The Uprising (The Julianna Rae Chronicles) (7 page)

3rd May, 2018, 0900 hours.

The Gate House, Sector
#4

The worn steps took more weight as the single file of black uniforms marched below the street level. Crowds posted curiously and at a safe distance, across the street, exchanging hushed voices; discussing the heavy presence. The Militia rarely grouped in Sector Four. The drones hovered, keeping the crowds on the pavement across the road, hoarding them like livestock, threatening them with red lasers when the need arose, taking random scans.

The patrol waited obediently, staggered around the entry with rifles pointed. The black paintwork peeled more with every touch
on the iron banister, and after their Commander arrived, parts were stripped bare.

Taris stepped from his vehicle and admired the sign above the pavement. He nodded to the crowds past his shoulder, acknowledging their whispers
.

T
he Commander is here
.

He examined the drones’ positions above his head, buzzing readily, searching for the next kill

Why is he here? Quick children, move along. We need to go now.

He smiled
. Yes, move along now. Nothing to see.

The crowds heard his whisper, some left, and some chose to stay. The Senate had held their promise, and the new strength running through his body surged like electricity. He felt young again, like he felt after his initiation.

What a stunning day to behold
.

He raised his face to the sun and closed his eyes. The smell of Sector Four curled around him and he grimaced.
Maybe not so beautiful.
He ambled across the road with his hands swinging casually next to the weapons strapped against his sides. He made his way down the stairs, moving his shoulders to keep his own space from the soldiers, and casually turned the handle of the glass door in front. He usually left the outer Sectors to their own demise, coming here was a risk worth taking.

It was locked. He smiled, and gave his command with a quiet nod.

The door splintered on the first kick, and the second crashed it open, giving the swarm of Militia a wide hole to run through. They filed in, organized and with intent, circling the bar. Their rifles clicked simultaneously as they aimed them toward the man behind it.

Hal looked up in his shock. ‘Darn look what you done to my door. Get out I say.’ He raised the hand that grasped a cleaning cloth, to steal the weapons from their possession.

‘Uh ah, old man. Lower that hand,’ Taris ordered. ‘Right now, or I get nasty.’

Taris sauntered into the center of the room, dressed in full uniform, his gold chain hung around his neck, his boots polished to a high sheen. He held a rifle with one hand, using his shoulder to support its aim at Hal’s chest. His other hand raised, and with a smile, he commanded the old man’s hands down to his sides with a quiet chant. The cloth dropped to the floor.

‘Now there’s a sight,’ Hal said.

‘It has been a long time, agreed.’ Taris lowered the rifle ‘Be a good man, and get us a drink.’

‘It’s against the Articles to sell hard liquor,’ Hal bent over for his cloth.

Taris raised his rifle. ‘Hands where I can see them.’

Hal straightened and rested his hands on the counter between them. His fingers splayed. ‘Me thinks you be searching for somebod.’

‘Any idea where they are?’ Taris looked back at his officers forcing Hal’s company into chairs, lining them along the far wall beneath the peeling paint. Their guns were cocked, ready for the command to fire at a point blank range.

Hal shook his head. ‘Nope.’

‘Wanting trouble, Hal?’ Taris ran his hand over the polished wood, stopping at the only chip in the counter. He admired it.

‘Nope, Commander.’
             

‘Commander now?’ Taris looked at his surrounding men. ‘He called me Commander,’ Taris returned his cold glare to Hal. ‘I remember the day you gave me a flogging for back answering you.’ Taris walked along the side of the counter, running his hand along it as he went. ‘You remember that, when I was a slip of a
kid? You told me to toughen the-fuck-up.’ He leaned over, peering at the line of alcohol on the back shelf.

‘I remember,’ Hal said. His curtness was noted, watching Taris with his black eyes.

Taris sauntered back, retracing his steps, with his fingers still sliding along the soft wood, and stopped at the notch in the counter, again. ‘I’d like to now thank you for that day.’ He raised his hands, the rifle pointed to the ceiling. ‘What do you think – am I tough enough now?’

Hal thinned his lips. The troops behind the commander waited with their rifles poking int
o the Rebels, who had worked closely with Daniel. He knew what was coming and it was no surprise. The sudden rise of power, the abilities gifted upon the young showing promise to the cause. He lowered his gaze to the hand resting before him, toying with the hole in the wood and sighed. This visit was anticipated.

