I backed away from the window and saw that the others had already done the same thing.
“That’s not good,” JD said flatly.
“Obviously.” Matt rolled his eyes, and then turned to look at me. “What are we going to do about this?”
“Round up everybody,” I replied. “Jamie, I need you to go get Mace, Claire, and Olivia from the New Hampshire shelter. I sent them there to get some supplies, but they aren’t due back until tomorrow. The rest of the Peacekeepers should still be at the marina.”
“I’ll go immediately.” She disappeared into the trees.
“What about us?” Matt asked me.
“You’re coming with me. The three of us need to go straight to the marina to warn the others. We have to prepare for battle.”
Chapter 18
The Hunted
Jason-
“No, Jason, of course you can’t come,” Aderes told me again. “I didn’t just go through hell to get you back so that you can go out and get killed.”
“But the Jagers are going after my friends.” I had to run to keep up with her as she walked swiftly through the tunnels. “It’s all my fault, and someone could get hurt.”
“Listen,” she stopped short and turned to me. “Every single one of the Peacekeepers is going to protect them. Alexander doesn’t suspect that we know, so we believe he’s only bringing his personal guard. We’ll overpower them and force them to retreat.”
She walked forward again, this time even faster. I was running out of breath trying to keep up with her.
“But, Aderes…”
“No buts, Jason. You’re not going and that’s final.” She stopped next to a large wooden door. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
She was going in to talk with Elliot and all twelve of the High Members. When Elliot had returned with the news about the attack on North Salem, everyone had gone into a frenzy. It had only been twenty minutes, but all of the Peacekeepers were prepared to leave. The High Members were going over the battle strategy, and once they were done, everyone would leave. Everyone, except for me. They all thought that I’d be safer if I stayed at the marina. I disagreed, but it was me versus over forty Dahmshed; I didn’t have great odds in that fight.
After only a few minutes, Aderes, Elliot, and the rest of the High Members exited the room. Most of them rushed away into the tunnels, but Aderes and Peter stayed behind.
“Jason, Peter is going to take you to his room. Those humans, Trevor and Faith, will be watching over you.” Aderes didn’t seem too happy about that. “You are to stay there. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, fine.” I rolled my eyes. There had to be some way I could get out, but once everyone left I wouldn’t be able to lift the large doors to escape. I would be trapped.
“Good.” Aderes patted Peter on the shoulder. “Make sure he can’t get out of there.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Peter winked at her. “Now hurry up, Elliot is waiting for you.”
Aderes hesitated for a moment but ultimately turned and ran away.
“Ready?” Peter asked me.
“Can’t you bring me with you?”
“I’m already in trouble with Aderes for letting the Rogues take you. I think she’d actually kill me this time.” He grabbed my shoulder and started to guide me deeper into the tunnels. That would pose a new problem for me to escape; I couldn’t see anymore and I’d get lost very quickly.
“But what if you told her I escaped? Just get me out of the tunnels, and I’ll take it from there.”
“She’s not that stupid. She knows you can’t get out of here without help.” He turned me to the left and kept walking. “I’m sorry, but you’re not going to be able to go.”
“Please, Peter. These people could die, and it would be all my fault.”
“And what? You think that if you die with them, it will make things better?” he retorted quickly. I couldn’t think of anything to say to that.
He soon stopped walking and opened a door. Light flooded the tunnel, making me squint my eyes. Inside the small room was a single torch on the wall, a wooden coffee table, and a love seat. Emeric and Faith were sitting on the small couch while David sat on the floor, and Trevor stood.
“Jason!” Faith jumped up. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m much better now, thanks.” I gave her a weak smile.
“Okay, everyone, you all know the drill,” Peter said as he pushed me into the room and grabbed the handle to the door. “Don’t let him leave this room.”
“We’ve got everything under control,” Faith said.
“Oh, and I almost forgot. Trevor, I need you to go check that…thing I told you about. Just make sure you can…use it well.” Peter winked at him.
“I’ll go once you leave.” Trevor nodded to him.
“All right, well, I’ll see you all soon.” Peter began to close the door but then added, “Hopefully.”
I shuddered at the idea of him dying, especially because he would be dying for me. I still didn’t understand the reason for that. So many were willing to risk everything for some eighteen-year old kid. It made me feel selfish for not doing the same for them.
“So, Jason.” Trevor walked over to me. “I have to go run a quick errand for Peter. I’ll be right back.”
“What errand?” I looked at him curiously.
“Well, he actually told me not to tell you. Apparently, he and Aderes are under the impression that you are going to try to get to the battle.”
“It’s my battle. They’re all just fighting it for me, and I don’t think that’s very fair.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but there’s nothing you can really do about a Dahmshed fight.” Trevor shrugged as he walked to the door. “Trust me on that; the Angels have tried to help in many fights, and we’ve done nothing more than lose some of our greatest friends.” He opened the door and began to walk out.
“Are you leaving the tunnels?” I asked him.
“Um, I can’t tell you that.” He turned back to look at me. His face was scrunched up because he knew that he had told me that he was leaving the tunnels. If he wasn’t, he would have said so.
