Blue Maneuver (37 page)
I wrapped my arms around my chest. Those things I wouldn’t forget. Ever. Neither could I forget the unseen battle raging in my backyard. Shaking off the fear, I stood. I would protect the poor, tired, and huddle masses yearning to be free and in doing so ensured the liberties of my family and friends remained in tact. “I’m staying on.”
He laced his fingers through mine and tugged me toward the door. “Then let’s go meet your first protectees.”
Smiling, I followed him to the lunchroom where the former APres Guarda slaves were being held. My parents would be proud. I’d finally found a cause to devote my life. Scarred and scared faces turned toward me as I opened the door.
Tobias held out my Smartphone and pushed me into the room. “Get to work.”
“Aye, aye, Colonel.”
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Author Linda Andrews
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Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three children and a menagerie of domesticated animals. While she started writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her love of fiction and science. DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other. The journeys she’s embarked on since then are dark, twisted and occasionally violent, but never predictable. If you’ve loved one of her most demented creations so far, she’d love to hear from you at lindaandrews at lindaandrews dot net
Here’s a sneak peek
At
The Z Word
by
Bella Street
Apocalypse Babes | Book One
Firefly Press
Nashville, TN
(c) 2011 All Rights Reserved
And the girl was amazed and reached out with both hands to take the lovely toy: but the wide-pathed earth yawned there in the plain of Nysa, and the lord, the god of the dead, with his immortal horses sprang out upon her—Hades, the Son of Kronos.
Homeric Hymn (abridged)
Why am I here?
Sighing inwardly, Seffy Carter realized the question went both ways. With regards to Verity, it might mean the blond interloper was getting her claws into Gareth after all. Which begged the larger question:
what have I done to turn Gareth away?
She tried to focus on the newcomer who’d upset the balance of her carefully proportioned existence. Verity’s white blond hair glowed under the tanning room track lighting. Her dark blue eyes seemed to divine secrets even Seffy wouldn’t admit to herself. The woman was beautiful—thinner, tanner, blonder—and, well, Seffy’s beauty was a sham at best.
“Are you listening to me, Sef? This doesn’t have to be awkward.”
Seffy nodded reluctantly, wishing Verity had found a different tanning salon, a different hair stylist…a different guy. And it wasn’t just Gareth who’d apparently hopped on the Verity train. Seffy’s besties, Lani and Addison, also thought Verity was all that and a damn bag of chips.
What’s she got that I haven’t? Wait, don’t answer that.
Verity shifted her feet, knocking over her can of Diet Rockstar. Seffy watched the liquid travel toward the outlet where the tanning bed was plugged in, trying to make sense of the panic burgeoning within her. There was something about the new girl that wasn’t right—something almost threatening in her manner. Seffy played with the J on the zipper pull of her pink Juicy Couture hoodie, annoyed by her melodramatic thoughts.
God, it’s like I’m still in high school. I have got to get a handle on this. Besides, I need to get my head straight if I’m going to nail my audition in the morning.
The thought of that appointment made her stomach cramp.
Verity tilted her head, her blue eyes emphatic. “And we can be honest, right?”
Yeah, if I were honest I’d tell her off
. “Um, sure.”
“The thing is, Gareth prefers a whole woman.”
Seffy felt her mouth open.
What the hell
?
The interloper opened her blue eyes wide, as if stating the obvious.
Verity is whole? What does that make me
?
“I’m sure you knew that already, Sef, so c’mon.” She poked her with a French-manicured finger. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”
Seffy pulled so hard on the J it snapped in her hand. She stared at the pink crystal encrusted charm, still stunned by the blonde’s words.
Not the end of the world? Gareth doesn’t think I’m whole
?
Suddenly a flash of white light eclipsed Verity from sight. Before Seffy could react, a tremendous force hurtled her backwards, followed by a terrifying weightlessness which could only end badly. Seffy’s head swam as she sailed through the atmosphere. The velocity of her descent increased and ground whooshed up to meet her. She threw out her hands to break her fall. Crunching her eyes closed, she let out a keening cuss word. The ground came closer still.
WHUMP
!
Seffy landed hard, the breath rushing from her lungs. The impact made her eyes water. Coiling herself up in a ball, she gasped for air in between coughing spasms. After several excruciating moments, her lungs began to slowly inflate.
What the hell happened
?
Did the salon explode
? The pain ricocheting throughout her huddled frame made coherent thought difficult. With her eyes squeezed shut, she lay on the ground sipping the oxygen in measured amounts. It smelled funny. Like burnt ozone, sharp and metallic…with a hint of almond.
Seffy finally unscrunched her eyes to get her bearings. The first thing she noticed was the sky. Pearly pink light shimmered overhead and the sun was a neon magenta color. Turning her head, she saw what appeared to be a tract of desert, with a bit of smoldering rubble in the distance. Where the hell was West Hollywood?
Okay, I’m just disoriented from whatever happened. I will close my eyes and when I reopen them, everything will be back to normal
.
She closed her eyes, focused on a mental picture of Dorothy clicking her ruby slippers, then opened her eyes.
Oh, crap
.
Nothing had changed. Seffy bit her lip, struggling to take stock of her situation while her heart pounded out a rhythm of dread. But there had to be a rational explanation. After a moment, things became obvious. She was either dead, drunk, or dreaming. Or at least two out of three. Heaven or hell was probably a bit more interesting than this wasteland, so she was most likely alive. She didn’t remember drinking anything harder than lemon water today, but either way, it still pointed to the dream explanation. That had to be it.
Hey, maybe that whole episode with Verity was nothing more than an unpleasant dream
.
“Seffy? Oh my God, is that you?”
