by Angela White
Adrian leaned back and let them go for a minute. Around the females, the Eagles moved closer. Kyle was one of those, hovering between the rear tables so that he could protect Jennifer if it were needed.
“Guys?” When he thought they’d vented enough fear, Adrian took control back. “What happened to that moral line?”
“To hell with morals!” Mitch shouted drunkenly. “It’s about survival!”
“Not this camp, not ever!” Adrian warned, quieting them down with his anger. “We’re for freedom. In nature, puberty makes the choice. That has to be a part of the line, as well as willingness. We just need that base age. We have to ask ourselves what’s the lowest number that we can live with. Everyone needs to do it, from the age of twelve and up. Write it on your ballot and I’ll post the final choice.”
The camp muttered and grumbled a bit, but clearly, they understood the elaborate point.
“We have couples in Safe Haven that enjoy our freedom and protection. That has to continue. Give me your line.”
Adrian didn’t hang around for the vote results, already certain that fifteen and the mountains would be chosen. Both were a mistake, but he could only push so fast. If he had pointed out that not even one in four people had survived the war, they might have chosen a lower age, but Adrian didn’t want them fighting over little girls or hurting them, any more than he wanted their species to die out. In time, the age would be fourteen and puberty, with a mental evaluation of both parties. If that didn’t help them within twenty years, it would have to go lower. Adrian hated it, but without repopulation, humanity was doomed.
On the other side, a bit of the animosity towards Ray and Dale might let up. With two hundred men competing for the chance at forty women, having two less contenders mattered.
2
Angela came to Adrian’s side as the camp began to drop their votes in the box. “You know what this will cause?”
Adrian’s answer was silent. It will make females the most cherished cargo we haul.
Angela could see it in his mind, the way he dreamed it would be, and instantly approved. In Adrian’s world, girls as young as seven were being escorted by their male, who was responsible for all of her needs and happiness. These strictly screened men would dote on these girls for almost a decade before any contact occurred, but in that time, they would become attached and create love matches that would lead not just to the occasional birth, but to one after the other, out of natural contentment.
Adrian flashed another image, one of girls being taught how to pick a man for themselves. Instead of advanced algebra, they were given relationship skills. “Their protectors are Eagles. They can only come from my army, and in return for the honor, my men will train them, protect them, and understand the gift they’ve been given.”
Angela was humbled by his vision. In it, men were taught the same things, only they were drilled on it until it became a way of life.
“A new type of Eagle.”
“No.” Adrian reluctantly pushed her out of his thoughts. “A new kind of man. One not full of violence that bleeds all over the world.”
Angela’s sharp mind put it together with a snap. “You were ready for this, for them becoming attracted to young girls.”
“Yes. They see what your generation of rookies will be like. They know the next are worth waiting for, too.”
Angela missed the wording. “How long do you foresee it taking to actually have them with the girls?”
Adrian gave her a clever smile that she knew for a fact that the camp had never seen.
“It’s already happening. You’ll handle the first mental evaluation when you talk to Kyle.”
Meaning Adrian was sure Kyle would cross a line.
“Is Jennifer in danger?” she asked.
“Would I leave them alone if she were?”
Angela hated the answer. “If it does something for the greater good? Yes.”
Adrian didn’t lie or apologize as he moved into the deep shadows. This was what the job required.
Frowning over the revelations, Angela moved into the empty training tent and shrugged out of her jacket. She chose the new workout equipment and began doing sets, mind not on one subject, just browsing as she worked out. Adrian needed her to jump another level in the next two weeks. That would take work.
Angela grunted, pushing the sweaty bar up on the last set. The men used heavier weights and did harder tests, especially with the limits John and Marc had insisted on, but she was alone right now and would do as she pleased. John had said two more weeks before she could have full duty back, but Angela was determined to earn it quicker.
Adrian studied her from just inside the flap, where the shadows were the darkest. His gaze narrowed in on her sweaty skin as she finished the set and began another. The pushups were hard on her, shoulder muscles still healing, but she didn’t give up until she’d done it. Her actions spoke of someone determined to accomplish things. Her workdays included time training and learning, and even her off days found her doing something either for the camp or with them. She spent time with her son, did her shifts, volunteered, and when those things were put with everything she’d given him, it was enough to make Adrian take notice.
He liked her routine, her attitude, her ability to calm him...and then there was the way her hair beckoned, the way she smelled. He couldn’t get her out of his mind.
3
Lee saw Adrian take a place in the shadows, but didn’t join him as their radios crackled.
“Hello, Safe Haven. This is the first transmission of American Waves. Good evening, good wishes, and good will to you all.”
Having already read the first script before giving a copy to Adrian, Lee tuned it out, but all around camp, people were stopping to stare as Kevin’s smooth timbre began lulling them into slumber. It was a brilliant way to quell the jumpiness.
“We’re going to start with a request format and go from there, but first, we’ll have a few minutes of something I have personally longed for. Happy long belated Memorial Day, Safe Haven, and to everyone else out there–we salute your determination to survive, and we honor your losses.”
