29

7 Hours to Egress

Varro heard Selah speak and spun in their direction, taking aim at her voice, which was in direct line with Bodhi’s back.

No! Selah’s world stopped. She snatched the laser dart from Bodhi, pushed him out of the way, and fired.

A pinpoint of white left a ghostly trail of light from the weapon to where it slammed into Varro. A starburst exploded from his chest, particles of sparks shooting off in all directions. His mouth opened in a scream and froze. He fell to the floor.

Selah stared at the spot where he had stood. If she never lowered her eyes to his smoldering form, she might pretend that this never happened. That the ghostly form left on her vision was still him standing there. That she had somehow missed and everything was going to be fine.

But it wasn’t going to be fine. It would never be fine again. Why had he aimed at Bodhi? She had to protect Bodhi. She couldn’t protect Cleon. The smell of burnt flesh drifted to her nostrils. Her shoulders slumped. Was that Cleon she was breathing in, or Varro?

Bile rose in her throat, burning the back of her tongue. She tried to push it back down. You’re breathing in Varro’s flesh. She bent over and retched. Her stomach lurched, then squeezed tightly like a fist, cramping her sides.

Bodhi put his hand on her back. “Are you going to make it?”

“I just killed the man who raised me,” she said, sobbing. “I think I need to have a few minutes!”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have a few minutes. We need to get out of here. Remember, sealed forever.”

Selah tipped her head from side to side, cracking the tension from her neck muscles, and took a few cleansing breaths. Thankfully the flesh smell had dissipated. She straightened and ran the heels of her hands across her eyes to clear them. It really did just happen. This wasn’t a dream.

“Where are Jaenen and Varro’s men?” She spun as she searched the dark corners of the room. Were they going to be attacked as they tried to leave? She looked carefully at each shadow and corner, looking for discernable movement.

“They took off as soon as Varro hit the floor. Even Jaenen ran away. He must have made contact with Varro’s other cohorts.”

“Do we send someone to follow him? He’s a criminal.”

“We hardly have any room to talk. To most of the Mountain, we’re the criminals. He’ll be locked in this prison forever,” Bodhi said.

“It doesn’t seem fair that he’ll have freedom. But I guess they’ll get what they deserve,” Selah said. “Cleon! I need to see my brother.” She shoved the laser dart at Bodhi and ran to Cleon.

He lay sprawled on the floor with Treva holding his head in her lap. She rocked him and cried while Mojica tried to render aid. Selah looked down just as Mojica cut away his tunic. The edges of the material were fused to the wound, making a large fist-sized crater in his stomach. The heat had cauterized the edges of the flesh to a ghastly burnt crispness. As Mojica carefully pulled away the debris, it made crackling sounds that turned Selah’s stomach.

She fought the urge to retch again by swallowing hard. She moved away and closed her eyes. This wasn’t happening. It was a nightmare. When she opened her eyes everything would be fine.

Mojica walked over and touched her shoulder. “Selah, I need to get back to the station and fashion a litter to carry him out of here.” Her voice drilled into Selah. She didn’t want to see the woman’s expression. The graveness registered in her voice.

Selah opened her eyes. Mojica’s face said it all. Selah burst into tears, and Mojica grabbed her to keep her from sliding to the ground. Bodhi quickly took the woman’s place, holding Selah up.

“I’m sorry. He’s not going to make it. It went through his intestines and capped off a piece of his lungs. The intestines are cut and sealed. We can’t fix that in the field,” Mojica said, blowing out a huff of air. “Frankly, I don’t think that could be fixed even if we weren’t in the field.”

Selah pulled herself up straight. “Does he know?”

Mojica nodded. “He said not to tell Treva, though. He wants us to distract her until we get in the tunnels and can’t open the door to let her back in the Mountain.”

“He wants to stay here?”

“No, he wants to die here so that you all can make it out,” Mojica said.

Selah stared at Treva rocking on her knees next to Cleon. This was going to break her heart. “Is he still lucid enough to talk to me?”

“Yes, I’ve given him all the painkiller I have. There is a limit to overdosing, but I figured in his condition, that wouldn’t be a worry. I just don’t want him to spend his last hours in pain,” Mojica said.

Selah hesitated as she walked past Varro’s body. Someone had removed his jacket and used it to cover his face and chest. Mother had always said nice words about people before they were burned on the cremation pyres. Saying niceties and such was supposed to make the living feel better about the passing of the dead, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. Maybe later when she wasn’t so raw. She felt her already weary body tighten.

