Into the Roar (The Roar Series Book 2)

by A. M. White

  Sweat beaded on my forehead. I held my breath and quietly hoped they would just go away.

  “You afraid, soldiers? Both of you get down there and check it out. We lost two good people today.” This voice belonged to someone with authority.

  Cara pulled her gun from behind her. She motioned to Timothy with two fingers. The she held up one finger and pointed to the gun.

  The two soldiers moaned and then slid down into the alcove. Timothy and Cara sprang forward. Timothy caught the two soldiers before their feet hit the ground. I closed my eyes. I still heard their heads smash against the stone. The gunshot followed and the officer fell forward. He landed on the ground, with a thud, at Timothy’s feet.

  Footsteps scrambled toward the scene. Timothy pressed his body to the wall. Two more soldiers appeared. Two more shots rang out and found their marks.

  I locked arms with Jason. “Grab as many of the bags as you can.” We scooped them up quickly and crouched behind Cara. I yanked the knife from her pack, in case I needed it. We waited and listened intently. I didn’t hear anything.

  Timothy slung one of the soldier’s rifles across his body, picked up the officer and tossed him up the wall.

  “What th-”

  Timothy pounced up and another body hit the ground. A few seconds later, his head peeked over the wall. He waved at us to come.

  Timothy pulled each of us over the ledge. “Let’s go!” He panted. “Follow me.”

  Cara grabbed another pistol from one of the men. We moved as fast as we could to keep up with him. He stopped several times to wave at us to hurry. The stones didn’t make our departure easy.

  At the end of the rocky embankment, Timothy freely jumped down. The rest of us sat on our bottoms and slid.

  “Get into the woods. I’ll find a tree.” Timothy pointed to the line of trees on our right.

  He sprinted ahead. I clambered with two packs that bounced on my shoulders as I ran. Cara held her gun at the ready. Jason was wide-eyed with adrenaline and carried his three packs clumsily. They continued to slide from his shoulders. We made a ridiculous amount of noise. I hoped that there weren’t any other soldiers, because they would have to be deaf not to hear us.

  I stumbled on a root and went down hard. I fell upon the blade of the knife, but jerked back at the prick of it on my face, nevertheless, warm blood trickled from the wound.

  Jason paused in front of me. Cara put her arms around me and pulled me up. “Are you okay?” She pursed her lips at the sight of my blood.

  “I’m fine, it’s a small cut.” I panted.

  She locked her arm through mine and we ran. Timothy waited at the base of a sprawling oak. Some Spanish moss hung from its boughs.

  “Here, get on.” He propped the rifle on the trunk.

  I jumped onto his back. He scaled the tree and rested me on some intertwined limbs. Blood ran down my cheek. It tickled and stung at the same time. I didn’t pay it much attention, because I needed to see that the others were safe first. Timothy returned for Jason and Cara. Soon, we were all perched in the oak.

  Timothy took his place next to me. He hooked the strap of the rifle over a close nub on the tree. Then he took off his jacket and dabbed my face.

  “How did you manage that?” Timothy whispered.

  I gestured to the knife in my lap. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. He wiped the blood away to inspect the cut.

  “It’s not too deep, but longer than I think you realize.” He traced his finger from the bridge of my nose, across my cheek, to under my eye.

  I pressed my lips together. “Don’t use any ointment on it then. We shouldn’t waste it.”

  “You’ll have a scar.” Timothy explained. He applied pressure to stop the blood.

  “I don’t care. With our luck, we will need it for a dire situation.” I responded. I was irritated with myself.

  Cara waved from her branch and offered the ointments to me. I shook my head at her. Jason looked from me to her. She shrugged toward Jason and put them back in her pack.

  Timothy placed the jacket against his chest. He put my face against it.

  “Try to rest. I’ve got you.” He caressed my shoulder with his thumb.

  I craned my neck to whisper in his ear. “I dreamt some more.”

  He squeezed me. “In the morning,” was all he said.

