Torch

by Tricia Copeland

  “Jewel.” My brain processed the input.

  “Jewel.” I heard my name again.

  Opening my eyes, I saw Turner’s face and smiled. “What are you doing?”

  “I didn’t know if we would get time later.”

  I stood and followed him into the next passageway.

  He gripped my hands. “I needed to say I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “This is it. It’s finally happening.”

  “Ooh rah,” I whispered.

  Turner held out a device. “This is just for you and me, no one else. Use it only in emergency, got it?”

  Not wanting to think about negative outcomes, I nodded.

  “Okay, I love you.” He cupped my cheeks in his hands and kissed me hard. “Don’t die.”

  I rested my forehead on his. “Who are you talking to? I’m a survivor. You don’t die.”

  “We’re both survivors.”

  I smiled. “Cmdr. Butler is going down.”

  “I wish I could be there.”

  “I’ll take a selfie.”

  “With what camera?”

  I elbowed him. “I’ll message you from Butler’s phone.”

  “Cocky much?”

  I winked. “Oh, yeah.”

  Tiptoeing back to my sleeping bag, I rolled it up and stuffed it in my pack. Heading through the hall, we passed one of the tech crew.

  Troy lifted his palm and shouted. “Ooh rah.”

  In the command center, all eyes were glued to a monitor, and I stood on my toes to view the screen. The news article showed shots of people—young, old, and families—camping in parks in preparation for the next day’s protests. I swallowed, steeling my resolve. It would be a quiet operation. We had our targets, guards at entry points would be removed and replaced with our forces in a coordinated attack. Then our lead unit and the other smaller teams would enter the structure and take it from inside. Mere minutes would pass from the beginning to the end of the operation. Someone could blink, and we would be in control.

  After a short, slow run to loosen our muscles, Amelie, Sadie, and I grabbed jerky and pitched in loading gear. There were two transports for the tech tools and that team, two trucks to get us to the drop point, and a third for our drivers. We stowed extra items in a small offshoot from the main tunnel in the cavern. As the sun dipped in the sky, we prepped for departure, reviewing the route, schedule, and backup plans for the first leg of our journey.

  Sliding into the seat between Amelie and Sadie, I searched for Turner. “Be smart. Shoot straight. I love you,” I mouthed.

  He signed back. Be smart. Shoot straight, I love you.

  Amelie bumped my shoulder. “You’re not saying goodbye. You better not say goodbye. No goodbyes.”

  “Says the girl whose boyfriend is sitting beside her.”

  Mace leaned over and peered into my eyes. “Did you just say that out loud?”

  “Just keeping it real.” I winked at him.

  “Great, I’m going to war with a bunch of teenagers.” Sadie clicked her seatbelt together.

  The engines roared to life, and I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Ooh rah!”

  The group copied me. “Ooh rah.”

  Eyes fixed on Turner, I held up my palm until he disappeared behind the trees.

  We made our way northwest, skirting the national forest land. Our route took us along roads that probably had never been paved and perhaps held up better than asphalt ones. With the satellite surveillance gaps and condition of the roads, it took us four hours to reach the drop point. We found tree cover and waited for the rest of the vehicles. One truck held the other half of our lead team, and the second held a two-man team to escort our drivers and vehicles to the new command center. They’d unload, hide two of the fast vehicles for a getaway if needed, drive the larger transport twenty miles out, and run back to command.

  I jogged in place and stretched, getting ready for our run. Hearing an engine, we grabbed our packs. I double checked my weapons. My knives and guns hung on my hip and under pant legs, and a bow and quiver strapped to my back. Daniel would have automatics with silencers waiting for us. The first and then second vehicle pulled up behind us and killed their engines. Ben, Carl, and Shooter joined River, Amelie, Mace, Sadie, and me in the underbrush. We checked our radios and gave the all clear to our tech team.

