The Price We Pay (Life After War Book 7)

by Angela White

  Angela gestured and the door gently shut. “Dari came for the answer too. She’s not one of us though, and her group is leaving.”

  Dari nodded respectfully. “Yes. My people and I have voted as well. While we applaud your efforts, we have no faith that humans can be reformed. We wish to create our own laws and cultures.

  Angela sighed unhappily. “I assumed that when you voted for my death.”

  Angela’s team didn’t need to hear more.

  Becky and Cynthia sent out their rage and Dari collapse with blood trickling from her mouth.

  “Her group is also corrupt,” Angela stated. “We’ll have to handle that.”

  “We will,” Jennifer vowed, helping Sam drag the body away from the door.

  Angela took a deep breath and gave them the details they’d been hoping for.

  “I did it. The woman’s name is Marcella. She’s the first.”

  The females cheered, but quietly, aware of the fine line that all of them would now be walking.

  “And no one knows?” Peggy confirmed. She was old enough to understand how some of their males might react.

  “Those in this room do,” Angela answered vaguely. She didn’t tell them there were others. The males who knew of this part in her scheme were the men who’d helped devise it all.

  “Then we’ve done it?” Tracy asked. It was important to her that what she’d gone through had been for something.

  “Yes. Women will now get their chance, providing that’s what fate wanted,” Angela said. “If we were wrong, then I expect Marcella to be killed quickly. She became rather…obsessive over the idea the instant I planted it.”

  “We’re ready!” a guard called from outside the door.

  Angela hopped from the bed and strode that way. “We’ll leave that mess for after the result of Adrian’s vote. Handle her group during the aftermath.”

  The women stayed behind to discuss exactly how that was to be done, and Angela went back to face her verdict.

  3

  Angela: 87%

  Marc: 10%

  Adrian: 3%

  Angela reread the numbers in surprise. She had honestly expected them to want Marc now. She looked up at the quiet, almost grinning crowd. “Are you guys sure this shouldn’t be 87% for Marc? He’s the good one.”

  Marc chuckled. “That’s my baby-cakes.”

  He was relieved at the vote. He hadn’t wanted leadership of everything.

  Angela took a moment to wander through the people, seeing that Adrian had been taken back to his cell. Even those who had voted for Marc or Adrian were content enough with the outcome. Except for Kendle and Kenn, of course. Even Tonya had voted for her, though as a member of her team, Angela wasn’t sure how much that had colored it.

  Marc went to the front of the room. “We went ahead and voted on Adrian,” he stated, getting Angela’s immediate attention.

  She didn’t show anger that the moment was already gone, but Marc knew she was upset.

  “We couldn’t do it all your way, not with him. We chose his death.”

  Angela closed her lids and tried to think of a way to stop it.

  “We picked hanging,” Marc stated, aware of her horrible pain. The witch was making sure he got it full strength. “But we know you have the power to overrule it, as the guardian.”

  Angela had never loved Brady more. He’d given her the way.

  “Why would you do this?” she asked. “You hate him.”

  “That’s awfully mild for what I feel,” Marc corrected. “And it’s what you’d come to feel for all of us after a while.”

  “I wouldn’t do—”

  “We know better,” Marc stated. The crowd thought he meant them, but it was the witch and the demon listening that Marc was referring to. “We chose to leave his punishment up to you.”

  “You said your justice wouldn’t be gentle and we’ve witnessed it,” Greg said. “Will you make sure he feels as bad as each of us do over his betrayal?”

  “Yes, I will,” she vowed. “He deserves the death you all want. I’m sorry I can’t give it to you.”

  “Will you make him pay?”

  “Make him hurt!”

  “And do it where we can see it!”

  Angela felt Adrian listening and refused to allow her pity to interfere with this final stage in that damn grand plan. She hoped to never have to create a new one. “My word on it.”

  “Then start now,” Marc instructed, waving for Adrian to be brought back out to hear his sentence.

