by Dawn, Maira
She nodded, her knuckles white on the rifle she gripped.
“Let us know where to go when we get in here.” Dylan switched the box he held from his right to his left arm.
Most people took in something. If they didn’t have captives, they had boxes. Of what, Dylan didn’t know. But they’d stopped by a pawn shop Kelsey pointed out and picked up a few things that would, hopefully, be good enough to get them through the door.
The gray wall of the building seemed to grow taller as they got closer. Once he got a peek into the entrance, his heart fell.
People swarmed the lobby—many more than he expected. He’d planned for some small force of resistance. Twenty, maybe thirty men. Something his group could handle. Nothing on this scale.
The best he could hope for now is to sneak in and get Skye out, and that would be a lot trickier than being in control of the situation.
They were at the front doors when someone peeked out and yelled, “The Doc wants everyone in here. He’s gonna show us one of the mermen!”
Dylan shot a surprised glance at Wade. His brother’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline.
After the brightness outside, the inside of the Marine Center seemed dark.
Dylan gave his eyes a minute to adjust, then continued into the building. The lobby was massive—two stories high — and echoing with the noise of excited people. They had pushed old props and tables against the walls to make room for the crowd.
To their right were the ticket counters and restrooms. To the left was a solid wall that opened onto a large tank filled with murky water. Everyone gathered there.
Dylan set the box on a table and pushed it toward a woman.
She flustered. “I was just going to watch—” The woman pointed to the crowd.
Dylan nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll check in after.”
The woman agreed and rushed away.
Their little group hung around the edge of the gathering, ready to bolt if necessary.
People continued to flood into the room from connected hallways. Dylan reckoned there were already about a hundred people, and he hoped it stopped soon.
He scanned the crowd, looking for Skye. If he didn’t find her, maybe this would be the opportunity to slip away to her room.
The crowd murmured, “The Doc’s coming.” As one, they turned to watch the hallway doors.
Through it came five men and Skye.
Dylan’s heart went into overdrive, and he vaulted forward.
Wade’s grabbed his shoulder, his fingers digging in as Dylan tried to shake him off.
“Steady, D. Steady,” his brother said.
Dylan clamped his jaw and stepped back—the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
He watched, tracking every movement Skye made.
A man carried her. Why?
She had a hand to the side of her head. Was she hurt?
She was pale, so pale.
When the group surrounding the doctor reached the front of the crowd, the man who held Skye put her down.
She stumbled, and Dylan steeled himself not to run to her. The man beside her took her waist and arm to steady her.
Dylan practically growled as Skye pushed him away.
When he didn’t release her at first, she pounded his arm until he did.
Dylan's face turned thunderous. It appeared the man was trying to help Skye, but something was going on. The look she’d given him was pure hatred.
It was clear the men were the doctor’s muscle.
Dylan quickly identified and dismissed the infamous Devon Shade from his perfectly groomed hair to his shiny shoes. Separate him from his guards and the Doctor would go down with one blow.
Someone handed the doctor a megaphone, and he began to speak.
Dylan paid little attention, he needed to figure out a way to get to Skye.
A guy to his left glanced at him, then Wade. “Hey, do I know you two?”
Dylan hardly spared him a glance. “No.”
He didn’t have time for distractions.
37
The Reveal
Skye eyed the large water tank as they weaved through the crowd, hoping it would somehow be her salvation. Calling out Devon’s belief in Atlantis could backfire on her, but it was the only move she had.
Once they stood in front of the glass, Cliff lowered Skye to the floor. She gasped and stumbled as her injured foot met the tile.
Cliff grabbed Skye’s arm to help her, but she shook him off. She would have none of that.
She slugged his arm. “Let me go!”
Cliff dropped his hand and rubbed the spot. “I’m helping you.”
“I don’t want you touching me. Most especially in front of these people—acting like you have some empathy instead of being the goon you are! I’d rather walk on a bare nub then have your help! You caused these injuries!”
“I can arrange that.” Cliff’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t need limbs for what Doc has in mind for you.”
Skye’s gaze widened, and she stepped away. The man was vile. “I’ve never said this to anyone before, but I would erase you from this earth if I could.”
“Same here, baby. But I’d send you off screaming.”
Skye edged away from Cliff, backing toward a blonde guard. Anyone was better than him. At least this one had done nothing to her.
Devon looked over his shoulder, shooting Skye and Cliff an irritated look. “Stop bickering. My goodness, you two are like competing siblings. Don’t worry—I have time for both of you.”
Skye shuddered. Did he really think that was what was going on? The man was becoming more and more delusional.
Devon waved Cliff to his side. “You stay here with me now. I need you to keep the crowd away. The others can watch her.”
Skye couldn’t believe her good fortune. Her biggest watchdog was relieved of duty.
She glanced at the large glass doors across the room leading to freedom. Could she somehow inch her way there and make a run for it? And would she make it on this ankle?
