by Fall, Carly
Obviously, the Saviors had been living in the lap of luxury during their time on Earth, and he thought of his underground quarters all painted the same color as the dirt it laid under. He slept in on a bed of rock, grew his own food, or ate meals out of a silver pouch.
It seemed to be quite the contradiction in lifestyle.
Noah moved into his line of sight, and Nico stood behind him, his gun at his side, as did Blake. He glanced over at Titus, who still had his blindfold on.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Noah said, his angry face just inches away. “You and I are going to sit down and have a little chat.”
“What will happen to Titus?”
“We’re not sure yet, but probably nothing good.”
Justice shook his head. “From what I’ve overheard, Titus has done some things that are not honorable of an SR44ian male. I understand your anger, but maybe we can come to some agreement on his fate.”
A flicker of doubt crossed Noah’s face. “And what would that be?”
“You and I talk, and you hear me out. Then perhaps, you can talk to Titus. It’s the sign of a good leader to hear all sides of a story before making a decision. And, Noah, you don’t strike me as the type to make rash decisions.”
Noah glared at him for a moment, then the corners of his mouth inched up just a little. “Oh, you’re good, Justice. You just pigeon-holed me there. Nice one.”
He turned to Blake and Nico. “Take Titus downstairs to the gym. You two watch him. If he so much as sneezes wrong, you put a bullet in his head. I’m taking the big guy into the War Room for a little chat. And go wake up Liberty and Jovan. I’m going to need them.”
“Maybe we should wait until morning, Noah. It’s after midnight,” Blake commented.
“Nope. This starts right now. Follow me, Justice.”
Chapter 5
Justice did as he’d been he had been told and followed Noah down the hall. A large television. A pool table. Lush, leather couches. A huge dining room table that seemed to stretch for miles. Yes, the Saviors did live in comfortable opulence.
Noah pushed through a glass door and held it open for him. Light quickly overcame the darkness, and he glanced around.
A large glass table sat in the middle of the room with black, leather chairs around it. A huge white screen hung from the ceiling at the front of the room, while a bank of computers sat to its right.
“Sit,” Noah ordered, pointing at a chair while he sat down at the head of the table.
He and Noah stared at each other for a moment, then Noah smiled and shook his head. “I really can’t wait to hear this one.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll wait until Liberty and Jovan get here.”
He glanced around the room once again. “Why don’t your eyes glow your SR44ian color?”
“Contacts.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a film we put over our eyes at night to help mute the glow of our SR44 colors. It helps us blend in with the humans.”
“Brilliant.”
Noah nodded.
Justice turned as a large man with shoulder-length blond hair entered, his eyes gleaming emerald green, followed by a small, thin woman with blue and black hair, her eyes shining bright pink. He tried to contain the shock of seeing an SR44ian female, as he’d been told the Six Saviors only consisted of males.
This must be Jovan and Liberty.
“Do you know what time it is?” Jovan asked.
“Yes, and I’m sorry for waking you, Liberty.”
Jovan took Liberty’s hand and guided her to the other side of the table, away from him.
“What about me? Aren’t you going to apologize for waking me?” Jovan asked, his gaze never leaving Justice.
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Because you aren’t my sister.”
He quickly glanced at the small female, who smiled at him. Noah had family here? His list of questions seemed to be getting longer with each passing moment.
“Hello, Justice. My name’s Liberty, and this is Jovan.”
He nodded, then turned to Noah. “An SR44 female is here?”
“Yes. But before we get into all that, I want to know what the hell you’re doing here, when you arrived, and where you’ve been.”
Confusion tore through him as he studied the faces around the table.
“Liberty and Jovan can sense truth through touch, so if you don’t mind, I’d like them to lay their hands on you as you answer my questions.”
“Of course. I’ve nothing to hide.”
Jovan and Liberty stood, and each sat down on either side of him, placing their hands on his forearms resting on the table.
“So, why are you here?” Noah asked again.
“Because we received your signal, your transmission that you had completed your mission, that the Colonists were dead and you were ready to come home.”
Jovan and Noah exchanged glances.
“I never said we were ready to come home. I never sent any such thing. When was this supposedly received?”
“About two years ago.”
He glanced at Liberty as she nodded at Noah.
“He tells the truth,” she murmured.
Noah rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. “So you’ve been here about two years? Doing what?”
“Yes. We were given the coordinates and told to wait. We did what you asked.”
The tension and frustration were boiling in the room, and he didn’t flinch in his chair. Before him sat the leader of the Six Saviors, and both of them would become heroes when he brought them all home. Although, Liberty worried him as she remained a mystery as to why she resided with the Saviors.
“I never ordered anyone to send that message,” Noah hissed, glaring at him. “No one. Our mission here is far from complete.”
Justice sat back in his chair and shrugged. “It was received. I was sent here with my crew.”
“Where are they?” Noah asked. “Where’s the vessel?”
He eyed Noah for a moment, then shook his head. “You seem to expect many answers out of me; yet, you don’t seem willing to give up any. That’s not how this is going to work. I want to know why I’m sitting next to an SR44 female, and why you hate Titus so badly, and who in your ranks went above your head and sent that message.”
