Deserted Lands (Book 2): Straight Into Darkness
Page 30
“Hi.” Lizzie could think of nothing else to say. So lame...
Aubri came toward the bars of the cell. Lizzie stood without thinking and walked to meet her.
“I’m worried,” she said. “People think you aided Duke in escaping and they think he killed Mr. Ray…”
“He didn’t,” Lizzie blurted.
“I know.” Aubri sighed, her hands grasped the bars about head height. “At least I figured he didn’t. He’s not the type.”
Lizzie folded her arms across her chest. “No. He wasn't.” Aubri wasn’t accusing or judging, just stating facts. Lizzie tried to relax, and unfolded her arms. She put her hands on the bars underneath Aubri’s.
Aubri’s hands slid down until they made contact. “Are you okay?”
Their faces were so close that Lizzie could not keep both of Aubri’s blue-greenish eyes in focus at the same time. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
Aubri’s face pressed in between the bars, even closer. “Can I help?”
“Uh, Duke said I was to give you something. I promised. Haven't been good at keeping promises.” Lizzie’s face moved toward Aubri’s, her lips opened and breath escaped as her head banged into the bars.
Aubri broke into a pleasant, melodic laugh. “Did you really just bang your head on the bars?” she asked.
Lizzie giggled; when had she ever giggled? “I’m kind of a klutz.”
“What did Duke make you promise?” Aubri asked.
Lizzie pulled back slightly, fresh tears pricking her eyes.
“Aww, honey, tell me later. It isn’t fair. Duke was a good guy. And a great friend, I bet.”
“The best.” Lizzie swiped at a tear slipping down her cheek.
The door opened. Aubri and Lizzie pushed away at the same time.
Aubri gripped the bars tightly as a uniformed militia man came into the room.
Foote nodded to Lizzie and turned to Aubri. “I need to ask you to leave.”
Mannie stood behind him looking pensive.
“Doesn’t she get a lawyer?” Aubri asked, not letting go of the bars.
“Does she need one?” Foote asked.
“Aubri. This is Captain Foote. And my dad, Mannie.” Lizzie turned to them, “This is my friend, Aubri.”
“Colonel Foote, Lizzie,” the older man corrected. “And your father's a Major now.”
“Oh.” Aubri looked flustered. “Pleased to meet you.”
“I’ll be okay,” Lizzie said. “Come see me later and we can continue our conversation.”
Aubri looked ready to fight, fire in her eyes. “I’ll be right outside.”
“Thanks,” Lizzie smiled at her.
Aubri let go of the bars and smoothed her shirt. Lizzie watched her curves walking away. She looked back at Lizzie once more with a slight smile, before closing the door solidly.
Lizzie turned back to Foote.
“We don’t really have any sort of law other than running with the old rules, which seem to me to still be in force. But if you want someone else here, some sort of legal counsel, in addition to the three of us…”
Lizzie shook her head. “No. this is fine. I’d say the interested parties are represented.”
Her father seemed sad. He still hadn’t spoken.
Foote motioned to the bars. “Would you feel more comfortable with the cell open?”
“Yeah.”
Foote put a key in the lock. He turned it with a loud clank, then slid the door aside. He motioned her toward the rocking chair.
Her father sat on the bunk and Foote remained standing.
Lizzie sat in the chair, rocking to calm her nerves.
Foote began. “Can you explain what happened out there?”
Lizzie stared back at him. “Can you explain what happened here?”
“Lizzie, please,” said her father. “This is serious.”
“Oh, I understand that.” She tugged at the cuff of her shirt sleeve, where a small spot of blood had found its way past the coat she’d been wearing when Duke died in her arms. The soldiers had taken her ruined coat, but missed this small speck.
She kept staring at the speck. There had been so much blood. It could belong to either Duke or Travis. “You were chasing the wrong man. Duke was there when Ray was shot, but he didn’t shoot him.”
Foote laced and unlaced his fingers together. “Seems awfully coincidental.”
“Whatever.” Lizzie turned away. “What are you charging me with? Because it seems to me, that my being in Duke’s vicinity when you were looking for him, is about as coincidental as Duke being there at the time of the shooting.”
Foote grimaced. “I’m not interested in charging you. I want to find out the truth.”
“And I gave it to you.”
They stared at each other for a long time. If Foote thought he could stare her down, he was sorely mistaken.
