by Angela White
"Let's turn in," Edward instructed. Four of the men immediately began preparing for sleep.
Jacob, who had no doubt, met Edward's eye across the fire. "You were the first. You've been with her the longest. Do you regret?"
Edward shook his head. "No. This real life has been all I asked for and more. Come soldiers, magic, or terror, I follow."
9
Rick listened from the darkness, a grinning ghost like he’d been so many years ago outside Safe Haven’s glowing borders.
He now had a weakness he could use if he was able to take her hostage, which was unlikely, but he knew something that her men did not. After his time around so many with the DNA marker, Rick understood them, what made them work. It hadn’t been the leader-gene that had sent her from the compound alone. It had been the need to right the wrong.
It was who they were, the fixers of the world, and Rick loathed each and every one of them. He might have liked Regan’s job, done it well. The government wanted to use her to create a weapon or a stronger breed of human. Corbin wanted her to find Safe Haven, as did Rick, but he knew better than the commander what might work.
Her bond with these six men was what the one-eyed man hadn’t taken into account. It hadn’t been the lack of knowledge that had allowed Adrian to leave these people behind. Alexa was foolish to think he hadn’t known - the same way Corbin was foolish to think she was strong enough to conquer the bond because she was an Alpha. Those with the DNA marker were sworn to protect – the human race, not their own. He’d left them to save his sheep, the same as Alexa would.
If Rick could kill some of her men or take them from her, she would bargain for them, he had no doubt. After watching Adrian, how he’d lovingly trained and protected his teams, Rick understood better than Alexa herself. When he’d said there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do, anyone he wouldn’t sacrifice to see Safe Haven thrive, he’d meant his own kind, even his children.
No wonder he had been such a perfect leader, Rick thought cruelly. Only an incredible hard-ass could do that.
Nine
1
Their first sight of Laramie was as they'd thought it would be: isolated and ominous. The graveyard of cattle was particularly disturbing to the fighters. Beef was a rare food now, and the sight of those large bones was reminder of their near extinction.
“Gloves.” Alexa instructed, seeing and hearing what could only be a very healthy insect population. That left their faces uncovered, something the men were all very protective of. When she donned her mask, they did as well. Once the goggles were slid into place, not a single inch of skin was exposed to be bitten.
The water had surrounded the small oasis on three sides even before the waves had crashed downstream and the tremors had widened the banks. Now, the whole area was an island; its treasures unreachable by even a small skiff. The debris in the murky water would refuse to budge for their poles, or maybe it would shift at the wrong time and turn them out into Nature's liquid cemetery. Alexa shook her head. There was no way she would put her men so close to Death's hand.
Edward was grinning, remembering how far he'd come since they'd met in Utah. Without thinking, he began to uncoil the rope around his waist, mind still on the changes their leader had encouraged in him.
The other males followed his lead automatically, drawing Alexa's attention. My right hand, the woman thought, and stared at the row of trees, huge trunks submerged beneath the polluted liquid.
"Tell me how."
Edward straightened his shoulders, proud that he could. "We zigzag, stay over the larger debris to maybe have a few seconds of extra time."
"And if I said we swim?"
Edward too, was now aware that the others were viewing him oddly, but chose only to concentrate on the matter at hand. "I follow your lead."
She showed no reaction, but the horseman still had to fight the urge to fall at her feet as her pleasure rolled over him in waves. His tolerance was only so good, even now.
The woman grunted her approval when he didn't move. "You grow stronger daily."
He was unable to keep the awe from his tone, "Because of you!"
Alexa leaned forward to stroke his cheek softly with her roughened fingertips. "I have a great fondness for you, as well, Edward."
She turned to them with the rarest emotion they ever saw from her - love. "So, of you all."
Alexa moved toward the line of decaying trees, "Now come, my pets. In the dawn’s dim glow, our newest adventure waits."
The Rookies followed carefully, both still a bit stunned to find themselves already so thick into the quest, and they hurried to help with the small camp when she called it. She would have them wait out the darkness, the new men assumed. Traveling at night was not highly recommended, but they didn’t question the order of no fire.
Their camp was cold, basic rations and diversions split among them, as darkness fell thickly upon the post-apocalyptic land. In minutes, there was only an occasional glint of calmly swaying branches and ripples, and then, nothing. Not even a flash of skylight remained to show each other, and yet, there was no fear, no senseless conversations just to be comforted by the sound of their own voices. They were with Alexa and her brightness was clear even in the pitch black.
2
A light flared a short while later, far to their right… then another. Tiny, glowing flames buzzed and dove in the distance, but seemed to get no closer. To their left, a third beam of brightness. This one moved purposefully, heading north, toward Laramie Station, and all six men knew when Alexa stood. Without being told, they followed.
The light appeared to be floating, a carried lantern perhaps, and the seven fighters moved steadily closer, silent despite the unfamiliar ground. They were tracking prey, something each of them instinctively excelled at.
The flame stopped suddenly, very near to the water's mossy edge, and then it vanished. Slowing, the trackers inched closer, watching, waiting.
