Cory joined the mayor, shaking her head sadly. Billy’s problems were internal, where her nanocytes couldn’t reach, unlike repairing a knee where she could get close enough to the damaged tissue.
They propped Billy up. Felicity looked daggers at the two oldsters and started to go after them. Char stopped her.
“They didn’t do this. No one did,” Char whispered, looking deep into Felicity’s eyes. “Seeing people grow old is the bane of our existence.”
Felicity looked down, sighing heavily. Billy’s skin was pale and clammy, his lips blue.
A somber mood descended on the group. Char and Cory stood together, looking more like sisters than mother and daughter. Char needed the anger. She wanted to tear into the Forsaken, into the minions, and rip Terry Henry from their grip.
“We will rise to the occasion, dear lady,” Joseph told her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“What kind of damn Neanderthals are you?” Mayra yelled from the kitchen as nearly one hundred members of the Force de Guerre stormed through the serving line.
Everyone tried to talk at the same time while cleaning out all the pans in rapid succession.
Mayra rallied the kitchen crew while those with empty trays waited impatiently.
“Now tell old Mayra why you’re causing such a ruckus,” the older woman demanded. Once again, they all started talking. She stopped them by holding up her hand. She heard the retiree table laughing. Mrs. Grimes was pushing ninety years old, but she still had plenty of fire. Claire Weathers had passed on not long after her husband passed away, but in her honor, they kept the name of the diner the same.
Margie Rose sat next to Mrs. Grimes and giggled. Both of them raised their wooden spoons in solidarity with Mayra, who was soon to join them at the retiree table, where the two old women sat like mobsters from the before time.
The company calmed down. Margie Rose pointed her spoon at the mob. One person stepped up as the designated spokesman.
“Colonel Walton has been kidnapped, and we’re waiting for our ride to go get him. We need energy, woman!” the young man shouted.
Someone punched him in the back of the head, almost knocking him down.
Another spoke. “We only have fifteen minutes to eat before we have to leave. Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated.” It was Kiwi and Geronimo’s young daughter who had stepped up. She wasn’t the youngest in the company, but close.
“I should have simply asked you since I know you have manners, Ayashe.” Mayra smiled. Someone pushed the private, and she stumbled. She turned and dove at the man, winding up to punch his face.
“No fighting!” Mayra said without raising her voice, but everyone heard. Ayashe stopped mid-swing.
Margie Rose and Mrs. Grimes banged their spoons on the table instead of clapping.
“Get that food out here. It’s so they can rescue Terry Henry!” Mayra bellowed.
Most of the kitchen staff was comprised of the girls who Terry Henry had rescued twenty-six years earlier. She and her people had worked the fields until Margie Rose asked if she wanted to run the diner. It wasn’t easy work and it wasn’t women’s work. That wasn’t it at all.
It took a family to do it right, and that was what Claire had originally built, and it seemed only natural that Mayra take over. Some of the girls never came out of the shells that the evil ones had put them into.
Terry and the FDG had killed those men, maybe too swiftly for some of the women and girls to gain closure. Mayra kept them close and together, showed them love and helped them feel safe. The FDG had done their share as well to protect the women rescued from that compound so long ago.
The food started arriving, much of it raw vegetables and smoked meats. They still hadn’t been able to raise chickens in a way that provided eggs and meat for the thousands of people who lived in North Chicago. The herd of cattle made up for it. The Weathers legacy lived on as the oldest children were the tycoons of the cattle ranch.
The warriors moved quickly through the line, and soon everyone was eating. The only sounds were utensils ringing against the metal trays. They had nicer plates, pottery style that had been manufactured nearby, but the warriors preferred the trays, a holdover from the oldest members of the group.
They felt more in touch with the militaries of old.
The new people had no idea, having only heard the stories of those who lived in the before time. They accepted it without question.
“Join us, dear,” old Mrs. Grimes said slowly and softly. Ayashe heard her and picked up her tray while still chewing, walking quickly to the retiree’s table. She sat down and nodded to the old women.
