He looked up at the barking of one of the dogs and saw Max walking toward him.
“Daddy, someone is coming up the road.” Max said, dusting off her pants from the pine needles she had been sitting in.
“Who is it sweets?” Ted asked.
Max seemed to think for a minute. “Soldiers.”
“Okay, sweetie. Will you tell Kyle and Nat to join me, please?” Ted began to walk to the first hidden door that would lead him down to the first platform. By the time he got there, Kyle and Natalee were at his side. They continued down to the lowest level, what they had taken to calling ground level, and Ted again had a hard time finding the path through. Kyle laughed and led Ted through. There were multiple walls in the area and offset doors, so one who did not know the way would be stuck there forever. It was an ingenious system his wife had worked out, but Ted found it frustrating all the same.
The nice part about the dogs was that they alerted the camp long before anyone arrived, so when Ted and Nat and Kyle slipped out from behind a bush, the military squad was just walking up. There were about twenty of them, and they were armed with swords that he was sure were only decorative until about two months ago. Ted didn’t really know the ranks of the cadets well, but there were enough stripes and rockers on the young man’s arm who stepped forward, that he was confident he was speaking to a cadet officer.
“Good afternoon, sir.” The cadet began, “I am Cadet Commander Britton Casco. I have been sent by the Commandant to ask for a meeting.”
“Nice to meet you, Commander Casco. I am Ted Craven.”
“I remember you, sir.” The young man replied. “We met when you were at the Academy a few weeks ago.”
“I am sorry, Commander. I meant no insult by not remembering. It is either the stress of the times, or the effect of old age.” Ted played on the assumption of weakness and hoped it would work, but wasn’t sure it would. The young man was stoic. “What is the nature of the meeting the Commandant would like to propose? I feel like he made it quite clear that he found our abilities a distraction.”
The man thought for a moment. “I believe I would not be remiss in saying that the Commandant has changed his position. The events bear out a further investigation of these abilities. More and more cadets are showing a power. We need to survive in this new world, and after hearing of the aid your group has provided to the community at large, we thought an alliance would be of interest.”
Ted considered the young man’s words. “We?”
Casco looked visibly stunned. As Ted looked past him, he realized that there was more to his question than he thought.
In a soft, kind tone, Ted asked the question that needed asking. “Son, what is happening at the Academy?”
The next hour was enlightening, to say the least. Shortly after Ted and his group departed the Academy, cadets had begun to show evidence of power, but they had kept it all hidden. About a week and half ago, the flu had hit the base hard, including the Commandant himself. Many of the professors had already died, as the flu was harder to survive for the elderly. Discipline held at the base, but the Commandant was seriously ill and delirious. The cadet leaders had taken temporary control, and their leader, this young man, had chosen to come himself to entreat for the healing of his Commandant.
It wasn’t something that needed a second request. Ted had sent Adam, along with Erica, a couple of others, and half of the Commander’s squad with all haste. Commander Casco and the rest of the squad had stayed at the Hillside. They all had exhibited power, and had hoped for some instruction. Ted and the young man worked out a transfer of personnel, in effect. When the others returned, Ted would send Kyle along to the Academy to train in fighting. A group of ten cadets would remain at the Hillside for training in abilities. They would share information and defend one another, if needed. It was a good agreement, and Ted was thrilled to enter into it.
Kayla, Jessica and a couple of the others began to build a barracks on the ground level for the cadets. The only people allowed inside the walls of the Hillside were their group, which right now numbered 51 men, women and children. Ted began to see where his group could aid the community even more.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Miles crouched in the dirt near the Garden of the Gods Park, this majestic land formation on the west side of Colorado Springs. From this vantage point, he could see the Hillside Restaurant, or what used to be a restaurant, in the distance. Now it had stone walls around the top of the cliffs where the restaurant had always stood. How could they build those up that fast? The walls were better looking and better fortification than the barricades around the Inner and Outer Circles. He was too far away to see individuals from here, but he assumed that is where his prey was headed.
On Shogun’s orders, Miles had set out to find the traitors himself. He had a group of five Tigers and twenty soldiers with him, as well as two Ops. It was a formidable squad, to be sure. Miles was pleased to be out of the compound. Although he had his pick of everything within the circles, it was still a joy to feel the freedom on being released from the confines of the growing number of bodies who sought refuge in the fortification. However, he could not dwell on this, he had a job to do.
Anthony Johnson, one of the guards in the Outer Circle and his old scrounge adversary from the sand, had taken Jordan Kane, Dr. Emma Pare and some waif of a girl out of the compound in the middle of the night. If they had come back immediately, Miles could have been merciful. But, once they were gone, it made Miles look bad in Shogun’s eyes. Kane and Johnson were old buddies of Miles’, and now they would have to pay for their stupidity.
Miles and his team had tracked the four into the west side retail district, then had been held up in the small hamlet of Manitou Springs. They were not accosted in any way, but Summers’ men were unaware that the little city had been fortified and could potentially serve as a rival to the compound. Shogun would want to know and it would give Miles an opportunity to again make Summers look like an incompetent fool. He had gathered intel himself to show he was more capable. He stood to his feet.
