“Mom, please don’t tell me I was going to be left out of this,” I said, more of a statement than a question. The fact was I already knew the answer, and I wanted to see if she would lie to me.
She blinked and then her face softened slightly in a smile that I recognized as the one she used when there was something we wanted to know, but she refused to tell us, giving us the best reply she could muster that didn’t sound like complete and utter bullshit.
“Of course, I wasn’t going to leave you out. You are important to this too,” she replied as she pat my shoulder with her free hand. “The others were going to let you in on it at breakfast, but you came out here before they had a chance. So, no2 you know. Now, we don’t have the time to brief everyone before we get moving. We need to assemble our team and move out quickly. This supply drop was unprecedented.”
Instantly, I knew it was a lie. She still didn’t trust me for some reason and maybe the unknown when it came to whatever Cato had done was a factor in her distrust, but I didn’t see a reason for it. Cato would’ve been on our side. I knew that for a fact and there was no denying it. He had given up his life for us, my mother included, which she had seen herself from the video footage given to her by Doctor Aserov.
My eyes shifted to Doctor Aserov’s back as she made her way into the room where this meeting was being held.
“Doctor Aserov?” I called after her. All she did was glance back at us, meet my mother’s eyes, and turn back around to follow Rayna. Each pair of eyes that moved past me looked at me swiftly and turned away, but Ryder’s lingered and he paused outside the door, waiting for me. Even my oldest friends and my sister tried not to make eye contact like I could see into them and see their fear. Which, now, I could.
My mother attempted to follow suit, but I held her there, frustration and anger blooming within me as I felt my power unfurl in my gut.
“Mom, you can stop treating me like a child. I’m not out of control, and I can handle this. Remember what I said about honesty?”
She looked at me then, her blue eyes meeting my green ones. Anger was the dominant emotion there, but right underneath it was understanding. And a willingness to listen to me when I said I was all right. My mother resisted me slightly, and I let her pull away. She straightened her back and pulled down on her shirt as if our interaction had disheveled it.
“I do,” she stated matter-of-factly.
My mouth dropped open, and I couldn’t help but stare at her shock. “And does that mean nothing to you? Because I will walk, and you know I will.”
Her eyes averted back to me, her lips set in a straight line. “Are we done here? Because I need you to understand something about the Fallen Paradigm. We may keep secrets, but we do not lie. We divulge information when we feel it is needed and, at the moment, your full cooperation is what we need. Now, let’s go inside, and I will be explaining a few things that are pertinent to what we’ll be doing once everyone is briefed. And you may be interested in some of it.”
My mother began to walk toward the open door where Rayna stood, holding it open for us with Ryder on the other side of it. Still waiting. Always waiting for me like a faithful sentinel. I was confident he was someone I could always depend on no matter what events took place or what he was told.
“Okay, but we’re not finished here.” Then I realized I hadn’t asked her about Noah, but it was too late.
She walked away from me without looking back and moved past Ryder and Rayna without a word, Rayna following her inside as Ryder watched me. I moved toward him and attempted not to let my frustration show, but it was evident in even the way I walked in his direction. He reached out to me, and I took his hand. He gave mine a reassuring squeeze.
“Give her some time. She’ll open up. She’s been like this with everyone that came from the compounds. I think she believes they may have someone here on the inside or that one of us was brainwashed into keeping an eye on us for King. Apparently, there is something they may have injected some with, and that’s why they took the blood tests. I’m even in the dark here so, please don’t take it personally.”
“Kind of hard to do when it’s your own mother, Ryder,” I pointed out as we stood there outside the door.
I peeked into the room to find everyone seated around a long and round table, so close to oval in shape but not quite, with my mother at the head of it at the very front of the room. Her back was stick straight, her palms pressed on the shining wood table top. Her eyes were fixated on us as we stood in the doorway. I stared at her and attempted not to meet her eyes because it would ignite a rage in me I so rightfully felt. I knew that there were some things out of her control, especially when it came to information. That didn’t change the fact there was always something new popping up that she had known about previously and didn’t feel the need to let me in.
“You ready?” Ryder asked.
Without taking my gaze from my mother, I replied, “Yes.”
We turned and walked into the room, Ryder shutting the door behind us as we made our way to the only remaining empty chairs in the room. Somehow we got lucky and ended up with seats next to one another, and I let out a sigh of relief as I sat down in the black faux leather seat. It had stainless steel armrests fitted with pads of the same material I sat on. Even reminding me slightly of the same chair King had tied me down to multiple times in a way. The only difference was the slim structure of it as well as the wheels fixed to the bottom. My heart rate picked up with anxiety, and I pushed the chair back slightly on its wheels to show myself that this wasn’t the same. I pushed air out through pursed lips and looked at each face in turn, those that I knew personally attempting not to stare as I worked my way through a small panic attack. Apparently, it had been something they were told they needed to be aware of and not to interfere so I could learn to control my mental state on my own. Maybe they were told that it was important not just for me, but for everyone living within the Fallen Paradigm’s walls. I noticed two men completely decked out in black that I had never met before. They had a purpose, that much was clear, or they wouldn’t have been there. So I shrugged it off.
