But the soldiers had problems of their own; while they had aerial recon, the helicopters were only able to cover a small area, and while the soldiers were under orders to move with caution and to not separate or go on alone, and to keep each other in sight at all times, accidents did happen. The terrain was extremely treacherous, and the Hill people had the advantages despite the weapons and the air cover provided to the soldiers; the Hill people had lived in the mountains all their lives, they knew the best hiding places, they knew how to hide. Their senses, augmented by the Department of Energy's bizarre experiments into fringe science, were slightly better than an ordinary human, and because they had a stronger sense of sound and an even stronger sense of smell than a normal human, they could hear the sounds of soldiers from a short distance away.
Besides all that, the Hill People were forever watching the road; every single time a van, car, or lorry came their way, they would watch it carefully. It was no different with the Surfer Pizza van driven by Jonathan and Argyle; even now, watchers were studying their every movement and activity, but the Hill People weren't going to attack the van and the boys anytime soon.
The Hill People had been taken by surprise by the sheer power and savagery displayed by El when they'd attacked at night. Several of their number had been killed, and more of them had been badly wounded. While they had the girl, Jupiter and Big Brain hoped to mate with her and make her hopeless, but some of the tribe had their doubts it could ever really work.
And then the soldiers arrived; even among the tribal members, there were arguments about Fred's points about their activities. The soldiers had come their way many times before, their weapons and tactics proving to be more than a match for them. Worse, they didn't seem to care or respect the boundaries.
While the tribe would've been happier to just be left the road alone despite the constant need for food and fresh blood for their ranks, there was nothing they could do. Some of the tribes' warriors were hiding, waiting for a chance to kill or at least maim one or two of the soldiers.
It worked from time to time, with three warriors managing to overpower two soldiers before four more soldiers came and slaughtered them. The helicopters in the air provided them with more than enough aerial recon, proving aerial support was far superior. The helicopters were also armed with machine guns and snipers, and their weapons effortlessly picked off more than a few warriors.
-8-
"What's that?" Ruby whispered hesitantly.
Jupiter growled as he rushed to the doorway. "It's them, they're firing!"
Big Brain sighed. "Of course," he wheezed as he shifted his head weight. "They have finally had enough of us."
Jupiter was furious at the news. "These new strangers have brought this on us!" He rumbled like a growling bear.
This was too much for Ruby. "No, this is because you and the others wouldn't stop killing! You kidnapped girls, raped them-."
"Oh, shut up, Ruby, before I tear you apart!" Jupiter's paternal instincts only extended so far.
But as far as Ruby was concerned her monstrous father's threat was as empty as thin air. "You stole, killed. What did you think was going to happen?"
"I said SHUT UP!" Jupiter roared, and he almost charged towards Ruby, but he was stopped. "Big Brain, lemme go!"
Big Brain was amused, as he always was as he held Jupiter, who was one of the most brutal, savage, and dangerous of the Hill People as if he were nothing more than an ant. What his body lacked in mobility, he more than made up for with his enormous intellect, brought on by his enormous and mutated braincase. The Department of Energy had whipped up a disgusting cocktail of their classic drugs, used in previous experiments, and a number of other things added to the mix, and they had chosen his parents - normal people - because of their higher intelligence.
When he was born, he quickly showed signs of telepathy, and telekinesis, and while many of the other Hill People despised him for his weaknesses, he had quickly cowered them into submission.
It amused him more, to hold them as slaves. In return for leading them, they fed and protected him.
"No, Jupiter. The girl is right, but we don't have time for any of this, but this new girl….she is dangerous. And she is powerful."
"She will make a good mama, then?" Jupiter asked, grinning cruelly and showing off his fang-like teeth, and while Ruby shuddered at her father, Big Brain wasn't impressed as he held Jupiter in his grasp.
"I will breed her," Big Brain's voice was final. "And if I even get the impression you plan on taking her, you will wish you were killed by those soldiers. That clear?"
