by Angela White
Where’s Angela? Tonya had expected Angela to be down here the most.
“She’s not strong enough to help everyone yet.” Adrian joined Tonya in helping the doctor. He had participated in enough of these moments to be a rookie nurse. He began opening packages the doctor needed.
“Shouldn’t she at least try?” Tonya swept their wounded and dying. “This is bad.”
“She helped Sam as much as she could and it wiped her out.” Adrian subtly gestured toward the corner where a small group of survivors stood, staring at them. “If they know she can’t help, they’ll panic. Right now, they’re counting on it. She has to deliver.”
“Can she?”
Adrian didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure a power nap would be enough. They had hundreds of injuries and a dozen of them were life threatening, but they also had fear. That was the most dangerous part of any crisis.
“Are we trapped in here for real now?”
Thought proven. Adrian handed John the suture so that Tonya could assemble another. “We have other tunnels. It’s okay to tell everyone that.”
Tonya understood she was supposed to keep her mouth shut about the other, but the doctor blew out a curt huff of offended air.
Adrian didn’t threaten the man or try to bribe him. He told the truth. “If they can’t get help from her, they’ll overwhelm Jimmy here. He’s not going to be safe when these people wake up. Stay with him.”
The doctor’s anger fled as he accepted that. If Angela couldn’t heal them, they would indeed expect the camp doctor to be able to handle things. If he couldn’t, even if it wasn’t his fault, the results could be deadly.
Tonya reached into the bag and frowned. She leaned in. “This is the last one.”
Jimmy sighed at her whisper. “There’s a ball of thread in my pocket. I hid it there right after the quake.”
Tonya reached into the man’s filthy jacket and fished out the thread. She left the gun.
Jimmy met her eye this time, ignoring Adrian. “You’ll hang around?”
“Yes, but if it comes to that, let me use it. I’ve had the classes.”
Jimmy went back to replacing stitches that hadn’t held the first time. “My thoughts exactly.”
3
Please.
WHY?
Because I love them. Don’t you?
WHY?
They’ll die if you don’t help.
YES.
Why won’t you help? They’re your children.
WHY?
Stop saying that!
Stop asking for things you know I will not provide.
I can’t. I don’t understand.
You only need to obey.
Why?
Silence.
Tell me why?!
They turned away my other children. They were happy when the souls went out. Why should they be spared?
Angela couldn’t give an answer to that. Instead, she said the only thing that she thought might succeed in breaking through the indifference. You enjoyed punishing them.
YES.
We were made in your image. If we were wrong to enjoy their punishment, then so are you.
The roaring rage in response jerked Angela from her deep doze and sent the vet yipping into the hallway in terror.
Angela calmed herself, nodding to James and Peter, the new guards who had arrived right after Marc left. She was relieved when the ground didn’t start shaking, but she wasn’t sorry for giving the truth.
The vet kept going even when Angela mentally apologized for waking him with her nightmare. She suspected he had caught the scent of another assassin. She didn’t know how he was flushing them out, but it was succeeding.
Angela contemplated her dream, replaying the words, the meanings. In real life, she never would have spoken that way. In her dreams, there were no filters or censors.
Maybe that’s why you were able to make contact, the witch suggested uneasily. She was terrified of being destroyed.
So I would piss Him off?
Maybe.
I don’t understand.
Nor do I, but we’re not dead, so it can’t have been that bad…right?
Angela shrugged. She had no idea how it all worked. All she did know was that she needed help, but it wasn’t coming.
Happy about the anger of her host, the witch tempted her. There are two traitors…
Angela moved into the darkness, waving off her protection. With the vet following her, having a guard was a waste of manpower. She also ignored her witch’s suggestion. She didn’t want to hunt down the traitors and drain them to become healthy again or even to gain new gifts. She wanted out of this cursed mountain.
Chapter Eight
Lost Sheep
1
“I don’t know what to do.” Zack waited stiffly for the condemnation that he felt he deserved. They’d scouted to the end of this tunnel and found the exit unblocked, as it was supposed to be, but there was a large camp of Mexican soldiers below them. This end of the corridor was blocked by a cave-in that had happened during the earthquake. The temperature was freezing and they were all in normal gear. The situation was bad.
“We’ll think of something, dad.” Timmy hoped that was comforting. He couldn’t stop shivering. It hadn’t been so bad while they were patrolling. Before the mountain started to shake, Timmy had even been bragging about it not bothering him. He was chattering on those words now.
“We will.” Mike was the parrot of his older brother. If Timmy said it, it had to be true.
Zack didn’t tell the boys that he’d been working on it for hours now. They were trapped in a passage that was no longer connected to the main camp, and there was only a mile between them and an army that could be climbing up even now to explore the spoils.
“Move over.” Zack slid toward the end of the corridor. “Get between me and the rubble pile. You guys will stay a little warmer.”
“They’ll come for us.” Allan flashed a comforting smile at the boys. They’d all been on a patrol together, with senior men training rookies. “No worries.”
“I agree.” Donald sounded as if he believed it, but he didn’t. The people inside were just as bad off. Leaders would need to care for the main herd first and stragglers later.
