Sharing Hell (Hell Virus Book 3)

by Aurelia Skye

  Several moments later, the door opened again, and I was slightly surprised to see Lian there, or at least surprised to see he had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. I sent him a questioning look.

  “I’m moving in with you, if that’s all right?”

  I nodded, but frowned as he stepped closer, his hand gently pushing mine aside to reveal the throbbing place on my cheek. “Won’t that make things harder with your father?”

  Lian just shrugged as he gently probed the swelling flesh. “I don’t think your cheekbone is broken.”

  “No, I don’t think so either. It doesn’t hurt that badly.” I bit my lower lip. “I don’t want to make things difficult for you. He’s your father—”

  He interrupted me, his expression resolute. “I don’t care if makes things more difficult. I’m tired of living my life to make him happy.”

  We started walking down the corridor, heading back to my room—our room now—and I wanted to believe with my whole heart that his words were sincere. I didn’t think he was lying to me, but I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to withstand his father’s machinations. All I could do was cling to the present and remain hopeful about the future. His calm acceptance of Grayson’s presence a few minutes later gave me more hope, though I was still fearful about his father’s interference.

  ***

  Lian didn’t have to go out on recon that night after all. The last member of the original party returned, and he had good news. Word spread quickly through the armory that Zach had found the location. Instead of preparing for recon, Lian was suiting up for battle, just like the rest of us.

  The body armor was stiff and hard to move in, at least to begin with. It took me several minutes, along with a lot of stretching and jumping around, to get accustomed to the added weight and lessening of mobility. The vest wasn’t actually that heavy, but it was definitely impeding my mobility. It would take some getting used to, but I wasn’t about to enter the enemy’s base without some sort of protection. I had too much to live for to risk my life foolishly.

  That was why I took the helmet Avi issued without protest, thought it felt a little tight when I stuffed as much of my hair into it as possible. Our people wore a variety of clothing, but the identical gear gave us all the look of a cohesive unit. Standing in the midst of others, some from Camp Utopia, and most from the armory, it was difficult to tell who belonged to which group. We all looked like we belonged together, and that was how it felt too. I hated that we had lost Camp Utopia, but maybe it would be a good thing in the long run. It was making our two groups merge and form one, and that would only strengthen both groups in the long run.

  Chapter Thirteen

  There was a palpable tension in the air as we waited for the signal. We had reviewed the plan en route, and our group was tasked with slipping in during the second wave. We watched through our binoculars as the first group unleashed an attack upon the front entrance of the installation the militia had taken over.

  It appeared to have once been a tech company, and I speculated they’d had government contracts due to the heightened security. Ten-foot chain-link fences topped with razor-sharp barb wire surrounded the perimeter, and the fence was live with the hum of electricity. They’d managed to restore power to the complex, so they might have other security defenses in place.

  While the first group engaged and drew fire outside, our job was to slip in and try to free the women the militia held captive. We were just waiting for the fence to stop humming, and it was seconds later that the tank blasted what was obviously a critical component, because lights went down on the exterior of the installation, and the fence stopped humming.

  Grady Osborne was tasked with cutting through the fence, and he moved quickly. His background was a mystery to me, but I got the feeling this wasn’t the first time he’d entered an installation or other building through the back way without authorization.

  We slipped through the hole he’d cut one at a time before he rolled it back down. It wouldn’t pass close inspection, but at least it didn’t leave a gaping hole from a distance.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Alyssa wincing, which told me her shoulder was still bothering her. She probably shouldn’t have been on the mission, but there was no stopping her—especially if there was a possibility she would get her hands on Kassandra.

  We moved with as much stealth as we could manage with our large group of ten, only occasionally running into someone since most of the militia seemed focused on Collier’s group, who was drawing the fire and attention. I didn’t expect it would always be so easy, especially once we actually entered the complex.

  Once again, Grady got us in using a handheld device I didn’t recognize. Whatever it was, it worked quickly, and the door opened an inch a moment later. He pushed it in slowly, remaining in a crouched position with his gun held out in front of him.

  After a moment, he waved over his shoulder as he slipped inside. We moved in single file behind him, with me somewhere in the middle of the group. Finn was right behind me, and it was reassuring to feel his touch on my shoulder for a brief moment even as I worried about his safety. He had little experience with this sort of thing.

  Not that I had much experience with military incursions either. My sole experience before this consisted of the siege on Fort Glacier to rescue Sofia. This felt an awful lot like that, but for some reason, the familiarity only intensified my nervousness rather than calming me because I’ve been through something similar before.

  For one thing, I’d been more on the fringes of the Fort Glacier invasion, and here I was playing a central role. If our team failed, the women the New Order Militia had taken captive would remain their hostages. That possibility had existed with Sofia as well, but the people at Fort Bliss had been in the throes of dying from HLV, and their numbers had been scant compared to what we’d observed about the militia so far.

  We moved deeper into the building, following Shane and Avi in two lines that filled up the corridor. When they had taken out the lights in the front to disable the fence, it must have knocked out the power everywhere. There were emergency lights in the corridor, probably running on a backup generator, but they provided dim illumination at best. That was both good and bad, because it helped obscure our presence from others, but could also hide militia members.

