by Angela White
Marc sighed in relief, not wanting to resent Billy for his lack of memory. It might even be better that he didn’t remember right now. Some of their members were too dazed by the losses to help.
“Grab that shelf!”
A huge crash echoed from above him, making Marc want to be up there with Angie and Charlie… Charlie. I don’t have him on my grid.
Chapter Four
Issues
1
“Your father calls loudly.” Natoli and his braves were following the boy down a winding passage. When they’d reached the bottom of the ledge, a gap had led them to a corridor that appeared undamaged. They’d been tracking it for almost an hour.
“Give it a minute.” Charlie concentrated. “We’ve got another problem.”
Natoli and his men went into alert mode, drawing weapons.
Tracy stayed close to Charlie, hoping he was wrong. Wasn’t an earthquake enough?
The tunnel was lightening as they walked, telling them they were near the outside and that their defenses had been breached. The only question was if it was from the quake or something else.
Not giving themselves away with noise, the small, cold group was able to hear the clink of tools and the low murmur of voices.
“It’s them!” Charlie signaled everyone backward. “Pick a curve and we’ll take them out.”
Natoli gestured to his warriors as they retreated ahead of the men coming into the corridor. He assumed Charlie hadn’t answered Marc because it might give them away, which meant this group could have their own special person. Natoli stayed close to Charlie, determined to keep his vow and prevent the evil men from getting into Safe Haven. The survivors in there wouldn’t last against an invasion right now. The blow they’d been hit with was too harsh.
“I feel you, boy!” a voice growled in delight. “Come out or you’ll be sorry.”
Charlie flipped the safety off his gun. Unable to communicate in any other way, the teenager struggled to remember the hand codes.
Natoli and his men were also just learning them, but Tracy recognized the message instantly. She motioned for the warriors to get down.
Charlie tried to wait until a large group of the Mexicans was in the tunnel, hoping to get a chunk of their fighters, but the steps came forward without the noise of a group.
“I smell you, runt!” The man’s taunt rang through the corridor. “I’m gonna drain your girlfriend!”
Tracy felt the terror the man was sending, but after the earthquake, she hadn’t calmed down enough to be scared of anything else. She tapped Charlie and pointed to her belt, where three grenades were cushioned in pouches.
Charlie grinned. He took the first one and tugged on the pin.
Tracy led the braves up the passage in a hurry, praying Charlie would be okay. She and Natoli had to get into camp and tell Marc their den had been breached. If Charlie’s aim was good, they could also tell him the hole was plugged. If he missed, she had two more tries on her belt.
Charlie rolled the grenade, skipping it along the wall so that it wouldn’t be easy to catch or kick away. As soon as he let go of it, he grabbed his gun and fired in a sweeping pattern, hoping to hit the descendant as he ran away from the explosion.
The grenade blew in a thudding bang that echoed through the narrow cavern. The ceiling collapsed, sealing the exit, but no one came through the dust toward him.
Charlie stood up, coughing. Did I get them?
Not a chance, kid. Look up.
Charlie barely felt the boot to his face, too shocked to find a small man wearing black clinging to the ceiling above him. The boy didn’t understand how the descendant had gotten up there.
Knocked off his feet, Charlie lost the grip on his weapon. It slid down the tunnel, toward the pile of rubble and cloud of dust that was coming their way.
Charlie ducked, blood dripping from the injury on his cheek, but the man dropping from the ceiling didn’t notice the danger in time. The traitor was hit full force in his uncovered face.
Charlie wanted to keep down, but the killer letting out harsh coughs was distracted and that made it a perfect time.
The teenager leapt up and tackled the man, also breathing in the dust as they struggled.
Power flew through the corridor. Both males tried to hit the other with their gifts and their fists. It was chaos for Charlie, who only had the basics of rookie training. There wasn’t time to replay the lessons or to plan. He reacted as violently as he knew how, instinctively mirroring his father.
The descendant swung them around, slinging Charlie off his neck.
The teenager shoved off the wall and slammed into the man with his knife. It sank deep into flesh, shocking Charlie with the sensation.
As the dust cloud began to dissipate, they stared at each other in shock–one scarring, one dying.
Shifting rocks clunking down the rubble pile got through to Charlie. He yanked the blade loose and took off up the corridor.
Behind him, the descendant dropped to the stone floor with a heavy thud, bleeding out. He hadn’t been able to hit the kid with his power. It was as if the boy had been wearing a shield even though it had to be down because they’d been touching. Still confused, the descendant clutched his wound and closed his eyes.
2
Across Safe Haven, people were trapped in corners and on small narrow ledges. The smoke was being pulled out, allowing for deeper breaths and more coughing as everyone tried to clear their lungs. Throughout the floors, lights bobbed continuously, glancing off rocky outcroppings covered in debris that was barely identifiable. Muted voices called out to each other in comfort and grief as dozens of people went up and down the ropes and ladders to take supplies and wounded to the bottom floor. When the first gunshot rang out from a distant tunnel, all movement paused.
