The Withered Series (Book 1): Wither (13 page)

“Not
exactly feeling the warm fuzzies right now.” I draw my legs up
into my chest and cradle myself.  The surface of the cot is
hardly what I would call comfortable, but after weeks spent camping
out on the hard floor beside my mother’s bed or sleeping next
to Eva in that warehouse, it feels like a five star hotel.

She
nods.  “I imagine all of this must be hard to understand.
 My name is Natalia and I’ve been commissioned as your
liaison, your go between.”

“Between
who, exactly?  Me and the US government?  Russia?”
 Her gaze narrows.  “You’re not American.  The
crappy accent was a dead giveaway.”

She
glances toward the window again and stares for a moment. I follow her
gaze, knowing there is no way she can see through that glass.  After
a minute of silence passes, she lowers her head.

“Twenty
minutes,” she murmurs under her breath and rises.  

I
stare after her as she moves swiftly toward the door. She slams her
palm against the metal twice.  The door opens an inch.  “I’m
finished with her.”

A
tall, heavily armed soldier sweeps his gaze past her to me as he
opens the door.  I smile and wiggle my fingers at him in mock
greeting.  His scowl deepens as he allows her to pass then slams
the door.  

What
just happened?
I
lie down on the cot, rolling to my side so that I’m facing the
wall only a few inches from my face. It would not surprise me if
there weren’t cameras that can see me from every angle in this
room, but I feel better knowing that the faceless men behind the
glass window can't see.

Twenty
minutes.  What is that supposed to mean?  She’ll be
back in twenty minutes? Something terrible is going to happen?  Maybe
it’s another experiment.

I
clasp my hands and tuck them under my head, wincing at the tug of the
IV in my arm, and I force myself to rest.  A mock rest, one with
the sole intent of appearing to sleep, but my mind dashes through
countless scenarios.  The more I try to puzzle through Natalia’s
conversation and the change in her demeanor, the more frustrated I
become.

Minutes
tick past slowly.  I count the seconds in my mind, wondering
just how many were lost or miscounted during my mental rants.  Surely
it is nearly time, yet no one has come for me.  I hear nothing
beyond the walls of my cage.  The painted concrete block is
soundproofed, probably so no one has to listen to my screams.

I
roll onto my back and stare unblinking up at the ceiling, unwilling
to feign sleep any longer.  
Idiot.
 She was just trying to get a reaction from me.  Another
stupid mind game.

Rubbing
my hands over my face, I rise to the edge of the bed and cradle my
head in my hands.  My elbows dig into my thighs as I release a
deep breath.  
When
am I going to stop falling for this shit?

I
hear something. Raising my head, I glance around.  A tremor
works up through the floor into the soles of my bare feet. I start to
rise but pause as I see a vibration in the glass window.  Cocking
my head to the side, I watch the mirrored surface appear to ripple.  

The
blast catches me off guard.  I throw up my hands to shield my
face as thousands of shards explode.  Small nicks appear on my
arms, slicing through the thin fabric of my clothes.  Lines of
crimson begin to appear along my body as I slowly uncurl to see a
darkened hole where the glass once was.

A
man stands there, waiting.  “Cable?”

Placing
his hands against the window frame, he launches himself through.
 Glass shatters beneath his boots as he rushes to my side. He
offers me an apologetic grimace before ripping the IV from my arm,
disconnecting me from the monitors. They beep loudly just before he
kicks the cart over.  As he reaches out to cup my face, I
realize his palms are wrapped in fabric. “Can you walk?”

“Not
exactly.”  I glance at the sea of glass all around.  Cable
follows my gaze to my bare feet and instantly sweeps me into his
arms.  

“Be
ready to run.  Keep your head down.  Stay close behind me.”

He
hoists me through the window and into what looks like some sort of
operating room.  An array of scalpels, needles and monitors
stand before me.  A bin of tubing wrapped in protective sealed
bags hangs along the wall.  A heart monitor’s green flat
line trails silently across the screen at the head of the bed.  Three
clipboards with charts, printed cardiograms and who knows what else
lies on the table to my right.  I fall still at the sight of the
name on the top of the page: Avery Whitlock.   

