Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) (41 page)

“No.” He sucked in a long breath. “The bunker is sealed shut. It can only be opened from the inside, and the outside has traps around it. Plus, if we went there now, we'd be leading the women to them, and that's not the plan.”

“Plan? Who's plan? Where are we going?” I stepped closer to him and crossed my arms, but my air of authority was diminished when I looked up at him. He grinned, obviously enjoying whatever secret he had.

“We're going to the city. The others will meet us there once it's safe.” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Now let's go.”

“I though you said the men were afraid to go in the abandoned city.”

“You're not a man, and I'm not afraid.”

Once we were outside, we stayed silent. The moon was bright and frost was already settling. The cold air burned my lungs and froze the tips of my ears, but adrenaline kept my heart pumping fast enough to feel warm. We slipped around the edge of the house and circled behind the outhouse, trying to distance ourselves from the house before we fled in the woods.

There was a large open space between the outhouse and a stack of firewood along the tree line. I ran hard to the firewood, and stopped abruptly. Lights moved in the forest ahead of me, and I could hear voices in the distance. Female voices.

Tanner hit me full force from behind, and had to grab my arms so I wouldn't fall over. “Lea,” he hissed, “You can't stop like that.”

I reached behind me, grabbed his coat and sank to the ground, pulling him with me. “Shh! See the lights? It's the women.”

“So we need to run for it?”

“No. We need to split up. Do you remember the boulder that marks the split in the trail halfway to the bunker?”

“Of course.” I couldn't see Tanner, but I was sure he just rolled his eyes.

“We meet there. I’ll go first. If they see me I’ll tell them that I escaped, that I’m the only one here, and when they’re not looking, I’ll slip away, meet you at the boulder, okay?” I stood, and Tanner pulled me back down.

“If they don’t believe you, if they capture you, don’t struggle, just go with them. I’ll come get you.” His breath was hot in my ear and tickled down my spine. He grasped my arm and squeezed. “Promise me, Lea. They have weapons, they’ll kill you.”

“Fine, I won’t fight; I promise.”

“Even when you don’t want to fight, you do. It’s like a fire you can’t control.” I felt his lips twist into a smile on my ear; “It’s one of the things I love about you.”

“Then why’d you make me promise?” I turned to face him, and our lips met. His kiss was hard, urgent, and I melted into him. Too soon, he pulled away and whispered into my cheek, “Because I know you’ll think twice before you break a promise to me.” Still crouching, he backed away and waved me on.

The flashlights of the women were still far down the path, but they were bright. I hid behind every other tree as I went, trying to keep my distance.  When I got to the trail, I crouched and waited. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I could make out a pile of stones a few yards away. All I had to do was cross over without being noticed. My heart thudded so loud, I was sure the women could hear it. I took one deep breath, two, and then sprinted as fast as I could.

My feet barely touched the earth as I crossed, and the only sound I made when I reached the other side was a slight rustle of leaves. I bounded across the forest floor, gaining more confidence with each step. When I reached the pile of rocks, I veered toward it, jumped, and missed.

“Umph!” I froze as soon as the sound escaped my lips. The women were yelling now, running, their flashlights shining haphazardly through the trees. I stayed on my stomach and crawled behind the stone pile, huddling to make myself as small as I could. They were closing in quickly on my left, and I heard rustling to my right.
Tanner, please don’t do anything stupid.

Another rustle to my right, and Tanner was crouched down beside me. I glared at him.
Now if they catch me, they have you, and we’re both dead.
He winked and put his finger to his lips.

The women’s voices were clear now. One of them, most likely a leader, stopped the group at the opening to the yard. “It’s probably someone trying to get to this house. We’ll do a full sweep, and then stay here for the night.”

The lights moved methodically again, sweeping way too close for comfort. Twigs snapped just on the other side of our hideout.  Boots exactly like Tanner’s stepped around the mound, and a light flashed over us, paused, and then trained on a tree. As it moved, I realized the light source wasn’t from a flashlight; it was a light on a gun.

“All clear here! It must’ve been an animal,” a familiar voice said. “Joanne, I’ve got this, just got to adjust my boot. Head inside, I’ll be there in a second.” Mom squatted and tossed a compass, my compass, at my feet. She was wearing trousers and a work shirt that had VOLUNTEER painted down the sleeve.

“Mom,” I murmured.

She flicked her head over her shoulder, and then turned back to me, her finger over her lips. “Ran into your friend earlier today. She said you were dead. Smart move.” Mom eyed Tanner warily. “Wait for ten minutes after I’ve gone. Go straight ahead for about a mile. There’s a small cavern there, we’ve already swept it. It’ll be safe for the night. At the first sign of daylight, get out of here, but don’t go south.”

