by C Cato
Elise skipped over and grabbed her hand, and the Sentinel team took the first door they came to. The one that led to the control room, and their sleeping chamber. “That’s the command center in there,” she said pointing after them. “Our charging chamber is in there, too.”
Continuing down the hall, she came to the small mess. It was barely large enough to fit two eight-foot metal picnic tables, with a one-foot walkway between and around them. Counters and appliances ringed three of the four walls.
“This is where we eat. Unfortunately, our food didn’t survive as well as we did, so everyone will have to be okay with whatever you brought.”
“Don’t worry about that,” said Dallas. “We’ll go hunting. As long as you let us back in.”
“You bring food, and I have no doubt the guys will do just that,” she said with a wink.
Leading them back out to the hall, Elise raised her hands in the air, and Risa picked her up without thinking, settling her against her hip. The little girl was big for her small frame, but her added strength made it easy.
The next two doors were across the hall from each other. Risa opened the left, and then the right. The lights flickered on in each room. “On the right is the room with bunks. You can stow your stuff in there. On the left is the bathroom. Take your time. There is plenty of hot water.”
They passed the door to the utility closet, and she gave them a quick peek inside, but didn’t tell them about the second exit.
At the end of the long hallway was one last door. It was reinforced much like the main bunker door. “This is the storeroom. You won’t be able to access this room without one of us.”
She laid her hand on the scanner and put her eye in front of it. The door slid back with a loud boom of metal. Inside were rows and rows of shelves with supplies. It was the largest room in the shelter, measuring forty feet in length and filled to the rafters. Everything they needed was there.
Everything except guns.
“Feel free to look around. You can’t get into too much trouble down here.”
Tessa and her husbands chuckled and ambled back to the bunk room as a group. Ray and Laughlin trailed behind them, leaving Risa alone in the corridor with Elise.
“Well it’s just you and me, munchkin. Did you want to sleep in the bunk room with Tessa and Ray, or would you prefer to stay with the rest of us?”
She gazed back down the hall and scrunched her nose. “Can I stay with you?”
“Of course. I’m sure Cole will be thrilled to have you.”
In the control room, Cole was keeping an eye on the monitors, and occasionally images of Ditre and Soren flashed on a screen as they did perimeter checks and fixed cameras.
“Everyone settled?” he asked without turning around. Elise ran to Cole’s side and wrapped little arms around his leg. He stroked her hair.
Risa listened for a second and cringed, regretting it instantly. Moans, the crack of slapping flesh, and the muffled cries of ecstasy came from down the hall. “Ugh. Yes. Tessa and her husbands are getting busy in the shower, and I’m assuming Ray and Laughlin are in the bedroom.”
Cole flushed, and his mouth quirked in a half smile.
“Well, I guess that’s one way to say welcome home.”
Risa returned the smile, her face aching from the stretch. “Someone had to christen the place.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Risa
Risa had always had the ability to wake up refreshed. Sleeping in a charging bed only added to the energy level she had. Super-charged morning person!
With a small stretch she sat up, took a quick scan of the room. Since they were truly sleeping and not in stasis, they’d repositioned the beds to be fully horizontal. The lights were out and came softly to life as she moved. Not enough to rouse the others, but an ambient glow that would keep a normal-sighted person from stubbing a toe.
Soren was to the right of her, an arm thrown across his face. Cole was to the left, Elise lay draped over his chest, and he had a protective hand on her back, to keep her from slipping off. They both had small smiles on their faces in sleep. A breath hitched in Risa’s throat.
She’d known Cole for twenty years. Since not long after he took command of his first unit. The man was honorable to a fault. He almost faced a court-martial as backlash from defending an assault victim. He was a bulldog when it came to people he loved, but he was good at hiding himself.
Leaving all of that behind had been good for him.
Whether it was pain or joy, he’d been more open to showing what he experienced. Sharing his true self. Ian had been able to draw it out, but not as much as Sonya was. Or Elise. She’d been thrilled when Cole and Sonya began to click. She would do anything to get them back together again.
Ray was another story. She wasn’t sure about him. Cole hadn’t noticed, but whenever he wasn’t paying attention Ray was checking him out. She couldn’t tell if it was sexual interest or something else. That didn’t sit well with her. Cole was more trusting than she was. More closed off emotionally, but much more trusting once the floodgates opened. She just didn’t want him to get caught up in his newfound open attitude and get hurt by this guy.
After getting her fill of sugary-sweet Cole-Elise time, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and hopped down on bare feet. She wore a plain pair of white cotton scrubs. Ian had supplied them with boxes of them.
Before she reached the short hall that led to the control room, she heard a deep moan.
Jesus! Not them, too. Not in the mood to humor him, she continued down the hall. “You better come real fast, because I’ll be there in five seconds.”
“Shit!” cried Ditre.
When she strode into the room, he and Laughlin were shaking hard and breathing harder, scrambling to pull their pants over naked asses. The thin fabric did nothing to hide their raging hard-ons. Their scrub tops clung to them like someone had been using them in a wet t-shirt contest, and Laughlin was so red-faced, she worried he might be close to having a heart attack.
