Shocked (24 page)

“This is your chance to give up.” I tell him and let the energy crackle around me. “Choose wisely.”

He raises his weapon.
At least I gave him the choice.
I disarm him quietly and Lucas secures him to a nearby tree out of sight. Together we move for the gate with the team behind us.

Once through we find two more guards. I give them the same option to surrender and they comply. Mike and Lou secure them while Lucas and I move on.

It doesn’t take long for the remaining guards to surrender. There are ten of them in total. The grungiest of them hands over a ring of keys and points down the hall.
I hate this part.
It’s great to find survivors, but the conditions never leave your memory. They’re there every time you close your eyes.

The hall is filthy (no surprise) and dark. Any windows have been covered over and only slight slivers of light burn through the slits. The overall effect makes me shiver.

A large steel door sits at the end. Lucas shoves key after key until one of them clicks open. The door groans and opens to total darkness.

The guys look at me and I already have a sphere glowing in my hand. The only other source of light is the dim glow from their bracelets. I take the first step through the door.

The stench hits first and the dim light quickly reveals the conditions within. Cells—like a prison line each wall as far as the eye can see. People huddle inside far from the bars. I adjust the light for a better view and the people inside look like they haven’t eaten in weeks.

“It’s okay.” I tell them. “We’re here to get you out.”

Lucas begins the task of unlocking each cell.

They stay inside. “How do we know you’re for real?” One raspy voice asks.

“We’ve been sent by General West. We offer shelter, food, and medicine.”

“Is Carch gone?” Another voice asks.

“No, not gone.” I answer. “She’s only distracted. We should go.”

One by one they slowly file out. We pass through the steel door again and Lucas instructs Mike to go radio for a ride. The refugees squint in the afternoon sun. Dirt and filth cover them so prominently that it’s hard to differentiate men from women. The small ones break my heart.

We wait for the plane and I begin to rummage through my pack for my emergency snacks and water. I give them to the children and ask Lou to take Jay and look for something for the adults. It doesn’t look like they’ll make it far without some water at least.

They turn back as Lucas and I bring the group towards a clearing to wait for the helicopters to arrive. Mike locks Carch’s men in the cells the refugees are held in. They’ll send another transport team later to take them to a separate camp from our own.

Mike returns with the keys and tosses them to Lucas. Soon after Lou and Jay return with some water. The adults pass it around eagerly and begin to brighten. Some even smile when we hear the pulsing sound of helicopters.

One survivor grabs my arm as we load them onto the helicopters. “Thank you.”

By the time our team returns to camp the people we rescue are fed and in the process of getting room assignments. We have plenty available since we’ve begun the evacuations. We’ll evacuate them too once they have a chance to get their bearings.

Lucas and I move through the crowd when a commotion catches my eye. Dr. Harris runs through the crown. “Emily?! David?!”

I see two members of the group branch off and rush towards Dr. Harris.
His family.

Dr. Harris looks like a new man with his family by his side. His wife Emily and his son David are thin but happy. We sit with them in a conference room. Captain Jennings calls us all in: Brie, Jared and Xavier, Mason, Dr. Ford, Dr. Harris and family, Lucas and myself.

Captain Jennings begins with some updates. We have a good portion of the country cleared out and a reliable defense in place around the camp. The bracelets are a success and are worn by everyone (except me.) The production of the poles and bracelets are going well world-wide.

When the captain’s voice grows solemn I know this is the real reason why he calls us here. “We’ve reached a stage where it’s time to make some decisions.” Captain Jennings looks around at all of us. “Our defense here is solid—but the fact remains that this is a dangerous area. We don’t know how far the infections will progress underground or how quickly. All of the spectated answers on what will happen if these two hives meet underground doesn’t end well for us. The United States in currently the most dangerous place on the planet.”

Captain Jennings pauses to let this sink in before he continues. “I’ve thought very deeply on this over the past few days. I know the severity of the choice I’m going to ask you to make.”

Everyone sits up a little straighter in their chairs.

