by Shelly Crane
"I know," he placated, but changed his tone when I glared at him. "Ok, I get it. I'm worried, too, if you want to know the truth. And Marissa is upset, too. She's freaking out about everything right now."
I looked at his face. He always had this soft spot for Sherry. I looked around at everyone else. Danny and Celeste were playing cards with Calvin and Frank. I hadn't really talked to him any all day because I didn't want to hear how much he was worried about Sherry. But the fact that his eyes were drifting toward the elevator every five seconds hadn't escaped my notice.
I knew I wasn't the only one that was worried, but she was mine. Mine to keep safe and fret about. The weird sense of déjà vu swept over me as I remembered the last time she was late coming home from a run. Flat tire, Phillip, Marissa…
I rubbed my head in frustration and looked at Jeff. "If she's not here by ten tomorrow morning, I'm going after her. I'm not asking permission, I'm telling you."
"If she's not back by ten, I'll go with you!" he said vehemently. "I told you, I'm worried, too. I think we just need to give her a little bit more credit first."
"Aw, guilt? Really?" I complained.
"Not guilt. I'm just saying."
I looked past him to see Marissa. She held her belly like it was precious, though she wasn't even showing yet. I nodded to her when she slowed cautiously to make sure it was all right to interrupt. "Hey," she said softly.
"Hey," I managed to mutter.
"Pity party for one over here," Jeff said and punched my shoulder. I wanted to punch him for real, but refrained.
"Leave him alone," Marissa scolded him. "What if that was me out there? Wouldn't you be freaked out?"
"Don't even say that!" he argued and pulled her to his lap as he leaned on the stair rail. "It's not the same." He looked at me and frowned. "Sorry. It's just," he turned back to her, "you've got two of you to worry about. No missions for you," he commanded and tapped her on the end of her nose.
"Don't make me break your finger," she sang in a joke…I thought.
"So cute when you're angry," he goaded. She twisted her face in a way that meant she was acting like she wasn't happy about what he said, but she was. He pulled her to him to kiss her chin, and then her cheek, and then her…
"I'm outta here," I groaned.
"Sorry!" he called over his shoulder. "I'll come find you in the morning. Right now," he whispered low into her neck, but I still heard, "I've got some business to take care of."
"I bet you do," I muttered, disgruntled. "If you can even wake up in the morning."
"I heard that!" he yelled before picking Marissa up in and taking her to their 'tent' in the corner.
I went in search of Lily, and I found her with Lana. Lana was showing her how to say 'Doll' in sign language. I watched them from back a ways. We still didn't understand what it was Lily was meant to do. She was so normal, it just didn’t make sense. But then again, all the Specials were pretty normal.
Lana saw me watching and smiled before waving me over. I sat next to Lily and she showed me what she learned. It was amazing to sit and have conversations without any words spoken at all. Eventually, Lily yawned and I took her to her tent, but thought better of it. I took her to mine with me and chuckled when she'd already fallen asleep from the rocking of my carrying her.
I lay down beside her in our pallet and wrapped my arms around my little girl. She sighed and squirmed to get comfortable before settling against my chest. I was just closing my eyes when Danny opened the sheet.
"Dude, you awake?"
"I am now."
"I'm getting worried, man."
"No more than me. I already told Jeff I was going out to look for her in the morning if she's not back by then."
"But…" He shook his head and rubbed his neck. "But what if something happens to her tonight before we can find her?"
I felt the steel in my voice as I said, "Then God help the ones who hurt her if I find them."
Lily's mumbling woke me. I opened my eyes a bit to find Lily talking in her sleep. She was saying, "The end is swift, the justice equal, the way paved with gifts of the chosen."
It sounded like nothing, but out of a four year old's mouth, it was more than gibberish. I listened closer and she kept repeating the words, over and over. Her voice even took on this little twang that reminded me of…Mrs. Trudy. I gasped a little at the realization that she may not be alone in her head right then.
Then Marissa's scream cut through the silent dark. I ran, leaving Lily in our pallet to her mumbling. I swung the sheet back…and promptly turned as Jeff's backside was all I could see.