“That’s not good.” Adrian took the lead. He and Angela had come from the top level, horrified that there had been no survivors up there, but glad they had gotten the smoke venting.
Angela tried to hurry, but the debris in their way prevented it. She settled for letting Adrian go first to clear the path, while she concentrated on the new noises echoing through the cave system. It sounded as if there had been another collapse, but she couldn’t tell where.
Angie! Do you have Charlie? Marc blared in her mind.
No, she answered. I’m searching too.
Marc waited impatiently, working on the water. He could hear the murmurs of the survivors, and faint cries from the wounded, but underneath that was a heavy hum he hadn’t identified yet.
“Hey, can we help with anything?” Brittani and Gus, with the rest of their group, joined Marc in the water area. “We aren’t sure what to do.”
Marc pointed toward the containers he had filled up. “Take those out, but let everyone know it has to be cleaned first. I’m hunting for the purification tablets.”
Brittani motioned to her family. “Let’s dig around and see if we can locate it. What do they look like?”
While Marc described the box that the tablets and other items were in, Gus took the water containers out to the line of wounded. The row waiting to be treated had grown steadily over the last half an hour. Now that the fire was out, serious injuries had to be handled, but the doctor was still working on Samantha. The rest of the students were helping the few that they knew how to, but this was all new to them and everyone was in shock. Not much was getting done.
Gus slid aside as more bodies came down the ladder, recognizing Li and his wife. Both of them were alive, but they had been burned. Gus couldn’t tell how badly and he didn’t want to. He’d already seen people fall to their deaths. He didn’t need to view the effects of fire too.
Gus spun on his heel and rejoined Marc in the water area.
“This is a little bit of what it’s like to be an Eagle.” Marc gestured toward the wounded. “If you can’t handle the sight of burns, you’re better off being a camp member.”
Gus wanted to argue that he was made of tougher stu
ff than that, but the shock of watching friends die was making him doubt his own strength in that area.
Brittani, on the other hand, felt as if she should be doing more. She went out to their wounded to see if she could assist any of them.
Marc knew what Gus was feeling. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, when your woman is stronger than you in some ways. In fact, it can come in handy.”
Gus was subdued. “She’s always been like that. I wanted to be an Eagle to prove to her that I was strong too, but after seeing everything that goes on here, I’m not sure I can hang.”
Marc shrugged, filling a new container. “You’re not viewing everybody in their best moments, you know. Maybe you should hang on before you make a final choice. It’s not always like this. There used to be a time when it was almost fun.”
Gus found that hard to believe while they were surrounded by all the death and misery.
Marc waved a hand toward the jug. “The rest of these go to the upper levels. Don’t forget to tell everyone that the water is dirty. We can’t handle an outbreak.”
Gus took the containers out without asking how he was supposed to get them there. Brittani had already taught them to make use of whatever they could since the war came. They had done pretty well on their own. They hadn’t been as organized as Safe Haven, but there hadn’t been as many in their group either. Now that everything had been destroyed, they were stuck using archaic methods to get things done.
Marc continued to call for Charlie as he labored, wishing he could go search for the boy, but if they didn’t have water soon, they would have even more problems.
The gauge on the water tank was broken thanks to the falling debris, but Marc estimated there was half a tank remaining. Based on their previous population, that amount would’ve held them a week. In these conditions, that would be cut in half and they would lose some of it while they cleaned it. If they didn’t find the purification tablets, they would have to boil. Marc began kicking around in the debris with Gus’s brothers, determined to locate them. With boiling, they might lose 1/3 of the water they had and that would end up costing lives.
Do you have him yet? Marc demanded of his demon.
Yes, he lives. There was a breach.
Where?
Second floor, rear passage. Half a mile out. The boy sealed it with a grenade, but the enemy is already digging through the debris.
Marc went to the rope and shimmied up to the second floor. Shining his light, he determined that there was no way to reach the other chambers from this entrance.
Neil appeared, coming down from the mess where the fire was finally out. “Kenn and I left ropes hanging from...” Neil paused, heart hurting. “Where Sam and Jeremy fell through.” Losing control, he strode to the ladder so he could check on Sam.
Marc followed him down.
As they reached the bottom floor, Neil pointed to where he had brought Samantha down. “It’s rough over there. You might not be able to get back up that way without help or stacking.”
Marc disappeared into the darkness, telling Angie what his demon had found. We’re about to have company.
3
Angela and Adrian exchanged worried glances as Marc’s message came through. If the Mexicans had breached a tunnel, they were about to be attacked and they weren’t ready for it. Most of the camp didn’t even have their guns right now.
Adrian signaled toward the bottom levels “That’s where you should be.”
Angela ignored him. “We need to bridge this gap. Get Theo up here. He and Ozzie. As soon as we can get across, we’ll set up a welcoming area.”
Adrian did as he was told, uncertain how the feat would be accomplished, but more than willing to let her run things while he was her right hand. It was more than he could’ve hoped for before the earthquake.
Angela was aware of the sleazy contemplations, but she didn’t have time to scold him. Alone for a minute, she took the ladder down to what remained of the second level, just missing Marc and Neil. Instead of taking the next ladder, Angela went around it and over to the gap where Jennifer and Kyle had come across. The rope they had used was still tied and Angela grasped it tightly.
