by Jackie D
Valor ran his hand over his face. “CAM has been working on it, and we should’ve taken the most recent prototypes before we left.”
“There’s nothing we can do to change that now,” Arrow said as she programmed the timer on her wristband and switched it to show her body temperature.
Arrow stepped into the lift and Valor followed. “When we get up there, we’ll grab who we can and send them down. When the first group arrives, send the lift back up.”
Kaelyn looked like she was going to argue, but her mom pulled her away from the opening, allowing the doors to slide closed.
Arrow pointed to the right of Valor. “You take one thousand feet to the right. I’ll take the left.” She grabbed Valor’s arm. “Eighteen minutes, that’s it. And only the ones we can save.”
Arrow jogged, counting her paces. The air was heavy with heat and thin with a dying landscape. She did a quick once-over of the people she passed, doing mental calculations of who could be saved, but there was no one alive.
She jogged several feet to her right, wanting to make a perimeter sweep. She finally came upon a man who was barely breathing. His breathing was shallow and his body was no longer producing any sweat. His skin was burning hot and dry as a bone.
She pulled a small pouch from her pocket and tipped it into his mouth, and though the water made it into his mouth, he made no effort to drink. “I’m Major Steele of the Guardian class, Level One. I’m here to help you, but you have to drink.”
He opened bloodshot eyes and managed to get a bit of water down his throat and then fell unconscious. Arrow lifted his body and slung him over her shoulder. She moved as quickly as she could manage, but the extra weight and the thinned air caused her to need to stop and take a knee.
She looked out across the expanse. There were thick waves of heat dancing up from the scorched earth. Small white dots began to appear with moments of blackness. She looked down at her bracelet. Her internal body temperature was at one hundred and four degrees, and she’d been out here for sixteen minutes. She thought briefly of leaving him but changed her mind. Even if she survived, she would never be able to look at herself again.
She settled her breathing and hoisted him up, her legs shaking. She continued toward the lift. She couldn’t see it yet, but she knew it was there. She had to make it back to Kaelyn. She had to protect Kaelyn. She couldn’t leave that up to anyone else. It could only be her.
Her head was pounding, there was a loud screeching in her ears, she couldn’t feel her feet, and her arms had gone numb. When she stumbled again, a set of hands removed the weight from her shoulders. She looked up to see Valor pulling the man toward the lift a few feet away.
She willed herself to follow him, to get to the lift, to get to Kaelyn. She tried to move her legs, but they had stopped working. She felt her face hit the hot ground. It burned and made her choke. Then everything was black.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“I’m not leaving her.” Kaelyn pushed Valor away from her for the third time.
“You need to eat. I’ll sit with her. She’s not going anywhere.” Valor put his hand on her back.
“No. I need to be here when she wakes up.” She continued to search Arrow’s face for any sign of life.
Kaelyn could hear Macy and Valor whispering behind her. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was undoubtedly some plan to get her out of the room.
“I brought you some nutrients.” Macy sat next to her. “I would say food, but that’s not what this is, sorry.”
“I’m not hungry,” Kaelyn said. That wasn’t true, but she couldn’t bring herself to eat with Arrow lying there.
“She’d want you to eat. You’ve got to keep your strength up.” Macy held the pouch out in front of her.
Kaelyn thought about it for only a moment longer, and then took the pouch and squeezed the ooze into her mouth. It had no taste, which was probably better than tasting whatever it was that ooze would taste like. From the corner of her eye, she could see Macy smiling at the small victory.
“She’s going to be fine. Her vitals are steady.” Macy leaned over and pushed Arrow’s hair back. She adjusted the wet cloth that was around her neck.
“She could’ve died,” Kaelyn whispered.
Macy turned Arrow’s arm over and ran her fingers over a long scar that went across her forearm to her elbow. “She was only eight when she got this. A village child had climbed up a tree and couldn’t get down. Arrow climbed up trying to help her and fell in the process.” She pulled up the sheet that covered Arrow and pointed to another large scar. “She was sixteen when she hopped the fence of a restricted area because she could hear kittens crying and wanted to feed them.” Next, she pointed to Arrow’s chin, a small scar only an inch long peeked out from underneath. “She got into a fight with a soldier who pushed a young child down.”
“She’s a good person.” Kaelyn didn’t need the scars for proof, but she wanted Macy to know she thought it, all the same.
Macy moved another damp cloth on Arrow’s wrist. “She’s the best, but that’s not the point. She’ll always be on the verge of something bad happening because she’s always trying to save someone or something. Today wasn’t an isolated incident. This is who she is, fundamentally. She would’ve no sooner left that man behind than she would’ve died right there next to him. I’m not telling you that to scare you. I’m telling you this because it’s a reality you have to live with.”
Arrow groaned slightly and her eyes opened. The wave of relief that swept over Kaelyn sent tingles through her body. She wanted to tell her how foolish her actions were, how mad she was, but she said nothing. Macy’s words bounced around in her head, rendering her voice silent.
“Is he okay?” Arrow croaked.
“He’ll be okay. How are you feeling?” Macy asked.
