Strays

by Justin Kassab

* * *

  They burst through the exit of the Castle, and Kade hurried with Jem to the end of the building using the jut of the rook tower as cover. The soft light of morning reflected on the former grounds of the Castle gardens, which was now one big mud puddle. Kade released Jem to peek around the corner of the building to make sure it was safe. When he went to motion the others to follow, Jem was already standing out in the open. Realizing he couldn’t leave him unattended, Kade ran back, grabbed Jem, and hauled him to the corner. Once he caught his breath, he motioned for the others to follow him.

  They had just turned off of Independence Avenue, and when an old-fashioned air raid siren blared through the early morning, he was fully convinced all of his good luck had been used up. Once they rounded the corner, they would have no cover all the way to the Smithsonian metro stop, which was straight down the road from them. The only option they had was to run for it.

  Anquan and Yuzuki took off at a dead sprint as Zack and Kade each dragged Jem and Mick along with them. When they reached the stairwell, the first two had already made it down both sets and were out of sight. Bullets zinged through the air. It looked like someone had kicked a hornet’s nest as uniforms appeared everywhere.

  Zack and Kade had made it halfway down the stairs with the two injured men when they heard gunfire coming from below.

  “Stay,” Zack said to Mick and Jem, then motioned for Kade to follow him.

  They crept up the stairs on their hands and knees.

  “They’ve got us bottled. Just cover me for like five seconds, then get the hell out of here,” Zack said. Bullets whizzed overhead like bees cutting through the air.

  “I’ll wait for you to get back,” Kade said.

  “Not this time, Sundance. I’m going to put a lid on you guys. Those two won’t get out of here without your help,” Zack said.

  “You can take them out of here. I’ll stay,” Kade said.

  “She’d hate me forever if I let you do that. I’d rather be dead,” Zack replied.

  “She’ll hate me too.”

  Zack clapped him on the shoulder. “She’ll have to get over it. You’re going to be a father.”

  The entire war zone faded away from Kade’s mind, and he was trapped in a silent panic.

  “Make sure she knows I told you before she did,” he said with a crooked smile. “Now cover me.”

  Zack sprang to his feet and ran toward the Washington Monument. Kade popped up and opened fire on the closing assortment of soldiers, drawing their fire away from Zack.

  Zack sprinted through the war zone, past the bullet-torn Washington Monument, and to a row of tanks. He climbed on top of the nearest one and dropped down through the hatch. Bullets pinged off the tank. Seated inside the vehicle, he bled from a number of bullet wounds. The metal beast roared to life as it headed for the open subway steps.

  Kade ducked beneath the lip of the stairs like less of a man. If roles were reversed, he wondered if he would have been able to be as selfless. Tiny was what he wanted most, but the idea of giving up his life so she could have what she wanted seemed out of his reach.

  The spray of bullets that had been cutting the air above his head ceased. He peeked over the top of the staircase to see a tank rolling toward him. His first thought was to dive down the stairs and get away from there as fast as they could, but then he noticed the president’s men were all focused on the machine.

  Kade retreated a few steps down while the tank rumbled overhead, sealing the entrance off from their attackers. A chorus of heavy fire and explosions followed as the concrete stairs shook from the barrage.

  A scream echoed up the stairway, and Kade spun in a panic, thinking Mick or Jem had moved themselves into the line of fire. They were both still wandering around safely on the platform below. Kade slung his empty rifle over his shoulder and rushed down the steps.

  Grabbing Mick and Jem, he dragged them along and forced them against the wall at the bottom. Ahead of him, Yuzuki tucked herself in behind a bend in the wall, while Anquan was sprawled in the center of the corridor leading to the turnstiles. Kade couldn’t tell if Anquan was dead or just wounded, but he wasn’t moving.

  Ten yards down the cement corridor were two bays of turnstiles joined by a ticket booth. Behind the turnstiles were four soldiers. With hardly any natural light getting around the tank, it was almost impossible to see anything that the soldiers weren’t illuminating with their flashlights.