  I closed my eyes and didn’t dream.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The rest of the night passed without incident. At dawn, I woke to the sound of Jason’s movement. He shifted to put his back against the trunk. If he hadn’t slept in a tree before, I was sure he found out it wasn’t the most comfortable situation.

  Timothy tilted his head to see if I was awake. I smiled up at him. He kissed the top of my head. I peeled the jacket away from my face. The blood had dried during the night.

  “We will get that washed up today.” Timothy scooted away from me. He climbed down the tree.

  Jason, Cara, and I did the same. Cara and I were used to trees, so we moved confidently. Jason didn’t trust himself and the limbs shook along with him as he went. Finally, he landed with a grunt.

  At the bottom, Cara came to assess the cut on my face. She whistled. “Man, you were lucky that didn’t get your eye.”

  “No joke.” I touched the hardened scab.

  Jason looked each of us over. A twig stuck straight out up in his hair. “Wow, you guys look rough.”

  I dropped my head. Smudges of Sarah’s blood remained on our clothes. Dirt and sweat stained our shirts.

  Cara smirked. “You might want to take that ridiculous piece of tree out of your hair before you talk.”

  Timothy and I chuckled. Cara still had it.

  Jason bent over and rustled his hair. A few leaves, along with the twig fell out.

  “Touche.” He grinned at Cara with his bloodshot eyes. They were lined in red from both sadness and exhaustion.

  “Ugh.” She moaned.

  I changed the subject. “So I never stick around to find out myself, but do they leave their soldiers behind? Or will they go to retrieve them?”

  Timothy shoved the dirtied jacket into his sack. “Most of the time, they will send out a party for them, which they probably did last night. Once the soldier’s tracking devices stop, someone is alerted. Good news is, more than likely, we are in the clear for today. Bad news is, I didn’t wipe away the drawing you made.” He nodded at me. “That would confirm that we killed the soldiers.”

  Cara interjected. “I cleaned it up after I made the sketch.” She beamed proudly. “But, they would be idiots to not conclude that we are to blame. Who else out here could take down that many and escape?”

  “True.” Timothy remarked. “So, we stick to our plan. Let’s follow the map closer to the entrance. It will confuse them, if they believe we are staying close to the river.”

  I spoke up. “I dreamt again last night, before the soldiers came.” All eyes turned to me. I had their attention. “I was in an operating room. Doctors were implanting the capsule. I woke up and Jameson saw. He made an excuse to come toward my head. Unfortunately, my heart rate increased, so he said he would administer more sedation. He was going to tell me something. I just knew it. Then the commotion with the soldiers woke me.” I slouched in defeat. “He didn’t get to.”

  “This is painful.” Cara sounded forlorn. “The waiting is killing me.”

  Jason pulled his backpacks onto his shoulders. “So we’ll hope for another dream, soon. Timothy, lead the way.”

  I was grateful that he didn’t want to dwell on it for too long.

  “I’m hungry.” Cara frowned. “Keep your eyes peeled for any berries or nuts that we can eat as we walk. I’ll look for any greens that I can boil and small game.”

  Timothy checked the rounds left in his hand gun. He had the rifle on his back. Cara followed suit. Her new pistol was fully loaded.

  We set pace for a long walk. I imagined that the more distance, the better. I searched the brush for berries
or nuts. It wasn’t the time of year for either, but the uncharacteristic warm weather may have brought some early.

  Jason paused several times to take a better look at the trees and bushes around us. Hunger was a force that drove us to be vigilant. Since Cara voiced her hunger, I became aware of my own stomach pangs.

  The forest noise was normal, so we whispered some.

  Cara spoke first. “You look kind of cool with your cut.”

  I gently touched my face. “Of course you would think so.” I joked. “I didn’t see any need to use ointment on it. We usually end up low out here.”

  “Usually we run low, because of you.” She elbowed me in the ribs.

  I grimaced. She was right. I was clumsy.

  Her eyes fixed on something past me. “Hold up. Give me the knife.” She picked her was through the weeds. A few tall stalks grew among the plants. Cara used the knife to sever the stems at their base. “Poke,” she explained. “It’s edible, but I want to boil it.”

