RecruitZ (Afterworld Series) (24 page)

“Nah. I know I won’t.”

Emily’s eyes were wide as we watched the TRAC security guard draw his gun and steady it on Braden. I reached for my pistol, but Emily wrapped her hand around my wrist, her nails digging into me. I glanced at her and she shook her head at me. She stopped me.

“Now I won’t have to go to the range,” the man laughed.

I took a deep breath in as the shot rang through the air, and we watched Braden’s body tumble off the bridge into the ravine below. The guards laughed and turned back to where they came from as if their latest kill was a possum in a tree.

I heard barely a grunt from Emily as she held in her screams, and her body leaned into mine.

Preston caught Emily before she hit the ground. Her senses were on overload, and there was no way she’d make it back down to our car. Preston picked her up and carefully navigated down the slippery slope and I followed closely behind. Emily’s eyes were shut, her head bouncing gently against Preston’s chest, and only a stifled groan every so often would leave her otherwise expressionless face.

I didn’t want to make the situation worse or sound like a cold, callous bitch, but I wondered if Braden had the only key for the car. If he did we’d be in a world of hurt.

When we emerged from the thick forest, our car was exactly where we left it, and Emily’s eyes slowly peeled open. Even though tears hadn’t fallen, her eyes were rimmed in pink and swollen.

“I’m going to put you down so we can get you in the car,” Preston said quietly, and her eyes stared into nothingness as she nodded.

Her left hand moved into her front pocket and she slid a key out, handing it to Preston.

“I can’t drive,” she mumbled, leaning against the car. “I’ll program you in as a driver.”

I climbed in the back while the two of them worked on getting Preston loaded into the system. I leaned my head against the window and glanced toward the forest. If this happened during our run-through, I couldn’t imagine what might go wrong tomorrow.

Preston spun the car in a U-turn and we were off. Emily looked out the side window, her lips white from pressing them together so tightly.

“I didn’t see a bullet actually hit him,” she whispered. “I think he jumped, spun to make it look like he was hit.”

I hadn’t actually seen the bullet hit him either, but I wouldn’t expect him to just jump. That was certain death as much as the bullet.

Preston’s gaze caught mine in the rearview, and I knew what he was thinking. He wanted to make sure Braden wasn’t stuck on some boulder, injured. I gave him a slight nod in agreement. I wasn’t sure how we’d manage, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

We pulled down the long driveway and Emily sniffed. I watched her wipe away the first of many tears. Preston stopped the car in front of the entry, and Emily and I both got out of the car.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and helped her to the door, her weight mostly positioned on me. She opened the door and handed me the keys.

“I won’t be needing these,” she mumbled.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Tears began streaming down her face and I just hugged her.

“I can’t do this. I’m not strong. I only managed because Braden was in charge of everything,” she sobbed into my shoulder.

“You are strong. The way you stood on that hill…”

She broke free from my embrace and shook her head. “I can’t. I’ll be leaving in the morning after I let everyone know. I’d only put you and the operation at risk.”

What was she talking about? We needed her on the outside.

Preston came in through the front door and his gaze went from me to Emily. Their eyes connected and he nodded. “I’ll let everyone know,” he muttered.

She spun around and bolted out of the foyer.

“Why won’t she stay?” I asked.

“Her heart was never in it like Braden’s. To ask her to continue would be unfair,” Preston said quietly.

I looked into his eyes and craved the comfort he offered. I never expected things to go so terribly wrong, obviously none of us did, but the thought of moving forward was terrifying.

“Do you think there’s really a chance that he’s…” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

“Not really and the longer we wait, the less likely, but I think we need to make sure. Our entry was planned for dark, before sun-up. I think it won’t add much time to do a quick sweep of the ravine…”

I didn’t like this idea, but as I looked into his eyes I understood what he was saying before. This was his family, and now they were being plucked off too. I slid my arms around his waist, and he took a step forward, bringing our bodies together. His hand slowly slipped along my waist and he let out a sigh, as his head lowered, and he pressed his forehead against mine. He closed his eyes and so did I as his arms completely encircled my waist. I hadn’t been held in so long, not like this, that the sensations that pulsed through me were unfamiliar but comforting.

“I should go start sending the emails,” he whispered, the warmth of his breath running along my face as he spoke.

I slowly nodded as he broke free. The moment our bodies unhinged themselves, I felt alone—utterly alone. I used to desire that feeling of loneliness to remind me of what I was fighting for, who I was fighting for. I positioned myself in life to ensure that the sensation of loss would never leave so I could use it as fuel to accomplish what I wanted. But as I stood here, yearning to be held, I realized I had been situating myself to become stagnant in life, unable to grow and respond to the continually changing afterworld. I needed to participate in life again, whatever that incorporated at this point, because I honestly didn’t know.

“Is there anything I can help with? Should I let her know that we’re going to check on—” I began.

“No,” he interrupted, shaking his head. “There’s no point.”

He just wanted confirmation for himself.

I heard footsteps upstairs and a few doors opened and closed, followed by muffled sobs. My heart ached for her as I thought about the moments, days, and weeks after Gavin’s death. I cried that moment he was taken from me. But then the tears stopped. They wouldn’t come no matter how hard I tried to pull them out. Instead, I shut down and focused on one thing.