  “Stay,” Kade said to Jem and Mick, then rushed across the corridor to join Yuzuki.

  Kade leaned forward so his face was over Yuzuki’s shoulder and whispered, “Rifle’s empty.”

  “Me too,” she replied.

  “Anquan?” Kade asked, eyeing the pistol in the center of the corridor just out of the man’s grip.

  “Dead.”

  Kade set his rifle on the ground and drew his two Judges. He wished they had better range, but right now it was advantageous to have something that would go boom when he pulled the trigger.

  With the number of metro stops in the city, Kade knew they only had a small window to get away before they would be totally trapped in the tunnels. The men on the surface would only be delayed by Zack for so long.

  One of the beams of light crossed over Anquan’s pistol, and Kade locked his eyes on it. He waited for the lights to slide to the far side of the corridor and then sprinted into the open. As he moved over the pistol, he used his experience as a soccer player to kick it like a back pass and kept his momentum moving forward.

  The pistol ground against the floor as it slid toward Yuzuki. All four lights trained on the pistol until it passed out of their sight. Kade used the momentary distraction to slide across the floor and hide behind the ticket booth.

  He squatted with his back to the booth, keeping all four soldiers behind him, while he controlled his breathing so they couldn’t hear him. A pair of boots landed on Kade’s side of the turnstiles. Tucking his quads to his chest, Kade made himself as small as possible as the light from the soldier’s rifle passed just in front of his toes.

  “Who turned out the lights?” Mick said, from back where Kade left him.

  A second soldier landed on the other side of the ticket booth. Kade held his breath as they scanned for his friends’ hiding places.

  “Look, a night-light,” Jem said.

  Kade had to act now. He sprang to his feet and slung himself over the turnstiles. He landed within arm’s reach of a soldier. His left hand came down on the rifle, turning the light toward the ground. He placed his right hand a few inches from where he suspected the man’s face was and pulled the trigger. The Judge blasted the man, who stumbled back a few steps before falling. A dull thud echoed as the man’s skull met the concrete.

  Hurrying toward the next light on Kade’s side, he opened fire with both Judges. He knew the first shot from each revolver wouldn’t do much, but they would inflict some pain, which he hoped would be enough to occupy the soldier. The distance closed, and Kade knocked the rifle away before delivering two close range blasts into the man.

  The two men who had already cleared the turnstiles turned their lights back on Kade and opened fire. Throwing himself to the ground, Kade scrambled across the floor and took cover behind the ticket booth. Both lights scanned the floor around him. By the angles, it was clear the soldiers were moving to flank him.

  A pistol echoed through the darkness, and one of the lights stopped scanning. A second shot followed, and there were no more lights.

  Yuzuki brought Jem and Mick forward, while Kade gathered the rifles with lights and divvied them amongst the group.

  “I need to find them food,” Kade said, making sure the safeties were on both of his friends’ rifles.

  “We need to get clear before they pin us in. Then we can get them fed. For now, hope the drugs don’t wear off until we get safe. When they realize how much pain they’re in, this will get more difficult. Now follow me.” Yuzuki dropped onto the tracks and jogged away.

  Kade
helped Mick and Jem down, then took each of them under a shoulder and hurried as fast as he could after her.

  * * *

  The pack seemed to be up to something. Alpha was being careful to keep his distance, but staying close enough to keep an eye on what his troop was up to. It looked like four of them were communicating about a hunt.

  What alarmed him was that, if the pack was hunting, he would have been alerted. Alpha stalked silently through the trees, keeping his eyes on the four of his pack. The four never noticed him. Placing his palms softly on the ground, he crawled to a thick cluster of undergrowth. Once he was concealed, he rose up on two feet to both hide himself better and improve his vantage point.

  The four continued patting their chests and the dirt with soft howls. Then a fifth came running up to the council. The new addition was his second-in-command, Beta. Alpha watched as the four opened up their circle to bring in his stocky subordinate.

