The Outerlands - Sedition

by Aleigh Schuster

  I heard several gasps and when I opened my eyes, I found Cali, Rafe, Randy, and Ford all staring between Gunner and me in a state of awe.

  The hand on my shoulder tightened, and I turned to face Graff, but his huge smile immediately made me turn back to the others.

  “What the...?” Rafe started.

  “Baby? Oh, baby!” Cali simultaneously squealed.

  Looking down to where Cali had thrown herself beside Gunner’s body, my gaze traveled up to his face. His eyes were open, and there was life in them again. It took another squeeze from Graff to realize that Gunner was really alive.

  Before I knew what was happening, Graff, Rafe, and Ford all gathered me in a celebratory hug, confirming what my mind wasn’t ready to comprehend. “Wha…what just happened?” I asked.

  “You saved him, sweetheart,” Graff whispered in my ear. “I don’t know how the hell you did it, but that was definitely all you.”

  Rafe and Ford knelt next to Gunner as Randy started poking and prodding him like he’d just found this world’s next miracle. Graff and I sat on the other side, sliding in next to Cali, who had Gunner’s head propped back up in her lap as she stroked his cheek with her thumb.

  “It’s amazing. His vitals are all pretty good,” Randy said, updating everyone. “I just gave him another dose of broad spectrum antibiotics to fight off any infection until we can get him to the base camp doctor. It has a sedative in it, so there’s no need for alarm. He’ll probably sleep for the rest of the ride there.”

  The guys all talked over each other, high fiving and laughing at the good news.

  When my eyes met Cali’s, a single tear slid down her cheek as she silently mouthed, “Thank you.”

  Instead of speaking, I simply smiled at her, since I didn’t actually know what happened—or if, in fact, it was me that even did it. It was definitely something I’d be speaking to Jonas about, though.

  Graff kissed my forehead and said, “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what you did or how you knew how to do it, but thank you.” He squeezed me to him for a few long seconds before stepping back. “Hop in the front seat and rest. You look a little tired. I’ll be there in a minute so we can get out of here.”

  At his suggestion, I felt physically drained. So, after kissing a sleeping Gunner’s forehead and getting an overwhelming hug from Cali, I crawled into the front seat.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  We drove into the Gunari base camp a little after dark. Graff let me sleep most of the last hour there to gain back the strength I’d lost helping Gunner. He nudged me awake as we rounded a bend where multiple clusters of small camouflage tents sat off in the field we were now entering. He’d also radioed ahead to prepare everyone for our arrival, including the situation with Gunner, the attack, and loss of life our teams had sustained.

  We continued down the field, driving between several rows of the smaller tents, passed a larger white one-story wooden building, and then parked alongside twenty or so other transport vans.

  “Impressive,” I said, taking it all in as I opened my door to get out. The building looked new, and much more permanent than I’d expected.

  “Yeah,” Graff replied, coming around the vehicle to meet me. He took my hand and we walked back to open the van’s back cargo doors. “Some teams from the other sectors moved in a few weeks ago to erect wooden buildings for a hospital, mess hall, and weapons room. It will last through harsher weather, if this battle turns into the home front war we all think it might.”

  Grimacing at the thought, I moved on, saying, “Well, they’ve been busy,” remembering how long it took to build our sector’s new town hall.

  “That they have.” Graff opened the doors and out popped Randy, followed by Cali helping a very stiff Gunner to the edge of the van.

  Cali turned her head to Graff. “He thinks he can walk right out of here,” she said, eyebrows raised.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Graff seared Gunner, who was still partially sedated, with a stern look. “We’ll get you some help into the hospital, have you checked out, and see what the doctor has to say before you start running around again like nothing ever happened.”

  Randy moved to Gunner’s free side, wrapping an arm across his back. “He’s actually doing pretty well, considering,” he said, grunting as he shifted Gunner and took some of his weight from Cali. “Although, I hope the doctor has a body scanner here so we can find out the extent of his internal injuries.”

