by Anne, Melody
Drake hadn’t slept a full night since his thirtieth birthday, the day before the first bomb had dropped in America: the blast felt around the world. He’d been stationed abroad in Afghanistan then — his entire team captured.
For two weeks, they’d been treated worse than rodents: receiving rotten food, no bathrooms, locked in a cell with hard-packed dirt floors and solid cement walls. Drake had figured he was dead and would never see his family again. He’d accepted his fate.
One day a man had opened the door, commanding the guards to bring the prisoners out. Drake had dared to hope they were being rescued when he heard an American accent in the voice. As he emerged from the darkness, the blinding light of the sun had prevented him from seeing the man's face, but he recognized the voice. He just couldn’t place it.
He had been weak, badly malnourished, and was starting to have hallucinations, so he had thought it had probably been nothing more than hope to recognize the person speaking.
“I’m sorry you’ve been left in these conditions, soldiers,” the newcomer said. “I’ve had a talk with the commanding officer of this operation. Capture was necessary, but not like this. A war has begun — a war against every nation, every country. The time has come for us to be one people. There will be no more prejudice, no more borders. This is the time we all unite — without an upper, middle, and lower class. We will be one nation, people without borders. There will be one ruler in this new order.”
Drake had been trying to comprehend what the man was saying, but it made no sense. There couldn’t be one nation. Utopia sounded good, but in order to have one nation, most had to give up who they were and what they believed. Who would get to choose which nation was the best? Drake had a good idea it wasn’t someone with compassion or morality. And it certainly couldn’t be someone doing it out of kindness. But what if he was wrong?
“There are many who vehemently oppose this. We have to take harsh measures against them. I’m your new leader. I have my army assembled, and I’m giving you one chance to join. You can say no . . .” the man said, letting his words trail off. Drake knew what it would mean to say no, and it wasn’t getting to walk away in peace.
Drake lifted his gaze, trying desperately to see the man's face. His stomach knotted as he continued speaking. Drake did recognize that deep baritone — more than he cared to. It was the former Vice President of the United States. What was he asking them to do? Before he could voice the question, another guy from their unit spoke up.
“What are you asking of us?”
“I want your loyalty. If you agree, your training begins today. We’ll take you out of here to one of our many bases. We came in fighting with a strong hand. This plan has been in motion for more years than you’ve been alive, but two weeks ago, it officially began. Sadly, there are many people who won’t surrender, won’t accept the changes. They have to be eliminated. That’s how it has to be in a new world order. We must get rid of those who won’t accept peace. In order to achieve utopia, a lot of blood will run through the streets. It isn’t pleasant, but when it’s done, the world will be a much better place.”
Did the man truly believe that? Did he actually think what he was doing was for the best? Somehow, Drake knew it wasn’t about the former vice president’s misguided assumption of wanting peace. He knew it was power — plain and simple. Vice President Eric Tobarman was a ruthless man. He’d been a sly dictator during his time in office, and it was apparent he was in his place of glory now. He wanted the soldiers to refuse him. He wanted the chance to kill them all. He wanted total dominance — or death to those who dared oppose him.
“I won’t fight against my own country,” Jim O’Brian bravely said as he shakily rose to his feet.
“I understand," President Tobarman said before he nodded his head. Before Drake had time to blink, let alone react, a gunshot rang out and a bullet went straight through O’Brian’s forehead. The soldiers around him gazed at their dead friend in shock. Had that really just happened? No warning — nothing. This was a former Vice President of the United States. There were rules of engagement.
“You men do have a choice, but I’m sorry, we can’t allow our enemies to run amok trying to defeat the cause. You’re either with us or against us. Don’t bother lying to me now — it won’t take us long to figure out which side you’re truly on,” Tobarman said in that same pleasant voice, as if he were discussing nothing more important than a mild spring day.
Several more men stood up against their former president, and they were quickly shot. Drake thought of his parents, his little sister, and all of the Americans who were scared and needed help. He needed to get home — needed to ensure their survival — so he kept his mouth shut. He nodded when the president asked him if he was ready to serve in the United Nations Military.
Drake was good at masking his thoughts. He’d learned how to do so at a young age. He’d spent eight years in a private Catholic school, and if those nuns knew he’d been the prankster making their lives nearly unbearable, the punishments would have been swift and fast. He’d learned how to look innocent, even interested when he wasn’t. It was how he’d survived his first day at the intense training camp, and then through six long months of extreme boot camp.
President Tobarman wanted to make sure the soldiers were on his side before handing them weapons and shipping them around the world. What frightened Drake more than anything else was he watched his friends, soldiers who’d vowed to protect their country, slowly get sucked in to the brainwashing they were being fed.
He watched as good men were convinced the only way to live in this world was to be one nation — one land. He watched as they were converted to the belief that the only way to achieve this utopia was to eliminate all who opposed it.
Drake played their game, said all the right things, and even convinced Tobarman he was one of his most loyal soldiers. He also plotted and planned every single night on how to seek his revenge on this new world government.
Four years later, they still believed he was a valuable soldier, fighting for them. The only reason he hadn’t escaped long ago to look for his own people was because he could do far more damage from the inside.
