“I can’t tell y’all enough how much your willingness to help means to me. I’ve only ever known my parents and brother, and always feared meeting others. But y’all have shown me not everyone is terrible, and that there are good people out here. That being said, I’ll be needing whatever cream it is that Jace mentioned, as I’ll be going in with Dex to retrieve Cole.” My statement goes about as well as I think it will, and they all, except for Brayden, begin yelling about how that isn’t going to happen, and why it’s a bad idea.
Rather than attempting to speak over their protests, I ignore their loud voices and approach Brayden. He raises a brow at the action, but I don’t let him intimidate me. I move until I am standing directly in front of him, leaning forward over the desk slightly, so he can hear my words.
“I’m not trying to cause problems, or have other people solve mine for me. I know I have nothing to offer your group, but my brother needs me. We’ve been raised to avoid other people, so he’ll be wary of Dex approaching him, even if he mentions my name. Honestly, had I not woken until after they had saved me and brought me back to their hideout, I would never have gone with them. It’s just what we’ve had instilled in us since before we could walk. I see now, that it was a disservice to us, but my parents did what they thought best to keep us safe. If I go in with Dex, Cole will willingly come with us, and Dex won’t be alone. I’m sure I can’t do everything the others can, but I’m not without my own training.”
The guys have quietened during my talk with Brayden, and I know that they see the merit in my words. And they would need to since I won’t be changing my mind.
“Y’all heard the girl, it’s her brother and her choice to make. But . . .” he starts, meeting their eyes and then landing on mine again. “Dex is my priority, and his safety is what I will ensure first. If for some reason your presence jeopardizes that, I’ll not think twice about doing whatever it takes to get him back out alive. Anything it takes. Understood?”
My heart beats harder at his words, and what he’s threatening, but I don’t back down. I understand putting your loved ones first. I am basically doing the same by agreeing to Dex going back to a place that he had escaped from to save my own brother. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe. But it doesn’t change the fact that I am still going to allow him to do it. I can live with the guilt, as long as Cole gets to live. No matter how much I have grown attached to the guys over the past day, family comes first. Brayden must recognize the resolve on my face, and nods his head, an understanding of where we both stand passing between the two of us.
The others too, must have come to the realization that there is no talking me out of my decision to go, but I’m still surprised by their sudden change of attitude. They had been adamantly against it a moment ago, and now none were arguing. Why that is, becomes very clear though, when both speak.
“You want to risk yourself, fine. But I will be coming, too. While you and Dex go through the gates, I’ll scale the wall and keep a low profile in case the two of you need help,” Nico says, his face blank, but eyes shining with determination. Knowing that he will be around, builds my own confidence.
“Y’all already know I’m coming. Like I said before, an adventure with a pretty girl is a mission I can get on board with. But, you know Samara, if you just feel like you want to show me how much my heroics mean to you, then I accept payments in the form of kisses and hugs. If you’d like, you can prepay,” Jace says, opening his arms and making kissing noises.
I can’t help but laugh out loud at Jace’s joking, the tension breaking, and he shoots me a wink. Nico, however, doesn’t appear amused and slaps him on the back of the head.
Jace doesn’t seem bothered or deterred by the action, though, and proceeds to blow a kiss in Nico’s direction before excusing himself to find some food.
His reminder to eat sets my own stomach to growling, and after Nico tells us he’d like to speak with Brayden alone, I follow Dex out the door and toward wherever they store their food. Tomorrow, we’d approach Sector A, and hopefully, use Dex’s name to get us in. From there, we’d look for Cole. But tonight, I’d eat and try to rest. I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, but I’ll do whatever it takes and face any challenge to get my baby brother back.
Chapter 15
“How are you doing, Samara?” Dex asks as we walk through the empty streets, and I have to walk around a spot where the hard ground has cracked, and green plants have grown through the gray road. Not really paying attention, I respond absentmindedly.
“Call me Sam. That’s what my family calls me, and well, if I had any friends, I imagine they would, too.” I dodge around another spot where the ground has surrendered to nature, and a tug on my hand draws me up short.
“Then I’ll call you Sam, because I am your friend,” he tells me, but doesn’t drop my hand from his.
It’s warm, and despite never interacting with any people other than my family before, the action feels natural. Like my hand was made to fit into his larger one, and I feel a sensation akin to butterflies flying in my stomach, leaving me confused.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just feel a little funny. I’m fine, though. We can keep going. And, thank you for that. I’ve never had a friend before, and I find the idea quite appealing. Though, you’ll have to forgive me if I do or say something wrong. I’m not really sure how all this works,” I add, and we continue to walk hand in hand.
“Okay but let me know if it gets worse. And believe it or not, I’ve never really had that many friends, either. Funny, right? I’ve grown up surrounded by people, but most of the time, I felt alone. Nico and Jace, they’re the first, and only, two I’ve ever had. Probably my own fault, since I learned at a young age to keep people at arm’s length, but recently, I’ve found I want to let more people in. Besides, I might miss out on something special if I don’t take the chance.” Dex phrases the last part like a statement, but he’s looking so intently at me that I almost feel like it’s a question. He is staring so hard, that he trips over some old rusted box, falling toward the ground, and with his hand still gripping mine, I go down with him.
