From the Ashes

by Angela White

  Angie was wearing a short white skirt and a blue top that too adult for her in my opinion, and her eyes darkened to the exact shade to match it as she picked up my thoughts.

  I watched her little hands close her coat and felt bad for my observation.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. “Georgie picked it out.”

  Why did that bother me so much?

  Angie moved closer and the air parted, teasing my nose with vanilla. She smelled good.

  She was within a foot of me, ebony ringlets swaying against her pale skin, and I understood what she wanted with a slight shiver of anticipation and a shudder of fear.

  She stopped, unsure because of my reaction, and I slowly opened my arms to her.

  I expected the usual quick hug of family, and was shocked into stillness when she slid those tiny arms around my neck and placed her soft hair against my chin. Then the sensation hit and I couldn’t move. After only a second, I melted and hugged her back. My eyes closed as peace settled over me. I’m sure she knew how rarely I was shown physical affection, but I wasn’t sure how to tell her that I would need this again now that I’d had it. It was as if the entire world had vanished, leaving only calm and an edge of everything being almost perfect.

  We stood there for a long time, just holding onto someone who understood how important the contact was. When she slowly moved away, (I couldn’t. I didn’t have the will power), it was as if a cloud had come over the sun and I realized it was her reaction, not mine. She had a deep need for me, though I no idea why, and that craving sealed the deal. I’d never been this wanted before and I wouldn’t give it up.

  “How long this time?”

  “A month or two. Then the training.”

  “Early.”

  “Yes. She senses something, I think.”

  “And then to the farm again come fall?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we’ll have this moment, at least.”

  I was lost. It was exactly how I felt.

  I know, she sent silently. That’s how I found you.

  It was a relief to know I hadn’t imagined any of it. She had the family curse, and I was the only one she’d trusted enough to tell.

  That made me smirk, and I could almost sense her worries ease. Standing there beside her, my own problems weren’t gone, but they weren’t as big anymore, either.

  We settled into the cold patio chairs, blocked from sight by tall bushes and trees, and eyes remained on each other in fascination. With no prying adults observing our every expression, I stared at her pale skin and those violet eyes that I could swear were blue a minute before. She was like a perfect china doll I could never admit to wanting to play with.

  My gaze swept over her, and I felt my heart tighten. She was amazing, beautiful, and I sensed that when she was older, I might beg to kiss her.

  “I’d let you.” She flushed, sparkling at me.

  I blinked in surprise. “Okay.”

  I’d asked Uncle Larry some careful questions about girls while he taught me to work on the farm. I’d left him with the impression I meant my new girlfriend, Jeanie, and he’d left me with an image that filled my thoughts every night after that when I tried to sleep. He told me to be careful about age.

  “Men get old, Marcie. We age and grow bitter. Get a younger woman and be sure you really like her. You’ll be together a long time in this family.”

  Now, staring at the forbidden fruit, I thought I understood. Angie had a face that I would never get tired of. My heart thudded in real pain. It was one I would miss over the coming years. There was no way my mother would let this happen, and there was only so much sneaking I could do before she found out.

  “I might be able to make it go away,” Angie said sadly.

  “No!”

  My quick answer drained the misery from her face and replaced it with a slight grin that I wanted to make bigger. I wanted to hear her laugh again, though it was a risk. My mother could be anywhere by now.

  “She’s helping your sister with her dress.”

  I was relieved to hear it and I didn’t think to doubt the information. As we stared, there were so many things that I suddenly wanted to say, to ask, and she knew them all without me having to say a word if I couldn’t figure out how to put it. It was great.

  “Yes, it’s true. You won’t tell?”

  “No. How can you do it?”

  “I just always could.”

  “Born with it?”

  “I think so.”

  Which meant she had unanswered questions, yet she’d never been exposed. That meant she was smart. My mother would have her shipped off the same day she found out.

  I saw Angie wince and said,” Sorry.”

  She shrugged. “Not your fault.”

