The Sentinel

by C Cato

  Cole ignored his comments on being useless. Ditre was right about one thing, though, Sonya wasn’t an asset. She was so much more. “Move out. Careful of any patrols, but don’t hesitate to take someone down if you need to. Extreme prejudice.”

  “We’ll need these,” said Soren, handing him a large hunting knife and sheath. He unstrapped his gun and placed it in his pack, replacing it with the knife.

  “When we leave, it’s gonna be fast. Bring the packs and find cover,” he ordered Ditre.

  “Got it,” he said, with a salute.

  They may not have been military anymore, but it was easy to fall into old habits and roles in times of crisis.

  “Let’s go, Ren.”

  Cole didn’t wait, he was moving before he got a response. Running at a slow jog in the direction Risa had indicated. The rain was icy, but he’d never prayed harder for rain to continue. Rain means Sonya would stay safe.

  Thinking about her put some added speed in his step.

  It didn’t take long to find the camp. No fire. Everyone huddled under make-shift shelters, except for someone curled up by a fallen-down building. He was pale in the grayed light, but the rain made it hard to make out much more detail than that. There was no sign of Sonya or Risa. “We’re here. Where are you?”

  “Bus.”

  “Building,” they called at the same time.

  “Risa, are there any patrols?”

  “No. Whoever these women are, they are seriously top of the food chain. No sentries and no apparent concern about attack.”

  The news didn’t fill him with confidence. They were a deadly team, but no one was infallible, and these women were an unknown. Were they running unopposed in this new time, or were they just that dangerous they didn’t need to care?

  “Risa, I see the bus. We’re coming to you.”

  Skirting the camp in a wide arc, he and Soren made their way to the decaying vehicle. It lay on its side, and the roof had mostly rusted away. Plants had filled in most of the space, but Cole found a small opening to wriggle through. Risa lay on her belly, watching the camp through the brush. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of Sonya hiding. They were at an angle to Sonya’s hiding place, but from this side the pile she hid under wasn’t dense enough to completely cover her. The white of her suit was like a beacon. Risa was right, the only thing keeping her from discovery was the shitty weather—and the guy that had positioned himself in front of her. They were close enough to almost be kissing.

  Cole wanted to run across the distance separating them and rip him away from her! He was shaking—hard. A gentle hand touched his back, stroking up and down.

  “We’ll get her, Sarge,” said Soren.

  “Ren run back to the train. Grab some of those flash grenades you brought along. A couple of smokers, too.”

  His friend’s grin was feral.

  “Chaotic distraction coming right up!” He backed out of their hiding space and was gone in seconds.

  Cole couldn’t turn away. The man moved closer, practically wrapping around her hidden body. She was in an awkward position on all fours, pressed low to the ground. He couldn’t see it, but from her relative position, she rested her head against his chest.

  Changing comm proximity, he dragged his eyes to Risa before he did something stupid. “Who is this guy? Did Sonya say how he’s tracking us?”

  “Don’t know, and no. Her comm keeps cutting in and out. Like changing the channel or something. Not sure if she’s doing it, or there is some kind of interference. Weird, though. Who would she be talking to? She hasn’t spoken out loud though. She’s communicating with the guy somehow.”

  “Do you think you can hear her from here if she was?”

  “I hear everyone in the camp, Cole.” She pointed to a shelter to their right. He couldn’t see inside, and the pounding rain splashing in the growing puddles obscured his hearing. “There are five in there. They’re fucking to pass the time.” Indicating another one on the other side of camp. “They’ve been discussing the merits of something called ‘The Block’ as a disciplinary tactic. It’s gotten heated. From Sonya—” Risa paused and shifted her position to better see him, regarding him for a time.

  “What?”

  “You know I don’t pull punches, Sarge.”

  “Give it to me, Pixie.”

  “They were kissing. Nothing hot and heavy, but distinct. That and I think he’s purring.”

  The truth was worse than a bucket of ice water thrown over his head. Who was this man that had worked himself into Sonya’s defenses in a matter of minutes? Cole wanted him dead in the worst way. “Are you sure?”