My gaze met Gaia’s, and she smiled softly, which I returned with a small wave. Without having to utter a single word, I could see the question in her eyes. She wanted to know if I was all right and I wasn’t sure how to answer it, but I answered in a way that would keep her complacent.
“I’m okay,” I mouthed.
She nodded solemnly and then all faces turned to my mother at the front who had drawn all attention to her by clearing her throat.
“We have a very important purpose in this room today, and I need you all ready to go within the hour. There will be a supply drop across the Wall in the abandoned city of Charleston, South Carolina. We need volunteers to go on this run, but there is some information that I feel is necessary for everyone to make it back in once piece just in case it arises.”
She stood up perfectly straight, her fingers went to her belt loop of her cargo pants and began to fidget as she glanced my way for all of a moment. She was nervous about something, and I had a sneaking suspicion it had a lot to do with me when our eyes met for what felt like the millionth time in so many important moments in the same morning.
“Fuji-O’Hara Industries was in the process of working on perfecting the use of nanobyte technology. Nanobytes are microscopic robots that can be used in anything from military to medicine to weaponry as well as so many other things. At the time, when I worked for them after being removed from The Harvest, I had helped them perfect the process of injection into a human host without the threat of rejection. Now it seems they are using them within human subjects, but we are not one hundred percent certain for what exactly, even though I have my suspicions. It could be a weaponized human. It could be anything, but something that seems unusual to you is something you need to keep an eye out for while we are out th
ere. Now, knowing there is a possibility of running into something that could very possibly kill you besides the Specials running around out there in King’s regime now, we need volunteers to go on this mission. Any takers?”
I raised my hand as soon as her speech was finished and said, “I’ll go.”
My mother nodded and looked around the room, her fingers still fidgeting with the belt loop as she did so.
“I want to go,” Gaia volunteered.
My head swiveled to look at my little sister with wide eyes.
“Like Hell you are,” my mother and I nearly shouted at her in conjunction. I hadn’t meant to, but the fear of my sister being out there in the field was nearly suffocating.
“You will stay here, and that’s that,” I reiterated.
“I am fully capable…”
I cut her off with a wave of my hand and a firm stare that would send even the largest grown man running for cover.
“Capable of what, Gaia? I was told that you couldn’t handle the field. You’re not going anywhere. You’ll stay here and wait for us to get back,” I demanded.
Gaia crossed her arms at my insistence and refused to look at me any further, Cecilia placing a hand on her shoulder as she shot me a stern stare.
“I’ll be here with you, Gaia, and they will come back. All of them,” she reassured her.
“Mila and I go. Gaia and Cecilia stay. Anyone else willing to head out with us now is the time to say something. We need at least another three.”
Ryder raised his hand first, followed by Julius, Jameson and the two I had never met. They looked as strong and capable as the man I had arrived here with and seemed to have the same training since they sat in the same rigid position I had noticed in Ryder when we met. My mother nodded approvingly.
“All right then. Me, Mila, Ryder, Julius, Jameson, Daley, and Rickson.”
“Horatia, you should stay behind just in case. If they don’t come back, we’ll need you to lead us,” Doctor Aserov asserted. Genuine worry was plastered all over her face, and she had the right to be anxious. “This could be a trap for all we know to lure you and Mila out.”
“That is a chance I am willing to take, Doc, thanks. But if my daughter goes, I go. No way around that.”
I wasn’t sure what to say about that, but the awkward feeling settled in my belly as all eyes turned back to me. I fought the urge to slink down into my chair. I should’ve stayed, I could feel it. But, at the same time, I could no longer sit in this place surrounded by the complete and utter blinding white of everything inside those walls. I had to get out, even if it could cost us our lives.
“Now, we go out within the hour. Go in smart, go in quiet. Do not, and I repeat, do not let your guard down.”
“Roger that,” Daley said as he saluted to Mila in a thick Southern drawl. “You have nothing to worry about, ma’am. I’ll keep ya’ll as safe as my own MawMaw.”
Chapter
SEVEN
“Mila, I have a bad feeling about this,” Julius said fearfully.
He adjusted his stance with his massive rifle in hand as we all stood behind a large building that I could tell used to be a mill or warehouse before the Wall was erected. I didn’t blame him for being nervous. My heart raced behind my ribcage at just the thought of being on this side of the Wall again. Everything seemed more horrific than it had before.
“Stow that shit, Julius.” Ryder barked, the M-16 in his hand pointed downward at the ground. “We need to stay sharp.”
He was right, but even I had to admit the unsettled feeling that crept into his gut was mutual.
“I’m sharp, Ryder, but Goddammit something doesn’t feel right!” Julius snarled at Ryder, turning his head just barely so he could look at him. He squinted past the sun’s rays that were slowly being eaten away by the gray clouds moving in overhead.