She walked to her brother’s side and knelt beside Treva, wrapping her arms around the sobbing girl. She rocked with her, feeling the heaving sobs wracking her body. Every fiber of her being trembled. Selah raised Treva’s chin. “Honey, I need to talk to Cleon. Could we have a moment together as brother and sister?” she asked softly.

“Yes, just don’t let him go anywhere. He can’t go anywhere without me,” Treva sobbed. Her hands trembled. Tears poured from her eyes and dripped to her shirt, leaving wet trails.

Selah motioned to her mother, who stood beside Mari and Dane nearby. “Take Treva so I can talk to Cleon.” Mother nodded, tears streaming from her eyes too. Selah could tell by the pallor of her face—she knew Cleon wasn’t going to make it.

Selah knelt beside Cleon. “Hey, brother dear. We’ll be getting out of here as soon as Mojica gets back with a litter and transportation. Then we can go home.” Her voice hitched.

Cleon gave her a pained half smile and tried to shift his position. He cried out in pain as the wound pulled with the movement of his body. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he fell back to the floor. “Don’t try to kid a kidder.” His breathing labored. He grabbed at her hand. “Please don’t let Treva stay with me. Promise me.”

“Cleon, you know what she’s going to be like.” Selah wanted to promise, but Treva could be a grizzly bear when she chose to be. Could she fulfill the promise? Or was she going to lose Treva here too?

Cleon clutched Selah’s hand with both of his. “Promise me!” He said it so forcefully that it caused a coughing spasm. Selah could hear the gurgling fluid filling his lungs. She sat beside him and held up his back and head to help him breathe.

“I promise.” Selah’s lips trembled. She rested her chin on top of his head. Her tears flowed freely into his hair as the realization of the death of her family, and her role in it, sank in.

6 Hours to Egress

Selah walked beside the stretcher as Bodhi and Mojica carried Cleon back to the store Mojica had been using for her clandestine operations in Green Court. Bodhi had been lucky. The shot that grazed his arm when Selah tackled Jaenen had only been a glancing blow, and the bio properties of the TF uniform had absorbed most of the heat. All he had was a fused slicing across his arm that hadn’t healed itself, which he said he found very curious.

She wanted to be happy he was safe, but at the same time she mourned her brother . . . and she mourned Varro, and what she had become. Now was probably not the time to celebrate having a new sister. None of that made sense at the moment anyway. None of this had turned out even close to the way she had hoped.

Selah hurried ahead of the group and opened the door to the storefront. Everyone piled inside. Selah knew it wouldn’t matter in a few hours, but she wondered who would take over security when they were gone. It was a stupid thought. Who cared? She was just trying to keep her mind off the reality of the situation.

Coming back to the storefront was much different than when they’d first gone out after following Varro’s man. Selah touched Mojica’s arm. “Am I right that we have no one chasing us anymore?”

“Correct. Unless we run into Green Court security. Once we’re in a TF transport, we’ll be safe. All we need to do is get to the tunnels and—” Mojica tapped her appliance and held up her hand. She turned away and turned back with a very different expression.

“Transportation is ferrying the last of our people out. To get a unit large enough for all of us displaces a Mountain family. I’m sorry, but we have to wait.” Mojica’s expression said it all. She was staying here with the group, no matter if she wound up trapped.

“We’d better tell the others,” Selah said. “But I think we’ll leave out the part that vehicle size is a factor. It might make them feel like they’re holding each other back.”

She walked to where Treva kept vigil over Cleon. Every few minutes Selah noticed her checking to see if he was still breathing. The pain in her eyes was unbearable. Mother sat with her, holding her hand.

Selah felt bad for thinking it, but if Cleon died here, they wouldn’t have such great difficulty getting Treva to leave. But when she found out he wanted to be left behind, there’d be a steep price to pay.

Moving next to the litter, Selah closed her eyes. Cleon, I’m sorry for wishing you away.

5 Hours to Egress

Selah pulled Mojica aside to talk. She and Bodhi had been discussing the travel back, and there were timing milestones they had to meet. Bodhi said it had taken him an hour to get through the tunnel. Selah didn’t think everyone was up to his level of stamina and fitness. Time was their enemy. They needed to enter the tunnel by nine thirty in the morning. She was beginning to worry.

“Before you say anything, I’ve asked for an ETA on our ride.” Mojica shook her head. “There’re still several families to go, and some unforeseen consequences of trying to keep a move like this secret. I can get smaller vehicles but they’ll only hold three, or a squeezed fourth, and the driver. We couldn’t all go at the same time.”

“Once we get transportation, how long will it take us to get to the tunnel?” Selah asked.

