The Fracturing: Book 2 (The Culling Series)

by Tricia Wentworth

  Before it seems humanly possible, he is standing inches away from my face. That passionate predator look in his blue-brown eyes is definitely back… with a vengeance.

  “Well if you wanted to snoodle, sweetheart, all you had to do was say so.”

  … We were definitely late.

  ****

  As we make our way, down, down, down, I discern that we are going to the room in the basement. What for? I still don’t know because Lyncoln isn’t telling me a darned thing.

  “You do realize you can only plan a surprise wedding once, right?” I smile. “We are already married.”

  He grins. “This is a bit more… interactive.”

  “You enjoy torturing me like this, don’t you?” I squint at him like I’m mad, but I couldn’t be if I tried.

  “A little.” His half-smile slowly morphs into a full one. “Okay, a lot.”

  This makes both Sarge and Lyncoln laugh and then we have finally arrived downstairs. As I walk into the room, I notice the plastic everywhere. Under my feet, along the walls, on the ceiling. The whole entire room is covered in plastic. The lights are so dim you can hardly see, but the plastic covers every single inch of the room

  Ashton is barking orders as soon as we hit the door. “It’s about time. Took you long enough,” he accuses.

  “Duty called.” Lyncoln shrugs. It’s not even technically a lie. He did have to speak with Langly again right before we left.

  “Country duties, or marital duties?” Ashton jokes.

  Lyncoln tenses. “Watch it.”

  Ashton pales a little, throwing his hands in the air in surrender. “Sorry dude. Just messing. No harm, no foul!”

  Ashton looks to Lyncoln for forgiveness, and Lyncoln of course gives it to him. “Don’t worry, you’ll pay for that later.”

  Ashton looks panicked but excited. “Great. I pissed off the assassin before we even start. Way to go, Ashton.”

  I laugh at their exchange knowing that Lyncoln only bristled because of what Ashton implied we were doing. It was the respect thing again. He thought my image was being attacked. And it’s so fun to see my older brother cower to my husband, so much so it makes me giggle uncontrollably. I could care less what Ashton implied, but bonus points to Lyncoln for caring. He’s obviously not used to having a sibling around who’ll always poke fun of you. Seems second nature to me at this point.

  As I giggle, I look around the room again at all the dang plastic and it’s then that I notice who all is here. Mom and Dad. Frank and Gertie. Audrey and Wyatt. Attie and Knox.

  “What exactly are we doing?” I ask, not being able to take the suspense any longer but having a general idea of what’s about to go down.

  Ashton goes to a table to retrieve a weapon I happen to be quite familiar with. He fires a shot into the nearest wall covered in plastic, and bright, glowing paint splatters the wall.

  “Paintballlllllll!” he yells, half-war cry, half-giddy like a small child.

  I shake my head laughing. “How did you arrange all this? And in this room, too? I can’t believe they let you do this considering we need this room later in the week for the results.”

  He shrugs. “Taggert agreed we could all use something to loosen up. Dougall, however, was about to birth a small elephant and insisted on layers upon layers of plastic, which is totally going to mess with my stealth but whatever.”

  I laugh at that, not even a little surprised. What I am surprised by is that Wyatt is here since he is so young and paintballs can really hurt. But I’m soon informed that this is not at all his first paintball match.

  Knowing Ashton cannot wait any longer standing here chitchatting I say, “Well, let’s do this then.”

  We grab our gear, guns, and glowing ammo. I laugh at my mother who has absolutely no idea how to work a gun and accidentally shoots Frank in the foot when Ashton is giving her a lesson on how to use it. Frank acts like he is about to die until she believes she really did hurt him. We are all soon roaring with laughter.

  Some of the tables (also covered in plastic) we stand on end and others we lay flat, providing different layers to our paintball field. It isn’t as good as the wooded area we originally played in, but it’s the best we can do given our conditions. And this is much better than worrying and waiting about the Hadenfelt tip, so I’ll take it.

  “So teams,” Ashton says excitedly as the last table is put in place.

