Repossession (The Keepers Trilogy)

by Rachael Wade

  Kale’s sandy-blond hair glinted in the sunlight, and his eyes were narrow with crazed focus as he zoomed behind us, shooting fire over our bow.

  The sight infuriated me. One minute he was my friend, and the next he was hell-bent on shooting me into oblivion. Then again, I’d just abandoned him.

  “We’re out of time,” I yelled, closing my eyes. Whatever was about to happen when we were launched from this Capsule had better happen fast, because I was on the verge of losing myself to the same terror that had overtaken Hera just moments ago.

  “When we land, we regroup and haul ass for cover, got it?” Jet yelled back. “On my mark …”

  Warm sunlight hit us in a fiery blaze and we were thrust up and out of the tunnel, the Capsule alarm and the alarm’s blue light now mixing with a plume of smoke. “Now!” Jet yelled, jamming a button to his right.

  A deafening crash exploded around us and ice-cold air slammed into my cheeks. Just as quickly as we were thrown from the Capsule, we were sent plummeting, straight for the Pacific Ocean. My body spiraled and the small, lightweight parachute device appeared over my head, popping open in a blast of color, jolting my body’s speed. The Capsule’s pieces plunged toward the ocean, and I stole a glance at the base station’s landing pad. A glimmer of the Golden Gate caught my attention, but didn’t hold it for long. An assembly of Invader Capsules were headed straight toward us, and I knew exactly who was at the head of that formation.

  Kale.

  I didn’t have another second to think. I was hurled downward in flight, being pulled toward the roaring waves of the Pacific. That sound filled my ears as salt stung my nose, eyes, and throat. Survival instinct took over; even as I slammed into the water, I reached for the knife on my belt. Struggling to cut the parachute harness and lift the metal rungs from the straps, I thrashed around under water, fighting against the current. The saltwater assaulted the cut on the back of my neck, and I bit down on my lip and squeezed my eyes shut to push back the pain.

  Swimming out from underneath the parachute, I chanced opening my eyes. The roaring sound of the surface hit me, and I gasped in a lungful of water and air. A vibrating hum sounded beside me and I looked up, past the choppy waves and toward the hand reaching out to me.

  There was Kale, hovered over the ocean surface in his Capsule, reaching over the side to pull me up.

  “No!” I shouted, coughing wildly.

  “Damn it, Skylla, give me your hand! Get in and I’ll get you out of here!”

  “You tried to shoot us down!”

  “And you left me to the wolves! I was pissed, and I had to make it look convincing. Now cut me a friggin’ break and give me your damn hand.”

  I gave him a vigorous shake of my head, swimming backward and looking around for Jet and Hera. A heavy thrum loomed from above, drawing my eyes to the sky. Gunfire rained down in every direction as the throng of Invaders soared straight toward us.

  “They’re here!” Kale yelled, leaning down to the other end of the Capsule to lower his arms and pull Hera from the water. My frantic gaze located Jet, right behind her, lifting her into Kale’s arms. Why the hell was he trusting Kale? Last I checked, they didn’t exactly get along, and the fact that Kale attempted to shoot us down—and technically succeeded—didn’t seem like something that would sit well with Jet’s temper.

  Kale pulled Jet up next, and made his way back to me. I swam forward and gave him my hand, allowing him to yank me up and into the Capsule. The second I was crouched into the seat, Jet lunged for Kale and delivered a hard blow across his jaw.

  “Jet!” I screamed. “We don’t have time for this!” Hera covered her head and huddled down in the seat behind me, her body soaking wet and shaking. Kale reached for his gun, but Jet was faster. A shot rang out and fire-engine red exploded from Kale’s shoulder. His body was thrown back, and Jet reached down to shove him into the middle seat.

  “Keep your weapon on him, Skylla,” he said, jumping into the driver’s seat. “Let’s hope I can fly this one.” The Capsule’s top closed over us and Jet sent us racing away from the surface, toward land. Fire shot over our bow and on every side of our vehicle, while Jet flipped and spun us to dodge the Invaders’ aim. His driving was shaky, and he struggled to understand some of the controls, but he was managing to keep us alive.

