Into the Fire

by Victoria Smith

  “You couldn’t have saved her. No one could have.” Matt thought he understood, but the guilt she carried was bigger than what she’d told him.

  “But I could have. They didn’t kill her for a week. She was right next door when Jenner’s men were beating the crap out of me and asking ridiculous questions. I should have known. The things they were asking should have clued me in, but again, I was too selfish to think of anyone but myself.” She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

  “And I’m supposed to think you’re a monster because you saved yourself and your brother? Listen, I’m sorry about your mom. I really am. But you had nothing to do with her death. Even if you hadn’t gone home, they would have gone there and killed Theo or taken him to be experimented on. And they would’ve punished her for hiding him.” Matt grabbed her hand.

  “I shouldn’t have gone home. I should have warned her to take Theo and run.” Jillian seemed determined to blame herself.

  “It doesn’t sound like you had time to warn anyone. You can’t change things, but you can forgive yourself.”

  “I don’t know if that’s possible.” She dropped his hand.

  “You’re not a monster. I hope you weren’t trying to scare me away because that’s not happening.” He kissed the top of her head and held her close to his chest.

  There was so much he wanted to say to her. Stuff he didn’t dare utter, but things that filled his heart just the same. He wondered what would happen when this was over. Would she be willing to see what was between them?

  ~ ~ ~

  “Martineo was right about the children,” Olivia said as they caught up with Jillian and Matt. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but the remnants of self-recrimination, guilt, relief, and acceptance lingered in the air around them.

  “The woods are safe. We have another half-hour or so until the storm hits. We have to find shelter before then.” Matt glanced to the road ahead, sure they were going to get caught in whatever mess was coming their way.

  “This storm,” Jillian said. “Does it have anything to do with Jenner, or is it just weather?”

  “Just weather. It’s that time of year.” Matt shrugged. “As far as I can tell. Or it’s a big illusion to catch us off guard. It does seem kind of coincidental such a huge storm would come through hours before Franklin’s supposed to meet with Jenner, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Jillian stayed in step with him.

  Tears filled Olivia’s eyes at the new, easy way between them. Whatever had prevented Matt and Jillian from accepting their emotions was gone now. She wished that could happen for her and Luke.

  ~ ~ ~

  The next town was similar to the first. Luke didn’t bother checking for the living since Simon and Burk had already been through to gather the resistance. As they passed through the decimated town, it seemed like the destruction was more serious. All he smelled was death, decay, and fear. They’d found the bodies of a few young children and a dead newborn. Olivia had unhooked the baby from the car seat and held her close, tears streaming down her face.

  “I will kill him with my bare hands.” She didn’t say it like she expected anyone to argue.

  Luke reached to take the baby, but she turned away. “She’s dead. Come on. Let’s go.”

  Olivia wrapped the baby in a blanket. “We can’t leave her.”

  Matt and Frank already worked on building a pyre out of cardboard boxes in the flower bed in front of the post office. Luke nodded his thanks as he held Olivia.

  “Come on. Let’s put her to rest.” He urged her to the sad, little structure. “I promise I’ll send as many as we can spare to Jenner’s to rescue the children.”

  She nodded, put the baby down, and raised her hands. Jillian held on to Theo, his sobs speaking for all of them. Jenner had done this, and he would pay.

  Thunder rumbled low and long in the short time it took for the cremation. Theo picked a handful of the tiny pink flowers, tears streaming down his face. Jillian struggled with her brother until Matt stepped in and took Theo’s arm. Luke couldn’t hear what he was said, but whatever it was, Theo calmed. Luke pulled out his cell phone and called Martineo. Rescuing the children had to be more important than the face-off with Jenner.

  Chapter 19

  “We have to get to shelter and fast.” Even the trees were worried, but Matt kept that to himself.

  “There’s a place ahead.” Luke pointed to a falling-down building a few hundred feet up the road.

  “This storm will rip that down around our ears.” He shook his head as he scanned for alternate shelter.

