Sanctuary: Seeking Asylum Book 1

by SM Olivier

  “What’s going on?” I heard Axel bark out immediately over the radio.

  Axel had found enough radios for each vehicle. He’d located them in the security office in the mall. They weren’t as good as military-grade radios, he’d said, but they had the capability to stretch for miles and were better than any of the ones they could find in the stores.

  “Pull in there,” I insisted breathlessly.

  Sylvia gave me a wide-eyed look but turned in. I picked up the radio and handed it to Sylvia.

  “Tell them I thought I saw Ben,” I told her before I pulled my sais out form the holsters I kept on the seat beside me.

  I had only seen the boy twice, but it was long enough to know his mannerisms, size, and height.

  “Avery, wait,” Sylvia insisted, mystified, as she parked. “Who’s Ben? Why don’t you call Axel, and did you forget you have a baby hooked up to your chest?”

  A rapping on my window made me start. I turned to see Wyatt standing on my running boards.

  “What’s up?” he asked as Sylvia rolled down the window.

  I glared at her, and she gave me a pointed look back. “Tell me, or I’ll continue doing stuff like that.”

  “The little boy, Ben,” I explained to Wyatt without meeting his eyes. “I saw him run into the store. He just lost his family. He’s all alone.”

  “Ave.” Wyatt frowned.

  “Please just get Ben,” I muttered. “We can talk later.”

  He nodded and left.

  “I need to know what’s going on,” Axel bit out once more through the radio.

  “We’re checking the Quick Stop Shop for a child,” Wyat ttold him.

  “Copy that, who has your six?” Axel returned.

  “I do,” Amy stated as she showed up next to Wyatt.

  “I’ll canvas the store for any usable items,” Josh spoke up next.

  I had recently learned that Josh and Amy were engaged and were supposed to get married this fall. They had been together for nearly three years and were such a cute couple.

  “I’ll have his six,” Felix added.

  “Copy that, everyone else get moving,” Axel commanded.

  I watched as the other vehicles began to move up the mountain.

  “Talk,” Sylvia insisted.

  I sighed. Sylvia wouldn’t give up until I told her. “There’s not much to talk about,” I muttered. “Reality came knocking, and I’m answering it.”

  “Way to be vague,” she huffed at me. “Deets. Now.”

  “Do you know if Joe and Cal ever hooked up with Jade or Natalie?” I asked her suddenly.

  “Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “There’s a reason why Joe was filing for them to be moved off of the Bravo Team.”

  I gaped at her. “How can you be so… okay with that? Women who get used, then discarded when they’re not wanted?”

  Sylvia snorted. “Don’t let them fool you. Their arrangement and the paperwork had nothing to do with each other. Those girls are manipulative. They were initially on Bravo Team but found out about Alpha’s… proclivities. They latched onto Alpha first. After being overseas for nearly a year, the guys got lonely. They girls slept with them a handful of times, then tried to cause discord in the group, even making up lies to kick Easton out of the group. So Axel made the decision to stop hooking up with them, since they were the cause of most of their issues.

  “Needless to say, Jade and Natalie were pissed. Axel tried to be diplomatic and reminded them it wasn’t a permanent arrangement. They still tried to cause discord among the group and attempted to seduce just the men they really wanted. Apparently, they never showed Easton any attention, and there were times Wyatt was excluded in their affection as well. It didn’t work for the team.

  “When the girls returned home, they got Easton arrested for attempted rape. They had assumed he was the one behind their dismissal. Luckily, Easton was in the clinic on the night in question and was recording his findings from an infected they had found.”

  My mouth was hanging open as she continued.

  “They tried to pitch a similar arrangement with Bravo Team, pulling the same stunt when they decided that they no longer wanted Chad and Cal. They filed a complaint against the two. In the military, the women can cry wolf and be believed. Most of the time, the guys will be on probation of sorts and removed from duty until they are proven innocent, if they're proven innocent. Each of their complaints were filed anonymously, so Alpha Team didn’t know who Easton’s accuser was. If Josh hadn’t overheard the girls conspiring against Chad, no one would have known. That’s when Joe submitted the paperwork. No one trusts them anymore. They can’t be trusted.”