As the darkness brightened again, the males saw it hadn't been a lantern, but a glow stick wrapped for control of the shine. The man carrying it was bone-thin, but huge - seven feet at least - and easily supporting the weight of two heavy looking bags over each thick arm. His clothing was black, as was his long beard and hat, but the skin under them was alabaster white and glinted even in the darkness.
"Can passage be bought here, Ferryman?"
The fighters watching were shocked to see Alexa now standing feet from the heavily-muscled giant. Each of them moved silently into place behind her.
Clearly not human, the Ferryman looked like he was half slave, half lumbering beast, and the enormous mounds of his arms said it was true. Each bicep was easily the size of a human chest.
"That and more these days."
His tone was deep, big and yet, quiet. He glanced back at her with only slightly curious black eyes. "For the right price, anything can be."
Alexa dug under her robes without care for his unease, and the movement seemed to break the tension instead of increasing it. Closer now, the other two lights flitted and dove happily around the flooded forest.
A bag sailed through the air, and the jingle of gold was cut off as the big man caught it. Before he could protest, Alexa gestured toward the battered pouch.
"Your price is in there."
Interest growing, the Toll-man peered into the bag and then glared at her. "You know this is far too much."
"You will wait or come back when our time here is finished." Her tone was sharp, and those with her understood their passage out was being secured.
Greed flashed openly as the Ferryman raised a bushy brow. "And if you don't need a way back?"
Alexa smiled coolly, confidently. "Then keep it and owe only a kindness to the next hard-asses to seek passage. How much of a kindness is up to you."
Unlike Jendon, this one didn't hesitate. "Done."
He pointed at a nearby trunk that was barely visible; it was so dark with decay. "Light a few of those when you're ready. I'll come o
ne click due left of your light."
"We would arrive before dawn."
He nodded again, the pouch disappearing beneath his robe. "Half an hour, Mistress, no longer."
"My thanks, Ferryman."
The tall guide surprised them all by scowling. "For taking you to your death? It’s my honor."
He spun away, and the six males understood her magic was already working on the strangely stoic carpenter. He would come when called.
Alexa turned to her waiting men. "Lighten by a third. Leave it by that tree. No one will bother it."
Not questioning how that was possible, each of them did as instructed. Her senior men subtly watched to see what she removed. Her true weight was something they were curious about, and when she removed only her long cloak, Billy gave Edward a nod to acknowledge his guess of 125 lb. being right.
With her cover gone, any of them might have expected her to seem less somehow, but the opposite was true. Only the Ferryman stared in surprise - even the rookies knew to only take small glimpses of their leader uncovered.
Alexa was a bright, vivid swell in the darkness, and Edward threw out a hand to keep the Ferryman from falling at her feet. Arms full of his own steel, the fighter gave the huge man a hard shake.
Surprised from the trance, the giant held himself stiffly in place until he was back in control. After a moment, the builder sent an uncomfortable grimace of recognition toward Edward. He stole only a quick look at the woman before turning back to the two large duffle bags he'd set down when she’d stepped from the darkness.
The carpenter began to pull things from the bags, snapping ends together with small clicks. Alexa waited patiently with her men standing in a guard formation around her. The sounds continued steadily and their tension increased. Those noises would echo and draw attention, but seeing how alertly their leader was listening was a comfort. If something or someone came, she would know.
The Ferryman continued to work, and as the outline of a staircase took shape, each of her men immediately dreaded stepping onto it. When it grew, rising unsteadily upward, so did their concern.
The builder set aside the frame to dig through the bags again, coming up with a small gate and a single, two-foot thick concrete block, which he placed near the water's edge. He then put the frame's weakest side on the brick, clicked the gate into place, and surprised all but the woman when he hefted the bags over his shoulders and stepped up onto the first thin stair.
The carpenter went back to building, hands smooth, and when he moved up the next step, the first began to glow. It was a pale, golden light that seemed to pulse in time to his clicks and clacks, as did the next, and the one after. In a groove, he moved faster and higher, creating a golden arc.
"The stairway to heaven," Jacob whispered.
Alexa shook her head, "It was never to there - only a conveyance between hard to reach places, nothing more."
Instructed, when she moved for the bottom stair, they still couldn't stop quick glimpses upward.
"It's safe now for the lightest."
The words seemed to float through the night, spreading into a wide ripple they were sure could be heard much further than they could see. None of her men wanted to be split up, and they were glad when Alexa didn't move.
It also brought relief to their guide. The Ferryman had taken many into Laramie, but only brought back three. He wanted her to be the fourth. The males with her, so dim in comparison, mattered only to her and themselves.
It was just over the half hour mark when his call came again, floating down from far above them, "The bridge is open. Slow and steady now. The bridge is open."
It went out with a wave of power and yet, there was only silence in return.
"Not many takers," Mark cracked.
Alexa snorted as she passed him and moved onto the bridge.
"We come, Ferryman. Paid in full," she stated it softly, but the words rang out, and then echoed up.
"I see you, party of seven,” came the Ferryman’s reply. “Passage is granted. Mind you hit the gate, or owe for those who come after."
