“Nothing,” I replied. Glancing at the empty towel rack, I added, “Can you find me a towel? There aren’t any in here.”
“Sure.”
While I waited, I searched through the various bottles in the cupboard, finally settling on some herbal-scented hair products and a vanilla body wash. It wasn’t bubble bath, but that didn’t stop me from using it as such. I drizzled the thick, pearly liquid near the faucet, watching the water churn it into a frothy foam that smelled like vanilla icing. And then I stepped into heaven. Oh God…
The moment I sank into the sudsy water, I could have died from contentment. Closing my eyes, I savored the sensations, comparing the luxurious heat of the bath to the icy water I was used to…and then I sat bolt upright. Water splashed against the sides of the tub, spilling over the edge in a few places. I turned off the faucet. When was the last time I bathed—and where? I couldn’t remember, exactly, but I had the feeling it had been outside. I could almost feel the stinging sensation of water from a frigid mountain creek gliding down my bare skin, but I couldn’t actually remember. What the hell?
Taking a deep, soothing breath, I settled back into the hot water, rested my head against the porcelain edge, and closed my eyes.
“You decent?” Gabe called from the other side of the bathroom door, and my heart gave a startled extra pump.
I opened my eyes and glanced down at the layer of thick, white foam concealing my body. Decent enough, I supposed. “Yep.”
Gabe pushed the door open further and poked his head through the crack. Seeing me in the tub, he smirked. “That wasn’t exactly what I meant by ‘decent.’”
I shrugged, making the layer of bubbles tremble and rearrange on the water’s surface.
Gabe’s smirk grew into a wicked grin. “I found the towels. They’re in the closet near the stairs.”
“Did you bring me one, or would you rather I get it myself?” I asked playfully.
His eyes narrowed as he pretended to consider his options, and then he laughed. “This time, I brought you one. Next time…we’ll see.”
I smiled and closed my eyes again. The pensive, concerned Gabe from downstairs was gone, replaced by the Gabe I was used to. “Come in and talk to me. It’s lonely in here.” …and I’m tired of being alone.
The hinges creaked as Gabe pushed the door the rest of the way open, letting some of the warm steam escape. “Feel better?” he asked from somewhere near the cupboards. Cracking open my left eyelid, I found him seated on the counter, a fluffy mauve towel beside him.
“You have no idea…but then, neither do I. Not really.” I tapped my head. “Still nothing.”
“Just don’t panic for a few days. I have a feeling things will clear up sometime soon.”
“Why?” I asked. “What makes you so sure I won’t be stuck like this?” I felt broken, like a mirror that had been shattered and glued back together, but some of the pieces were missing.
Gabe shrugged. “Because that’s how concussions work. I’m sure you’ll get better.”
I’d never had a concussion—I didn’t even know how I’d ended up with one—so I didn’t know if time healed all wounds and all that, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to trust Gabe for a few more days. And I did trust Gabe, even if I couldn’t remember any specific reasons why.
I sighed. “I think I’m pruning.”
“Hmmm…I wouldn’t be able to tell without a closer look,” Gabe teased.
Pinning him with my gaze, I said, “Then take a closer look,” but he just chuckled and shook his head. Suit yourself, I thought, looking away.
Unfortunately, now I felt rejected…embarrassed. I needed a distraction. I snatched up the razor I’d snagged from the cupboard, raised one of my legs out of the water, and began lathering it with shaving cream. The tub was just deep enough that as I worked, the water still covered all of my important bits even though I was sitting up. I could see Gabe out of the corner of my eye and had to suppress a laugh. He seemed to be having an internal war with himself, alternating between looking at me and looking at the tile floor. I allowed myself a small smile.
“I’ll, uh…wait outside,” he said, slipping down from the counter and exiting the bathroom.
His timing was perfect; I was embarrassed, the water was cooling, and my fingertips resembled albino raisins. I rose from the tub, and dripping on the chilly floor tiles, I crossed the bathroom and stepped into the shower for a quick rinse.
