“What is it?” Jared asks with intense focus.
The Captain looks at me sadly and answers. “It’s the nuclear power plants on the East coast. If we don’t get them shut down properly soon—or at the very least maintain them they’re going to meltdown.”
“A chain-reaction of this magnitude can be catastrophic.” Dr. Ford points out. “The radiation alone…”
Nanobots, Carch, and now a nuclear holocaust. My endeavor to save the world (and return to some form of normalcy) just got a little harder to hope for. I reach down and rub B’s head more to comfort myself than anything else. There’s still a whole lot worth fighting for: Brie, my new niece or nephew and Jared. Lucas, Dr. Ford, Captain Jennings and the others here at the camp. Those who we’ve yet to save across the rest of the country. Even Mason (no matter how upset I am) I don’t want to lose him. I have lost enough since the beginning of this.
“What do you need?” Jared asks. He glances from the Captain to me and breaks me from my thoughts. Everyone here knows what they need. We just need the specifics.
The Captain looks at me. “I’m sorry, Kat. I know you were out all day yesterday. I wish there was a chance for you to rest up. This mission will be significantly longer than yesterday’s.”
I nod my understanding. The Captain pulls a map up on his computer screen and turns it to face all of us. All of our mouths drop simultaneously. Out of the close to one hundred dots covering the map of the U.S. in front of us six (SIX) are on the west coast. The other ninety-whatever spatter across the east. When the Captain said significantly longer he wasn’t kidding.
“Some of these just need to be checked on. Others may require some light maintenance. You’ll have two techs on your team for that. The problem we’ve had is getting them through the infected area safely. That’s why the last mission had to be aborted.”
“So I get them there and they stop the nuclear meltdown?” At least it’s not all on me. “I can do that. How long until we leave?”
“The sooner the better,” Dr. Ford answers.
I look at Jared. “You’ll let Brie know what’s going on? Take B with you?”
“Yeah,” He stands and gives me a hug. “Take care, Kat. Be safe, okay?” I nod. “C’mon B, let’s go find Brie.”
B follows him out the door and I look at the Captain. “I just need to throw some stuff in a bag.”
“We’ll say one hour.” The Captain picks up the phone.
Dr. Ford’s relief is visible. “You’ll be back in no time, Kat. If there was any other way…” His voice trails off.
“I know. It’s alright. It’s for the greater good. There’re important things here to keep safe.” Like Brie and my new niece or nephew. B and Jared. Somewhere, Becky, Nate, Jack and Mariette roam around the camp. There’s far too much at risk to do nothing.
“We better get moving,” Lucas says. It’s the first I hear him talk all morning.
“See you soon, doc.” I say and rush back to my room to pack.
It doesn’t take long to pack my backpack. Most of it is still there from never unpacking so I swap some dirty clothes for some clean ones. An afterthought has me stopping in the kitchen before I run out the door. I pull out a few premade dry high protein snacks and toss them in my bag for an emergency. I really hope that I don’t need them.
I shut the door to my new space and silently promise to be back soon…as soon as possible.
Unwelcome
This time we board a plane for our mission. It’s too loud for introductions and the only face I recognize is Lucas’. I eye the parachutes linked to chains next to a large hatch on the side of the plane and fasten my seatbelt with a little more force than necessary. Lucas shakes his head at me from the next seat.
My stomach hits my toes and I know we’re airborne. The noise dwindles to a steady annoying hum behind us. A few of the others (including Lucas) take off their seatbelts. I leave mine securely in place.
A couple hours go by. I can tell that Jase and Alex are our techs (despite their uniformed garb) and besides Lucas we have four soldiers with us, Mike, Lou, Cory and Jason. The eight of us will be flying to the outer edge of the safe zone. A couple vehicles to help us on our way sit below us in the belly of the plane. We’ll be moving by ground into the infected area.
