Flawed (3 page)

Black.

Ellyssa’s blonde friend, acceptable to live within society, with blue eyes and trim physique, wore a woolen black overcoat. A red arm band with black trim and a swastika adorned her left upper arm, on the right collar was a red SS rune insignia and, on the left, two gold bars—a section inspector.

Ellyssa pulled back the flaps of the jacket. Beneath the coat was the uniform of betrayal—an ironed black tunic with red piping, the collar mimicking the same adornments as the overcoat; black breeches; a black tie hung from the collar of a brown shirt; black-laced boots; and, hanging from the black belt, a holstered P229. The flashlight beam reflected from brass buttons. Trista’s blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun of authority.

Smooth forehead crumbling into little lines, Trista pulled away. “What’s the matter with you?”

Ellyssa’s lids narrowed as she processed the information her eyes fed her brain. She could feel herself slipping into her soldiering ways. Anger and suspicion swirled inside her, like another entity. “Why are you wearing this?” Ellyssa asked, her voice dead.

Trista looked down, her hands running over her tunic as if to smooth out nonexistent wrinkles. She smiled grimly. “It’s a long story. So much has happened.”

The instinct to survive, to protect, brewed in the pit of Ellyssa’s stomach, traveling to her heart, and pumped adrenaline throughout her body. Her fingers curling tight around the flashlight, she clenched her jaw and swallowed, holding back the instinctive urge to slam the blunt object against Trista’s head.

Trust
.

Deep down, she knew Trista would not betray her family. Trista was incapable of such an act. But after discovering the tomb below them, the sight of the
Gestapo
garb stabbed a painful reminder and left a bad taste in Ellyssa’s mouth. “How did you acquire the uniform of the
Gestapo
?”

Apparently sensing tension, Rein draped his arm over Ellyssa’s shoulder and pulled her toward him. Ellyssa went reluctantly. Her muscles still twitched stubbornly.

Trista stared at her, vertical lines carved between her eyebrows. She blinked, looked away, and then met Ellyssa’s eyes, again, and understanding dawned on her face. “I would never,” she said, insulted. “I know what it looks like. There is much to explain. But we have to go…now.” She gazed down the dark hallway, then turned to Rein. “Right now. A lot has happened. I know what it looks like, and I’ll explain everything. We have to go now.” She touched Ellyssa’s arm. “Please.”

Although Ellyssa had promised not to invade her friends’ thoughts, she couldn’t help but brush Trista’s mind. Instantly, shame coursed through Ellyssa. After all that’d transpired, being accepted by her newfound family, working with the Renegades, and disposing of her father, her soldiering instincts still surfaced on cue, her innate need to survive and, now, to protect.

“I am sorry,” Ellyssa said. The words didn’t feel right on her tongue, unable to convey how awful she felt for not fully trusting, for not being able to control instinctual responses that’d been hammered into her since childhood. She shed her old skin, wishing she could stop depending on it during times of uncertainty, that she could just handle situations as a normal person would.

The corner of Trista’s lips pulled into a tight grin. “I know it’s hard. I do understand,” she said, her voice soft.

Ellyssa offered a little smile. “A section inspector?”

“First thing we grabbed.” Trista took the flashlight. “We have to go. I took a chance coming here, but I had to. I had to check one more time. And I was right.” She flipped around and headed down the passageway. “Come on,” she said, gesturing for them to follow.

“One second,” Rein called after her. He disappeared into the holey, then reappeared with the gear and coats in hand.

Woody emerged with the flashlight and his bag. He flipped the switch, and between Trista’s light and his, day visited the tunnel.

After slipping into their coats and backpacks, the three followed Trista into the unknown.

As soon as Ellyssa stepped from the cover of the cave, icy wind whipped through her coat, making her breath catch in her chest. The temperature must’ve dropped at least twenty degrees since they had first entered the caves. Off on the horizon, dark grey clouds churned as they moved in their quest to block the sun from view.