“How?” I questioned him further. “You wouldn’t be able to lift those doors.”
“Stop it, Jason,” Trevor scolded me. “I’m not letting you leave.”
“Is Peter leaving them open for you?” I wondered out loud. “Or is there another way out of here?”
“Jason…”
“Of course there would be another way out.” I smiled at my quick thinking. “If the Jagers came here or none of the Peacekeepers made it back, we would still need a way out, right?”
“Jason Hook!” Trevor yelled at me. “You are not leaving this place!”
“What if I told you I had to go to the bathroom?”
“I’d tell you to go in the corner,” Trevor said. He meant to say it under his breath, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Trevor!” Faith yelled at him.
“I was just kidding. You know I’m kidding, right, Jason?”
“Sure.”
“Good, but you’re still not leaving.” He slammed the door shut to avoid further discussion. I turned to Faith, and she put up one hand.
“Don’t even try it,” she said. “This was between Peter and Trevor.”
“So, you don’t know?” I tried anyway.
“No, I don’t.” She took a seat on the coffee table and started to talk with Emeric and David.
I didn’t see any other option. All that was left was to make a break for it and try to find Trevor. He would have needed some type of light source to get around and possibly even a map of some sort. If I went soon enough, I’d be able to see his light and follow it without him knowing I was there. Only Faith stood in my way, but once I was in the dark tunnels, she wouldn’t be able to see me.
Without further hesitation, I bolted for the door. Faith jumped up immediately and tried to grab my shirt, but I slipped out into t
he darkness. I made a left, which brought me further from the regular entrance and deeper into the tunnels. I assumed that Trevor had gone this way, towards a back exit, and could only hope I wasn’t wrong. If I was, I would end up wandering the tunnels until the Dahmshed came back and found me.
“Jason!” I heard Faith calling behind me. “Jason Hook, get back here!”
Her feet pounded the ground behind me, but I ducked into another tunnel that was blocking all possible light. I crouched in the corner, covering as much of the bright clothing I was wearing as I could. Faith turned the corner and ran straight past me into the dark abyss. As quietly as I could, I turned and ran back to the original tunnel. I could see David and Emeric standing in the light of the doorway, but there was no way they could see me in the darkness. David was screaming for Faith, so I didn’t bother to try to hide my footsteps anymore. I bolted down the tunnel to try to find Trevor, who hopefully hadn’t heard any of the commotion behind him.
In only my first minute in the tunnels, I managed to run into at least six walls. Even with my hands out in front of me, I still bumped my nose once or twice. After a little while, I began to think I’d never find him, but then I spotted a light at the far end of a tunnel. It didn’t look like it was moving, which meant that it could be just a torch on the wall, but then it disappeared around a corner. I sprinted forward.
Eventually, I made it to the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, I ran into the wall there and actually fell to the ground. When I got up, I could see Trevor holding a torch not far from where I was. I quietly dashed toward him, but stayed far enough away that his light would not reach me.
I only had to follow him for a few seconds before he opened a door that allowed light to spill into the tunnel. It was amazing how close I had come to missing him. If he had gone through the door before I found him, I would have never found the way out. Now all I had to do was make it past Trevor without him seeing me.
I peeked through the door and saw a completely empty room, aside from a rope that was sticking out of the middle of the back wall. Trevor was looking at a piece of paper, which must have been the map or an instruction sheet, and when he put it down, he reached for the rope. He pulled it, and after two tugs, the wall seemed to move outward. I realized that there was actually a door carved in the wall, and the rope was the handle. Trevor pulled a few more times until the door was open enough for him to slip through it.
I entered the room soon after he left, but I still waited awhile before walking through the exit. When I finally did, I found myself on a spiral staircase, much like the one in the front entrance to the tunnels. It was made entirely of stone and was lit by torches every eighth step. I quickly scurried up the flight of stairs so as not to run into Trevor on his way back down. Luckily, I made it all the way to the top with no sign of him. From there, I saw a wooden ladder that led to a small hatch. Trevor had left the hatch open, so I was able to climb up and straight out into the room where I had first met Elliot and the twelve High Members. The hatch was hidden under the large table, so I had to crawl out to get to the door.
Once I was outside, I looked around for Trevor. At first he was nowhere in sight, but finally I saw him walking toward me with his head down. I hastily hid behind a cracked-up boat hull that was sitting close to the building. When Trevor got closer, I peered out and saw that he was holding a large crossbow-looking weapon with a round of six wooden stakes in what must have been its chamber. The perfect firearm against a Dahmshed.
The second he disappeared back into the hatch I ran from behind the hull. I had to leave the marina quickly because once Trevor made it back to Peter’s room, Faith would tell him that I had left. Then, they would both come after me.
As I sprinted out of the marina and toward the abandoned town center, I felt a slight drizzle. It was much warmer than it had been in Vermont, so there was no snow, but the rain made me feel just as cold. The night before was still fresh in my mind since I had no sleep to separate it from the new morning. The feeling of death was brought back as I grew colder and colder. North Salem was far away and running there would be impossible in the best conditions, never mind the downpour that was soon approaching.
