by Angela White
“You’re the leader here. Seth is your second. Weapons go under the wheelbarrow. Move ‘em out.”
Neil gave Adrian a glance that said he had questions, but he knew this was to teach the men and didn’t ask them. Neil liked the unexpected thought of himself as a drill instructor in Adrian’s army. That was usually Kyle or Doug’s honor.
“Let’s go, in the barn,” Neil instructed the rookies. “Seth, make us a plan. Alex and Jack on guard. One from the roof, one in that tree. Move out.”
Adrian and Kenn watched them from the dust-covered porch of the farmhouse as the battle plan emerged. One Eagle used the huge concrete planters to the side of the loosely bound “hostage” in the road as cover, two men staying inside the wide-open barn doors. Two more ducked under the dusty bushes to the left of the big shelter, and a final man lurked behind the wide, paint-chipped shed at the side of the barn.
They spread themselves out, a wall of strength between the road and the gritty porch where Adrian and Kenn were talking quietly.
“Who’ll make it through?”
“Kyle, for sure.”
“You want an extra body guard?”
“Of course. The last set of gear is for you,” Adrian handed it to him. “You’ll be in the house somewhere too, as a surprise.”
They grinned and smoked, watching the men fidget. When the faint sounds of engines came, definitely the quiet Safe Haven setups, Adrian pointed.
“I’ll be in the room directly above us. Have fun with Kyle and keep track of Seth. I want to know how he handles himself.”
2
From his second floor vantage point, Adrian observed it all. As soon as he detected the shadow sneaking toward the house, he knew who would win and was impressed.
Kyle’s invading men slid through the un-harvested hayfield behind the dusty yard within a few minutes, the engine left running a very good distraction technique. Adrian wondered if Kenn had distinguished the shadow coming in the rear door. Probably. Kenn missed little.
Kyle’s team slowly eased closer. When they were in range, Kyle gave a short whistle that had Daryl rolling his chair onto its side in the sand, clearing a line of fire for the Level Threes, who immediately began to shoot. Vests flashed brightly as the attack started.
No one yelled or called out orders, and only two of the more experienced Eagles had been shot when it was done. Watching from the window as they rounded up the rookies, Adrian waited patiently. There were still two more surprises.
Kenn opened fire from inside the front door as Kyle’s men approached carelessly, and he got them all. He darted to another window and hit one of the two men running by.
Kenn took up a defensive position a few feet from the stairs that led to Adrian, the annual paintball competition they’d won at Fort Defiance this year making his movements smooth.
Floorboards creaked to his right, and Kenn shoved his gun around the corner, firing in a sweeping motion that sent blue lights flashing off gritty windows and faded gifts still under a drooping tree.
It lit up the house and allowed Kenn to notice the shadow he’d missed. He had time to witness the deep satisfaction fill Kyle’s pale eyes, and then his vest began flashing too.
Out, Kenn flipped him the finger.
Kyle smirked, easing up the stairs.
The door at the end of the long hall was open. There was only one blurred set of prints on the dusty floor, and Kyle relaxed at the sight of Adrian sitting on the edge of a cluttered, cobwebbed dresser.
“Congratulations on making it past Kenn.”
Kyle grinned, entering the small room. “We won?”
“Soon as we shake on it.” Adrian held out his hand, body language full of warning.
Missing the clues, Kyle’s arm moved, and he froze as the flashing blue lights of his vest began to bounce off the walls.
I’ve been shot!
Caught completely off guard, Kyle searched the shadows in disbelief for his assassin. The Genovese Captain had never been beaten with only surprise used, not even by Kenn.
“Who is that?”
Seth came out of the dusty darkness. Trying not to gloat, he holstered and removed the black cap that had hidden his red hair from the mobster’s sharp gaze. “The last man standing.”
“Excellent,” Adrian praised. “Come on. Let’s get to camp.”
Kyle turned to Adrian, angry. “Was this your plan? Was he here the whole time?”
