Larkin noticed, as Larkin usually did, and she chuckled at Carrington’s anxiety. Carrington playfully shoved her.
“You’ll understand this one day,” Carrington said.
“Hopefully not,” Larkin teased. Carrington shot her a threatening look and Larkin innocently shrugged.
“What? If having a baby makes you crazy, then it’s not for me.”
“I’m not crazy. I’m just worried,” Carrington said.
“About what?”
“I don’t know. What if something happens to her while I’m gone?”
Larkin gave her one of those knowing smiles she’d been using lately. As if she understood something about the world that everyone else hadn’t quite figured out yet. She grabbed Carrington’s hand and held it close.
“I’m just afraid, that’s all,” Carrington said.
Still holding Carrington’s hand, Larkin leaned her head back against a tree trunk and closed her eyes. “Let it go, my dear.”
“Easy for you to say. You aren’t a crazy baby owner.”
Larkin softly laughed. It made Carrington smile.
A seriousness settled into Larkin’s tone that Carrington had also come to recognize. “You could still let it go, you know,” she said.
“I don’t know how,” Carrington replied.
Larkin opened her eyes, lifting her head, and looked at Carrington. She smiled. “Practice.”
A wisp of wind swirled between them and she continued. “Fear is real; we know this, but it only has the power we give to it. Take away its power and what is it? Let go of your fear; don’t resist it or fight against it. Don’t shove it down or pretend it doesn’t exist. See what you are afraid of and trust that your faith and your Father are bigger. All that is supposed to happen will happen. You are afraid for Elise because you don’t know what will happen to her while you are gone, but trust that your Father does.”
Larkin laid her head back against the tree. “The more you practice surrendering and trusting, the easier it will become.”
Carrington knew Larkin’s words were true, but it was too hard not to tease her. “Oh, wise one, how did I become so fortunate to sit in your shadow?”
Larkin jabbed Carrington’s side and both girls broke into giggles.
“Carrington.” A voice yanked her out of her memory and back to the camp beneath the earth, where her fear was very real and Larkin was very dead. She turned to see Neil Stone standing behind her, his face white as flour and a tremor jostling his fingers.
“Neil, what’s—?” Carrington started.
“Shh, there isn’t much time. Take Elise and get out of here,” Neil said.
Carrington was shocked by the state of the man and thought to call out for Connor. “What are you talking about?”
He glanced over his shoulder as if expecting something to be chasing him and then looked back, eyes wide. “I’m sorry. You’ve always been so kind to me, even when I was at odds with Remko. I just have to protect my son. . . .” He paused as if he couldn’t form the words he needed. “You have to leave before . . .”
Again he trailed off and Carrington started to become afraid. “Neil, what is going on? Talk to me,” Carrington urged.
Someone screamed from deep within the camp and Neil’s eyes glazed over. “It’s too late,” he whispered, and Carrington couldn’t find sense through the panic exploding in her brain. Another scream erupted and Neil grabbed her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry. Run!”
His eyes pleaded with her for another moment before he turned and raced into camp. Carrington moved a couple steps to follow him, but she couldn’t leave Elise. More screams echoed around her, and she could make out angry shouts and panicked pleas.
Carrington turned and rushed into her tent. Elise was sound asleep and she swept the baby up, waking her. Elise fussed in her arms and Carrington hushed the child as she grabbed a bag and threw as much as she could inside. Her heart thundered against her rib cage. She yanked the bag closed and over her shoulder before fleeing the tent. She stumbled forward into camp but then came to a halt, a gasp escaping her lips.
Ahead of her, the camp was flooded with CityWatch soldiers in black uniforms. They were ripping through tents, tearing people out and throwing them to the ground. Men, women, and children begged for help and mercy but only received violence.
Many were fighting back, but the CityWatch had come prepared and the people before her could do little to stop them. Carrington ducked behind a nearby tent and searched for any way to help those around her. Women and children cried as they were bound and loaded into the backs of trucks. Guards shouted commands and profanity at those who resisted. One man managed to get loose and head-butted the guard escorting him. The guard cried out in pain and another soldier turned and snatched the Seer before he could get away. The second soldier held the man as the first injured guard pounded him over the head with a black stick.
The woman beside them yelled for them to stop and another guard sent his open palm flying across her face, silencing her. Tears gathered in Carrington’s eyes and she felt like she might be sick. These were the people they had rescued, people she had brought here.
Someone tapped her shoulder and a hand suffocated her scream. She turned around and saw a group of faces she knew. Ramses, with his hand over her mouth and a finger to his lips. Lesley, their twins, Selena and both her girls, Connor, several other Seer women and children. Relief flooded Carrington’s body and she let out the breath she’d been holding as Ramses released her.
“We have to move quickly,” Ramses whispered and Carrington nodded. Guilt ate away at the lining of her stomach; they were leaving behind others to be taken, but they would risk all their lives and the lives of their children if they were to rush out there and try to save them.
Carrington followed as Ramses led the group forward. They carefully sneaked behind the tents that were still standing but could hear guards beginning to work their way through, toward the back of camp. The women did their best to keep the children silent, and every time Elise moved in Carrington’s arms, she held her breath and prayed she wouldn’t start crying.
