by Zoey Indiana
A look at his handheld showed the intruders were closing in. On his way out of the house, he grabbed an additional device. He arrived at the meeting place to find Alastor and several women. Cay and Nova were missing.
"Where is Cay?"
"I don't know, I couldn't find them." Alastor tried to console a woman who appeared to be in shock.
"Here, take this." Bash handed all the devices over to Alastor. He grabbed the most important one and showed Alastor how to use it. "Remember, you will see out, but no one can see in. I'm going back for Cay. All the settings are already programmed in, just worry about turning it on and off."
Bash ignored the protests and ran back towards the housing pods. A quick search revealed a few women hiding. He gathered them and sent them to the clearing. One last sweep and he found Cay with several women.
"Cay! We have to go. They're closing in."
"I can't find Nova. Where is she?" The panic in Cay's face made his own anxiety flare.
"Don't know, but we have to go. They'll be here any second." When he grabbed Cay to pull him in the group's direction, Cay resisted. "We don't have time for this."
"Then you go. I refuse to leave Nova behind."
"Listen to yourself. She might be somewhere safe." He dodged a punch Cay directed at him. Remembering what Freya taught him, he punched Cay in the gut. His elbow connected with Cay's back and he dropped to the ground. Bash landed a knockout punch to the side of Cay's face. That would hurt when he woke up. Both Alastor and Cay deserved a chance at freedom. They'd been free, and it would be worse for them to go back to hell. At least he was used to it, even though he didn't plan on getting caught. With a sigh, he heaved Cay's body over his shoulder and the women followed him to the clearing. It appeared to be empty, but as he got closer, his skin felt like it was crawling. One woman stumbled and another retched.
"Alastor, open up before we all get sick." A few seconds later a group of people appeared and relief washed over him.
"What happened to him?" Alastor pointed to Cay.
"He made a stupid decision." Bash tried to set him down gently, but lost his grip. There were several gasps as he hit the ground hard. "He will have a headache when he wakes up." He turned away from the group.
"Where are you going now?" The incredulous look on Alastor's face almost made him laugh.
"I have to find Nova." It was the least he could do for hitting Cay. He looked at everyone there. "Has anyone seen Nova?" The group shook their heads.
"If you go back out there, they will catch you."
"Keep everyone safe. If I don't make it back, give that stuff to Freya." Several voices called his name as he sprinted away. He wanted to take one more look through the camp. There weren't enough people with Alastor to account for half of the camp. He noticed transits were missing. Some of them must have escaped already. Hopefully Nova was among them. A woman appeared from one pod.
As he got closer, he realized it was Harper. "Come on."
Harper shook her head and looked around. "I don't understand. What's happening?"
"Someone breached the perimeter. I got others to safety, but we have to move now. Do you know where Nova is?"
"No, I was asleep when the alarms went off."
He heard shouting in the distance and grabbed Harper's arm. "Run!" Without letting go he turned and sprinted for the clearing. After a few trips, he let go of her and shouted directions for her. A minute later, he hit the ground hard face first into the grass. Dazed, he tried to stand up, but his feet weren't cooperating. Attempting to gather his strength, he pushed with everything he could muster. Instead he realized he couldn't move anything but his eyes. Several pairs of hands rolled him onto his back. Women in crimson uniforms stared down at him.
"Someone get the brigadier general. The informant was telling the truth." No one moved or spoke as they waited. A chill shot through him at the unknown woman's words. Someone from inside the Resistance had betrayed them. Once again, he'd laid his trust into the hands of a woman that would rather see him captured than free. He couldn't make the right choice because he never thought them through. Never realized what all the possible outcomes could be.
A horrifying thought surfaced. What if Deja wasn't dead? She'd already proven once that she would rather see him dead than outside of her control. He swallowed back the bile as a worse idea surfaced. What if Freya hadn't set the charges correctly because she wanted him to be caught by ARI. She'd just returned from the base and all of a sudden ARI knew where they were and that he existed. Freya was the informant, nothing else made sense.
A beautiful woman with red hair appeared above him. "Interesting... Restrain all of them. Send the women to Is'Ora for interrogation. This one will come with me." They loaded him into a hover transit. The brigadier general sat next to him as he lay at an awkward angle, unable to find comfort. Her finger ran down the side of his cheek and she winked. "Let the fun begin."
Chapter 15
Lay'ata Base: Freya
Freya took one last look at O'Paka. If she made a mistake, they were both dead. A few seconds passed as she cloaked herself, then she slipped through an access panel. She struggled as large wires hooked around her. After a minute of rearranging herself, she climbed her way up. This idea was ludicrous. The base had been locked down since Brigadier General Sorasta arrived. Not even supply transits were allowed in. It was a long shot to think Nova might know what was happening.
She reached the last access panel and nudged it open. Light burned her eyes when she crawled through. The top of the base was full of monitoring equipment, communication systems, and other things she needed to keep far away from. But the panel she came through opened to a small ledge that was blind. In theory, no one should be able to see her up there. Pulling out her handheld, she enabled a few more security features that should keep her communication hidden. Turning on the receiver, several messages from Nova appeared.