  We didn’t know where we were going, so we had to explore every room. It seemed to take forever, though I was sure it wasn’t really taking as long as it seemed. We worked in pairs, clearing the rooms as we moved down the corridors until we reached a split. Shane and Avi looked at each other and nodded, and my heart skipped a beat when they each took different directions. I was in the line behind Avi, so that meant going right with him. I looked across the line, hating that Chris and Lian were behind Shane. I knew they were in good company, but still detested parting from them.

  “I’m going to kill him. We weren’t supposed to split up,” muttered Alyssa behind me.

  I nodded, understanding how she felt. It probably made sense from a tactical point-of-view to split our group to cover more ground more quickly, but I didn’t like being separated from them. Not only did it leave Chris and Lian out of my sight, but it also reduced each group’s numbers to just five.

  We continued as we had, clearing each room in pairs and dealing with resistance as we encountered it. This part of the area seemed to have few militia soldiers posted, and there was little mystery why. In its former life, it appeared to have been a series of labs and offices, but none of that remained. Most of the rooms had been cleared, and there was nothing to replace the former contents yet. The only time we seemed to encounter anyone posted on guard duty was when the room was being used to store something.

  As we neared the end of the corridor, Grady crept forward to deal with the soldier standing in front of a locked room, a gun slung across his chest and dangling down at his side in a lackadaisical fashion. I was impressed by how quickly and quietly Grady neutralized him. He eased behind the
soldier and had slit his throat before the man knew he was there. After that, Grady eased open the door, held up a hand, and then finally waved us forward. Finn slipped in with him, and they cleared the room before returning to us so we could resume.

  “That was a piece of work back there,” said Finn with clear admiration.

  Grady shrugged, looking unsettled by the compliment. “It was no big deal.”

  “It looked like a big deal,” I said softly.

  He just shrugged without looking back at either one of us again. “I have a set of skills bestowed by Uncle Sam. I haven’t had to use them for a while, but I still have them.” That was the last he said about it as we rounded the corner.

  The sound of feet approaching made me stiffen, and I tightened my fingers on my gun. I’d only drawn one, but the other was in the holster and within easy reach should I need it.

  I breathed out a broken sigh of relief when our group converged with Shane’s. They seemed surprised to see us too, so it was clear neither one of the group leaders had any idea that the design was set up that way.

  I was relieved to be back with the others, and we moved down the corridor in two straight lines, just as we had done before. There were no more turns, and as we moved deeper into the installation, we saw more and more activity.

  I stiffened when I suddenly heard a familiar voice. Those around me did as well as Grace shouted, “Let us out of here before we get shot.”

  As one, the group turned toward the left, seeking out the room from which the voice had originated. There were several men with guns in this room, and there wasn’t much cover, so I was happy to be surrounded by people who knew how to shoot. There were a few bullets that came our direction before everyone was neutralized, but we had no casualties. Yet.

  Following the others deeper into the room, I stood in shock at the sight before me. There was a cage in the center of the room. It looked like a dog kennel, but larger. It had to have been a custom-made structure due to its size.

  It wasn’t the cage that held my attention, but rather the women inside. Grace was there, as was Maisie, with baby Lila in her arms. The infant appeared to be sleeping through everything, which was a blessing. There were three other women in the cage that I didn’t recognize, so I was certain they hadn’t been acquired from Camp Utopia. I didn’t see Lori anywhere.

  While Grady, Shane, and Avi worked on the lock, which was quite substantial, the rest of us moved closer to the bars. I reached out and took Grace’s hand, squeezing it for a moment before letting my other hand drift over Lila’s soft brow. “Are you okay?”

  Grace shrugged. “As okay as we can be, I guess.”

  Finn cleared his throat. “Pardon me, ladies, but are any of you…injured?”

  “I have a loose tooth,” said one of the women at the back. She was of Asian descent and lovely, except for the swollen cheek and the bruise marring half her face.

  Finn cleared his throat again. “I’ll see what I can do for you when we have you out of there, but I meant are you injured in any other way?”

  Getting the gist of what he was trying to ask, I said, “Finn’s trying to find out if you’ve been violated?”

  I exhaled held a sigh of relief when all five of the women shook their head.

  “Apparently, we’re not good enough for them, since we’re minorities. We’re kept for trade,” said another black woman beside Grace.

  “How many of you have been traded?” asked Alyssa.

  The remaining woman, clearly Hispanic, shrugged. “At least three have come and gone that I know of.”

  Han moved closer to the cage, his gaze on Maisie. “So why are you in here then, honey?” He managed to make the question sound not patronizing.

  Maisie gave him the ghost of a smile. “I guess I’m exempt from being a wife, at least for now, since I recently had a C-section, I have an infant, and I’m breast-feeding. I’ve never been so relieved to meet criteria of exclusion before.”

  The question I’d been dreading asking weighed heavily on my tongue. “Where’s Lori? Was she one of the ones who was traded?”