“Men, we are moving out.” He said and turned to see everyone get to their feet. “Jackson, to me.”
The large Tiger came forward as ordered. “Yes, Lord Damiano?”
Miles liked the title Lord, he was the only one who Eric had given that particular title to, and he relished in the way it made Meyer unhappy to have to call him that. The Tigers and Soldiers were Meyer’s men, but he knew they were aware of who had the power here. “Take three soldiers and get close to the restaurant. The road up is on the other side. If you see Kane, or Johnson, or either of the women, report back and we will take them.”
The stocky man nodded, bowed and pointed to three men, who followed him in a quick trot up the road. Miles and the rest of the men searched throughout the open park, and up the trails to see if any of the caves in the area were housing people. They found one cave that looked like it might have been used before, but mostly the area looked like it had before the world fell to shit.
He saw the men returning shortly after mid-day and they were trotting faster coming back than they had even been when they set out. Miles waited in the field from which he had sent them out. Their look of excitement told him that they had found their prey.
“I see that you found them.” He said, so sure of himself.
“No, sir.” The man started.
“That is no, Lord Damiano, Jackson.” Damiano looked at the man with contempt.
“Yes, Lord.” He replied catching his breath, “We did not catch sight of the traitors.”
“Then why are you here?” Damiano asked.
“The girl, the yoga girl, Jenny Martinez…she is there.”
Miles was stunned. It was far more than he could hope for. “Why didn’t you grab her?”
“She saw us, Lord Damiano, and ran. She literally ran into the side of a mountain.”
Miles ignored this last part, the foolishness of some people just astounded him. Jenny Ma
rtinez was at the Hillside. He would not spook her, they would return to Eric and tell him. Miles would be rewarded for this and the information about Manitou Springs. Everyone would forget about Johnson and Kane, and that Miles had spoken well of their fidelity.
“Men, Gather your things. We move out, back to the HQ.” The men looked at each other, and Miles answered their inquisitive looks, “Back to the compound, whatever. You know what I meant.”
The men gathered their things. If they had noticed, they would not have thought much of the two dogs that lay in the grass nearby watching them. Two feral mutts were not worth their notice and certainly not a danger.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
“They took off,” Anthony Johnson told his friends, as he returned to their little camp site at the Garden of the Gods, “Don’t know what spooked them, but they grabbed their shit and literally ran back to the compound.”
Jordan smiled at the two women, in order to keep them calm, something he was not feeling on the inside. “They’ll be back; don’t you think?” He said to Johnson.
“Yeah, I would say so. I can’t believe that prick, Damiano, came out himself.” Johnson spit when talking about Damiano.
“I am sure Major Fine made him.” Jordan contemplated the weird dynamic between the former Major and the former Corporal, “Those two have really gone ‘round the bend, as my grandmother used to say.”
Emma interrupted, “If they are coming back, we need to be somewhere else.”
Jordan nodded. “I think the Academy is still our best bet. They rejected the Old Man’s attempt at control, I would guess they would do the same with Fine.” Johnson and Emma just nodded in agreement. “So, let’s get moving.”
They had not brought a lot with them, but had picked up a few things along the way. Jordan was amazed that in only a couple of months, most houses and businesses had already been stripped bare. That camp in Manitou Springs had probably looted everything over here in the west side. It was a shame they wanted no new residents, as they had told their small group to keep moving. Luckily, there was still the occasional missed can of something (usually something gross) to be found. The community in Manitou Springs had not only blocked off any access to their small city, but in the process, had also blocked off Ute Pass, the access point up into the mountains from Colorado Springs. Jordan knew of two others. Gold Camp Road was south, past the compound, and was probably being watched. The Academy had an access point that went up to a reservoir, and then opened up into the mountains and the small towns that might work as permanent homes for his small group.
They opted not to take the paths, nor the roads, for fear of being seen. Jordan’s big concern in this area was wildlife. If it was summer, they would have had to worry about rattlesnakes. Being this close to winter (it was already getting quite cold, especially at night), they might run into bears or mountain lions that roamed in this area. However, to go north, they would have to get really close to the camp that their pursuers had just vacated. They took it slow.
Jordan suddenly stopped. Something was moving through the tall grass ahead of him, and it wasn’t human. It wasn’t big enough to be a bear or a deer, so he was afraid he might be about to confront his biggest wildlife fear, a hungry mountain lion. They had no weapons of any kind, and were about to be easy prey. The tension in his shoulders and the rush of adrenaline made him have that tin taste in his mouth he hadn’t had since the sand. His group were standing perfectly still as the grass moved, about twenty feet away from them. Then whatever it was stopped in the grass. There was a very long pause, Jordan wasn’t sure he even breathed, waiting for the inevitable lunging great cat. Instead, a German Shepherd walked out onto a path nearby. Jordan’s audible sigh was cut short.
A woman’s voice came out of the bushes nearby. “Sorry to ask, but I need you to lay any weapons you have on the ground and show us your hands.”