  River had us huddle in a circle and reviewed the route, buddy system, and backup plans. Bumping fists and fitting our night goggles over our eyes, we fell into our marching positions. Ben and Carl took the lead followed by River and Shooter, Sadie and me, and Amelie and Mace in the rear. River whistled, and we started to run. The cool night air blew across my skin. The foliage sucked me in, and every thought save that of my next step and what lay within my field of vision fell away. At the hour mark, we slowed to check vitals, drink water, and snack, just like we would do each hour to follow.

  Five miles, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-one, and then twenty-two miles slipped by. We stopped two miles from the border. Cooling down, Mace contacted the tech team, confirming our location and a go for the next stage. Hearing Mace talk to Turner, I grew jealous and checked my emotions. Jealous? No. Disconnected, alone, scared? Yes. I focused on the people with me.

  “Sadie, you good?” I held out my palm.

  She gave it a slap, and I caught her hand. Turning over her wrist, I checked her pulse. “Ninety. That’s good.”

  “Just say it… for a granny. I called you a teen. You can call me Granny.”

  “Okay, Granny, but you asked for it.” Amelie pretended to walk with a cane.

  “I can’t take you anywhere.” Sadie snatched her hand from mine.

  We took our vests from our packs and buckled them around our chests. Putting on helmets, we tightened the straps under our chins. Mace took lead, and we started walking, two by two as we had before. My eyes scanned the forest, catching glimpses of other eyes. Small beady dots, perhaps belonging to raccoons or skunks, stared up from under brush. Even with the slower pace, we reached the tree line in forty minutes. A burned-out light hung from a pole just as the satellites had shown. We’d been lucky to notice the dark spot. It gave us better cover. Not luck. Turner.

  They’d studied the patrols and knew we had twenty minutes to make it across the empty strip of land, over the border fence and to the trees on the other side. Mace radioed command and turned his comm to speaker. In pairs, Ben and Carl as well as River and Shooter prepared to dart across the open space. The rest of us readied our weapons and scanned the periphery. On Turner’s mark, the pairs ran to the fence. Carl and Shooter climbed onto their partners’ shoulders and fixed the barbed wire to the poles on each side.

  “Mark.” Turner’s voice sounded through the radio, and Ben, Carl, River, and Shooter dropped to their knees, covering their heads with their hands and froze.

  Eyes on the forest behind us, I held my breath, waiting for the next command.

  “Go,” Turner instructed.

  The four men moved to the midpoint between the poles. Carl stood on Ben’s shoulders again and cut the barbed wires, leaving an open space above the ten-foot fence. The clips on the poles assured that the wire wouldn’t slack down the line. Carl hoisted himself over the fence and dropped to the other side followed by Ben, River, and Shooter.

  Turner’s voice sounded over the radio again. “Stop.”

  The four dropped to the ground spread eagle and lay motionless. On Turner’s command, they ran to the trees. Amelie and Sadie scaled the fence and dropped to the ground and froze next, followed by Mace and me. As soon as Turner said go, I ran full pace to the cover of the forest. Heart racing, I doubled over and rested my palms on my knees. We’d done it. We were across the border.

  “Okay, people, you know the drill.” River pointed north into the dense foliage. “Walk two and run two, and we’ll be in position to rendezvous with our mule.”

  I smiled, thinking in an hour Sadie would see Daniel. Our plan was working. This coup
would succeed. Still, I didn’t let my guard down. I held my gun ready and scanned the forest around me as we treaded through the undergrowth. One mile and then two and we halted. Shedding our vests and helmets, we secured our firearms and started running. In twenty minutes, we slowed and took out our weapons. Checking in with command, we proceeded to the coordinates. Twenty feet ahead, I saw a large off-road truck parked beside a cabin.

  Using the infrared, we confirmed only one person occupied the structure. Winding to the front, I noted the door ajar as instructed. Sadie called out like the coo of a dove. The door swung open, and an Asian man ventured out, palms held above his head.

  “Daniel,” Sadie whispered.

  River faced Sadie. “That him?” Seeing her nod, he turned his attention to Daniel. “Ten feet out. Face down, spread eagle. One move for a weapon and you’re dead.”

