by Angela White
Jennifer listened in curiosity to Kyle’s muffled sounds and movements, scanning his thoughts. They’d had most of that conversation before going to sleep.
The dream kept her cheeks red and her mind protesting, but her body lit up. She was forced to admit that she would be willing to act out that fantasy with him. If it went even half as well as his dream, it would be a safe start to their physical relationship.
So you’ve chosen to stay? the voice inside asked curiously.
Jennifer listened to Kyle making sure he wasn’t a danger to her and felt her heart fill with more caring than she’d ever planned on. Kyle was supposed to be a means to an end, but he’d turned out to be so much more.
Yes, for now, I’ll stay.
Next to her, Kyle groaned lowly, mind filled only with soft kisses and sweet rocking. It would have terrified her before, but now, she could do that with him and probably not even flinch.
Jennifer wondered if that new coldness inside was from the killing she’d done. Not only had she fought in the war, she delighted in each moment, savored it.
I’m just as damned as Angela said I would be, Jennifer realized. Before she’d left on her run, Jennifer hadn’t been bothered by the thought of what she was about to do. During the battles and while waiting for the next one, she’d controlled those thoughts with exhaustion and sleep. Now that was over. The crash had come and it was heavy.
I did what I had to, she tried to defend, but that voice in her mind was relentless.
You enjoyed it. You want more. It wasn’t justified.
Jennifer shoved those thoughts from her mind and rolled over, forcing contact between her and the steadily grunting Kyle instead of facing those horrible accusations.
Kyle froze for a moment and then assumed she was shifting in her sleep. His movements gradually resumed until he was rocking the bed.
Jennifer let it put her to sleep.
7
On the couch alone, Shawn groaned in annoyance and rolled over to stare at the material instead of the empty fireplace and the mud-tracks on the floor. Daryl would have gone in there and broken things up with his fists, but Shawn could hear that Becky wasn’t being abused.
“Whole damn place can,” he griped.
Shawn wondered if Marc and Angela might be expecting him to handle Seth, and then shrugged. If he heard her yell, he’d go in.
Becky’s loud squeal and giggle echoed, and Shawn sighed, putting the pillow over his head. “Maybe I’ll sleep next year.”
8
In the rear bedroom, Becky shifted on top of Seth’s sweaty chest and got comfortable.
“It scared me, hearing that you didn’t expect to survive.”
Becky wasn’t sure what he meant until he repeated her words.
“I won’t be here then. Not my problem.”
“That was the last of my innocence dying, Seth.” Becky hugged him tighter. “That girl is gone.”
Becky drifted to sleep, sore and satisfied.
Seth didn’t. Her words had brought up worrisome images that refused to leave him alone. She wasn’t still dangerous to herself, was she?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Flock
1
“Come, my children,” Everett directed, holding the end of the rope. “Come on down. We have the Lord’s work to do.”
The group of stoners went down the knotted rope in silence, other than the occasional grunt of effort, but each of them wanted to protest. Monsters lived below ground. Everyone knew that.
“What work are we doing down here?” Simon asked, bringing up the rear.
Everett lit a torch and motioned for the others to do the same. “We are going to make sure those government men can’t bother the Chosen People anymore,” he answered firmly. “You saw what shape they were in when they came from the hole. We have to help them.”
“Safe Haven helps those who help themselves,” the group chanted.
Everett was satisfied that his people understood. “Come, pick up a weapon when you find one, but never forget that the stones under our shoes are the givers and takers of life.”
“Respect the stone,” the group responded obediently. “Love the stone.”
As they moved into the darkness with their torches, all of this group occasionally bent down and grabbed a pretty rock that caught their eye. Within a short time, their pockets were bulging.
“Did you hear that?”
Adrian’s head barely came up. “More of my lost ones. Don’t shoot.”
Kenn still drew his gun while they waited. Light flashed, gradually growing brighter as it came closer.
Kenn didn’t like the feeling he was getting even though Adrian was doing a little better after a few hours of rest and a hot meal. Kenn hadn’t told him the food had been a dog or that the bed he was on had mold on the other side of the cardboard. Adrian already knew those things. This wasn’t the first time the blond had been abandoned for his sins. Kenn had confirmed that while they walked. Adrian hadn’t held anything back. Kenn now knew more about Adrian’s mental state than he wanted to.
“Sorry,” Adrian muttered. “Wasn’t our plan to make that call.”
Kenn understood the revelations that had come from the Maker’s Call had caused Marc’s snap, but it wouldn’t have mattered. At some point, he would have done it anyway.
“I agree,” Adrian gave, struggling to sit up straight as the lights neared them and the low grumble of worried voices reached their ears. “I’ll try not to do this again.”
Kenn didn’t laugh. He and Tonya would go off with Adrian and restart Safe Haven. Angela and Marc would control their island and he and Adrian would find somewhere else to go. Or maybe stay here, Kenn thought.
“I’m going back to Safe Haven!” Adrian growled, angered that Kenn still didn’t understand it was never okay to walk. “They need me and she knows that.”
“But Marc hates you, and you’re…”
“Still the leader of Safe Haven refugee camp!” Adrian bellowed, putting on a show for their audience. He would play this role to the very bitter end. “Do not underestimate me!”
