Warrior

by Holly S. Roberts

  Landan speaks for the others. “Why should we trust you?”

  I straighten my shoulders and the poor little scared girl routine slides away easily. “Because with the little you’ve said, I could already have you arrested.” If looks could kill, I would be dead.

  “She’s right,” Kara says coming to my defense. “She has a guard who isn’t fond of her. Do we have a choice about trust? We’re all dead if she gives the say-so.”

  Mila, who is dressed like the others in regulation military attire, is the youngest of the bunch. She has short brown hair, a cute face, and is a foot shorter than me. How I envied her in the beginning. Her mother is a scientist and works in one of the labs doing I have no idea what. I seldom spoke of my father even when he was alive and Mila is the same when it comes to her mother. She hasn’t said anything to me since I walked into the analyst room today and I’m surprised when she’s the one who sways the tide completely. “We need help,” she says looking at the others. “If all we ever do is get drunk and cry into our hooch, we’ll all die eventually. I vote we take a chance.”

  Skylar, taller than Mila, not quite as cute, though her regal nose gives her a sense of style even in her camouflage attire, raises her hand. “I’m in. We need help.”

  Landan makes a gurgling sound in his throat and then accepts defeat after Kara nods. “Our lives are at risk and it’s only a matter of time before the Federation figures out what we’ve been doing. I don’t think we have a choice.” His gaze lands on mine. “The Federation is giving us false data. We started noticing it around the time your father died. We never told you because you rarely had anything to do with us.” He takes a sip of hooch. “It’s more than just us. Other departments are beginning to see the light too. Or maybe I should call it the dark.” He rests his cup on the table and inhales deeply and casts quick glances at the others. When his gaze returns to mine, he tells me something I never expected, “We started manipulating the data about a year ago. Small things only.”

  Wow. I had no idea any of this was going on. When my father died, I went into a vacuum-like state that must have been worse than I remembered. It’s the only explanation for why I didn’t see what was right under my nose. I came to work, analyzed the data the Federation handed me, and went home. No questions, no curiosity, no suspicion. What the heck was I thinking or not thinking?

  Shame fills me. How could I allow fear to keep me from seeing the truth? I glance at the faces around me; hope and worry are prevalent in each expression. “I came back to help. I’m trying to figure out what is going on and who is involved. I’m not here to get any of you in trouble.”

  “Prove it,” Landan says with enough force to make Ms. Beast grumble.

  I need to trust my gut on this. “A hundred Shadow Warriors came with me to aid the Federation with hellhounds. They’ve housed them in a military bunker outside of this facility. What the Federation doesn’t know is there are another hundred Warriors outside of Washington.” Some things need to stay secret right now, so I don’t tell them there are actually three times that many.

  “Are they taking over?” Landan asks skeptically.

  Kara might be their drinking ringleader but it’s obvious Landan’s in charge of their transgressions against the Federation. “It’s the last thing they want to do,” I tell him. “For some reason, the Federation is using electromagnetic waves to entice the hellhounds to the U.S. I saw them escape Cuban soil simply by walking into the water. They’re headed this way and the only thing standing in their way are the Warriors.”

  Shock shows on his face. “You trust them?” he asks.

  “With my life.” I hold his gaze and pray he believes me. I need them on my side.

  Landan grimaces and seemingly accepts what I’ve said as truth. “The Federation has mandated that all humans come into the city. From the beginning they’ve given us incorrect data about how many people are alive in our country and other parts of the world. After what you’ve told us, I have reason to believe they are using hellhounds to scare Americans into Washington. If they don’t come in, they’ll use the hounds to kill them.”

  Even though I knew something like this was going on, it’s hard to hear. “Are you sure?”

  They all turn to Skylar. She gives me a look I’m not quite comfortable with. “My husband, Harris, is commander of the Fourth Infantry. He was given orders to kill all humans unwilling to come to the capital.” Now I understand the expression. She loves her husband and doesn’t want to endanger his life by revealing too much information. “The Federation protects us and at the same time they use us against our loved ones to keep them in line. We’re sure they manipulated your father the same way.”

  I don’t need to ask what Harris is doing about it because I already know the answer. My father would have done anything to keep me safe. Anything.

  What I’m about to say is absolute treason. “Will your husband fight with the Shadow Warriors if we overthrow the Federation?”

  Her eyes grow hard. “We’re not interested in being taken over by another dictatorship.”

  “Good.” I give her the same hard stare. “The Shadow Warriors don’t want to govern you. They’re being set up by the Federation and brought here under the guise of fighting hellhounds. We think the Federation plans to annihilate them and used me to lure them here because they trusted my father.”

  “You’re sure you can trust them?” Skylar asks.

  I’ve answered their question about trust already but maybe this time it will sink in. “I’m in love with their leader, so yes, I can trust them.”

  Landan suddenly looks uncomfortable. “We shouldn’t be talking here,” he says. “Your guard is giving us more attention than he did five minutes ago.”

  I don’t look at the guard. “My round to buy and then we’ll go. How are you communicating with the other rebels?”