“Really, Deets? Not your most brilliant idea. You’re on duty.”
His gaze dropped to the floor. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“Hey!” said Laughlin, moving to put his arm around their medic. If possible, his face got a little more red. Risa was impressed that he could remain upright with his blood pooling at the two extremes of his body. “There’s no need to speak to him that way. I seduced him.”
Risa strolled across the room to the pair. Or maybe it was more like stalking. Ditre paled noticeably. She stopped when her nose was almost buried in the chest hair peeking out of Laughlin’s shirt. His softening dick poked her stomach. She ignored it. Raising her chin, she gazed into his eyes. She knew what he would see—the eyes of someone who would kill first and ask questions later. Ditre would get over the loss.
The hostility bled away. You better be afraid of me motherfucker.
“Ditre,” she said quietly. “Get changed and go do a fucking perimeter check. Be thorough. Miss something, and I’ll cut your balls off and then reattach them.”
His pale complexion took on a green hue.
“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered, taking Laughlin by the hand, dragging him out of the room. She watched the monitors but could hear him explaining why he was wrong as they went back to the bunk room.
Risa held in her chuckle long enough to hear the door close.
“That wasn’t very fair of you,” said Tessa from the doorway.
“Says the woman who was pounded within an inch of her life,” teased Risa.
She turned to brace against the console and took in the woman framed in the doorway. Tessa was a rubenesque kind of beauty. Some might say thick, but Risa had always thought hourglass figure was a better description, and she had a weakness for it. Curvy hips and healthy breasts made Risa weak in the knees. Wavy, deep red hair cascaded over her shoulders and down to her hips. Risa’s fingers itched to comb through it. She wasn’t interested in sharing with a bunch of dudes, though. M
ade it easier to ignore the urges. Not by much.
“It was fair. Ditre knew better than to be fucking while on duty. What if the Valkyrie had come back?”
Tessa shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. Our discipline is laxer.”
“I’ve noticed,” snorted Risa.
The Valkyrie tensed. “Things are very different now, Risa. There haven’t been any wars or even any real conflicts for a hundred and thirty years. Even the bandits that used to roam the countryside are gone. The Valkyrie no longer serve the purpose they once did.”
“You sound like you admire them.”
“Admired. Past tense. Maybe. I joined for the express purpose of infiltrating and helping from within, but there was a time when they had a greater calling. More noble. I think that is what I admired.”
“That isn’t what I see now. They had no issues with shooting down Celene and her husbands. They didn’t even have time to really defend themselves and they were vastly outnumbered. There was no call for what they did.”
Tessa shook her head. “I agree, but to those women Celene was a traitor and her husbands were dead men walking. She was guilty the minute she left Haven with them and went AWOL. I’m not saying they were right, but to them, it was. You might as well be on a different planet now. These women believe with their whole hearts what they’re told. Those few that were raised outside of Haven and conscripted keep to themselves as much as possible.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“So that you think before you kill. These women represent largely what’s left of the human female population. If they are gone, so is our species.”
“I’m not capable of a complete genocide, Tessa. But sometimes a bitch has just gotta die.”
Tessa clucked her tongue. “How can someone as beautiful as you be so ruthless?”
“I was abused as a kid?”
“Were you?”
“No. I’m just fucked up in the head. Doesn’t matter, though. I will do what I need to save Sonya.”
“Just remember you are a single woman when you are immersed in the Valkyrie. The things you will see in the city—”
She didn’t finish. Didn’t have to. Risa had seen plenty of horrible shit in her life. “Got it. Don’t lose my shit around the crazy women. Anything else I should know?”
“Yes. Your friend will probably be in or near the labs located in the Temple building in Central Haven. Only Valkyrie are allowed inside Central and only the White Guard are allowed in the upper levels.”
“White Guard? Sounds racist.”
Tessa frowned. “What’s racist mean?”
“Oh, how the times have changed. Continue.”
“The White Guard are the elite. You’ve had it easy with the rest, but the elite are not so easily beaten.”
“I do love a challenge.”
Tessa waived away Risa’s levity and shook her head. “Take this seriously. There are trials to choose new members of the Guard every six months. Very few make it through.”
“What do the trials entail?”
“It’s a gauntlet style fight in the arena. You would fight the entire Guard. First in single combat then in groups that grow by one until you fight the final ten best.”
“I take it this is to the death?”
“It doesn’t have to be. Women, even infertile ones, are sacred. They wouldn’t kill each other lightly, but things happen. It’s throw-down or first blood.”
“When do these trials happen?”
“Four days from now.”
Risa blew out a gust of air and threw up her arms. “Great. I’m supposed to sneak into the city, infiltrate the Valkyrie, and get myself into this fight in four days? Is there anything else I should know?”
Tessa frowned. “Are you and any of the men here—together?”
Risa snorted. “You mean, am I fucking one of them? Nope. Don’t do men.”
She relaxed a bit. “That’s good. Things between men and women are more segregated in the city.”
“Obviously, you don’t have an issue.”