It will be interesting to test Dr. Ford’s theory. One conversation (during my ‘resting period’ when I got back) I tell him my concern over Carch’s ability to track me through the infected area. Dr. Ford proposes the theory that if I zap the infection back around me in all directions as I go (basically throw random spheres with the ultimate goal of removing the most infection possible) then tracking me will become more difficult because the pattern will change. So I get to go nuts with energy spheres. Hopefully it’s fun and effective. Otherwise I’m just as much of a liability as an asset to everyone here.
At least everyone’s up-to-date so they expect it. Not that it can stop the looks of shock and awe when it happens, but it’ll be nice to skip the standard inquisition that follows.
Everyone sits down and re-buckles their seatbelts. The descent must be slight or maybe I’m finally getting comfortable flying. Either way my stomach doesn’t feel like I drop it somewhere. Until we hit some turbulence. Everything around us jolts up and down, trembling from the unseen airquake.
Please, please, please let me make it out of this metal deathtrap alive. I’ll never set foot in one again. With more grumbles, creaks and a surprisingly large impact the plane grinds to a halt. It causes me to release a breath I don’t realize I’ve been holding.
“Oh, thank goodness.” I breathe out softly.
Lucas gives my hand a squeeze. He’s smiling, but his face’s a little pale too.
It takes me a second to fumble around with the seatbelt before it finally releases me. Ground travel has never sounded better.
My steps falter when my feet hit the dirt. I’ve never appreciated solid ground quite so much. The plane’s engine drowns out the sound of everything around us. Our team makes quick work of unloading the vehicles and supplies we’ll need. It’s never said how long this mission can take. Neither the Captain nor the Doc wants to speculate on the time it takes to go to umpteen different nuclear facilities.
The plane takes back off and it takes a while before everyone gets their hearing back. Lucas guides me to one of the two vehicles and we take off east.
“We have about a hundred miles before we’re supposed to hit the beginning of the infected area.” Lucas says.
“Then we should stop in fifty.” My voice is monotone—not really there. My mind’s a thousand miles away. It’s been two days since Mason made his confession and the hurt has grown if anything.
Lucas seems to gauge my mood and nods. He says nothing more. The landscape flies by outside my window and I turn my focus to it. I don’t really see a thing.
Besides fun with energy spheres so far this mission’s incredibly boring. Not that there needs to be anything super crazy or anything, but right now my butt hurts and the never ending barrage of scenery starts to get old.
We’ve hit two nuclear plants already and are on to the third. It’s not like my job isn’t important…it’s more that the tech people spend hours doing their thing while the rest of us wait. Way better than the alternative—don’t get me wrong. It just leaves entirely too much free time to do things like think. Thinking really sucks right now.
It bugs me that I won’t be around for Brie when she’ll need me or to hold my little honorary niece or nephew. Some things your best friend should be there for, you know?
Instead the cold damp air fogs the outer window, and seeps through the cracks, chilling me. Lucas gave up trying to cheer me up days ago. He still won’t leave my side. He just stops trying to cheer me up.
Forget sleep. It may be the perfect opportunity to catch up on it. If every time my eyes close I don’t have a XXX scene of Mason and some faceless girl.
Even if what he says is all true, how does that ma
ke any of it okay? It’s not like I give it up to Lucas because we weren’t sure that we were going to make it. Sheesh, I’ve never given it up to anyone! At this rate it may never happen. Life expectancy drops severely on the front lines of the end of the world.
I know that I have to snap out of it. Mason’s my first love. The betrayal’s something new and never experienced before. The only other person that has my faith besides my mom is Brie. How on earth can I trust someone like that again?
I’m upset and I need to move so I fling the door open and hop to the ground below.
“Where’re you going?” Lucas calls. He follows me around the side of the vehicle.
“Sitting’s boring, might as well patrol instead.”
“We could drive.” He sees the look on my face. “Or walk. We can definitely walk.”
He falls into step beside me and ignores the fact that I’m trying to ignore him. Maybe halfway around the site’s perimeter some of my anger begins to fade. It leaves only hurt and confusion in its wake. My feet slow with the change in my mood.