  “What does it taste like?” I took one of the plants from her and sniffed it.

  “It’s a lot like spinach or collard greens.” She gave a piece to Jason to examine.

  He also sniffed it and turned up his nose. “Spinach? Ew.” He passed it back to Cara.

  “If you are hungry enough, you will eat it and you will like it. You’re welcome, by the way.” She said sarcastically.

  “You are right. I am so hungry right now that if the dirt was edible, I’d eat it.” He brushed his hands on his pants and trotted to Timothy’s side.

  “I know it’s hard for you, but please try and be patient with him.” I requested.

  “I’ve never been around younger people. We were always in such a controlled environment down there. For the past few years, it’ just been Timothy and me, for the most part.” She reasoned.

  “I know. He acts exactly the way normal teenage boys act. He reminds me a lot of my brother.” My heart skipped a beat at the reminder of his absence.

  “I’m sorry.” She blinked. “I couldn’t imagine not having Timothy.”

  “Time has passed. Now I can’t imagine life without the two of you.” I forced a smiled at her.

  “I don’t do well with the sappy stuff.” She half grinned.

  “Too bad.” I poked her in the arm.

  She laughed and rubbed where I poked her. “Ouch.”

  “You okay after things last night?” I asked.

  She puffed. “It’s never easy, but it had to be done. It was another them or us situation; for the record.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know anything about them, so it was easier to deal with. Ryan-,“ She stopped short and shook her head. “That was more up close and personal.”

  “I get it. Sarah was tough for me. She looked me in the eyes when I shot her. I’ll never forget her face.” A tear rolled down my cheek. It stung when it reached the cut.

  “Hey, guys?” Jason paused for us to catch up on the trail.

  “What?” Cara asked.

  “I’m starting to feel a little light-headed. I talked to Timothy and he thinks we should take a break so I can try some of that amazing spinach thing you have.” He winked at Cara.

  She stared him down. She swished around the water in her water bladder. “Be glad I even have some water to boil.”

  “I am very, very glad. My hands are shaking. I am so glad. See?” He held out his hand and showed us.

  “Alright.” Cara sighed. “Come on.”

  We all jogged to Timothy. The less he talked the faster he walked. He hadn’t talked much today. I decided to check on him, when I had the chance. He radiated strength, but it was wrong to assume he was always fine. I needed to remember that. He showed a few moments of weakness recently.

  He veered from the trail and led us into brush with the coverage of a couple of evergreens. Cara and I plucked the leafy greens from the plants, while the boys scavenged for dry wood.

  Timothy was a master at fires. It only took a minute for him to strike a spark and prompt a flame. Cara had two tin cans that she used to boil the leaves. The water turned a bright green from the chlorophyll.

  Cara singed sticks from the leftover pile to use as utensils. When she was happy with the softness of the leaves, she used the sticks to remove the cans from the heat. Timothy suffocated the fire, so as not to draw more attention.

  “Time for grub.” Jason rubbed his hands together.

  “Relax Jason. You and I are sharing this tin. Don’t hog it all, since I know you are going to love it.” She teased slyly. “Leaf for leaf, honey.”

  Timothy poked the other can over to me. “You first.”

  “We can take turns.” I suggested.

  “I want to review the map again. I need to make sure we are going the right way.” He asked Cara for the papers. She fished them out of her shirt, between slurps. I gave him the one I housed.

  Jason and Cara ate noisily. I decided the best way was to use my fingers. I dropped the leaves into my mouth. The leaves were bitter, but they were substance in my belly.

  “Tell me about the ointments. Those things work miracles. Where do they come from?” Jason asked with his mouth full.

  “In some ways our people are very advanced. There isn’t much to do down there, but survive and think. The scientists and medical researchers have all the time in the world to experiment.” She wiped her mouth. “There is a lot in this world that your people were too busy to give a second glance. The natural components are made from minerals and plants that exist right below your nose.”

