by Angela White
Kyle and Billy saw the motion and exchanged looks through the rear view mirror. When she fell into battle mode, she wasn’t a woman, only an Eagle in Adrian’s Army, and the feeling was better than any of them had dared to hope for when they’d found out Adrian planned to bring women in. Now, there was hope for that future.
3
Nothing moved around them.
The teams swept the dim buildings and shadowy streets of McCook continuously, but other than the cleared path through the middle of Norris Avenue, there was no sign anyone had been here recently. Guns already in hand, they rolled tensely by the block that still held a generous bandstand covered in shredded red tinsel and dark bulbs.
“Comin’ up now, boss,” Kyle sent, slowing down.
Adrian held up a hand as they came to the Amtrak hub, indicating a full stop of all vehicles. The size of a small warehouse, the brick walls of the train hub had been defaced with ugly slogans. The most disturbing was the dark red message: Fresh Meat! All of the windows were broken or missing, the huge antenna collapsed and hanging over one side of the tall roof, and debris covered the short set of stairs to the front door.
There’s food in there?
It was a common thought as everyone got out of their vehicles and fell into battle-mode. It was too quiet, not even crows circling, but the sense of being watched was clear.
“Anything?”
“Not yet… It’s darkness again.”
Adrian motioned them forward and Kyle led his team inside.
Neil and Seth stayed around their leader, and so did Angela, as per Kyle’s instructions before they left. Adrian didn’t usually go on runs. The herd liked having him in camp, but since the attempts on his life, Adrian had become determined to draw out their traitor and Kyle wanted him protected by someone who might be able to sense an attack coming.
“5-by, ground floor.” Kyle was tense as they cleared the first level, hating the alien environment around them. There wasn’t any debris blowing or even wind whistling. The silence was disturbing and the team cleared the rest of the filthy rooms quickly.
“5-by ground floor, moving to the basement.”
The supplies they needed were on the bottom floors where the trains came in, and the teams went that way without any of the lowly muttered chatter that usually accompanied their runs for supplies. It felt bad here, to all of them, and they stayed alert, though the halls were empty. Nothing slammed, moved, twitched…except the Eagles, at their own noises.
“This feels hinky,” Daryl stated lowly as they swept the storage room they needed and took up sentry positions around the door.
“Yeah.” Kyle hit the button. “In and clear from ground, down.”
Outside, Adrian motioned again and Seth’s team hurried inside to clear the top floors. His fear went with them. It was something that never changed, the horrible feeling of waiting, hoping they returned when he sent them out.
Angela gave him an understanding smile as they entered with Neil’s team flanking them. She could feel his worry grow as they jogged down the stairs and joined Kyle’s team in the long room full of crates. She opened her mouth to give him comfort
Thump!
They all looked toward the third floor stair sign in concern. Seth’s men were there now.
“Check in, Redbird,” Adrian radioed.
“Redbird clear,” Seth answered quickly. “Be careful of booby traps. Someone tried to make a stand here.”
Angela’s mental alarms blared to life. “I don’t think it’s safe there...”
Adrian pushed the button on his mike. “Get down here, double-time.”
“Copy.”
Adrian went to Kyle, who now had his men prying open the shipping pallets. “Five minutes.”
Kyle motioned to a clipboard still hanging on the damp wall. “All full of cereal and water bottles. We’re set for another month.”
Seth came through the hall with his team a minute later, closing the door to the third floor stairs. “There’s a kitchen setup. Someone’s living here.”
Adrian raised his voice a bit. “Maybe they’ll come with us when we leave. We welcome all survivors.”
Message delivered to anyone who might be lurking, Adrian went to help Kyle’s team pull the supplies that Safe Haven needed most.
Surrounded by two teams, Seth and Angela stood outside the door. Their lights were all trained on the only unsecured hall, the one they’d used to get down here, and they watched tensely.
Clang...clang!
Everyone flinched and those who didn’t have their guns drawn did so now.
More noises came to them, footsteps and voices maybe, and Seth waved her toward the workers as Neil’s Eagles tightened their line of defense.
“Stay with him,” Seth ordered.
Seth waved his men forward as soon as Angela was out of sight. He wouldn’t let the coming people get close to Adrian without knowing if there was a problem. This station only had one other exit–through the actual train tunnels that Seth thought were likely flooded by the thick smell of mildew down here. Right now, they were rats in a trap.
Seth’s unease had Angela’s grip tightening on her gun as she went to Adrian. She couldn’t get a read on the survivors here and that was a bad sign. “We heard them, half a dozen at least. Sounds like they’re coming this way.”
“Will they talk to us?”
Mind flooding with fear, Angela pressed Adrian toward the rear of the room, where Kyle and his Eagles were now jerking the crates out in a rush. “It’s all darkness.”
Adrian recognized the danger and let her push him behind them, but when she would have gone back to stand at the door, he captured her wrist. “Stay with me.”
She nodded at the order, not about to argue. She’d only wanted to make sure Seth and Neil were all right before returning to defend him. “No worries. We’ll get you back to camp, safe and sound.”
