Survive (Sundown Series Book 2)

by Courtney Konstantin

  Pivoting, Max was able to position her leg between the soldier's legs and bring it up with a quick shot to his inner thigh. He released her as his leg buckled under his weight and he had to shift. As soon as her arms were free Max stepped back from the soldier's, whose eyes were now on her and full of aggression. Max just smirked at him, goading him to come at her. That was all it took for him to attack.

  Bouncing on her toes, her training came back into her body with no effort. It was well trained in attack scenarios, that she had never had to use in real-world situations until now. As the soldier came at her with his fists raised, he didn't anticipate the rear kick she delivered to his lower right side. The wind knocked out of him he faltered to the left. Max took a swinging step forward and hopped to land a superman punch to the side of the soldier's head. He fell to the ground with a thud.

  She didn't wait to see if he was getting back up, she turned and ran straight for the group of men arguing with a crying Jack. Max didn't stop by Griffin, instead, she attacked. She had no patience for men who thought they could tell her what to do, or try and take her baby girl. Jack saw her mother coming and her eyes grew wide with fear as she watched her land a solid jab into the kidney of the first soldier. The man swung toward her, surprised by the blow but not down by any means.

  The first blow Max felt was a punch to her gut as another soldier joined the fray. She couldn't stop her body from folding in on itself, as her breath left in a rush. Quickly Max took a few steps back and protected her head with her hands. When she straightened she realized it was Private Smith that had struck her. The young boy she had been sympathizing with looked at her now with raw fear on his face. Max took a deep breath and glared at him, he had started something he couldn't finish.

  No preamble this time, Max walked straight to Smith and backhanded him across the face. His stunned look was all she needed as he passed him and approached the soldiers again that held her daughter.

  "Let her go," Max growled.

  "Max, calm down," Griffin started to say.

  "Stay out of this, Griffin, or I'll take you down too," Max said without looking at him. Words weren't going to save their daughter, and she was all out of words.

  "We can just take her and go," Griffin said, turning back to the soldiers.

  Max stepped forward and made a grab for Jack, but the soldier that had her swung her away and caused the girl to fall to the ground. A scream erupted from Max's throat before she flew at the soldier, throwing two fast punches at his face, before lowering to strike at the body. The man didn't realize Max's abilities and wasn't prepared. He tried to grab her, to stop her but she evaded. He tried to strike out at her with his fists, but she blocked all but two of his blows. The two that did land were on her shoulder and ribs. Max didn't feel any pain, only adrenaline as it flooded her blood, to fuel her fight to protect her child.

  All the while, Max continued to move, until she was between the soldiers and Jack on the ground. Jack realizing what her mother was doing, jumped up and started to move toward the door. It was her scream that alerted Max to something coming. She didn't turn fast enough though, as the Major walked up calmly behind her, a rifle in his hand. The butt of the weapon struck Max solidly in the back of the head. The last thing she saw before the world went black was Griffin's anger filled face.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The world came back to her in a blaze of pain. A fierce pounding in her head seemed to vibrate through her whole body, beating in time with her thudding heart. After the pain, the next sensation Max became aware of was the cold feeling of concrete beneath her cheek. Without moving or opening her eyes she took stock of her body and what she was aware of. She was glad to not feel any other injuries beyond the one to her head.

  Her head, what happened to her head? Max slowly blinked her eyelids, without moving another muscle. She was afraid to move her head, to cause more pain in addition to what was already sharp and stabbing into her skull. The first thing she noticed with her eyes open was she was in a room, alone. The floor and walls were dull gray concrete. In the middle of the room was a drain. A room used by a butcher maybe, but Max couldn't be sure.

  Lifting her arm felt like she was lifting a twenty-pound dumbbell. She reached her fingers into her hair and encountered a sticky bump on the back of her head. She concentrated, trying to remember what had happened to her. Remembering the fight, Jack's cry when she realized someone was coming to get Max and Griffin's face. She clearly remembered Griffin's face, angry and contorted like he was ready to fly into battle against whatever enemy came at them.

  Looking around the room now, she worried about the conclusion of that fight. Where was Jack? Griffin? If the fight had gone their way, why was she in a concrete room? Max slowly lifted herself into a sitting position. She waited a minute with her eyes closed as her stomach tried to revolt against her movements, the pain intensifying as she moved around. Once she could manage it, she opened her eyes into squinted slits and slowly stood up.

  Stumbling to the door Max was equally shocked and not surprised that the door was firmly locked. There were no windows, no way to see out. She had no concept of how much time had passed since she had been knocked unconscious The unknowns were starting to cause panic and despite her pain, Max began to bang on the door. After a few minutes, when no one came to the door, she rested her fist and began to kick the door with her booted foot.

  After what seemed to be an eternity, she heard movement on the opposite side of the door. She stepped back, worried about an attack. When the door swung open, Griffin was thrust inside and the door was closed and locked again. He looked at her for a moment, before going to her and hugging her close. Max wrapped her arms around him, breathing in the familiar scent of his skin. She gave herself a moment to be calm and at peace with him holding onto her.

