“Holy crap…” Jamie’s eyes grow wide as the giant hound lets out a low growl; its eyes are set on me and I freeze, staring back at it with fear.

“Jac-go!” I scream and she slams on the gas. We dive through the lights and the sudden movement throws the hound onto the back of the car, using its long, sharp claws to hold on tight. There isn’t enough room to swing the shotgun around, the cage that separates me from the front makes the back cramped; I have to lay back awkwardly on the seat to take aim as the hound peers through the back window, baring its long teeth. Jac swings the car around the corner, the back over steers and throws the hound aside as I take my shot; the window explodes and I curse, cocking the shotgun again and sitting up to see where the beast has gone.

“Sorry about that Marshall.” Jac weaves through the light traffic.

“It’s fine.” I assure with my finger ready on the trigger.

“Marshall!” Jamie warns but it’s too late. The passenger window on the rear offside smashes and a thick, hairy arm wraps around my neck and pulls me back; my back hits the door, my head hits the top of the window and it still continues to pull at me. The arm is as thick as a professional body builder’s with the muscles to match, but it just makes it easier for me to bite down; it howls but I don’t release it until I taste blood-then slide onto my back again and shoot up, it howls again and a dibble of blood drops onto my chest.

“Got it!” I smirk, but that doesn’t last long-I’ve only wounded it. Two huge fists slam down into the windscreen, leaving two impact marks; the hound hits again and the window smashes. Jac has to cover her eyes to protect her from the square shards and it causes the car to swerve; Jamie grabs the wheel before we hit something and as soon as Jac’s recovered she has the wheel again. Jamie draws his side arm and waits. A huge fist comes in through the nearside back window and grabs my foot; it’s trying to pull me out feet first but I plant my free foot against the door. Jamie daringly climbs out of the missing front window and Jac screams at him, he takes a few shots at the hound; it howls but also takes a swing at him-he drops back inside with a slight gash on his temple and I blow another hole in the roof; the hound yelps and rolls off the back of the car, I sit up to take another shot at it but we slide around another corner before I can pull the trigger. Still, I keep my aim steady for a moment, just in case something else appears and then lean back against the cage.

“Are you alright, guys?” I pant, adrenaline still pumping.

“Fine…” Jac lets out a long breath to calm herself and glances at Jamie. “That looks deep.”

“I’ll be alright.” He wipes the blood from his face and looks back at me. “What about you?”

I nod. “I’m good.”

“Was that a hound?” Jac asks and I shrug.

“It was too big to be a hound; but then again who knows that this Section Thirteen is doing to them?” From what I could see before we rounded the last corner it looked to be around seven feet tall, but defiantly more hound-ish than the last one. “No offence Jac but could we switch to something with a little more room?” I ask. “Besides, there are holes in the roof.” I give her a half grin and she laughs.

“I have something in storage but…it’s not really for the winter weather.”

“The Jeep?” Jamie’s brow rises. “You still have that?”

“Hey, I love that Jeep.” Jac pouts. “Problem is it’s one of those topless things; I usually take it to Florida to see family in the summer.”

“It’ll do.” I nod. “Better than this cramped thing.”

---

We arrive at a storage centre and just drive around the garage like units until Jac finds the one she wants; she opens the door for me when she gets out and makes her way over to the locker, using a code to open the door. I take the opportunity to check on Jamie.

“It’s not as bad as it looks…” I say as I wipe the blood away with the sleeve of an old jacket Jac gave me. “Maybe there’s something we can use in the locker to patch you up.”

“Thanks.” He smiles. “You’re just full of tricks aren’t you?”

“I learnt from Nale.” I smile.

“Nale?” He tilts his head to the side. “One of your team mates?”

“Yeah.” My smile drops a little. When I was telling him about the stuff in England I tried my best not to reveal any names, just in case.

“Sorry.” He winces. “Not supposed to ask.”

“It’s alright.” I shake my head and the sound of an engine firing up startles me. Jac pulls out in a red Jeep Wrangler, a replica of the 2008 version, and I strain my ears to listen to the engine; it’s in good condition for something that’s been in storage. “Hey, have you got a first aid kit in there?”

“There’s one in the glove box.” She places it on the passenger seat and I take a look, but only find band aids.

“They’ll have to do.” I chuckle and fix Jamie up as best as I can and hop into the back, laying the shotgun in the foot-well.

“So where to?” Jac asks and she drives off; the locker door shuts automatically and I guess we’re just leaving the car where it is.

I think for a second. “Area 51?” I joke but Jac grins at me in the rear view mirror. “I’m kidding Jac.”

“No, it’s perfect. They get up to all kinds of weird mumbo-jumbo in there.”

“That’s a myth Jac and you know it.” Jamie argues. “It’s a military base and nothing else.”

“I guess we could check it out…” I muse out loud and Jamie stares at me.

“You’re going to try and break into a top secret military base?”

“I’ve got nothing better to do with my time.” I grin. “How long will it take?”

“A day.” Jac states. “Plus a few extra hours.”

“Seriously?” I sigh. “I forget how big the States are compared England. We should stop somewhere to rest and plan for the night.”

Jac laughs and Jamie shakes his head. “She’s got a plan.” He sighs, placing his head in his hand.

“Viva Las Vegas!” Jac cheers and floors it; I’m thrown back into my seat, Jamie shoots me a sympathetic look.

“She’s drives like a crazy person.”

“I’m used to it.” I smile, thinking of Edge.

---

By the time we reach Las Vegas it’s reaching the AM hours and I’m the one driving; it took me a while to get used to driving on the other side of the road and when I return from a slight day dream I only half panic. I learnt a lot about Jac and Jamie along the way, they were very open with me about everything; they went to the same school, had the same classes, joined the force at the same time-much to Jac’s Father’s dismay-and graduated top of the class. Jamie’s Father then made them partners. I, on the other hand, refused to open up anymore than I had-they knew too much about me already, more than I would have liked them too. Glancing back at Jac in the mirror as she slept I felt something twist inside, I liked her-I really did-she was funny, smart and made a habit out of hitting Jamie; but she was too eager to go to a place that was completely off limits to the public, a place that was rumoured to have alien experiments going on. What was I going to do if she, and Jamie, were working for the other side? Leading me into the hands of my enemy? I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white and let out a long breath. This was a huge risk I was taking, letting complete strangers help me-taking me here and there without the rest of my team to back me up. I pull over into the dirt and apply the handbrake, I lean back and take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves; but I find that my breaths are shaky, the turtle neck feels tight and I just pull it over my head-letting the cool air wash over me; I had thrown the jacket in the back hours before. I think I’m having a panic attack.

“Marshall?” Jamie startles me. “What’s the matter? Why have you stopped?”

“All this driving…” I breathe. “I’m feeling a little car sick now…” I close my eyes for a moment and then open them to see the distant lights of Las Vegas; it’s not that far, maybe another twenty minutes, Jamie sees it too and twists in his seat to nudge Jac awake.

“Hey, we’re almost there and you need to give Marshall directions.”

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Jac’s Father owns a chain of Casinos and hotels; that’s why she chose Vegas.

“I hate giving directions…” She mutters.

“Do you know which one it is? We can just drive around until we find it.”

“Yeah.” He nods. “We’ll do that.”

---

The hound looks bigger in my head...