She had to try. It was her last chance at life. She had to go for it—or die trying.
Skye stepped closer to the blonde guard next to her, bumping her arm against his to make him think she was right where she should be.
She gasped as she put weight on her ankle. He looked down at her. “You okay?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine,” Skye said as she bent to rub her leg. Booking it out of here was out of the question.
She put some weight on her toes and found that less painful.
When Devon waved for someone to turn down the lights, Skye straightened and looked at the tank.
According to the placard, the massive aquarium had once held a pod of dolphins. But it was empty of sea life now, and cloudy. Evaporated water had left marks on the glass, and peering through its foggy depths was not as easy as it must once had been.
Movement at the top of the water drew Skye’s attention. Four guards surrounded a giant of a man. They poked at him with cattle prods, forcing him to walk onto a platform jutting a few feet over the pool.
The man struggled away from the guard’s weapons—but feebly—with much less strength than a man his size should have had. His slack features suggested they had drugged him.
A shimmering tattoo ran over one shoulder and down his bicep. When the light caught the design, it seemed illuminated. Even his skin seemed to glow as if he were the pinnacle of health instead of the emaciated form that stood before her.
Skye frowned. He was different—there was no doubt about that. Could Devon’s stories possibly be true?
She scoffed at herself. Of course not. And she couldn’t get sidetracked by this nonsense.
Excited cries came from the crowd and they surged toward the tank, taking her with it and almost pushing her into Cliff.
Skye glanced at the outside doors. They had gotten smaller as she’d tried to work against the crowd, but got nowhere.
A black light in the tank caught her atten
tion. A guard waved it over the giant man’s skin.
Skye gasped when a colorful pattern emerged reminding her of a tropical fish. The crowd erupted in chatter.
Skye froze.
Sonora had said her husband’s people were huge, and like nothing Skye had seen before.
But how would Atlantians be possible?
Skye shook her head.
They weren’t.
But this odd man explained why Devon believed him to be some sort of mythical creature.
Coming to life, the captive man jerked from the light. When one of the guards screamed at him, he knocked the guard to the ground.
Devon raised a small controller and hit a button.
The giant dropped. His body quaking uncontrollably against the ground until Devon raised his finger from the control.
Skye groaned in empathy.
Devon chuckled.
Cliff turned toward Skye, his eyes bright. “It’s an implant for the troublemakers. You’re next.”
Skye shuddered and took a couple of steps away from Cliff.
Devon turned to him. “Stop scaring her, or I’ll put one in you.”
That sobered her tormentor up.
Skye moved closer to the blond guard. After a moment or two, she took one step backward. Then another.
No one stopped her.
The captive man lay on the platform as his guard continued to yell at him.
Where did Devon find these vile men? Were they always here? Or had the change in this world released the evil in them?
Skye knew the answer, but it wasn’t one she liked.
There had always been evil in this world, just waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
But she refused to believe it was stronger, or in more abundance, than the good.
Good would always win. She had to trust that. Or she might as well give up right now.
38
Impossible
When the guard finished bellowing, the giant man crawled to the water that gently lapped at the platform and slid in without a splash.
Bubbles appeared around him, almost hiding the large man from view, then dissipated, lazily floating to the top.
The anguished expression left. Peace and joy replaced it.
The water roused the man, and he swam, zipping from one side of the tank to the other much faster than Skye would’ve imagined possible. He undulated through the water, feet together, arms at his side. The tattooed man’s muscles strained with the effort, but it was clear he savored it. The sight was mesmerizing.
Devon tapped the button.
The captive jerked—his gaze shooting to the scientist.
Devon waved him to the front of the glass.
The giant man made his way forward, staring at the crowd. Did he look them over, searching for some sympathetic soul?
He closed his eyes as if disappointed and seemed to become one with his watery surroundings again.
Skye stepped backward again and again until a woman gave a small cry when she stepped on her foot.
“I’m so sorry!” She mumbled as she shuffled to the woman’s side.
Skye quickly looked toward the guards, hoping the woman hadn’t drawn attention. But to Skye’s delight, they were further away than she’d thought.
The woman gave her a quick smile of forgiveness and continued to stare at the captive. “Amazing, isn’t he?” she said.
Skye nodded and took another step backward. She glanced behind her. She’d come about halfway.
There were so many more people between her and freedom.
She straightened her shoulders—she would make it. With everyone’s attention focused on the giant man, she would be out of here in no time.
Devon held up a stopwatch and brought a megaphone to his mouth. “Five minutes without a breath!”
There was a murmur through the crowd.
Five minutes? Had that much time really gone by?
Skye narrowed her eyes as she examined the large captive hovering in the water. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. That was the average time a person could hold their breath.
Skye tried to move again, but the knot of people around her tightened.
She changed direction, inching her way across to the wall. From there it might be easier to fight the crowd. She made it a few feet before she was stuck again.