Ellyssa pulled the hood of her parka over her head. Rein came up behind her and slipped his hand into Ellyssa’s. Tingles caressed her skin.

“Wherever we’re going, we need to get there. I don’t like the looks of the clouds.” Rein’s gaze moved from the sky to Trista. “By the way, where
are
we going?” he asked.

“To the road,” Trista replied as she climbed down the hillock and skirted along the edge of the field.

Ellyssa looked into the tree line. Long bare branches struggled against the wind, bending at nature’s will. Movement flashed in the corner of her eye, and she turned her head. A small brown rabbit hopped out from a bush, only a meter away from where the small innocent child had toddled into the clearing a few weeks ago when green still dominated the landscape and early fall warmth still moved on the breeze.

Ellyssa’s eyes stung from the memory. She stored it away. She stored them all away—waking to Mathew in the hospital for the first time, the look of Rein’s green eyes glaring down at her, the friendships that’d formed, Woody as the pillar of strength she’d clung to after Jordan passed, the butterflies fluttering around her as she laughed, the electricity of her lips brushing against Rein’s.

Goodbye
, Ellyssa thought to her first true home as Rein tugged her hand.

Grey clouds caught the sun; the fading light haloed through the bare branches and splotched the leaf-strewn ground. Even with the freezing temperatures and the impending promise of snow, Ellyssa’s sweater stuck to her back. Smokey puffs of warm breath escaped her mouth. She jogged behind Trista, easily keeping up with her. Rein and Woody crunched through the brush behind.

When they reached the tree line, Trista faced them; a light sheen glistened across her forehead. Placing her finger to her lips, she peered around a fir’s trunk. She looked left, right, and then she waved her hand frantically behind her back in a downward motion. Ellyssa froze, as did Rein and Woody, at the whine of an approaching motor whirling with the wind. All three of them ducked low.

Trista stepped onto the road and waved to the newcomers. Two males, dressed in black snowsuits and helmets, pulled over four-wheelers. Green swastikas decorated each helmet and right breast, marking them as area police.

They climbed off their quads, then saluted. Trista returned the gesture.

The officer in front pulled off his helmet, revealing blond hair, cut high and tight, and a young face. The other was older, grey tingeing the sides of his hair, his eyes scrutinized the tree line just to the left of where Ellyssa, Rein and Woody hid. She hoped the camouflage of their coats was enough to keep them hidden in the sparse winter vegetation.

Reaching with her ability, Ellyssa gated off Trista’s surging anxiety and slipped into the unwelcome newcomers’ minds. Suspicion dominated the older male’s thoughts, especially since there wasn’t a patrol scheduled for another hour. High and Tight thought Trista would look great on his bed.

“May I ask what you’re doing?” High and Tight asked.

Trista pulled her shoulders back and faced the younger male. “You do realize who you are talking to?”

“I’m sorry, Inspector, but we were given strict orders to check everyone,” he said, no-nonsense, gloved hand held out. “Papers?”

“In my car,” Trista answered. She led the males to the SUV parked ten meters down the road.

Ellyssa released pent-up air, the sound of her heart rushing into her ears. Trista had performed splendidly. The ease which with her friend had slipped on an air of authority was amazing, especially after being raised within the confines of the old abandoned coalmine where such stringent convention was not the norm.

As Trista disappeared into the cab, Rein’s hand slipped into Ellyssa’s. The tension firing through his fingertips matched her own. She looked over her shoulder to two sets of wide eyes, a green pair and a grey pair, and paper-white faces. Rein leaned toward her, and his lips brushed her cheek.

For a brief moment, Ellyssa relished the sense of love. If anything ever happened to her, at least she wouldn’t perish like her siblings, devoid of emotions.

A throaty chuckle caught her attention. Ellyssa peeked between the green needles. Trista, now wearing her visor cap with a silver death-head pinned in the middle, and High and Tight walked toward the four-wheelers, with the older male on their heels.

“As I said, Inspector Klein, I’m sorry for the interruption, but orders are orders.”

