"On your right, woman!"

She slammed the clip home and fired without looking, almost able to hear the slobbering jaws about to clamp down on her ankle. A heavy body thudded to the ground.

"Dog! Guard her!" Marc shouted, firing.

The wolf appeared at her side, bloody muzzle snarling viciously at two more animals trying to sneak through a thin gap in the fire wall.

4

Kenn shifted restlessly in the plush seat of his truck, unafraid of moving alone through the darkness, but more than scared of not being able to find a way to keep Adrian from discovering what he'd done, who he'd been.

Angela was close. He could feel it, and though it had been a relief to get to Cheyenne and find only the Slavers (he'd watched for an extra day to be sure she wasn't there, high in the trees with his scope), he knew she was within a day of him, just not sure in what direction.

She was likely southeast, coming in on a straight line, but instead of heading that way at the highway sign, Kenn kept the Bronco on the path he had taken after slipping away from the massive Slaver camp. With fresh mags for his M16 - swiped from the Slaver camp - it had been an easy choice, and the Marine was sticking to it.

Kenn had his lights off, brake bulbs loosened to eliminate the telling glows, and he slowed as loud, rapid gunshots echoed in the darkness. Window down, he rolled slowly, trying to pinpoint the location. It was her, he was suddenly sure of it. When the noise continued, he edged closer.

More gunshots rang out, a battle for survival it sounded like, and he stopped as movement and light caught his eye. Scope always at hand, Kenn's eyes narrowed on what appeared to be a burnt down ring of fire.

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She was in trouble, he could feel that clearly, and the plan fell into place with a horrible snap. He would arrive in time to finish off whoever had just killed his wife.

And if she survives? his worry asked, and Kenn grinned in the pitch black truck. The camp would be told she hadn't. If they even found out how close she'd been. He certainly had no intentions of telling them.

5

Angela muttered a curse as three more wolves slunk into the ring and heard Brady echo her expletive as he fired repeatedly, hitting them all. They were in deep. It was time to let the Witch out and worry about the consequences later. "Fire!"

Bright blue flames spewed from Angela's outstretched hands, hitting a gap in the wall just as two wolves tried to dart through, and their fur lit up, the heat of her power blowing them back into the dark cornstalks as the gap closed.