From the Earth (Ember Society Book 2)

by AR Colbert

  My stomach sank. Dax was such a pushover when it came to Rider. I watched him turn back to the front as Aiden plowed over tall weeds and fallen branches on the farm road he’d just turned onto. Hopefully Felix was wrong about Rider. His being sympathetic toward the Embers was my only hope. I couldn’t let Raf get turned in just because Dax was too weak to help me keep Rider here at the van.

  Emilio pulled up the map again as Aiden brought the vehicle to a stop.

  “This is as far as the van can go.”

  I glanced nervously out the windows to see if I could spot any sign of Raf. He was either excellent at remaining perfectly out of sight, or we left before he could get to the van. If the latter was true, he would never find the Exiled camp. I fought through disappointment. It was probably best if he wasn’t there, but I didn’t feel quite as confident without him.

  I climbed out of the vehicle, followed by Rider and Dax. After tucking my stun gun into the waistband of my pants, I slung my bag over my shoulders and we set off into enemy territory. I searched through the trees, back and forth with every step we took. But as far as I could tell, we were alone in the forest.

  None of us spoke as we weaved our way through the overgrown brush. I found myself tiptoeing and holding my breath, though it didn’t make any difference as we crunched across the floor of dried leaves. Dax led the way, and after several minutes of tromping along he held out his arm to stop us. I followed the line made by his finger pointing straight ahead and let out an audible gasp. Hanging from a tree about twenty yards ahead was a limp, oversized body with a bed of blood-soaked leaves beneath it.

  Rider placed a hand on my shoulder, barely perceptible through my coat, and whispered. “It’s okay. It’s not human.”

  I squinted to get a better look. It definitely didn’t look like a person. But what was it? We continued forward until we got a clear view through the branches.

  “Cow,” Dax whispered. “Looks like they’re slaughtering it for its meat.”

  He was right. And it must have been one of Mitchell and Cathy’s. I turned away, both uninterested in seeing an animal in that state and furious at the men who stole it. That meat wasn’t theirs.

  As I turned, I thought I saw a flash of darkness in the trees beside us. It was gone so quickly my eyes must have been playing tricks on me. Surely it wasn’t the Exiled, watching quietly from afar. Based on what I’d heard about them, that wasn’t really their style.

  Could it have been Raf? I walked toward the brush, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew better than to call out, but if I got close enough...

  Yes. There it was. Fear and anger and affection all tied up in one racing pulse. Raf made it here, after all. I smiled briefly, then remembered the purpose of our trip and grew serious again.

  “Let’s keep moving.” Dax and Rider began walking away from the animal, which was probably wise. We wouldn’t want to come across any of the Exiled who might still be in the area.

  “Right behind you guys.”

  I spotted a giant old oak several feet away, and moved to take a closer look. If I was Raf, and I was trying to keep out of sight, that seemed like a good place to be. I inched closer, trying to stay discrete in case Rider turned around, and Raf popped his head out around the side of the tree.

  His smile nearly melted me on the spot. He put one finger up to his mouth, signaling me to stay quiet, then pointed in the direction opposite of where Dax and Rider were walking. He was going to swing around the other side of the camp. I nodded with another quick smile and continued on with my team before they noticed I’d stopped.

  Knowing Raf was behind me made me feel two feet taller. I was stronger with him here, and these Exiled were going to have to pay.

  After just a few minutes more, the trees thinned and we approached the clearing where their tents were set up. They were semi-permanent structures, much less refined than the Ember camps, built mostly from thick canvas and tarps slung over shabbily built wooden frames.

  We ducked down low, lined up side by side under the cover of a half-dead evergreen bush at the perimeter.

  “What now?” I whispered.

  “I don’t see anyone there,” Dax replied. “We’ve got good timing. I’d say just go for it real quick before they get back.”

  “Go for it how? I’m not sure where to go exactly.”

  Rider scanned the rugged campsite. “I’d guess the leader’s tent is the one on the end. It’s a little bigger than the others and looks to be of better quality.”

