by C Cato
A low hanging mist clung to the ground giving the morning an eerie atmosphere.
Cole picked up on the mood immediately and opened his arms. Sonya slipped into them without thinking. Over the last few days, everyone had grown closer. Sonya had spent more time with Cole and the other Sentinels, sharing stories, and they’d all spent the evenings with Celene and the husbands.
Sonya had lent a hand in the preparations to leave the farm or watched Elise, while learning as much as she could on using the sword, and the gifted crossbow.
“We need to hunt,” said Alex, holding Celene tight to his chest. “We’ll need food for the trip and with winter coming on it will be harder to find when the animals go to ground.”
“We can come with you,” said Cole. “You can stay here, if you would be more comfortable.”
“No. I would just worry while you were gone. Besides,” she said, trying to sound more chipper and failing miserably. “You can teach me how to hunt.”
Cole shot a ‘really?’ gaze at her that made her laugh out loud. “You know you’ll have to kill somethin’ when you hunt, right?”
“Fine, you can just show me how to track something, and then you can kill it.”
He kissed her softly, his lips lingering. “Sure. I can do that.”
Alex and Celene had already gone inside, but Cole didn’t move.
Sonya cupped the side of his face. “Cole…”
Evidence of his need for her pressed against her hip. She could feel his pulse and the heat. An answering beat pounded in her own core. She’d spent some sleepless nights over the past couple of days, lying in bed with Cole and the others.
Cole made a noise somewhere between a growl and agonized groan and flexed his arms, locking her in place. His hands splayed on her back, removing the last pockets of air between them. He plundered her with his tongue, but she wasn’t interested in being a passive participant. With a growl of her own, she deepened the kiss and pushed his tongue back, swirling it with her own and filling his mouth. Her hand trailed from his cheek to the back of his head, and she buried her fingers in his fine hair. The other hand was trapped against his chest between them.
“Save it, you two,” said Risa, stepping out onto the porch. A sword was strapped to her back and a small crossbow was on her hip. “We’re going hunting.”
Cole pressed his face to her neck and muffled his, “Fucking cockblocker!” against her skin.
Sonya bit her lip to keep from laughing with Soren and Risa. Poor Cole. She held him until the quakes of unfulfilled desire subsided. With a final kiss Sonya separated, and Cole turned a stony glare on his teammates. Risa provided her typical snort of amusement. Sonya, still suffering some of the aftereffects of Cole’s attention, had to use the railing to supplement her shaking legs.
Soren pressed his shoulder into the door frame his smile more subdued. He and Risa wore the same black leather pants that she and Cole had on with a loose black cotton shirt. Apparently, the linen clothes were only for wearing around the farm, so Rolly—the resident tailor—had fit an old pair of Alex’s for her, Cole, and Soren to wear. Risa and Ditre had someone of similar size to borrow from. They all had to make do with the boots they had, so the white insulated leather boots were an extreme contrast.
Soren wasn’t armed like the rest of them.
“You’re not going?” asked Sonya.
“Would you like me to come, beautiful?”
“Ren. You’ve got perimeter with Ditre,” chuckled Cole.
“I wouldn’t leave you out, Sarge,” he said with a grin.
“Uh huh. Move it.”
Soren took off at a trot.
With a sigh, she checked the sword belt on her hip and picked up her crossbow and slung it across her back. While Risa had found she was a crack shot with the crossbow and naturally shitty with the sword, Sonya had been the exact opposite. Cole had encouraged them to practice as much as they could without the Halo. The muscle memory burned into them was still there when the Halo wasn’t on. It wasn’t as strong as it would have been if they had it turned on, but the groundwork was there for them to learn the skills needed quickly.
Alex led Sonya, Cole, and Risa into the woods a short time later. Sonya strolled beside Cole as they moved through the trees alongside the river. Risa disappeared almost immediately.
“Risa?”
“Don’t worry about her. She’s scouting.” He squeezed her hand. “We’re goin’ to catch a buck. I’ll teach you how to field dress it, and we’ll take back as much as we can to smoke for our trip back to the base,” he said, taking her hand.
They’d all agreed they would first travel back to the Vault so everyone could recharge, and Soren could give Celene and the others the comm device.
Sonya stopped and pulled Cole’s hand to do the same. “Does that mean we are leaving without Elijah?”
Alex, who had been behind them, moved to her side and lowered his head, grief written in every crease in his face. “One of us will be staying behind to wait for him for as long as he can, but we can’t afford to wait any longer. It puts Elise in danger.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t help but feel guilty.”
He raised his head to meet her gaze. “It’s not your fault. We knew when we built our home that we were on borrowed time. We’ve had eight beautiful years together, and we are all willing to give our lives to protect our little girl.”
“It doesn’t seem right that you can’t just live your lives. Who do these women think they are?”
“Saviors of the world. Historically, they had good intentions, but two hundred years is a long time.” His eyes darkened, grew more distant, and closed. Turning, he took two steps before Sonya stopped him again.
“Alex?”
He grunted but didn’t face her.
“Are you angry with us about the other day?”