“Kat, do you want to talk about it?” Lucas offers hesitantly.
“What’s there to talk about?” The words come out laced with more hurt than I mean for them to. “Obviously I’m not worthy of commitment.”
“Come on, you know that’s not true.”
I plant my feet toward him. “Do I? How, Lucas? How do I know that’s not true? I’ve had exactly one boyfriend,” I poke at his chest vehemently, “and he lied. He told me he loved me, that I was ‘the one’ for him. Then he sleeps with some other girl the first chance it presents itself. So please, explain to me how it’s not true.”
Lucas takes it all like a champ. Most guys run away from such an outburst. Even more may run in terror of the power that courses through me. Not Lucas. He stands his ground and doesn’t flinch at the range of emotions in front of him. His eyes bore into mine when he replies. “It’s not you that isn’t worthy, Kat. It never was. It’s him that’s not worthy.” I shake my head no and try to look away. Lucas’ hand catches under my chin and forces me to look at him. “You’re worth everything, Kat. I don’t know why you can’t see that. It’s the most obvious thing in the world.”
Maybe it’s the look in his eyes or the sincerity as he says it. Maybe it’s just what I need to hear. Regardless of why—I crack. The tears I’ve been pushing back push through again. I crumble and Lucas catches me before I hit the ground. He sinks down with me and pulls me into his lap. “I just don’t understand.” My words are soft from my tears and gasps for air.
“Neither do I.” To my confusion Lucas chuckles. “Your ex’s kind of a dumbass.”
This elicits a much needed laugh out of me. “Yeah, he really is.” I use my sleeve and wipe at my face.
“Want me to beat him up when we get back?” He asks a little too enthusiastically.
“No.” I don’t want to see him hurt. “No, that’s okay. If I wanted to hurt him, well…”
“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t need me.” He says. “Although my way’s more fun so let me know if you change your mind.”
“I will.” The realization hits that I’m probably crushing Lucas’ legs. I shift and he holds me in place.
“Wait. You understand, right?” He brushes a piece of hair back behind my ear. “It’s not you.”
I nod and can’t help but notice the warmth radiating from his broad chest. An internal battle wages within me. Mason’s no longer a factor. He broke that trust; that right for me to feel guilty. It makes me mad that I do feel guilty because part of me really wants to kiss Lucas right now.
I quickly forget my conflicting emotions when I notice a cloud of dust hovering on the horizon. Lucas sees it too and we quickly rise to our feet to get a closer look. It’s easy to tell that it’s not the infection: there’s no metallic sheen to it. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean that it’s any less dangerous. Lucas must come to the same conclusions because he grabs hold of my hand and begins to pull me towards the facility.
“You stay here.” He uses his commanding voice. My eyebrow involuntarily rises. “If it’s one of Carch’s people it’s safer for all of us if you remain unseen. Stay close and be ready—just in case—but stay out of sight.”
He’s gone before I can reply. It makes sense even if it ticks me off. I edge out of the alcove. There’s a spot next to it that offers cover from our unexpected visitors that can give me a vantage point (to make sure nobody’s going to try anything stupid that requires me to zap them.) Lucas and the team members who are outside proceed into some sort of army formation. They raise their weapons. The cloud looms closer.
The closer it gets the more distinct the shape in the cloud becomes. It’s another military vehicle which causes me to bristle. Surely if it’s one of our own they will radio ahead? Let us know…right?
The unknown vehicle comes to an abrupt stop a couple of dozen feet in front of the team. Rising up on my haunches, I make sure my hands will have a straight path to the possible intruder. The door opens and a figure steps out. It’s not until Lucas lower his weapon and begins to shout that I’m able to process who this new arrival is.
Mason. Instant relief fills me as I stand. It only lasts a moment though. The walk down towards them only gets me angrier with every step. He must leave right after us. He may not be a threat, but he’s certainly not welcome. It can’t be something wrong at the camp because Lucas or another team member checks in every two hours. He must be here for me. Mason says something while I take the last two steps towards him. I don’t hear it through my anger. Before realizing it I clench my hand into a fist and swing hard. Something in my hand pops on the contact, but it doesn’t matter. It feels good.
