by Angela White
Neil grunted and got up without arguing further. He left the tent and a cold wave of wind swarmed in to compliment the mood.
“Who’s next?”
“Me.” Kendle stood up. “I can’t take being in here with all of you.”
Angela gestured. “Hit me with it.”
Like you don’t know, Kendle thought, and said, “I want to go home. I hate it here.”
“You mean Pitcairn,” Angela confirmed.
“Yes. Adrian said you would help me.” Kendle locked eyes with the woman, unable to imagine ever being friends with her. “You want me gone and I want to be gone. Will you make it happen?”
“Yes,” Angela answered calmly. “But not in the way you mean. I need someone to take a team south and secure an item for me. It’ll be dangerous, but if you succeed, you’ll be able to go home.”
“Will I get details?” Kendle asked, not sure if she believed it.
“And a small crew of people who also want to go to that island of yours,” Angela promised. “But you won’t be leading them. You’re too unstable right now.”
“Will Marc–”
“No, he won’t be!” Angela snapped, eyes blazing. “Don’t make me kill you.”
Kendle dropped her eyes before she could accept that hard challenge. She needed to get home. “I’ll go. As soon as possible…please.”
Angela marked Kendle’s name from her list. “A few days. Get ready for it.”
Kendle left without staring at Marc as she went. She wanted him, but she needed peace more.
“Almost finished,” Angela remarked, scanning her list. “Let’s have…Kyle.”
Silence fell as attention switched to the couple sitting together near Marc.
“Was Autumn really the good twin?”
Jennifer gasped and Kyle covered her hand with his, sharing her pain.
“Does it matter?” Angela countered.
“Not to me,” Kyle stated. “But to the future, it might, and as her parents, we need to know.”
“I’ve sensed no evil in Autumn,” Angela stalled. “She’s a sweet baby.”
“She is the bad one, right?” Jennifer demanded, jerking her hand from under Kyle’s. “Just tell us!”
“No,” Angela said. “She’s not evil now.”
Everyone understood the difference and Angela’s tone became grave. “The future isn’t set. You can keep her from turning by filling her with love and kindness. Don’t let your personal hatreds fill her mind with thoughts of vengeance. Make sure she gets to be a child.”
“Is the same true of Cynthia’s baby?” Daryl blurted, unable to keep quiet any longer.
“No,” Angela answered regretfully. “We’ll witness signs of it from the very beginning, with the death of its mother.”
The tent went icy as Daryl demanded to know what she meant.
“Have you seen the Omen films?”
“The first one,” Daryl answered distractedly. “Couldn’t take the rest.”
“Then find someone who has. You’ll need to fight hard and in the end, some stupid detail from that series might save Cynthia’s life.”
“Why can’t you just tell me?!” Daryl shouted. “I hate this!”
“Because you shouldn’t even have a warning!” Angela snapped, extremely tired. “Magic was never meant to be used this way and other than Neil, everyone has asked for something selfish! Ask your reward and do it now.”
“What should I do?” Daryl asked helplessly. “I already want them both.”
Unlike with the others, Angela couldn’t offer any hope here and she told him the very last thing he wanted to hear. “Convince her to abort and then refill her with your seed. In time, the wounds will heal and all three of you will be happy together.”
“She won’t do that,” Daryl said ashamedly. “I already tried. I mean, its Adrian’s kid. We already know they go bad too easy.”
“They’ve had bad beginnings,” Marc stated, feeling the need to defend descendants in general. “If they’d been raised by loving people, it might have mattered, right, Angie?”
“In most of the cases, yes,” Angela agreed. “But some mixes of DNA will always create monsters. Without knowing it, Cynthia and Adrian have done exactly that.”
“What if it isn’t Adrian’s?” Cynthia asked from the flap, making everyone, including Marc, grab for their weapons.
Cynthia fastened the flap and went to a seat by Daryl. “I don’t know. Kevin might the father.”
Angela’s lips narrowed, but she said, “We can’t test for parentage until after the birth.”
“So we’ll test it,” Daryl confirmed, feeling like he’d been given oxygen after almost drowning. “And until then, we hold out hope for good to come out on top.”
“Agreed,” Angela conceded easily, not marking Daryl’s name off yet.
“That leaves you two.” Angela scanned Jeremy and then Zack. “Gentlemen?”
Not wanting his mountain weakness revealed, Jeremy chose to tackle his second biggest fear. “Is Samantha really with me out of pity? Would it be better if I got out of the picture?”
“Samantha adores you,” Angela answered promptly. “If you left her, nothing would be happy for any of you.”
“Is it wrong?” Jeremy asked without knowing he was going to. “Our setup?”
“Wrong by whose standards?” Angela wanted to clarify.
“By camp standards,” Jeremy said, glad Neil had left but curious if he wondered this too. “Does the future include couples like us?”
“Of course it does,” Angela exclaimed, glad that she could ease his worries on this one. “And no, by camp standards, you’re not doing anything wrong because all of you are consenting adults. But what you want to know is more about morals and ethics, right?”
“Yes. The world was going down a bad path with the free love crap and I worry that I’m helping to restart it. We don’t need more problems.”