  “Cali, go on ahead to the hospital. Let them know we arrived,” Graff instructed, moving her out of the way and taking her place at Gunner’s side. “Don’t worry, I’ve got him,” he added when he saw her worried expression.

  She hesitated before kissing Gunner. “Be back in a second, babe.” She sprinted down the dirt path toward the white wooden building.

  As we followed behind her, Rafe, Ford, and a few others from our team pulled up. They ran over, took in Gunner’s flushed face, and silently fell into step.

  We turned right on the path, and then once more before I saw the entrance to the hospital where Jarvis, Quinn, and Dera were running out the door along with Cali and two women I’d never met dressed in blue smocked uniforms. Nurses.

  There was a flurry of movement and questions, so I stepped out of the way. Dera tried pushing her way toward me, but one of the nurses caught her by the arm and handed her the bag she’d been carrying, asking her to follow her.

  A man in a white lab coat with the name S. J. Wilson, who I could only assume was the camp’s main doctor, opened the hospital’s front doors just as everyone reached it. He shouted an order I didn’t understand, and Gunner was laid on a gurney and then transported through swinging double doors into the next room. The doors reopened and then closed several more times before finally coming to a standstill, and I was able to partially view the large room. It had somewhere close to a hundred empty beds, and Gunner was being taken to one against a wall on the far side, next to a large rectangular machine. There were no windows in the entire space, and I vaguely wondered if that was for precaution or simply to save time when being built. We all started to enter, but the doctor halted us with his hand.

  “I’m sorry, but no one goes beyond this point except for our staff,” he told us. “It could jeopardize the sterile environment we’ve created.”

  Cali started to object, but Graff wrapped his arm around her shoulder and quietly led her to a small room off to the side of the main entrance. The rest of us just stood there, looking amongst one another, not knowing what to do. A hand on my arm made me turn to find Dera at my side.

  “Hey,” she whispered, eyes filled with unshed tears. “I was so freaking worried when you guys didn’t show on time. Then we got the call about the attack and…well…I thought…” the tears flowed over and ran down her cheeks. “Are you okay?”

  Squeezing her arm, I answered, “Yeah, but we lost a lot of our team.”

  She pulled me into a hug, and I went willingly, leaning my head on her shoulder. A few minutes passed and I was finally able to calm down a bit. Suddenly, I felt another set of arms hugging me from behind, and I twisted to find Jarvis, an anxious look on his face.

  “Glad you’re all right, Henley,” he said softly, and I gave him a small smile.

  We stood like this for a long while, them giving me the comfort only close friends could. Eventually, we found seats where Graff took Cali, which was a waiting room for all intents and purposes. As I sat, I immediately felt eyes on me and glanced up to find Graff silently watching.

  He stood and came over with his hand extended to me. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go get you checked out; have someone re-clean those cuts of yours.” He pulled me up and turned to my friends. “Would you two mind staying with Cali for a while? I don’t want her alone right now.”

  “Of course,” Jarvis replied instantly, and both he and Dera shuffled over to seats on either side of her while Graff led me out of the room. Before we reache
d the exit, I looked back to find Dera giving me a knowing look. Then she smiled and her eyes briefly darted to Graff before settling back on Cali.

  * * *

  After getting me tended to by one of the available nurses, Graff received an update that Gunner was undergoing tests and it would be a few hours before they knew anything; the rest of our group who had injuries were being treated by the doctor’s assistant and remaining nurses. Apparently appeased that he’d done all that he could, Graff informed me he needed to find John, whose team was supposed to be directly behind us but still hadn’t shown up. He left ordering—yes, ordering—me to finish the juice and crackers the hospital staff had given me, to go grab some spare clothes since mine were probably back on the side of the road, and then find our tents that had already been set up for us. He would meet me there in an hour.

  So that was how I found myself wandering around the camp, completely lost with absolutely no idea where to go.

