by Justin Clay
“Who is it, Rian?”
“It’s Sondra,” I tell her. “She’s alive, and they have her under close guard somewhere in this place.”
Lena stares back at me, unblinking. Flabbergasted. “You’re kidding me,” she breathes, and I shake my head. “That’s insane…They must have followed us…Picked up our trail somewhere.”
“Yeah, that’s what she was saying, but Cari doesn’t believe her at all,” I reveal. “She think she’s lying…I mean I can’t blame her, but I think it’s pretty obvious given how much Sondra knows about us being here…And Terek…”
“Did you tell him, Rian?”
I shake my head again. “I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I know I should have…But I wasn’t sure he would have believed me or not…Considering, he’s not that stable right now.”
Lena only nods quietly, her eyes narrowing.
“So what do we do?”
“You did the right thing, Rian,” Lena tells me. “Not telling Terek…Yet. Even though I know it must — is very difficult for you…For now we wait. Wait for Eli to get back, and tell him to see what he thinks…”
“But what do you think? What do you think we should do?”
“I think, Rian, we should find her and free her,” she says. “Get this misunderstanding resolved. Sondra doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her.”
“What’s worse is that I heard Cari mention something about torturing her to get out better information, although we know she isn’t lying.”
The color drains from Lena’s face. “No,” she says quietly. “Cari’s going mad…She needs to be dealt with…”
Eli doesn’t show up for another hour, and when he does — he looks like he’s been through hell. His face is severely bruised, and his breathing is very ragged when he appears at the doorway. Lena bolts upright, horrified. She rushes to him.
“Elijah, you’re bleeding. What happened!?”
I watch the trails of dark blood seep from his lower lip that’s completely busted. His collared shirt is drenched with it. He looks at her violently.
“We cannot stay here any longer,” he says, wiping away the blood as if it’s nothing with his forearm. “We’re no longer welcome here…Hurry up and gather your things…Wake the little one; we need to go. There’s not much time.”
“Eli, tell me what happened…”
He glances at her then to me cautious, and back at Lena before explaining, tentatively, “Had a bit of an argument, you could say,” he says vaguely, “but it’s safe to say that we’re on our own.”
“We can’t just up and leave like this, Elijah…Can we? Are they escorting us?”
Eli shakes his head. “Not a chance; we’ll fight our way through…”
“There’s something you need to know,” Lena says sullenly, and my stomach drops. I know what she’s about to say.
“What is it, Lena?” Eli glares at her, exasperated.
“It’s about Sondra, Terek’s wife,” she says. “She’s alive…She was the so called Scavenger they saved to interrogate…But the thing is, Sondra managed with a group of other Survivors to steal remaining vehicles and follow us here...”
“How do you know this?”
“It was Rian,” Lena reveals. “She overheard Cari discussing it with the commander earlier…She heard Sondra talking…Talking, Elijah…They’re holding her here somewhere…We have to let Terek know…We have to free her.”
“It won’t be easy,” Eli says. “But…You’re right…We should help her.”
“We need to find out where they’re holding her though…Do you have any idea?”
“She said the Isolation Unit, wherever that’s at,” I interject, and they both look at me.
“That’s most likely on the sublevel…But in order to get her free, we’ll need weapons, considering our best option is leave, once we do.”
“The armory is locked up.”
“We can persuade one of the commander’s men to open it,” Eli says. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Rian said that Cari plans on torturing her for more information, since she isn’t satisfied.”
“Then we’ll have to do tonight.”
“There’s something else,” I say. “Cari said that she’ll get the doctors to see to Sondra’s injury privately…Wouldn’t that mean that Kage at least knows where she is?”
“You’re right,” Lena says. “He’s roomed with Terek, right?”
“Then we know what we must do,” Eli says, and Lena and I both nod.
“Who’s going to watch June?” I ask. They look at me, and for some reason beyond where I am standing.
“No one,” I hear my sister say. I look to find that she’s no longer sleeping, but standing. Who knows how long she had been awake and how much she heard. “I can help.”
Before anyone can protest, including myself, we watch as my sister pulls something hidden inside her flowing shirt. It glints in the dim lighting: a dagger. How long has she had that? I guess they wouldn’t check at child for weapons, and this might just play in our favor, if I can overcome the fact that my little sister will be involved in a potentially dangerous rescue mission.
“I know how to use this,” she says matter-of-factly.
16
LEVERAGE
WHEN WE ARRIVE AT Terek’s room just down the hall, Kage is nowhere to be found. Terek, on the other hand, is snoring loudly. Lena steps further into the room, and stirs him awake. Wearily, he asks her what’s going on, and Lena begins with that his wife is alive, and she’s being kept in isolation somewhere in this building. This immediately puts him on his feet, but he has to steady himself with a hand pressed onto the wall for a moment.