“I came up about two minutes before you did,” Seth said. “Kenn was the only one who knew exactly where I’d be.”
“But I saw you…”
They followed Adrian while they talked about it, and when Kyle laughed at something Seth said, Adrian decided it had gone very well. Both teams had learned lessons, especially Kyle’s, and they’d bonded a little more. When the time came, they would now have these exercises to guide them.
Deleted Scene #4
It only took twenty minutes and one try to get the canopy up and staked down.
Adrian was pleased as they gathered around him again.
“What’s next, Jeremy?”
The lightly bearded man considered. “The bottom of our area?”
“Yes. We’ll be here for another day, so we can’t let it drain onto the ground. We’ll stake down the tarp, but leave the edges loose. Curl them so the mess runs into the watering tubs we have in the trucks. We’ll also cut two metal cans in half and keep fires burning to deter the insects.” Adrian looked at his watch, “You have twenty minutes, gentlemen. Go.”
It took them less than half that and they gathered around him again.
“See how Kenn keeps a slipknot in the end? That’s for the hooves. Always double your rope over the branch, but not on top of each other. Place them side by side on the limb and you’ll get more support because the weight distribution is better. Doug, how thick should the branch be for a cow?”
“At least ten times the size of your rope. You have to account for not only the animal’s weight, but also the lift and struggle, and then the hours it has to hang.”
“Alright, we’ll need four pullers on each rope and two steadiers with me. Strongest people go on the inside of the rope line, while the men on the end stake it down. Those with me should know there will be blood and I will not tolerate being puked on again,” Adrian said.
The reference to the previous month’s lessons at a chicken farm in Northern Wyoming provoked laughter, but they also knew he was serious. The man who had done it was no longer a part of Adrian’s Eagles.
Doug and Kenn were on the inside of each rope, the big Irishman’s face swollen and black where it wasn’t covered by the bandage. Every man there was glad he’d come anyway, especially when the vet came through the trees leading a huge black-on-white cow by a thick rope around its neck. Attached to the cow’s wide back was a harness tied to a sled. On the sled was a large wooden crate that grunted and squealed to protest the bumpy ride.
Chris handed the ‘leash’ to Adrian and left, not looking at any of them.
Adrian knew his men felt the vet’s displeasure. The man had been allowed to stay, despite his nasty mouth, because the camp needed to raise food. But the vet was angry and sullen. He believed slaughtering animals, even for food, was wrong. To Chris, not only humans had earned a new chance by surviving the war.
Adrian agreed they didn’t want to raise animals by the thousands in warehouses again, but they would produce their own food. They had to.
“We have to eat,” he said getting their attention back. “We’re going through the stuff we find as quickly as it’s brought in. Fresh meat will keep us out of the reserves, but anyone who feels like Chris is excused. I won’t force you.”
No one moved and Adrian was pleased. These were hard-asses, this team handpicked for their strength, and he had high hopes for them. He turned to Jeremy and Kevin, his steadier’s. “Your job is exactly what it sounds like. As I slice, one of you will slide the tub under and then help the other keep the flow going into it.
When they pull, I’m gonna cut, but the legs will kick and they can knock you out, so be careful.”
Adrian gave the pulling crew a look. “Slow until I make the cut, then fast and steady. Don’t jerk any more than you have to and watch the other rope. Don’t race. Stay even.” He looked around. “Everybody ready?”
Deleted Scene #5
“Don’t like the movie?”
Angela hadn’t heard him and she tensed, hand dropping despite the two guards hanging back to give her a little space, and the wolf now pacing a perimeter.
She was sitting in the middle of a moldy picnic table, smoking a joint and she stared at Adrian for a long moment. Was he here to scold her for leaving the QZ? She really wasn’t in the mood.
When he only stared back, she finally answered, “Not really. That one bothers me.”
She offered him the smoking weed and Adrian hit hard as he sat down next to her, closer than either of her men would like, she was certain.