  Risa lifted a shoulder and repositioned herself to see outside again. “Mostly. The sound is coming from their position. Distinct kissing noises. Could be wrong, I guess. It’s weird hearing things like this.”

  Cole closed his eyes and opened his hands spreading his fingers wide to lay them flat on the rusted metal beneath him as he willed his body to relax. A small buzz in his head told him one of his team was trying to reach him. He opened the comm back up.

  “I’m here, Sarge,” called Soren. “Ditre, too. We have the packs. Get ready to move.”

  “Roger that. Sonya?” Cole could see her shifting in her hiding place, head and shoulders obscured by the man with her.

  “I’m here, Cole.”

  “I’ve got eyes on you. In a minute, Soren is going to create a diversion. We’re going to need your friend to lead the women away from us.”

  She stiffened and struggled to shift enough to gaze in his direction, but a claw-tipped hand skimmed her arm. Claws.

  “Sonya! What is that?”

  This time it was the pale man’s turn to stiffen. Had he heard them? This future shit just got stranger.

  “His name is Keet, and we aren’t leaving him!”

  “You must,” said a deep masculine voice.

  Only years of military discipline kept him or any of his team from reacting.

  “Who the fuck are you?” growled Cole.

  “I am no threat to you. I smell you—you are…”

  Fuck calm. Cole wanted to gut the guy. Whoever he was, he was dangerous. Eliminating him was high priority if he could hear and track them.

  “Protect her, my brother. Separation from me will be hard for her. For you. For all of us.”

  “Keet! Please, don’t do this.”

  Cole had never had anger dissipate so quickly. It left him dizzy. What was happening?

  “Sarge?” Soren was waiting on his orders.

  “Do it.”

  He heard the clink of metal canisters as Soren tossed them into the camp. They popped and smoke billowed out with a hiss. The rain kept them from being as effective as they could, but Soren was already throwing more. Women’s voices raised in confusion and alarm as they began to scramble out of their shelters. Cole got a rough count of about thirty women. Some of them drew swords. Really? Swords now?

  Risa was already backing out, and he did the same once she was clear. The women were milling around in the camp, but so far, none had moved outside it. That wouldn’t last long.

  “Close your eyes!” warned Soren.

  Cole only had a second to comply before bright white light exploded behind his eyes. Followed by more smoke grenades. It was getting thicker as the rain began to slow to a mild drizzle. They had to hurry.

  Under the cover of the smoke, Cole ran to Sonya’s hiding place. There was a rattle of chains, and then he stood face to face with—he didn’t know what. He just knew he’d never witnessed any man as beautiful as this. Cole rolled his head back and gazed into the shimmering black eyes that regarded him with—affection?

  Cole stifled a groan as his cock filled with blood, and he bit his lip until it bled to keep from smashing their lips together.

  “Go. Take her. Perhaps we will meet again.”

  A deadly hand raised toward his face, and Cole was willing to admit he wanted nothing more than to be touched.

&nbs
p; “Protect our mate.”

  “Cole! Move your ass!” said Soren, breaking the trance-like state. Sonya had crawled out of her hiding place and clung to Keet’s arm, but he pulled it away at the same time as Cole took hold of her waist. He didn’t know why, but this man was sacrificing his chance at freedom to ensure they could get away. He wasn’t going to waste it. A rumble preceded a stampede of horses as they crashed through camp. There were more shrill screams.

  Risa chuckled in his head. “How’s that for chaos?”

  Sonya opened her mouth, but Cole slapped his hand over it, muffling her scream of outrage.

  “Don’t Sonya! He’s doing this to fuckin’ save you! Don’t cheapen it.”

  She relaxed in his hold, but her eyes never left Keet’s. He threw her over his shoulder just as female voices drew closer. “Get the freak! It has to be them!”

