The Outerlands - Sedition

by Aleigh Schuster

  “Some. You?” I asked, not sure if it was the upcoming battle or something else bothering him.

  “Not really. I was too busy wondering why I let you and Jonas talk me into bringing you along today.” When I stared up at him in confusion, he dragged in a ragged breath. “I know your brother might be there…and others from your sector, but we have plenty of experienced Gunari who have trained years specifically for these types of missions. Honestly, I just think one of them should have had your place on my team.”

  I took a step back, feeling the sting of his words. “Graff…” My voice was full of hurt.

  “Wait, let me finish,” he interrupted. “Because of Keegan, you’re too emotionally invested. And, well, having you there makes me too emotionally invested. All I’ll be concentrating on is keeping you safe instead of the task at hand. It’s too late to change things now, especially since everyone is planning on you using your powers to short circuit the electric fences. So I’ll have to deal with it. Just know that I’m not happy about it.”

  His words calmed me; what he was really telling me was that I was his top concern over everything else. But then something else occurred to me. “You already spoke to Jonas about this, didn’t you?”

  He didn’t answer, but his guilty expression told me everything I needed to know. “How could you? Especially when you know how much this means to me.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He still wants you to go—refused to even listen to my arguments. And as misguided as his reasons are, I still have to follow his orders. So go find Gunner. You’ll be riding in the transport van that he drives.”

  He brushed past me, and even though our bodies didn’t touch in any way, I could still feel the tension radiating off him in thick waves. It disappointed me that after all the relentless training sessions and drills he’d put me through, I still hadn’t proven myself to him. So instead of calling out for him to smooth things over like I wanted to, I turned and headed in the other direction in search of Gunner.

  * * *

  “Girl…” Cali said, coming over to the van a few seconds after I reached Gunner. “I can’t wait to get this shit started. Finally, we get to see some real action. Right, babe?” She turned to Gunner, wrapping her arms around his waist.

  He laughed, kissing the top of her head and pulling her in tighter. It occurred to me that this was only the second time I’d ever seen them act like a real couple. The first was in the mess hall, after days of believing she’d been dating Graff.

  They started talking amongst themselves, so I took my first good look around at the faces of all the remaining teams.

  Aside from Rafe and Graff, I saw Keller, a captain from Sector Four—the Midwest Mountains Region—with a group of about forty Gunari loading into several of the transport vans. John and Ford stood with another group of ten GWs by some of the ATVs. Keller motioned to his men and they headed out of the sector. That left only John’s team with Ford and ours.

  “We’ll see,” Cali replied to something Gunner said, making me turn back her way. “Well, Graff wants me to go up front with the first van so I guess I’ll see you at the halfway point. Okay, babe?” She cupped his cheeks and kissed him roughly before he even had a chance to answer. When she let go, a goofy grin took over his face, and she backed away with a knowing smile. “Miss me.”

  Gunner laughed at that. “Always,” he yelled as he watched her jog over to one of the ATVs and strap herself in.

  Next to Cali, Rafe climbed on his own ATV and moments later, they both took off down the road. Then we watched the newest additions to our team, Randy, James, Charles, and seven other GWs from Sector Four get into the first transport van and head out after them.

  “We’ll give Graff a five minute head start before we leave. If there’s anything you need to do before we go, get it done now,” Gunner instructed as he closed up the rear doors of our van, double checking the locks. While he walked around to further inspect the vehicle, I joined Ford and John on the side of the property. A few other men surrounded them in a semi-circle.

  I overheard some of their words before they noticed me.

  “…at the tail end for a reason. Not that we’re expecting company. But keep your eyes open and if there’s an issue, protect her at all costs.”

  “Well, for me at least, it goes without saying. Don’t need orders for something like that,” Ford replied.

  “Like what?” I asked, interrupting their private conversation. The two Gunari tensed, but Ford gave me a lopsided grin like he knew I’d been listening.

  “Nothing to worry yourself about, sunshine.” John smiled, and I immediately bristled because what he was really telling me was that it was none of my business. But then his smile grew wider as he threw an arm over my shoulder, pulling me to his side, and I started to relax. “Well, I’m gonna go grab my bag before we take off. Henley, guys,” he said, kissing the top of my head. Then he jutted his chin to Ford and the others and walked off.

  “See ya in a few, man.” Ford waited until John was out of earshot to face me. “So, it seems you’re an important little treasure around here. Got orders from the top to trail your vehicle, make sure nothing happens to you along the way.”

  “Really? Hmmm,” I murmured, not looking into his eyes. Only Jonas and Graff’s team knew about my abilities and why I was partnered with Graff to begin with.

  “Well, whatever the reason, it’s an order I’m definitely looking forward to.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making me laugh. Then his expression turned serious. “Just a heads up: John told us some last minute intel came in this morning. Something about government troops spotted along one of the roads we’ll be traveling. No one really thinks their placement is intentional or our plan has been leaked, but just in case, Graff was ordered to take a group ahead of you, and John was ordered to keep a group behind, trailing you. So like I said, it looks like I’m standing in front of a priceless piece of treasure here.”

