Dead Hearts (Book 2): Forsaken Hearts

by Susanne L. Lambdin

  Slipping out of the mess hall, Rose carried the tray back to the infirmary. Lachlan came out the door just as Rose was about to open it, and he nearly knocked her down. He caught the tray before she dropped it, not spilling a single drop of coffee. Once righted and tray again in hand, Rose went inside. Ginger stood in the door to the lab, waving her over.

  “We’ve got a problem,” said Ginger after they were inside with the door shut. “I’ve taken an inventory of all of the supplies. If Raven kept accurate records, then you’re missing three vials of blood. Micah thinks Logan stole Cadence’s blood. I do too. I told you not to get involved with a scavenger.”

  “He wouldn’t do that,” said Rose.

  “Considering everything Logan has done since he’s been here,” said Ginger, “that’s precisely what I think. I knew the day we met Logan Bennet that he couldn’t be trusted.”

  “Bennet? How do you now his last name and I don’t?”

  “Because he talks in his sleep,” Ginger said. “Micah doesn’t know. We’re kinda an item these days. He didn’t know I slept with Logan. I want to keep it that way. Okay?”

  Rose wished Ginger hadn’t told her either. Ginger didn’t know that Rose had been seeing Logan. Rose wanted to know if Logan had slept with Ginger before or after he started seeing her, but it didn’t really matter since he was now exiled from the camp. Noticing Ginger scrutinizing her, Rose grabbed her coat and left without saying another word.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thor woke up in a sweat, reeling from a nightmare. He’d been alone in a department store, filling up a gym bag with items. Zombies were ambling about, but didn’t notice or care he was present. When Thor finished filling his bag, he went outside into a normal world. People were driving to work, walking their dogs, riding bicycles, and watering their lawns. The smell of pine filled the air. He tied down the bag on the back of his motorcycle and threw his leg over the seat, but when he turned the key, the bike blew up, along with him.

  The first thing Thor noticed was sunlight streaming through the windows. A few Dark Angels were cleaning, using nasty pine-scented ammonia. Throwing aside the wool blanket, Thor rose to a sitting position. When no one came over to check on him, he decided to remove the brace. He pressed a hand to his ribs, feeling no aches or pains. Glancing down, he discovered the purple bruising was gone.

  “Cadence?” Thor turned toward the nearby cot. Cadence wasn’t there; however, he could still see a depression on the pillow and mattress where she’d been lying. He swung his legs off the cot, put on his boots, and grabbed his sweater which was folded neatly beside the bed. He looked around for Rose and caught Ginger’s attention.

  Ginger held a mop and wore a disgusted expression. “Rose went with Nomad to pick up Rafe and China Six. You must not be that important,” she said, in a snide voice, as the Blue Devils went on break and haven’t returned. If you’d like to get out of here, I could clean your sheets.”

  “Why are you mad at me? I didn’t do anything.”

  “That’s my point. I took your dirty dishes back to the mess hall and cleaned your boots. I wanted to give you a shave, but your stubble is so thick that it broke the razor. Oh, and you need to trim your nails. You have claws.”

  Lifting his hand to his jaw, Thor felt an inch growth of hair, and Ginger was right—his fingernails were long. He reached up with both hands and slid them through his hair, trailing the strands all the way past his shoulders.

  “Thanks,” said Thor, speaking louder than he intended.

  Ginger flinched. “Don’t shout at me. Get out of here before I start mopping you up. Micah could use some help up on the ridge. You’re the biggest kid in camp. Carrying fences shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Feeling brand new and full of energy, Thor bolted out the door. The sun was bright, but he didn’t need to shade his eyes to look at the big, fiery, red orb. Taking his time, he gazed around the camp. He hadn’t noticed before how beautiful and majestic the canyon appeared in daylight. The colors of the leaves were sharper. He breathed deeply through his nose. It smelled like a bouquet. He was able to distinguish every scent. In fact, the latrines were nearby and needed cleaning.

  Thor saw kids hanging out by their RVs and took off running. When he reached the Pillars of Hercules, Thor looked at his watch; he had run the mile in less than three minutes. Putting his hands around his mouth, he let out a loud Tarzan yell that bounced off the cliff walls, echoing through the canyon. A boulder above moved a little at the power of his war cry. Thor made a mental note to keep his voice down as he didn’t want to cause a rock slide. He turned and ran all the way back toward the camp, heading toward a large, cleared area where a group of teenagers were drilling with Private Destry.

