Expanding his vision, Darien included the surrounding landscape. He tried to remember as much as he could from looking at the maps on his phone, willing the details into existence on his dream playground. Within a matter of minutes, he had created a life-size replica of his surroundings in the real world. Darien flew from one edge of the base to the other, simply by thinking of being there. He circled overhead, trying to see what route the soldiers would take if they gave pursuit, and where the easiest areas to escape would be.
This perspective was unique and apparently his subconscious mind brought forth details that he couldn’t remember explicitly. Now he had the time to scout out the area without being noticed, because who would notice him in his own dream? It turned out that the location he originally thought was ideal for escape was incorrect. There was direct sight line from a nearby tower that he hadn’t considered. About a quarter of a mile further along the trail, it turned a corner and ducked behind a large warehouse. While the building was still a good hundred yards away, it broke lines of sight that he hadn’t considered until looking from this perspective. After examining the entire perimeter, Darien felt confident he had found the best location for an escape attempt. Of course, there was still the greater issue at hand.
There were forests surrounding the base, and a nearby airfield, but he didn’t think either of those would do him any good. According to the maps, there was a reservation nearby, which might provide them with some measure of safety. But Darien didn’t know whether or not that would stop the soldiers or the agency that would be searching for them. He just had some vague idea that reservation land wasn’t officially U.S. soil, so it might be something to consider.
There were the highways, but that got back to needing a vehicle. If they couldn’t get one from the base itself, the nearest urban area was only about five miles away. But buying or renting a car would not be an option, even if pursuit wasn’t hot on their tail. It would probably be the first place that the military would look, and both buying and renting would require credit checks, something that was sure to set off red flags in some database somewhere.
Darien needed a solution, and no matter how hard he poured over the various options, one wouldn’t come to mind. The only possibilities at all were things that either seemed like a long shot or were something that would get him into more trouble and get more attention. As he sat there, cross-legged in the middle of the air and looking down on the landscape beneath him, he heard a faint voice.
“Hey, kid! What the hell are you doing?”
Darien turned in the direction of the sound, recognizing Richard’s call long before he laid his eyes on the other shifter. In a flash Darien stood on the ground in the middle of the parking lot by the hospital, right next to Richard. He was so excited to see his friend that Darien grabbed him in a hug that would have lifted the other man off the ground if he wasn’t so muscular and heavy. Richard squirmed out and pushed Darien away.
“Easy there. What’s gotten into you?”
“Sorry, I just was a little overwhelmed for the moment. I didn’t think I’d see you again anytime soon, so I’m glad to see you’re all right. I looked for you earlier, but I couldn’t find you. I didn’t know what that meant. With everything going on, I thought the worst, like maybe you were dead or captured or something. And then I had the whole thing happen where the military got orders to shoot me and Susan and I was feeling trapped and trying to find a way out and getting stuck.”
The words came out in a continuous stream and Richard just stood there at first. As they continued coming, he pressed his lips together and backed up a step, holding his hands out and patting the air in front of him. Darien took the cue and stopped, taking a deep breath and shaking his hands out to his sides.
“Again, sorry. A lot has happened since you left and I’m just glad to see you is all. I was feeling overwhelmed, and back in a situation where I don’t know who I can trust.”
“Well that explains it. I don’t even know how I found you, kid. I just crashed recently myself and shortly after drifting off to sleep I got this sensation. Somehow, I knew you were in trouble and calling out for help. I can’t explain it really. The next thing I knew, I was standing here.” Richard turned his head and gestured around them. “Where is ‘here’ by the way? It looks like a military base or something.”
“Fort Lewis. That right there is the medical center where they brought Susan and me after the car accident. Look, I can’t get into all of it right now. I don’t have the time to explain all of the details. But, the short version is that a couple of government agents from some secret agency came to the cabin. The Shadows found us, or maybe some members of the Arm did too, I’m not sure. Anyways, they attacked us and we tried to run. One of them ran us off the road on the highway while I was talking to the agents. After the wreck, I woke up in one of those hospital beds. They brought us here to take care of us.
“The agents wanted to make us an offer. They’ve offered us jobs working for the agency, which is apparently top secret and knows about shifters and has profiles and dossiers on all sorts of shifters across the country. The amount of detail they have is just crazy. They want us to work for them, and in exchange they’re offering protection and a salary and benefits. But we just found out from Erik’s dad that apparently the army has orders to shoot us if we leave. So I have a feeling that if we turn down the offer, we’re going to get shot the minute we try to go our own way. I feel like we’ve been backed into a corner and I’m trying to figure another way out.”
Darien took several deep breaths and let his arms hang limp at his sides while Richard scratched at the stubble on his cheek with his fingernails. It felt good to unload everything and share it with one of the few people he knew he could trust. A tightness lifted from his chest that he didn’t even know was there until it was gone. Darien resisted the urge to collapse to the ground in front of Richard’s feet.
