Chapter 7

Justice rode in silence in the back of the SUV with Blake while Noah drove, the male named Hudson in the passenger’s seat. They’d left Titus back at the Six Saviors’ headquarters.

A constant dull ache reverberated through him, his head swam, and his thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. He had lain awake most of the night trying to come to terms with the fact that he would never be going home again, that he would live out the rest of his days on Earth. It terrified him, and no matter how he looked for a silver lining side to the situation, he couldn’t find it.

He had no one here, except his crew with whom he’d arrived. He had no family, and the Saviors hadn’t exactly been friendly; not that he blamed them. Just from the bits and pieces of what he’d heard, the males in the Platoon had done a lot of damage to the Saviors, and he’d have to earn their trust.

Titus had given the Saviors detailed directions on where to go as Justice felt a little shaky and didn’t fully trust his instincts, or his sense of direction, at this point.

He turned and watched the city turn to suburbs, the suburbs to desert. He caught glimpses of little yellow flowers peppering the desert shrubs, and for some reason, it made him feel a little bit better about his situation.

An hour later, he began to recognize rock formations in the distance.

“We turn left somewhere around here,” Hudson muttered.

They came to a complete stop on the two-lane road and looked around.

Justice noticed a road about three hundred feet up. “What about there?”

“Are you recognizing anything yet?” Blake asked.

He nodded. “Yes. Those rock formations over there look familiar to me.”

“Then let’s hit that road,” Blake said.

Noah gunned it and threw the SUV into a sharp turn. “Hold on, ladies!”

Justice bounced around in his seat, thankful he had bothered with the seatbelt or he’d be knocking his head on the roof. Noah seemed to be enjoying his off-road antics, chuckling with each bump.

“How the hell did you guys get to town?” Blake asked. “Did you have a car?”

Justice shook his head, holding on to the seat in front of him for dear life. “No. We hitchhiked.”

“That was dangerous,” Blake said. “Slow the fuck down, Noah!”

“Nope! Let’s roll, boys!” Noah shouted, and Justice exchanged a pained glance with Blake.

After a few moments, he finally slowed, and Blake pointed at a rock formation in the distance. “Isn’t that the place we broke out Annis and Micah, then had to go back for Jovan?”

“Yep.”

Blake chuckled and shook his head. “Man, that was messed up.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“The government got a hold of Annis and Micah, and some of the others that came down here with them. They were running experiments on them, in the name of science, of course. Jovan sacrificed himself to get them out, and then we had to go back for him.”

“Wow. It sounds like an incredible, precise military operation on your part.”

Blake nodded. “It was incredible, and we had a plan, but as for precise military action, I don’t know about that. Maybe controlled chaos are better words to describe it. That was when I also became the most wanted on the FBI list, even though I was an agent. There was no going back for me.”

Justice looked out the window. He preferred to live by basic, yet stringent rules, and expected those around him to do the same. His unit lived simply and had broken out their daily routines into regimented segments where everyone had a job to do, something to accomplish.

As he’d been escorted out of the silo this morning, all had been quiet, which he’d found strange. Where had the Saviors been? Why hadn’t they been taking care of their respective chores or exercising to keep their bodies in prime physical shape?

It baffled him that the Saviors had aligned themselves with a human, namely Blake. He must have been able to offer them something they couldn’t refuse. It would seem the best course of action would be to keep their existence a secret from humans, and the fact they wore contacts at night only backed up that thought. He also wondered about the female, Beverly, who’d come out to meet Hudson when they’d arrived late last night. Who was she? He thought she and Hudson had a close relationship, but what role did she play in the Saviors’ lives? He supposed at some point, he’d have answers to his questions, but for now, it seemed best to keep as quiet as possible while Noah evaluated the situation.

About a half hour later, he recognized the place he’d called home for the past few years off in the distance. Leaning in between the two front seats, he pointed out the front window. “It’s straight ahead.”

Noah nodded. “I see it. What about the gate? What is this place, Blake?”

“Don’t know. We’ll have to get in closer.”

“The gate will open once my crew sees me,” Justice said.

They drove in silence for a moment, and then Noah came to a stop. Justice stepped out of the car and glanced at the camera. The gate didn’t budge, so he nodded, hoping that he conveyed that all would be fine.

A long moment later, the gate ground to the right, and he smiled into the camera, thankful those he commanded trusted him.

Justice got back into the car, and they drove the short distance to the entrance.

Glancing around, he tried to see his quarters for the first time. Yes, from a distance, one would never know that it existed with its dirt-colored walls and ceiling, all sitting low to the ground. To enter, one needed to go down seven steps, so if they stood at the top step, they actually towered over the building.

He led the way down the steps, and the door opened.

“Welcome back,” his second in command, Chance, greeted him.

Justice nodded and stepped into the small room, noticing that the rest of his crew crowded the space, their weapons drawn.

“At ease, please,” he murmured, motioning them to put their guns away. “I bring friends.”

As Blake, Noah, and Hudson filed in, the room became claustrophobic. It simply didn’t hold the space for eight large males and one small female.

“I’d like to introduce you to Noah and Hudson from the Six Saviors,” he said. “And that’s Blake. Perhaps that would be better if we moved underground.”

“Underground?” Noah asked.

“Yes. Please, follow us.”

He noticed uncomfortable glances exchanged between Noah and Blake, but they followed through the chain link fencing and down the corridor.

It used to bother him that the whole place was the same red-ish toned color as the dirt outside, but he barely noticed it now. As they followed the narrow path, they descended a couple hundred feet underground and the walls were made out of the earth. The temperature cooled, and the light bulbs above cast an eerie yellow glow in the narrow space. He barely noticed this any longer, either.

