She didn’t want to block her view of her feet so she tied Kass’s pack swiftly to the top of her own pack. It didn’t add too much extra weight compared to her already damp and heavy pack. She carried a torch in one hand and turned it on to help against the dying of the daylight. She picked her way carefully but quickly in the direction of Kass who was further in from the cliff edge and east, roughly in the direction of their original campsite. Not quite the direction they wanted to go to get to the caves though. Cat wasn’t sure they’d get there tonight. It would probably be better to set up camp once she got to Kass. On the other hand if Kass was injured getting her to Amanda, who was a hell of a lot better at first aid, might be a better move. Doing that in the dark however, probably wasn’t worth the risk. Fetching Amanda and Indi would probably be the better move but that would take longer and mean leaving Kass. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. There wasn’t much point in thinking about it until she found Kass and knew her condition.

Cat heard them before she saw them. Voices up ahead. She immediately switched off her light and ducked behind a tree. She listened trying to make out who was talking. It wasn’t Kass speaking. That she was sure of. The voices were deeper and more male. She did recognize one of them though. A chill went down her spine. It sounded like one of the guys they had run into below the cliffs, the one called Harry, except that couldn’t be possible because he was dead.

Cat ditched the makeshift bandage that was around her waist. It made an obvious target to go for in a fight. Better the wound was less obvious. Besides, it had stopped bleeding now. She crept silently closer. A twig snapped beneath her feet.

“What was that?” she heard one of the voices yell.

“It’s probably nothing,” another one replied.

“You think that other woman is out there?” asked the one Cat recognized as Harry.

“She’s not out there, I shot her remember. This one was on her own,” Luey replied.

“Oh yeah then where was her pack?” Harry argued. “Where was the body? What if she’s a necro like you and that other woman is out there right now stalking us?”

Cat rolled her eyes from her spot behind the tree. So Luey, the one they had left alive was a necromancer and he’d brought his friends back from the dead, just great! It was rare for a necromancer to be able to bring multiple people back in one go without a sacrifice or several. Often what happened was the flesh started to deteriorate and the people slowly lost their minds and began acting like wounded animals, violent without thought. Cat only knew of one necromancer good enough to resurrect a whole person without a blood sacrifice and even they could only do one person within a certain time frame and only if it was a fresh death. Even well done resurrections resulted in a person who was never quite the same afterward. Either this guy was exceptionally good or it wouldn’t be long before his companions became zombies.

Cat peered slowly around the edge of her tree and stomach leapt into her throat. There at the edge of a clearing up ahead, the figure of a man was looking out into the forest, right in Cat’s direction.

Cat froze and inched her head back behind her hiding place. She hoped it was dark enough that he wouldn’t see her.

She heard the unmistakable sound of branches cracking and feet heading in her direction. She thought fast. She needed to dump the packs but to do so would likely reveal her position. However, while the packs were on her back she wasn’t in a fight ready stance. It was a choice she would have to make soon.

“Oi Diego, I think she’s coming to again.” As luck would have it Harry had distracted the third man at the perfect moment. He retreated from the forest and returned to the clearing.

Cat had no doubt about who the ‘she’ they referred to was.

She slipped the packs off her back, and remembering Kass’s rifle, she searched through until she found the small metal box. It was surprisingly light weight. Hard to believe it contained something capable of taking a life. Cat pieced the rifle together in the dark, mostly by feel. It was easier than she expected and she hoped she hadn’t missed a step. She filled her pockets with ammunition then strapped her machete to her side just in case. Then, checking that they weren’t looking in her direction she moved silently through the bush parallel to the edge of the clearing. She found a place where the bushes were thicker and she could move closer in. As she got closer someone in the clearing lit a fire.

This clearing was smaller than the one the men had been in earlier in the day, maybe only 25 metres in diameter. They were far enough away from the edge of the cliff here that the ground was less rocky. On the far side of the clearing, beyond the fire but still in the light, Cat could make out a small pond and just to the left of the pond there was Kass. She was sitting on the ground with her hands tied to the tree behind her just like Alana had been that morning. She raised her head.

“Hello sweetheart,” Diego cooed.

Cat was close enough to the clearing now that she could get a good look at the men. Diego was the bigger of the three and appeared to be the leader. He had light blond hair that was thinning on top. Luey, the necromancer, was thin and wiry with dark hair and a face like a rat. Harry was somewhere in between the two of them. He was built out like Diego but shorter than both and had light brown shaggy hair. Harry had a rifle slung across his back. The other two had pistols at their hips. Their bags lay scattered around the clearing. Cat eyed all the stuff. How did they get up here so fast? Was one of them a teleporter? Or a flyer? Cat decided it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to suss them out for a bit before rushing in with a daring rescue. She could probably pick them off with the rifle but getting the order right would be important. If one was a teleporter it would be best to hit him first. They weren’t as likely to be as surprised as they had been last time. Plus she wasn't as good of a shot as Kass.

