by Angela White
“Can’t have one without the other,” Neil murmured. If being scared of Angie kept people under control, Neil was all for it.
“Coming in,” he called, reaching the radio room.
“Shit!” Tonya scrambled for clothes.
Kenn leaned back to button his jeans. “Nice timing, numbnuts.”
Neil knew he should be mad, and he would tell Marc, but all he could do was laugh at that moment.
Kenn flushed, realizing who he was talking to. He’d thought it was a rookie. Neil would rat them out. “We would have heard the radio if someone called.”
Neil shrugged. “Tell it to whoever he sends to reprimand you over it. I’m here for your sheet.”
Kenn tossed it, making the former state trooper grab for it awkwardly.
Neil, now frowning, nodded politely to Tonya, noting her small smirk. Feeling the need to set them both straight, Neil left instead.
Tonya’s giggles floated out, followed by Kenn’s groan, “That’s why I said no. We can’t do this shit on duty.”
“Don’t be mad. I’m sorry.”
Kenn sighed. “Come here. I like holding you afterwards.”
Melting, Neil chose not to rat them out. That was more caring about a female and the camp rules than Kenn had ever showed unless there was a crisis. It was clear progress.
Neil went to the final stop on this floor, enjoying the beautiful heat rushing through the passages. Theo’s crew was still toiling on the cave, those who could anyway. Most of the damage from the blast had been removed so that workers could do repairs. Topside wasn’t as good. Thanks to the cold, the avalanche and bodies were still there. The remaining ants were using them as a food source, but Neil figured orders would come down soon for a cleanup crew. He’d heard the rumors that leaving the mess was an intimidation technique, but he didn’t believe that was needed. Samantha was saying they would have two weeks of clear weather before the next blizzard. In that time, the current mounds of snow would melt and the bodies would begin to stink. Angela wouldn’t leave that to nature and the Eagles who expected to get the duty were mentally preparing for it.
Neil tapped on the pulled down shade to the medical bay and stepped into the dimness. He liked Angela in charge. Marc would do fine while she recovered, but then she would have to be put back in place, where she belonged. It wasn’t a haven anymore if their seer wasn’t guiding them.
5
“You okay over there?”
Jeff grunted.
Kevin joined him on the wide sofa, glad the doctor had been able to get them cleared so quickly. Now that Safe Haven had nurses and assistants, the quarantine waiting time had been cut by half.
Kevin wondered why Jeff had chosen to stay in the reading room that was closed for the night.
“I don’t have memories of her here,” Jeff admitted, voice breaking a little. “I loved that stubborn bitch, you know?”
Kevin was shocked by Jeff’s tears. He put a hand on the man’s shoulder, not sure what to say that would help.
Jeff recovered quickly, embarrassed. “Sorry.”
Kevin shrugged, settling onto the sofa. “Don’t be.”
Jeff glanced over, noting the bottle in Kevin’s hand and the haunted expression. “What about you?”
Kevin sighed deeply. “About the same, I guess, just without the other half of your pain.”
Jeff understood. “Yeah.”
The two rebels stayed quiet for a long time. When the lights went out on the automatic timer, neither of them rose to reactivate it. The darkness was a comfort.
Seth headed for the general sleeping space, doing a last check of all the rooms that were off limits during the evening on his way. He shined his light around the reading chamber…
Faces! People! Seth let out a little cry of fright, hand sliding toward his weapon.
Recognition came as the laughter spilled out.
“Damn!”
Kevin chuckled while Jeff snickered.
“What the hell, guys?”
Kevin yawned. “Just closing our night like we did while on the road.”
And they were, Jeff realized. The only thing missing was his cigar.
Kevin handed him one. “I hit the supply area.”
Jeff’s mood brightened a little. He had missed hanging out with his team. He, Tommy, and Seth were all that remained now. “Come join us?”
Seth started to kick them out and then shrugged. “Yeah, if the boss clears it. Give me an hour.”
“We’ll be here.”