  Angela was already connected to Adrian and his torment was almost more than she could take. There were no doors, no walls between them now and there never would be again.

  It’s okay,” Adrian soothed over his own anguish. “I knew this would come. That’s why they have you to guide them.

  I’m sorry.

  So am I. For everything.

  But it had to be this way?

  Yes. Now take your place as leader and hand out my sentence. I’ve more than earned it.

  As soon as Adrian came into the room, Angela’s voice rang out with a finality that couldn’t be doubted.

  “Adrian Mitchel, you are hereby banished from Safe Haven Refugee Camp. If you ever step foot inside our gates, for any reason, the nearest camp member is to shoot you down dead like the dog you are.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  1

  “So what happens now?” Neil asked.

  Everyone looked at Angela, confident she already had plans in place for the next steps of their survival.

  Angela glanced around and saw the same desire she had—a peaceful camp settled somewhere for the winter.

  “Get packed for the trip we voted on before all the soldiers came. It’s time to start Safe Haven Settlement.”

  A huge cheer rose through the awning and the bubble flashed to life at the emotion. Crimson-killing green and gold swirled through the shield and streaks of blue mingled with bright, happy colors of a satisfied population.

  Except for the woman lingering nearby, waiting for the moment that Angela would deliver what she had promised.

  Angela turned around and stared at her rival.

  “You can’t do it, can you?”

  Angela didn’t blink. “No. There is no cure for this new sickness. The plan was always to kill you.”

  Kendle lowered her head, terrified and glad at the same moment. “Please.”

  Angela placed a hand on Kendle’s arm. “Not even if you had slept with them both. I need you on my team. I’m a woman short now.”

  The reminder of Crista’s death brought sobriety to the mood and Angela dropped her hand. “Control it, feed it, and learn to adjust. Or kill yourself, because I won’t.”

  Kendle thought of a hundred things to say, and settled for, “Thank you.”

  Angela knew it was for saving Adrian’s life, not for the place on her team or the welcome that Marc had arranged for her when he’d first come back.

  Angela’s face lit up with deep strength. “It’s my honor. I mean that. Now go take your place with my team. You’ve earned it.”

  Adrian was being led from the room by a group of Eagles that weren’t holding back on what they thought of him. Angela turned away from it. “I want him outside our gates in the next ten minutes. Give him the clothes on his back, one empty gun, and a knife. A true survivor doesn’t need more to start out with.”

  “What about Conner?” Marc reminded her. Adrian might not be dead, but he wished he was and that almost enough for now. In fact, the more Marc thought about it, the more this sentence seemed fair. Adrian would suffer a constant torment instead of a fast snap.

  Angela went to the front of the room again and the crowd slowly quieted as they remembered they weren’t finished yet.

  “Conner Mitchell has been arrested for a moral violation. Because there is a pattern and because of who his father is, I chose to hold a camp trial.”

  Conner came through the door his father had been taken out by, face swel
led from crying. He looked even younger than he was.

  Nice touch, Marc thought. Like father, like son.

  “Tell the camp what you’ve done,” Angela ordered. “If you don’t, you’ll be found guilty anyway and we’ll go straight to sentencing.”

  Conner had listened to his father’s advice. “I was following Candy around. I like her. I’ve been watching her since Lee died.”

  “What else have you been doing?” Angela pushed, knowing the camp needed a real reason for this trial.

  “Playing with myself while I spied on her.”

  The camp understood all too well and the shouts were ugly.

  Angela let them vent for a moment so that Conner would understand the seriousness of his actions. She needed him scared.

  Angela motioned for the object of his affection to stand up. “Did you know Conner was following you around?”

  Candy looked stunned. “Not a clue. I’m not a...are you sure it’s me?”

  She glanced at the boy and in that moment, there was no denying it. The instant she’d come into view, Conner’s eye had glazed over and a sickly smile had creased his face.

  “Do you want to press charges?”