  "I was so worried when they dragged you away," he said into her hair. He stepped back then, searching her head for the wound. When his hands found it, she hissed in pain and stepped back.

  "Is it bad?" Griffin asked, stepping close to her again. She just shook her head, but then grimaced when that hurt too.

  "Where's Jack?" Max demanded.

  "With Turner."

  "They didn't take her?"

  "No. I convinced Callahan that she should stay with us until they move kids to the safe location. They aren't moving anyone for a week or so because there aren't many kids here right now," Griffin explained.

  "They can't have our daughter, Griffin, you can't let them take her," Max said, a tone of pleading lacing her voice.

  "I won't. I'm working on getting them to agree to not take her. Turner and I have been assigned posts, so she will stay with Cliff when we're working."

  "Posts? We aren't staying here."

  "I know that. We are reserves and can be pressed into service. The Major knows that and he's pushing the line with us."

  "Where in the hell am I?" Max asked, gesturing around her cement box.

  "You're in holding. You can't solve everything by violence, Max," Griffin replied. Max's eyes narrowed at him, but he stood his ground. "This is the government, you can't just start swinging your fists and think you're going to win. They've arrested you."

  "Arrested me? For trying to protect my daughter? What happened to being able to protect what's yours?" Max couldn't believe it. Arrested? She'd never had a run-in with law enforcement in her whole life. Now there she was having to deal with irrational demands of a Major claiming to be the voice of the United States Government.

  "They don't see it that way. You broke the laws in place by not letting them complete their duties. Things have changed, Max. We need to change with it."

  "You agree with them." Max felt betrayed. She took another step away from him, distance to help her think more clearly.

  "I didn't say that," Griffin said.

  "How long are they keeping me in here? Why did they let you in?" Max had a million questions running through her mind. Most importantly how did she get out
of the cell, and how did she get Jack the hell out of this shelter?

  "I don't know how long. They thought if I explained things, you might calm down and stop fighting," Griffin looked at her with a small smile. "I told them that was highly unlikely."

  "Unlikely is correct. I will continue to fight if I have a reason to fight. And protecting Jack is my job."

  "A job you share now," Griffin reminded.

  "I'm aware. But for eight years that's been my job alone. And I'm not about to fail it now."

  "You aren't going to fail. You just need to stop fighting."

  "Where's my tomahawk? My knife? My bag?" Max asked her questions in rapid succession. The fog from her head was starting to clear and she wanted to make some sort of plan to get back on the road and to Montana.

  "I have all of your things," Griffin replied with a sigh.

  "Get me out of here, Griffin," Max said, leaning into him with her shoulder.

  "There's something else, Max," Griffin said hesitantly.

  "Great, more good news?"

  "Not news per se, something strange that I think might mean something," Griffin said. He stood back so he could look Max in the eye while he continued. "After they hauled you off, the Major started asking some strange questions. They had all of our names on the registration list and he wanted to know where we were going. I told him, Montana. His face changed when I said that, though he thought I didn't notice." He stopped, scrubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He paced away from Max, taking a few steps, before pivoting and looking at her again.

  "He then started asking specifics about you, and I thought it was because you were arrested. But then the questions got really specific. He wanted to know if you had siblings. Asked specifically about a brother that may live in Montana."

  An icy chill shivered up Max's spine. The Duncans were well known in their small area of Montana. How could they not be? The three kids raised by the crazy dad. But outside of there, they were nobody. They were still two states away from Montana. How would a Major in the United States Army know anything about Rafe Duncan who lived near Kalispell, Montana?

  "What did you say?" Max asked.

  "I hedged around it. Said you had family all around. No way of knowing where they were now. I think he knew I was lying though."

  Max opened her mouth to ask another question, but the door was suddenly unlocked and a soldier motioned for Griffin to get out. He hugged Max again, whispering to her to cooperate and then he was gone. The door was again slammed shut and locked. Max stood and stared at the locked door for a long moment. The queasy feeling in her stomach seemed to intensify, not from pain, but the unknown.

  Without windows, she couldn't be sure of the time that passed. She eventually chose a spot on the far wall, so she would have enough time to jump up if someone entered the room. She pressed her back against the wall and let her legs sit straight out in front of her. The room had nothing in it, no mattress, no blankets, no place to go to the bathroom. She had to assume they weren't planning on keeping her there long.

  However, time continued to pass. She was stiff from sitting on the hard ground, her bladder was ready to burst, and she was feeling tired as if it was getting later and later. She was sure it was well near the middle of the night at that point. She paced the room, trying to loosen the muscles in her back and legs and to keep from peeing her pants. To keep her mind occupied she counted steps.

  It was twelve steps across the room. By the time she reached three hundred and fifty-five, the door swung open. Her temper was flaring as she was hungry, sore, tired and badly in need of a bathroom break. When the Major entered the room, looking as if he was still wide awake and fresh as a brand new morning, Max wanted to punch him in his square jaw.

  Instead, she was hauled out of the room, with no one saying a word. Two men grabbed her by the arms, yanking them roughly behind her and pushed her down a dark hallway. She tried to repeat Griffin's words in her head to keep herself from lashing out. She couldn't fix this with violence he had said. Well, she would play along for now, but if that didn't work, violence was the very next step.

