Sabotage (Powerless Nation Book 3) (16 page)

She didn’t want him to have died in vain. She wondered whether Stephen and Becca had been able to sabotage the army’s food supplies, and how long it would take the trucks to break down. Then she mentally berated herself. Nothing they’d done was worth losing Harvey.

He’d known the risks they were taking but said they were worth it. Would he still feel the same if he’d known he’d pay the ultimate price?
 

The pale light of a new day glowed on the canvas cover of the truck. It gradually grew brighter, until Dee could make out the vague outlines of the children. Apart from Harvey, everyone was accounted for. Yet something was off. She looked more carefully.
 

McKenna was leaned against the wall of the truck, her knees drawn up and face buried in her hands. Andrew and Jeremy sat on crates, staring blankly ahead. Kylie and Becca were at the far end of the truck bed. Becca faced the corner, shutting everyone out, and Kylie had found a piece of canvas to wrap herself in. She grunted when the truck lurched over a particularly bad pothole.

At the sound, McKenna lifted her head and glanced around. When she spotted Kylie, she made a strangled sound in the back of her throat and raised herself up to a crouch. The look she gave Kylie was feral. Kylie tried to scramble backwards on her hands and feet, but she was already in the corner so she ended up pressed against the wall.

It had been a long night and Dee was tired and numb with grief. She tried to understand what she was seeing, and then remembered McKenna and Kylie had gone to the church together, but McKenna had come back alone, sprinting away from Kylie and the church, chased by soldiers.
 

McKenna launched herself at the other girl. “Why did you do it?” she shrieked, hitting Kylie with the sides of her small, clenched fists. “Why?”

Dee rose to her feet, moving clumsily as the truck bounced over the rutted and icy road. She made her way to the girls. Although Kylie was partially pro
tected by the canvas and her raised arms, there was an angry red scratch on her cheek when Dee dragged McKenna away. “Stop it right now!” Dee ordered. “She’s not our enemy. Kylie’s on our side.”

 
McKenna squirmed in Dee’s arms and twisted free. “No she’s
not
. She’s gone over to
them
. Kylie told the soldiers at the church you were at the station.” She stood, panting, and drew a deep breath. Her next sentence rang out above the roar of the engine. “It’s
her
fault they shot Harvey.”

Kylie flinched as the words sliced through the air.

Dee noted the grim looks on the faces of the other children. This could get ugly.

“Let’s give Kylie a chance to tell her side of it,” Dee said.

McKenna crossed her arms over her chest. “She doesn’t deserve a chance. She made sure Harvey didn’t have one.”

Kylie huddled miserably in the corner, tears and snot leaking down her dirty face.

“Kylie?” said Dee. “What happened at the church?”

The girl didn’t answer.

“See? I told you,” said McKenna. “She knows she’s guilty too.”

Dee felt a surge of distaste and impatience for the whole situation. “Save it, McKenna. Tell us what you saw.”

It was an impromptu court, with McKenna as prosecutor and witness. Kylie was the voiceless defendant, and the other children were the inscrutable jury. Dee supposed that left her to be the judge.

McKenna said, “There weren’t any guards when we got to the church, so we made it inside just fine. A lot of families are staying there. They came to town to get supplies from the army, and weren’t able to leave afterwards because Downey blocked the roads out. If he has their kids at the mill camp or if they have a useful skill they’re supposed to stay.”

Dee thought of her grandpa under house arrest because he had medical skills and nodded. “That sounds like Downey.”

“They have to work for him, like fixing things or cooking for the army,” McKenna said. “That’s why Harvey wanted us to get them on our side. He said they could make life hard for the soldiers.”

“What happened when you got there?” asked Dee.

The truck bumped over a rough section of road and McKenna’s voice wobbled. “It was late, and almost everyone was asleep on the benches in the chapel. Some of them were awake though. They have their own guards. We were starting to talk when someone else ran in and said we had to hide, that Downey was coming.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be gone last night?” Dee asked Jeremy, who gave a half-shrug.

