Read Online THEM (Season 1): Episode 4 by M.D. Massey - Free Book Online

hogtied and gagged. Bobby jumped down, and we carried him off to the fence line with no one the wiser.
    The real challenge at hand, though, was getting Pancho’s sorry ass back to our safe house without a train of deaders following us back. I motioned for Bobby to draw them off before they got wind of us, and he rolled his eyes and sulked off into the night. I heard a loud noise a few blocks over and assumed it was Bobby. After waiting until most of the deaders were moving off to investigate, I heaved Pancho over the fence and then followed him over. He’d hit the ground with a grunt and had begun to stir by the time I landed next to him, so I pulled out my Bowie and held it to his throat as I whispered in his ear.
    “I know you can’t see me, but I assume you can feel my blade at your throat.” He blinked several times in the dark, and I could see that he was scared, but pissed as well. I could work with that. “Now, as soon as my partner gets back we’re going to take a short trip, and then we’re going to have a little discussion. Blink twice if I can trust you to cooperate.” He paused, looking more pissed by the second, then finally blinked twice. “Good. If you don’t struggle or try to escape, I’ll make sure my partner doesn’t eat you.”
    About that time, Bobby came jogging back up. I motioned for him to grab Pancho by the arms, and he shrugged and just heaved him up and over his shoulder, reminding me of just how strong a full-blown ’thrope could be. He gestured as if to say, “after you,” so I decided I wouldn’t look a gift-wolf in the mouth and led the way back to our makeshift safe house. About halfway there Bobby paused and motioned me down, squatting behind an old dumpster without setting down his burden.
    I could hear him sniffing the air, although I didn’t notice anything out of place. He leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. “Nos’, and pretty close, too.”
    Pancho must’ve heard, because he started struggling, knocking over some trash that had been stacked on top of the dumpster. I cracked him across the jaw, and he slumped back into stillness across Bobby’s back. Bobby grimaced and pointed to an adjacent roof. I could see a figure crawling our way, scuttling almost like a roach or a spider, belly down and slinking so silently that I almost couldn’t hear it even with my new upgrades.
    Just then the wind shifted, and I caught the smell that had set Bobby’s radar on high alert a few moments before. It was the smell of old rot, dried blood, and death. I recognized it, because I’d smelled it many times previously on vamps I’d killed. Strangely though, I only remember smelling them after I’d killed them; I couldn’t recall a single time I picked up the scent of a nos’ before I’d dusted one.
This could come in handy
, I thought, loosening my battle ’hawk and drawing my Bowie from its sheath. Bobby cocked an eyebrow at me, and I motioned for him to head to the safe house with Pancho. He shook his head no, but I mouthed “I got this,” and shooed him off. He twisted his mouth in what looked to be indecision, then he padded off into the dark.
    I looked up again, only to see that our friend was nowhere to be seen. That had me nervous. I couldn’t use any firepower to take this thing out, or else the punters would be all over us, not to mention every deader within two miles. Fact was, I wasn’t too sure about my ability to take it out with just my tomahawk and my Bowie. On the other hand, there was this part of me deep down inside that was telling me this thing was invading on my territory. It was like this inner voice telling me I had to take it down, because its very presence was an affront to my existence.
    Now where the hell did that come from?
I wondered silently. My introspection was cut short momentarily as the wind shifted to my back and I caught that desiccated odor coming strong from my six o’clock.
    I pivoted silently and drew my ’hawk,