Atonement (A Science Fiction / Fantasy Romance)

by Fall, Carly

  The chill of the desert night air caused goose bumps as he stared into the camera. Someone stared back at him, he just didn’t know who.

  After a ten-minute standoff, it became apparent they weren’t going to open for him, so he went to the passenger side of the car. “Megan, I need you to wake up,” he whispered.

  The girl stirred, but didn’t wake. “Megan,” he said louder, shaking her shoulder. “Honey, wake up.”

  She finally opened her eyes and looked around as if she were startled by her surroundings.

  “We’re almost there,” Blake said, “but I need you to do something for me.”

  “Blake, I’m so tired,” she whined as she rubbed her eyes.

  “I know. I am too. Just get out of the car for a minute, okay?”

  She slid out of the car and he held her hand as he led her over to the camera. “Look up there, Megan,” he said.

  Gazing up to the sky, she said, “Where?”

  “See that black box right there?” Blake asked, pointing.

  “Yes.”

  “Right there, honey, stare right at it.”

  As she did, Blake took a step behind her. Open the fucking gate, he mouthed.

  Ten seconds later, the gates hummed and slid to the side.

  “Good job, Megan,” he murmured. “Let’s get back in the car.”

  Blake drove on a half mile, and the second gate opened as he approached. The oval outline of the silo came into view, and Blake took a deep breath as they pulled up to the front steps.

  Megan looked nervous.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “This is where the other SR44ians live.”

  Blake exited the car and went to her door. He pulled it open, and Megan started to cry.

  He waited for the irritation that usually came with crying kids, but nothing happened. Instead, the overwhelming urge to hold and soothe her overcame him, and he bent down, slipped his cuffed hands over her head and down to her waist. “Here,” he murmured. “Hold on.”

  She grabbed his neck as if her life depended on him, and he supposed it did. Burying her face in his shoulder, he wished he didn’t smell, and he wondered if the Saviors would at least remove the damn cuffs from his wrists and let him have a shower before sending him on his way. After the way he left things, he wasn’t sure.

  The door to the silo popped open, and Noah stepped out with Cohen and Jovan, all three of them wearing pajama bottoms of various colors and carrying guns at their sides.

  “What is this, Blake?” Noah growled.

  Okay, so there wouldn’t be any formalities, and he bit back sarcasm. “This is Megan,” he said, keeping his tone soft and neutral. “Megan is the daughter of Sophia, an SR44 female, and Micah.”

  Noah glanced over at Jovan, who then came down the steps. “We’ll take her,” Jovan murmured, reaching for Megan.

  “No!” she screamed, her voice echoing across the desert night and causing Jovan to jump back. “No! Don’t let them take me, Blake! I have to stay with you!”

  “Shhh, Megan, it’s okay,” he soothed.

  “No! Don’t leave me!”

  She gripped his neck tighter and wrapped her legs around him. He held her as close as he could.

  Noah and Cohen exchanged glances, and Cohen nodded.

  “Bring her in, Blake,” Noah commanded.

  Blake walked up the steps, followed by Jovan. He nodded at Noah, but couldn’t meet Cohen’s eyes. “Thanks, man,” he mumbled.

  Megan continued to cry on his shoulder, her tears tracking down his chest. Her sounds just about broke his heart in two.

  The first door shut, and then the second opened. Blake stepped into the small hallway leading to the kitchen. Noah, Jovan, and Cohen walked past him and joined the others there: Abby, Rayner, Faith, Hudson, Beverly, Liberty, Annis, Nico, and Alaina. He could barely meet their gazes as shame and embarrassment coursed through him.

  Megan’s sobs had turned to whimpers, and she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder. He tried to imagine what her thoughts were as she stared at the women, the huge men, and most of their eyes glowing just as hers did.

  Annis stepped forward, her golden gaze on Megan. “Hello, little one,” she whispered. “My name’s Annis. I knew your mother. We traveled to Earth together.”

