Battle: BWWM Dystopian Interracial Sci-Fi Romance (Betwixt Chocolate Book 2) (5 page)

“Cricket scout? You good?”

“I’m fine. As for your first question, I’m not sure. I think we need to try to retake what’s ours.”

“Tough world. Need home.”

“Yeah, exactly,” I said. “What do you think? Can we pull it off?”

Cricket turned his head to glance at the dozen men and women who would take part in any counterattack. I studied his face intently, almost able to see his thinking process.

“Not sure,” he said.

“Me either,” I admitted. “But we need to try.”

“I agree.”

He continued staring at the others.

“We should do it soon,” I said.

“Need hope,” Cricket offered.

“They do. They do.”

I moved toward the group. Emotions welled up inside me. The room we occupied was dusty and dirty, but we looked even worse. As I approached, several people turned their attention to me. They would look to me for an answer, and I couldn’t let them down. Ree glanced over at me as she helped an elderly woman find somewhere to sit down comfortably.

“We’re all tired and hungry,” I began when I was close enough for everyone to hear without yelling. “But we need to take action right away. While we have a chance out here in no man’s land, we have a better shot of survival if we’re behind the walls of the factory-city. And once we do take it back, we can start to work on a cure for the addiction to chocolate.”

Everyone watched me silently, not saying a word or spilling their emotions with visual clues.

“Those who can participate should come talk to me and Cricket. All others will stay here until we secure our home. This is not going to be easy, but it needs to be done. If anyone has a problem with this plan, please speak up now.”

A couple people whispered to each other in hushed tones, but no one spoke up - at first. Just before I walked over to the other side of the room to start planning our counterattack, Ree stood. I frowned, expecting her to fight me about my plan. Instead, her words inspired even me.

“This is not something we can turn our backs on. We need to all work together or none of us will ever have a better world to live in.”

When she finished speaking, a few people sounded their support as quietly as possible. Hunger and exhaustion would soon overwhelm us, but if we banded together, we had a good chance of retaking the factory-city. After so many years of captivity, I wasn’t about to let everything slip away because of Ree’s brother. If we were careful, it would be possible to retake our home without killing him. He would be more useful as a hostage anyway.

“I’m glad you changed your mind,” I whispered to Ree as everyone split into two groups of people.

“I have my doubts, but I’m learning to trust you. Just please spare Adam, okay?”

I nodded. “We are going to try our hardest, but you know there are no promises on the battlefield.”

“I’m going with you.”

I took her hand in mine and looked deep into her beautiful eyes.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I paused. “Now let’s get ready.”

Eight

Tony

By that evening, we had a plan put together. Besides Ree, Cricket and myself, twelve others agreed to help, including nine men and three women. We had to act before any reinforcements from House Ballmore arrived. I had doubts the idea would work, but I kept them to myself. As I stood by a small fire in a metal barrel, warming my hands, Ree walked over.

“How’s everyone holding up?” I asked.

“They’re worried, but everyone agrees it’s our best chance.”

I nodded my head. “If they don’t have too many guards, we should be able to pull it off.”

“Don’t sound so sure,” she teased.

“I’m just worried,” I admitted.

“I know. Leading is a lot of responsibility.”

Cricket walked over and said, “Ready leave now?”

“Yeah, we should get going.”

Just under a dozen of the really old or really young stayed behind as the rest of us crept out of the back of the building. Cricket scouted ahead, letting us know with whistles when it was clear to move. Ree and I were in the middle of the group, ready to head to the front or back as needed. We only had a few stun-sticks, but we’d made a few slings and collected a bunch of rocks for ammunition.

A faint sliver of a moon hung above us as we walked from one dark alley to another. My heart beat faster the closer we got to the factory-city. When the brick and stone walls were in view, we stopped and waited for the signal from Cricket. His job was to take out the single guard in the tower near the main gate. Once that was accomplished, he would slip over the wall and open the wooden barrier from the inside.

That was the how the plan was supposed to go. A few minutes after we arrived, an alarm rang out, piercing the quiet of the night. I ran forward, waving my arm for the others to follow. If Cricket didn’t have the gate open, we had ropes and grappling hooks to try to make it over the walls. Not all of us would make it, but we only needed a few of our dozen to get to the other side and overpower the remaining people from House Ballmore.

“Let’s do this!” Ree yelled, motivating me as well as the others.

When I reached the gate, it still wasn’t open. I turned to Ree.

“Stay here with half the group. I’m going to get that gate open.”

She nodded. Cricket was still nowhere to be seen as the bell continued to ring out. I threw a grappling hook up and over the wall. Five young men with me did the same. As I climbed the rope, my feet scaling the wall, I hoped we didn’t meet too much resistance on the other side. When I finally reached the top, I switched the grappling hook to the other side and slid down the rope as fast as I could.

No guards were in sight until I hit the ground. Cricket rounded a corner and sprinted across a courtyard toward us. What the hell was he doing so far in? I wondered briefly then jumped into action. With a mighty yell, I took off toward the three men chasing him. The others with me followed. When we reached the men from House Ballmore, I struck the first one with my stun-stick set on high. He cried out and dropped to the ground.

Morale was high as we made quick work of the three men.

“What happened?” I asked Cricket.

“No time,” he answered. “Gate needs open.”

