by Angela White
She snapped her mouth shut and turned away, as he’d known she would.
“Oh, Angie,” Adrian whispered, loathing fate as he never had. “You should have let me die.”
3
Cynthia caught up with Angela, not caring about the mud or her sniffles. “You’re going to have to switch me out. I can’t do it anymore.”
Angela turned to face Cynthia. “Say it again.”
Cynthia’s hands went to her hips. “That hormone-fueled boy can be someone else’s problem from now on. I’ve had it.”
“What’s happened?”
Cynthia’s voice rose. “He told Kevin that we’re sleeping together. Kevin believes it.”
“That’s it?”
Cynthia huffed in frustration. “He’s a bad kid, Angela. Anyone can tell that. Why can’t you?”
Angela let her storm away, listening to the witch whisper that things were happening right on schedule.
“What was that about?”
Kevin had come to her side, unable to resist digging for information. He didn’t notice the thin shadow lingering between the tents.
“She gave up her FND duty.”
It took Kevin a minute to figure it out. “You mean Matt.”
“Yes. She said he can’t be saved, that she was done trying, and sacrificing her happiness to do it.”
“Her happiness?”
“You.”
She left him standing there, stunned, as she went to the family area to spread the word that Matt needed a new guardian. It was ear candy, of course. Matt didn’t need anything here anymore. His time was up and she’d helped it along.
Angela shoved another box into her rapidly filling crypt as the shadow between the tents followed Kevin’s suddenly lively stride.
4
“I hear you have more free time suddenly.”
Cynthia’s heart sped up. “Yeah. Quitters usually do.”
“Angela didn’t appear upset.”
“No, she didn’t. I noticed that, too.”
Kevin got closer, picking out the signs of guilt. “You did good by him. Someone else will, too. She’s out to find him a new home now.”
Cynthia’s shoulders relaxed. “I thought they would vote him out. I’m glad he’s earned another chance.”
Kevin didn’t say the boy hadn’t, that Matt hadn’t even been punished as far as he was concerned.
“Do you have plans for that free time?”
“Not yet,” Cynthia murmured, staring at his wide chest. “What do you think I should do?”
Kevin brought them within inches of each other. “I could whisper a few things in your ear.”
Cynthia blushed. “In public? I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
Kevin knew her history. “I am. It’s what I need. I can’t be hidden like Jeremy was.”
“It’s different now,” she protested, not expecting the serious words.
“Yes, it is. You’re free and I’d like to spend some of that time with you.” Kevin leaned in, hoping he wasn’t pushing too fast. “I’d love to love you.”
Cynthia’s breath caught as his lips neared hers. “For how long?”
“Does forever work for you?”
Cynthia tensed, scowling. “It’s way too soon…”
Kevin kissed her softly, ending the lie and starting a fire the reporter had no way to escape. The love in that instant was clear to them both.
Cynthia’s arms wound around his neck, melting against him, and their shadow spun from the area.
“Gonna pawn me off on someone else,” Matt stewed, staying to the perimeter. “Just toss me aside.”
Matt ducked under the tape where Kevin was supposed to be on duty, and slid into the com truck. “Maybe I’ll take care of you all.”
He picked up the mic without any remorse and changed the channel to the one he’d only recently learned. “I can only send this once, so someone write it down…”
Angela listened to the call, furious and horribly guilty. She’d helped drive him to this, set it up, and the worst was yet to come.
Instead of grabbing him or shouting for an Eagle, Angela returned to the medical area as if she hadn’t heard the call that would doom plan A and all of the others.
5
“Time for the count off,” Angela instructed cheerfully over the radio. “I’m here. Next?”
Angela hung up the mic, knowing Kevin would keep it going, and glanced at her driver. Conner and Charlie were riding with Adrian, while she had Kyle and Jennifer. The strongest in the front and rear.
Kyle started the big rig as Jennifer got settled in the plush bunk behind them. She’d been helping the Sisters direct traffic and Kyle could tell how happy she was to have been useful in some way.
Angela lowered her sunglasses. “Let’s roll.”
Kyle shifted and got them moving. A hum of power filled the truck and he looked over to find her lids closed and gray hair standing out like a sunspot. He quickly glanced away.
Angela sighed. She’d been allowed to help Marc, but even though she had a credit left to use, a payment was still required and it would be deducted. Right now, it was her hair turning gray. Later, it would be other, harsher changes. Keeping a reserve store of energy was important and she hadn’t realized how much.
“When it clears, send Kevin a message. Tell him I want to hear us on every channel. Let no call go unheard.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Angela respected the lack of fear. Kyle was only afraid of one thing and it wasn’t the protests of the men. “That’s part of why I gave you third over the others. Neil helped Brady and he’s against abuse, but he dreaded speaking up until there was support.”
“He wanted to secure his place first,” Kyle agreed.
“Yes, but you only wanted to find out what Kenn was hiding, and you didn’t care if he was popular with everyone.”
“I’ve never trusted him.”
“Only Adrian has.”