  I scanned the tents ahead and saw Quinn for the first time since we walked into the hospital, which seemed like hours and hours ago— who knew, maybe it was. He was standing with John and a man and woman I remembered seeing at Jonas’ meeting with all the team leaders. All four looked to be in some sort of heated discussion. The woman noticed me approaching and said something to the others, who in turn all froze and looked at me.

  “John, I’m glad to see you made it.” I ignored the strange stares they gave me. “We were worried…when you didn’t come in right after Rafe and Ford.”

  John shook himself from his thoughts and smiled warmly. “Good to see you, too, sunshine. Had a little more clean-up duty than we originally thought, but it’s all taken care of now. Although, I did hear you had quite the eventful ride back to camp.”

  Glancing at the others, I found them silently awaiting my answer. “Yes, uh…we thought we lost Gunner for a moment there, but he pulled through like a champ and made it to the hospital where he’s undergoing some pretty extensive testing, but they already told us he’ll live. So at least there’s that…” I trailed off, noting all four of them were hanging on my every word, obviously waiting for me to give them more. When I didn’t, Quinn spoke up.

  “There are several different accounts of what happened swirling around camp.” He hesitated before saying his next words. “All of them, though, seem to have you singlehandedly saving his life.”

  I stared at Quinn, not knowing how to answer him, when the man standing next to John asked, “Any real truth to that, young one?”

  “Uhmmm…” I stalled while trying to think of a good lie, but John, seeing my apprehension, spoke over me. “You look like you could use a break, especially since I’m sure there’s going to be a formal briefing later. Why don’t I walk you to your tent?”

  “Yeah, that would be great,” I replied, letting out a small sigh of relief as he said his goodbyes to the others and walked me in the direction I’d just come from.

  “So,” John rasped, throwing an arm over my shoulder, “I figured you wouldn’t be a fan of spilling the beans in front of Lucinda and Gregory, but now that we’re alone…what gives? Is there any truth to those stories?”

  Swinging my head up to his, I stared into his compassionate eyes that somehow reminded me of Graff’s even though they weren’t quite the same shade. I slumped in resignation. Blowing out a breath, I decided to get this over with. “I’m not completely sure what happened. All I know is that after Graff stopped the van, Randy pronounced Gunner dead, everyone sort of freaked out and then went to comfort Cali. I went to say my goodbyes…touched him…and felt this really weird connection with him. I’m not sure. Whatever it was, it became more intense the longer I held onto him. Finally, the only thing I could see were two small lights, his on one end and mine on the other. I pulled on it—his light that is—knowing I couldn’t let it get away, but once I thought I got a handle on it, I got thrown backward. Then everything came into focus and Gunner was breathing again.”

  John stared at me intently, not uttering a word until a familiar voice behind me said, “She’s a healer. The first true healer we’ve had in centuries.” I turned to find Graff standing a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned casually against the side of a tent’s metal beam.

  “Graff,” I forced out, scared that his stern expression meant I shouldn’t have shared my story with John. But then I realized what he was really concerned about when he added, “That’s my girl you’ve got your arm around there, man. Hope that doesn’t become a habit.”

  John laughed hard, his whole body shaking from it, and I took the opportunity to step out from under his grasp. When I looked up, Graff was in front of us, staring down at me…smiling? He wrapped his own arm around me as he guided me off to a nearby tent.

  “See ya, John,” I said, waving over my shoulder since our conversation was apparently over.

  “And not a word about this to anyone. Got it?” Graff told him. John nodded, but was still chuckling and shaking his head when Graff added, “We’ll see you at the briefing tonight.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Was that a joke?” I asked, a little bemused, once we entered the tent.

  “Not really. I trust John; he’s one of my oldest friends. But he still needs to know what you are to me.”

  “Then that makes two of us,” I muttered to myself, but winced when he froze; he’d obviously heard me.

  “Brooks, look at me,” he said in a soft voice.