Within five minutes I was done in the bathroom. I emerged with combed, wet hair, wearing only a towel. I was moderately surprised to find Gabe lounging on the foot of the bed, looking like he owned it. Based on his reactions in the bathroom, I was under the impression that he wasn’t really interested in me, but based on the way he was lying on what was now my bed, he was sending an entirely different signal. What does he want? His hot and cold signals were confusing the crap out of me.
Regardless, an excited thrill flowed throughout my body. I’d spent so much time traveling alone, I was sure—pretty sure—that it felt amazing to be spending time with someone. I finally found somewhere I belonged. The Colony and General Herodson were great, but it was Gabe who made me feel like I’d finally found somewhere that could become my home.
When I crawled onto the bed beside him, his eyes locked on to me. They trailed from my curling, wet hair to my face to my bare shoulders and the place where the towel was knotted over my chest. I settled on my knees beside him and watched him study me.
“I like it here,” I told him. “I like being here…with you.”
Abruptly, Gabe sat up, bringing his face within inches of mine. He searched my eyes briefly, then looked away. “Dani, we shouldn’t be…I don’t know what he…your friends…”
“Friends?” I asked, confused. Shaking my head, I looked around the room. “I was alone—”
“No, you weren’t,” Gabe said, engulfing my left hand with both of his. “You’ve had people around you since the beginning. All of those people from the military…”
When he paused, I shook my head. “Who? What people?”
His jaw clenched. “I shouldn’t be telling you this. It’ll just upset you. I should wait until you remember.”
“Who, Gabe?” My voice was too high. “Tell me! Who was I with?”
“Zoe…and Jason.”
“What?” I screeched and scurried away from him to huddle on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Zoe was in Massachusetts and probably dead, and Jason…Jason was…I didn’t know. Why would I have been with Jason? Nothing was making sense. Scrunching my eyes closed, I tried to remember, but the harder I tried, the more my head hurt. Panic churned within me, making me feel sick. My heart beat heavily, like my blood was too thick, and my lungs felt constricted.
“Dani,” Gabe said, and I felt the mattress shift behind me. He scooted closer, joining me on the edge of the bed and draping his arm over my bare shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Only when I looked up at him did I realize tears were streaking down my cheeks. “I don’t want to think about them…about any of it,” I told him. “If they’re gone…I just want to forget. I just want to be here, with you.”
“Dani, I think we should…”
I tilted my face up, leaning in closer to the safety and comfort of his body. “What?”
“Probably not be…”
“What?” I asked, raising my hand to his face. I brushed my thumb over his chin, feeling the rough stubble covering it, and angled his face lower.
“In here, doing this.” He breathed in jerkily when my thumb brushed across his full lower lip. It was soft and dry and begging to be kissed.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I whispered, closing the distance between us.
When our lips touched, there was a moment of hesitancy on his part. He dropped his arm from my shoulders and remained immobile while I gently teased his lips with mine. And then he reacted.
Gabe’s
hands were suddenly cradling my jaw, his fingers tangling in my wet curls. When his lips parted and our tongues tentatively touched, I sighed. His kiss was gentle, full of unspoken emotions. It didn’t stay that way. His grip on my face tightened and his tongue dove into my mouth with ferocity.
Wanting more—needing more—I slipped a leg over both of his, straddling him. With the bare skin of my thighs flush against the soft material of his slacks, I became very aware that the towel was the only thing covering me.
Gabe groaned as he slid his hands down from my face, running them over my shoulders, back, hips, and thighs until he reached the end of the towel. Slipping his hands under the soft, thick cotton, he teased the backs of my thighs, inching higher.
Wanting him to touch me everywhere, I groaned. “It’s been so long. Please, MG…”
Instantly, he froze.
MG? Where the hell did that come from? Who’s MG?
“Damn it…shit! Dani, I—I’m sorry. I can’t…we can’t,” he panted, resting his forehead against the crook of my neck. Considering I’d just called him a name I didn’t understand, I was okay with cutting things short.
