Terrier examined her bruised face. “You came back.”
“I said I would, didn’t I? And I brought some friends with me.” Ryder looked past Terrier toward the stairs. All of her friends were gathered there with their weapons ready to attack, although they were a bit late to the party.
Terrier looked at all the new faces and then back to the face he’d thought he’d never see again. “I’ve missed you,” Ryder told him.
Terrier had a goofy grin on his face, “I missed you too.”
Leandro let out a groan, and Ryder wiggled her way out of Terrier’s hug to run to him.
Terrier held on to her. “Ryder what are you doing? It’s a wolf!”
“It’s Leandro. He’s my friend.”
Terrier looked at Ryder, confused. “It’s a wild animal.”
“He’s not a wild animal, he’s a werewolf, Terrier. I’ll fill you in later, but he needs me now. Fucking Finn shot him.”
“That jerk.” Terrier kicked Finn for good measure.
Ryder ran to Leandro and dropped to her knees beside him. She stroked his fur on his thigh as she gently explored the wound. The bullet hadn’t gone through. Ryder knew Leandro was a fast healer, but he couldn’t heal while the bullet was in him.
“This is going to hurt,” Ryder told Leandro as she stroked him. She really didn’t want to cut out the bullet, but she knew that she had to. Ryder took a deep breath and slid the knife into Leandro’s thigh muscle, and he whimpered in pain. She couldn’t stop, but maybe there was a less painful way to get the bullet out than fishing around in Leandro’s leg with a knife designed for fighting. She put the knife down and inserted her finger into the cut she’d made. Leandro whined, but she pushed ahead. She felt the bullet with the tips of her fingers, then maneuvered them under it and began to work it out. Is this working? Ryder began to panic. She was in too deep and there was blood everywhere, but the bullet was almost out. She had to continue. Ryder crooked her fingers and the bullet came out a little more, a little spurt of blood preceding it.
“Nearly there,” Ryder told Leandro to reassure him.
Ryder gave one last tug and the bullet popped out along, with more blood. “I need something to press on the wound,” Ryder called. In the meantime, she pressed her hands against the open wound to staunch the bleeding.
Terrier ripped the nearest general’s sleeve from the shoulder seam and passed it to Ryder.
Ryder took the sleeve and tied it around Leandro's thigh. She stroked his head, and he looked up at her. “You’ll be all right.” Ryder was happy that her friends were around her, but they needed to get out of here.
Leandro rubbed his muzzle on Ryder’s chin. He was already feeling better. It was funny how Leandro could show affection when he was a wolf, yet when he’d been human he’d been shy and a little awkward—except for the dance she’d shared with him. Ryder ran her hand through his fur and got to her feet.
Ryder looked at the stairs, where there was a group of pole-wielding women. They looked more threatening than the Merry Men, who were looking more than a little scared. The women only had eyes for two groups of people, the generals and the hunters.
You could cut the tension with a knife. Carter was right in the middle of the two groups, so he gingerly stepped away from them and hid behind Ryder, “I’m with Ryder.” He smiled at them to show he wasn’t a threat.
The women looked at Ryder for confirmation. “He is. My friends are the good guys. They came to free you.” She grinned, then winced at the pain. Her cheekbones had taken a lot of punches over the last few days.
Jasmine looked Ryder over. “I like your upgrade. Being a woman is a way better look on you.” She pointed the metal pole at the generals and hunters. “What are we going to do with them?”
Ryder knew what she wanted to do with them, and also what the other woman wanted to do—make them pay for what they’d done. But that wasn’t the way to move on from what they had suffered. Ryder had waited too long, though, and the women were already heading over to the generals with their poles, ready to attack.
“Stop!” Ryder yelled. “We can’t turn into them.”
Jasmine shook her head firmly. “Ryder, you didn’t have to live down there on Six. You weren’t used whenever one of these,” she waved her pole at the assembled men, “wanted somewhere to bury their dick.” Jasmine tilted her chin, and the other women agreed she was right. “They need to pay.”
