EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set

by K. J. Chapman

  “We only play with that,” Rafe says, grinning. “It’s a bit of fun.”

  Darcy runs the length of the training room like a lunatic. Rafe calls him, but to no avail. He likes the openness and the chance to stretch his legs. I really must find out where he goes to do his business. Perhaps I can walk some of his energy off, and mine too. I feel guilty that he has been cooped up with me.

  “Darcy, here,” I call. He races to my side, standing patiently for another order.

  Rafe shakes his head in astonishment. “That dog is the bane of my life.”

  He opens the door at the far end of the Manual Combat Room and leads me into a small, box room. There is another door in here. This door is reinforced. The metal reminds me of the door from the therapy suite at Facility One, and there are two lights positioned above the frame. The red light glows, and the sign on the door reads, ‘Do not enter unless green light shows. Ring bell for attention.’

  “This is the Ability Combat Room,” says Rafe. “AKA The Tomb.’ He presses the bell and leans against the wall. Such a Jude move.

  After a few moments, the light goes green and the door opens. Crow greets us in a sweaty, panting mess. He wears only a pair of shorts and dries himself with a towel. Yana would be weak at the knees. My heart pangs again. Yana hasn’t just lost me, she’s lost Crow.

  Crow’s face falls. “What’s wrong, Cub?”

  “Yana,” I whisper.

  He pushes passed me with a look of thunder on his face. “I don’t want to talk about her.”

  “She’s lost both of us, Crow. We can’t ignore that.”

  “I said I don’t want to talk about her,” he snaps. “She thinks you’re dead, Cub, but she thinks I just up and left her.”

  “You did.”

  Crow glares at me with such a wild look in his eyes. “For good reason!”

  Rafe senses the conversation we need to have privately and gestures for the others to leave, closing the door behind him. We’re alone in the Ability Combat Room. The room is a similar size to the Manual Combat Room, and the floor has the same padded material. The walls, however, are lined with crash mats. Even the ceiling has a protective covering of mats. The Tomb is a suitable name because it feels enclosed and a little creepy. At the far end are numerous fire extinguishers, a water-butt full of water, and other objects piled up in a haphazard mountain. They must be both safety measures and ability aides.

  “She told me about Roscoe, Facility One, and about Haydn. I promised I’d be there for her this time.” He growls in frustration, pummelling the crash mats to release his anger.

  “Yeah, me too.” My broken promises grip at my chest, bringing tears to my eyes. “Tell me why you’re here, Crow. Tell me why we need to be here and not there with them. Why you could up and leave her like that? I need to hear it from you.”

  He stops his tirade against the walls. “You trust me, despite everything?”

  I scoff through my tears. “I’ve trusted you from the moment I met you. That’s why I need to hear it from you.”

  He opens up his arms. “Come here, Cub.” I step into his embrace. His skin feels molten hot. I don’t mention it. “This is the beginning of the end. Right here, with Uncle Rafe, is where we step up and make a change. We are doing this for all of them, okay? Do you remember how you felt when we rescued the EVO kids? That’s how I want to feel all the time, even if that means making sacrifices. I will see Yana again, and I will explain myself to her, but the chances are that the ones we left behind may feel differently about the situation. I just want to prepare you for that. I want you to accept why we’re doing this, and why that might have to be enough.”

  “You’re a good man, Crow. Yana will understand.”

  He nods, turning his face away to conceal his pain. “Anyway, I can’t dwell on that. Our focus has to be on an alliance with Adam, right?”

  “There is no doubt of an alliance if Rafe tells Adam I’m alive.”

  Crow shrugs. “You must see why Rafe is being wary? He needs to know Adam is on his wave length without you as a motivator. It might be hard to believe, but this is about more than you.”

  I roll my eyes. “Tell me honestly, how close is he to finding Adam?”

  “Not as close as we first thought.” My tummy sinks a little. “After those initial images, he has totally dropped off the radar. It’s like the whole squad has vanished from the face of the earth. Rafe reckons he could have a new Technokin, one that’s better than any we’ve got, or more likely, there was a momentary lapse in judgement and a mistake was made, allowing our Techs to get those few images.”

