Sinful Surrender

by Houston Havens

  Nikias laced his fingers together giving Ortello a lift up. He then turned around and pulled Nikias up behind him. Drakker yelled to the men he’d left holding the wires, “Shit, boys, we got a little problem back here. You’re gonna have to hold your position for just a few more minutes…sorry guys…I’ll let you know ASAP when you can let go.” Drakker was so tall all he had to do was clutch the edge of the hole and do a pull-up to get himself into the vent.

  Logan couldn’t have been more proud of Fay. Like a true warrior, she sucked up her pain and crawled along the duct leading his men. Five minutes passed as they made their way along the shaft, and still no sound of an alarm. This was good, but he noticed every three feet or so was a drop of water on the floor they crept along, like a breadcrumb trail to follow. The farther they went, the closer together the drops appeared until it became a trickle. Then it changed from clear to a rosy-colored line of water. Where was the water coming from? Was this an air vent or a water vent? Was something leaking? A glance overhead and along the seam told him no. He couldn’t help but wonder if they’d soon be engulfed by water. Drowning was not his idea of a pleasant death.

  By the time they got to another overhead vent, Logan got his answer. The tinted watermarks had come from Fay. He sucked in a hard breath the minute she twisted around in the vent to face him. He wanted to reach out to hug her when he realized just how much of a hero she was. Her broken ribs were painful enough to cover her entire body in sweat. Her hair dripped like a leaky faucet. Yet not a peep came out of her. Deep teeth marks imprinted themselves across her dried and swollen bottom lip causing her wound to bleed. A ribbon of blood trailed down her chin, coloring her wake like the Mississippi river.

  Fay was out of breath and pale, but never once did she stop to rest or give up. Despite all the swelling, bruises, muddy streaks of tears, and the blood cutting a path over her chin, Fay couldn’t have looked more beautiful. She wore a warrior’s mask of honor in his book and in his heart. Never had he felt a love as deep as he felt right now looking at his woman beaten and dusty, sitting in an air vent and ready to make a rescue.

  Her free hand slid over her ribs to stop or control her pain. The lifeless look in her eyes held his gaze as she put her finger to her mouth then pointed down through the ventilation screen.

  Drakker crawled up closer to Logan. Together, they looked down through the duct and saw Arlo stretched out on a bare floor with Chandra curled up next to him.

  “They both look dead,” Logan whispered to Drakker.

  “Shit!”

  Logan hushed him.

  “Psssst.” Andonis stepped under the grid, looking up. “Can you get us out of here?”

  Arlo’s eyes popped open. The moment he realized what was going on, he was on his feet with Andonis’ help.

  Logan pulled the screen off, and an alarm sounded. Steel trapdoors, hidden in the seam lines along the vents started slicing closed, one after another, rapidly continuing up the vent toward them, pushing Nikias and Ortello toward Drakker, Logan, and Fay.

  “Get down!” Nikias shouted as the slamming sheets sliced deeper into the vent. “We’ve got to get out of here! Get out!”

  Drakker dropped into the room below. Logan shoved Fay down. Drakker caught her and moved to make room for Ortello and Nikias. The last guillotine-type panel snapped down on Logan’s boot. He winched at the painful impact. Expecting to see missing toes, Logan was relieved to find his leather, steel-tipped boots jamming the blade. He had little time to save his foot. The heavy blade was indenting the steel and would soon slice through. He wiggled his foot in hopes of freeing it, but the razor edge of the panel was imbedded into the leather and pressing deeper. Logan grabbed his switchblade and flicked it open. Like a lightning bolt, he slashed down the side of his snakeskin boot, freeing his foot just as the guillotine penetrated his favorite footwear. “Damn it!” Out of breath and covered in sweat, he was the last to drop into the room. He smiled despite the fact every part of his body shook from the nerve-racking experience. “Guess we’re not getting out that way.” He squatted, removed the other boot, and tossed it aside. Andonis was already wrapping Fay’s ribs with fabric he’d torn from the shoulder piece of his loincloth. Logan’s bare feet made a patter sound as he moved toward the steel door.