  I dug my nails into my palms, waiting and hating that we had to put him through this. Carl approached, gun ready, and patted him down. Then he scanned him for electronics. Signaling all clear, he told Daniel to stand. Sadie ran to his side and flung her arms around him. Carl slipped into the cabin, checking it for active devices. Finding it clean, he motioned to us. We filed in, dropping our packs on the wood floor.

  River held his hand out, I lay my palm atop his, Amelie slapped hers on mine and the others followed. Once all hands were piled together, we raised them into the air calling out a quiet ooh-rah. We’d done it. We were across the border. River commended the team on a job well done. We snacked on jerky, slept in shifts, and prepped for the next day.

  Sitting and stretching my arms into the air as I woke on day T minus 30, my psyche craved a run. I needed an escape from the small space, to clear my head, focus. But our timeline had been set, and I only had half an hour. Exiting the cabin, I shook out my legs and arms to get my blood flowing. After jogging three circles around the structure, I went inside and headed straight for Mace who sat, eyes glued to a laptop monitor.

  “All good?” I asked.

  Eyes never leaving the screen, he nodded. River called for us to huddle up. We reviewed the plan and distributed the new weapons, an automatic handgun and rifle with silencers for each of us. Checking the guns, we packed our gear into bags Daniel brought for us. For the mission, we’d pose as two families of four, Sadie and Amelie with Ben and Carl, and Mace and me with River and Shooter. Daniel provided us with street clothes, and we changed, fitting our weapons under jackets, loose pants, and for us girls, skirts.

  “You think you could take your face paint off now?” River asked.

  “No. If I’m a protestor, then maybe I’m making a statement that Butler is death.”

  “Okay, fair enough.” River crouched over the computer. “Turner says we’re good.”

  I followed the others outside, and we loaded into the truck. It had two rows of seats and a rear section. The top was covered by a soft canvas with clear plastic windows that zipped open. Daniel drove with Sadie and River beside him. Ben, Carl, Amelie, and I sat in the back, while Mace and Shooter squeezed in the back between the gear. Even though we didn’t expect trouble, I kept my bow and arrow close beside my leg. Without the need to conceal our vehicle, we sped along the highway for the first hour. As we neared Des Moines, the traffic grew dense, and the map app in the vehicle indicated slow traffic all the way into the city.

  Mace stayed on his radio the whole time, checking on the progress of the other teams. Most of them were already in the city, ready to move into position on our mark. My knee bounced as the traffic slowed to a near standstill. With our time to reach the city growing further and further off mark, we decided to abandon the highway and take another route. Cars crowded the two-lane road but moved at a steady pace.

  Arriving at the parking area, we learned all the other teams reached their staging locations and had eyes on the targets. I turned my wrist over, noting the time to be just after eleven. We parked in a shopping strip lot closed for the rally a mile from the protest site and capitol building. Daniel changed into his military uniform, and waving to the rest of us, kissed Sadie and started off in the opposite direction.

  The other protestors seemed to be just as anxious to get to the march, and we packed in with the throngs of people marching on the empty streets. Armed guards stood at each corner directing people and surveying the crowds. Seeing video cameras at the intersections, I kept my head down and face aimed at the street in front of me. I hated that my bow had to be hidden under my skirt. Stealth-wise it couldn’t be beat. The knives, stun gun, handgun, and automatic weapon I had tucked in my belt hidden under a poncho would have to do for quick response.

  Approaching the protest route, we made our way to the side-street west of the capitol building and turned south. With most people walking the other way, we weaved single file through the crowd. Reaching the south edge of the capitol complex, we turned east and approached the south entrance lane leading to the capitol building. Seeing it barricaded, we kept going, meandering to the other side of the road. We passed a parking lot and turned south on a sidewalk leading to a statue.

  My heart pounded in my chest. We needed to get to that south entrance.

