"There's no time to waste," Mack gruffly said.
Mack threw a large comforter over Maddie and scooped her up. In one swift motion, Maddie was thrown across Mack's shoulders. She tried protesting, but Mack seemed to ignore her.
"Here, it'll be faster if I take her," Jackson said as soon as Mack stepped out of the room.
"She barely weighs 100 pounds. I can handle her. You're a better shot than I am," Mack told him.
"I weigh 115 pounds," Maddie snapped.
"Who cares?" Mack chided.
"Let me go." Maddie tried wiggling out of Mack's arms but the comforter held her tight.
"Stop fighting. Security has been breached. We've got to get out of here," Mack informed her.
Mack and Jackson quickly, yet carefully, moved down the corridor, being cautious before turning the corner. Shots rang out from out of nowhere. Mack narrowly avoided getting hit. She returned fire, shooting one of the gunmen in the shoulder and hand.
Maddie heard more gunfire and screams in their direction. She made sure she was as still as she could so as to not distract Mack. The elevators had been shut off, forcing the trio to climb up to the hangar from the maintenance tubes. Smoke from blaster fire engulfed Maddie's senses from under the blanket. She held her breath to avoid coughing. They made it safely to the hangar floor but were still surrounded by enemies.
"We've got to get to a pod," Jackson told Mack.
"I'm open to ideas." Mack fired her weapon again.
Jackson grabbed a grenade out of a side pocket and pulled the pin, throwing it toward the attackers. Debris flew in the air and several loud screams could be heard, only to be silenced.
"Let's go." Jackson grinned.
"Way to make a path," Mack said grimly.
They ran down the pathway, sliding into a silver pod. Mack threw Maddie in a seat and began to take off.
"You can fly this thing?" Maddie asked, throwing the comforter off her head.
"Fly, yes. Land, no." Mack grinned.
"She's actually a very good pilot. She was just making an Indiana Jones movie reference," Jackson informed Maddie.
"Yeah, I got that." Maddie rolled her eyes.
The sound of explosions started to get louder as Mack opened up the roof to fly the pod out of the building. The pod barely cleared the area before the explosions reached them. The blast rocked the pod but did not cause any damage.
Jackson leaned back in his seat, sighing in relief.
"What's going on?" Maddie asked.
"I told you it was a security breach," Mack said.
"How?" Maddie asked.
Jackson and Mack exchanged a worried look but didn't answer.
"Are we going to the alpha base?" Jackson asked after a few moments.
"No, I don't think that's a good idea."
Maddie wrapped the comforter around her tightly, fear and worry etched on her face. She suddenly wished she had more clothes with her than a tank top and the jeans she hastily threw on. She wrapped the comforter around her bare feet, trying to get warm.
Maddie turned and looked out the window, watching as the Earth became smaller in the distance. In that moment, the weight of the night hit her. She realized there was a chance she would never see her family again. She might never hug her father or even walk on Folly Beach again. She had met so many people in the last week, and now she didn't know if any of them were alive. Her thoughts quickly shifted to John as she prayed silently with all her heart he had escaped the base unharmed. Her body shook as another terrifying thought popped into her mind. Someone was out to kill her and Mack. Whoever it was, they were going to do it by any means necessary. Any number of innocent people lost their lives in the last hour. Maddie swept a blonde hair blotched with purple paint behind her ear as she began to cry.
She pulled the comforter over her face, not wanting to show Mack or Jackson her tears. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.
From the cockpit, Mack was silently crying as well.
"Don't. You have to have faith that everything is going to be okay. We've been in worse situations before," Jackson gently told Mack.
"It's not the first time I've been shot at, but it is the first time it was by someone in our agency. Those were people we've worked with, Jackson. Some started the same time we did. We're cut off from communications right now. We don't know who's alive, who we can trust. And what's worse, we have an innocent with us." Mack wiped a tear from her cheek.
