The poor vision within the warped skeleton made it feel almost as if they were in a forest. Rain washed across the ashen beams and turned the puddles into black sludge. Klaus was still wearing the wetsuit, with just his armored vest over the torso, so he was warm enough, but the air was moist and electric. They were close to their prey. An experienced Hunter could sense such things.

One of his men stepped on a loose board and it made a loud pop. Klaus froze. Hopefully Franks wasn’t too close.

There was a rumble of thunder, but there had been another sound beneath it. Klaus raised his fist to halt the group. They spread out and took cover, each one watching in a different direction. He clicked his radio twice, then counted as each group leader sent him a return click. There was only one response. Scheisse. He’d thought the mysterious sound had come from the left. He keyed the radio. “Miesen. Come in, Miesen.”

There was no response. Klaus signaled for the main group to move in that direction.

He was not certain which Hunter got on the radio, because his voice had become very high and squeaky. “Miesen is down. Franks came out of no—”

He was cut off. “Come in. Come in!” But there was nothing.

Gerhardt was fast and surefooted across the uneven, slippery terrain. Their point man leapt over a fallen beam and ducked beneath a dangling wire. Lightning flashed, momentarily causing the night vision goggles to blink out to protect their sensitive light-gathering electronics from being overwhelmed. When the view returned, Gerhardt was gone.

It had been so fast that he thought he’d made a mistake, but Gerhardt’s Benelli shotgun was lying in a puddle. There was no sign of the rest of him.

“Halt!” Klaus shouted as he flipped up his goggles. “Lights on!”

Grimm Berlin instantly complied. Scalding light filled the broken forest.

Klaus ran to the side, trying to get a better angle. His man had to be there somewhere, but there was nothing. Then Klaus realized that the puddle was draining through a hole in the floor. There was another level beneath what had been crushed by the collapsing upper stories. Gerhardt had been pulled through the floor. “Franks is below us.”

There was a gasp and a thud. Klaus spun around just in time to be blinded by one of his men’s flashlights, then the light jerked wildly to the side and disappeared as the Hunter was dragged around a corner. Still seeing stars, Klaus rushed after him, but tripped and stumbled as his foot caught a loose board. He crashed into the wall, jabbing his shoulder on an exposed nail. Klaus cursed, pushed himself off the wall, and went to the corner.

His men were following. “Stay back and cover each other!” Klaus snapped. He went around the corner, ready to fire.