Sovereign Hope

by Frankie Rose

I woke up screaming. Agatha was bent over me, shaking me by the shoulders. She looked petrified. Tess was leaning against the door, chewing on her nails anxiously. Oliver was behind her, trying to peer into the room.

  “What is it, Farley? You were screaming.” Agatha’s voice was high pitched. She knew it wasn’t an ordinary nightmare.

  I dragged in a deep gasp and fought to breathe. I needed air in my lungs. My throat was dry and stinging—proof that I’d been screaming.

  “It was him. It was him,” I rushed out. “They’re… they’re coming.”

  Beatty’s booming voice approached from down the hallway, cursing as he came. Tess and Oliver moved aside to allow him access through the narrow doorway. He charged into the room with Brynn and Otis following right behind. I tried to get to my feet but Agatha pushed me back down.

  “What’s going on?” Beatty blazed, his eyes flitting around the room. “Well?”

  “Lord, be quiet, man!” Agatha hissed. “We’re trying to find that out. What happened, Farley? Who’s coming?”

  “They were there in my dreams. They said—”

  “Who said?”

  “Tobin was there when I fell asleep. They were waiting—Tobin, my father, and some other man, Jacob. I thought they would never be able to get back in!”

  “They weren’t supposed to be able to. Aldan said once he’d closed the door…” Agatha trailed off and frowned. “Unless he was keeping it closed. Maybe now that he’s dead…”

  I screwed my eyes shut. Great. That meant they could get back in whenever they wanted now.

  “We’ll figure out a way to fix this, I promise you. But right now we need to know what they said,” Agatha said.

  I nodded. ”He’s mad that we have Oliver. He said they know where we are and they’ll be here in half an hour. He said if we hand him over, then they’ll kill us quickly.” The story came out in one go and I was thankful. My nerves were unraveling. None of it would make any sense if I tried explaining again. There was a moment’s silence while everyone took in the information.

  “And if we don’t?” Agatha asked in a sharp tone.

  I didn’t respond. They all knew what that silence meant. Everyone turned to look at Oliver. “I hope no one’s thinking about handing me over,” he said, daring anyone to try it.

  Beatty was the first to agree. “There’s no question of that. We’ll fight. It’s just a matter of how to go about it.”

  “We’ll barricade ourselves in!” Oliver cried, as though it were the obvious option.

  “That’s suicide, boy!”

  Otis and Brynn agreed in murmurs. They soon began arguing with Cliff, who had emerged out of the darkness, shouting their opinions over one another as they disagreed about the best plan of action. Agatha screamed over the top of them, bringing them all to a halt.

  “We’ve already wasted five minutes. Let’s assume they’re almost here. Brynn? Did you get your stock this afternoon?”

  He broke into a broad grin. “That I did, Aggie.”

  “Good. Beatty, you take the store corridor. I’ll take the left-hand side of the hangar. Brynn, you take the right-hand side. Lay charges along the hallway to the hatch, okay?”

  Beatty and Brynn stormed out of the room without having to be told twice. Everyone else looked to Agatha.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked. Surely they weren’t going to do what I thought they were going to do.

  “We’re gonna wait until they’re inside and then blow them to pieces,” Agatha announced, getting to her feet.

  “And where are we going to be when the place goes up?” Tess asked in a small whisper.

  “As far away as possible.” Suddenly Agatha was shouting. “Come on! Move! Everyone grab some water, first aid supplies, warm clothes, and then get out of the hangar. MOVE!”

  Infected by her urgency, everyone fled the room. I jumped up from the bed, pulling on jeans and an oversized sweater in under thirty seconds, while Tess and Oliver ran off to do the same. I picked up my rucksack and raced out of my room, barreling straight into Beatty. He had a black case in either hand. From the relieved expression on his face, they were obviously filled with explosives. “Careful, Highness,” he whispered, and then jogged off in the other direction, ducking in between pillars of boxes as he went.

  Water was easy to find. I grabbed two of the gallon containers from the stack in the hangar and stuffed them into the rucksack. There was no room for anything else, and the bag was heavy. I slung it onto my back and did my best to locate the first aid supplies Agatha had demanded, but I couldn’t seem to find any.