  “Not yours either.”

  He eyes darkened again and I shook my head firmly. “You didn’t choose to have it.”

  The eight year old was silent, but I caught her thought.

  The why are they so mean to me?

  I didn’t have an answer for that. All the punishments that should have gone to my uncle were being dealt out to his wife and stepdaughter.

  “She’s trying to run you off.”

  “Yeah.”

  My gaze went over Angie again, this time lingering where it wanted and I felt my pulse increase. Angie was a baby right now compared to me–at least on the outside. On the inside, she was where I was–a lonely preteen who couldn’t wait to grow up.

  “She’s looking for you now.”

  I nodded, not unconcerned, but I’d chosen this place with my mother in mind. I used to be allergic to the plants out here and still avoided the area. It was among the last places she would search. First though, she would go see if I’d discovered the dirt bike in the garage and taken it out for a spin. Which I would, tomorrow, when it would be warm enough to stay out on it all day.

  I looked at Angie, wondering if she’d ever been on a dirt bike and she shook her head.

  “Tomorrow, down by the old tire swing.”

  “When?”

  I thought fast and tried to account for my mother’s extra chores. “Noon.”

  We would be alone for hours, away from everyone.

  Angie grinned at me, showing those dimples, and again, her happiness jerked me into a world where only the two of us existed. It wasn’t weird, like when I flipped through the magazines in my closet, but I knew they were connected. When she leaned closer, I held my breath to keep from touching her hair.

  “I made this for you.”

  It was a grass ring, the kind you handed to a friend and then yanked the top off, except this one had been repeatedly woven around itself until it was a solid object, able to be worn.

  I watched my hand go out as if it was someone else’s, and I took it slowly. Our fingers touched, like silk meeting sandpaper, and I winced at a sharp flash of lightning. Where had that come from?

  “Me. Sorry. It gets out of hand when I’m...sometimes.”

  I wanted to know what she’d been going to say, but I could sense her unease with the subject. She was afraid someone might overhear.

  “Did you miss being home?”

  That was a hard question to answer, and I shrugged. “Parts of it.”

  “You don’t belong with them, either.”

  There it was. Honesty. And, I would be expected to use it with her, I could tell.

  “It’s more like they don’t belong with me.”

  She wanted to ask if she did, and I wasn’t sure what to say. If I got a vote, she would be. My mother wasn’t going to give me one.

  I could steal it, though. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be better than nothing. The idea of not being around this little girl hurt me. Already, she’d found a way into my heart, and I was looking forward to tomorrow in a way I knew to be wrong, but couldn’t help.

  “I’ll fit you in somewhere,” I whispered, giving her my promise. “I’ll make you a place that no one can remove you from.”

 
; “And you did.”

  Both males jumped guiltily, and Angela threw on a stern facade. “Let’s go have some chocolate, and you can tell me what that was about.”

  Marc chuckled as Charlie sputtered.

  “Nothing, got sidetracked.”

  Angela let her worries go in favor of the amusement. “I guess I’ll have to torture it out of you, then. Come on, get to the center table. Worst joke tells all.”

  “I have to help the vet put the dogs out,” Charlie stated, grinning a bit. “Why don’t you guys go ahead?”

  Both parents chuckled at the obviousness as the teenager left.

  The couple spread peace as they walked through camp, but it didn’t help the tortured man watching them. Adrian was struggling in his fight with temptation, and so lonely!

  He waited until Angela was out of sight, then took what was available to him–one of his herd.

  Who wants me?

  The mental call floated through the settling camp, drawing females his way in confused eagerness.

  Adrian studied them harder than he usually had to and managed to draw a tiny reaction with his choice of Tracy. She was a distant member right now, quiet and mostly unnoticed, but she had the required black hair that would melt against his hands and maybe help him achieve a release. With that, his control would be back in place for a while…he hoped.

  Adrian locked eyes with her, pulling, and Tracy gave a short, breathless agreement. Her one thought stole his reluctance.