Kenn shrugged. “I go where you go. That hasn’t changed.” Inside, Kenn was concerned for Adrian and also glad of the choice. Leaving that camp hadn’t been in his plans yet.
“It’s not in mine at all,” Adrian said, calming. “Looks like we drew trouble. You want to shoot them or use knives?”
“You could use your gifts,” Kenn suggested, surprising Adrian. Kenn shrugged. “You’re right. You’re the leader of Safe Haven. Why should you hide who you are? There’s no reason for it now.”
That was absolutely true, Adrian realized. If Angela let him live, he could be himself now.
“We want to know who you two are and what you’re doing down here. Right now!” Everett demanded, stepping forward to stop the men from their planning and bickering. “The leader of Safe Haven is…”
“Adrian Mitchel,” Kenn finished coolly in warning. He flashed a grim smile. “You can be our friend or our enemy, but make the choice quickly.”
Everett broke into a gaff of laughter and coughing. He had to be slapped on the back so that he could continue.
“We hit the jackpot, boys!”
The entire group was smiling.
Kenn tensed to fight until he realized they were dropping to their knees. “What the…
Adrian stood up and raised his hands, thanking fate for sending him what he needed, even though he hadn’t begged for it like he should have needed to. “Safe Haven has to be protected. You’ve been doing that. I know your actions, your reasons and ripples. Come sit with me. We’ll talk of things.”
Everett took the place across from Adrian with the feeling that big changes were coming.
Kenn listened to the odd, fanatical conversation, but only as much as he had to. This was the type of people that Adrian would usually have Kyle take care of after he culled the few innocent ones from among them. Kenn assumed they would use these gri
my people for protection and then handle them later.
Adrian disabused him of that notion quickly. “You’ve been watching the camp long enough to know they won’t have you. That’s why you won’t join.”
Everett wasn’t pleased to have his secret out, but didn’t lie or offer excuses. “I’m keeping my people alive.”
Adrian waved at the area around him. “You don’t belong in her camp, but there is a place for you.”
“The one we have now,” Everett guessed.
“Yes,” Adrian confirmed. “There will always be a need for your kind. Evil will follow Safe Haven. There must be more of us than them, but only the worthy can truly enter.”
Kenn didn’t think any of these people would be found worthy. Their faces were different, far beyond the normalcy that a camp setup would require, even one as forgiving as Safe Haven. Kenn accepted that Adrian was already up to no good, meddling with things he shouldn’t be. The Marine stood up, heading for the darkness.
“Kenn.”
Kenn stopped, but didn’t turn. “Yes?”
“I forgive you.”
Kenn rage spewed forth at that. “Me?! You forgive me? How dare you!”
Adrian didn’t reply.
Kenn stomped off, grumbling, kicking objects from his path. He was quickly out of sight and then hearing.
Adrian covered the pain with conversation. Letting go of his bond to Kenn was the second hardest thing he’d had to do for this run, but Angela had been right. Kenn had the chance to be a new person now. That would only happen if he could view people for who they were, including his idol.
Adrian leaned against the damp tunnel wall, dying inside. The plan was a success. Everything Angela had setup had fallen their way. She’d adjusted on the fly with Donner and managed to use it to her advantage. Other than a few dozen precious fighters, the only thing she sacrificed, was me.
2
“What is that?”
Jeff was grumbling like he’d been doing since they left camp. Kevin’s question took a minute to sink in.
“What is what?”
“Over there.”
Jeff looked toward the west and saw a nasty sky about to shit all over them. “Damn. Pick a spot.”
Kevin didn’t like it that they’d been stopped only a few hours into their trip north. He pointed at a crumbling office building. “It’s either there or the hospital.”
The area was separated because of being medical. Jeff steered them toward the hospital, making Kevin frown again. “Really?”
“Yeah, we’re gonna need things for this trip. Might as well start scavenging now.”
Kevin couldn’t argue with that and dutifully began checking his weapon like he always did before a run.
Jeff caught it and felt that voice inside complain, but he didn’t allow it to trigger his grief. He would have a different life now. “We’ll go in the front doors,” he chose, observing no signs of life. “If anyone’s in there, we’ll talk first.”
“Sounds good,” Kevin agreed. He had no problem with Jeff being the lead between the two of them. Jeff’s attitude was laid back and fun loving, not snotty. Or at least it had been, Kevin remembered. Losing Crista would change him, as death was supposed to.
Jeff pulled them straight up to the doors and checked his own weapon. “Ready?”
“Sure,” Kevin lied. He suddenly had an awful feeling about this place.
Jeff caught that thought too. He passed it off as rookie nerves, forgetting Kevin hadn’t displayed those even when he’d first joined the Eagles. It was why he’d been chosen as Angela’s right hand over so many others. “Let’s go.”
Jeff hurried out and to the doors, holding it open for Kevin to rush inside with his headlamp on.
The hospital was empty. It took them an hour to walk the main floors, carefully pushing open squeaking, dusty doors to sometimes reveal a body. There were no prints in the dust and no evidence that anyone had come through. The supplies they needed were here, along with enough to outfit Safe Haven for months.