  “Farley!” Across the madness of the hangar, Cliff stood by the exit, accompanied by Tess and Oliver. He waved me over, and I ran to them as quickly as I could without knocking over Brynn in the process. He was kneeling on the floor, twisting wires around the contacts of a charger. He pushed them down into the small block of grey explosives, which he held gingerly in his hand.

  “What are you doing just standing there?” Cliff shouted.

  “Agatha said to get first aid supplies…”

  “A few Band-Aids aren’t going to be any good to us if Tobin and his thugs show up, are they? Go with Tess and Oliver. Get above ground and head to the far side of the ridge. Stay low and watch out for anyone approaching. Go!”

  He pushed me back towards the exit. I almost toppled over with the weight of the water on my back but quickly regained my balance. The three of us turned and fled down the hallway alone.

  I was breathing hard by the time we reached the ladder. My body complained bitterly as I forced myself up the rungs. It took forever to reach the cold, pocked surface of the hatch. I yanked the lever across and gathered all of my strength to push up against the heavy metal, but then froze. What if the Reavers were already out there, waiting for us? I hesitated.

  “Do you need me to push it open?” Oliver called up from below. He sounded far away. I swallowed and heaved upwards; the rusted iron creaked and then moved an inch. I cursed and let go of the top rung so I could push with both hands, at which point it moved back and hit the ground with a clang that vibrated around the inside of the silo. I braced myself, listening for any movement. When I heard nothing, I quickly climbed out of the hole and moved aside so Tess and Oliver could follow. They were right behind me, and in less than a minute they were creeping forward to peer into the night. A heavy layer of cloud blocked out any light that the moon might have provided, leaving us squinting into the pitch black.

  “Which way did they tell us to go?” Tess hissed.

  I pointed in the direction of the ridge line that concealed the garage.

  Oliver groaned. “There’s nothing out there.”

  “They’ll never see us if we’re beyond that ridge. We only have to wait until they’re inside, anyway, and then Brynn will blow the place.”

  Oliver was still jittery, but when I scooted out into the dark he followed, constantly looking left and right. Cicadas chirruped loudly, blocking out any more delicate sounds. I cursed the stupid insects under my breath. The Reavers could almost be on top of us and we’d never know it with all that noise.

  It was cold in the night air of the desert, and I shivered, thankful for my sweater. We reached the base of the dune and scrabbled up in the dark, struggling as every second or third foothold collapsed under our weight, sending the red dirt tumbling out from underneath us so we slipped back down. By the time we reached the top I could hear low whisperings and could just about make out Nyla and Cliff below.

  Scout was clinging to Cliff’s back as he climbed, peering fearfully up into the dark with scared, round eyes. We helped pull them up as they neared the top, and Cliff sucked his teeth, thinking hard.

  Nyla pulled her son down the other side of the high dune, producing keys from somewhere. Their trucks were parked below in front of the shed that housed Agatha and Daniel’s cars. She opened the closest black vehicle, stowing the little boy inside.

  “Lay down and go t
o sleep, little man. Momma and Daddy will come soon.”

  I heard him whimper as she closed the door and locked the truck. Nyla sprang back up the embankment and was at our side within seconds, pulling a gun out of her waistband.

  “Damn!” I hissed.

  “What is it?” Tess asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I leaned forward, lying flat so I could look back over the other side of the dune.

  “I left my gun.”

  “You can’t go back for it now,” Cliff said firmly. I ignored him and sized up the distance between the dune and the silo, attempting to calculate how long it would take to run down and back again. Before I could do anything, Nyla let out a low hiss and elbowed Cliff. She pointed out into the emptiness of the desert, and he strained his eyes.

  “They’re coming,” he said.

  “I can’t see anything,” I whispered.

  “That doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

  “We have to warn the others,” Nyla muttered under her breath.

  My stomach turned ice cold. I would have felt a lot safer if Daniel were with us.

  “I’ll go get them,” Cliff whispered.

  He was up and over the edge before anyone could object. I watched as he slipped down the other side, kicking up a plume of dust that temporarily clouded our view.

