The Becoming: Revelations

by Jessica Meigs

  Despite this repeated mantra in Ethan’s head, the man was still incensed at the very idea of being lied to. Ethan esteemed few things as much as honesty—trust and friendship were the only qualities he valued so highly. And he had believed that he’d developed all three with Brandt over the past year, that they had both moved on past the initial caution they’d displayed toward each other on meeting.

  Clearly, Ethan had been mistaken.

  And Alicia …

  Ethan paced to the bed and sat heavily on the end of it. He leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands, digging his fingers into his blond hair, tugging at the strands in his frustration. It was so tempting to pick up his Glock and hunt down some spare ammunition and supplies and get the hell out of there. The thought of helping Alicia any further was simply distasteful, and it made him sick to his stomach.

  But he couldn’t leave—at least, not with Alicia actually gone. He couldn’t abandon these people to whatever fate came their way. He wasn’t self-centered or egotistical enough to believe that the only thing standing between these people and chaos was him. But if he left, if he shirked the duties that Alicia had given him on her departure, then someone a lot worse could potentially step in and make their lives a living hell, a dictatorship worse than anything they could imagine. Ethan just couldn’t take that chance.

  A soft knock at the door interrupted Ethan’s train of thought, and he lifted his head from his hands to look at the closed door almost accusingly. He slowly rose to his feet and glanced at his gun one more time before venturing to the door. He paused before it as another knock sounded from the other side.

  “Yeah? Who is it?” Ethan called. His voice was surprisingly gruff, almost harsh in tone. He cleared his throat as the person on the other side of the door spoke.

  “It’s me. Kimberly,” a woman’s voice replied. “Let me in. I have to talk to you.”

  Ethan raised his eyebrows, his hand dropping to the doorknob. He refrained from flinging the door open; instead, he eased it open to see the blond woman in question standing in the hallway. Her normally pretty features had a disturbed look to them, which only served to heighten his concern. His eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

  “What’s wrong?” Ethan asked. Kimberly’s eyes flitted in either direction down the hallway. She made an odd motion with her head.

  “Inside. Not out here in the hallway.”

  Ethan moved aside to let the woman enter. Once the door was shut and locked again, he turned his full attention to Kimberly, the frown still on his face as he spoke. “What’s going on that’s got you coming all the way up to the eighteenth floor to my room?” Ethan studied Kimberly’s expression, trying to read something in it. Once again, he was reminded of his total lack of skill in doing so and how badly he wished Remy were there with him, even if only for her unique ability to give the illusion of reading minds.

  Kimberly walked briskly across Ethan’s room to the windows, pushing the heavy curtains aside and looking out into the early dawn intently. She scanned the street below, squinting into the distance, as if she were searching for something. “We got word a little over an hour ago,” she said. She faced Ethan and let the curtain drop over the window behind her. “Alicia and her crew were spotted entering the city from the northeast two hours before dawn. They left with two vehicles. They only came back with one.”

  “So what does that mean?” Ethan asked impatiently. “That they’ve lost a vehicle?” He finally moved away from the door and toward Kimberly with a deep frown. “That’s not a big deal.”

  “Alicia doesn’t ditch vehicles just to ditch them,” Kimberly explained. “If she’s lost a vehicle, that means she’s likely lost the people who were in it.”

  Ethan pressed his lips together and joined her at the window. “Do you think she’s got Brandt?”

  Kim shook her head. “Ethan, I honestly have no way to know that right now,” she said. Her eyes met his; they were wide, with a touch of nervousness hidden in them. “With any hope, our contacts out on the city limits will have more information for us soon. We’ve requested they let us know whether any others are coming back with her.”

  “And how long do you think it’ll be before we hear any updates?” Ethan asked, only the slightest note of impatience in his voice at the decided lack of information Kimberly had available for him.

  “I’m not sure,” Kimberly admitted. “A couple of hours, maybe?”

  Ethan sighed. “And then we’ll know if she’s got Brandt?”