“What is it, Captain Jennings?” Brie asks.

“I want to relocate most of you to the Mexico camp. Please first understand why I’m going to ask this of you.” Captain Jennings explains. “Dr. Ford and Dr. Harris are too important to risk. They’re our key to stopping the infection and without them we’ll stand no chance against the nanobots.” No one argues. “Brie, Jared, Xavier and Mason will go too, along with Dr. Harris’ family.”

Brie looks torn. We both know that I have to stay here. I take her hand across the table. “You have to go Brie.” I look at Xavier in her arms. “Plus Jared’s a big help to the doctors and he’ll never agree to go without you.”

“I know,” she says, “but it scares me to leave you again.”

“Me too,” I confess. “It’s better for me to know you’re safe though. It’ll be less to worry about.”

Brie turns to Captain Jennings. “Okay. If that’s what’s best, we’ll do it.”

“We’ll have you guys set to move out tomorrow. It’s the closest safe location—several hours by plane.” Captain Jennings rises. “I’ll let you all get ready.”

I hug Brie tight. “You take B with you too.” I tell her and try to hold back the tears. “I don’t want him involved in this either.”

“I’ll keep him safe.” Brie promises.

Jared gives me a hug goodbye. “Thanks, Kat.” He whispers in my ear. I give him an extra quick squeeze. He wants Brie to be happy and is glad that she doesn’t fight to stay.

They leave to pack and I promise to see them again before they go. Lucas waits in the hall when I step out next to Mason. This surprises me. It’s not bad though. Regardless of the past I still care for Mason. I don’t have to be in love with him to hope he stays safe.

Lucas looks between us and gives me a quick hug. “I’ll meet you upstairs in a few.”

“Thanks,” I whisper in his ear and watch him walk down the hall. B whines at my feet. “Want to take him out with me?” I ask Mason who looks uncomfortable.

“Uh, sure,” he replies.

We watch B run around and sit on a nearby ledge. “I couldn’t go and leave things the way they are between us.” Mason says sheepishly.

“I wouldn’t want you to.” I tell him. “I was telling you the truth Mason—I’ll always care for you. You’ll always be a great friend who knows me better than almost everyone else.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just…I wish it’d been different with us, Kat.” He admits.

“I get that.” I don’t point out that it’s his own doing. “I’m just glad we can talk now.”

“I’m sorry I accused you of being with Lucas—you know, before.” Mason looks sheepish.

“I guess you were upset and jumped to conclusions. I can see how you may have thought that—as long as you know the truth now.”

“I do.” Mason says quietly.

“You keep an extra eye on Brie and Jared for me, okay? You have more weapons training than them if it comes down to it.”

“I promise.” He tells me. B runs past us back towards the building.

“I guess we should get moving.” I point out. I don’t want to keep Lucas waiting.

“Yeah,” Mason looks at me and I know he means much more. “Yeah, we should.”

Lucas doesn’t question me at all when I get back upstairs. I love that he has so much faith in me—in
us
. He doesn’t doubt my actions with Mason or any other time. Sometimes I get worrisome that he thinks far too highly of me. If someone places you on a pedestal the only place to go is down…

I fill Lucas in because it’s the right thing to do. He’s glad to hear that Mason and I reach a sort of resolution. It’s a relief to finally have closure there.

I pack B’s stuff in a bag and spend some time with him cuddling on the couch. I’ll miss him horribly but he’s still too small for any of this. He’ll be much safer with Brie and Jared until this is over.

I bite back the tears and try to keep my voice light. “C’mon B, let’s go find Brie and Jared.”

B plants his butt on the floor in front of me. He knows what’s going on. He’s awfully smart.

“Please? I need you to keep an eye on Brie and the baby for me.” His ears perk up when I say the word ‘baby.’

Lucas moves next to me and pets B on the head. “I promise to keep her safe until I bring her back to you.”

B lets out a huff but stands. “Good boy.” I tell him.

We stay with Brie and everyone until it’s time for them to board the plane. The tears I’ve been trying to keep under control break free.
At least I get to say goodbye this time, right?