Adrian loved her no-nonsense attitude when things began to roll. He grinned. “You, Angie. We’ll get you back to camp.”
She flushed, remembering her place.
And then Seth screamed.
It wasn’t a shout or warning yell, but a desperate cry of pain, and Angela shuddered.
“Grab him!”
“Get to the boss!”
“Open fire!”
Gunshots echoed through the building like thunder and Adrian was by Angela’s side when she darted out the protected doors and into the chaos.
“Get them down!”
Neil’s shout was ignored as Angela slid to her knees by the bloody redhead the Eagles were lined up in front of.
“Stabbed... Gutted my leg!” Seth gazed up at them in shock. “I only said hello…” he groaned, hands covered in blood.
Adrian helped her stem the flow with his bandana.
“It’s deep.”
“Pickaxe.” Adrian pointed to the bloody weapon that must have dislodged as they fell. He ducked under Seth’s arm to get a grip, mind shuddering at the man’s painful shout from the movement. He’d heard that sound too many times.
“Here they come,” Neil warned, feeling nothing but cold, hard anger.
Adrian scooped Seth up and over his shoulder as the unseen faces rounded the corner of the hall. He registered the blood running down his side, but didn’t feel the warmth as full survival-mode kicked in.
“Do not waste bullets!” Adrian ordered, backing them toward the room where Kyle’s men waited to surprise their attackers.
The line of Eagles followed him, making sure Angela was covered too, as she kept pace and tied the next bandage around Seth’s bloody leg.
The new arrivals came up the hall in a mad rush against the glare of the lights, clumsy, angry steps that bounced off the walls and sounded like a mob.
“On my mark,” Neil ordered, not interested in letting anyone into Safe Haven who would attack Seth.
Adrian didn’t correct him. The sense of wrong was too strong to ignore. He hadn’t found survivors, only mo
re walking dead.
“Maybe we should–”
“Too late,” Angela stated grimly. The witch was whispering for her to open fire. These weren’t sheep.
“I get dibs!”
“Don’t hit the heads!”
“The woman! Get the woman!”
Bloodlust had already filled the mob and they charged with their weapons raised.
“Stand your ground, Eagles!”
Rusty weapons raised in hunger, the people slid to a stop, more at the command than at the sight of so many armed men. Their naked skin was covered with streaks of red war paint, their eyes black orbs under crimson layers that glared insanely.
Silence fell over the dusty station, the residents unsure of challenging the armed strangers despite the promise of fresh meat, and the pause gave the Eagles time to catch those important little details.
Jeremy caught the odor of decay as he stayed in front of Adrian and his stomach dipped as he placed the smell. It wasn’t paint.
“What the hell are they?” Daniel asked, noting that every iris was solid black.
His horrified question broke the spell over the two groups.
Fresh Meat!
“Cannibals!” Angela snarled in revulsion. “All this food and they eat each other!”
Adrian spotted the gruesome decorations that proved her words; teeth, ears, fingers, some so small they could only be from a child. Hatred rose up in dizzying waves. They’ve been hunting the refugees who’ve come through here…and they ate them.
“Get them!”
The order came from a bald man wearing only crimson and a necklace of tiny bones, and the mob charged forward eagerly at the encouragement.
Adrian slid Seth’s weight onto Angela’s shoulders and the words fell like dust from his mouth as he drew. “Take them out.”
4
When it was over, Adrian swept the scene with disgust. What was it about the human brain that led to this deterioration of basic right and wrong?
“All clear.”
Adrian motioned them back to the mission and the Eagles began to carry boxes and crates of supplies out to the waiting semi. Adrian usually only took half of what they found, and then 10 percent of what was left for their reserves, but this time he had them empty the rooms.
Curious and needing something to keep herself from staring at the pile of bodies, Angela let herself ask him why. She hadn’t shot any of them, but it didn’t make it easier. “Is it a punishment? Taking everything?”
Around them, the laboring slowed a bit. She wasn’t the only one who wanted to know, but she was the one he would give those answers to.
“No. I suspect they’ve been using the food to lure other survivors out of hiding. This will be one less stockpile for them to betray each other with.” Adrian’s gaze lingered on the dirty windows. “I’d sweep this town with fire if we had the time. It’s very unlikely people are living here still, these…animals are preying on refugees.”
“Maybe Cesar will do it for you.” Angela’s voice wasn’t even, but it did hold a possibility.
She felt his mind developing the plan that would ensure it happened and spoke to Seth before her guilt could begin crying. “You ready?”
Seth grimaced drunkenly, the morphine easing his pain. “No, but do it anyway, Ang.”
She gave the required grin at the shortened name and stuck the red-hot iron against his skin.
The Eagles turned from his agony and their guilt over the most recent executions was eased. And Adrian had known it would be, Angela realized, hurrying to finish with the gaping hole in Seth’s leg. That was why he hadn’t ordered them to do this outside. The image of those animals would always come with Seth’s screams and ease some of their nightmares.
Angela sighed, pushing the wound together. “Ready?”
“Stop...warning me!” Seth gasped. “It’s like I’m training with someone’s nervous grandmother.”
