“I’m here, Colonel. We all good?”
“Affirmative.” Colt clapped his hands together and smiled from ear to ear. “Got every last one of those bastards. It’s only a matter of time before we can move out of here and into the surrounding towns. Like the president said, we need to strike while the iron’s hot, we have no idea how long this will last.”
“Roger that, sir.”
“I’ve also . . .” Colonel Jenkins paused. Colt didn’t know why. “I’ve received word on your brother.”
Colt’s stomach sank. Just the way he said it—like there was pain in his voice. “What? Jake? Is he alright?”
“He is.”
Colt let out the breath he held in. Thank God.
“The doctor relayed a message to the president. He’ll likely be waking up soon, and I figured you’d want to be there when he does.”
“Oh, for sure.”
“Good, then grab your boys and get to the infirmary.”
“Thank you, Colonel.”
“No, Colt! Thank you. For all you’ve done. Our country is grateful to you. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Without hesitation, Colt spoke. “A ride when the times comes.”
“Consider it done. I’ll be ready to fly on your command. You just say the word.”
“Thank you again, Colonel.”
“You’re welcome. Jenkins out!”
Colt lifted the radio away from his mouth and looked to his sons. “You ready to see your Uncle Jake?”
They both grinned and nodded.
Colt looked to Brittney and Franks. She stared at Colt and said, “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
Colt smiled. “You’re welcome. If you want to stay a little longer, please do. It seems this place is a fortress again now that the leak has been plugged. I’m sure the powers that be will have no problem with you being here. Just don’t leave until the government deems it safe to step outside these walls again.”
She smiled in agreement.
Colt walked to Franks and stuck out his hand for a shake. “Thank you for your help out there and in here.”
Franks lowered his head, and Colt wondered if he knew he hadn’t been much help. Maybe he did it because he figured he was more of a hinderance, even a coward.
“Chin up, soldier. You did what most would’ve done. Learn from this experience. Take it with you always.”
Franks was choked up. Colt could see it in his eyes.
“It’s okay, son, truly it is.”
Colt gathered his sons and exited the room in search of his baby brother.
When they made it to the infirmary, Colt didn’t hesitate, he opened the same door he left his brother behind. Jess was there, sitting by Jake’s side. But Jake was still asleep. Colt stopped and turned to his boys. “Wait here,” he said.
Once inside the room, Jess met him by the door. “How is he?” Colt said.
“He still hasn’t woken up, but the doctors are positive. They say he’ll be awake soon.”
Colt rubbed his stubble and nodded his head in agreement. “Okay, I’m going to try to find the boys something to eat. We’ll wait outside, so when he wakes up, please come and get us.”
“I will.”
Colt turned around and reached for the door, but paused when Jess said, “Colt.” He spun, and she continued, “Do you really think he’ll wake up?”
Colt forced a smile. “Of course, Jess. He’s a Maddox. Stubborn as they come. He wouldn’t let something like this kill him—who could he brag to after all is said and done?” Colt grinned, then walked back outside to corral his sons for a feast from the vending machine.
23
After dumping what was left from the Lay’s potato chip bag into his mouth, Colt watched Tyler step into the hallway.
“Any word from Captain America?” Tyler asked Colt.
Ha! Captain America! Colt chuckled to himself. “No. Not yet. He still hasn’t woken up.”
Just as Colt spoke those words, Jess opened the door and peeked her head outside.
“Guys, he’s awake and he’s asking to see you.” She nodded to Colt and his boys, not realizing Tyler had returned as well.
When they entered, Colt’s eye immediately went to his brother. Lying on his back, he looked weak, and helpless—far from the man Colt always knew him to be, especially lately. Tyler might have been on to something with that Captain America question. In truth, Jake was the closest thing to a superhero he had ever known.
Jake smiled in his prone state, but just as quickly as the smile formed, it faded like a passing storm. “What’s wrong, Jacob? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Colt had to know why he looked so panicked.