  “Fucking hell!” Drakker cussed. “Now what? We’re all trapped here in their cell.”

  “Take cover,” Logan warned. Ortello and Nikias followed, flattening their backs to the wall as Logan leaning over to peek out the small window in the middle of the door. “I expect them to rush the room. They’re thinking Andonis, Arlo, and Chandra are trying to escape through the vent.”

  Drakker smirked. “The men I left holding the wire and button just discovered they’ve been fooled.”

  Logan dropped his shoulders. “One way or the other, they’re shutting it down.”

  “They won’t come.” Fay’s soft voice drew their silence and attention. “There’s no emergency. They know those panels will cut anyone in half who tries to escape.”

  “Then we make a run for it now.” Drakker stepped away from the wall. “Let’s blast this f’ing door wide open.”

  Andonis scooped Chandra up into his arms.

  “Let’s keep this escape as quiet as possible. Try a little of this PBX.” Ortello tossed Drakker some plastic-bond explosive. “Here’s a blast cap to go with it.”

  “Let me down,” Chandra scolded Andonis as Drakker molded a minute amount of the claylike substance around the lock of the door.

  When Drakker finished, he shoved a thin silver tube with a yellow-blue cord dangling from it into the plastic putty. “Okay, I got the blast cap set, now everyone back off to the farthest corner of the room. Cover your ears—”

  Chandra chimed in, “I thought you said this was going to be quiet.”

  “You’re not covering your ears because of the noise. You’re covering them from the low-pressure explosion wave that can pop your eardrums. Now go!” Drakker shooed her away with his hand. “Turn your backs, and pull your shirts up over your noses. The chemical reaction time from detonation to explosion is going to be instantaneous.”

  Fay couldn’t look any paler. “What about you? If it’s that fast, how will you be protected from the blast?”

  Drakker took a moment to smile at her before answering. Drakker stroked his finger over her cheek. “Don’t worry, babe,” he said in a tone Logan could see stroked her heart with reassurance, judging by the small twinkle of light he saw in her eyes. “I’ve got a fast second to sidestep and shove my cute little ass into this wall.” When she didn’t respond to his humor, he added on a more serious note. “The PBX’s discharge has an outward projection. I’ll be fine.”

  “Come on, we haven’t much time.” Logan led Fay to the far end of the room to join the others. Before she could object, a click then a muffled boom echoed around the small room. A strong shockwave flattened her and the others against the wall as a jet of gas clouded the room. Fay’s body flinched at the sound of rapid pings from the ball-bearing shrapnel imbedded themselves in the wall and ricocheted off the surrounding area opposite the door. An acrid smell filled the area before a sudden sucking sensation just about pulled Fay off the wall.

  At her soft cry, Logan pressed his body into hers and his lips to her ear. “It’s an implosion. Wait it out.” The cloud of gas disappeared as quickly as it came. Not even a second passed, and Logan was yelling, “Move! Move! Move!”

  Ortello swung around, rushing the door Drakker had already exited. Several rounds from his weapon bought them free passage. Nikias draped Arlo’s arm over his neck and all but carried him to their escape route. Andonis helped Chandra, and Logan grabbed the shoes off a down man, shouting at Fay as he slipped them on. “Get us out of here, darlin’!”

  Fay winced, hugging her arms around her bruised ribcage, and hauled ass out of there with Logan close behind. Looking back he noticed Nikias passed Arlo off to Drakker who heaved his brother onto his back for a faster esc
ape. Ortello and Andonis bookended Chandra and carried her along with them.

  A quick glance back, and he saw Fay moved up and out of the cell area with the speed of a stealth aircraft. She shoved through several doors and climbed seven flights of stairs before taking them down a public hall.

  Logan shouting at Dirt Dweller women and children to get out of the way, shot cyborgs threatening their exit. Nikias covered them on the right, taking down anyone or thing with a weapon. Ortello, who’d broken away from Chandra to help clear their route of escape, took a hit. Nikias caught him without even breaking his stride. Together they wouldn’t let anything stop their escape. People pushed, fell, and ran for cover. There was so much chaos even the cyborgs were confused by all the moving humans. It was obvious they couldn’t identify their targets. It gave him and the others the chance they needed to get away. But it didn’t last long.