“I’m fine.” Arrow tried to sit up and fell back down. “A little dizzy, but fine. Where are we?”
Kaelyn tried to take Arrow’s hand, but Arrow pulled it away as soon as their fingers touched. She tried not to wince. “We’re in the village’s underground bunker. Some of the villagers managed to get down here as soon as the bubble was turned off.”
“We need to keep moving. They’re waiting for us.” Arrow tried to sit up again but couldn’t get herself all the way up.
Kaelyn shook her head. “You need to rest.”
Arrow looked at her but wouldn’t make eye contact, which hurt more than she’d expected.
“I need to talk to Valor.”
Macy stood, but Arrow stopped her. “Mom, you stay. Kaelyn, please go get him.”
Kaelyn wasn’t sure of what to make of Arrow’s odd behavior toward her, but it stung and made her angry. “Okay.”
“Just him. Thanks for sitting with me, but I don’t want you in here.”
Kaelyn was slightly dizzy as she walked out of the room. She put her hand against the cold, dirty wall to try to steady herself. There were people walking by, and each acknowledged her as she passed. Her mind was foggy, and the feeling of rejection slid through her like poison.
She made it to the main room and found Valor talking to the only village leadership that remained. He saw her coming and stood.
“Is everything okay?” Valor asked.
Kaelyn crossed her arms, trying to stop the pain in her stomach from showing on her face. “She wants you.”
He hurried past her without another word. One of the women he had been speaking with called her over, and she gladly accepted the seat that was offered.
* * *
Arrow allowed her mother to help her to her feet and move her into the chair to put on her shoes. Her mother tried to help her slide her boots on, but Arrow pushed her away. She’d seen the hurt in Kaelyn’s eyes and the pain on her face, and it made her feel sick. But it was necessary. She didn’t want anyone’s help. She wanted to feel the physical pain, hoping it would mask the emotional pain, at least for the time being.
Valor pushed the door open. �
��You finally done with your nap?”
Her labored breathing continued as she laced up her left boot. “How much time did we lose?”
“About six hours, but we’re okay. If you need more rest, you should take it.” He sounded concerned, but he made no movement toward her.
“How many people are dead here?” She needed to know. The anger would be a good motivator to push her body into motion.
Her mother spoke before Valor could brush her off again. “The Resistance forces made it out, but the village has been almost completely decimated. A handful have left to join the Hand of God. They gave everyone the option to come with them or remain, and they said they’d give people twenty-four hours. But weather bubbles started being turned off well before that. Those who remained…” She shook her head, looking tired.
Arrow stood and almost fell over. Valor reached for her, but she pushed him away. “We go straight through now. We’ll drop you two off so you can make it to Fredericksburg, but we can’t lose any more time.”
“You aren’t in any condition—”
Arrow pulled her shirt over her head and fastened her utility belt. “We’re leaving, Captain Markinson. I wasn’t asking you. I was telling you.”
Valor lifted his chin, and for a moment looked as if he was going to argue. “Fine. I’ll go get the transport ready.”
“Do you want me to go get Kaelyn?” her mom asked.
Arrow checked her weapons, pretending to be unfazed by the mention of Kaelyn. She was the reason she made it back. The thought of her had given her the last little push she needed. But when she’d woken up and seen her, the feelings of gratefulness had been replaced by Valor’s words of warning. She needed to stay away. There were bigger issues at hand. Death could come at any moment, and there was no time for emotion. “No, I’ll go with Valor to the transport. You can go get her and meet us there.”
She made it to the transport and got into the passenger seat. She lay down on her side and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have to see Kaelyn when she got there, and she didn’t want to talk to Valor. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to sit with her mistakes, her failures, and let them seep into her. She knew it would leave an emotional mark, a scar of sorts. But maybe that’s what she needed. A painful reminder of what she should and shouldn’t do in the future. If she had been focused on their mission instead of Kaelyn, they would’ve left the other village sooner. Even if they had made it here thirty minutes earlier, she could’ve gotten more people inside. Maybe not all, but some of those people would’ve survived. She’d known from the start that she could never be with Kaelyn, but she had tempted fate. Who would be at risk next for her own selfish reasons? Arrow couldn’t live with the answer to that question. Valor was right. It had to stop.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Kaelyn knew what Raven Rock was and what it meant to the United States government, when an actual government had existed. Looking at it from the outside, no one would believe how big it was. The entrance looked like any tunnel someone would find going through a mountain. A large concrete entrance with a road big enough for a semitruck acted as the mouth for the base. There were four of these mouths to the complex in total; two were close to a helicopter landing pad and two close to the tunnel that led to Camp David. Inside, there were power plants, a dining hall, gym, barber shop, chapel, living quarters, and even a bowling alley. It had its own fire station, ventilation system, and even a Starbucks. If anyone managed to locate the complex, hidden in the forest, getting inside would be nearly impossible. It was the most secure facility she’d ever seen. It had been built during the Cold War as a bunker to protect top government officials in the event of a nuclear strike and was added on to with each presidential administration. It would’ve served as an underground Pentagon of sorts if the need were to ever arise. Things had changed since her time, but she found it hard to believe they would be able to just walk inside. This base had been so sophisticated, she doubted that MacLeod would willingly give it up or wasn’t aware of its existence.
