Cauldron Part 3

Holly and I got off the hotel roof, away from rioters. We were by the swimming pool, behind a fence. But we were at the top of a cliff, four stories tall! We were at the edge of Nashville's river valley. But I'd planned for the cliff; we'd been looking over it for two days. I'd brought a rappel line we could both use. We just had to take the time to set it up. The fence made it easy to secure - but then we had to get over the fence to use it.

But then rioters showed up around the hotel! They started yelling and pointing at us! But the fence was in our favor. Holly and I could get over it a lot faster than they could. So we were over and down the cliff before they could get to us.

We waded through brush, and came out in the middle of a string of fast food restaurants. They were all closed, like the hotel was. But I could see people down the street on either side, starting to gather around the restaurants. It was time to get farther away. Across the road was industrial park. That looked safer.

It was getting dark. People were starting not to notice me and Holly in our dark Insight suits. We weren't secure any more, but we were finally getting safer.

We were able to call in to USIB. They said, get to the river and figure out which bridge was best to cross over. The choices were a mile on either side from here.

On the way to the river, we saw some people in a parking lot. I motioned to Holly to stop and listen. We weren't about to go say hello, but they might be some stranded commuters who needed us to call in help. But my suit heard them say, "It's all set. Let's get out." They started to pile in one car, leaving the other behind.

But then one woman stuck her nose up and said, "Humans that way!" My optics zoomed in on her. She was on a chain leash!

The man on the other end looked like a professional wrestler rock star. He said, "Let's go get 'em, girl!" They both started bounding our way, like they were as strong as us. The woman was running on all fours, like a wolf or something.

Holly and I were behind a bush near the next building over. I said to Holly on our private comm, "Stay down and keep watching them!" Then I jumped up, acted surprised, and started running to one side.

The woman on the leash stopped. She looked confused. Maybe she could still sense Holly somehow. So I shrieked like I was scared. I didn't have to pretend too much. That got her attention again.

I ran more. I wasn't going to let anyone at my throat again. Instinctively I ran back the way we'd come, back toward the rioters... Hey, good idea!

One group of rioters had reached a hotel at the edge of the industrial park. I jumped over them. The wolf-woman plowed right through. I was free to circle back. So I ran.

But then my proximity alarm went off. I'd almost run right into someone! And then that someone closed the distance and knocked me off my feet with a backhand. It was the wrestler man! He said, "She's pretty well trained. You're next."

He tried to body-slam me. But I got my feet up and kicked him over me. He just said, "Woo hoo!" I just rolled up to my feet and kept running.

By now they were herding me back to where Holly had been. But on my helmet display, I saw Holly had moved east along the riverfront! "Winter. What's going on?"

But she didn't respond. "Winter! Winter! Holly! Come in!" But still nothing. Oh, shit! My comms must have taken the hit for me when the wrestler man hit me!

I still followed Holly. I saw our bridge ahead. But it was a highway bridge. We couldn't jump up to it, even if we made it there!

Then beyond Holly, I saw a pickup truck. It had people riding in the truck bed, with guns. I finally made the connection. Pickups, guns, Tennessee... Militias. We were stuck between them, my pursuers, and the river. We were maybe bulletproof in our outfits, but we weren't waterproof with all those electronics. So wading through armed rednecks was our best option, even if there was nothing beyond there to escape to.

"Winter! If you can hear me, get past that truck! I'm right behind you!"

Maybe Holly heard me. Or maybe she was just smart. She ducked behind bushes and kept moving. They never saw her.

But things were different for me. Behind me the super-wrestler yelled, "Yee haw, boys! The hunt is on this way!" He pointed more or less at me.

They said, "Huh?" To normal people, I was almost invisible at night.

"God damn, she's right there!" He ripped out a maintenance shed and threw it at me. I dodged. But he was way stronger than I was.

But I hadn't been paying attention to everything. Suddenly the wolf woman was on me! She tried to bite my throat! She had the teeth for it, way too big for any mouth.

But I have helmet down there. It didn't block hand access when I needed it yesterday. But it was enough to block face access today. Still, she knocked me down and I had to roll around with her.

That was all the wrestler man needed. He jumped on us both! We were both stunned. Then he got up, grabbed me from behind under the arms, lifted me up, and said, "I Am The Bread Of Death!"

Uh oh.