“Has anyone tried to contact the boss?” Wade patted Stanley on the shoulder as the clumsy boy shivered at a strong gust of icy wind that blew down the tunnel.
“I have.” Zack fastened the top button of his shirt. “Still am.”
“I don’t think she can hear us through the stone.” Timmy gave Mike an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Mike shrugged. “We promised to always tell the truth.”
Zack frowned. That wasn’t common knowledge. “How do you know the stone blocks most descendants?”
“We heard Matt and Charlie talking about it.” Mike’s confession brought a tense silence.
Zack didn’t scold the boys. Their punishment for being a bully was over. They’d been brought into the Eagles to repair the damage to their future, but Matt was a sore spot for everyone.
“We need to start digging.” Wade forced himself to get up even though all he wanted to do was go to sleep. “Someone will hear us.”
The small group followed Wade lead, with many of the adults calling out to Angela for help. If the Mexicans found this tunnel, they were dead.
2
“We want out of here!”
“There is no way out!”
“Liar!”
The argument between the two camp members escalated into a brawl that sent shouts for help echoing through the cave. Everyone was tired of the sound, but there was no ignoring it.
The fighting men slammed into the counter, scattering the breakfast that had been put out.
“Grab them!”
Around the men, hungry camp members advanced. Fists swung and bodies fell under harsh kicks. The fury that camp members had been controlling broke free.
“Who do we grab?” Log
an asked as he and Marc’s shift of guards hurried toward the melee that included a dozen men from camp and one scrappy woman.
“All of them!” Marc reached the edge of the fight and jumped. He landed in the middle and began to toss the fighters into those around him.
Seeing what Marc was trying to do, the other men attempted to copy him. Logan made the jump and land, grinning at how smooth it went. He grabbed the scrappy woman and gave her a light shove into Marc, who flung her towards the safer camp members who had gathered.
Daryl leapt, too hard, and went sailing over the main fighting.
Simon also jumped at that moment. Daryl hit him feet in chest, knocking his fellow helper into the crowd.
“Well, that was funny.” Gus laughed, unable to help it.
Next to him, Angela also chuckled. Gus was right. Daryl missing his mark and taking out an Eagle instead would be the highlight of conversations today.
Angela patted Cody’s shoulder as the fighting stopped. “Stay with Gus.”
Cody took a hold of the big man’s arm, smiling at him.
Angela ignored the surprise at her using Gus to guard Marc’s son. They assumed that because Gus hadn’t been trained, she wouldn’t trust him with something so important. The camp hadn’t noticed it yet, but she was using everyone. The people who hadn’t been vetted now were Eagles.
Marc spun Tony toward Simon, who had landed in a heap. The two camp playboys crashed into each other, dazing them both.
“Stop it right now!” Marc advanced, willing to get rough if that’s what it took to settle things down. “Sit down and shut up!” Marc already knew what had happened. He even understood. Hadn’t he been on missions where scared troops had needed to be calmed this way? Humans were hard to control, especially when frightened.
“We want out.” Tony was shouting now. He was sitting next to Simon, who hadn’t risen yet.
Simon was lying there trying to get his breath. His lungs had already been hurting from all the smoke he’d inhaled while helping rescue people from the mess. Being rattled by Marc hadn’t helped.
“Listen!” Marc needed them to be more scared of him than of each other or the cave. “Do you hear those engines?”
The crowd dropped to silent, straining to hear and to be clear of his wrath.
A low rumble came to them all, pleasing those who understood. Those who didn’t, panicked.
“It’s another quake!”
“We’ll all die this time!”
“We’re digging out!” Marc’s shout echoed over the mutters and cries. “Listen!”
Now that it had been pointed out, it was easy to distinguish the hum of machines. The rest of the mutters quieted.
Angela came through the crowd and bent down to start picking up the food packets that hadn’t been damaged. She didn’t speak to them yet. Right now, the remaining herd was trying to decide if she should have known, if she was to blame. She only needed to say one thing to break that hold over her people, but it had to come at the right time.
“When can we get out?” Tony asked, still sitting by Simon. The two men didn’t look at each other.
“It will take us a week.” Angela tossed food packs into hands that didn’t have one yet. Hungry bellies being filled would bring more calm.
“The Mexicans are out there,” someone stated from the rear of the group. “When you go out, you’ll let them in!”
“We’ll be wiped out this time.”
“The Mexicans are gone.” Angela ignored the nagging twinge that said she had missed something important. “They were overwhelmed by refugees. We’re working on the camera cables to verify that.”
New interest swarmed the group.
“We’ll be able to leave without fighting our own.”
“No, we won’t. Remember them crashing our gate?”
“So what?”
“We didn’t let them in because it wasn’t safe, because they couldn’t be vetted. That hasn’t changed, asshole.”
“Less fighting!” Marc didn’t want to let things degenerate into a refugee argument that would suck in his men. “More listening!”
Angela hid a smirk as the crowd fell silent again. No one wanted to deal with Marc. Adrian was the brains. Marc was the enforcer.