  “Regs and I verse all?” Lyncoln asks with a grin and a wink to me.

  “Oh heck no!” Ashton argues. “The two most trained people in the room? I think not. You two will be captains picking teams.”

  “Fine,” I say rudely. “Ladies first. I get Knox.”

  “Smart woman!” Knox high-fives me as he moves to stand next to me.

  “Ash,” Lyncoln declares.

  Ashton claps him on the back and mumbles something about being glad he is on his team since he was being an idiot earlier.

  “Frank.”

  We go back and forth until everyone is on a team. My team is Knox, Frank, Attie, Gertie, and Audrey. Lyncoln has Ashton, my mom and dad, and Wyatt. I’m feeling fairly confident about my team considering I know my mom is just as awful a shot as my dad is a good one. And since I picked first, we got the extra player too.

  “Think you have it in you to shoot me, Mrs. Reed?” Lyncoln asks playfully as we finish picking teams.

  I grin. This is a bit weird. Normally we are shooting things together and on the same team whether it be paintball or sims. This will be the first time we are on opposing sides.

  I shrug nonchalantly. “We’ll see.”

  “I would hate to tarnish my perfect paintball record,” Lyncoln adds cockily.

  “Trash talking your wife, huh? I, too, have a perfect paintball record, if you remember correctly,” I fire back.

  He grins. “And remind me again, who was top shot in sims?”

  I glare at him and am thinking of shooting him in the foot when a laughing Ashton interrupts our exchange. “Enough of the trash talk from the newlyweds. This is capture the flag, ladies and gents! Three shots and you’re out.” He hands Lyncoln and me each a flag.

  This is going to be a mess playing this version of paintball in a room with very little cover and lots of open space. There’s going to be lots of shooting. Which is probably why Ashton picked it. Figures.

  My team meets in the corner to strategize. Gertie, Attie, and Audrey are going to hide the flag. Audrey has a genius idea of hiding it under one of the tables closer to the middle where they won’t think to check, leaving it there, and then drawing them away to the back corner of the room. It’s a big risk, but a good idea nonetheless and worth a shot. Knox, Frank, and I are going to be searching for the other team’s flag although I already know where it will be. Lyncoln will have it. And he will know I will be coming for it, too. Although I really want to win, it seems pretty impossible knowing exactly who and what I am going up against. I mean, he’s an assassin, come on?!

  Just then, the rest of the lights go out.

  “And the plot thickens!” Ashton’s voice is almost singing he’s so excited. “Did I not mention we are doing glow in the dark, by Culling tradition?”

  “You are way too excited for this,” I holler from across the room.

  “Dang skippy!” he responds childishly, making us laugh.

  Gertie, Attie, and Audrey get set to head to the center of the room as soon as we begin.

  After I’m sure my team is organized and all where we need to be, I tell Ashton so by saying, “We’re good to go.”

  I can’t deny that I’m a little excited for this. It has been awhile since I have done something so carefree. No drifters, no cabinet members, no Hadenfelt. Just fun.

  “Give us a sec,” Ashton says between laughs, “Mom is hyperventilating, and her face mask is fogged up.”

  We all burst out in laughter and wait patiently. I remember it wasn’t all that long ago that I was in the same position. Soon though, Ashton gives a
countdown, and it’s game on.

  Knox and Frank move along one wall, and I move along the other, heading into Lyncoln’s team’s side of the room. Although the room is mostly dark, I can still make out shapes and see where bodies are. We crouch along and hide behind the tables when we can.

  First off, I can easily see Ashton who is rolling, hopping over stuff, then rolling out of it like he’s a superhero. Seriously. You would think he was five. I could pluck him off, but I don’t want to ruin his fun in the first few minutes. Gertie, Attie, and Audrey will very easily be able to take care of him anyway. I pause for a while to let him go by and he is so wrapped up in his coolness that he doesn’t even see me.

  I continue to make my way and once I get close, I stop to stand still behind a vertical table giving me both good cover and a decent view. I can really only see the outlines of my enemies, not who everyone is. I patiently watch and search and watch some more. I see two of their team members methodically switching between three of the back tables every minute or two. Smart. They are alternating people and protecting the flag, knowing we won’t attack until we know which one is which and where the flag is. Which will be, of course, with Lyncoln.