“No problem, Officer Livingston. I understand. These days, extra precautions are needed.” Trista stood at-ease. “Have any other Renegades been captured?”

“Since the last report, no.”

“Well, maybe the area is clean of the scum.”

The older male glanced back over at the tree line. “Pardon me, Inspector,” he said, pointing, “but may I ask what you were doing over there?”

Trista turned slightly, looking toward them. She lifted her chin and faced the older officer. “I’m performing my assignment, Officer Frey. Unlike you, I’m in a vehicle where it’s hard to examine the road thoroughly. Every one hundred meters or so, I exit the vehicle to walk along the tree line. It has thrown me way behind schedule.

“Now, if you will excuse me, I have to finish my patrol,” she continued, dismissing the officers with a curt nod.

Both officers extended their right arms, eye level, and said, “Heil.”

After returning the Nazi salute, Trista stood in the middle of the road as the two males slipped on their helmets and mounted the quads. As soon as the rumble of the engines disappeared, she waved for Ellyssa, Rein and Woody to come, then ran to the SUV.

“Hurry,” Trista said when they reached her. “We need to go before something else happens. Take off your parkas.”

“It’s freezing,” Woody protested.

“It won’t be for long,” Trista said, pulling the back seat’s cushion up and revealing a small metal box. “It’ll get warm, I promise. Besides, do you want to lie on the metal?”

Looking into the space, Woody shook his head. “I guess not.”

“Then take off your parkas.”

Ellyssa shrugged out of her coat and handed it to Trista. Icy cold sank razor-sharp claws into her skin. Shivering, she hugged herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Teeth chattering, Rein and Woody huddled close to her.

Trista took the parkas and lined the bottom of the space. “Hop in.”

Ellyssa eyed the cramped compartment. Her mouth pulled to the side. “I do not think we will fit.”

“You really don’t have a choice. Now, hop in. I don’t like the way Officer Frey questioned me.”

“I’ll take the back,” Rein said, sliding his arm around her shoulder. Warmth escaped his body and grazed her skin. “You in the middle. Woody up front.”

“Is there a way out?”

“Yeah, when I let you out.” Trista gestured with her hand. “Climb in already.”

“Where are we going?”

“To a safe place.” Trista frowned. “What’s up with you?”

Ellyssa blanched, and Rein kissed her temple. “I promise nothing is going to happen to you. Trust me,” he said through chattering teeth.

Ellyssa swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. Trust, so foreign still, yet so much part of who she was, too. “Okay. But I don’t like this.” She faced Trista. “As soon as you let me out, I have questions for you.”

“And I’ll have some answers.” She looked from one to the others. “As a matter of fact, our little group is a lot bigger than we’d ever imagined.” She smiled. “Now climb in and let’s go.”

Ellyssa could have easily gleaned the information; Trista’s mind was an open book, but she refrained. It was part of the whole “trust” thing.

Rein settled into the cramped space, lying on his side. With reservation, Ellyssa slid in next to him, her back against his stomach. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Woody followed, facing away from them.

The last thing Ellyssa saw was Trista’s face as she replaced the cushion. Darkness enveloped them in a tight cocoon. Movement was impossible. Oxygen seemed depleted.

“Relax,” Rein breathed in her ear, apparently sensing the rolling tension. His lips grazed her earlobe.

Struggling, Woody managed to slip his hand behind him and, awkwardly, patted Ellyssa on the thigh. “It’s going to be fine. Just like when we went to Chicago.”

Closing her eyes, Ellyssa inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. She concentrated on Rein’s touch, the warmth he radiated, the electricity that pulsed where their skin touched, his breath grazing her ear. She concentrated on Woody, the feel of his back against her stomach, the way his chest rose and fell.

By the time the engine purred to life, calm had settled into Ellyssa, her heartbeat slow, soothing. She kept her eyes closed as she listened to the hum of tires and felt the vibrations of the SUV moving down the road.