Message delivered to anyone lurking, the blond went to help Kyle’s team pull the supplies they needed most.
Surrounded by two teams, Seth and Angela stood just 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 back toward the working men as Neil’s Eagles moved closer to tighten their line of defense. “Stay with him.”
Seth waved his own men forward as soon as she was out of sight. He wouldn’t let them get any closer to Adrian without knowing if there was a problem. This station only had one other exit - through the actual train tunnels, that were likely flooded by the thick smell of mildew. Right now, they were rats in a trap.
The redhead’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 back 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 coming back to defend him. “No worries. We’ll get you back to camp, safe and sound.”
Adrian grinned, loving her no-nonsense attitude when things began to roll. “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 back 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 back!”
Neil’s shout was ignored as Angela slid to her knees by the bloody redhead they were lined up in front of.
“Stabbed... gutted my leg!” Seth looked up at them in shock. “I only said hello…” he groaned, hands covered in blood.
Adrian helped her stem the flow with his red bandana.
“It’s deep.”
“Pickaxe.” Adrian pointed to the bloody weapon that must have dislodged as they fell back. 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 back, but didn’t feel it as full survival-mode kicked in. “Do not shoot first!” he ordered, still slowly backing them toward the room where he knew Kyle’s men now waited to surprise their attackers. The line of Eagles followed him with their weapons pointed, making sure Angela was covered too, as she kept pace and tied off the bandage on 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 huge mob.
“On my mark,” Neil ordered, not interested in letting anyone into Safe Haven who would attack Seth, and Adrian didn’t correct him. The sense of wrong was just too strong to ignore. He hadn’t found survivors, only more walking dead.
“Maybe we should fall back to…”
“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 filled the mob, mouths watering and they charged through the blinding glare of lights 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, black eyes 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.
Closest, Jeremy caught the odor of decay as he stayed in front of Adrian; his stomach dipped as he placed the smell. It wasn’t paint they were covered in.
“What the hell are they?” Daniel asked, seeing that every iris was solid black. His horrified question broke the spell over the two groups.
Fresh Meat!
Angela snarled in revulsion. “Cannibals. 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 were hunting the refugees who came through here… then eating 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.”
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 carrying boxes and crates of supplies out to the waiting semi. He 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 work 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.” His 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, just these… animals, preying on refugees who come this way.”
Angela’s voice wasn’t even, but it was a comfort. “Maybe Cesar will do it for you.”
She felt his mind developing the plan that would ensure it happened and turned back to Seth before her guilt could begin crying. “You ready?”
The redhead grinned drunkenly, the morphine easing his pain. “No, but do it anyway, Ang.”
She smiled 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 lightened. 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 the joke out. “It’s like training with someone’s nervous grandmother!”
Angela didn’t hold back the tears as she shoved the iron against his leg.
4
“You’ll be taking over Seth’s a.m. post until he’s back on his leg.”
Kyle’s words sent a smile over Angela’s face. They’d only been bac
k in camp for an hour. “No problem.”
“Not for you,” the Mobster muttered, but he 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 went in. “How’s Seth?”
Angela looked 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 camp. There were dark skies overhead, 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 and 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 ran her eyes over the small group of nine, face tightening. “Stick around. He’s hinky.”
Adrian sent that with a single hand gesture and felt better when 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 see during quarantine.”
The only man in the group scowled at her. “Doctors, quarantine. You government?”
Her tone was perfectly insulted. “You’re kidding, right? Those bastards are gone. Safe Haven is an American red cross convoy offering shelter to survivors.”
The man’s tone lost some of its edge. “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 just 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 then back 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 warmth.
“You’ve lied to me twice. We have no room for you here.”
The Eagles were stunned. Kind, forgiving Angela had turned someone away… herself. He had to be bad for her to do that and her protectors moved closer.
“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 looks.
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 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 Kyle over, sure of which Eagle handled these things when they came up. Her voice rang out in a taunting cruelness very unlike the Angela they all knew. “Tick… tock. It’s all hands on a clock for you now, Ernie from Omaha.”
The doomed man’s face paled and she turned her back to him as the Eagles sent him out of camp. Clouds of dust rolled over the parking area.
When Kyle would have waited until Angela was out of sight, Adrian shook his head in satisfaction. “No more hiding now. None of it.”
The Mobster moved to his nearby jeep with a feeling of satisfaction he was confused by. Why did Angela’s sudden willingness to order someone killed give them pride?
