by A. J. Winter
“But they did!” Matt shouted. “They followed you here and now they’re going to tear apart everything we built just so you could bury your head in the sand!”
“Matt, that’s enough!” Damian said. “Eddie has done nothing wrong and I don’t see any reason to think he’s lying. We’ll keep watch but they don’t know Eddie is here. As long as they believe that they will hopefully leave us be. Even if they do have some plan for world domination they need people to serve them. It wouldn’t do them any good to kill everyone they meet and dismantle the villages that they are trying to rebuild.”
“I’m sorry I lied,” Eddie said, “But I didn’t know how you would react, how any of you would react. I was hiding, being very careful, but now that all of you know I can really help you. I can lift heavier things than any of you, I can work faster, I’ll help you finish the wall, and I can help you get supplies, whatever you need.”
X.
At first everyone seemed to keep their distance, but at the same time everyone had some excuse to walk past the place where Eddie was working. Now free of his secrets he was able to work at a comfortable pace, for him that was still faster than anyone else in the village could work. By lunch he had completed two days’ worth of wall and the nervousness and fear in the eyes of the other villagers was replaced with admiration.
Marianne and her posse of girls took it upon themselves to bring Eddie lunch and water and hung around smiling and flirting until Violet sent them packing.
Marianne shot Violet a nasty glare and stormed off with her girls close behind.
“I can’t wait until they’re eighteen and we can start looking for trades,” Violet said.
“Trades?”
“Oh, there is no one here in the right age bracket to marry them so we’re hoping we can send some people from our village, those who want a change of scenery, to other villages and take some of their singles in here so that more people can find spouses. Guess it’s all about getting the world back up to eight billion again.”
“Maybe we should get to work on that.”
Her dry smile told him she didn’t find him funny at all, and the way she hugged herself screamed insecurity.
“Hey, I was joking. Come here.” He dropped his hammer and wrapped his arms around her. “You’ve got time to make that decision; I won’t make it for you. I’m just happy that you love me even after I kept such a big secret from you.”
“You’re my own personal superman, how could I turn you away.”
“I’m not super anyone,” he said. “But I love you.”
Matt had been watching the steady but random string of curious villagers come and go, each one leaving with a smile. They were accepting him like he was some sort of miracle sent among them. ‘They think he’s a sign of prosperity but he’s only going to bring ruin on all of us.’ As Eddie and Violet embraced he turned away, heading out back to where the wall was still only a fence.
Matt stood at the crossroads and looked down each of the roads. The village was only half a mile or so behind him so he stayed under the cover of the trees but he could see no one in any direction. And then someone took a big crunching bite out of an apple and he jumped.
She was standing beside and behind, close enough to touch his shoulder. She was unarmed, as far as he could tell, and seemed to be looking out at the road. “What are you looking for?”
“He’s still there,” Matt said bitterly. “He didn’t leave. They didn’t make him leave. I accused him of lying, I said he was dangerous, no one listens to me.”
“That’s because you’re a weak, pathetic, human. Khan is right, you all need to be ruled.”
“What are you going …” but she was already gone. He shivered and started back to the village.
XI.
“There’s someone on the road!”
Seven people came running and one of them even had the sense to run to Damian and Anne’s house and bang on the door. Soon there were four armed men, plus Anne who, though her hands were empty, had her hand gun belted on, standing on the wall and a small army of onlookers gathered on the road on the village side of the gate.
Ryan had the binoculars and he handed them to Damian. “It looks like Matt, but when did he leave? And why?”
“I don’t know,” Damian said. He accepted the binoculars and did a scan of the trees on either side of the road before zeroing in on the approaching figure. “It’s Matt all right. Lower your weapons but stay alert.”
When Matt reached the gate he glanced up and squinted. “Are you going to open the gate or do I have to go around to the back fence?”
“What are you doing out there?” Damian said.
“Doing what no one else thought to do! I did a full perimeter sweep about a quarter mile out from our wall, and I went out to their camp at the crossroads to make sure they really had gone. There’s no sign of them. The whole area is secure. I did startle a few deer though so we could go hunting in the next few days, if we need to. It’s getting late and I sure could use a meal. Are you going to open the gates?”
“Yeah, we’re opening the gates.” Damian met Matt as he came in. “You should have told me where you were going, I could have sent you with some back up.”
“I was able to move fast and quiet and I didn’t run into trouble, but I will let you know next time, if there is a next time.”
“Thank-you for going out there. If they had been waiting, well, we could have been caught unawares.”
Matt nodded. Part of him was preening and gloating at the attention but there was a knot deep in his stomach that was making him feel sick. “I’m going to eat and lie down for a bit. Did we sort out the watch rotation?”
“Back to normal duties.”
“Good, then I’m not on until tomorrow.” He gave a curt nod. As he walked away he could feel everyone watching him.
The next morning Matt rolled out of bed early. He left his rifle in the closet but grabbed the old hand gun he had scavenged from a farm house and hidden in his pack. He skipped breakfast and was jogging out the door just as Stan was coming in from watch.
“Where are you off to?”