Ryder looked at the hunters and generals. While she was getting beaten, no one had come forward to help her except Decso. If they got out of the bunker they wouldn’t help anyone, and the women would always be scared that one of the would capture them again.
“You’re right,” Ryder agreed.
The woman cheered, and the men shit themselves.
Ryder turned to the men like she was judge and jury. “Their punishment is to live on Level Six. They will never see daylight again.”
The men shouted obscenities at Ryder, calling her every name they could think of. All of the men showed their true colors. Ryder didn’t regret her decision not to kill them. A quick death would have been too easy for them anyway. They were finally getting served the punishment they deserved, and the women would get the Justice they deserved.
The women, on the other hand, were cheering Ryder’s decision. “We need to get everyone off Level Six. Every section needs to be double-checked. We have to make sure not a single person is down there before we send the men down,” Ryder explained.
“Um, Ryder? What about me?” Decso asked nervously, his finger raised.
Ryder smiled. “Except for Decso. He was the only one who did the right thing and helped me.”
Decso let out a big sigh of relief. The women looked at him a little confused, they hadn’t expected Decso, of all of the men, to help. It wasn’t because Decso was a jerk, but rather because he wasn’t brave. However, he’d chosen the right time to step up.
“Hey, Ryder, what about me?” another man wanted to know.
Ryder laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me! As fucking if.”
Other men called to Ryder, and she just ignored them. Instead, she turned to Terrier. “Where’s Natalie? Mama Lou?” She couldn’t see Peter either. She panicked. “Where are they?”
Under the blood, Ryder could see that Carter’s face had gone white.
Terrier’s smile put Ryder at ease. He looked at Jasmine. “Tell them it’s safe.”
Jasmine quickly passed the message down to Level Six.
Within a few moments, Peter arrived. He stood in the doorway with the look of a killer in his eyes. His face quickly softened as Samantha’s little hand wrapped around his.
“Ryder’s back!” Samantha yelled. There was a patter of boots on the stairs as the rest of the kids came running up. All the kids were as happy to see Ryder as she was to see them. The kids swarmed her, hugging her with excitement and relief.
“Samantha worked out how to open the door from watching Advisor George. She’s one smart girl,” Peter told them, which made Samantha blush.
Carter’s eyes were locked on the stairway, waiting for Natalie to appear. He didn’t know what to expect. She’d been the age of the kids when she’d been taken, but now she was a woman, and pregnant at that.
Carter’s heart was out of control, bounding like a crazy drum. He pulled down on his beard and it was wet, then he looked at his hands, which were covered in blood. He couldn’t have Natalie seeing him look like this.
He took a jacket from a general who was beside him and used it to wipe his face, then dropped the jacket on the floor.
A large dark-skinned lady appeared in the doorway, and Carter shot Ryder a look that said, ‘That’s not her. Are you blind?’
Ryder couldn’t help but laugh, and she shook her head, “Mama Lou!” Ryder beamed, and a smaller person bobbed around Mama Lou. It was Natalie.
Carter’s eyes were locked on her as Natalie looked at the new faces. She smiled when she spotted Ryder. She looked well,
Ryder thought. Terrier headed over to Natalie, who looked like she was ready to have the baby any minute.
Carter quickly glanced at Ryder, and she nodded to confirm it was her. Ryder’s emotions welled up inside of her; she’d been able to reunite brother and sister. Ryder wondered how many other people she’d be able to reunite. Many of these kids hadn’t been born here.
Ryder stepped closer to Natalie and nudged Carter to follow her. “Natalie, someone would like to say hello.” Terrier looked at her and then at Carter.
Natalie looked at Carter, confused, but her confusion started to fade. It had been twenty years since she had last seen Carter, and back then he didn’t have a head of long hair and a face covered in a beard.
They stared into one another’s eyes. The eyes never lied.
“Natalie?” Carter began nervously.
“Carter?” Natalie replied in the same tone.
The two of them froze, and everyone felt a little awkward that they were intruding on their special moment. Still, they couldn’t stop watching since all of them were hoping for their own reunions soon enough.
Are my parents still alive? Ryder wondered.