Miguel and Ryan followed me. I heard Miguel first, "Ah, mate! Cover up that full moon, why don't ya!"
Jeff seemed to realize that he was naked and covered himself with the blanket. He glared at us before settling his focus back on Marissa. She was mumbling that same thing as Lily. "The end is swift, the justice equal, the way paved with gifts of the chosen."
"What does that mean?" Jeff asked and she sat up.
She looked at each in turn and then to Jeff. "We have to go there."
"Go where, sweetheart?"
"There! To the place where they are! It's the only way to stop them!" She looked at me before whispering, "Lily."
"Yeah, I heard her, too."
"Heard her what?" Jeff asked.
"She was saying the same thing as Marissa."
"Bloody hell," Miguel muttered and yawned. "Ok, so now what? We wage a revenge war? I'm all for that."
"Me, too," Rylee said from behind us. I was too focused on Marissa though.
"That's it?" I asked her. "No more to the message?"
She nodded. "There's more, but you're not going to like it."
"More from who? Mrs. Trudy? What does she have to do with all of this anyway?"
"She says they're disappointed that the Specials haven't been used for their purposes."
"Who's they?" I asked, but I already knew. "How?"
"She's found a new purpose now. She said that…Lily is the key. Lily is all we need."
I gulped down my fear and sudden despair at that. I shook my head a firm, 'No' and then said it out loud for good measure. "No."
"You know she's special," she tried to argue.
"I'm going back to bed," I said and turned to go. I was sick and tired of everyone trying to send my girls away to the enemy. It was bad enough to let Sherry go. Screw them all if they thought for one second I was letting my little blonde angel out of my Keeper sight.
I finished her bowl bath and scrubbed under her nails. She was a filthy little girl who played as hard as she did anything else. She examined her nails and nodded her approval before skipping off. I smiled at her, but the task of the day hit me and I stopped smiling.
I went into the kitchen area and dipped Lily a bowl of oatmeal before finding Marissa. I told her what I was about to do and then asked if she would watch Lily for me. She nodded without a word and then hugged me. I was little embarrassed. She never hugged me, but she sniffled against my shoulder and said, "Find her. Bring her back safe, ok?" She looked up, the sincerity making me ache. "We miss our little mama hen around here."
"I will." I glanced Lily's way. "I won't come back without Sherry."
Loss slammed into my chest. I knew this could be the last time I saw my Lily again. Marissa nodded so I made my way to Lily. I lifted her from the stool and hugged her to me. "Daddy's got to go on a little trip." I pulled back to see her. "I'll try to be home as soon as I can."
"You gonna find Mommy?" she drawled.
"I'm going to try." I cleared my throat. "Hey, do you remember what you dreamed about last night?"
She turned her head and thought, her lips twisted. Then she said, "Zebwas and ponies and horsies. Except in my dweam, they were all pink and puwple!"
I laughed and kissed her cheek. "That sounds like a good one."
"I wish I could live there," she said off handedly. "Even the gwass was pink."
I laughed
again and set her down on the stool to finish her breakfast. The dog barked to get her attention and she dipped her finger in oatmeal before letting him lick it off, giggling. I went to the crates and strapped a stake to my hip and the inside of my boot. I lifted to find Danny and Miguel doing the same thing. I started to ask what they were doing, but I knew.
"You don't have to do this," I told them, emotion clogging my throat.
Miguel scoffed. "That little sheila is the reason I'm standing here right now. She's not all piss and wind! It'd be a bastard of a thing if something happened to her. She's done nothing but look after me and cook for my sorry arse. I'm coming with you."
"I'm coming, too," Danny said and held up his hand. "And don't start."
"I'm not," I said gently. "I'm done trying to get you to listen to me." We both grinned as he punched my shoulder.
"I'll come, too," Billings chimed. He rubbed the sling on his arm and scratched under the bandages. "Itches like a mother and I'm bored outta my skull."
"Am I late to the tea party?" Jeff joked as he rounded the corner.