  “You bastard!” Kale hollered from the middle seat, clutching his shoulder and gritting his teeth. “You aimed for my shoulder on purpose!”

  “I’ve been waiting for that,” Jet shot back with a smug smile.

  “You sadistic son of a—”

  “Hey!” I shouted. “Shut the hell up, both of you! Now what do we do?” I was holding Hera in the seat behind Kale, scanning her shoulder for signs of her backpack. If we ever needed those invincibility vials, it was right now.

  “Now? Now we’re screwed,” Jet snapped. “They’re just going to take us all out, thanks to your genius boyfriend here.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Right. I was. But I guess you prefer your own kind now, huh? Bet you that Mr. Genius here doesn’t know his ass from his elbow.”

  “Will you shove it, you arrogant prick?” Kale said, punching the back of Jet’s chair with his knee. “She doesn’t want you anymore. Get over it, will you?”

  My hand connected with the back of Kale’s head. “I said, stop— Ow.” I reached back to the open wound on my neck, remembering the chip. After grabbing my knife, I peeled Hera’s wet backpack from her cold hands and found the flap open. “Shit.”

  “What is it?” Jet asked.

  “The invincibility vials. They’re gone. Must’ve lost them in the crash.”

  “Great.”

  “We’re Shepherds,” Kale said. “The Invaders won’t take us out. At least they can’t touch you, remember? You’re the Seventh.”

  “You wanna bet?” I laughed. “Do you not see the legion of Invaders on our ass right now? I think the rules might’ve changed.”

  “They’re after Jet and Hera, not us. Elara just sent me after you to bring you back first.”

  “You shot us down!” Jet reminded him.

  “I shot over your bow to make it look like I was doing my job. I just … missed.”

  Jet pitched Kale a hard glare in the mirror.

  “Skylla,” Kale said, turning to me, “the best thing we can do is return to Lucenta. We need to stick to the original plan. Elara needs you. She won’t hold this against you.”

  “The hell she will,” Jet said. “Skylla, you’re not going back there.”

  “How about you ask her what she wants?” Kale fired back. “Because not an hour ago, she knew exactly what she wanted, and it didn’t involve leaving with you—”

  “Shit,” Jet muttered. His gaze had snapped to the rearview mirror. Invaders zipped above us and on all sides, gaining speed. Three of them charged ahead in a triangle formation, then flipped around to face us.

  Our navigation panel lit up and the Capsule’s speed began to slow, coming to a dead stop in midair. A stream of blue emerged from the panel and scanned the vehicle’s interior, then disappeared. “What the hell was that?” Jet said.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Kale?” I looked at him.

  “Got me,” he said, shrugging. He winced from the movement and gripped his shoulder. We needed to stop the bleeding and get him bandaged up. Fast.

  “What the hell?” At Jet’s words, I shifted my gaze and saw what he’d just seen: the Invaders were reversing directions.

  I shifted in my seat and leaned up against the window to peer out. Their Capsules grew small behind us, until they faded from sight. The blue on the navigation panel disappeared, too.

  “See?” Kale said, drawing in a relieved sigh. “They won’t take us down. We need to go back, Skylla.” The Capsule purred to life again, bringing us out of our midair stall. Jet increased our speed, sending us back into flight.

  “I can’t, Kale,” I said. “Jet and Hera have pictures of an execution sector. The
Invaders aren’t sending human recruits in Lucenta’s camps back to Prototype Seven when they fail testing, they’re executing them. Everything you said … that you thought you made a mistake bringing us there … you might be right.”

  “Skylla, that might not be what they saw.”

  “It was,” Hera spoke up, her lips trembling. “We have photos. The Invaders are murderers. Just like they are on Earth. Please, Skylla. Don’t go back there.”

  “The human population is depending on us,” Kale countered. “Remaining loyal to the Invaders is about more than what we want. More than the good or bad that might be happening in Lucenta. Look, we don’t agree with the way they attacked and overran our planet. We don’t agree on their tactics, but we chose to surrender to the activation anyway. We chose to serve anyway, because the bigger picture is what’s important.”

  “How do you know what the bigger picture really is?” Jet asked. “You only know what they tell you, and if they’re lying about this, they could be lying about a shit ton of other things. Wake up, man.”

