Junie had barely come to live with her new owners when ugly reality intruded on their idyllic world. Her search for a Master had caught the attention of a serial killer and she had barely escaped being his next victim. He was caught and facing trial; but now Junie had to testify. The whole idea of leaving her new home was more than she could bear to think about.
But she had to do it. Not only was there a subpoena, there was Monica. Her new friend, Monica, the only other woman to escape with her life, was a tiny fragile thing. Her body was barely healed from the horrific trauma of her assault and if Monica could be brave enough to face court and the man who had mutilated her, Junie knew she had to do it too, for Monica's sake.
Junie knew she was not going to have to do it alone. Her owners, Bob and Donna, were going to be there with her every step of the way. She knew she couldn't do it without them.
Chapter 15: The End of Evil
Bob felt like he was coming alive as he entered into the forest. As soon as he entered into the deeper darkness of the trees he stopped and stood perfectly still, letting his mouth drop open and let the energy of the woods enter into him. His ears were perfectly attuned to the world around him. The familiar, almost inaudible, hum and tick of the forest was there, he had come to think of it as the sound of the trees. Then he heard the movement of something larger moving through the woods. Noiselessly he moved toward it. He knew where each step would fall on the deep needles of the forest. Soon he was within feet of Agent Durant.
Bob could tell that the veteran law man was making every effort to be quiet. Bob gave a low whistle, and David whirled, pointing his gun in Bob's direction. Bob whispered softly, "It's me."
Agent Durant moved closer, his words almost inaudible, "I figure he will be trying for the road. His car must be over that way." He looked at the bow. "Where is your gun?"
"I left it with Junie. She says she stabbed him. I don't know how badly he is wounded, but he will be moving slower." He held up the bow. "I am better with this."
"You certainly surprised me."
"I know these woods, they are my home. I will take this part along the lake front, you move back along the driveway. Junie is calling the sheriff and the ambulance. You can meet them."
Durant whispered softly, "If you see him, kill him. I don't care if you shoot him in the back. I don't want him walking away from here."
Bob grunted, "He hurt my Donna. He is a dead man." Bob moved out and vanished silently into the woods.
David watched him go and marveled at the easy way Bob moved through the woods. He would have never guessed this about the easy-going man he had met this spring. He turned toward the road, knowing he was making more noise than he ought, but it was almost pitch dark and he did not want to get out his flashlight. A flashlight would only telegraph his location, and blind him to the darkness.
Bob would move quickly for a dozen strides and stop, all his senses aware. He could hear the FBI agent moving away from him toward the driveway. He would listen then move on. He was almost halfway from the house to the highway when he heard a quiet scrabbling in the pine needles ahead of him and then a cough. Now each step was slow; easing his weight down on the thick carpet of needles, and stepping around branches and patches of fern. As he got closer he could hear the breathing, oddly labored with a whistling gurgle that Bob recognized, from his hunting, as a punctured lung. His grim smile grew wider. Junie had stabbed him good.
The breathing was not moving and Bob circled slowly working his way around trying to pick up some movement. When he caught the strange sour smell of fear and sweat, he pulled out an arrow and moved closer. Each step separate from the next, his feet feeling their way. He could tell Card was hunkered down under the low branches of a clump of low growing firs. He knew where he was, but he could not see him. He was only about twenty feet away. Bob slowly inhaled and then let out a long low growl.
The breathing stopped and there was a rustling sound of clothing rubbing on bark. Bob knew that Card had pulled back tighter against the tree. Bob carefully reached and snapped a twig and made a small snuffling sound. Then he stood still and silent, letting the fear and curiosity grow in his prey. He knocked the arrow and pulled back the string of the bow and waited.
When Sam Card stepped out of his shelter, Bob aimed at his heart and then felt a wave of reluctance. Human or not, he realized he did not have it in him to take the life of this thing. He pulled his aim up and to one side and let the arrow sink through Sam Card's upper right shoulder. Card staggered back and let out a low whistling shriek.
Bob growled again and then barked, "Run monster."
Sam Card turned and bolted toward the driveway. Bob pulled out a second arrow and followed, herding the panicked man toward Agent Durant. Bob made no effort to move quietly now. Deliberately he crashed through the woods behind the struggling fugitive, urging him on. When they broke onto the driveway, Sam Card froze for a second and then turned and ran blindly toward the highway. As he fled from the man behind him, he did not even see the FBI agent in the dark suit rise up before him. The sound of the gun was deafening. Sam Card was stopped and made a tiny grating sound and then fell full length, face down on the gravel.
Agent Durant pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and shined it on the body. The tip and shaft of the arrow reflected the light where it had come through Sam Card's shirt in back. Bob could see it was not moving like it would have been if Card were still breathing. There was a great deal of blood on the back of Card's head. Grabbing one of Sam Card's hands, he rolled him over and looked at the neat hole in the center of his forehead. Bob looked up at Agent Durant. "You are a good shot, better than me."
Durant shined the light into Sam Card's face and muttered, "Go check on the women. I will stay here."
The dull boom of the gun and the echoes that followed brought Junie's head up. Donna's hand clenched hers and she muttered, "Is he dead?"
A soft tremble shook through Monica and she pressed herself even closer to Junie's side. Junie carefully put the gun she had been holding for so long down and slipped an arm around Monica. She murmured, "It will be over soon, pretty girl. David will come back soon."
Monica's voice was soft and clear, "I told him I loved him."
Junie did not move, but she tightened her arm around Monica, "I am glad. He loves you too."
Bob came in the back door and looked at the little group of women huddled together on the floor. He spoke softly, "It's over. He is dead."
At the sound of his voice Donna tried to get up again and once more Junie hushed her and held her down. Donna protested, her voice was impatient and complaining, "Let me up. I want Bob."