  Megan eyed her warily and said nothing.

  Annis held out her arms. “Let me get you something to eat.”

  Megan had a death grip on Blake, and it only strengthened as she turned and buried her head against Blake’s neck.

  Blake could see this was a standoff.

  “Just give her to me,” Annis murmured.

  “Please don’t, Blake,” Megan whispered.

  He knew the Saviors wanted him gone, and frankly, he didn’t blame them. However, he’d made a promise to Sophia that he would help Megan, and turning Megan over to them right now seemed cruel. The girl was scared, and he felt protective of her. He hadn’t done anything right in a long time, but this time would be different.

  “I can’t,” he said to Annis, meeting her gaze for the first time in a very long time. “I promised her mother I would bring her to you, but I can’t just drop her off. She’s got a death grip on me. She’s scared.”

  Annis turned to Noah. “He has to stay,” she announced. “For the girl.”

  Noah ran his hand through his hair and nodded. “All right. It’s the middle of the night. Blake, there’s no . . . funny business going on here, is there? You haven’t led Micah to our door or anything, right?”

  Blake shook his head. “No, Noah. I promise.” Being upright for so long had made his knees weak. He really needed to sit down or stretch out somewhere.

  “So, where is Megan going to sleep?” Faith asked.

  “I’m sleeping with you, Blake,” Megan whispered.

  “She wants to sleep with me,” Blake announced.

  “Megan, is that true?” Noah asked. She nodded her head and turned away.

  Noah walked around Blake so he was facing Megan. “Hi, Megan,” he said, his voice low. “My name’s Noah. I’m kind of in charge of this place.”

  Blake wondered if Megan was going to snap his neck. She might be small, but there was strength in those little arms.

  “Your mom asked Blake to bring you here, right?”

  She nodded.

  “If your mom asked Blake to bring you here, she wouldn’t send you to a place where people would hurt you, would she?”

  Megan shrugged. “I don’t think so, but she doesn’t know you.”

  Noah smiled. “That’s good that you’re a little hesitant about us but—”

  Beverly stepped forward. “Let her stay with Blake, Noah,” she said. “Right now Megan is being very smart in staying with what she knows, what is comfortable to her.”

  “Stranger danger,” Hudson muttered.

  Beverly looked Blake over. “You look worse for wear,” she commented, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Why don’t we do this,” Rayner said. “Megan stays with Blake. Blake stays handcuffed. In the morning, we sort things out and give the guy a shower. That girl shouldn’t be exposed to the toxic fumes coming off his body.”

  Megan loosened her grip a little and turned to look at Rayner.

  “How does that sound, Megan?” he asked, his red eyes blazing.

  “Can we give him a shower tonight?” she asked.

  There was a beat of silence, then everyone laughed. For a moment, Blake felt like he was back home, right where he belonged.

  Chapter 44

  Jovan and Liberty led Blake and Megan back to Blake’s old quarters. They unlocked the room. All traces of him were gone, as if he’d never existed or spent any time in this space.

  “Abby and I packed up what you left a few days ago,” Liberty said. “We were going to donate everything. I’ll go pull the suitcases out of storage.”

  “Thanks, Liberty,” he murmured, wondering if Megan had fallen asleep. God knew he wanted to.


  “How’ve you been?” Jovan asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

  Blake decided that his greasy hair, emaciated body, and the handcuffs were a good indication of exactly how he’d been. “Not so good,” he answered.

  “It doesn’t look like it. Looks like you’ve been dragged behind a truck around the block a few times.”

  Blake nodded. “Something like that.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  Blake shook his head. “Maybe later, then.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Let’s get you in the shower,” Jovan said, reaching for Megan.

  “No,” she mumbled as Liberty came into the room.

  “Megan, my name is Liberty. I also traveled to Earth with your mom, but I’m much more fun than Annis.”

  That gleamed a little smile from Megan.

  “Now, the boys are going to go into the bathroom so Blake can wash up. You said he was stinky, right?”

