Project Integrate Series Boxed Set

by Campbell, Jamie

  I wondered how long it would take for my fear to subside about the building. To me, it was now a place of torture, especially when I remembered the dungeon and bloodstains in the basement.

  “This is the building?” Krom asked, to nobody in particular. Garrick, Kyle, satellite Roxie and I all nodded together. “Let’s not waste any time then.”

  With no more inspiring words, Krom walked through the security barrier of the building, ignoring the calls of protest from the guards. We all followed, a little less confident than our leader.

  “Halt! Stop!” The guard in the security office kept ordering him. Krom turned, stopping only for a moment to stare at him. With a wave of his hand, all the bulletproof windows of the little station closed. As much as the guard banged and pulled at the door and windows, they wouldn’t budge to let him out. He was nothing more than a bird in a cage.

  Seeing Krom put his powers to work made me feel a little better that we weren’t walking into another fight with the Department. The guards and agents might have guns, but Krom had powers. Powers that would easily lay them all aside in seconds.

  Garrick and I led our small delegation right through the front doors of the Department. We were the only ones who had been in the building before, we knew the layout like the back of our hand – the areas we were allowed to see, anyway. Perhaps that was why I had to tag along?

  We waltzed right past security as alarms from the metal detectors blared in the otherwise silent foyer. I wanted to cover my ears from the horrible squeal but didn’t want to look like I had any weaknesses. I tried to tune it out instead. All the guards stood at attention, waiting to see what we’d do before they started coming at us.

  Garrick and I stood at the reception counter, the woman unabashedly open mouthed as she stared at our little group. I took a deep breath, hoping my voice wouldn’t waver. “Leader Krom of Trucon is here to see Agent Schroder. He requests a meeting without delay please.”

  “That means now,” Garrick added. Fine, we could play good cop, bad cop.

  “I, uh, does he have an appointment?” The woman asked, using her index finger to push her glasses up on her nose.

  “He doesn’t need one,” I pointed out.

  “Oh. I’ll, just, um, call.” She typed into her computer and pulled her hands free headset down to reach her mouth. “I have a Mr. Krom here to see Agent Schroder… no, he doesn’t have an appointment… it’s urgent… just trust me…fine.”

  I felt for the poor woman, trying to explain us to Agent Schroder’s assistant wasn’t an easy feat – especially when we were all watching her. It wasn’t her fault her boss was a schmuck.

  She hit a button on her earpiece and turned back to us. “Agent Schroder’s assistant is on her way down. She will take you right up, it won’t be a moment.”

  Now it was our turn to be awkward. We stood there huddled together, nobody talking. You could have heard a pin drop. My stomach seemed to be the only thing moving as it tied itself in knots with nerves.

  I really didn’t want to face the man who had ordered us killed. It wasn’t like our last meeting had gone so well, I didn’t truly believe this one would be any better. I really wished Krom hadn’t insisted Garrick and I attend with him.

  Lochie didn’t like it when I told him we were coming back here. He wanted to come, got really angry when I said he couldn’t. At least we were together now to fight face to face, far better than the silent treatment. I would rather argue with Lochie than not have him in my life at all.

  Footsteps started to approach from down the corridor. My stomach clenched as I got my first glimpse of Agent Schroder again. He was flanked by four security guards, two on each side. He came prepared for a battle, not the civilized discussion we hoped to have.

  Krom put his hand out for the man to shake, becoming accustomed to our Earthly rituals. Agent Schroder took his hand and shook it quickly.

  “Leader Krom, it’s nice to see you again,” he started. His words might have been polite but his tone of voice was harsh. He wasn’t happy we were there. “I did not know you were on our planet.”

  “I guess you’re not the only one keeping secrets then,” Krom replied happily, his voice echoing around the large open foyer. He didn’t seem to be nervous in the slightest. “Are you prepared to talk about our current… differences?”

  “I don’t see there is anything to talk about.”

  “So you are not prepared to discuss the project at all?”

  Agent Schroder’s face was a stone wall, betraying no emotion at all. He was definitely a tough nut to crack. “There is no project to discuss.”

  I had to clench my jaw together to stop myself yelling at the arrogant man. How could he just throw away seventeen years of hard work? How could he so casually disregard an entire race of people because it didn’t suit him anymore? He was a human, so where was his humanity?

  Krom nodded decidedly. “I understand. In the same vein, there are no members of the project. If any of your agents, operatives, guards, spies, anyone comes near my people, I will ensure this places burns. I will have no hesitation in ensuring you feel my disgust at the actions.”

  I briefly wondered if burning down buildings was a trait unique to our people. It seemed to be a common thread amongst our kind.

  “And I will ensure you feel the wrath of our forces,” Agent Schroder said smugly, completely unflappable. “Do I need to remind you that you are a guest on our planet? It would be a shame to have to ask you all to leave.”

  “We might be guests but we can destroy this planet in less than a day.”

  Agent Schroder laughed, he actually laughed. How could he be so blasé about the whole thing? He was being threatened by an alien, one with far greater technology than he had access to. If Krom was looking at me like that, saying those things, I would be a puddle on the floor begging for mercy.