Seth disappeared, suddenly eager to hear their tales of living without Safe Haven. Many citizens were comparing Pitcairn vs being here on their own. Jeff and Kevin had details they would all want to hear.
Seth made a short pause by the security booth, getting approval for the few hours they would be in the reading room. After promising Marc that it would be cleaned and ready for the camp in the morning, Seth went to check on Becky. She had first shift and should be sleeping.
Seth quietly eased around cots and blanket forts, trying hard not to disturb anyone. This open set up and bunkbed maze fit many inhabitants into one area, but there was no privacy. Everyone heard everything.
Becky didn’t wake up as he pulled the blanket to her shoulders and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Neither of them had mentioned their conversation in the truck after coming home. He still hoped to make her happier so the desires would go away.
Seth finished his rounds and made a last stop by the eating carts. He wrote a note for what he took, and then returned to the reading room to enjoy some male bonding. He didn’t realize other dwellers had discovered the location until he walked back into the darkness and half a dozen lights shined in his direction.
“Down, boys!” he ordered, shielding himself from the glare. “I brought snacks.”
Low cheers came as Seth passed the small bags around. He’d also managed to quietly juggle a few beers. “We’ll have to share. Everything’s closed.”
“I’ve got a bottle for you if it stays quiet here,” Marc offered from the doorway. He set it on the nearest end table. “I’ll be listening.”
The seven Eagles shared chuckles as Marc left them alone.
Glad the guys would have a good time, Marc told Billy to increase the heat a little more and handle a few other items that they would need overnight. He would also have Kenn put some soft music on to keep the herd happy. Other than that, all he had to do was keep from dwelling on too many plans and plots at one time. He was too tired to keep it all straight right now. Tomorrow, he’d be plotting and planning all day, and doing anything to make him tired enough to sleep without his mate. The last week had sucked, but there wasn’t an end to his empty bed in sight.
6
“I want my friend, Angie!”
Coming down the corridor, Marc followed the sullen demands to Missy and Shawn, who were staying in the small family area that hadn’t been opened until yesterday. Children who were having trouble adjusting could now be brought here at night to finish settling down. Missy was the first one who had refused to sleep in the common space.
“I want Angie!”
“She can’t come back yet,” Shawn refused. “I told you that. She isn’t safe here.”
“I want to help catch the bad guy.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
They both twisted to find Marc in the doorway.
“How can you help?” Marc asked. “Searching us?”
Missy nodded, becoming shy around Marc. He scared her a little.
“No need to be scared,” Marc assured her. “If you can help, then do it.”
Missy immediately shut her eyes, sending waves of descendant power through the cave. It woke people from dozes and dreams, causing them to shift and glance around in confusion.
“Damn. Stop,” Marc ordered, grid lighting up. “My mistake.”
Missy regarded him resentfully. “You’re new here, right?”
Marc chortled. “Yeah, and so are you.
” Marc motioned toward the handheld video games. “Introduce her to the muted version of Mario. We’ll do this in the morning.”
Disapproving, Shawn nodded. He felt like her father since Tara’s death and it was confusing. He didn’t even like this kid.
Missy began to cry.
Shawn felt his own heart break and relented. Yet, baby, but we’ve got years if you’re right.
Missy sniffed, looking up. You mean that?
Sure, why not? Shawn conceded. “And to be fair, you don’t like me yet, either right?”
“No.” Missy made a face. “Boys are gross.”
“Perfect,” Shawn praised. “Let’s be good friends. I can help you, be there when you need someone.”
“You won’t use me like the others all have?” she demanded, brave facade hiding more sobs.
“Never,” Shawn vowed. “If you agree to be my ward, I’ll protect you like a daughter or a…wife,” he forced out, unable to feel that way with her childish profile and body in front of him. “But I ask that you spend time with guys your own age that you actually like. I don’t think the whole descendant thing is foolproof.”
“But it is,” Missy refuted, yawning as the anger faded. “You’ll be so in love with me that you give me up.”