"Not at all," I said and threw him a stake. "How's Marissa?"
"Worried." He shrugged as he sheathed the stake in his belt. "She can't see anything about Sherry so it kind of sucks for her. The one person she wants to see, she can't."
"Ditto," I grumbled. In fact, that gave me a thought.
Baby? I feel a little déjà vu here, but I wanted to tell you we were coming to get you. If you can hear me either hurry so we don't have a wasted trip, or hold tight. If someone hurt you, I'll…make them pay for that dearly. I love you more than life. Please stay with me and be all right.
I looked to Jeff, who had heard my entire plea to Sherry, and nodded my head. "Let's go get my girl."
"Yeah," Danny agreed.
"After you," Jeff said.
"Get a wriggle on!" Miguel barked as we waited by the elevator. We all turned to look at him in confusion. "What?" The doors opened with a ding and he pushed us inside. "It means hurry up. Now come off it, you buggers!"
We all turned before the doors closed. Celeste was biting her lip and waved to Danny. He mouthed something to her and I looked away so I couldn't see what she mouthed back. Marissa was there with Lily on her hip. Even Rylee turned out for the farewell. I waved to my little blonde angel and she waved back before laying her head on Marissa's shoulder.
It was like she understood that no one wanted to do these things, they just had to be done.
"Keep the place clean, why don't ya, ginger?" Miguel goaded. He was rewarded with a finger gesture that would have made Rylee's father angry, but she also smiled while she did it. Progress…of sorts.
And then they were gone. The adrenaline pumped into my veins in rapid form and I welcomed the jitters that came. I was ready for action, whatever it may be.
I just wanted to find my Sherry alive.
Come in Gold Leader
Chapter 18
Cain
"You are so gonna pay if you don't let me out of this van, pronto, buddy."
"We saved your backside back there!" the one driving yelled at me. "And this is how you thank us?"
"I didn't need saving!" I yelled back. I thought about blasting them with my hands, but I'd blow us all up if I did that. "And you left my friend back there." I continued to look at the gun that was pointed at me so I didn't do something to make them stop. "Just let me jump out. You don't even have to slow down."
"Not gonna happen," the armed one said. "Maybe you're one of them green backs."
"Green backs?"
"Enforcers!" He sighed like he had a decision to make. "Now we've got to shoot you. You pretended you didn't know what they were. And we all know they work for them."
"I do know," I told him calmly, "but never called them green backs before. In the military we called green backs Benjamins."
"Benjamins?" he asked.
"See?" I grinned and crossed my arms. "What kind of idiot doesn't know what a Benjamin is?"
"What the heck is he talking about, Earl?" he leaned over and asked the driver.
Earl balked and yelled, "No real names!" He slapped the steering wheel with his palms. "Dang it! You're supposed to call me Red Leader, remember?"
Oh, boy. What a bunch of idiots. "Let me guess," I ventured and looked back at the one with the gun. "You're Gold Leader?"
"How did he know?" the driver hissed.
I rolled my eyes and glared at the one holding me hostage. The other one was quiet in the corner. Maybe even asleep. I looked them over. They looked like hell warmed over, eaten on a little and then put back in the microwave.
They all had a four week beard going, a head that needed a haircut like, months ago, their clothes must've been attacked by moths in their sleep and don't get me started on the smell…
"So," I drawled and leaned back, throwing my legs forward and crossing them, getting real comfortable. Or at least looking like that's what I was doing. "You're into killing innocent people, huh? Seems like a stupid move when we're all being killed off by the aliens anyway."
"You know about the aliens?" he asked and cocked a suspicious eyebrow.
"Yep, ran into a few of them. They're a little chatty, if you ask me."
"How did you escape?"
"Well," I thought and said, "for one, I didn't use code names from Star Wars. I mean really? It's not like we have technology anymore. Who cares if they hear your name or not?"
"See, Earl! Told you it wouldn't matter," the one with the gun said out of the side of his mouth. He refused to take his eyes off of me. Dang.