The sound of Taps filled their minds with ghosts and awful flashes, but Adrian had told his men things would always get worse before they got better. Starting the new radio station in respect, allowing the camp a night to grieve, would generate a new layer of scabs over those bleeding wounds. With enough moments like it, there might even be true healing.
Staying in the shadows, Lee wished Adrian could find some of what he was always giving his people. If the blond man lost faith, they were doomed.
When Angela emerged from the tent, the shadows were deep. The first thing she saw was the glow of a cherry in the darkest of them. The smell of pot smoke came to her, along with another, sharper scent she instantly identified.
She waited, noticing the closest Eagle could barely hear them. Angela frowned when Lee gave her a pointed look and turned his back.
“You okay?”
“Yes.” She could hear that he wasn’t. So much death and loneliness had him at a personal limit. “And you?”
Adrian wanted to tell her everything was 5-by, but lying was more than he could manage. “I will be.”
Angela blew out a thick stream of smoke. “Soon?”
She heard him sigh.
“Probably not. What I need isn’t available.”
Angela didn’t like the misery in his answer. “Is there anything I can do?”
She frowned. She hadn’t meant to make that offer.
Adrian’s mouth opened, eyes already begging. “Tell me to go away and do it right now!”
Need blazed between them, raw and sharp.
Angela didn’t hesitate, despite the lust thumping through her body. “I belong to Marc. Choose a whore.”
He was gone a second later, and Angela let her feet take her to where she had wanted to be all day.
She ignored the witch whispering of the pleasure she was missing. Mar
c was moving them through the levels at a pace she was comfortable with. Adrian’s relief source wouldn’t get that consideration, or any other, until he’d satisfied that burning need.
Not all men become monsters. Surely, you know that?
Angela didn’t answer the witch. Let one of the others tend Adrian. He was right. She wasn’t available.
4
“When did you know mom was the one?”
Charlie and Marc were hanging around the mess, watching to make sure the crowd didn’t get unruly. There were stares and murmurs as people went by, last night’s brutal match still the talk of the camp. For Marc, it was the start of another stress, one where he had to be careful not to let the inner man come forward too often. He was still denying that part of himself, not ready to face it.
“As soon as I saw her. That was the day I went against Mother Brady for the first time in my life.”
“Was it hard to pick between her and our family?”
“No. I knew she was perfect for me in ways that they could never be.” Marc was jerked into the past. “She was my kind, long before I knew what that was.”
Charlie pushed in gently, sure his dad wouldn’t be bothered, and he observed the moment with an intense curiosity that was usually lacking when it came to the details of their beginnings. He still hadn’t completely gotten over how young his mom had been, but each moment he witnessed reinforced the bond, the irresistible need for each other. That was what Charlie was hoping for, why he was storing information, and he was delighted when Marc began rolling through it as if they were there.
Welcome home.
Her voice was in my head, confirming her gift and my sanity, and I grinned. “It’s great to be back.”
Worlds spun in her gaze, tempting, pulling, and I reluctantly tore my eyes away from her sweet face.
Angie was wearing a short white skirt and a blue top that too adult for her in my opinion, and her eyes darkened to the exact shade to match it as she picked up my thoughts.
I watched her little hands close her coat and felt bad for my observation.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Georgie picked it out.”
Why did that bother me so much?
Angie moved closer and the air parted, teasing my nose with vanilla. She smelled good.
She was within a foot of me, ebony ringlets swaying against her pale skin, and I understood what she wanted with a slight shiver of anticipation and a shudder of fear.
She stopped, unsure because of my reaction, and I slowly opened my arms to her.
I expected the usual quick hug of family, and was shocked into stillness when she slid those tiny arms around my neck and placed her soft hair against my chin. Then the sensation hit and I couldn’t move. After only a second, I melted and hugged her back. My eyes closed as peace settled over me. I’m sure she knew how rarely I was shown physical affection, but I wasn’t sure how to tell her that I would need this again now that I’d had it. It was as if the entire world had vanished, leaving only calm and an edge of everything being almost perfect.
We stood there for a long time, just holding onto someone who understood how important the contact was. When she slowly moved away, (I couldn’t. I didn’t have the will power), it was as if a cloud had come over the sun and I realized it was her reaction, not mine. She had a deep need for me, though, I had no idea why, and that craving sealed the deal. I’d never been this wanted before and I wouldn’t give it up.
“How long this time?”
“A month or two. Then the training.”
“Early.”
“Yes. She senses something, I think.”
“And then to the farm again come fall?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll have this moment, at least.”
I was lost. It was exactly how I felt.
I know, she sent silently. That’s how I found you.
It was a relief to know I hadn’t imagined any of it. She had the family curse, and I was the only one she’d trusted enough to tell.
That made me smirk, and I could almost sense her worries ease. Standing there beside her, my own problems weren’t gone, but they weren’t as big anymore, either.