  Mace spoke into his radio, alerting command and the other teams. “The drive is closed, and there are guards lining the entire south side of the capitol complex. We’re not getting close to that south entrance without making lots of noise.”

  “I just noticed that. I’ll message you the coordinates where Daniel stored the military vehicle. It’s only five blocks out. I already contacted him. He’ll have uniforms waiting for you.”

  Playing our tourists roles, we walked south through the park, stopping to look at the statues and read the plaques. Seeing more video surveillance cameras, I focused on my skirt, swooshing it back and forth as if on a pleasant stroll. We proceeded west three blocks and south again two more to a light industrial area with multiple warehouses. Knocking on a door of a small garage, we were met by Daniel. Inside, he had a UNS vehicle along with eight soldier-issued uniforms.

  “How did you get these?” Sadie asked.

  “When you have eight or nine of them, you don’t notice or forget when one is at the cleaners. Plus, we had a couple of donations.”

  Shedding our tourist outfits, we dressed in the pants, tanks, socks, and boots of various UNS soldiers. With our lean diets and rigorous training, none of us filled out the clothes, and I tightened my belt to hold the pants up. Sliding my arms in the jacket, I noted it read Merryweather. I guessed Merryweather might not be too happy when he or she realized their uniform became part of a coup, and I switched the name in my head to mean May We Weather the Storm.

  “Jewel,” River called. “The paint has to come off. No UNS soldiers would be allowed to wear that.”

  “Yes, sir.” With a glance at Amelie, I searched my bag for soap.

  Taking stock of my options, I grabbed a helmet and crossed to the restroom. I used a paper towel doused in water and soap to rub the black off. Rinsing my face and looking in the mirror, I struggled to recognize my reflection. With skin lacking color, cheeks sunk in, eyes ringed in blue and purple, I hoped no one else would either. But the fact remained that a video surveillance system with facial recognition software would in a heartbeat. Drying my face, I fit the helmet on my head. It slid around, and I tightened the inner shell and tried again. The helmet covered my forehead, and I felt optimistic that no one in the group would question my identity.

  We inspected our weapons, disengaging the safety mechanisms. Opening the garage bay, Ben and Carl scouted the block as we loaded into the transport. With an all clear, Daniel turned on the engine and inched out into the alley. Closing the garage door, Ben and Carl climbed into the back, taking jump seats across from Shooter. Heart racing, I tucked my bow and arrow behind my legs.

  “Never giving that thing up, eh?” Sadie commented.

  “It’s a good weapon. Serves me well.”

  “Hopefully, you won’t always need it.”

  “I
doubt I’ll ever be able to sleep without it.” My knee bounced as we pulled onto the main road.

  Mace updated our position with the other teams and told them to be ready. Our attacks needed to be coordinated, each unit taking out their respective entry point security at the same time. Shooter stuck his head between me and Mace, noting we may need an additional team at our gate. With the security at both ends of the circular drive leading to the south entrance and only our team with UNS uniforms, there was no way to utilize the floater crew.

  A breeze blew across the truck, cooling my sweaty face. Bumps raised on my skin, and I planted my feet on the floor. Approaching the entry point, we slowed and stopped in front of the armed guards.

  Saluting Daniel, a soldier gripped the frame of Daniel’s door. “Didn’t realize we needed backup.”

  “Yeah, they sent us as extra security for the south entrance.”

  “Carry on.” The soldier slapped our hood and motioned for others to move the traffic barricades.

  We inched through the opening. As soon as we were clear, River spun to face Mace. “Like taking candy from a baby. Radio T minus thirty seconds on my mark.”

  Surveying ahead, he started to count down. My attention jumped between the soldiers at the entrance and the building above. Nave and Mom were in there somewhere. Searching the windows, my eyes landed on a girl with a slight build and long dark hair leaning out an open window on the top floor.

  Nave. I’d know her anywhere.

  Resting my wrist on the seat back in front of me, I held up my hand and started signing hoping she’d see. It’s me, Nave. It’s Jema. Don’t be scared. I’m coming to rescue you.