And then all hell broke loose.
-8-
El had been in the void the entire time. She had been looking for the girls who'd been kidnapped off the road by Jupiter and the other clans. She found them. They were practically broken, after being raped for days by the monsters living out in these hills. She found the clans easily enough, and she also focused on the people who were closer to humans, the ones like Ruby, the ones described by Old Fred last night. She was also aware of the soldiers dying out there, and she planned to help them.
El wasn't surprised the army was acting now. She had the guess they had been planning something like this for a long time, but they'd never had the chance or the opportunity to act, but now they did. The idea clicked in her mind if she could free the girls, she could find a way of getting back to Mike, Will and the others, and they could slip away, but she decided on one step at a time.
But just as she was planning to act, El caught wind of what Jupiter planned to do to her. She was shocked when she saw Big Brain use telekinetic powers on Jupiter. Slowly she walked around his chair, and she gasped out aloud before she could stop herself.
There was blood trickling down from his nostril.
El had seen this sight many times before; she had seen her own reflection with nose bleeds after she moved something or went into a fight, whenever she used her powers to go through the void; when she had seen her brothers and sisters in the Lab use their powers, like Two whenever he'd bullied her; when she had seen Kali cast her illusions.
But this was different; unlike the fine, subtle trickle of blood El was used to seeing, what came rushing down Big Brain's nostrils was a waterfall; she could even see the dried blood on Big Brain's hideous face and on his dirty, ragged clothes.
He….
He was like her?
No.
Somehow she knew he wasn't like her, Big Brain didn't have the same training she'd had, so she didn't know what he knew; something told her his powers were different, but she didn't know if he was stronger than her, or weaker.
El tilted her head to mask her disgust when she heard what Big Brain planned to do to her. But she had the feeling he planned on taking control the whole time. She shuddered at the thought of this….thing raping her. She had always wanted her first time to be with someone she loved, and while she and Mike had made amends, she was still guarded around him, because he had hurt her so badly. Just because she had lied about her life and other things, and right now that stupid lie about Angela was one of her worst decisions ever, didn't mean she wanted Mike to be dishonest to her, but it made her feel like the worst hypocrite, and after that dinner when she had listened to his sassy comments, she had wanted her powers back.
She had wanted to bash Mike there and then. She had also wondered if he only liked her because of her powers and only tolerated her without them to amuse herself, or something.
El pushed those thoughts aside, but if Mike was going to push her away anymore, she would end things with him, and turn her back on him, she wasn't going to tolerate the boy she had loved hurting her anymore.
But it was time to fight.
-8-
Big Brain, Ruby, and Jupiter weren't expecting the attack. Jupiter didn't have much time to react; the yeti was large enough and strong enough, to fight off the Russian psycho Joyce had described to them, the man who had chased after her and Hop and Murray, and break him in half with his bare hands. But he was powerless against a telekinetic.
It wasn't the soldiers attacking them, it was El. She kept herself unconscious as she picked Jupiter up, effortlessly breaking the connection between the clan leader and Big Brain, even slapping Big Brain, ignoring the giant's roars of shock before he was lifted up, and slammed into the ground, Ruby screamed in terror as she watched her father be torn apart, a pool of blood and organs dropping all over the filthy ground.
Big Brain wheezed as he realised what was happening, but he was powerless to move.
"Stop this!" He commanded.
But he quickly grasped the fact he might not be able to fight this girl, and as he painfully managed to pull himself into a better condition and saw for himself the girl was unconscious, but he didn't know if she was pretending or was out of it or not.
Big Brain realised quickly this girl was displaying a strength and power he had never even known about, it had always taken a lot of effort even as he'd grown older to use his powers, and he'd only been able to mild telekinesis and telepathy. He could hold Jupiter and Ruby and others in his grasp and use them like pawns on a chessboard, but that was as good as it got, that was why he'd wanted to breed her.
Now, because of his desperation to have his bloodline continued, he might be dead.