“He came back early,” said McKenna. “I was hiding behind the pulpit. He said he got done faster than he expected. He was happy because he got a bunch of new guns from a group holed up outside of town. Then he thanked someone for the tip and an argument started. People were yelling and crying. They were mad at whoever sold out the gun hoarders.” At that, McKenna glared at Kylie. “I don’t blame them.”

Kylie glared back. “Do you know what he gave the people that told him about the guns?” She paused for emphasis. “He gave them back Diana.”

“Diana?” asked Dee.

“Their daughter. Downey brought her back from the mill camp as a reward.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, considering this new information. If Downey was offering informants the possibility of reuniting their families, no one with children in the camp could be trusted.

McKenna rallied first. “So what? You’re here, so obviously it didn’t work out for you.”

“What was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to keep your mouth shut!”

“Exactly how could I do that?” Kylie looked at Dee. “McKenna didn’t mention that someone in the church told Downey we were there. Next thing I knew they were dragging me out of my hiding spot.”

“You didn’t have to tell him about the raid on the station.”

“My parents were there, and my little sister. Downey knew we’d been at the library. It was only a matter of time before he figured out who our families were and made us talk.”

“If you hadn’t blurted it out, Harvey would have been gone before the military got there.”

“I made a mistake, okay?” Kylie said, and mumbled something under her breath.

“What was that?” asked Dee.

“I said I’m sorry.” Kyle swiped at her nose with one shoulder. “I didn’t think anyone would get hurt.”

McKenna looked like she wanted to fight again, so Dee grabbed her elbow. “Look, I know you’re mad. I am too. But we can’t turn on each other. What would Harvey say? We have to go on.”

The tension drained from the little girl’s body and Dee realized what she needed to say. “Harvey would have told us to keep fighting. Never give up.” She looked each child squarely in the face and said, “What are we going to do?”

“Fight?” asked Becca, no longer facing the corner.
 

“Exactly. We fight for Harvey, for Lookout Falls, and for each other.” Dee took a breath to continue to rally the others right when the truck lurched to a stop. Everyone looked out through the torn places in the canvas truck cover.

It was too late for speeches. They were there.

The soldiers rolled up the back door of the truck, and full daylight dazzled Dee’s vision. A guard herded the children together and helped them down. Dee paused at the door, surveying the mill yard.

The closest building had been the mill’s main office. From the number of guards going in and out, it looked like Downey was using it for his own headquarters. A large pile of sawdust was nearby, and several sheds and smaller buildings were scattered around the area. A large clearing separated her from the biggest building in the camp, which was where the kids slept at night.

Recruits were lining up at the campfire for their morning ration. Dee scanned the crowd, hoping to see someone she knew. There were too many people though, and a man at her shoulder prodded her to get down.

She headed toward the main yard, but a woman blocked her path. “We’ve got to process you first,” she said.

Over the woman’s shoulder, near the center of the training area, Dee caught a glimpse of a familiar profile. Mason! He was smiling and laughing with someone in line next to him. She opened her mouth to shout to him, but snapped it closed a moment later when she caught sight of the person he was talking to. It was a girl about her own age. A pretty girl. And while Dee watched, she put an easy hand on Mason’s bicep and laughed at something he’d said.

“Come on,” said the woman, turning Dee toward the main office. “Let’s get you checked in.”

Dee followed numbly, unable to get the image out of her mind. The girl’s hand on Mason’s arm. The way he smiled at her. He didn’t even miss Dee. They had been apart less than two days and he’d already found someone else.

Processing consisted of little more than giving their name and date of birth to a clerk at the front desk who wrote them down in hastily penned files. Then they each received a red strip of cloth to tie around their upper arm.

“Reds get the smallest portions and the worst duties. If you behave and work hard, you can move up from red to blue. Then there’s gold. Gold means you’ve earned our trust. You’re eligible for special duties, pay, even time off.”

“Come on,” said the guard. “Time to get out to the box. Your drill instructor will meet you there. Training starts each day right after chow, and chow is already over.”

McKenna pulled at her hand. “Dee, come on. We’ve got to go.”

Dee didn’t move.
 