  I gasped in shock, my animosity towards the women growing. I didn’t have much time to process my feelings, though, before I saw Amy exiting the store. I sighed in relief as I saw Wyatt carrying a struggling Ben closely behind her.

  “Ben,” I yelled, rolling down my window.

  He stopped struggling long enough for his eyes to dart around and find me. His eyes looked haunted, and his face crumbled the moment he saw me.

  “Come on, Ben,” I called softly. “You’re safe now.”

  He nodded as his little body was wracked with sobs. Amy patted his back, and he was led into her vehicle.

  “Poor boy.” I frowned. “His parents were horrid, but he still loved them.”

  Sylvia made a noise of consent.

  We watched as Felix and Josh exited the store with several cases of items. Wyatt ran back inside and returned moments later with a dolly of cases as well. They made a few more trips, and I wondered where they squeezed it all in.

  Most of the vehicles had been packed to the brim of things we retrieved from the mall.

  “So, what have the girls done now to poison the well?” Sylvia asked after several moments of silence as the guys got back in their vehicles.

  Wyatt eased back onto the road, and we joined the procession once more.

  “The guys like me,” I mumbled. “This morning, the girls were talking about them, including Emery, and I got… jealous and insecure. I felt like, if they could be so easily disregarded, then so could I. I’m…I’m not ready to be hurt again.”

  “All five of them?” she took her eyes off the road for a moment to gape at me.

  I nodded.

  She started laughing. “You lucky bitch!” she hooted.

  Totally not what I expected to come from her mouth. I glared at her in response.

  She finally stopped laughing and looked over at me, giving me a stern look. “I don’t think they’d ever hurt you. You forget, Corbin and Wyatt have crushed on you forever, and I’ve seen the way Axel looks at you when you’re not looking. I think they’re already halfway in love with you, Ave. I’m not sure how Easton and Kingston fall into it all, but from what I’ve heard, they’re admirable men. They’re guys who you want on your side.”

  Her expression softened. “If you go through life worried about the what-ifs and scared people are going to hurt you, then you’re not living, Avery. There are no expiration dates on love. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but you will never know unless you try. Enjoy the moments you have and stop worrying about the future.

  “This apocalypse has taught me to stop expecting people to let me down. I lived a life with an abusive, alcoholic father that is rotting in prison because he killed a man for his next high. My mother checked out and turned to drugs. They couldn’t care less about me. I always thought it would be better to leave before I could be abandoned. But I was only half living that way. I don’t know if Joe and Cal will stay with me forever, but I know they make me happy now, so I’m going to focus on that. I’m going to focus on all the things that can go right and stop thinking about the things that can go wrong.”

  She grinned and looked at me again. “A wise woman once told me you'd miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take. So, are you going to sit on the bench because you’re afraid to take a shot and play, or are you going to
suit up and jump into the game?”

  ֍

  I must have dozed off, because the next thing I heard was a squawk on the radio.

  “Home sweet home, Harris-Harrisons, Edens, Cavaliers, and friends,” I heard a familiar male voice say over the radio.

  His voice carried a lot of relieved emotions.

  I sat up and smiled, my sleepiness quickly dissipating. “Uncle Mitch,” I breathed out. I looked down and noticed Isa was still deep in slumber. I patted her little bottom and readjusted my shirt.

  “You forgot Cortez,” Sylvia huffed into the radio with a smile.

  “No one can forget you, Mama,” Aunt Carol piped in.

  “Hi, Aunt Carol!” Sylvia squealed back.

  I smiled at my best friend. I loved how easily she had fit in with my family.

  I looked up ahead to see we had caught up with the rest of the caravan and were now stopped on the narrow two-lane road leading down to Sanctuary Lakes Campground.