“Adrian called him fate’s wildcard when he first joined us, and I understand that a lot more after Little Rock. We wouldn’t have gotten everyone out of there without him.”
“I know. He’s Adrian’s, and there isn’t anything the boss wants that Kenn won’t try to accomplish.”
“Like with you and Marc,” Kyle commented.
Angela forced an agreement. “Yeah. Just like us.”
6
Their late lunch stop had been uneventful except for Doug shoving Roger Sawyer into the mud for asking Peggy to sit with him. The camp had enjoyed the show. Even Becky and Seth had congratulated the couple, and Angela hadn’t scolded the big man for the violence. It’s not as if Roger hadn’t known they were spending time together. Everyone knew it. If Peggy didn’t like it, she wouldn’t have laughed.
Angela hung back as Marc started the Eagles on repacking. Their car switches and fueling were finished, and he was eager to get them back on the road. Angela understood. It wasn’t okay to relax unless they were camped.
Angela spotted Anne ducking into the medical camper. Two other women joined her. Their furtive actions were getting attention from the Eagles, but Angela denied any action when Zack gave her a questioning look. Anne and Hilda were working on something and Angela didn’t want them interrupted. She needed all the support they could gather.
The kids spent most of the stop inside a training tent with a lesson designed to keep them occupied. The teenagers were already restless from so much time in the vehicles and Angela wasn’t keen on any of them sneaking off to explore on their own. While it appeared deserted here, and felt the same, there was no need to be reckless.
The rescued trader kids were sometimes in classes with her team or the Jr. Eagles now, and while it made everyone curious, no one asked. They all assumed, correctly, that it was a part of her plan to save the herd. It was also to get the Eagles, both sexes, to spend time around these special children. She hadn’t forgotten a single vision of Adrian’s dream to protect their future breede
rs. In fact, she was counting on these bonds to keep some of the top men in place to protect their chosen girls. It implied that she had no faith they would win, though and didn’t tell them.
When Angela gave Marc the signal to start packing it all up, the camp had followed without protest. St. Charles, Arkansas was depressing and they were all anticipating only nature around them again after the first shift of travel. The land around them was thick and muddy, with long, snake-like trenches that ran brown with silt. The overflow ponds and drainage routes had become blocked by debris and the result was half woodland, half swampy field.
Angela had decided to drive straight through and it was a comfort to have her Eagles at posts along the way. The clearing crew was standing watch at the spring and their escorts had been left at posts along the road. As the convoy went by these protected intersections, teams of men were also sent out to the nearby towns to collect any survivors that she sensed.
The camp around them accepted this newest deviation from Adrian’s routine without much grumbling. Word was starting to get around that the government was coming, that every extra hand was one they needed.
Angela wasn’t concerned yet. Until the rumor was confirmed, it was only the same gossip they had been dealing with all along. When she told them it was true, that was the moment they might stampede. If she didn’t have the right words to go with that bomb, they would run.
But you do have them, don’t you?
Angela nodded at the comment from the witch. Yes, but it has to be perfect. We’ll do the signup sheet next. After that, one last setup in this part.
The witch began to pull energy from the cars closest to them and Angela sighed in pleasure. Now she knew why Adrian always let Kenn drive. That Marine was currently helping Marc round up strays.
Adrian was in the car three places from the rear and it had bothered Angela to put him there. He’d insisted on it to make sure no one was left behind and she hadn’t argued. He had to feel left out.
It’s more than that and you know it.
Angela had worse issues than Adrian’s state of mind. She was now playing a dangerous game with all of their lives, and most of the plan hinged on a fourteen-year-old boy and his alcoholic father.
You’ve covered the possibilities, the witch soothed. Try to relax, store a reserve.
First in a line of almost two hundred, Angela ignored the request and began searching for any other survivors she might have missed in her first few mental sweeps.
7
“Can we talk to you about something?”
Trying to enjoy the last of the afternoon sunlight, Samantha glanced up from the map. “What?”
Her surly tone wasn’t comforting, but Neil pushed on in Jeremy’s sudden silence. “You don’t look well.”
Sam grunted. She didn’t feel well. “So?”
The men exchanged looks.
“We, uh...we want you to get checked out.”
“I already made an appointment with John. It’s a cold.”
“We meant with Adrian.”
Samantha gawked at Neil. “For what?”
“Your…radar is off.”
Jeremy spoke up, voice careful. “Not off, exactly. You’re predicting differently.”
Sam turned to glare at him. “What do you mean?”
Jeremy glanced at Neil in the mirror. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say.
“We’re seeing it now, in our dreams,” Neil stated.
Samantha was startled for about a second. With the bonds they were creating, she should have expected that. “Power rubs off, remember? You’re doing it yourselves.” She revealed her fear, her failure. “Doing it for me, because you know I haven’t been.”
Now they were the ones surprised and Samantha heaved a miserable sigh. “It’s gone. I can’t pick anything up.”
And it’s a relief to know that you’ve been able to in my place, she thought, not wanting the camp to be unprotected. How long it would last was unknown.
“We’ll get you time with Angela,” Jeremy offered.