Jackson looked like he wanted to counter her argument but paused.
"Yeah, okay, you're right." He sighed.
"We're going to Aurora system," Mack told him.
"Aurora? That's pretty close to Veernon," Jackson pointed out.
"But Aurora is still neutral in our war. We may be able to hide Maddie there while we come up with a plan."
"To take down the Gorium? What, just you and me?"
"You are ripping apart my idea without offering up one of your own."
"You're right. Aurora is a good place to go. But if the Gorium find out she's there..."
"They won't," Mack said sharply.
"Mack..."
"Damn it, Jackson. They won't."
Jackson leaned back in his chair, falling silent. Slowly, he reached out and grabbed Mack's hand.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"I know," she replied.
"I love you," he told her.
"I know. I love you, too."
#
Mack carefully landed the pod deep in the forest of Aurora, away from any sign of civilization. She gathered several large packs from the seat behind Maddie, waking up the clone.
"Where are we?" Maddie asked, rubbing her eyes.
"It's a planet called Aurora," Jackson told her.
"Aurora?" Maddie wrinkled up her nose at the name.
"Due to the magnetosphere, the particles in the atmosphere give the entire planet an aurora borealis look. Hence the name. It's a neutral planet. We should be safe here," Mack informed her.
As soon as she stepped out of the pod, Maddie could see what she meant. The entire sky looked like Charleston at dawn. The sky looked purple with waves of pink and blue scattered throughout.
"Wow. This is amazing," Maddie said in awe.
"Yeah, it's one of the prettier planets within a day's flight by way of our engines." Mack smiled.
Jackson handed Maddie a large backpack.
"Some supplies, in case we have to leave the shuttle. You'll also find some clothes in there that will fit you," Jackson explained.
She smiled graciously at him as she accepted the backpack. Inside the pack was a cotton dark purple shirt, black cargo pants, a bra and underwear, socks and thick black boots. As she was getting changed, Mack quickly set up camp near the pod.
Maddie looked around the alien world in complete awe. Surrounding their camp were trees that appeared to only be around six feet tall. There were no flowers within sight. The grass was short and light brown in color. Although she didn't see any, the planet seemed to be filled with life.
Jackson gathered some wood and began a fire.
Maddie sat fidgeting on the grass as she watched Mack, looking completely lost in thought. Mack connected a long, gray cable from the shuttle to a laptop.
"Any news yet?" Jackson asked, looking over her shoulder.
"I'm logging into the mainframe now," Mack said, not looking up from the laptop.
"It's what we thought," she confirmed a few minutes later.
"Thought what?" Maddie asked.
"We had a traitor in our midst," Jackson told her.
"A traitor?" Maddie asked, alarmed.
"Someone led the Gorium to us," Mack told her, still reading the monitor.
Who would betray Mack in such a heinous way? Maddie thought. Everyone she had met seemed to have a lot of respect for her.
"The Gorium? The same ones who shot at me outside of work?" Maddie asked. Jackson nodded.
"They want to kill you that badly?" Maddie asked.
"Us," Mack corrected her. "Sure looks that way," Mack stated, still not looking over at her.
Mack was finally able to establish communications with their commanding officer.
"Agent Rhodes, Agent Gray," Commander Westlake greeted.
Mack looked relieved as she greeted him.
"It's good to see you both. I feared the worst," Commander Westlake said grimly.
"Sir, what is going on?" Mack asked.
"I'm afraid much of the headquarters was destroyed. The alpha base was also destroyed. We lost a lot of great people, Mack."
"My team?" she asked.
"Thankfully all are present and accounted for. They are on a different base. They are worried about you. I'll personally let them know you three are alright," the Commander told her.
"Thank you," Mack said.
"Sir, do we know how the Gorium managed to get inside the base?" Jackson asked.
"We believe Agent Gatewood has gone rogue."
"Agent Gatewood? As in, Megan Gatewood?" Mack asked in disbelief.