Foote stood stiffly. “I want you to write a statement. And I will release you into your father’s custody, as of now.”
Lizzie thought of half a dozen smart ass answers, but kept her mouth shut. When the time came, her father’s custody would not hold her back. But the window for rescuing Rachael and Saj was temporarily closed. From what she had seen as they escorted her back, guards on the wall had tripled, and they all seemed to be rocking some kind of 24 hour energy juice. Then there was Aubri. Lizzie didn’t even know yet if Aubri was willing to leave. But she couldn’t be happy with all the breeding bullshit and confinement of women either.
Lizzie was still of the opinion that Provo was not for her. But for right now, she and Provo were at a stalemate.
Foote took her silence for agreement, turned on his heel and strode outside, opening the door with a clang. Lizzie doubted she would have had the same lenience if her father wasn’t his favorite pet.
“Well, Elizabeth. Things are certainly not boring around you.” Her father’s cheek twitched. “I'm sorry about Duke”
Lizzie nodded. “So, I’m free to go?” She motioned to the door.
“Yes.”
She stepped out of the cell. Outside the bars the air felt clearer. She turned to her father. He pulled her into his arms.
“Lizzie, you scared the shit out of me.”
She could scarcely breathe as he held her. Another minute and the dam of tears that had leaked over the spillway would burst. “Daddy?” He let go.
“I love you. Don't know that I can stand to lose you again.”
Lizzie wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “You’re not mad at me?”
“I'm glad you're safe.” His arms embraced her again. “That’s all that matters right now.”
Lizzie understood. The same way she felt when she saw Saj.
“Could you give me a few more minutes to talk to Aubri? If she’s still waiting.”
Her father shrugged. “Invite her over.”
“Uh, okay.” She glanced away, certain that he could see right through her. She stepped to the exit, half expecting it not to open. It did and she rushed out.
Aubri looked up. Her eyes lit up. She hadn’t been expecting Lizzie to walk out.
“I’m free. For the moment. I mean, I don’t have to stay locked up. My dad is my jailor and he suggested I invite you to come over to—” Lizzie stopped talking as Aubri’s smile grew into a grin.
“Do you want me to come over?”
Lizzie swallowed. “Yeah. I’d like to talk.”
Her release to her father involved being at his place. Which meant less privacy. Which could be awkward. But Lizzie was happy not to have bars between her and Aubri anymore.
They headed outside to Mannie’s jeep. Lizzie walked after her father, exquisitely aware of Aubri close beside her. Aubri’s hand brushed hers every few steps and each time it was like electricity.
When they got to Rubi, Lizzie said, “Aubri, meet Rubi. Rubi, Aubri. She’s really not as scary as she looks.”
“Are you talking about me or the jeep,” Aubri asked, arching her deli
cate eyebrows.
“You obviously.”
Aubri opened the door and held out a hand to help Lizzie up. She couldn’t decide whether to be offended or charmed. Aubri was much taller than she was and the step up to the Jeep was high. She decided to be charmed and held onto Aubri’s hand as she climbed in after her.
“Aubri, what do you do around here?” Mannie asked as they settled in the vehicle.
“Communications. I connect people.” Aubri squeezed Lizzie’s hand.
When the Jeep rocked backward and then turned out of the parking lot Lizzie leaned into Aubri.
“How’d you and Lizzie meet?”
Aubri flashed Lizzie a grin. “Trying to connect people. We met at the club.”
“I’m glad you kids have someplace to go to meet new friends—give you some sense of normal.”
“Yeah,” Lizzie agreed. “Normal.”
The End
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Acknowledgments
Iʼd like to thank my family first and foremost: Elena, Cail,
Tanner, Daen, Sheridan, Ian and Miranda, Mom and
Dad, James, Michael and Megan.
And all the usual suspects: Sam, Alex and all the rest at
Village Books, the Heinlein Forum, my WATTPAD Followers,
My Google+ers, My Facebookians, My Twitterfans,
and ALL MY STUDENTS!
