Watcher (The Watcher Series Book 1)

by A. J. Eversley

  Kyle reached his hand out and pulled me up. “What? You think I’d let him have all the fun?” His smile was still firmly in place. I shook my head but was glad to see him.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked. “Where did you leave them?”

  “At the station,” Kenzie said, his brow scrunched up.

  “He’s going to blow the whole city, including the rail system,” I explained. “We have less than an hour.”

  Kyle let out a long breath.

  “We have to get them out, now! We don’t have much time.”

  “I’ll go,” Kyle said. “But where do I take them? I don’t know the rail system at all, and is there even anywhere left in the city to hide?”

  “We can’t be in the city when it blows,” I said, but that was no help either. The Wastelands beyond the city were a nuclear desert. No one could survive past the city walls.

  “We have nowhere left to go. If we stay here, we die. If we leave, we die.”

  “It’s clear,” a voice behind us whispered.

  My dad’s legs were sprawled out in front of him as he leaned against the wall. His shirt was soaked in his own blood. I hadn’t even noticed him there. He must’ve been caught in the crossfire.

  “What?” Kenzie said, breaking the silence.

  “The Wastelands are clear.” He coughed up a gout of blood. “The nuclear contaminates have been cleared for decades. They just wanted you to believe it was unsafe in order to keep you inside the boundaries.”

  “Why are you helping us?” I asked.

  “All I wanted was a better life for us—you and your mother. When I thought I lost her, I had nothing left. I’m sorry.” He coughed.

  I walked closer. “You had me,” I whispered. Tears threatened to spill over, but I swallowed them back, standing taller. “Mom died, and you are nothing more than a coward.”

  There wasn’t much time left. He made his choice, he left me, he helped our enemy, and this bit of information wouldn’t make up for it.

  “I watched you, every day.” He tried to smile.

  I couldn’t turn away.

  “I knew, one day, I would be able to get you back,” my dad said. “To see you just one more time, to tell you I love you one more time.”

  I wanted to look away, I wanted to run away, but I was frozen where I stood. I couldn’t move.

  “Your mother misses you,” he said. “You can save her, Sawyer.”

  “Mom is dead,” I corrected him.

  “No, she is just lost. You can still save her,” he said, coughing.

  “What—” I said.

  Kenzie touched my back. “We have to go now, Sawyer,” he said.

  I nodded.

  “We will take them to the Wastelands, but we have to leave now,” Kenzie said.

  “Coleman?” I said, remembering he’d headed for the roof.

  “No time. He’s already gone.”

  Kenzie stepped out into the hallway, and I went to follow him.

  “Sawyer?” my dad squeaked.

  I stopped. I shouldn’t turn. I should’ve just left. He would’ve left me. He did leave me.

  I turned around.

  “I know you will never forgive me, but I want you to have this.” He held out a chain with a pendant in the shape of a star hanging down. I recognized it; it was my mother’s.

  I stood there, unable to move.

  “Please,” he begged.

  I took it and turned to leave again.

  “Sawyer?” I looked back one last time. “The stars are the key,” he said. “Save her.”

  I wanted to ask what he meant, but we had no time. I’d heard that before in a dream. But that was all it was, a dream.

  I tucked the necklace in my pocket and left as my father took his last breath.

  ~

  We sprinted down the stairs as fast as we could. I heard the roar of an engine firing up above us. I looked out the window to see Coleman’s spaceship take off. I should’ve gone after him.

  “Sawyer, Chevy,” Kenzie said suddenly.

  I’d forgotten all about him. He was still back at Kenzie’s place. We’d planned to get him after everyone was safe.

  “I’ll go get him. You and Kyle get everyone clear,” he said.

  “I don’t know the way, and you can’t run on that leg,” I argued, noticing he still had a slight limp on the leg I shot that would slow him down. A pang of guilt washed over me.

  We had reached the street level, and I could finally see how many Bots there were there. They paid no attention to us as they marched farther into the city.