Arrow was still asleep in the front seat, and despite the anger Kaelyn felt toward her for having blown her off earlier, she knew she needed to rest.
She leaned forward to Valor who was flipping through several maps. “How do you expect to get into Raven Rock?”
He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. “You, of course. Your retina will gain us access.”
“It can’t be that simple. They would’ve updated the technology by now.”
“The system is set up so that it saves every person who has ever been entered into the database. There is no deletion allowed because that would create an access point for people to hack into it. So, people can be entered but never removed. Every member of every First Family that has been around since 1978 is saved in the system. There’s only one entrance you have access to enter, but it’s better than nothing.” He smiled at her, seemingly proud of himself.
“How do you know that? I didn’t even know that.”
“One of the founding members of the Resistance was responsible for IT work inside Raven Rock, and he put in a failsafe when the MacLeods were first taking over, hoping this day would eventually come.”
Everything really did hang in the balance of her ability to be here in this moment. “Is it not guarded anymore?”
“Not the way it was during your father’s time. MacLeod doesn’t use it as a military installation anymore because there’s a shield around the country, keeping people out whose homelands have otherwise been destroyed by climate change or civil war. We aren’t accessible to the outside world, so he doesn’t need it as a headquarters. It is, however, where they keep their biggest stockpile of food and a major gateway for their water supply.” He pulled up the overhead image of it on the console. “See those two reservoirs there? We need to shut those down.”
“Is there still a Starbucks inside?” She knew the answer but thought she’d throw it out there anyway.
He looked at her blankly, his eyebrows coming together. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Never mind.”
Arrow turned over in her seat and sat up, rubbing her face. She still looked worn out, and Kaelyn assumed she would be for a while. Arrow looked at her, and the gray eyes that stared back didn’t hold the same anger they had several hours before. There was a softness in them that confused Kaelyn. She sat back in her seat, needing to break the connection.
Arrow turned away and started checking her weapons. “If there were more of us, I would say the Phoenix needed to stay in the transport. But I don’t think that’s an option.”
Valor nodded. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll have to split up. It’s really our only hope to take both reservoirs out. If we hit one and then go after the other, it gives them too much time to consolidate their forces and stop us. Kaelyn can come with me.”
Kaelyn expected Arrow to protest. She tried not to take it personally when she agreed with him. She knew Arrow and Valor were the experts in this area, but that understanding did nothing to rid the feeling of rejection she was feeling again.
Arrow got out of the transport and Kaelyn followed her before she had the chance to change her mind.
Kaelyn grabbed Arrow by the shoulder and turned her around, forcing her to finally look at her. “What is your damn problem?”
Arrow put her hands on her hips and looked into the distance. “Now really isn’t the time, Kaelyn.”
Kaelyn grabbed Arrow’s chin and turned it back toward her face. “Right now is all we might have. I need to know what I did to make you give me the cold shoulder.”
Arrow’s eyes didn’t have their normal vibrant streaks of blue and gray. They seemed to have lost some of their shine. “I can’t give you what you want. We can’t be together.”
Kaelyn’s anger eclipsed all other conscious awareness of who was around or what they were doing. “Is that what your problem is? You thought I was getting attached? Jesus, Arrow, it was one night. I’m not some teena
ge girl who’s going to follow you around. I knew what I was getting into. So, don’t worry. You’re off the hook.” The sting of rejection had allowed her to say it, but none of it was true.
Arrow closed her eyes for a long moment and then she reached out to touch Kaelyn. “That’s not what I meant.”
Kaelyn pulled her hand away from the contact. “Oh, I know what you meant. You made it perfectly clear that we were temporary. Look, there are no hard feelings. We were exactly what the other needed in that moment. No more, no less.”
Arrow’s jaw tightened and she put her hands on her hips. “Fine, Kaelyn.”
“Don’t you fine, me. This was your decision. I’m just the only one with the balls to say it to the other’s face.” She walked backward a few steps, needing to get away but unable to divert her eyes. The pain on Arrow’s face was so clear it seared a spot on Kaelyn’s heart. She finally turned around, unable to handle the burning she felt in every part of her body.
She thought for a second that she might throw up, but she managed to push the feeling away. Valor and Macy were standing on the other side of the transport, pretending not to hear what was taking place only a few feet away.
“Let’s do this.” Kaelyn pointed to the large steel door.
Valor slung his gun over his shoulder and nodded. He was smart enough to not say anything and just led her toward the panel on the wall. He used his shirt to wipe off the dust that had accumulated over the last several decades. He pushed a button and the screen turned on, requesting authorization.
She put her face down in front and watched the beam scan her eye. The lights blinked for a few moments, and then the door started to open, screeching loudly as each foot of steel disappeared into the wall above them.
She turned and looked at Arrow who was standing next to Macy beside the transport. “Be careful.” She turned away and headed into the complex before Arrow had a chance to say anything back. She didn’t want to hear anything else from her right now, and she certainly didn’t want to look at those damn eyes that seemed to see straight into her soul.
