Ill-Fated (Ill-Fated Series Book 1)

by S. C. McMurray

  The First General spoke, “At ease, soldier.”

  Captain Phelt ceased his salute, but remained at attention.

  First General Thatcher took a seat, sat the folder on the table and gestured with his hand. “You may sit, Captain.”

  Captain Phelt had met the First General many times, but he never expected to have him show up at his apartment. He sat down slowly.

  The First General nodded at his bodyguards and they filed out of the room and shut the door. He turned his attention to Captain Phelt. “You have made your country proud once again, son. Those two insurgents were very dangerous. The American people are indebted to you for bringing them to justice.”

  Captain Phelt shifted uneasily in his seat. “With all due respect, Sir, my team deserves the credit. They performed far above the call of duty.”

  The First General folded his bear like hands together and nodded. “Indeed, but a team, an army, is only as effective as its leader.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  The First General continued, “You have proven your quality in tracking down the scarcest of targets and I’m sure you will have the same success this time.” He placed his big bear like paw on the folder. “Inside you will find your new assignment.”

  He paused and looked very grave. “This is highly classified.”

  Captain Phelt leaned forward to grab the folder, but the First General shook his head. “Enjoy today’s victory, you can start on this tomorrow.”

  He stood to his feet and adjusted his uniform. “Please forgive the brevity of our conversation, but I have other urgent matters to attend to. Give my regards to your father.”

  “Certainly.” Captain Phelt stood at attention as the door to his apartment was opened by the bodyguards outside. How they knew to open it when they did, he could only venture a guess.

  The First General glanced at the book on the table and said almost under his breath as he departed, “Interesting…”

  The entire conversation lasted less than a minute but it felt like hours. The First General had that effect on people. Captain Phelt glanced at his watch. It was a little after nine. He wanted to relax. He needed to relax, but he felt that surge of purpose inside him once again.

  He grabbed the folder off the table and sat down in his chair. He opened the folder to the first page. At the top was a warning: Target is considered highly dangerous. Beneath those words was a picture of a young pretty girl with red hair and beneath that was a name.

  He read it to himself. “Evelyn Smoak.”

  He would spend the next five hours studying her file. He would learn all there was to learn from it, then he would begin his search. And there was one thing that was certain – he wouldn’t stop until he found her.

  Chapter Eleven

  She stretched out her arm out and gently touched the flower petals with her fingertips.. Her other hand was entwined with his. He was humming, trying to look confident, but he was anxious. His clammy hand betrayed him. They passed through the meadow and reached a small pond. She let go of his hand and ran to the edge of a small dock, where she kicked off her sandals and dipped her feet in the water. She looked back over her shoulder. He was standing apprehensively at the edge of the dock. She motioned for him to join her. He smiled nervously pulled off his shoes and socks, rolled up the ends of his pants and took a seat beside her. It was quiet. A slight breeze blew ripples across the water and the setting sun slashed orange and red across the western sky ahead of them. She slipped her hand into his and leaned upon his shoulder. He was breathing heavier than normal and appeared to be trembling. She pulled away, concerned.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He took a deep breath, reached into his pocket and spoke for the first time, “There is something I’ve wanted to ask you.”

  Suddenly, the world began to shake and there was another voice.

  “Eve.”

  Her dreamscape visitor was trying to say something, but she couldn’t make it out.

  The voice was louder, the shaking harder. “Eve. Wake up.”

  The setting sun, the pond, the wild flowers, him, they all vanished. She opened her eyes to see Lana, Everett and Rillian staring curiously back at her.

  “Some dream, huh,” noted Everett.

  Rillian smirked. “You were dreaming of me weren’t you?”

  Before Evelyn could answer, Lana touched her on the arm. “Sorry to wake you from what seemed to be such a pleasant dream, but we’re not far from the border checkpoint.”

  “Already?” asked Evelyn as she rubbed her eyes.

  “Just a few minutes away.” Lana spoke soberly. “Eve, Everett is going to do something and it’s going to hurt, but it’s our only chance of sneaking you across the border.”

