by Angela White
Adrian knew his herd needed good words and calm tones. “We’re watching the storm from about ten feet away. It’s unbelievable, scary. We can’t see anything outside the mess, but we’re hearing it, same as you. Lots of stuff flying through the air, slamming into the trucks. That’s the noise, but so far, everything’s good here. I repeat. We are 5-by, and so are you.”
Adrian witnessed a huge sheet of wood go tumbling around the edge of the far truck, barely missing it. He fought to keep that narrow escape out of his tones. “We’ll do bathroom breaks now, groups of four from each truck, women and kids first, as usual.” He paused, orbs growing hazy as he sang to his herd, pushed his calming magic over them. “I’ll be by each truck in the next few minutes, and I know I’ll find card games going and people spending time together, not working themselves and others into a panic. This is nothing we can’t handle.” His voice deepened. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
As if to prove him wrong, the wind whipped through the mess from a billowing gap, ripping the tarp free. They were again covered in a vortex of spinning sand that tried to invade every inch of space available, and then space that wasn’t.
“Grab that!”
“I’ve got it!” Kenn rushed to the loudly flapping tarp and hauled it down, securing it better as he fought against the wind trying to pull it out of his grasp.
Kenn was smirking–Adrian could almost feel it under the mask. Was Kenn ready? Only one way to find out.
Adrian saw men helping with the tarp, Eagles watching alertly, trucks holding against the wind. Rigs, seven of them, full of his people and protected, but still vulnerable because they had no one on duty in the rear where the sand was hitting them the hardest.
Anyone could sneak up on them by following the wake of the storm, and they wouldn’t know until it was too late. There was almost no visibility, and the tales from the refugees they’d been picking up were a warning Adrian wouldn’t ignore. The slavers liked to hit during bad weather, and they were only two hundred miles away as of last week, which wasn’t nearly far enough. Sooner or later, Safe Haven would attract their attention, may have already. The pictures Kenn and Kyle had brought from Cheyenne Mountain had indeed been worse than the other places, and they’d been keeping a weekly watch on the big group.
Adrian signaled a handful of Eagles to start the bathroom breaks, hating the thought of so many using only two campers, but there was no other solution in this wind. It had been his experience that sandstorms took their time to pass through.
He looked at Kenn, seeing the excitement held under perfect control, the leadership rolling off him in waves, and Adrian gestured. They’d find out now if he was ready for leadership. “Eagle Two has point. I’ll be around.”
Adrian stepped out into the storm, leaving surprise among his army.
“Boo’yah, baby!” Kenn’s grin had widened. It was official to him now. He was second in command.
Pulling his shirt up over his mouth, Adrian ran to the trucks first, calming, assuring, jumping and chuckling with them as debris slammed into the trucks. He didn’t hurry the stops, understanding people needed him, but he didn’t let them cling, either. They had to learn to stand on their own.
Yanking his shirt back up to muffle the dust, Adrian went next to the animal area they had covered with sheets of plastic, and was unhappy with the sloppy job Danny and Zack had done. The dust was coming under the edges in small waves, and the animals were coughing, pacing.
“On a dark, desert highway, cool wind in my hair…”
Adrian sang as he weighted down each side with the heavy cages, adjusting the edges until the dust began to settle and the animals relaxed.
“Last thing I remember, I was runnin’ for the door…”
The sand he’d already been blasted with gave him a rough rasp, and Adrian grinned in the dimness of the vibrating plastic dome. Kenn wasn’t the only one who felt alive when confronting danger.
Holding his breath, Adrian marched to his semi. The winds here were so strong that he had to punch his way through with low, powerful steps.
Doing what no one expected, despite all he’d done for them in the beginning, Adrian protected them, staying in his rig at the rear throughout the storm. He had secured the lives he needed to, the camp was now in Kenn’s capable hands, and he rode out the fury in his truck, marveling at the unchecked power.