  “Hey, Thor!” shouted a familiar voice.

  Loki waved at Thor. He was sword fighting with Xena and Phoenix. Loki had on a heavy coat, while the two Amazon team members wore leather breastplates, tall boots, and pleated leather skirts. Both girls were proficient with both sword and axe. They often trained with Dragon, but no one ever beat him. Phoenix was the camp veterinarian. Cadence didn’t allow pets, but she did allow Phoenix to bring injured wild animals back to her RV and treat them. Phoenix was careful and only catered to wild animals. She kept a number of cages outside the Amazon RV, and the Amazons had put up a wire fence around the cages to keep the younger kids from getting to close to the animals.

  “You fight like a pussy,” said Thor. “Man up, Loki. You’re always on defense. Try to stab them. It’s not like you’re going to hurt an Amazon.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” shouted Loki. “Watch this!”

  Thor knew both girls were merely toying with the guy. It didn’t take long before Xena disarmed Loki. She laughed when the boy ran after his sword. Phoenix blocked his path and used her sword to knock his feet out from under him. Kind to animals, but tough on boys. Both girls laughed. Loki lay with his face in the grass. He slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows.

  “Not fair,” said Loki.

  “What a baby. Come on, Phoenix. Help the little baby to his feet.”

  Both girls stabbed their blades into the ground and hurried over to Loki. Xena pulled him to his feet. Phoenix brushed the grass out of Loki’s hair and kissed him on the forehead, while Xena merely patted him on the back. A bright red blush appeared on Loki’s narrow face. The kid actually thought they were flirting.

  “You’ll be all right,” said Xena, in husky voice. She slapped Phoenix on the butt and pointed at their swords. “Just you and me. Let’s see if you can give me a little more competition than the baby.”

  “Loki’s improving, Xena,” Phoenix said. “Next week, I’ll start teaching him how to properly use a bow and arrow.” She bent down to retrieve his sword.

  Thor noticed Phoenix’s calves were shapely. Perhaps she wasn’t as pretty as Xena, but Phoenix had great-looking legs. She handed the sword back to Loki. He was still blushing.

  “Thanks, Phoenix. You too, Warrior Princess.” Loki hurried over to Thor. “Hey, I thought you were laid up?” He’d reopened the cut on his chin and dabbed at it with the sleeve of his coat. “Doc said you bruised your ribs. Why are you out of bed?”

  “I’m good; no, actually I’m better. In fact, I’ve got something that’s really cool to show you guys.”

  Thor threw his arms over his head and jumped. He knew he’d jumped high when Xena tripped over her own feet. Phoenix came over and put her hand on Thor’s forehead, checking his temperature. Grabbing her by the forearms, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Xena and Loki laughed. A whimper came from Phoenix, and she kicked him in the leg. Thor didn’t feel a thing, but he’d bruised Phoenix’s arms.

  “That would have been one helluva dunk,” said Thor, grinning.

  Loki looked shocked. “Did I just see you jump ten feet in the air?”

  “I’ll do it again. Pay attention.”

  Thor jumped again. This time, he flew right over Loki’s head, landing
in a crouch. Loki, Phoenix, and Xena looked stunned. Private Destry and the patrols were no longer drilling. They’d seen Thor jump and gazed back in stunned silence.

  “Just warming up before the big game.” Thor winked at Loki. “You want to tag along? I’ve got to find Cadence.”

  “We saw her earlier,” Phoenix said. “You on steroids?” She squeezed Thor’s right forearm and gulped. “You feel like iron.”

  “If one of your strays gets stuck in a tree,” Thor said, laughing, “you know who to contact. Be my pleasure.” He pointed at Loki’s chin. “That’s a nasty cut.”

  Loki glanced at the blood on his coat sleeve. “Oh, crap,” he said. “It is bad.” He touched it with his fingers, wincing. “Phoenix? Come help me.”

  The Amazon reached into her pouch on her belt, produced a Band-Aid, and came over to stick it onto his chin. “You need stitches, but this will do for now.”

  “Thanks,” said Loki. “We better get out of here, Thor. Destry looks like he’s about to wet himself. You two want to come along?”