  I hear shots being fired behind me. Ashton I know has been shot at least once because he is cursing about it. And Gertie is out.

  I continue to stand there watching. I know Lyncoln will be the one with the flag but I’m too far away to see anything other than shadows. Which one is he?

  I finally figure it out when they hear something, more than likely the rustle of plastic, and both quickly raise their guns at the same time. One looks like he has held a gun every day of his life. It just seems more natural the way he rests it. Bingo. That’s Lyncoln. I wish I could somehow communicate that with Knox and Frank, but I can’t.

  Just then, Lyncoln fires two shots one after the other. A third shot is fired from somewhere in front of that. I hear Frank holler out in frustration and Wyatt whoop in triumph. Frank is out. This is a disaster. All of them but Ashton have stayed close to protect their flag. We need to move fast and pluck them all off before Ashton gets close enough to Audrey and Attie to figure out that they don’t actually have our flag. Or before he accidentally stumbles upon it.

  I quickly run to another table and take a shot at my dad. I must hit him because I see him grab his leg. Knox must have him on the other side, as he does the same to his arm. I finish him off with a shot in the back while he turns to shoot at Knox.

  Well done, Knox.

  One down. Four to go.

  Just then I hear my mom squeal. She is also out, thanks again to Knox.

  Two down.

  I have a hard time shooting at Wyatt, sweet little innocent Wyatt, until he raises his gun to shoot at me. At that point, I do what any sane woman would do, and shoot three immediate rounds at his legs. He is out too, but if the shooting on the other side is any indication, so is Attie. I need to hurry.

  And I should’ve just shot Ashton when I had the chance. This is what a sister gets for trying to be nice.

  Lyncoln has quit alternating tables and knows we’re close. I only hope that Knox can help distract him a little so we can both move in on him. One-on-one, we will lose this. Our only hope is to gang up on him.

  As I get two tables away, he and Knox exchange fire, resulting in Knox getting shot once, and Lyncoln, of course, having nothing.

  Knox must see me, because as I move to the table closest to Lyncoln, he fires more shots to distract him. This time Lyncoln does him in with two shots one right after the other to the abdomen.

  “Ruthless, dude. Just ruthless,” Knox laughs as he puts his hands in the air and walks off.

  Great. That leaves it at Audrey and me versus Ashton and Lyncoln. And I don’t like losing. Especially to these two. I will never live it down if we lose.

  Taking a deep breath, I finally go for it and take off sprinting for the table Lyncoln is hiding behind. The plastic is a dead giveaway of my location and he knows I am there long before I arrive. I’m just hoping to come out lucky in a shootout at this point.

  But instead of shooting me as soon as I get close, he does this freakishly cool spin maneuver thing knocking my gun away. Simultaneously, he then slams me into the table where he was hiding, lifts my mask and then his, and without warning, kisses me senseless. I’m just glad no one can see us from this corner of the room or Ashton would never let me hear the end of it.

  “Remember this?” Lyncoln whispers in my ear.

  “Remind me,” I flirt and stall.

  I can still win this if I can distract him. He didn’t shoot me right away, so I am still in this. Never mind the fact that I don’t even have a gun currently. Details, shmetails.

  He leans in to kiss me roughly. I grab his t-shirt to pull him even closer, giving back more than he does for once and it surprises him. He groans, wrapping one arm around me and pulling my whole body into his. When he does, he loosens his grip on his gun and I have my one and only chance. But as steamy as this is getting, I’m starting to second guess this idea. Before I bail on my idea completely, I give him one last aggressive, knee-weakening kiss then quickly spin underneath his arms and dive for my gun on the ground.

  He takes a few seconds to recover from my abrupt exit from his arms and is clearly surprised. I shoot from my spot on the ground and hit him three times in the abdomen while he is still standing there stunned.

  A few seconds pass, neither of us move or say anything.

