Unknown (Unknown Series Book 1) (34 page)

Dawn was lightening the horizon when my eyes flitted open again. Remy was breathing soundly next to me. I shuffled out of the warm bag and felt immediately cold as I opened the zipper and stepped out. I would need to get my fleece jacket from the car, but for now I was focused on the small tin kettle on the gas stove and the two mugs with packets of premade vanilla latte powder inside.

I’d bet my life Rylen set that up for us. I rubbed my arms as I waited for the water to heat and then turned off the stove and poured two steaming mugs. When I opened the tent, Remy was sitting up, her blond waves a tangle around her face. She let out an animalistic sound when she saw the steaming mug, and it made me giggle. I handed her a cup, and we cuddled into our bags as we sipped.

I tried, and failed, not to think about what had happened in the night. I would deal with it and try to deflate the situation when Rylen returned. I normally didn’t like to share personal stuff, but I needed Remy’s help to make sure this didn’t happen again.

“Hey, Rem?”

“Hm?” She took a sip.

“Can you sleep next to me from now on?”

Her eyebrows scrunched. “Why? What happened?”

“I mean, nothing. I think maybe Rylen was dreaming last night or something, and he got a little snuggly—”

“Oh, my freaking Gosh, Amb . . . did he have morning wood?”

I took a calm sip and said, “Maybe.”

Remy rocked back, her laughter splitting the air. “That is classic! The poor guy. He’s so freaking noble, he’s probably beating himself up about it.”

“Yeah, well. Sleep next to me from now on, ‘kay?”

She grinned. “You liked it.”

I took a sip. Shrugged. Took another sip.

“You liked it
a lot
,” she corrected.

I sighed. “Let’s drop it. It didn’t mean anything. He was asleep.”

She smiled softly to herself as we drank our coffee in the quiet morning.

“How long have they been gone?” Remy asked.

“I’m not sure. An hour, maybe? No more than two.”

When we finished our coffee, savoring every drop, we hiked down to Mom’s car and got my jacket, plus a sweatshirt of Tater’s for Remy. My eyes landed on the shower stuff in the trunk and I asked, “Want to take the big pot and gas stove down to the spring so we can wash up?” I felt really grimy.

Her face scrunched. “I guess. I wish it wasn’t so cold out.”

“Me too. Let’s make it quick.”

We ran back to camp for the stove, and grabbed the pot, towels, clothes, and soap from the trunk. The hike down to the spring was awesome. Part of the Preserve were wetlands from the springs, so they’d built boardwalks to cross over marshy spots.

We got to the clear pool of water and I scooped a heavy potful, then placed it on the fire. Remy was reading a placard stand.

“It says people aren’t allowed to swim here because it disturbs the algae for pupfish. Ooh, I want to see a pupfish!”

We dropped to our hands and knees and stared down into the pool until we both pointed at the same time to a tiny, inch-long fish. Then another. There were a bunch. When our water warmed, I carried the heavy pot away from the pool so the soap wouldn’t get in. Remy laughed at how I walked bowlegged to keep the hot pot from hitting my knees.

“You first,” I told her.

She looked around. “Should I get all naked out here? What if they come back?”

“It’s up to you. If you want wet undies, go for it. Otherwise, strip.”

“But I haven’t shaved in, like, ages.”

I rolled my eyes. “I swear I won’t stare at your sasquatch crotch.”

She gasped dramatically. “It’s not sasquatch!”

I started giggling at her defensive, and she laughed too, giving me a shove.

“Oh, fine. Whatever.” She took everything off and turned her back to me, rubbing her arms. “Hurry. I’m freezing.”

I focused on her hair, pouring just enough water over her head for her to start a lather, which she used to quickly wash her body. Then I scooped cupfuls and began to pour them slowly over her head until it looked like the soap was gone. It took more than half the pot. But she had a lot more hair than me, so it should be okay.

“Done.” I bent and grabbed a towel, tossing it at her. She wrapped it around her body, cinched it under her arm, and squeezed out her hair.

“Your turn,” she said. “I’m not dressing until we’re done ‘cause I don’t want it splashing on my clothes.”

Now that it was my turn to get naked I suddenly felt modest. Remy was curvier and more confident in her body than I’d ever been. She put a hand on her hip and regarded me smugly.

“Not so easy, is it? Just turn your skinny butt around and do it.”