Revenge.

“Maybe it would be better for Emily if she focused on seeking revenge. Channel her sorrow toward something productive,” I offered.

Preston’s gaze held mine. “Do you think that’s the best way to go? Push away the grief? Fool yourself into thinking you’ve dealt with it?” he asked softly.

“It worked for me.”

“Did it?” his brow arched.

“I’m functional. I’m not sure by tomorrow she will be. She doesn’t understand that she needs something to throw herself into.”

Preston grabbed my hand, and I felt a flutter of warmth run up my arm from his touch. “You don’t understand your own strength. Not everyone can do what you do. I’m telling you, you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. It isn’t just rage and anger fueling you. Emily isn’t the anomaly. You are.” He let go of my hand, and I dropped my gaze from his.

The meaning of his words slowly dug into me. Maybe he was right.

“Does she have anywhere to go? Anyone to go to?” I asked.

“Her sister, Isabelle, is alive…lives in Idaho somewhere. She’ll be happy to have her. I know there was some sort of disagreement between them when Emily joined Braden on this hunt. Isabelle didn’t understand why she was throwing herself into the mess, as she put it.”

“How will she manage living there if her sister thinks she was crazy for leaving in the first place?”

Preston shrugged. “Hopefully, Isabelle will respect Emily’s loss and keep her mouth shut.”

I thought back to what it was like when my family was alive and found it unlikely.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to go check on her. See if there’s anything I can help with.”

“I’ll be down in the basement if you need anything. Just remember, you two are very different. What might be right for you might not be for her,” he said.

I nodded and watched him walk away. My heart ached at the thought of him being the one stuck on the bridge. I didn’t think I could handle it twice.

***

We were already halfway up the hill, and I wasn’t as out of breath as yesterday. Or would it still be today since we were back here in the middle of the night? Regardless, I was always amazed at how speedily the body adapted. Preston had rope looped over his shoulder, which he was going to use to rappel down to see if he could spot any sign of Braden. I wasn’t happy with the idea, but I understood.

The quiet of the woods at this time of night, lent itself perfectly to the task at hand. Hearing only the softened hoot of a Great Horned owl or the squeak of a brown bat gave me a misguided sense of security. Every so often, I’d witness a bat darting from Douglas fir to Douglas fir or swooping in front of us in the pursuit of moths or other unsuspecting winged insects.

There was resilience within the woods and wildlife that surrounded most of the urban cities in the northwest. I only hoped that resilience would apply itself to the humans as well. What worried me was that the purely evil intent that drove many humans to make choices wasn’t a part of the natural order. The only repeated cycle in nature was based on survival. There weren’t evil instincts in the wild that shifted that balance like there was among humans and that worried me.

I spotted the tree that we were standing at when we witnessed Braden’s fall, and my heart started pounding. Following Preston toward the bridge, I became very unsettled and agitated as I watched him attach the harness and loop the rope around the trunk of the nearest tree.

“I’m not going to flip my headlamp on until I get down deep enough,” he whispered, crouching near the bridge.

I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t. Instead, I only nodded and kneeled down, touching his cheek lightly. He looked up at me and the moonlight caught his blue eyes, making them appear more vivid than usual.

“I’ll be right back,” he whispered and pushed himself down the rugged terrain.

I slowly crawled over to the edge and saw nothing but darkness below. Finally a tiny light flipped on. I watched it flicker through the rocks and then no longer saw it. I had no idea how far down he was. I heard the water sloshing below, but I couldn’t gauge the distance. My pulse raced while I remained stranded at the top, unsure of how long Preston would be down there investigating. The sounds of something plopping into the water heightened my senses, and my hands got clammy. It sounded like a large piece of rock or…

Without warning, I saw the flash of his light as he worked his way back up the crevice and then it extinguished. The sound of his boots grinding into the stone was hurried as he climbed back up. When he reached the top, he was completely breathless.

“He’s alive,” he whispered, grabbing the second length of rope we’d brought.

“Seriously.”

“It’s bad and I’m not sure what I’m going to have to do to haul him up…”

“It’s all we can do. Just get him up here and we’ll figure it out,” I muttered, as Preston placed the other harness around his shoulder.

“Exactly my thoughts,” Preston replied, as he rappelled down the boulder into the crevice.

“Let’s just hope Emily’s still at the house,” I whispered to myself.

Preston’s headlamp clicked on again, and I kept my eyes on that light until he vanished beneath the boulders once more. With every heartbeat, I patiently waited and counted for his return. After several minutes the patience I was holding onto was traded for exasperation at the situation. We were so exposed. I had no idea how we’d get him down the hill to the car, but I couldn’t become paralyzed by getting ahead of myself. One step at a time.

I heard the sound of rustling and a few muffled groans before relief spread through me as I watched the tiny light grow as Preston worked his way back up the crevice. He flipped it off about ten feet below me, and he worked his way back up the last bit as Braden’s body hung almost lifeless, only the bouncing shadows giving me the information I so desperately wanted.

“I’ve got him,” Preston said, his voice almost inaudible. “He’s harnessed to me from behind at the waist and shoulders. I can crawl up, but I’ve got to have a big space to heave my body over the rock.”