Chapter 31
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Oz, Jim, and Blair piled into their vehicle while Rangers Sydney and Paco got into theirs. It took them forty minutes to get to the trails off Carven Road. They showed up just as the Cherokee arrived. When Ranger Sydney got out of the car she asked Jim what was going on.
"This is our search party." Oz answered. "They know how to move through the forest while disturbing very little and being very quiet."
"Why quiet? Shouldn't we be calling for Walkers kids to let them know we're coming so they can call back and lead us to them?"
"Still thinking like a rookie Paco." Sydney replied. "These kids aren't lost they're in the hands kidnappers who wouldn't let them respond and they might kill them if they know we're coming."
"Damn, sorry I wasn't thinking, my mind is still on Ranger Trivette. I still see his body ever time I blink. He was the one who showed me the ropes when I first joined the Rangers."
"I know Paco and don't worry we'll do him proud." Sydney replied.
George and Bob broke away from the group of young Cherokee to approach them.
"Rangers, Blair, Jim, Oz." Bob said in greeting. "Oz has said two of our children have been taken by terrorists."
"Your children?" Jim asked.
"Cordell Walker is part of out tribe. His uncle Ray Firewalker raised him when Ray's brother and his wife were killed. His children are our children. We've done our share in raising them so far." George announced.
"Were you able to get their sent? If not we have brought some of their things that are sure to have it." Bob announced.
"That could be helpful but we have the sent of the kidnappers. Their sent will be stronger in this area because they've been here longer. It should be able to lead us right to them." Blair replied.
"What are you guys talking about? Is there a K-9 unit coming." Paco asked.
"No, and we may not have time to wait for one to arrive but as I've told you before, the genetics of my family have given me an acute sense of smell similar to dogs." Oz replied.
"There's no way you could possibly have a better sense of smell than a dog. Their noses have more receptors in them than humans." Sydney retorted
"But a human is much smarter than a dog. A human can make more sense of the smells it senses from the surrounding area." Blair replied.
"A dog can get so focused on one scent that it could ignore the scent of explosives that could be set up around the area. But we wouldn't." Jim announced.
"Damn, that could be a real possibility with these guys." Paco speculated.
"Wait a minute are you saying you have a better scene of smell as well, detective?" Sydney asked.
"Maybe not as good as Oz but I've done my share of sniffing around." Jim replied.
Just then one of the Cherokee walked over.
"Are we ready to get this show on the road Bob?"
Bob looked to the others.
"Defiantly, let's get moving." Sydney said. "We'll ride up in the SUV. Besides the regular Ranger equipment there's also blankets for the kids and bottled water for everybody. I don't know how long this will take but we should stay hydrated."
"Good thinking." Jim said. "We should stop at every turn or fork in the road so we can check for signs."
"Actually we should split up." Oz said. "There isn't enough room for everyone in the SUV and there'll be even less when we rescue the kids. The Cherokee and I will find our way through the woods while you guys take the trails."
"Are you sure man? It could be quite a trek." Blair asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm sure." He said giving him a significant look. "Actually we may even beat you guys up there."
"Doubtful but whoever does, wait for the rest of us." Sydney reluctantly agreed. "and you should have a Ranger with you. Paco, why don't you go with them?"
"Pardon me Ranger Cooke," George interrupted. "But I believe you would be the better choice to travel with us. No offence to the younger Ranger but you and the Cherokee have worked together well in the past and we will need to use that to our advantage when we come upon these criminals."
"Alright, Paco you drive, I'll go on foot with the rest of them. Keep in radio contact."
"Not a good idea Ranger." Jim announced. "They're sure to be listening to your frequency. We should use the cell phones."
"Good idea. I should have thought of that." She said.
"You have a lot on your mind. Stay calm and we'll get through this. We'll get them back, I promise." Blair said trying to calm her.
"It's not just finding them; these guys have to be brought to justice for what they did to Ranger Trivette." Sydney announced.
"We've done the terrorist hunt before. There may be no other way but to take them down in the end. Is that going to be a problem?" Jim asked.
"No, I'll take full responsibility if that should happen." Sydney replied. "Every second we stand here those kids are in more danger. Let's move out."
It didn't take long to find that the road with all it's deep ruts just might be the long way to get to where they needed to go. Even at walking speed their heads were almost hitting the roof with every bounce. Then at every intersecting road Jim needed to get out, to use his senses to find the right path catching any dominant scent of ether of the kids or kidnappers. Jim noticed that these terrorist used many survival techniques to cover their tracks and their scent from the search dogs. It was making it hard for even him to track them. Meanwhile Oz, Sydney and the Cherokee were making good time trekking through the forest but even Oz realized the Patriot gang was using tactics to confuse the hounds a search party might use.
"How long have you suspected the gang has been using these woods?"
"We think maybe two years only because they know the terrain so well. We've tried high and low Tec to find them. When we used choppers we found that they had antiaircraft munitions so coming at them from the air wasn't an option and the dogs would run around in circles in confusion. We just haven't been able to find them to take them down."
"That's because there using other scents of the forest to cover themselves. Like the sent sacks of the local dear and muskrats to throw them off as well as earthy materials. I think some of it might be pine tar. Even I'm finding in difficult to process."
"Do you mean you can't do it? Maybe I should have waited for the rest of the Rangers."
"No. I can work through the deceptions it'll just take a bit longer. If the other Rangers came through here it would only make it even harder to sniff them out. But I think we might be getting close. They're laying it on really thick now."
Half an hour later Jim moved away from the SUV to privately call Oz.
"These guys are screwing with us. The scents are too confusing and I think they may be designed to lead us in the wrong direction. Whoever they got working on misleading the dogs is really good." Jim said.
"I agree the only thing we may have working in our favor is the Morrog demon. I think I still can follow it's scent?" Oz replied
"I wasn't able to pick up any demon scent even when we were at the Plaque's SUV." Jim explained
"I think that might be because the Morrog demon scent is almost completely mystical. The only reason I picked it up was because of the nature of the wolf."
"I understand." Jim replied. "How close do you think the gang would have made camp next to the thing?"
"Morrog demons are docile as long as they're fed. If they are feeding it, it could be living among them, maybe even helping them."
"Crap, you mean this thing might be intelligent?" Jim asked
"To an extent, yeah." Oz confirmed. "The only problem is that to follow it we're going to have to talk with our half of the Rangers."
"Why?" Jim asked.
"I need to increase my olfactory senses by a few million receptors." Oz replied.