They reached the end of the row of tents and the protection their cover provided. Ramses peered around the edge of the fabric, as did Carrington. Most of the guards were working their way through the tents, finding the few stragglers who had hidden themselves beneath benches or under cots. Others were rummaging through the camp’s bins, taking what they wanted and making a mess of everything else.
There was an exit shaft with an ascending flight of stairs across the camp, directly in front of them. If they could make it across without being seen, they might have a chance to run for it. But making it across would be impossible with the number of men in black uniforms headed their direction, and it wouldn’t be long before the soldiers wading from tent to tent were upon them. They were running out of time.
“Find every last one,” a soldier yelled. “Burn this place to the ground if you need to. No one gets away.”
Carrington could see the panic in Ramses’s face, the fear collecting in Lesley’s and the other women’s eyes. Selena recognized the trouble they were in and pulled her daughters close to her chest. Nina and Kane clung to Lesley for dear life. Carrington looked down on the tiny face of her own daughter and scraped her brain for a way out.
She felt a presence beside her and saw Selena’s face. The woman’s eyes were filled with certainty and resolve; her face soft, collecting tears. Carrington opened her mouth to try for a comforting word, but Selena spoke first.
“Promise me that my girls will know of Aaron’s Father the way that Arianna did,” Selena said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
Carrington didn’t register what was happening until it was too late. She reached out to grab hold of Selena’s sleeve, but the woman was already out of reach. She ran back up behind the row of tents, a couple of them occupied by CityWatch soldiers. She moved quickly and covertly. Both of her girls tried to rush af
ter her, but Carrington grabbed Rayna, and Lesley reached out to hold back Lucy. Lucy cried out and a guard swung around in their direction.
“Who’s there?” he called. “No use hiding, we’ll find you either way.”
He started toward the tent they were hiding behind, the rest of the guards still several tents away. Selena was out of sight now, having moved between two tents.
The guard moved toward them slowly and the entire group clustered tightly together and held their breath.
“Stop!” someone yelled.
The guard, nearly to their tent, turned to see what commotion was happening behind him. His radio crackled. “All units report back to armored cars; we have a runner.”
The guard spun on his heels and took off in a sprint back toward the front of camp, as did all of the other soldiers who had been moving closer.
Ramses recognized their opportunity and motioned for people to move forward. Quickly, but only two or three at a time, the group crossed the gap to the side service shaft. Nearly everyone was across when the first shot rang out across the tunnel, followed by screams echoing through the air.
“Don’t let her get away,” shouted a guard.
“Be alert; she’s armed,” a radio buzzed.
“If you have a shot, take it,” a heavy voice echoed.
Another shot bounced through the air.
“Mom!” Lucy shouted. A single guard snapped his head around toward Lucy’s voice just in time to see the last group crossing the gap. Ramses had to yank Lucy off her feet and toward the service exit.
“Mom!” she cried again, tears streaming down her face, her arms and legs thrashing out against Ramses’s hold. Rayna cried as Carrington dragged her up the creaking stairs with Ramses and the last few of their group stepping into the shaft.
“We have more runners at the other end of the camp,” came an angry shout.
Ramses pulled Lucy inside the square room that held only a single staircase and slammed the door shut. He ripped down the manual emergency lock and hurried everyone up the stairs two at a time.
From the tunnel they heard a final shot, followed by more screams and then pounding on the door below. Guards were trying to get in. Carrington pulled Rayna up onto her free hip, willing herself to move faster.
She pushed out thoughts of Selena, of what might have happened to her. She ignored the crying baby in her arms and the weeping girl on her hip. She battled through the pain in her injured ankle and moved. She tried to do as Larkin had taught her and face the fear collecting in her mind, but all she could see were images of the small children around her bloody and dead, so she buried her fear instead of letting it go.
And she prayed—prayed that they would all make it somewhere safe and alive.
Chaos swirled around Neil’s head as the camp fell to ashes at his feet. The sight of it rocked his core more than he’d thought it would, but he pushed away the madness as he searched the captors for Corbin. Shouts from Seers and guards filled his ears; the smell of smoke filled his nostrils. He heard a guard say that some had escaped down toward the end of camp, and he hoped Carrington was among them. He’d never wanted harm to come to any of them; he’d only done what he’d thought necessary to protect his son.
He heard Corbin’s familiar cry and saw him being handled without care through the smoke a couple feet ahead. He rushed forward and grasped for his son. A large guard yanked Neil away and shoved him backward.
“That’s my son. I was promised no harm would come to him,” Neil said.
The oaf of a guard glanced back to another man dressed in black who was clearly the one in charge. The oaf moved aside as the lead soldier stepped forward.
“So you’re the snitch,” the guard said, and his words grated at the inside of Neil’s chest.
“Please—I upheld my end of the deal. I gave you the Seer camp location. Now give me my son,” Neil said.
“Except not all were captured,” the guard said.
“So?”
“The deal was the location and all the Seers.”