"We have a whole bunch of us. We have a bunker where we stay with our families," I said and tried not to think about L.
"What were you doing at the Need warehouse?"
I cocked my head and said sarcastically, "Getting food?"
"Yeah, duh," he agreed. "And that girl you left-"
"That girl you left?" I corrected angrily.
"Yeah, her," he continued, un-phased. "She sure was pretty. That your girl?"
"No. My girl's at home, but she was my friend. And now I've got to find a long way back to her whenever you idiots finally run out of gas or stop for another killing spree."
"Them people ain't right no more," the driver commented and then spit out the window. The tobacco missed and dripped down the half way up window. I muttered a "Gross, man" but he kept going. "They all messed up in the heads. Them aliens probed their brains or something."
"I know that," I replied. "I live with one."
"What'd you say?" he said, the fear evident in his voice.
"I said I live with one. And a whole mess of Keepers." I picked under my nails to seem like I didn't care.
"Keepers? Them things they was talking about on the TV?"
"Yeah, them things," I repeated and leaned forward. "How did you watch the TV and not fall under their compulsion?"
"How come you didn't?"
"Don't know," I said and sat back. "I've never been affected by them."
"We ain't either," he said and spit again. "That's how we got together. When I wasn't walking around like a zombie, ol' Zane asked me how come I wasn't like the others. And here we are."
"Fascinating." I crossed my arms again and felt the stake under my jacket. The one in the corner was still asleep and the one with the gun was getting really comfortable. "So how much gas you got, sport?"
"Enough to make it across the state line," he answered easily. "We'll let you out when we have to stop, but I ain't stopping 'til I have to."
The state line… The freaking state line! I couldn’t wait that long. It was going to take me an eternity to make it back as it was. Gah, I hoped Sherry was all right.
I watched gun boy. The second he loosened, I was making my move. And I didn't have to wait long. He let the trigger go to scratch his nose and I yanked the stake from my jacket and smashed it into the side of his head. Then I leapt to the back doors. They flew open and I wasted no time. I jumped.
I heard the van's brakes screeching and some yelling, but I just balled myself and prepared for the insane amount of pain I was about to be in. Even with my jacket, when I hit the pavement, my arm dragged a bit before I could make myself roll. I groaned, unable to stop myself, as my arm burned with invisible fire. I finally rolled off the road into the ditch and stayed there.
I tried to breathe normally, but with my arm telling my brain that I was dying, it was a hard feat. "Holy…mother…." I growled. I felt around my upper arm. The jacket had been road-rashed away, and so had a few layers of skin of my whole bicep. It felt raw and slick. "Where's Miguel when you need something hilariously inappropriate to say?"
I heard the van doors close. I thought they might be coming to look for me, but I heard someone yell, "Go, go, go!" And they went.
It was the first time I was ever glad to be abandoned.
"Screw you, Red Leader," I groaned as I stood. It was getting darker by now. I did not want to sleep in the dark. The monsters in the night came out and tried to tear your face off.
I glanced around, holding my useless arm, and tried to see if I could spot a landmark. All I saw was dirt and a dawn sky that held my fate for the night. I'd even lost my stake in the fight with the idiot. Dang.
I took to the highway and started walking. I walked for a good thirty minutes while I tried to think about something other than Lillian freaking out at the bunker and Sherry at the Need warehouse. All alone. Crap! Crap! Crap!
She better be all right. If she's not, Merrick won't have to hurt me. I'll kick my own… Oh, no.
The big blue road sign that I had somehow missed until then was a beacon of unwanted knowledge. "No! No! Man, come on! Are you frigging kidding me?"
That bastard sign said, Effingham, Illinois : 47 miles
Translation? Dude, you're screwed.
Linebacker
Chapter 19
Sherry
The dirt flew. It was like running on a beach as I trekked down the dunes, trying not to trip as the Enforcer trailed behind me. I wondered if I was outrunning him. He hadn't shot me like I thought he would, which was weird, so I glanced back to see where he was. And that was when he reached me and tackled me to the ground.