“Oh
god!”  Flashes of memory seizes me as I stare up at the
darkened dome light.  “I remember.”

I
step back into Cable, stopped by the breadth of his chest.  “Don’t
think about it. Just move.”

“They
know my name,” I call after him as he rushes to the door.  As
he tugs it open to look out, I hear the blaring of sirens for the
first time.  “How do they know my name?”

“I
told them.” His response is flat, unemotional.

I
close the gap between us and seize his arm.  He glances back at
me with mounting agitation.  “I only ever told you my
first
name.”

His
gaze softens as he places his hand over mine.  “Do you
really think they wouldn’t know everything about you by now?”

His
words leave me cold as he ducks his head back into the hall. I curl
my toes against the frigid tiles, wishing for a pair of warm fuzzy
socks.  Heck, I’d take a pair of flip-flops at this point!
“Follow me.”

I
do, as if on autopilot.  We clamber over two fallen soldiers
that once guarded my door, pausing for Cable to check their weapons.
“Why aren’t you taking the big ones?” I ask as he
tucks a small pistol in his back waistband.

“Too
bulky.”

Motioning
for me to follow, one gun held at the ready, I weave around corners,
down halls and past countless doors that all look the same to me.  I
don't know how he doesn’t get lost.  Cable marches
forward, his posture tense yet confident.

Explosions
rock the building.  The lights flicker overhead.  “What’s
happening?”

I
duck low as another explosion hits further down the hall. A wall
collapses in and we are forced to backtrack.  

“Cable?”
I struggle to breathe as I jog.  What little energy I gained
from my time spent prisoner in my white room is rapidly fading.  

“You
want the long version or the synopsis?

He
grabs me by the arm and I slam into his chest.  His arms curl
around me, his body a shield against a collapsing ceiling less than
ten feet in front of us.  When the dust settles he draws back
up.  “I think short!”

Brick
and drywall dusts his hair gray but it doesn’t dampen his
smile. “It’s an old fashioned mutiny!”

“Mutiny?”
 The word is torn from my lips as he tugs me toward a door.  He
slams through it and pulls me into a hall almost identical to the
last, but this one is decorated in beige tones.  Bodies dot this
hall but none appear to be moving.  The hallway lights flicker
overhead, some damaged by the shootout.  A spray of bullet holes
lead past us and around the corner but I hear nothing in that
direction.

Cable
releases my hand and sprints ahead, pausing at an intersection and
for the first time he looks lost. I spy a red glowing exit sign to my
right. “Over there!”

He
turns back and shakes his head. “We aren’t going out
there.”

The
desire to turn tail and race for that door is nearly unbearable.
 Exit means freedom.  I watch as Cable turns a corner up
ahead and bite down on my lower lip.

Can
I really trust him?  Should I?

“Avery,”
he hisses down the hall toward me.  I look up to see his head
poking around the corner. “This way.”

I
hesitate a second longer before making my decision.  “Shit.”

My
bare feet slap against the cold floor as I rush to catch up. I’m
only distantly aware of the fact that my side no longer aches.  My
ribs are bound tightly but the bruising must have begun to heal.  
How
long have I been here?

Cable
waits for me at the end of a dark hall.  “Watch your
step,” he calls out just before I spy a pile of glass from the
light overhead.

“Where
is everyone?”

“This
building was on strict lock down from all non-essential personnel.
  Only the doctors and scientists come here at night to
check on patients.  Once the battle began they took off.
 They’re not here to fight but to research.  Most of
them have never seen a day of combat.”

“Lucky
them,” I mutter. Another explosion rocks the building. A crack
forms in the wall beside me and I rush ahead, not wanting to stick
around for the next blast.  “Friends of yours?”

“Something
like that.”  He takes my hand and raises his foot, booting
the door before him open.  Darkness and a frigid cold reside on
the other side.

“Where
are we?”

“Shh.”
 His fingers tighten around mine as he leads me into the room.
 He pauses a few feet in.  There is a clattering of metal
then silence as he pulls me forward. The echo of the door closing
behind me feels out of place as he leads me through the dark.  I
hear shouting now.  Gunfire covers the sound of sirens in the
distance

The
floor feels like ice beneath my feet.  A chill rises up through
my legs and it doesn't take long for my teeth to begin to chatter.  I
hear an odd click and sense movement before me.