  “He’s crazy!” Tess moaned. I was too busy staring into the clearing dust and smoke to respond. I barely noticed Oliver creep forward to lie beside me. He fidgeted restlessly.

  “So… is Elliot coming?”

  “I have no idea. I seriously hope not.”

  He grunted. We lay there in silence for another moment before Agatha’s hushed voice echoed up from below, followed by the scraping sound of people climbing. Three of them, Agatha, Beatty and Otis, appeared and ducked down over the ridge.

  “Where’s Cliff and Brynn?” Oliver asked, lowering himself back down to the others.

  I couldn’t see Agatha’s face in the darkness but I heard the strange inflection in her voice. “They’re going to wait until the last minute. The Immortals won’t be so easy to trick if they think there is no one down in there.”

  “What! They’re going to die if they don’t get out now!” he cried. He was ready to dive down the embankment and get them himself, but Beatty put his hand on his shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, lad. My brother knows what he’s doing. And I’ve never seen anyone as crafty as that knife thrower. They’ll get out.”

  There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his voice. The low hum of an engine was now clearly audible, even to my ears. When I clambered up over Tess’ legs to lay flat at the ridge line again, not one but two dark objects were hurtling through the scrub towards us.

  “Get down!” Beatty cried as the engine sounds grew louder. He grabbed hold of my ankles, pulling me back until I was almost level with them. We huddled together, waiting with baited breath as the noise grew closer and closer. With a screech of tires on loose gravel, the cars skidded to a halt in front of the silo, killing the engines.

  There was no noise.

  “What are they doing?” Tess hissed.

  Agatha took her hand. “I have no idea. Just stay quiet.”

  My limbs were twitching, nervous. Come on, come on. Go inside. The only way to slow my breathing was to lean back and close my eyes. Eventually, there was the metallic clunk of car doors opening and closing and the crunch of shoes on the stony ground. Deep voices spoke quickly. Grunting as heavy objects were lifted, and a strange, muffled gurgling noise. Then a voice was heard over the mumbling.

  “Wait until we send for you.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Is it him? Is it Elliot?” Oliver asked.

  “No.” I was quite sure. “No, it’s not him. I’m going to have a look.”

  “No, get back!” Beatty growled, but I was already at the ridge and out of his reach.

  “There are nine men going into the silo,” I whispered down to the others. “They’re leaving two outside.” That was a lot of men, and they were all armed to the teeth. The thought of Cliff and Brynn waiting down below made my eyes prick painfully. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

  The two men that remained stood alongside the rear SUV. It took a second to spot the figure in between them—the woman, bound and cowering back against the car. Her head was covered in some sort of sack. On the cold night breeze, her dress fluttered and swayed soundlessly. It looked like she was shivering.

  A loud bang ripped through the night air and I jumped, sending a shower of debris rolling down the other side of the embankment. I turned to stone. Had they heard? I held my breath as I listened for the noise of approaching footsteps, but the cicada chorus drowned everything else out.

  I counted …ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen... Another loud popping sound rang out, followed by a round of identical sounds. Gunfire.

  A hand grabbed me around the ankle. This time Beatty wasn’t gentle, yanking me down hard. I was sliding. Before I slipped out of view, I thrust my head up a few inches, determined to get another look at the scene below. The men had their backs to the dune, hovering close to the entrance of the silo. The hooded woman was there, too. She was standing in exactly the same position as before, except this time her covered head was pointed in my direction. Is she looking right at me?

  My shirt hiked up as I slid back down, and the ground sunk its sharp teeth into the sensitive skin of my belly, making it sting. I arrived unceremoniously back at Agatha’s side.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she hissed through clenched teeth. I straightened out my clothes and rolled over, brushing the gravel out of my hands.

  “We needed to know how many were down there!”

  “Otis could have gone. I’m sure he would have been much more subtle!” She sounded like she wanted to throttle me.

  “I’m sorry, okay? They didn’t hear me, though. They didn’t see me.”

  As I said the words, the niggling image of the bound woman flashed before my eyes. Surely she couldn’t have seen me?

  “Well? Come on, then. Tell us what you saw or it was a wasted journey.”