“Amy,” Jake said.
Colt looked to the monitors on the side of his bed. His heartrate climbed, and his breathing turned rapid. “How long have I been out? Did she come back?”
Colt knew she was sedated. Colonel Jenkins hadn’t updated him on her situation.
Jess breezed by Colt and joined Jake by his bedside. “We don’t know yet. She’s still under.”
Colt wondered if Jess actually knew or was speculating.
“How long has it been?” Jake said.
“Close to two hours.”
Those words spurred Jake on. He leaned forward, then scooted himself upright on the hospital bed. “She should be getting close.” Then Jake reached for the IV inside his arm and ripped it free. He moved his legs over the bedrail and was attempting to climb down.
What are you doing, idiot? You need your rest, Colt thought. “Whoa, you aren’t going anywhere, brother. You lost a lot of blood.” Colt helped Jess push him back down.
As he lay, Colt thought more about it. Maybe Jake knew something no one else did. If there was still a chance Amy could come back, they were all still at risk. Part of him wanted to protect his brother from unnecessary harm, the other part wanted to help him end the threat once and for all.
Jake pushed his brother’s defensive stance away, and sidestepped Jess. “Yeah, well we will all lose a lot more blood if Element Zero wakes up instead of Amy. This is no time to be taking chances.”
The more Jake talked, the clearer, Colt’s mind became. His brother was right. He might not have had the strength to see this through, but Colt knew better than to stand in his way.
“Ty, grab those for me.” Jake gestured at his rifle and axe in the corner. “Dylan, toss me those pants.”
Dylan glanced at his father, and Colt gave him a subtle nod in agreement.
Both men gave Jake what he asked for.
Jess stepped in front of Jake’s path and said, “Jake, they have armed guards at her bed. Tyler just came from checking on her.”
Tyler nodded, but Jake didn’t care. “I don’t give a damn if there is a rocket launcher pointed at her head. I’m not gonna lay here feeling sorry for myself while she might wake up a monster. Do they know to feel for the static? Do they, Jess? She might not wake up before Element Zero tries something else.”
“Static?” Colt mumbled to himself, then looked to his arms, and realized exactly what his brother meant.
“Exactly,” Jake said.
Tyler dropped Jake’s weapons beside him and said, “I don’t know what y’all are talking about, but I’m with Jake. If y’all know something they don’t, don’t be sitting in here. I’ll get Jake a wheelchair.”
Jake put his feet to the ground and hobbled. “I don’t need a wheelchair.” He reached out and grabbed his pants from Dylan’s hand.
Colt took hold of him and stood him upright. “You sure about that?”
Jake didn’t answer, but instead put his pants on and grabbed his weapons. “Just get me down there.”
Colt waited by Jake’s side and helped him walk. Jake put most of his weight on his brother. Colt didn’t mind. After all, Captain America needed help sometimes. “Where is she?” Jake looked to Tyler.
Colt stopped walking with his brother and let Tyler take the lead. �
�It’s not far. Follow me.”
“Dylan, I need you to stay here.”
“What? No. Hell no.” Dylan slouched, and Wesley looked to his father with concern. “Why?”
“Because there might still be a threat. You heard your Uncle Jake. He doesn’t trust this . . . this Amy.”
“But why?” Dylan’s head sank.
Colt recaptured both their eyes. “Look, I know you want to go with me, but you’re injured, and Wesley, you’re too young.” He didn’t want to use the age card, but it was all he had. Truth was, he didn’t want Wesley to see any more death. He’d already seen his share. “Stay here. I will come back in no time. Just stay. I need to go.” Colt trailed his brother before he got too far ahead. “I’ll be back, I promise.”
Tyler led everyone to the end of a hallway where three armed men stood in front of an all glass door. There were men inside, surrounding what looked to be a young blonde girl.