  “What if he’s inside?”

  Rider pulled a long rifle from his back and peeked through the scope. “I can’t see any movement at all, but that doesn’t mean he’s not there. He could be lying down or something, so we’ll need to be as quiet as we can.”

  I nodded. My skin was prickled all over, my stomach churning wildly. I looked around for Raf, hoping to channel some of his confidence, but I couldn’t see or feel him anywhere. I wasn’t sure if I could do this alone.

  Swallowing my fear, I inched my way around Dax to get a better look at the camp from the edge of the bush. I pulled the amplifier from my bag. It wasn’t a large device, but it very obviously didn’t belong here. It was sleek and new, with sturdy velcro straps in case I needed to wrap it around a branch or something high where it could go unnoticed.

  It definitely wasn’t the sort of thing I could just leave in a tent. They’d spot it for sure.

  I turned it over in my fingers, scanning the camp for a good place to hide it when I noticed movement on the far side. “Look!”

  The boys followed my gaze and instantly tensed beside me. This wasn’t good. We heard the men before we saw them—grunting and arguing back and forth. They were struggling with something.

  Finally, they stepped around a tent and into view. Two large men carrying a third, limp man between them. The prisoner’s head was dropped, but I’d recognize that tuft of dark hair anywhere.

  “They’ve got Raf.” I grabbed Dax’s arm, the desperation evident in my voice. “What do we do?”

  My legs felt broken, like they could no longer support my weight. I feared I might be stuck in this cold and dirty spot behind the bush forever, watching them do whatever it was they planned to do to the man I cared for most in the world. Why was he over there anyway? How did they find him? I peered over my shoulder, suddenly aware of how vulnerable we were from behind. How many more of their men might be hiding in these woods?

  And if they were able to sneak up on Raf without him feeling their presence, could they do the same to me? I swallowed a hard lump in my throat.

  “Frank told him not to come.” Dax frowned.

  I was fuming. Of course Dax wouldn’t understand. He wouldn’t recognize loyalty if it knocked him across the head.

  “You know him?” Rider asked, raising his scope again.

  “Yes. And we’ve got to get him out of there.”

  “I think he’s alive,” Rider whispered. “But he’s knocked out cold. They must’ve clocked him pretty good.”

  The men dragged Raf forward, dropping him on the ground near one of the tents. They stood talking, trying to figure out what to do with him, and it was clear that neither of these dopes were in charge. Watching them chat so casually around Raf’s body was infuriating, and I felt my panic from before give way to a deep desire for retribution.

  My stun gun pressed hard against my hip, digging into my skin as I squatted. My hand rested on the handle, but it wouldn’t be enough. I had to kill them before they killed Raf.

  “Pass me a pistol.”

  Rider seemed taken aback by my sudden shift in mood. “No. We’re not shooting to kill. We have no idea how many of them are around here. They could easily overtake us.”

  “Just give me a gun.”

  Dax scowled. “Good grief, Claren. Are you serious right now? Can you not for once in your life think with your brain and not your emotions?”

  I glared at him, quickly losing my patience. “Can you not for once in you
r life think about someone other than yourself? They’re gonna kill him.”

  “Quiet! You two are gonna get us caught.”

  Dax ignored Rider’s plea. “So what if they do? Raf’s as good at following instructions as you are. If you don’t do what you’re told, eventually you’re gonna die. Maybe today is his day.”

  I shoved him hard in the chest before I had a chance to think. He fell back into Rider, knocking the both of them off balance and sending Rider out of the protective veil of our bush. I grabbed Rider’s arm and tried to pull him back, but it was too late.

  “Who’s over there?” A gruff voice shouted from beside Raf. His buddy raised a gun and began walking in our direction. “Show yourself!”

  Well I might have saved Raf, but it looked like this was the end of the line for me.

  CHAPTER 18

  I immediately looked to Rider, panic constricting my throat. What do we do now?

  Rider raised his gun with a steady hand, watching and waiting quietly. What was he waiting for? If we sat still too much longer the men would be right on top of us, and there is no way we’d walk out of here alive.

