Reckoning (New Haven Book 2)

by Sara Jo Cluff

  We were all back in our fifties-style clothing, trying to look as nice as possible.

  We’d never had a funeral before. Not in New Haven, and certainly not in River Springs. We never saw what happened to the bodies after someone died. The leaders of River Springs didn't want us to focus on death.

  In only one day, we had to figure out what we wanted to do during the ceremony and what traditions we wanted to start, if any.

  President Brown and Dante spoke about Lou’s life. They each shared stories, some personal, and some they had gathered from other Kingsland residents. James sat in a chair in front of the casket, his head down as the stories were told. Archie was able to put a casket together for Lou. It wasn’t anything grand with such limited time, but it worked.

  We had asked James if he wanted to share a few words, but he refused. His wife and daughter didn’t want to leave Kingsland. They didn’t agree with James and Lou on the state of their city. James had said once that it was like he’d already lost two members of his family. And now he’d lost the only member left, so I knew this was extremely hard for him.

  Vivica stood behind James, her hand on his shoulder. I could tell she was fighting back tears, which was the first time I’d ever seen her show any amount of her soft side. She’d borrowed a black dress from Tina, and it fit her surprisingly well.

  Once President Brown and Dante were done with their stories, the Mendes family joined the vice president up front. Rosie sprinkled some flowers on top of Lou’s casket and then went to stand in front of her mom and dad, with Santiago on her left and Javier on her right. Together they sang a beautiful song, bringing tears to every member of our city.

  Vice President Mendes closed the services with a prayer. I was surprised by the comfort it brought to my heart, knowing that Lou was in a better place.

  The whole ceremony brought the city of New Haven together. It bonded us, the ties strong, which was just what we needed.

  After the ceremony, the residents slowly trickled away, going back to training. Marie took Dee back to the infirmary. As she was wheeled away, Dee’s eyes remained unfocused, her lips forming into a frown. The whole experience must have hung heavy on her heart. If the new drug didn’t cure her, she might be the next person we’d have to dig a grave for.

  Before going back to training, I changed back into my military uniform and then went around the different groups, watching everyone practice. Two very different emotional states came from the trainees. Some looked grieved, most of them from Kingsland who knew Lou well. Their hearts weren’t in it.

  Then there were others, including Vivica, who were fighting with every ounce of strength they had. Their eyes held determination, as if their life depended on the mock battle before them. Like they now had something to fight for.

  We needed to keep the city of New Haven intact and continue the research on the disease. We had to find a cure.

  Not long after training had gotten back in full swing, our scouts we had sent out the day before came back, parking their vehicle near the watchtower on the east side. Dante, Santiago, Maya, and I met them as they stepped out of the jeep.

  “What’s the news?” Dante asked.

  One of the scouts we sent was Gideon. I wasn’t sure if he’d want to go since he’d just gone on our trip to River Springs, but he was excited about the opportunity.

  The other guy we sent, Hiro, was one of the few members from Juniper. We wanted to send him since he knew the way and was in the best condition from his city.

  Gideon folded his arms and leaned against the jeep. “With the large number of soldiers, and their pace, I’d say about fifteen hours, maybe less, until they get here.”

  “They looked hungry,” Hiro said, shaking his head, “for blood.” His brown eyes were weary. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he was well built and very capable of taking care of himself if danger were to cross his path. He kept his black hair perfectly trimmed.

  “Who’s leading them?” Maya asked Hiro.

  Hiro sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “General Ming.”

  Maya kicked at the ground with her good leg. A few quiet, but still audible, swear words escaped her mouth. For some reason, they didn’t sound right coming from her mouth. “That’s not good.”

  “No, it’s not,” Hiro said. Still rubbing his neck, he looked up at the sky. “The man, if that’s what you want to call him, is ruthless.”

  Gideon looked at me. “From everything Hiro told me, President Randall pales in comparison to General Ming.”

