by Angela White
“I can read it from you, if that’s easier,” Jeff offered. “But I’d rather not.”
“Why?” Sally asked sullenly. “You’ve been in my head since I showed up.”
“I like to mind my own business,” Jeff stated. “When I can, I do.”
Sally crossed her arms, trying to find the words to explain her mentality. It was impossible.
“You were abused by one? Taken Captive? Witness atrocities?”
Sally glared out the window. “All of those.”
Jeff slid into her thoughts, staying shallow so he could still navigate the treacherous road. Everything was icing over.
She flipped through an awful childhood, where animals were her solace. The images were awful, like he’d expected. When she flashed to her marriage, Jeff eased off the gas to stare in disapproval. “Your father was a descendant. So are you.”
“I am not!” she shouted, sliding over to cringe against the door.
“If your father was, so are you,” Jeff repeated firmly. “You may not have an active gift, but the blood is the same.”
“My father was an abomination. I’m clean!”
Jeff didn’t respond. The quick flashes of her life said she had every reason to hate and deny her heritage. It was just a surprise to him to discover yet another descendant surviving out in the wilderness. At moments like this, it was hard to deny Adrian’s words about fate bringing them all together.
The urge to get home hit hard and Jeff shifted restlessly. “I don’t think you’ll like it at Safe Haven. Is there someplace else you want to go?”
Sally considered and then said, “I’d like stay with you for a while.”
Jeff eased on the gas, glad to discover she did have some common sense after all. “It’ll take a while for us to get there. You can let me know when you’re ready to be dropped off.”
“That’s fine,” she agreed, calming down. She knew what she was because of her father, and her isolation was a direct result. She wasn’t safe around people. She wouldn’t have gone to their camp, even if it hadn’t been full of descendants.
Jeff picked up the mike. “Jeff to base. Come in Safe Haven.”
Sally listened to him try to reach the big group that had been broadcasting regularly until yesterday. She felt his concern, but all she could feel was dread. She was now traveling south, without any of her gear. It was exactly opposite of how she’d wanted things to happen.
“I understand,” Jeff muttered. “But life doesn’t go by our plans.”
Sally stared out the window, wondering what fate had in store for her now. She was the slightly unwilling guest of a descendant. They had two injured, wild wolves along for the ride and they were headed toward a viper’s den. Lovely.
Exhaustion finally sank in and she rested her against the seat to snore softly.
Even falls out like an animal, Jeff thought.
Jeff grimaced at the odors, letting the glass down a bit. If she were going to stay with them for a while as she’d requested, then both her and her pets would need to be scrubbed. This was the last time he would tolerate that smell.
Jeff scanned the truck bed through the mirror. Kevin was under the tarps with the wolves, probably starting to get drowsy.
Jeff sighed, driving slower. He hoped they all slept until he got them to some place where they could hole up until morning. Kevin had to rest now, because when they landed, Jeff knew he’d be out for at least six hours straight.
The wind slammed against the truck, rattling the passengers, but Jeff kept it on course, pointing them south. They were going back and it was scary.
What if Safe Haven isn’t home for me anymore? I don’t have anything else.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Life or Death
1
“Where’s Quinn?”
Angela didn’t scan the small meeting for him as the others expected her to. She’d spoken with Quinn yesterday on matters of utmost importance. She had chosen him because no one would miss him until right now. All anyone was talking about was the weather, her bombshell and the masses of refugees.
“He’s on a different chore.” She motioned to Greg, who began unrolling a long map on the table in the topside training tent. “Greg will be his substitute for this.”
“What are we doing?” Kyle asked, positive it was related to the screaming outside their gate. The cries were loud enough to be heard over the party that Safe Haven was too anxious to enjoy.
“We’re going to lose our front door,” Angela informed the two teams gravely. “When that happens, we’ll be swarmed. I want Special Forces to be the wall between them and our people.”
“Oh, thank God!” Jax exclaimed. “Waiting sucks.”
The other Eagles scowled at him.
“Rookie!” Morgan accused behind his hand as he coughed.
The other men in the chilly tent grinned.
Jax flushed. “Sorry, but we’ve been waiting for the call for days, right?”
Neil sighed and Kyle grunted. Neither had readjusted to having rookies. Jax and Quinn had been on Marc’s team, but they hadn’t made it through level three before Donner came. To these level six and seven men, who’d been through all the lessons so far, the two were green.
“He’ll learn, gentlemen,” Angela stated without amusement. “They both will–later. Right now, I need a choice on this mission. I consider it self-defense and I have to know that you do as well. Please vote.”
“We did that!” Jax interrupted again.
This time, Kyle stood. “Shut up or get out.”
Jax opened his mouth and Neil punched him in it, since he was closer.
“Vote!” Neil demanded.
“Yes!” Jax glared up from the cold canvas floor, rubbing his jaw. “Kill them all.”
The vote was unanimous, as Angela had known it would be or she wouldn’t have called this meeting. A few days ago, when the guards had secretly decided, not everyone had been on the same page. She’d told Kyle to keep working on it and he obviously had. Doing doubles over that screaming mob made it hard to ignore the fact that the refugees were a serious threat.
