The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  2

  “What’s going on in there?”

  Quinn gestured for quiet. “The nightly descendant meeting with the kids. She started doing this a couple weeks ago.”

  All of the adults and sentries around the small tent had drawn her attention. Kendle had expected to be stopped, but the guards had nodded to her and then went back to their duty, telling her she had been forgiven for coming between Marc and Angie during the government battle. Kendle was relieved, but at the same time, it didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t here for these people. She was here for Marc.

  Quinn, who still had a crush on Kendle, kept his distance. Kendle and Tommy had spent the night together and they’d been kissing and hugging all day. It was obvious that they were a couple, and Quinn wasn’t going to come between them. He was just grateful to have come out of the earthquake and the mountain alive.

  “You are the future. As I’m sure you know, things are changing. The civilians who came with us have accepted magic, but there’s more to it than that and I know you sense it. Something snapped. Our souls aren’t healing. I, and several others like us, believe that the fabric of reality has been breached. We can’t find another explanation for some of the stories that we’ve heard. Many of you have the gift of mind reading. I know that you’ve heard the stories too. It makes it hard for you to sleep and it will even more now that we’re out of the safety of the cave. The monsters couldn’t reach us while we were in there. Out here, we’re surrounded.”

  Kendle and Quinn both frowned at the images Angela was putting into their young brains. It bothered them that she was saying these things to little kids, but it bothered them even more that the children had already been feeling this way.

  “As we travel, we may run into monsters. For us, I believe they will look like everybody else. I mean people.”

  The sound of movement came, along with the clunking thumps of someone digging in a kit.

  “Here’s the third rule. Don’t trust anyone.”

  There were more clinks, followed by a grunt of effort.

  “Here are the things that I view in my dreams. They scare me, so I draw a picture or write notes about them. You’ll notice that most are human. That’s what scares me.”

  “What about the people here?”

  “The survivors here are special. We all have good souls. We all follow the light. As we travel, refugees will join us and it will take time to figure out if they also follow the light or if they’ve been corrupted. I need you to tell me if you sense things that I miss, but under no circumstances are these people to ever know that you have gifts. Many of you were hurt. You were stolen from your family and your parents. You were forced to hurt people. All of that will happen again if you don’t follow rule number three–do not trust anyone.”

  Most of the kids spoke up, promising that they would only trust Eagles and the citizens who were here now.

  “Once the new civilians have been vetted, it’s okay to treat them like everyone else, but you have to remember rule three. I’ve been betrayed by people that I believed were my friends. The same thing probably happened to you. Sometimes, you’ll be tempted to talk to a stranger because you’re lonely or because the adult you want is too busy to spend time with you. I promise you, once we reach the boat and sail away, all of you will get the time that you seek with the people you need–including me. You have to be patient. There’s another month before we’ll be on the boat and every bit of that time will be spent gathering what we need. I can’t have you guys running loose and getting into trouble during that time. I need to be able to count on you. Can I?”

  The chorus was loud enough to drown out the sound of the wind for a brief moment.

  Tiring of the repeating lines, Kendle rotated toward the parking lot. She had noticed that not everyone was in camp. “I’ll be around.”

  “You’ll be at the party, right?”

  Kendle stopped. “What party?”

  Quinn grinned. “A small Eagle celebration of life. Bring your team. You guys have all earned it.”

  Kendle lifted her brow. “Even Conner?”

  “We took a fast vote while we were traveling. As long as the boy continues to respect Candy’s wishes, we have no problem with him.”

  “That’s great. I’ll let him know.”

  Quinn was unable to stop the special, approving smile. “Nice job on keeping your team alive.”

  Kendle winced instead of being pleased. “I didn’t. I lost two of them.”

  Quinn watched her vanish into the darkness, aware of how much it felt like he was conversing with one of his previous team leaders at this point. It was hard to be happy with the success when a teammate had died, no matter whose fault it was or how it had happened.

  Quinn made a note to discuss it with Tommy and then went back to listening to Angela’s meeting with the kids. The rules she was laying out were fascinating.

  3

  “Coming in!” Angela held the flap open for the line of kids as they returned from the bathroom trip. The hour-long meeting had worn her out. Holding the attention of any child was exhausting, but descendant children were so fast on the uptake that it had worn her out trying to stay in front of the questions about the rules. They hadn’t understood why she wasn’t going to lift the ban on them using their magic, and it had taken longer to get that across than it had about not trusting the new people who came into the camp until they were vetted.

  When all the kids were in, Angela motioned a guard into place on the flap and joined Mandy in the far corner. The new mother had her child asleep and was nursing both twins at the same time. Aided by several pillows, Mandy looked as tired as Angela felt.

  “Is she ready to be changed?”

  Mandy nodded without opening her eyes. “Everyone is stuffed. We may have fallen asleep.”

  Angela missed those moments with her own babies. She forced a smile. “That’s one of the joys of motherhood. They take a lot of naps.”

  Mandy chuckled, dislodging the small girl.

  Angela took the baby, and laid her across the blankets next to Mandy to change her diaper. As they worked, the two females felt comfortable companionship fill the canvas.