  The Amazons shook their heads and resumed practicing. Thor and Loki took the road toward the RVs. Private Destry blew a whistle, and the kids returned to their drills.

  “You’re getting kinda close to Xena and Phoenix,” said Thor. “Amazons normally don’t hang out with punks like you.”

  Loki shrugged. “Hey, they like me,” he said, grinning. “Did you hear the Dark Angels were up at the Peak? I heard it’s covered with skeletons.” He gave Thor a mischievous sideways look. “Odin’s still in bed. He wouldn’t get up to even hang out with the Amazons. I mean, seriously?”

  Little upset Loki, which Thor had realized after the kid joined the Vikings, as Loki had learned how to turn off his feelings. Thor considered Loki a good friend, but he made things up so often that it was hard to tell when he was lying or not. Thor preferred hanging out with older guys like Uther and Heimdall, but he had a feeling he’d never see them again.

  “Odin idolized Baldor,” said Thor. “I know it goes against your nature, but try to show a little compassion, Loki. He’s taking it pretty hard.”

  “Yeah, well, Raven isn’t around to mother Odin, and I’m not about to try.” Loki tramped along, hands in his pockets. “What’s the big deal? Lots of people are dead. Raven would’ve jerked him out of bed and made him wash windows. All Odin needs is a little motivation. I think he’s doing a good job getting out of work detail.”

  Catching sight of a golf cart, Thor stepped off the road. He took a dirt path through the trees, walking along the creek bank as he passed the Viking’s RV. When he started to ask Loki to check on Odin, he realized the skinny kid was far behind him. As he waited for Loki, he went over and pulled a young tree out of the ground. Thor stuck it back in the hole, not caring when it fell over, and gave an even larger tree a karate chop. His hand went through the wood like an axe and the upper half keeled over with a loud thunk.

  Thor was overwhelmed with excitement. All this time he’d envied the werepumas, even the vampires, for their exceptional powers, and now he was as strong as any of them. He wanted to start planning a rescue mission to the Citadel right away. Together with Freeborn and the Dark Angels, Thor knew he’d be able to rescue Star and his friends. Being superhuman was what he’d been hoping for all along…and it felt amazing.

  A window opened in a nearby RV. Worried someone had seen him, Thor took off in a flash and only slowed down when he ran into Betsy with the little kids, having a picnic under the trees. Betsy smiled, and Thor went over to her table. The woman pushed a plate of hotdogs over along with a bottle of water.

  “It’s such a nice afternoon,” said Betsy. “I’ll be giving the sermon this evening. Are you coming to the funeral? It never gets easy, does it? We lose people, but we still miss them long after they’re gone. Sometimes it helps if you keep something personal. Did Baldor have a favorite item? You might keep it.”

  Thor barely listened as he devoured a hotdog in two bites. With a shake of her head, Betsy offered him another. He gobbled that one down as well. There were dozens of single packages of chips and candy bars scattered across the table. Four little kids sat across from him, eyes wide, watching him cram the food into his mouth. Loki came running down the path, saw Thor at the table, and hurried over. The table was packed with kids and Loki pushed one over to make room to sit down. Perspiration covered his narrow face. Loki feebly picked up a hotdog and took a bite, while Thor powered down a bottle of water and tossed the empty bottle onto the ground.

  Melanie sat at the table. She shook a finger with a Scooby Do Band-Aid at him. “Littering is bad,” she said in a tiny voice. “Bad, hairy Thor.”

  Betsy got up, picked up the bottle, and placed it in a trash can. Loki was fighting with Melanie over a bag of stale chips. “That’s enough,” said Betsy. “I’m sure you big boys have something better to do than hang out here. I’ll see you later.”

  “Thanks, Betsy,” said Thor. Loki got up and followed him. “You need to bulk up, Loki. You’re too skinny.”

  A crooked grin appeared on Loki’s face. “Give me whatever you’re taking and I’ll jump over a car.”

  Arriving at the Tiger RV, Thor left Loki on the steps and went right in without knocking. Cadence and Highbrow were kissing on the couch. Both looked startled as they slid apart. A blush spread across Highbrow’s face.

  “Sorry,” said Thor. “I can come back later.” He paused. “No. Actually, this can’t wait, Cadence. I need to talk to you, in private.”

  “Get out!” Highbrow pointed at the door. “I said get out!”