The only thing that makes it a bit easier is the knowledge that they’ll all be safe. Those of us who’ll remain here will know how to take care of ourselves. It’s better this way (even if it hurts.)

Lucas squeezes my hand as we watch the plane take off. “They’re better off there.”

I nod. “I know.”

“We’ll see them again soon and you can call Brie every day.”

“Yeah, maybe it won’t be so bad.”
Who am I kidding, it sucks!

Lucas pulls me close and kisses the side of my neck. “I think you need a distraction.” He whispers in my ear and a chill runs down my spine. I let out a mumble and a sigh as he releases me. “First I need to grab some clothes.”

“Why don’t you grab all of them?” I ask while we walk back towards the living quarters.

He looks at me in confusion. “Huh?”

“It makes sense to move your stuff in with mine. This way we don’t have to stop by your room all the time for you to change.” I point out.

“Won’t that kind of make us living together?” He asks. He knows it’s a big step.

“I figure we kind of are already.” Lucas has stayed over every night since that first one.

“Are you sure?”

I grin. “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t.”

“Okay then.” He matches my grin. “Let’s grab my stuff and we’ll see about getting you nice and distracted.”

I blush all the way down to my toes.

The next few weeks are busy and similar to before everyone’s evacuated. We go on tips to look for other Carch survivors. Our sabbatical goes as smoothly as possible. In the meantime there’s a steady influx of people still arriving from the uninfected zone. We offer the choice of the two locations (we save Australia as a last resort mostly due to the amount of fuel and time to get there) to each family. They typically spend a night or two and go on their way.

We set up a location with donated items for those who may be in need. Everyone’s so happy to be safe that even if their unable to keep all their possession they don’t care. We see it all goes to good use.

Brie and I talk every day—especially since Lucas and Jared surprise us both with new smartphones. I get pics of Xavier and Snapchats with B. It definitely helps with our separation anxiety.

We begin to stretch our recon and our reach. The deeper we go the worse conditions are. The people we find grow scrawnier. Today’s mission is further than before and it worries me what we may find. Our helicopter drops us close as possible to the location. We go the rest of the way on foot.

We walk for a while. There’s a light rain. It’s not too cold though so it’s not uncomfortable. There’s peacefulness in the rain. It makes it easy to hear the squish of our footsteps on the ground.

In between one of the squishes I hear something else. I stop and hold out my arm. Everyone else stops and listens with me. I try to remember where I’ve heard the sound before when it hits me—about two seconds too late. The ground drops from beneath us as Lucas grabs my hand.

Sooner or later it’s bound to happen. We walk right into Carch’s trap. The ground drops and time stops for a few seconds. My hand grasps Lucas’ tightly and something deep within me screams
no!

I reach out while the fog swirls around us and for the first time I’m grateful that Lucas and Dr. Harris test the bracelets properly. Otherwise I might worry right now.

The more pressing matter is our lack of ground. I feel the energy in the air and from each of my team members. I flex another energy bubble—similar to the power plant. This time I hold strong.
Will this help an impact? Think Kat!!

My energy lifts me off my feet frequently but can it work for all of us? There’s no choice other than to try.

Our direction changes very slowly. They all still and let me focus. The rage inside fuels me and I vow that there’ll be no more promises not to kill Carch.

I realize the power is there and that I
can
do this. We finally reach the mouth of the new ravine. The fog and infection still rages below so I let more energy jump off to attack from the bubble’s exterior. When it’s over we’re no longer floating. For the first time in months my energy wanes. The shield around us sizzles out with a final loud popping sound.

I drop to my knees and everyone stares around us. Lucas quickly helps me up and throws my arm around his shoulder. We all stand at the edge of a gaping chasm with a bottom that can’t be seen.

Lucas tugs me back from the edge as pieces on the other side still shift and fall. We all back safely away and give it a wide berth back towards the helicopters. My eyes grow heavy as we walk and I’m pretty sure that Lucas picks me up.