‘She’s been here,’ Taris said. ‘When?’

‘Three days past, left with Daniel for the country looking for yer cousins.’

‘Dealing with
the fugitives’ old man. Should’ve turned them in when you had the chance.’ Taris raised the rifle, dancing the laser beam along the line of Hal’s neck.

‘I’m at peace with my doin’s, Commander,’ Hal raised
his hands. ‘Do what needs doin.’

‘Sure,’ Taris said casually. ‘Kill them.’

Flashes of gun fire danced in the mirror behind the bar. A shit-eating grin plastered across Taris’s face, as the shots left a bloodied mess trailing the walls and windows.

Hal shook his head mournfully. ‘Good men cut down in seconds, unarmed, no fair fight.’

‘Now, old man, any idea where this safe house might be?’

‘There is no safe house,’ Hal still looked at the bludgeoned bodies beside the wall.

‘I keep hearing there is,’ Taris said. ‘Tell me now and I’ll spare your precious granddaughter.’

Hal shook his head. ‘She knows nothin’ of her bloodlines. Let the gal live her life as a norm if she wants to.’

Taris reached over the counter. Hal’s loose fitting shirt on his fine frame was easily pulled over the polished wood. Hal landed heavily onto the floor near his feet. The rifle pointed down at his head, and Taris rested the barrel against his wispy grey hair.

‘The Council won’t stand her death, youngling.’

‘I
am
the Council, Hal,’ he crouched low, moving the weapon under his arm again. ‘Didn’t you hear? Douglas Cathan is dead. The balance of power swings with me. I am the Council, I will be the Senate, and you know I usually get what I want.’

Hal’s eyes moved underneath his bulldog wrinkles. The thought of an imbalance on the Old Council chilled him to the core. Times were changing again, to the old ways, and not for the better. He clung to the hope of Caden. Taris had no idea. His grimace changed to a curl in his lips and Taris pulled back.

‘Tell me everything you know about the safe house if you want any chance of the bloodline surviving this war.’

‘Tainted with yer own filthy blood. Shoulda’ drowned yer when I had the chance. The bloo
dline’s survived many a war, yer won’t change it. Yer can’t.’

Taris straightened. His men
hurried along the bar, grabbing bottles to smash against the floor, in every direction.                            

‘Shame to do this, I spent many a night drinking away my youth in here.’ Taris put a cigarette to his lips and lit up. ‘Fond memories.’

He glanced around and flicked the match to a puddle behind the bar. Flames roared instantly, lapping at the spilt alcohol and licking at the sides of the counter.

The unopened bottles burst. Black smoke slowly filled the room.
It took away the distraction of her walk down the steps to peer into the bloodied mess. It was her voice. A voice Hal hadn’t heard in years, and his heart still ached for its closeness.

‘Darling, have you been
playing with your food again?’ Beth took the last step down and leaned on the doorway frame, now torn from its place.

Hal looked up and the barrel of the gun scratched at his forehead as repayment for moving. His eyes widened as she tucked under the arm Taris raised for her.

She smiled. ‘Hello father.’

‘You see ol’ man,’ Taris kissed the side of Elizbeth’s head. ‘You bitch about
your bloodlines. I have my own to worry about now. Your daughter is in the safe palm of my hand, and Julianna doesn’t matter anymore.’

‘We thought yer were dead.’ Hal said coolly. ‘No notion you were the enemy.’

Elizbeth stepped from the commander’s arm. ‘Papa,’ she stroked his face gently. ‘I’ve missed you, but I do what I must. The Militia is justified in their cause—’

‘Camps exterminating the repented are rightful, are they missy?’ Hal
ignored the barrel firmly pressed against his skin. ‘Displaced men, women and children, rightful? Yer off yer rocker missy. Yer off yer rocker, and wha’ ‘bout yer husband? A good man, he was, and yer daughter – yer own blood?’

Taris flicked the cigarette into the fire and lifted his rifle again. Elizbeth returned to his side. The rifle swung around, collecting Hal’s chin on the end and sending him crashing into the floorboards.

It stopped his lecture.