Skye tried to scan the room, but her height worked against her. She swiped at her sweaty neck. Any minute Devon or Cliff could realize she had left their side. One order to the crowd and they would immediately find her.
Devon held up the stopwatch again. “Ten minutes without a breath!”
Skye stared at the captive hovering in the tank. He showed no sign of distress.
Devon knocked on the glass and motioned for him to swim.
Back and forth, at greater and greater speeds, he went. Skye stood transfixed. How was this possible?
The swimmer changed his pattern, circling the water in the huge tank. The water worked its way into a whirlpool.
Skye shook her head, trying to deny what was right in front of her. The man had no way to breathe, and yet he was able to do this?
And the speed! She’d never seen a person swim that fast.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to The Atlantian!”
Another quick tap by Devon on the control and the man stopped and returned to the glass. The water swirled around him, but he held steady.
Skye stared at the captive. His size, his skin, his strength. They were everything Devon had said they would be. Her eyes zeroed in on his brawny chest. It should heave with exertion.
It didn’t.
His chest didn’t move at all.
Impossible.
The crowd surged ahead, taking Skye with it despite her attempt to stand her ground. This was her chance to go.
Hoping her ankle would hold out, she lowered her head and pushed through the crowd, squeezing past person after person—until someone too solid blocked the way.
One large hand wrapped itself around Skye’s mouth as an arm snaked over her ribs.
“Shh,” someone murmured in Skye’s ear.
Skye’s gaze widened.
The crowd thinned as the man carried her backward.
She kicked with her one good foot—almost catching the man’s kneecap.
“Settle, ya little she-cat!” The man uttered a deep, relieved chuckle. “It’s me, darlin’.”
Skye sagged with relief, wanting nothing more than to turn and drink him in.
Could this possibly be true? Dylan here, holding her as she’d dreamt of all these days?
His woodsy scent surrounded her, and Skye breathed it in.
When he readjusted her in his arms, she wrapped hers around his neck and stared at him to reassure herself he was real.
Dylan carried her back to the wall where Wade and Kelsey waited.
The girl was so dirty, Skye needed to do a double-take to recognize her. The white teeth of Kelsey’s grin shone in her grimy face and Skye smiled back, comforted to see her.
“You made it!” Skye whispered to Kelsey.
Dylan lowered Skye but kept an arm around her. Wade lined up on her other side for support.
“Hey, Sis,” he said with laughter in his eyes. “You gotta stop runnin’ off like this.”
Skye gave him a wide grin. “I’ll try.”
She couldn’t stop the tears flooding her eyes when Dylan put a hand to his own injury. This trip had cost him. She hoped not too much.
The four of them stayed inched against the wall past the crowd.
As they reached the outer doors, Devon yelled out, “Twenty minutes!”
Skye threw a glance at the captive and looked at Dylan. “Do you see that?”
Dylan stared at the tank dumbfounded and shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m seeing.”
The four of them slipped out of the door and ran across the parking lot—Skye between the brothers.
Wade helpe
d Skye into the car while Dylan rushed to the driver’s side of the truck.
Once the vehicle doors slammed shut, Skye glanced back at the Marine Center. No one had followed them. Yet.
Dylan squeezed her thigh. “How hard are they gonna be looking for you, darlin’?”
As he started the truck and maneuvered toward town, Skye answered. “Pretty hard. They think I’m like him.”
Puzzlement covered everyone’s face.
Skye put up a hand. “Yes, I know. I’m not. But Devon is convinced. So we need to. . . ”
“Get the heck out of dodge, I’d say,” Wade said.
“The faster, the better,” Dylan added before clamping his jaw and hitting the gas.
39
Back with You
Dylan sped through the town with little care. If any guards had been posted out here, they were probably at the Marine Center for the big show.
He leaned into Skye, breathing in her scent, as she wrapped her arms around him. His heart floated now instead of being sunk somewhere in his middle, hard as a rock.
They’d done it.
Skye and Kelsey were out of that place and now they could head home, back to his green hills as fast as they could.
Skye hugged him a little tighter. “I was… Dylan, I can’t even express everything I’m feeling right now.” Her voice trembled.
“I know, darlin’, I didn’t fare too well myself. I worried that I’d never find you, especially when I found out you were states away.”
“Just you and Wade came?”
Dylan shook his head, a smile spreading across his face. “No, darlin’. I couldn’t hold those mountain men back. There’s a bunch of them up ahead. We were only supposed to be scoutin’ this time, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
“How in the world did you get here so fast?”
Kelsey piped up from the back seat. “Wade ran into those jerks who kidnapped us and beat it out of them.”
Wade puffed his chest. “Yep, left ‘em tied to a tree. I hope they’re still stuck there.”
“Well, Wade, I’m glad you found us, no matter what it took. And I won’t feel sorry for men who trade others as if they were no more than a bushel of potatoes.”
