by Angela White
“Did they bomb us?”
“What is it?”
Confused voices called out for answers and Samantha forced herself to stand up, though she refused to surrender the baby that she was instinctively rocking. “Calm down. It was a quake. Take it easy.”
Her words were repeated and sent to those huddled in the rear rooms. The screams slowly faded below the sound of grinding rock.
Samantha had never known a quake to last this long. She wasn’t… Her mind flipped her into the zone, showing her what she’d missed.
“Yellowstone.”
Several people around her frowned at those words. Adrian had mentioned the super volcano more than once.
“Man, when does it end?” Sam wondered what so many before her asked. She received the same answer that they had all loathed.
“It doesn’t,” Daryl repeated what Adrian had told them in Oklahoma. “We have to survive it.”
“When will they get here?” Samantha asked tiredly. She and Cynthia weren’t enough to keep these people together.
“At least two days, maybe three.”
Sam sighed resignedly. “Okay. Let’s get the wounded handled and rooms set up. We’ll stay here until the boss gets back.”
10
Marc kept his group by the train until the ground was completely still. The sound of collapsing structures was now the loudest noise and Marc wanted to be out of the ground more than he could say. The concrete tunnels had showered them in dust and pebbles, and thankfully, had held, but for how much longer?
Marc stood up, tugging Angela along with him. He’d spotted a hatch. “Who has rope?”
Marc kept Angela by his side as he directed the fighters on how to blow it open and rig the rope to get them all out in the fastest way. They’d been lucky to have no injuries from the quake that were fatal, though the walls could have collapsed on Adrian. Marc would have ordered a celebration right then and there.
“What’s that sound?”
All of them looked to the west, where the sky seemed to have been swallowed by an early nightfall.
“Bugs or birds, maybe,” Becky said, sending out her grid as Marc did the same, only in a different direction.
He suddenly knew what was coming and concern rose. “Where can we go?”
Becky was speechless.
“Bugs and birds. Also dogs,” Kendle confirmed, feet starting to inch toward the tunnel. She had let go of Adrian, who was no longer full of holes, but was still on the edge of death. He slid to the ground unnoticed. Next to him, Kenn stared at the sky, thinking they didn’t have air horns this time.
“Can we use the train?”
Angela moaned in protest, but Marc immediately detoured that way. Hours behind those bugs and birds would be an ash storm. And then people, survivors. Safe Haven would need its leaders there either to welcome or to eliminate them.
Kenn was the only one who thought of Adrian. He didn’t want Adrian dead, but down there, it could happen. Marc would never forgive the blond.
“Can we make it to camp with him?” Jeremy asked lowly, turned away from the others. “I see a truck you can hotwire.”
Kenn wanted to, but no matter what happened with Adrian and Conner, Kenn had earned his place back. He wasn’t leaving until Marc told him to. “No. No fuel or gear, and no time to collect. He’s not good. Kendle said he had to sleep and eat before he was bounced around.”
Jeremy and Kenn struggled to get Adrian back down in the tunnel by themselves without hurting him further. They managed it only because of Kenn’s determination to uphold his vow to Adrian.
“I’ve got you,” Kenn whispered. “Just like always.”
Marc was waiting at the bottom of the rope. He’d already sent people to get the train rolling, and settled Angela into the front car’s lounge. She’d refused to take any of the cots scattered through the train.
“He’s not going with us. If you want him brought in to stand trial, find a way to get him there. Make your choice now.”
Jeremy knew what his priorities were even without Neil’s pointed glance at the door to the train. Jeremy let go of Adrian, giving Kenn an apologetic look as he took his place by Neil.
Marc stared at Kenn with an expression that said he knew everything going through his mind. For all Kenn knew, he did, and then the moment was gone.
“I won’t leave him, not like this. It isn’t right.”
Marc shrugged. “That never mattered to him. Wise up before he throws you under the bus.”
Adrian opened his eyes to search for the only one he cared about. He found her leaning heavily against the window inside the first train car. “You knew.”
Angela nodded wearily from the doorway, unable to rest alone. “Of course. It had to happen here, out of view of the herd. When I said your life for his, I always meant Marc.”
Adrian’s cry of pain caused Angela to flinch as though she was feeling it.
Marc stormed to the train. He disappeared inside, calling, “Get us moving!”
Kenn stood there with an arm under Adrian’s, respiration not even yet from the trip down watching the train slowly roll away. He had no idea how he would get Adrian to Safe Haven, but he had little doubt that was where his boss would go once he could travel.
Kenn heard the birds and bugs start to pass over and hefted Adrian’s body up to get moving. He would follow the train for a while and stay away from the open areas where the fleeing wildlife was sure to try to take cover. Down here, they were safer.
“Wait.”
Kenn spun in surprise. He hadn’t known anyone else was still here.
“Let me help him a little more before you drag him around all night.”
Kenn laid Adrian down and watched Kendle send those mysterious orbs into Adrian’s body. The castaway had injuries too, but Kenn saw they were scabbed. He assumed she’d tried to heal herself, because the stream of orbs was weak.
Kenn put a hand on her arm, trying to help.