Why were they even here? Why had they killed the hikers? Maybe they had beef with them. Talking her way in and out probably wasn’t an option at this point. Amanda might have tried it but Amanda could set people on fire with a single thought if things went downhill. Cat didn’t have that luxury. Kass might be able to pin them down, depending on what their powers were, but that depended on how with it Kass was. Had they snuck up on her in the forest or had they overpowered her? Did Zombies retain their powers? It was something that could sometimes be lost during resurrections but not always. The necromancer was probably the least dangerous, but it was always best not to underestimate anyone.

Cat watched as Diego approached Kass. He knelt down in front of her and reached a hand out. He gripped her chin hard and raised it up so she was looking at his face.

“Where’s your friend now huh?” Diago asked Kass.

Kass didn’t reply, she just looked at him. She didn’t send him flying with her mind either. Perhaps she was sussing them out first as well? Cat could probably get two good shots off before they had time to react and then Kass could take out the third with her powers. She lined the rifle up checking the sights. Not really the best position. She had a clear shot to Luey without moving but the trees made it hard to hit the other two and Luey wasn’t the biggest threat. Cat dropped the rifle and inched closer to the clearing again. At least for now they were all focused on Kass.

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Luey turned his head her way just as Cat took a step forward. Cat froze. It was well and truly dark now so hopefully he wouldn’t see her. He was looking her way with curiosity and a puzzled look on his face. After a few moments he turned back toward Kass again.

Diego was interrogating Kass, asking her about where her ‘friend’ was and if it was just the two of them. That made Cat pause. Was it just the three men? There hadn’t been any more of them below the cliffs and it was the same men now. The men had more reason to assume there might be more than Cat and Kass anyway since they hadn’t seen Kass before. So how did they know to grab her? Had Luey hung around after he’d run out of the clearing?

Luey walked over to Diego and said something in his ear. Diego glanced around the clearing then turned back to Luey and Harry and said something else that Cat couldn’t hear.

Luey gave a nod and started heading towards the bushes on the south of the clearing, to Cat’s right. Harry walked to the left and stood in the centre of the clearing waiting for something. It was far enough to the side though that Cat had couldn’t keep all three in her field of vision at the same time.

Diego walked behind Kass and squatted so her body was in front of his. Then he held a knife to her throat. He spoke loudly at the bushes where Cat was. “We know you’re out there so why don’t you come on out and say Hello.”

To her right Luey had disappeared into the bushes and Cat suddenly realized that she couldn’t see where he was now. Shit.

Cat raised the rifle and tried to line it up on Diego but he was very close to Kass. If it had been the other way around and Cat had been tied against the tree with Kass lining up the rifle things might have been different. Kass would have taken the shot and she wouldn’t have missed, but for Cat it was riskier, especially with a rifle she didn’t know. She considered it though. Hesitated, just a little too long.

“I wouldn’t think about it.” A voice spoke from the darkness on Cat’s right. A click of a gun being cocked soon followed. “Why don’t you do what he says.”

Cat lowered the rifle slowly but she didn’t put it down. She kept it in her hand as she walked forward and into the clearing. Luey followed behind her.

“Put the gun down,” Diego instructed as he stood up and stepped way from Kass.

Cat turned her head slightly to try and judge how close Luey was but he fired a round off that went screaming past her. It hadn’t been aimed at her she was sure, just a warning, but it was in her general direction enough that she didn’t try it again. She did as she was told and laid the rifle on the ground, maintaining eye contact with Diego the entire time.

Diego had pulled his own pistol out of its holster and casually held it down in front of him. Cat’s heart beat faster but she moved slow. Her best chance would probably be to rush him and hopefully duck behind him before Luey could get a shot off.

“That’s a nice rifle,” Diego commented. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion. He watched Cat very closely as she stood back up. Cat shelved the idea of rushing him. He looked too ready for it right now. She focused on making herself appear relaxed and non-threatening. The fancy high powered rifle laying on the ground probably didn’t help. Maybe she could distract them.

“How’s it going guys?” she asked casually.

Diego’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and behind her she heard a snort form Luey. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Harry stiffen.

“How do you think it’s going?” Diego growled. “Your friend over there put a bullet in our heads.” He moved as if to take a step towards Cat but then stopped himself.

Cat was careful about where she looked and how she reacted. She glanced over to where Kass sat watching them. She raised her eyebrows slightly as if surprised then flicked them very briefly to the left and turned her head ever so slightly as if wanting to look behind her but afraid of Luey.