  “That was dirty,” he offers throatily while he offers me a hand up.

  “I learned from the best,” I offer as I reach around him and pull the flag out of his belt at his back. I kiss the crap out of him once more, put my mask back down, and then run off a few tables down.

  Time to finish this and then get back to more of that.

  And I’ve never felt more hard-core in my entire life. I’d maybe try to do a hop and roll maneuver, but I’m just too hard-core for even that right now.

  I search in the dark for Audrey and Ashton. As long as he hasn’t found our flag, we’ve won this thing. I can kind of make out their figures in the back corner. All the other figures standing along the walls are the people who are already out, gear glowing from their paint splatters.

  I quickly make my way to the back corner as I hear continued shots, hoping that the plastic doesn’t totally give me away this time.

  Audrey hits Ashton in the knee and he curses again. One more shot and we win.

  I sit behind a table a decent distance away and wait for my turn. I wait and watch, trying to be patient though I just want to shoot him and win. I find after watching a few minutes that Ashton looks at his target a moment before he shoots and leaves his backside open, just like he always used to growing up. Some things beautifully never change. Predictability. You’ve got to love it.

  I have found my weak spot and quickly take advantage, hitting him square in the butt.

  “Reagannn!!” he hisses, ticked off.

  “How’d you know it was even me?” I holler back triumphant as I take off my mask.

  We won!! My paintball winning streak is still intact.

  He walks towards me with his mask in hand still shaking his head. “Well I haven’t heard you whining about being out, so I figured you weren’t yet. And it’s where you always shot me with the airsoft guns Mom and Dad got us for Christmas the one year!”

  I laugh. “Well then quit looking at your target like that before you shoot. Not only is where you are about to shoot a dead giveaway, but you leave your whole backside open.”

  I ignore his death glare, one that only a sibling could give another sibling and live to tell about it, as the lights turn back on. Though the lights are taking a while to start fully working, my team doesn’t wait to whoop and holler in celebration.

  “Wait.” Ashton says confused, “But where is your guys’ flag?”

  Audrey laughs and walks three tables down in front of him, pulling it out from under the edge of the table.
>
  “It was there the whole time?” Wyatt asks clearly bummed. “I was a few tables away from it the whole time?”

  “Yep,” Audrey says with a killer smile. “You boys have a few things to learn.” She winks at me and I again realize what an intelligent and strong woman she is.

  As Ashton goes on and on about the game and what went wrong where, arguing with Frank on how we shouldn’t have been able to fold up our flag and hide it, I feel Lyncoln at my back. He isn’t touching me, but I just know he’s there.

  “I don’t like losing,” he says huskily at my ear, though not touching me.

  “Me either,” I offer quietly, not turning. I feel goosebumps all over my body.

  “You’ll pay for that, sweetheart,” he whispers in my ear. “I’ll get you next time.”

  I turn around, smiling up at him. “Still don’t like being shown up by a woman, huh?”

  He squints at me and is looking at me intensely as his over six-foot frame towers over me. “I guess I don’t mind as long as it’s by my woman.”

  I smile knowing that he could’ve easily won if he wouldn’t have been distracted by his ulterior motives. In a way, he almost let me win. Or as close to it as a man like Lyncoln ever gets.

  Wyatt saying my name interrupts our moment. “I can’t believe Reagan shot me. She’s a pretty good shot too. Hit me in the legs. Didn’t even hurt.”

  We are all laughing hysterically again when my mom relives her short part in the paintball match, foggy mask and all, and Knox impersonating Frank with lots of hips and gestures almost makes me pee my pants laughing. Attie is right there with me. Ashton pretends to be mad at Lyncoln for giving up the flag, but Lyncoln tells him I took it fair and square.

  Almost.

  Although the game lasted less than an hour and we spend twice as much time rolling up all the plastic as we did playing, I can hardly remember a time I laughed so much as I did this afternoon. With the hope of tomorrow and the possibility of Hadenfelt being once and for all captured, I can’t help but feel hopeful.

  We can do this.

  Maybe I can get my happily ever after, after all.