  Cole ran. Knowing with certainty, that he was leaving a part of himself behind.

  oooOOOooo

  He was expending a huge amount of power, but he didn’t stop running until they reached a large rock wall. It seemed to stretch several miles in both directions and rose a quarter of a mile high.

  Sonya had been uncharacteristically compliant since they’d escaped the camp, but he didn’t trust that she would stay that way.

  “I’m going to put you down. Don’t make a sound. Don’t run.” Slowly, he lowered her to her feet. The evidence of her grief evident in her red-rimmed eyes and quickly washed away by the rain. She didn’t meet his gaze. For now, it was for the best. He wasn’t sure how to deal with what had happened, and it wasn’t the time. “We’re going to have to climb.”

  Sonya turned and moaned, her gaze rising to the top of the cliff. “I can’t. Please don’t make me do this. I’m afraid of heights.”

  Risa, Soren, and Ditre had already started up. Ditre carrying both his pack and Cole’s.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you. Please trust me,” he said, putting more meaning behind that request than he’d meant to.

  She turned back toward him, but her eyes were unfocused as they peered somewhere past his shoulder. He knew she was thinking about him. Keet.

  Protect our mate.

  What had he meant by that? While leaving Keet behind something inside had ripped away. Willpower kept him from turning around and running back for him. Was she feeling the same? What was happening to them?

  Holding her chin between his index finger and thumb, he lifted her eyes to meet his own. “We have to go,” he said softly. “Climb on my back. Hold on tight with your arms and legs. I won’t let you fall.”

  She agreed with a small nod and moved around to his back. Her warmth enveloped him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Reaching back, he put his hands on the back of her thighs and lifted her until she locked her ankles around the front of his waist. He had to close his eyes, tamping down the instant arousal at her proximity.

  Concentrating on the rock wall, he found some solid hand holds and began the free climb to the top. The rain made the stone surface slick, and that combined with the loose rock made the climb treacherous. He was halfway up the rock wall, when the small foothold he had under his right leg gave way. His left hand lost purchase, leaving them dangling precariously. Holding both his weight and Sonya’s with nothing more than stubborn determination. His neck was wet where Sonya had buried her face. Air became a concern when her arms tightened around his throat.

  Powering up, he raised his left arm to find another stable hold and then pulled himself up until he could place his feet. Growling through the strain that even the nanobots couldn’t overcome, he raised them to the top one agonizing inch at a time. His world contracted to the warm body wrapped around his back and the next handhold. The next foothold. He almost cried out when hands took hold of his arms and hauled him the rest of the way up. Her weight lifted from his back, and he mourned the loss with a small whimper. Powering down, he knelt a few feet from the ledge, shaking with his reaction to the adrenaline. Ditre and Soren both steadied him with a hand on his shoulders.

  They helped him to his feet, and he automatically sought out Sonya. She stood behind him, inches from the edge. Risa stood close, but not close enough, her arm outstretched and mouth open. The terror on her face mirrored his own. “Sonya?”

  Taking a tentative step, he moved closer until he could wrap his arms around her waist and pull her to his chest. Only then did he notice how her body shook.

  “Keet?” she called.

  Cole tightened his hold and held his breath, hoping to hear something. To know he was safe.

  They stood there together until the gloom in the sky changed from gray to black.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

  When she turned in his arms and buried her face in his neck, he felt her hot tears splash down his neck, while his own tears were lost in the rain.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Sonya

  Sonya had to be alone. She couldn’t shake the image of Keet disappearing in the haze of smoke, his black eyes reflecting the need in her own. For a moment in time, she’d found someone that wanted her. Not because of what he could get from her, or because of some obligation. Just her. It was there in his gentle touch. The way he shielded her. The soft brush of his lips against hers.

  Then he was gone.

  Protect our mate.

  He had said she was his mate, and she believed him. For reasons she couldn’t begin to fathom she’d wanted—no needed—to be with him. Leaving him had been a physical pain that she still felt a throbbing in her chest. But Cole?

  There was no denying the similar draw to him, either. Would it be as painful if she had to leave him? Did he feel the same for her? If so, why had he been so hard with her?