“Reminds me of my cousin, John. He always ate so fast, just like that young pup Terry Henry Walton and your dad, Geronimo. Kiwi tried to slow him down, but he was too busy. They were all so busy,” Mrs. Grimes lamented, looking through old gray eyes at a point on the ceiling. She sat in her wheelchair, barely able to stand on her own, let alone walk.
“John always told people that you don’t mess with his cousin. He wasn’t talking about me, because nobody messed with me, as a cousin by marriage. You see, my husband was a bit older than me.” The old lady stopped as she teared up. She wiped her nose on a napkin before continuing.
“My man didn’t survive the fall. He died protecting me. That is a Grimes trait. Selfless men doing what they have to for their family. No, John was talking about Cheryl Lynn, who needed his help. Her husband was bad news, but she had wonderful children.” Mrs. Grimes looked into the distance, reliving those memories from long ago.
“John used to say that everyone was his friend until he pulled out a grenade. Then, they’d all disappear. He thought it was funny, but I can’t imagine what he’d be doing with grenades. One day, he left with Bethany Anne and never came back. That one had a temper, she did, but only if you deserved it. She took care of my cousin, took care of Cheryl Lynn. I hope she’s still taking care of John. He’d be old now.” The old woman drifted off. She tried to grip her cup of tea, but her hand failed her, so she left the mug on the table.
Margie Rose leaned close and with one skeletal hand, wrapped in skin peppered with age spots, she patted the other, even thinner wrist. Mrs. Grimes seemed to be skin wrapped tightly over bones, with little muscle remaining. She’d always been thin, but the twilight of her life left her with little except her memories and those she would call friend.
Ayashe wasn’t sure what to say. “I hope we all do Bethany Anne proud,” she finally offered. “She’ll be back, and we need to have the world in good order. There is so much work left to do, and it starts with getting the colonel back. I’m not sure what the Force would do without him. We can’t look ourselves in the mirror thinking we left him behind.”
Ayashe was only repeating what she’d heard the others say. Only Terry and Akio had ever met the legend that was Bethany Anne. Ayashe had no idea who she was or where she’d gone. The FDG had faith, because the colonel had faith.
Margie Rose’s eyes glistened as she thought about the day she met Terry Henry. He needed a drink of water, and she gave it to him. His kindness was never in doubt. She remembered the years with Terry and Char living under her roof, in separate rooms and then together, inseparable ever since.
And they always treated her well.
“You find him, and you bring him home. I don’t want to live in a world without Terry Henry Walton,” she said selfishly. Her hand shook as she finished her tea. The first members of the Force delivered their trays to the scullery and hurried out. The current crew washing dishes was only on for the day, and then it would rotate to a different group. Everyone served their time in the diner. Thousands ate three meals a day in there every single day.
The diner was a respite from the outside world where hard work was the order of the day.
For the FDG, it was a break from making war. Margie Rose’s lip curled at the thought of someone coming into their town and seizing TH. “Go now, dear, and you kill those bastards who had a
nything to do with this. Bring Terry home to us.”
“I will, Margie Rose. Good day to you, and you too, Mrs. Grimes. I need to go. We’ll do everything we can to make them pay,” Ayashe promised.
Terry’s Prison
“Look at you, player!” Terry called to a Forsaken he hadn’t seen before. “Darkening my doorway at this late hour.”
Terry had no idea what hour it was, which meant the Forsaken knew that he didn’t know. The awareness ruined what TH was going for. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods, Mr. Sucky McSuckface?”
The Forsaken cocked an eyebrow. “Terry Henry, shame on you. Such violent thoughts raging through your mind,” the young-looking man said.
“Why do you all have to be such twits? Well-spoken twits, mind you, but twits nonetheless.” Terry worked his shoulders and flexed his stomach muscles as he prepared to tighten them to lessen the impact of the inevitable blows that the creature would deliver.