  “Underneath that. Old bomb shelter. I’ve hidden there a few times. They dug a tunnel to the next town over. Where Frank is supposed to meet Jenner.”

  Matt exhaled. “Right. Good. Let’s hustle.”

  The wind picked up, pushing them toward the shelter. When they finally reached the broken-down front door, the wind swirled in every direction, and the trees were bending in acquiescence. As Matt attempted to pull the crooked door closed, the wind took it, sailing the heavy wood off into the trees. Shit. This wasn’t going to be any ordinary storm.

  The old warehouse building protested the wind as they made their way to its center and down a short flight of stairs. Luke moved a cabinet out of the way. Within seconds, a portion of the wall opened, and they hurried everyone down.

  The room was well lit and clean. Comfortable-looking chairs were positioned family room style in the center. The concrete walls were white, and faux windows had been painted on them, giving the illusion of space and brightness. The room seemed vacant, but he knew it wasn’t.

  “You can come out now,” Luke called. “It’s Luke.”

  “Luke who?” a deep voice hollered back.

  “Luke I’m going to kick your ass if you don’t stop fucking with me. That Luke.” He walked toward the voice.

  A young man appeared. Matt didn’t recognize him. He one-arm hugged Luke and surveyed the group.

  “Sam, meet everyone. Everyone, this is Sam. He’s the one who built the tunnel that’ll get us where we’re going.”

  ~ ~ ~

  After the vague niceties were covered, Luke sank into one of the couches, feeling the physical stress of the journey. He closed his eyes, snapping them open a few seconds later when someone nudged his foot.

  “Move over.” Olivia curled up on the couch next to him.

  She turned away before he could see her face, but he wondered at the way her voice broke. He wanted a few minutes alone to find out what was going on, but that probably wasn’t going to happen. Maybe never.

  His heart broke at the baby’s death. As much as he thought he didn’t want children, he wanted them with Olivia. How screwed up was that? Bringing a child into this world seemed stupid and dangerous, but now . . . Now he wanted his child growing inside of her. He wanted to feel his hands on her belly when the baby kicked. He wanted to watch her love their child, and he wanted to be a daddy.

  Man. That was fucked up.

  ~ ~ ~

  The wind raged above them as Olivia tried to rest during the storm’s reprieve. Even though they were surrounded by a few feet of concrete, the ravages of the storm could be heard and felt. Vibrations, probably from the building falling down, tingled through her legs. She couldn’t think too hard about that, or she’d go nuts. Olivia wanted to kiss whoever painted the windows on the concrete walls.

  She opened her eyes at the scraping sounds around her. Luke, Jillian, and Frank were pulling in chairs. Theo squeezed in beside Matt, but Matt didn’t seem to mind. Olivia leaned forward.

  Sam sat backwards on an old kitchen chair. “There are at least three hundred guys, not including the ones you sent to Jenner’s to rescue the children. They’re well-trained and really pissed off. They’re an hour behind you, but the storm might slow them down.”

  “Do they know what we’re up against?” Matt asked.

  “Absolutely. These are guys with nothing left to l
ose. Like you. I was on one of the last missions to Jenner’s compound.” Sam glanced at Luke. “Things are falling apart in there. He’s scared, and it shows.” Sam rolled his sleeve up.

  Luke nodded.

  “Is he still taking people?” Olivia asked.

  “No. People aren’t complacent, and they’re protecting those of us with abilities even if they don’t like it. If they see soldiers harassing someone, they fight back. Many have lost their loved ones to Jenner’s search-and-destroy missions.”

  “Okay,” Matt said. “So, what’s our plan? We have no idea how many soldiers he has.”

  Franklin leaned forward, catching Olivia’s eye. “I might be able to help.”

  “Go on,” Jillian urged.

  “Well, I’m afraid you’ll see it as an attempt to go back on my word, but I’d like to bring my military in to help. They’re very skilled. Their abilities are nearly to maximum capability. It’s amazing what some of them can do.”