“This is where I need each of you to be,” Angela stated, pointing to labels on the map of Safe Haven’s gate that Jennifer had drawn upon her request. “We are vulnerable on the side by our den, so dig in there if you have to. Use the little bunkers.”
“Who else will be out there?” Neil asked, hearing someone outside coughing. It sounded like the guy they’d met walking up the main road–Jayson–but the cough wouldn’t have improved that much already.
“No one,” Angela answered ominously. “I can’t tell anyone else yet. Neither can you, even with your thoughts. Go get in place now, quietly. It won’t be long.”
A minute later, Angela was alone in the cold training tent. She’d fended off the questions about what was coming, as she wasn’t totally sure and wouldn’t be until it was too late to provide them with orders. The echoes of rage and desperation from the gate were overwhelming even hundreds of feet away, but Angela let it build. This was it. As soon as she made the call, there was no taking it back.
I wish I could have told you everything, Marc, she thought suddenly. I’m sorry that I couldn’t.
Marc never would have approved these plans, but this would ensure that their people survived. Safe Haven had reached its limit.
Angela slowly hit the button on her radio. “All topside sentries are to leave their posts and take cover below immediately. The storm is getting too bad for people to remain up here. I repeat, Safe Haven is closed. All topside shifts are relieved of duty and ordered to bunker-in until the storm is over.”
Angela slid on her thickest coat and baklava, but it didn’t hide the tears. How many innocent people had she just sentenced to die?
2
Outside, a cheer went up from the mob as the guards began to vanish from their posts. Safe Haven’s gate was going to be unprotected!
A jeering, determined group of men immedia
tely seized the opportunity, gathering refugees as they strode through the storm toward the only barrier between them and imagined safety. By the time they reached the fences, frantic refugees were coming from their tents and other zones. It formed an army of a hundred that kept adding warm, angry bodies.
Kyle stood on a nearby ledge, waiting for all their men to be clear. When the mob started climbing up the gate and fences, he slammed his palm onto the button, lighting it all up.
The electrified fence snapped and crackled in the snow, sending bodies flying. The smell of burning flesh wafted through the icy wind. Invaders bounced off the barrier like flies until someone realized what was happening and began screaming at the others.
Kyle kept hitting the button until the fence was completely clear, grateful for Marc’s idea of the capacitor for these big bursts. They had a dual setup that provided a softer zap too, but this wasn’t the time for second chances. The wolfman had saved them with these latest defenses.
3
“Blow it.”
“What?” Jennifer asked as the lights in the cave dimmed from the power Kyle was using on the fences. “Did you hear me? The ants are still in there.”
“I heard you,” Angela answered tonelessly as she dropped down behind the small desk that Marc had placed in here for her. The small cove was a leadership command room, but she might not be the one who ended up using it. “Did you hear me?”
“Yes, boss.” Jennifer keyed the radio angrily. “Blow it, boys.”
A few seconds later, a huge rumble echoed through the cave, raining dust throughout the tunnels and making the lights flicker again. It brought cries and shouts of concern from their people.
“Why?” Jennifer demanded as the rumbling and cries faded into mutters of concern. “The refugees attacked that cave and the ants followed their tunnel to get here. Now you’ve blown it up on our end and trapped them! They’ll be slaughtered. That’s not protection!”
“No, it’s not,” Angela agreed, marking the ants off her list. She looked up at the confused, angry teenager. “Did you think I was keeping them? That we’d have them as pets to replace the dogs that have turned on us?”
Jennifer shrugged uneasily. “Something like that, I guess.”
“They’re truly an abomination, Jenny. We can’t allow them to keep growing. If we do, at some point, humans will have to fight them.”
“But you told them we were friends, that we would protect them!”
“Yes,” Angela admitted coldly. “I lied.”
“What? How can you do that?” Jennifer demanded. “How can you be so heartless?”
“How can you not understand how wrong it is for them to be so big, so smart?” Angela shot back. “Through poisons and evolution, the ants have been given the chance to rule the world–along with every other species that stalks the land!”
Jennifer was saved a reply by a second large boom echoed through the cave system. Angela sighed heavily at the grinding noises. Even if she hadn’t made the call, this would have happened anyway. When vengeance was the motive, the actions were usually unstoppable. I just capitalized on the event, Angela told herself.
“We had a charge set to blow the one tunnel,” Jennifer stated nervously. “And we were careful about the placement so that it didn’t trigger anything else. What was that?”
Angela stood up, hearing the distinctive sounds of panic. “Go find out.”
Jennifer didn’t hesitate.
Angela stayed still as the chaos increased and then moved away from her. She felt Marc sweep with his grid and center on her for a second in relief before sliding on to the next level. Any second now, she would get a–
“Angela to the garden site. Medical issue,” the radio crackled.
The garden site was on the forth level, away from where the second explosion had come from.
Angela went without revealing how nervous she was to any of the guards or members hurrying around her. Anything could go wrong from here and she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she’d overlooked something important.
4
“Cave in!” the radio blared. “We’re cut off!”