  “I’ll get Chevy,” I said.

  Kenzie grabbed both my arms and turned me to face him. “You won’t make it. You have to leave him,” he said. The words I didn’t want to hear.

  “I won’t leave him, I can’t. He saved my life.”

  His body dropped in defeat; he knew there was no arguing.

  “We’ll get the people out of the city, and we’ll see you there,” Kyle said, stepping in. He was always willing to take the lead and knew there was no winning an argument against me.

  I pushed Kenzie forward. “I’ll see you there,” I said.

  Kenzie grabbed my wrist and pulled me into him. He kissed me hard, and I kissed him back as the world around us stopped, even if just for a moment.

  “I’d better see you there.” It was an order, and I was off.

  ~

  I sprinted down the street as fast as I could. It was weird to see so many Bots and not one paying attention to me. The main street wasn’t quick enough, so I darted in and out of the alleys, taking every shortcut I knew.

  I forced my legs to move faster, pumping my arms and ignoring the dull pain from my shoulder and broken rib. My adrenaline must’ve kicked in as it didn’t hurt so badly anymore. I arrived at the apartment building quicker than the first time. I ran freely without worrying about being seen. The tall building was just in the distance, I was so close.

  I reached the front door and pushed it open, racing up the stairs. The first of the bombs exploded in the distance.

  Chevy was waiting for me, still unable to put much weight on his front paw, but he tried anyway, sensing the urgency.

  I scooped him up and sprinted back down the stairs. Explosions rocked the building, shaking it side to side as they came closer.

  We flew out the front door, Chevy clinging to my chest. I heard the blasts getting closer, and I knew I couldn’t outrun a bomb, especially when I had no idea where it was coming from.

  As I looked around, the scene was worse than I thought. The city glowed red and orange as explosions rang out and fires roared through the buildings.

  The city’s boundaries weren’t too much farther. I sprinted toward the city wall, an invisible boundary between safety and death, the roles reversed from what we once knew.

  Another explosion went off, closer this time.

  I was so close, so close to freedom.

  Another explosion. I felt the heat from that one, much too close.

  Keep your feet moving, I told myself.

  Ten more yards.

  Five more yards.

  We didn’t make it.

  My ears rang from the blast, and I was blown off my feet. Chevy was thrown from my arms.

  My back was on fire, and I felt shrapnel and embers cut through my skin.

  I lay on the ground, looking to the sky when my mom was suddenly leaning over me. “Get up,” she gently urged. “You need to get up, honey.”

  “I can’t,” I said, my voice a whimper.

  “You can. He needs you. Together, you can save me,” she said.

  I wasn’t sure who she thought needed me, but I was no use to anyone. My eyelids felt heavy. “I just need to close my eyes for a second,” I suggested, but she shook her head.

  “You need to get up,” she urged.

  I felt a tug at my arm, and my body slowly scraped across the cold cement. She was helping me. My mother was pulling me to safety.

&nb
sp; I opened my eyes again to see Chevy gripping my sleeve and dragging me to safety.

  I looked back to where I lay. My mom was still there, smiling at me.

  “The stars are the key,” she said, and then the world went black yet again.

  Chapter 37

  The stages in which I woke up were both confusing and painful. First, all I saw was white. Blinding white as the sun beat down on me. Above me were shadows, but I couldn’t tell from what.

  Then there was the pain. Excruciating pain. And I thought I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear anything.

  Last was delirium. I was sure I was seeing a mirage as faces looked down at me, hundreds of the same face.

  My eyes focused, and I realized it wasn’t hundreds, but just one—Kenzie.

  Doc and Kyle were nearby. “Ah, there she is!” Doc smiled as he wiped a cloth across my forehead.

  “Am I dead?” I asked.

  They laughed. “I sure hope not, ‘cause if you are, then we’re talking to a dead girl.” Kyle winked.

  My head was pounding, and my attempt to sit up wasn’t a good idea.