  Olivia tried to check her bitterness, but she heard it in her voice. “Your soldiers sound no different than Jenner’s.”

  “They are different. They chose their lives. None were forced, and there is no drugging involved. I even have several without abilities.” He stared at Olivia. “And they’re not mindless killing machines.”

  “How long will it take to get them here? Remember, they’ll have to deal with the storm.” Olivia relaxed a fraction.

  “Not long. I’ll get them mobilized as soon as you say the word. We’ll let your citizens stand up first and only come in if we're needed. The revolt of your citizens might be enough to make him back down. Is there a way to gather more people?”

  Olivia’s respect for Frank went up a notch. Realizing how important taking back this sector was and backing his military off accordingly meant a lot. She still wasn’t sure about his training centers, but she wouldn’t ever blindly trust again.

  “We’re trying. We have a good plan so far. Where will we be?” Jillian leaned forward, asking the question that was on Olivia’s mind.

  “Okay, what about this?” Luke leaned forward to explain his plan.

  ~ ~ ~

  Jillian pressed herself into the shadows of the vacant hotel lobby. This was never going to work. Jenner would kill them as soon as he saw them. The storm had made them late, thanks to flooding in the tunnel. They’d barely had time to check out the old hotel and get into place. They’d hidden outside while Jenner’s men came through checking for squatters and cleaning the space to Jenner’s specifications. She’d bitten her lip several times, especially when they’d unloaded plush furniture, flowers, and a feast from the back of several trucks.

  She supposed she couldn’t bitch too much. She’d known how he felt about routine and tradition, and yet she’d voted for him anyway. Hell, she’d respected him even. The bastard.

  The worker bees had cleared out, leaving them to come out of their hiding places and get into position. Jillian couldn’t believe they’d left the area unsecure, or that they hadn’t bothered to check the parking garage for squatters. Though she didn’t count on them not coming back, even as they scurried around positioning the civilian troops.

  She walked the lower level of the hotel, searching for weaknesses in their plan and easily detected hiding places. Theo insisted on being near Matt. She glanced into the janitor’s closet. Theo grinned and stuck both thumbs up. Jillian wanted to tell him to be careful, but couldn’t find her voice. He’d matured since Matt had come into their lives. Jillian had sheltered him so much, probably too much. She had to let him experience life a little more and know that he was a capable young man. Letting go was hard.

  The rumble of engines sounded in the distance. It was a noise that wouldn’t have been heard had life been normal, but with the lack of living people and activity, it sounded like approaching doom. They all wondered if it was.

  ~ ~ ~

  Frank had gone back to his sector. His crossing back into this one would be documented with Jenner’s guards escorting them to the meeting site. Olivia wondered what Frank would see on his journey, and if Jenner would offer an explanation for the lack of civilization. The meeting was due to start in a few minutes. She slowly exhaled to focus her energies. A fire sparked in the back of her brain, and it took everything she had not to torch the building.

  A sense of deception filled Olivia as queasy anxiety took up a beat in her stomach. She peered through the leaves of the plant concealing her and almost gasped when Jenner walked through the door. It had not been long since she last saw him, but the changes in his physical appearance were astounding. Gone was the distinguished, handsome face with the dark hair graying at the temples. A grizzled old man had beaten the handsome face away, and the once full, thick hair was now thin and white.

  They’d wait ten minutes, then move into position. Only one guard remained at the doors to the conference room, and two were outside the building. Dan’s arrogance amazed Olivia, but she knew there had to be more soldiers nearby to make sure citizens didn’t show up to kill him. Though, if he really thought he’d eliminated as many as he believed, he might just be that confident.

  Dan inspected the meeting room, paying special attention to the food and liquor that had been set out. Luke had checked it, and there wasn’t a trace of the complacency drug or poisons in any item.

  Olivia’s stomach growled loudly. And gave her away.