I sighed and turned, ready to get this over with. But first I peered around to be sure the guys weren’t coming. It was just us and Mother Nature. I quickly undressed.

“Oh my gosh,” Remy said in a happy voice. “You have the cutest mole right here!” I felt her finger poke the center of my right butt cheek and I jumped.

“Ah! No touchy! Just hurry up—it’s cold!”

“See, I told you!”

We were laughing hysterically at ourselves as she began pouring water over me. It was the most ridiculous thing ever. Who would have thought Remy and I would ever have to shower each other?

“Make sure you wash your sasquatch,” she sang.

“Shut up!” I was dying. My ab muscles hurt from laughing and Remy totally missed me with her next pour, dumping it at my feet as she slumped over in a fit of humor. “Give me that, crazy.” I took the cup and did the rest of the pouring myself since we were almost out of water. Finally I was clean. Except my feet, but not much could be done about that. I’d brush them off when they dried.

We stepped away from the mud we’d created and moved to the boulder that held our clothes. I scrubbed the towel over my head first, then my body. Remy and I were both shivering as we reached for our clothes and hurriedly tugged them on. Then we took turns brushing our wet hair.

We were gathering our things when I heard a throat being cleared. I stood and spun toward the noise, expecting to see Tater’s amused face, but what I saw instead made my blood freeze. The far side of the pool was lined with huge rocks, and behind them stood five guys in camo. A sixth, beefy guy was crouched on top of the middle boulder with a handgun propped on his knee and a grin on his face. Remy sucked in a harsh breath and moved closer to me.

How long had they been there? I’d glanced this direction before my shower began, so they had to have snuck up stealthily and hidden behind the rocks.

“What do you want?” I asked, moving instinctively to block Remy. I really, really should have brought Grandma’s gun down here with me.

The big guy with the gun kept a smile glued on his face, but his eyes were hidden beneath a camo hat pulled low over his forehead. “You girls with the Disaster Relief Initiative?” he asked casually. He had a seriously southern drawl.

I swallowed hard. They didn’t look like Drips, and they weren’t in Derp uniforms. Their camo actually looked like authentic military gear. And they were sporting overgrown buzz cuts. My heart started to calm when I realized they might be safe, but I could feel Remy’s terrified breaths on my neck.

“No,” I said. “Are you?”

“Let’s just say, not the current government.”

I looked at the other faces: hard, expressionless, careful. “You guys are Army.”

The guy gave me a real grin now. “Four of us.”

A solid African American with wide shoulders and a narrow waist lifted his chin. “Marines.” A shorter, leaner guy on the end with auburn hair and freckles said, “Air Force.”

“What’s your name?” I asked the main guy.

“Sergeant Ray Harris. But most people just call me—”

“
Texas Harry
,” called a voice from the other side of us.

“Tater!” Remy gripped my arm.

Everyone turned and watched Tater and Rylen materialize from behind two trees with rifles in their hands. A wave of relief crashed over me. Tater kept his eyes on the newcomers while Rylen glanced at me. I gave him a nod to show we were okay.

“No fucking way,” Texas Harry said. “Tate Bait?” He hopped down from his rock and loped around the pool toward Tater. The other guys, as well and me and Remy, started walking over too, but carefully. The two of them met in a back-slapping hug. “I thought you were at Benning.” The guy dwarfed Tater, and my brother was no shorty.

“I was,” Tater said. “But my family’s here, so I hitchhiked back when Benning closed. What are you doing up here from Huachuca? I figured you’d go back to Texas.” I recognized that base name. It was in Arizona.

Sergeant Harris snorted. “I did. Whole fuckin’ place where I grew up was a ghost town. Then I heard on the radio people were being taken to Nevada.”

“They actually said that on the radio?” I asked.

He gave a nod. “Underground station. Been shut down since then, though.”

A lull passed as everyone looked around and sized each other up. The guys all nodded, as if passing one another’s assessments. Then they made introductions.

The marine was Sergeant Devon Price. The airman was Second Lieutenant Sean Wilcott, and the other three army soldiers were Sergeants Matt Nelson, Mark Mahalchick, and Josh Depaul.

Everyone seemed safe enough for us to speak openly.

Remy and I turned to Tater and Rylen. “So?” I asked. “How did it go?”

They addressed both us and the new guys. “They’ve got a whole town set up in that pass between the mountains. All gated. All guarded.”