He shifted to gaze at her full on, the ghost of a smile curving his lips. “No. I’m sorry if that’s what I made you think. Ego bruised, yes. I’m just very concerned about Eli. He and I—we’ve known each other since we were young.”
Fear twisted his features and rocked him with a shudder.
Sonya released Cole and took both of Alex’s hands in hers.
He closed his eyes, and his smile became more solid. When he opened them the fear was muted. “The truth is that I admire you, Sentinels, and envy you a little.”
“Envy us?”
“You are in a unique position. There is no one like you in the world. A world that is needing a change before there is nothing left of us.”
“We aren’t here to save the world, Alex.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He gently dropped her hand and moved out at a faster pace, putting space between them.
Believing in things like fate never made sense to her. She hated the idea of having a destiny. That no matter what she did, there would be an inevitable conclusion. She wanted her actions in life to count for something. Now, she had the chance to do just that. Was she strong enough to make that happen?
They followed the river for several miles before turning away from it to head east. The trees became thicker until they blotted out what little sun that had been hanging in the sky.
Sonya slowed when Alex stopped to wait for them. “We’ll be there soon. There’s a small tributary that draws them,” he said, once they’d caught up. “We should split up from here.”
“Sonya stay with me. Risa, head north,” said Cole.
Risa gave a small salute and trotted away into the dark woods. Alex watched her disappear and turned to do the same in the opposite direction, leaving Sonya alone with Cole. Instead of moving in a third direction, he pushed her against the nearest tree. He brushed his hands softly down her arms until he twined their fingers together and raised her hands over her head. Sonya loved the way he felt pressed flush against her body. It was the most natural thing in the world. He ground his pelvis against her, locking her eyes with his own. Only a couple of inches t
aller than her, he pressed himself directly against clit
“Do you want me?” he whispered.
In answer, she whimpered and rubbed herself against his swollen length. She tried to lean forward enough to capture his lips, but he kept her pressed tight to the tree and moved his head out of the way.
“I need to hear ya say it.”
Sonya opened her mouth. Closed it, trying to force words around the thick desire. She was hot and swollen herself. Moisture trickled down her thigh, and her breath puffed out in short pants as she arched her back. “Please, Cole. I want you.
His eyes blazed and he groaned, pressing her harder against the rough bark. “What you do to me,” he said. He seared her lips with a kiss and then smiled against them.
Sonya tried to lean her head back enough to find out what he was smiling about, but there was no room. He got the hint and relinquished some space. His smile only got bigger. “Do I amuse you, Sarge?”
The use of his hated nickname earned her a bite on her lower lip. She chuckled.
“Risa knows exactly what we’re doing. She’s going to give us so much shit.”
Sonya choked on her quiet laugh and then renewed it. He was right. Risa seemed to enjoy making Cole suffer. “I think you need to just stop calling her Pixie, or you may never get laid again.”
Her joke didn’t have the desired response. He surged against her, his eyes deepening to a more ocean blue color. “Mm. Oh, I will fuck you, baby. If I need to tie that woman up for the night and make Ditre and Soren stand guard, I’ll do it.” He pressed his lips to the base of her ear.
She shivered as his hot breath brushed across her neck.
He whispered, “Then I plan to—”
A man’s agonized scream echoed through the trees.
“Risa!”
“I heard it, Sonya. I’m on my way. Stay with Cole. Tell him to keep it in his pants,” Risa said, proving she’d known exactly what they were doing.
Cole fixed her with a hard glare, ignoring Risa’s tease. She knew this face. This was the soldier. The man that wanted her out of the bunker whether she wanted to go or not. She knew what he was going to say and started building up steam to lay into him.
“Stay here! There’s not time to take you back.”
“Like hell I will! I’m not some damn doll you can put away when you are tired of playing with it. Either I’m part of the team or I’m not!” Her jaw clenched as she met him glare for glare. She would not be left behind.
Mouth set in a hard, thin line, he did a sharp 180-turn, powered up, and ran. Sonya was right behind him.
There was another scream and another until it seemed like it was one long chorus of agony. The sound was forever etched in Sonya’s psyche alongside the other screams that haunted her dreams, but they found the source with ease.
Cole ran into the small camp of Valkyrie already swinging his sword. The first woman he encountered wasn’t even aware he was there, and her head was rolling. Sonya tried to view it clinically. To distance herself, but when Risa joined the fight and she watched them mow down the women one by one without mercy, she clung to the closest tree.
These were the weapons Ian had tried to create, but he hadn’t needed to. They were already deadly. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that there was a morbid beauty in the way they moved together, in the animal growls and snarls that came from them. Sonya had always heard the term killing machine, but until that day she had never truly understood what that might mean.
Neither of them powered up. Why would they be? They took to the sword like they probably did any weapon used to destroy. Blood and gore covered the forest floor, and no doubt them as well, but the black spared her from seeing it.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was over, and Alex lumbered into the small clearing breathing heavily, sword drawn. On shaking legs, Sonya joined them. They all converged on a figure hunched over against a tree, pinned with crossbow bolts through his arms and legs.
