by Angela White
Angela knew who it was and allowed the breeze to carry her wherever it wanted. Marc had the camp protected and Adrian had her six. Both sides of the line were covered.
9
Late night changed into early morning with a shift in the winds that blew directly against the boards they had placed over the entrance to the cave. It caused the temperatures inside to plummet and leadership to worry.
Marc woke Angela two hours after she’d fallen out, regretful but unsure what she wanted him to do. He wasn’t going to step on her toes, in any situation.
Angela sat up groggily, and pushed away the tea. “Coffee,” she croaked.
Marc handed her his mug and quickly lit her a smoke, aware of her morning habits.
Angela struggled to wake up, to return fully from the adventure she’d been on with Adrian. The island is so clean! So green!
“It’s cold, Angie. I can do some things about that, but you need to pick.”
Angela shook it off and focused on the paper that Marc was holding out. She scanned it, picking, “Tents.”
Marc stuffed the paper in his pocket, glad he didn’t have to leave the cave to go get their winter gear. Erecting a few tents and putting what heat sources they already had here would hold them until dawn.
“I’ve got it now, baby. Lay down.”
Angela did, gratefully. Marc knew what he was doing. In the morning, when her brain and tongue were connected, she would let him know he had permission to go ahead and handle it as he saw fit next time. The calm people around her said he’d been doing a good job and Angela slipped back into the darkness eagerly.
10
“Have you made a choice?”
Peggy nodded in response to Hilda’s lowly spoken question. They were standing at the entrance, pretending to observe the snow like many other people had been doing while Marc got the tents set up.
“So have I,” Hilda stated. “Now we leave them alone, right?”
“Yes, we have to make sure our representatives are worthy.”
Not far away, Doug saw the women chatting and didn’t like the sense of wrongness. He was with Maria’s sons, enjoying the cooler weather that fascinated the kids, but he already knew Peggy was doing something that would get her in trouble. Why else would they be whispering?
Peggy rotated to inspect the area and found Doug’s disapproving gaze on them. She immediately left Hilda and came to his side.
“You feeling okay?”
“No,” Doug stated. “I’ve got this ugly feeling and it’s your fault.”
Peggy flushed, looking down to find the kids staring at him in surprise. “Later?”
Doug nodded stiffly. “Absolutely, woman.”
Needing him to back off, Peggy put her hands on her hips. “Have you tested your sugar yet?”
11
Marc quickly got the three large tents set up inside the cave and directed people inside them. They’d found two small space heaters and with the piping already in the cave for tomorrow’s toiling, they were venting with no trouble. They also had the blankets and sleeping bags, and the temperature difference was noticeable.
Marc swept the slowly relocating crowd, aware of groggy mutters and complaints, but he didn’t feel any true resentment. Everyone was a bit on edge from being forced into the caves before they were ready, but come dawn, they would be eager to get outside and play in the little bit of snow that had accumulated so far.
Marc nodded to Samantha, who had taken up a post near the entrance. She was obviously feeling guilty about missing this part of the storm, but Marc knew she was also worrying over Neil and Jeremy. Neil’s was the only crew they hadn’t heard from yet, but Jeremy had also remained topside, swearing he was more useful there. Several people had tried to talk him out of it, but Jeremy had walked into the storm with tense shoulders and none of them had followed him. Now, Samantha was holding a vigil for both men.
Marc spotted Cynthia inside her personal pup tent, flashlight illuminating while she labored on the first edition of her newspaper. Angela hadn’t given her a deadline, but Marc was confident the reporter would have a rough draft ready in the morning. Settled on a ledge slightly above them, Cynthia hadn’t come out of her tent once.
Marc made his way through the grumpy people to get to the contest board that Angela had insisted on bringing. It held a sheet of paper with the names of those who had signed up for the Eagles and Marc hadn’t gotten to it yet. He wanted to know who the next soldiers in their army were.
Marc ignored the other men standing stiffly in front of the board and began reading. He skipped the females names, positive Angela would weed through those and he frowned when he found Charlie’s name. With all the chaos of their freedom fight, the Jr. Eagles had been broken, the same as the other teams. Charlie wanted to make sure his mom hadn’t forgotten about them.
Marc kept reading, happy the list was long. They needed all the new…
Marc burst out laughing as Kenn’s name caught his attention. Kenn was about to be a rookie!
Marc’s amusement carried and sent calm over the camp that was now inside a warm tent and getting comfortable. Marc kept reading, thinking Kenn had finally gotten tired of hearing that he wasn’t really an Eagle.
The bottom of the sheet held the names of the last minute people who weren’t confident they had what it took and Marc snorted as he spotted Kendle’s handwriting. She already had a slot on Angie’s team, but she wanted to officially earn it, like the others had.
Except Candy, Marc corrected himself. She’d also been given a place to help ease her rage and Marc didn’t think either of them should even have a gun. Kendle was doing better and if they were in another war, he would want Kendle with him then, but for this time and place, she was still too dangerous to trust. As for Candy, Marc was still waiting for the snap. That cold, ‘nothing gets through’ attitude was a façade that held a pit of grief and anger that Marc didn’t want to blow up on anyone.
