With thanks to Sky, as always ...
Chloe placed Liz's CTU ID on the table and waited. Rosie went to lay her hand on it but she drew back sharply, as if burned. Cautiously she placed her hand over it and Chloe noticed the care she took so as not to touch it. She felt a frisson of fear run down her spine at Rosie's obvious alarm.
Rosita looked at Chloe and said softly, "I see an evil here. It is an ancient malevolence borne on the backs of generations of the same family. This one is the last of her line and she mates with every male she can ensnare in an effort to beget an heir. She doesn't realise it, but she's been drawn back to the mountains for her offering."
Leaning forward with interest, Chloe asked, "For her offering?"
Nodding, Rosie continued, "Her ancestor did a terrible wrong to many families in this location. As the last of her line she has been summoned back to pay penance. She is carrying the seed to a new line and it will ensure neither survives."
"So she's pregnant?"
"Yes, it is a male child. I can already feel his spirit, he is a strong one...powerful."
Tapping the photo she had shown Rosie earlier, Chloe asked, "Chase and Jack are there trying to stop her ... so this force, it will help them?"
"No, it wants vengeance for itself. If they get in the way it will destroy them too."
...
Blake and Charlie knelt in the snow as they packed the mini-cam back into the backpack and sipped from their water bottles. Charlie began humming the tune from a sock commercial they had shot last month while Blake ran excuses through his mind, trying to find one that Red would accept. He wasn't looking forward to returning to face his wrath. Red was always stressing the importance of personal safety and Blake had to admit this was one of their more fool-hardy pranks.
Christ, just looking at Chase should have been warning enough and he had been trained at all that escape and evasion stuff. Blake tried to imagine what it would be like to be at the mercy of a dominatrix. To be tied up and used sexually by an experienced woman... could it really be that bad? It seemed more like a fantasy than a nightmare.
With a grunt, Charlie fell over and lay still in the snow, his eyes unblinking, staring up at him. Laughing, Blake said, "Come on, quit fooling around, we need to leave or sexy Lizzie might find us."
Blake didn't feel the stab of the dart into his thigh, nor the toxin pump through his system. All he felt was the cold against his skin as he fell face forward into the snow and then the warmth at his groin as the fear made his bladder release. But then... nothing.
Liz looked down at them with their expensive snow shoes and all the right snow gear, the camera sticking out of the pack. "Tourists!," she cursed. You couldn't even find a quiet bit of the wilderness for a touch of murder and torture anymore, what was this country coming to?
Well, she could provide excellent accommodation for these tourists. Accommodation with all the extra trimmings. Everyone liked staying in a B&B, Bed & Breakfast... Bondage & B..? she tried to think of another B word. Bestiality!, she laughed at the thought of Chase and the rats, she wondered if that's how he'd survived in the cellar, by eating the rats.
Loading the tourists onto her sled, she looked at their young faces and sprawling limbs. B&B, Bum Boys! "Come with me," she laughed. "I have some toys which might tickle your fancy... and your prostate."
...
The sled made good time over the lake but Chase felt certain they would be too late to help the boys. He knew Liz would have perimeter security set up and probably booby traps as well. She had spent a great deal of time with her father and his militia and she would have well honed survival skills.
He listened as Red called out to the dogs, sending them eagerly onward as they left the smooth ride of the ice and returned to run over the snowy ground. Red was an interesting man all right; intelligent and decisive, a natural leader, he was very similar to Jack, just more laid back. He was also an excellent medic. Flexing his fingers inside the mittens, Chase was amazed at their pain-free movement. Red had applied fresh teabags to his eyes this morning; they were still painful but he had assured him that another day of rest and they should be right.
The sled pulled to a stop and Chase felt Red's hand on his shoulder. Whispering, he said, "Their tracks lead into a stand of spruce. Stay here, I'll just scout ahead."
"Fine," Chase found himself whispering back.
He swung his legs over the side of the sled and stood, keen for movement. Pulling off the mittens, he placed a finger on his wrist, counting the beats of his heart. Without a watch it was the most accurate measure of time.
After ten minutes of anxious waiting, he knew Red wouldn't be returning and he began to unwrap the bandages from his eyes, hopeful of being able to see something... anything... rather than this unrelenting black void...
...
Captain Scott paced the main tent, waiting while his men searched what appeared to be the toilet shelter and the supply tent. Looking around this tent it was difficult to tell how many people were camped here. There were three cots but four sleeping bags and once again he was reminded of Goldilocks and the three bears. There was no porridge pot this time, but soup had been heated, and recently too, the pot still warm.
Moving outside, he strapped on his snowshoes and prepared to follow the tracks of the dogsled as it headed out over the lake. Pausing, he unzipped his jacket and removed his neck warmer. Despite the low cloud cover and the lack of sunshine, the temperature had warmed significantly. The steady drip drip of the snow melting off the trees had now become a constant trickle.
Following the tracks out over the ice, the men spread out, the black surface slippery underfoot from the snow melt.
...
"... and so if we just get Chase and Jack out of there, then these forces will take care of Liz and this will be at an end."
"But she's pregnant... did Rosie say who the father is?"
"No, she didn't know. But she cautioned she can already feel the baby's power."
"Damnit Chloe, it might be Chase's child, we don't know... and babies aren't born evil... look, if we get Liz it would be months before she came up for trial. She can have the baby, then if it's Chase's he and Kim can raise it. You know how Chase feels about kids, he won't hesitate. They've just lost a baby and this one can replace it."
"Get real Tony!" snapped Chloe. "How the hell can you expect Kim to raise this baby? She almost dumped Chase because of Angela and Angie was born before they even started seeing each other. Now they're married and you think she'll accept Liz's child?... No, it's best if we don't say anything to anybody... and especially not to Chase."
...
The clouds finally parted and bathed the lake in glorious sunshine as the ice continued to grind and contract, groaning like an animal caught in pain. The rising temperature caused the suddenly brittle ice to ripple and fracture with a violent crack which echoed off the surrounding bluffs.
"Run!" the Captain yelled as he fell onto the unyeilding surface. But it was far too late for the stricken soldiers. With an explosive force, the ice imploded from below, the shards lifting upwards, glittering and spinning in a kaleidoscope of rainbows.
The Captain lay disbelieving as he watched his men drop into the black water to vanish instantly. The ice heaved and shrieked as if alive and he slithered backward, away from the frozen depths. When the withered arm snaked out to hold him fast he sobbed in terror. Twisting and clawing at the ice, his attempt at escape was futile and he was dragged into the frigid water.
Looking up at the brilliant blue of the sky he realised that distant throbbing wasn't the heart beat of the beast within the lake, but the sound of approaching helicopters.
Pulling his knife, he made to stab at the hold around his ankle but it was too late. Pulled under, he screamed in torment as the strands of long blonde hair encircled his face and he was pulled down... down into the darkness below.