We didn’t have time to fight them, and there was enough distance between us to not have to worry about them being able to fire at us.
“Go, go!” Nad shouted.
Miko pressed me forward, his palms against my back, and we ran.
Together, we scrambled up the dune, feet and hands digging into the sand to drag ourselves up. I could hear the ticking of the clock like it was right inside my head. How long did we have left? Minutes? Seconds? I was certain I’d be hit in the back with the blast at any moment. Or perhaps I wouldn’t even feel it. I’d just simply no longer exist.
We reached the top, Nad leaning down to haul me the rest of the way.
“Keep going!”
We weren’t far enough away from the device yet. Hot air wheezed in and out of my lungs, tears of fear filling my eyes. Nowhere would be safe if we hadn’t put enough distance between us and the blast. Nothing would be enough protection. Not stone or metal or brick. Everything would be vaporized. There was nowhere to hide. Only distance would save us.
Because of the loose sand, running felt the same as it did when stuck in a nightmare and I was unable to move fast enough. I glanced to my side and caught Diarus’s amber gaze and recognized the fear in his eyes. He reached out a hand and—
A punch of hot air hit me in the back, throwing me forward. I landed facedown in the sand, my palms either side of my face. A wave of hot wind and sand rushed past my head, buffeting my body. The ground shuddered and vibrated beneath us.
“Hang on to each other!” a male voice yelled from beside me. I thought the voice belonged to Nadeusz, but the wind picked it up and whipped it away. “It’s coming back!”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I grappled for the guys. Fingers found mine, linking tight.
Everything suddenly fell still, and I started to rise, but a body hit mine, and I discovered myself pressed, facedown back in the sand. Nad was lying on top of me. My hand was linked with Miko’s. I searched for Diarus. He was commando crawling toward Miko.
“Stay down!” Nad yelled in my ear, pushing me against the sand. “It’s coming back.”
Like an ocean wave that had spread out from the blast, it pulled back again.
Despite Nad’s substantial weight on top of me, together we started sliding across the sand. The blast was dragging us back in, back toward the facility, or what remained of it.
I could barely breathe, my eyes squeezed shut, my chin tucked into my chest.
This was it. The blast was sucking everything in around it, dragging the facility and the launch pad into the void of nothingness the blast had created. What would happen if we were dragged into the gaping hole of emptiness behind us?
All we could do was flatten ourselves as close to the ground as possible, and cling to each other. The ground slipped beneath us, inch by inch, the pull of the void too great to fight. It felt as though time stood still and it would never end, but only a matter of seconds passed before the pull suddenly died away.
We slumped to the ground, breathing hard.
My heart hammered, and I was dizzy with adrenaline. My shoulders rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath. Nad lifted his weight from my body, and he fell to one side.
“We can’t stay here,” he gasped. “The blast will have gotten everyone’s attention.”
I clambered to my feet and cast a glance over my shoulder. Where the facility had been only moments before, now there was a massive black hole. There was nothing left of the place. No human women would be brought here, either in the near or distant future.
“Do you think the other teams completed their tasks as well?” I asked, hoping and praying they survived it.
Nad pressed his lips together. “I have no idea. Let’s hope so. The fewer of those places standing the better.”
“We’ll find out when we get back to the safe house,” Miko said.
Diarus nodded. “We need to be extra vigilant. Word is going to get around quickly about what’s happened, and Borys’s guards are already on the city streets. They’ll mobilize quickly.”
“Now might be a good time to split up,” Nad said. “I’ll go with Tara. Diarus can be your slave, Miko.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want us to split up.”
“We’ve got to do whatever is safest.”
I folded my arms across my chest and set my jaw defiantly. “That’s not what you said to Aleksy when he suggested the same thing.”
“Come on.” Miko sighed. “The longer we’re standing around fighting about this, the more distance the guards will cover.”
I thought of the guards we’d left at the facility. “How many Trads do you think were already in or around the facility? How many did we kill?
Miko took my hand and squeezed. “It doesn’t matter, Tara. You can’t think that way.”
“Can’t I? Why not?”
“Because this is war, and there are always going to be casualties in war.”
He was right. Of course he was right.
With no other choice, we trudged back the way we’d come.
I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. All I really wanted was to rest, but it was still too dangerous. The thought of having to trek back the way we’d come, across the sand dunes, with all the dangers they held, was almost too much. My thighs felt weak, and my back ached, but I didn’t have any choice but to keep going.
Miko suddenly drew to a halt. “Can you hear that?”
My stomach dropped. Was it going to be another dust cloud or sandstorm? I didn’t think I had enough reserves left to run again. It felt as though I had bricks strapped to each of my feet and I struggled to lift them. My feet burned inside my boots, and I was sure I had blisters upon blisters. Sand that had gotten inside the top of the boot had slid down, creating extra friction. I was desperate to remove the footwear, but it would be even harder to walk upon this terrain in bare feet.
I frowned. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure...”
He straightened, staring into the distance.
A black dot against the red-hazed sky.
“There!”