"In other words, you need to transform. A muzzle would be better than a nose. Are you sure Sydney can handle it."
"Yeah, one of the Cherokee said that's one of the reasons they ask her to come with us instead of Paco. She can be more open to this sort of thing."
"I hope their right. Good luck and lead us in."
"Use the phone's GPS to follow us." Oz suggested.
"Good Idea. We'll do that."
As they broke the connection Bob moved to stand in front of Sydney.
"Ranger Cooke, I need a word with you please."
"Sure, what is it? Is there something wrong?" She asked worriedly as they continued moving where ever Oz was leading them.
"No, I'm here to ask if you can recall one of our honored legends, do you remember the legend of the moon wolf?"
"Um…yeah I think so, is that the one with the wolf's undying love for its mate that when she died it howled every night of the full moon."
"No thats a child's bedtime story, not the legend I hoped you'd recall."
"Then is it the one with the shape shifter? Why are you asking me about this now? We're in the middle of a very serious kidnapping. Walker's children are in danger." She said as they kept walking.
"Of this, there is no doubt, and I wouldn't mention it if there wasn't a relevant reason for it. Please try to recall the legend."
"Um, alright," Sydney sighed in frustration. "There were two young braves, brothers in every way but blood. They were on a month long hunt deep in the mountains. One night when the moon was full and clear they were attacked by a huge furious beast. They were both bitten during the attack and were only able to ward off the beast but not kill it even though they were both sure they had hit the creature with kill shots. When they returned to their tribe they told the tale of the beast. Only one of the elders knew of such a beast. He had told them that if they had been bitten then they too would become beasts. The tribe was wary of the two braves from then on. And cast them away from the rest of their people for two moons. If they came back as human they would welcome them back. Then one night when the moon was full once more they both became beast and hunted prey all night. The next morning they realized what happened. One of the braves saw it as a curse and ran back to the mountains to hunt and kill the beast that made him this way. The other saw it as a gift from the Great Spirit and sat among the quiet of the prairie to ground himself in nature. Centering himself he connected with the Great Spirit and he was taught control of the beast. Once the brave returned to the tribe and told them of his visions with the Great Spirit he told them he was blessed to help the tribe as a hunter and protector. His revelation was backed by the elder who had also been given a vision by the Great Spirit of the young braves help. And he was a great help to the tribe ever since. But one day the other brave came back and wanted to return to the tribe but he didn't have control over his beast and would not be let back in until he did. The brave with control offered to help his friend gain his own control but the other brave still saw it as a curse and didn't believe he could control it. He reluctantly agreed to try but it was only a ruse. The bad brave had been jealous of the respect the other received from the tribe so once they were alone he tried to kill the good brave with a stone knife. With a fatal wound the good brave transformed without the full moon enabling him to heal. The bad brave continued to attack but the control the good brave had enabled him to fight like a human brave with the strength of the beast. The bad brave ran off only to be killed years later by the elder with a silver tipped spear. This is how the legend of the werewolf and the moon wolf were born into the Native American culture."
"Yes, there is much more to it, but that is very close. Anyway the reason I'm asking you to recall this legend is that one of the duties the moon wolf is to hunt and find elusive things. Oz has been a great help in getting us this far don't you agree?"
"Yeah I guess. If were truly getting close."
"Yes we are but I feel we need to call upon the moon wolf to help us with our search."
Sydney was bewildered. "What exactly are you asking? Are you going to call a wolf? I could have had K-9 units here a long time ago."
"No the moon wolf is close and his nose is better than a dogs."
"Again, what do we have to do? Say a prayer or give an offering?"
"No, we are blessed to have a moon wolf with us today. His abilities are good but he needs our confidence in him to help find the children."
"Fine, if you think this moon wolf can help then call him."
"When I say confidence I mean that in every sense of the word. He will need our support now and our silences later. No one can know of him. His abilities will stay out of your reports."
"If it gets the kids back I'll have his children but let's hurry this up. We'll be loosing light soon."
"I will need your gun."
"What! If you fire a gun now the terrorists will know we're coming if they don't already."
"I need your gun only as a precaution. What your about to see may frighten you to act without thinking. I will only hold it as long as it takes for you to see that you are in no danger."
Sydney looked into Robert's eyes with a wrinkled brow. Two seconds later she pulled out her gun and gave it to him.
Bob nodded and called Oz over. "It is time."
Oz came over to them and said. "I'll need someone to take care of my clothes. As he began untying his boots."
Bob called George over and told him to do so. George readily agreed.
As Oz began stripping off clothing and putting it into George's leather sling bag Sydney worriedly shifted her eyes to Bob at her side.
"What the hell is he doing? You know when I said I'd have someone's children was just a metaphor right?"
Bob chuckled at that.
"Will you need a loin cloth, Daniel?" George asked.
"No, I've used them at ceremonies but in this context it would only get in the way. Besides I've done this so many times I've become okay with my nakedness as long as I've got cloths to change into afterwards."
"I'm sorry, how is being a nudist going to help anything?" Sidney asked appalled.
Once the last of Oz's clothing were shoved in the bag he unwrapped a charm from his wrist and put that in the bag as well. He then hunched over and began to transform.
Sidney watched Oz's white freckled back become hairy. No, furry. Copious amounts of fur seemed to be sprouting from Oz's entire body and his face became elongated and many large sharp teeth began to grow within his muzzle. When the transformation was done Oz looked not like a werewolf but like a large wolf. Sydney thought it to be a gray wolf at first but realized that it was much too big and powerful looking. This could only be a dire wolf. But they were supposed to be extinct weren't they? Oz's looked at Sydney. He kept eye contact with her as he stood there and yawned showing all his sharp teeth. The movement startled Sydney from her mesmerized stare. She automatically reached for her gun which wasn't there. Oz's eyes went to her empty holster and cocked his head to the side. Sydney looked to it as well and then back into Oz's eyes. The look that crossed her face was one that said she was coming to terms with something. In the end she sighed as her shoulders slumped as she said.
"Okay then, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Find those kids Oz." she said.
Oz sneezed and then sniffed the air once more and took off in the direction he now knew the demon was at, as the rest of the Cherokee chuckled. Sidney gave an embarrassed smirk towards Bob as he gave her, her gun back. She wasn't going to question it just as she knew she would never be putting this part of the search into her report. She might get fired if she did or worse, a mental institution. Who would believe it without proof? The search was now picking up speed. Jim and Blair were close behind. Oz began narrowing down the demons location. He began sensing the terrorist as well as the kids. Paco followed the directions by cell phone and Jim began to smell it too. They were close.