  Doc gently pushed me back down. “You lost a lot of blood there, missy. Best to stay laying down a bit longer.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  I turned my head to the side as my eyes focused again. All around me was barren desert, nothing but sand and sun. To the other side lay what was left of Cytos. Smoke still billowed from the burning buildings. It was all gone.

  “We don’t really know,” Kenzie said. I saw the worry in his eyes. “We found you over a day after the explosions began. You were just outside the city, with Chevy.”

  “Is he okay?” I asked, looking around. I felt a little squirm at my feet, and I looked down. Chevy was lying at the end of the makeshift bed I lay on, curled up in a tight little ball.

  “Won’t leave your side.” Doc petted his head. “Do you remember anything about what happened?”

  “I remember running, and then I think my mom was there?” I shook my head, and it pounded. That couldn’t be right.

  “We think you hit your head at some point,” Doc said. He gently rolled me on my side, and I winced at the pain. “I was able to remove most of the shrapnel in your back. No permanent damage. The burns will take longer to heal although they are looking much better today.” He laid me down slowly.

  I reached up to my shoulder. “Did you get the bullet out?” I asked.

  They all looked at me with confusion.

  “Bullet?” Doc asked.

  “I was shot, in the shoulder. And I could’ve sworn I broke a rib or two.” I pulled the corner of my shirt down, but there was nothing there. No wound from the bullet, not even a scar. “I swear,” I mumbled.

  “Like we said, you might’ve hit your head. There were no bullet wounds or broken bones that I could find, just your back torn to shreds.” Doc smiled patiently at me.

  I must’ve hit it hard. But I remembered the pain.

  No, he must’ve been right. There was no evidence of a wound even, so it must not have happened. The shirt I was wearing wasn’t mine, so I had no way to see if there was a bullet hole in the one I was wearing. There were just too many things that couldn’t have been real, like seeing my mom. Maybe that was part of a dream, a hallucination.

  “Where are we?” I asked, trying to look around, but my head still spun.

  “We’ve set up camp a few miles from Cytos.” Kyle lowered his voice. “Sawyer, we don’t really have any direction of where to go or what to do, but these people won’t survive much longer if we don’t find food soon.”

  A few people were looking in our direction, and from the gaunt faces and skinny frames, I saw it’d been some time since they had a decent meal. They were looking to me for direction, for leadership, but I had no answers.

  These people needed saving. That was all they had ever needed.

  “How long have I—”

  “Four days.” Kenzie looked down. I understood the worried look.

  “You should probably rest more. We’ll send for water, if we can find any,” Doc said.

  I nodded, took a deep breath in, and closed my eyes. I felt Kenzie’s hand in mine, and I squeezed it.

  ~

  I dozed off for a few hours, waking with a dry paste in my mouth. Doc found a little water left from the small reserve they brought with them. It did little to quench my thirst, but I didn’t complain. Carefully, I sat up with a little help. Kenzie sat on a log beside me, and Chevy rested his head on my lap. There were about sixty survivors in all, and none of them were Smith. I was certain he was still alive, but clearly we’d been abandoned and left to fend for ourselves. Or we were presumed dead.

  Byron and Tenason both survived Sub 9, along with one other Watcher and Kyle. The rest were killed, or worse, used like Brent. I couldn’t get his scream out of my head.

  Doc checked all the survivors when they arrived. He believed none had been changed into Carbons, on account of them not trying to kill us yet. Plus, they all bled—which was a good sign—but we knew Carbons could too, which made it harder to be sure. Kyle felt it was best not to tell the others. No need to cause panic on top of everything else.

  Kenzie had been quiet for some time. We sat in awkward silence as he wrung his hands.

  “Whats on your mind?” I said.