The device we’d used to destroy the facility at least meant there was no burning building in the distance to draw attention. Borys might have sent someone out to check on the place if they hadn’t been able to make contact with those stationed out there, however. This could be who was coming now.
“Get down!” Nad snapped.
Once more, I found myself lying in the sand. I swore, if I ever had to lie on the sand again, it would be too soon. Any dreams I had of whiling away my days by sunning myself on an exotic beach one day faded away. I’d stick to the pool.
Nad’s data pad buzzed in his bag, and a voice came through.
“We’re in your vicinity. Thought you could do with a ride.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief and sat up. With the threat of dust clouds and sandstorms dissipated, they were able to use the hovercars again.
The vehicle landed nearby, and the door closest to us opened. One of the rebels leaned over the seats.
“What are you waiting for?”
I exchanged a grin with the others, and we clambered to our feet, Miko and Diarus helping me up. We ran for the hover-vehicle and jumped inside. I sat back in the seat, a wave of relief flooding through me. It felt so good to no longer have to walk and to be sitting somewhere comfortable. Even though we’d only been gone one night, it felt like forever.
As the vehicle lifted into the air, I leaned over Diarus to peer out of the window.
There, in the direction we’d come, was the huge, black hole where the facility had once stood.
Chapter Thirteen
Before I realized how much time had passed, we were landing again.
I’d put my head against the seat the moment I’d sat, and my eyes had slipped shut. Exhaustion had claimed me within an instant, and so I hadn’t even been aware of the journey back into the city. I’d only been vaguely aware of movement, my thoughts mixing with d
reams of being back on Earth, before all of this had happened, and I’d dreamed of going to meet my friend, Camille, for drinks like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I had no idea what was normal anymore.
The vehicle landed a distance from the safe house, and we hustled through the streets, staying low and quiet, and listening for any sign of Borys’s guards going house to house. Night had fallen at some point while I’d been sleeping, and the curfew Borys had brought in was still in place, and the streets were quiet. There was a sense of anticipation in the air, like we were all holding our breath, expecting something or someone to challenge us, but for once, we were granted clean passage and reached the house without incident.
The other teams had already returned. I scanned their faces, subconsciously counting their number to make sure we’d all made it back and hadn’t lost anyone.
Zoe spotted me coming through the door, and she pushed past others to reach me.
I embraced her hard.
“We did it, Tara!” Her eyes were shining. “We took down the other facilities. We fought back!”
I grinned at her delight. “Yes, we did. Well done.”
“We couldn’t have done it without you. I didn’t really appreciate what you were trying to achieve at Polityk Borys’s place, but I do now.”
Something had changed inside Zoe, and my heart swelled with happiness for her. She’d been given something to hope for, a way of taking back control, and it had done her the world of good. She no longer seemed so afraid of the rebels either, smiling at those she’d been teamed up with. Trovik pushed an elbow to her side and spoke against her ear, teasing her about something while she laughed. I thought Aleksy might be right when he’d said that all they needed to convince some of the human women to stay was time. Of course, there would always be those who had families of their own already on Earth, who would never consider staying for a moment, but those single women who had little to go home for might form the kinds of connections that would make them want to stay.
The atmosphere inside the safe house was one of celebration. It was hard to believe we’d achieved what we’d set out to do, and without loss of life—at least, the loss of the rebels’ lives. Trad lives had been taken, and that still sat uneasily on my shoulders.
I pressed closer to Miko’s side, and he glanced down at me and smiled a sexy, lopsided grin. I rested my head on his biceps—he was too tall for me to reach his shoulder.
“Time to get some sleep,” he said, ruffling my short hair.
“We’re going to need to take watch shifts,” Aleksy said. “Borys will be occupied with what’s happened to his precious facilities, but then he’ll send the guards back to the city to find those responsible.”
I wanted to be selfish and keep Nadeusz, Diarus, and Mikotaj for myself, and of course, get some rest as well, but I was in this just as much as any of the others.
“I’ll take first shift,” I offered. “I dozed in the hovercar on the way here. I can handle it.”
“I’ll watch with you,” Aleksy offered before any of the others had the chance to speak.
I was pleased he didn’t try to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to keep watch for any stupid reason, other than me being human and a female. I believed I’d earned the right to be considered as much a part of the rebels as any of the Trads or Athions who were part of the Zeimias.
Miko caught my eye and pouted reproachfully. He wanted some one-on-one time, or at least three-on-one time, but I needed to pull my weight. Maybe there was a little jealousy involved when it came to Aleksy, too. The image of him kissing me and pushing me up onto the kitchen counter flashed through my head, and with it came a flush of heat between my thighs. Did I want the same thing to happen again? Was that why I’d volunteered?
No, I wouldn’t do anything with Aleksy, not without the express permission of the others, and this wasn’t the time to have that conversation. Aleksy and I could spend time together without jumping each other’s bones.
Gradually, everyone divided off, finding beds and couches, and even less comfortable spots on the floor on which to sleep.