  Human soldiers raced to stop them. Bullets and laser beams exchanged insults. Fay made it to the tram first. “Get in!” she screamed at the slower-moving Andonis and Chandra as she manned the controls. They rushed into the tram, joining the others. In a shower of laser beams Fay hit the floor, but not before she was able to key in the destination. Logan, who’d been giving cover to the rest, slipped into the tram just before the doors slid shut. More laser hits pierced the tram as it raced out of the station.

  Fay crumbled, screaming one continuous cry of agony.

  Logan raced to the front of the tram and pulled her into a bear hug, hoping to stop her panic. He knew that cry, that pain. He’d felt it when his parents died. “We’re safe. You can stop screaming now.” He pulled her tighter into his chest as her black-and-blue hands clung to him. She was breaking down, and he had to keep her from losing it. “Fay, I need you to stay strong right now. We can’t let them win.”

  “Let them kill me!” She buried her head into his chest. “I can’t fight anymore.”

  “I don’t need you to fight. You have me for that. What I need from you is to stay calm, and guide us out of here. Can you do it?”

  Tears fell from her eyes like tiny waterfalls as the tram sped down the track. “They damaged me!”

  “I guarantee you, I will make whoever hurt you pay.” He set her back, so he could look her in the eyes. “Help me get Chandra and the men home. Then I want you to tell me everything that happened, and I will bring you justice.”

  She shoved at him. “Justice! Justice can’t fix what they did to me. I’m damaged. I’m broken. I’m soiled. You can’t fix me!”

  He grabbed hold of her, and despite her outcry of pain he pulled her up into his face. “I can, and I will fix you. You’re mine, Fay. If you’re broken, soiled, damaged, if you can’t be repaired, so be it! You’re mine, and I still love you. I won’t let you go. Ever!”

  She burst into more tears. “How can you love me after this?”

  “Darlin’, I don’t know everything they did to you. But I promise you, whatever they did won’t change how any of us feel about you. Arlo got hit, again. In the same leg. This time he may lose his leg or have a limp if it ever heals. Will you love him any less because of the limp?”

  “No.”

  “Will you love him less if he loses the leg?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then give us the same credit as you give yourself.”

  “I’m sorry, but—”

  “No time for buts, Fay. They’ll be waiting at the next station for us. How much time do we have?”

  “I programmed in a systems check.”

  Logan smiled. “Now, that’s my girl.”

  She gave a weak smile in return. “If I programmed it right, I expect the tram to come to an automatic stop just down from the tunnel you came in. We’ll have to make a run for it because I don’t know if headquarters can see the order. Besides, we’ll only have a minute or two before the next tram collides with this one. So we have to get out of this main tunnel fast, or we’ll be caught in the fireball.”

  “Men!” Logan yelled. “Get ready to exit left! On my mark then run like hell.” He turned back to Fay. “What can we expect aboveground?”

  “More cyborgs, I’m sure.”

  “Christ!”

  Logan wedged the doors open as the tram slowed. When it was safe enough, he gave the order to move it fast. Breathless, he gasped for air, pleased they made it all the way to the adjoining tunnel before hearing the collision of the trams and the explosion.

  “Holy shit! Move!” Drakker yelled, looking back at Logan just before he rounded the corner.

  Logan was at the back of the pack. He wanted to be sure everyone got out. The vibrations shook the underground walls as he made it around the second turn. Intense heat from the fireball blazed down the tunnel he’d just turned off. With his weapon ready, he raced ahead of them down the last part of the channel toward the exit.

  Arriving at the prairie-dog hole they come in through, Logan crouched down and motioned for them to do the same the moment he saw someone had covered the hole. Drakker made his way up next to Logan. He jutted his chin at Drakker. “You blow the lid. I’ll jump up there and get the first few shots off. Once I give the all clear, your only job is to get Fay across the field. Ortello, you help Chandra—”

  “I don’t need any help.” Her voice was filled with insult.

  “Chandra.” Andonis gave her a look that spoke volumes about the poor state of her health.