  Maya cringed beside me. “Once during a training exercise, a man in my friend’s unit failed to beat the time the general wanted them to reach. General Ming took the soldier by the hair and knelt him in front of the entire unit. With everyone watching, he beheaded the guy.”

  Santiago whistled. “For not reaching the desired time? That’s insane.”

  “And this General Ming’s going to be entering New Haven?” Dante swore. “We can’t have someone like that issuing commands.” He looked at Maya. “Where does he usually go during battle? Does he fight? Does he stay back?”

  Maya gave a strained laugh, rubbing her thumb over her violin charm like she was playing it. “He keeps in the very back, surrounded by at least ten men. He’d be the last one you’d have to kill.”

  “We have to find a way to take him out as early on as we can,” I said.

  Hiro nodded. “If we could, that’d be best. He’s constantly issuing orders through earpieces to all the unit leaders. If he wasn’t barking anything out, it would throw everyone out of sync.”

  “How do you propose we do that?” Dante stood tall, his arms folded, and his feet square with his shoulders. His demeanor and stature were becoming more like Mack and Terrance’s every day. But he still had his youthful, fun side which was endearing.

  “Come from behind,” Gideon said. We all looked at him. “We know where they’re coming from. If we could have someone waiting at the other end of the canyon, hiding somewhere, they could take him out right away.”

  “They’d have to get through at least ten other soldiers first,” Hiro said.

  I looked at Dante and smiled. “Unless they have a rocket launcher.”

  Dante nodded, his smile mischievous. “It could work.”

  “Even if it did work,” Maya said, “as soon as that launcher’s set off, the person’s location is exposed. It’s a suicide mission.”

  “I think it’s worth it,” Santiago said. “If this general is as vicious as you say, we need him killed right away no matter the cost.”

  “Even if the cost is someone’s life?” Maya put her thumbs in her back pockets, swaying slightly.

  “We’re already sacrificing lives,” I said. “We know we’re going to have casualties on our side, no matter what. If there’s the possibility of lowering the causality rate, plus a better chance of victory, we have to take it.”

  “I agree,” Dante said, nodding.

  “Me too,” Santiago said.

  “I’ll volunteer,” Gideon said, surprising all of us. His voice was confident, but fear lingered in his eyes.

  I looked at him. “Gideon, are you sure you want to do this?”

  He nodded. “Yes, Emmie. I’m willing to sacrifice my life for New Haven. For the chance for Marie to continue her medical research.” He got a little choked up. He and Marie had grown close since he first came here. They complimented each other very well.

  A thought came to my mind. “What if you didn’t stay?”

  Gideon scratched his forehead. “What do you mean?”

  “What if you had a vehicle hidden that you could use to escape?” I asked. “Set off the rocket launcher, make sure it worked and then take off in the other direction?”

  “And go where?” Dante asked. “It’s a long way around the mountain.”

  The wheels were turning in my head. “He could go to Juniper.”

  Santiago laughed. “So, he could be tortured and killed there?”

  “
No.” I looked at Maya. “You said your city is really bad off, right?”

  Maya nodded. “It’s pretty much hell on earth.”

  “And no one good is left?” I asked, reading her face.

  “Not that we know of,” Hiro said.

  I turned to him. “And they’ll keep on attacking us, no matter what, right?”

  “Seriously, Emmie, where are you going with this?” Dante asked, looking at me with raised eyebrows. “Just get to the point, woman.”

  I rolled my eyes and then punched him in the arm. “While I was in the infirmary, I noticed a vial of pink liquid. When I touched it, Dr. Stacey freaked out. He told me it was a deadly virus and that it could kill thousands of people with just a few drops.”

  “And you want to use that on Juniper?” Santiago asked. A huge grin came to his face. “I like it.”

  Dante rubbed his arm where I hit him. “If we could take out the rest of Juniper and the other half of the soldiers, along with General Ming, we might have a chance at winning this thing.”