Sonya didn’t have to see his face to know who it was. Blonde hair plaited into three thick braids mottled with blood, hung around his face like a shroud. The wail of disbelief from Alex confirmed her suspicions. He closed the distance to his lover and gingerly tried to lift his head.
Elijah.
“Caregiver! Caregiver, please!” he cried, his voice hoarse.
She didn’t need to examine him to know he was dead, but she forced herself to move. To do it, anyway. Shaking fingers lifted to his neck to check for a pulse, but there was a jagged cut across his carotid and a corresponding bolt in the tree next to him. Only a small amount of blood trickled from the large wound, but his entire right side was soaked. Skin pale, his lips blue, and his eyes closed. She thanked whatever deity might be listening for that small miracle.
Pulling her hand away, she couldn’t gaze at Alex. Didn’t want to see the loss in his eyes.
“No! Please! Do something! Save him.” Alex fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her legs, pressing his forehead to her thigh, repeating, “Save him. Save him. Save him.”
Her vision blurred, and she closed her eyes. Her hand found his hair and she stroked it as he cried. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way, but when his sobs finally subsided, she opened her eyes to find Cole and Risa had removed the arrows and pulled Elijah down. Seeing this, Alex crawled to his dead lover and collapsed on top of him, his heavy weeping renewed.
Cole came to stand with her and reached for her hand, and she took it, desperate for the connection he offered. Hoping it would be enough.
“Alex, we need to go,” said Risa, a hand on his shoulder. “There may be more of them. We need to get back and warn the others.” She continued to speak to him softly, while Sonya remained rooted to the ground, unable to move or speak. Her breakfast churning in her stomach.
“Sonya?”
She would have sworn nothing would make her move ever again, but when she heard his voice, she found herself searching for the source. “Keet?”
“No! My mate, you must run! I am so very sorry.”
“We have to go!” said Cole yanking Alex to his feet.
“I can’t leave him here,” said the grieving husband, trying desperately to free himself from Cole’s grasp.
“Alex, your family needs you,” said Sonya, “They’re coming. The Valkyrie are coming.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sonya
Cole carried Alex over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and they made it back to the farm in a time fast enough for consideration for the Guinness Book of Records.
The response when they returned was mixed. Rolly shared in Alex’s paralyzing grief, while Titus went blank, going about the preparations like a zombie.
Soren was still out on patrol, keeping an eye on the entrance to the canyon, while Ditre helped where needed with Cole.
Risa steered Sonya into the kitchen and forced her to sit down. Celene was there with Elise, holding her daughter tightly to her as they cried together.
The doctor was numb. It was the accident again. Fire everywhere and nothing she could do to help. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. She wasn’t sure who she was talking to.
Celene lifted her red-rimmed eyes from her daughter’s head. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You aren’t to blame for what those women did.”
“But I am. They were looking for me. They tracked me back here to you, and Elijah paid the price.”
“Stop!” Celene said sharply.
It got her attention.
“The Valkyrie have been hunting for you for almost as long as they have existed. It’s not your fault. As for us, they would have found us eventually. Most that get away evacuate to the north and the barrier there, but we were stubborn. Stumbled across this place when we were crossing the mountains. I loved it so much, so my men decided to make it our home. We are paying the price for my selfishness.”
Elise lifted her head and pulled away from her momma to hold her arms out to Sonya,
who took her with a muted sob.
“Don’t cry, Sonya,” she said. “Daddy Eli is with Daddy Felix now.”
That only made her cry harder.
“Cole! Company!” called Soren.
Sonya straightened and wiped her face as best she could. She put Elise down on her feet. “They’re here. Soren saw them.”
“Then we’re too late,” said Celene, rising to her feet. She took her daughter’s hand and together the three of them ran outside. Cole and the other Sentinels were there with Celene’s remaining husbands. Soren arrived soon after.
“Is there any other way out of here?” Cole asked Celene.
Alex was unsteady on his feet, and Rolly and Titus stood on either side of him, holding him up. Celene picked up Elise and settled the girl on her hip.
“If you can climb, we can scale the cliff near the firing range.”
Sonya started breathing harder, faster. More climbing?
“Show us,” said Cole, moving in that direction.
They ran, like a flock of retreating birds, to the back of the small canyon. Celene pointed. “There. The way here is stable. We climb it all the time.”
“Come here, baby girl,” said Cole, reaching for her. She went eagerly, and Cole arranged her on his back. “Hold on real tight.”
Her little arms wrapped around his neck, and she did her best to hold on with her legs.
“Risa, I want you Soren and Ditre to go ahead. Secure the area. Sonya, I’ll take Elise and come back for you. Celene, can you stay with her?”
Celene took her hand, and Sonya leaned against her friend. She hated when Cole did this, treated her like a thing to be protected instead of a thinking person. It was true that she was afraid of heights, but she understood the stakes. She would have tried to make the climb alone. The Sentinels scaled the cliff face with frightening efficiency and speed.
Celene leaned in. “Don’t worry. One day, he will see you as the whole person you are.”