  Beta beat his chest, and the others answered with excited hoots before they went into a low bow of submission.

  Alpha huffed and lowered himself to all fours. He put his back to the situation and slinked quietly away.

  * * *

  John had waited in the library long after Emma left. He had tried to seem cool about everything that had just happened, but he thought he may have come off a little too fangirl. It got especially awkward when he had thanked her.

  Saying she fled would be like saying the Titanic was an okay cruise.

  The high of the moment left him on his way back from the library. Somewhere in the dorm was Grace. He didn’t know what he would say to her. There had never been a time in his life that he had ever dealt with one woman, let alone trying to balance two. If Grace found out what had happened, he feared that he would have no chance with her ever, but if she heard about it from someone else—especially Emma—Grace might throw him from the roof.

  That was a lie. She wouldn’t throw him from the roof. That would have implied that she cared about him enough to throw him from the roof. She likely wouldn’t even bat an eye.

  Each rung of the ladder John climbed, he felt his hope of ever being with Grace plummet. The high he had felt with Emma was replaced with an even deeper sadness at the realization that Grace probably would never want him.

  He pulled himself through the window and onto the third floor. Landing on his back, he lay there wondering if he wanted to ever get up. It didn’t seem fair to him. The Primal Age had given Kade and X the women of their dreams. Grace was the woman of his dreams, and he’d completely messed up.

  John pushed himself to his feet. Maybe she wasn’t his dream. It could be possible that he was a romantic and fell in love with the story the others had, and thought he could have that with Grace. There wasn’t much about Grace he knew. Despite all the times he tried to get close to her, she didn’t want to let him in.

  John made his way through the dorm and to his room. He had decorated it with movie posters from films he had always wanted to see, but never had.

  There was one thing he could do to brighten his mood: target practice. He was best at archery. No one in the group had close to his skill level.

  He picked up his bow and quiver, but when he turned to leave, Grace was in his doorway. John swallowed hard, not sure what to do. The only way out of his room was past her. She wasn’t Tiny, but he still had a healthy fear of her.

  “I am impressed with what you did,” Grace said, leaning against the doorframe.

  His brain swirled. He didn’t think Emma would have gone straight to Grace. Emma seemed to be sincere when she said she didn’t want John’s emotion. He wasn’t sure why that would make him feel better. There were two women that wanted none of his emotion.

  The only thing he could think to say was, “Thanks.”

  Grace shook her head at him. Fear gripped him as he worried she had laid a trap for him to walk into. “I never thought you’d have the balls to disagree with me.”

  “Oh, that’s what you meant,” John said with a sigh.

  “What?” Grace snapped.

  “Nothing,” John said.

  “It doesn’t make you right,” Grace said.

  With the amount of emotional baggage John had picked up this morning, Damian’s innocence or guilt seemed like the least of his problems. He wasn’t so lost in his lovelorn strife to truly believe that the possibility they had a vaccinator amongst them preying on children was less of an issue than his girl problems, but he was feeling egocentric.

  “Damian is innocent,” John huffed.

  Grace cocked her head. “Flip-flopping just because I challenged you. Maybe those balls were too short-lived to be of use.”

  “Doesn’t really matter, does it?” John said.

  She crossed the room and took the bow and quiver out of John’s hands. She tried to force him to face her, but he kept his gaze away from her. He wanted to say a hundred hateful things, but mostly just wanted to get out of there.

  “What’s the issue?” Grace asked, grabbing him by the shoulder.

  Just a few hours ago, John would have welcomed any contact from her, but as much as he wanted to be with her, he felt his actions with Emma would make that nearly impossible now.

  Wright appeared in the doorway. “Did you have a good study session in the library?”

  John turned his attention away from Grace. “I studied plants.”

  “Emma a good tutor?” Wright kept walking and didn’t wait for an answer.

  Grace pushed away from him, as John’s head drooped.