  “How would you spread the virus?” Hiro asked. “I think they’d notice some random white guy walking into the city.”

  Maya smiled. “Through the water supply. I know where he could put it without even entering the city limits.”

  “The underground tunnel on the south side of the mountain,” Hiro said, nodding at Maya. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

  Maya looked at Gideon. “I can draw you a map. You could easily sneak in without being seen, drop the virus in the water, and leave.”

  “Hopefully by the time you make it back, we’ll be done here,” Santiago said.

  Maya sighed. “I just thought of something.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “About a month ago, there was an explosion near the tunnel that caused a collapse,” Maya said. “When my dad went to go investigate, he couldn’t even get through. It was too narrow. He had to send someone small in.”

  “Who?” Hiro asked.

  “Me.” I startled at the voice. I turned around to see Bruce come out from behind a tree. He’d been hiding there that whole time. The little sneak. “I can go with Gideon.”

  “No,” Maya said, shaking her head. “No way. Bruce, we already lost mom and dad. I can’t lose you, too.”

  Bruce shrugged. “You just said it would be easy. That he could sneak in without being seen. So could I. Besides, I’m way smaller than this giant.” He smiled at Gideon, craning his neck to look up at him.

  Gideon let out a laugh. “He has a good point.”

  Maya took a deep breath and ran her hand along her spiked hair, her bracelets clinking together.

  I put my hand on her arm. “This could help us win this war. Gideon and Bruce are both smart and capable of this task.”

  Maya sighed. “I know. I’m just being the protective big sister.”

  “It takes an hour to get through the canyon by jeep,” Dante said. “Let’s get them the supplies they need, show them how to use the rocket launcher, and get them on their way.”

  “Yes,” I said. “You’ll need time to find a good cover for the jeep, plus a spot for you to hide out before the army gets there.”

  We went to find Mack to tell him of our plan. It took us a while to convince him to part with one of the rocket launchers. He didn’t like the idea of only having one left for us to use, but the thought of killing General Ming right away intrigued him.

  We decided not to tell the president and vice president for now, just in case the plan went horribly wrong. We didn’t want it resting on their shoulders. We needed every resident of New Haven to trust them.

  I also thought it best not to tell Dr. Stacey we were taking the virus. Since he freaked out just from me picking it up, I figured he wouldn’t like us taking it from New Haven.

  Santiago was thrilled that I gave him the mission to break into the storage container that held the virus. Dante, Maya, and I made sure to distract everyone else in the infirmary during this time, telling them of the plans for the children and other residents who weren’t going to fight.

  When we met back up afterward, Santiago had a vial that was only a quarter full.

  “Where’s the rest?” I crossed my fingers he wasn’t about to tell me he spilled some and that we’d all be dead soon.

  Santiago laughed. “I see the look on your face, Emmie, but you can relax. I thought I shouldn’t take all of it, just in case we need some of it again. There are three other cities, after all.”

  “You opened it?” I asked, my eyes wide. “What if you’d spilled some during the transfer of vials?”

  “I was careful,” Santiago said with a shrug. “There were some gloves in the room that I put on while I did it. I disposed of the gloves afterward. Not a single drop escaped.”

  I shook my head. “That was still foolish of you.”

  “I’ll have you know that I opened the storage container without any evidence that I did,” Santiago said, pointing at me. “Dr. Stacey won’t even notice unless he unlocks it and looks specifically at the bottle.”

  “Alright, let’s get Gideon and Bruce on their way,” I said to Maya and Dante.

  Santiago raised his arms. “I think a thank you is in order. What I just did was awesome.”

  Dante slapped Santiago on the back. “Nicely done.”

  Santiago looked at me expectantly. I couldn’t help but smile as I hugged him. “Thank you, Santiago.”

  “You’re welcome,” Santiago said, squeezing me tight. He held onto me as the others walked away. “You doing okay? I mean, with Eric being gone and everything else going on?”