  Sanctuary had always been a hidden gem. There was only one road that led in and out of the campground. You had to take a nearly fifteen-mile trek up a winding mountain road, and then, on your descent back down, you had to find the two-lane road that was easy to miss unless you were familiar with it.

  Once you turned on that road, you had to take the gradual ride down. There was a stand of woods to the left and the rock face of the mountain to the right, at the entrance. After several miles of the most beautiful sights, the sign to the campgrounds could be seen. We were parked in front of that right now, but instead of the welcome sign, we now faced a tall, ten-foot or so, wrought iron gate.

  I blinked in confusion. Where had that come from?

  As I watched, I saw a man descending from what looked like a lookout tower situated in the trees to the left. From his gait, I immediately recognized it was Uncle Mitch. He was now surrounded by four other men, each with weapons strapped to their chests.

  “Dorothy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” I said in surprise. “Was this like this in July?” I asked her.

  Sylvia shook her head. “Nope,” she answered, popping her P. “But from what BJ was stating, I’m sure they had been planning this for some time. With Uncle Mitch retiring last September, I’m sure he started making improvements as soon as he could.”

  “How long do you think they’ve known about this biological weapon?” I asked with a frown. The thought had crossed my mind several times, but I had filed that one away.

  Sylvia snorted. “Alpha and Bravo have been in search of it for the last two years, with Charlie, Delta, and Echo teams joining the quest this past year.”

  I gaped at her. “How…”

  She gave me a sheepish look. “The boys talk a lot. I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but I had to tell you.”

  The gates opened, and soon we were making the downward trek to the campgrounds. The rock wall to the left gave way to rolling hills of forest. A copse of trees draped almost like an arch above us.

  I saw two men ascend the lookout nest as the others jumped on quads and started riding alongside the caravan. I gaped as I got a better view of the lookout. Now that we were below it, I could see that it was at least thirty feet in the air and looked like a glorified treehouse. It seemed more extensive than my apartment from the outside.

  “There it is!” Sylvia cried out excitedly as we crested the next hill.

  I looked out, and both relief and sadness filled me. Sanctuary Lakes Campground was nestled in the valley of three mountains and got its name for the five lakes situated on the two-thousand acre plot. From our vantage point, you could see the man-made lake to the right, where we used to swim. The cabins that once housed the campers were about fifty yards behind it.

  There were a total of fourteen cabins, all with fireplaces, and large enough to house sixteen bunk beds, or thirty-two campers, each. The bathrooms and showers separated the cabins, and right behind them was the kitchen and dining area.

  Beyond the cabins were the barns and paddocks for the horses, and a short jaunt through the woods was another man-made lake they had created a few years back—an outdoor water park, of sorts. It had a zip line, inflatable water obstacles, and water trampolines.

  We continued down the mountain, and the first parking lot opened up to the left, where the information center was. Nana and Pop-pop had built a restaurant and a sizable gift shop-convenient store there as well. The restaurant had become popular among the locals, not just vacationers, who visited just as frequently as the guests that had stayed here.

  Right now, the parking lot seemed full of vehicles, yet I couldn’t see anyone walking around like I typically would have.

  In fact, it was slightly unnerving to see how empty everything looked. It was a week after Memorial Day. Usually, it would be buzzing with people; people enjoying the horses, bike paths, canoeing, kayaking, and the other activities offered here. But other than a small group of children near the playground, I didn’t see anyone.

  I continued to look around as we cleared the copse of trees and saw Nana and Poppop’s two-thousand square foot cabin on the top of one of the hills. At the foot of it was the hall.

  The hall had been an addition that my dad had suggested they open, roughly five years ago. It was created for weddings and big gatherings. Erected out of logs, the building was top-notch, with a commercial kitchen, a massive fireplace large enough to take up nearly half of one of its walls, and an expansive area to fit and house a wedding party of five hundred.

  It had been a smart investment, because, even in the dead of winter, couples had rented it out, and in the summertime they had the use of the hall and several prime locations for an outdoor ceremony.