His first kill had been the worst. The soldier — and he said the word lightly — had been torturing a ten-year-old child when Drake slit his throat. The man’s eyes had widened in disbelief as he grasped his neck, trying to stem the flow of blood squirting from his jugular. Drake kicked him to the ground, where he quickly bled out.
By the time the rest of their men arrived, Drake had hidden the mother and child, and led the team off in the opposite direction, saying there had been three refugees who’d ambushed Lt. Sorder when Drake had been taking a piss. They’d believed him without hesitation, never suspecting he hated them so much.
The kills grew easier as the years ticked by. He’d had to get more creative so he didn’t draw suspicion, but he was causing real damage to the troops. When he’d learned about refugees fighting back, he’d started to hope again.
Maybe this would all end — really end. He’d searched for his family after being on American soil for a year. He’d been devastated to not find them. They were either dead or in hiding, where he might never find them again. He’d truly have to start his life over. He didn’t know how he’d be able to do that with nightmares forever haunting him, but still, he held onto hope.
He’d spent another day searching unsuccessfully for a nearby refugee hideout. It was time to head to the West. He knew there was a huge camp out that way. He’d have to leave his unit, hoping they’d assume he’d been killed in action instead of deserting. That meant he had to leave everything behind except what he’d normally take on patrol with him.
He’d be able to sneak a bit of food, but he was pretty much heading into unknown territory with very little ammo, food, or other resources. It was worth it. He was done pretending to like the asses who were responsible for the fall of a nation — the fall of a world. He�
��d done his part within the unit. It was time to help the refugees gain back their country — then the world. He just had to wait until the moment was right. He’d know when that was. His gut instinct had kept him alive on more than one occasion.
He had faith it would continue to do so. Faith was another word that had been spoken regularly when he’d first joined the military. Now, it was punishable by death. These soldiers didn’t want to believe in heaven or hell because if they did, they knew where they’d be going. They couldn’t believe in a higher power and still live like the savages they’d turned into.
The saddest part of it all was that at one time these men hadn’t been monsters. They’d been sons, fathers, husbands, and countrymen. They’d been men of honor. But they’d fallen for the party line and they were no longer recognizable as the men they’d once been.
In this new army, there were no female soldiers. No, there were no equal rights. Women were for one purpose and one purpose only. It was disgusting how easily some had fallen, and how far they continued to drop.
This wasn’t a world to raise children in, and it wasn’t a society he wanted anything at all to do with. Drake wanted to move mountains, and he had faith he’d be able to do it. He also knew he’d never do it alone. He was going to join the cause to bring America back to what it had once been and make it better.
He’d wait . . . and the time would come when all of the pieces fell perfectly together.
Chapter Five
*** Phoenix ***
“Hold on!” Cassidy yelled as she managed to stop the vehicle just shy of going over the edge of the drop-off, where surely they would’ve flipped and not only lost all of their supplies, but possibly have plunged to their deaths.
“Were we shot?” Sadie gasped as she struggled to undo her seat belt.
Phoenix quickly released her own clasp, then helped Sadie since her best friend’s hands were shaking too badly to undo it.
“No. We blew a tire. We must’ve hit something in the road,” Cassidy said. She jumped from the truck and ran down the street to check it out. Sadie and Phoenix slowly climbed from the truck, looking over the edge of the cliff as their hearts raced.
“That was too close. It would really suck to survive gunfire only to die in a stupid auto accident,” Phoenix said as the two girls moved to the front of the truck, neither of them comfortable beside it as it was leaning dangerously toward the cliff.
Phoenix’s hair fluttered in the breeze, tickling her face, so she swiped it away as she reached around and yanked out her rubber band. She swiftly tied the annoying strands up and turned as Cassidy rapidly approached.
“It was a jagged piece of metal. I should have been paying better attention. I didn’t detect enemies, so I became careless. That won’t happen again.”
“You can’t know everything that’s out there, Cassidy. You’re only hum—” Phoenix cut herself off.
“No, Phoenix. I’m not mortal, that’s the point. I need to be more aware if we have any chance of keeping you alive,” she rebuked with a soft smile to take the sting from her words.
“What can we do?” Sadie asked.
“Let me get this tire changed and we’ll be on our way. I’m getting a bad feeling now. I want to get you two back to base. This might not have been such a great idea.”
“We’re fine. You can’t predict hazards in the road,” Sadie argued.
Phoenix was silent as she looked around the darkening surroundings. She was getting a sick feeling in her gut too. Was someone coming for them? She’d once brushed off feelings of doom, but with the knowledge of monsters hiding in the dark, she now took them a lot more seriously.
“Let me help. I want to get out of here too,” Phoenix offered.
“I’ll be quicker on my own,” Cassidy said as she pulled the spare tire from beneath the rig as if it weighed nothing. “Get back in the truck so I can concentrate on this instead of the two of you.”
