‘Carl?’ Melanie gasped. ‘What–how did you get up here?’
He grinned, and Melanie cringed. It wasn’t his usual warm and quirky grin, but instead a vengeful glare, wishing nothing but sorrow upon those facing him.
‘Ye seem to forget dearie, there’d be tunnels all around this place.’ He said. ‘And you most certainly didn’t think I’d be alone, did ye?’
The gingery rays of the risen sun perfectly shed across the face of the building. Carl stepped aside, and Belle came strutting into the light. Glued to her sides, were both Lance and Ben.
‘Oh, Sam…’ Belle sneered. ‘I honestly thought you were smarter than this! Haven’t you learnt after the millionth time of almost getting caught, running never works?’
Sam bit her tongue.
‘Belle…How could you do this to us?’
‘Do you think living underground is fun? Having to check your back every five seconds for the rest of your life, because you’re too scared of getting found out?’ Belle’s eyes widened. Her once smooth voice was now high-pitched and hoarse, bitterly muffled by her clenching jaw. ‘Your brother left us–left me–when I loved him more than anyone else in the world! Do you know what that’s like, to have the person you love, not loving you back?’
Aaron swallowed. His chest felt like a lump of coal, helplessly sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He knew exactly what that felt like.
‘Belle, I’m so sorry.’ Sam uttered.
‘You know, I’ve really grown to like you Sam. But I’m afraid my people must come first. When Jack Crowe offered me a trade–you and your friends, for the freedom of me and my people–who was I to pass it up?’
‘But we could’ve worked together! I’m sure the rebellion–’
‘The rebellion’s a joke! Don’t you see that?’ Belle laughed. ‘They go around, burning everything in sight!’ She clutched at her head. ‘You too, Sam, are just like your brother, a fool.’ Belle felt an excruciating pain all over her body, every ounce of strength slowly drained by her overwhelming emotions. She swung around and charged for the building, paused, and glanced over her shoulder. ‘Are you coming, Shawn?’
Sam gasped.
Shawn stood quiet, his face struck blank. He stared back at Sam with a helpless gleam in his eyes. ‘Sam,’ He shrugged, seeing her confused study of his features. ‘They only told me last night, offered me to join them–’
‘–but you said no, right?’ Sam asked.
Shawn parted his lips, but no sound emerged.
The thick peels fell from Sam’s eyes. For the first time she hadn’t seen Shawn as the great Shawn Mustang, with his sharp jaw and masculine features.
Instead, she saw him for the true coward he really was. He wasn’t brave, and he certainly hadn’t loved Sam enough to fight for her. The butterflies that once tickled her stomach, transformed to angry wasps, stinging at her flesh like hungry hunters with spears.
Her heart was broken, and so was her soul.
‘YOU SAID NO, RIGHT?’ Sam repeated, her eyes filled with tears. Shawn couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He felt an infuriated Aaron staring at him, as if trying to say ‘You’re dead’.
With a heavy heart, he turned his back on them, and walked towards the building.
‘I’m really sorry, Sam.’ was all he could say. He entered the building, and never looked back.
‘Such a pity things had to end like this,’ Belle said, grinning smugly. ‘Send my regards to Dallas Romero!’ She chuckled, and followed behind Shawn. ‘Finish it, Carl!’
Obeying Belle’s orders, Carl raised an axe, and smashed it to the door frame. The wood gave way, and caved in at only his very first swing. Mounds of stone collapsed at once, leaving it near to impossible for any bare hands to dig through.
‘They’ve trapped us!’ Melanie cried, rushing towards the mound of rubble. She dug and dug; only to each time to find twice as much of the dirt had collapsed on top of her. She sagged onto the pile in a miserable bundle, leaning back while staring at the sky.
No one spoke, because no one dared to.
The only sounds were those of Sam’s heavy heaving, fighting to hold back the tears of betrayal, and trying to stay upright while all she wanted to do was lie down, and never get back up. How could Shawn do that to her, after all they’d been through?