‘Talk too much, old man,’ Taris turned to Elizbeth and rested a hand dutifully on her belly. ‘Get yourself to safety now, you shouldn’t be in here,’ he stroked her gently. ‘Don’t make me angry.’

Elizbeth took his hand, and they both looked down at it. She agreed, she needed to leave quickly. The fire was starting to take hold.

Taris knelt to lift the old man across
his shoulders. He wasn’t heavy – age had been cruel, and his once brutish stature had been robbed. His men waited at the gapping doorway, and Elizbeth disappeared up the stairs. He gave them a nod and parted ways along the narrow stairway.

Flames licked around the side of the building.  Taris ambled across
the road to the car where Elizbeth sat patiently with her hands in her lap. The hover drones frantically buzzed above them. He slung Hal heavily into the backseat under guard, slammed the door and straightened. Onlookers watched with narrow eyes, distrusting their commander and the New World Order.

Why would he destroy such a harmless gathering
?

He hear
d their thoughts.

He turned on the balls of his feet and lit another cigarette, feeling the power surging through him. The fire engulfed the old multilevel building, and the precarious sign melted on its hinges. His thoughts provoked the fire’s anger, enraging it further, with the onlookers retreating from the intense heat expelled.
Taris glanced again and it burst outward, showering the ground with what little remained.

Long overdue
, he thought.
Hit them hard.

The first of many explosions rattled the buildings on either side. He felt the tremor through his feet as it stretched along the road, and all the while he stood to admire his work. He would take Hal to the camp.

He smiled, closing his lips around his cigarette, he drew the smoke in.
Finally, a full-blood for the trials
, he tossed the thought around,
and an attack on the safe house.

The day is beautiful after all.

3rd May, 2018, 1900 hours.

7 miles west of Camp 2.2.1

The bikes were moving deeper into the woods when they heard the hover drones fly past. They were far enough between the trees that their heat signatures weren’t traceable, but close enough to the highway to hear the unmistakable humming.

Caden stopped his bike to listen, holding his fist in the air to signal for everyone else to follow. Julianna propped beside him. The heavy prisoner lulled forward between her arms, and she struggled against his broad shoulders, to
center him into the bike again.             

‘Go on.’ He said with a grin. ‘Tell me I made the wrong move.’

She cocked her head certain her expression was pissy enough that she needn’t say anything. Caden’s method of punishing the insubordinate was effective, and though she had been deathly sick the night before, he wasn’t considering that now.

He helped lean the prisoner as the noc slumped again, before returning to the distant sounds.

The Jeeps engines passed along the highway, more drones, and she could hear a faint trace of a dog barking; they were breaking out the canine unit for a second time. She counted three Jeeps and knew Taris drove the last one as a safety precaution, always having the minions go first.

Caden nudged her foot with his. He was frowning, and he mouthed “
what is it”
for her to see. She knew he’d missed the occurrence which had led her to death’s door the evening before. The stabbing which stirred up the fever, the very moment she thought she had greeted death itself – he had no idea about their bond.

The IDM, the movements into the woods, the doubling back from the caves. As long as she was with them, their situation was a murky one, and all the other precautions they took, were pointless. Could she tell him? She shook her head and thinned her lips.
Stupid bond!

‘We should move.’
             

Caden nodded. ‘It seems you have some secrets, Julianna Rae.’

‘As opposed to you, watcher boy.’

She shook it off. Bas rode past, and Caden revved his bike to join him. Their longing stare parted when he needed to look forward, to follow his brother over the uneven ground.

She screwed her face as the wind blew into it. The nocturno smelt in a funky way and she was eager to rid him of herself, and her bike, but she wouldn’t give the group the satisfaction of knowing.

Hell no, I’ll ride with this preternatural all the way to the moon if I have to
, but the thought weakened. She took another whiff as the air offered it to her, pulling away as her stomach tied itself in knots.

Daniel stopped beside her. He cringed, covering his mouth and nose with a hand, waiting for some distance from the others.

‘Told you, didn’t I?’ he said. ‘Isis, me,
even
Taris warned you.’

‘I know what he is,’ she gave the bike a rev.

‘Still, you’re going there,’ he said quietly.