  “Maybe,” Kimberly hedged. Ethan gave her a dirty look, and she held both of her hands up defensively. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, Ethan. I can’t tell the future. I don’t know what sorts of information Isaac will be able to get.”

  “Why do you have a guy on the city limits anyway?” Ethan asked with both irritation and curiosity.

  Kimberly shrugged. “We only stick him there when a certain someone leaves the city, so we have some forewarning of her return.”

  “I see,” Ethan said thoughtfully. “And, what, this guy only has a carrier pigeon to use to get messages to you?”

  Kimberly snorted. “Yeah, something like that,” she joked. “Its name is Emerson. They come in pairs.”

  Chapter 25

  Brandt was in pain. That fact was clear to Gray merely through the older man’s mannerisms and the way he moved—somewhat gingerly, as if he were afraid to cause himself more pain. Gray narrowed his eyes and watched the man pace alongside the Escalade, his expression brooding and pensive, with a hint of anger.

  Despite Brandt’s pain, the man was obviously, in a word, pissed.

  They’d stopped on the highway outside another gas station an hour down the road from the last one. It was a beat-up affair that, despite the dozens of cars crammed in its small lot, was blessedly free of infected. Remy flitted from one car to the next—crowbar, gas can, and rubber hose in hand—siphoning gas from where she could in order to fill up the Escalade with as much fuel as it could hold. Gray still sat in the back seat and watched his companions. His eyes followed Brandt as the man moved to the front of the vehicle and back again, passing the opened back door with a grimace on his face that made him entirely unapproachable.

  “What’s on your mind, Evans?” Gray asked.

  Brandt stopped in mid-step and gave Gray an incredulous look. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked. “I mean, you seriously didn’t just ask me that fucking question.”

  Gray rested his elbow against the back of the seat and watched Remy as she wedged a crowbar into the gas door of a sedan and wrenched it open, unscrewing the cap and threading the tube into the gas tank. “Let it out, Brandt,” he said. “It’s eating you up inside and turning you into a temperamental motherfucker. Well, at least more of one than you already are. We’re all friends here. You don’t need to take it out on us.”

  Remy let out a cough and spit something—presumably gasoline—onto the ground at her feet, her face snarled up in an ugly expression as she jammed the other end of the tube into the gas can at her feet. Gray bit back a smirk and shook his head slightly, turning his eyes onto Brandt instead. Brandt remained silent as the gasoline drained into the gas can, and he didn’t respond until after Remy had finished and lifted the can to check its fill line.

  “I’m not taking it out on you two,” Brandt grumbled.

  Gray raised his eyebrows. “Want to bet?” he asked. “You’re acting like—”

  “A total douche,” Remy said as she rejoined them, circling around the Escalade with the gas can to fill the tank.

  “Not exactly the way I would have put it, but it’s rather accurate,” Gray acknowledged. “Gas in your mouth?” he asked, directing the question at Remy as she scrubbed her sleeve over her lips.

  “Misjudged how far the gas was from my mouth in the tube,” Remy replied, pulling the gas cap off and shoving the can’s nozzle into the tank.

  “Well, I don’t know about you two, but can you blame me for being pissed off that the
woman I love has been taken hostage by a person I really, really hate?” Brandt bit out. He slumped against the side of the vehicle and crossed his arms. His eyes locked onto the empty lot around them, and his jaw visibly clenched. Gray pressed his lips together and leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows against his thighs. His hands dangled loosely between his knees.

  “We’re all upset over that bitch taking Cade,” Gray said. “Believe me, I’m almost as angry as you, but for different reasons.”

  “And what reasons could those possibly be?” Brandt asked.

  “You and Cade were essentially our leaders,” Gray explained. “I know we generally acted like you were the one in charge over the past month, and even before that, we acted like Ethan was the leader, but it was definitely you and Cade. And Cade was the one who kept you grounded and sane, which is obvious by the way you’re acting now that she isn’t here. You were a team, even when she was out of it for two straight weeks. You’re still a team. And we’re going to get the other half of that team back, come Hell or high water.”