The Cherokee loaded there bows. Sidney looked to bob and asked. "Do you really think an arrow is any match against automatic weapons? We are not to engage unless we see that the kids are in danger. When we find their base we are to assess the situation and guide the rest of the Rangers to our location. Only if we see that the kids are in danger will we take action."
"We trust a well placed arrow over a spray of bullets any day, Ranger Cooke. And the Cherokee are not here for the terrorist. While we will do everything we can to rescue the children unharmed nether are our primary concern."
Then what is your primary concern? She asked.
"You heard one of the Plaque brother say they were feeding a creature somewhere around here?"
"Yeah, they were threatening us with the children's lives to scare us." She replied.
"Oz believes there is a very real threat, that of a very dangerous demon." Bob announced.
"When you say demon you mean a deranged killer or wild animal, right?"
"No, when we say demon we mean just that, a beast from hell. It is little known that the Cherokee are sworn demon hunters. It is an honor bestowed upon us by the Great Spirit that we take very seriously."
Sydney was about to argue about the existence of demons but she had just met a Moon Wolf.
As George walked past Sydney and Bob Oz's phone rang. He dug into the bag and brought out the phone. He looked at the caller I.d. and then at Sydney and Bob. "It's Jim. Do one of you what to take this."
"I'll take it." Sydney said. She opened the phone and said. "Jim this is Ranger Cooke, Oz can't come to the phone right now. What have you got?"
"We just drove past a concealed road we believe to be the way to their camp. We're going to drive farther away from it and then sneak back on foot."
"Alright be careful and stay in contact."
/Scene Break/
The general was field striping his weapon blindfolded when one of his lackeys walked in.
"Sir, a Ranger vehicle just drove past the main gate."
Not stopping what he was doing nor taking the blindfold off the general spoke. "So what, their still looking for us, big deal we've always been one step ahead of them. They won't find us. Even if they get close they'll be dead and we'll be gone."
"Sir, wouldn't it be better to just kill them now to send a message to the rest of the Rangers to stay away."
"We already killed one Ranger today. We kill anymore this place will be swarming with activity again. The last time we lost several good men. And used up a good amount of our supplies just to stay ahead of them. So now they send a lone vehicle to patrol the forest big deal. Just keep an eye on it. If it gets close, you know what to do. Where are Todd and Wyatt?"
"They haven't checked in yet."
"They better get back soon. The creature is getting peckish and they have that dead Ranger in the back of their SUV. It would be a shame to let all that meat go to waste. If they don't get here soon we may have to use those kids the Ranger was guarding. Did you find out who they are yet?"
"No sir. The one is two young to talk while the girl is too stubborn. Plus she knows some of that marshal arts crap and has been kicking some of the men's shins black and blue."
"Well then kick her back. As a matter of fact, tell her that if she kicks anyone of my men anymore we'll start cutting off toes and they won't be her own. She'll be the one responsible for her little brother hobbling around the rest of his life."
"A dark smile broke out on the face of the general's man. Yes sir."
"Dismissed!"
"Yes sir." His man said and left the building to head for the prisoner's cell.
/Scene Break/
The sensitive hearing of a wolf meant that Oz heard men's voices up ahead before any of his half of the search party did. He took off at full speed leaving everyone else in the dust.
"Crap we'll never be able to keep up with him now. Why the hell did he just take off like that?"
"I believe he may have heard something and this was the wolf equivalent of saying 'stay here while I scout ahead and check things out.'" Bob said. "Oz has the advantage of looking like he belongs here, but we stick out like a horse amongst the deer."
Just then Oz's phone vibrated and Sydney answered. "Yeah Jim what's going on?"
"We're on the high ground overlooking the camp. It seems to be an old run down mining town. There are eight building and the area is covered in camouflage netting. It's no wonder the helicopters couldn't find them."
"Okay, your facing the camp where are you in relation to the sun."
"The sun is at two o'clock."
"We believe Oz has found the camp as well. He is up ahead of us and if that's where the camp is I can tell you where we're at the sun is at seven o'clock so we're facing each other from opposite sides of the camp. We have them surrounded."
"Good, can you call in the rest of the Rangers and guide them to our position."
"That's my next order of business once we hang up. Can you see how many there are?"
"I've counted twelve so far but there may be others on guard duty amongst the woods."
"Understood, any sign of the children?"
"There's a building close to the mine. It has new chain link fencing over the windows. That would be my guess."
"It could be the weapons storage."
"No, that's on our side of the camp surrounded by sandbags. Someone will need to take that out somehow."
"Right, we'll handle that when the rest of the Rangers get here. Call me back if there are any developments."
"We'll do that." Jim replied and hung up.
Just then Sydney heard Oz galloping through the forest back to them. He came to a stop in front of them and began to transform back to his human form. He stood there for a moment catching his breath before relaying the information.
"I found the camp; I was right across from their ammunition storage building when I found it. It's about two hundred yards straight ahead. There are three guards in the woods on this side of the camp; one of them is in a tree stand. I could smell the kids in the building near an old mine."
"That confirms what Jim just said." Sydney replied. "I'm calling in the rest of the Rangers and having them hone in on our phones GPS location."
"What of the demon Oz?" Bob asked
"I could smell it. It was close. I believe it's in the mine."
"That must be what it calls home." George replied.
"I'm going to go back and recon the building with the kids in it." Oz announced. "Maybe take out some of the guards if I can catch them alone."
"No Oz, you should stay here and wait for backup." Sydney warned.
"Someone needs to be close to the kids to make sure they survive the rescue. No offence but that will be the first place the terrorist will head when things go south for them and we start storming the camp. The building has a crawl space I can hide under until you're ready to make your move. But I want to be close to the kids to make sure nether the terrorist or the demon gets to them first."
"He's right, they will need his protection when the fighting begins, or they could be dead before we get to them. And it would be worse than death if the Morrog demon gets to them first."
"What do you mean worse? … Wait a minuet. Don't tell me. I don't want to know…alright Oz get there and stay put until our attack starts."
Oz nodded and transformed running off in the direction of the camp.
"Those guarding the perimeter will need to be taken out first." George suggested.
"I agree." Bob announced as he looked to Sydney for conformation.
"They may be on scheduled check-ins. Give the Rangers a chance to catch up before we take any of them out. We don't want to reveal ourselves before we're ready." Sydney replied as she opened her phone to make the call.