  A low buzz caught my attention from overhead. I ignored it at first, thinking it must be a bee or other insect, but it grew louder and louder until I had no choice but to investigate. A small flying machine swooped in from over the trees behind us—the drone.

  The man with the gun stopped a few yards from where we were hiding, watching the machine with wide eyes. I had a hard time believing what I saw, and I knew it existed. If I was this surprised by it, he must have been completely shocked.

  He quickly regained his composure and called out to the man still standing near Raf. “We’re gonna need some help here. Go get the others.”

  Rider took the man’s brief lapse in defense as an opportunity to strike. He didn’t shoot, but jumped out and brought the man to the ground with a well-calculated tackle, knocking the gun from the man’s hand in the process. The other man near Raf paused, unsure if he should attack or get help. He didn’t have to make the decision though, because another voice called out from the trees across the clearing.

  “Charlie? What’s going on?”

  “We’ve got some intruders!”

  Charlie, the man near Raf, came running then to help his friend. I watched as he and Rider rolled around on the leaves trading kicks and punches. Dax jumped out to intercept the friend, who was unarmed, but I stayed behind the bush. Stun gun in hand, I watched with my aim trained on the Exiled men in front of me. I just needed Dax and Rider to get out of the way so I could make a clean shot. If I stunned one of them on accident, I was screwed.

  Meanwhile, the drone circled the air above them. I imagined Emilio was trying to keep an eye on what was happening while Aiden attempted to navigate the van through the brush to get to the camp. Or maybe this was Emilio’s way of fighting back. The drone swooped low, diving close to the Exiled men, temporarily distracting them from the fights.

  If I hadn’t been so terrified, I might’ve even chuckled a bit at them waving wildly at the machine every time it flew near. It was a comical sight. But the situation at hand was anything but.

  After lots of shuffling around, Rider finally landed a hard punch square into the cheekbone of his aggressor, knocking him out right as his backup arrived. Four other Exiled men came running over, one of them kicking Raf’s limp body as he passed. Rider stood, panting and ready to take on the other men. I knew he could easily take them all out with his gun. Why didn’t he just shoot?

  Dax was still engaged in a hand to hand wrestling match when Charlie spun him around and locked a strong arm around his neck. The drone swooped low, but one of the new guys batted at it with a large branch, sending it flying across the clearing and hitting a tree with a loud thunk. The machine fell unmoving to the ground, the air finally clear of its incessant buzzing.

  Dax remained stuck in a chokehold, arms flailing, face red, struggling for air. Rider was busy defending himself from another round of attacks, so if anyone was going to save Dax, it would have to be me. I stood, arms shaking, and pointed my stun gun at the men.

  Charlie sneered. “Ah, the golden child. Here to save the day.”

  I pulled the trigger and watched as time seemed to slow down. My shot was headed straight toward my target. But my target was too small. With the tiniest twist, Charlie was able to move Dax into the line of fire, using him as a human shield. Horrified, I watched Dax’s body grow limp in his arms as the voltage from my gun made contact with his shoulder.

  I shot Dax.

  I was exposed.

  And now I was going to die.

  “Claren move!” Rider called out to me too late. I should’ve known it was coming, but there was too much emotion in the air. Too many details to process. Sensory overload.

  I was still in so much shock over shooting Dax that I barely felt the Exiled man make contact with my body. He was large and heavy, and the impact of his tackle took me straight to the ground.

  My head hit the earth hard. No, not just earth. A rock? A fallen log? It didn’t matter. Intense pain seared through my temples, the scene before me going black around the edges.

  Rider was by my side in an instant, squatting low and touching my cheek. There was blood on his hand when he pulled it away. Was that mine? I didn’t have time to ask because my attacker was up and lunging for Rider, taking him out just as quickly as he took me down.

  This was the end. Dax was right. Our time had come. The pain was so severe. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep my eyes open. I didn’t want to keep my eyes open. I was tired, and the blackness converging in toward the center of my vision was so much more peaceful than the chaos surrounding me.