* * *
Sand stung against Sam’s skin, scattered from the ground as a buzzing airship lowered itself to the flattened surface. Its door lowered, and charging at them, were the familiar ensemble of agile men all dressed in black. This time, they carried no guns, but instead bright beaming pairs of electric cuffs. Sam and her friends were seized, and transported onto the ship.
There was no question about it, this time, they truly were done for.
Chapter 32
It was a short and silent ride to the bottom of the mountain. The airship landed, and opened up to face two heavy trucks decorated with the Keep’s emblem; a large, brick castle surrounded by stars.
The eight remaining prisoners were escorted from the airship, and shoved towards the vehicles. One of the trucks’ doors opened, and out stepped Jack Crowe himself. He pulled at his vest, and smiled.
‘Thought you could escape from me, huh?’ He said. ‘Well guess again!’
Sam clutched her fists. He wouldn’t even have found them if it wasn’t for that double crossing snake, Belle. She forced herself to keep quiet, but almost lost it when another guard shoved her aside.
‘Move,’ the guard said, making way for his captain to enter.
Dallas Romero strolled forward in his ever so famous suit and shiny leather shoes. He trotted lightly, poised and mysterious. ‘The capital isn’t supposed to be doing your job for you, Crowe.’ He said.
Jack snorted. ‘The capital isn’t supposed to be sending me these retards. And while we’re at it, the Keep isn’t exactly a hospital.’
‘Well, you only have to keep a few juvenile safely locked up. Not in general considered as the hardest task, now is it? Considering that I’d be the one to catch them in the first place.’
‘All right, I’ve got them now, Romero.’ Jack said. ‘You can go.
Dallas nodded, and with his hands behind his back, he returned to his ship. As he passed by Sam, his eyes fell upon hers, but she quickly looked away. She couldn’t help but recall the night of her capture: A much simpler time, when all she had to worry about was her alone.
The ship’s door closed, and took off in the sky, leaving those on the ground showered by sand and pebbles, cutting into their flesh like needles fired from a gun. Jack Crowe commanded the prisoners to be loaded in the back of the trucks.
‘No funny business!’ He said to them. His voice was repulsive and boorish, fading to a murmur as he closed the doors behind them. ‘Step on it, Roger!’
And Roger did. The trucks took off, and bounced up and down as they sped across the sand dunes.
‘How are you?’
Sam looked up, and saw Aaron. He’d been sitting next to her with his hands bound in bright sparkly cuffs on his lap.
‘Fine, I guess.’ Sam said, staring at his grim face.
He knew she was lying. ‘Sam, what Shawn did–I would never do that to you. It wasn’t right.’
‘I should’ve believed you. You warned me against him, but I was too stupid to listen. How couldn’t I have seen it?’ Sam banged her head against the side of the truck. She closed her eyes and felt warm tears dripping across her cheek.
‘Well, you were in love with him, weren’t you?’ Aaron said, hobbling closer. ‘As my nana always said, love is blind.’
‘She sounds like a wise woman.’
‘She was.’
Sam smiled, and felt the compelling urge to rest her head on Aaron’s shoulder. She’d never noticed how wide it was, or how comfortable. ‘I feel like all of this is my fault.’ She whispered.
‘Don’t.’ He said, resting his head back, and closing his eyes.
No one spoke as the time went by. Sam
struggled not to fall asleep, but her eyes grew heavier and heavier. The heat in the back of the truck was unbearable, almost to the point where Sam thought Melanie had passed out on Luke’s lap. She felt damp and sticky, cleaving to the seat by her slacks.
They got tossed from side to side as Roger dodged unexpected road hazards, and the crow commanding him to do so. There came a time when Sam had started to think he did it on purpose.
She was surprised to be relieved when the trucks had suddenly stopped.
It was too short a trip to have arrived at the Keep yet, so she crawled to the front, and tried to peer through the small creases in the framing. Although she couldn’t see much, she clearly heard Jack Crowe bark orders from up front.
‘What the hell happened, Roger?’
‘I’m not s–sure s–sir,’ Roger stuttered. He got out of the vehicle and studied the front wheels while scratching his head. ‘It s–seems our tyres have been s–shot s–sir!’
