anywhere and what she really wanted right now was out of here.

She struggled against the bindings but they wouldn't budge. And she was cold. So d.a.m.n cold her teeth were chattering.

If only she could see. She hated not being able to see.

Then she heard a sound and she stilled, stopped breathing for a second, paralyzed with fear.

Something was in the room with her. She heard a squis.h.i.+ng sound, like someone stepping in and out of mud.

Squick, squick, squick.

And breaths. Rhythmic, in and out, drawing closer.

So much for don't panic. She started to shake. The pitching in her stomach increased and she was certain she was going to throw up.

'Don't be afraid, my dear,' came a voice behind her head. 'No one is going to harm you.'

Soft, deep voice. She shuddered. Just like the one from that demon the first night. Not harm her? Oh, sure. That's what the demon had said that night, too.

'Gina, isn't it?'

He knew her name. How did he know her name?

When he reached out and caressed her hair, she recoiled, scooting as far away as she could. d.a.m.n these bindings!

'I'm sorry it's so cold in here, but we find it quite comfortable. You will, too, in time.'

She was going to die. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes and fell down her cheeks. She sniffed them back, refusing to show fear.

'Don't cry, Gina. He's coming for you.'

Who was coming? A demon?

Oh, no. It was worse. He He was coming. Which meant one of them. She was going to be forced tonot that. Please, G.o.d, not that. Not like her mother. She began to cry in earnest now, hating her own weakness but unable to stomach the thought of being turned into one of those creature-making machines. Her mind filled with visions of what she'd have to endure. No matter how hard she tried to clear her head, she couldn't block them out. was coming. Which meant one of them. She was going to be forced tonot that. Please, G.o.d, not that. Not like her mother. She began to cry in earnest now, hating her own weakness but unable to stomach the thought of being turned into one of those creature-making machines. Her mind filled with visions of what she'd have to endure. No matter how hard she tried to clear her head, she couldn't block them out.

She'd rather be dead. Somehow, she'd figure out a way to kill herself. She could not, would not go through the same thing her mother had.

'Don't cry, Gina,' the voice said, smoothing his hand over her hair. His fingertips brushed her cheek and the frigid cold shot right through her. 'You will grow to love it here. All the women do.'

She grimaced in disgust, wis.h.i.+ng she could see him, could leap off this table. If she could, she'd wrap her hands around his frosty throat and squeeze the life right out of the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

But she couldn't. And it was dark and she hated this blindness.

Then he laughed. A dark chuckle that shriveled her soul.

It was, purely and simply, evil. The sound left her ears ringing, her heart pounding, and her body shaking.

She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for death.

The tunnels seemed endless, but Derek finally found, literally, a light at the end of one of them. He followed it, tired of running into one dead end after another.

And still he hadn't found any demons.

What the h.e.l.l was up with that? He was packing enough ammo to fight off hundreds of them if he had to, which slowed him down considerably, but he wasn't taking any chances. Once he found Gina, he wanted to make sure he had enough firepower to get them both out of there.

Plus he'd brought the explosives.

These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds were going down. Especially if they hurt her.

As he drew closer to the light, he realized it wasn't anything man-made. By the time he got right on top of it, he looked up and found the source. It was a break in the ground above. Sunlight, from the surface. That was a good thing. A very good thing. It meant a possible way out.

The tunnels finally widened, then ended in a huge open s.p.a.ce. With about six more openings for him to choose from.

's.h.i.+t,' he whispered, frustration eating away at him.

He closed his eyes and inhaled, letting the power he was fighting against flow through him.

Third tunnel from the left. Definitely. He felt her.

G.o.dd.a.m.n, that was some scary s.h.i.+t.

But he knew it was correct. He headed through to the tunnel and was instantly hit with the thick stench of demon. Oh, yeah, much more powerful now. He readied his laser, finger poised on the trigger, muscles tensed in antic.i.p.ation.

Gina's presence grew stronger.

She was alive. Relief washed over him.

He didn't understand how they were connected, or what this strange power was that seemed to be growing stronger down here, but he wasn't going to look the psychic gift horse in the mouth. He followed the invisible thread that led him through a hallway and into a room. As soon as he rounded the corner, he caught sight of her.

She lay on a rectangular slab, bound.

Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. His heart slammed against his chest. Was she even still alive?

She was. He'd know if she wasn't.

At least she was alone, but he smelled ambush. There was a reason he'd gotten through the portal this time, and he didn't think it had anything to do with the explosives suddenly deciding to work. He'd been allowed down here for a reason.

Keeping his weapon at the ready, he hustled over to her, circling the dirt table where she lay and reaching into his belt for his switchblade.

Her eyes shot open, her gaze flitting nervously left to right.

He exhaled a sigh of relief. She was alive!

And scared to death. Of course. She was blind in here since it was pitch-black.

He leaned down to her ear. 'Gina, it's me.'

She sucked in a breath and turned her head in his direction. 'Derek?'

'Yeah.'

'Oh, G.o.d,' she whispered, tears falling. Her lower lip trembled. She looked miserable and scared. Really d.a.m.n scared.

'Did they hurt you?'

'No. But I'd really like to get the h.e.l.l out of here. Now. Right now.'

'Hold still, baby. Let me cut these ties.' He sliced through the bindings across her body and legs, then lifted her up. She latched onto him, burying her face in his neck. After sheathing his knife, he wrapped his free hand around her waist and hoisted her off the table, grateful to have found her alive.

G.o.d, she felt good. But she was still shaking.

'You're freezing.'

'I don't care. You're warm.'

'Let's get out of here. It's hot enough topside.'

'Oh, what a sweet, tender reunion.'

Derek froze, releasing his hold on Gina. The intruder stood in shadow at the entrance to the room. 'Get behind me and hang onto me,' he ordered her.

She did, her hands never leaving his waist. 'I recognize his voice. He spoke to me earlier.'

Derek could only make out a tall, broad, shadowy figure, partially obscured by a pole at the room's entrance. He lifted his weapon to take a shot, but the figure moved behind the pillar.

'Too dark in here, Derek, don't you think?' the figure asked.

Hey! How'd they know his name?

Instantly, Derek was blinded as the room lit up. He jerked the shades off and blinked to adjust his vision.

'Let there be light,' the man said with a smile and a shrug, entering the room.

Derek raised his weapon to fire, but something stopped him from pulling the trigger.

'Oh, you don't want to do that.'

He didn't, but he didn't know why. Oh, screw that. He needed to get Gina out of here. He raised his weapon and aimed.

'You look good, Derek.'

His finger stalled. Again, the man had said his name.

'Derek,' Gina whispered. 'Fire!'

Ignoring her, he tilted his head to the side. Who the h.e.l.l was this guy? Dressed in light camouflage pants and a tight brown T-s.h.i.+rt stretched over well-developed shoulders and chest, he was several years older than Derek. He appeared normally human in all aspects, right down to his dark, lively eyes and black hair peppered with gray at the temples. He seemed robust, fit, healthy, and more importantly, completely human.