The Chronicles of the Adventure, Hunting, and Liquidation Committee

Book 1:The Siege of Fort Vagabond

Chapter 6 Part 2: The Bruja Escapes

The little blond headed girl seemed to be in some kind of stupor, and hung limply even though she was breathing and looked unhurt. Mr. Halley’s rounds were deflected by the harry wings of the screeching beast. So they were still saving her for something. That was good, assuming whatever had her sedated didn’t have any permanent effects.

Was it drugs? Spells? Fainted from fear or stress? All questions for after they’d convinced this freaky hairy wolf gargoyle with the now single burning eye to drop her from his hairy coon hands without turning the victim into hamburger. Randall had an answer for this before the thought could be pondered by his elders.

Without hesitation the scrappy young man whipped out Bohdan’s laser, and burned the other good eye of the monster eliciting a wave of agonized howls of the beast.

The gargoyle wolf dropped Sally as it reached for its ruined face, the freak’s wings spreading wide and flapping rabidly knocking everyone back. Everyone except for Randall who was just short enough to duck under the spazzing appendages.

The boy ran in and half caught half dragged the limp girl away from the monster before the demon could recover from his early taste of hellfire. Bless that kid. Bohdan was going to poach him for the Committee the second Randall turned fifteen.

Now that the worry of friendly fire had passed Bohdan let loose with full auto. The gunfire shook the posse out of their daze after the sudden appearance of the monster and their quick reunion with the floor thanks to the moth wings. Soon all twenty P50s turned the beast's face and chest into hamburger.

“Holy Predator cloaks batman!” Yelled a startled Karl from next to Bohdan. They were busy looking down at the bloody mess when a flash of motion blurred to the President’s right. All too late he saw it was the witch.

Yes. She was definitely a witch. Bohdan could see that clearly now that her charm spell was broken by the sudden gunfire and violence, and she had a knife. The witch was coming right at the pair of youths, the blade aimed directly at Randall’s throat and a reaching off hand for the now stirring Sally.

With a snarl that echoed off the walls Mr. Halley appeared. His handlebar mustache going from silly party gage to a furious image of masculine wrath as his fist struck the knife out of the witch’s hand before the jock’s off hand landed on her skull with the full force of a man of his none too small stature. A normal woman of the bruja’s physique would at least been K.O. and more likely turned into a vegetable if not an instant fatality. Not this witch. She was hopped up on something, and Bohdan was pretty sure this was a spiritual matter rather than someone partaking in too much acid.

The bruja spun into the hard gothic walls of the church, but was on her feet in a moment and slithering out of a shattered window even as blood flowed from her head. Bohdan pointed his P50 and pulled the trigger expecting the comfortable buzz of sweet 5.7 distributing justice on the unworthy. What he got was a whole lot of nothing. His magazine was bone dry. This development was almost more shocking than the rest of the day's wild events for the President. That witch’s spell had made Bohdan forget to keep track of his rounds. He never ran out of ammo like that. Never.

Bohdan was about to jump out the window when a splash of thick blood, and an inhuman screech like that of a woman and horse being skinned alive made him miss a step. Before he could turn around to find this new threat the mess of hairy gargoyle and wolf flesh flew into the air like a rocket on steroids sending men sprawling again. This time the freak broke right through the ruined ceiling of the chapel making an even bigger hole in the already holy construction.

Adding some choice curses Bohdan scrambled off the rubble strewn floor, and out the window. The President pulled his side arm in mid air searching for targets before he’d landed on the forest grove floor. Up above he saw the horrific sight of the freaky flying werewolf contorting its bones before slurping itself up a shaft in the roof like an octopus playing its best houdini act at a pet store. Randall would’ve had trouble fitting through that tunnel, and that gargoyle freak was huge. Figuring a nine mil wouldn’t do much to something that swallowed an entire can of 5.7 at close range Bohdan turned his attention to finding the fleeing witch.

After a few moments the President made out a lurching figure attempting to run on the water like a possessed ghost flying out of the underworld. That might have given Bohdan pause if he hadn’t just watched a winged werewolf turn itself into jello to escape. Without hesitation that guichi staccato fired at extreme range, and Bohdan was rewarded with a strangled cry as a blood flower appeared on the right back side of the witch’s white dress. She didn’t stop running though. Bohdan was all the more convinced this hag was the one driving the monsters to kidnap Sally. Some part of him knew he should be questioning her. Another part just wanted her dead. Either way it was unacceptable to let her escape.

With that in mind he ran out after her with all the rage he had left over given the long march underground, the carnage of the fight, and the effects of the charm. Soon all four members of Commando one were running next to him including Randall who had the witch’s knife in his hand and bloodlust in his eyes. That kid really was a natural. A boy after Bohdan’s own heart.

The bruja was fast, but she was injured and her hunters were persistent. She wasn’t escaping. Or that’s what Bohdan thought till she disappeared into thin air. A cry of frustration went up from Mr. Kelly as she shimmered out of existence. Bohdan might have acted just as primal if he hadn’t remembered that he was technically in charge.

The President slowed his pace as Karl, John, and Mr. Kelly’s twirling angry handlebar mustache flew past him. Randall slowed with him. Not because he was thinking, but exhausted by the looks of things. Bohdan figured the kid’s thirteen year old body was finally realizing it couldn’t keep up with fully grown athletic men. Even as Bohdan was studying Randall’s bright red face and puffing cheeks a strange feeling came over the President.

A cold, unnatural, unearthly feeling of nothingness and endless expanse. Of being dragged far through nothing in an instant. Around him Bohdan saw a shimmering blue hue like looking through a rolling bright blue Caribbean wave churning into a maelstrom. All at once realization hit the President even as Mr. Kelly, Karl, and John disappeared into the air like the witch.

Not having time for anything else Bohdan grabbed Randall and threw him back as far as he could. There he could just see Mr. Richard at the head of commando two crashing through the underbrush. As Bohdan felt his body being dragged into the invisible void the President looked right into Randalls wide eyes, and yelled.

“Get everyone to the surface!” That was all Bohdan had time to say before his body was sucked through a hole in reality. A wormhole to be exact if the President would give a guess. There was nothing to be done, but pray as the swirling blue light and nothingness beyond consumed Blood’s vision.

The Story Will Continue Every Saturday.

Click the image below to go to the Grizzly blog so you can be updated on future projects, and support the Grizzly Clan so we can keep the stories flowing.