Finally, the hallway gave way to a large room, also made out of rock and earth from which it had been carved. A metal table sat in the middle of the space, and five bedrooms lay on each side of the room.

Blake let out a low whistle as he looked around. “Is this it?”

“No. Through that door over there is a computer room, and also our garden.”

“Garden?” Noah asked.

“Yes. Come.”

His crew took their places at the table and watched warily as Justice led their guests through the closed door.

He pointed out the large bank of computers and kept moving into the garden.

As the largest space in the bunker, it stood about two-hundred-by-two-hundred feet. Growing lamps lined the ceiling, and Justice looked over their vegetable and fruits growing heartily all around them.

“Where did you get the seeds for all this?” Blake asked as he fingered a strawberry plant.

“We found them here.”

“Blake?” Hudson asked. “What the fuck is this place?”

The male looked around and shook his head. “I’m going to take a wild guess, but it looks like a government bunker for wartime. They have them all over the place. A secure location where the important people can go, where they have seeds to grow their food, where they can hunker down while the world outside burns.”

“When did they make these?” Noah asked.

“Probably about the 1950s. With the computers, though, my guess is that it’s been updated periodically throughout the years.”

Noah turned in a circle, taking everything in. “I have to say, Justice, I’m impressed. Really, really impressed.”

He grinned and bowed his head. “Thank you. It was a rocky start, but we came through. We’re completely self-sufficient. The bunker had been stocked well. Clothing, food, weapons … humans could live down here for a very long time.”

“Judging by the looks of you, you’re eating more than strawberries and lettuce,” Hudson commented.

He pointed to the corner of the room. “Yes. We also have a pallet of meals called M.R.E.s. They aren’t very good, but they do supplement our diets.”

Blake grimaced. “I’ve had to eat a few of those myself. They tend to be on the nasty side.”

He nodded and grinned. “Yes, but one eats what is needed in order to survive.”

They stood in silence for a moment. “Would you like to be introduced to the rest of my crew?”

Noah nodded and grinned. “Yep. Might as well meet our new friends.”

 

 

 

 

Just under an hour later, Blake chatted amicably with Kade and Macy. Kade reminded him a lot of Talin, except the dude might be even more intelligent than Talin had been. The guy was nice enough, but Blake definitely felt out of his league.

Macy, a Healer like Cohen, proved to be quiet and demure, but very sweet. Sophia would like her, and he wondered what the future looked like for all of them. Would Noah introduce these people to the Six Saviors family? As Blake watched him talk to Axel and Justice while Hudson said something to Roman and Chance that made them laugh, a bit of worry crept through him. These guys seemed like good people, but how in the hell would all this work? Would Noah leave them out here? He couldn’t bring them to the silo—the place was jam-packed. Of course, they could all camp out in the gym, but that would get old for everyone involved in a very short period of time.

Sighing, he was glad he wasn’t the one who had to make decisions in this little party.

“So, Blake, do you miss SR44?” Macy asked. “Or are you happy here?”

Yeah. He didn’t know quite how to answer that question, but decided the truth would be best. “I’m human. Never seen SR44. I’ve heard the stories, and it sounds like it was a great place.”

A look of confusion traveled over Macy’s face. “It still is. But why have the Saviors aligned themselves with a human? I thought their job would be to integrate into human society, but not let them know of their existence.”

Shit. He’d forgotten none of these people besides Justice knew that SR44 was nothing but bits of rock floating through space.

“Well, it’s a long story, but I’m part Colonist—“

“What?” Kade gasped. “You’re part Colonist?”

He pulled his gun and leveled it at Blake.

This wasn’t going well.

“Look, I can explain.”

“There’s no need for explanation!” Kade bellowed, his thumb pulling back the hammer.

It would be really good to have some sort of emergency happen right now. Maybe an earthquake, or a measles outbreak. Instead, he yelled for Noah.

“Whoa!” Noah said, placing his hand on Kade’s arm and lowering the gun. “He’s one of the good guys, man. You don’t put holes in the good guys.”

“But he said he’s part Colonist,” Kade pushed out through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, he is.” Noah ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, there’s a lot we need to fill you in on.”

“Why did he say that SR44 was a nice place?” Macy asked, her gaze never leaving Blake. “Like it doesn’t exist anymore?”

“Oh, hell,” Noah mumbled. “Blake, we haven’t even been here an hour and you’re already causing trouble?”

“I didn’t mean to. I was just—“

A deafening alarm sounded, and Justice and his crew scrambled to the computer room.

Blake followed, glad the situation had been diffused, but wondering if things had just gone from bad to worse.

They huddled around the computer and a woman driving a military jeep came into view. Blake studied her as she punched in the gate code, his heart thumping in his chest. What the hell was the military doing here?

With blonde hair and a slim, small frame, her lips constantly moved as if she talked to someone. It didn’t seem anyone accompanied her, so maybe she was deep in conversation with herself?

“Who the hell is that?” Noah asked, and Blake heard the tension in his voice.

“That’s Holly,” Justice answered, his voice soft. “She’s nothing to worry about.”

“I beg to differ. She’s military, and she’s outside your front door. That seems like a problem to me,” Hudson said.

Justice shook his head. “No, she shows up here about once a week to make sure all is secure. We lock the chain-linked fence, and she can’t get down here. I actually find her quite amusing as she talks like there’s someone here.”

They all watched her get out of the jeep and head for the doorway.

“Oh, no,” Chance muttered, his eyes growing wide.

“What is it?” Justice asked.

Chance glanced at everyone, panic racing across his face. “We didn’t lock the fence.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Noah mumbled.