Kendle flinched, swing out.
Kenn fell against the tunnel wall, smacking his head, hard. As he faded into the grayness, his last words were, “Don’t teach Tonya that.”
Unable to take being down in the tunnels, and fed up with the way things had gone since she returned to America, Kendle stood and detoured to the rope. She didn’t care about birds or bugs. Her rage wasn’t as bad now, and for the first time since the wave hit her cruise ship, she felt almost normal. She needed to do some hard thinking and determine what her future would hold. She’d made the choice to live. That had been the first step. Now, she had to figure out what came next and the two men at the bottom of this tunnel had nothing to do with that.
11
“Come on out before I get upset.”
The vet had lingered, waiting to witness Marc carry Angela from the ground with loving care. He’d viewed Adrian’s bloody body and Kendle healing him, but he’d only wanted to behold one person emerging. The vet had hid his joy as best he could when Marc brought her up alive.
“I could have healed him completely,” Kendle said quietly. “But Marc wanted him in pain for the ride and then in the medical tent, out of his hair.”
“And you’d give Marc anything?”
Kendle shrugged. “I understand his hatred. Adrian is a manipulative son of a bitch.”
The vet instantly liked Kendle and found himself joining her on the logs around the fire. When the rest of the rescue party had left, Kendle had remained behind, wandering the area until the last of the daylight faded, tying to conquer the fear that had almost kept her from following Marc down there. She had made a fire and stayed close to it, clearly not sure that being in Safe Haven was what she wanted anymore.
“I didn’t want it before, but Marc was there.”
“And now?”
Kendle sighed, a painful sound of neglect. “Too hard, maybe. I’m not normal.”
“You’re a descendant,” the vet pointed out. “Not supposed to be normal.”
Chris du
g in his kit and tossed a pouch by her feet. He opened his own and had a light meal, listening to the sounds of nature cleaning up the mess below them.
“What are you doing here?”
It was a question that hadn’t occurred to her right away. She watched the vet tense and had a brief moment when she felt like she might be in danger. Then it passed and she waited patiently, content with the company.
“I love her.”
Kendle winced, slapped. “Yeah, that figures.”
Chris shrugged. “She doesn’t know and wouldn’t care if she did. I had to come to make sure she was okay.”
“You drew the arrows,” Kendle exclaimed, studying his red fingertips.
He didn’t answer, face melancholy.
Kendle left him alone. He understood how she felt. He also wanted something he could never have.
“Is her whole damn camp like that?” Kendle asked. “’Cause that’s a little much, you know?”
Chris nodded. “Considering I’m eightieth on any list, I sympathize.”
Kendle was startled into a snicker and the vet joined her, allowing the small release of emotions that he usually shared with Ray and Dale. Kendle wasn’t like the others. She didn’t expect him to be normal because she wasn’t. It made it easier to connect with her.
“Because I’m screwed up,” she confessed. “Otherwise I probably would worry over you. Be careful with your actions or someone will notice.”
“I have been,” he stated, tone hard.
“What’s your excuse for being gone all this time? Or are you not going back?”
“Are you?”
Kendle wasn’t sure. “I’ll make the choice come dawn, I think. See how tonight goes with the thinking.”
“I’ll tell them I got lost, fell down and got knocked out. I’ll have someone discover me on a patrol.”
“Smart,” she observed, not caring that he was lurking. If he flipped and killed Angela in his obsession, all the better.
“I’d never hurt her!” Chris snapped.
Kendle stared in shock. “You’re one of us. You’re a descendant!”
Chris realized he’d given himself away and shoved to his feet. “Damn you!”
He stomped into the darkness.
Kendle chose to pretend she hadn’t run into him at all. “I stand by the thought,” she grumbled angrily. “If he flips out and kills her, Marc will come to me.”
It was almost reason enough to go try living there again–that and the feeling of aloneness settling onto her shoulders. Marc wouldn’t notice her absence for days or more. She could be free now, if she had the guts to break away.
Do I?
Kendle hung her head.
No.
Humiliation was still better than isolation. Her time as a castaway had destroyed her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Soft Kisses and Sweet Rocking
1
“Does this feel odd to anyone else?” Billy asked.
A small group was in the front train car, watching the tunnel go by, but the sense of traveling backwards was strong. The concrete appeared to do the same.
“Me,” Becky said, scanning the monitor that showed where they were going. She could feel the worry in camp, the need for Angela to be there, and wished they could make the train go faster. She’d already suggested it, but Billy had refused, saying it wasn’t the same as going forwards for any vehicle. Becky had no idea what he meant, but the feeling of needing to be in camp was strong for all of them.
“How long?” Jennifer asked, sitting in the swivel driver’s chair.
“It took us hours to get here from the hub we blew up,” Billy answered. “From there, we have to acquire another ride.”
“And it took a day to get from camp to the hub,” Greg added. “So, at least a day and a half
“Damn.”
“Yeah,” Greg agreed. “We’ll need to have a spot picked to sleep. Get the maps out.”
“Safe Haven isn’t in the same place,” Jennifer stated, coming over to point out the new location. “There.” She was locked onto her daughter. Not even the ground kept Jennifer out.