  I turned to see what Timothy was up to. He analyzed the map. He rotated the papers to orient our direction. I noted his positions mentally, while I ate.

  I saved half of the tin for him. It had cooled enough to handle. I picked it up and motioned for him to join me away from the others. I plucked the slips of paper from his hands and gave him the food.

  “Eat.” I insisted.

  “It’s okay, you can have it.” He protested.

  “Eat.” I demanded.

  He did.

  “Are you holding up?” I cocked my head.

  “I am. Thoughts and plans are constantly running through my head. That’s why I have been so quiet; if that’s why you ask.” He chewed.

  “I noticed you have been a little preoccupied.” I admitted.

  “Don’t worry. The past twenty-four hours have been intense, but I am fine. Honestly, I haven’t thought about what has happened. I’ve just gone through the motions.” He lifted his head and grinned, “Except, of course, our time together.”

  My face became hot. I kissed him on the cheek.

  We went back to the others. They finished and lay stretched out on the ground.

  Timothy dumped the water from our can. I rolled the papers and returned them to the tubes. Cara stored them in their hiding spot; this time altogether. Jason chuckled and shook his head. Cara shot him a warning glance.

  “The map leads us north. It appears that we will run into some hills.” He pinched the bridge of his nose in thought. “We will hunker down there for the night and see how things progress.”

  All eyes focused on me. “I’m trying guys. I was so close to something in the dream last night. I could feel it.”

  Cara glared at me longer than the others did. Her patience with me waned. She wanted all the pieces to the puzzle. I couldn’t blame her. At that moment, we knew our destination, but had no idea what we were going to do once we got there.

  Everyone was irritated and exhausted. The poke gave us a little energy; just enough for us to go through the motions. There was no other choice, but to trudge forward.

  I coaxed my legs to put one foot in front of the other. When I focused on Timothy’s steps, I kept time with him. It became a game, to see if I could match his rhythm.

  The terrain slanted upward. I huffed along the path. There were two enormous boulders that guarded the trail. Timothy used them to haul himself up the incline. We followed between the rocks.

  Sudden
ly, the forest became silent. We halted immediately. We cocked our heads to listen and passed worried glances.

  “Stop right there.” A familiar face stepped into the passage behind me. The face flashed in my mind, but didn’t register. I stumbled into Jason. Timothy drew his gun and I turned to him.

  Someone grunted behind him. From the corner of my eye, I saw a tall shadow loomed over him.

  I turned back to the intruder. A wry smile greeted me with a knife pointed at my neck.

  “Why, hello Alex.” He said deliberately.

  “Hello Chris.” My voice waivered as his name came from my lips. I realized why I hadn’t recognized him right away. He had angry pink scars that ran from the corners of his lips to his ears. His face was emaciated and his skull protruded from beneath the flesh. I sucked in air.

  A flood of terrible memories invaded my brain. Chris was Elijah’s henchman. He had imprisoned me for that awful man. They had dressed me up and forced me to be Elijah’s new company. Fortunately, Timothy had saved me before I found out how I was eventually going to be used.

  He tilted his head. “It’s been a while. So many things have happened since your visit. Oh, look at that nasty cut. Elijah won’t like that.” He tsked.

  “Timothy, do me a favor and hand over your gun to the guard. I assume you remember him?”

  The guard relieved Timothy of his gun. It was the guard with no tongue. A chill ran up my spine. He had the same marks carved into his cheeks.

  “Who in the-.” Jason interrupted.

  Chris held up a hand to silence him. “I am sure my appearance is quite a shock. Our friends, the moles, left each of us with a treat for harboring you.” He pointed to his scars. “I’ll never have to waste my time with the effort of smiling again. I have you to thank for that.”

  “Chris, we only wanted to stay for the night. We didn’t mean to cause this. I can’t fathom what they did.” I struggled to find words that sounded sincere.

  “Shut up! I don’t want to hear it. They mutilated us. They slaughtered everyone, because of you!” Chris stepped forward and struck me across the face.

  Timothy sprang forward. The guard caught him by the neck.