“Copy that,” Marc’s calming voice came. “We’re gathering equipment to dig you out. Injuries?”
Angela listened to the radio chatter as she headed to the level that was closed for the party. Around her, members either stared at each other in concern or went to help Marc. Few of them noticed Angela in the far tunnel, heading for the stairs that led downward. Everyone else was going up.
The sentry on the level–Wade–didn’t stop her, but he did lift a brow to ask if things were okay.
Angela delivered a nod evenly, and then went down the final stairs into the gloomy under-cave that they were outfitting. Boxes and crates littered the rough ground, along with cords, lamps, and bags of soil. Angela was sorry to walk by the unopened supplies. There was a chance they would stay this way.
“Part of the stairway fell!” Kenn called over the radio. “We need the engineering crew!”
Static interlaced the transmission as Angela went further into the ground. A bit more and she would be out of range of the radios.
“We’re on the way,” Ozzie answered.
In the background, Angela could hear running men and knew Theo was also listening from the medical bay. He was probably cursing the injury that was keeping him from being there too. He might even try to get below, now that the doctor had casted his leg. Theo had refused the surgery and the morphine drip. He’d also told Candy not to visit him anymore, that he felt like he was leading her on when he didn’t intend to get serious. Candy had left the medical bay in anger, but Angela hadn’t scanned Candy’s thoughts any further than that. She already had too many threads to keep track of alone.
Angela reached the garden site, not bothering to use the few lights they had rigged down here. She could discern a single lantern glowing and knew that’s where she was supposed to go.
The rocky ground under her feet swayed for a moment, and Angela realized Marc already had the power equipment running.
“Good,” she muttered, stepping around a large gap in the ground to enter the vast cave they’d chosen for gardening and composting. “Right on time.”
“Yes, you are,” a female voice answered immediately. “Welcome to your last hours.”
Two people came toward her from the shadows of the tunnel that led from the garden area and went further into the mountain.
“Hello, Tara. Jayson.” Angela smiled coolly at the waiting pair, ignoring the gun. “Lovely afternoon for dying, isn’t it?”
A bit surprised at her response, neither of them spoke.
Angela held her wrists out, reciting her line, “You’ll want to bind me, right?”
Tara nudged Jay forward, not taking her attention from the woman she hated. “Do it!”
“I made other plans.” He stepped forward, placing his gun to Angela’s head.
“Stop!” Tara demanded, grabbing his arm. “Vlad’s waiting. I want her taken up the mountain.”
“Sorry, but you’re not the boss anymore,” Jay said, glaring madly at Angela. He shrugged off Tara’s hand. “She killed my father. I’m going to kill her.”
Tara realized he wasn’t going to be swayed. She shrugged, thinking that as long as Angela died, it would be enough. Vlad wanted her for bait, but they could always lure Mitchel in with her body. “Fine. Use the suppressor so we have more time to get away. They might not hear the shot over all that equipment.”
“I did good, right?” Jay gushed, thinking of the training area on the first level, where people were hopefully dying. “Right?”
Tara nodded in annoyance. “It was perfect.”
Jay beamed at the praised, cocking the gun. “This is for my–”
“Uggggggggggg!”
A guttural moan came from the other dark tunnel behind them, sending chills over everyone–including Angela. It didn’t sound human.
Jay spun around to face the unknow
n, but before the gun light could illuminate the source of the noise, something ran toward him.
“Hey, what is that?”
Tara leapt out of the way as a thin shadow lunged from the dark tunnel and tackled Jay. She didn’t wait to discover what it was. Tara hurried over to Angela and jerked on her arm. “Come with me.”
Angela rose docilely as Tara’s gift shoved into her mind again.
Jay and his unknown attacker rolled on the ground, struggling and grunting as they fought for control of his gun. Jay’s strength allowed him to shove the shadow off and pull the trigger as she leapt again.
She?
Jay watched the woman fall to the rocks in shock. “Who the hell are you?”
The noise of the shot drew instant notice from the nervous sentry that Angela had passed on her way here. Radios crackled with panic.
“All hands!” Wade shouted. “Shot fired on level four!”
“Who has the boss?” Marc demanded.
“No guard right now!” Greg radioed.
“Does anyone have eyes on the boss?”
“Angela, answer your radio!”
The calls continued as Jay marched over to Tara.
“Where were you going?” he snarled, jerking Angela away.
Starting to panic as the radios call became clearer, Tara pinned Jay with angrily glowing orbs. “Stay here.”
Jay stilled, obviously trying to fight Tara’s control, but she shoved down on him harshly.
“Stay here. Tell them you threw her body into a hole. You didn’t see me at all. I’m with the rest of the herd!”
Tara left him standing there with a dazed expression, pushing her gun into Angela’s spine. Tara had been practiced her gifts on guards and the camp alike. She now had twice the range, even while controlling more than one person at a time. Jay’s father would have been proud.
“Turn on that belt light and start hiking,” Tara ordered, shoved Angela again as she dominated her thoughts. “Make it a fast trot.”
Angela did, profile a copy of Jay’s blank façade.