Matt smiled wide. “There’s work to do. The wall needs to be finished, and quickly.”
“Boy aren’t you Mister Johnny-on-the-spot lately.” He yawned. “Did you eat?”
“Just finished. Sorry, I didn’t think to make you something.”
“It’s okay.” He yawned again. “Not sure I could eat right now. Think I’ll grab a few hours shut eye. When are you on?”
“Lunch shift.” He waved. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
The shift switch on the wall had just happened so Stan’s watch partner had already headed for home and the morning guards were already on the wall. For the most part the rest of the village was asleep, or if they were awake they weren’t out and about yet. For the most part it looked just like it did before the war – a quiet cluster of houses on a gravel road with well-maintained yards and prospering gardens. Of course before the war the people who lived here would have gotten up every day and driven to the nearest city or town, only twenty or thirty minutes down the highway by car, to work. Now, everyone worked right here building and gardening. It was a strange combination of modern and old-fashioned.
Matt kept his pace to a casual amble even though he knew exactly where he was going and wanted to get this errand over and done with. It was almost a mile to his destination, another reason he didn’t want to rush; he knew he couldn’t afford to be out of breath or tired when he arrived.
He paused at the end of the driveway, which was longer than his by fifty feet or so, and stared at the neat white house. He took a deep breath. ‘No turning back. This is for the good of the whole village now. These people, these Alphas, they aren’t playing games, they aren’t bluffing. Damian won’t kick him out so it’s up to you now. Once Damian and the others know what I did they’ll realize that I saved everyone. I’ll be a hero, just like I was this morning. I’ll be a hero
and then Violet will finally see me, she’ll finally see that I’m somebody important. She’ll see I don’t have to be a mutant freak to be somebody, to save her, to love her.’
He knocked politely on the door and Violet answered. She stiffened when she saw him. “What do you want?”
“I’m supposed to help Eddie with the wall today.”
“I didn’t know about this.” She glanced over her shoulder and called, “Eddie, are you on building duty today?”
Eddie came to the door and frowned. “Why don’t you go finish your breakfast?” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll talk to Matt and be right back, okay?”
Violet nodded but he kept looking back at them. Eddie stepped out onto the porch and closed the door. “So you’re supposed to be helping me build today?”
“That’s what I was told.”
“I wonder who told you since Damian is taking me target shooting this morning.”
The amiable look dropped from Matt’s face. “Damian’s going to let a fucking wolf in sheep’s clothing help guard this place? Sure, why not make it even easier for you to open the gate and let your friends in here.”
“I’m not a traitor. I get it, you hate me, but I’m not going to do anything to put the village at risk.”
“YOU ARE THE RISK!” Matt shouted. “You aren’t even human. You should be shot before you hurt someone. You’re probably radioactive. You’re probably infecting us all. You got lucky, you’re big and strong because you got zapped but you’ll just give the rest of us cancer!”
“Get out of here, Matt.”
“No, you get out. Get out of our fucking village!”
“I said go away!” Eddie gave Matt a shove, hands on the other man’s shoulders, and Matt flew off the deck, skidding twenty feet down the driveway before he stopped.
Eddie stared at his hands, and then at Matt, the horror plain on his face. And then he looked up and saw Damian standing at the end of the driveway.
Coming: Summer 2015
The Exciting Finale of 'The Alphas' Series!
The Alphas: ATTACK
The Alphas will be returning in a matter of days.
This is the news two runaway Alphas bring with them when Matt brings them to the village. It’s up to Damian to find a way to protect what he has built, and uphold his promise to provide safety for these people. But that’s a lot more difficult when the enemy you’re facing isn’t insurgents or terrorists but super-human Alphas.
Eddie has disappeared, running before he can be kicked out. Can he prove he belongs in the village? Can he safe the woman he loves? Can he and the other runaway Alphas prove where their allegiance lies?
Other Titles by A.J. Winter
'The Alphas: Dawn of the Alpha' Book 1 in 'The Alphas' series
'The Alphas: New Beginning - Book 2 in 'The Alphas' series
'The Alphas: EMERGENCE of the Alphas - Book 3 in 'The Alphas' series
'The Alphas: Betrayal' Book 5 in 'The Alphas' series - The Exciting conclusion to the series coming June 2015!
Some other titles you might enjoy from Kindle Unlimited:
"Ely's Basement" by Kristina King
"Rehabilitation" by C.B. Stone
"Avoidables" by Rachel Medhurst
"The Alpha's Mate" by Eve Adrian
"Halo Bound (Redneck Apocalypse Book 1) by eden Hudson
"Owned by the Alphas" by Faleena Hopkins
"A Trespass in Time" by Susan Kiernan Lewis
"His Wicked Game" by Ember Casey
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A.J. Winter is an erotic romance author with a keen interest in unique scenarios, locations, and time periods. She enjoys writing both realism and fantasy romance with strong female characters. A.J. lives in Vancouver with her boyfriend, her German Shepherd, and a lot of ski gear. When not at her keyboard creating new ideas and stories you can find her exploring the mountains.
If you enjoyed this book, then please post a review on Amazon!
Thank you!
A.J. Winter
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