Someone betrayed us. ARI raided our camp.
The mechanical sounds behind her disappeared as she read the message again. The words didn't change like she'd hoped. Opening the second, she read.
I could only find a few people from the camp. All three men are missing.
Loud banging started in her chest as she opened the third message.
One place left to look for survivors of the raid. You must find who betrayed us.
There were no more messages. This wasn't right. There had to be more messages. Nova had to find Bash. He couldn't be dead or captured by ARI. She gasped for air as panic washed over her. If ARI found him, there was no telling what they would do to him. Wetness on her cheeks stopped her mid thought. She wiped at it and looked down. Tears. She was crying. Whoever betrayed them would pay with their life, but in a way this was all her fault. When she checked on Sha'Rah and O'Paka that day in the cave, she should have taken Bash to the safe house and left him there. All of these deaths were on her conscience. She had to hold onto the hope that Bash was still alive.
She quickly disengaged the extra security and reentered the access tunnel. The panel door closed, then she made her way back down to O'Paka. Effortlessly, she slipped through the door and uncloaked.
O'Paka let out a hiss. "That is just too spooky."
Freya rolled her eyes. "Come on, we have to get back to the barracks before someone realizes we aren't there."
They made their way through the corridors and slipped into the barracks through a back door. There were only a few enlisted, and none of them seemed to notice. Since the brigadier general had arrived, several enlisted from their squad were called into interviews and hadn't returned. Acting nonchalant, they sat down at a small table and picked up a deck of cards. When O'Paka shuffled, the door slid open.
"El'Sandsa, you are to report to Base Major Tas'Ki's office immediately." A first lieutenant stood in the entrance.
"Looks like we will have to finish this game later." Freya gave O'Paka a wink and followed the lieutenant out of the barracks. It was a long walk to Major Tas
'Ki's office. Freya didn't ask why she was summoned; she knew it would be pointless. Even though she could look into the woman's mind, she wouldn't know either. When they arrived, Freya took a seat and tried to enter Tas'Ki's mind. It was silent as usual.
"I'm sure you know Brigadier General Sorasta and her entourage are here." Tas'Ki tapped her finger on her tab. "Officially they are here to investigate. There are allegations that there is a spy in our midst. In reality, they are here to congratulate you."
"What did I do?" Hair stood up on the back of Freya's neck.
"You successfully infiltrated a Resistance camp and located the worst kind of contraband. A living man." Freya sucked in a breath of air. "You impressed Brigadier General Sorasta."
"It was you?" Freya hissed as she realized Tas'Ki was the one who betrayed them. Her mind raced through the implications. Even members of the Resistance were so influenced by the power of the sovereign that they forgot about their cause. "How could you?"
"Me?" Tas'Ki's eyes grew dark and calculating. "You were the one that got distracted. Nova said you were losing sight of what was important with him around. Risking everything we've built just for a single man. You are the best chance we have right now to infiltrate the notorious seven."
"You betrayed the resistance. Just handed an entire camp over. Do you realize how many people will die?" If Tas'Ki felt that she put the operation at risk, so would everyone else in the resistance. All the death since she'd met Bash dragged her down. If she'd stuck to her mission instead of rescuing him, so many more people would still be alive. She could never return to the resistance, they would kill her if they found out about her carelessness.
"Do you know how many people will be saved if we succeed? How many people have already died to prepare for this?" Tas'Ki shook her head. "There are always casualties in war."
Freya shook her head in disbelief. "I will kill you for this."
"I don't matter. I got you closer than you would have ever gotten on your own. Even if I die, others will be saved."
Just hearing the words made Freya queasy. He couldn't be gone just like that. She would save him, then she would kill Tas'Ki for her betrayal. Then they would disappear and no one would ever be able to find them. The door slid open behind her and she barely stopped herself from flinching.
"Brigadier General Sorasta, this is Private First Class El'Sandsa." Tas'Ki stood up and gestured towards Freya.
Freya stood and saluted. "Honored to meet you Brigadier General." She forced the words out knowing it was the only option at the moment.
The brigadier general looked over her for a long time before she spoke. "At ease master sergeant." Freya relaxed and vowed to kill them all.
Temporary Resistance Camp: Alastor
Alastor detested physical contact, but he didn't trust Bash's device to silence the whimpers from Say'La. He remembered the raid they survived together. Though they were both children when it happened, he'd had the instinct to cover her mouth as they watched her mother murdered just a few feet from their hiding spot. It was the only reason they survived. On the ground next to him, Cay stirred but didn't wake up. Dari kneeled next to him and rubbed his arm to calm him.
Another woman gasped and pointed. Alastor looked in that direction and he froze. Three ARI officers were a meter away. All three of them looked around and used their handhelds to scan the area. He pulled Say'La closer and tucked her head into his shoulder just as he had all those years ago. If the situation were different, he might have said it felt nice to hold her.