  Angela glanced around to discover the descendant children being welcomed by the non-magic children who had gotten used to having them around after only a few days. Angela smiled. “Thank you.”

  A wave of sleepy approval filled the tent, drawing yawns from everyone.

  No sooner had the good mood flooded the area, then tension took its place. All of the descendant children turned toward the flap.

  Angela sighed as it opened and Charlie came in. He didn’t speak to her or anyone else as he placed a bedroll in the corner, near the other couples.

  The tent was crammed with people. All of them went silent so they didn’t miss Angela’s reaction.

  Tracy came into the tent with red cheeks. She hadn’t wanted Charlie to push the issue yet, but the teenager hadn’t listened.

  Angela pinned Tracy with a hard look. “If you don’t get a handle on him now, you never will.”

  Tracy got what Angela was saying, but she also wanted the restrictions lifted. “I love him.”

  Angela motioned toward the bedroll that Charlie was busy putting out. “You have the same rules as Kyle and Jennifer. We officially recognize you as a legal couple.”

  Among the chatter, Tracy’s happiness and Charlie’s satisfaction pushed the bad vibes back out.

  Angela refused to allow any thoughts to form while the boy was able to catch them. She could tell Charlie what was coming, but he would never believe her and the camp was too tired to hear fighting right now

  Jennifer motioned to Tracy. “Can you help me tie this bandage? He won’t hold still.”

  Kyle tried to shrug out of the girl’s grip. “I’m fine.”

  Jennifer glared at him. “We have matching shoulder wounds now. Don’t screw this up.”

  Kyle laughed, submitting. She and the baby had healed his i
njury, but the camp didn’t need to know how fast or that Autumn had been involved. In the morning, they would make a show of spending a moment with Conner or Kendle to explain the lack of wounds.

  With the latest drama settled, Angela gave the little girl the pacifier and took her brother so she could also change his diaper. They were low on formula, but she planned to send out scavengers as soon as the Market Town business was finished. Until then, Mandy would be able to handle it. “Thank you for caring for them.”

  Mandy smiled, picking up her daughter, who was beginning to fuss from all the noise. “I went up two cup sizes and I stay full. It’s nice to have the relief when she’s sleeping.”

  Angela chuckled. “Yeah, there are some things they don’t tell you about motherhood.”

  “Don’t I know it.” Mandy shifted into a more comfortable position and secured her hold on the baby. “I’m gonna sleep now.”

  “In peace, I hope.” Angela finished changing the little boy’s diaper and put him next to his sister, noting that he didn’t need the pacifier. The small eyes roamed her face continuously, as if trying to memorize it.

  Angela clasped his small hand. “Mommy’s got you now. You can sleep.”

  The baby boy closed his lids and drifted off.

  Angela lingered for a moment, then went out to handle the rest of her list.

  She joined Kendle by the chilling vehicles. “How are you now?” It was Angela’s way of asking if Kendle had learned to control the violence inside.

  Kendle shrugged. “I’m having more good days than bad.”

  Satisfied Kendle wasn’t hiding anything in that area, Angela asked the next question she needed an answer to. “Are you still a threat to me?”

  Unprepared for the question, Kendle was horrified by the answer that flew out of her mouth. “Absolutely.”

  Angela wasn’t surprised. She was disappointed. “You’ll need to take care of that if you want to keep your place on my team.”

  Kendle had been thinking about that. “I guess I need to resign until I get this cleared up. You can’t have someone like me on your team. It will rub off on everyone else.”

  “Actually, I was hoping that everyone else might rub off on you. You’re the only one who still hates me.”

  Kendle considered that. She hadn’t been back long enough to know if it was true, but she had seen how Cynthia and Candy, along with Tracy and Tonya, had been very protective since the tunnel opened. It wasn’t hard to believe that Angela had won everyone over while she was gone. “I didn’t volunteer so that I wouldn’t be in the way. I wanted to help. I didn’t know I was doing rug-rat patrol.”

  Angela chuckled at the wording, but her tone was serious when she answered. “You’ve given me a gift that will allow me to continue to do my job no matter how hard it gets. I don’t care that you hate me. If you want the place on my team, it’s yours.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “I know that.”

  Kendle stared into the darkness. “Do you want me to go after them?”

  “No.”

  Kendle frowned at the denial. “I’m worried.”

  Angela didn’t tell Kendle that she was too. “They’ve done harder jobs than this and made it through. Have faith.”

  Kendle wanted to. She wanted to be as cool and calm as Angela was, but her fear for Marc’s safety was already out of control.

  In the shadows behind them, Kendle’s team was half an hour from being off duty. She could feel the displeasure at her reaction to Marc’s absence, but Kendle couldn’t fight it. She had almost everything she wanted now. Safe Haven was her home and it would help her survive, but not if they lost Marc. After all the stories she’d been told, it was obvious that Marc’s life had been in danger since the war.

  “Before that, really.” Angela hadn’t meant to tell Kendle. She didn’t want to bond with the island woman, the same way that Adrian and Marc didn’t want to, but it was much too late for holding back. “We went through a lot of stuff as kids, and not all of it came from people. It wasn’t odd for tornadoes to come through our neighborhood every year. I’ve always believed they wanted him.”