Alexa waved Edward to Drag, sure he would remember, and made a curt motion that even the rookies understood. Stay close!
"Waterline. No interaction."
Meaning they wouldn't be alone on the bridge. Each man steadied himself and followed her onto the vividly glowing stairs.
3
The fog swirled around them right away, even though they'd seen none from the ground. The seven fighters moved back and forth in their comforting rhythm as they went up and over the flooded city.
The purplish mist moved thickly around their boots, muting the cracks and groans from the boards under their feet, and the awful sway kept them stepping carefully; the wood beneath them feeling almost soft. It had a slight give that curled stomachs and raised awareness of where they were and what they had signed up for. Above them, the clicks and clacks also went on, the Ferryman building even as they crossed.
"Rookies, down!"
The two men hit the bridge at her command, sending a ripple along the wooden stairs, and Edward shrank back as a huge, dark shadow swooped over them, just missing the newest males.
"Our enemy knows we're here. Rookie-net."
Mark and Billy immediately stepped beside the two men, tying ropes between their waists even as they kept climbing. The ends were handed to Alexa and Edward - Point and Drag - and they went on, connected in four places.
"Kill for me!" a voice roared at them from the purple fog, a female cry of want.
Alexa's tone was hard. “Keep it tight!”
The four men fell in closely to the front and back of the rookies, and they all knew to duck as a rushing noise came from their right.
"Freeze!"
There was only silence as they waited, and an uneasy tension flew through the fog.
Crack! Crack!
Alexa's guns barked loudly and a huge shadow slammed against the bridge above them and then vanished into the purple mist.
"Let's move."
The fighters responded instantly, hauling shocked rookies snugly between them.
They felt it when they reached the very top of the bridge, a cool breeze and a lighter-colored mist marking the start of the climb down.
"Hello on the bridge..."
The six fighters felt Alexa pause and instantly hated the owner of the voice for it.
"We'd cross. Dust for passage."
"I see you, party of four - price to be determined. Mind you close the gate or provide the next Judas a free ride."
Alexa continued down the bridge, her words a bare murmur. "It's the card player from River City. The rat must have known the words."
Her tone became grim. "Or perhaps Jendon is no more."
The men considered that and understood the reason for her pause. To defeat a Troll, the man had to be hard.
It was easy to feel the new feet on the bridge, an extra sway of heavily running boots, and they waited for the trackers to reach the place where the big bird had attacked them... and waited.
"A deal has been made."
The female voice thundered in the darkness, but Alexa's tone held no fear in response.
"She’s a bitter enemy, my pets - the Mother of all nature. Try hard to kill us on this quest, she will. Succeed, she will not!"
Alexa was so sure, the males were able to fall back into their formation with an ease of step not carried by those quickly catching up. It was a feeling that held her men in place as the ground finally became closer and the steps behind them echoed even nearer.
The fog thinned suddenly, rippling to reveal only darkness, and then the Ferryman's voice echoed loudly.
"Party of seven, disembarking. Paid in full."
Alexa grinned at the assistance, waving her men into place as the feet behind them sped up, almost upon them now. When she drew her weapon, so did her men.
Carefully, Alexa moved to the very side of the step, blending into the fog, and the others followed her lead
.
She met Edward's sharp eyes, saw his hand tighten on the rope in his grip as he braced, and was pleased he understood what would likely happen next. He'd more than earned the place on her right.
Shadows flew down the steps, parting the fog.
The first to go by was a hulk of a man, the brawn of the group, and his passage tilted Jacob off the edge in the preacher's efforts to go unnoticed.
Edward strained to hold the rope still, to keep Jacob from swinging into the sides. He sensed the rookie might still be in danger despite being out of sight and he was glad when the last shadow went running by, damp cloak sliding across his face like a shroud.
The instant they were gone, Edward began to pull the rope, feeling the rookie's weight, yet no movement, and suddenly he was being jerked right off the step!
"Pull!"
Alexa's tone insisted, and they hefted Edward back onto the bridge. They began to yank on the rope, all very worried for the silent preacher as Alexa threw a handful of dust over the side.
Emerald light flared, and then there was only gunfire as the fighters saw the army of wood spiders advancing on Jacob's limp form.
The arachnids screamed in protest, but didn't stop at the bullets now flying by the rickety stairs.
Alexa shot one about to grab an unprotected leg and Edward pulled harder on the rope, turning to twist it around himself and provide leverage to haul the rookie up while the others gave cover fire.
"Duck!"
A huge shadow swooped over them, and the woman tossed a second handful of dust. The glittery bone powder settled on the bird's wings in a thick cloud and the flying terror moaned in delight as its molting feathers began to fill with health. Like the tree, the bird was beautiful in its full glory… before it started to die.
"Move!"
Alexa hauled on the rope, and Jacob slid onto the bridge with a thump as the bird began to moan again, this time in pain.
"Open fire, men!"
Rick's voice was full of victory. He’d followed her knowing the odds of his survival were low, but the past was where he spent most days. If she knew where Adrian and Safe Haven had gone, he could have another chance at redemption… at killing them all.