  Megan giggled and nodded.

  “I think you’re right. He stinks like a big pile of poo.”

  Megan scrunched up her face and laughed. “Gross!”

  “I know! So let’s let him get showered, okay?”

  Megan shook her head, her smile fading. “I don’t want him to leave.”

  “He’s not going to leave,” Jovan said.

  “Let me show you,” Liberty said, reaching for Megan.

  “No.”

  “Then let me show you,” Blake said.

  “Okay.”

  He carried Megan into the bathroom. “I’m going to shower in here. You will be out there. It’s your job to guard outside the door and make sure I don’t leave, okay?”

  “Do you pinky swear?” Megan asked.

  “Sure.”

  She held out her pinky and twisted it around his.

  “I saw this in a book once,” she murmured.

  He smiled, thinking that the gesture was very serious to her.

  Megan looked around, assessing her surroundings. Finally, she gave a nod of approval. “Okay, Blake, but I’m hungry.”

  “How about some cookies?” he asked as he put her down, thinking Sophia probably wasn’t the type of mother to offer her kid cookies at three in the morning.

  “Okay,” Megan said, trying to hide her smile.

  Five minutes later Blake stood under the hot spray and decided a shower had never, ever felt so good.

  “I’ll talk to Noah about removing the cuffs in the morning,” Jovan said from outside the black marble stall.

  Blake washed his hair three times and took a washcloth to his body, scrubbing his skin until it turned pink. Shutting off the water, Jovan handed him a towel.

  There was a light knock on the door, and Jovan cracked it open. “Hey, honey,” he said.

  Blake heard Liberty’s voice, but couldn’t understand what she said.

  “Okay, thanks,” Jovan said, shutting the door. He tossed Blake a pair of plaid pajama bottoms. “Do you remember when Liberty first came to live with us?”

  Blake nodded as he dried off, the handcuffs rattling.

  “She used to walk in on me all the time while I was showering. It drove me nuts.”

  “Guess she just needed to learn the rules and customs,” Blake said.

  Jovan chuckled. “Yeah, she did. I’d be lost without my little package of trouble out there.”

  Blake smiled and pulled on the pajamas.

  “So what’s with you and Megan? And her mom?” Jovan asked.

  Blake sighed. “In a nutshell, her mom, Sophia, is brave as hell and loves her daughter.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.”

  “I don’t know if I believe that, Blake.”

  Blake sighed, physically and mentally exhausted. He didn’t have it in him to try to explain everything to Jovan. “Man, I’m so tired I feel sick. Tomorrow you can cut the cuffs off me, and I’ll be on my way.”

  “And where do you think you’re going?”

  “To get Sophia. Her mom.”

  “You don’t look like you’re in any condition to climb a set of stairs let alone hit some rescue mission.”

  Blake shrugged. “I don’t have a choice.”

  Jovan stared at him as Blake brushed his teeth. A few minutes later, he rinsed his mouth out and actually felt somewhat human. He heard Liberty singing to Megan in the next room. Blake thought he recognized the tune, but he couldn’t place it. “What’s she singing?”

  Jovan smiled. “‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin.”

  Blake listened a moment longer. “Isn’t that song about a greedy woman or something like that?”

  Jovan nodded. “Liberty doesn’t know it though. She thinks it’s a very spiritual song.”

  “You going to tell her the truth?”

  “Probably not.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, and Jovan grinned. “It’s good to see you, Blake,” Jovan said, clasping his shoulder. “Let’s get you to bed and you can fill us in on where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to in the morning.”

  Blake nodded, not really looking forward to that talk.

  Chapter 45

  "You'll be staying down there," Micah said, pointing at the stairway leading to a basement.

  The darkness sent a shiver through Sophia, and she flipped on the light. The long, steep stairwell leading into a gaping black hole scared her. "I think I would prefer another room, Micah."

  She cried out as he grabbed her arm and pulled her down the stairs. Barely able to keep her footing, she feared he would throw her to the bottom and injure her.