Jim kept an eye on the camp. Since his last phone call to Sydney he saw one more man he didn't see before and now there was a wolf sneaking around the edges of the camp. Then it hit him that it must be Oz. he had never seen Oz in his pure wolf form just his wolf man persona.
"I think Oz is making his way to the kids." He informed Blair.
"If he gets caught the idiot will ruin everything." Ranger Paco announced as he looked through his binoculars for Oz.
"When they catch the glare from your binoculars is when things will go south, now put those away." Jim said.
Putting the binoculars away Paco said. "I don't see Mr. Osbourne but I did see a large wolf down there. I don't see how you can make out whose who down there without binoculars. You think the wolf is the critter the Plaque brothers were talking about?"
"No, wolves actually try to stay away from humans except to scavenge food we leave behind and only actively hunt in packs." Blair lied not knowing if what he said was true and hope Paco didn't ether. He didn't want Paco shooting Oz after all.
Oz made his way under the crawl space. He found that he could hear everything that went on inside. But what really concerned him was the smell of the demon coming from the cave as well as the sound of its restlessness. It was hungry and soon it would be looking for food. Oz wasn't going to let it anywhere near the kids. Another concern was the terrorists. He figured it would take everything he had just to battle the demon but if the terrorist got involved he had no idea how he was going to fight a battle on two fronts.
Sydney hung up the phone ad turned to George. "The rangers are already parked next to where we came in. I see a reprimand coming in my future but the fact that we found their camp may have made the difference between a week of traffic cop duty or being demoted to one."
"It's like they say Ranger Cooke. No good deed goes unpunished." Bob said.
"Anyway they're following us by our GPS coordinates and they should be here soon. I've been ordered not to jump the gun and stay put till they get here."
Just then George raised his bow and shot into some bushes. A yelping groan sound made everyone turn towards the bush as a man in camouflage clothing fell to the ground dead.
George looked to Sydney and said. "We may not have a choice but to act. This one was about to shoot you. If he was able to radio the others, then we may have to act now."
"We need to get closer to the camp to see what's going on." She announced.
"We need to take out the other two sentries out on patrol." George replied.
"There are only two that we know of. There may be more than that." Bob added.
"He's right. Let's hope we spot them before they spot us. We'll take them out as we go along. But we need to see what going on." Sydney urged.
With that they moved on.
At that moment Jim, Blair, and Paco were surveying the camp for weaknesses when Paco said he needed to get the map from the car to confirm their GPS coordinates and walked away. Jim had his senses working full tilt. As he kept watch over the comings and goings of the terrorist going from one building to another, doing whatever their duties demanded of them. While he was eavesdropping on some of the conversations down below he heard a weird conversation coming from what he thought of as the radio room. It was weird because he could hear the familiar voice coming from both in front of and behind him.
"This message is for the general. There is a search party in the woods. They have found your camp. There are about fifteen of them in all. There is one female Ranger and she has called in more that will be here soon. I repeat,
This message is for the general. They found your camp and are on their way to you. It's bug out time."
"Thanks Paco, We'll get the message to the general immediately." The radio room responded.
Jim couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nether could Oz who heard it all as he was closer.
"I don't believe it." Jim said in bewilderment.
"What. What's going on Jim." Blair asked.
"Paco sold us out. He's one of them."
"Oh man. This is bad. What are we going to do?"
"Call Sidney, tell her what we just discovered. I'll take care of Paco."
"Right." Blair said as he pulled out his phone.
Jim looked to Oz and motioned for him to stop the messenger if he could. Oz nodded in understanding.
Jim strode to the Ranger SUV as Paco got out and headed toward Jim. Paco walked right up to Jim not knowing what was coming, when all of the sudden Jim gave Paco a right hook to the side of the face that sent Paco falling to the side.
"How could you?" Jim growled.
Sydney felt the phone vibrate and answered it. Blair seemed to be a bit excited as he spoke.
"Aw man Sydney, listen, your man Paco is one of them. He's working for the patriot gang. We just caught him informing the guys in the radio room that we're here and ready to attack."
"What! Are you sure?" Sydney asked.
Jim went to deal with Paco and sent Oz to deal with the messenger." Blair announced. "I just hope he can take him out before he can raise…"
Just then the messenger stepped out of the radio room and began ringing a large bell that was loud enough to alert everyone in the camp that trouble was coming and for the bug out to begin. Oz tried to get there to prevent him from doing so as he jumped on him and bit into his flesh but he had been too late. Oz was now committed to killing the man because he had infected him with his wolf saliva. He hated doing so but there just wasn't any choice. The man was a terrorist and would most likely use his inner wolf as a weapon. Besides it wasn't a matter of Oz killing a human as it was letting the instincts of the wolf in him do the job. In the end Oz justified it as a mercy killing. A note from the dead mans hand with Paco's warning on it blew away with the wind. With the damage done Oz ran as fast as he could back to the kids without anyone seeing him.
Sydney closed the phone and quickly told the others what was going on. They had to move quickly. They had already took out two more sentries and were keeping their eyes peeled for any others as they quickly made their way forward.
Meanwhile Jim watched as Paco slowly made his way to a standing possession. "What the hell was that for Jim?" He asked.
"I heard your transmission to the camp you traitor."
Paco looked bewildered but knew it must be true for Jim to attack a Ranger. The question was how.
"There's no way you could have heard that."
"You friends in the radio room must have left the PA on. I herd every word." Jim lied. "And my partner is calling to warn Sydney and the others. How could you betray the rest of the Rangers like that? How could you do that to those kids?"
"I had no idea that they were Walkers kids. I'm not that close with Cordell and as far as how I could hitch my wagon to the Patriot gangs cause… well like everything else; it's a matter of money and power." He announced before attacking Jim.
However, Jim wasn't as off guard as Paco had hoped as Jim blocked his swing and sent one of his own without resistance. Paco backed up and got into a fighting stance. Jim realized that Paco was part of the Rangers that were trained in some form of marshal arts. But Jim was an army Ranger and knew moves to counter almost anything Paco could throw at him. Thirty seconds into the fight Jim realized that he may be a bit too rusty. The kind of moves Paco was using was designed to be brutal and tiring and Jim hadn't been practicing enough to endure or keep up for long. Jim did the most effective thing he could do in this situation, he pulled out his gun and shot Paco in the hip. Seeing that the other terrorist knew they were close it didn't seem to matter if they heard the shot. Paco screamed as he fell to the ground which effectively stopped his attack.
"Damn it! That's what's wrong with this country. No sense of honor. I could have taken you, you bastard!" Paco yelled.