Somehow, Dex is able to twist midair so that he lands roughly on his back, and catches me in his arms, cushioning my fall by keeping me pulled into his chest. The action catches me so off guard that I don’t brace myself, so when I fall against his chest, my head gets thrown forward and into his, and our lips crush against each other.
Gasping in horror at having unintentionally kissed him, I go to move back, but Dex’s hand comes up to the back of my head and prevents me from moving away. I freeze at his touch, not knowing what to do, but when I feel his lips move gently against mine, I relax the tiniest bit. He pulls away and looks me directly in the eyes.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t brace myself, and—” I start, feeling the need to apologize now that he’s moved away, but he doesn’t seem angry. In fact, a sweet smile graces his handsome face, causing my stomach to flutter again in response. Maybe I ate something that upset it? I think, but no answers are forthcoming, so I start to climb from where I still lie on top of Dex.
“Don’t be sorry, Sam. It’s me that should apologize. I shouldn’t have kissed you,” Dex tells me, the smile from moments ago vanishing and being replaced by an embarrassed look. Feeling my heart sink at the regret on his face, I nod my head and turn away, not wanting him to see the burn of embarrassment that reddens my cheeks. I had thought he meant the kiss, but it seemed like he already regretted it. Great! My first kiss is from assaulting a guy with my lips, and him apologizing for it!
I’m mortified at myself for thinking the kiss had meant something, and I don’t want him to see the tears brimming in my eyes at the thought. Instead, I keep walking forward until I hear his heavy footsteps approaching quickly from behind. Rather than turn around, fearing that seeing him will unleash the traitorous tears I’m fighting to keep inside, I walk straight ahead to where I see the great wall looming in the distance.
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“Sam, wait! That came out wrong. I’m not sorry about the kiss. I mean, I am, but not how you . . . Argh . . . It’s just, I shouldn’t have assumed—” he starts, his words coming out in a rush, but he never gets to finish. As, right when he starts to try and explain some more, a loud bang sounds out, and I jump as dust and rubble fly up from a place near my feet.
“Get down, Sam!” Dex calls, throwing himself forward and shielding me with his own body while I squat crouched on the ground, fear causing a fine tremble to move throughout my body.
“What was that, Dex?” I ask, but a different, deeper voice answers.
“Yes, Dexter, please explain to the lady what a bullet is, and the damage it can do to that pretty blonde head. Oh, and while you’re at it, you can explain what you’re doing and where you have been all this time. Trust me when I say that your father will be very curious to know.” Without even seeing the man’s face, I know he’ll look cruel. It’s the gleeful way he’s talking to Dex that tells me this isn’t someone I want to make mad, so I don’t try to look, and Dex makes no motion to remove his body from where it continues to hover over mine.
“Hello, Baxter. It’s been a while. Still doing my father’s legwork I see. Whatever. Just let my father know that I’ve returned, and I’ve brought a friend. If he wants to ensure my compliance, he’ll see that no harm comes to her.”
Dex doesn’t move while he waits for whoever this Baxter is to telecom his father, and he makes no move to explain to him where he’s been like Baxter requested. Rather than act reproachful about disappearing and staying gone for these past few years, he’s changed into a whole other person. A role that, if he hadn’t explained on our walk that he would play, would have startled me. Even having known to expect it, the change in him is disarming, but I don’t let any of that show on my face. I just stand quietly beside Dex, my hand in his, and wait to see what will happen next.
Chapter 16
Playing the part of Dex’s friend is easy, since all I have to do is stay quiet and allow him to do all the talking. With my red locks changed to an ash blonde from the cream Jace had rubbed through it, and my eyes itching from the small clear film they placed on them, changing my brown to a deep blue, I look the part of a Sector A citizen. Or at least, what I imagine one would look like based off my parents’ descriptions throughout the years.
I’m glad Dex has refused to leave my side, but I find my thoughts switching from thinking about our accidental kiss to wishing Nico and Jace were with us. But I’m happy that they have most likely already crossed over the walls. Another reason for Dex’s bold entrance of marching right up to the gates of the sector he abandoned long ago, allowing Jace and Nico the cover from the distraction he caused. Still, my heart is pounding in fear of the unknown and hope that I may be reunited with my brother soon.
The longer we stand outside the sector walls, with five men loosely circling around us with what Dex had called “guns” in their arms, the harder I have to fight not to show my rising panic. We’d banked on them allowing us in at Dex’s appearance, but they haven’t made any move to do so yet. In fact, it feels like they are waiting for something. Or, we discover, someone.
The heavy gates barely make a noise as they slowly open, revealing more men with guns, and in the middle of them, a man that is almost an exact replica of Dex. The years lining his face and the cold, calculating look are the only differences, and I watch Dex straighten out of the corner of my eye. Introductions are not necessary or offered as Dex’s father approaches with his cadre of men, and I feel like I might be sick from fear.