We settled into the cold patio chairs, blocked from sight by tall bushes and trees, and eyes remained on each other in fascination. With no prying adults observing our every expression, I stared at her pale skin and those violet eyes that I could swear were blue a minute before. She was like a perfect china doll I could never admit to wanting to play with.
My gaze swept over her, and I felt my heart tighten. She was amazing, beautiful, and I sensed that when she was older, I might beg to kiss her.
“I’d let you.” She flushed, sparkling at me.
I blinked in surprise. “Okay.”
I’d asked Uncle Larry some careful questions about girls while he taught me to work on the farm. I’d left him with the impression I meant my new girlfriend, Jeanie, and he’d left me with an image that filled my thoughts every night after that when I tried to sleep. He told me to be careful about age.
“Men get old, Marcie. We age and grow bitter. Get a younger woman and be sure you really like her. You’ll be together a long time in this family.”
Now, staring at the forbidden fruit, I thought I understood. Angie had a face that I would never get tired of. My heart thudded in real pain. It was one I would miss over the coming years. There was no way my mother would let this happen, and there was only so much sneaking I could do before she found out.
“I might be able to make it go away,” Angie said sadly.
“No!”
My quick answer drained the misery from her face and replaced it with a slight grin that I wanted to make bigger. I wanted to hear her laugh again, though it was a risk. My mother could be anywhere by now.
“She’s helping your sister with her dress.”
I was relieved to hear it and I didn’t think to doubt the information. As we stared, there were so many things that I suddenly wanted to say, to ask, and she knew them all without me having to say a word if I couldn’t figure out how to put it. It was great.
“Yes, it’s true. You won’t tell?”
“No. How can you do it?”
“I just always could.”
“Born with it?”
“I think so.”
Which meant she had unanswered questions, yet she’d never been exposed. That meant she was smart. My mother would have her shipped off the same day she found out.
I saw Angie wince and said,” Sorry.”
She shrugged. “Not your fault.”
“Not yours either.”
He eyes darkened again and I shook my head firmly. “You didn’t choose to have it.”
The eight year old was silent, but I caught her thought.
The why are they so mean to me?
I didn’t have an answer for that. All the punishments that should have gone to my uncle were being dealt out to his wife and stepdaughter.
“She’s trying to run you off.”
“Yeah.”
My gaze went over Angie again, this time lingering where it wanted and I felt my pulse increase. Angie was a baby right now compared to me–at least on the outside. On the inside, she was where I was–a lonely preteen who couldn’t wait to grow up.
“She’s looking for you now.”
I nodded, not unconcerned, but I’d chosen this place with my mother in mind. I used to be allergic to the plants out here and still avoided the area. It was among the last places she would search. First though, she would go see if I’d discovered the dirt bike in the garage and taken it out for a spin. Which I would, tomorrow, when it would be warm enough to stay out on it all day.
I looked at Angie, wondering if she’d ever been on a dirt bike and she shook her head.
“Tomorrow, down by the old tire swing.”
“When?”
I thought fast and tried to account for my mother’s extra chores. “Noon.”
We would
be alone for hours, away from everyone.
Angie grinned at me, showing those dimples, and again, her happiness jerked me into a world where only the two of us existed. It wasn’t weird, like when I flipped through the magazines in my closet, but I knew they were connected. When she leaned closer, I held my breath to keep from touching her hair.
“I made this for you.”
It was a grass ring, the kind you handed to a friend and then yanked the top off, except this one had been repeatedly woven around itself until it was a solid object, able to be worn.
I watched my hand go out as if it was someone else’s, and I took it slowly. Our fingers touched, like silk meeting sandpaper, and I winced at a sharp flash of lightning. Where had that come from?
“Me. Sorry. It gets out of hand when I’m...sometimes.”
I wanted to know what she’d been going to say, but I could sense her unease with the subject. She was afraid someone might overhear.
“Did you miss being home?”
That was a hard question to answer, and I shrugged. “Parts of it.”
“You don’t belong with them, either.”
There it was. Honesty. And, I would be expected to use it with her, I could tell.
“It’s more like they don’t belong with me.”
She wanted to ask if she did, and I wasn’t sure what to say. If I got a vote, she would be. My mother wasn’t going to give me one.
I could steal it, though. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be better than nothing. The idea of not being around this little girl hurt me. Already, she’d found a way into my heart, and I was looking forward to tomorrow in a way I knew to be wrong, but couldn’t help.
“I’ll fit you in somewhere,” I whispered, giving her my promise. “I’ll make you a place that no one can remove you from.”
“And you did.”
Both males jumped guiltily, and Angela threw on a stern facade. “Let’s go have some chocolate, and you can tell me what that was about.”
Marc chuckled as Charlie sputtered.
“Nothing, got sidetracked.”
Angela let her worries go in favor of the amusement. “I guess I’ll have to torture it out of you, then. Come on, get to the center table. Worst joke tells all.”