“A half hour at the most,” Mojica said.

“So we have to leave this building by nine in the morning at the latest,” Selah said, setting the times in her mind.

Bodhi and Mojica agreed.

“I think we’d better give everyone the opportunity for smaller vehicles, if they want it,” Bodhi said. “Some of them, like Mari, Pasha, and Dane, could probably go out a regular gate and get out now.”

Selah wanted to push them from the Mountain and keep them safe, but with her mind so jumbled at the moment, she didn’t trust her own thinking. She was starting to second-guess herself by imagining vivid scenarios of what could happen with each of her choices. She tried to banish the thoughts, but the what-ifs kept haunting her.

“It wouldn’t speed the rest of us up, because with five left, we’d still need a large transport. But you need to give them the facts and let them each decide for themselves,” Mojica said.

“Everybody, can we have your attention?” Selah said.

Mari had a nervous energy from being in the Mountain that she couldn’t seem to control. She darted over from her position at the front of the store. “You need to come see this. I think there’s someone watching us.”

Mojica followed her to the front, and Bodhi and Selah trailed behind.

Selah peered out. She didn’t see any movement. “What did you think you saw?”

“I didn’t think anything. We’re being stalked,” Mari said. She pointed to several buildings across the road. “Look at the roof of that building. Watch the top right corner.”

Sure enough, a couple of heads bobbed up and then out of sight.

“But couldn’t that just be random people?” Bodhi asked.

“It might be under different circumstances, but it’s five in the morning. There’s no reason for that many people to be up and about on a normal day,” Mojica said.

“And over there.” Mari pointed to a building near the corner where they had crossed into this section. “Watch there.”

Mojica stared at the spot, then muttered under her breath. Selah didn’t catch the words, but to see Mojica show even a hint of stress was jarring. The woman was a pinnacle of strength that never wavered.

Mojica turned away from the window and tapped her appliance. Selah looked between Bodhi and Mari. “How many weapons do we have?”

Bodhi brought a hand to his forehead. Mojica turned back. “Okay, bad news and worse news.”

Selah’s throat tightened. Nearly all who remained of her family were in this room. How could she protect them?

Mojica waved a hand. “Years ago the plascine building fronts in this area were all made riot-safe, and since this is one-way, we can see out but they can’t see in.”

“So is there anything they could shoot at us that would break this front?” Selah looked around the large open room. There was nowhere for anyone to hide. Even the benches didn’t offer much protection if the storefront was breached.

“Yes, but Green Court wouldn’t have access to that technology,” Mojica said. “The bad news is that there are none of my fighting squadrons left in the Mountain. We never anticipated having to fight our way out.”

“I just asked how many weapons we have,” Selah said.

“That’s where the news gets worse. I checked the storage here. Unfortunately, I had the TFs who were regularly stationed here take the weapons when they left at the time Green security overthrew Mountain forces.” Mojica shrugged. “I didn’t want them getting hold of our weapons. We have the two pulse disruptors Bodhi and I brought, and we gained three laser darts from Bethany’s security who we put to sleep.”

Selah thought about the weapons she had left lying in the building. Second-guessing again.

“You need to see this,” Mari yelled from the window.

Selah and Mojica joined her and Bodhi.

“I’ve seen at least a half dozen moving shapes hurrying into the side of that building on the corner,” Bodhi said. “It’s still too dark, but I’m pretty sure they were carrying weapons.”

Mojica gritted her teeth. “I was hoping that they were just making their presence known since they took over their own security, but I have to face the fact that we’re going to have a problem.”

To punctuate her statement, an explosion rocked the front of the store. Selah’s mother screamed. Gravel and bits of the composite roadway slammed against the plascine front as a billow of dark smoke expanded and then dissipated in front of the window. The building vibrated, and a tile dropped loose from the ceiling, crashing to the floor in front of where Cleon lay. Treva threw herself over his body, which brought a sharp cry of pain from Cleon.

Selah and Mari hurried away from the front. Mojica held up a hand. “That will hold, and they can’t see you, so they’re shooting blind. I never should have brought this many people back here. I’m afraid that’s what attracted the attention. I think they’re assuming we’re going to attack them.”

“If that’s all it comes down to, can we negotiate?” Bodhi asked.

“I don’t advise it. They’ve never been known for their honesty in dealing with the Mountain,” Mojica said.

Another explosion. Sprays of rocrete and stone peppered the front of the building. Everyone ducked. For a minute the outside was obscured by the smoke until a breeze pushed it away.

Dane started to sob. Mother wrapped her arms around him and tried to soothe him. Another blast. The whole building vibrated with the percussion.