  Thor backed out of the RV and shut the door. Loki had over-exerted himself to keep up with Thor and still hadn’t recovered. He was standing to the side, looking pale, and had puked up his hot dog near the steps to the RV. Highbrow came out and walked down the steps, turned to yell, and stepped in the vomit.

  “What the hell? What do you two want? You’re supposed to be in the infirmary, Thor.” Highbrow glared at Loki. “Is this your mess?”

  Loki saluted. “Sorry, sir. I had to run to keep up with Thor. You should have seen him. He jumped over my head. Hell, he jumped so high, I strained my neck watching. The Commander is going to freak out. Do it again, Thor.”

  “What are you yapping about?” asked Highbrow. Cadence came out in a good mood, walked up to her boyfriend, and slid her arms around his middle. He pushed her arms down. “Not now.”

  “Like we’re a big secret,” Cadence said as she patted Loki on the head. She joined Thor at the picnic table. “Guess you’re not feeling any pain. That’s a pretty thick beard you’ve grown. Any other changes?”

  “Loki says Thor jumped over his head,” Highbrow said, wiping his boot clean on the steps. “These two are stoned. Having pot earns you five demerits. You both get ten for coming here without an invitation. Loki, you’re supposed to be on guard duty up at the barricade. Last night’s events don’t give you an excuse to screw around.”

  “Aurora took my place. She said my sword arm is weak. I was practicing with Xena and Phoenix, and they aren't on guard duty. Why do I have to be?”

  Cadence’s smile faded. “Everyone calm down.” She put her hand on Thor’s shoulder. “You look healthy as an ox. Are your ribs healed?”

  “How could they be?” asked Highbrow. “Would someone tell me what’s going on?”

  “Just show him.” Loki stood up. “Jump, Thor. Jump!”

  Thor picked out a tall oak, took a step back, and jumped. He sailed through the air and slammed into the tree. His arms circled around the trunk, keeping him from falling, and he gazed down at the ground. He was twenty feet in the air. Grabbing a tree branch, he swung away from the trunk and dropped down. Loki applauded. A loud whoop rose from Thor as he skipped back to the group.

  “Whoa, there, fella,” said Cadence, glancing toward Highbrow. “We talked about this, remember? Don’t start doing crazy things. People are going to notice.”

  “Yeah, right,” Thor said. “Sorry. I
guess I lost my head.”

  Highbrow buttoned up his jacket. “Stop talking in code.” He gave Cadence a stern look. “Does this have something to do with Freeborn? She better be back in her cage, or I’m throwing her in the brig.”

  “Freeborn?” Loki stood up. “I heard how she broke off the door to her cage. What did Rose give her? How about it, Commander? Can you hook me up with some super juice? What is it? Vampire blood?”

  “It’s not vampire blood,” said Thor. “It’s better.”

  Highbrow turned on Cadence. “We’re not talking about this outside,” he said, furious. “Get inside, you idiots, before someone hears you!”

  The captain caught hold of Loki’s arm and hauled him into the RV. Thor followed behind Cadence and sat on the couch beside Loki. Highbrow stood with his back to the counter, arms crossed over his chest, furious. Cadence closed the door and remained leaning against it, her arms crossed over her chest as well.

  “Sit down,” said Highbrow. “I want to talk about this.”

  For a moment, the couple stared at one another, neither giving in, until Highbrow finally looked away. Loki snickered.

  “This isn’t a laughing matter, people,” said Highbrow. “I want it clear that what’s said here stays here. Loki, give me your word of honor. Whatever you hear remains a secret. This is classified information. If you tell the other kids, I swear, I’ll have you whipped.”

  “Man, calm down,” said Loki, with a gulp. “I’m not going to tell anyone.” He crossed his heart. “Word of honor, sir. My lips are sealed...with staples and glue.”

  “Cadence, please, sit down,” said Highbrow. He climbed onto a stool. “Let’s talk about this rationally. For starters, tell me how you’re feeling, Thor. Your ribs weren’t broken, just bruised, right? You on pain killers?”

  “I feel great,” said Thor. “I’m not on any drugs; I don’t need them.”

  The tall brunette walked over to the couch and sat between Thor and Loki. Loki scooted away, hanging off the side, chewing on a fingernail. Cadence placed her arms on the couch behind Thor and Loki, leaned back, crossing one leg over the other and regarded Highbrow with a frosty look.