  I can smell like her, too, if you want.

  Adrian dropped his head in shame. Yes.

  It wasn’t against their will, but he’d never claim them. They had to feel like the whores they’d be called if exposed, but Adrian never viewed them that way. They gifted him with these moments.

  When? Tracy asked silently, certain of the answer. The vanilla would wait for next time.

  Adrian eyed her freshly washed skin with naked lust. Training tent–now.

  Tracy’s secret smile was only noticed by a few, but to those who were aware of the escalating problem, it was good news.

  5

  Acutely aware of Marc walking behind her, Angela got chills from the heat in his thoughts. Marc wasn’t holding back anymore, and the past, their past, was alive again in her heart. In the short time they’d had together, they’d loved as deeply as two people could, and he was eager to have that side of their relationship returned.

  As she turned around, their eyes met over the crowd. The low roar of so many voices faded into only them.

  My Brady.

  Oh yeah, baby!

  Reality snapped in a second later with a crackle that sent static through every radio under the tent.

  “Scchhhhh...”

  “What the hell was that?”

  “Some kind of pulse?”

  “Yeah, a pulse,” Angela agreed quickly.

  When the conversation was flowing normally again, she found Marc in the far corner, talking with Daryl. His gaze was everywhere–the camp, their surroundings, and the tables. It was a fascinating pattern, appearing to narrow in on something different with each sweep. What was he monitoring now? Angela eased in gently.

  Marc’s vision was shadowed, faded out to stretch into a battlefield grid with razor-thin green wires outlining the perimeter. Red dots were scattered over this lined area, and Marc’s military mind narrowed in on those farthest away, estimating their alertness by the way they moved.

  It was his gift, his ability to track any member of his team, and it was thrilling to discover. Had he always known he could do it? Angela stopped a snort. He probably thought it was normal, that all leaders were naturally so efficient.

  Angela saw two shadows slip into the dark training tent, one instantly recognizable, and forced another cheery smile onto her face. She started to join Marc, who was now chatting lightly with Daryl about the lack of rain.

  So Adrian had taken her advice and picked one right out, was currently kissing that slut, loving her... Angela shoved the images away and headed for the cooler instead. She needed a beer.

  Adrian ducked out the back of the tent, leaving a concerned, untouched relief source behind. He stayed in the shadows and made his way to the empty QZ medical camper.

  He dropped onto the cot, exhausted mentally. No one had died today, but what about tomorrow? Nature wanted him dead and she wasn’t going to give up. When he’d chosen to exterminate the slavers, he’d marked himself, and through that terrible bond, his people.

  Adrian was almost ready to face the choice, set to put his plans in motion early to keep any more of them from dying. He drifted into a restless sleep, with a grimace of pain on his face.

  6

  Morning mess found a calm camp eating or packing for their departure time of noon. Most of the conversation was about the meeting and peaceful–fifteen and the mountains was now a verified result. They were going to live inside the stone of Georgia.

  As he walked, Marc searched for effects of the bat attack that hadn’t been repaired yet. There was only the occasional corpse or decaying body part as boxes and crates were repacked. Some of the wounded rodents had crawled into dark crevices to die. Dog had told him that bats were looking for young blood, otherwise they would have done more damage. Knowing it could have been worse helped Marc to let go of the fear. He’d told Adrian and increased security on their youngest members.

  He would also watch out for his own. Charlie now had an extra shadow, one that many of the Eagles had been surprised by. Marc hadn’t spent a lot of time on it. Charlie and Kenn needed to come to terms over plenty of things, Marc was sure, but more than that, Kenn was trying to earn his place back. He wouldn’t slack off. Marc had paired Kenn with Zack for Charlie’s security. That one wouldn’t slack off either, and he’d die for Angela’s son.