For his part, the older man watched Darien intently for a few seconds, then turned to examine their surroundings. He walked toward the fence line that he could see from the parking lot.
“So you’re thinking you can go through the fence and then want to make a break for it and try to outrun both the military and this secret agency?”
Darien felt a surge of relief that made him close his eyes and thank the universe for Richard’s presence. It felt so good to have someone to help who didn’t ask too many questions. Darien sprinted to catch up with his friend.
“You got it. I know where we can break through the fence, but the trouble is getting there undetected. I think we might be able to manage that since we do a morning run every day, but getting our gear out is going to be a problem. We can always leave it behind, if we need to. It isn’t like we have much except for some clothes and the rifle. But once we leave the base, it’s only a matter of time until they notice and there’s no way we can outrun them on foot.”
“The gear’s easy to fix. Think about it. You could always have Susan say she wants to do her morning run with the rifle strapped to her back. If anyone’s going to understand training with your gear, it’ll be folks on a military base. The harder part is making sure that you have a vehicle where you need it to be. Can you show me where you were planning on breaking through?”
“Sure.”
Darien reached out and grabbed Richard’s arm. Richard twitched at the gesture, but when they locked gazes he gave a subtle nod. With a thought, Darien lifted them both up off the ground. Richard reached out and clung to Darien’s arm and side, gripping on so hard that it made Darien wince. After a short while, he began to ease his grip, relaxing and even letting go with one hand as they soared through the air. He mumbled something under his breath, but Darien didn’t catch it. He had to admit, it was entertaining to watch Richard squirm a bit. He probably never tried this since dreams were not his strong suit.
As they flew over the area that Darien had chosen, he pointed it out.
“This seems like the best spot. From what I
can see, there are no lookouts that will have a clear line of sight and no cameras that specifically look on this area. And since the closest building is the back of a warehouse, the odds of someone being out and about are pretty low. We just need to make sure to time our run for when there aren’t other people on the trail. Then this should be a pretty safe place to stage our escape.”
Richard looked around from their current vantage point and then gestured to the ground. Darien lowered them gently, and Richard walked up to the fence line, turning around and examining the area. He took his time, walking a few steps in each direction and making sure that he was satisfied.
“You learn well. This seems like a good place. I doubt that you’ll find any better. The woods on the other side of the fence will also help give you cover. I don’t know if you noticed it, but there’s a small road, like a state road or something, just a short distance away. It isn’t a major thoroughfare, but it’s still a road.”
“Now all I need is to get a car and have it waiting for us there. That’s the hard part.”
“Or a truck.”
Sure, a truck would be even better for a small state road, but at this point… Darien froze. Was Richard offering what Darien thought he was? It was almost too much to hope for.
“Are you in the area?”
Richard nodded slowly, a smile creeping onto his lips as he did so.
“Think you might need some help?”
“You have no idea. Oh my god, I couldn’t figure out how we were going to get out of here. I mean, getting past the fence was okay, but after that we were screwed. You really are a savior.”
“Give me two days. What time do you want me there?”
“We usually take our morning run about five. So it’ll probably be around five forty-five or so. I don’t know what the hell we’d do without you.”
“There’s a reason I didn’t go far. You had to know I’d be keeping an eye on you just in case things went south. I knew you’d need my help eventually. After I get you out of this, we’ll talk about how you can pay me back.”
“Whatever you need. You know I’ve got your back. I’m still sorry for how things ended between us.”
Richard offered a shrug in response and started to walk back towards the center of the base. Darien picked up his pace so that he could walk next to his friend. After a few steps, Richard nodded up to the sky.
“You’ve got visitors. Don’t know how long they’ve been watching, but I just noticed them.”
Darien looked up. At first he didn’t see anything except for the sky dotted with clouds. But then a small speck moved in front of one of the cloudss. As soon as he thought it, he flew up into the sky next to the spec, catching a glimpse of Callie before she disappeared completely.
Chapter 17
“So I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” Darien offered as he was putting on his running shoes and looking at Susan across the room. “By the way, take your rifle.”
Susan paused in the middle of tying her shoe and turned her head to the side.
“Um, why?”
“Because you need to start training with it when we run. Before you say anything, I know you can run just fine with it. Case in point, I think that running with me is barely any exercise at all for you because you have to slow your pace.” He moved close to her and dropped his voice to the whisper they’d been using whenever they wanted to hope no one overheard. “If you start running with it now and say you’re training, then you can carry it with you when we make our escape. I can do the same with a backpack.”
“Make our escape? Did you figure something out last night? Do you know how we’re going to get away?”
“That’s the good news. I ran into Richard in my dream last night and he offered to have a truck waiting for us in a couple of days. He’ll be on the trail just on the other side of the forest where we should make our break. That way we can jump in his vehicle and make some headway before anyone notices we’re missing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get far enough away that it won’t matter when they decide to chase us.”