‘Shot!? Impossible!’ Jack Crowe leaped from the truck, and stomped over to where Roger stood, quivering. ‘Let me see, you imbecile!’ He bent down and ran his fingers along the tyres. Bullet slashes.
‘Roger–’ Jack said, but as he looked up, Roger was gone. And so were the drivers of the second vehicle. ‘Bunch of low life cowards…’ Jack muttered, thinking they’d run off.
There was a brief moment of silence, and Sam pressed her ear against the side of the truck to listen. She heard muffled voices, and could distinctly make out Roger’s pleading stutter.
‘Please d–don’t, I’m just the d–driver!’
She heard a quiet thump, barely making any sound, and a body falling to the floor. Two others followed, until three unconscious bodies were dragged behind the truck. She knew they weren’t dead, for one of them had a whistling wheeze when exhaling.
All the while, Jack Crowe was still muttering on about cowards, entirely unaware that his trusty crew had been knocked out cold.
‘What’s happening?’ Melanie asked. She heard heavy footsteps pass behind the truck, and squealed. ‘There’s someone out there!’
‘You think they’re bandits?’
‘I don’t know, maybe. But–’ Melanie clasped her hand to her mouth.
Jack Crowe cried an alarming grunt, followed by a not so silent thump, and a body falling to the floor. She bundled up in terror. ‘We’re next!’
They heard a body being dragged across the sand, heaped onto the pile of unconscious drivers, and hands being dusted off. A man cleared his throat.
‘They’re at the back, open the van.’
Sam was frozen stiff. She looked to Aaron, who told her to stand back, and whatever happened, to fight for her life. If they really were bandits, mercy on prisoners weren’t an option. She watched as someone tugged at the doors.
It wouldn’t budge.
There’d been a brief moment of silence, before a giant piece of metal came swinging through the air, and plummeting onto the lock. There were three more bashes before it fell to the floor in pieces.
Sam held her breath.
The heavy door creaked open, and bright beams of sunlight came flooding into the truck, blinding them. Sam saw the glistening head of bulky, bald man, holding out his hand towards Melanie.
‘Get out.’ He said, monotone.
She hesitated, but he grabbed her by the forearm. She was pulled from the truck, speechless, with Luke right on her tail.
Before Sam could scream, she heard a kind voice talking to Melanie. ‘Calm down. We’re not here to hurt you!’ She was struck cold by the way he rolled his syllables.
‘Mike?’ Sam said, feeling like she’d suddenly dropped her insides.
As she said his name, Mike turned around. He saw Sam emerging from the truck, smiling, but there were tears rolling down her cheeks.
‘Sam, is that really you?’ He barely even recognized her. She hadn’t been the little girl he’d left back in Emitton, but instead grew up to become a beautiful young woman.
Sam ran towards him, and Mike opened his arms to embrace her. She pressed her head against his chest, and listened to his heartbeat. She had to make sure it wasn’t all dream, and that she was finally standing in her brother’s arms, after all that time of searching.
‘Mike, I missed you so much!’ She said.
He squeezed her tighter. ‘I missed you too. I only heard rumours, but didn’t matter, because I just had to come find you!’ His grip around her back loosened, and he let her go. He had a shotgun hanging from his shoulder, and five round grenades strapped to his belt.
Just as in his photo, he seemed much more hardened than Sam could remember. It wasn’t just she who had changed, but he too.
Sam stepped back, and exhaled. She saw the two bald guys have already freed the rest of her friends.
‘This is Jim, and that’s Pat. They might look vicious, and they are, but they’re the best friends anyone could ask for.’ Mike said, seeing Sam study their identical faces. ‘Now come on, we have to get out of here before the old crow wakes up!’
Chapter 33
Mike, Jim and Pat had led them away from the trucks, and behind a nearby series of rocks, almost twice the size of the average human. Hidden behind it, were three dark, old station wagons. They were the very same cars Sam had seen driving through the mountains the day before.