  They reached the landing and he turned the lights on. A small living room greeted her, and off to the side was a small bedroom. The musty scent indicated no one had been down here for a long time.

  "No, you will be staying right here," Micah muttered as he pushed her into the bedroom. "And from now on, you will do exactly as I say, when I tell you to do it."

  He turned on his heel and took the stairs two at a time. The door at the top of the stairs slammed shut. Sophia’s body shook with fear.

  They had killed Simon. Sophia had suppressed a scream when she saw Jael dragging his body to the back shed. Micah had done nothing to try to clean up the pool of blood at the front door, making her walk through it as he dragged her out of the house.

  This house was new—Sophia had never been here. It seemed Micah moved often.

  She sat down on the bed and pulled the pillow to her chest, smelling the faint scent of a male.

  Sophia let out a long sigh, trying to get a hold of her nerves and fear. The thought of living below the ground frightened her as it made her think of graves. Perhaps this would be her final resting place if she were unable to produce the offspring Micah so desperately wanted.

  She had the feeling that Micah wasn't sure if he should believe her story as far as Blake was concerned. Surely, he didn't believe she was crazy enough to send her precious child away with a stranger, did he? But then, he didn't know she had heard his conversation with Jael. If he had any indication she had heard their intentions with Megan, perhaps he wouldn't believe her. He knew Megan was her life, her reason for living, and her greatest weakness, her Achilles heel.

  She stood and walked over to the staircase. Looking up the long, steep darkened space, she wondered if she truly was being held captive. Taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs. When she reached the top, she twisted the silver knob, only to find it locked.

  As she returned downstairs, she fought back the tears of fear and regret, and prayed Megan had ended up in safety.

  Chapter 46

  Blake woke the next morning with Megan curled up by his side, her little curls covering her face.

  It felt good to be back in his old bed.

  There was a loud knock on the door, and Blake got out of bed to answer it as Megan stirred.

  He opened the door and Hudson, Beverly, and Killian stood there. Beverly smiled tentatively, while Killian star
ed at the handcuffs. Hudson looked like he wanted to gut Blake, and Blake wondered what was in the big, plastic yellow tub he carried. The first thing that came to mind was a place for Hudson to gather up Blake’s dismembered body parts.

  No one said anything for a moment, then Beverly murmured, “Hello, Blake.”

  “Hey.”

  “Can we come in?” she asked.

  He didn’t think Hudson would hurt him in front of the kids. “Yeah, sure.”

  He stepped aside just as Megan crawled out of bed.

  “Megan,” Beverly said, “I’d like to introduce you to our son, Killian.”

  Megan pushed her hair out of her face as she stared at the little boy. Killian held on to Beverly’s leg and eyed Megan right back.

  “Hi,” Killian mumbled.

  Megan slowly walked toward him. “Hi,” she whispered as she slipped her hand into Blake’s.

  “I was thinking Hudson could watch the kids while Noah removed the handcuffs and then you and I could have a chat,” Beverly said.

  “What do you say, Megan?” Hudson asked. “I’m pretty harmless.”

  Blake rolled his eyes, and Hudson glared at him. The last word he would ever use to describe Hudson was “harmless.”

  “It’s okay, Megan,” Blake said. “I’ll be back in just a little bit. Hudson and Killian can show you around.”

  “Killian likes Legos,” Hudson said. “Do you like them?”

  “What’s a Lego?” Megan asked.

  Beverly and Hudson glanced over at Blake. Shrugging, he had the distinct feeling there wasn’t a whole bunch of playing going on at Sophia’s.

  “You can build stuff with them. They’re a lot of fun,” Beverly answered.

  Megan slowly let go of Blake’s hand and nodded. “Okay,” she said.

  Hudson set down the tub and opened it. There had to be at least a million and one Legos in there.

  “See, watch!” Killian commanded, dropping to his knees. Megan sunk to the floor next to him.