"The very same."
Mack looked at the laptop in shock.
"Do we have a theory as to why?" Jackson asked.
"We were able to gather a little information from her computer but most of our database was destroyed. From what little we could find, seems revenge was the goal."
"Oh, no," Mack uttered, her voice barely audible.
"What's wrong?" Maddie asked.
"Several years ago before I became a squadron leader, I worked as a member on a special operations team with Megan. On one of the missions, an agent she was involved with gave up his life to save mine. She's always blamed me for his death," Mack stated.
"Which is one of the reasons why romantic relationships are strictly forbidden," Commander Westlake sternly said. "Still, that was a tragic consequence."
"Sir, there were agents working with the Gorium," Jackson pointed out.
"I know. We have a few in custody at the beta site. Apparently, she was able to secretly get others to join her cause," Commander Westlake stated. "If I find out more information, I'll be sure to alert you. Where are you?"
"Aurora," Mack stated.
"Very good." the Commander nodded. “There is a lot of space traffic surrounding us right now, so stay where you are for a lunar cycle then come to the beta site.”
"Thank you, Commander," Mack said.
"Agents, be careful. I don’t need to tell you what is at stake."
Jackson and Mack agreed before the screen went black.
"Apparently, our intelligence was right about the Gorium. We just didn't know that Agent Gatewood was the one who hired them." Jackson rubbed his wary temples.
"Along with other agents," Mack gravely said.
"Why would other agents join her cause?" Maddie asked.
"I couldn't tell you," Mack stiffly responded.
"I'm sorry, I just don't understand. Everyone I talked to admires you," Maddie said.
"You didn't talk to the entire base. Besides, if someone disliked me, think they would have told you? My clone?" Mack asked, her voice sounding bitter.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Maddie was put off by how harsh Mack's voice sounded.
"Don't worry about it. No harm done." Mack turned away from her.
Maddie felt terrible. She didn't mean to further upset Mack. She told herself Mack was under a lot of stress, and the news that another agent was trying to kill her was shocking. Maddie opened her mouth to speak to her counterpart again but Jackson shook his head at her. It was best she kept quiet for the time being. Instead, she focused on what good news came out of talking to Commander Westlake. Mack's entire team escaped. That meant John was safe somewhere. Maddie lay down on the brown grass, thanking God that he was alive. Maddie looked up at the purple sky, wondering if John was looking at the sky wherever he was and looking for her.
#
Mack was quiet the rest of the night. Jackson handed out food pellets to both women, but Mack didn't touch them. Maddie looked at the pellets suspiciously.
"I know it looks weird but it's food," Jackson told her.
"This is food?" Maddie held up a yellow pellet.
"Yes, actually. Scientifically-created food. One pill equals a full meal. It's not particularly gratifying but it does fulfill its purpose," Jackson told her.
"This thing equals one meal?" Maddie looked at him in disbelief.
"I said the same thing the first time as well. You feel full, your body gets the nutrients it needs, and it doesn't take up a lot of room in the bags. Try it."
Maddie was still unconvinced, but she swallowed the pellet anyway. To her surprise, her hunger started going away. It wasn't long till she felt full.
Maddie lay back down on the grass, looking up at the unusual sky. Her thoughts were consumed with everything that had led her to this strange world. Hard to believe this all started with spotting Jackson watching her at the video rental store and over the fence at her niece and nephew's birthday party. Well, technically speaking, it started with the shooting outside of work. One day, she was a boring girl with a boring life. The next day, she was in a secret military facility to be protected from an alien species hell-bent on killing her for a war that she wasn't involved with. Now, she was on the run from the same alien species with a rogue agent trying to kill her too.
"Have you decided on a new fashion trend? Dying the tips of your hair purple but only the left side?" Jackson teased, sitting down beside her.
"Shut up. I tried washing it out," Maddie told him as she sat up.