The sky above them was black, no stars or moon visible, and that was depressing. The dying leaves rustled sadly with the breeze in an eerie howl of mourning and she shivered. Their enemies were closer now and their hatred was so clear!
“Is it because they burn the witch at the end?”
She didn’t pretend ignorance. “Yes.”
“That’s why I picked it. That scene will also bother the hell outta my men and make them determined to keep it from happening here.”
She raised a brow, too tired to be upset. “Is there anything you leave to chance?”
Adrian blew out a steady stream of smoke. “Not if I can help it and you shouldn’t either. There’s too much at stake.” He scanned her, noting Kenn’s ring hanging from the thin gold chain around her neck. The Marine was currently using it as proof that she was his wife. “You gonna watch the next movie?”
“What is it? Witches of Eastwick? Harry Potter?”
Adrian’s tone deepened. “Excalibur.”
Angela broke the connection, feeling the hunger, the demon inside, stir. “What’s the camp viewing?”
“Bruce Almighty, and then Independence Day.”
She chuckled, able to recognize the usefulness of both films, but also the irony.
The wind dropped suddenly and they could almost make out the words of those in the big tent before it gusted and they were alone again. It came to her then, what he needed, but couldn’t openly ask her for yet, and she felt no reason to delay him discovering her other gifts. She had basically brought a man (her man) back from the brink of death. If that didn’t freak him out, nothing would.
Adrian felt the change in the slender woman next to him and stayed still as the soft hum of electricity filled the air. Her breathing was shallow, a bit faster than normal, and Adrian stored the feeling as the cool wind brushed her hair against his arm and filled his nose with vanilla.
“They will come in the darkest hour of the wake. They hate you, plan to behead your men and rape your women while you watch.”
“What should I do?” He was prepared to grab his notebook.
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
Her lids flashed open in the darkness and his pulse sped up as the witch studied him intently.
“You have great secrets, but there is more support for honesty than you’ve given them credit for. Tell the truth now, before it all comes out,” the witch spoke to him directly, dripping need. “I’d protect you,” she seduced, and though Angela tried to pull her in, the demon continued to remain in front. “Or find you a new herd to care for…”
The lust rolled off her in waves. A hundred times stronger than in the training tent with Seth, Angela was helpless to control the actions of the hunger inside when the witch surged forward.
Adrian froze, too aware of her as a woman to turn away. He had time to notice she wasn’t wearing a bra under her tank top, unable to keep from dipping, and then those red orbs were locked onto his. A current of need ran the length of him as her nostrils flared, the woman inside scenting, sampling.
Sweat, fresh cut straw, and underneath, man. Hers, if she wanted him. The witch ignored Angela’s protests as she inched forward.
Adrian stared, drowning in her glowing depths. He knew he had to stop this. A single word would help her regain control, but he couldn’t wait to taste her, claim her.
The witch slipped into his mind. I’m hungry.
It was something Angela would never have said and Adrian felt the spell break as he became immune to the waves of lust the demon was hitting him with.
He retreated. I feel her fighting. She’s not willing.
The witch sent erotic images through his mind. She wants this as much as you do. She fears a bond with yet another man she can never have.
Adrian opened his mouth and heard Angela clearly.
Think!
The witch flinched and Adrian froze as flames shot up around them.
“I will have this!” the demon hissed violently and it cleared the final layer of haze.
“No.”
It was the first word spoken aloud, and instantly the witch and her fire were gone.
Angela slid onto her knees, winded, and mortified at her lack of control. She had never been around her own kind before, and Adrian was definitely that.
When he would have helped her up, she flinched. “I’m fine!”
Adrian gently guided her to her feet anyway, making her look at him in the process. “Is this you?”
Angela snorted at the very serious question. “No, it’s the Sandman.”
Adrian kept full eye contact and hands on her skin. “Take what you need. I give it willingly.”
His words had an instant effect, as he’d known they would.
