Marked

by Penelope Scott

  Athena wiggled into the seat beside him and took his hand. Loch managed to muster up an encouraging smile for her.

  "I missed you, Loch," Athena said seriously, nuzzling against his arm.

  "I missed you too, kiddo." Loch wiped away the tears that were gathering in the corner of his eyes and pulled her closer.

  "Will she be okay?" Athena wondered.

  "Sure she will," Loch said as brightly as he could manage, even though he didn't really believe it. Athena seemed to know that he was lying, but accepted his words anyway.

  Near the front, Mama was holding Doc's hand and telling him very calmly that they were going to lock themselves in giant bunkers under the mountains of Colorado, probably for decades, and wait out the end of the world. Doc, understandably, thought they were all nuts and started sweating profusely. He hadn't had any of the dreams or the feelings so he found it a little hard to belive. The poor man thought he was being kidnapped by some looney cult that would get him killed.

  He had heard about the wars and the rioting and everything, of course, but a lot of that unrest hadn't yet touched his part of the world. New Mexico was not in a panic. A few crazies worried about nuclear war and things like that, but Doc had thought it would turn out to be another cold war. Mama insisted that wasn't the case, but Doc resisted her calm, soothing voice rather stubbornly.

  Loch wondered if they would even let the man in. He wasn't a Chosen, after all. Or maybe... maybe he had become Chosen just by Lucien choosing to take him with them? Loch didn't feel like thinking about it. Either they would let Doc in and they would save him, or they wouldn't. Personally, Loch hoped they let him in. He had done everything he could to save Ro and Loch felt like he owed the man.

  Loch noticed his brother sitting with Echo near the front, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders as she dozed off against his shoulder. Echo too had done a lot to save Ro. He didn't know if he would ever be able to thank her. She had saved Ro in the labs and then again by donating more of her own blood than was probably safe.

  Loch had been deep in thought for what felt like hours when he felt a pressure on his hands. Surprised, he looked down and saw Ro's fingers curling around his and gripping them tightly. Shocked, Loch swept his eyes up to her face and nearly choken up with tears when he saw her ocean-blue eyes were staring back at him.

  "Ro..." he whispered hoarsly. His voice cracked a bit and his throat was sore from crying.

  Ro smiled up at him and then immediately began choking on the tube in her throat.

  "Doc! Doc!" Loch cried frantically. The people in the bus all jumped and stared at him in horror, thinking Ro had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. But Loch grinned widely and waved to the older man, who looked thankful for any kind of distraction from Mama's horror story. "Ro woke up!" He declared, and everyone cheered.

  The short doctor waddled over more quickly that Loch thought was possible and expertly removed the tube from Ro's throat. "How are you feeling?" He asked while checking her vital signs.

  "Sore," Ro managed to croak out, and the doctor smiled.

  "Any dizziness, shortness of breath?"

  "I'm tired," Ro admitted. Everyone started to press in around the girl in excitement. Athena woke up from the nap she had been taking due to the commotion and, upon seeing her sister sitting up and awake, started wailing inconsolably and threw herself in Ro's lap.

  "Thank God," Lys muttered, "You scared the shit out of us, Ro."

  "Don't crowd her!" Doc snapped. He started shooing everyone back again.

  Echo caught Ro's eye and shared a smile with her. Even through the dizziness of blood loss, Echo knew that Ro would be fine.

  Loch was looking down at his girlfriend like a lovestruck fool, which Echo supposed he was. Out the window the montrously large Rocky Mountains were coming up on the horizon. In just a few more hours they would be there.

  When Doc had successfully shooed everyone away again Ro and Loch were left in relative privacy. Athena had cried herself back to sleep in her sister's arms and Loch sat by her side not knowing what to say.

  "Loch..." Ro's voice was raspy and tired, but Loch thought he had never heard a more beautiful sound in all his life. "I thought I would never see you again." God, it felt so wonderful to hear her voice again. To talk to her.

  "I'm here now," He said with the first sincere smile since they'd escaped the labs. "We'll never be apart again."

  Ro smiled at this and squeezed his hand, "What happened?" she wondered. She remembered seeing Loch and then the horrible pain and the warm blood...and then nothing.

