Recruits (New Haven Book 1), page 24
I tucked my hair behind my ear. “I’ll feel much better when we’re out of here.” I gave her a warm smile. “But overall I’m doing much better, thanks to you.”
“Glad I could help,” Marie said.
Marie went inside the bus so we could get in. Richie hopped on the bus and we all followed. As I walked past him, he winked at me. “Nice to see you again, Emmie.”
“You, too, Richie,” I said. Eric and I sat down on a bench in the front.
“Marie, we need your help,” Mack said, taking Frank to her.
As Mack laid Frank on the floor of the bus, Marie’s eyes became wide. “What happened to him?”
“The electric chair,” Mack said.
As Marie went to work on Frank, everyone else sat down and Richie booked it toward the gate.
I looked at Mack. “Where are the other guards who helped us out?”
“They didn’t want to leave their families,” Mack said.
“What about your family?” I asked.
Mack shook his head. “I don’t have one.” He looked down at Frank, closing the conversation.
Eric put his arm around me and rubbed my cold arm for warmth. “How are you holding up?”
I looked at Frank unconscious on the floor. “Not too well.” I buried my head in Eric’s chest, not wanting to face the reality of what was happening.
“Come on, Frank,” Mack yelled from the floor. He had kneeled next to him. “Come on!”
Eric hugged me tight, continuing to rub his hand up and down my arm.
Mack swore and then pound his fist against a bench. I turned and looked at Marie. Her face said it all.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at me. “I did everything I could, but it was too late.”
I removed myself from Eric’s warm embrace and knelt on the floor next to Frank. I took his cold hand in mine and hung my head down. “I’m so sorry, Frank,” I whispered. I lay my head on his chest and sobbed.
I couldn’t believe it had come down to this. We had lost a wonderful man, and for what? Control? Power? It was all Whit’s fault. And I was going to make him pay for it if it was the last thing I did.
With Richie’s fast driving, we arrived at the gate with only a couple minutes to spare.
Mack bent down next to me on the floor. “We need to leave, Emmie,” he said as softly as he could.
“What about Frank? We can’t just leave him here.” I stared at his lifeless body on the floor.
“I’ll take care of him,” Richie said from the front of the bus.
“You aren’t coming with us?” Eric asked.
“No,” Richie said. “I have a pregnant wife to think of. As much as I agree with what you’re doing, I can’t risk their lives.”
Eric nodded in understanding.
“Don’t worry, Emmie, I'll make sure he gets a proper burial,” Richie said to me.
“Thanks, Richie.” I bent down and kissed Frank on the cheek and then stood. As we walked to the front of the bus, someone came up the steps.
“What’s taking so long? The next guard is almost here.” The person stopped at the top of the stairs. He smiled when he saw me. “Hey sister from another mister!”
“Derek?” I couldn’t believe it. He had been the one helping that whole time? “So, I guess you heard.”
“Yup. It explains so much about you,” Derek said. “Now we need to get going.” He counted our heads. “Where’s VP Oliver?”
I looked down at the ground, unable to speak. Mack was standing right behind me.
“He didn’t make it,” Mack said.
Derek’s face paled. “What?”
“He died before we could stop it,” Mack said.
Derek looked like he might throw up. He clasped his hands on the top of his head. “I tried to shut off the power as soon as I could. There were so many security guards to get through and distract.”
“It’s not your fault,” Mack said.
“I tried to do it in under twenty seconds,” Derek said. He looked at Mack. “I thought you said that was the maximum amount of time I had from when the chair was turned on.”
Mack looked down at Frank and swore. “It should’ve been. He could have survived it. But Dean ended up throwing water all over him before it started, which must have sped up the process.”
“We don’t have time for chit chat!” Steven yelled. He rubbed his head so hard, I thought the small amount of hair that was there would fall off.
Mack pushed me from the back, making me walk forward. When we all stepped off the bus, Richie took off, going back a different way than we came. The gate guard came up to us.
“Everything you need has already been thrown over. We got together as many supplies as we could. There are winter jackets, gloves, and beanies for everyone over there.” The guard pointed to a pile on the ground.
We all went over and got one of each, putting them on. It helped block the cold somewhat. It was going to be a long winter.
Mack turned to Eric. “You go first. I’ll help everyone else up and then you can help them down.” Mack handed Eric a blanket. “Put this over the barbed wire on top.”
Eric nodded. “Sounds good.” He climbed up the chain-link fence and put the blanket in place. He swung his body over and climbed down. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be as graceful for everyone else.
I looked beyond the gate and saw an endless number of trees. I had never been that close to the gate before. Once we got over, we would be alone in a forest, with absolutely no survival skills. I desperately hoped that we would all make it to our destination alive.
Dee and Tina followed, both making it easily over the fence. We had a harder time with my dad and especially Alexander. Eric ended up climbing back up so he could hold on to his dad as they climbed down.
Marie went over the fence next and then Steven. Derek turned to me. “Illegitimate children first, of course.”