  Evelyn watched Everett reach into a bag sitting between him and Rillian and retrieved a gun with a very narrow barrel.

  “You aren’t going to shoot me are you?” She asked, not sure if she was joking.

  Everett smiled. “Yes. But not with a bullet.”

  Clive interrupted from the driver’s seat. “With a temporary ID chip.”

  Evelyn imagined the chip being shot at a high speed through that narrow barrel and lodging deep within her muscle tissue somewhere. “It’s going to hurt isn’t it?” She asked.

  Rillian waved it off. “Nah, no worse than a bee sting.” He nearly jumped out of his seat and pointed out the back window. “We’re being followed!”

  Everyone turned their attention to the road behind them, except Rillian who grabbed the gun from Everett and quickly shot the chip into Evelyn’s wrist. She yanked her arm back instinctively and rubbed it. It felt like someone stabbed her with a knife for a brief moment, then that strange tingling set in as it had when she had scolded her hand with the bath water. Lana, Everett and Selena were glaring at Rillian.

  “What?” He asked, defensively. “It worked. Look she isn’t even crying.”

  Lana, Everett and Selena turned and looked at Evelyn with surprise. “Rillian is right,” observed Selena.

  Lana looked like she was in disbelief. “Are you alright?”

  Evelyn stopped rubbing her wrist. “Yeah, shouldn’t I be?”

  “Yes,” said Everett. “But everyone cries. The pain is just too much.”

  She glanced down at her wrist. There was no pain at all. “Really?”

  “Maybe it didn’t work,” added Rillian. “Let me shoot her again.”

  “No,” said Evelyn, “once is fine.”

  Everett snatched the gun from Rillian. “Give me that.”

  Rillian became downtrodden like a little boy who’d had his favorite toy taken away from him.

  Selena tossed a small glass jar back to Lana. “Hurry put this in her hair.”

  Lana caught the jar and opened it. “Evelyn, you always wondered what it would be like to have dark hair. Well, here’s your chance.”

  “O-Okay.”

  Lana slipped on some latex gloves, opened the jar and dipped her fingers inside and spooned out what looked like black peanut butter.

  “You’re going to put that in my hair.”

  “It’s not as bad as it looks,” responded Lana. “Close your eyes.”

  Evelyn closed her eyes as directed. Lana lathered the substance into Evelyn’s hair for a few minutes, being very meticulous. Evelyn’s scalp felt drenched, like she’d just come up from being under water, but it seemed to dry in seconds as Lana gently combed through her hair. After a couple minutes of combing, Evelyn’s hair was completely dry and Lana was finished.

  “You can open your eyes now,” said Lana.

  Evelyn opened them and Lana handed her a mirror. “What do you think?”

  Evelyn held up the mirror and admired her dark shiny hair. “I like it.”

  Rillian piped in, “Ahh. She looks better as a red head.”

  Evelyn felt herself blushing. She hoped Rillian didn’t notice. “How long will it last?” she asked Lana.

  “Till you take a shower or go for a swim,�
�� Lana answered.

  “It’ll come out that easy?”

  “Yep. Our driver invented it.”

  “Wow Clive,” remarked Evelyn, “I’m impressed.”

  “Thanks. But now we’re going to see how well it really works.”

  They had reached the border between Satrapy 11 and Satraypy 10. Everyone leaned forward and gaped at the massive wall of stone and barbed wire that separated the two Satrapies.

  “If we are so united, why do we need such massive walls separating each Satrapy?” Lana asked.

  Everett responded acutely, “It’s just another form of control.”

  “Like ants in an ant farm,” added Rillian. “We can work, have a kid or two and die, but we can’t visit our family in another Satrapy without permission.”

  There was a line of cars and trucks at the checkpoint and heavily armed soldiers everywhere Evelyn looked. Clive pulled the van into the shortest line. Selena looked anxious. “You sure this is going to work?”