  “Basically, what Gray here is saying,” Remy spoke up, setting the empty can on the ground by the SUV and screwing the gas cap back on, “is don’t act so mad at us, okay? We didn’t have anything to do with Cade getting kidnapped. We’re just as angry as you are.”

  “No, you’re nowhere near as angry as me,” Brandt grumbled. He sighed heavily and sagged against the vehicle again, dropping his head into his hands. “Fuck, guys. I’m just … hell, I’m scared for her. I don’t want anything to happen to her. And finding out she’s pregnant? That just makes it all a hell of a lot worse.”

  Remy flipped the gas door shut and circled the vehicle, grasping Brandt’s uninjured shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, it’s okay to be scared, you know? Just because you’re some big, bad, kickass Marine doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to a little bit of fear on the random, rare occasion.”

  Brandt cracked a smile that disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. “Yeah, okay, Remy. I’ll take your word on that.”

  “You better. Otherwise, I’d have to kick your ass,” Remy mock-threatened. Even Gray had to laugh at the delightful mental image of skinny little Remy trying to beat the hell out of tall, muscular Brandt.

  Brandt shook his head and pushed himself off the vehicle. “I think we need to start planning our next move,” he announced. He leaned into the front passenger side and retrieved the map he’d swiped before the attack at the other gas station. “We’ve got to figure out what to do, because while we know where they took her, we’re at a disadvantage because we don’t know what we’re walking into.” He unfolded the map and walked to the front of the vehicle to spread the paper out on the hood. Gray joined him, Remy close behind. Brandt smoothed both hands over the paper and stared at it for long, silent moments before speaking again. “So. Suggestions?”

  Gray raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You’re asking two untrained people who’re probably just lucky to be here for suggestions when you’re the one with all the skills and experience in this kind of thing?” he asked incredulously. “Come on, man. Use your brain. Stop focusing on Cade for ten seconds, okay? I know she’s the ultimate goal, but right now, our immediate objective is actually getting there.”

  Brandt sighed heavily and nodded in concession. “Right, right,” he acknowledged. He leaned over the map again, squinting at it. “Sorry. I’ve just gotten so used to conferring with, say, Cade and Ethan on ideas and suggestions and plans that I didn’t even think twice about asking.”

  Remy laughed. “Hey, totally understandable,” she said. She gave Brandt another squeeze on the shoulder. “So let’s start with this. Where the hell are we?”

  Brandt moved his fingers over the map, his index finger dropping onto Hollywood, South Carolina. He looked up from the map and squinted at a collection of highway signs near the gas station. Then he refocused on the map, his fingers trailing from Hollywood along a highway, where he stopped on a point.

  “We’re near Allendale,” Brandt announced. “Coming up on it, anyway. We should definitely be reaching Augusta before nightfall, if my estimates are right.”

  “So of course, the next question should be if we plan to push on all night or stop before Augusta and handle that in the morning,” Remy said thoughtfully. “And if we plan to go through Augusta or around it.”

  “Well, we know what my vote will be,” Brandt said. He continued to slide his finger along their presumed trail. “I’m all for keeping on to Atlanta nonstop.”

  “What about rest, Brandt?” Gray asked. It was something with which Theo would have been concerned. And since Theo wasn’t around to ask it, Gray felt it fell onto his shoulders to bring it up.

  “Fuck rest. I’ll be fine,” Brandt said stubbornly.

  “And you know what? I really don’t think I believe that,” Gray said, taking in the man’s rumpled clothes and the dark circles under his eyes.

  “I don’t give a fuck what you do or don’t believe,” Brandt snapped. And just like that, Cranky Brandt was back in full force. Gray gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get any words out, Remy spoke up.

  “Both of you shut the hell up,” she ordered. “I personally don’t care who’s tired, who isn’t, or who thinks who needs rest. I just want to get this shit over with, get Cade, and get the hell out of the entire fucking southeast.”