  Confused and hurting, she shuffled into the small stand of trees near the ledge they’d climbed onto. The slope was severe, but there wasn’t much flat ground, so she made do. A boulder jutting from the ground worked as a chair and she climbed on and drew her knees to her chest to wrap her arms around them. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of the world spreading in front of her. What had once been cities, cars, and signs of life at every turn was now miles and miles of forest. There was no evidence that humans had ever lived here at all.

  “Sonya?”

  Risa approach her like a wounded animal ready to bolt. Sonya lay her cheek on her knees. “It’s okay, Risa.”

  Nodding, she still moved with caution. “I brought Cole’s pack. Thought having the journals might help. We’re going to stay here for the night, so take your time. Come back when you’re ready.”

  Risa lay the backpack on the rock next to her and left as quietly as she’d appeared.

  After Cole had released on her on the ledge, he hadn’t spoken another word to her. She wanted to keep hating him or blame him for what he did, but she couldn’t. He was right. Keet had chosen to stay behind to allow them to get away. Would she ever see him again? The idea that she wouldn’t was too painful to entertain.

  Instead of dwelling on it, she dug through the pack at her side to pull out the notebooks. Something caught her eye, and she pulled out a ratty, coverless copy of an old book. It had seen better days, but considering it was probably from their time, she was surprised it held up as well as it had. The cover page said A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair. She didn’t recall having read it before, but she wondered if someone had mentioned it. It sounded like something she knew. The dedication page had writing on it. Cramped and barely legible, she finally made out the words.

  The world is never what you expect it to be, so make it what you want it to be instead

  -Love Dad

  She traced the words with a finger. Was this Cole’s? How many times had he read it? Raising the book to her nose she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes at the old library smell that she pulled from its pages.

  Cole stood less than two feet away, as though summoned by magic. Face completely unreadable.

  They gazed at each other for lon
ger than she thought was comfortable, and then Sonya extended the book to him. “I found this with the journals. Is it yours?”

  Cole closed the gap, leaning at a precarious angle on the steep hill, and took the book gently from her. “It was mine. I didn’t mean to leave it in with the journals. You can have it. It’s a good read.”

  “Oh.” She took it back and placed it in her lap.

  Unspoken words were heavy in the air. She wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened, and it would appear he wasn’t either.

  Reaching into a pocket on his sleeve, he pulled out a square package. “You should eat. I know they aren’t the greatest, but you haven’t eaten anything since you woke up. We still have to take in food and water.”

  She took the offering and laid it on top of the book, making no move to open it.

  Cole’s shoulders dropped and he sighed, before turning to go back to the others.

  “Cole?”

  He stopped but didn’t turn around.

  “Thank you.”

  She thought his head came up a little higher left to join his team.

  Replacing the book in the pack with the care it deserved, she pulled out the journal from before, opening it on her lap. Ripping open the MRE package, she took a bite while she contemplated what they’d already deciphered.

  When the dry cardboard flavor of the MRE hit her tongue, she almost spat it out, but Cole was right. She needed to eat. Chewing quickly, she swallowed and took another bite. Concentrating on getting it all down, she choked it back. For a second, she wondered if they’d given it to her as a cruel joke.

  Brick now settled hard in her belly, she went back to the journal.

  Sentinel Instruct

  Was it a sentence she was supposed to interpret? Maybe something that will lead her to the information he told everyone he’d destroyed? Soren’s rudimentary Halo lesson came back to her. Halo? Sentinel.

  No sooner had she thought it, everything around her went dark. Light filtered back into her vision and she gasped, but instead of the trees and dark landscape, she was in Ian’s office at their lab. He sat behind his desk, his usually handsome face was gaunt and haggard. Fashionable rimless glasses did nothing to hide the circles under his eyes that made him appear more skeletal. His salt-and-pepper dark hair was wild on his head, like he’d just woken up. Sonya clapped her hand to her mouth, stifling the gasp of horror. What had happened to have ravaged him like this?