  Kendle scowled. “There’s something coming, right? Something that fate wants him to miss.”

  “We’ll have years of peace, if we have both of them with us. They offset each other and will keep a balance that I would never be able to manage alone.”

  “You love them both.”

  Angela didn’t answer.

  Kendle scanned the darkness, hoping to spot lights. She wasn’t happy to discover that Angela did indeed have feelings for Adrian. It meant that somewhere down the line, Marc would get hurt.

  “No.” Angela’s voice dropped into stone. “Adrian is the one who will get hurt.”

  Kendle watched Angela fade into the shadows, followed by half a dozen guards who wouldn’t hesitate to pull a trigger on her command. “I don’t doubt that a bit.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Crossing a Line

  1

  “She’s getting worried.”

  Marc sat up, stretching. “I know.”

  “I’ll call if you want. I can reach her.”

  “She said to stay off the waves. She wasn’t specific about which kind, so I assume both.”

  “That makes sense. Our gifts are a lot like radios. The closer someone is, the clearer the transmission comes through.”

  “It won’t be much longer.” The vet didn’t want the men getting upset with him. He was under Angela’s protection, but both of the men riding in the RV wouldn’t hesitate to kill him and say it was because he was a threat.

  “What does she have you doing once you drop us off?”

  Marc was concerned about the woman with them who had woken half an hour ago and pushed herself into a sitting position. Studying them, she hadn’t spoken yet.

  Marc wasn’t expecting good things when she finally did. The power coming from her was as strong as Angela’s had been while she was pregnant. Marc assumed the baby held the power though, and the mother was strong enough and smart enough to control the child until she knew what the future held.

  In the driver seat, Chris’s lips thinned into a line that drew Adrian’s attention, but Adrian didn’t question him on it. He already had an idea of what was going to happen and he didn’t want to make it harder for any of the people involved than it already would be. He didn’t even consider interfering.

  “I’m supposed to be in camp by dawn.”

  “What about until then?” Marc insisted on knowing the truth, certain he wouldn’t like it.

  Chris met his glance in the mirror. “Justice.”

  Marc frowned. “If that means what I think it does, I’ll have to interfere.”

  “I follow the boss’s orders to the letter.”

  Satisfied that the woman would be safe at least until Angela gave the kill order, Marc grunted. “Don’t forget what I told you.”

  “I haven’t and I won’t, but you’re wrong. I’m not a threat to her or to you.”

  Marc didn’t feel like continuing the argument. He had already told the vet everything he had to say. As soon as Chris stepped out of line, he would follow through with his threat.

  Adrian was glad when the conversation went in a different direction. He knew what the vet was hiding. He was also positive that Marc did too, but as usual, the Boy Scout was refusing to face it so that he didn’t have to deal with the natural emotions that would come afterward.

  “Anyone around?”

  “There were lights a few times. I went dark.”

  Marc and Adrian realized that they had fallen asleep. Both men checked their watches.

  “You were out for two hours. As far as I know, we don’t have a tail. This RV is a lot quieter than it should be.”

  Marc approved of the ride. He had a problem with the driver.

  Adrian gestured to remind Marc that the vet could read their thoughts, but he couldn’t view their hands in the mirror and drive a
t the same time. Go easy on him. Don’t ruin her plans.

  Marc ignored Adrian’s warning “The camp is afraid of you now. You can’t eat mess with them. You can’t shower with them. Stay with your animals.”

  “You’ll gather me new ones?”

  Chris’s excited voice did get Marc to ease up a little. “Yes. I’m sorry we lost so many in there.”

  Chris shrugged. “Angela has her reasons.”

  I wish I could accept her choices that easy. Marc tried a different topic, positive that one would also lead them into an argument. “The Eagles will let you eat with them and sleep with them. You’ll probably have a guard. Don’t try to duck out on that.”

  Chris frowned. “Why are you helping me?”

  “I’m not helping you. I’m helping the boss.”

  Chris realized Marc wanted him to settle into camp so that Angela could calm down. “I want that too.”

  Satisfied that they were on the same page, Marc studied Adrian. “What about you? Are you going to be a problem?”

  Chris was glad to no longer be the object of Marc’s consideration. He tried to dim himself and get Marc to camp before the man switched his attention again.

  Adrian wasn’t ready for the question. He also wasn’t in the mood to play games. “What do you want from me?”

  Marc grinned.

  Adrian scowled. “Whatever it is, just say it. We don’t have to keep doing this.”

  “Fine. I’m your boss and I hate your guts. I want you to spend every waking moment trying to earn my forgiveness–openly.”

  Adrian understood it would please Angela and the camp. “But it won’t work, will it?”

  Marc swept him in furious contempt. “What do you think?”

  Adrian glared back, sealing up the hurt. “Fine. In return, you’ll follow my instructions with her even when you don’t want to. If you don’t or can’t, I will be whatever she needs and you’ll accept it without retaliation on either of us.”

  Ignoring the caution from his demon, Marc held out a hand. “We have a truce in place. Don’t ever break it.”