  Clive gripped the wheel nervously, took a breath than said, “It has to.”

  No one said another word, besides Everett who quietly prayed to himself, as they crept closer and closer to the check point. Evelyn was trying to remain calm.

  Will the scanner and hair dye be enough?

  She hoped it would be, but she wasn’t feeling too confident. She pulled out her locket and popped it open. Looking at her smiling parents in happier days calmed her. Everett, who had finished his prayer, noticed the locket.

  “You will see them again,” he whispered.

  She couldn’t explain it, but she felt encouraged. She smiled briefly as she tucked the locket back beneath the collar of her shirt.

  They finally reached the checkpoint and Clive pulled the van up to the barricade as eight soldiers in green fatigues, surrounded the vehicle arms resting on their rifles. A man with a hard face and dark sun glasses approached the driver’s side window as Clive rolled it down. “Papers,” the man said.

  Clive reached into the console and produced a document. The man snatched it from his hands and read it over for a moment. “Heading to Lansing, huh?”

  “Yes.” Clive answered. “We’re taking a few of our students to hear a special lecture by a Dr. Vander there.”

  “What’s the topic?” The man turned and looked through the back windows of the van.

  “Political Philosophy, specifically, the failures of democracy in protecting the individual.”

  “Sounds boring.” The man snorted. He turned and peered through the side windows. “These your students?”

  Clive nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  He leaned his head in the window for a better look. Evelyn was finding it hard to gauge him because she couldn’t see his eyes. His stare lingered on her longer than the others. Her stomach knotted up. He dropped his head and peered over his glasses at her. His eyes narrowed then he pulled his head out of the window and motioned to his soldiers. They shouldered their guns and approached the car.

  “Put your hands on your head and get out.” One of them ordered.

  They unbuckled their seat belts, but were stopped before they opened the door. “No!” The soldier looked directly at Evelyn. “Just her.”

  Evelyn froze. Lana nudged her. “Do what he says.”

  Evelyn nodded slowly, unbuckled her seat belt and climbed between the middle seats and out of the side door. She placed her hand behind her head and interlocked her clammy hands. She felt the fear welling up inside as each gun barrel was aimed directly at her.

  Just remain calm. She repeated to herself. Just remain calm.

  It wasn’t working. Her heart thumped harder and harder with each passing second. The man with the thick glasses circled her as he looked her over as if she was a piece of meat. She found him to be very creepy.

  “Scan her,” he ordered.

  One of the soldiers lowered his weapon and pulled a hand held scanner from his belt. It looked like one used at a super market only with a computer monitor attached to the top. He grabbed Evelyn’s wrist and scanned it like it was a can of beans. An image appeared within seconds on the screen, but Evelyn only got a quick glance. The soldier showed it to the man in the sunglasses who did a slow double take. He spit on the pavement and peered over the top of his glasses at Evelyn.

  “You don’t look like a Lorena.” He folded his hands behind his back. “Sargent.”

  The soldier with the scanner answered, “Yes, sir.”

  “Do a DNA test.”

  The soldier nodded. “Right away, sir.”

  Evelyn watched nervously as another soldier handed him a lancet device. He approached her and Evelyn felt like fainting. The scanner was fake, her hair color was fake, but her DNA was her DNA. They would know the truth in seconds and what would happen to her then? What would happen to Lana and the others? They would be killed, perhaps shot on the spot.

  “Hold out your hand.” He ordered.

  Evelyn did so. She was trying her best not to tremble. He pressed the device against the tip of her index finger. There was a sharp pain as the lance pricked her skin. A drop of blood dripped unto a small strip of paper. He closed the device shut around the strip of paper then hooked the device to the scanner he used on her wrist. There was an elongated beep and an image appeared on the screen. The soldier showed it to the man in the dark sun glasses. He looked displeased.

  Evelyn was caught and she knew it. She felt like crying. The man with the sun glasses ripped them off his head and approached her. He stood with his face just inches from her face and it was then that she realized why he wore the sunglasses. He had a mechanical eye. She could see the red iris and hear the robotics as he looked her over.