Adrian was one of three men to take the drag position. Seth–who wasn’t an Eagle but wanted to be–and Kyle were on either side him. The cop and the mobster protected him as he guarded his herd, and neither mentioned, not even to each other, that they heard the warning he sent.
Not over a radio, but rushing out in powerful mental waves designed to get ahead of the storm, it rang through the air and into them until the urge to go to Adrian’s truck had them both fighting tight grips on door handles.
There were times, later, when both men doubted themselves, but at night, while witnessing their leader do rounds after a twenty-hour day, they would think about it and admit the truth to themselves. He had tried to save survivors in the storm’s path, cared enough about the loss of life to risk using his gifts and maybe be banished…to help people he didn’t even know! He wasn’t like the rest. He was special.
The secret bonded the trio and earned Adrian their complete loyalty. He was their guardian, and either of them would give their life, to keep his safe.
3
The storm raged around Safe Haven for hours, wind forming tiny cities of sand that vanished as quickly as they’d appeared. The Eagles handled themselves well, rushing to anchor tarps, secure trucks, and comfort their people during the nonstop bathroom breaks. When the winds finally began to die down, everyone was glad, even those who had loved the excitement.
It was almost lunch before Kenn decided it was all right to come out. The Eagles noticed that Adrian waited for the Marine to make the call and that Kenn didn’t glance to him first for an okay when he made the choice.
Adrian took in the damage with worry in his heart for his country and her people. The landscape had been completely altered. Nothing was the same. Piles of brackish sand in feet-deep drifts covered ripped-up tents, and grit blanketed everything, including his army. The damage was extensive, total. How many more lives had been lost?
“Eagle Two will keep point. Everyone else, shift.”
Kenn nodded at him from across the camp and then motioned Seth to go along on his rounds.
In time, Seth would be one of his too, Kenn hoped, like Zack and maybe Kyle. No one else knew Seth was Adrian’s undercover guard, and Kenn supported it completely. The detective was good and someone had to do it. Adrian had to be protected.
Kenn knew what his boss wanted, knew how to get things done, and three short hours after the storm was gone, Safe Haven appeared like it hadn’t been hit. It was a stark contrast to the destruction outside the perimeter. Seeing the camp full-sized again, re-taped, clean, and running normal, Adrian was more than pleased. They were growing stronger.
By one o’clock that night, Adrian was once again roaming the sea of tents, unable to sleep. He was satisfied with the way they’d come through, happy with the job Kenn had done, but he hated the aftermath.
The land around them now looked totally devoid of life, instead of just isolated. It was foreign–like what the surface of Mars might be like. Even the smells had changed. The rot was still here, along with a hint of salty smoke, but the strongest was a thick, stomach-tightening mildew he didn’t need John to tell him was from all the dead. The sand not only covered them, it scraped away tiny bits of decaying flesh that were then flung about by the wind. It wasn’t comforting.
“Did anyone see you?” questioned a man’s voice, one he knew well, and Adrian found the shadow outside of a dusty supply truck.
“No. Let me in.”
The woman’s voice was also familiar, and the leader wondered if the sentries had noticed them. Probably not, but they would if Kenn wasn’t more careful. It didn’t bother
him, but it would the camp. Adrian smirked suddenly. Hell, maybe Kenn could straighten her out a little and put her to use. Surely, Tonya had a skill that didn’t involve her knees or her back.
4
“You look tired.”
The Marine had fallen in with him as Adrian came from his tent.
“I’m good.” Kenn didn’t offer any details as he opened his book. He had dreamed Angie was here. After that, sleeping again had been impossible.
Adrian eyed the three-foot piles of sand that were now their perimeter, the caution tape gone again during the night. “I need Seth and Mitch to come to me around nine thirty, and make sure he doesn’t leave the radio unattended again. I need ten minutes with the doctor around noon, and then we’ll do a lesson with the rookies at three. We’ll have a little surprise waiting for Kyle and his team right after that.”
