Alarm filled his worn out eyes as he for the first time scanned Lena’s ripped clothes, torn flesh and arm dripping in blood.
“You’ve been shot?” His distressed words sounded distant. She looked into his eyes.
“Yeah,” was the only word she could muster before everything faded to black.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Birds chirped all around, and she felt the welcome sunshine sinking into her skin. Peeling her eyes open, she rolled her head toward the sound of moving water. Gideon sat a few feet away from her, propped against a boulder, eyes closed and breathing deep and regular. Putting her good arm behind her, she propped herself to sitting position. The world spun. Clenching her eyes shut, she forced herself to stay upright. Opening them she focused on Gideon until the world no longer spun beneath her.
She sat on the edge of a glade, a small stream trickling down the mountain next to them. Scooting herself to a nearby rock she hoisted herself against it, gasping when she moved her injured arm. Examining the damage, she found her jacket sleeve torn and wrapped around her upper arm as a bandage. Lifting the edge she tried to look at her wound, but only caused it to start bleeding again.
Gazing toward Gideon, her heart sank. His left eye was a deep shade of purple. A cut above his eyebrow was swollen but not bleeding. His shirt, wet with water and blood, lay to his side in rags, revealing cuts to his arms and a bruised rib cage. Lena surmised he must have used his shirt to clean and bandage some of their scratches.
Running her eyes across his chest, her eyes stopped at his rib cage. Purple and swollen, she wondered if he’d broken a rib. Reaching toward his chest her fingers brushed against him.
Startled, Gideon spun his head toward Lena and grabbed her hand. Locking eyes with Lena, he relaxed and let out a sigh. “I thought you were someone else,” he gasped.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He looked down at his ribs and shrugged his shoulders. “What, this? This is nothing,” he said, tenderly moving to sit up straighter. “You should see you. You look horrible.”
“Seriously, Gid?” She shook her head and pulled her hand from his grasp. Grabbing his shirt, she dipped it in the cool stream to their side. Wringing it out, she placed it on Gideon’s eye.
“The bullet took a chunk of flesh with it. You bled a lot, but at least it won’t need to be removed. You doing okay?” Gideon asked.
“I think so. At least it’s not as bad as the last time I was shot. I’m beginning to think you’re not good for me,” she teased. She rinsed out another piece of his shirt and wiped the dried blood off her arms.
“I’m totally and completely not good for you,” he said with a smirk. Clearing his throat, he looked away from her. “We know one thing. If the Priestess knew you were hidden in the facility, she’d knock down every wall to find you. Which means, Nagar hasn’t told her where you’re hidden.”
“How’d he find us, Gideon?” Lena questioned, her mind already spinning to find the answer.
“I’m not sure,” he growled. “No use worrying about it now. We’ve got to get back to the compound before people start wondering where we are.”
“What time is it?”
“Around four.”
“Is it safe? Are we still being followed?”
“As far as I can tell, they lost our trail when they turned back to get their ship. They were hired muscle, not at all skilled in tracking or they would never have lost our trail. As for their ship, as long as that guard is unconscious, I think it’ll take them some time to figure out the power was turned off. How’s your strength? Can you walk?”
“I don’t have much energy and I’m starving,” she said. Swiping her loose hair out of her face she pulled the rest out of its ponytail with her good arm. Running her fingers through it, she loosened the strands. Smoothing out the waves, she let it fall down her back. “My arm feels like it’s on fire and I’m super thirsty.”
“Well, our packs with food are gone, but we can find some roots to eat on the way. We’ll try to stay close to the spring, but you should drink as much as you can now. I figure if we head out at a steady pace now, resting when necessary, we’ll be back before training in the morning.”
Misery swept over Lena. “Gid, I’m not sure I can go that far.”
Compassion covered his face. Sliding next to her, he slipped his arm around her shoulder, careful not to touch her wound. Lowering his voice to a little more than a whisper he said, “Lena, you are amazing. You won’t let something like this stop you. And I’ll be with you the whole way. You can do this. Now let’s go.” Standing, he grabbed his jacket and put it on without a shirt under. Wrapping an arm around Lena’s waist, he helped her to her feet.