Mom stood and waved her arm at someone. Her grey eyes shone in the moonlight as she looked back at Tanner. “You’d better take care of my baby.” To me, she whispered, “Lea, I love you, and I’ve never been more proud to call you my daughter.”

“I love you too, Mom.” Before the words escaped my lips, a flash of metal glided through the air, followed by a soft thud.

“Dammit!” My mother screamed, and I looked up to see the handle of a knife sticking out of her shoulder, darkness spreading around it. She didn’t pull it out, instead she lifted her gun and fired it into the darkness yelling, “Run, Lea!”

I stood, but before I took one step, I was yanked to the ground, hard. I landed on my stomach and rolled, arms ready to defend myself from my attacker. Tanner flung himself to the ground and hissed, “Are you crazy? They’re throwing knives and shooting. Stay on the ground.”

I lifted my head and looked around. Shadowy shapes moved noiselessly through the trees, weaving and ebbing, like water through rocks. The men, and they were experts at stealth. Lights from the women’s guns shone haphazardly through the woods, catching glints of metal as the silent blades flew.

A shadow crept nearer and I saw him, a nameless body, taking aim with his knife. Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire and he fell to the ground. I followed the direction of the bullets back to the gun just as the glint of a large blade plunged into the shooter from behind. Any thought of running, escaping had evaporated from my mind. I just wanted to survive.

Mom propped herself up on the stones, clutching her gun. I crawled to her. “Mom, are you okay?”

She smiled and took her hand off of the gun long enough to stroke my cheek. “I’m fine, it’s a flesh wound. Didn’t hit anything vital. Stop worrying about me and get out of here, before it’s too late.”

Tanner yelped somewhere behind me and I whipped my head around to see him standing, holding his arm. I rose to my knees and rough hands pushed my shoulders down.

Anderson’s voice rang through the air. “Not so fast, girlie. You’re not going anywhere.”  He yanked my arms behind me and pulled them up until they popped.

I ducked my head and groaned in agony as a loud bang reverberated through the night. Instantly, I dropped to the ground, landing on my mother’s legs. My back, my arms and my hair are covered in sticky globs. Mom still had her gun up, ready to shoot again, though what’s left of Anderson’s body was strewn on the ground. “She’s not you’re girlie,” she said to the empty space where he had stood.

“Locke! Here they are! I found them!” Miller came into view.

“Leave her alone!” Tanner threw himself over me.

My mother poised her gun at Miller’s chest. He raised his hands, but didn’t drop his knife. He looked at Mom, ignoring the rest of us. His voice quavered. “Don’t shoot. I’m here to save her, get her out of here.”

Tanner rolled off of me and Miller slowly crouched down and reached for me, never taking his eyes away from my mother.  He gently grabbed my elbow and tugged until I stood. Once I was standing, he pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arm around shoulders, jutting the tip of his knife into the side of my neck. It pierced deeper with each breath I took, and the trickle of blood was warm as it ran down the inside of my jacket, my shirt.

“I’m taking her to the bunker. I’m just doing this so you won’t shoot me.” Miller took a step back, taking me with him.

“Liar,” Tanner muttered from behind us. I heard a crack and Miller released me.  I turned to see Tanner standing over a moaning Miller, log still in his hand.

Mom let out a cry of surprise, and I rushed to her. “Mom, I’m all right. Can you stand? We need to get you out of here!”

“Lea, you and that boy need to go. Now.”

I grabbed her hand. “Mom, if I leave you here, you’ll die. I can’t-”

“Tanner? What are you doing here?” Locke’s voice interrupted. He was standing by Tanner, who had dropped his wooden weapon. Miller was still flailing on the ground, and both men watched the exchange between me and my mother.

Locke knelt beside her and inspected her wound. “You need that taken care of, but I don’t think it’s deadly.”

She grunted, “Thanks.” I noticed she never pointed her gun at Locke and wondered if she recognized him.

He grabbed the gun and glanced at us. “I’m taking her to the bunker. Tanner, Lea, get out of here. Don’t stop running until you can’t hear the gunshots.”

“Mom,” I choked, “I can’t.”

She let go of my hand and pushed me away. Tears pooled in her eyes as she said, “Lea Marie Corre, listen to your father.”

I stared at her in awe. She knew who he was, and she trusted him.

Tanner lifted me up and led me away from them, and we ran into the darkness.

Chapter 24

~ Revolution ~

We staggered through the wood for the rest of the night. I didn’t know where we were going, and I wasn’t sure Tanner knew, either, but we pressed forward. At some point, we’d found a gravel road. When it turned to pavement, I asked Tanner, “Are we close to the abandoned city?”

He studied the landscape before he answered, “I think so, but I’ve never been this far out. The bunker’s in the other direction.”