“You’re such a gentleman,” I said, smacking him upside the head. To my surprise, Derek pulled me into a hug.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Derek said quietly, so only I could hear. Not that there were many people left standing next to us. I squeezed him back and then pulled away.
“Don’t go all soft on me now,” I said. “The love/hate relationship, with more emphasis on the hate, has always worked so well for us.”
Derek laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Now get up there.”
I climbed as quickly as I could, with Derek right behind me. My broken thumb slowed me down a little. Mack was the last one over. Right when he landed on the ground, a vehicle approached the gate. The next guard was coming.
“Everyone grab a bag and run into the forest!” Mack yelled. As we grabbed the bags, yelling sounded behind me.
“Stop!” It must have been the new guard who yelled at us, but we kept running, disappearing into the trees. A few loud shots rang out and I turned to see the guard who had helped us fall onto the ground.
“No!” I yelled, stopping. Mack took me by my waist and pulled me back.
“There’s nothing you can do, Emmie,” Mack said as he carried my body through the trees. The other guard continued to shoot at us. I stared into his eyes until we were swallowed up by the forest, hidden from his view.
We ran for a little while longer and then Mack halted us. He put me down on my feet. “Is anyone hit?”
“I think I got grazed by a bullet,” Steven said, pointing to his left arm. His jacket had been torn, blood forming on the exposed area.
Mack went up to examine it. “It’s just a flesh wound. You’ll be fine. Marie, do you have something you can place on it?”
“Yes,” Marie said, pulling out some bandages from her bag. She put some liquid on his arm, causing Steven to squirm a little. “Sorry, this stuff can sting.” She placed a bandage over his wound.
“No kidding,” Steven said. He looked over at me, his eyes full of sorrow. “Emmie, I … I …”
“Don’t worry about it, Steven,” I said. “You did what you had to do.”
Steven clenched his jaw, sucking in his breath a little from the pain of his wound. “He threatened my family. Otherwise, I wouldn't have spied on you like that.”
“Whit threatened them?” I asked. It didn't surprise me. The man had turned out to be more calculating than I'd originally thought.
“Whit?” Derek asked me, his eyebrows raised.
“He doesn’t deserve the title of president.” I looked at Steven. “How’s your family?”
“Dead,” Steven said, choking back tears. “He killed my parents and my sister. That’s why I’m here. I couldn’t stay one more day in that place.”
I walked up to Steven, putting my hand on his arm. “Steven, I’m so sorry.” When he started to cry, I pulled him into a hug. “You know none of this is your fault, right? It’s all his fault. He did this to all of us.”
“I know,” Steven said, his head buried in my hair. “I know.”
Mack cleared his throat. “Listen, I know this is hard for everyone, but we need to get as far away as we can today. They’ll be sending search crews soon.”
“He’s right,” Dad said.
I pulled back from Steven and looked him in the eye. “We’re going to make him pay, Steven, for everything he has done to our families. I promise you.”
Steven let out a little laugh and wiped away his tears. He took off his beanie and rubbed the top of his head. “I don’t know why, but I believe you.”
As we walked deeper into the forest, the cold became unbearable. We tried to go as fast as we could, but Alexander slowed us down. He was still weak from being held captive for so long.
At nightfall, Mack found a spot for us to sleep for the night. He didn’t want to start a fire to alert anyone where we were, so we all slept huddled together, trying to keep warm through the night.
As I slept that night, I had the same dream I had when I was ‘dead’. Only this time, the two blurry faces became clear. It was Alexander and Derek. At the end of the dream when Frank Oliver blew the flower out of his hand, he turned to me and smiled, gesturing to the valley below as he disappeared.
I woke up crying, thinking about Frank and all that he had sacrificed for us. Eric pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me. I hoped in the end it would all be worth it.
A thought came to my mind and I wasn’t sure if I should be worried about it or not. Steven and Marie weren’t in my dream, but they were there with us. They were the two people I knew the least, and one had betrayed me before.
As I lay there, curled up in Eric’s arms, I said a silent prayer in my heart that everything would be okay. That I could trust Steven and Marie and that the only reason they weren’t in my dream was because I never thought they’d be there to begin with.
All I could do was hope.
T he next few weeks were torturous. We had a small amount of food to feed the ten of us and most nights we couldn’t find shelter, so we had to just sleep out in the open. It took ten days before Mack would let us light a fire. And even then, it was small.
Alexander was still weak and the climate and terrain weren’t helping the situation. After twenty-five days, I was exhausted, dirty, and just plain ornery.
I think all of us were still digesting everything that had happened because we hardly spoke about River Springs during those weeks. We probably should’ve been coming up with a game plan, but when you’re out in the wild, with nothing to look forward to, it was hard to be optimistic. We would soon run out of food. We had no promise of finding a permanent establishment. Even if we did, we didn’t have the skills or tools to build one up.
I had noticed one thing along the way: Tina was very flirtatious with Steven, and even worse, my brother. So gross. It wasn’t until the fourteenth day that I got the chance to talk with her without any guys around.
We’d found a river, surprisingly not frozen through. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but all the girls wanted to wash off. It had warmed up a little for a couple of days, so we took advantage of the opportunity.