Angela didn’t stifle the tears as she shoved the iron against his leg.
5
“You’ll be taking over Seth’s morning post until he’s back up on his leg.”
Kyle’s words sent a smile over Angela’s face. They’d only been in camp for an hour. “No problem.”
“Not for you,” the mobster muttered, but moved around her before she could question.
“They don’t like the idea of your life for mine or vice versa.” Adrian had come out of the bathroom as Kyle entered. “How’s Seth?”
Angela gestured toward the medical tent. “Better now. John’s got it covered.”
“Lots of antibiotics?”
“You know it.”
They spent a quiet moment, each studying the area. There were dark skies, but the lights of Safe Haven were hope in the apocalyptic nightmare that surrounded them every minute.
Angela felt that golden power next to her stir.
“There isn’t anything I won’t do to keep them alive.”
She shivered at his words. “Even sacrifice yourself.”
“I...” He stopped, the words stuck.
Angela felt his terror. Their time was short now.
She flinched when their radios sparked.
“New arrivals at the QZ. Both doctors report.”
Flanked by Adrian, she moved under the green canopy over the reception area a minute later and John gave her the lead without being told. He lit his pipe and settled nearby.
Angela scanned the small group of nine, lips tightening at the sight of their grungy leader. Stick around. He’s hinky.
Adrian sent that with a single hand gesture and the Eagles on duty moved subtly closer.
Angela had stepped to the long table and taken the place beside John. “Welcome to Safe Haven. I’m Angie, one of two doctors you’ll visit during quarantine.”
The only man in the group scowled at her. “Doctors, quarantine. You government?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Angela asked, insulted. “Those bastards are gone. Safe Haven is an American red cross convoy offering shelter to survivors.”
“Oh. Okay.” The man’s tone lost some of the edge. “Well, I’m Ernie. Came from Omaha, travelin’ merchant, ya know? Picked up my women ‘round there.”
“You heard us in Omaha?” Angela asked, acting like his choice of words hadn’t bothered her and she was glad when the guards around her did the same. She needed another minute to pry in and then she’d know what he was guilty of.
“Sure did. Couldn’t answer ‘o ‘course, but I went where the signal was strongest.”
Angela studied his folds of extra flesh and then the thin frames of the scared women cowering near the filthy RV. She flicked her glance over the bruises and small wounds on them and returned to the smooth-skinned man before her. Ernie might not be from Cesar’s camp, but he was a slaver, just the same.
“How’d the girl get the black eye?”
The man flinched. “Not from me!”
Angela hated what had to happen, but she wasn’t about to let this evil inside their den.
“You’ve lied to me twice. We have no room for you.”
The Eagles were stunned. Kind, forgiving Angela had refused someone entry–herself. He had to be evil for her to do that.
“But, I didn’t hit her! She fell down–”
“Running from you. You raped her anyway.”
Angela moved toward the now crying women as Adrian, Neil and Doug surrounded the sputtering man. They spun him toward his RV with hard grips and menacing words.
When Ernie motioned at the females to follow, Angela stepped between them, hand sliding to her holster. “No.”
“But them’s my women!”
“Not anymore!” she shouted.
Even the rapist froze at her furious tone and Adrian observed it all in pride. Her righteous anger, when it came, was a sight to see.
“They are now members of this refugee camp and you are living on borrowed time!”
She motioned to Kyle, sure which Eagle handled these thing
s when they came up.
“Tick…tock. It’s all hands on a clock for you now, Ernie from Omaha.” Her voice rang out in a taunting cruelness very unlike the Angela they knew.
The doomed man paled and she turned her back to him as the Eagles sent him away. Clouds of dust rolled over the parking area.
When Kyle would have waited until Angela was out of sight, Adrian said, “No more hiding now. None of it.”
Kyle went to his nearby jeep with a matching feeling of satisfaction that he was confused by. Why did Angela’s sudden willingness to order someone killed give them all pride?
Angela took a minute to calm down and then studied the females. She hated the pathetic way they held themselves, as if resigned to taking whatever abuse their newest owners wanted to pass out. And at the same time, she knew them. Each one was her own kind and there was a deep sympathy in her tone when she welcomed them.
“This is Safe Haven refugee camp, ladies. We offer you aid and protection, and you have my word that the things you’ve suffered through will never happen here.”
Marc listened from the shadows, one of her numerous guards, and it was easy at that moment, for him to understand why she had been chosen for this. Adrian knew hidden talent, put it to work, and he had placed Angie perfectly. He’d also made sure everyone accepted it. There wasn’t an Eagle in camp who wouldn’t listen to her warnings now, and none of them voiced any protests when she joined their workouts or showed up during one of their lessons for something she’d missed. She had won them over and the only thing that bothered Marc, was where it would lead.
“What’s he got planned for you?” Marc murmured, as she joked with the new arrivals. Around her for three minutes and even strangers felt her draw, were following…
Marc’s curious demeanor flipped to uneasy in an instant and it was a struggle to keep still. Maybe he was wrong. Angie wouldn’t want her own team of female Eagles… Would she?
6