***
Journeying back, they moved at a constant pace with Gideon directing Lena every step of the way. He moved slowly, often wrapping an arm around his own rib cage, but he never complained. She felt weak and at times dizzy, but Gideon never left her side as they progressed towards the compound. The loss of blood made her feel tired. As she weakened more, Gideon’s arm slipped around her waist, gently moving her along.
Night hung deep when they emerged from the forest and saw the lights of the compound ahead. As Gideon urged her forward, her strength vanished and she stumbled to her knees. He knelt next to her and put both his arms around her. She laid her exhausted body against his chest. Closing her eyes, she felt her breath lining up with his. He helped her stand. When they finally reached the gate, Gideon let go of her for the first time. She felt empty without his touch as she walked by his side toward the infirmary.
The night medic, busy with another recruit, didn’t notice them entering. Gideon led Lena to an empty room. Lifting her up to the patient’s table, he cleaned her wounds and scratches.
“Lena,” Gideon whispered. His words bore command. “You have to pretend nothing happened. If anyone asks, leave your answer as a vague training exercise.” She nodded, and a single tear slipped down her cheek.
Reaching for her face, Gideon’s hand glided over the loose tear. He leaned toward her until their foreheads touched. Purposefully, he raised his lips to her forehead and kissed it softly.
“Get some sleep. No training tomorrow, I think we both need a break.”
Lena laughed. And cried. And ached for Gideon to never let go. He handed her an array of pills for pain, energy, and hydration. Wrapping a clean medic jacket over her torn clothes, he led her into the hallway. Acting as if nothing had happened between them, he turned toward his room. The hall, abandoned in the night, echoed with the sound of his receding footsteps. Trudging toward her room, weak and alone, she ached for her bed.
As she turned the corner that led to her quarters, Lena’s heart dropped.
“Lena, you’re back!” Jonah cried, rushing forward and sweeping her into his arms.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Jonah,” she gasped, and guilt smothered her as she realized she’d only thought of him one time while away.
Setting her down he blurted, “I expected you earlier, and I panicked when night came and you weren’t here yet.”
Her arm stung. She bit her lip to hold in a yelp. In his excitement for her return, Jonah didn’t seem to notice. “Jonah, don’t tell me you’ve been waiting for me all night. It’s nearly sunrise.”
Jonah blushed. “You got me,” he confessed. Looking at her for the first time, his forehead crinkled and nose squinched. “No offense Lena, but you look and smell horrible. Maybe you should shower once in a while.” His smile and light air made her relax. She was happy to see him.
“That, Jonah, is exactly what I intend to do.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards him. Memories of Gideon flashed through her mind. Turning her head, Jonah’s lips grazed her cheek. “Sorry, I kind of feel repulsive. I’ll meet you at breakfast, okay?” she said.
His beautiful laugh rang through the halls. “Breakfast it is.”
A tornado of emotions swept through her as she watched him walk aw
ay. How did she feel about Jonah? What had happened between her and Gideon? Entering her room, she crept into the bathroom as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake Birdee. Thoughts of Jonah and Gideon filled her thoughts as she showered and, even moreso, as she lay down, pleading for sleep.
***
“Lena, you’re back,” Birdee announced, climbing out of bed. “Looks like those woods gobbled you up and spat ya back out again.”
“Hey, Birdee,” Lena groaned, pushing herself from her bed. “I feel like the woods gobbled me up.”
“Why aren’t you trainin’ this morning? I thought for sure the Captain would still be runnin’ ya to the bone.”
“We didn’t get in until late. Or early. Or whatever,” Lena said trying to remember the time. “Did I miss anything while away?”
“Oh, man, ya you did. Lucius’ father stopped by, doin’ an inspection for the Priestess. You should have seen Lucius struttin’ around like a flaming peacock. His dad followed him everywhere. Lucius even introduced him to Jonah and me.” Birdee’s voice turned serious. “ He asked everyone a lot of questions about you, Lena. I think he has some recruits wondering if there is even more to you than just being a servant.”