Kenn nodded. Adrian had sent Kyle out immediately following the storm to do a recon to the southeast. Adrian wanted to know if the slavers were closer, and of course, to search for survivors.
“We’ll keep it simple. Use the laser tag vests.”
Kenn wrote, and Adrian ignored the stomach wanting toast with heavy butter. His people ate before he did, and they were low on bread. Flour was one of those things they didn’t find much of.
“We’ll need crews to clean up after the contest and to help with the targets during. You’ll have to dig through the schedules that end today to discover who already has their hours in or has a shift tonight. Set the contest up like last time, over in that softball field. People not shooting will stay behind the gate.”
Adrian paused to sip his coffee, studying the line where Kenn’s boy was. All of his people appeared healthy, normal, and he knew they had been lucky to have so few medical problems despite spending so much time on sour ground. They’d had a couple of deaths in the last weeks, mostly heart failures, and an EKG machine was one of the things on his constantly growing list.
“That it?”
Adrian snorted, watching the lines grow as more people came to the mess and the noise levels increased. Coughs, moans, groans, and laughs–to Adrian it was beautiful, the sound of normal life continuing. “Until lunch. Here’s some FND work–a faster mess, one that has them in line for less than five minutes for both food and drinks.”
Having finished writing, Kenn picked up Adrian’s cup. “Refill?”
“You know it.”
When Kenn moved toward the line, Charlie slid by and put a small plate in front of Adrian. He kept moving toward the table he usually shared with Timmy and Mike, one of the guards’ teenage boys, but Adrian stopped him with a question. “You busy later?”
Looking furtively at Kenn, the boy came toward Adrian.
“No. Do we get new schedules tomorrow?”
Appearing absorbed in taking the plastic from his toast with heavy butter, Adrian observed Charlie. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about their talk in the bowling alley and had come to the conclusion that Kenn was in contact with someone special.
This quiet boy was the magic and Kenn claiming it to protect the child was almost an acceptable lie... Almost. At least it explained why Kenn had flat out refused to use his “gift” when Adrian had mentioned it a few days after the freeze.
“Mug of coffee, fresh pack of smokes, and a cardboard box this big.” Adrian demonstrated with his hands. “Bring those things to my tent around ten thirty. We’ll do some rounds and you’ll get your schedule then.”
Charlie agreed eagerly, scuffed shoelaces dragging through the inch of sand covering the mess floor as he shifted restlessly from foot to foot. “Sure. You need anything else?”
Adrian was still watching from under lowered lashes. “Yeah, a ton of food and water. You get an idea, make sure I’m told quickly,” he half joked.
“You know it.”
“He knows what?”
Charlie flinched, and Adrian waved him on as Kenn returned with two full cups and sat down.
“Kids need to be kept busy. We have to pick the next list of places to search. Bring the maps by after lunch.”
5
A short time later, stomach pleasantly full of toast, Adrian sat in the lea of his tent with a chair, folding table, and notebooks in front of him. The wind had finally calmed down, and he got started making schedules for the next week, glad he wouldn’t have to spend the extra hours trying to figure out who didn’t have all their shifts in yet. As of midnight, everyone was back at zero.
He worked on them in alphabetical order, trying to fit the person with the chore by their skills, and all the while, he listened to his people as they walked by, approving of the long pants and sleeves most of his people were wearing. Both John and his suggestions had been accepted.
“Those eggs was nasty and it’s still the best meal I’ve had since January.”
The words drifted to Adrian’s ears.
“Glad we’re on full water rations.”
“Oohh. Imagine a hot bubble bath.”
“Girl, a hot shower would be heaven.”
“Yeah, like that’ll happen. It uses too much water.”
Adrian flipped to a rear page and scribbled a note, then resumed working on the schedules.
Mitch showed up ten minutes late, giving the CB updates personally, and Adrian handed him a sheet of paper, still not totally sure he’d chosen the right person for this job. They had given a dozen men the radio test, but only this sloppy drunkard hadn’t flunked.
“This is the way I’d like things run from now on. What we put over the air matters.”