  "You were shot," Loch explained, "Once in the stomach and once in the chest. You lost a lot of blood. The bullet in your chest pierced a lung... we didn't think you would make it."

  "That explains the soreness and the weakness," Ro mumbled.

  "Your friend, the new girl. I think her name was Echo..."

  Ro nodded and urged him to continue.

  "She knew some first aid shit, kept her head when Lys and I were freaking out. I think I owe her more than I can ever repay, she saved your life."

  "Echo did?" Ro was surprised. "I thought she was mad at me."

  "Why would she be mad? She seemed really worried."

  Ro turned her head away and wondered how to answer that. How was she supposed to explain that Echo was upset because Ro had been making moves on her boyfriend? It wasn't really the kind of thing she wanted to explain to Loch, not after missing him for so long. "It's nothing," Ro answered, "just some stupid girl stuff."

  Thankfully, Loch let it drop. "Anyway, Maddox kidnapped a doctor and Echo gave you blood so she's probably fallen asleep again," Loch looked over his shoulder and saw that Echo was indeed starting to doze off again on Lys' shoulder. They looked pretty cute together. Loch was glad that Lys had found someone. "We're on our way to the shelters now."

  "The shelters?" Ro blinked.

  "Yeah...Lucien says there's only about three days now."

  Ro inhaled sharply, which caused her wounds to burn. She choked and started coughing violently.

  "Are you okay?" Loch cried.

  "Three days?" She wheezed. "Already?"

  "Yeah..." Loch smiled in spite of the news, "But we can do it, right? We'll be together."

  "I guess it's time to say goodbye then, to this world. We might be underground for the rest of our lives." She turned her head so she could see out the window. The sun had set and the stars were twinkling brightly. Everything was so quiet and peaceful. It was hard to believe that in a few days they would be locked away to safely wait out the disasters that would tear the world apart.

  "Whatever happens, we'll be okay as long as we're together." Loch said earnestly.

  Ro laughed, "Jeez, Loch, you're so cheesy."

  Loch smiled and laughed as well. "I can't help it. When you're around the poetry just comes flowing out."

  "I love you," Ro said, smiling softly. She reached up to touch her face.

  "I love you, too," Loch replied, "No matter what." and he leaned down and kissed her like he'd been wanting to for months, hungry and possessive. He tried to hold back, afraid of hurting her after her injuries, but Ro put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. From somewhere far away Loch thought he heard Irvine cat-calling them, but he ignored it. He was with his girl again, and nothing could tear him away again.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ~*Bunker #201-8*~

  Echo started to stir again when the sun was peaking over the wide expanses of fields and tall grass to the east. The world was quiet and peaceful except for Maddox, who was snoring in the seat in front of her. The man had his head flopped against the window, his arms crossed and his mouth hanging open. Every time he inhaled is sounded like a chainsaw, but Echo found it comforting.

  "Good morning," Lys' low voice rumbled as she sat up and covered a yawn with her hand.

  "Mornin'" Echo replied, stretching out her cramped muscles. She felt like she hadn't slept that well in a decade or two.r />
  "You were asleep for hours!" Shy's enthusiastic voice said suddenly. Echo looked behind her and saw the Asian girl leaning over her seat with a grin. "You didn't even have any nightmares. Neither did I. Lucien says it's too late for nightmares. That since we're almost there we don't need them anymore."

  "How close are we?" Echo wondered, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She noticed that Lys had his arm around her, but she wasn't about to complain. She liked the warmth he provided.

  "We'll be there today," Bold said, appearing beside his sister. "Maybe even by lunchtime."

  Echo was looking forward to the end of all this running, but when she thought about what would happen once they were safely locked away.

  "Angel and Bambi must have done a good job distracting the police and the Hunters," Shy babbled on, "We haven't seen any sign of them since we left New Mexico."

  Angel and Bambi... Echo wondered if they were okay? It saddened her a bit to think of them. They had sacrified themselves for the rest of the group. Probably they had been gunned down in the street. Maybe they would be too late to get into the shelters and would be stuck outside when the bombs started falling. Shy must have caught her look because she gave Echo a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

  "I'm gonna miss them," Shy admitted. Everyone else murmured their agreement.