  “He has Kesh,” I state, the thought dawning on me.

  “Regardless, we are no closer to finding them than we were when the images came in.”

  “Rafe told me two weeks,” I say, clenching my fists in anger.

  “Hell, Cub, the man isn’t a magician. He’s trying, what more do you want?”

  I scream out my frustrations into the cool air of The Tomb.

  Crow laughs. “My feelings exactly. It’s okay to be angry, but use your anger wisely.”

  “Like for punching walls,” I ask, throwing him his shirt from the hook.

  Crow shakes his head in amusement and shoves me out of the door.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Coco wakes me by dropping a stack of clean clothes on the bottom of the bed. I feel like I haven’t slept at all. I probably had two hours of broken sleep at most. The lights are still off which means it is before 5am. When I was confined to the bed, I would use ‘lights on’ to give me some perspective of time passing.

  “What time is it?” I grumble.

  “Go time,” she says, pulling the bedding from me. Her skin starts to glow, and before I have time to avert my eyes, she is glowing like a beacon from the inside out. Clearly, being a Spark has many uses.

  I bury my face in the pillow and try to blink away the light spots. “Are you trying to burn holes in my retinas?” I ask her.

  She opts to ignore my jibe. “I picked you some leggings, joggers, and t-shirts. There are some running shoes, and you’ve already got the boots. Name them, so the laundry guys know they’re now claimed.”

  Struggling to a sitting position, I stare at her like a zombie risen from the grave.

  “Are you waiting for a fanfare? Come on, you and I have training.”

  “Training?”

  “I’m giving you a lesson in weaponry. If you want the hot porridge, I’d hurry,” she says, breezing out of the door.

  Walking is a little easier today. Forcing myself to move about is actually helping. If I continue to push myself, I’m sure I’ll be back on form in no time. Wearing black, work out leggings, boots, and a grey t-shirt with a smiley face emoji on it, I head for the canteen, greeting people as I pass. It’s the first morning that I have felt like a fully-fledged member of Shift and I revel in it. Today is the day that I start making a difference.

  Coco waves me over. “Afternoon,” she says, chiding me. She slides a breakfast bowl in front of me. “Finally crawled out of your pit?” She’s about to say something else, but she glances over my shoulder and groans. “Heads up.”

  Vin has entered the canteen accompanied by a harem of women. I set back to eating my breakfast. He slots into the space beside me, not leaving a hairs breadth between us.

  “Ladies,” he says, helping himself to a spoonful of my porridge. Oh, man, is he confident.

  “Morning, Vin,” I say, taking my spoon back.

  Coco makes a scoffing noise and turns her eyes back to her own breakfast. Vin isn’t fazed by it. Clearly, he’s used to irritating women as much as wooing them. He stares at the side of my face while I concentrate on eating.

  “See something you like?” I ask, clear annoyance in my voice.

  His arm wraps around my waist, and I give Coco an ‘oh, no, he didn’t’ look. Sliding, a little further away, I stare at him incredulously. Vin smirks at me, knowing full well what he is playing at. I’ve got to give the
man credit for effort.

  “You’ve got a brass neck on you,” I say, laughing.

  He shrugs, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles as is becoming the norm. “Hey, you can’t blame a man for trying, right?” He gets to his feet and winks at me. “I only stopped by to let you know that Darcy is with Rafe.” And with that, he struts from the canteen.

  “You’re going to have problems with that one,” Coco says, eyebrow raised. “He’s persistent if nothing else. You’re a challenge for him, and Vin likes the ones who are hard to get. At least, if he’s pestering you, he’ll leave me alone.”

  “I haven’t figured him out. I look like death warmed up for Christ’s sake. Anyway, he’s wasting his energy.” A sudden wave of emotion hitches my breath and I push my half-eaten porridge away.

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Coco reproaches, dropping her spoon into her bowl with a clatter. “Just be grateful that you get to see Adam again.”