Angela took a minute to calm down and then turned back to 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 began welcoming 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’d been chosen for this. Adrian knew hidden talent, put it to work, and he’d placed Angie perfectly. He’d also made sure they all accepted it. There wasn’t an Eagle 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’d won them over and the only thing that bothered Marc, was where it would lead. “What’s he got planned for you?” Marc murmured, watching her joke 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?
5
Waiting until the camp was settled, Kyle and Neil made a short visit to the Mess, where one just off-duty Eagle was enjoying a too-private moment... with his boyfriend.
“Oh, man…” Neil complained as they caught sight of the cozy scene. “Do we really have to do this?”
The Mobster gave him a hard look. “It’s what any other Eagle here would get.”
“But he’s not an Eagle, he’s…”
“Worthy and you know it. If not for him, Adrian would be dead. The only reason Ray isn’t, is because he weighs less and the branch he landed on held up. It’s time to let him in.”
Neil frowned, pushing his hat back. “Surprised to hear you say it.”
Kyle sighed, letting his own weakness and strength out in the same sentence. “I feel the same way, but I can admit I was wrong.”
Neil didn’t like the images that brought and nodded in resignation. “You lead and I’ll follow.”
Ray and Dale broke apart guiltily as the Eagles came around the corner of the Mess, putting space between their bodies. Instantly expecting trouble, the two men were tense as Neil and Kyle got mugs and came toward the table they were sitting at.
“How’s it going?” Kyle asked, sliding onto the bench across from them, Neil at his side.
“Fine,” Dale stated defiantly. “What do you want with him?”
“How do you know it’s him and not you?” Neil quipped sharply, still hating how he felt when he was around these two. His eyes went over Ray’s scrapes and bruises, the casted arm, and stitches. Why was he even on duty yet?
Dale’s beady eyes narrowed. “It’s always him. You ran me out, and now you’re trying to get rid of him, too.”
“No, they aren’t,” Ray spoke up. “Not these two.”
“You’re still having trouble with the others?”
“One of them came by to thank him last night. They threw a pile of dogshit into his tent,” Dale informed them angrily.
Kyle’s mind went straight to Allan, he’d been on dog duty last night, and Dale read it on his face.
“You’ll only make it worse. Leave it alone.”
“Don’t tell him what to do. He gives the orders,” Ray scolded Dale lightly, not wanting his friend to get in trouble, but al
so feeling it like any of the others. He wouldn’t have stayed so long where he wasn’t wanted, but this pull!
Flushing, Dale pushed to his feet. “I’ll leave now. Enjoy your talk.”
They watched Ray as he watched Dale, seeing how familiar, how caring his eyes were. It made them uncomfortable, but for Kyle, who was in the process of changing his own thoughts, it was painful. They’d denied these two and others like them happiness. And for what? Because they were gay? Out of all the things they could be in this new world, how was liking men a threat to anyone?
Ray looked back at them, flushing a bit, but not censoring his words. “He’s jealous.”
Neil opened his mouth to defend his own manhood, and was shocked by Kyle’s chuckle.
“He’s got little to worry about.”
Neil turned to stare at the joke as Ray snorted bitterly.
“I wouldn’t exactly say that.”
Again, Neil wanted to make it clear he had no such urges and Kyle was fast to head it off.
“Because of the time you spend with us, not because you’re hot for Neil, right?”
Ray flushed a dark red that had Neil snapping his mouth shut. Damn Kyle for changing his mind!
“He knows it’s more than that.”
Kyle guessed and hit his mark. “Because you’d go straight to keep your place now.”
“Yes!” Ray let his own emotions out. “I would have died for him and that feeling was more than I can stand to lose.” His voice dropped in shame. “There isn’t anything I won’t do.”
Kyle didn’t answer, making Neil feel the devotion, too. Sexuality was another of those things that Adrian would have to handle in time, but of all his men, Kyle was the one to sense how it might happen.
“And it starts with you,” Kyle stated, sure Ray understood. “You’re the first. Everything that happens after, is on you.”
Ray was very aware and he nodded, allowing a small smile to come to his lips. “Thank you.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Don’t thank me. Tell me you’re sorry for all the heads I’ll be knockin’ over this.”
Ray shook his head. “I can’t do that. Some of those heads need to be knocked.”
Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) Page 51