Aleksy jerked his head in a follow me gesture. We stepped outside, and sat, side-by-side on the concrete stoop at the front of the building. The position gave us a view up and down the street, and while everything was quiet for the moment, we’d hear if the guards were coming. I didn’t like the thought of having to mobilize the number of beings in the building behind us. Making a quick or quiet getaway wouldn’t be easy.
I was overly aware of Aleksy’s shoulder in relation to mine. The stoop wasn’t big enough to allow us to sit at any distance from each other, so I had no choice but to stay close. The heat of his skin burned mine, even through our clothing, and my heart fluttered.
“Now what happens?” I asked, doing my best to disguise my nerves at being alone with Aleksy again.
“There’s still one more facility to take down.”
I stared at him. “The one I was held at?”
He nodded. “Exactly.”
My mind boggled. “But...but...it’s full of people. Human women and Trads, and even the babies. I couldn’t stop my thoughts from going to the child I’d given birth to and to the baby’s father, Rhetarz. Rhett played an important role at the facility, and I had no doubt he was still there. My heart flipped at the thought, and I clenched and unclenched my fists, suddenly cold.
“We can’t just take them down like we did with the others.”
He looked at me, unable to hide the shock in his eyes. “I would never do that. Do you really think I’d risk killing all those people?”
“We killed Trads at the other facilities. There were guards.”
“They were Borys’s guards,” he pointed out.
“They were only doing their jobs.”
“Would you say the same of the Trad who impregnated and abducted you?”
I clamped my mouth shut, pressed my lips tight, grinding my teeth hard enough to hear. The truth was, deep down in the core of my being, I wanted Rhetarz dead. I wanted to make sure he’d never be able to hurt another person, ever. But he was also the baby’s father, and I’d sent the child to the facility, knowing the baby would be given to Rhett. I’d wanted it to be loved and cared for—something I didn’t think I’d be able to do myself.
“It’ll be a different job, Tara,” Aleksy said softly, placing his large palm over the back of my hand. “We won’t kill unless we have to.”
“Borys won’t allow us to take down the remaining facility.”
“He won’t have a choice.”
I tried not to focus on the feel of his palm, and the heat of his skin seeping into mine. “Say we manage to shut down the facility... What will happen to all the women there?”
“We’ll take them home,” he replied.
“I appreciate you’re trying to do what’s right. But it won’t be that easy. I went to the marketplace, remember? I saw how most of the Trads treat women. They’re not going to just let us fly them out of here. And Borys has more powerful Trads above him, too. News is going to get back to them about what’s going on here. They’ll send in the troops, or whatever your military are called.”
“There are rebel groups all over Tradrych. Each district has got its own problems to deal with. Maybe the government will allocate extra resources to our region in time, but it won’t be quickly enough to prevent us from sending the women home.”
My heart caught, a strange swirling sensation of emotions warring with each other. A part of my soul ached for home, though what I remembered of home was no longer the reality. The Las Vegas I’d grown up in was no longer the same place. I didn’t even know if I had anyone back there. I could go home and discover my best friend, Camille, had already left, or might even be dead. I would be completely alone, and worse, I’d have left everyone here behind.
A contemplative silence fell between us. I was lost in thoughts of home and of a future beyond this fight.
Aleksy’s voi
ce broke through my reverie. “I understand that you’ve already bonded with Nad and Miko and Diarus, but I’d like a chance with you, too.”
I risked glancing up at him, at his pale-blue eyes and full lips. He normally seemed so in control, but there was a vulnerability about him now, one I wasn’t used to. Somehow, that only made me warm to him more. He put on a front—one that was necessary for the role he’d taken—but there was more to him. Just like the rest of us, he craved contact. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to go through years without the touch of the opposite sex.
Though I’d been enjoying the feel of his hand on mine, I pulled my fingers from his. “Can we talk about this after this is all over? It’s hard for me to think about a future with anyone while things are so uncertain.”
I was holding myself back, trying to be as formal as possible. I was worried that if I let my guard slip, I’d find myself on my back on this stoop, with Aleksy’s big body covering mine, and his tail slipping into places it shouldn’t. Besides, we needed our senses about us. We were supposed to be keeping watch.
“Of course.”
We slipped into a slightly awkward silence, sitting side by side, until one of the other Trads emerged from the house and relieved our watch.
Chapter Fourteen
We all managed to get some rest eventually.
I would have liked some privacy with the others, but the house was crammed with rebels—Trads, Athions, and now two human women.
Zoe seemed more relaxed. Some of the tension had left her body, despite the circumstances and the huge task we still had ahead of us. She laughed with Trovik and Zuniq, and when she caught me watching, offered me a warm smile. I wondered if she ever thought of the baby she’d given birth to. She’d said back at Borys’s place that she thought it was wrong that the Trads had gotten to keep the babies. I wasn’t going to remind her of them, however. She appeared to be in a better place, and I didn’t want to say or do anything to wreck that.
One of the rebels who’d been keeping guard slipped back in through the door. His expression was anxious, his lips thinned and forehead furrowed.
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