Shawn winced. He gently wiped away her tears. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“Yeah,” Missy concurred. “But after that, we get to live happily ever after, so I’m okay with it.”
Shawn smiled at her phrasing. He didn’t know what to make of this little girl, but he would protect her until he knew who she was supposed to be matched with. He didn’t believe for a moment that she was right about it being him. She deserved better. Much like with Angela and Adrian. Their former leader was too evil to be matched with Angie, too selfish. Shawn had faith that Marc’s love would pull her through. All they had to do was make it safe for her to come home.
7
During the night, Angela began to shiver.
Adrian had them swaddled in layers of blankets, but without a heat source, the cave was cold. Wishing he’d had more time to gather items, Adrian departed the warmth of the blankets to dig through the kit that Angela had struggled to bring in without letting the Eagles detect how weak she was. It hadn’t succeeded.
Adrian pulled out the bags and pouches happily, comprehending that Marc had it covered. “Nice.”
“What’s wrong?” Angela asked groggily.
“Nothing, baby,” Adrian soothed. “I’ll have us warmed up in a few minutes. Sleep if you can.”
Angela did as she was instructed. Exhaustion was heavy.
Adrian set up the spirit burner and the pot, dumping his canteen into it. The small stove wouldn’t put off enough smoke to be noticed, but it would work quickly. The hot water bottles would keep her warm until daylight, when he would build up the fire for their breakfast.
As soon as the bottles were filled, Adrian placed them under the sleeping bag, draping the blankets under it to hold in the warmth.
Adrian settled into the cold chair by the radio, tugging his jacket closer. He needed to scavenge some more gear. The waves of refugees had cleaned out almost everything on a straight line from Yellowstone and other areas in the west. It was occurring to him that Safe Haven was also low on those items too, since Marc had sent the small stove. Adrian had been anticipating something larger. He would have to branch out for real equipment, but it would have to happen later. He wouldn’t trade his current duty for anything.
Adrian opened the notebook by the radio, aware that Marc had recognized it. He began to read, immediately enrapt. Angela’s predictions were complex, in-depth monsters that required full concentration and even then, he still felt like he was missing things. When his mother had told him there would be an Alpha, a descendant whose powers eclipsed all others, Adrian had honestly believed it was him. He’d been young then and still growing mentally. Now that the real Alpha was before him, Adrian could comprehend how blinded he’d been in his youth, how devoted to his mother’s every word he’d become over the years. Had that been intentional? How had his mother known so much? Adrian’s subconscious began to nag that loose thread as he consumed Angela’s visions of the next wave of effects from the war.
In the bed, Angela gradually quit shivering, but she didn’t fall into a restful sleep. The witch was trying to show her something through the fog.
Having trouble keeping up, Angela tried to force herself into alertness so that she could receive the warning. Weariness was a constant shadow since she’d taken over leadership… Wait. She was with Adrian. Marc was in charge of the herd.
I don’t have to do this anymore!
Angela lurched into a sitting position, gasping in pain and shocked alertness.
Wait! the witch protested.
Tell Marc. Leave me be.
Adrian came to her, but didn’t touch. He waited to see if it was her or the witch.
“It’s me.”
Adrian sank down next to her. “Even better.”
He was happy to feel a steady stream of warmth coming from between the cushions and pillows now. It was warming nicely.
“Thank you.”
Adrian handed her a pack of stale, generic smokes and a lighter. “All I’ve got.”
“Marc sent my brand, but this fine,” she replied, enjoying the harsh draw. Safe Haven’s doctors had complained loudly each time she’d tried to have a smoke and locate her center.
Adrian studied her as he always had before. She needed something and he wanted to give it to her. That need to please her had always been between them.
“Along with this attraction,” she stated coldly. “I didn’t ask for either.”
“We change, we adapt,” Adrian tried to comfort. “And many times, we fall short. Makes it easy to screw up an entire world.”
Angela sighed, misery bleeding through again. “I don’t know how to go on from this. As soon as he…” Her voice broke, but tears didn’t come.
“How much have you planned out?”