Jake walked on his own now, and when he came close to the guards, one stepped in front of him and cut off his intended path. “Sir, you can’t go in there.”
“Move out of my way.” Jake didn’t sway or stop until the man stuck his gun out, directly in the middle of Jake’s chest.
Don’t piss him off, Colt thought. He moved his arm to catch his brother’s before he did something he would regret, but Jake was too quick. Before anyone—aside from Jake—knew what was happening, Jake stuffed his elbow into the guards’ neck and forced him into the glass door.
“Out of my way, soldier. I’m not playing,” Jake snarled.
One of the other guards reacted by grabbing a hold of Jake’s shoulder. Not smart. Colt wouldn’t allow his brother to be attacked. He countered the guard’s forceful move by twisting and trapping his arm against his back. Finally, the third guard acted, pointing the end of his rifle at Colt.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jess said, pressing the barrel of her handgun to the third guard’s temple.
“Put your gun down, ma’am. We are under president’s orders to let no one in!”
Colt looked at all three. They were young—couldn’t have been older than twenty. Young and impressionable. “Look, I don’t know you boys, but I know us. I suggest you stand down because we are going in that room whether you fight it or not.”
There was a momentary pause before Jess spoke again. Everyone eyed each other. It was a standoff. All waited to see if someone would fire first. “Jake, what do you want us to do?”
“Wait!” a guard said. “Jake Maddox? Delta Operator, Jake Maddox?”
Colt watched his brother nod.
“Sorry, sir. I didn’t recognize you in the hospital gown. Johnson, let him pass.”
“But the president—” It seemed it was Johnson who didn’t want to lose rank or piss off the higher ups.
“Johnson! Stand down. This is the man that saved us from that monster in there. Let him through.”
The guards opened their defensive stance, and Johnson showed them the way inside.
Right before they stepped inside the room, Jake said over his shoulder, “Hopefully, she’s not a monster anymore.”
Johnson addressed the guards inside. “He’s okay. He’s the one that stopped her.”
Colt watched Amy as she lay on the hospital bed. Her passive state struck Colt as odd. How could that much power have existed inside such a little girl? he thought.
“You boys see any movement?” Jake asked.
All the guards looked to one man. He must’ve been in charge—or at least had the highest rank. “She’s been like this for about fifteen minutes now.”
Jake walked closer, bending down toward her. “And before that?” Jake asked.
Colt looked to the man who spoke, expecting him to know more. “On and off. About every five minutes she would be like this, then go into convulsions. This is the longest she’s been without a convulsion since they brought her in here.”
Jake looked over his shoulder and said, “Thank you, soldier.”
“You think it’s gone?” Jess said.
Colt turned to look at her, then to his brother for response.
Without a reply, Jess pressed again, “Jake, you think she’s going to be okay?”
As Colt watched Jess, he noticed something happening. Her mouth gaped. Colt scrunched his eyebrows, then followed her eyes.
Colt was surprised to see it too. Amy’s eyes had opened. She searched the room for her bearings. Everyone was there, staring at her.
“I think, I’m okay,” Amy said.
Jake grabbed a hold of her gently and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty.” Amy forced a grin.
“Better?” Jake asked after she finished a drink.
“Better,” Amy said. “I feel normal again.”
“Well, it’s good to have you back,” Jake said.
Is it? Colt wasn’t so sure. He hoped Amy was Amy, but he wasn’t entirely sold. Of course he couldn’t say that then, he had to give his brother and the others who knew her best, the benefit of the doubt.
“Did I . . . did I do, bad things?”
That’s an understatement.
Colt watched Jess move to comfort her.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetheart,” Jess said. “Everything is going to be okay now.”
That may be true, but whatever was invading her body did.
“I don’t remember anything since this morning. Something took over my body, didn’t it?” Amy said.
“It did. But it’s gone now,” Jake said.
I can’t believe Jake is being this calm. Amy tried to kill him no less than two hours ago. Sure, an alien was controlling her, but still . . . are you certain the alien’s gone Jake?
