There was no dispute as Brick and Chaney, close but still forty feet away, ignited a half-dozen flares and tossed them in a wide uniform pattern, illuminating a large section of the passage. Although the ledges were deep in shadow, the red-whiteness of the light burned the darkness from every other crevice to leave a stark dead-white. The passage was fully visible in the steadiness, and Hunter almost smiled as his next tactic came to him.
Yeah, it might wait until the light died down, hoping that darkness could return so it could initiate its preferred plan. For it would expect them to search defensively, afraid of its overwhelming power. But Hunter would take that from it.
"Look sharp," he said as he stepped onto a boulder, slowly climbing toward the upper regions of the cave. "I'm gonna try and flush it out."
Shouldering the elephant gun, Brick cocked both hammers without a word.
Chaney spoke, swinging aim to the opposite side. "Hunter, be careful. It moves fast."
"I know." Hunter rose sharply above a ledge with the mini-light, targeting everything instantly. He turned the light to shine back across the passage, spying the opposite ledges.
Nothing.
A grim commitment to the task twisted his face into a frown. He knew that he'd come upon it soon enough, initiating a wild fight that would cause the cavern to explode in a haze of gunfire and chaos; a horrific battle once started that would rage with suicidal courage and adrenaline-white excitement to a savage end. Climbing onto the altar-like stone, he walked slowly forward, flicking off the safety of the Browning.
Still nothing, but he knew it was here…
Crouched like a lion, Hunter stared at the blind wall and considered waiting it out. But without even a glance at the flares he knew they wouldn't last another fifteen minutes. No, he had to find it, force it out. And when that happened he would have to survive the first blurring rush, try sending it into the passageway where they could target and fire freely. He knew without asking that, despite their courage and skill, they wouldn't chance a round if he were close to it.
The edge loomed before him, darkness beyond.
Hunter watched and waited, utterly cold. If it waited on the far side of the outcropping, he might be able to wear on its nerves, make it careless.
Seconds slid in silence, drops of sweat falling from Hunter's brow as he blinked. Still nothing.
Just do it!
Get it over with!
He rose, eyes narrowing as he approached the corner. Then he paused as his hairs stood on end at an impression, sharp and distinctly dangerous. Instinctively he had frozen.
Knowing that he might have only seconds, he continued to extend his arm, keeping the illumination moving forward as he settled slightly back, leg caving on his weight. If it was not on the other side of that wall, then his instincts were woefully wrong and he was unsure what to do. Then he decided, knowing that only elemental wildness could answer elemental wildness, and advanced with three quick strides.
On the edge of air and darkness Hunter dropped to a knee and raised the Browning from the hip to fire mid-waist into the air, not taking time to search, not knowing what lay ahead. The explosion of the cartridge was tremendous — blinding and stunning — and he brought the rifle out from a hard recoil with a roar. It took him a few seconds to realize that there was nothing…
No…
It's here.
It was the sense of certainty a man possesses when he feels a familiar sickness closing its grip on it. He knows the signs, can measure how long before he is broken and weak. Although it may be hours away, it is already present, his body warning him with subtle signs. But Hunter gave no overt sign of surety as he walked forward. He feigned confusion with consummate composure.
Moving a dozen steps into a collapsed alcove — a chamber domed by a ceiling whose stones were slowly breaking loose — he saw a dozen possible hiding places. Almost immediately he decided to use its own instincts against it. For he knew that, if it could not attack from ambush, it would strike from behind, as before.
Lowering the rifle to his side, Hunter turned his back to the chamber and took one step forward in absolute silence. Almost instantly he felt a tingling in his arms, neck. Knew he couldn't wait more than a few seconds…
Two steps.
It's gonna try for absolute silence…
Three.
Hunter wasn't breathing with his next step.
Turn!
NO!
Hunter gritted his teeth; it preys on weakness… Wait until you hear it or you can't wait anymore… Wait…You know how to do it. You know how to wait. So wait…
Wait!
At the last step, the ledge loomed before him. But it was a step that never happened as Hunter felt a sudden thrill that he couldn't suppress and turned into the threat.
Mammoth, crouching with arms hooked to grapple, it was creeping forward. Poised on one leg, it was almost laughing in its silent rage. The other foot was lifted in a step that would have placed it on Hunter in another second.
Hunter roared as he brought the Browning up and fired point-blank into its chest, fire joining them in the darkness, beast to beast, and it screamed in rage as it raised an arm. Then it drew back for a blow but Hunter had already leaped high and far, aiming for a sloping boulder ten feet below the ledge. He hit hard and rolled, avoiding the trigger of the Browning in the bruising concussion and descent until he crashed painfully against the jagged floor.
Chaney — everyone — had opened up, devastating the ledge in a thunderstorm of massive rounds that pulverized stone and seemed to hurl the creature back. Only as they frantically reloaded did it launch itself far from the stone, sailing cleanly across the corridor where it struck the opposite wall and rebounded, landing with terrific force beside Chaney.
Whirling, Chaney raised the rifle with a shout as a hammer-like fist descended to hit the Weatherby, shattering the stock and sending him back. And in the brief collision Hunter didn't need to ask; no, not dead, but the marshal was injured by the blow. Enraged, Hunter hotly exchanged clips as he rose.
Brick managed a clean shot, an almost point-blank exchange that made the monster twist away before it returned the violence with a sweeping right hand too quick to follow. Hunter saw it as it began, a great clawed hand drawn to the waist before the beast uncurled with that vicious velocity. And then the blow had passed — only a glimpsed flicker in the light — and Hunter stared numbly as a gory remnant of a human being fell back, Brick's face completely torn away as bone and blood rained through the haze.
Hunter saw it was wounded deeply now and fired. Bobbi Jo and Takakura were also shooting, and the passageway was lit by the deafening extending flame.
Staggering and howling, rocked by rifle fire, it unleashed a bellowing defiance of pain, then turned with that uncanny quickness and leaped for Takakura.
As if he'd long anticipated the attack, the Japanese reacted even as it began, diving and rolling under the blow and rising with drawn sword to slash a backhand blow that struck solidly across its spine. Injured yet again it whirled and hurled out a hand, tearing deep furrows across Takakura s chest, and he shouted in defiant rage as he went to a knee. Face twisted in pain, he returned the violence with a vertical blow of the katana, the blade cutting deeply through its ribs to enter the air with a wake of fiery blood.
Hunter's next thunderous shot hit it cleanly in the sternum, propelling it powerfully toward Bobbi Jo where, sensing rather than seeing her, it struck even as it staggered — a wild, almost desperate move that she easily sidestepped as the Barrett continued to explode. She hit it solidly, each shot erupting in a shower of flesh and blood. But its next blow was not so wild, and with a tiger's viciousness its hand tore away her vest to send a ragged shield of armor sailing through lightning-struck air.