  He finally caught his breath long enough to speak again. “And if you destroy this planet, then where would you go? The clock is ticking, Krom. Tick tock.”

  Without warning, Krom gripped Agent Schroder’s blue shirt and balled it in his fist. He held the man up on tiptoes without any effort at all. The four guards were immediately clawing at Krom, trying to get their fearless leader away. Our side just stood by, holding our breath and waiting to see what happened next. Krom was worth a hundred of us.

  When Krom only tightened his grip and made Agent Schroder’s face glow red, the guards stood back and pulled out their guns. Each of them was armed, pointing their weapon at Krom and yelling for him to let go.

  “Step away!”

  “Put your hands up!”

  “On the ground, on the ground now!”

  Krom ignored them all. We tried to stand confidently behind him but it was hard. I wasn’t sure if the bullets would hurt him but I knew they would us. Garrick shifted slightly, standing in front of me.

  “I suggest we schedule further talks about our integration,” Krom started, ignoring everything else and staring into the face of his hostage. “After you have had a chance to think it over, I’m sure your calendar will open right up.”

  He thrust Agent Schroder down, sending him reeling backwards into his guards. They shuffled in front of him, forming a human shield to protect their leader.

  “You’ve got one week,” Krom said as he turned to leave. “One week to present a favorable outcome for our situation or I will call in reinforcements. And we will not hesitate in doing everything the Originals accuse us of.”

  He strode out of the foyer like a warhorse leading a battle. With his gait steady, his head held high, and his face a passionate landscape. The way the rest of us scurried after him wasn’t so poetic.

  We walked at a calm pace out the door, down the drive, and through security. Nobody tried to stop us, nobody even looked at us. To be untouchable within the Department grounds was a new experience, a change I actually enjoyed for once.

  We returned to the bunker, Krom celebrating the whole time. He seemed to enjoy
the experience of telling the Department exactly what he wanted to. I got the feeling he had been waiting for the opportunity for a very long time.

  Our leader practically ran into the bunker, gathering everyone he could to tell them the news. He ordered us all to assemble in the main meeting room in ten minutes. I dreaded what more he wanted to tell us. I wasn’t convinced he didn’t want to wage war on Earth and it scared me to the bone to even imagine it.

  I found Lochie in the food hall, talking to some members. It sounded like he was updating them on the football results over the past few months.

  “Hey, you’re back,” he exclaimed, standing up to give me a quick hug. “Did it go okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Krom wants everyone in the meeting hall in a few minutes,” I said loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. They all started moving, well trained in following orders since being at the complex. I grabbed Lochie before he could go anywhere. “I need to talk to you… privately. After the meeting, don’t go anywhere, okay?”

  He raised an eyebrow in question and nodded. He went to sit back down but I took his hand and dragged him along instead. “You’re one of us now, you can’t stay behind.”

  We joined the others as they all streamed into the room. With all the members there with the satellites, it was squishy standing room only these days.

  Krom took the table, standing at the head and making sure everyone was in before commencing. At least all the bodies drowned out some of his loud echoes. “Today we celebrate. The Department will not come after any of us.”

  We all exchanged glances, nobody was foolish enough to blindly believe him. One of the satellites was brave enough to speak the words we were all thinking. “Are you certain they won’t try to attack any members?”

  “I am certain, they know of my power and they also know I am not to be toyed with. I have had many dealings with Agent Schroder and he knows better than to cross me. You are all safe now.”

  He stopped, looking at everyone in turn to make sure there were no further questions or doubt left. I tried to look happier and more confident.

  He continued after a few moments. “I am ordering all members be returned to the community. If your adoptive parents will take you back, then you are to return to your former lives. The project might be over in the Department’s eyes, but not in ours. We will continue on and prove everybody wrong.”

  The moment his words escaped his mouth, murmurs started filtering through his audience. I was numb, I couldn’t even think of all the consequences of his order. I desperately wanted to return to my parents and my old life, but it was still so dangerous. If the Department didn’t get us, the Originals or general public would be happy to dispose of their problem.

  Krom waved his hands around, indicating for silence. “I understand there are concerns with this, but we must be brave. We must remember what we are fighting for and stay true to the principles of the project. We are doing this for our survival. No battle is won easily.”

  The fifty year old female satellite who usually chaired the meetings stood. “What can we do to protect our members?”

  “You can do what you have always done, watch and observe. You should blend into the community and start righting some wrongs. You have not yet been identified as having alien blood, you can start to spread the word.”

  It was one of the members that stood up next, I knew him as Mason. “Our parents are federal agents, do you really wish us to return to the enemy?”

  “The key word is parents, they have been so for seventeen years. I do not believe you will be in danger in their care. However, if you feel certain you will be, we will make alternative arrangements,” Krom replied calmly. He certainly wasn’t one to get frazzled. “You will all leave in the next two days while I speak with our other leaders and decide on what we are to do next.”