“You saved me again?” Amy said.
Colt watched Jake eye Jess and say, “We all did our part.”
It looked like Amy was about to be overcome with emotion. “Thank you.” She looked to everyone, including Colt.
When he and Amy caught eyes, he felt ice run through his veins. He still was worried about the warning from Anna. The one from the dream. He needed more reassurance.
“Are we going to be okay?” Amy said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re going to be okay,” Jake said.
Colt was surprised by his brother’s words, because he didn’t really feel the same way.
Amy offered her condolences to Jake, though Colt wasn’t really interested in her apologies. But what she said next, struck a nerve.
“Do you think they got everything they wanted?”
They? They who? The aliens? What kind of a question is that?
“Who’s that, Amy?” Jess asked.
Colt looked to Amy. He knew exactly who Amy meant.
“The aliens,” Amy said.
“We don’t really know what they wanted. Do we?” Jake said.
Amy looked beyond Jake and Jess, as if to stare into the blankness of uncertainty.
“Information,” Amy said.
“Information?” Jake said.
What kind? Colt thought.
“That’s what they wanted,” Amy said. “To know everything about us. In the beginning, anyway.”
How can she know all this? Colt still didn’t know how deep her connection went with the aliens.
“What do you mean, Amy?” Jess said.
“This is a translation, because when they would talk to each other, it wasn’t in English. But all I know is that the plan was to send a scout team to see if life was viable for them here. It worked better than they thought it would, so they let the scout team try to clear a path for the rest of them.”
Still Colt was puzzled. How can she know this?
It seemed Jake had the same thought. “How do you know this?”
“When I would tap into them, I could hear things,” Amy started.
Tap into them?
Amy continued. “Like it was coming from a far-off radio. It wasn’t like they were saying it right then, b
ut like I could access it like it was On Demand.”
Jake took his eye off Amy and looked at Jess. “You think Element Zero was just the leader of the scout team?” Jess said.
This is ridiculous. How could she have done the things she says she’s done? How did she tap into the aliens? There has to be a connection between her and this . . . this Element Zero.
After she cleared her throat and Jake offered her another drink of water, Amy continued. “Anyway, do you think since we figured out how to remove them from our bodies that they will leave us alone now?”
Don’t answer that, Jacob. She could be still playing you.
“I think you don’t have to worry about it, Amy,” Jake tried to comfort her. “Get some rest. It’s good to have you back.”
Amy lurched for Jake and hugged him tight. Colt watched as Jess joined the embrace as well. This is bullshit. From his perspective, this wasn’t over. Far from it. Whether or not Amy was Amy, he had the feeling that the aliens wouldn’t stay stagnant for long. And the longer he watched the three of them hug, the more he felt the tug in his belly to fly home. To get to Colorado Springs before it was too late.
Amy was in his brother’s hands now. Whether she stayed the little girl or became Element Zero again, it was up to Jake and the others to get society back in order. All Colt was concerned with was Anna. With making his family whole again.
Without another word, he ran to collect his sons, then find Colonel Jenkins.
24
The next day
I knew they wouldn’t stay asleep forever, Colt thought to himself as he followed Colonel Jenkins deep into the cavities of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Upon their entry into the complex, the two soldiers who joined Colonel Jenkins, Colt, and his sons had had to fire into a group of infected who were swarming below on their approach.
But it was not the same group of infected who lingered outside the fence of the complex when Colt and the others lifted off from Colorado Springs a few days ago, even though to Colt the scene from the sky felt eerily familiar.
This time though, the soldiers weren’t firing rounds of live ammunition—they were firing the cure. Problem was, though, the drug needed time to set into the bodies of the running infected. One thing the scientists also discovered was that the faster the infected moved—meaning the more the blood flowed through their bodies—the quicker the drug would take effect.
Uncivil War (Book 6): Awakening Page 11