Jordan and Johnson looked around and tried to peer through the bushes, both angling for an advantage. But, it was Emma that spoke next. “We don’t have any weapons.”
Jordan looked at her with astonishment, and gave a quick shake of his head to let her know to stop. He looked in a different direction, assessing their ability to run.
This time it was a man’s voice from the other direction. “You can’t run this way either.” He said, “We aren’t going to harm you, we just want to make sure you don’t try to harm us.”
Jordan looked at Johnson, and they joined the two women, who had already raised their hands up. “We don’t have weapons.”
The young woman stepped out of the bushes in front of them. She was remarkably beautiful, in her late teens, and held a staff in one hand and a machete in the other. Behind them a young man came out of the brush also. He was in his twenties, fit, and held a bow with an arrow knocked and ready to fly. The young man immediately, let loose the tension on the bow, but kept the arrow knocked and the bow pointed downward.
“Sorry for the hostility, you just never know these days.” The young man grinned warmly.
The young woman was not as friendly. She walked over to the camp the men from the compound had left. “The men that were here, you knew them?”
The tension immediately returned to Jordan’s shoulders. None of his group responded, uncertain of the danger into which their answer might sink them.
The young man put his arrow back in his quiver, and slung the bow over one shoulder. “Calm down, Nat. Let’s try not to scare the shit out of our new friends.” He stuck his hand out, “Hi, the name is Kyle Ward. This is my sister, Natalee.”
“No fucking way!” Johnson blurted out. Shock and confusion fell over the faces of the two young people.
Jordan smiled broadly, and let out a little chuckle. “Wow, you guys have grown up.”
Kyle and Natalee showed a queried look, as they looked at each other. Jordan understood, he was only maybe two years older than Kyle Ward, but had met him when Kyle was still in High School.
“We both served with your dad.” Jordan offered, “What was it, four years ago when your dad got out? We met you at his party, but you were just kids. How is your dad? Is he around? I would love to see him.”
A darkness fell over both of their faces and Natalee looked at the ground. “Dad didn’t make it,” Kyle said, “The first few days of this, he fell into a swollen river and drowned.”
Jordan was stunned, he could not imagine a world without Calvin Ward in it. “I am so sorry. Your dad was the best man I have ever known.”
“Me too,” Johnson interjected.
“I don’t know what to say.” Jordan was saddened by this news. If there was one person alive who would know how to survive, it would have been Calvin Ward.
Natalee seemed to just move on. She responded in the way he had seen many soldiers respond when overcome with grief, just get to the facts. “So, you knew these guys?” She asked.
“I am sorry, yes, they were chasing us. We escaped their compound and they had been sent to bring us back, or more likely to kill us.” Jordan offered, then putting his hand out to shake Kyle’s, “I am Jordan Kane, and this is Anthony Johnson. We both served with your dad and your uncle in the sand. This is Dr. Emma Pare and Mischa Orna, a young woman who came with us.”
Natalee bent down and talked to the German Shepherd who was by her side, it was kind of weird. “We are coming back with our guests, tell your dad to meet us at the gates.” The German Shepherd didn’t do anything, Jordan thought Natalee Ward had lost her mind. The thing was, Kyle Ward didn’t even seem to notice. He just started walking north. Jordan, Emma, Johnson and Mischa followed close behind.
“Did you ever serve with my Uncle Ted?” Kyle asked.
“Sgt. Craven?” Johnson replied, “Yeah, he is a good man too. He around here somewhere?”
“He is back at our camp. So is Adam Cross, if you knew him.”
“Doc?” Jordan asked.
“Yep,” Kyle continued, “There are quite a few of us. Any of you showing abilities?”
Jordan didn’t know what he meant, he wondered if they separated people by usefulness like they did at the compound. “Not really,” he replied, “I was a network tech, not very useful now. Johnson is a scrounge, but he is also a big guy and a good fighter. Dr. Pare is a botanist, and Mischa is only fifteen, so she hasn’t decided what to do with her life.” He turned around, but Natalee was nowhere to be seen, nor was the dog.
“No, I mean, how do I put this?” Kyle stopped, and noticed Jordan looking for Natalee, “Oh don’t worry about her. We don’t like everyone to be able to see all of our strength at once. You know how it is.” Jordan did. “When I say abilities, I mean, like ESP or the ability to do things with your mind. It is becoming prevalent in the world now.”
Jordan thought about talking about Emma’s power with plants, but that was hers to decide to share or not to share. She had hidden that ability the entire time they were at the compound. He looked at her and could tell she was considering the situation also. Kyle noticed the look. He was certainly his father’s son, and had that perceptive ability that Ward had shown in the sand.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, “But, to trust you, I will show you a little something.” He opened his hand and a small ball of light was in it, like a small pebble. He began playing with it in a rather fascinating way, bouncing it from one hand to the other, and then slicing through it with a karate move that instantly dissipated it.
Jordan was amazed, but it was Mischa who spoke. She had said maybe four words the entire time they had been running away from the compound. “That was amazing! How did you do that?”
Age of Mystics (Saga of Mystics Book 1) Page 22