Jameson turned to the both of them with a look of irritation in his eyes that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. Being on this side of the Wall had everyone on edge.
“Guys, it’s enough.”
I moved closer to Julius with one hand on the butt of my pistol, a Jagdkommando seven-inch fixed tri-edge blade on the opposite hip for easier access if either were needed. I had to hand it to the Fallen Paradigm. They had amazing weapons, and the blade was my favorite of everything I had held. Something to inflict maximum damage with minimum force. I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, feeling his anxiety as it rippled through his body. He glanced at me, and I smiled tiredly back.
“He’s right. Relax. The faster we do this, the faster we get back, and we are away from here. Okay?” I gave him a small wink, hoping it would lighten the atmosphere.
Julius smiled in return and set his steel gray eyes back to the building we were about to enter to receive our supplies. I couldn’t help but notice his furrowed brows. I frowned as he turned back, but I shrugged it off.
“Okay. But something doesn’t feel right. I’m just stating that for the record.”
Without another word of warning, Julius walked past Jameson and Ryder to the open door where Rickson and Daley waited for us to follow. They stood like sentinels, waiting for us to go through the doors first. To make certain we were safe from anyone that may come at us from the forest beyond the abandoned city. My mother stood barely five feet from the pair, staring into the dimness beyond the open doorway. I strolled over to Ryder with one hand on the butt of my gun and the other resting on the hilt of the blade, stealing a quick kiss as I moved past him. His icy and stiff demeanor subsided for all of a moment as he watched me walk away, which I only saw because I had chanced a glance backward. It only took seconds for the hardened look of a military man on a mission to return. I stopped next to my mother and considered the same gray interior of the building as she was and took a deep, steadying breath to get my heart to slow.
“Mom, are you sure you want to come?”
She smiled slightly. An expression so rare from her now it warmed my heart even if the gesture was minuscule.
“Absolutely. It’s good to get out every now and again,” she answered as we began to walk the rest of the way to the open threshold.
As we walked toward the open doorway, Rickson and Daley made their way inside, but I stopped just outside it and turned my head so I could hear something better. There was a hum in the air, but nothing that was out of the ordinary for the United States at that point. Military and government planes and the like were always making their way through the skies. I strained my ears, and there was something I couldn’t place. Something I had never heard before, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. The faint sound of something whirring through the air was nearly undetectable and hard to notice if you weren’t paying attention. It sounded as if it were growing closer with each passing second.
“Wait. Do you hear something?” I asked in hopes that someone else could as well.
“It’s a helicopter. Let’s get inside,” Jameson said urgently as he stepped across the threshold and into the grayed darkness beyond it.
Silence penetrated the noise coming from outside once we moved inside, the light almost being drowned out by the darkness of the space. I walked in behind everyone, my mother following behind me. The only sounds inside of the massive room we entered were the scraping of our boots on the ground that was littered with flaking paint, crumbling papers, and any other debris that managed to make its way in. Everyone had their rifles up and pointed in all directions, searching for who we were supposed to be meeting on the supply run. That was when I began to think that maybe Julius was right. Maybe something wasn’t right about the entire trip. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Goosebumps formed as anxiety ran widespread through my body, bringing the awareness that something was very wrong with the entire situation.
“Mom?”
“I know,” was her on
ly reply, hinting that she was just as clueless as the rest of us.
I placed my hand on the butt of my pistol but didn’t remove it from the holster as I looked around the large room, seeing nothing beyond the massive concrete pillars situated throughout. A loud noise came from above, causing everyone with a rifle to turn them toward the ceiling all in tandem. My eyes followed theirs, following footsteps that moved toward the only stairs that I could see.
“Did you hear that?” Julius asked, knowing full well that we had. The line of his shot followed the noise as we all watched in stunned silence.
“Damn right, I did,” Ryder replied.
Daley and Rickson moved toward my mother and flanked her on either side to protect her from whatever could be coming to greet us. I was willing to bet it wasn’t anything good. Jameson came to stand beside both Julius and Ryder, who stood in perfect formation with their M-16s aimed at the large concrete steps that whoever or whatever this was would come down. If it had anything to do with King, which I was certain it did, it would be something or someone that needed to be taken out and quickly. Knowing he had Specials on this side as well as those whose powers were stolen and given to others, there was no telling what kind of opponent we were up against. And obviously, this was a ruse. I balled my fists as my side, prepared for a fight.
What came down the stairs at what seemed to be slow motion because of the adrenaline flowing through my veins wasn’t what I expected. An African-American male came down the stairs, dressed head to toe in military attire I hadn’t seen most wearing. His hands were out in front of him as if to show that he was unarmed, which we all knew meant nothing in the world we lived in. It was a peaceful gesture, and the expression on his face was genuine. He was young. I would say at least my age.
The Scorned (The Permutation Archives Book 3) Page 7