"Yeah… I know… that's why I shot you, dumb ass." Jim replied as he hand cuffed Paco hands behind his back.
The search party heard the shot and doubled their pace not knowing what was going on. Bob was bringing up the rear flank and because of this he noticed movement up ahead in the trees. A man in camouflage clothes was on a tree stand aiming his weapon at Sidney, the only one with a Ranger badge. With lightning like reflexes Bob took aim with his bow and let the arrow fly. In an unbelievable shot the arrow went through the back of the trigger guard of the other mans weapon slicing through the man's finger and sinking into his arm. The man screamed loudly and backed up falling off the side of the tree stand head first hitting the ground and breaking his neck.
The scream had everyone in the search party aiming in the sentry's position even as he fell to the ground. George was the only one to let another arrow fly. It wasn't even near the tree stand stalker, but several feet to the left through some brush next to some large rocks. Another fading scream announced that another sentry was hit.
Sydney examined the tree stalker and commented to bob that the shot was amazing.
"I practice." He said without gloating.
"As I said, I'd trust a well placed arrow over a spray of bullets any day." George added.
She then walked over to the lump of brush that had fallen over and realize the man was wearing a ghillie suit. An advanced camouflage suit the military uses. "How did you know he was there?" she asked.
"The Rocks and overhead canapé of the trees would not allow enough sunlight through for that type of foliage to grow. It had to be artificial. When this is over do you think I can have the ghillie suit? It would really help when hunting for food." George asked as he was impressed with the suit.
"If everything works out I'll see what I can do. But let's keep our minds on our goal. Those kids are probably terrified. We need to move faster."
/Scene Break/
The General and his second in command walked up to the front of the radio room while two men stood over the body with its throat ripped out.
"Anyone see what happened?"
"No sir, we believe he began ringing the bell to get some help to fight off what ever did this to him."
"He could have just yelled for help before his throat was torn out." The second in command replied. "Are we sure he didn't get a message. He is the radio man after all."
"That would imply the thing that did this was intelligent." The general replied
"We do have that thing that lives in the mine, sir."
"That thing doesn't kill in this manner airman. I want you to take the seadogs and gunny and search the camp to make sure that whatever did this is gone from the area. And see if the sentries know anything about that shot we heard." The General said using nicknames referring to the different branches of the military.
"Rough neck, see if you can find any evidence that our former radioman got any messages from anyone lately."
"Yes sir."
"Sir you got to admit it's too big a coincidence that this happened at the time we find Rangers driving past our driveway."
"Don't be stupid, Rangers wouldn't do anything like this. You come up with another stupid idea like that and I'll find a new second."
"Yes sir" the second replied quickly worried about his position in the gang.
/Scene Break/
The search party came to a hill with dense brush on ether side. As Sydney got to the top she was looking over the edge of a drop off where she noticed that what she thought was dense foliage was actually camouflage nets with some branches and leaves attached to it. It was no wonder the Rangers never found the gang before now. They would have thought this to be a thicket too dense to get through, which would make you think that the gang wouldn't be in the middle of it all. As the drop off was only about seven feet the search party began climbing down it to find themselves in the back of some old buildings.
"That must be the ammo building across the road."
"Which way is the mine?" Sydney asked because she knew that the kids were in the building closest to the mine.
George chanced a quick look around and he pointed to the other end of the road furthest from their position.
"Just great, nothing can ever be easy." Sydney whispered ,aggravated that they were still so far away, and that they would have to sneak past the terrorist to get between them and the kids.
"Be calm Ranger Cooke. Take some comfort in knowing that Oz is already there protecting the children until we can get there." George replied.
/Scene Break/
Roughneck ran into the Generals quarters.
"General Sir, I found the pad the radioman wrote on and the impression left on it from his previous message says the Rangers have found the camp." Roughneck announced.
"Sound the alarm; tell them to get ready for an attack. Brake out the artillery and get someone to bring those kids, some claymores and a dead-mans switch to me."
"Yes sir."
/Scene Break/
Jim and Blair left the ridge they had been keeping watch on. They left Paco securely hog tied to the roll-bar on the inside of the SUV. Jim had little companion as he stuffed the bullet hole in Paco's hip with wadding and taped it there so he wouldn't bleed out. Dirty cops just disgusted him so much that Paco was lucky he left the windows open a crack so he didn't over heat…too much. The path Jim and Blair found took them to the bottom of the ridge and had taken them past the camp and the mine but not too far that they couldn't see it. They cautiously made their way to the mine watching for any sentries or traps. And wouldn't you know it. Jim saw trip wires and pressure plates all over the road. As he told Blair about the traps Blair responded.
"I guess they didn't have enough men to guard the back entrance so this must be the next best thing."
"I guess so and I imagine that the traps go through the forest as well." Jim said.
"Yeah these guys seem the type to do that." Blair responded.
"We need to get through to get to the kids. You'll have to step were I step, bend down and step over as I do. The canapé is dense here and it's just about sunset. These trip wires are going to be hard to see even for me. Just go slow. If you feel any resistance from a string on your body, you'll need to back off."
"Got it." Blair replied.
And so began the long slow dangerous trek of about 50 yards.
Sydney noticed the increase in activity around the camp. The terrorists looked like they were getting ready for war. Sydney needed to get to the kids but they couldn't let the terrorists get to the ammo building. As if reading her mind George told her that Bob would take care of it. Not wanting bob to take any unnecessary risks she waited long enough to see what he was up to.
"I learned this trick from some good ol' boys I met in Hazzard county Georgia" Bob said as he pulled an arrow with a stick of dynamite attached to it.
"Okay, the Cherokee are crazy people. But I like it." Sydney said with a growing smile.
He loaded his bow and just as one of the gang opened the door to the ammo building Bob let loose the arrow which flew over the gang members head and through the open door. Sydney and all the Cherokee got flat on the ground and covered their ears as the resulting explosion rocked the old mining town killing several of the terrorist and knocking out or injuring most of the others. The debris from the explosion cut off Sydney and the search party from the rest of the camp. At least until they could get out from under the roof on one of the buildings that fell on top of them. They would latter find three of their group had suffered injuries but no one had died.
The explosion was something Blair and Jim didn't need at the moment.
Blair and Jim had only made it about three yards into the booby trap trail when the explosion nearly made them jump out of their skin. It made Jim misstep and trigger a device that shot a large blade right at his head. With reflexes of a jaguar Jim's hand shot up and actually caught the knife in mid flight. For a second neither of them moved before Blair spoke.