  "You gonna be okay, Echo?" Lys asked.

  Echo nodded, "I'll be fine. Somehow, even though everything is insane, I'll get through it."

  Lys grinned, "That's what I like to hear." He gave her shoulders a little squeeze. "You hungry? I have rice cakes," Lys provided a small bag of caramel flavoured rice cakes. Echo's stomach rumbled noisily and Lys laughed. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." He handed the snacks around and the twins disappeared back behind their seat to eat. Echo practically inhaled three of them before they finally took the edge off her hunger. The sugar made her lightheadedness recede, which she was thankful for.

  "Need more? How are you feeling after the blood donation? I think someone had twizzlers or something if you -"

  "I'm fine," Echo cut him off. She smiled when she thought of how concerned about her he was. It was nice to know that someone was thinking about your wellbeing, even if it wasn't necessary. Echo honestly felt better, more rested and relaxed than she had been in months. Which probably didn't make much sense since the world was about to end. She supposed she was just relieved that the running part would be over soon.

  "So..." Lys said after a moment of silence. He turned to face her and suddenly their faces were so close their noses were almost touching. Echo blushed as Lys pulled her a bit closer and whispered in her ear, "Last time we were interrupted..." He trailed off and placed a feather-light kiss on her neck. Echo felt electricity shoot down her spine. His every touch made her shiver. She giggled against his shoulder and tilted her head so Lys could trail kisses up behind her ear.

  Echo turned her head as Lys kissed her and caught his mouth with her own. They were both smelly and dirty and had morning breath and Echo was sure she had rice cake crumbs in the corners of her mouth, but Lys' lips were full and soft and everything else just melted away. Eagerly she pressed her mouth against his. Lys playfully bit her lower lip, making her laugh.

  Lys' hands moved around her back and he leaned in, pushing her against the window of the bus. His hands started to roam her body, but Echo didn't mind. Slowly, she traced her tongue along his lips. Lys tried to crush her in another passionate kiss, but Echo pushed him back, forcing him to go slowly. Finally, she allowed their tongues to meet and she laughed when Lys growled and practically ravished her mouth.

  "Eww, they're kissing," Shy joked. Strangely, Echo didn't even care that she was French kissing Lys on a crowded bus where everyone could watch. The Chosen spent all their time together, sharing everything and they had no secrets. These people were like family to her. If they didn't want to see her kissing then they could look away.

  Finally, Lys pulled away, breathless. His lips looked swolled and his face was flushed with colour. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," He said seriously, and Echo blushed.

  "The end of the world and all you kids think about is sex." A gruff voice said from ahead of them. "Figures," Maddox had woken up and was smirking at the pair. Lys grinned right back and kissed Echo again, as if to make a point.

  "We are teenagers, after all," Lys declared. "What else would we be thinking about at the end of the world?" Echo was turned bright red. She always got embarrassed when sex came up. And Lys was so casual about it!

  Maddox chuckled and put his head back against the window. "I can't think of anything better, to be truthful,"

  "Damn straight," Ly declared, and he pulled Echo into his lap so they could catch up on some long-neglected making out.

  *

  It was one o'clock when the Camp Joy!! bus finally approached the shelters. Irvine was driving again, speeding the bus much faster than he should have along a narrow, gravel road. "We're here!" He whooped suddenly. There was a mad rush as everyone crowded to the windows to get a look at their new home. Even Doc seemed curious, if a little green.

  Echo opened the bus window and stuck her head out, hanging onto the frame tightly so she wasn't bounced out. All around them were beautiful, enormous mountains with black cliffs and snow-capped peaks. Ahead there was a huge fence with barbed wire along the top that blocked off what looked like the entrance to a valley. The fence was lined with signs declaring that it was electric, and it was at least twenty feet high. Obviously they were not taking any chances that someone might break in. As they approached Echo saw armed guards sitting atop hastily thrown-together towers, watchig the Camp Joy!! bus rumbling down the road.