“Up where they’re taking all them busses?” Texas Harry asked with a nod. “Supposedly they got those kind of places set up all through the countryside, away from cities. You know someone there?”

Tater’s face went hard. “My parents. My grandma. His wife.” He inclined his head to Rylen, who stood with his arms crossed. “Remy’s folks.” He looked at Remy, and all the guys turned to stare at her. Remy eyed them skeptically.

“You guys saw us washing, didn’t you?” It burst out of her like she’d been holding it in.

The guys all looked down or to the side, anywhere but at us. Some scratched their necks. I felt my face go hot.

“Say what?” Tater asked. Rylen stared hard from guy to guy.

Texas Harry gave an unapologetic slow grin. “We didn’t see . . . much. And we stayed behind the rocks.”

Remy crossed her arms. “Pervs.” My face was on fire. I hoped they hadn’t heard the stupid sasquatch commentary.

“Wait, hold up,” Tater said. “Y’all got to see Remy naked?”

I whacked Tater on one arm while Remy slapped his other shoulder. He jumped away, shielding himself. “I’m just saying! That is
wrong
. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

He tried to look serious, but the guys all laughed now, and while I still felt a bit violated and embarrassed, even Remy rolled her eyes and seemed to relax some. Rylen gave me that serious look of his again, like he was making sure I was okay. I let out a huff of air and gave him another nod. We had bigger issues.

“What else did you find out?” I asked.

“There’s only one entrance and exit,” Rylen said. “It looks like they’ve got new, basic buildings set up, like barracks or apartments. They had all the people lined up—”

“Looked like thousands,” Tater added.

“And they were leading them into a couple of big warehouse buildings.”

My heart raced. “What are they doing in there?”

Ry shook his head. “We didn’t hear any gunshots or see any bodies being carried out. My guess is they’re putting the people to work.”

“Like concentration camps,” I whispered.

“No,” Remy said fiercely. “These are not Nazis, Amber. How do you know they’re not just keeping them safe? Giving them food and beds or something.”

The marine, Devon, spoke up in a smooth voice. “They may not be Nazis, but they’re evil as hell. I’ve seen ’em line people up and execute ’em.”

Remy gave him a horrified look. “Were the people bad?”

“Bad? Not unless you call five jarheads refusing to leave their post
bad
.”

Everyone stared at him in horror.

My voice came out raspy. “What happened?”

“DRI came in and closed down the Yuma base, and it didn’t feel right. How you gonna dismantle military in a time like this, and just tell everyone to go home? Naw, man. We wanted to stay. We couldn’t find none of our officers—it was like they were wiped off the face of the earth—”

“Yeah, same thing in Benning.” Tater looked at the auburn haired guy, Sean. “You’re an officer, right?”

“Yes, but I was on leave, so I have no idea what went down on base.”

Everyone turned back to Devon, who continued. “We wanted to do something, but they weren’t having it. Kept telling us to leave. Five men refused to stand down, and they took them out. Bam, bam, bam, down the line. Then they turned to us like,
anyone else want to stay?”
Devon finished and crossed his arms, matching Rylen’s stance.

My stomach turned. “Maybe they killed all the officers so they couldn’t lead their troops.”

“No.” Remy looked like she was about to lose it. “That’s a really big assumption to make.”

“These are conclusions based on facts, Rem.”

“Stop!” Her voice shook, and I knew she was near tears, freaked out.

Remy grasped her wet clothing and towel to her chest and rushed away in the direction of our camp. I sighed and let my head fall back.

“Your friend still believe in unicorns, too?” one of the Army guys asked with a laugh, Josh, I think. He sounded like a New Yorker, that tough edge to his voice, and gray eyes that looked like they’d seen some rough stuff. He had dark hair and a Roman-curved nose.

“She’s not stupid. She just doesn’t want to believe the worst of people.”

“We call that naïve where I’m from.”

I speared him with a glare. “Leave her alone.”

He shrugged and turned away. I looked at Tater and Ry.

“So what’s our next step? We need to make a plan, right?”

They both nodded, and Texas Harry cut in. “You trying to break them out?” He whistled. “Gonna need one hell of a plan for that.”

“Damn straight,” Tater said with a sigh. “But first, food.”

Every single set of male ears seemed to perk at that word, and I kind of wanted to punch Tater. Six extra manly mouths to feed? Our food would be gone in two days.