“What the hell!” Mason yells from his spot on the ground.
Before I can jump on him and pummel him further a strong familiar arm lifts me in the air. “Kat, stop, you don’t really want to hurt him.” Lucas’ voice cuts through in the nick of time. For a split second I open my fist and feel the energy building in my palm. I quickly squelch it. Lucas is right. This is not what I want.
The fight is gone from me now. The voice I muster is quiet and cold when I look at Mason. “Go away. You’re not welcome here.”
With that said I decide to check on the techs inside.
Schemes
The third set of headlights behind us is proof that Mason doesn’t know how to listen. Lucas contacts the Captain who confirms that Mason disappears the day after we leave. Lucas knows that I don’t really want to hurt him (tempting though it may be) so we basically resort to ignoring him and hope that he goes away.
This is also the reason that we’re still on the move after dark. Ordinarily we’d have set up camp while it’s still light out. Instead of resting now the whole group’s stuck on the move—all because of me.
I really want to run away: from Mason, from nanobots, from everything and everyone except for Brie and B…and maybe Lucas. I don’t know. As if the whole Lucas thing isn’t confusing enough! Mason’s here to make everything worse. Why can’t he understand that I need time to process him betrayal?
I note the time and the speed before I touch the driver’s shoulder. Mike nods and understands that it’s time to stop and let me zap around us. Lucas snores lightly in the passenger seat the same as Lou does behind him in the seat next to me. Behind us the rest of our team and the techs stop. Of course the blasted Humvee behind them does too.
I step out of my own door and shoot a glare at the third windshield. No one else gets out. Each of them is used to me doing this to some degree or another. It’s better than the first few times when I had soldiers and techs gaping at me. I’m not one to be put on the spot unless Brie’s pounding the drums behind me and there’s a guitar in my hands. Brie won’t be rocking the drums for a few years now.
I walk a large circle around us and throw a bunch of energy spheres in every direction. I feel a bit better—not as restless. It’s usually like this after and it won’t last long. It’s
not like before. Long ago when I’d get worn out and even have to recharge. Those days are long gone.
I lose myself in thought as I approach the door of the vehicle. I don’t notice the figure beside me until the last moment. Instant recognition hits.
“What are you doing, Mason?” I hiss into the quiet night surrounding us.
“I just wanted to talk to you.” His expression’s pathetic. Even in the dim light from the moon above and the few steps between us.
“There’s nothing to talk about. You made your choice, remember?” My words have bite and my spin back around to mark the end of the conversation. I feel a hand on my shoulder and freeze. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”
“Kat, come on. I messed up, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else I can do.”
His hand still sits on my shoulder and my patience is up. Just a small zap and he rubs his offending appendage while he looks at me wide-eyed. “I said don’t touch me. You don’t get to do that anymore.” My voice is louder now. I take a step closer to him and notice him flinch back. His eyes are full of fear and it instantly sobers me. “You hurt me, Mason. I need time to deal with it before we can face us.” My hands move in the space between us to illustrate. “You need to give me that. You need to back the hell off for a while.”
“You don’t understand, Kat. I can’t lose you. I’d do anything to take it back.”
“You can’t take it back, Mason.” I can barely whisper. “You can never take it back. That’s the problem.”
A clicking sound from behind reminds me that we have to move.
“Is everything okay, Kat?” Lucas asks.
“Yeah,” I take the final two steps to the truck. My hand grabs the handle and pulls the latch open with a click. “Let’s go.”
The techs seem to be getting faster doing whatever the hell it is that they do. At least that’s something. The past few days have been tedious and it’s the only the techs begging that makes me cave about stopping tonight. We’ve been keeping on the road the past few nights. Sure we’re all tired—but we’re ahead of schedule!
Shocked (Electric Series) Page 10