  At the end of the hall, a door was sitting open and she was shoved into the darkness before another door was slammed on her. Fumbling on the walls, hoping for a light, she found a switch and flipped it. The shelter ran off of some sort of generator and had limited electricity in the building she was in. A soft white glow came from the one lightbulb in the room.

  It was a one-room bathroom. Seeing the toilet, Max rushed to rip off her pants and sit hastily on the seat. As she allowed her body to do its business, she tried not to think about how unsanitary the bathroom probably was. At that point, she would have been happy with a hole in the ground. Once she was done, she physically felt lighter, but her mood didn't improve.

  Pushing down the handle on the toilet, the water evacuated, but nothing filled the bowl again. She wondered what the point was to not just use the outside as a bathroom. As she stood with her musings, the door was opened with no hesitation. The soldiers grabbed her again in their arm holds and led her back to the room she had originally been in. She again counted steps to calm herself and control her reaction to being handled by the two men.

  When she was returned to her cell, there were two chairs in the room now. Major Callahan sat in one, and the other faced him. She was pushed into the chair and then the soldiers began to secure her arms to the chair itself. However the Major stopped them.

  "That won't be necessary. I'm sure Ms. Duncan will be cooperative," the Major said, dismissing her as a threat. Max didn't say anything, just folded her free arms across her chest and glared at the Major.

  "So, Ms. Duncan, Max. Can I call you Max?"

  "That's my name," Max said.

  "Right. Max, you've been arrested for not complying with the evacuate order for children. Do you have anything to say in your defense on that?"

  "Is this a trial?" Max asked.

  "No. Of course not. We still have our laws in place, Max. You will be given a true trial, with a jury of your peers," the Major said. It was then Max noticed he was holding a file folder on his lap. He drummed his fingers on it as he studied her.

  "So, I'm not going to be released?" Max asked.

  "Are you going to allow your daughter to be evacuated with the children as necessary?"

  "Absolutely not," Max replied with no hesitation. "You have no right to just take my daughter. She is safer with me then she would be with any of you."

  "And that's because of your family compound in Montana," the Major said, as he now opened the file folder and studied the contents. He kept it angled away so Max couldn't see any of the words, but he flipped a page up as if reading additional pages. Max could see a map on the first page, and though she couldn't see the names of roads, she immediately recognized Flathead Lake, which wasn't far from her family home.

  "That's where you're going, right, Max?"

  His use of her name was now grating on her nerves. She realized he was probably using it often to personalize their conversation. However part of her believed he was trying to put her on edge, throw her off somehow. She just sat still and studied him. Griffin had told her he had informed them that they were going to Montana. He didn't tell Max he was specific about the compound. The information churned in Max's mind, but she continued to keep her face impassive, giving away nothing.

  "We are headed to Montana for safety," she finally said, once it was clear the Major wasn't going to move on without her reply.

  "Ah, to meet with your siblings? Alexandria and Rafe?"

  It was then Max knew that Griffin had not given the Major the information he was using. Griffin would never have called Alex by her full first name. Hell, she was pretty sure he didn't even know what Alex actually stood for since they never referred to her by it. She hoped she had kept the surprise hidden from her face. Her mind was running a mile a minute. What did this man care about her family? How did he know her siblings?

  She didn't an
swer him, just stared. Her body felt rigid, but she forced it into a relaxed slouch as if nothing he was saying to her mattered a bit. The adjustment she made was noted by the Major, as his eyes watched her for any signs of emotion. Max felt like she was a part of a standoff, staring back at him waiting for him to give. Instead of conveying anything he wanted, she worked on making herself seem bored.

  In the next instant, she was sprawled across the concrete floor. With little warning, the Major reached across the open space and backhanded Max out of the chair, causing her body and the chair to fly to the floor. Her elbow hit the concrete and Max screamed in pain. She rolled onto her stomach and was climbing up from all fours when she realized her two guards were standing over her with guns, challenging her to fight back. She glared at them through the stars she was seeing in her vision.

  "Max, I really thought we were clear on how this was going to work. Maybe I need to explain further," Callahan started. He sat calmly in his chair, looking at her nonchalantly, his hands folded primly over the folder in his lap.

  "You are in my custody. You will answer my questions and abide by the rules of this shelter, which are the rules of the United States Government. If you do not comply with the requests given to you, you will be punished."

  "Funny, I thought the government didn't torture their own citizens. I must have missed that memo," Max replied sarcastically. She began to stand, but the Major nodded to one of the soldiers. The kick to her stomach left her on the floor gasping for air. As she gasped and coughed the soldiers picked her and her chair up, setting her back in front of Callahan.

  "Your sarcasm has no place here, Max. If we can't speak civilly, I worry that your health will be in jeopardy," Callahan said as he studied her face. She just coughed and looked at him, saying nothing.

  "Should we start over? I think that's a good idea. So again, you are headed to meet with your siblings?" Callahan posed it as a question, but Max knew she didn't need to answer. His folder held more information than she knew, she wasn't about to give him any more.