  Candy, who found it creepy and had an idea of what that type of behavior could lead to, nodded reluctantly. “Yes, I do. Make him the first example for other stalkers.”

  Angela motioned for them to bring Conner over to her. “Is there anything you’d like to say in your defense?”

  Conner thought of a lot of excuses and ways to beg, but in the end, his father’s warning was the clearest.

  “She’s in a hard spot over you, because of me. Tell them what they need to hear.”

  Conner cleared his throat and looked at Candy. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t control it. I’ll stay away from you if they let me stay. If you’re in the mess, I won’t be. When you go to bed, I’ll be on a shift on the other side of camp. I’ll stay away.”

  Candy didn’t feel the guilt he was hoping for, didn’t even respond, and Conner’s fear came through. “I’m not like him. I really am sorry! Please don’t blame me for what he did.”

  Angela felt the mood shift and took over with, “Unless anyone has more, I will hand down the sentence now.”

  No one spoke and she took a second to scan their thoughts for the needed level of punishment. She found that most of them were willing to forgive and forget what they viewed as a minor transgression now that he had apologized and shown remorse. His vow to avoid Candy had also helped and Angela once again admired Adrian’s cunning.

  “We find you guilty of a moral violation. Because you took your obsession outside your tent, you are conditionally banished from Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Join your father.”

  Angela left the room amid the shouts of both approval and the opposite, sure that once people thought about it, they would realize his sentence wasn’t as harsh as it seemed. Conditional would allow him to still receive some of the benefits of Safe Haven and also give him the time alone with his father that he’d wanted all along. It was a win for both sides on the teenager’s trial.

  “What does conditional mean?” Marc asked.

  “Because of his age, in time he can be evaluated for reentry to the camp, after requirements for rehabilitation have been drafted.”

  Angela went to the front stairs, where Adrian was already being loaded into Marc’s truck for an escort to the perimeter.

  “Will he make it and come back?” Marc wanted to know if he needed to have the Eagles ready to shoot that one too.

  “Yes. Conner’s love for Candy and friendship with Charlie will bring him around.”

  Angela took a step down as Adrian was shoved into the vehicle by angry men who still thought he was getting off lightly.

  “Will that one be let back in some day, like Conner?”

  Angela studied Adrian, seeing his hope for her answer, and shook her head. “No. What he’s done cannot be forgiven.”

  The escort vehicles began to roll and Marc hit radio. “Those are Eagles in with him. Rocks and bullets will bring out the ghost. I don’t advise it.”

  All up and down the crowded street, rifles and handguns lowered, and stones were subtly dropped. Marc’s anger was almost as terrifying as Angela’s.

  Angela wanted the last sight of her to be burnt into Adrian’s mind and she slowly turned and slid into Marc’s arms. “I love you, Brady.”

  Marc knew and approved, dipping his head for a soft, lingering kiss that sent fire into his eyes. You taste good!

  Angela laughed.

  Adrian leaned his head against the truck and wished he were dead. Marc hadn’t even let him have that.

  Do it! Angela commanded mentally.

  During the chaos of Adrian’s departure, her girls would eliminate the last threat to their camp right now.

  Gunfire rang out nearby and they all turned to watch the female Eagles rushing over the descendant camp, shooting and throwing a final judgment.

  Many of the witnesses immediately assumed Safe Haven descendants would be controlling their own kind as well and it seemed to release the final layer of pressure among those who had remained. The rotten fruits and vegetables people had scrounged began to pelt the rear window, aiming for Adrian’s form, and Angela put a hand on Marc’s arm when he would have ordered them to stop. “The Eagles know who it’s for and you picked vehicles with the strongest glass we have. Let them vent.”

  Marc happily twined their fingers. “You’re the boss.”

  6

  Angela keyed the mike, sitting in the lead vehicle of their short, crammed-in convoy. “This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. We are leaving Lookout Mountain, headed east. We have won the war. Freedom is ours!”

