"Stalked and Stalker" Pt. 8 (Patreon)

I won a Dean Spencer story contest for one of his pieces of art. I'm now completing it with (theoretically) weekly entries. Of course I haven't managed a new entry in nearly 6 months. My PLAN is to go back to regular entries... let's see if I can pull it off!

This is Part Eight of the story. Part One can be found here, Part Two here, Part Three here, Part Four here, Part Five here, Part Six here., and Part Seven here.

Paying Patrons can instead go here, for a compiled, slightly more edited version of the story-to-date, along with my thoughts and author's notes about each section. If you are new to being a paying Patron in the past 6 months, this is your best bet!

(Low res image. High res will be used for the final product. Art by Dean Spencer, used under license.)

8

MacKenzie turned to Alec.

"While we have a moment, got any more surprises you'd like to mention, mon ami? Like, say, a machine rifle hidden gods-only-know-where?"

Alec smiled, and looked not a bit embarrassed.

"I have my Star Model 14 with two spare magazines and two boxes of rounds, a Winchester 1897 97 Mod 12 trench gun with heat shield and bayonet lug, and the bayonet, and two boxes of shells. About a dozen yards of four-point two-braid barded wire. One Tissot mask and its chest unit. Three F1s, with Billant fuses. And... about a kilo of Schneiderite, packed in wax, and four detonators."

"Gods wept!," exclaimed Blaze, a split second before MacKenzie could do something similar. "Alec, what the hell? Three grenades and a kilo of high explosive?!"

Alec met her gaze, showing no expression even as Doc Soloman began sewing stitched into the longest of the cuts on Alec's back.

"Better to have it and not need it, Blaze."

MacKenzie shook his head.

"Not with Schneiderite, Alex. Or grenades for that matter. At least not with telling everyone where you have it stowed. Point them out to Blaze. Blaze, check them out, make sure they're still stable."

Alex looked ready to object, but MacKenzie gave him the very best version of The Look he could muster while shivering. Alec met the Look with an emotionless face... then grinned again. MacKenzie nodded, and let Alex and Blaze get on with checking the explosives for signs of damage or instability. But he really was going to have to talk to Alex about keeping heavy weapons, explosives, and barbed wire secret. ... Later.

For now, MacKenzie stepped a new steps up the stairs, still in arm's reach of Soloman, and focused on the area some fifteen meters up. Illuminated only by the burning branches Blaze had dragged in, the walls and ceiling of the landing were almost impossible to see. They flickered and writhed in the firelight, and MacKenzie did NOT like the feeling he got when he stared at them.

"I'm out of flares," MacKenzie said to the group below him. "And I threw my lantern at those things during the fight, and I saw Blaze used what I suspect was all her lighter fluid and lamp oil."

Blaze nodded, while slowly unwrapping a small brick of what MacKenzie presumed was Schneiderite.

"So, what do we have for light sources? I'm down to my Zippo and an Orilux."

Blaze spoke without looking up.

"I have two Everreadies and spare batteries for both, a Buddy electric lantern but no spare batter for it, fifty or so taper candles, and my Ronson, but no more fluid to refill it,"

"I have an Everready, my small hanging surgical lanterns, and my Radium line-reader," said Doc Soloman.

Everyone looked at Alex.

"One Everready, spare batteries, my Trench Lighter, 250 ml of spare lighter fluid, a Nernst lamp, and a 5-second Dynamo jacket-light," added Alex.

"What, no floodlamps or kerosine lanterns?" The sarcastic tone of Blaze's voice was perhaps a bit sharp, but when she and Alec looked at each other, they both grinned. Well, at least MacKenzie didn't have to worry about keeping them apart... not that he physically could if either of them decided to make a point of it.

"Okay, okay. Look, I want everyone to have their own light. We may have to conserve batteries later, but for now it's not far up to the landing and I want as much illumination coverage as we can manage. Doc, how do those cuts look?"

Doc Soloman neatly clipped the threat from his last stich with a tiny pair of scissors, and tucked them back into his rolled-up medical kit.

"No sign of any spores, toxins, parasites, or infection, and nothing too serious overall. I'll take another look whenever we settle for camp, to make sure they aren't turning on us."

Alec stood nodded to Soloman in thanks, and rummaged around his pack for a spare shirt, which he pulled on quickly and tucked into his pants. Alex then pulled out what appeared to be a bedroll, but as he rolled it out a bayonet, shotgun, box of shells, and Everready flashlight were revealed. Alex worked the shotgun's action once then, crouching, began loading shells into it.

Blaze held up three grenades.

"These F1s are all fine. I recommend we bring them with. The brick of Schneiderite is dry and stable, but frozen solid. I don't think we could cram a detonator into it, and I don't like the idea of trying to warm it by the fire. If it were my call, I'd wrap it back up and stick it a couple stairs up, away from any of the gear or the fire."

MacKenzie looked over at Alec, who was attaching his Everready to the bayonet lug on his shotgun. Alec nodded once, at which Blaze began wrapping the explosive back in its wax covering, and then several layers of canvas. As she did, MacKenzie opened the belt pouch with his Orilux, turned the electric lantern on, and focused its lens for a narrow, long beam. He tucked the Orilux back into the pouch with its cover folded back to the light shot forward from his belt unobscured. Doc Soloman had his Everready in hand and switched it on at the same time.

As MacKenzie looked up the stairs, Alec moved up to him, and pressed a Star Model 14 pistol holster into his hands, a spare magazine sitting in the holster, and a box of 7.65mm Browning rounds for it.

"I got the shotgun, you take this."

MacKenzie strapped on the holster and pocketed the spare ammo as Alex moved past him while turning on the Everready on the end of his shotgun. Blaze had re-rigged the holster for her revolver to her left shoulder, and had her electric lantern firmly in her left hand. MacKenzie fell in behind Alec, Soloman behind Mac, and Blaze brought up the rear, moving sideways so she could easily swing her more powerful light forward or back.

"RIght," said MacKenzie. "Let's see what's up there."

(New entries weekly! For real now!)