  Just ahead of them were the heavy, steel gates. More guards patrolled outside and a man with a walkie talkie was screaming orders at everyone he could see. Behind him was absolute chaos.

  People ran in every direction, pushing carts or driving fork lifts or mean-looking jeeps. Skids of boxes were being driven past the gates and into the valley that was hidden behind the moutain. A pair of men were leading three uncooperative giraffes down the road while another man and an older woman looked at a bear in a cage like it was a puzzle they couldn't quite figure out. Animals and people were everywhere. The animals ranged from the exotic, like the giraffes, to the mundane. The entire area seemed to be overrun with stray cats and energetic dogs who chased sticks with children and barked at everything that moved.

  "It's like Noah's Ark!" Athena cried excitedly. "Look at all the animals."

  It definitely was bizarre. How had no one found this place? They must have had incredible security to keep this mess a secret for so long.

  "They're preparing to close up," Lucien explained. "We are probably among the last to arrive here."

  Irvine rolled the bus to a stop outside the gate and the walkie-talkie man ran out to greet them with two armed guards and a friendly looking young man with wavy blond hair and an easy smile.

  Irvine opened the bus doors for him and the whole ensemble crowded inside. The friendly man looked at Irvine and nodded. "You guys are cutting it pretty close." He said, then he looked to the walkie-talkie man, who was scowling worse than Maddox usually did. "Looks like they're all okay."

  "Who are you?" Shy asked boldly, looking straight at the walkie-talkie man, who seemed to be in charge.

  The man was in his fifties with wings of white at his temples and a strict demeanor that reminded Echo of the military guys in movies. "I'm Reginald DeVrou, and I'm the Boss at this here bunker #201-8. This here," He pointed his thumb at the friendly man, "Is my sniffer, Jack."

  "Sniffer?" Bold asked.

  "He can sniff out Chosen and weed out those that ain't supposed to be here."

  "Oh... so everyone here is good?"

  "Yeah,"

  "Even Doc?" Shy asked.

  The doctor in question jumped when Reginald's eyes fell on him. Jack looked him over as well. "He's okay," he said agreeably.

  Echo was
surprised, but decided not to argue. Doc wasn't a Chosen though...was he really sure that would be okay? Lucien must have seen her confused face, because he met her eyes and said "We Chose him, he's been accepted."

  It seemed a bit strange to Echo. She didn't know that they could choose people to come with them. What a bizarre concept.

  Reginald spoke into his walkie-talkie. "We're good, open the gate." and then, just like that, they stepped back off. The huge metal gates started to roll open and a siren buzzed as they passed through.

  "Follow the road into the mountain, someone will meet you in the garage and tell you where to go." Jack yelled to them as they passed through. Irvine smiled and waved his thanks and they started moving again.

  Echo felt like her knees were going to give way. They were here. Their new home. Their shelter. Bunker #201-8. She wondered if it had a nicer name. She wondered how long they would be down there. Would she see the Earth again in her lifetime? Lys put a hand on her shoulder and looked just as nervous as she felt. Even Shy was quiet as they followed the gravel road around the bend and into the valley. They had to move slowly since the road was crowded with people running every which way.

  They rounded the bend and Echo gasped audibly at what she saw. The mountain had been cut into and shaped to meet their needs. Huge sheer cliffs rose up all around them/ The gravel road led into a huge, gaping covern that was clearly man made. Trucks and jeeps were rolling in and out, and Echo felt a little out of place in the baby-blue Camp Joy!! bus. Off to the left was another huge opening with heavy metal doors that had been opened to allow people to run in and out. More guards walked around with guns, but the atmosphere, while busy, wasn't unfriendly. The guards chatted and called out amiably to truck drivers and scolded children to stay out of the way. One even picked up a ball that had rolled near his feet and tossed it for an energetic German shepherd to chase after.

  The interiors of the two coverns were dark and Echo could barely see more than a long, dark tunnel inside.

  Someone saw their bus and waved them into the cavern to their right. They rolled inside and saw that the place was some kind of garage or warehouse. There was everything from huge eighteen-wheelers to beaten up pick-up truckes parked inside. And at least two other busses, though neither was decorated as colourfully as the Camp Joy!! bus.