Seffy jerked at the sound of Gareth’s voice. What was he doing downtown? No wait, this was make believe. She watched his silhouette approach against the pink sky. Her heart thumped like the tail of a hopeful dog. Tall, dark and more gorgeous than Johnny Depp, Gareth was her ideal in every way. Was it any wonder the idea of Verity claiming him made her sick?
He sank to the ground next to her, his breathing jagged as if he’d been running. “I can’t believe I found you! What happened?”
At his nearness, her gut knotted with emotions old and new.
Exactly. What happened, Gareth
?
Why did Verity say what she did? Is it all in her head or are you actually into her
?
Am I not whole
?
Her gut recoiled at the idea. She let out a groan.
“Sef, are you all right? Look at me!”
His golden brown eyes stared down into hers. She offered him a weak smile. “Hey, babe.”
A puzzled look crossed his face. “Did you hit your head? C’mon, Sef, if you’re hurt, you need to tell me.”
“I’m just…winded.” Her voice came out in a streppy croak. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining.” A bark of laughter escaped her. She slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Okay, I’m thinking you hit your head pretty hard. Can you sit up?”
Seffy tried to move and was rewarded with pain slicing along her ribcage. “I think I’m fine right here for the moment.”
“There was some kind of blast. Are you sure you’re all right?” He scanned her features, then ran his hands down her arms looking for injury.
“I’m okay.” When he started in on her legs, she batted his hands away. “
Really
.”
Doubt eclipsed the worry in his eyes. “I’m just…concerned. After your last episode, I…”
Her face grew hot, all romantic musings diffused.
Well, I guess that answers my question
. Would she always be the same head case from sixth grade to him? “That was an anomaly,” she said in a low voice. “I’m fine now, just a little shaken up—and envisioning some chiropractic visits in my near future.”
Gareth’s long look told her he wasn’t impressed with her lame attempt at humor.
Time to change the subject. “I was in the salon with—”
No, don’t go there, either
. She compressed her lips to avoid finishing the sentence. Suddenly she remembered breaking the zipper pull. Seffy looked over the area where she was sitting. A pink sparkle caught her eye. When she reached for it, her ribs protested, but she managed to grasp it with outstretched fingers.
“What is that?” Gareth asked, frowning.
“The little charm that goes to my suit.” The pink rhinestones winked in the light.
This was just part of the dream, right
? She looked up at him. “I wonder if you could fix this for me.”
His shocked expression surprised her. “Seffy, look around! Something is
wrong
! How can you think about your clothes at a time like this?”
Closing her fingers over the rhinestone pull, she followed his gaze and was met with the same view as before.
Rusted piles of construction debris and small fires burned against what looked like a low budget backlot sound stage. She shook her head. “The salon. It’s gone. Where did everything go? God, this is just so weird.”
Gareth scowled, perspiration beginning to dot his upper lip. “Stay calm. We can think this through.”
Seffy frowned, annoyed by the word
calm
. Dream Seffy was handling things pretty well, all things considered. “What’s thinking got to do with it? This can’t be real.”
His respiration increased. “None of this can. And I wasn’t anywhere near you girls when the blast happened.”
“Where were you?”
“Radio Shack.”
“What! Someone could’ve seen you there!”
He snorted. “I know, I know, but they were having a huge sale on computer parts.”
Seffy sent him a chastising look. “You need to decide whether you’re in the closet or out with that whole thing.”
Gareth took in the landscape again. “Nah, it keeps me mysterious.”
She saw the faraway look in his eyes. Mysterious wasn’t the right word. Unattainable was more like it. She bit her lip in dejection.
He turned back to her. “The next thing I knew, there was the blast and I was thrown like a rag doll through space. Or something.”
Or something
. Seffy straightened despite the screaming of her ribs. Gareth put his gym-enhanced arm around her, encouraging her to lean against him. She took the opportunity to press her cheek against the soft brushed cotton of his designer turtleneck and inhale his cologne. Hopefully Verity wouldn’t suddenly appear and spoil the moment.
That’s big of you. She could’ve died in the blast. If it was a real blast, that is
. Seffy peered around Gareth’s shoulder, unable to process the sight of desert terrain that met her eyes.
“You were with Verity, right?” he said. “Addison said you two were going to tan this morning.”
Seffy shifted at the mention of the ‘V’ word and let out a whimper of pain. Gareth soothed her for a moment, which gave her a chance to think. After all, when did she have a chance to cuddle with a dreamy hunk—even if was pretend? “Um, yes, she was there…but I don’t know what happened to her.” She peeked up at him to gauge his reaction to her words. Why did he care so much anyway? Sure, Verity was gorgeous, but she was more Pamela Lee than Marilyn. Seffy made a face. Maybe that was the problem.
Dammit
.
Gareth shook his head as he looked around. “Man, where
are
we? There’s no way this is downtown L.A.”
She closed her eyes again, knowing she should be freaked, but her head hurt too much to think. Besides, her new tracksuit now had a huge hole in the knee, not to mention a broken zipper pull. Thank God this wasn’t real. On her salary from the clinic she couldn’t afford a new one.
Gareth carefully released her and stood up. “I have to try…to figure this out.”
Seffy noticed the way his Adam’s apple bobbed in the strong column of his throat. “Gareth, this is obviously a dream, right? I mean, if it was a real explosion, I’d be in the salon lobby, or at worst, the parking lot.
Not
some desert.”
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice hoarse as he stepped away from her.
As Gareth left to search through the rubble nearby, Seffy rested her head in her hands. This couldn’t be happening. She had to be in REM mode after a bender. In fact this event resembled her last unfortunate lapse in alcohol-related judgment. Except in that dream, talking birds and monkeys had abounded. She groaned, telling herself she’d soon wake up—chagrined and in need of Tylenol and white bread—but back in Normal Land. That awkward little chat she’d been having with Verity? All in her head.