  A few weeks ago, I would probably have snapped at her for suggesting that her loss was more than that of those I have lost, but perhaps I’ve matured since spending time with Ray Towley. Our own losses feel exponentially worse than other people’s, it’s human nature. Coco is grieving for her brother. And she is right, I do get to see Adam again.

  She must notice the tension her comment caused, for she reaches across the table and takes my hand. Sweat glistens on her skin, and her curls have been scraped back from her face into a messy, un-Coco-like ponytail. She swallows hard, composing herself.

  “Pug died because Towley was after you, Cub. I’m not blaming you in the slightest. The fault lies with Towley, but if you jeopardise Rafe’s plans after you’ve been given this opportunity, it would be like a slap in Pug’s face. You’ve been given a chance to make a difference. Do this for Pug and anyone else those sons of bitches have taken from us… please. Adam is alive and safe with his team of TORO. Everyone else is alive and safe with Syndicate. Keep them that way for the foreseeable future. Do this for all of us. This is the best and only shot we have at strengthening the rebellion.”

  “When you put it that way,” I say, forcing a half-smile to break the tension.

  Coco squeezes my hand. “I also want you to be safe, Cub. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

  ***

  Coco names all the weapons, tapping them as she goes. The weapon wall is no less intimidating once you know the names. In fact, it only makes me realise how out of my depth I actually am.

  “Each morning, we’ll go over the names until you remember them by heart. Don’t look so worried. Once you are training with them, the names will stick, I promise.”

  “I’ve got a hell of a lot to learn, haven’t I? How do you know all of this stuff?”

  She flops onto the rubbery floor in front of me. “Pug and I were brought up around it. My Dad trained us our whole lives. He was mixed up in EVO gangs and mafia. He wasn’t a Dad in the conventional sense. Made us call him by his name- Zeke. When Zeke was out on ‘business’, we’d pass the time sparring or in the woods shooting. It wasn’t a childhood, but I’m grateful that Zeke wanted to prepare us for the world; the world he knew and was part of everyday. We were badass,” she says, half-laughing. “Now… it’s just me.”

  It’s my turn to take her hands. “Not just you. You have me, Crow, Brick, Kid,… Rio.” She goes to protest my meaning, but I hold up my hand. “You love him. I know it, and the rest of the gang knows it. The only person who doesn’t is Rio. And do you know what? You have no clue that he loves you too.”

  She scoffs. “Rio sees me as a sister. I’m not only friend-zoned, I’m sister-zoned. There is no getting out of that.”

  “Didn’t peg you as the giving up type,” I say, giving her a stern glare.

  “You can’t give up on something you never had.”

  “You can give up on the fight for it, though.” She can’t deny it and purses her lips in a defeated smile. “I can be really annoying, can’t I?” I say, grinning.

  Coco gets to her feet, dragging me with her. “Yeah, just a bit.”

  Rio appears in the doorway. “What are you two chatting about?”

  Coco becomes as rigid as a pillar beside me.

  “You and that hair of yours,” I say.

  Brick nudges passed Rio. “Look out ladies, Rio’s got a top knot and that can only mean one thing.”

  “Poor choices?” I ask, barely maintaining my serious face.

  Brick’s laugh echoes around the room. “Yep, that, and it also means he’s on the scout for some talent.”

  Coco rolls her eyes at me in a defeated I told you so.

  “You know me,” says Rio. “I’m always on the scout, mate. You’re just jealous, what with that receding hair line of yours.”

  “Oh, we’re going there, are we?” Brick jokes, squaring up to Rio who is half his size. “It’s hereditary!” The pair of them scuffle like a couple of kids. Brick lifts Rio off of his feet, whilst Rio clings to his back, strangling him in return.

  “What is it that you children want?” Coco asks, sighing.

  “You don’t sound pleased to see us, Coco-Loco,” Rio teases, throwing her over his shoulder and sprinting around the room with her squealing.

  “Not too long ago, I promised Cub that I’d teach her to shoot, and Rafe has given me the nod,” says Brick.

  I do a little jig on the spot. “Seriously? Well, what are we waiting for?”