  “Rebels,” Mila says. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Word of mouth,” Landan says. “We’ve written nothing down. I room with a guy from another department. We share info he gathers when he’s working.”

  “I have little freedom,” I tell them and then think of something else. “Does Thad know what you’re doing?”

  “No,” Landan says and shakes his head. “Thad is one of their spies. We set him up and he fell for it by giving the Federation correct figures on something we purposely made look like we were manipulating. Mila was given thirty days straight working without a day off for the breach of trust, as they called it. Do not trust Thad.”

  “Friday is in two days,” I tell Landan. “I’ll meet the ladies in their sleeping quarters for girl time at eight Friday evening. If you can arrive before I do and hide before the guard brings me, we’ll come up with a game plan.”

  “That works,” Skylar says.

  My round of hooch arrives and we drink them quickly. Before I go, Mila touches my arm. “If you betray us, we’re dead.” The fear in her eyes is real and I remember it well.

  “We need to trust each other and it’s even hard for me. We’re in this together now and it’s not just me who has your back, the Shadow Warriors do too.”

  Chapter Twenty

  King

  A WEEK PASSES before one of Beck’s men arrives, minus Beck and half his team.

  Alden, his second in command, gives me the rundown. “We parachuted in and Beck was the last of us out of the plane. He never made the rendezvous point. We’ve looked ever since without luck.” His expression changes slightly. “We voted and half the team stayed behind to try to find him. That went directly against Beck’s orders and he’ll be pissed off. They were to make the rendezvous point and leave behind anyone who wasn’t with them when they traveled.”

  That’s Beck. Whatever it takes to get the job done. It isn’t that he doesn’t have compassion for his fellow Warriors, it’s that he works for the greater good and sometimes that means leaving Warriors behind. Nothing short of death would keep Beck from that rendezvous, and the realization that m
y friend is likely dead punches me in the gut.

  Between Beck and my continued concern for Marinah, I need to run. I take off after the sun goes down and make it clear I don’t want or need company. It’s hard not to head west and look for Beck myself. It’s harder not to storm Washington and take back my mate.

  Mate, Beast breathes into my head as we run and the K-5 settles into my system and I can think clearly.

  I had no idea being without her would be this hard. I wake up sweating each night from the nightmares that haunt me. The common theme is that Marinah’s in danger and I can’t get to her. It’s actually not a dream. She is in danger and fighting the need to take her from harm’s way is killing me.

  She can handle herself, I tell Beast.

  Need mate.

  I hear footsteps behind me and know it’s Nokita even though I told him to leave me in peace. He gains speed and runs up beside me. “I heard about Beck.”

  I grunt and keep running. It does no good to dwell on Beck, what’s happened has happened and we knew we would take casualties on this mission. Beck is most likely pissed off that he didn’t go down fighting. The ache over Beck’s loss will stay with me for a long time or maybe like my uncle, forever.

  A few miles later, we run into a herd of about ten hellhounds. We quickly back away from each other and attack in quick bursts from different sides to confuse the hounds. Race in, decapitate, and move back. We repeat the tactic again and again until we’re covered in blood and gore and we’ve crushed them. The battle gives us something to think about besides Beck’s loss, which is exactly what we needed. Thankfully, neither of us is bitten or scratched.

  It’s the first night since Marinah left that I don’t dream.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Marinah

  NOTHING EVENTFUL HAPPENS over the next few days besides boredom. There are only so many spots on the wall to count and the books they’ve left me to read are depressing novels that do nothing but put me to sleep. I’ve requested a meeting with the president about my inactivity and haven’t heard back.

  Friday takes forever to arrive. I’ve spoken only briefly to Labyrinth. Thankfully it was enough time to relay what Landan and the ladies told me. Labyrinth is concerned they’re setting me up. I understand, but he wasn’t at the bar and didn’t see their fear or anger at the Federation. If they had betrayed us, it would already be too late and we would be jailed or dead. I left Labyrinth with those exact words.

  Officer Daniels escorts me to the ladies’ quarters himself when Friday evening finally arrives. “I’ll pick you up here in three hours,” he says and walks off.

  “Make it four,” I call out. He doesn’t turn and if he arrives early, he’ll be cooling his heels in the hallway for the extra hour.

  My situation with the Federation is beyond shady. I’ve been given no orders as secretary of defense, been told nothing about our troops, attended no meetings, and I have a guard everywhere I go. I’m unsure if it’s a lack of trust or if they just think I’m completely useless. They have no idea what I’m capable of and that works perfectly into my plan. Today is the first time I’m being left anywhere without a guard, which is a sign I’m pulling off the scared little rabbit routine to perfection.

  Landan is hiding in the closet and comes out only after Mila tells him the coast is clear. Skylar brings pencils and paper to the small table in the room that barely fits us. I raise my eyebrows at the paper.

  “We’re analysts,” Kara answers. “It works better if we analyze our chances and come up with a way that has a higher ratio for success. We’ll burn the papers as soon as we don’t need them.”

  There’s a candle for light in the center of the table. It’s a short stocky one and will work to burn the evidence. I fill them in on what happened in Cuba, including King holding hellhounds, what they truly are, minus the fact I’m a Shadow Warrior. I do, however, include everything about my relationship with King.

