Page 122 of Specter Bred

The surrounding woods had gone quiet.

"I pulled one of the wounded out myself. He was bad off. Couldn’t walk. So I threw him over my shoulder and carried him all the way back to the border."

I adjusted the straps of my pack.

"It was a long haul. Rough terrain, rain, and mud up to my knees. Plus there was fucking blood everywhere. By the time I crossed back over, I was covered in so much shit I barely looked human."

Hayes winced.

Archer stayed quiet.

"One of the patrolmen at the border spotted me coming through the treeline. Big shape moving in the dark, covered in mud and blood with something slung over its back."

I paused for dramatic effect.

"Thought I was a grizzly bear, so he fired a warning shot."

That made Hayes burst out laughing.

Even Maeve’s mouth twitched. “That’s ridiculous.”

“The idiot realized it was me halfway through the magazine, dropped his rifle, and started apologizing.”

Hayes barked out another laugh.

“Didn’t matter. The rest of his patrol had already watched him unload on me thinking I was a fucking grizzly. By the time we got back to base, they were all calling me Grizzly.”

“And you let them?” Maeve asked.

“Didn’t have much choice. My unit heard the story, started calling me Grizzly too, and after that the damn name just stuck.” I shook my head. “Asshole still apologizes every time he sees me.”

“I would too,” Hayes said. “Nothing says career-ending mistake like accidentally shooting at your superior officer.”

Maeve snorted, and I couldn’t exactly argue with that.

The conversation faded naturally after that as we continued deeper into the forest, the easy banter giving way to the steady rhythm of boots against dirt and leaves. A few minutes later, a shape appeared through the trees ahead, pulling my attention back to the reason we were out here in the first place.

Tall and narrow, the silhouette of an old watchtower came into view barely visible against the dark sky.

Maeve spotted it first.

"Is that it where we’re making camp?"

I nodded.

Hayes squinted into the distance.

"Where?"

Maeve glanced at him.

"You seriously can’t see that?"

He leaned forward as if that would somehow help.

"Nope."

I huffed.