“If you were nicer, someone we could work with, we’d probably let you go,” the Forsaken said smoothly, letting the words roll off his tongue as if trying to sell Terry a new product.
“When monkeys fly out of my ass!” Terry blurted. He let his mind drift to Lake Michigan and sailing, completely submersing himself in the wind and the sea as he tried to block the Forsaken’s mind.
The Vampire edged closer. Terry closed his eyes, hearing the snap of the sail and thumping of small waves against the hull. He adjusted the tiller, trimming closer to the wind.
The impact surprised him as the Forsaken drove a fist into his mid-section. Terry jumped upward, pulling on his chains as he wrapped his legs around his tormentor.
The Forsaken’s eyes shot wide in fear. Terry drove his forehead into the bridge of the creature’s nose again and again. Terry’s stomach muscles protested as he kept his enemy tightly in his grip.
The colonel leaned as far sideways as he could manage, trying to knock the Forsaken off its feet. He turned the other way, and the creature lost his balance. Terry flipped him onto his head, then stomped on his neck.
The Forsaken was able to roll out of TH’s reach.
Terry kicked furiously, trying to hook one of the creature’s legs and drag him back within reach. Terry pulled on his chains, straining against them as he stretched his body. Nothing gave. He leaned back and relaxed, letting his complaining shoulder settle.
Kirkus appeared in the doorway.
“Another sacrifice for your entertainment?” Terry said between heavy breaths.
“Not quite. His job was to soften you up a little, but that can wait. I see you are making no progress on the eyebolts. Keep at it, TH. I’m sure you’ll succeed if you just give it enough of your attention and strength,” Kirkus laughed. He grabbed the creature on the floor and pulled him roughly to his feet.
Kirkus pushed the other into the hallway, shut off the light, and closed the door.
Terry blinked in the near absolute darkness. “Twit,” he said with a grin as his stomach muscles protested the endless pummeling.
CHAPTER NINE
North Chicago
Timmons pulled Sue aside. He hugged her fiercely as he shook his head. He hadn’t found out anything about TH. No one had seen or heard a thing. The lack of information was as frustrating to him as it was to Char.
He continued to hold Sue tightly until she gently pushed him away.
“What gives?” she asked. They’d been together for a while. She loved it when he was affectionate, but usually, she knew why.
“I thought about how I’d feel if something happened to you, if someone took you, and no one saw anything. I’d want to kill someone, but the enemy wouldn’t be there. I see the frustration on Char’s face. I’d lose my mind,” Timmons whispered.
“We went through that years ago, and you moved mountains for me,” Sue purred.
“It wasn’t quite all that.” He let the words drift away as his mind took him to their incursion into Toronto. He blinked rapidly to fight off the tears.
She looked at him as his eyes glistened.
“This has been the best twenty-five years of my life,” he whispered.
***
Gunny Lacy searched for her husband, trying not to look frantic while doing it.
No one had seen James. Someone needed to stay home with the children, and they flipped for it because neither wanted to leave the Force. Lacy won the toss, and she remained with the FDG.
Terry Henry Walton and Charumati had gone out of their way to help James to transition. He’d gotten depressed, but Aaron stepped up to help, and soon James was incorporated into the fledgling school system.
He taught the kids survival courses and enjoyed that greatly. It brought him out of his funk. And then they had two more kids.
Lacy was getting ready to pack it in and join James in retirement by moving north. Terry and Char told incredible stories about their time in Canada.
“One last run,” Lacy told Mark as she joined him in front of the mayor’s building. She shook her head.
“James?”
“Yup. Can’t find him,” she answered.
“We’ll be home in time for dinner. He won’t even know that you’ve gone,” Mark suggested.
“He’ll know. That’s why we need to pack it in, Mark. I’m tired of leaving, but I believe in what we’re doing. I mean, fanatically believe. Where would the world be without us saving the people so they can grow without being someone’s servant?”
