Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (23 page)

             
When they got back to the entrance, John walked Chastity
in;
for once not even noticing Phoenix was lagging behind with Jayden. He placed his finger on her lip and snuck towards the far end of the tunnel. It didn’t take them long to arrive
at
the
secluded
car cave.

             
“I had to get you alone for a while tonight,” he said with a smile. He’d remembered a lighter
and
was able to give them soft lighting. It was amazingly romantic.

             
“I’m not going to argue with you,” Phoenix told him, overflowing with happiness.

             
“Life feels just about perfect right now. I’m more than pleased I’ve met you. Plus, having my sister her
e
makes everything feel complete. I’m happy to see she’s taken an interest in John. They looked like they may be on their way to a romance,” he said with a chuckle.

             
“I’ve never seen John look at a girl like that before. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her. It was incredible. I’m sure a lot of hearts are going to break tomorrow if he’s still looking at her that
way
in the morning,” Phoenix said. They talked for a while longer,
t
hen
Jayden finally took her in
his arms.
They stayed out late enjoying each other’s company.

             
“Here’s your room,” John said, as he walked Chastity to her door.

             
“You’ve been very kind today,” she said. She was actually feeling unsure of herself, which was a new emotion. She didn’t want him to walk away but didn’t know how to ask him to stay with her. He seemed like he was in the same
dilemma
.

             
“I’m a bit hungry,” she finally said, hoping he’d take the clue. Of course, he did.

             
“Let’s sneak into the kitchen. I know where they keep the spare cookies,” John said. He reached out and took her hand, pulling her quickly behind him. It was late enough there weren’t people wandering around the hall. They walked into the dark kitchen and John quickly lit one of the wall lamps. It gave the place an eerie glow but neither of them minded. He grabbed some cookies,
then
lifted Chastity onto one of the counter
s
.

             
She gasped at the feel of his hands on her,
then
noticed
he was standing between her legs, their bodies pressed close together. Neither of them could break eye contact. John felt like he couldn’t survive another moment if he didn’t kiss her. He
leaned forward slowly
and
took her lips gently
with
his. He’d kissed many girls before but had never felt something so powerful from the simple touch of lips barely touching.

             
He felt like he was being lifted in the air. His body was filled with magic and he soon gathered her close
r
and deepened the kiss. Chastity let out a small sigh
that he felt throughout his entire body
.

             
He’d never been interested in a girl like he was interested in her. He could die right then and he’d die a happy man. They continued the kiss for what seemed
an
endless
amount of
time, until he finally pulled back. They stared at each other in wonder until huge smiles broke out on both their faces.

             
“John Light, I’m very happy I’ve met you,” Chastity said.

             
“That goes the same for me, Chastity,” he replied. He pulled her close, happy to simply hold her in his arms. He felt close to bursting with
ecstasy
.
It was good they had a night of joy because soon their worlds would be filled with terror and devastation.

             
The next few weeks flew by and John and Chastity were inseparable. Soon they were the talk of the camp, as John hadn’t shown interest in anyone before. There was talk of a possible wedding coming up and John was in no hurry to dispel the rumors.

             
Phoenix was in her own personal
bubble of happiness with Jayden
and didn’t want to think about the future. The elders
talked
more of a coming war and how they couldn’t stand back and watch their fellow human beings being tortured anymore. There were more
missions of people going out
and their camp was growing in numbers.

             
The camp had doubled over the last mont
h
and Phoenix was thrilled by the new people arriving. They were so grateful to no longer be wandering alone in the woods, or
to have escaped wherever they’
d been and there was a true celebration going on.

             
Phoenix walked in, hand in hand with Jayden and sat near the warm fire. She made sure to get there early so she was able to have a warm spot because there were now so many people if you arrived late, you were
in the far corners of the room
and needed to remember a blanket.

             
Her father approached the stage once again and Phoenix was proud of how tall he stood. He made a great leader and
she
wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up being president when they did take back America.

             
“It pleases me to see how our numbers have grown. As you
know we’
ve been planning for some time on how to rescue more of our people. With the information Chastity and her group of women were able to bring us we now have a plan to take ove
r the prison camp that’s closest to us. It’
s in no way an easy mission and though I pray none of our
people
will get hurt, I ca
n’t guarantee that outcome. We’
re confident
, though that we’
ll be able to overtake them and rescue the thousands of prisoners they have. If we do this, w
e save our brother
s
and sisters
and we also add more numbers to our ranks. We can slowly begin to take back our country,” he spoke to the crowd.

             
The audience burst into a round of applause, everyone willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. He took a moment to compose his features at the love he was receiving
,
and the
sacrifices the people were willing to make.

             
“I’
m humbled by the love I feel in this room. I know victory will be ours because we have something the enemy doesn’t
and that’
s passion. We know how to love
and we aren’t just fi
ghting for a piece of land, we’re fighting for our survival. We’
re fighting for our people,” he finished in a booming voice.

             
Everyone
jumped to their feet, applauding loudly at his words. Phoenix looked into Jayden’s eyes and they communicated silently to each other. Their little bubble had popped. It was no longer about just the two of them, or even the thousands in hiding
. I
t was now about the whole of mankind. She prayed she survived long enough to be with him because she wouldn’t cower in the background while t
hose around her fought. She’d be by their side
.