He dashed toward the gate. I followed after him. We threw off the board keeping it shut and opened it. Ree and the others rushed in just as a half dozen other men from House Ballmore emerged from the barracks across the courtyard. I got out my sling and loaded it up, the others doing the same. A moment later, a shower of stones hit the men, causing them to stop in their tracks.

“We got this!” Ree yelled, running forward.

I sighed, wishing she would listen to me more sometimes, but I loved her and wanted to protect her. The others followed suit as I ran after Ree and toward the men. Just then, another group of armored men emerged from a different building. I changed my course, hoping Ree would be okay on her own for a moment or two. She was strong as hell. Chaos erupted in the courtyard as we fought them to the last man.

After giving them a beating, the last two surrendered. They dropped their weapons and raised their arms. While a few of the others watched them, I looked around the courtyard for Ree. She was no where to be seen, but I heard a scream coming from a nearby warehouse. I took off toward the sound without stopping to think twice. The first door I came across was locked, so I traveled down some to look in a window.

Inside, I saw Ree and her brother Adam circling each other. Bars on the window prevented me from breaking the glass and getting inside. Part of me wanted to run around the building to find another way in, but I also wanted to make sure she was okay. Maybe I can distract him? I wondered to myself as I stared at the two standing on the concrete floor.

Adam pulled a sword out and held it high. Ree got into a defensive position with a stun-stick, but it didn’t look good at all.
Bleak!
I screamed in my mind then took off around the building to find another way in. With every step, all I could think about was her getting hurt. I stopped at another window and looked in. To my surprise, Ree had taken the sword from him. As I watched, she ran the point into his chest.

I ran to the back of the warehouse and ran up a ramp to an open door. In the distance, I could see Ree standing over Adam. She had a look of horror on her face as I stopped in front of her. The sword, still bloody, hung at her left side as she stared at her brother’s body. I reached out and took the handle out of her hand. After dropping the sword to the floor with a clang, I took her hands in mine.

“Are you okay? I saw what happened. You had to do it.”

She nodded, slowly, still in shock. I led her away, one hand still in mine. Cricket and the others rushed in, but I waved them away.

“Secure the walls,” I said.

They obeyed. Once they left, I took her to a desk and chair in an office at the front of the building. No tears or any other emotion were displayed on her poker face, which concerned me. If I had just killed someone in my family, no matter how evil, it would have a dramatic effect on me. All I could think about was what she was going through. In that moment, I realized I loved her with all my heart and soul.

“Just take a minute,” I said softly as she sat limp in a chair.

“He wouldn’t stop,” she said.

“It’s okay. You were protecting yourself. He was a bad man.”

“But he was my brother.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

“It’s okay to cry.”

She glared at me. “I’m fine.”

“I just meant…”

“I know. I’m sorry. This is a lot to process.”

Not caring it was the worst moment possible, I got down on one knee in front of her.

“From what I’ve read of the history books, before arranged marriages, men got on one knee to propose to the women they loved.”

Her eyes stared into mine.

“I know it’s a bad time,” I continued, “But I want to tell you something. Life is too short to hold it in any longer.” I paused. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she cried, wrapping her hands around me.

As we hugged, a faint glimmer of hope began to glow brightly deep inside me.

“Come with me. I need to do something,” she said, pulling back.

I stood up. “What?”

Without saying a word, she walked back out to where her brother laid on the concrete floor, stained red with blood. I watched as she bent down and took a signet ring off his left hand. She stood back up and grabbed the pouch at her side. A moment later, she had her signet ring in her palm as well. We both stared at them. They represented her old family, her previous life. She sighed as she put them both into the pouch.

“Let’s go help,” she said.

“You should rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

“No, I couldn’t rest now if I wanted to. I want to help.”

I nodded in understanding. We were both so similar in many ways. A million thoughts ran through my mind as we walked back outside to find Cricket and figure out what to do with the dozen prisoners we’d captured instead of killing outright. Deep inside, I had a hunch they would join us in our quest to liberate the world and make it a better place once again. At least that was my hope.

Nine

Tony

A week later, I stood in our shared living quarters and watched Ree finish packing clothes into a bag. After we secured the factory-city and resumed production, we decided to try to find Chang. If he had a cure for the addiction to chocolate, we could really change the world in a major way. Even without a guarantee he was still alive and would give us the knowledge, we had to try.

“We’ll get some chocolate for the trip before we go,” I said.

She stopped packing. “I can’t believe I went all those years without realizing the truth.”

“Now you know.”

“Yeah. Sadly.”

The fact she was addicted to chocolate weighed on me heavily, but all we could do was move forward and try to come up with a solution for everyone. Once we found the cure, the entire world would be changed. Power structures would be disrupted, allowing for a more free and democratic system to rise up. I walked around the bed to where she was standing.

“You’re looking good today,” I said.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. “We have to get some sleep tonight.”

“I’d give up sleep for the rest of my life for a few hours with you tonight. There’s no telling what is going to happen to us on the open road.”

“Way to get me excited about the trip,” she said.

“I’m just being honest, Ree. You can stay here if you want. The people would love it, I’m sure.”

“No, I want to be with you.”

I took another step forward and put my arm around her waist. We made eye contact. Unable to resist, I leaned forward and kissed her full, red lips. The fate of the world rested in my hands, but all I could think about was her beautiful black body. At one time forbidden, it filled my dreams day and night. Her curves were perfect. Even better, her mind was sharp and sensitive at the same time.