“Here.
 Grab hold.”  Cable places my hand on something cold
and metal.  I stiffen as his hands slide down my waist and he
hoists me up.  “Buckle up.”

It
is only when I feel the material of the seat and jerk at the sound of
the door closing behind me that I fully realize that I’m in a
vehicle.  I wait in the dark as Cable feels his way around the
front of the car and hauls himself into the driver’s seat.  

“How
can you see?”

When
the headlights flick on I find myself staring at the contraption on
Cable’s head. They look like a set of binoculars, but not
nearly the same.  “Night vision,” he grins and
tosses them into the floorboard.

The
throaty growl of the engine vibrates in my chest.  Cable taps
the steering wheel, peering out into the light.  “What are
we waiting for?”

He
doesn’t respond but instead watches the dark intently.  I
wrap my arms around myself, rubbing to keep warm.  A couple
minutes pass before a rectangle of light appears in the far corner of
the room.  Two dark shapes slip inside before darkness prevails
once more.

“Who
is that?”

A
moment later the back door opens and I see a familiar face rise into
the vehicle.  “No way! I’m not going anywhere with
her!”

Natalia’s
eyes widen as she looks between me and Cable.  He grits his
teeth before meeting my glare.  “She helped save your
life.  She’s coming too.”

“She
experimented on me!”

“No.”
 I turn fully in the seat to look at her.  “I had
nothing to do with that.  I told you the truth. I was merely a
liaison.”

“I
remember you.”

“Of
course you do,” Cable says, hiking his thumb over his shoulder
for her to get in. “She watched over you during your recovery.”

I
refuse to look away as Natalia buckles her seat belt. I don’t
care what he says. I can smell a rat when I see one and she is all
kinds of rotten.

Another
man climbs in after her.  He has baby smooth cheeks, clear blue
eyes, and a grin as broad as his shoulders.  He holds out his
hand to me. “Eric Phelan.  Heard a lot about you.”

“Sit
down and shut up,” Cable growls as he shoves the vehicle into
gear.  I’m thrown back as he slams on the accelerator.
Eric cries out as he tumbles to the floor, flailing to grab hold of
the seat.

“Are
you insane? You couldn’t give him another minute to strap in?”
 I press my hands to the dashboard as the tires squeal and we
barrel toward a wall.

Glancing
at the green glow of the clock on the dashboard, he shakes his head.
 “Not unless you want to stick around for the barbeque.”

I
brace myself as we crash headlong through the hangar doors. They
crumple away, peeled back like the lid of a sardine can.  My
head ricochets off the headrest.  The Humvee rattles and shakes
as Cable fights for control of his wild skid.  

A
huge dark shape looms ahead of us.  “Look out!”

Cable
swerves to miss the dangling propellers of a copter, only to take out
a collection of gasoline barrels.  They spiral across the
tarmac, spilling fuel.

“Haul
ass, Cable!”  Eric’s hands grip the seat behind me.
 His face looks pale as he leans between us, shouting out
directions.  I grab onto the door and hold on.  Natalia
buries her head in her arms. A scream escapes her lips from time to
time.

As
we race between two hangars, my head whips around at the sight of a
large yellow vehicle. “A school bus?”  I turn on
Cable. “So it’s true?  The military really were
stealing kids?”

“Now
is not the time,” Cable says through gritted teeth.  He
spins the wheel and I’m thrown against the door.  

I
watch as he glances frequently from the road to the clock and pray
that whatever is supposed to happen hurries up. Soldiers pour from
the buildings. A heavy gunfight rages all around.  I don’t
know how on earth they know who is good and who is bad when they are
all wearing the same uniform!

Lights
on the guard towers sweep the grounds, zeroing in on us. A twenty
foot high concrete wall looms before us, filling the windshield.  I
glance at Cable, noting the lack of color in his knuckles as he grips
the steering wheel and guns the accelerator.  “Cable?”

“Wait
for it.  Wait for it!”  From the corner of my eye I
see something large emerging from the shadows.  I spy the long
barrel as it swivels and takes aim.