  “Oh, I’m awake. And I’m telling you, the goal should be whatever’s most beneficial for the human race. Sacrifice is a part of that. We can’t escape this without casualties. We have to accept the Invaders—their good and their bad—for the greater good. They have access to Foundation Zero, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve been briefed on the planet. We’ve seen the maps, the images. I’m willing to take a chance in trusting them.”

  “Suit yourself, but we won’t be around for it.” Jet lowered the Capsule as we approached what looked to be an abandoned warehouse near some open farmland. I had no idea how fast we’d actually been flying, but judging by our surroundings, we were nowhere near the coast anymore. We touched down with a gentle landing, pulling into the building, and Jet, Hera and I jumped out the instant the clear lid slid open.

  Careful of his bloody shoulder, I helped Kale down and we all stopped to sit and catch our breath.

  “Give me a minute to figure things out,” Jet said, leaning on his knees.

  “Let me look at your wound,” I said to Kale, ripping off a piece of cloth from my suit arm to make a tourniquet.

  “We didn’t lose all of the backpack’s contents,” Hera said, coming up behind me to hand me the bag. “Some of these med supplies might still work. The guard who helped us gave us the last of his.”

  “Thanks,” I said, rifling through the bag’s remains, finding some GuardCore and some wound dressing. I popped the GuardCore needle into Kale’s skin near the wound, then created the tourniquet, tying it tight around the top of his arm and over his shoulder. “You lost a lot of blood. Are you feeling weak?”

  “A little,” he admitted, cutting Jet a sharp glare. Jet was hunched behind Hera, taking inventory of his weapons and fumbling around with his artillery belt. “We better get going, Skylla. Jet and Hera don’t need the Capsule anymore.”

  “Oh no you don’t.” Jet stood to his feet and walked toward us, popping the blade on his army knife. “Turn around. Both of you.”

  “What?” I jumped back, placing my hands in front of Kale to protect him. The action caused Jet to waver for a second, and I could have sworn I saw a flash of betrayal there. I stood my ground anyway. I couldn’t care less what this guy thought of me. I only agreed to come with him because I thought he might be right about this whole Invader thing.

  My loyalty was to Kale, now. I just had to bring us all onto the same page, somehow.

  “I need to get rid of your chips,” Jet said. “It’s the only way to make sure your judgment isn’t clouded.”

  “Yeah,” Kale chuckled, “and to make sure you have her wrapped around your little finger. If you think restoring her emotive memory will erase what she feels for me, you’re wrong.”

  Hold up. What I feel for him?

  “Oh, I know it will,” Jet seethed, stepping closer.

  “Kale, I … I think you’re confused,” I said. “I know we … never mind, this isn’t important right now. Stop!” I placed my hand on Jet’s chest, eyeing the blade. “I’ll do it.” I opened my palm to accept the blade from Jet, but Kale lunged forward and barreled past me, slamming into Jet before I had the chance to take the knife. Kale used his good arm to punch Jet in the jaw, and then fists were being thrown in every direction.

  Jet slammed a heavy boot into Kale’s abdomen, and he went down with the hit, but sprang back to his feet and drew his gun.

  Jet’s was already leveled with Kale’s temple. “Drop the weapon.”

  “Jet, don’t,” I said. I couldn’t stand by and let them kill each other. Not after all we’d been through. We were free from Lucenta, free from Rico’s rebel group—free from it all, free to start over and find another solution. There had to be a way.

  One hand holding the knife, the other keeping the gun on Kale, Jet’s eyes seemed to shoot daggers. “Skylla, I won’t lose you to this asshole. And I definitely won’t let him put me, you, or Hera in any more danger. He either takes the chip out and declares his loyalty to us, or I shoot.”

  “Did you not see what happened back there?” Kale said, keeping his weapon steady. “The Invaders turned around. They let us go. They don’t care about tracking us.”

  “Kale,” I pleaded, “why are you hell-bent on keeping the implantation? Let’s just remove it and be done with it, okay? We need to work together, now.”

  Jet laughed, his stone-cold glower burning into Kale’s. “He won’t remove it, because he still wants to help the Invaders. He’s stupid enough to believe them. We can’t trust him, Skylla.”