Mark shrugged. “The FDG needs to do this. It needs to grow and be the stabilizing force for the whole planet. That’s a tall order for one hundred people. We need thousands, and we need to be stationed all over the world so we can more rapidly respond. Maybe we move the FDG headquarters to Japan where Akio maintains his command post.”
“Sounds like you’ve been thinking a lot about it,” Lacy said, looking at the captain.
“I sit alone in the armory an awful lot.” Mark didn’t expound on that. He was too old to start a family, but he wasn’t too old to find someone to spend his later years with.
He’d always been kind to Mayra, and she reciprocated. He wondered if he could retire and join her in the diner.
“This one’s different, isn’t it, Mark?” Lacy asked, not using Mark’s rank as she would have in front of others from the Force.
“What kind of enemy are we facing who can walk in here and take someone like the colonel? Sure, he killed a few of them, but fuck! And now they have him in their house. What the hell does that look like? Yeah, this one is way different. This could be the strongest enemy we’ve ever faced,” Mark said in a low voice, looking around to make sure no one could hear him.
“And combined, we’re the strongest they will have ever faced. We will erase their existence, make no mistake about that,” Lacy promised.
Japan
Akio looked anxiously at the screen. Eve was sifting through the entire planet’s worth of data. At least the timeframe was constrained to a smaller period.
Eve had found something, but she was having trouble tracking it because it looked and acted like a pod. Despite their boxy shape, they were naturally stealthy because they weren’t based on human technology.
Yuko was interested in how Akio was holding up. Recent demands on him had been great, and although Akio would never show strain, she didn’t want it to eat at him or affect his well-ordered mind.
The data ran across the screen in rivers, crystallizing when it saw a pattern and then moved on when it turned out to be nothing.
Two hours later and Akio was still waiting.
“I cannot wait any longer, Eve. You stay here and keep at it. Find me that pod. I’ll take all three pods and go to North Chicago. May the winds of fortune carry you home.” Akio bowed deeply to Yuko, who returned his gesture. He jogged to the pod, and moments later, the three took off, soundlessly racing skyward.
Akio instructed the pods to accelerate at their maximum rate. He was pressed tightly into his seat as the g-forces rea
ched extreme levels. Akio grunted with his effort to fight the pressure. Soon enough, he was weightless as the ship transitioned through the edge of the atmosphere before starting its descent. Then Akio was pressed into his seat for another five minutes of spleen-crushing acceleration, followed by getting thrown forward for several minutes of chest-pounding deceleration.
One hour after taking off from Japan, Akio landed in North Chicago. He recovered from the effects of the g-forces almost instantly. He straightened the pistols set on his black uniform. He looked paramilitary, as he always did, ready to blend in with the dark recesses of any terrain.
His face was grim as the ramp lowered, and he stepped onto the grass of Mayor’s Park.
North Chicago
Char was first to see the pods approach.
“About fucking time,” she said to herself. Cory pursed her lips, having nothing to say, waiting for Akio to tell them where they were going.
Timmons had his arm wrapped around Sue’s slender waist as they watched and waited.
Gene grumbled and rocked impatiently. Aaron stood close to him. The two had become fast friends over the years as the two who were both outsiders and insiders.
Ted held his wolf pack back. He wanted them to go but knew there wouldn’t be room. He liked having his pack with them. They were the closest thing he had to a family.
The other Weres stood patiently. They’d been ready to go and were willing to wait a few more minutes. They knew what was on the other end. Battles with Forsaken meant pain. Someone always got hurt.
Clovis broke free and ran to the pod where the ramp was lowering and barked furiously while his tail wagged out of control.
The oldsters fired up the jeep and revved the engine, preparing to drive the vehicle into the pod. They’d taken one of the jeeps on an earlier mission, so they knew it would fit.
Kiwi arrived as the pods were descending and found her husband, where he showed that his knee was healed. She nodded tersely, having just found out about the colonel. She assumed that she’d be going, too. She demanded to go, but wasn’t sure who to talk with.
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