Noah grinned. “Oh, no, Justice. You’re on my turf, you play by my rules. I want your full story, and I want it now.”
“I just gave it to you. We received communication that you had completed your mission, and we were sent to bring the Saviors home. We were dropped and told to radio when everyone was ready.”
“How does Titus fit into all of this?”
“I found him half-dead in the middle of the desert a while ago. My crew and I nursed him back to health. Imagine my shock when I realized he was an SR44 male.”
“What did he tell you?”
“He hasn’t been very forthright on anything. He’s been quiet, only telling us that he could help us get to you. He said once the Saviors had been found, the whole story would be revealed. I like to think of myself as a somewhat patient male, but frankly, my patience is on empty.”
Noah glanced over at Liberty, who nodded, her eyes wide.
They sat in silence for a moment.
“If you didn’t send the signal, who did, Noah?” he asked.
“I don’t have a damn clue.”
Noah stared at the table, his brow furrowed, as if trying to put the pieces of a mental puzzle together.
“Talin?” Jovan asked. “He wanted to go home so badly, and he had the capability to do it.”
Noah nodded. “I bet you’re right.”
“Where is Talin?” Justice asked, glad for an answer. “Don’t you think you should speak to him about this? Isn’t this a complete disregard for your leadership?”
“He’s dead,” Jovan mumbled.
“Oh.” A wave of guilt ran through Justice, but he
pushed it aside.
“Yeah, and that douchebag downstairs?” Jovan continued. “Titus? He was part of the group that killed him.”
Justice took a deep breath, now understanding the situation a little bit better. Titus had not acted as an SR44 male should. Yet, he felt the need to defend him. “I’m sorry to hear that, but it seems very out of character for the male I know. He’s always been quiet and polite.”
“Those are the ones you have to watch out for,” Noah said. “At least, you know where you stand with the loud ones who talk too much.”
He’d never considered the piece of advice, almost preferring the silence Titus offered.
“Why is Titus here on Earth?” he asked. He’d prodded the male for answers many times, but none had been given. Titus had always said all of his questions would be put to rest once they hooked up with the Saviors. “I’ve remained very patient waiting for an explanation of why there are more SR44ians here, and I would appreciate some answers. Now. We have room on our vessel for all of us to travel back together, and I think we should do that soon.”
A long beat of silence ensued, and Noah, Liberty, and Jovan exchanged pained glances.
Finally, Liberty spoke. “SR44 is gone. It was destroyed when the Miladrids attacked. There’s nothing left. I was on board the vessel with Titus and the others. Our job was to further our race.”
Her soft words punched him in the gut like a knife, taking his breath away. “That’s impossible.”
She shook her head, her pink gaze sad. She then squeezed his forearm. “It’s true, Justice. I saw it. It was horrible. Our home is nothing but a million pieces of rock in the black void of space.”
A tear trickled down her pale cheek, and she wiped it away.
He turned to Jovan and Noah, who didn’t say anything but gave him a look that verified all Liberty had told him.
Pulling his arms away from Jovan’s and Liberty’s grasps, he crossed them over his chest, staring at the tabletop, catching a reflection of himself. If he couldn’t go home, he would be stuck in this human form for the rest of his life. He gazed over his full lips, high cheekbones, and his blazing gray eyes. He touched his face and beard, the skin feeling so familiar, yet so unwanted. How he longed to be in his original smoky, gray form, but if SR44 had truly been blown up …
He thought back to the events of the past months. They’d been in regular contact with home until just a while ago, then all transmissions had disappeared. Kade, his technology person, had said they would be able to fix the problem when the Saviors had been located because Talin possessed one of the most intelligent minds SR44 had ever seen.
He glanced up again at Noah, his stomach churning in confusion and pain for all he’d lost—his home, his mother and father, his friends—and exhaustion overtook him.
“I’d like to sleep now,” he whispered.
“Of course.” Noah stood and placed his hand on Justice’s shoulder. “We’ve all worked through our losses, and I’m sorry for yours.”
He said nothing, but stared at his reflection in the table, imagining being trapped in this big, black body for the rest of his existence, which would be about another twelve hundred years, give or take a century or two. He didn’t have the energy to say anything, so he nodded.
“Ill show you to where you’ll be sleeping,” Noah said. “Come with me.”
Chapter 6
Blake sat on the weight bench, glad he had squeezed in a nap this afternoon. However, he really wished he lay in bed curled around Sophia instead of watching Titus sleep.
Nico paced back and forth on the mats, his brow furrowed as he glanced over at Titus. He’d been quiet for the past hour.
“What’s up, Nico?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just surprised to see Titus as I thought all of the Platoon had been killed.”
‘Surprised’ proved to be an incredible understatement, as far as he was concerned. However, he reminded himself of something he’d remembered from his FBI days—a death couldn’t truly be confirmed without a body. Sophia had confirmed that Micah, the leader of the Platoon, had shot Simon, so they’d assumed he’d also killed Titus. But, nope. The guy snored softly in the corner of the mats. He hadn’t said much to him or Nico, but had curled up and gone to sleep.
