Project Integrate Series Boxed Set

by Campbell, Jamie

  Garrick turned in the opposite direction and starting circling around the building. The side roads did a complete turn if you travelled on them far enough. We took an off-road track that led into the forest and followed it until it ran out. We would have to walk the rest of the way.

  “This place gives me the creeps,” I remarked as we moved. All I could see were trees in every direction. You could wander around in them for days, going around in circles and losing any sense of direction. We tried to walk in a straight line but I still crossed my fingers hoping we’d be able to find our way back again.

  The electrified fences of the Department’s boundary came into sight. The grey steel mesh stood out against the rich greens of the moss. A faint hum could be heard over the bird’s occasional song from the trees.

  “I didn’t think they’d be electrified,” I said sadly. “We’re not going to be able to go over or through them.”

  Garrick didn’t speak until he had studied the fence. He was standing so close, I was worried he might accidently touch it. “We’ll have to cut the electrical supply.”

  Gee, that sounded easy. Not. “That would mean breaking back into the building, finding the electric room, and then escaping again.”

  “Not necessarily, it might have its own power supply. We need to walk the fence line.” He started moving without waiting for me. I hurried to catch up, following him closely so I didn’t lose him amongst the foliage.

  We walked for so long it all started to blur into one. The fences were endless panels, indiscernible from the previous one and the one after it. There were no holes we could sneak through. The hum continued in the background, warning us not to touch the metal.

  “How bad would the shock be if you accidently touched the fence?” I asked, trying to remember back to my Science class on how electrical currents worked.

  “Enough to throw you backward and stun you. But that’s only if you brushed it. If you gripped the fence, your hands would be forced to grip even tighter, sending the currents through you. You’d most likely fry that way.”

  “Fry as in die?”

  Garrick shrugged and nodded. “You’d probably smell like roast chicken.” He kept walking with his words lingering in the air. I didn’t want to end up like roast chicken, I took a step further away from the fence.

  We walked for another hour before Garrick stopped again. “We would have found an electrical box by now if they had one. The fence must be wired from a main source.”

  “So our chances of running…”

  “Are now non-existent,” he finished for me.

  “We could try to get out through the security gate,” I offered. “If we’re fast enough, we might make it.”

  “It’s probably our only shot.”

  “I think they only have one guard on duty during the night,” I continued, trying to keep up some semblance of hope. “That’s probably when they’ll transport us too. There’s still a chance we can get out.”

  “We should go back and work out a meeting point,” Garrick replied, already starting to head back. At least we were heading closer to the car now and not further away from it. I didn’t like the thought of walking all day and night to do a complete circuit around the Department.

  We found the path we took and returned to the car. If we could only escape through the entrance to the building, then our meeting point needed to be closer to that side. Garrick drove around the forest until we reached the other side. From there, it was another walk into the dense trees.

  We walked until we hit the fence on the other side of the building. It was closer to the entrance and would give us a guide to run by when we did get the chance to escape.

  Garrick found a particularly sturdy tree and used a knife to cut out a large square of moss. If anyone else saw it, they wouldn’t give it a second glance. However it was enough for us to identify it when hurrying through.

  “We’ll meet here,” Garrick started. “It will be about a mile run from here to the car. We can ask Hayden to park on the intersection, just off the road. That’s a doable escape route. Good with you?”

  “I can do that run,” I agreed. I really should have started exercising months ago. If I’d have known what was in store back then, I would have done.

  “It might be dark when we have to find this place, so try to take in as much as possible.”

  If it was dark, then I doubted I would be able to see anything. Hopefully it would be a full moon on the seventh, I made a mental note to look it up.

  We started back the way we had come. My eyes darted everywhere, trying to take everything in. I didn’t know what little thing could trigger my memory and help me run for my life in less than a week’s time.

  A noise caught my attention and made me stop. My arm flung out at my side to stop Garrick walking. A twig had snapped as it broke and I swear I had heard footsteps other than our own.

  My ears strained to hear the noise. It happened again, another footstep. We weren’t alone in the forest.

  “Run,” Garrick mouthed the word loud and clear. He grabbed my hand and we started running like our lives depended on it.

  CHAPTER 20

  Running was a double edged sword. On one hand, it put distance between us and whoever else was in the forest. On the other hand, it gave away our presence there. We tried to be quiet as we moved, but it was impossible to cover the sound of the leaves rustling under our feet.

  My heart started pounding in my chest and the traces of a stitch were beginning in my side. I kept going, partly because Garrick’s grip on my hand was so tight he wasn’t giving me any choice. I imagined what it would be like doing the same run in the dark. It would be impossible. If I didn’t run into a tree, I would likely trip over a fallen branch. We were both under no illusions it was going to be easy.

  The footsteps we heard before were starting to get closer. It sounded like there might have been a few people behind us and not just the one. If it was the Department, we wouldn’t have any chance of getting away if they caught us. And I doubted anyone else would be out in federally owned forestland.

  The car finally came into view. Garrick let me go long enough to fish his keys out of his pocket. We slammed into the vehicle and he started the engine equally as fast.