  “Two men. They have guns. There’s a woman down there, too, but she’s all tied up. She has a bag over her head.”

  Confusion washed over Agatha’s face. “Was she wearing white?”

  “What?”

  “Was she wearing white? Did she have a dress on, or a white shirt or something?” Her eyes were round and searching, waiting for me to respond. I swallowed and raised my shoulders, unsure how the information would be of any relevance.

  “Well? Was she?”

  “Yes! She was wearing a white dress. It looked like cotton. She must be freezing. She has no shoes on, either.” How that would be pertinent information I didn’t know, but I included it, anyway. “Why? What does it matter?”

  Agatha didn’t answer. I was about to ask her again when all of a sudden there was more noise, ear splitting and violent. A wall of pressure roared out of the silo and blew up the other side of the ridge, hitting us full force. Suddenly the sky was raining fire, painting the blackness with a burnished, smoky orange glow. They had blown the hangar.

  Twisted metal and concrete fell from the sky, popping and pinging metallically with the heat. My ears sang. I was too stunned to do anything more than get down and cover my head. Beatty’s hand was on my back and then his body was over mine, blocking me from the bombardment of burning debris.

  Another massive explosion rocked the ground underneath us. What if we were above one of the corridors? If we were, then it might well collapse and we were seconds from falling through into the furnace. I waited, but the ground held fast.

  The blasts came in waves, and Beatty’s body pushed me into the dirt. My internal organs felt like they were being liquefied, either by his weight as I struggled beneath him, or by the jarring power of the detonations.

  I was light as a feather when he eventually leaned back, my body floating up,
up towards the sky. My face was still pressed in the dirt, however, so I knew that couldn’t be the case.

  My side-on perspective made the world look strange. The glow of the flames lit up the inky black night to illuminate Tess and Oliver lying a few feet away. Tess was crying, and Oliver cradled her in his arms while he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. My ears were dulled to everything apart from the sound of my own steady breathing and the crack and hiss of fire. The flames weren’t visible from here, but I could sense the heat of them in the atmosphere.

  It would have been easy to lie there in a daze forever if I hadn’t seen Agatha. The left side of her face was scarlet, and her hair was matted with blood. It caked thickly to the skin on her neck and her shoulder. She stared over the other side of the ridge into the darkness, desperately searching the night. Something was wrong. I had to get to her.

  My body wouldn’t respond at first. When I did eventually manage to stand, it was a fight to remain upright. My head swam and my stomach pitched, suggesting its contents might be making a sudden guest appearance.

  Otis and Beatty were madmen, laughing and clapping each other on the back like excited children. Their eyes shone brightly, reflecting the glow of the fire. Hadn’t their brother just been blown to smithereens? Their behavior was bizarre, but there was no time to worry about them. My focus was still on Agatha. The tiny woman gave me a sidelong glance when I arrived at her side, but it was fleeting.

  The destruction below was total. The huge metal silo, the only thing to break the skyline for fifty miles, was destroyed. The force of the blast had ripped the roof clean off and blown out the sides, too. Shards of metal littered the ground, smoking, for a hundred yards in every direction. The windshield of the first SUV was shattered, and a six-foot-long piece of twisted steel was impaled through the passenger side.

  It took a moment to locate the two men who had been left behind. Their bodies had been flung twenty feet to the right. They lay awkwardly, their arms and legs bent into unnatural angles, clearly dead.

  Agatha prowled back and forth along the top of the ridge, slipping every few steps as the ground gave way beneath her feet. She stumbled as she moved towards me, and I grabbed hold of her before she could fall. “Agatha! What is it? What are you looking for?”

  She spun and fixed me with eyes filled with tension. “Are you sure that’s what you saw? Are you sure there was a woman in white?”

  “Yes. Yeah, I’m sure. She was right there.” I pointed to the second SUV and scoured the area myself, straining to see if the woman had been picked up and thrown out by the blast, too. There was no sign of her body.

  “We have to get out of here,” Agatha said.

  “What are you afraid of? That woman? She was all tied up!” I cried after her, as she bolted down the dune.

  “That was to keep her away from them!” she shouted. “We have to go. Now!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Queen of Hearts