  Ford looked like he wanted to say more, but instead picked up the pack lying at his feet and threw it over his shoulder. “I’ve got a few things to take care of before we head out. See ya when we stop to refuel?”

  “Yep,” I said, and watched him run over to the fence where Tommy stood. Ford handed the boy something from his pack, rubbed the top of his head, and then made his way to Jonas’ cabin. John and Quinn were on the porch in deep conversation with Jonas, and when John felt my stare and looked up to meet my eyes, I decided it was time to move on.

  Gunner already sat in the driver’s seat with the engine running when I climbed into the passenger side. Ten more of our team members, all new faces to me, sat quietly in the back of the van. There was a familiar song blaring through the speakers while Gunner tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

  “These are the old songs Rafe’s band learned to play.” He threw me the remote link box. “There are several other recordings on there. Pick what you want. We can only have it on ‘til we reach the main road. Then everything has to be shut off—coms included.”

  “This is pretty impressive,” I said, scrolling through the different melodies. “We never had any of this at our sector. The only thing that came on these link boxes was news segments from the Council.”

  “Yeah, we’re pretty spoiled here,” he replied, pulling up behind one of the Gunari on an ATV and following him down the road. “Most of us don’t like to leave the sector unless we have to. Graff’s probably the only exception to that. He’s always jumped at the chance to get out of here—well, at least he did until you came along.” Gunner glanced at me, waiting for my reaction, so I made sure I didn’t give him one.

  “So how long is it to base camp anyway? Cali said something about getting there for dinner tonight.”

  “Yeah, that’s about right. Maybe a little sooner if we don’t take too much time refueling. Can’t wait to get there either.” He smiled, taking his hands briefly from the steering wheel to rub them together. “She and I haven’t had much time to ourselves lately.
And we all know that girl can’t go too long before she needs some one-on-one Gunner time.” I raised an eyebrow and he added, “We’ll be one of the last groups of Gunari to leave camp, and the anticipation of fighting gets my girl excited.”

  At this bit of information, I burst out laughing. A few of the Gunari situated in the back of the van started whispering amongst themselves, and Gunner, realizing he said this for all of them to hear, started laughing right along with me. Until today, I never would have believed how perfect Cali and Gunner were for each other. His calm, easy-going attitude canceled out her crazy—or at least some of it.

  We fell silent after that, him listening to his music and me taking in my new surroundings. I’d never been this far north before. It was such a beautiful countryside, so different from the south where I grew up. The guys in the back, whom Gunner briefly introduced to me after our interesting little conversation, all concentrated on the small com-links attached to the sleeves of their uniforms. A few times since we left, I’d seen random bits of data or code come through, simultaneously lighting them up. Mine had done the same, but it was nothing I even remotely understood, so I quickly lost interest and found a comfortable spot leaning against the window, making a game of silently counting all the different types of trees I could see. Now, with my eyes drifting shut, I tried to clear my mind of all the anxious thoughts of Keegan and the upcoming rescue mission as the van’s constant jostling lulled me to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Hushed conversations from outside the van grabbed my attention. I opened my eyes to see light coming from a nearby building. Stretching and then opening the passenger door, I jumped when I found Graff standing a few feet away.

  “There’s a bathroom and food inside, but don’t go far. We’re almost done and I’d like to get out of here as soon as possible.” His tone was clipped. I nodded, too tired to engage in anything personal with him right now. He stared at me a moment longer before walking over to his ATV.

  Ford, John, Gunner, and about ten or so other Gunari were grabbing snacks when I walked inside. The building seemed to be some merchant store, only without anyone there to run it.

  “Hey, sleeping beauty. It’s about time you woke from your coma.” Gunner threw me a small blue bag. A ‘nuts and berries’ label ran across the top of it along with the government’s military seal stamped on both the front and back.

  “We’re at an old government fueling station,” he explained. “The Gunari overtook the area last summer. Runners come by and restock the fuel every now and again. The food is still left over, though. Won’t be fresh, but it’ll do. So help yourself to whatever you want and come back to the van when you’re done.” He grabbed another blue bag before he left.

  Ford and John gave me a quick hello and followed Gunner, leaving me completely alone. I watched them until they were situated on the ATVs they’d been riding. Then I turned and loaded up on more chips and dried fruit than I knew what to do with, all courtesy of the government.

  * * *

  As when we left the sector, Graff and his half of our team moved out first, with us a few minutes later and Ford and John’s entire team shortly after that. Gunner informed me that since we’d already past the halfway point back at the refueling station, we were way ahead of schedule and would arrive at base camp earlier than expected. I was excited and anxious at the same time.

  Graff had been in a terrible mood since we left, making only one word commands over the radio coms to Gunner when our van didn’t move at the pace he’d like and a few sharper ones to John whenever he and Ford’s ATVs would get too close behind our van. I think we were all thankful once we finally turned onto the main road and all the com-links had to be switched off.

  We’d now been traveling for over twelve hours and were coming up to the last main stretch before the turnoff to the base camp. I sat up and stretched, happy to finally be in the last hour of our journey, when a commotion caught my attention.

  “Gunner,” I said, pointing to the smoke up ahead.