Jackson chuckled and attempted to pick some of the paint out her hair until she pulled away from him.
"Are you buttering me up for something?" she asked.
"Ah. Like Mack, you can see right through me. Fine, I'll get to the point. I'm going to need your help with Mack," Jackson stated.
"What do you mean?" Maddie asked.
"Mack is going to want to leave you here during whatever she is planning. You can't let her."
“Left here? Wait, I thought the Commander said to return to the beta site?” Maddie questioned.
Jackson shook his head. “Mack believes someone on the base is trying to kill you. She thinks you’ll be safer here.”
"How could I be left here? There are no buildings, no place to hide. Why would I be left here?"
"There are villages here, just on the other side of the planet. With this being a neutral planet, we hope we can put you in a village alone, and you should be fine. I know she thinks it is to protect you, but I don't think we can guarantee your safety, even on a neutral world. If Gatewood is after her like the Commander said and found out you were here..."
"I understand." Maddie smiled gently, touched that Jackson was worried about her.
Then the thought occurred to her that he was worried about her because of Mack.
"Don't take it personally, Maddie," Jackson said, realizing the look on her face. "If the situation was different, I would still like you. Biologically, you are the same, but the experiences of the last five years have made you both very different. You have an innocence to you that Mack lost a long time ago. Even if it wasn't for my feelings for Mack, I would still like you as a person. But, if I ever lost her..." Jackson's voice trailed off.
"It's okay," Maddie told him, grabbing his hand. "Trust me, I understand. Say no more."
"It's John, isn't it?" he asked.
Maddie blushed. "I'm going to pretend I don't know what you are talking about." she said.
"I hear you. I think you are wrong, though."
"Wrong? What for?"
"Pretending there isn't something there. It's obvious to the rest of us."
"Jackson..." Maddie's voice tapered off.
"Look, Maddie, I'm not your dad. I'm not your brother. I'm not going to lecture you, especially on matters of the heart. I understand why you both seem to be locked in a holding pattern, just constantly circling each other. But if there's something I have learn
ed in the last five years is that life is too short. It's always the things we didn't do that we regret, not the things we did."
"I guess you are right. But does it really matter?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I could die before I see him again. Or we could make it back in one piece, this whole thing gets resolved, and then what? What happens to me if Mack and I are no longer in danger?"
"Is that what's stopping you?"
Maddie fell silent, unable to process the words she felt in her heart.
"I don't think you understand how special it is that you feel the way you do."
"Do not pretend to know what I feel," Maddie fired back.
"Okay, okay. You're right." Jackson threw up his hands in defense.
Without saying another word, Jackson walked over to Mack. Maddie watched as Jackson wrapped his arms around Mack's waist, pulling her to him. Mack closed her eyes and smiled at the comfort. Maddie smiled at the two of them as they seemed to forget the situation they were all in and, for the moment, could just be with each other.
Maddie admired Mack for her bravery and her toughness but it was nice to see the walls come down and Mack to allow herself to be vulnerable in Jackson's arms.
She felt jealous of the couple. Immediately, the image of John standing shirtless with his hair still dripping wet came to her mind. She closed her eyes, holding onto that image tightly. She longed to be held in his strong arms. It had been a long time since she was held in someone's warm embrace. She thought back to the conversation she had with Mallory about her last "boyfriend," Douglas. There hadn't been any romantic feelings between them. In fact, Douglas had actually been in love with someone he worked with named Dwayne.
She started "dating" Douglas to help hide the fact he was secretly gay and to keep her parents off her back. Ever since she stopped dating Brad, both of them had been getting on her about meeting someone. She smiled for a moment, thinking of Mallory and Noah jumping on her case about her lack of dating at the twins' birthday party.
Was it really only a week ago since she had that conversation with Mallory and Noah? Seemed like a lifetime ago. Thinking about everything that had happened since Monday made Maddie's head spin. She pulled out the sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep.
Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars Page 248