  I hesitated, not knowing what I’d find, and when a second turned into a few more, he finally did it for me, gently tilting my head up with his hand. Our eyes met, and I briefly got to see the intensity, maybe even a little vulnerability, reflected in them. But just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone from view as his lips came crashing down on mine. Hard, yet still, somewhat soft. A complete contradiction in and of itself and exactly what I’d come to expect from Graff. So I took this moment for what it was: something to cherish.

  I relaxed, folding into him, loving the feel of his warm body as his fingers wound tightly through my hair to pull me closer. He shifted us around, slowly guiding me back onto the cushions of a couch. His tongue ran lightly across my lips and when I opened my mouth, he deepened the kiss. Heat coursed through from my head to the tips of my toes, and I swore I felt a deeper connection taking root here, something between our souls. It felt like forever yet not nearly long enough when he finally broke from the kiss. His lips stayed hovered over mine, our breath intermingling as he stared into my unguarded eyes. I wanted him to know what he did to me.

  Almost reluctantly, he moved away. I started to get up, not sure what else to do, until a second later, I was pulled into his side. He pressed his mouth to my forehead and then to each of my cheeks, trailing down my jawline and slowly coming to rest just behind my ear. I felt his ragged breath hot against my skin. “Does that answer any questions you may have had about us?”

  It took me a moment to realize he was speaking, but in my defense, it was a really amazing kiss. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. And the finale was even better. I’d been stunned speechless, as in not a single thought forming in my head. Which was why on my next exhale, the only thing I got out was an embarrassing, “Mmmhm…”

  Graff sighed heavily, taking my speech impediment as a bad sign. He swore under his breath a few times and then lifted himself into a sitting positon, bringing me up with him.

  “Look, it’s okay if you need time to decide about us, but just hear me out, okay? Since I was sixteen, I’ve had to always be in control, always make the tough decisions, to do the right thing, the responsible thing. When I’m anywhere near you, I want to throw all that out the window. We’re about to go to war. I don’t want to waste another minute without you. What I’m trying to say is…well…that I’m in love with you.”

  I sat still, in the same place I was when he stopped kissing me. As I touched my fingertips to my swollen lips, all my reservations disappeared. One or both of us could die any day in these tumultuous times.
I’d rather spend every second of it with Graff than without him.

  “Say something,” Graff ground out.

  “I don’t care what the future brings if I don’t have you.” I whispered my reply, and he immediately closed the short distance between us, gathering me in his arms. He guided my cheek to his shoulder and kissed the top of my head.

  “I feel the exact same way, sweetheart. The exact same way.” He moved his hands to cup my cheeks and gently tilted my head up to his. “I wanted to wait until after we got Keegan back safe and sound, maybe after I spoke with Jonas, too. Because I know without a doubt he’ll give us hell about it. But looking into your eyes, not having you know exactly what you are to me, what I feel for you, it was too much. I caved.” A tentative smile flashed across his face and he added, “I guess I also had to know if you felt the same; that us being together is worth the risk.”

  Staring into his deep green eyes encased in blue, I told him, “We’re definitely worth the risk.” His smile grew wider at hearing my words. “We’ll make this work.” Only in my mind did I wonder if the latter was true.

  * * *

  Graff and I spent the next hour lounging around what I now knew was his own personal tent—something that he said all the team leaders got. I, however, got stuck in the group tent a few rows down so needless to say, for privacy, we remained in his. We talked, telling stories about random things from our pasts, friends and family, even laughing a bit over the disaster I’d made in his backyard the first few times he trained me. We were almost always touching. It was as if now the barrier was down and we couldn’t get enough of each other. It was new, amazing, and I loved every second. It was something I’d never had.

  Graff was rummaging through a few boxes of prepackaged food, trying to find us something good to snack on, when I heard a voice requesting entrance from outside the tent.

  “I’ll see who it is,” I said, and walked over before he could reply, lifting the corner flaps to find Gregory, the man who’d been with Quinn and John earlier, pacing back and forth. He turned, noticing me just as Graff walked up behind me.