“All of it,” came her chilling answer. “The same as you did, many times I would imagine.”
Telling him she knew it could pass with time, that she didn’t have to be suicidal.
“Why didn’t you fight back with Tara at the end?” he questioned. He and Marc desperately needed to know.
“When he hit me,” Angela forced out through the rage and regret. “I realized what I had just lost. I decided my life no longer mattered.”
“That’s what we were afraid of,” Adrian confessed, breath steaming out in front of him. “That’s why they had you under watch.”
“They still do,” she grumbled, meaning him.
“Do you blame us?”
Angela didn’t reply.
“What about Charlie?”
“Better off with Marc.”
“Because he’s a boy scout and you’re corrupt?”
“Because Charlie will follow me. He’ll end up hurting people too.”
“Have you seen that?”
“I don’t need to. I’ve watched generations repeat the mistakes of the past, even after a nuclear war. Some things cannot be changed.”
It’s too soon for this discussion, Adrian thought. He switched topics. “What about Marc, after you’ve gone? Kendle gets him?”
“Please!” Angela barked a laugh. “He won’t touch another woman for the rest of his life after me. Marc is more loyal than I’ve ever deserved.”
Adrian switched them again, searching for a target. “What about my camp?”
“Stop.” Angela yawned. “You’re getting it through the deal with Marc. You don’t need me in any way except as a prize box to catch what you squirt.”
She lay down, tired of the conversation. She couldn’t explain her bitterness, her agony. He mistakenly believed he knew how she felt. He was positive that he could bring her back to herself before she took her life, but he didn’t understand that she was already more than half-dead. She’d lost two child
ren now. She was bleeding out.
Adrian knew more than she believed, but until he found a way to breathe life into her, it wouldn’t succeed. There was no way he could push and be bluffing. When he unearthed something else that might succeed, he would test the waters again. At some point, he would strike a nerve and she would snap into the Angie that they all needed so much.
Adrian waited until she had fallen asleep, and then rejoined her under the blankets. He placed his spine to hers, but slid up against her to keep the body heat going. There was nothing sexual or bonding in the moment. It was survival.
As she drifted off, Angela felt the witch return to glower at the man next to them. Angela faded into the darkness knowing her magic would protect her. That ancient spirit inside was really the only one she could trust with her life. Or what remains of it, Angela added, welcoming the darkness. If I can be saved, if I’m worth saving, then the witch will do it. I’ll never again trust a human to react the way I need them to, even Marc.
Adrian caught that last thought and added up the clues. She felt betrayed. Not by Marc or the camp, or even by himself. She’d been betrayed by her visions, by shortsightedness and arrogance. She’d relied on the logical part, when she had needed to embrace the demon within.
Adrian tried to send good vibes. He’d made that mistake so many times over his life that he couldn’t remember all of the situations. It’s not as if life came with instructions, and his beginnings had been odder than most anyway. It was a wonder that he’d survived at all, let alone to have gathered so much power in one place. It was only a little short of amazing.
“Fate,” Adrian mumbled. The good and the bad were meant to happen. He assumed it was so they would all come together to knock out a final evil at the end, but he was afraid to look that far on his own. The keeper of time still wanted to taste his screams.
With that disturbing reflection, Adrian fell asleep. On the ledge by the radio, the open notebook page glared in bright warning.
I have become the sum of all descendants. My gifts were mostly dormant for that decade with Kenny, growing in ways that I never imagined possible. All I have to do is scan a descendant now and I can copy their power. I can do all that they can and then more. I’ve never felt so odd and there is unrest because of it. The herd is scared of me. How I hate that! I would never hurt my citizens. I have this power because they’re too weak to defend themselves yet. How dare they blame me for their own failings! But I know how to fix it. When Adrian returns, the camp will understand I’m their defender, but he’s their leader. All I have to do is handle this threat from Tara and then I can work on getting him forgiven. I’ve already started. Many in camp want him dead or at least gone forever, but they don’t understand. Without Adrian’s light, we are doomed.