They were tattered and peeled, but Mike seemed to look at them as if they were the best cars in the world. ‘I would trust these babies with my life, fixed them up myself.’ He said, once again having to reassure Melanie. She took one nippy look at the cable tie fastened door, and squealed.
Two thirds of the group had driven with Jim and Pat, while the other got in with Mike. It wasn’t the most pleasant of rides though, by being cramped together like a can of sardines, but at least it was better than riding with Jack Crowe. His raspy voice and bitter taste in music was truly unbearable.
‘Where are we going?’ Sam asked, but Mike refused to tell her. She bit her lip while holding her breath. The tall buildings of Jaf drifted further and further away, until completely out of sight. Mike was driving to where no sane person would ever dare to go.
The air was dry, and thick beds of sand formed clouds around the vehicles as they sped onward and directly at the largest series of mountains. Everything was quiet, as if yet to be woken up but the hot morning sun.
To Sam it had all been too confusing. She would’ve never been able to find her way, as everything around them had looked exactly the same. Every now and then she’d glance over at Mike, and receive a warm smile in return.
He seemed to know exactly where they were going without much effort.
They drove on through a small clearing amid two large mountains, its edges rising so far above their heads, it was nearly impossible for Sam to see the sky. Strangely, it seemed the two mountains were once connected as one, and broken apart by the force of a powerful blast.
Nuclear, Sam thought.
Things seemed different on the other side. There’d suddenly been an outburst of randomly spawned cactuses everywhere, something Sam had never seen before. She pressed her nose against the window, and gasped. It was the first best sign of nature she’d seen out of Emitton.
Mike turned right onto a rough path leading downhill. So steep, that Sam suddenly had felt her ears pop. They sped forward at a dangerous speed, the vehicles rattling uncontrollably, and threatening to come apart at any second.
But they didn’t, and all three station wagons safely reached the bottom in one piece.
It wasn’t long before they’d reach a massive stone hedge, so densely built together, it was impossible to see what was hidden on the inside. There’d been four guards patrolling on the outside, each carrying a shotgun; just as the one Mike had with him.
Mike gave them a curt nod, and they stepped aside, revealing a wooden gate. It slid open, and the three station wagons peacefully drove through.
Sam was struck in awe, for at the inside of the stone hedge, lied a small
hidden village. There were smiling people everywhere, doing all sorts of foreign things. Women were washing laundry on washboards, and men building huts with nail and hammers. Sam felt like she might’ve travelled through time.
‘Welcome to the rebellion.’ Mike said. He stopped in front the only building made of cold hard stone. It wasn’t the smoothest of buildings, but it had bright and colourful paintings of a forest on its walls.
They left Jim and Pat with the cars, and Mike led them inside. ‘This is where everything happens.’ He said.
Sam gasped.
The walls around her were decorated with pictures from long before the war. There were pilots shaking hands with a king, and navy seals huddled together for a quick snapshot before going out to sea. Her fingers ran across a painting of an old Victorian woman. Her hair stood upright towards the ceiling, and her dress seemed big enough to swallow her whole.
‘Where did you get all of this?’ Sam asked.
‘We’re scavengers. Whatever we find out there, we bring back here.’ Mike stopped at a dark wooden door, and knocked. ‘Come on, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’
He opened the door, and stood aside for Sam and her friends to enter. Inside, it was dark.
The slender figure of woman stood upright, and opened the curtains. Light flooded the room, and what they saw was incredible. At the centre of the room stood a marble glass table, and a giant map was spread out on top of it.
The great window looked out across flourishing fields of corn, and rows upon rows of apple trees. Amidst the grass, Sam saw a small flock of hens, and a herd of cows grazing.
The slender woman came closer, and stepped into the light. Her snowy white dreadlocks glistened in the sun, and her mouth crinkled with a smile.
‘Welcome.’ Tamara Amador said.
‘What is she doing here?’ Luna asked, whispering to Melanie. They’d all known the story of how Tamara had been Luna’s least favourite member of the board. Not that she’d liked any of the others either.
The Keep (A Renegades story Book 1) Page 23