The door opened, and he turned to see Noah and Justice. They walked across the mats, and Noah eyed Titus.
“What’s his deal?” Noah asked.
“Well, we got down here, and he climbed on top of the stack and went to sleep. It’s almost two now, so everyone is feeling a little tired.”
He hoped Noah got the point.
It apparently hadn’t registered, as Noah motioned him to follow as he went over and shook Titus. “Wake up.”
Titus sat upright, rubbing his eyes.
“I just have one question for you. How come you aren’t dead?”
Titus glanced around a moment, as if confused by his surroundings. “I watched Micah shoot Simon. He did it right in front of me. I ran into the desert, and he continued to shoot at me. One hit me in the leg, but I kept going. I don’t know how long I was out there, but Justice found me and took me in.”
Blake squinted to see Titus better. Were his light yellow eyes glistening with tears? He also noted that Titus had been wearing the contacts the Saviors had gifted the Platoon so long ago when he’d first made himself known in the alley tonight. Now, it seemed among his own kind, he was okay to let his own little freak show fly.
“That’s it?”
“On my honor, that’s the truth. Justice has been very good to me. When he said he and his crew were here for you, I told him I could help him get to you.”
“And you neglected to tell him that SR44 was blown to shit and you were sent here to further the race?”
Titus nodded and glanced over at Justice, who had stretched out on the mats in the opposite corner of the gym. “I knew he’d be in mourning, and I wanted him to be at one hundred percent when we found you. I knew the pain and agony that all of us in the Platoon felt at losing our home, but I also knew that you wouldn’t just accept me at my word. Justice needed to be solid.”
Noah nodded, and Blake couldn’t help but notice the sadness that seemed to radiate off Titus in waves.
“I knew Simon talked to Nico, and to you, Blake, about joining forces with you. We hated Micah; we wanted to be out from under him. Why did you deny us?”
Blake narrowed his gaze. “First, Simon never said a damn thing about you. Second, in case you forgot, you fuckers killed Talin, then tried to kill all of us. We don’t taking kindly to that type of thing.”
Titus sighed and lay down again, placing his arm over his eyes. “I understand. I apologize for the pain I’ve caused you.”
Noah shook his head and turned around. Blake followed. Once they reached Nico, Noah stopped. “Why don’t you two go get some sleep? I’ll stay down here and watch over our visitors. I want us to go check out where they’re living first thing tomorrow.”
“Abby’s not going to be happy about you not coming to bed,” Nico commented.
“She’ll be fine. She’d mad at me, anyway.”
“What did you do this time?” Blake asked.
Noah rolled his eyes. “She asked me if her butt was getting bigger with the pregnancy.”
Blake shut his eyes and shook his head. “Please tell me you didn’t say yes.”
“I did.”
“Sometimes, Noah, you are so fucking stupid.”
“That really wasn’t very smart,” Nico noted.
“I know. But the thing is, I like it. She didn’t believe me.”
“I’ll be surprised if she ever lets you back in your quarters again,” Blake said.
Noah nodded. “Yeah, I will, too.”
Chapter 7
Justice rode in silence in the back of the SUV with Blake while Noah drove, the male named Hudson in the passenger’s seat. They’d left Titus back at the Six Saviors’ headquarters.
A
constant dull ache reverberated through him, his head swam, and his thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. He had lain awake most of the night trying to come to terms with the fact that he would never be going home again, that he would live out the rest of his days on Earth. It terrified him, and no matter how he looked for a silver lining side to the situation, he couldn’t find it.
He had no one here, except his crew with whom he’d arrived. He had no family, and the Saviors hadn’t exactly been friendly; not that he blamed them. Just from the bits and pieces of what he’d heard, the males in the Platoon had done a lot of damage to the Saviors, and he’d have to earn their trust.
Titus had given the Saviors detailed directions on where to go as Justice felt a little shaky and didn’t fully trust his instincts, or his sense of direction, at this point.
He turned and watched the city turn to suburbs, the suburbs to desert. He caught glimpses of little yellow flowers peppering the desert shrubs, and for some reason, it made him feel a little bit better about his situation.
An hour later, he began to recognize rock formations in the distance.
“We turn left somewhere around here,” Hudson muttered.
They came to a complete stop on the two-lane road and looked around.
Justice noticed a road about three hundred feet up. “What about there?”
“Are you recognizing anything yet?” Blake asked.
He nodded. “Yes. Those rock formations over there look familiar to me.”
“Then let’s hit that road,” Blake said.
Noah gunned it and threw the SUV into a sharp turn. “Hold on, ladies!”
Justice bounced around in his seat, thankful he had bothered with the seatbelt or he’d be knocking his head on the roof. Noah seemed to be enjoying his off-road antics, chuckling with each bump.
“How the hell did you guys get to town?” Blake asked. “Did you have a car?”
Justice shook his head, holding on to the seat in front of him for dear life. “No. We hitchhiked.”
“That was dangerous,” Blake said. “Slow the fuck down, Noah!”
“Nope! Let’s roll, boys!” Noah shouted, and Justice exchanged a pained glance with Blake.