  I sighed into his chest. “I’m just worried that it’s too late. But with New Haven about to be attacked, there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

  Santiago kissed the top of my head. “You have my promise, Emmie, that once we kick some Juniper butt, we’re drawing up a game plan to get your man back. I’ll go in with guns blazing if I have to.”

  “Thanks, Santiago.”

  I hoped there was some way we could win the battle and get Eric back, but I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. In reality, they both seemed impossible.

  We wanted to send Gideon and Bruce on their way before anyone could realize what we were doing. Gideon wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Marie, but I told him he couldn’t tell her anything since we’d stolen the virus from the infirmary.

  Gideon marched into Dee’s room where Marie was checking her vitals, placed one hand on the small of Marie’s back, the other on the back of her head and pulled her close. He kissed her with a heated urgency, his lips moving in hunger, and then walked out, leaving Marie breathless and Dee fanning her face.

  As I watched Gideon walk down the hallway toward Bruce, someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned around to see Will, his face beet red. He looked wide-eyed at me, then Marie, then Dee, and then Gideon.

  Will straightened his glasses. “Um.” He looked at Dee again—who was talking with Marie—and then looked back at me, keeping his voice low. “I’ve never kissed anyone before. I’ve seen my parents kiss a couple of times, but nothing like that. Is that normal?” His neck suddenly matched the color of his face. “I mean, is that what’s expected?” He looked at Dee again.

  I shook my head, trying not to laugh. “No, those kinds of kisses should usually be done in private. This was a … special circumstance.”

  Will scratched his head, still looking at Dee. Dee must have noticed Will’s stare because she looked over at him, her cheeks turning red. Seeing color in her cheeks again made me smile. Even if it was from embarrassment.

  Will quickly looked at the ground and shifted uncomfortably where he stood. I patted him on the shoulder. “Hang in there, Will. It’ll all work out in the end. Just don’t think about it too much.”

  Will nodded and then walked away. Dee looked at me with her eyebrows raised. I just winked at her and gave Marie a thumbs up before I turned and left.

  I wanted to catch up with Gi
deon and Bruce to make sure they got off okay, but I was stopped as I was walking back through Headquarters.

  “Emmie,” Derek said, stepping out from the security room.

  I stopped in the hallway, folding my arms. “Can this wait? I have something important to do right now.”

  Derek shrugged, shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorway. His green tee had the caption, I can’t adult today. “Depends if you want the results of the lie detector tests or not.”

  I did. My head debated whether I should ignore him and leave, but the way he looked at me made me curious. I sighed. “Did everyone pass?”

  His smile was smug. “Let’s make this interesting. We need to have a wager to see if you can guess right.”

  “Really, Derek? I don’t have time for this. Just tell me the results.”

  “Come on, Emmie Let’s have fun for once.”

  “Yes,” Naomi said from inside the room.

  I peered in to see her at her normal station, watching all the security feed, backs to us.

  Derek sighed. “Thanks, Naomi. Yes, everyone passed.”

  “Wonderful,” I said, walking away. Derek mumbled something that I couldn’t understand. I stopped and turned back to him. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and ran his finger along the door frame, stopping to pick at a piece of wood that had splintered. “Nothing important or possibly life-threatening.”

  “Derek, you’re killing me.”

  He shook his head. “Nope, I’m not the one who will be doing any killing.”

  I walked back to him, a frown forming on my face. “Are you saying someone will be?”

  “Maybe,” he said with a shrug.

  “You just said everyone passed.” Irritation boiled inside, an emotion Derek had no problem evoking from me.

  He looked at me. “They did.” I waited for him to continue, but he walked back into the security room, sitting down in his chair.

  I stared into the room, thinking he’d sense my penetrating glare and just tell me what he was hiding from me. When that didn’t work, I went in and walked up next to him. Putting my hands on the armrests of his chair, I turned him so he faced me. “Spit. It. Out.”