"That was the most incredible thing I've ever witnessed outside of a Bruce Lee action movie. When did you learn how to do that?" He asked in awe.
Jim turned to Blair in wide eyed wonder. "That's what I'd like to know Chief. I don't think I could pull that off again in a million years."
"You mean you did that by accident?" Blair asked bewildered.
"Well it's not like I practice this sort of thing. I just wonder what set off that explosion." Jim responded.
"Yeah that was a big one." Blair agreed.
"It sounded like the whole ammo building went up." Jim speculated.
"You think Sydney had something to do with it because if that's the case we need to get moving before one of the gang gets to the kids." Blair wondered.
"Give me a second chief. I need to listen for electronic traps and the only thing I hear at the moment is my own heart beating loud and fast."
"Yeah, me too." Blair replied.
They took a couple of deep breaths before they were calm enough to continue.
After the explosion the two assigned to get the kids figured they were under attack and doubled their speed to get the hostages so they could get away. Oz watched as they approached and came out from under the crawl space under the building. He then transformed into his wolf man persona. Finally seeing him the two men came to an abrupt halt five feet in front of him. The first man went for his weapon. An ancient looking AK-47 slung over his shoulder. Oz used the claws of his right hand to swipe across the mans face. Seeing the movement the man moved his head back raising his chin. Three of the claws made deep scratches across his chin but the forth sliced across his throat cutting his jugular vein as well as his wind pipe.
While this was happening the other man was able to pull his glock hand gun from his holster and shot Oz in the left shoulder. The bullet went straight through. Oz knew this would heal quickly. The force spun him so fast with his claw still extended, that after killing the first man the claw sunk into the second mans face taking out his eye, most of his nose, and upper lip. The torn meat hung there as the man brought his hand to his face and fell to the ground screaming.
It was unknown if it was the explosion that got the demons attention or the smell of blood as it stalked out of the mine but it was hungry and needed sustenance. The dead body looked tempting but Morrog demons liked to inject their pray with the fear inducing toxin their fangs produced. The adrenalin made the meat so much more palatable. So the man screaming on his knees would taste much better. Oz seeing the demon moved back to the building housing the children. Morrog demons have a large appetite and Oz figured it wouldn't be satisfied with just one or two victims and so stood guard over the kids. The toxins of the Morrog demon was also used to liquefy their victims insides while leavening the hide solid long enough for the demon to suck the liquid out from inside like a juice box. In no time at all the two men were nothing more then human shaped leather bags quickly melting into the dirt road.
It then turned in Oz's direction but before it could even consider attacking, Oz was on him with teeth and claws digging into it. Oz thought the demon was going to turn faster than it did so instead of biting into its throat he had to make due with its shoulder. Oz sunk one of his claws across its abdomen and the other scratched deep down its spine.
After the General surveyed the damage from the explosion he wondered what had happened to the two men he sent to get the hostages. The Rangers could pinpoint their location now and so the General decided that it was every man for himself time. He needed those kids to be able to get out of here in one piece. He rounded the corner to see an epic battle of two demons. He wasn't sure where the wolf man came from but he decided that it definitely wasn't on their side. He pulled his weapon and shot the wolf, once in the arm and once in the leg. By this time the Morrog demon was badly injured. It fell and lay there forcing itself to quickly heal enough to rise and kill some more.
Turning from the demon to face the General, Oz transformed into a full wolf. The transformation healed all his wounds and the bullets spat from his body through the hole left by the projectiles.
"Nice trick. But I think I can do better." The General said as he dropped his gun and pulled two large gleaming knives from his belt. They were sixteen inches from tip to handle and almost three inches wide. Oz had a bad feeling about those blades.
"I don't know if you can understand but these were meant for the demon should it get out of control. I think they'll work on you just as well. These aren't just coated in silver. I had them made of silver. If I'm right, any slice I make will be permanent and if I stick it into a vital organ you'll die. Now come on over here so I can gut you, pooch."
While still in his pure wolf form Oz barked and snapped at the General as the General swiped and missed Oz, not even coming close to touching him with his silver blades but, oz had a plan. He kept barking and snapping at the General causing a lot of noise and motion as he circled him. Just as Oz hoped the Morrog demon recovered enough to resume its attack, and it went after the nearest victim which happened to be the General. As the General had his back to the demon and was busy trying to dice Oz into little bits he was unaware of the demon coming up behind him until it was two late. The demon wrapped its arms around its victim and the General was so shocked that he fell into the demons grasp, that he actually dropped his knives. Still he wrestled himself away from the fangs even though his death would be inevitable. The demon didn't need to inject its fear toxin into the man, he was plenty afraid already. Oz let it drink its fill hoping that it would satisfy its hunger and he wouldn't have to kill it. But it wasn't to be as it again set its sights on Oz. Oz once again transformed into his wolf man form to do battle.
After getting through all the traps on the path, Jim and Blair rounded the corner to see Oz fighting the demon.
"Is it just me or does that thing remind you of the salt monster from Star Trek?" Blair asked.
"We'll worry about it later. Oz needs our help." Jim replied.
They ran up behind the demon. Knowing from their time at the Guardian Council that guns don't work on demons they scooped up the silver blades laying on the ground that the General dropped. They then plunged them into a place they figured a demon's vital organs would be just as Oz made his killing blow sinking his teeth into its throat and ripping it out. The combination was too much for the demon as it fell to its knees and died.
"I wish you wouldn't have done that." Oz barked.
"What? Why not?" Jim asked.
"Yeah we only wanted to help. Wait a minute, how are you talking while in your wolf form." Blair wondered aloud.
Oz was just as stunned as they were as Jim replied. "I don't think he did Chief. I think we just knew what he said."
"You know, I think your right; I heard him bark with my ears but heard him talking in my head. I think it might have something to do with our spirit animals." Blair surmised.
"Well that could be useful in the future." Oz barked in reply.
"Why shouldn't we have done it Oz?" Jim asked.
Just then Sydney and Bob came running up to them. Sidney stopped to look at the rapidly melting demon.
"We'll talk about it later." Oz said replying to Jim's question.
"What's happening with that thing?" Sydney asked still looking at the demon.
Demons usually dissolve once you kill them." Jim said.
Sydney noted that this wasn't unusual to ether of them. She turned to the wolf and said "Oz, the other Rangers are nearly here. You better become human again and get dressed before they get here or before I bring the kids out. I'm going to check on them now."