             
“You know you don’t have to go.
I’
d rather you stayed behind and helped tend to the children,” Jayden told her, though he knew
she’d never find that acceptable
.

             
“You know
I can’t do that. You’
ll be out there and so will my parents and John and many others I love. It would destroy me to stay here not knowing what was happening
to you
,” she pleaded with Jayden to understand.

             
Her parents and John had already tried to talk her into staying behind
but
if something were to happen to them there wouldn’t be a reason for her to be alive. She didn’t know exactly what it was they were going to do yet
but
she knew she had to be a part of it.

             
“There will be a group of soldiers
who
will go ahead
and scout the area first. We’
ve trained snipers
who
will wipe out their snipers and then the rest of us will rush in. They have a couple hundred soldiers at this facility so it won’t be hard to take them down
but
our major issue is
we’
ve
got
to
overtake
the communications tower
before they’
re able to call for help
.
W
e have no way of fighting them once t
hey bring in an air attack. It’
s imperative we knock out their communication. Jayden has come up with a good plan for this. It should take
them
days before they realize what’
s happened. We have
to get to some aircraft if we’
re to win this war
but
first
we need
more numbers and
that means releasing
our people,” Larry said once the crowd settled down.

             
Phoenix was terrified because Jayden and John were going into the heart of the camp to disable the
communications area and she’
d be back with the rest of the group waiting to rush in. She knew
she’
d barely be able to breathe knowing their lives were in danger.

             
That night Phoenix laid in her bed, not wanting the week to continue. She wanted to keep her loved ones safe in their sanctuary, though she knew that couldn’t happen. Jayden spent extra time with her
,
knowing how stressed she was. He finally had to leave because her parents
wouldn’t
be
happy if they’d discove
red him in her room so late in
the night. She didn’t know if Sadie was with Brian so she didn’t want to creep down to her room
but
she hoped
she’d come join her
b
ecause she didn’t think she’
d be able to sleep if she were to stay alone.

             
She didn’t know how long it took
but
Sadie finally did appear, her own eyes filled with terror for the people she loved. They comforted each other and somehow were finally able to
rest
.

             
Jayden and Chastity slipped outside while everyone was still sleeping. They needed to speak without any chance of being overheard.
They quickly started running and soon were far from the cave and
away from
any prying ears.

             
“
Jayden, you know we can’t let anything happen to them, right? I’ve seen the way you act with Phoenix and some of the others. You can’t possibly want harm to come to them?”
She
questioned her brother. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to fight him
as well as keep the humans safe
.

             
“
I don’t want to sabotage them
,
anymore. I’ve grown quite attached, but Vyco can’t find out. If he knows that I’m no longer helping him, h
e’
ll just send in Demons. We could try to protect them but someone I care about could get hurt. I know it would be hard for you if anything were to happen to John,
” Jayden
said
.

             
“I’ve never felt anything like this before. It feels
like
if something
were
to happen to him
,
I’d cease to exist,” she said,
finding it difficult to describe the intensity of what she felt
.

             
“Believe
me,
I was barely able to let Phoenix out of my
sight
when I first found her. It felt like my heart was ripping from my chest when I
even
imagined being away from her. I still need to protect her but
it’s
not such a crushing feeling for us to part for a while
,
as long as I know she’s safe. This war will be hard but we must
stay strong. We’
ll meet here each night before the battles and make sure we’re on the same page,” he said.

             
“I
’m so glad
you’re here and helping. I don’t know how I could do this without you by my side. I really have missed you, Jayden. I’m so scared
,” she said as tears filled her eyes.

             
“
We’ll be okay, Chastity. Just because we have chosen
different paths doesn’t
mean we can’t fight together one more time
,” Jayden said
with a sad smile
.

             
“
It doesn’t have to only be this one time, Jayden. We can be together again for always,
”
she pled with him.

             
“
It’s too late for me to change directions, even if I wanted to
, though
I’m not saying I do. I made my choices long ago. If it weren’t these strange feelings I have for Phoenix nothing would’ve changed for me
,” Jayden
warned her
.
He didn’t want her to get her hopes up. He cared too much about her for that.

             
“I
think you’re lying to yourself more than you’re lying to me .I know you, Jayden and I can see you’re still the same Angel I’ve always loved
,” she
said
.

             
“
I wish I could tell you what you want to hear. Let’s just get through this next battle. We don’t have the time to analyze my choices
,” he said. He looked as frustrated as she felt in that endless moment.

             
Chastity realized she wasn’t going to get
all
the answers she so desperately needed. They’d already lived centuries. They’d get through this trial on earth
and she knew she’d get through to him before it was all over
.

             
It was early in the morning. T
he sun had not even risen yet and they were marching through the woods.
The trip
had
take
n
them several days and they were going in groups so they wouldn’t attract attention, or find it too hard to hide when the
aircraft
went by.

             
Phoenix
was
terrified
but
there was no way she could’ve stayed behind. Jayden and John
were in the lead
and she knew their positions were the riskiest of all. They had communication devices and everyone regularly checked in but still
,
she worried.