  A hand snaked through the plastic tree and grabbed her by the throat. Olivia couldn’t breathe. She wrapped her hands around his, kicking as he dragged her out of her hiding place. She went limp, punching his knee with all her strength, but it had no effect. Instead, he dropped her, then hauled her up again, wrenching both of her hands behind her back. She swung and kicked and went limp again, but nothing worked. He dragged her into the meeting room and dumped her on the floor.

  “Well, hello,” Jenner said, his smile genuine. “I was expecting you. We’ve been monitoring your progress as you traveled.”

  “Fuck you.” Olivia got up, brushed off her pants, and faced him.

  “I’ve missed you. I’m sorry if you’re angry with me, but what happened to Marcus and your parents wasn’t my fault. I’m going to miss your father very much. He was my best friend. I hoped you’d realize I’m right and come around. We will now have to work on your attitude.” He reached into his jacket and removed a syringe, nodding at the guard.

  Before Olivia could sidestep, the guard wrapped his arms around her, squeezing the air out of her lungs. She was so screwed.

  Jenner approached, his smile congenial as he uncapped the syringe and flicked the end of it. Behind him, a line of soldiers filled the room. Sandy stepped out. Kenneth’s hand on his shoulder stopped him for a second before he shook it off. Olivia wished she’d known he’d be here. She might be better prepared to deal with him. Not that it mattered now.

  “How did you know I’d be here?” Jenner asked.

  “Go screw yourself. And your lackeys can go screw themselves, too.” Olivia nodded toward Kenneth and Sandy. She tried to call out to Luke, but her attempts fell on dead air.

  “I’m tired of your smart mouth. And very tired of all the trouble you’ve caused. I thought you were my family, like my own daughter. Your friends are a bad influence.” He nodded to a line of guards. They marched out, the door slamming behind them.

  Olivia could only think about Theo. What would happen to him if the rest of them were dead? She couldn’t let her thoughts go there. They had to find a way out of this. She considered her options for starting a fire, but the risk to their group was too great.

  Where the hell was Frank anyway? He’d betrayed them. She didn’t want to believe it, but he should have been here by now. If she was dead, then no one would know about Crystal Cove, no matter what she’d told him after she agreed to trust him. He believed her death would release the information, though it had been a lie to keep him in line. Apparently, he’d figured that out.

  Luke, Matt, and Jillian were shoved into the ro
om, but not Theo. Jillian glanced around before shaking off the guard’s arm and letting out a stream of swearing that should have sent Jenner up in smoke. Luke watched Olivia, assessing her before reaching his hand into his pocket.

  Jenner stepped forward, holding the syringe out. “I’m afraid I didn’t bring enough to share. The rest of you will have to wait and anticipate. Watch now. She’ll transform before your eyes.”

  Olivia concentrated on the plastic, holding the energy back until she’d built up enough. When she released it, Jenner’s hand flew back against the heat and melted plastic. A hunk of syringe smoldered on the carpet at his feet.

  “Bitch.” He reached back to slap her, but Sandy stepped forward to block him.

  “Stop.” Sandy stood between Jenner and Olivia as the room filled with the citizen army, led by a grinning Theo.

  “I don’t take orders from you.” Jenner flicked his wrist and stabbed Sandy in the stomach.

  The door burst open, Olivia dropped to the floor and started moving toward Sandy as the resistance poured through the door. Sandy might not have been the best husband, but he was still her friend. She couldn’t let him die. Placing her hands on his wound, energy filled her as she healed him. Luke ducked a punch and looked over at her, his expression unreadable.

  The ragtag army of pissed off citizens were kicking ass, but the soldiers were stronger and apparently immune to pain. With one hand on Sandy’s wound, she kicked out and tripped a soldier hustling by. He dropped like a stone and then stayed there after Nat drove his blade into his back.

  Sandy’s wound healed. He grabbed her arm as she moved away, but she shook her head. “We have more important things to do.”