Phoenix wanted to argue, but Sadie tugged on her arm, and Phoenix reluctantly did as she was ordered by climbing into the rig. She watched as a gust of wind picked up a pile of dirt and debris littering the side of the road. It spun around in a funnel before fluttering off toward the dark trees, their branches still fully green. She gazed into the dark forest as her body stiffened, sensing someone was out there. She could feel eyes watching her. Were they friend or foe? If they were friendly, why didn’t they announce themselves? It was either because they were scared, or because they weren’t friendly at all.
“You almost done, Cassidy?” Phoenix asked, not able to hide the slight tremble in her voice.
“Yes. We’ll be moving in just a minute,” came her quick response. Phoenix noted the level of stress in Cassidy’s voice. Her own fear rose another notch. If Cassidy was worried, they were in real trouble.
She glanced out the window again and noticed a glint sparkling off the last rays of the setting sun. Someone was out there — aiming a weapon directly at them.
Before Phoenix had time to think about what she was doing, she jumped from the truck and rushed toward Cassidy, forgetting that she herself was the one who was mortal. A human weapon couldn’t harm Cassidy.
“Someone’s out there!” Phoenix yelled as a shot exploded from the trees. Moving with lightning speed, Cassidy launched herself into the air, catching Phoenix around the waist and sending them flying toward the hard surface of the pavement.
Phoenix tried to lock her body into a tight ball, but it happened too fast. Sadie stood back with her eyes wide open, her feet frozen to the asphalt as Phoenix was launched through the air.
Everything moved like they were in a movie and she was somehow watching from the outside as the old-time projector jammed and was suddenly clicking frame by frame. She was standing there one second, and the next she was airborne.
She turned her head as a flash of heat edged past her cheek, the air heating in a blur of motion, and she knew a bullet had missed her face by mere inches. As the pavement rose up to meet her, she had no doubt she’d be dead right then if it weren’t for Cassidy’s quick thinking and even faster movement.
Her knee hit the ground first, sending a splintering pain all the way down to her toes and up to her hip. She didn’t hear any shattering bones, but that didn’t mean anything. She couldn’t hear much more than the sound of wind rushing past her ears as they edged closer to the ground.
Phoenix’s eyes were wide open as the rest of her body connected with the unforgiving asphalt, tiny rocks jamming into her elbows and hip, Cassidy lying on top of her. She forgot to breathe before the last of the air was squeezed from her lungs as she was pressed into the cold road.
As Cassidy jumped off her and faced the woods, Phoenix finally commanded her burning body to move. She had to assess the damage. Was anything broken? Were more shots being fired? Was Sadie okay?
She looked over and saw her best friend still standing in the open — making herself an easy target. Who was firing at them, and why?
“Sadie!” Phoenix cried out just before another shot rang from the trees. Her eyes widened more as she watched a blur of movement. One second Sadie was standing there, fright filling her eyes, the next she was gone.
Before Phoenix had time to process any of it, she was being pulled from the ground, slung over Cassidy’s shoulder and tossed onto the floorboard of the truck.
“Stay down!” Cassidy commanded before slamming the truck door and turning back to look into the woods.
Her heart hammered as she realized how close she’d come to dying. She’d been in some frightening situations in the last few years, but facing her own mortality over and over again was just as scary each time. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to give up the life she’d managed to build for herself.
Anger began to build and flow throughout her body, mixing with her already over-reactive adrenaline that someone was trying to steal her last breath. She had the urge to kick the door open and hunt them down. How
dare they attack her and her best friend? They would pay!
“You have one chance, and one chance only to reveal yourself and cease fire. I won’t warn you again, and I won’t ask any more questions before I destroy you,” Cassidy called. Phoenix and Sadie popped up and peeked over the door to look out the open window.
Cassidy was facing the woods, her gaze zeroed in on a small opening in the trees. They had no doubt Cassidy knew exactly where their enemy was lying in wait. Why hadn’t Cassidy already destroyed them?
“You’re trespassing,” a young wobbly voice called back. Phoenix and Sadie turned to glance at each other. The voice sounded like a small child, someone who hadn’t reached puberty yet, if the crack in his voice was any indication. It could be a trick. This new world had hardened them all, and a child wasn’t always their friend. A few of their young men and women who’d had to become instant soldiers had discovered that the hard way when a child had been used as bait.
“Step out and show yourself,” Cassidy demanded.
Wind blowing through the trees, gently swaying the branches to and fro, was the only sound for a moment as Cassidy continued gazing into the forest. Cassidy sighed as if she were about to do something she didn’t like, when the tree branches opened wider and a small body leaned out, only his face and chest showing, along with a deadly looking black assault rifle. Where had he gotten that? The gun looked bigger than his small body.
“I don’t want to kill you, but if you fire that weapon at these girls again, you’ll leave me no choice. We aren’t trespassing. We’re simply driving back home. Our vehicle had a flat tire.”
“You shouldn’t be here. This area is ours. We need those supplies you’re robbing from us.” The boy's voice rose to a high pitch at the end of his small speech. His weapon was still pointed toward them, but not seemingly aimed at anyone in particular, just more in their direction.
“Why are you out here all alone? We have a base not far from here with plenty of supplies. We have to keep providing more. We’re not trying to take anything from you, we’re trying to help,” Cassidy reasoned with the small boy.