“It’s a cold or something blocking me. It’s happened before,” Samantha hedged.
Both men knew she was lying. Neil put his foot down. “Adrian, Angela, or John. Take your pick.”
Sam looked out the window, able to discern skeletons and debris in the fading light. “John.”
Not satisfied, but unable to argue, neither man protested.
“As soon as camp’s settled.”
“Okay.” Samantha tried to find a comfortable position, but her pain refused to be soothed. The aching had become a steady pound that was making her stomach rock.
Neil and Jeremy both made mental notes to talk to someone other than John about it, though they each chose a different leader. Between them, they expected to have an answer that explained things within the next couple of days. They didn’t want to push her, but looking out for Samantha was necessary. She didn’t always care for herself.
Samantha knew they were worried. She was, too. She’d had times when she couldn’t pick anything up from nature, but that had only been during traumatic events. She was terrified that her gifts were fading, had faded, and that her time for being useful had gone.
Pain lanced through Sam’s head and she tried to cushion it with her arm, eyes clenched shut. She’d taken pills, tried to avoid noise and light, but nothing was helping.
Neil had a good view of her profile, and his lips tightened a bit more each time she grimaced. He began avoiding the bumps and ruts, causing them to fall behind.
Jeremy didn’t like the gaps between cars, but he was also observing her face, using the mirror. He opened his mouth to offer a suggestion...
“Yes, and do it now,” Neil interrupted. “We’re lagging.”
Jeremy rose up and hit the button to lean Samantha’s seat back. As she floundered, he leaned over and slid a big arm around her waist. He pulled her onto his lap and used his foot to force the seat up.
Jeremy let her adjust and moan, cradling her loosely until she grew still. When he was sure she wasn’t going to fight, he pulled his jacket from the seat next to them and awkwardly tossed it over her shoulders.
“Try some sleep.”
Samantha wanted to be angry at the manhandling, but her head was throbbing harder than it had been, and she carefully rested against his neck. His warm hand came up to her shoulder, supporting her, and Samantha shoved herself into the darkness to escape the pain.
“Straight to John?” Jeremy asked when he was sure she was sleeping. The Samantha they knew should be taking his balls off for doing that.
“Adrian,” Neil ordered. “It’s no coincidence that she’s sick and her gifts aren’t working normally. Something’s going on with that side of her. John won’t be able to help.”
8
I’d like to leave for a little while.
Marc stiffened at the demon’s request. I’m not stopping you.
I have to have permission.
Marc sighed. Where are you going?
To visit the witch.
Marc gave his consent without asking anything else. He assumed the demon would feed the witch and Angela wouldn’t have to draw. She certainly wasn’t going to take from him willingly right now.
It was an assumption that the demon allowed Marc to believe. When he spent time with the witch, she was in the lead and they traveled further than he’d ever dreamed of.
Marc didn’t notice the difference. He’d been ignoring the demon for too long and wasn’t accustomed to the way it felt when they were together or apart. He still wasn’t ready to accept it, but he had to admit that the advice from the demon had been solid. Only he’d used it on Angela, not Charlie.
Marc waved at the last car to roll ahead of his, and then gave the all clear on the radio. They’d made a quick refueling and food stop, but they were on the road now, with roughly ten hours left to go. The two supply teams that had gone out would catch up at the spring.
Running on high alert, Marc ke
yed the radio. “Check-in, Kevin. Get on it.”
The radio lit up an instant later and Marc returned to scanning their ass for signs of problems.
9
A few vehicles ahead of Marc, Adrian had the boys doing the same thing while he tried to find holes in Angela’s plan. So far, there weren’t any. She’d accounted, and the work was already underway.
Conner and Charlie had the backseat, Kenn driving. It had been a long, sometimes awkward ride. They’d told Conner to keep quiet about Tonya, but Kenn had sensed the boy was keeping something from him. He hadn’t called him on it though.
Adrian didn’t think he would. Kenn was too busy avoiding the next prank. Adrian chuckled at the images of Kenn searching for the next mistake waiting to be triggered. There hadn’t been one recently, but there was a feeling of something coming, something bigger.
“You okay?”
Adrian grunted. “Be better when we’re parked for a while.”
Kenn chuckled. “You sound like a camp member.”
Adrian’s voice dropped into monotones. “That’s what I am.”
Kenn didn’t like the instant wave of depression. Adrian’s moods were up and down, almost unpredictable, and Kenn was sure his previous observations were right. It was time to do something.
“What do you think about extending the magic classes to a few of the lower level men?”
“Up to Angela, but I don’t see why not,” Adrian conceded.
Kenn kept his tone light. “I’ll mention it to her, if you’d rather not.”
Adrian glared at Kenn for a long moment where the Marine refused to squirm.
“I’ll do it,” Adrian said finally, tone unreadable.
Kenn continued, aware of their mostly occupied audience in the backseat. “I’m almost done with the tags.”
Adrian didn’t answer. After fourteen hours on the road, there was little patience left for small talk.
“Should I deliver them after the next Level test?”
“Yes.” Adrian paused. “Except for the top people. I’ll handle those.”