“Good,” Billy said. “I saw a car dealership about a mile before we found the hub. One of those beauties will have fuel that’s still good. I feel it.”
Everyone except Jennifer snickered at the driver’s antics, glad of a light moment. Despite this run being over, they weren’t relaxing yet. That was a bad sign, as if their minds knew there was more trouble waiting for them.
“Something’s wrong in camp,” Jennifer said suddenly. “They think we’ve abandoned them.”
Billy’s brows drew together. “Is there…are we able to call them now?”
Dumbfounded expressions circled the group as Billy picked up the mike with a grin. “Come in Safe Haven? Anyone out there? This is Eagle team 6. We’re comin’ home.”
The sound of his voice was the answer, but the man on the other end knew to confirm it. “Say again, team 6,” Daryl prompted.
“We have found the raven and are coming home!” Billy paused and then added, “She did it, Daryl. We’re really free of them this time.”
In the next car, Marc was still evaluating Angela’s condition and trying to figure out what all to do for her, in what order. Her condition was terrible, but not anything he couldn’t fix. What concerned him was the baby. Her pregnancy wasn’t far along. He’d been thinking about it since Adrian had ripped his guts out and made him go talk to the doctor. When Hilda had confirmed her life was in danger, he’d made the choice easily. Soon, very soon, he had to bring that up to Angela.
“I’ve already thought it over,” Angela said tiredly, not moving from the lounge chair where she was snuggled under his jacket and pillows. “I can’t.”
Marc needed to know why, but was wise enough to understand this wasn’t the time for that. He handed her the small tray of food he’d been able to scrounge. He scowled again when she dove into it like there was a steak in front of her, moaning in delight.
Angela frowned thinly. “She’s hungry. Let it go.”
Marc dug through his kit again, searching deeper, and pulled out a twisted, faded wrapper that crinkled in his hand for an instant and then it was gone.
“Chocolate! Oh, Brady!”
2
“I missed you.”
The witch drowsed contently in Marc’s demon arms, fed, loved, and safe again for a while. She had accomplished a dream with Angela that no other had ever been able to do. The feeling was incredible.
“Did you find anything?” she asked, not expecting much.
The demon opened a chest across their nest, mentally bringing out a small scroll that he had gathered while away from her. “Marc found it at the bottom of the halls, under the feet of muck. I wasn’t sure he would come up when he saw all the others down there.”
The witch read it eagerly, sitting up in excitement. “It’s about the Calls! Marc knows what will happen!”
The demon settled back smugly, happy to have the advantage, though not in the cruel way. Marc needed him for the first time in their lives. The demon was proud, satisfied.
“You’ve done well by him,” the witch complimented. “Waiting until he could accept you. Most of us would have gone mad if we’d had to wait so long.”
The demon puzzled it out for a moment and then shrugged. “He didn’t really need me until then. If that hadn’t happened, I’d still be in the sleep.”
The witch shuddered. She would never permit that to happen to her again. Not even if the Maker returned to walk the earth.
3
In the west, the Yellowstone volcano exploded, shooting a geyser of possible primordial material high into the sky. It blasted through the surrounding park with waves of ash and debris that raced over the land like a time-lapse shadow. Above the ground, the geyser of lava spewed lava bombs and flames that flew for miles before setting a new area ablaze.
Burning embers floated down, bringing the air to a boiling
mix of ash and smoke that took away oxygen and smothered all forms of life. Tons of this mix swirled in the atmosphere, rushing with the wind. Escape was impossible, the only option to take shelter as fast as possible. Few people made it.
Not far from the growing destruction zone, a small group of women were riding atvs west. They were going to an old government lab that had been used for experiments. It was empty now, but stocked as a last resort hub for the bunker train that ran below it. They hadn’t been able to contact the hub or access those tunnels since the war, but Marcella was sure life still existed there. The experiments had been nuclear in nature. It was probably the safest place they could be.
East of Yellowstone, a huge mob of draftees emerged from the ground and swarmed the only sign of civilization in view–a local town too small to have a name. These desperate men and women ignored the ash cloud that was raining down them, busy kicking in doors to slice hunger–weakened necks. They were free. After nine months, they no longer cared about the cost of it.
4
Billy brought the train to a gentle halt, still grinning from ear to ear. He’d had a rough moment when the autopilot hadn’t engaged, but he’d found the right controls in time. He now had another driving experience to his credit.
“Is there anything you can’t drive?” Greg joked, slapping Billy on the shoulder.
“Not that I’ve found,” the driver answered honestly. “Say, what do you think I’d look like with a crewcut?”
“Different.” Greg stared in amused surprise. “Decided to go for it, did you?”
Billy grinned again, shrugging. “It’s not like it’s a secret anyway.”
“True,” Greg confirmed. “Does the kid know what you have planned?”
“Nope. She’s a kid. No reason to talk about those things yet.”
“And if she gets older and doesn’t want you?” Greg demanded harshly, suddenly forced into Daryl’s role.
Billy’s smile faded and a lost expression came over his face. “I almost think being her friend would still be enough. She’s special that way.”