  “Did something happen between you two?” Grace asked. She had a fire in her eyes that John had never seen before. She looked like she could burn the whole world down.

  “What does it matter?” John asked.

  Grace pointed a finger at herself. “It matters to me.”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “Tell me.”

  The walkie-talkie on John’s dresser erupted with Ashton’s voice. “Stray! Time for the grocery run. Cars. Five minutes. Don’t make me come get you.”

  John moved away from Grace and picked up the walkie. “I’ll be there.”

  “I have to go,” John said.

  Just the distance of the few steps let him see all of Grace. Her form was shaking, like she was silently crying. Her eyes were trained on her feet, and her fists were curled into tight balls.

  “If you didn’t want me anymore, fine, but you don’t have to be an asshole,” Grace said, rushing out of the room before he could say anything.

  Her words cut him to the core. Not that he wanted to be someone’s property, but somewhere in her brain they were something more than he thought. His face felt cold as fear drained him of all composure, and he hoped he could find a way make things right again.

  It must have been the dust flying from Grace’s dirty clothes that caused his eyes to water as he made his way to meet up with Ashton.

  * * *

  When they emerged into the daylight, Kade’s skin felt basted in sweat. He became aware of his odor for the first time. Even though he smelled like a pig that had rolled in its own feces, that was nothing compared to how rank his companions smelled. The president’s men wouldn’t need anything but their scent to track them.

  Instead of heading north as Kade had suggested, Yuzuki had led him south along what was once the Blue Line Metro to L’Enfant Plaza, where they had to evade a small group of soldiers before they continued south on the Green Line tracks to the Waterfront stop. She had explained that this would keep them underground the longest, and right now they needed cover more than anything. Plus, the Waterfront stop would bring them above ground less than a quarter mile from the Washington Channel. It was more important for them to get away from the city than to get away in the right direction.

  Once they hit the streets, Yuzuki led them on a quick sprint to a restaurant where she used to waitress called the Cantina Marina. Kade sat Mick and Jem on the floor behind the bar while Yuzuki kept watch outside to make sure no one was follow
ing them. Mick and Jem’s faces were the dark yellow of a healing bruise, and their eyes had a hollow look, like there was no comprehension behind them. Kade tried to think positively: they had been bloodied and bruised, but neither had a broken bone. Had either of them been hobbled, he would never have been able to get them out of the city. With how weak they were from being malnourished, he had practically had to drag them every step of the way.

  Kade scavenged for anything he could feed his two friends to bring them down from their high. A starved stomach was a tricky beast to slay. He couldn’t just throw food at them or he could make the situation worse. He found a refrigerator unit that seemed to have been untouched. Even though the power was out, the water inside was still drinkable. He cracked one of the lids and poured the water into two shot glasses. He handed a glass to Mick and one to Jem and told them that if they kept it down they could have more in ten minutes. Then he took an unopened bottle over to Yuzuki, who was staring out over the marina.

  “Sorry about your friend.” Kade handed her the bottle.

  She gave him a nod and took the bottle. “Sorry about yours.”

  “He was a better man,” Kade said.

  “Things aren’t fair,” Yuzuki said. “A year ago I was being hit on in this very bar by rich men who wanted to show me their yachts; a few months ago I was leading raids against the president of the United States; now I am standing here with three people I don’t know, unsure of what happens next.”

  “Next, we get those two space cadets back to Earth, then we get the hell out of Dodge,” Kade said.

  “Then what?” Yuzuki asked.

  Kade’s ear caught the sound of glass clinking on the bar and turned to see Jem trying to pour himself another shot of water.

  “No,” Kade called out like he was disciplining a dog. Jem shot back behind the bar.

  Yuzuki waved a hand over the marina where there were all kinds of boats moored. Many of them were worse for wear and looked like they wouldn’t stay afloat long, but a handful of them still looked like they could bear weight.

  “Any chance you know how to sail?” Yuzuki asked.

  “Not something in my skill set, sadly,” Kade said.