“You’re…saying she’s alive?” he says in absolute disbelief. His eyes are wider than I ever seen. “How? How can this be?”
Lena confirms this, nodding, and explains what I heard, very briefly.
“We’re doing something about this, then? We have to rescue — I will kill every bast — ”
“Before you start,” Lena intercedes quickly, “that’s why we’re here…We’re going to help you find her, and rescue her…But that will most likely mean we will have to move on from here afterward…I don’t think Cari will care for us too much for what we’re willing to do…At any cost.”
“Right,” he says. “We’re going to need our weapons.”
“That’s where June comes in,” she says quietly. And then Lena hurriedly tells him the plan we’ve concocted on such short notice.
“It sounds like it could work,” he says. “But what about where my wife’s being held? How will we get in — I guess I could break down the door…”
“No,” Lena says, shaking her head. “That’ll bring too much attention on ourselves…that we don’t need…We want this operation to be as quiet and quick as possible…If we can manage that we’ll be out of here with your wife alive, in no time…Do you know where Kage is? Your wife was shot in securing some sort of questioning, Rian says, but she seems to be well enough, however, the doctors are going to be tending to her…And that most likely will mean Kage and Doc.”
“I see,” he says, sighing. “I don’t know where he is though…Kage has been gone for quite awhile…Said he had something urgent to attend to…Now I understand.”
“We thought as much,” Lena says. “We’ll get that bit of information elsewhere…Whoever we make open the doors will most likely also know that as well…There don’t seem to be too many secrets around here.”
“Understood,” he says. “I think it’s time we get this done.”
As I hear my sister’s voice in echoes reaching down the hallway, where we remain hidden about its sharp corner, I can only imagine the worst of outcomes. What if the soldier doesn’t believe her? What if he doesn’t follow her? Then this plan will not work…We have the element of surprise on our hands for now. But how long will it truly last?
We’re holding our breaths. The intensity keeps my heart pounding so loudly, I swear it�
�s audible. Then we hear clear, resounding steps. Coming our way. Good. This is good. They’re nearing us. Won’t be long now. I notice Eli looking at Lena, who stares at Terek; they’re nodding. They’re nearly here.
“He’s just around here, sir,” my sister says sweetly. I realize I have taught her well. “Please, oh please — help him.”
“I’ll do what I can — we’ll call and get help — ”
The Protector suddenly comes to the reality that he’s surrounded by us, and he’s baffled. Stunned. Unable to process what to do next. The young man who had been patrolling the commons hallway is none other than Gallagher. This should be simple enough.
Impulsively, he reaches for his walkie on his utility belt, but Terek is faster. “Don’t even think about it,” he hisses, and before Gallagher knows it, Terek’s massive arms are withholding him into place. He gulps, trembling, and he makes a face, glaring at my sister. “You…You little —”
“Don’t you dare,” I mutter, heatedly. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Eli says just as quietly and calmly. “You’re going to lead us to the armory; and, you’re going to unlock it. If you refuse, we will kill you and take the keys anyway.”
“F-fine, I’ll do it,” he splutters helplessly, “just don’t kill me…Please.”
“Like I said,” Eli clears up, again, “we won’t, if you cooperate…Lena, remove his weapons.”
Lena quickly takes Gallagher’s baton and pistol off of him. She sticks the baton between her belt and pants, holding the handgun up, aiming directly at his head.
“Can I ask why you’re doing this?”
Eli nods. “You can, but we’re not going to answer you…Now, let’s go.”
We travel slowly through the dark passageways of the dam’s operational facility. When we’re about five minutes from reach the armory, underground, Eli has us stop abruptly. He turns to Gallagher who has been walking ahead of us, followed closely by Lena holding the gun at his head.
“Alright,” Eli says, “we’ve walked far enough…I want you to contact your friends who are most likely guarding the armory as we speak, and tell them that they are being summoned by the commander on urgent notice…If you so much as breath something else than just that — Lena don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t,” she says.
Gallagher doesn’t move at all. This is becoming irritating for Eli.
“Do it!” Eli shouts, and finally he lifts the walkie, and relays the message exactly.
I’m a bit surprised, he didn’t decide to alert them otherwise…Maybe, he’s holding out to save his own skin…Wouldn’t blame him, I guess.
There’s white noise, rustling static before one of them answers, “Are you sure Gallagher?”
“Yes,” he says, hesitantly, looking at all of us. “Commander Jed is expecting you both as soon as possible…He didn’t tell me why.”
“Understood,” was all that said on the other end, before silence.
“Good,” Eli says, “now, keep walking.”
Reaching the armory vault, we find that it is indeed unguarded. The underground hallway connecting to a wide basement is eerily empty. Once at the door, Eli tells the Protector to enter in the passcode. Quietly, he does so. After the door is opened, we pile in searching for our weapons, loading up on as many as we can carry.