My friends, fans, and critiquers: Amanda J. Hagarty,
Andrea Kinnaman, Jesikah Sundin, Betsy Childs, James
R. Wells, Brian Soneda, Christopher Key, Kayti Nika
Raet, Donald Drummond, Mark Leslie, Virginia Herrick,
Pam Beason, Joannah Miley, Selah J. Tay-Song,
Michael Sarrow, Peter Rust, Jim Kling, Katie Kindland,
Alberta Hendrickson, Dave Straub, Tina Shelton, James
Hagarty, Alice Acheson, Tsena Paulsen, Janet Godsoe,
John Seltzer, Kathy Brown, Hope Musick, Tonja Myers,
and Tamar Clarke. The Fanily: Eddi, Katie, Nicholas and
William Vulic. Brian Lenius, Chris & Christine Perkins,
Joe Collins, David Miller.
My Beta-readers: Ilana Halupovich, April Murphy, Ashley
Sheppard, Betsy Childs, Caitlin Botha, Chris Drye, Cleo
Martini, Denica Rodriguez, Emily Hester, Gareth
Bateson, Hannah, Heather Icenbice, Jim Phillips, Kim
Carter, Lee Meyer, Mattias Ahlvin, Pete Thibadeau,
Priscila Martinez, Robert Wright, Ruth Simms,
Samantha Murphy, Sheron Hughes, Thomas Huntley,
Tshepiso Ngaleka.
I am certain I have forgotten people. My apologies, and
know that I appreciate your support. Yes, Chuck
Robinson, it takes a Village to publish a book!
About the Author
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Robert L. Slater wanted to be an astronaut or a rock star. At 42, he gave up those dreams to become a writer of FantSciFi, where he can pretend to be both.
Like some of his characters, he has a propensity for speaking lines from 80s movies, drinking Mountain Dew and eating pizza. He loves music as an eclectic listener, a zealous fan, a mediocre guitarist and a singer/songwriter.
After 21 years as a school teacher and a 35 year adolescence, he is beginning to have a hint of insight into young adulthood.
Robert can also be found on various social media including:
Twitter - @robertlslater
Wattpad - @robertlslater
Facebook - Robert L. Slater
Google+ - RobertLSlater1
He posts regularly on the Deserted Lands Blog at www.desertedlands.com/blog
and irregularly on his personal/music blog at www.robslater.com/blog.
MORE IN THE DESERTED LANDS UNIVERSE!
“I hope you all die!” she said. And they did.
ALL IS SILENCE (2014)
Follow the story of Lizzie, a tough teenager trying to survive the end of the world. Her story begins in ALL IS SILENCE and continues in the follow-up novel:
What if safety is a prison?
STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS. (2015).
The third book NO MAN’S LAND will conclude Lizzie Goodin-Guerrero’s story as a teenager. Additional short fiction pieces, focus on other survivors of this particular apocalypse, such as the short novel and parallelequel: Toils and Snares.
“What if death forgot you?”
TOILS AND SNARES (February 2015)
and the short short story Beginnings in the
Outward Bound collection.
There will be many more Deserted Lands stories and novels as the years go by in our universe and theirs.
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IF YOU LIKE ALL IS SILENCE....
Knowing that I can't write as fast as you can read, I try to let people know about other similar novels that I have read. Here are a couple I can vouch for!
Her fight begins the day the world ends.
The Girl at the End of the World
by Richard Levesque
Scarlett Fisher is an average California teenager. She likes hanging out with her friends and talking on the phone. She does all right at school, and she's made the best of her parents' divorce. But in one way, she's special: on her fifteenth birthday, a fast-moving plague wipes out everyone she’s ever known, yet somehow it passes her by.
Unfortunately for Scarlett, not everyone who survived the plague is looking for companionship.
The Sweepers are coming. They hunt the young.
IMMUREMENT by Norma Hinkens
Sixteen-year-old Derry and her brother live in perpetual fear of capture. They survive underground on a scorched earth overrun by gangs, clones, and mysterious hoverships. When her brother goes missing, Derry’s only hope of finding him is to strike a deal with a group of cutthroat subversives. Desperate to save him, she leads a daring raid to uncover the secrets behind the Sweepers’ hoverships, but finds out the world she knows is a lie. Keeping her brother alive may require trusting her enemy and opening her heart to something she never thought possible.
Table of Contents
Contents
Straight Into Darkness
Copyright Kindle
Dedication/Epigraph
PRELUDE - Run, Baby, Run
Lizzie sat on her fidgeting hands in the...
PART I - Safety In Numbers
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
PART II - Touch Me Fall
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
PART III - Breakdown
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
If you enjoyed STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS...
Acknowledgments