  He took a deep breath. “Coleman has built an army of Carbons, the new ones. He’s using humans to give his Carbon an advantage. With a human connection, the Carbons are almost invincible. He has specifically picked out humans that not only meet the code but have a specialty.” Kenzie’s mouth gaped open as he tried to find the right words to explain. “The C-Node code is not just to allow the human to be compatible with a Carbon, it also gives the Carbons abilities. Speed, agility, intelligence. It’s a code in their DNA that cannot be tapped into as just a mere human. Coleman has found a way to activate it. These Carbons are different; they’re superior.”

  “Do you know what he’s planning to do with them?” I asked.

  “He had plans to take Kuros and keep building up his army. I think he is looking for something, or someone specific.” He scrunched his brow, still thinking. “I’m not sure what he will do after that, it’s all a bit foggy right now. I just know that there are thousands of people in Kuros that will be destroyed, just like Cytos. Only this time, Coleman has an army of Carbons with him. We have a matter of days, weeks at most.”

  “Can he be stopped?” I asked.

  “No,” he said.

  We went back to silence. I wasn’t sure what more could be done. We had rescued these few people just to watch them starve to death. And what would Coleman do when we were all gone? What was this all for?

  “Sawyer?” Kenzie said in a small voice.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t kill him, I couldn’t do it. He had a hold on me.” He looked down again, but I took his chin and turned it to me.

  “No, you did it. You didn’t do what he told you to do, and you saved me.” I smiled weakly. “Coleman can’t die, but he can be beaten. You proved that.”

  He put an arm around me and gently pulled me closer. I felt his heart beating fast but strong, and I stayed there for a while longer, feeling safe in his embrace. With so much uncertainty around me, I found it hard to listen to my brain telling me Kenzie wasn’t safe. He’d saved my life, more than once, and this pull in the pit of my stomach reached out for him every chance it took.

  ~

  Kenzie and I agreed we neeed to tell the others about the army Coleman had, as much as we felt safe revealing, anyway. It wasn’t my place to tell Kenzie’s story, not until he was ready. But they had to know about Coleman and about Smith.

  The others took a while to process everything, but Kyle was the one I hadn’t taken my eyes off of as we spoke. He moved from confusion to anger to resentment in a matter of moments. Smith was like a father to him, and to find out he was working for the very man trying to kill us all had taken
a toll on Kyle.

  “He’s gone. He won’t come back for us if he hasn’t already,” Kyle whispered.

  I wanted to say something. I wanted to reassure him that the relationship he had with Smith wasn’t all a lie, but I wasn’t sure that was true. And my feeling of betrayal had left a sting in my side.

  “We’ll go on without them. We are survivors. We always have been, and that isn’t about to stop now.” Byron did his best pep talk as he elbowed Tenason for support. Tenason nodded in agreement. The two looked tired and drained, but like me they knew what had to be done, they were Watchers through and through.

  “Exactly. We’ll be fine,” I said, trying to sound strong.

  I left out Kenzie’s betrayal, and as everyone stood to leave, I felt his eyes on me.

  “Why didn’t you tell them?” Kenzie asked once everyone was out of earshot.

  “Right now, we need to be one unit. There is no sense in creating distrust or confusion. We need to stick together, and you’ve picked your side.”

  ~

  The small amount of water and food we had was running out. Our only choice was to move. I knew Kuros was out there, but all around was sand for as far as the eye could see.

  Doc thought I needed more time to heal, but I felt much better. I walked around on my own, and the burning in my back had subsided. The hardest part was dealing with the lack of energy. With little food to rebuild my energy, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to Kuros, let alone across this desert. But I wasn’t about to tell them that.

  Reluctantly, we packed up the little supplies we had and headed east, knowing that’d be our destination if we planned to help, or just to pick up the pieces if we were too late.

  I took one last look at Cytos. Smoke still hovered in the air above it. The only home I had ever known was gone. My parents were both gone, and as mad as I was at my dad, I couldn’t help feeling sorrow as I turned away from my home. I could only hope that what lay ahead of me was better than what I was leaving behind.

  Chapter 38