“Great. Who else did he talk to?” Lena said, struggling to get dressed.
“Seems just about everyone was questioned,” Birdee added as she watched Lena with a concerned look on her face. “What did the Captain do to you?” Birdee questioned, eyeing Lena’s arm, as Lena put on her training jacket.
Standing by the side of her bed, she held to the upper bunk until the floor stopped spinning. “The Captain? Nothing. Everything. I don’t know, Birdee. I’m so confused. Nagar found us. We got away. I’m supposed to pretend nothing happened.” Lena’s mind swirled. Her thoughts so scrambled she didn’t know what to say.
The bell to their room chimed, and the suave voice of Jonah rang out as the door slid open. “Hello, beautiful.” Walking towards her, he put his arm around Lena. She bit her lip to hold back a cry. Birdee gave her a questioning look. Lena shook her head, telling Birdee not to bring it up. “I was hoping the Captain would let you out of training this morning,” Jonah said.
“He canceled,” Lena explained. “I think he might be sick of me, after this weekend.”
“Sick of you. Not possible.” Jonah kissed the side of her head.
A barrier of doubt toward Jonah crept upward in her thoughts. “What’s he doing with you?” Gideon’s words screamed inside her. Tired, worn, and wounded, her mind couldn’t take anything else. Stepping away from him, she craved air and freedom. She shook her head at Jonah and made for the nearest exit.
In the background she heard Birdee’s drawling voice. “Stay here. I’ll see ta her. Probably girl stuff anyway.”
Exiting the facility, Lena took a big breath of the brisk morning air. She staggered to the far edge of the outdoor training yard. The fence surrounded her, high and looming. She wanted to escape.
“Lena,” Birdee’s voice sounded.
“What does Jonah want with me, Birdee?” Lena said. “He should never have been interested in a servant. But he was. Why, Birdee?” Lena felt frantic. She paced in front of the fence, looking for an exit that she knew didn’t exist.
Birdee studied Lena for a moment. “Jonah aint never seen ya as a servant, Lena. I don’t know what he see’s you as. But it’s not a servant. Seems to me like someone put doubt into yer head. Someone ya maybe spent the weekend with.”
Lena stopped pacing. She put her hands on her knees and drew in deep breaths. She felt too tired to piece it together. “Why would Gideon do that?” she asked.
Birdee smiled. “Looks like you might be more than just leverage to our dear Captain?”
“I’m gonna be found, Birdee.” Despair wrapped around her, choking out any sense of rationale. “Nagar knows I’m here.” Lena couldn’t catch her breath again. “He’s going to come for me.” Standing next to her now, Birdee put her arm gently around her good shoulder. They slid against the wall to the ground. Lena started crying. “Gideon is sending me away. But I’m afraid Nagar will capture me before I can leave. Birdee, I’m so scared.”
Coming close to Lena, Birdee whispered “I figured it out. I know who you are, and I don’ blame ya for bein’ scared.”
Lena’s head snapped towards Birdee. But as she looked into her eyes, she didn’t feel fear that Birdee knew. She felt trust. And she knew, from somewhere inside of her, that she trusted Birdee more than anyone, including Gideon and Jonah. Lena felt it becoming easier to breath.
“I haven’t told anyone,” Birdee continued. “Not even Jonah. I’m not going ta either. It’s your secret to tell.”
Lena nodded her head in understanding. “Why are you keeping my secret, Birdee?”
“Because, our lives are more similar than ya can ever imagine,” Birdee replied. “And I want to stand against what’s been done to our world. I think you do too.”
Lena nodded. “I do.”
“Then you’re gonna to do wha’ I imagine you’ve been born ta do,” Birdee replied.
“Run. Hide,” she sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“No, you’re going to pull yourself together and fight.”
***
Lena made her way toward the gun range. The closer she got to the range, the more she didn’t want to go. She felt tired and overwhelmed. How was she supposed to hold a gun when she could barely move her arm? At the spur of the moment, she decided to skip class. Slipping into a servants’ passageway ,she wound her way towards Dorry’s.