She went across the ledge without anybody noticing, and entered the medical bay. The doctor and the students had also come across the ledge, so Angela was assuming that it was sturdy enough to hold her and the other person waiting here for rescue. She didn’t know why Neil hadn’t helped Tonya, but she understood overlooking someone in a moment when a loved one was injured. Maybe Neil hadn’t known that Tonya was trapped in the lab behind the medical bay.
She figured out that wasn’t the case as she entered the bay and saw that most of the floor was gone.
“How did he get them out of the showers?” She was a little impressed at the ingenuity.
“He made them jump.”
Angela peered through the doorway to the lab and was able to see Tonya in the far corner. The pale redhead was perched precariously on a far ledge with the ugly cat in her lap.
Angela swept the gap between the door and the showers. “Jump to where?
“Just kidding. There was a board across it. As they were coming through, it fell.” Tonya paled a little more. “We almost lost another one of the students, but Neil grabbed her hand and pulled her up. It was kind of scary to watch.”
“I bet it was.” Angela scanned the area again. “We’ll find something.”
“What if we put a ladder under from the bottom?”
Gus was standing behind her.
Angela gave him a small smile through the smoke. “Can you and your brothers handle that?”
“Sure.” He looked her up and down. “Shouldn’t you be on the first floor with the other injured?”
“I’m fine. After you help get Tonya out of there, there’s a group trapped in the living area. We haven’t been able to get there yet, but Marc is headed up from the bottom floor. I’d like you guys to help them.”
Gus understood what she wasn’t saying. She wanted him to make sure Marc was okay.
Angela patted his arm gratefully. “Don’t give up on the Eagle idea yet, Gus. You’re more capable than you give yourself credit for.”
“Brittani doesn’t want that.”
“What does Gus want?”
He looked down at her with open fear. “Out of this mountain.”
Angela understood that sentiment. Many people would be experiencing it, thanks to the losses taken here. Their den had become a tomb.
“Mmm…”
A moan near the ground startled them both, coming from under a large debris pile.
Angela and Gus hurried over to dig the person out, both horrified that they hadn’t known anyone was right there and needed help. At this point, they weren’t expecting many more survivors. The miracle stories in the news were exactly that–miracles.
Angela and Gus helped the man stand, recognizing Ray underneath the dirt and dust. She gave him a quick pat down and determined that he had been knocked out, but not hurt seriously.
“Gus has to go to the first level. He’ll drop you off.”
Angela helped settle Ray on Gus’s large back, and then went with them to the ladder, hoping it was sturdy enough to handle the double weight. Most of the bodies from the mess had been cleared now. Almost all of the people who had been in there were dead. Those they had been able to resuscitate had been taken to the bottom floor where the doctor would examine them when he had time. The injured were stacking up and lining up, all handling their own issues as best they could. It was calm for the moment, but Angela knew that wasn’t going to remain. Often, the worst part of a crisis came during the aftermath. Fear, anger, greed and jealousy didn’t go away just because a tragedy struck.
Gus lugged Ray down the ladder.
Alone again, Angela concentrated, trying to determine what was the next most important thing to handle. They had hundreds of bodies to deal with. They needed food, water, medicine, and very soon, they would need light.
Angela frowned. That was going to be a big problem. In the next 48 hours, most of their lamps and flashlights were going to be used up. They wouldn’t be able to clean the water or prepare any food that they found. They also needed something that wasn’t flame. They might have a gas leak in the kitchen and maybe even other areas. Until they got repair crews going, it would be impossible to tell. If she got the power on, they would have limited lights in the area where the wires hadn’t been damaged. Most of the wires would have been destroyed on every level, except for the top. Only the rear areas of that floor were too damaged to access. The ceiling had collapsed over the big and little training chambers and the TV room. The reading cavity was almost pristine, but crowded with bodies. The bathrooms up there were also destroyed, as were the laundry and storage chambers, but the corridors, the weapons compartment, and their power room hadn’t been damaged. They had lost power because the connections had snapped as the flooring collapsed.
Angela grunted as she leapt up for the rope to the next level, stomach pulling and twisting. She climbed awkwardly, feeling like a rookie again. She hadn’t been this out of shape since the war.
As Angela got to the next level, she was met by Jennifer.
“Marc said to keep my ass on the bottom floor or stay with you.”
Angela was glad to have the teenager. “We’re gonna go do some work on the power. Once the smoke finishes clearing, you can bring the baby up. And Cody.”
Jennifer understood that Angela was trying to ease her mind about being so far away from Autumn. “Thanks.”
“It’s also for Cody. I like that kid.”
Jennifer stepped over the large debris pile, and scanned the broken ladder for the upper level. There was only one remaining. There would only be one on the level below them now as well, since Gus’s brothers were busy removing it to use for Tanya’s rescue.
Jennifer shined her light toward the living quarters. “There are people over there.”
“Marc’s working on that. We have to get the power on.”