  What is he waiting on?

  Evelyn was sweating now. She could feel it running down her back. Still, she stood firm and stared back. If she was going to die, it was going to be standing up to him.

  After a few agonizing seconds, he turned abruptly away from her and slipped his glasses back on. He motioned for them to be let through and the barricade lifted as the soldiers lowered their weapons. Evelyn didn’t exhale fully until she was safely in the back seat of the van.

  Clive put the van in drive and pulled through the checkpoint. They were full speed heading north in no time and the giant wall shrank and disappeared into the distance behind them.

  Rillian looked back at Evelyn, astonished. “You did good, kid,” he stated.

  Clive spoke over the hum of the engine and the pavement beneath them. “Wow. I almost lost my breakfast witnessing that interrogation. That was rough.”

  Everett chimed, “I must admit, I thought they had us when they did the DNA test.”

  “I know,” added Clive. “They don’t usually do that.”

  “How’d she get past that?’ asked Rillian.

  Clive shrugged in bewilderment. “I don’t know. Everett’s prayer must have worked.”

  “You know how I feel about it.” Everett stated then turned back to Evelyn. “That took some courage. Many, including myself, probably would have folded in that situation. So, for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”

  The sincerity in his eyes, even the way he spoke, reminded Evelyn of her father. “Thanks.”

  Selena turned her head back and almost smiled. “She may just have what it takes after all.”

  Evelyn liked the compliments she received and politely smiled back. But on the inside, she didn’t feel brave. She didn’t feel like a hero. It took all she had to keep from fainting or dropping to a fetal position and crying like a baby. She got lucky and even at her young age, she knew she couldn’t rely on luck. If she was going to save her parents, she was going to have to be better in those situations. She was going to have to be stronger.

  She glanced at Rillian. She was going to have to be more like him. She had a hard time imagining him folding in that situation.

  What makes him so bold?

  She didn’t know the answer, but she was going to find out.

  It wa
s late evening when the van rolled to a stop in front of an old cabin nestled among the sand dunes of the northern shores of Lake Michigan. Evelyn grabbed her bag and climbed out with the others. There was smoke rising from the stone chimney and a soft glow emanating from the windows.

  “So, this is where he lives?” Rillian asked.

  “Yes,” said Clive as he opened the back doors of the van and grabbed a small suit case. He tossed it to Selena and then grabbed another.

  Lana was shielding away the sun with her hand as she peered out over the crystalloid water. “It’s beautiful.”

  Evelyn shaded her eyes with her left hand and peered across the gentle rolling waves of silver glass. “I know.”

  Rillian, who seemed to have little interest in sunset or the lake, walked up to the front door and prepared to knock. “Well, let’s go have a chat with the good doctor and see what he has to say, shall we?”

  “Rillian wait!” ordered Clive. “Dr. Larkin is very sick, let me go in first and see if he is even able to talk tonight. Otherwise, our search for answers will have to wait till morning.”

  Rillian backed away from the door and bowed. “After you.”

  Clive knocked on the door and an older woman with grey hair answered. When she saw that it was Clive, she smiled and threw her arms around him. “My boy! My boy! You must come in.” She nearly pulled him through the doorway and motioned with her arms. “Your friends too.”

  Evelyn followed the others inside, where they took a seat in the small living room around an elegantly carved wooden coffee table. Evelyn sat at the edge of a sofa covered with quilted blankets with Lana and Rillian. Selena sat in a wooden rocking chair across from them, while Everett stood beside her.

  The grey haired woman led Clive to a room off the hallway. She opened the door and Clive disappeared into the room.

  She hurried back to others, sat and linked her aged hands across her lap. She looked like she was trying to be brave but Evelyn could still see the sadness in her face.

  “Please excuse my older brother, he is very ill and will not be able to talk for long, if at all.” The old woman paused, her eyes glistening with threatening tears. “You…You have had a long trip. Would you like something to eat?”