  ***

  Brick positions bags of sawdust marked with bulls-eyes at the far end of the room, and then hangs the ‘shooting practice in session’ sign on The Dungeon door.

  “We can shoot in the combat field when the wind is blowing in the right direction, but today, we’re stuck in here,” he says, opening a door beside me. I gasp at the sight of the armoury, fully stocked and scary as hell. “Sexy, isn’t it?” he says, grinning at the weapons. “There are armouries like this all over The Hive.”

  Brick shows me how to load the bullets into a handgun and how to take the safety off. There’s more to this gun malarkey than I first thought. I’ve got to keep count of my rounds used if possible and practice loading as fast as I can.

  First, there is stance and positioning, then there is arm and hand control. Coco and Rio demonstrate, both hitting the targets and nearly deafening me in the process. Brick shoves the handgun into my palm. It feels heavy and cold, but familiar. That familiarity brings me out in a cold sweat. This machine is designed to kill. I’m practising the skill of murder. The thought causes my skin to goose pimple. Clearing my mind of pointless thoughts and replacing them with important ones: Adam, Jude, Yana, Cooper, and the others, and the vision of Towley’s face when I stick a gun in it, I step up to the spot and take a deep breath.

  “Both hands on the gun, marry your thumbs, and bring the gun up to your eye, not your eye to the gun,” coaxes Brick. He steps away to allow me space.

  “And breathe, “Coco adds. “Relax your arms a little and calm down. You’re in control.”

  Raising the gun, I focus through the sight, exhale slowly, and pull the trigger. The noise and power awaken every sense. Sawdust sprinkles from the hole in the centre of the bullseye, and exhilaration rushes through my veins.

  Brick stares at the target, then back at me. “Again,” he says. He eyes Coco and Rio with his mouth agape.

  I retrace my steps, allowing my arms to relax with my exhale, and fire once more. Again, sawdust drips through the bullet hole in the very centre of the target.

  “No way,” Rio says, clapping. “That’s insane. And you’ve never fired a gun before?”

  “I’ve shot people before,” I state, not looking at them. “Gabe Kersey, the E.N.C front man, and my… ummm… friend, Maggie Ross.”

  “You killed Gabe Kersey? How is this the first I’m hearing of this? Was it a solo kill shot each time?” asks Brick.

  I nod. “Pretty much. I hit Gabe in the throat, but I was aiming for his head. Isaac had me off balance, though. Maggie… I’m not sure. She
was already hurt, and it all happened so quickly. She had stuck me with a knife.” I tap the healing scar on my chest. “I just remember her aiming at Jude, so I pulled his gun from him, aimed, and bang. I don’t remember much after that.”

  The three of them don’t know how to respond to that.

  “You’re a natural,” Brick says, taking the gun from me and changing the subject. “That’s handy.”

  “So, does that mean I can have a go on this?” I take a black rifle from the shelf. It’s impressive, sleek, and looks - as Brick would say - sexy.

  He positions the butt of the gun just to the side of my collar bone, rolling my shoulder around it to keep it in place. “An AK 15 girl. Nice choice. Pretty much the same thing, but hold your free hand where it feels comfortable toward the end of the barrel. Steady yourself for kick back, bring it to your eye, focus on the sight, breathe, and shoot. I’ll teach you about loading the magazine and adjusting the offset as we go along. You’re good, for now. Go ahead.”

  I repeat the process from before, my heart beating that little bit faster because of the sheer size of the rifle in my thin arms. Just the mention of kick back gives me a little buzz. As I pull the trigger, the butt thrusts backward into my shoulder, but I’m ready for it. The noise is amazing, and the control I feel leaves me euphoric.

  Another hole appears in the sawdust target, and the three of them clap in disbelief.

  “I’m glad you’re on our side,” Coco says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Are you sure you’re not TORO?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I’m supposed to be asleep, but I’m aching, and I’d rather ache doing something other than lying in bed. Creeping down the corridor, trying not to alert Rafe or Darcy, I slip out of our quarters, passed two people sat drinking cocoa in the canteen, and down the stairs to the training rooms.