  Grace and Maisie grimaced simultaneously. “No,” said Grace. “She’s young, fertile— presumably—and white, so she’s good enough for them. Last we heard before they separated us, she was going to be given as a wife to some of the generals’ loyal men.”

  “What else did you hear?” asked Alyssa.

  Maisie shrugged, making Lila whimper slightly before the baby returned to slumber. “Not much. They didn’t really talk in front of us, and they kept us blindfolded and handcuffed—except me, though they bound my ankles, but made it so I could hold Lila. We heard them refer to General Barnes and General Court, but that’s about all the info we gleaned.”

  With a small sound of satisfaction from Shane, grinding steel preceded a clanking sound as what had remained of the lock fell to the cement floor and shattered into several pieces. The door swung open with a protesting squeak a moment later, and the five women and baby Lila exited as quickly as possible.

  They were all dirty and slightly unkempt, but their clothes weren’t torn, and other than the Asian woman with the bruise, they appeared to be uninjured.

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Jamar.

  “We can’t yet. Lori’s still in here somewhere, and we have to find her.” I put my free hand on my hip, daring him to refuse.

  Instead, his gaze softened, and he nodded. “Of course. Some of us will need to accompany the ladies out of here to make sure they get to safety, and the rest of us will go after Lori.”

  While the others debated who would do what, I turned to Finn, touching his cheek. “I want you to go out with them. Please. You put yourself in enough danger, and if there are casualties, you can treat them when you’re in relative safety. I don’t want you going any deeper into the installation.”

  He frowned at me. “I’m not a fragile flower that you have to protect, Natalie. I can handle it.”

  I nodded. “I know you can, but you’re too valuable to us to risk your life needlessly. Between you and Grace, we could actually have a real clinic again. She’s a physician’s assistant, so she could teach you some things.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, looking stubborn. “Or she could take over for me, since she has medical training that I don’t. I want to be with you.”

  I allowed a little vulnerability to show in my expression. “I want to be with you too, which is why I’d feel better if you’re out of here. It’s getting more dangerous the deeper we go into these buildings, and I need to know at least one of my men is safe. I love you.” I said the words to him for the first time—not to manipulate him, but because I couldn’t hold them back. “Will you please do this for me, Finn?”

  He looked like he was going to continue arguing, but a moment later his arms fell to his side, and he nodded. “Grudgingly, I’ll do it—but only because I love you too.”

  I leaned forward to press a kiss against his mouth and squeezed his hand as he fell into step with the women, along with Grady, Han, and Lian. I was glad to see Finn and Lian leave, while at the same time I wanted to call them back to me. I couldn’t have it both ways, so I just grasped Lian’s hand for a moment as he moved past me. We shared a long, lingering look before they disappeared through the doorway, turning right and heading back the way we had come.

  Our group also moved toward the doorway, but we went left. We had no idea where Lori might be, but we were determined to find her if she was still there.

  Most of the rooms ended in dead ends, but we found multiple supplies of interest. There were antibiotics and food, along with a room full of weapons that was heavily guarded, and the soldiers fighting to keep us out battled fervently. Jamar took a shot in the arm, but he seemed to think it was no big deal, or at least he acted that way as he let Alyssa fuss over him for a moment and tie a cloth across the wound before gently shrugging her off.

  We didn’t have the hands or the space to take any of the things we foun
d, but we made note of what was there. The more supplies we cataloged, the grimmer I felt. The militia seemed to be well-maintained, well-supplied, and well-prepared. Since they were determined to be our enemy—and I couldn’t imagine being allies with white supremacists; a logical assumption based on the way they had segregated the women—their supplies could be turned against us. It was daunting.

  Finally, we entered a small room that had been locked. Two stomps of Shane’s boot against the jamb took care of that, and the door flew open as we all bent down, expecting shots. A few went overhead, but Chris, Avi, and Shane fired their guns in rapid succession. The bullets stopped flying, and we cautiously eased into the room. Jamar closed the door behind us, giving the impression it was still secure, and then we all froze at the sight before us.

  Lori was up on a platform. She wore a ridiculous white dress, but clearly paid no attention to taking care of it. She was currently kneeling, face buried in her hands as she sobbed.

  Looking around, I saw a man wearing a white minister’s collar and holding a Bible. There were candles scattered around what appeared to be a makeshift altar, and judging from the dress of the guests, they had been attending a wedding.

  The guests themselves were illuminating. They were all women—white women, at that. They all looked terrified of us, and I wasn’t certain whether that pleased me or bothered me. They had clearly been a party to the forced marriage of Lori to whomever she had been gifted to, and they had no problem with that, but I didn’t like scaring them either.

  Apparently, Alyssa suffered none of those qualms. She moved forward suddenly, grabbing a blonde-haired woman from one of the seats where she’d cowered, her face pointed toward the floor. Shane and Jamar had gone to fetch Lori, so I moved closer to Alyssa.

  “You fucking bitch,” said Alyssa.

  I blinked at the harsh language. Alyssa could be strong in her opinions, but she wasn’t usually one for cursing. I blinked again when she brought back her hand and formed a fist before punching the blonde in the face.