I had no idea where the nearest inhabited town was, and the only thing I had going for me here were three cars parked on the side of the road. The closest was a 2021 Nissan. It wasn’t in bad shape for its age, so I tried the door. It was jammed slightly, but not locked. After a few tugs, it broke free, and I jumped into the driver’s seat. The owner of the car must have been in a hurry because the keys were still in the ignition. It started with the first try, and the gas gauge showed I had half a tank. Luck had been on my side so far, and I could only hope it would stay that way when I reached North Salem.
***
Aderes-
A battle was already underway when we first arrived at North Salem High School. Alexander’s guard was viciously attacking the Blood Protectors outside of the school. Fire seemed to be everywhere as the humans desperately tried to burn their enemy before they got past them, and as the Dahmshed set fire to the ramsons that grew around the school. Unfortunately, it also looked as if more than just Alexander’s guard was there. They must have called for reinforcements and had some of the other Jagers meet them for their assault. Just from what I could see, there were almost forty of them.
“Are we still going for it?” Peter asked. He, Elliot, and I were up high in a tree overlooking the battlefield. The rest of the Peacekeepers were farther back, awaiting their order to strike. “There are a lot of them. This could mean major losses for us.”
“It’s now or never though, Elliot,” I commented. “If we are going to do this I think we should attack while the Jagers are dealing with the human guards. It will give us the element of surprise.”
“We’re going for it,” Elliot said sternly, dismissing his own doubts. “Go get the others, Peter. Tell them to follow the plan and watch out for the humans.”
Peter nodded and jumped from his perch. After he disappeared into the woods, I turned to Elliot. His expression was as solid as stone.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked him quietly.
“I hope so.” He turned to me with a small smirk. “For all our sakes.”
“That makes me feel much better.”
“In all seriousness, though, I want you to plow straight inside. I don’t see Alexander or Grath, which means they have to be in there.”
“I know the plan, don’t worry.” I narrowed my eyes and found the perfect entrance, a side door with almost no Jagers or Blood Protectors in front of it.
As the Peacekeepers ran past below us, Elliot dropped from the tree to join them. I squeezed my fists tight and followed behind him, only to break from the group shortly after. My mind was still set on entering through the side door, and I made a quick dash right to it without any interference. Just inside, though, I was stopped short by two human guards.
I didn’t want to kill them, but as they leveled their flamethrowers at me I had to think quickly. I jumped up as the flames shot at me and grabbed the grooved ceiling. With one quick swing, I landed directly behind them. Neither noticed my soft landing, so instead of knocking them unconscious, I just slipped away and ran past the front doors of the school. All of the Peacekeepers had merged into the fight and were now battling the Jagers while trying to avoid the humans. It was a difficult task, but everyone seemed to be managing. I couldn’t see any deaths on our side so far.
I pulled myself away from the scene outside and swiftly moved down a long hallway toward some of the classrooms. As I neared the gym, a large mass of heartbeats pulsed through my body. It seemed like the entire school population was inside it.
In seconds, I broke open the door and found just what I thought I would. All of the humans sat on the floor, but about ten Jagers stood around them, including Alexander, Grath, and Rose. Of course, Grath and Rose fled the scene through a set of doors on the other end of the gym the second they saw me, but I could h
andle them later. Alexander, however, stood only a few feet from me with no one between us.
As a look of fear overtook his face, fulfillment overtook mine. I had been waiting for this day ever since I was brought into the war. Finally, the Jagers would suffer a loss after so many had suffered on my side of the fight.
I launched myself forward as he tried to dodge out of the way. My right hand caught hold of the collar of his jacket, and I swung him around into the brick wall of the gym. A wicked crack erupted, and the wall caved in behind him. I would have loved to just throw him around like a rag doll for a while, but the rest of the Jagers in the gym were flying toward us, and I didn’t want to give Alexander even the slightest chance to escape. I took hold of the top and bottom of his head and pulled once with all of my might. Alexander’s neck snapped as his head ripped off of his body just as easily as any other Dahmshed’s would have.
I turned around and dropped it to the ground. It rolled in a small circle, blood quickly turning into a puddle around it. The Jagers that had been ready to defend their master stopped dead in their tracks and began to turn and run away. I didn’t let any of them escape and even received a few cheers from the humans as I tore their heads from their bodies. Now all I had to do was find Grath, and the Jagers would be without a leader. If I didn’t kill him, he would take over for Alexander.
***
Jason-
The second the school came into sight, I threw the map I had used to get there aside and stopped in the middle of the road. It was a magnificent sight of blazing flame and black blurs shooting in all directions. The battle had obviously started already, which meant that Aderes would be too busy fighting to notice me sneak in to find April. I took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and then pressed my foot to the gas pedal. I drove forward very slowly to give myself more time to address the situation and find the best route inside the school.
A shocking sight made me brake again. Walking down the school’s driveway were Kyle and Jay with April between them. The boys were clutching her arms oddly and seemed to be restraining her from running away. I immediately threw open the door of the car and ran toward them. With so many Dahmshed around the school, Kyle and Jay were the least of my worries. I wouldn’t let them hurt her.
Descendant: The Protector (The Descendant Series) Page 26