A woman soldier appeared in the doorway. Dee thought she might recognize her from the raid at the station. “What’s going on in here?”

The clerk pointed at Dee. “She had a rough night.”

The woman soldier put a comforting hand on Dee’s shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”

Dee shook her head, and the woman turned and called to a man standing outside the doorway. “Sergeant Akers! Get this recruit a warm glass of suck it up!”

The woman then grabbed Dee by the front of her jacket and pulled her to her feet before releasing her with a shove. Dee took an inadvertent step backward. The woman was stronger than she looked.

“This ain’t Kansas anymore, kid.”

Dee nodded.

“What did you say?” The woman stepped next to Dee.

“N-nothing,” Dee stammered. “I mean, okay.”

The woman loomed closer until she was right in Dee’s face. “You are the lowest of the low!” she shouted. “You’re not fit to look at me, let alone talk to me. Eyes forward!” She poked Dee in the stomach and under the chin, “Gut in, shoulders back. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will obey every order you’re given. And you will address me as Ma’am or Drill Sergeant Olmos. Do you understand?”
 

Dee’s heart was racing and sweat was forming on her upper lip. “Yes, ma’am,” she whispered.

“I didn’t hear you, recruit.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Dee said louder.

“In spite of millions of years of evolution, the universe has conspired to bring me this miserable creature. Thank you, Private Clark, for proving life is, indeed, pointless.”

Dee hated the tears that sprang to her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of this woman.

“I’m waiting, Private.”

“I don’t know what you want,” said Dee. She felt helpless and confused.

The Sergeant clenched Dee’s chin in a vice grip. “You and your friends are going to run until you learn how to address me.” She jerked Dee’s head to the side. “See that building? Get there and back before I count to ten. All of you, go. One!”

Dee looked at the others.
 

“Two.”

They raced out the door, heedless of anything else. It wasn’t far, but by the time they got back they were breathless. The sergeant said, “Thirty-seven.”

“No way!” said Dee, indignantly. “It took us twenty seconds, tops.”

Sergeant Olmos’s voice was so quiet it scared Dee more than her shouting had. “Do it again, only this time I want to hear you say ‘Yes Ma’am’ with each step. Do I make myself clear?”

Dee was starting to understand. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What was that?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Dee shouted.

“One!”

This time they were back in ten seconds. Dee wondered if the instructor would praise them. “Fall in,” she said.

The kids looked at each other, bewildered.

“It means line up!”

They stumbled over each other, trying to get in a straight line.

Olmos shook her head. “You make me believe in reincarnation because no one could become that
stupid
in one lifetime. Now, follow me.” She didn’t move, however. Instead, she glared at them.

After a moment, Dee said, “Yes ma’am!” and the others echoed her.

“I do not deserve this,” the woman muttered while she marched them out to the training area.

It was the longest day of Dee’s life. If she wasn’t running back and forth, she was doing push-ups or getting berated by Sergeant Olmos. It had been days since she’d had a decent night’s sleep, and exhaustion tugged at her limbs. She was also desperate to find Mason, but the drill instructor at her heels never gave her a moment’s peace.
 

Olmos led the kids inside the main building and showed them where they’d sleep. She called them racks, but to Dee they just looked like blankets on the floor. If it was uncomfortable, Dee didn’t notice. She was asleep before her head hit the ground.

A loud sound, like the metal lid of a trash can being thrown at a cement wall startled Dee awake while it was still dark. Sergeant Olmos was there, ordering them to get up. A new day had begun.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

T
HE
NEXT
SEVERAL
DAYS
went by in a haze of exhaustion and hard work. Dee threw herself into her tasks to avoid thinking about Harvey’s loss. Hard work wasn’t enough to stop her from scanning the training yard whenever she got a chance, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mason.

“Eyes forward, recruit!” shouted Olmos. Standing at attention meant holding perfectly still, even her eyes. Dee sighed and then instantly regretted it when Olmos approached her. “Do you think you’re entitled to more air than your friends?”

“No ma’am!”

“Does anyone want to guess how much oxygen little Miss Drama Queen is stealing from society with her theatrical breathing?”