The red-nosed man gave it a quick read-over. “Sure.”
“Kenn will be installing a more powerful CB system in the next week, so when he’s ready, move to another truck ‘til he’s done.”
“You got it, A-Man. I’ll catch you later.”
The hung-over man left, eager to use the bolder system, and Adrian was relieved when the ass-kisser was gone. He hated it that everyone saw him dealing with someone like Mitch, but it couldn’t be helped. He suspected Mitch was too good to waste, and Adrian planned to leave him on the radio until he knew for sure.
When he was gone, Adrian gestured Seth over and began gathering up his papers. “Long wait.”
Seth gave a tight smile, respectfully taking off his cap as he sat down. It didn’t escape Adrian’s attention that Seth was wearing the uniform of an Eagle, despite not being one. He had been busy, trailing Adrian almost continuously for the last week, and he was good, right up there with Kyle. The question was, why?
“I don’t mind. Its better we’re alone anyway.”
Adrian finished off his cold coffee with a grimace of distaste. “Because you want to know why I passed you up for the Level Ones again, but you don’t want anyone to know you’re questioning my judgment?”
Adrian’s words were brutally honest.
Seth nodded, not sure whether he was ready for the truth he’d come for, or if the things he needed to say to this man, who he now respected above all others, would get him asked to leave.
“Because I’m not sure about you yet.”
The cop’s hurt eyes flew to his, and Adrian made a dismissive gesture, thinking of his surprise when it had been Seth who joined Kyle during the storm, and not Neil. “Not like that. Not sure where I need you the most.”
“I know where I belong!” Seth clamped his mouth shut and waited to hear their conversation was over.
Adrian didn’t speak for a minute, thinking that right there was what concerned him. Seth was a good man, but he had a short fuse, which was not a great trait for a bodyguard in this new world.
“Have you thought about something else? There’s a lot we need,” he said finally.
Seth didn’t look at him. “Yeah.”
Adrian mentally examined the man. Seth was often the first one at the tape to search through the new people when there was a call, never skipping it, and his devotion had gotten attention. Adrian hadn’t been surprised to find out the undercover c
op had been planning to apply to the secret service academy, had wanted to protect the president. In time, Seth might still get his chance.
“Why a Level guard, Seth? Why does it matter so much?”
Surprised at the easy opening, the thirty-year-old found the truth with no hesitation. “Because you need my help, and I need to serve. Because there’s no one watching your six, and I want the job.”
“You sure? That may be very dangerous in the future.”
“More than anything,” Seth responded gravely. “It’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”
Adrian studied him for another long moment before shrugging as if he wasn’t sure the cop could do it, though nothing could be further from the truth. “I’ll change your schedule, but keep in mind it takes more than good aim and confidence. It’s hard work, and it’s dangerous.”
“I belong there.” Seth stood up, holding out his hand. “Thank you.”
Adrian shook with him. “I hope you find what you’re hunting for.”
“So do I.”
As he left, Adrian noticed Charlie coming his way, right on time and hands full.
“What do you think about him?” Adrian asked the boy, indicating Seth.
“Seth’s okay. He never found his little girl, and he’s still upset.”
Adrian didn’t comment, thinking he’d have to be careful how he handled Charlie. As for Seth, he was another above-average survivor trying to become a shepherd, and Adrian would help him make the transition, but where were those who had been born to lead?
“I’ll put this stuff inside, and you can go with me on rounds.”
Charlie wasn’t sure why the boss wanted his company, but he was eager to help if he could and be seen doing it–like everyone else here.
Adrian folded up the table, taking it and a chair to the flap, and Charlie automatically carried the other one, but didn’t go inside because he hadn’t been invited. Adrian nodded his thanks. Well-trained…and it bothered him–a lot.
“Grab that box and come on.”
The first stop was the mess, where thirty or so people were in line or already sitting down to canned chili, crackers, and applesauce. Adrian stopped near the flagpole ropes.