Neil shook his head. “Only a few got away—” he started.
“Your leader, Remko, isn’t even here, and his wife and daughter were among those who escaped. According to my orders they were the most important.”
Neil heard Corbin whimper, still being held roughly by the CityWatch guard, and he moved forward. The lead guard blocked his path. Neil’s desperation clawed at him. He had done all of this for Corbin. It couldn’t all be for nothing.
“What do you want me to do?” Neil asked.
The head guard took a moment to think before addressing Neil. “The wife and daughter are necessary for capturing Remko. Get them.”
Carrington and Elise. Neil could barely think through the panic in his chest. They were with a group, long gone; how was he supposed to find them? “How . . . ?”
The head guard shrugged. “You seem like a smart man. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You bring us the woman and the girl, and we’ll give you your son back.”
Neil hesitated, knowing the second he left they could harm Corbin, but what choice did he really have? “If you harm my son—”
“Don’t worry. Hurry now,” the guard said. “They can’t have gotten that far.”
Neil nodded and tried to control the impulses raging inside his body. Find Carrington and Elise to trade for Corbin. That was his only choice.
23
Remko climbed out of the transport and placed the keys in his pocket. During the drive back, Wire had been able to rouse Kate and give her what he had left of the painkillers and antibiotics, so she was able to limp beside Wire as they exited the van. Eleanor and Willis had sat mostly silent the entire ride, Willis never letting go of his sister’s hand, Eleanor’s eyes fixed out the window. Remko longed to understand more of what she knew about the Genesis Compound. He tried asking her during the drive but she’d said very little.
“I don’t have many answers,” she’d said. “There have been rumors for a while. Rumors that the Authority was getting ready to transition the community toward a new era, make it a better place. People started calling it Genesis because it promises to be a new start. I wasn’t even aware that we needed a new start. I was planning for my Choosing Ceremony, worrying about dresses and dance steps. I never would have thought . . .”
Emotion had choked out the rest of her words and Remko hadn’t pushed any further. He could only imagine what was going on in her mind. Her father forcing her away to be imprisoned and tested and perhaps changed into something they still didn’t understand. The sense of betrayal she must feel at being tossed aside by her own flesh and blood.
A couple miles from camp Eleanor had spoken again. “My father said that the transition had started, that I should be honored to be a part of human history.”
“What is the transition?” Remko had asked.
“I don’t know, but he looked genuinely surprised when I wasn’t thrilled.” She’d turned to look at Remko. “This isn’t his fault, you know. Damien Gold brainwashed him.” Then she’d turned back to the window. “He was always a good father.”
Remko had spent the rest of the drive compiling ideas of how to break into the Genesis Compound and set the prisoners inside free. Set them free and then leave.
It hadn’t taken long for Remko to realize after speaking with Jesse that he couldn’t stay here and fight this battle any longer. He was tired. This wasn’t his war. Aaron and his Father’s way may have given hope and a false sense of freedom to some, but it had only brought Remko fear and suffering.
He’d given all he had, worked and fought harder than all the rest combined; but he was done sacrificing his happiness and risking the lives of those he loved on the promises of a man he wasn’t convinced was sane.
He knew Carrington would take some persuading, but he hoped her commitment to him would outweigh her commitment to Aaron. He had followed her; now he would be asking her to follow him.
Jesse drove up alongside with hi
s motorcycle and parked it by the van. Remko waited as the archer fiddled with a small piece under the seat and gave him a curious look when he finally walked over to join the rest, the piece in his hand, as they made the walk back to camp.
“What? The motor on that thing won’t work without this piece. You guys don’t fully trust me; well, the feeling is mutual,” Jesse said.
The tunnels were dark and cold as the group walked toward camp. Remko kept his eyes on Eleanor and Willis, both of them searching the tunnel with curiosity. He noticed how quiet it was and wondered what Lesley had come up with to keep all the children distracted long enough for so much silence. A strong scent drifted through Remko’s nostrils: something burning.
The moment recognition of the smell registered in his mind, he knew something was wrong. He picked up his pace, fear prickling its way over his skin.
“Remko,” Wire called out, but Remko ignored him. He felt his legs go from jogging to running as he caught a glimpse of firelight in the distance.
“Is that smoke?” Jesse asked from behind, but Remko ignored them all. He tuned everything out and tore forward. The closer he got, the more panicked he felt.
Smothering ash was floating through the air, falling like snow; the smell of wood and cloth and food being incinerated assaulted his senses as he reached the center of the empty camp. Trash was strewn about everywhere; tent contents he recognized were spilled out over the concrete floor. The entire place looked as if it had been ransacked by thieves. The shock of the sight caused Remko to pause. He didn’t know where to look or what to look at.
“Oh no,” Jesse said, catching up to Remko.
More hurried steps echoed through the tunnel behind him as the others ran to catch up. Everything Remko had come to know—all they had worked for, all they had gathered and built—sat destroyed before him. As if it were nothing. The only thing missing was people. Remko hurried through camp yanking still-standing tents open and looking inside. Nothing.
The Calling Page 23