  After a week of things being quiet, more people were still signing up for the defense class every day, which was good, but the requests to keep the shield up at night had come directly from the camp’s women. When Adrian refused, the restlessness of the hens was rampant. It hadn’t been this bad when they were being stalked by the slavers, and the Oklahoma towns they were passing didn’t help the mood. Kicked-in doors under brackish blue skies were bad mood-setters. It often ended in Angela bringing the shield up just to let Adrian get a break.

  During the daytime, it was the Safe Haven they all knew, though. The herd had settled back into twitchy grazing. It was Adrian who hadn’t relaxed at all. Losing twenty members of his camp in one night had hurt their leader. His guilt was obvious. The camp was reassuring him often–his bloodshot eyes would have had them doing it even if the Eagles hadn’t mentioned that he was feeling awful over the attack, but it wasn’t enough. He clearly needed something else and Marc was sure his top men had a plan. None of the Eagles liked seeing Adrian upset, but for Kyle and Neil, it actually hurt.

  Marc ducked into the training tent, wondering which relief source they would send to him and if it would work. Sex wasn’t a cure-all.

  Expecting to hear hens clucking, Marc immediately noticed the silence despite there being eleven females waiting here for him. He hardened his satisfied tone into the one he’d used for the government. “Who’s ready to get dirty?”

  Before anyone could answer, Samantha came through the flap behind him. “To hell with getting dirty. Tell us what she wants in an XO.”

  Marc realized they were all waiting for him to answer that one. “Ask her.”

  “We have,” Cynthia stated.

  “She says a good XO already knows why they’re needed,” Tracy added, making sure he noticed her long, black braid and exposed nape.

  “There ya go,” Marc answered, unfazed.

  “But none of us understand,” Anne murmured. “At this rate, she won’t have one.”

  Marc doubted Adrian would let that happen. “Sorry ladies, I can’t help you. I suggest you examine the duties of the job and be sure you can handle it.”

  Marc pointed as Charlie came to the open flap
. “We’re using the same lesson you got yesterday. Pick a partner and start showing her.”

  Charlie viewed the females warily, and hesitantly went to Anne, the only one he knew.

  The nurse welcomed him and unknowingly became a contender by the teenager’s choice. After all, he was Angela’s son. Wouldn’t he lean the same way?

  Anne was aware of the attention on them, but it was second to having Charlie in her mind, telling her what to do, how to get through this. She was in better shape than she’d been in a long time, but it was coming with a price. Soreness and bruises were constant companions.

  Anne kicked out, stumbling, and Charlie concentrated. Shoving into her mind, he helped her control her body in an acceptable parody.

  Marc gave his approval. “Good. Now do it again, and everyone else pay attention. Next time around, we all do it.”

  Anne fell this time, pulling attention her way.

  She flushed darkly, snapping. “What!? Ain’t you ever seen an old woman on her butt before?”

  Samantha snorted. “Usually help them up when it happens.”

  Anne gave a grunt, getting set to do it again. She was glad it was only going to be a couple more weeks of this. Even with Charlie’s help and Adrian’s lies, it was too much.

  John had told Adrian that last night after she’d hit the pain pills and heating pad again as soon as she came through the flap. And Adrian had agreed, finally letting her and John know what the plan had been all along. She was never supposed to remain an Eagle, only make the rookie level so that it would bring in more of the women who were leery of getting hurt.

  After that was settled, the men had quickly fallen into a grim conversation about test results and the increasing levels of chemicals John was finding. The herd of bison in South Dakota had indeed died of radiation exposure, as had other specimens in the rear of Adrian’s semi. The fallout was spreading, growing in some places by debris and containments in areas that used to be heavily populated. Bomb parts littered this land, and all of them were toxic.

  Anne slipped, about to fall again, and found a strong arm subtly shoving her into place.

  Samantha didn’t say anything, but she stayed close, respecting the older woman’s attitude. In it for the long run, Samantha understood they might end up on a team together. Anne needed to know these things, and Angela would be very grateful to those who made it happen, wouldn’t she?