  We ended our journey at the foot of the hill where the recreation center, laundry mat, and the arcade was. The large parking lot we parked in led in three different directions: the left was where people camped among the trees, whether by tent or recreation vehicles. The right led up and around to the campers’ cabins, and straight ahead was where families or hunters could rent the log cabins that offered up to six bedrooms.

  There was so much more to the camp, but with the expanse of land, hills, mountains, and trees, it was hard to see it all. It now hit home why Dad and the uncles had deemed this as a safe place, a sanctuary. The mountains and the single entry point made it easily defensible. That and you could completely live off the land, with the right equipment, knowledge, and supplies.

  Sylvia barely had the car in park before she was leaping out and running towards Aunt Carol and a few women who’d exited the recreation center. I took my time, exiting the truck, mindful of baby Isa. I opened the back door, and Bane immediately jumped down to stand next to me.

  Sylvia’s two dogs needed help getting out, being smaller than Bane. I had no qualms letting them out as well. After Miller had accidentally dropped their leashes earlier, her dogs had stuck around, and Sylvia was pleased to find out that, like Bane, they weren’t runners either.

  I rubbed Isa’s back as I grabbed her saline bag, careful to keep it elevated. I paused to look at her and gasped. Her beautiful dark blue eyes were staring back at me.

  “Hi there, beautiful,” I crooned happily as tears filled my eyes.

  “How’s our little girl?” Easton hesitantly asked, startling me.

  He kept referring to her as our girl, and it was starting to grow on me. Corbin and Axel had shown a lot of concern for her, but I knew Easton was already emotionally invested. It had forged a bond between us. This tiny little girl's life had hung in the balance, and with our combined efforts, she was recovering. She really was a miracle baby, a fighter.

  I unbuttoned a few more of my buttons to show him the little bundle peering up at me.

  “Hi, there little fighter.” His smile rivaled mine as he peeked down at her. “We should get her somewhere so I can check her vitals, see if she will take some milk, then we might be in the clear to remove her IV. Her color already looks better to me. I think your idea of Kangaro
o Care was brilliant, Avery.”

  I smiled back at him and angled myself so that I could place my arms around his waist. I felt him tense for just a moment before he began to rub his hands up and down my back, lowering his head next to mine.

  “What’s this for?” he asked with a chuckle. “Not that I’m complaining.”

  “For helping me.” I leaned into him the best I could with Isa between us. “For helping Isa. For just being you.”

  I felt the vibrations of his chuckle once more, before Isa chose to let out a pitiful whimper.

  We both jumped back, looked at each other, and began to laugh. My tears were happy tears as they coursed down my face. I’m pretty sure I saw tears enter his own eyes as he embraced me again. He took the saline bag with one hand and my hand with the other. I squeezed it, thankful Sylvia had spoken her words of wisdom to me.

  I was done worrying about what might happen. It was time I just enjoyed the now moments.

  Chapter 16

  “You look like you were born to do that,” Aunt Carol commented with a beatific smile.

  We had been busy since we’d arrived, and right now was the first time I’d gotten to sit and just be. We were seated in the wedding hall, which Aunt Carol had determined was the best location for mealtimes until we could figure out all the details of caring for over fifty people.

  Stephanie and Aunt Pam had migrated to the large overstuffed chairs and couches near the fireplace. The sitting area was comfortable and gave us a great vantage point of most of the outside. All the windows were open, letting in the fresh late-spring air.

  I looked up and met the sad and sympathizing looks of Aunt Pam and Stephanie. They had taken the couch across from me. I swallowed the pain down and smiled.

  “Thank you, Aunt Carol,” I told her.

  I shifted Isa in my arms. I curled my feet under me and gave her the bottle Steph had prepared for me. I was so thankful and surprised to find out that she had started to pump for Isa last night, and instead of the colostrum she’d expected, she was producing the fatty milk Isa probably needed. The female body never ceased to amaze me.