Thunder crashed as she drew energy from him, followed by the angry waves of a salty ocean, and then it was just them, the dead night, and two very curious Eagles.
Angela’s voice trembled with renewed energy. “I’ll show you something beautiful as a reward for your strength.”
Adrian felt her cool, soft presence in his mind, so unlike the feverish heat of the witch, and he struggled to control his thoughts, to keep her out of his desires.
“This is what I see,” she whispered, blowing into her cupped hand.
As her sweet breath rushed into his lungs, a black as death map, of their country, appeared.
Gone! was his first thought. There was only charred outlines of apocalyptic landscapes…but as the huge sun sank, thousands of tiny lights emerged, scattered across the states.
“Campfires.” Adrian blinked as the vision panned out and even more flickers appeared in the darkness.
“My people!” he moaned, struggling to memorize their locations. “I’ll never get them all.”
“We’re not meant to.”
The map vanished at her words.
Adrian kept his lids shut, still able to view it in his mind and Angela moved to the table, letting him work. In the distance, lightning flashed violently.
Adrian was in heaven and hell at the same time. So many!
How do I know the ones I remember are the right ones?
“Fate controls that, not you.”
Finished with his mental imaging, Adrian joined her on the table, frowning. “You use a lot of energy to do these things.”
“Yes, and to keep the witch in line.”
“It’s the energy she wants.”
“It creates a bond and I think you already knew that.”
“But having it confirmed makes the choice easier. It can be done in dreams?”
“Yes. Don’t you worry about keeping things under control?” she asked suddenly, sensing where he was going.
“Good leadership is control. Let her have their dreams. You’ll be in some of them anyway. Pretend you don’t know. With her satisfied, you’ll be in charge and your gifts will grow.”
She regarded him coolly. “If I let her loose, your men won’t be good enough. She’ll go straight to the top.”
Adrian f
elt need rise up and begin lashing him with stinging flares. He stood. “I won’t turn her away twice.”
Angela shrugged, but he understood how against it she was as lightning flashed again, illuminating her features.
“What about time with Brady? I can make some arrangements.”
She brightened at the offer before going dim again.
“No. I’m fine without it. I always have been.”
“You’re doing more now.” Adrian motioned toward camp, sure the electrical storm would make the herd uneasy, and was glad when she followed. “Let her out to play. It’s just a dream.”
Angela sighed, not certain she was strong enough to keep the witch in line anyway. The demon inside already liked it here and Adrian had just given her free reign.
DOC Article
USA Today
December 21
Betrayal, Lies are Foundation of American Politics!
The Gospel of Mary was discovered in southern France last month and has now been proven genuine by experts secreted in to test the parchments. In them is a tale of murder, extortion, kidnapping, and forced reproduction that scientists claim have kept secret the descendants of Jesus Christ. The list of powerful families around the globe being accused is staggering.
This story began more than a thousand years ago, with a secret that millions have now died to keep. If proven true, it is a deception so big that it might have changed the entire world.
The Knights Templar was officially sanctioned in 1190 by the Roman Catholic Church, but what if they existed long before that? What if they escorted Mary Magdalene out of Gaul and settled her somewhere safe? We’ve heard the speculation that her offspring became kings through the Merovingian line, but what if they were also the descendants of Christ? Reports do tell of a young girl named Sarah that traveled with Mary after the crucifixion. The daughter of Jesus?
The Gospel of Mary, found during an archeological dig at an unnamed location, implies that the wealthy intentionally repressed all such knowledge, creating a secret sect to hide the truth. Most of the men, according to the parchment, believed they were protecting these special females. They took them to the Cathars, a religious order in southern France that was also under control of the Catholic Church, content to leave them there. The Church certainly didn’t expect trouble from one woman, but within a few years, the Cathars had turned against the Church and created a new religion based on love of God without control or wealth. Terrified of the world finding out, of having to give up all their power and decadent ways of living, the Church began the Albigensian crusade and eradicated them.