He shook his head and focused on the imminent threat. This was the moment of truth. If Bash was wrong, they would all be tortured and killed. Time slowed down to a crawl as he watched every move, listened to every word the ARI officers said. There had to be a clue for him to catch. Clearly, they couldn't see him or the other Resistance members, but he didn't know how this device worked.
One walked closer to them then paused. She took another step and retched. A second one moved to the first. After getting about halfway there, she shook her head and walked back to the third.
"There is nothing here. The brigadier general will be furious if we waste time and let more get away."
"But there is an increase of Madatron waves." She smacked the handheld against her hand. "I've scanned twice, and it keeps showing higher Madatron--" She dropped to the ground and vomited. While still coughing she backed up while still on her hands and knees away from the force field.
"Come on, we need to get you back to base. I told you to not eat the squid." The second officer helped the first to her feet. "You can't trust replicators to make things like seafood." All three women walked back towards the center of camp.
"How long should we wait?" Dari whispered.
He shrugged. Bash hadn't said before he ran off like the giant moron he was. Aside from turning the force field on and off, he didn't have a clue what this was.
"Nova said if something like this happened, we needed to meet at specific coordinates. Until Cay wakes up, I don't know where to go." Alastor hated to be idle when people around him were dying. He looked over the number of people with him. A third of the camp was with him. With so many unaccounted for, ARI surely captured some. They would have captured someone like Nova and Bash, but others they would have killed on the spot. After Cay woke up, they would head to the coordinates and hope Nova met them there. If she didn't show up, they would be doomed.
Chapter 16
Unknown Location: Bash
Rough hands roused him from his fitful dreams. He opened his eyes expecting to see the woman of his heart, but instead his nightmares became his reality. Pain throbbed through his shoulders and chest. Looking up, he saw his arms manacled to the wall, then noticed the woman standing before him.
"Who are you?"
"None of your concern. I'm the woman you obey now." She grabbed a long syringe and eased through the skin on the bend of his elbow. Connecting a vial, she watched his blood fill it up. Then she changed it out with another vial. After ten he started to lose count and his thoughts started to slow, but she kept replacing full vials with empty ones. His head drooped as he struggled to stay awake.
Hot pain exploded against his cheek. More awake than he had been, he stared into eyes he knew so well. His brain struggled to put the information together.
"Get him in a chair, he looks uncomfortable." Several women rushed in and bound his hands behind his back the moment they were freed from the manacles. With nothing supporting him, he dropped to the ground, too weak to stand. Women grabbed at him and shoved him into a chair. Keeping his eyes closed tight, he tried to wake himself from this nightmare. This couldn't be happening. It was impossible that she was here.
"Sar'Bastian, it insults me when you won't look at me." If he ignored her, maybe she would go away. Or he would wake up in the safety of Nova's camp. A woman crawled onto his lap, her legs straddling him. A hand snatched his beard and forced his face forward. "If you don't look at me, I will make sure you live long enough to regret it."
Admitting defeat he opened his eyes. Even when Deja was supposed to be dead, she managed to survive and destroy him. She would never die and he would never find a life worth living. His will seeped out of him, leaving only acceptance. This was his fate, and he would never be able to change it.
"There you are, see what happens when you behave? I'm sorry the accommodations aren't as comfortable as the red room." Deja released his beard and caressed the sore skin underneath. Leaning forward, she laid a chase kiss on his forehead. "It breaks my heart to see you hurting like this."
"Then let me go."
"We've tried that. You've proven you can't be trusted." Her arms slid up his until they rested on his shoulders. She gently kneaded the sore muscles there. "Someday you will learn to trust me, then I will give you more freedom. Until then, you are restrained without exception."
She leaned in to kiss him and he turned his face away. Her thumbs dug into his shoulders, pain shooting through his arms.
>
"Let's be honest with each other. I actually work for ARI. One of the programs they recently implemented was a Resistance like group called the Patriots. Only top operatives of the Patriots know we are actually a division of ARI. The rest of the members are people we've converted from the resistance. They're spies and they don't even know it. Like Win'Daria."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want you to know why you're here. The goal of the program is to breed men. We need to know if the virus will return or if it is safe. As you know, men are inferior beings, so there isn't any need to bring them back from extinction. But since your stubborn little chromosome likes to pop up here and there, we need to verify that it won't mutate the virus." She kissed a trail across his chin. "Don't you want to know who revealed your location to us?"
"If you didn't do this, then who did?"
"I thought you'd figured it out by now, Freya told me where you were. She's a great little operative, don't you think?"
Air escaped his lungs. Freya had betrayed him. Every sweet memory of her shriveled and died in that instance. Forget freedom, he would live long enough to kill Deja, then he would find Freya and have his vengeance.
Outside Lay'ata Base: Freya
"Hurry up!" O'Paka was slowing them down, again. If Freya had left her at the base, she'd be dead, but if she didn't speed up and make less noise, patrols would catch them. Between today and the mission to the cave, it was obvious that O'Paka told the truth about having no training.
