Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Hikers often chose to backpack the Appalachian Trail. Although it was shorter than the Pacific Crest Trail by several hundred miles, it took longer due to the difficulty. Often tourists discounted the mountains because they were smaller than many others. What they didn’t realize was that people disappeared often. The mountains were easy to get lost in due to the dense foliage, fog and unexpected weather. Going off the trail even for a short distance could turn someone around and they’d be lost.
He was certain he was getting close to the intruders and Warrior Woman, within a mile, but he was in dense forest. It was impossible to see ahead without going up into the trees. He ran unerringly to the nearest tree that gave him the best vantage point. He climbed the tall trunk with the ease of long practice and perched near the top. He had jogged more than halfway up the mountain, and by the look of the tracks he was catching up, but he still had a ways to go. He wanted to get a visual if he could. He put the scope from his rifle to his eye and did a slow sweep of the mountain.
It didn’t take long to spot the small group. They’d stopped in a clearing just north of a steep gorge.
The five men had formed a loose semicircle, standing around Leila as she lay on the ground. He turned the scope on each of them as they spoke.
“She’s dying,” one with massive shoulders and arms stated. “Why bother taking her with us the rest of the way. What’s the use of putting up with the bitch making it hard for us?”
Diego’s gut tightened as the man toed Leila’s leg. The temptation to take the man out was nearly overwhelming. He couldn’t get them all, not from the position he was in. Another man, a blond, said something, and he switched the scope to magnify his mouth so he could read his lips.
“I say we put a bullet in her and let’s be done with it,” the blond said.
“Been a long time without a woman,” the first man said. “Might as well take advantage of the situation before she croaks on us.”
The blond burst out laughing. “Jeez, Harold, she’s nearly dead.”
“That just makes it easier.” Harold smirked.
None of the other men raised an objection. If anything, they shifted closer in the circle surrounding Leila.
Instantly Diego moved. He wasn’t going to physically catch up with them in time to stop them from assaulting Leila. It didn’t matter that the woman was shot all to hell and in obvious pain. The five men were abandoning all attempts to save her life and were in agreement about assaulting her. It mattered little to him whether they would participate or not; they weren’t stopping Harold.
He needed to get into position fast to take all of them out. He didn’t bother to climb down the tree but instead ran along the most stable branch to leap into the tree next to the one he’d been in. He knew exactly where he had to be, and he got there in under a minute. Part was knowledge, part instincts, but when he was in hunting mode, he could run the branches of a tree with the ease of a cat, leap to the next one, landing in perfect balance, still running without pause. All the while he knew the exact angle he needed for any shot.
His speed at setting up his rifle was legendary. He didn’t waste time looking to see what any of the men said; it was too late for them. They were still in that same loose semicircle around the fallen woman. No one had made a move to help her or push the disgusting Harold away from her. Diego could see blood on her abdomen, a lot of it. Way more than any minor wound could produce.
Again, he didn’t waste time worrying. He pushed his fear for her out of his head and practiced each shot in his mind, one after another, easily switching targets until he could find them in his sleep. That took under a minute. His mind calculated and built a pattern as if programming a computer.
Harold pulled out his gun and gestured toward the woman to the others. Diego shot him and then the blond. He got off two more rounds before the bodies began to drop. All four shots sounded nearly simultaneous. The fifth man was the farthest from his warrior woman, and when the four bodies crumpled, he started to lift his gun toward Leila. The fifth shot took him before the gun was even aimed at her.
Diego slung his rifle around his neck and kept to the trees, using them as an arboreal highway. When he ran out of strong branches, he hit the ground running. He could go for miles thanks to his enhancements. Instinctively he leapt over rotted logs and termite hills. He went up the mountain with long strides, covering the mile quickly. Once he encountered a thin stream bubbling over rocks with a herd of deer drinking. Startled, the animals scattered, but he was gone before they could decide which way to run.