Marc kept reading, almost at the bottom, and the final name to catch his attention caused a disturbance in the force.
Marc spun toward the nearest guard and made a curt motion.
When was he here?
Zack, tired and a bit annoyed over it himself, gestured angrily, She did it while we bugged out.
Marc wanted to cross the name off the list, but knew that would be exceeding his authority. If Angela wanted Conner among the rookies, he was in no position to argue.
“But I don’t have to pass him,” Marc muttered under his breath. “And I won’t, unless he proves to me that he’s not a threat like his father.”
“How could ya, when it’s been in my pocket?”
Peggy’s shout drew groans and grins, and Marc waited for the inevitable with everyone else.
“No, it’s morning now. Do it!”
A short pause and then, “Fine!”
“Oww, woman!”
Marc snickered, anger dimmed by amusement. If Doug didn’t test his sugar every morning, things could get ugly for him. Peggy was determined and when a woman set her mind to something, she usually got it.
Marc paused, mind clicking that into place. Angela wanted Conner to be an Eagle, to be away from Adrian and be saved.
Can I do that? Marc asked himself. I would have with Matt, though I didn’t realize time was so short. Can I train the son without holding the sins of the father against him?
No, Marc admitted. I’ll have Kenn and Kyle do most of it. I don’t want to be that person.
Satisfied with his own character, Marc headed for their small, quickly chosen bathroom area, hoping the port-o-lets were holding up. They didn’t have a pit ready yet and the odor was terrible.
Marc moved to allow Li Sing and his family to leave the bathroom, nodding and exchanging greetings. The nine men, women, and children did almost everything together, like they feared being alone and Marc made a mental note to make sure that wasn’t the case. If they were having problems with someone, he would handle it. Li and his clan
were a wonderful addition to Safe Haven. They obeyed the rules, helped even during their off time, and remained respectful of each other and those around them. They were model citizens here and Marc wished the new soldiers were more like them. Those men were loud, crude, and often caught saying the wrong things about people. If they weren’t careful, Angela would put them on an Eagle team together and then tell the rest of her army to make them feel what it’s like to be bullied. Marc didn’t want that to happen and he decided he would spend a few minutes with that poker-playing group of men. A few words of advice might save them a lot of bleeding.
After that, he planned to make certain the ants weren’t being disturbed, and then do a complete round of the sleepy people. It suddenly seemed like he might have missed something and Marc didn’t care for that feeling at all.
12
As the storm wound down, the shift change came and those who had been on duty overnight were too wound up to lie down and sleep right away. Many of them went topside to dig through the debris or access a tent that was still standing.
Kendle and Daryl were two of those, joining Jeremy in the training tent that had remained because it was along one of the cliff walls that surrounded them.
Jeremy had stayed in the hayroom, occasionally letting out a moan that mirrored theirs as Daryl led her through her second kai lesson.
Kendle wasn’t afraid to hit or to be hit, and it made her a quick study that Daryl was already using level two lessons on. She also hated the one-hour limit, and had made him agree to double it, so she would be tired enough to sleep.
Daryl didn’t think she had it in her, but they were about to find out. After being cooped up in that cave for all those hours, Daryl was anticipating the exercise. He hadn’t admitted it would be good for him too, though. He didn’t think it was a good time to show any weakness. He had too many plans to let something small like a reputation screw things up.
“Mind if we join?”
Shawn and Greg were by the flap, and Daryl waved them in eagerly. When Kendle got tired, he could advance to a real opponent and not have to hold back.
In the hayroom, Jeremy quietly shut off the laptop and stowed it in his kit, under his other gear. He’d spent the evening tracking the storm and trying to figure out how to activate the satellite links that he needed to inspect the western half of their country. When he got those, they would be able to view Yellowstone and determine how bad the damage was. It was information that he and Neil had agreed was worth hiding from the camp, worried that if they reminded Angela about it before he found those links, she might shut it all down and then they would never know. However, if they could show her the Internet would still be useful, she might not ban it. For Jeremy, that mattered. He’d spent too many years on the net to ignore such a valuable source of knowledge. He’d planned his speech, but she’d cut him off today and revealed that she hadn’t forgotten about the Internet at all. The camp had, though, and the boss clearly wanted it that way.
Jeremy joined the other four Eagles at the training mat, noticing small leaks and tears in the vinyl. The winds had been awful, but not as bad as hearing them from inside that stone tomb would have been. There was no way he could live in there, but he hadn’t figured out how to tell Angela or Samantha that yet. Neil, he suspected, already knew, but the former state trooper wouldn’t give him away. He might even try to help, though, Jeremy wasn’t sure there was anything that anyone could do. If he went inside that mountain, he would die. It was that simple.
Outside, the sky began to lighten with the coming of dawn and six foggy shadows slowly approached Safe Haven while there were no Eagles on duty along the gate.
Chapter Nine
Watch Your Six!
1
“Is everyone clear? I don’t want any screw-ups.”
There was silence and Jack twisted around on his horse, pausing to regard his men. “Not like last time. Canada got out of control. I know it was mostly Major Donner, but I also know you guys helped things along by not following my orders to the letter. That won’t happen again.”