  As we reversed and swung around in the tiny space, the faces of our pursuers burst from the trees.

  “Garrick, hurry, they’re here.”

  The gears on the old VW groaned, crunching into place. “I’m trying. This damn car’s not working.”

  “Well make it work!” I shrieked. We were a steel sitting duck in the car if it didn’t go anywhere.

  There were three men, all wearing guard uniforms from the Department. I had passed them so many times on my visits to the building, I would recognize them anywhere.

  They ran at us, guns raised and ready to shoot. They probably had a shoot to kill order on our heads with no questions asked. We might not even get a chance to attend the meeting after all.

  “Garrick, hurry.”

  “I’m trying,” he yelled back at me. He gave the gearstick another grind, trying to get it into first gear. We were facing the right way, just unable to go anywhere.

  My eyes were glued behind us, the three men almost able to touch the car. Their guns were pointed directly at us, their fingers on the triggers. Our time was up.

  “Got it,” Garrick grunted at he hit the accelerator. We lurched forward as the shots started to rain on us. One flew through the side mirror, sending glass everywhere.

  I yelped at the surprise, snapping my head forward. I didn’t want to look out the back any longer, lest a bullet come flying my way.

  “Put your head down,” Garrick ordered me. “Are you okay?”

  I leaned forward until my head was on my knees. I wished Garrick was able to do the same. “I’m fine, just worry about getting us out of here alive.”

  The car skidded along the unstable ground, the shouts of the men to stop was louder than the angry engine.
We were thrown about as Garrick deftly negotiated through the trees without running into anything.

  More gunfire shot through the air, sounding like fireworks exploding on the fourth of July. A few seemed to hit the metal on the car, sharp pings rung out as they tried to get through the thick steel. Thankfully, nothing hit the glass windows which meant we might be okay.

  The rough riding ended as we reached the road. With the worn tires able to grip the bitumen, we finally got some traction and real speed.

  “You can put your head up again, we’ve lost them,” Garrick announced. I looked around, the road was empty except for us. Hopefully it would stay that way.

  “They got a really good look at us,” I said, the guard’s faces burned into my corneas. “They know who we are.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Our leaders have already told them we’ll be at the meeting on the seventh. They know we’re around.”

  “They’ll know we were casing the place.”

  Garrick pursed his lips into a grimace but didn’t say anything. I’m sure he was thinking the same thing I was – they’ll make sure we don’t get a chance to escape again. They now knew we were going to be prepared, we’d accidently shown them our cards. All the planning we had just done couldn’t be used now. They’d know our plan, play by play.

  “We’re going to need a new plan,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, we are.”

  We rode the rest of the way in silence. It took the entire two hour journey back to the trailer for my heartbeat to start slowing down again. I kept checking the remaining mirrors, certain I’d see the Department following us at some stage. Garrick took a windy route back, assuring me they wouldn’t be able to follow, but I was still paranoid.

  The mood remained somber for the evening. What little glimmer of hope I had before we did our recon, was now gone. Vanished into thin air like it never existed. Now, we would be walking directly into a trap without any chance of being able to save ourselves.

  “Don’t look so sad,” Garrick said as he poured another cup of coffee. “Even if we get captured, our leaders will declare war on Earth and come rescue us.”

  I knew he didn’t believe that just as much as me, but I didn’t want to correct him. Perhaps lying to ourselves was the only option we had now. If we could fool ourselves into thinking we would be alright, then maybe by some fluke of fate we would be.

  I picked up the laptop and starting going through the Department’s documents again. It was the only thing I could do to keep my mind focused. Once it started wandering, it would never come back.

  The next morning when the sun was peeking in through the trailer windows, I felt strangely optimistic. Or perhaps it was just my survival instincts kicking in. I wanted to fight back against the Department. I’d read enough of their documents to know they weren’t a perfectly run machine. Garrick and I only had to find one tiny weakness and we would be able to escape. We could do it.

  I washed up and dressed, not even letting the cold water in the shower block get to me. Instead of being uncomfortable as it hit my skin, it was invigorating.

  When I got back to the trailer, we had a visitor. Lochie was waiting at the door. “Hey, I was hoping I’d catch you.”

  I gave him a hug, wrapping my arms around him and snuggling into his chest. He was going to be the hardest to say goodbye to. “What are you doing here? Is anything wrong?”

  Lochie untwined himself from me and took a step back to study my face. “I saw Lola yesterday. She-”

  “Is Lola okay?” I butted in, needing answers immediately. Something was obviously bothering him.

  “She’s fine. She was worried about you,” Lochie paused, long enough for me to worry about what he was going to say next. “She said you were acting weird. And considering the state of your car, I think she’s right. Is something else going on?”

  I let his hands go. “Nothing else is going on,” I lied. I knew I needed to have a serious conversation with him eventually about the meeting but a small part of me wasn’t going to tell him about it either. I was still debating it.