The two men paused down on the first floor after clearing the hospital, enjoying a drink and a bite. Neither of them said it, but both men knew they’d call this in. Safe Haven had wounded members and this was a goldmine, only three hours away.
“Look.”
Jeff turned to behold rain beating on the front doors, but frowned as he realized he couldn’t hear it. He narrowed in on the dark flakes. “Ashes. Something blew.”
Kevin didn’t understand and Jeff spent their break explaining about the ash from a volcano and the tiny bits of glass were deadly when inhaled.
“How do you know this stuff?” Kevin asked, watching the flakes cover their truck. That would be a good thing if anyone came by.
“Loved the history channel, and any other channel that gave me information on the world’s mysteries. Used to drive the wife nuts. She liked Survivor.”
Kevin chuckled. “That’s ironic.”
“I know, right?” Jeff quipped, trying to feel normal around the gaping hole in his heart. He’d now lost two women who meant the world to him. Knowing for sure that you were meant to be alone was a heavy burden.
Kevin slapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry, man.”
Jeff nodded, glad of the friend. “Me too. For you, I mean.”
Kevin shrugged, voice twisted. “Not so sure I didn’t get the better end of that deal. Those kids are rough now. What will the toddlers be like? I’m not a fan of buggers and Barney.”
Jeff laughed, not expecting the picture, and felt some of his loneliness ease. This is what he needed. In time, he might want to be a part of a group again, but for now, the two of them would work just fine.
“I’ll call in the morning,” Kevin offered, aware of the small part of him that hoped Cynthia would be there to hear it and feel shame. “They can’t come through this anyway.”
“Okay. You done?”
Kevin was. They cleaned up their mess automatically, following what they’d learned from Adrian. Kevin noticed it this time and met Jeff’s eye. “I know I should hate him, but I don’t. I still miss the way it was.”
“Same here on the way it was,” Jeff admitted. “But I’m on Team Marc.”
Kevin snickered. “Nice. That was a great story, wasn’t it?”
The two males fell into a discussion of fictional characters as they set up a minicamp in the lounge where they could reach the truck in a few steps and view anything coming toward them. As for the lights they used and they noises they made, neither of them worried about drawing attention to themselves. In fact, it might be that Jeff had put them in the sheltered open intentionally, hoping for something to take his grief out on. Instead, shiny vampires filled their dreams with the first true peace either of them had felt since Adrian had gone into Little Rock for his son.
3
“Angie?”
She knew that tone. Brace for it, Angela thought. “Yes?”
“Did you know all of this would happen?”
Angela was in the middle of rubbing lotion over her cracked hands. She’d been refusing to think about anything. She finished rubbing the lotion in before she answered, needing time to find the right wording. It wasn’t a simple yes or no.
Marc was in the chair, looking much like he had in Nebraska. He pushed his boots off, waiting patiently for her decide if telling him the truth was a bad idea. Marc was glad when she chose to have nothing between them anymore.
“Almost all of it. Until I made contact with Donner the first time, I didn’t know about his obsession.”
“And when you realized what he wanted you to do, you chose to take advantage of it?”
This was the part she hadn’t wanted to face yet. “Yes. It allowed me to get to the man in charge of the bunker without having to set foot in that place. It was the only scenario that still gave me and my children our freedom.”
“And in exchange, what did you do?”
“I bonded myself to another man, one you failed to kill, b
y the way. Don’t think I didn’t notice that.”
Marc was surprised at how fast she’d turned the tables on him, and thought before he spoke. Did he want to do the same and give true honesty?
“I would have done the same even if Kendle hadn’t been there.”
Angela was glad he’d chosen to be honest, as well. It meant everything to her. “I know. I made sure she would be.”
“Why do you keep stopping him from dying?” Marc demanded. “I have to know!”
“I love him, Marc. I’m sorry. I won’t ever kill him. He’ll be banished from the camp, though he’ll be around and you’ll have to live with that.”
“And why should I?” he argued, already sure that he would. He might not be able to kill the man now, but chances would come in the future when there weren’t any healers nearby.
“Because nothing changed.”
Marc’s mouth opened… “What?”
“Name something that changed between us because of what I did.”
Marc took a quick second to think, sure there was a huge list.
Angela smiled as the silence dragged out. She’d estimated it would take him two full minutes. She lit a smoke, thinking she would stop soon. Stale cigarettes tasted like ass.
“You never intended to live up to it!”
“Give that man a cigar,” Angela joked, impressed with the ten-second answer. He was so smart! “This is war. Just because I made a deal, that didn’t mean I had to honor it.”
“But he thought…thinks?”
Her happiness faded. “He thought it would change everything. He didn’t realize I’d gone by corrupt and sank head first into cruel.”
“You sacrificed him?” Marc asked, trying to figure out the small parts that he didn’t know.
“And then some,” Angela confirmed, flipping her ash into the pot with the dead plant. “He planned to die in Little Rock and then he hoped to turn himself in to avoid them coming for me. Once it was too late for that, he had no choice but to trust that my plan would save us all.”
“It did.”
“Yes. And at a cost.”
“Because he’ll be banished?”