  “So you’re with Brandt, then?” Gray asked. “Travel all night, little to no stops?”

  “I’m not with anybody but myself,” Remy replied. “So can we please just get moving already? I’m ready to kill something.”

  “I figured you’d be past the whole mindless killing spree thing after what happened at the safe house,” Brandt said in a low voice. His eyes were focused on his hands as he folded the map back up.

  Remy froze, her eyes widening. Even from his vantage point across the hood, Gray could see the hurt in her eyes. “What did you say?” Remy hissed.

  “You heard me,” Brandt replied. He put the folded map into his back pocket.

  Remy’s jaw clenched, and she turned away from them both. “I’ll be in the fucking car,” she muttered. She climbed into the Escalade’s back seat and slammed the door.

  Gray turned on Brandt, his face flushed with anger. Throwing aside his year-long feelings of trepidation toward the Marine, he took three brisk steps and pushed the man against the front of the Escalade. Thankfully, Brandt didn’t punch him—Gray’s worst fear. Instead, the other man merely narrowed his eyes.

  “Why did you say that?” Gray demanded. “That was totally unnecessary! You know how she feels about what happened back there!”

  “Yes, I do know, and yes, it was necessary,” Brandt said emphatically. “She has got to face up to what she did so she’ll at least be okay enough with it that she won’t freeze up if we get into a fight in Atlanta.”

  “Did it look like she froze up back there at that other gas station?” Gray asked. He jabbed his hand in the general direction of the highway. “She had no problem pulling the trigger back there!”

  “Yeah, on someone who was infected,” Brandt pointed out. “That is a whole ‘nother world from killing a person who isn’t infected, never mind two of them. And that is why, at this point, I wouldn’t trust her to have my back at all in Atlanta.”

  “You can’t possibly—”

  Brandt slammed his fist onto the hood of the SUV. Gray jumped and took an involuntary step back. “Damn it, Gray! I’m not in the mood for your bullshit!” he barked. “Stop with your equivocating on something you’ve never had to deal with! I’m talking from fucking experience. What have you got?”

  Gray was startled by Brandt’s outburst. He hesitated before muttering, “Nothing.”

  “Yeah. Nothing,” Brandt said in a measured tone of disgust. “So stop trying to fucking psychoanalyze me, and get in the damned car. We’ve got a long way to go, and I don’t want to put up with your bullshit the whole
way there.”

  Gray stared at Brandt for a moment longer as the older man circled to the driver’s side and flung the door open. He knew better than to question Brandt’s orders or try to continue the argument, though, so he retreated for now, moving to the passenger door and climbing in. He gritted his teeth at the thought of the uncomfortable ride he was in for.

  Chapter 26

  Cade’s arrival in Atlanta was met without comment or fanfare—not that she’d expected any. If it hadn’t been for the dirty blue sign at the side of the highway that said, “Welcome to Atlanta,” Cade wouldn’t have known she was even in the city. She glanced at the back of Alicia’s head and frowned as she studied the woman’s hair, trying to make Alicia turn around just by glaring at her. After a few moments, she gave up. There wasn’t any sign that she’d even made Alicia uncomfortable. Instead, Cade diverted her eyes to the desolate cityscape outside, watching it roll past the window and mentally toying with her options.

  Cade had to escape from Alicia’s clutches. She had to. She didn’t know exactly where the woman and her two remaining cohorts were taking her, save for Alicia’s reference to the Westin. Though they’d treated her reasonably well so far—all things considered, including her attempted escape back in the woods—she didn’t know if it was because of her pregnancy or because they were expediting the trip to a place where things would turn decidedly bad for her. Cade couldn’t risk waiting to see if Brandt came after her. As in the past, she’d have to take her fate into her own hands.

  The early hours were overcast; it looked like it was going to rain, maybe even thunderstorm, judging by the darkness of the clouds above. Visibility was lower than normal. This would be the perfect place to attempt an escape, when she could disappear into the dimness of the streets and hide more easily.