She found him in a darkened curve of the dungeon, working on a server. She slid in next to him and started handing him the tools she knew he’d need next. Finishing up, he turned to her and asked, “Now, what can I do for you my, angel?”
“You know I was away with the Captain this weekend?” Lena asked. Dorry looked over the rims of his glasses. His eyes studied her questioningly.
“Yes. Of course I knew. But I don’t think I’m the one to ask about boy troubles,” Dorry said, with a wink.
“No, it’s not that.” Lena felt herself blushing. “Nagar found us at the lake.”
“He found you? How is that possible?” Dorry stood and started winding his way towards his suspended office. Lena followed close behind.
“I was wondering the same thing. How could he have tracked us? Does he have access to our insignias?”
“Normal recruits, yes. The Captain, no.”
“But he could track mine?” Lena asked.
“I said normal recruits. You, Angel, are beyond normal. When you arrived at the facility, I was in charge of giving you your insignia,” Dorry said. “You have an insignia that is quite rare. It grants you unlimited access to anywhere in the facility, with no identification attached to it. You can hide anywhere, access anything about anyone Not only here, but everywhere the Priestess uses insignias. You are quite invisible. And the Captain’s tracking device in his insignia has been deactivated for years. So Nagar couldn’t track you that way either.”
Lena gave Dorry a questioning look but Dorry didn’t explain further. “There are some older ways to track a person, heat sensors and such, but I don’t think Nagar would have access to that type of technology. He would, however, be able to tag on to other signals. Did you take anything electronic with you?”
“No. I’d have to ask Gideon, but I didn’t see him with anything,” Lena said. “Dorry?” Lena continued, “I don’t feel safe here anymore. The Captain wants to send me away.”
“And what do you want?” Dorry probed.
“I want more information about why the Priestess seeks me. I want to decide for myself what to do and where to go. Do you know why the Priestess wants me?”
“Why does the Priestess want anyone, Angel? Because they stand in her way, or she can use them for her own nefarious uses. Either way, the most powerful person in our world is searching for you. Someone in her court has found you. It won’t be long until she has yo
u,” Dorry paused, “unless you do something about it.”
“That’s why I came. What can I do?” Lena asked.
“You tell me. If I know you at all, I know you look for solutions before they are problems. What have you already thought of?” Dorry replied.
“I can let Gideon keep hiding me. Or I can figure out a way to fight back.” Dorry gave her a satisfied smirk. “I just need to figure out how,” Lena said.
“Have you thought of Thora helping you?” Dorry suggested.
“Yes. But Gideon says she has her own uses for me. I don’t want to be used.”
“Maybe her goals, and yours, aren’t that different,” Dorry answered.
Lena paused, letting Dorry’s words sink in a minute. “Do you know where she is?”
“She didn’t tell me, but I can probably help find her,” Dorry answered.
“Can you track her insignia?” Lena asked.
“I should think so. I invented the blasted things! I’d be a poor inventor if I couldn’t use my own device,” Dorry replied.
Lena’s heart nearly stopped. “I didn’t know that you invented them,” she said.
“Well, in my younger years, I did a lot of things I wish I could take back. But that’s not what you came to hear about.” His dark eyes once again eyed her.
“Can you teach me how to track Thora?” she asked.
“I can,” he confirmed. Showing her to a nearby computer, he sat next to her. “First I want you to see that you are indeed invisible. Scan your hand through the computer.” She did as Dorry asked. “Now, ask to track Thora. Your insignia will bypass any system’s security.”
“Track Thora.” The system flashed security screens, automatically bypassing one after another. Soon the screen turned to video. It was obvious the video was of what Thora was seeing.
The walls around Thora billowed and Lena heard wind blowing against them. “She’s in a tent,” Lena announced. “But where?” Lena scooted closer to the image. Thora’s breathing sounded shallow and haggard. A dark shadowed figure stood over her. This was not what Lena was expecting. “Computer, locate Thora,” she commanded.
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 16