  “And you’re too wrapped up in your desperation to get your girl back that you’re too proud to recognize when you’ve lost!” Hearing Kale bark these words, Hera flinched against my side, latched onto my leg and buried her face against my hip.

  “You guys, you’re scaring Hera. She’s been through enough. Please!”

  “Well tough shit, dude,” Kale said, his voice a growl. “You lost her, and you lost your planet. The Invaders have won, and it’s about time you wake up and face the music. Prototype Seven is the past. Foundation Zero is the future. We just have to play by the Invaders’ rules.”

  Jet took another step forward, bringing his forehead to Kale’s, his gun still pressed to Kale’s temple. “I will never play by their rules. And you’re wrong. I haven’t lost Skylla. And you never had her.”

  I felt Hera’s tears dampen my leg. “Jet, come on—”

  A heavy boom sounded from above us. We all froze as a group of Invader Capsules descended, lowering to the ground at the edge of the warehouse. Jet spun and grabbed Hera and me by the shoulders, shoving us behind him while he raised his weapons in the Invaders’ direction. Kale sent me a glance and lowered his gun, raising his hands in surrender.

  “Shit,” Jet mumbled, his bicep and forearm muscles clenching as he adjusted his artillery belt and braced for battle.

  But the Capsule enclosures didn’t open. No Invaders emerged. Nothing stirred.

  There was a sudden ticking sound, and the hourglass symbol bleeped in my corner vision. I looked to Kale and he returned the exchange, letting me know he saw it too. The blue text began to scroll, this time accompanying a voice—Elara’s voice.

  “Attention, Shepherds. Stand by for new directive in three … two … one.” The blue text began to scroll faster, and I raced to read each line as it was fed to me. Each word rolled to a stop and my blood went cold when Elara began to read the order.

  “Task: Skylla Warden. Execute Hera Phoenix. Task: Kale Archer. Ensure this order is carried out. You are both to return to base with Jet Phoenix. Failure to comply will result in immediate execution. Comply, and your transgressions will be forgiven. You will still receive admittance to Foundation Zero and your race will be preserved. That is all.”

  Elara’s voice and the text directive vanished. My fingertips went as numb as my entire body felt. Me, execute Hera? Just like that? The Invaders would really turn on Kale and me that fast? They would t
ake me out—the Seventh Shepherd, supposedly so sacred to them—if I didn’t comply? My mind reeled. Could Jet be right? It didn’t matter that I didn’t feel anything for him or Hera. I didn’t want to take anyone’s life, let alone an innocent child’s.

  And then there was Kale.

  Kale was convinced obeying the Invaders was the right thing to do. He was willing to sacrifice the lives of many, to accept the bad for the sake of the good. But what did I believe? What was I willing to live with?

  The truth was, I couldn’t live with any of it—not the damage that had already been done on Prototype Seven, and not the deception the Invaders had been feeding us about the recruits. None of it was okay, and none of it could simply slide. Evil was evil, and wrong was wrong.

  But one reality remained. Since the beginning of time, from the dawn of Prototype Seven’s creation, the human race had one priority and one priority alone.

  Survival.

  I had to survive, and so did my race. Could I do this for the sake of the greater good? Exchange one life for countless others? All it took was one shot. One split second, one single decision, and my life and so many others would be spared.

  My fingers shook and my heart throbbed a turbulent rhythm in my chest. My focus suddenly restored, I realized Jet had been speaking to me, asking me something over his shoulder, something I hadn’t heard. The Capsules were still there, yet not one Invader had commenced any kind of confrontation. I slid my gaze to Kale, to search for his thoughts, to search for any trace that he was just as conflicted as me, only to find his expression resolute. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, and carefully gestured to my gun.

  Jet’s voice continued to mumble something in the distance. I pivoted on my hip and Hera let me go, tilting her head back to look up at me. Her tear-ridden eyes were bright and wide, searching the depths of mine, probing for something good. I swallowed hard and lifted my weapon, everything rolling in slow motion as recognition swept her face and she began to back away. Her eyes grew wider and I aimed the gun with a trembling hand.