I have pulled my bow and quiver off of a wall and am wearing them when I find my father’s silver pistol lying on a nearby table. I holster it, searching for something else. I settle on a serrated dagger, and when I’m belting it, we hear an eruption of static from his walkie. Everyone stands still, intently listening.
“Gallagher are you there? Do you copy?”
The soldier looks at Eli, who nods in response. “Yes, I’m here…What is it?”
“The commander did not call for us…What’s going on?”
My heart plummets, and I observe Gallagher’s face reddening. “I — I — uh…”
“Gallagher are you there? Are you all right? Give us your location.”
“I’m in the armory vault!” He finally blurts. “The new guests have taken me hostage and they’re going to — ”
Gallagher never gets to finish the sentence before Lena’s arrow catches him through his leg, knocking him backward and sending a string of blood across the wall. Gallagher gasps, groping for his leg as he drops the walkie; it clatters to the ground. I tell June to look away, and I’m thankful she does. She doesn’t need to see this. I watch his body as it slumps, before toppling onto the ground. Terek grabs Gallagher by the back of shirt, pulling him up, as he writhes in pain. Gallagher is cursing as Terek manages to lock him down in a similar hold as before. Gallagher continues to shout obscenities left and right.
How we are awful people and every one of us will be shot for this.
Eli pulls a pistol out, aiming at his head, telling him to shut up.
Everyone stares at Eli, while Lena regains her arrow from Gallagher’s leg, which causes him to burst out into an agonized cry. She cleans off the blood on her pants leg. What are we to do? They’re coming for us. Who knows how much time we have left, before we meet and a shootout happens. Hopefully, there will be another way. For June’s sake at least. Maybe, if they see there’s a child among us, they’ll hold their fire. But we don’t know these people. We don’t know what they will do. I have a good feeling it wouldn’t stop Cari if she’s involved.
“Now, this is what’s going to happen,” Eli begins, severity in his voice. “We are going to do this as an equal trade…They will give us ours, and we will hand him over…Should be fair enough.”
Time passes uncomfortably as we wait for the reinforcements to show up. Eli says there is no point in running. When they arrive, he will tell them how it’s going to be. But what if it doesn’t go as he plans? I watch Gallagher, his face turning a sickish pale color. Blood is beginning to pool at his foot. Lena is already on it, ripping off from her own clothing enough fabric to tie up the wound, to stave the blood flow as much as possible. For the time being. If we don’t keep him alive, there’s no trade. Only death.
It only takes the commander and his few men, armed and ready, minutes to show up at the vault’s door. All of them have their rifles aimed at us, each one of them carrying resentment in their eyes. I can feel my pulse in my ears by this point. The intensity chokes everything. I’m a bit surprised Cari doesn’t turn up as well. What could she be doing instead? Does it have anything to do with her and Eli’s recent scuffle?
“Release Gallagher, now,” Commander Jed demands, veins popping out about his forehead. Gallagher doesn’t seem to be fairing well either. His face is reddening and he looks like he could puke at any moment.
“Not until you bring us our own,” Eli retorts, narrowing his eyes. “It’s an even trade…We give him up in return for Sondra.”
“Your own?” the commander asks taken aback. “What are you talking about?”
“The woman you have locked up somewhere in this building,” Eli elaborates, purposefully annunciating every word. “The one you decided not to kill from the so-called Scavenger attack earlier today…But she’s not one of them…She’s one of us…She’s Terek’s wife…You’ve crossed the wrong people, I’m afraid.”
Terek’s face is the definition of fierceness, his eyes glaring and sweat beading against his face, gleaming. The commander’s eyes open wide as if he’s finally connecting the dots. “So it seems,” he says. “I knew she was telling the truth…But the sergeant isn’t as convinced.”
“Then convince her,” Eli says with finality. “I want her to bring Sondra down here, herself…I want to see when she admits to her faults…Then we will release him.”
“Your friend is in no shape to be traveling anywhere,” the commander reveals. “The medical staff is seeing to her wound as we speak.”
“Then have Cari promise us then, face to face.”
The commander says nothing for a moment, only stares, his bro
w furrowed. He sighs, and lowers his weapon. “Very well,” he gives in, “I will go and get her…But none of you move…And if they do — you know what to do…I will be right back.”
The other Protectors nod curtly. They will shoot. That’s what he means of course. Death. Death for us all.
The minutes that pass by in the commander’s absence are terribly long, and intense. I scarcely breathe. No one moves. When Commander Jed returns what feels like at least twenty minutes later, he is surprisingly alone. And his face is noticeably bruised along the side. What the hell happened between them? He seems a bit flushed too.
