Only one way to find out. "Head straight at him."
Robyn did. Sweat poured down her face and she flickered back and forth from herself to the solider, probably losing control of her powers with fear and focus.
The Grunt stood his ground, then kicked down. The earth in front of their truck pushed up into a cone.
Robyn steered to the side, barely avoiding the rock. More pillars burst from the earth, like teeth clasping for food. One hit the side of their car, throwing them off track. They almost tipped over.
Drake hollered, "Step on it! Keep moving fast!"
Robyn put the pedal to the metal, and they stormed the Grunt, dodging teeth of stone.
The beast roared and punched the earth, ramming it forward in another cone.
Robyn turned, but the side of their vehicle slammed into the rock and they lost balance. With such a top-heavy truck, they fell to the side and rolled upside down. The sound of crunching metal and smell of gas and dirt filled the truck as Drake slammed into the side of the window, shattering it.
When the truck settled and they stopped moving, Drake unfastened his seatbelt and reached for Robyn. "Are you okay?"
She cradled her left arm and winced. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"You don't look it." He looked behind him, ignoring the pain in his neck and body.
The Grunt walked toward them.
"We're out of time. You have to shift." He pushed against his door, but the thing jammed.
"Okay, okay." Robyn closed her eyes and focused. Her body grew bigger, shifting into something less than human, but then she lost it and became herself again.
"Come on, come on!"
"I'm trying. It's not that easy." She took a deep breath and tried again.
A giant read and black hand ripped open Drake's door and tried to grab him, but something else pulled Drake out of the way, out through the other door: another Grunt, a grey one. Intelligence sparked in its eyes.
"Robyn."
She smiled, but a smile on a Grunt was not a pretty site. It made the beast look hungry for human.
The red one walked around the vehicle, noticed Robyn, and looked her up and down quizzically. She held Drake like her prisoner and they both stayed still, waiting to see what would happen.
He moved closer and sniffed the air around her. Drake hoped Robyn smelled like a Grunt too.
The red one leaned in, licking his lips. Hot breath sprayed against Drake's face; it took all of his will to stay still.
Apparently satisfied that another Grunt—Robyn—had Drake under control, the red one stood up straight and walked away.
They both breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Robyn shook from nerves. "Holy shit that was close."
They began their long hike up the crater. According to Drake's brief research, they first had to travel over an unpaved trail up uneven rocks—about two hundred feet. They would then have to go through a tunnel and up another three hundred feet. Finally, there would be a small lighted tunnel to a narrow spiral staircase—a hundred and twenty feet—until they reached the inside of the observation platform.
The near-hour of hiking didn't tire Drake out as much physically as it did emotionally. Every second that ticked by he thought about Sam, and what Steele was doing to her and their baby. It killed him not to be doing something more.
Once they finally came through the spiral staircase, Drake found the place he needed, an old military bunker with a flat roof and green walls. Down the mountain, slits opened up the earth, exposing the lower levels of entrenchment. He'd seen it on TV, as Steele showed off his supply of Blue Power—all contained within that bunker, guarded by a dozen Grunts.
They needed another distraction.
As if fate were finally helping them, a loud rumble came from down below. A piece of the stone wall had exploded, tossing up a storm of sand and dirt. Darren and his team must have been creating the distraction Drake needed. Perfect timing.
The Grunts all turned and started moving across the cone to intercept the intruders. Drake hoped they could handle the Grunts and Steele, but he had to focus.
They entered the now-empty bunker and descended a set of stairs to a lower, bigger level, full of steel cabinets and medical supplies. They tore through drawers and shelves to find the case of drugs.
He hit the jackpot at the very back in a corner cabinet. "Robyn, check this out!"
She came over and looked over his shoulder. Inside were five purple vials. He pulled them out, one by one, and clutched them in his hand.
Footsteps approached from outside. Drake opened a vial and had it ready to swallow if he needed to fight a Grunt. He only had five vials—no more than five hours worth of powers if not overused—and he didn't know what else they would face, so he had to use them with caution.
The door opened and....