  The radio began to light up with emotional responses and questions, and Angela flipped it off, sure Kenn would cover that. He and Tonya had been waiting outside her truck door a few minutes ago and she’d silenced his waiting tirade quickly.

  “If I had openly told you to destroy that basecamp, you would have needed to make a plan, recon, have a full level of men and the best weapons. I got the job done with…” Angela eyed Kenn from head to boot. “Two hand guns, a k-bar, and Brady as your backup. You didn’t need all that other shit, so I didn’t give it to you.”

  She’d sent the couple to cover the dead radio that Kevin’s absence had given them and after things settled down, Angela planned for them to restart the broadcasts for survivors, as well as the news reports and the music. After that, Adrian’s dream of radio survival classes that would help those in their camp and those not here, could be realized. She would honor his sacrifice by bringing all the other smaller dreams to life. His notebooks were full of ways to repair the damage of the past and she intended to go through each one. It would take a lifetime-exactly what she’d sworn to give when she accepted this amazing job.

  “I caught something I’d like to ask about,” Jennifer said from the bunk behind her.

  Angela nodded, kicking her boots off. “Shawn and Greg know everything. I went to them when I first decided it could work.”

  “You told two men?” Jennifer was shocked. She hadn’t mentioned a word of it to Kyle and had waited for this moment to bring it up, while he was busy directing the move. She’d assumed they would have a silent conversation.

  “Yes,” Angela admitted without guilt. “I had to know how men would react to the news if they found out, so that I could account for it.”

  “You mean there was a second plan?” Jennifer asked. “One for if they couldn’t handle it?”

  “There may have been the start of one, but after I talked to Shawn and Greg, I realized something. Men are tired of always leading and then always getting the blame when things go wrong. If we can do a better job, they’ll adjust.”

  Jennifer was relieved by that. She didn’t plan to slaughter Kyle in his sleep, like the images suggested.

  “Neither do I,” Angela answered, chuckling. “I like my men alive when I kiss them.”

  Je
nnifer blushed. She’d just been thinking about Kyle’s mouth.

  “Go on with your observation.”

  It took Jennifer a moment to remember what she’d wanted. “Oh, uh, right! You said we’re going to change the world. I know that starts with the people around us and we’ve now eliminated several groups of survivors who could have interfered. Was that part of the plan too?”

  “Smart,” Shawn murmured.

  “Yes, she is,” Angela confirmed. “It’s why she’s here instead of Sam or Cynthia.”

  Angela found Jennifer’s eye in the mirror. “It was all part of my plan, Jenny. The only thing that I didn’t cover was Donner having an obsession with descendants abilities to reach the Maker. Everything else was in there.”

  Jennifer stewed on it until she had to ask, “Did you put Kyle in danger so I would realize how I felt about him and stay to help you do this?”

  “No. I needed him driving the van. He’s meticulous on time and always has been. I did see what could happen from it however, and made the arrangements.”

  “And you did that with all of us, studying it down to our reactions and then planning around them for the best outcome?”

  “Yes.”

  Jennifer asked one more question. “And now that we’re going around taking out rival groups and the bunkers, controlling the radio, choosing who lives and dies, are we the new government? Did you just assert Safe Haven rule over the entire United States?”

  “Very smart,” Shawn murmured. “Kyle is so in over his head.”

  Angela chuckled. “Yes, he is.”

  She leaned her head back and propped her feet on the dash. “Get me to our new home by sunset and I’ll tell you which Eagle to ask for a one-night stand.”

  Shawn laughed. “And if I get you there an hour before sunset?”

  Angela blew him away with, “I’ll tell you which one will sleep with you for the rest of your life if you want her to.”

  Shawn hit the gas.

  “I sold us out. You know that right?” Greg looked over at Marc, who was bringing up the rear and aware of Adrian following them from a generous distance. “I can’t keep throwing up walls whenever you’re around.”