The five men also stopped, each giving the expected nod without a comment. Jack didn’t like it when other people talked. Everyone knew that.
“Good. If there’s even one survivor, we’re done as a team,” Jack warned them. “I’ll draft a new crew.”
Again, none of the men spoke. When a new crew was drafted, the old one was executed, and Jack had full authority to make such a switch whenever he felt like it.
Jack spent another moment studying his men, using his Alpha gift to force his will on any rebellious thoughts he found lurking. Resisting was impossible.
Satisfied he had his men under control, Jack surveyed the area around the large camp. He would concentrate on Safe Haven itself when he reached those shiny gates, but out here was the more important area. Mountain terrains made for fun hunting grounds and he had brought his men in from the opposite side, so that they would have the advantage from the beginning. It had also toughened them up from their month of recovery at their base. Canada hadn’t gone well.
“But Safe Haven will,” Jack muttered, narrowing in on one of the many ledges surrounding his newest target. Roughly half a mile from where he now sat, the area was covered in tall, thick trees and the light foliage that appeared undisturbed. But, it felt like there might be someone spying from there and Jack didn’t want the people in there to have any warning. Jack quickly blasted the area with his Alpha power to capture the person. Only one in a million descendants was immune to him–a gift that had provided countless victims.
Traveling mentally with his power as it rushed out, Jack immediately sensed the presence of at least two descendants, though they weren’t here now. They had been recently, he knew. Descendants always left bits of their light wherever they went. It faded after a few days or a week, unless the person kept using the same area. After regular use, the trail would build up and become blindingly trackable.
Jack also found half a dozen soldiers sleeping inside snowy tents, but no one else, and he slowly withdrew without disturbing the men. They were the least of all possible threats, but Jack was suddenly certain he would end up killing them. Fate often worked that way.
Jack stored his gift and slapped his horse with his hand. The animal took off toward Safe Haven’s main gate, shuddering heavily at the unexpected action.
Reminded of the animal’s previous owner, Jack dug his spurs in as he viciously yanked on the reigns. “Control your disgust or I’ll slit your throat!”
The quarter horse forced himself to obey instead of attacking like he’d done upon capture. The evil human had already taken his balls. Life was all he had left to lose.
Behind him, Jack’s men exchanged a dangerous glance and then followed their boss. They kept their thoughts carefully blank, but in their hearts, Jack’s death replayed like a broken record.
Each of them planned to participate. They had never made the mistake of speaking about it or exposing the goal through their occasional private thoughts, but it was in every look that they shared. Big Jack Devine wouldn’t be forgiven. He would be slowly consumed.
Adrian shielded himself as the riders went by, able to scan lightly without drawing notice. An old enemy was here and Jack hadn’t suffered much from time. Power radiated from the riders in ominous waves that traveled outward and upset even the animals. Jack was a lethal force and it showed.
Adrian dug a little deeper into the rear rider, trying to figure out where Jack’s usual bodyguard were, but the shields around the riders were formidable and Adrian reluctantly withdrew to get ready for whatever Angela chose to do. His advantage was that Jack’s Alpha power didn’t work on him and he would be careful with it.
“We have a shadow,” the rear rider stated.
“Yes, friends can pop up anywhere,” Jack said cheerfully. “We’ll be covering that shortly.”
Safe Haven’s tall gates appeared in the near distance and Jack grinned. “Let’s see how fast we can ge
t an audience with their Alpha.”
“Are we attacking now?” Kranten asked, eager to spill blood for any reason.
“Let’s see what type of a hand they’ve gathered here first,” Jack drawled confidently. “We could use a few replacements to cover us from the last time we took a settlement. Our town is a bit light on women still.”
“And if they’re not like us, or if they’re not weak enough to enslave?” that rear rider asked, hating the thoughts of Canada that Jack’s comments constantly brought up. The fire had been Donner’s idea, but Jack had lit the fuse.
“We take them.” Jack ordered, orbs crimson. “I want my property!”
“You’ll get it, boss,” Vlad promised. “We’ll do it right.”
2
“What is that?” Kendle asked, pausing in the long lesson. “I can’t… That’s screaming!”
The sound was coming from the cave where their people were and all of them ran for the flap. They emerged into a dreary dawn over thin slush and ran for the cave.
“Hey, there!”
The ugliness in that unknown voice said Daryl had just been marked for death and he instinctively grabbed Kendle’s arm and swung her around to stand by his side as the others went to help Angela.
The screams grew louder and Kendle was able to make out the words. “Daddy! Daddy’s here!”
It was Missy, trying to warn them that her father had arrived.
“Sounds like trouble,” that ugly voice commented happily. “Maybe we can help.”
Daryl and Kendle stared at the group of riders outside their front gate, instantly on edge. If the glowing red orbs hadn’t given the strangers away, the fiery halos of their protective shields would have. These were descendants and unlike Safe Haven’s people, these were evil. It was obvious in the menace that struck Daryl and sent his heart into a terrified gallop. He didn’t know why he’d already been marked, but the feeling grew stronger as the men stared at him.