“That’s great, but what’s the bad news?”
“I think I caught Callie spying on my dream. You know how I told you how I got into their dream and could hear things once I penetrated the bubble? Well, I saw a glimpse of her in mine, and I don’t know how much she saw or heard. She definitely got a chance to see the entire base laid out in my dream, so she has to know I’m planning something. But how much more than that, I have no idea. I don’t know if she saw Richard or not. He was the one who spotted her first. But when I went to confront her, she disappeared.”
Susan reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose and shifted her head from one side to the other. With a sigh, she stood up and rolled her shoulders back, stretching them out. Darien looked up at her, waiting to see her response.
“Well, unless you want to confront her about it, there’s not much we can do except wait to see how she plays her hand. Until Richard’s up here, we’re kind of stuck. At least we have three more days before Karl’s expecting an answer.”
“I think confronting her before we’re ready with an escape plan would be a bad idea. We’re in the middle of a military base at the moment. While it may seem safe, we’re surrounded by hundreds of people with weapons, training, and orders to kill us if things get too suspicious.”
“You have a wonderful way of painting our situation in such a positive light.”
“Years of practice.”
Susan went and fetched her rifle while Darien loaded up a backpack with water bottles, and the two of them started their run. When they got their running escort, he didn’t behave any differently from normal. As they rounded the corner Darien had chosen last night, he double checked to make sure the real world lined up with what he recalled in his dream. To his satisfaction, it was just as good in real life as he had constructed. Now they just needed to wait and keep up appearances for two days.
When the morning of their attempted escape arrived, Darien loaded the pack with some clothes, Susan’s handgun, and extra ammunition. He strapped two water bottles to the side, as normal, but hoped the pack looked the same as when he loaded it with just water for weight. As they got to the front door, Darien paused. Susan reached out and rested her hand on his bicep, giving a squeeze.
“We’ve got this.”
Bolstered by her reassurance, Darien stepped out the door and jogged down the trail in the direction of the barracks. Susan was close behind him as they met up with their shadow. He waited for them on the edge of the trail as he normally did. As they passed, he fell into formation behind them, matching their pace as they ran. Darien’s feet scuffed the ground as he thought of what was to come and he stumbled, but regained his balance within a couple of strides.
As they turned the corner before the spot they wanted to make their escape, Darien realized they hadn’t decided exactly how they were going to subdue their pursuer. As his feet pounded the trail, he tried to come up with a plan. Glancing back behind him, the trail was as empty as they hoped for and he couldn’t see another person in either direction. Just as they passed behind the warehouse, Darien stumbled to the side, stepping into Susan and making them both crash to the ground behind the building.
Just as Darien had hoped, their tail came around the building, slowing to a stop when he saw the two of them jumbled together on the side of the trail. Darien looked up at him and held out a hand.
“Give me a hand, soldier?”
The man came forward and grabbed Darien’s arm around the wrist. Darien started to stand but then dropped his weight back down, yanking on the arm in the process and trying to pull the soldier off balance. He stumbled forward, at first making an effort not to land on Darien. When Darien shifted his weight and tried to roll on top of the other man, the soldier realized what was going on. He moved quickly, twisting around and grabbing Darien’s wrist, shifting his hips to reposition himself on top with Darien’s arm held up and at an awkward angle. His i
njured shoulder flared and the heat spread through his entire chest. Susan came up behind the soldier and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling back and trying to pull him away.
The motion forced the soldier to let go of Darien’s arm and grab onto Susan’s. He stood up and ran back a couple of steps, going in the direction Susan pulled and putting her off balance. His elbow slammed into her stomach with enough force to loosen her grip and make her start to cough. With a drop of his shoulder and sudden step back, she flipped up over his back and slammed onto the ground looking up at the sky. A groan escaped her lips as the rifle strapped there slammed hard against her body.
Darien tore his backpack off from his back and unzipped the top compartment, snatching out the handgun and chambering a round. When the soldier snapped up to attention, he saw Darien standing a few feet away with the barrel of a gun pointed at his chest. The soldier froze and held his hands up to either side with the palms out. The man took a slow step forward, but Darien backed up out of range. He may not know much about gun combat, but he knew better than to get within arm’s reach.
“Stop. I don’t want to have to shoot you.”
“Put the gun down, sir, and come back with me to HQ. We don’t have to tell them you assaulted a soldier.”
“I can’t do that.”
After a few rounds of coughing, Susan rolled over and crawled up to her feet. She reached into the open backpack laying on the ground and pulled out the zip ties as well as a pair of socks and roll of tape. While Darien kept the gun trained on the soldier, Susan moved behind him and began restraining him. He winced as she pulled both his hands behind his back and slid the zip tie as tight as it could go. Darien pointed to the ground, and their prisoner sat down slowly, keeping his attention focused on Darien the entire time.
The Torn Soul (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 3) Page 13