“Why is this all so confusing?” I asked, my voice small and trembling.
Gabe shook his head and kissed my neck with all the tenderness he’d displayed earlier. “Tomorrow night,” he breathed against my skin. “If you still want me tomorrow night, then we can do this.” He smoothed the towel over my legs, covering me as much as possible, which wasn’t very much considering I was still straddling him.
“You should get dressed,” he said, dropping his hands to the bed. “There are clothes in the dresser that should fit you, and in the closet if you don’t find what you need in the drawers.”
Ungracefully, I crawled off his lap and moved to rummage through dresser drawers. Inside, I wanted to scream, but I wasn’t sure why.
7
ZOE
MARCH 16, 1AE
“It’s gonna be a cold trip heading west through the mountains,” Sanchez warned, glancing between Grayson, Ky, and Harper, “but Jake said this dude ranch is the only place he knows of nearby that can house all the animals and a group our size. He said the lodge is big. It should be well-equipped for most of our needs.” She leaned over a physical map of Colorado.
“If it’s still there,” Jason said tersely. Sanchez and I both glared at him. He’d been goading us all morning, upset that we hadn’t departed immediately after we’d finished packing our things.
Chris scoffed. “Don’t be a dick, Jason. It’ll be there.” She shrugged, seeming unconcerned. “And if it’s not, that’s why we have the secondary rendezvous point.”
Sanchez nodded and leaned over to circle the location where the dude ranch, Colorado Trails, was supposed to be. “Assuming everything works out, the ranch should be somewhere between Mancos State Park and the city of Durango itself. Just follow Highway 161 southwest and pay attention to the signs. Apparently, you can’t miss it.”
Grayson and Ben nodded, Sarah bit her fingernails, a look of horror in her eyes as she worried endlessly, and Ky didn’t do much of anything. He was still drunk, Jason and Chris not having the heart to take the booze away from him; it was the only thing alleviating any of the tumultuous feelings funneling into him.
“We should only be a few days behind you,” Chris added as she sketched the relocation team’s route on the map. “But if we’re not there after a week or so, Biggs and Ky will decide what to do.” Chris didn’t linger long on the morose possibility that the retrieval group—the rest of us—might not make it to Colorado Trails at all. “Until you hear from us, I think it’s wise to only unpack what you need, but have all the medical supplies handy when we get there, just in case. We’ll have a limited supply with us.”
Chris looked at me. “When we get into Cañon City, Harper and I are going with Jason and Sanchez to the Colony to offer the trade. Zoe, you and Jake are staying with our leverage to ensure she’s watched at all times.”
Even with mixed emotions, Jake had conceded to the plan, knowing he could do little to keep Becca out of the Colony since she wanted to go back so badly. His one request was that he be allowed to stay with her until the exchange, and even Jason hadn’t objected to that.
I heard heavy footsteps behind me as Jake walked into the barn. He stopped a few feet from the workbench. I couldn’t meet his eyes…I hadn’t been able to since we’d tied up his sister.
“Zoe, once we leave Cañon City, I’ll keep you updated on our progress as much as I can,” Sanchez said, referring to her telepathy. “Now, there’s an abandoned building in Cañon City you guys should hunker down in. It’s on the edge of downtown, and it’s got mirrored windows, so you can see out but no one should be able to see in.”
Sanchez’s words faded away as I focused all my attention on Jake, who was pacing behind me. Although he’d agreed to our plan, his reluctance was apparent. He’d begun to question our visitor’s identity, not completely convinced she actually was Becca. But if circumstances changed, and he felt she truly was his sister, I worried he might not follow through with our plan. Why would he exchange his sister for Dani, a woman he barely knows? He’d been up all night, dark emotions pouring out of him. When all was said and done, I knew Dani’s life was contingent upon how important Becca was to the Colony. If he changes his mind…
“I know this isn’t ideal,” Sanchez said, “but Chris and I have identified three command buildings on base.” She pointed to the diagram and continued speaking, but I stopped listening as I walked over to the doorway, feeling a strange sense of doom. My eyes locked on Becca’s quivering body as she sat, arms tied behind her, on a hay bale by the fire.