Others were thinking similar things. My brother… My sister… Where are they now? Will they remember me? And the question everyone in the bunker had, “Why didn’t they rescue me?”
Ryder wasn’t going to get soppy now. She had come to rescue them, but they weren’t out yet. Once they were, she’d go and find her family and be reunited like Natalie and Carter.
Carter stepped closer to Natalie, who raised her hand haltingly. “Can I?” she asked, and he nodded.
Natalie brushed his hair out of his face and went up on her tiptoes, then looked into his eyes, “Carter!” Her curious look changed to one of joy, and Carter’s mirrored hers. “Carter…you’re here! You’re really here.” Tears of joy flooded into Natalie’s and Carter’s eyes.
“Natalie! My little sister Natalie is all grown up.” Carter was in shock at how his little sister looked, which was not so little anymore.
His arms were wrapped around his sister, the fingers just able to touch. Her overgrown belly was stopping them from fully connecting. He remembered how he used to be able to pick her up and swing her around when she was only six.
“We did this.” Ryder beamed at Carter and Natalie, then at the Merry Men. “Brother and sister, finally reunited.”
Natalie wriggled and looked at Terrier, who was standing near her. Terrier always kept a watchful eye on Natalie.
“Are you the baby’s father?” Carter asked.
Oh, damn. Ryder really wished Carter hadn’t asked that question. She could feel the tension from the hunters behind her, who were being guarded by the Merry Men. It could be any one of them.
“Yes,” Natalie replied quickly, much to everyone’s amazement. She smiled sweetly. “If he wants to be, that is.”
A single tear rolled down Terrier’s face.
Ryder kept her reaction in check so as to not ruin the moment. I’ll be damned! Finally, Terrier has a girlfriend. Only took me leaving the bunker, Mad on the loose, and Afana hunting him down for him to hook up. Nice!
“I… I… I’d love to,” Terrier mumbled and gently embraced Natalie. Carter stepped forward, ready to break them up, but then retreated. His sister was a grown woman, and Carter would have to come to terms with that.
“Terrier’s one of the good guys, like you and Leandro,” Ryder whispered into Carter’s ear, then turned to check on Leandro. He was gone. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Massimo is still fighting Afana, and Leandro must have gone to help. We’ve got to help them.” Ryder looked around in a panic. There was so much to do, and not enough Merry Men to do it all.
Murray had the solution. “We’ll get the men down onto Level Six. You help your friends.”
What kind of upside-down world have I come back to? Ryder thought. “You’ll send the men down to Level Six?” Ryder snorted, although she hated it when she made that noise.
Carter laughed at her.
“Shut up, Carter. And you say I have bad timing.” She rolled her eyes.
“Murray will help us,” Terrier confirmed, backing the general up.
Ryder looked at Terrier in confusion. “General fucking Murray will help us? Did Finn really knock me over the head that hard? The head of the generals is going to help us?” Ryder was baffled.
Terrier started to speak, and Murray raised his hand to stop him. Ryder narrowed her eyes, and her hands landed on her hips.
Murray shuffled uncomfortably. “I’m not a general anymore. I haven’t been since the second I had the opportunity to break free of Afana’s control. I’ve done a lot of bad things in the bunker…a lot. I know whatever I do won’t make it better, especially for you, Ryder. I won’t ask you to forgive me.”
Ryder cut him off. “I wouldn’t.”
Murray nodded as though her reaction was expected. “All I ask is that you let me help you now. Once everyone is free, you can do with me as you please. Any punishment would be justified.”
She really must have taken a smack to the head. Was she hearing right? She could serve him the punishment he deserved? What trick was he playing?
Ryder feared that as soon her back was turned he’d double-cross them. “Why do you want to help us?”
“My son Martin is dead, so Afana no longer has a hold over me.” He gulped back his emotion. This was the first time he’d spoken the words aloud. It made it all too real and painful.