Oz transformed before Sydney got too far away and said. "They sound in good condition and I didn't smell any blood… coming from them at least. I think the girl was making things difficult for the bad guys though."
Sydney didn't answer or turn around as she made her way into the building full of worry. Tears ran down her face fearing for her youngest best friends.
Oz took his cloths from Bob and he moved to the side of the building to get dressed.
"Which one of you killed it?" Bob asked looking over the remains.
"I believe all three of us did." Blair said with a triumphant smile.
Bob shook his head and as he mumbled. "Bad times ahead then."
Jim quirked an eye brow in his direction, but didn't ask what he meant. Perhaps there was an omen that the fields would dry up or something when they killed a demon, but he didn't believe in omens.
Bob then looked to the knives Jim and Blair abandoned on the ground. "That's no way to treat your weapons." He said picking them up and cleaning the majority of the demon blood from them by plunging them into the ground. He then handed them to the men.
"Those weren't ours they were the Generals." Jim said.
"I would clean your weapons better before putting them in the next holster you make for them, seeing as you lost the ones you brought in here."
They didn't need to be clubbed over the head to know that Bob was telling them to take the knives as their own but they had to wonder why. Without asking, Bob supplied the answer.
"With what is to come in the future you may find you need good knives such as these."
Thinking he was talking about the main event they considered his words before deciding that it may be a good idea. Besides, silver knives would be put to better use in their care should they come up against any more demons than then they would sitting in an evidence room.
The rest of the Rangers, police, and F.B.I. finally appeared as Sidney brought out the children and Oz came around the corner fully dressed.
Gage looked bewildering at Sidney as he asked. "What were you thinking? Didn't I tell you to stay put until we got here? You put the lives of everyone here in danger by not following orders. You'll be lucky to remain a Ranger after this when the courts get done with you." He said more out of worry for his friend than a reprimand.
Before Sydney could respond Jim injected. "It wasn't her that made it necessary. Paco was one of them. He warned them we were here and that you were coming."
"What! That's crazy. I helped Trivette train him. We showed him how to do some of our best moves. Where is he?"
"You'll find him hogtied in his vehicle up on the ridge with a bullet in his hip. My fault I'm afraid, I couldn't keep up with those moves you taught him."
"Looks like they found him, they're bringing him over now. Remind me to teach you how to tie knots Jim." Bob said.
"Hey Gage!" One of the two Rangers that helped to bring Paco over to the group yelled. We found Paco limping through the brush as if he were trying to hide from us. When we caught up with him he tried to fend us off but he seems to have been shot in the hip so, he didn't do too well. Mind telling us what's going on? Paco isn't talking.
Sidney didn't even say a word, she handed off Walker's one year old son to Bob and walked over to Paco hitting him in the face with a hay maker. "How could you! How the hell could you! We were your friends! Trivette was your friend!" She shrieked.
As Paco picked himself off the ground he said. "How do you think I got past that paranoid idiot's defenses? He trusted me as a friend so that I was able to come right up to him with that shot gun and blast a hole through his chest at point blank range. I saw the light leave his eyes."
"Uncle Trivette's dead?" Cordell Walker's daughter Angela screamed in horror and began crying uncontrollably.
"Awe, poor baby." Paco mocked.
"Paco killed Trivette?" They never saw this kind of attitude coming from mild mannered Paco. They befriended him and he seemed to be their friend as well. How could they not have seen this? Where did this man come from? Sydney finished his mocking with a solid kick to the groin. He would definitely need ice for the swelling. He wouldn't be getting any.
"Okay that's enough. Get this piece of crud out of here before I kill him." Gage said to the now very angry looking Rangers who were holding him up. "And don't worry about being rough with him. There won't be any questions asked." Gage then looked Paco in the eye and spoke directly to him. "By the time they clean you up I'm sure Walker will want to have words with you." Some of the color left Paco's face as he was taken away.
Gage turned to Jim Blair and Oz. "I thought I told you guys that we'd take care of this."
The three men looked a bit sheepish.
"I'm just glad you ignored me. Paco's allegiance came out of left fielded. Had he still been informing them of our movements and had you guys not gotten involved the gang would still be getting away with murder and those kids would have been their latest victims."
Just then a Ranger came up to them to report their progress to Gage as he was the lead Ranger on sight.
"We rounded up everyone left alive. We're putting the dead in the pickup truck the rest of the compound is secure we have three teams taking pictures and collecting evidence but we haven't come across the General yet."
Sidney knew by the looks on Jim, Blair, and Oz's face that they knew what happened and she surmised that it had something to do with the demon. So thinking quickly she came up with an explanation that would keep them from a fruitless man hunt.
"Um…Gage, the General was at ground zero when the ammo building blew up. He was atomized."
"Well that simplifies things." Gage said. "Well, we can leave the clean up to the rest of the police and F.B.I. and I'll leave a Ranger on duty here so we can head back to base. We should take the kids to the hospital for examination and I need everyone involved to fill out reports about what happened here."
"No problem here. We're used to filling out reports." Blair said with a sigh.
/Scene Break/
Jim, Blair, and Oz were just finishing up filling out their reports when Gage strode in. The look upon his face was thunderous. His emotions were in turmoil as he felt pulled in many directions at once. Anger, betrayed, bewilderment and frustration were just some of what he felt at the moment.
"Hey man what's up!" Blair asked.
Gage looked towards his guests and with a sigh of frustration he decided there wasn't any reason for them not to know.
"About an hour ago I called the place Paco was last stationed before he came here to ask them about his character and tell them what happened. They couldn't believe it to be the same guy they use to work with. They had one of their men who knew him fly down here to see for himself. Turns out The man claiming to be Paco was and imposter. The Patriot gang had killed the real Paco and this guy took his place so they could have a man on the inside." Gage shook his head and continued. "The thing that really gets to me is that something like this has happened before. We should have seen the signs, but the guy was one damn good actor. And I'm the one who has to tell my boss about it. Walker is going to be pissed."
"Well, who is he?" Blair asked.
"A dishonorably discharged army marshal arts instructor with a degree in law. Get this; he was kicked out for mailing military weapons to his home as car parts." Gage took a cleansing breath and said. "I'd just like to thank you guys for all your help. My only regret is that I wasn't there to glean some of your tracking skills. You guys did what we tried to do for months without success."
"I'm sure the Cherokee could help you with that if you asked. Their really good and I know they'd be willing to help." Oz replied.
"Yeah man, they could make you into one mean tracking machine."