  “Amery, I’m your boyfriend. Don’t you think I deserve to know everything that’s going on in your life?” He drilled into me with his intense blue eyes. I could have melted under the gaze. He was right, after all. But I wasn’t going to tell him everything, I wasn’t ready for it.

  “You know everything.”

  “Do I? Really?”

  At that moment, the door of the trailer swung open and Garrick filled the entrance way. “Leave her alone.”

  I had a sinking feeling things were about to go downhill fast. “Garrick, it’s okay. Lochie and I are just talking.”

  Lochie shot his eyes toward Garrick, completely forgetting I was there. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  “If you don’t listen to her, then it concerns me.”

  “Like you’d know.”

  “I know more than you think.”

  The next few things that happened were so fast I was reacting only on instinct. Lochie raised his right arm, balling his hand into a fist. Within seconds he was at the trailer and poised to punch Garrick in the head.

  I raced over, pulling at him to stop. I gripped his shirt when nothing else was within reach. The whack of his fist colliding with Garrick’s face was far louder than I ever thought a punch would be.

  “Lochie, no!” I screamed, it didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

  Garrick retaliated by throwing a punch of his own. The two guys ended up on the dirt floor directly outside the trailer, sparring at each other like idiots.

  “Garrick! Lochie! Stop it!” I cried out, to no avail. They were in some macho zone I couldn’t break into.

  Fists were flying left, right, and center. I lost track of who had hit who, it all became a horrible blur. I pulled at both of them, trying to snap them out of it. It wasn’t working.

  As a last resort, I pushed my way into the middle of them, one hand on both of their chests. “Stop it! Now! Before one of you gets seriously hurt.”

  Their chests heaved up and down as they caught their breath. My eyes shot back and forth. Both of them were hurt. Lochie had blood running down his cheek from a cut to his eyebrow. Garrick had a split lip and possibly a black eye when the bruising really started to set in.

  “Lochie, I think you should leave,” I said, trying to stay calm and speak with authority.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” He shot the question over my head at Garrick. “Have her all to yourself?”

  “At least she’d be satisfied,” Garrick spat back. They took another rush at each other. For a moment I thought I was going to be squeezed between them. I put all my strength into holding them apart.

  Lochie turned his attention back to me. “Amery, tell me there’s nothing going on between you two.”

  “There’s nothing going on,” I replied, feeling the pinch of a little lie. “I swear, Lochie, there is nothing going on. Go home and I’ll talk to you when you’ve calmed down.”

  “I’m not leaving you with him.”

  I was vaguely aware of Garrick smirking over my shoulder as he listened to us. “Please, just go. You’re hurt and bleeding, you need to get sewn back up.”

  “She said go,” Garrick added. “You’re not her type.”

  “Garrick, shut up,” I warned him.

  “And what is her type?” Lochie shot back. “Loser? Skinny ass wannabe?”

  “No, extra-”

  I cut him off before he could finish exposing what I really was. He was going to pay for that later. “Garrick! Lochie, listen to me, please stop this and go home before you bleed everywhere.”

  “Only if you come with me.”

  Garrick’s sarcastic voice replied before I could. “Just go already. When are you going to get it? She doesn’t want to go anywhere with you. Nowhere. Never. Ever.”

  I took my hand off Garrick’s chest, satisfied he probably wasn’t going to be the one to charge again. I put both hands on Lochie�
��s sternum, trying to get him to listen to only me. “I’ll come visit when you’ve calmed down. I promise.”

  “Are you hooking up with him?” Lochie asked, desperation in his voice.

  My anger was starting to boil now. “Of course not, how can you even ask that? Do you really think I would cheat on you?”

  “Just realized you aren’t good enough for her?” Garrick teased. He was really starting to get on my last nerve, both of them were.

  “Garrick, get inside,” I ordered, my voice seething and cold. I didn’t move, determined to finish this whole thing with no more casualties. “Now! Go!”

  Footsteps finally trudged behind me. The slamming of the trailer door sounded a moment later. One down, that only left one to go. I looked at Lochie.

  “Amery, I need the truth.”

  “And I’ve been telling you the truth,” I replied, exasperated. “Garrick and I are only staying together because we’re in the same boat. You are the one I love. Although I don’t know why, you drive me crazy.”

  “Then why don’t I believe you?” He asked, in barely more than a whisper. It made my heart fall into my stomach. Clearly I wasn’t doing an adequate impression of a good girlfriend. He took a step back from me and headed toward his car.

  I was torn between running after him and letting him go. I couldn’t think of anything to say that would convince him to think differently about me so I let him go. His car disappeared down the driveway while I watched it leave.

  I stood there, planted on the spot, until thumping sounds filtered through my ears. They were coming from the trailer. I looked around, sure all the neighbors would have heard our dramas. A few curtains were fluttering but no faces revealed themselves. I guessed that was something.

  I stepped back inside the trailer to see Garrick sorting through the cupboards, banging everything he could with his angry hands. “Do you know where the band aids are?”

  “You’re going to need more than band aids for that lip,” I replied grumpily. The argument that started outside was far from over. “You shouldn’t have spoken to Lochie like that.”