“Son,” the man says, not making any move to embrace his wayward son. If Dex is bothered by it, it doesn’t show. He just responds in the same manner.
“Father.”
Their reunion is cut short when Jonathan Parson, President of Sector A, turns those keen eyes on me. And I feel as if he’s able to see through my new coloring to the person that lies within. Defective. And I can’t help my grimace when I see him pull a small, handheld machine from his suit pocket.
“We will discuss your whereabouts these past years later, Dexter, but right now, I have to see to the stray that you’ve brought along with you. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t trust your judgement on companions, but we can’t allow someone to enter without scanning them first. Men, make sure my son stands still and doesn't interfere,” Jonathon orders when Dex starts to protest, and my chest squeezes so tight in fear, that I think I’ll pass out.
All these raging emotions, but on the outside, I force my face to remain blank. Thoughts of happier times play through my head while I stand there, the cold press of the machine on my forehead, and if these are to be the last few moments I have alive, I want to spend them thinking about my loved ones.
My father’s smiling face is the first thing that I see, and my hands twitch with the urge to reach for the small wooden bird in my pocket. He told me to fly, but I feel like I have crashed instead. I see my mother next, her stern look as she made Cole and I repeat our lessons, but the gentle way she’d comb my hair or sing while preparing a meal. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but I knew that she loved me. Cole is next, his laughing face as he beat me in a card game, and his innocent wonder at discovering something new. The faces of my family, the ones I love and have lost. Surprisingly though, the photo montage doesn't end there. Three new faces have entered, their presence new, but already so important, and my heart skips a beat at Jace’s wink, Dex’s kind smile, and Nico’s brooding, but confident, face. Their differences making them separate, but also tying them more tightly together.
Beep beep beep.
My eyes fly open and the images stop at the new sound, dread pooling in my stomach like a hard ball. This is it. The scan is over, and now they’ll all know my secret. I’m Defective and will never be allowed within the walls to reach Cole. But, even as I prepare myself for what my punishment will be, Jonathon only steps back and turns to his men holding Dex.
“She’s clear. Let him go, and escort them to my office. My son and I have much to talk about, and I’m rather curious about where our new guest has been staying this whole time. Let’s go,” he orders, and everyone rushes to follow his commands, but I can’t move. I’m frozen under the realization of what he’s just said.
Not Defective. Which meant my parents abandoned their homes for nothing. That they are now gone because they feared what would happen to me should I get scanned. That Cole is lost to me as well, deprived of a childhood of safety behind the walls of the sector. All because of the way I look. But more than that, if I’m not Defective, my coloring proving nothing but a genetic anomaly, then how many others had been cast out? Or worse, maybe the test is wrong . . .?
I don’t get the opportunity to ponder over the repercussions of that last thought for long, before Dex grabs my hand and pulls me to keep up with him. In his face, I can see his own questions, but we don’t talk. Not while surrounded by those that could hurt us, or while passing through the gates of Sector A. The place I have longed for but feared my whole life. No, the time for questions would have to wait because, for the first time, I am on the other side.
About Ellabee Andrews
Ellabee Andrews is a Southern Mama, with a love of all things horror. She enjoys spending time with her husband and children and can often be found with her nose in a book, or her head in the clouds. Her debut series, The Revel and Rot series, is now complete and can be found on Amazon. If you like romance, adventure, steamy scenes, humor, horror, and zombies, then this is the series for you.
All three books are available on KU.
Ellabee also has numerous short stories that are published within other Anthologies. These, too, can be found on her author page.
To stay up to date on all Ellabee’s past, present, and future works, you may follow her with the links below.
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Email: [email protected]
Wolves As
cending
Brea Behn
In the small town of Greensburg, Becker lived a normal quiet life. Then a virus called C47 swept across the world changing everything. Food, clean water and warmth became the new currencies of his world. A group survived the virus and the Fallout afterwards, when many did not. Now, however, there is a new threat to Greensburg. A gang called the Wolves. Their only mission is to get new members, any way possible. Will the Wolves be the one thing Becker can’t survive? Find out in the prequel to the Wolves Series, Wolves Ascending.
We knew it was coming for a long time. It was in our media everywhere we looked, in movies, books, songs, and intertwined into our culture itself. Death was coming.
Still, we weren’t prepared. Our children had forgotten the skills necessary to survive that were as old as the country we lived in. Skills like how to stay warm, how to grow, hunt, or harvest our own food. How to protect and fight.
The virus called C47 swept through the country in waves, killing nearly everyone who breathed it in.
Becker, however, did not get sick. He was one of the immune. One of the lucky ones who was forced to move forward when his entire family, friends, and the world as he knew it died. Although most were killed by the virus, others were lost because of their inability to fend for themselves, which survivors call the fallout.
Right now, Becker was with a small group of survivors in a small town in Wisconsin.
“We need meat!” a man named Dale was saying.
On the Brink Page 38