I’m more than that!
Angela rolled her eyes and tossed him a food packet. It was the same as saying sit down and shut up.
Marc flushed and did, glaring.
Angela stood up, feeling the moment arrive. “I’m sorry that I didn’t see it coming. The quake caught all of us by surprise–including Samantha. I’m so very sorry.”
Marc rubbed her leg as Cody came over and crawled into his lap. “You had just lost a baby. No one blames you.”
“Yeah, you can’t predict an earthquake.” Gus liked Angela. He didn’t like it that she was in pain.
“When are you gonna let us out of here?!”
“In a week.” Angela glowered at Tony. “Now shut up, okay? We’ve had enough of you.” She waved at the damaged food. “Some of us may go hungry now.”
The crowd turned that dangerous anger on Tony again and he fell silent, face flushed, lip bleeding.
“We’re going to the crushed level today.” Angela gestured. “Some of the meat can be pulled out and prepared. That’s a nasty job, folks, but I need you to help.”
“We’ll have fresh meat for weeks once we dig them out.” Logan knew this was a time when their leaders needed Eagles to speak up. “Power on the top floor is solid now. We’ll get the mess straightened out while crews work on food.”
“Exactly. I can’t promise, but I hope to have the smell of cooking meat filling your noses a few hours from now.”
That was something everyone wanted to hear and such an obvious solution couldn’t be faked. There were also a couple of smiles. Even before the quake, they’d been eating thawed foods that didn’t taste the same.
“I also need a body crew.” Angela assumed only Eagles would volunteer for it. “We’re clearing the upper levels. We’ll get it cleaned and move up there. It’s closer to the topside exit, so expect it to be noisy.”
“What happens when we open that passage in a week and the refugees find us?” someone asked from Angela’s right.
She turned that way. “The descendants are going to provide a distraction while some people leave. Then we’re sealing it up until everyone forgets this place ever existed.”
“After the winter, we can come out, right?” Simon clarified.
“Yes, I believe so, but that won’t be up to me.” Angela squared her shoulders. “I’m not staying. You have to pick a leader before I go.”
Shock ran through the crowd despite knowing Angela had always planned to leave.
“What kind of distraction?” Doug was sitting with Roy and Romeo. The boys were eating, but Doug wasn’t.
“Avalanche.” Angela swallowed a shudder at her choice. “We’re not strong enough to fight the UN troops and we won’t leave them to haunt those of you who stay here or even those who’ve chosen to take off on their own. We’re going to bury them alive and pick off any survivors. Then we’re getting into trucks and leaving this place.” Angela signaled Adrian. “Time to go.”
She fingered Kenn before anyone could question or stop the former leader when he ducked into the shadows. “Let’s hear that bugout plan.”
Put on the spot, Kenn sputtered. “Now? In these...?”
Angela lifted a brow. She was certain he had adjusted for at least part of this chaos.
Kenn had. His own fear of the mountain had sunk in deep. The only way to fight it had been to put precautions into place. “Yeah, okay. Give me a minute.”
Angela glanced at Neil. “We need another way out, one that lets people out unobserved, but we can’t use the top entrance.”
“I’ll scout it.”
“I’ll go with Neil to scout. I need to know the new layout.” Kenn gestured at the tired trooper. “Come on.”
As the two men departe
d, Angela waited, hoping the camp would help instead of being carried.
“I can help the doctor.” Missa’s voice was clear, lighthearted even. “Joey will help with bodies.”
Angela stared with everyone else. She’d never heard Missa speak. “Uh, that’s great.”
“We’ll help in the mess.” A camp member patted his wife’s hand lovingly. They hadn’t been in Safe Haven long before the mountain was shut down.
“I’ll do body chores.” Simon didn’t look at anyone. He was ashamed that he’d lost control of himself. That was why he hadn’t joined the Eagles. If he did, everyone would know he wasn’t as steady as he pretended to be.
“So will we.”
“I can cook.”
The camp began assigning themselves to chores and Angela motioned Kyle to keep them going. As he took over, giving needed comfort and information, Angela went to work on the next part of the list.
Marc and Cody followed, giving her space and protection. She was clearly in the zone.
“Why did she lie?” Cody’s question was whispered.
Marc leaned down. “People wouldn’t understand. She would be in danger.”
“Me too?”
“You knew?”
Cody scowled. “We talked about it. She said it had to happen or the bad men would get in and kill everyone.”
“Do you doubt her about that?”
“Oh, no.” Cody tightened his grip on Marc’s hand. “She’s right. They hate us.”
“Are the bad guys alive?”
“One for sure.” Cody’s face filled with fear. “He’s coming.”
Marc put an arm around the boy’s shoulders and kept him close as they followed Angela. Marc didn’t tell the boy he would keep him safe, but Cody knew his father would try.
Will it be enough? Angela asked.
There wasn’t a reply.
3
“Where are you going?”
Gus moved around his mate. “Helping.”
Britani grabbed Gus’s big arm. “You’re staying right here with me!”
Gus sighed. He cupped her pretty, dirty face with his large hand. “Stop now.”