  Krom requested a few satellites stay behind to discuss the finer details before he dismissed the rest of us. We wandered out, snaking our way through the corridors like zombies. I don’t think anyone was as pleased to go home as they should have been. Nobody could forget the real threat to our lives, no matter how excited they were to return to their loved ones.

  Lochie, however, was ecstatic with a goofy grin spread across his face. “You’re coming back. No more bunker, trailer, or running. I get to have you all to myself again.”

  I tried to be happy, making sure I had a smile on my face. It couldn’t cover my concern though, not when I thought about putting my parents in harm’s way again. They would be happy to see me, probably even more so than Lochie. Thinking of them and being able to be back in my own house, the smile didn’t feel so forced.

  “It’ll be nice,” I replied as he wrapped me in a hug.

  “You don’t have to wait until tomorrow, right? I can take you home now?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll need to stay and help organize the arrangements. We’ll need to prepare this place so we can use it again if we need to,” I explained. His expression changed from happy to concerned in less than a second.

  I felt guilty at the lie. The truth was I wasn’t ready to leave yet. I felt relatively safe in the bunker and I never felt like that outside anymore. The thought of going home panicked me just as much as it warmed me.

  “I can help?” Lochie offered.

  Garrick passed by the doorway, in a hurry to get somewhere. There was something about the slump of his shoulders that screamed he wasn’t happy about something.

  I pushed away from Lochie, making a definite decision. “No, you should go home. You’ve already done way too much. We need to just finish up here so we can start to leave tomorrow. I’ll talk to you then.”

  “Are you sure? I’m happy to help out wherever I can. You said you wanted to talk to me after the meeting?”

  “It was nothing. Really, you should go,” I said, a little more stern than I had anticipated. “We can handle it. Tomorrow will be here before we know it. I’ll walk you out.”

  Lochie creased his forehead as he studied me but I was already heading toward the door to avoid any more conversation. I needed to find Garrick, my gut was telling me something wasn’t right with him. And it would be no good going after him when Lochie was still there.

  We made it to the steel ladder. “What time should I pick you up tomorrow?”

  I hadn’t even thought of how I was going to get home. My parents would probably be all too happy to pick me up, but Lochie seemed really intent on doing it himself. “How about ten o’clock?”

  “I will be here at ten,” he said happily, giving me a quick kiss and hug before making his way up the ladder.

  I stood there until he was out of the hatch and he had replaced it securely. The moment the sunlight disappeared, I turned around and headed back to find Garrick.

  CHAPTER 10

  I found Garrick in his room, sitting on his bunk and folding up his clothes. He was alone, all his roommates busy with other tasks as they prepared to leave. The entire bunker was like an anthill.

  I knocked tentatively to announce my presence, not meaning to silently loiter like a creepy person. “Hey, Garrick.”

  “Hey.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Since when do you ask?” He shrugged. Okay, so I was probably going to be dealing with grumpy Garrick this afternoon, got it. At least I kind of knew how to deal with him.

  I entered the small room and took a seat on the bunk across from his bed. He didn’t stop me so I took that as a good sign. “So, home huh? I didn’t see that coming. I thought they’d make us live down here forever.”

  “Some of us might,” he grunted back.

  I studied him, trying to work out what his problem was. Surely he couldn’t be upset that we were allowed to return to our normal lives? I mean, it was risky and probably reckless, but Krom had a point. Just because the Department deemed the project over, it didn’t mean it had to be. We could slide back into our old lives and try to change people’s minds.

  Suddenly i
t hit me, we were going home. It was fine for us that actually had homes and families to return to. Garrick’s adoptive parents had disowned him when the project ended.

  I wanted to smack myself for being so insensitive. As far as I was aware, I was the only one who knew of Garrick’s parent’s decision. I should have been the one to comfort him, not leave him to speak with my boyfriend. Ugh, I so badly wished my foot didn’t live in my mouth all the time.

  My mind scrambled for the right words to say but they didn’t come. As far as my brain was concerned, there was only one option. I didn’t think my parents would mind.

  “So I was thinking,” I started, hoping he would take it the right way. “I’ve kind of gotten used to having you around. Do you think you could stay with me for a while? You know, if you want to. It’s no luxury trailer but we have plenty of room.”

  Garrick didn’t look at me, that wasn’t a good sign. “I don’t need your charity.”

  “It’s not charity. You’ll be doing me a favor. I’m worried about going home, it would be a relief to have you there. I think our safety is still in limbo, despite what anybody else says.”

  He slumped onto the bed, still holding his half-folded t-shirt. When he looked directly at me, I could see I had hit the right nerve in his sad eyes. “You can’t fool me, Amery. Your stupid boyfriend might fall for it, but I won’t. I’m not something that’s your responsibility to fix.”

  “I don’t want to fix you,” I protested, but even that was a little bit of a lie. If I could have waved a magic wand and made his life better, I would have done it in a heartbeat. But who wouldn’t want that for their friend? “I really do think I’m going to miss your company. God knows why, but you’ve grown on me since you tried to burn down a building for me.”

  I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. It felt like all the air was being sucked out of the underground room. What I wouldn’t do for a window and some fresh air.