“I’m considered a bit of a deviant. All the Hunters are. The thing we have in common is a stronger interest in men. The men of the city supply sperm to banks, and they are used for punishment, but men tend to stick with men for pleasure and women with women.”
“Huh. So, a city run by lesbians? This assignment is looking up. When do we leave?”
Tessa’s lips quirked. “That’s about right. I assumed you’d want to leave as soon as possible. I have an extra uniform that will fit you. We should also beat the larger force that is traveling with your friend. They’ll be much slower. It will take use about seventeen hours to drive to where we keep our horses and then another five of riding to get to the city. Then you’ll have three days to become familiar with the city and sign up for the tournament.”
“Fine. We leave in an hour. Go wake up your men.”
“They’re already awake and outside.”
“Good. I’ll get changed and we’ll be on our way.”
“You don’t want to say good-bye to your friends?”
“No. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Not that I’d ever ask permission.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Risa
Tessa hadn’t exaggerated. Traveling through the day and night, they stashed the buggy near a farm Tessa had identified as Ray’s. It was early so no one was awake, but Tessa told her that Ray fostered children.
They traded in the wheels for horses, reaching Haven by daybreak.
Below them, opened a valley. Even if the iconic building hadn’t been still standing, Risa would have recognized the landscape of Silicon Valley. Gone were the buildings of businesses and the sprawling urban neighborhoods. In their place were carefully manicured fields of recently harvested crops.
None of that had her jaw dropping ,though. No, that was reserved for Haven. The once immense computer company headquarters, that many had likened to a spaceship in her day, was now the outer hub of the city of Valkyrie. Clinging vines obscured the outer walls of the circular mammoth structure, but there was no mistaking it. Inside the vast wheel was a grouping of sleeker buildings rising above and giving the place a more futuristic feel.
A soft mist coated the ground down below, and Risa shivered with the eerie sensation that she was walking into a graveyard. She urged her horse forward when Tessa moved, having received some more lessons while they rode to the city. Inhaling deeply, she enjoyed the scents of fresh cut hay, animal manure, and tilled dirt. A far cry from the car exhaust and never-ending stench of garbage from her own time.
Before she could truly appreciate the grandeur of the repurposed building, they were approaching the front gate. The foot traffic in the early morning light became heavier as they drew closer to the main gates, and Risa had a harder time controlling her horse as people crowded in around them. There were carts of all sizes, and hand-drawn wagons with anything from vegetables to knives.
All of them, driven by men.
Shouts echoed down the streets to make way and the crowd on the road parted like a river around a rock. Upon approach, she could see that the main entrance area to the building had been demolished and walls built on either side, to allow a wide road to pass through to the central buildings. They were stopped at the gate.
“Just getting back, Hunter?”
Tessa handed a woman in a green and white uniform a piece of paper. She appeared bored as she glanced at it.
“Who’s the other Valkyrie? You don’t have authorization for a second.”
Risa tensed, but Tessa waived it away as though it was nothing. “She was a last minute add. A trainee. My team was the last Hunter team to go out until spring thaw. Anyway, does it matter? She’s here.”
The woman gave Risa the once over, and then did it a second time, eyes dilating. Risa could get used to a city run by lesbians.
“You like that one?” the gatekeeper indicated Tessa with a sneer.
They
had gone over her cover on the way to the city. Risa played her part to the hilt. She rolled her eyes, leaning farther over her saddle to lick her top lip with a hint of tongue. “No. Honestly their behavior is just disgusting. More so out in the field. I’m thinking of going for the White Guard trials instead.”
“Mm. If you survive, come look me up. Name’s Venus.”
Risa winked at her and flashed her sauciest smile. “I most certainly will.”
Once they’d ridden past the gate, Nor, Dallas, Riley, and Morgan broke away.
Tessa nudged her horse closer. “Their barracks aren’t located inside Central, and we aren’t allowed to stay together while in the city.”
“That must suck for you,” she said in sympathy. Risa would hate being kept from someone she loved. Especially if she was horny.
“We have leave to visit the outer city whenever we choose. We just can’t overnight.”
A large rounded courtyard opened past the entrance. The road circled a rotunda with a statue at its center, a woman with a long gauzy gown on. The sculptor had some talent to be able to convey that level detail in stone. The rotunda was bustling with people and stands. Men shouted their wares and more Valkyrie moved among them. Everyone she saw was dressed in loose fitting linen or cotton tunics and pants with boots or sandals. Many wore straw hats to protect against the sun that was just making an appearance over the top of the building surrounding them. Her stomach growled at the smell of frying bacon. She needed something more significant than jerky and dried apples.
“Do you have money? I’m starving.”
“No need. Only the men pay for things in the city.” She swung her leg over and hopped down with an ease Risa envied. How could they be the same size, but she couldn’t navigate this animal the way Tessa could? With a slightly less graceful dismount, she joined her on the ground. Tessa scanned the crowd and then waved her hand. A man came over. He was ordinary in appearance. Plain brown hair and eyes and a round face that gave the impression of youth. He was almost as short as she was. Lesbian overlords and the land of the Lollipop Guild? She was in!