  She frowned. “Give me a weapon, and I’ll shoot every one of those motherfu—”

  “Nikias?” Logan ignored her bravado. “I’m trusting you get Arlo out of here safely. Andonis, were you tortured or hurt?”

  “No.”

  “Then whoever needs more assistance, Chandra or Arlo, lend a hand.”

  “I’ll do you one better. I’ll help Chandra. That way Ortello can help you keep them off us. He’s a better shot than I am.”

  “Good. Then Ortello and I will be covering you all as you make your moves. Drakker, once you get to a safe spot, I’ll need you to cover me and Ortello as we get across.”

  “Done.”

  Before Logan could give the word, the lid above them exploded.

  “Don’t be shooting at me now.” The strong accent of a Star Rider echoed down. When the smoke cleared, they stood looking up at a man in a leather cap. A wide grin stretched across his boyish face, framed by golden curls. It was Faerydae, the Star Rider who came to their rescue once before.

  “Care for a lift, any of ya, or are ya just going to stand there looking at me pretty face?” At their stunned silence, he waved at them to come up. “Right. Well, I haven’t got all day. Would ya care to hustle a bit?”

  Chapter 15

  Three months later.

  “No.” Chandra frowned, shaking her head. “By the eighth week her ribs were healed just fine.” She heaved a deep sigh. She didn’t mean to sound heartless, but Fay’s depression was starting to affect her. Their escape cost them all a little something, if not on a physical level, then on an emotional one. Large-scale attacks between the Dirt Dwellers and Airbornes had dwindled down to smaller battles, but they were still paying dearly for the price of freedom. “Fay’s good, except for her mind.”

  Faerydae chuckled, pulling a letter from his pocket. “That reminds me why I’ve come.” With a boyish grin, he held the envelope up like a prize.

  Chandra’s smile flipped down. “Like I told Ortello yesterday, you’re all wasting your time coming down here. Fay hasn’t read a one.” She snatched the letter from Faerydae. “It’s not like Arizona’s right around the corner from here.”

  “Ah, but it is when ya have a fine craft like mine.”

  “Oookay.” She tossed him a quick smirk and held up the letter. “Thanks for dropping it off. Maybe today will be the day she reads one, but I doubt it.” She sighed again as she leaned against the doorjamb of Logan’s Santa Fe home. “Coming in for coffee?”

  Shifting his body weight, he swiped the leather cap from his head. “Thanks, but no. Ya sure now, t
here’s no reply?”

  “Positive.” Chandra shook her head. “Like I told Nikias the day before yesterday, I feel for the Abàn brothers. I wish they’d just move on and forget about Fay.”

  “Ya sure ya wouldn’t care to return a message?”

  She rolled her eyes at his persistence. Her inner frustration over this whole situation was becoming intolerable. “Like I said, she hasn’t opened one. So there is no reply.”

  He rocked his head from side to side then lowered it to his chest. Kicking the toe of his boot into the dirt, he looked as if he had something to say but couldn’t quite put it into words. “Right. Well, I’ve gotten to know the Abàn brothers, working for them from time to time in these past few months. How about ya write something to them for her?” His head stayed down, but he shot his eyes up to pin her with his pleading gaze. “Anything will do.”

  “Faerydae.”

  “Please, I’m telling ya, these blokes are hurting.”

  “A letter from me will mean nothing. They want to hear from Fay.”

  “Then write it as though ya’er her. Be giving these chaps some kind of encouragement to be holding on to.”

  Chandra mentally slammed another cell door closed on more of the anger she felt building toward Fay. How could she keep doing this? Being a part of this unending rejection toward the Abán brothers, who’d done nothing but shown her and Fay kindness, was killing her. A real friend wouldn’t put her through this emotional stress.

  “Faerydae, I adore you like a brother. You’re a sweetheart, but for me to do that would hurt them even more. I’d build their hope, and should Fay never come around, well, it would crush them again when they discovered the truth. I can’t do that to those men. I respect them too much.”

  “But she’s bound to turn it about soon, don’t ya think?”

  “These days she’s a different person than the girl I grew up with. I don’t know what to think. I certainly can’t predict anything she does or says these days.”