             
Sadie was right next to Phoenix
,
though that was both comforting and stressful. She simply couldn’t watch anyone she loved die and they were
approaching
serious danger
. T
hey were close
and she knew Jayden and John were getting ready to head in. The snipers were in position. She stood completely motionless as she heard them speaking in the earpieces.

             
“We’
re in position
. T
ake out the tower guards,” Jayden whispered. Phoenix’s heart skyrocketed as she waited for the next words to be spoken. All their weapons were silent
but
i
f
the slightest thing went wrong they could easily die
.
W
ith John a
nd Jayden in the front they’
d surely be the first to go.

             
“Copy that, in three
…
two
…
one…” there was silence and Phoenix was afraid to even breathe as she waited to hear what was coming next. Sadie sat next to
Phoenix
with
her
eyes filled with terror
and tears silently streaming down her
cheeks
.

             
“Got them, go…
go…
go…” came the u
rgent whisper over the earpiece
. “Team Charlie
,
move in now,” came the command a few seconds later. “Team Alpha you have a go,” the commands kept coming
but
she heard nothing from John or Jayden and she could barely breathe. Her group was one of the last to go in and though she wanted to rush forward,
it
could cause even more danger
so
she waited like she’
d promised
.
S
he knew if
her brother had his way she’
d never
even
enter the compound.

             
“The communication
room ha
s been disabled. T
he guards are dead
.
T
hey didn’t
have a chance to
get any alerts sent out,”
said
the relieved
voice
of her brother. It took a few seconds for John’s words to sink
in. Phoenix knew the battle wasn’
t yet over but their biggest threat had been
eliminated
.

             
“Jayden isn’t really giving me anything to do
, though. D
amn
,
he moves fast,” John spoke again and Phoenix was amazed to hear laughter in his voice.

             
“I don’t find you amusing
,
John,” Phoenix snapped into her own microphone, though she wasn’t supposed to
speak unless
it pertained to their mission.

             
“Oh
,
come on Phoenix
,
he’s doing
great
,” Jayden said with his own smile coming through
,
loud
and clear, making her see red
. They acted like they were playing a game of soldiers
, not like there were
lives
at risk
. She was going to beat the crud out
of both of them
when she
knew
they were safe.

             
She refused to say anything else to either of them
.
Once it was over and they were together again
,
they wouldn’t be able to shut her up.

             
“We got all the guards. T
eam
Tango
,
you can move in,” one of the
sharpshooters
said into the microphone
.
Phoenix and Sadie jumpe
d up and started heading
to
the prison camp. Neither of them could believe how quickly the enemy soldiers had been taken out. The entire
invasion
hadn’t
lasted
more than about ten minutes.

             
Their own men were now stationed at the wide open front gates and Phoenix looked around in horror as the sun was just starting to rise in the sky. There
weren’t any
prisoners about and she imagined they were cowering in their
cells
.

             
There was a double fence made of concrete
with
deadly looking barbed wire. She heard someone warn her not to touch the fence because it was electric and they hadn’t yet turned off the power. She wouldn’t have
attempted to,
anyway.

             
The top of it was bent inward
just to
ensure
there
wasn’t any way
the prisoners could scale it. There was a smaller fence just inside the two barbed
wires
she didn’t see a purpo
se for. It wasn’t like they’
d be able to
climb
any part of it.
Lights lined the top of the fence
,
making
the area
visible
for
the watching guards. Phoenix was beginning to understand how lucky Chastity and
the other women were to have escape
d
. She didn’t possibly see how they could’ve gotten out of that deadly looking fence.

             
As Phoenix walked further into the camp
,
she couldn’t believe what she was seeing
,
or smelling
. There were horrible
odors
coming
from
a building that had several
chimneys
bi
llowing smoke.

             
“It’s all clear.
I repeat
,
all clear,”
one of the guards said
and all the men seemed to relax.

             
“We need to move fast
,
though. Let’s find the prisoners and get out of
here,” Larry spoke over the earpiece
.

             
“Copy that
. I’ve located their vehicles. We’
ll make it home much
quicker
than it took us to get here. Everyone needs to
be ready to go within one hour. L
eads
,
I need you
to confirm,” someone else spoke.
Phoenix thought he was the head of security. She heard several voices of those in charge of each unit speak into her
earpiece
,
then
there was a scurry of activity.

             
Several hummers were brought out
to transport them back home.
Phoenix watched in horror as the
soldiers opened the cage doors
.
The prisoners cowered as they began slowly walking out. Their bodies were nothing but skeletal frames, faces plastered with expressions of sheer terror.
She’
d seen some
incredibly abused
people show up at the caves
,
but
she didn’t see how these
individuals were still alive
.

             
Phoenix
saw a little girl with sunken
cheeks
and
big brown eyes
,
clutching the hand of a woman
,
and
she
wanted nothing more than to run to her and wrap her in a large blanket. The former prisoners were quickly led to vehicles and as soon as one fill
ed
to overflowing
,
it would quickly
leave.
The p
rocess took more than an hour. With the available enemy transportation, t
housands of people were rescued.