Ryder knew Martin. He was one of the guards on Level Six, and he’d never caused any problems. Ryder liked to think that Martin would have been one of the good guys, given the opportunity. “I’m sorry for your loss, and I’m sorry it took you losing him to start making right your wrongs. Terrier, if he does one wrong thing, kill him. I’ve got to go.”
Ryder bolted toward the stairs.
“We’ll help as well.” Jasmine slammed the pole into her hand; she really did like that motion. The women around her nodded.
Ryder knew that there was a lot of men on Level Five, and they were going to need all the hands they could get to make sure that there wasn’t an uprising. After all, they were going to be sent down to Level Six, where they would spend the rest of their lives. Ryder wasn’t planning on letting them starve. They had enough food down there to keep them going until they worked out how to let them into the tunnels with the crops. For now, they could stay on Level Six, and she’d let them think they were going to stay there. A nice shock to their system might turn them around, Ryder thought. Damn her bleeding heart. She dismissed that idea quickly. Those jerks hadn’t helped her when they had a chance. Only Decso had.
Those fuckers could rot.
Vicky was at the foot of the stairs. “You up for some company?”
Ryder shrugged. “Sure.”
“Good, cause I’m up for swinging my shovel at some more Mad.”
“Count us in as well,” Byrant and Graham chorused.
“And us,” Maxwell added. Louis and Andrew nodded.
“I’ve only got a few bullets left, mind you,” Graham told her. “I’ll save them for when we need them most.”
“Good idea,” Ryder agreed.
“Ryder…” Willard muttered weakly. He’d taken a bad tumble when he fell down the stairs, and his ankle was all jacked up. It made Ryder wince. She was in pain but had no broken bones. “Tell Massimo he can keep his record player and records. Being here to help these guys is gift enough. Here, take these.” He passed Ryder his knives.
“Thanks, Willard. That’s kind of you. I’ll tell Massimo, and I know he’ll be happy. My friends will make sure you get up top safely,” she said, then headed up the stairs.
Terrier looked at Carter. “Please watch over Ryder, not that she needs it. I just want to make sure Natalie gets out safely, being pregnant and all.” Terrier looked at Natalie a little nervously.
“Sure.” Carter patted Terrier on the shoulder. “Just don’t let anything happen to her.”
Carter leaned in and gave his little sister another hug. “See you up top, little sis.” He pecked her on the cheek and headed up the stairs after Ryder. “Wait for me, smelly!”
23
Murray watched as Ryder and the others headed up the stairs to rescue their friend from Afana. Did I just send them to their deaths? Did the man Afana turned me into betray them? There is no way they will live in a fight. Two men and two women against him? They don’t stand a chance in Hell. What have I done?
Some of the women from Level Six had gone back down to their level to make sure all the women and children were out, along with the men who had fought alongside the women. Also to make sure that the Mad stayed down there. The other women kept a close eye on the generals and hunters who would shortly be moving into Level Six. Murray thought their punishment was fitting. He didn’t care that his punishment was only that he do the right thing until his death.
Mama Lou, Peter, and Terrier had the situation under control, so they didn’t need him, Ryder did. Murray headed toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Terrier asked. Everyone’s eyes were on everyone’s movements, so there was no way he was going to be able to sneak out. Also, that was no longer him, if he were honest.
Murray paused. “To help Ryder and the others. You’ve got this in hand.”
“I’m going with you,” Terrier told him.
Leandro ran up the stairs as quickly as he could. Ryder was safe now, and he needed to make sure Massimo was okay. His thigh was killing him. He’d never been shot before. His leg was already healing, which was another good thing about being a werewolf.
Luckily all the doors were open, because if they weren’t, he’d be trapped. There was a downside to the doors being open—there were two Mad on the stairs.
The Mad’s hands went for Leandro and he growled as he ran by, but it didn’t stop them. The Mad were fast, and on a good day Leandro would be faster than them, but today wasn’t a good day.
He needed to think on his paws and get the Mad before they could get him, since he knew he couldn’t risk biting them and contracting the Madness. Leandro went for one Mad’s legs and knocked it down, then leaped over it and bounded up the stairs.
Escaping Madness: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Live Free Or Die Book 3) Page 15