“You three are committed,” Angela stated. “We all have the right to pursue happiness, as long as we’re respectful of other people’s freedoms. You’re doing that. Don’t worry about those who might look down on you for it. You’ll still be happier than most of them.”
Angela glanced at Zack. “You’re up.”
“I have a yes or no question,” Zack said. “And it’s for you.”
“Okay,” Angela gestured for him to go ahead. She’d been counting on this moment.
“Marc hasn’t pulled your tent down and there’s no leader spot for it belowground yet. Are you moving into the cave with us?” Zack demanded.
She had been waiting for this moment also and the tension increased, as she revealed, “No, I’m not.”
Angela let the gasps and mutters die down and then told them, “In a few weeks, I’m going south and then I’m going to Kendle’s island. I’m set to tell the camp next week, but I want you all to know about it now. Half the herd will vote to stay here, but I’m not going to be swayed. And if you’re my chain of command, like you claim you are, you’ll all be with me when I go.”
4
“Hang around for a minute, Kenn,” Angela instructed as the tent emptied of the unhappy people. Word would begin to spread now, but she wasn’t going to change her mind. Choices had been made, the future had shifted, and the tide would come their way. She had no choice.
When they were alone, Angela said, “Adrian told you to account for your mistakes during the last bugout, so that when it happened again, you’d be ready for it.”
Kenn hated the reminder of his failures that night.
“Did you?”
Kenn nodded. “I went overboard on it, I think.”
“Good,” Angela praised. “Please have it to me by evening mess tomorrow.”
Kenn left, not asking for any details. Her bombshell about leaving here in a few weeks was still exploding throughout his mind.
As Kenn left, Kyle returned, positive she was ready for their next update session.
Angela took a seat an
d got her notebook out. “Okay.
“Cynthia is lying. The dates don’t add up.”
Angela knew most of the things Kyle was about to tell her, but she still wrote them down to be able to compare to her notes later and mark them off. Keeping track of the futures of three hundred people required a lot of writing to avoid missing details and effects.
“Neil and Jeremy don’t know Samantha was sick or what Conner did for her.”
“She’ll tell them, I believe,” Angela responded. “Next?”
“The first crate of supplies for Samantha’s crew to hide is ready. I’ll make sure it gets into their vehicle.”
“Good. Have your men pack the next crate right away.”
“I will. The vet has left without permission three times. We keep losing him in the darkness.”
“Let me know if you ever discover where he disappears to,” Angela said, certain they wouldn’t. The vet was slyer than the Eagles.
“Kendle didn’t help with the move at all. She stayed in Adrian’s camp all day.”
“She has a huge fear about being underground,” Angela explained. “The man who hurt her held her underground in a tunnel and then inside a cave. She’ll never step foot in ours.”
“That’s awful!” Kyle exclaimed, finally getting the explanation about what had caused all her scars. “I’m sorry the other men don’t like her much.”
“I don’t like her much either,” Angela reminded him. “What’s next?”
“Jennifer wants me to get her pregnant–now,” Kyle blurted, unable to hold it in any longer.
Angela took in his red profile. “Nervous?”
Kyle nodded quickly. “And scared it won’t go well, terrified she’ll actually get pregnant so soon after Autumn, and well, I’m a bit worn out with all the attacks and action. I may have missed some details.”
Angela wasn’t concerned over that. “I’ll cover it. Take tomorrow off, alone somewhere, and figure out what you want. When you do that, the drama and choices always get easier.”
“My wants don’t matter now,” Kyle stated. “I have to do what’s best for Jenny and the baby, and I’m not sure this is.”
“Only you can determine that,” Angela told him. “But I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. She’s coming to you, asking you to heal her. Don’t deny what both of you need because you’re scared she won’t like you afterwards. Make sure she does. Do it right.”
“Easy for you to say,” Kyle grumbled.
“Yeah,” Angela agreed, chuckling. “Maybe you should talk to Marc. He is everywhere, you know.”
5
North of Safe Haven, a small group of men rolled into the debris-littered parking lot of the train station that Adrian had destroyed. The bald man that Vlad had sent for help was behind the wheel of the jeep and he pulled to the edge of the damage. He unlocked the doors and a man came from the shadows to climb into the empty front seat.
“Welcome back,” Vlad said from the rear. “Good hunting?”
The man held out a Polaroid of two people bound to a tree, both bloody and wearing all black. “Two here, two being tracked.”
Vlad enjoyed the images as the bald man, who preferred to be called Blade, steered them toward the mountains. He’d picked Vlad up a mile from here and now that they were complete, except for the hunters, Blade drove them to the location Vlad had given him.
“When are they coming?” the front passenger asked. He was Marc’s lose lurker.
“A week to ten days,” Blade answered. “The trains have to be unloaded before the troops can roll.”
“Looks like snow coming,” Vlad pointed out. “Keep to the secondary plan we made. If our troops fail, we’ll be ready.”
Blade obediently rolled them along without giving their informant more information. These lower-level men would be eliminated after the attack. Only their top men would enjoy the spoils of this war, but it was one that Blade found himself dreading.