  “You’re his queen,” Mila says with romantic stars in her eyes.

  “I love him.” And it’s as simple as that.

  Mate. Ms. Beast whines, which I ignore.

  Landan solves the issue for communication. “We all eat in the cafeteria at different times. We’ll place an encrypted note under our usual table if we have something urgent and you can do the same,” he explains.

  I nod. “I think it will work. My only worry is being caught with the notes.”

  Landan’s eyes light up. “We’ll keep it simple and use acrostic code. If we write love notes, it would keep their suspicions down if they discover any and chances are good they won’t look past the flowery words. Will that work?” he asks.

  Oh boy, Ms. Beast is not happy at all and I hold back a wince after she kicks me in the gut. “It’ll work,” I tell him, relieved we can make this easy. Acrostic code is accomplished by writing sentences and using the first letter of the first word in a sentence to form a message. Love notes are brilliant even if Ms. Beast doesn’t agree. I can’t worry about King’s thoughts on the subject because I know they will be violent. I also know he’ll understand why it’s the safest way. It’s getting him to that reasonable conclusion that will be tricky.

  Skylar interrupts our strategic planning and my mate worries. “You really had bacon?” Pure longing shows on her face and like me, she might just drool over the thought.

  “And steak along with fresh fruits and vegetables.”

  “Those bastards,” Mila swears and we all laugh. It’s not a word she would normally use, but we are talking bacon, which is serious business.

  “We’ve lived off the same crap food for years,” Landan practically groans and joins the food porn discussion.

  Skylar has her own thoughts. “I could deal with our food supplies if government officials ate the same thing. The way our rations are handed out disgusts my husband. He sneaks things to me when he can.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us about the food differential?” Mila asks.

  Skylar glances at me first. “We had enough to worry about and food, as long as we are fed, was not at the top of the list.”

  She’s right and we’re spending too much time on it now. “Did you talk to your husband about our discussion the other night at the bar, Skylar?”

  Her lips tighten when she nods. “He’s terrified for me.” She spreads her hands. “Us. His men will have our backs. That’s another one hundred and fifty men against the Federation. He thinks there are more who will side with us once the Shadow Warriors arrive in force. He fought alongside them and believes they can be trusted. The Federation’s treatment of the Warriors is one of the reasons he started doubting the new government. Now that the order has been given to kill anyone who doesn’t willingly come to Washington to serve under the Federation’s leadership, he knows we can’t wait any longer.” She stops and gives me a level stare. “He also said he will kill you with his own two hands if you betray us.”

  “I always liked him,” I reply with a grin. “Does anyone here have a problem with the Warriors?” I receive four head shakes and move on. “The president has been in on this since the beginning. It’s the only way it makes sense. He was one of Washington’s top scientists and he also worked for several lobbies when it came to GMOs.”

  Mila’s response is in sync with mine. “We’re in the middle of the zombie apocalypse and didn’t even know it.”

  “Am I horrible for being relieved that they aren’t something sent from hell?” Skylar asks.

  Kara’s lips scrunch before she replies. “I liked the ‘hell’ scenario better than zombies.”

  “The Shadow Warriors still call them hellhounds and I agree. I’d rather think about killing hellhounds because I swear, I would grimace every time I killed a zombie.” Three mouths drop open and I realize what I’ve admitted. “My father killed hellhounds and I asked King to teach me. I’m still working on my technique.”

  Mila circles her arms around herself and shivers. “Once you have it down, please share. I’m still te
rrified of them.”

  “Deal.” Every human needs to be trained to kill them and I plan to see that happens. The Federation should require military training for everyone and that’s one more thing I never picked up on.

  We go back to business and make a list of everything we know. We’ve always worked by putting our knowledge together and turning numbers into percentages and it’s never failed us. Unfortunately, we don’t come up with a way to stop the formaldehyde from infecting more dead bodies and eventually we’ll need people with more knowledge than us. That will come after we’ve solved matters with the Federation.

  Over the next few hours we review all of our intel and form a tentative plan. It isn’t much and most of it will probably change. It’s a start, though.

  Officer Daniels knocks on the door exactly four hours after he dropped me off. The long walk back gives me time to pull his strings. “I thought I would be attending meetings and assessing the military’s needs. I’m surprised my analytics background isn’t being put to good use.”

  His shoulders stiffen. “The president makes those decisions, not me,” he grumbles.

  This is fun. “I just feel the Federation needs more from me. My father did a good job. I know I can’t totally fill his boots. I can help, however. Please let the president know I’m ready to serve my country.” I say it without gagging and I’m extremely proud of myself.

  “I’ll share your concerns with the president.”

  I just bet he will. “That’s all I ask. Now tell me something about yourself.” I catch just the hint of an eye roll and fight another satisfied smile.

  “My father is Vice President Daniels.”

  Oh. That Daniels.

  “You must be so proud. Do you plan on taking over for him when he retires?”

  He huffs because he knows that’s not how it works and he thinks I’m an idiot. “A new vice president will be elected and not named by my father.”