‘I’m not
going
there,’ she argued. The bikes in front were gone. ‘I’m not
going
anywhere with him. He’s my appointed watcher for fuck’s sake.’

‘You’re
going there.’ Daniel replied. He looked for the bikes.

Julianna shook her head. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide. Was he really having this talk?
Was it any of his business?
She thought not, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Was he jealous?

‘You’ve done what you need to do, get away from the man once we’re back in the city, before he gets his claws into you.’

Yes, yes
.

She looked up at Daniel. His eyes were large and dark, even when he wasn’t showing himself to the
world and their unusual green tinge was like hers. She wondered as she had on her visit to the Gatehouse, if there was something more about this man she didn’t understand. Their connection was strong. She felt the compulsion to listen. He reminded her of her father.

Point taken.

She stared ahead. The night closed in. Soon they’d need their headlights. They weren’t thick enough into the trees to take such a risk. She revved her bike.             

‘You have no idea do you?’

Julianna gripped her brakes and rolled her eyes back over her shoulder to see he wasn’t smiling. He narrowed his eyes and rolled his bike forward to stay irritatingly close to her side.

He didn’t elaborate, and she wasn’t surprised.

Like Caden said,
secrets.

Julianna struggled to follow Daniel closely over the rough ground, with a passenger twice her size between her arms. She regretted her haste in taking a hostage in spite of everyone. She blundered through the bushes and a tree branch snagged at her jacket, pulling her into its reach. She cursed it, along with everything else as it pulled her back
until she saw why the others had stopped. She closed her mouth from the profanities that began to roll out.

Caden’s bike rested beside a set of rickety stairs that led into an abandoned farm house. The wood curled at the edges, damaged from weather and neglect where it rested; other parts led to a steep drop.

The farm house door swung open at Caden’s approach, greeting him with openness as though it welcomed his return. He stood to one side with the blanket and rifles they had collected, thick in his arms and held it open for Devo. She obediently passed him, with a clumsy pile of equipment teetering on the edge of spilling.

Julianna parked and slid away from the stench stuck to the ride, balancing him only with a hand as she studied the new camp’s rundown lodging. It was solid, with a closed roof, perched on a dubious veranda that ran the perimeter of the house, giving a clear view of the open property. They were well off the track, hi
dden in the trees, and secure.

Caden returned to the veranda. He looked down at her, stepping as he went along the curling wood, taking each step with guarded caution. He didn’t release
her from his gaze for a moment.

Julianna tiptoed to glance over his shoulder. In its day she would have fancied it a quaint farm house, and on the land, probably a very productive one too. She could hear the sound of running water breaking through the trees from the other side of the trail, too.

The prisoner slid from the bike and onto the ground with a thud, and groaned. Fresh blood seeped into the dust and he slipped back his world of darkness.

‘J Rae,’ Caden snapped her back. His abruptness caught the attention of the entire camp. ‘No way to treat an animal. Pick him up, tie him down over there, and give him some water.’ He nodded to a tree. ‘We need him alive.’

For real, for really fucking real C Mads? This is bullshit. Total bullshit and horse shit and everything else in the mix.

Caden angled his cool stare against her as everyone else watched for a reaction. His body leaned forward, forcing her into his shadow. Julianna conceded. She edged around her bike, grabbed the prisoner under his thick arms, and heaved. The heavy weight landed between her legs, and she scurried back in surprise.

She sat. Her shoulders curved. Smoke curled through his parted lips where the freshly lit cigarette hung, and he waved out the match before flicking it against her boot.

‘He’s too heavy,’ she said. ‘I need some help.’

He took a long drag and stared. ‘Your pet, you look after it, little one.’ He said coolly, and continued to look down at her with an authority she wasn’t all too comfortable with. 

‘I said I need some help. You’re my
watcher
; you’re
supposed
to help me.’

His lip twisted to the corn
er. ‘But you work so well alone.’ He removed the cigarette hanging to flick the lose ash onto the ground. ‘We’ll stay here, until we can think of a safe way back to the city. So, I need
you
to take him over
there,
and secure him so he can’t escape.’

She followed his nod to a large oak tree behind her.

‘If that’s okay with you? And if it’s also okay with you, give him some water. Questioning is much more effective when the prisoner is conscious. He’s had nothing since his capture.’ He raised his glare. ‘But only if it’s okay with you,
apprentice
.’