  I allowed my eyes to close, but opened them when I heard a guttural war cry from the distance. I could barely make out the figure of someone new running into the clearing. Aiden? Emilio?

  No, there were several men. Maybe Aiden had called for backup. Could we get Protectors out here this quickly? The new men ambushed the Exiled, outnumbering them two to one.

  Fists and blunt force weapons flew and men scrambled across the ground all around me. The new men wore bandannas around their faces, obscuring all but their eyes. There was an intensity about them, a thirst for retribution. They ignored my team and concentrated on taking out the Exiled. I supposed we weren’t much of a threat there on the ground.

  My heavy lids kept sagging low, threatening to close over my blurry vision. But I fought hard to stay awake. If there was any chance at all of getting out of here it would be with the help of these masked strangers, whoever they were. Hopefully they were friends, not foes. At least we had a common enemy.

  In no time at all, or maybe hours later—it was hard to say, one of the masked strangers knelt by my side. The Exiled had been defeated, at least for now, and the strangers were patting their bodies, searching for weapons and supplies. I braced myself, preparing to be patted down just like the others.

  But the stranger grabbed my wrist, feeling for a pulse instead. He examined my face, lifting my lids. “It’s her alright. And she’s alive.”

  “Of course I am,” I mumbled.

  His eyes crinkled in the corners and he pulled his mask down to reveal a scruffy face, covered in dirt.

  “Who are you?” I asked. “Can you help us?”

  “Who’s ‘us?’”

  “There’s a dark-haired guy near the tents. Raf.” I tried to push myself up to my elbow, pointing in his direction. I knew the ground wasn’t really spinning around me, but I was so disoriented I thought I might be sick. “Dax is over there—the tall guy. And Rider is here by me, with all the guns.”

  My body was shaking and I dry-heaved before the stranger gently laid my head back down. “You got hit pretty hard, huh?”

  I tried to nod. The pounding in my head was unbearable.

  He called out to some of the other guys, pointing out the rest of my team. One man walked over to Rider and nudged him with his boo
t, turning his body on its side.

  “This one’s loaded with government weapons,” he said, pulling guns from under Rider’s shirt and loading them all into a backpack. “And he’s got some kind of tech on his wrist.”

  My stranger frowned. “You’re wearing one too. What are those things?”

  “They’re trackers. The Leaders can see where we are at all times when we have these.”

  He scoffed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a large knife and flipping open the blade. He moved toward me with a swiftness. Had I been any stronger, I would have rolled out of the way, avoiding his attack. But I was too weak. He was too fast.

  Thankfully my flesh wasn’t his target. He cut through the band of my tracking device and threw it toward Rider. “Cut off the bands! We’ve gotta get out of here!”

  A few of the others did as he said, each of them tossing the devices on top of Rider. They weren’t Exiled, and they seemed to recognize me. Were these Embers? Maybe Frank had sent them.

  “What about him?” I gestured weakly toward Rider. “ You can’t leave him here.”

  “We’re not bringing him with us.” The man scowled. “His people will find him.” He picked up my bag and ruffled through it, keeping some supplies for himself and throwing the now half-empty bag on top of Rider as well. The amplifier was with it.

  “Please,” I pleaded. “He’s good. Ask Frank. He can vouch for him.” The truth was, I didn’t know what Frank would say about Rider. I was just hoping he’d trust me enough to make a solid call.

  A throaty laugh escaped from the man’s crooked grin. “We don’t work for Frank.”

  My head was spinning. Surely I’d misunderstood him. “What are you doing here, then?”

  “We’re looking for you.”

  Then everything went black.

  CHAPTER 19

  I awoke in a cold sweat under a pile of scratchy wool blankets. The ceiling was foreign to me—blank wood slats overhead, so I sat up to look around and quickly regretted it. My head was throbbing. I reached up and felt bandages wrapped around my forehead before quickly laying back down to overcome my sudden urge to wretch. A bucket next to my bed told me this wasn’t the first time I’d gotten sick since I’d been here.