Hellhounds vs The Storm Part 3

Nate stepped out from behind the wall, staring at the two figures standing alone in the storm. He kept his rifle facing downward, non-threateningly. The boy quickly put himself between the girl and the interloper, trying desperately to look dangerous while the girl struggled to hold back a force of nature.

“Another squad already tried this,” The boy called, his accent thickening the longer he spoke. “You should turn around, leave us alone.”

“Can’t do that,” Nate called back, still not raising his weapon. “Besides, that camp back there is gone, destroyed. I’m guessing you called that home.”

Lightning snapped across the sky, bright enough to turn the entire shoreline blue for a second.

Kir spoke softly under his breath in Russian. <Be calm, Lightning Bug, I won’t let anything hurt you.>

The thunder grew less intense.

The girl peeked out from behind Kir. Her hands gripping his hoodie tightly, and she looked up to him.

Vas was already clicking on his virtual PDA, downloading Russian. Up in Siberia, it wasn’t always a guarantee; there were tons of tribes and subdialects. At least Nate would be able to understand them if they switched back and forth.

“She can’t control it, can she?” Nate asked, keeping his distance. He still didn’t know what, if anything, the boy could do, but he was fairly certain the girl was acting out of panic, not malice. He kept his voice calm, easy, and confident. “You’re exhausted, she’s terrified, and the storm is going to get worse.”

Another bolt of electricity split the clouds, this one striking the ice behind the hellhounds with a deafening crack. A jagged fissure splintered across the frozen surface before quickly being covered up by wind and snow.

Vas blinked the crack of lightning, making his ears ring. Jai and Raye blinked black spots from the flash of light.

Eviin hands tightened on her brother's hoodie as she looked at the strange man with a furrowed brow. <He looks like the others …> She whispered up to Kir.

“I have a shot.” Rey said quietly into the coms.

“Clean shot on target.” Jai echoed.

The wind surged suddenly, whipping snow across the ice in violent spirals. The girl staggered slightly, but the boy caught her arm. Nate saw the full picture clearly, the girl’s lips had turned faintly blue from the cold. They hadn’t been running toward the coast to escape, they just ran out of options. And anything that was cornered couldn’t be predicted.

Nate didn’t move. “Take it,” he said quietly into the com.

Vas motioned, 3, 2, 1 …

Rey and Jai shot …