“My God…” Jay and the others stared at the figure climbing out from beneath the cabin floor, unable to hide their shock.
Even Elena, normally the calmest among them, dropped the water bottle in her hand.
The stranger stood barely five-foot-three and wore a filthy plaid shirt over his thin body, but his horribly deformed appearance made everyone instinctively recoil.
Only a few uneven patches of hair remained on his misshapen head, while his face was covered in deep, dried wrinkles that made him look far older than he probably was.
His nose had been reduced to little more than two openings, and his wide mouth revealed scattered, unnaturally sharp teeth.
Worst of all were his cloudy eyes, which carried the predatory viciousness of a wild animal rather than anything resembling normal human emotion.
Jay swallowed hard when those eyes settled on him.
The man smelled of blood, sweat, and something rotten enough to make his stomach turn, while the dripping knife in his hand made the situation impossible to misunderstand.
“Hey… sorry, man.
We didn’t know anyone was here.” “Heh… heh… heh…” The deformed man tilted his head and slowly examined them one by one.
A high, disturbing laugh escaped his throat, and the expression on his ruined face made it seem as though he wasn’t looking at unexpected visitors but at livestock that had conveniently walked into his home.
Orion’s expression remained unchanged, but his right hand had already moved closer to his pistol.
Without warning, the deformed man lunged.
The bloodstained knife flashed toward Jay’s throat with startling speed.
Despite his small frame, the attacker moved with strength and explosiveness far beyond an ordinary person, and Jay was already so unnerved by his appearance that his mind went blank.
He remained frozen as the blade descended.
Bang!
Bang!
Two gunshots exploded inside the cabin.
The strange man jerked violently as blood burst from his chest and forehead.
His knife slipped from his fingers and clattered across the wooden floor before his body collapsed backward beside the open trapdoor.
“Ah!” Blood splashed across Jay’s face, snapping him out of his shock.
His knees buckled and he dropped heavily to the floor, one hand immediately rising to his neck.
The knife had grazed him before the gunshots landed, leaving a shallow bleeding line across his skin.
Jay had technically served in the military, but his time in the Army National Guard had involved little beyond basic training and routine service.
He had never experienced anything remotely like this.
After several panicked breaths, he looked toward Orion with obvious gratitude.
“Orion… you just saved my life.” Orion barely acknowledged him.
Instead, he walked toward the body with a frown.
The Black Book remained silent inside his mind, and the Normal Energy counter had not changed at all.
That shouldn’t have been possible if the thing lying at his feet was an ordinary human being.
“Still alive?” Orion stared at the two wounds.
Either one should have been fatal, especially the shot to the head, yet the Black Book had given him nothing.
For the first time, he seriously wondered whether the creature in front of him had somehow crossed the boundary separating a deformed human from something else entirely.
Before Orion could test that theory, heavy footsteps suddenly thundered from beneath the floor.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
A much larger figure forced its way through the open trapdoor.
The second cannibal stood close to six-foot-six and possessed an enormous, thickly muscled frame that made even Orion look less imposing by comparison.
His face was just as deformed as the first man’s, although the dull expression in his eyes made him appear more brutish than cunning.
“You guys get outside,” Orion said without turning around.
Nobody argued.
The huge cannibal spotted his motionless companion and released an enraged roar.
Gripping a long-handled axe in both hands, he raised it overhead and brought it crashing toward Orion.
Orion shifted one step aside.
Boom!
The axe missed him and smashed through the heavy wooden table behind him, splitting the thick boards and throwing splinters across the cabin.
Before the cannibal could recover, Orion’s pistol barked several times, bullets striking his arms and legs and forcing his grip to loosen.
The axe dropped to the floor.
Yet the giant remained standing.
With another furious roar, he charged Orion with both arms spread wide, apparently intending to seize him through sheer strength.
Orion didn’t retreat.
Instead, he planted his feet and drove a brutal uppercut into the cannibal’s jaw.
Bang!
The impact lifted the enormous man completely off his feet.
His lower jaw shattered under the blow, sending blood, broken teeth, and saliva spraying from his mouth as his massive body crashed onto the floor several feet away.
His eyes rolled upward, and despite his abnormal durability, consciousness immediately left him.
Orion didn’t finish him.
Instead, he looked toward the chain hanging above the bloodstained table and pulled it down along with several of the attached hooks and blades.
After stripping away the weapons, he wrapped the heavy chain repeatedly around the unconscious cannibal’s arms, legs, and torso until the giant resembled something closer to a tightly bound package than a human being.
Orion intended to take him alive.
Whatever these men were, their bodies were clearly abnormal.
America had no shortage of biomedical companies, government laboratories, and private research organizations interested in unusual genetic conditions, and Orion suspected a living specimen like this might be worth considerable money to the right institution.
The thought made him shake his head with a faint, self-mocking smile.
“Great.
First day out of therapy and I’m already thinking like a bounty hunter.” He tightened the chain and then snapped the weakened end free with raw strength.
Rust and dust fell from his hands as he turned around, only to discover that Jay hadn’t actually fled with the others.
Instead, the younger man stood near the doorway gripping his baseball bat with both hands, clearly terrified but still prepared to help if Orion needed him.
That small act improved Orion’s opinion of him considerably.
Once Elena, Jenny, and Rosen realized the fight was over, they cautiously returned from where they had retreated outside.
Their eyes immediately moved between the dead-looking cannibal on the floor, the enormous chained giant, and Orion standing casually between them.
“Orion, you’re officially my hero,” Jenny said breathlessly.
Her cheeks were flushed, and the admiration in her eyes had intensified to an almost embarrassing degree.
After seeing Orion knock a man larger than himself across the cabin with one punch, she seemed far more fascinated than frightened.
“Hm?” Orion suddenly turned toward the open trapdoor.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Jay raised his baseball bat again.
“There’s another one?” “Wait.” Elena tilted her head and listened carefully.
“Do you hear that?” A weak sound drifted upward from somewhere beneath the cabin.
“Help…” Elena’s face changed.
“Someone’s calling for help.” Orion had already heard it.
His enhanced senses picked out a woman’s faint voice beneath the creaking wood and lingering smell of decay.
He holstered his pistol, drew the combat knife from his belt, and moved toward the stairs leading underground.
Jay and the others clearly didn’t want to follow.
However, one glance at the deformed cannibal lying near the trapdoor and the huge chained brute on the floor convinced them that remaining alone inside the cabin might be an even worse idea.
Jay tightened his grip on the baseball bat while Elena reluctantly picked up one of the dirty knives from the floor.
Together, they followed Orion downstairs.
The deeper they descended, the stronger the stench became.
Blood, rotting meat, damp wood, and human waste mixed into an almost unbearable odor that forced Jenny and Rosen to cover their noses.
Then the weak voice came again, much clearer than before.
“Help!
Is somebody there?
Please… help me!” Orion reached the bottom first.
The others came down behind him.
“My God…” Jay stopped dead.
Whatever jokes and nervous bravado had carried the group this far disappeared instantly when they saw what filled the basement.
Even Orion Locke, a man who had spent twelve years surrounded by violence and death, slowly narrowed his eyes.
(End of Chapter) [Support Goal: 10 Reviews → +1 Chapter] Your review helps the story grow.