We left the guys and found a highly covered place along the river. Stripping down to our underwear, we took the plunge. We didn’t last in there very long, but it was enough to make me feel a little better. As we were trying to dry off and redress, I finally spoke up.
“So, Tina, you seem a little cozy with Steven and Derek,” I said, looking at her.
Tina just shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with a little flirting.” I could tell from her eyes that there was more behind it than just flirting.
“A little?” Dee laughed. “More like a lot.” Marie nodded in agreement.
“It’s no big deal,” Tina said, wringing out her hair.
“I think it is,” I said, doing the same with mine. “I guess I could understand Steven. But Derek? That’s just wrong.”
“Not all of us have lived with him our whole lives and have a biased view,” Tina snapped. “He’s actually quite nice.”
“Now that’s crazy talk,” Dee said.
I looked at Tina. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Tina asked.
I sighed. “Tina, I know this is about Luke. You can talk to us, you know. We’d understand. You’ve had a crush on the guy for years and now you may never see him again.”
Tina sat down and leaned up against a tree. “I guess deep down inside I was hoping he would open his eyes and see what was going on around him. To see we were on the right side. He’s just so brainwashed by his father. Half of the time I don’t know if he's speaking his own mind, or what his father would want him to say.”
I sat down next to her, taking her hand. “I wish there was a way we could talk to him. To shake him until he understood River Springs is completely crazy and wrong.”
Tina’s mouth curled up a little. “Me, too. I know he’s a good guy. I just wish he were here.”
“He may not know everything that's going on, Tina,” Dee said. She and Marie had sat down next to us. “We never had the chance to talk to him, so anything he heard about what happened, he would’ve heard from his dad. And I’m sure that his dad would've gone out of his way to make us look like the bad guys.”
I didn't bring up the fact that I had talked with Luke. It wasn't in great length, but it was enough to get the point across. But I didn't think telling Tina right now was the best idea.
“It doesn’t make it easier,” Tina said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“I know. It’s going to be hard for a while. But we’re all here for you.” I stroked her hand with my thumb. “Just do me a favor and lay off my brother. We already have hardly anything to eat, I don’t want to be throwing up the tiny amount I’m allowed to have.”
“He’s not that bad,” Marie said. Dee and I turned to her and raised our eyebrows. Marie shrugged. “What? He isn’t.”
“In his defense, he is only mean to me,” I said. “I guess when I look at him, all I see is all the teasing he’s done to me throughout the years. The thought of someone liking him as a person is completely insane to me.”
“He’s good with technology, too,” Marie said. “I got to work with him a little when we were trying to figure out how to get out of River Springs. He’s quite the genius.”
Dee and I laughed.
“Okay, now you’re just pushing it,” I said through my laughs. Once I got myself under control, I looked at Marie. “How did you get involved in all of this?”
Marie ran her fingers through her wet hair, trying to untangle and smooth it out. “Mack approached me after they captured all of you in the cave. He was upset about what happened and wanted to put a stop to it. He had already talked with Derek and Steven, telling them to find an escape route for all of us. He wanted me to come along, so you’d have a nurse.”
“And you agreed that fast?” I asked.
Maybe I should’ve had Mack talk to Luke and then he would’ve been there with us.
Marie nodded. “I hate the president as much as you do. Mack and I lived next door to each other growing up. He’s ten years older than me, but he always watched out for me like a little sister. I was the nurse Mack and the rest of security would come to when the president did something to cause harm or injury to one of our residents. I saw way more than I wanted to. When Mack told me there was a way out, I jumped at the opportunity.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” I said. “Your skills will definitely come in handy.” I was also glad to hear that Mack trusted her. It put my mind at ease about having her there with us.
Marie let out a sigh. “I’m a little worried about Mack. He’s not one to show much emotion, but I know the death of the vice president is upsetting him. He holds himself responsible.”
“Mack needs to realize he can’t take responsibility for everything bad that happens,” I said.
“That’s the way he is,” Marie said. “I know he wishes we could have stopped it faster, but we had so little warning. We were scrambling to come up with supplies and a way to get out. I know Derek and Steven tried to stop it as fast as they could, but the president is secretive. There were a lot of things he hadn’t told Derek about yet since he is so new to the staff. Derek had to figure out himself where the controls were for the electrocution room and how to turn them off.”
“Wow,” Dee said. “Way to go, Derek.”
Tina nudged me. “Told you he wasn’t that bad.”
“Just be grateful he stopped it when he did,” Marie said. “It could’ve turned out a lot worse.”
When we got back to the camp that we had made the night before, we found the guys packing everything back up.
“You girls have a good time?” Eric asked.
“Yes, we did,” I said.
“How was the water?” Dad asked.
“So cold!” Dee said, rubbing her arms for warmth. “So, so cold!”
“But refreshing,” Marie said.
“Now that you girls are back, we should talk,” Mack said. He was sitting on a log next to the fire. When all of us sat down, he spoke. “We should only have about a week left until we reach our destination. We need to make sure we ration the food to last us until then.”