Caden waved a hand dismissively in Daniel’s direction; his cigarette emphasized his
intent for him to stay away. Daniel turned on his feet and wheeled his bike down to Bas, instead. She wasn’t permitted anyone’s help.

‘
You were helping me last night.’

‘You were sick, now y
ou’re not. Now we’re back to having your pissy little power struggle with me.’

She dusted her hands and pulled under the noc’s arms, dragging until she lost balance against a sharp rock. She reached around to her back. A slippery line formed along the graze on her skin, stinging under her touch. She cursed Caden’s amusement as he watched her stand for a third time. The sweat beaded on her forehead, though the sun rested below the horizon, and she stood over the prisoner with frustrated hands propped on her hips, as the
fever threatened to return.

‘Standing like that leaves you open for an attack,’ Caden warned. ‘Use your abilities to move him.’

‘I don’t have any,’ she snapped. ‘I’m not a watcher.’

‘Well
,
apprentice
,’ he took another long drag, perching the cigarette between his thumb and finger. ‘We both know that’s bullshit now, don’t we?’

‘To hell with you, Caden. Fuck you.’ she said and grabbed the heavy arms, again.

‘In time, sweetheart I have no doubt you will, but not on the first date, huh,’ he turned.

His cigarette was back between parted lips and his hands deep inside his pockets. He ambled to the men concealing their bikes behind a thicket of trees and overgrown hedging, not looking back once to see her final struggle with the prisoner.

The tree stood downhill; single and lonely in the overgrown grass. His body trailed along the dry pasture with more ease on the downward slope.

Julianna reached the tree and leaned against it, pushing the old tire swing playfully beside her as she caught her breath. The prisoner was half staring between broken lids, in his
semi-conscious state, and she knew come night he’d probably bite given a chance. She wiped the grimy sweat beading on her face. A trail of dirt replaced it. She needed a bath and she tuned into the running water again.

After this,
she thought. Even her mind sounded out of breath.
After this I’m taking a swim, to hell with everyone else.
They could have thanked me for taking out the party at the caves.

From the low point where she stood, it was hard to see Caden rolling his bike to where the trees stood thick and tall. She
made the gesture of his cigarette casually propped between his lips when he needed both hands, and the smoke trailed above his head for the wind to catch and trail it away. Devo carried more supplies into the old house, and Daniel spoke with Bas.

She glanced down at the prisoner.

Miserable bastard.

The swing rocked in the dull breeze. She followed its rope to the branch above and removed her knife from its holster. The rope was still good, and the blade cut easily through it while she cursed under her breath.

I’m leaving tomorrow, I swear, I’m leaving this forsaken group of prets if it’s the last thing—

The frayed rope fell down like a coiled snake,
wrapping her head and shoulders. She fought angrily to free herself, swinging the blade around as she went, and almost cutting herself.

‘Here,’ Bas held a hand out for the rope. ‘He’s just toying wit
h you.’

‘Freaking yay,’ she handed it over.

Bas strung the prisoner’s wrists before returning the rope over the branch again. He pulled on the rope, using his own weight to raise the prisoner above his toes. The prisoner groaned.

‘Is it really necessary? He’s half way to dead.’

‘You want him running the six or seven miles home to camp?’ Bas secured him. ‘You know he will. Camp 2.2.1’s just down the road.’

‘I would’ve mentioned Kath
erine’s information,’ she said.

‘Yeah, not sure about that. When were you planning the news break?’

‘Oh I don’t know.’ She pushed past him. He was still fastening the rope and couldn’t follow. Julianna called back. ‘Somewhere between getting shot, stabbed, and being taken hostage. I told you in the end – doesn’t it count for something?’ Caden walked toward her. ‘Or maybe this was all a scam, to have me placed under
his
command.’

Bas finished tying the prisoner. ‘It’s getting dark. Where are you going?’

Julianna refused his question. Caden stopped in his tracks. She wanted to find the water, get clean, and relax. The water was ahead, she could hear its run, and altered course for the trees lining the property boundary. Caden yelled her name. Daniel asked for her return and she ignored them, as she pushed through the long grass.