Chapter 30

Each crunch of my boots on the sloping high desert sent puffs of yellowish powder into the still air. As always, the dry blast furnace heat reminded me of home. With a sigh, I shrugged. Several homes. As the slow exhale drove more dust from my lower lip, I followed a thin, winding trail up a steeper incline.

Under an unrelenting sun, the last of the track scrabbled beneath me until I stepped onto a narrow ledge. Along the face of a striated cliff was a shadowed cleft. Tapering from a wider base to become a faded crack, it was wholly unremarkable, bar two heavily armed men in black tactical gear. Another pair manned a sniper position, overwatching the valley below.

None of them were local cops. At least we’d had some luck. Also unremarkable were the dots amid the scrub and tumbled boulders on the valley floor. All civilian vehicles of various makes and models.

Made for fewer questions. After a quick sniffle forced gritty dirt from my nostrils, I shook my head. Few could comprehend the answers. Even if any of us wished to provide them. Somebody else would handle the authorities.

Just as I sighed and patted the dust from my jeans, a shadow emerged from the narrow cave entrance. Although in the same black body armor and uniform, he had neither a helmet nor face mask. With a grim smile, he moved towards me.

Doug Barnes was Operations Director for the Western US. Also, Mexico since that slot hadn’t been filled. No matter the foe, wars were costly. But in this one, we lost far too many good people.

“Hey there, Jim.” He held out a gloved hand. “Sorry to bother you. But I heard you were out this way doing training shit.”

“No problem, Doug.” I forced a grin while returning his firm grip. “Watcha got?”

“Nonassociated. At least, from what we can tell.” He exhaled, then squinted into the distance before gesturing for me to follow him inside. “Better if I just show you.”

As we moved into the darkness, the good news was it became cooler. The bad news was the familiar smells of death punched me in the gut. Mixed with a seeping rot that curled around my soul. No matter how many times I encountered it, I never got used to that unique mélange of sweetness and foul.

After stepping into a decent-sized grotto, I halted to let my eyes adjust. First to materialize was the ceiling. Like a gigantic stone tent, it arched upwards to meet at a distant peak. The floor was mostly flat, its perimeter dotted with embedded boulders. And a few stalagmites were scattered throughout the open space. At last, I could pick out details beyond a pair of portable work lights.

Beneath a long sky-blue tarp was a row of bodies. Like pallid spikes, their very pale bare feet lay side-by-side. Against a scarred and rough wall across from them, a slight woman sat, hugging her knees under a crinkly, silver emergency blanket. Coated in filth, stringy dark hair was glued to an emaciated skull. White-rimmed, dull, sunken eyes stared into nothingness. Another pair of black-adorned guards was nearby, while a kneeling medic attended to her.

“She’s the only one they left.” Doug pointed to a flat, stony wall. Near blood smears, dangling chains hung at four points. “Um, they affixed her upside down. Mouth at, um, waist height. Pulled her teeth, poor thing. And, uh, her vaginal area is covered in bite marks. They kept her alive, but, um, fed—”

“—from her, while feeding her.” As I inspected the slight figure, the scent of rank semen wafted across from her cracked, crust-lined lips.

“Yeah. She, um, can’t talk real well. Throat’s, uh, pretty raw. As you can imagine.”

“How many?” I asked while walking further inside, scanning the floor.

“We gave her a notepad. Five. All males. One obvious leader. Four lessers.” Doug cleared his throat. “Um, they each left with a new pet.”

“Really?” My eyebrow lifted as I scanned the row of corpses.

“Yep, tourist family. Well, the husband’s over there.” He gestured to a pair of larger feet. “But his wife, late-30s, dark hair ... Well, she, um, became quite the aficionado after he, uh, died.”

“Aficionado?”

“Yeah, seems to have become quite the vamp cock-addict. Likes it rough. Would take on all five of ‘em.” He pointed to the girl. “She didn’t mind. Cold hard math. It distracted them from her.” He coughed and placed his hands on his hips. “The daughter is some kind of athlete. Gymnast, maybe. Anyway, took after her mom. Soon enough, she’d join in as well. She belongs to the number two.”

“The other pets?”

“Not from the family. A couple of college-age hikers. Both girls. Blondes. Just got caught, along with their boyfriends. Uh, the guys are deceased. Not as enthusiastic, the girls were always crying. But learned to behave.” After glancing at the bodies, he nodded towards a blackened fire pit. “And, um, all of ‘em got thrall pussy tats.”

“Clan?”

“From what she described.” He gestured to the huddled woman. Haunted, her red-rimmed eyes were tracking our movements. “A half-moon between parallel horizontal bars. Those markings belong to a smaller clan. Southern Mexico. Chiapas and, um, part of Guatemala. So, they’re way out of the ‘hood. That’s why I’m sure they’re no longer associated.”

“And, um, the last one?” I ran a hand over my sweat-slick neck.

“Yeah, the leader ... He, um, kept the boy of the family. Handsome, according to her.” He nodded towards the huddled girl. “High-schooler. Got a cockhead-tat.” Both of us winced. “And, um, fitted with a glossy pink cockring and collar. So, uh, there’s that.”

All I could do was sigh. Nothing much shocked me anymore. And with a slow nod, I inspected the site one last time before nodding for the exit. After squeezing my bulk back out into the heated shade, I gazed towards a row of distant mountains.

“Headed north-northwest. Won’t be on foot long, though,” Doug said while dragging his gloved fingers through silver-gray hair. “Whatcha thinking, Jim?”

“Matches what I’ve heard. Other sectors are seeing similar splitters.” After clearing my throat of the ever-present dust, I spat into the dirt. “Somebody’s trying to build a new clan. It’s not in bloodsucker territory, so they don’t care.” With a heavy breath, I gestured to the cave mouth. “In fact, they’re winners. The bottom-feeders are leaving to find a better place to ... Well, do what they do.”