  “Yeah, I see it, too. Probably nothing, but scoot down in your seat just to be safe.” He looked from me to the back of the van and shouted, “Guys, time to get alert.” He let off the gas a bit and grabbed the com-link stashed in the center console, turning the power on and adjusting the volume.

  Graff’s voice immediately came through in static bursts. “..ner, get…side. Protect… now…Hen…check…ahead…”

  “Where is he? Gunner, where’s Graff?” I asked, sounding a bit frantic even to my own ears. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. And Graff, who had been riding back and forth between his group and ours, along with Ford, John, and the others who should have been closely trailing our van, were nowhere in sight.

  Seeming to know my line of thought, Gunner answered in a calm tone, “John’s team is a few minutes behind us and Graff will already have ridden ahead to check on team one, which is why his relay was broken up. He’s already too close to whatever mess is up there. So don’t worry just yet. Let’s wait to hear back from him first.” He said the last part just above a whisper and I wasn’t sure if it was meant for him or me.

  We made it another two hundred yards or so when a second blast up ahead—this one much closer—caused Gunner to swerve off the road. The wheels screeched and a continuous pop-pop-popping came from the driver’s side just as flames burst through the windshield, engulfing the cab around us. My head hit the dash with random shards of glass slicing into my cheek, but before I could recover enough to grab hold of something, I was thrown over Gunner and into the driver’s side window as the van toppled on its side, sliding quickly down the muddy embankment. We rolled end over end, a continuous jarring motion, until a shrill ringing in my ears and black spots in my vision replaced everything else. At some point we came to a stop, the van colliding into something large and solid.

  I found myself tucked behind the driver’s seat in the cargo bay of the van, body instinctually curled up to fit in the small space between the seat, the supply crates, and several heavy bodies that had fallen. The ringing in my ears heightened just before it leveled out and a few seconds later, ended altogether. There was only an eerie quiet now and I squinted, struggling for my vision to clear so I could locate Gunner.

  Distant shouting mixed with sporadic vibrations bled in and out of my head as my hearing slowly returned to normal. Hands gripped my shoulders, pulling me backward, but I moved only inches. Feeling around as best as I could manage, I realized my left leg was stuck under one of the metal crates that had come loose from its tie downs and fallen forward in the crash. The pain registered when I saw the amount of blood pouring from a three inch gash beneath my torn pant leg.

  “Come on, Henley. Just a little more,” a voice said from behind me, but I couldn’t be sure of who it was.

  “Argh.” I pushed with my good leg, but didn’t budge. “I’m stuck,” I told whoever was there.

  “Come on. Help me out a little, love.” Gunner. He was all right. The relief was immediate.

  He tightened his grip around my shoulders as two of the Gunari from the back, seemingly uninjured, started heaving the crates up and out of the van. “Put your free foot on the top of Neil’s leg there and push against it for leverage.” Neil suddenly came into view and I did as Gunner said.

  “Ready? On three. One…Two…Threeeee!”

  I pushed as hard as my weakened state would allow when he pulled me back, over the console into the front of the van, and out the passenger door, laying me on the uneven embankment. Then he turned to Neil. “I need a head count and assessment of conditions. Go.”

  It was only when my eyes followed Neil running off through the debris that I noticed the van was upside-down. I whimpered, holding back tears when the situation finally sunk in. “Gunner, what’s happened? Where are the others? Who did this?” I cried out, not sure if my words were even comprehensible.

  “Hirelings…I think…hit us from the side.” Gunner’s answer was just above a whisper
. “Don’t worry. Graff and the others will circle back, find us. But I need you to keep quiet for me.” I felt him shift toward me when I unsuccessfully tried to sit up but I still couldn’t see his face. “That embankment’s steep enough that these guys won’t come looking for us right away. They’ll be too busy with the shit storm Graff and the others are bound to be giving them by now.” If they were still alive, I thought bleakly.

  Neil appeared back by our side, “Sir, we’ve got seven men down, two of which have severe but treatable injuries, but the other six are already gone. Davis and Franklin are standing guard. Situation is critical, sir. If help is coming, it needs to come now.”

  “How long?” Gunner asked him.

  “Three, four minutes max.”

  “All right, Neil, take position behind that boulder to the right of us and fire at anything that moves without announcing their presence first.”

  “Sir, shouldn’t we get you two out of here?”

  “That would be preferable but neither of us can run at the moment and this wreckage provides more coverage than where you’ll be. So take your position and let’s pray our guys get here before the Hirelings do.”

  “Yes, sir,” Neil replied, and in the next instant, he was gone.

  Several rapid spurts of gunfire sounded from just above us on the top of the embankment. A few long seconds of silence ensued, then more gunfire and yelling. A grunt from the vicinity of where Neil was positioned sent my panic into overdrive.

  “No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not again.” I muffled my cry into my shoulder.

  “Shhh. It’s all right, love.” Gunner gently pulled me to him until my back was leaning against his chest where he sat, propped up by the massive tree trunk we must have hit to stop our descent into the ravine below. Then I felt more than saw him drag his gun up from the ground and jam the butt into the crook of his shoulder that also partially supported my weight.