"Well, Walker is Cherokee, maybe I should start by taking some lessons from him. He's done some pretty amazing tracking himself."
"Unfortunately it does sound like he's going to need a new partner." Jim replied.
"Yeah, I don't think that will be happening anytime soon. I suspect he'll put that off as long as possible. Besides Sydney and I work too well together to be split up… Gees, I still can't believe Trivette's gone."
"Things will get better with time. You'll honor his memory if you take the things he taught you and put them to good use."
"You can count on the fact the he'll never be forgotten around here. Listen, the Rangers are getting together at CD's after our shift for some drinks in Trivette's memory. I'd like to invite you guys to share in the memory of the man whose killer you brought to justice."
"We're honored but we really have to live tonight to catch up with the rest of the band. Without Oz there the show can't go on and without us they won't have any security." Blair announced.
"I understand. If you people ever want a change of occupation I'm sure the Rangers would keep a spot open for you."
"Thanks for the offer and we'll keep it in mind. Goodbye Gage and tell Sydney we said that it was a pleasure working with her."
"I will goodbye."
As they left Ranger's headquarters Sydney rushed up to them from the parking lot after she personally observed the kids examination at the hospital.
"I'm so glad I caught you guys before you left. I wanted to personally thank you for your help. You don't know what those kids mean to me or how much I needed to bring down the one responsible for Ranger Trivette's death."
"We were glad to help." Jim replied.
"It was the most unusual experience of my life but I'm grateful you guys were there to help. I just wish Trivette could have experienced it." She said and then with giggles and tears she continued. "It would have been funny to see his reaction to some of what happened."
"I'm sure it would have been. Listen your shift will be over soon and your partner is planning a get together in memory of Ranger Trivette. I think you should go."
"What about you guys? You should come."
"We were already invited and had to decline because of prior engagements but we'll be sure to say a prayer… for all of you."
"Thanks, but do me a favor and keep in touch. With Trivette gone from our lives I'll always cherish his friendship but I'm sure he'd want me to stay in touch with the friends who avenged him and will continue to open my mind to new things, even if it will be long distance."
" That's a promise." Blair said.
"Goodbye Sidney."
"Goodbye Guys."
/Scene Break/
Later as Oz waited for Jim and Blair to finish packing their belongings in their motel room, his phone rang. Looking at the caller ID he opened it and greeted the caller.
"Hey Willow, What's up?"
"Hi Oz, are you alone?"
"It's just me Jim and Blair in the motel room. We were just getting ready to leave to catch up with the band." He replied
"Good, I need to speak with you guys in person. Hang on I'll be right there." She said.
"Okay, we'll see you in a bit." Oz closed the connection and looked to Jim and Blair. "Just so you guys don't get startled I think you should know, we're about to have a visitor."
Just after the announcement Willow appeared out of nowhere about five feet in front of Oz.
"I know you could never have been in this particular motel room before so how did you get here with pin point accuracy?"
"Oh, I honed in on you Oz. I can do it with anyone as long as their thinking of me. That's why I called first. I didn't even need to tell him to start thinking of me. As soon as he saw my name on the caller ID he was thinking of me and I could have appeared right then." She explained to everyone.
"Magic sounds so cool and complicated." Blair replied.
"It is… complicated that is, but cool… depends on what you use it for and if its habit forming… anyway the reason I'm here is because Hermione needs your help Oz. She's going to see and old classmate that's become a shut in, because she's a werewolf. Hermione wants to save her but the woman is scared of herself and everyone else. The wizarding government puts strict legislations on werewolves so she has a right to be scared as far as they're concerned."
"What kind of legislations?" Jim wondered.
"Let's just say they're half assed backwards and leave it at that." She grumbled.
"Wait a moment what about the band. We need to catch up with them before tomorrow night." Jim announced.
"We'll be traveling by magic. What Hermione needs you to do should only take a few hours and I can deliver you right to the next gig. It's better than driving all the way." Willow said
"That's true." Blair said. "So does that mean we'll be going too?"
"Actually I'd rather have them safe and sound at the Guardian Council." Oz said.
"Why does that sound ominous?" Willow asked.
"Because, we just killed a Morrog demon." Oz announced.
Willow gave a slight jump of startle-meantat that. "You guys killed a Morrog demon. Are you alright? Is everyone okay? Which one of you killed it? Did you kill the other one? This is bad. This is very bad. I need to get you guys to the Guardian Council now."
"Wait a minute. Just hold on. What's going on? What do you mean the other one?" Jim asked.
"That's what I was trying to tell you guys. The Morrog demons travel in pairs possibly as mates. If you kill one you had better kill the other or it will come after you. Since we all had a hand in killing it all of us will be its target." Oz announced.
"But we didn't see any evidence of another one. Could it be dead already?" Blair asked?
"Unlikely, after one demon dies the other hunts down its mate's killer. Once it killed the killer it has no reason to live and lays down to die."
"Well, I don't see how it's going to keep up with us once were out of here. Whether we go with Willow or take off in the car it shouldn't be able to keep up with us unless it has super speed or something." Blair speculated.
"No. it's worse than that. It can track you by your aura and travels by something called the dark corridor. It's believed to be some sort of travel by lay lines both major and minor but not micro minor." Willow announced. "It will wait for you guys to stop on a lay line and attack. If I'm not mistaken there's a minor lay line a mile and a half from here. It could be on its way. How long have you been here?"
"About twenty minutes." Jim said.
"It could be on its way. It could be just down the street or right outside the door. We have no idea when or where it will strike." Willow said.
"They're actually kind of too lazy for that Willow." Oz announced. "Even with the incentive of killing its mate's killer, they don't usually go out of their way to kill if they can just wait for us to cross a lay line."
"Just then there was a pounding on the door. The occupants of the room jumped."
"Mr. Ellison, are you still in there. Sorry, not trying to rush you but I have some people here who are looking for a room, seeing as you're checked out I'd like to promptly move them in." The manager said through the door.
The occupants of the room were both relieved and annoyed. Relieved that it wasn't the demon and annoyed that the guy running the motel was so rude that he'd rush them out the door.
"Yeah, two minutes!" Jim yelled back and they heard him move away from the door.
"We can drop the rental call at the closest shop and then we can go. You guys will be safe at the Guardian Council until I get back, then we can catch up with the band. You guys might want to research the thing while I'm gone." Oz said.
A half an hour later they were at the car rental shop handing over the keys. With that taken care of they grabbed their gear, they formed a circle and Willow magically whisked them away.
A.N. (Reviews can make a story even better.)