He and Vlad had decided they would gain a hold over Safe Haven during the winter and come spring, send them out to toil in fields and on farms. They needed those slaves and caves. A new country, one where descendants ruled, wasn’t going to build itself.
Chapter Twenty-One
Other Plans
1
Dog pushed his heavy warmth down on the two shivering mutts, trying to lend his heat. With little fur and no outdoor experience, the tiny animals had no business traveling through a blizzard at night. Neither do I, Dog thought.
The engine roared to life under them and Sally shouted in triumph as her dogs whimpered in fear. She had stopped to fill up the gas tank and it had taken a long time to accomplish against the driving wind. Sally lowered her goggles and pulled the large tarp back over the two cars, creating a vacuum of space that would fill with the heat of their bodies. She had a hole in it for her head, and she quickly tucked it under gear to hold the ends down. Then, she gunned the engine and drove them forward, straight into the snowstorm.
Once again covered, the three canines huddled together miserably and waited for the endless ride to be finished. It was dark. A full day had gone by without Sally stopping for anything except bathroom or fuel. Dog was positive he’d now passed his female.
The bumpy ride smoothed out suddenly, and Dog braved the cold to poke his head out of the only hole. It put him in Sally’s lap and she nuzzled his soft fur like a pack mate while studying the house ahead of them in the headlights. She hadn’t been here since before the war. It looked exactly the same…except for the missing sight of her mother staggering down the front stairs to greet her as she got off the school bus each afternoon.
Dog swept the log house and then the small pond. Frozen, there were three furry shapes sliding across the surface. The area around the house was a mix of woods and suburb, but the large cabin still appeared out of place among the fabricated homes. Dog stayed quiet, hoping Sally’s pets would. They could not assume the people or the animals were friendlier in the north. The snow shifted and the shapes vanished in the darkness.
The furry forms reappeared near the garage of the home that Sally was trying to reach. She saw three big birds land on the roof. The vulture’s aggressive stances suggested they now ate more than roadkill. She swept the other rooftops and found too many shadows glaring toward her headlamps.
Dog whined uneasily, increasing her anxiety.
The storm began to calm as the animals milled around and the wind dropped low enough to hear the sounds of nails clicking and tapping. Animals snorted and huffed, frozen ground cracked.
“Not good.”
Dog nudged her arm. Come on!
Sally slowly took out a small box. Finger on the red button, she gunned them forward. Wind and snow battered the vehicle.
The wolf ducked under the cover, regarding the two shivering dogs. Stay down.
The two dogs didn’t respond. They’d stopped speaking shortly after the ride started. Dog was positive they were on the verge of vomiting again.
Sally hit the button, hoping the fresh batteries would respond. To her shock and pleasure, the garage door began rolling up. She’d honestly thought she would have to go through it.
Sally slowed, trying to keep them from slamming into the house as they plunged inside the garage. The ATV did thump against the wall of the cabin and Sally winced, hoping it hadn’t done real damage. She hit the button again to lower the door.
It didn’t respond this time and Sally climbed from the lightly smoking ATV and hurried to the door to do it manually.
Dog stayed with her, ready to bite anything that came too close, but none of the outside animals reacted to their entry except the vulture that flew away. It was almost as if the other creatures hadn’t even seen them, when Dog knew differently.
Sally stared through the tiny garage window for a long moment, noticing the same things as the wolf. The animals out there hadn’t reacted to their arrival. They just glowered at the house.
She rubbed Dog’s fur gently. “Let�
��s get fed, huh?”
Sally made sure the door to the house was secured and then set up camp for the night. In the morning, when there was light to view by, she would explore the cabin. For now, the garage was a smaller space to heat.
Sally quickly had a small fire vented through the garage window, and a hot meal bubbling in a pot. She hadn’t been able to bring many of the things she needed, but this home had been setup for survival the last time she’d been here. It was where her father had taught her to hunt, to fish, to cower in fear of his belt.
Sally curled into a corner in her sleeping bag and the three animals slowly joined her, after sniffing and relieving themselves. She didn’t mind the smell, though in the morning she would make it clear that only this room would be used for that purpose. If the backyard still had the tall privacy fence around it, then this room could be kept clean.
Sally let sleep pull her under as Dog’s heavy body settled onto her feet. The small mutts were already on her chest and stomach.
The woman was more animal than human, and Dog found it comforting. Life had been much like this before Marc had started chasing his own mate and the wolf went to sleep feeling safe despite their surroundings. Maybe this could be home while he waited for his female to catch up.
2
“What should we do?”
Jeff shrugged in the darkness. “Leave her alone. Wait for her to go.”
“She had a remote for the garage,” Kevin whispered. “She lives here!”
They’d been enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with Musketeers bars melting in when they’d heard the engine and spotted the headlights.
Jeff was busy scanning the woman, wondering why she felt familiar. “Hang on.”
Kevin stared apprehensively at the garage door from the dark kitchen, still trying to recover from hearing an engine and then having it actually come to the one home on the block that was occupied. They’d hurriedly shut off all the lights and noises. Kevin had almost wet himself after two weeks of peace and quiet. With all the snow, neither of them had thought to see people so soon.