Diego didn’t miss a thing. He looked nervously at the forest behind Cat. Cat smirked softly as if she knew something they didn’t.

“How many of you are there?” Diego asked keeping his distance.

Cat tried to look surprised again but with a little too much emotion so he’d think she was faking it. Amanda probably would have rolled her eyes at the obvious bluff but it worked on Diego. “There’s just the two of us,” Cat replied.

Diego frowned.

“She’s lying,” Luey commented from behind. Was he closer now? The tone in his voice suggested he had caught on to her real bluff.

“I swear there’s only the two of us,” Cat replied innocently then added for good measure “Of course people do know where we were going.”

Diego glanced nervously at Harry and seemed about to tell give him an order but Luey spoke again. This time he was definitely closer. Cat could feel his breath on the back of her neck. “It’s an act, she’s trying to make us think there’s more than two of them. Acting like there’s more out there and telling us otherwise to try and confuse us.”

Diego looked unsure.

“What?” Cat made herself sound confused “That’s the most paranoid…” Cat cut herself off mid sentence as she turned and slammed her elbow into Luey’s nose. He went down in a yelp of surprise as blood gushed down his face. She grabbed his pistol as he went down and then she spun to face Diego.

Diego was taken off guard momentarily but he recovered fast. As Cat was raising the weapon to shoot him he must have realized he didn’t have time to raise his. Instead he lunged toward her making a grab for her arm as he moved.

Cat felt his hands close around her forearm and she gave him a swift kick to the knee in response. He almost went down. He dropped a few centimeters in height and shifted his weight to his other foot pulling Cat towards him. Cat sent her elbow at his throat but he dropped his chin just in time and it collided with a loud crack.

Diego was strong and fast but Cat was well-trained, younger, and more flexible. It was a pretty fair match. She might have even been able to take him if it wasn’t at that moment that Harry decided to join in the fray.

It wasn’t the first time Cat had fought two on one. She had even beaten up a group of three men who had surrounded a vampire outside the bar one night but those guys had been smaller, inexperienced, and drunk. This group was obviously much more experienced.

Cat found herself having trouble fighting off both Harry and Diego’s attacks and pretty soon Diego had a decent hold on one of her arms and was trying to pull it behind her back. It was a losing battle.

Harry tried to get his arm around her neck but he got too close to her mouth so Cat bit him. Harry swore and pulled back an arm in the beginning of a haymaker. Even in her current predicament Cat found herself annoyed that someone was managing to take her down with a Haymaker. Diego was obviously the better fighter.

Before Harry could land his punch Cat suddenly found herself free of the men and flying through the air across the clearing. Evidently Kass had finally decided to be of some assistance.

Cat found her feet faster than any of the others. She raced towards the rifle. Cat pointed it at Luey, who froze mid-attempt at getting up. He sat there with his hands in the air watching Cat.

Cat glanced to the side. Diego was there, one knee up, about to stand up. He’d paused when Cat had pulled the gun on Luey and was watching her warily. Harry was nowhere to be seen.

Cat frowned. She took a step backwards in the direction of Kass. It would be much better if they were both on their feet and untied.

Diego eyed her with a glint in his eye that Cat didn’t like. But he didn’t move. Either he was biding his time like Kass had been, maybe waiting to see what her power was, or he didn’t have anything that was useful in a fight.

Luey, on the other hand, looked like he’d just given up. He’d lowered his hands when Cat briefly looked away but now they were placed behind him and he rested on them lazily as if he was waiting for something.

“Why’d you guys kill those trampers?” Cat asked as she took another step backwards towards Kass.

Diego gave laugh as if surprised that she was asking. “What’s it to you?”

Luey shifted slightly as if suddenly uncomfortable or perhaps he was just readying himself for an opportunity to attack.

“Just wondering,” Cat replied taking another step. “You know necromancy doesn’t last long.” She added with a pointed look at Luey.

Diego’s smiling face did disappear at that comment and he glanced sideways at Luey. Luey kept his gaze fixed on Cat and the weapon aimed at his head.

Diego turned back to Cat. “Depends how good the necromancy is.” He sounded like he was half trying to convince himself.

“What are a couple of girls doing out here with rifle that fancy anyway?” Luey asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know” Cat replied taking another step backwards.

“Cat,” Kass hissed from maybe a foot away. A warning to stop dawdling and to hurry up an untie her.

“Ah give them some credit Luey, those were some nice moves she pulled back there. How about we make you an offer?”

Luey’s face darkened at the suggestion and he sent Diego a glare.

Cat snorted and she started to take one last step back to where Kass was tied up. Mid step she felt something move next to her. Something invisible. Then the world went black.