Something was wrong. She was wincing, her eyes squeezed shut, her face flushed, and her breathing laborious. I ran toward her, watching her closely as I opened myself up to her emotions: fear and pain.
The brown-haired man—Father—stood proudly with his hands clasped behind his back and his stance wide. His eyes twinkled with some sort of twisted delight, and his mustache was upturned, a smile threatening to envelop his face.
With a flash, the image changed.
Bodies. A seemingly bottomless pit filled with dead people was all I could see. Becca was one of them—her body limp and broken and smeared with dirt and blood like the others. But her violet-gray eyes were open wide, filmed-over, and empty, and her once-thin lips were split and swollen. She was discarded like a busted toy that “Father” didn’t want anymore. He was still standing there…smiling.
“She’s having a vision,” I said under my breath. She really is Becca.
“Goodbye, Zoe,” Sarah said, flashing me a tiny, hopeful smile. Her eyes were red and filled with unshed tears. Biggs helped her mount the gray horse she would ride west through the snowy, southern Rockies to our rendezvous point in Durango, the look on Sarah’s face almost heartbreaking. While I stayed behind, she would be riding far away, wondering if we would ever see each other again. I hope so.
After our brief, tormenting goodbyes—our faces brave and painted with false certainty—Grayson, Sarah, Biggs, Ben, and Ky rode away with most of our gear, all but one pack horse, and Dani’s goats in tow. We all hoped getting them further away from the Colony would help ease Ky’s Ability-inflicted angst and keep Sarah and her unborn baby safe.
In a somber haze, those of us remaining readied ourselves to head for Cañon City. Donning my thigh holster and pistol, I scoffed at my new dressing routine. I should have felt completely ridiculous, like I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t, but I didn’t really have a choice. This is who I am now.
Once we were geared up, we hurriedly secured the remaining supplies on our pack horse, climbed into our saddles—some of us doubling up—and rode for town, where Jake and I would stay behind with Becca, waiting for word from Sanchez.
When we finally arrived, our horses tired and our noses red from riding in the cold, Sanchez, Carlos, and I fenced the animals in a large backyard. The expansive l
awn provided an afternoon snack, and there was a swimming pool the horses could drink out of. A block away and just north of downtown, Jason, Jake, Chris, and Harper were securing the inside of the abandoned, mirror-windowed store Jake, Becca, and I would be staying in for the next twenty-four hours.
“Will you be okay?” Sanchez asked as we watered the horses in the algae-infested pool.
I nodded absently, wondering how Jake was going to make it through the “hostage exchange” without losing his mind. “We just need to stick to the plan, right?” I glanced over at her, then at Wings and Jason’s horse, who were sucking water into their mouths, almost pulling their reins from my grasp.
“If the plan works,” she consented. “I honestly don’t know what they’re capable of up there.”
We were silent for a moment, both of us lost in thought. What if Sanchez can’t make contact with us from that far away? What if the Colonists are somehow expecting this? But I withheld my questions. Instead, I smiled, appreciating Sanchez’s typical no-nonsense, no-mushy-shit goodbye.
I nudged her. “Let’s just hope your claim will get you in. They are inviting any survivors to join their ‘safe haven,’ after all.”
Sanchez practically snorted. “Getting in will be the easy part.”
Hearing a dull thump on the grass behind me, I peered back at Carlos, who was walking toward us, Arrow clomping behind him. “The horses are ready,” he said to Sanchez. “You want me to go get the others?”
Sanchez shook her head. “No, I’m on it. Make sure Chris’s horse gets a little more water, and then we’re ready to go.”
Sanchez and I walked the horses over to the fence and tied them up so they didn’t drink too much before the long, hurried ride to the Colony, and Sanchez marched through the gate and around the corner, out of sight. I stalled at the fence, realizing it might be the last time I would ever see Carlos, since he was riding away with the others.
The Ending Series: The Complete Series Page 58