“We can’t just sit here and let them bomb us. We need to do something,” Selah said. Her hands had started to shake. She clasped them together to force them still. She had to be strong for Mother and Dane.

“There’s nothing we can do. If I open the front to fire back, it will give them a way in, and it will also prove that we’re combative,” Mojica said.

“We can’t just sit here!” Selah said again. She started to pace.

Another blast rocked the building.

“Stop!” Selah screamed. Bodhi rushed to her side. She fought him off. “They have to stop! We didn’t do anything to them.” She slapped Bodhi’s hands away as he tried to comfort her. “They have to stop! Make them stop.”

Bodhi wrapped his arms around her tightly, restricting her movements. Her breath came in fast, ragged jerks. He tried to soothe her but she pushed against him and tried to squirm free.

“I killed my stepfather!” she yelled. “Make them stop!” She slid to the floor.

Bodhi lowered himself with her, still holding her tight. “It will be all right. I promise you. It will be all right.”

She shook her head and dropped her voice to an anguished whisper. “No, it won’t. Varro is gone. Cleon is going to die. You’re lying to me to make me feel better. I had to do the same thing with Cleon.”

Another explosion. Ceiling tiles collapsed to the floor, raining down debris and dust. Cleon started to cough, then suddenly went quiet. Selah ran to his side. Liquid oozed from the blast site on his torso. Each time his lungs tried to fill or expel air, the gurgling pushed bubbles of air out the wound. They’d grow large and then pop, spraying the blackened flesh with a glistening coat of moisture that under better circumstances an aide would have been removing. Mother looked at Selah and shook her head.

“They threw that last one on top of the building,” Mojica said.

Bodhi looked up. “Is this building able to withstand that kind of beating?”

Mojica nodded. “It’s never been tested, but we reinforced it about ten years ago, in anticipation of such an event. At the time we figured we’d be fighting to help the Green, not against them.”

“I thought this was just a store that you took over to wait for us,” Selah said.

“No, this was a standard Mountain security outpost before this last insurrection,” Mojica said.

“So they probably think we’re here to take back control,” Bodhi said.

“Yes, I suspect you’re right. I’ve called for backup. But the chances of getting it grow dimmer with each hour. I can’t pull people back to help rescue us when it might mean they become trapped,” Mojica said.

“So we just sit here and let them keep bombing us?” Selah asked.

Mari looked at her. “Do you have a better idea?”

Selah frowned. “I’m trying to protect my family. Don’t make smart comments. I know you’re looking down your nose at me. I’m not as good a tracker or hunter as you are, but I do love my family.”

Mari looked hurt. She opened her mouth to speak, but Bodhi touched her arm and shook his head.

“So now you’re on her side too,” Selah said. She struggled to get out of Bodhi’s embrace. “Let me go!”

“Not until you calm down and start acting rational again. You’re talking crazy,” he said.

She leaned her head against his chest. “I can’t do this. I can’t be this strong. Just let me die. I’ll go out and give myself to them. Maybe they’ll go away.”

Mojica patted her arm. “That’s just the stress talking. Take some deep breaths and try to pull yourself together. I need you to help me. You have abilities that could decide who wins or loses this fight, especially if they break in here.”

“But you said they couldn’t get in.” Selah began to hyperventilate.

Mojica raised a hand. “I was just saying in case. I didn’t mean they could. Look at me. Focus.”

Selah pulled at every string trying to unravel from her being. Focus. Mojica’s words penetrated the veil. She struggled to crawl from the pit in her mind where she had retreated.

“Pasha and Dane need you,” Bodhi said softly. “You have to be strong for them.”

Selah blinked. She looked at Mother cradling Cleon and trying to soothe Dane. She envisioned her nerves smoothing out the craggy, broken edges that stabbed at her brain. She breathed deeply, focusing her eyes on her family. She had to take care of them.

The tension drained from her limbs. Bodhi relaxed his grip. “If you need me, I’m right here.”

She tried to smile, but it wound up being more of a quiver. She looked at Mari. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of what I said. I don’t know what came over me.”

Mari rubbed Selah’s hand. “I think we’ve all been tested with what could overcome us in the last twenty-four hours. I’ve already forgotten it.”

Mojica peered out the front. “I don’t think they’ll try to break in. They probably think we’re heavily armed like normal, so as long as the building holds up, we’ll be safe.”

Bodhi fingered one of the weapons on the counter. “Will we have firepower to help us get out of here when our transportation arrives?”

“I’ve got two of my best coming with the armored transport,” Mojica said.

Selah wasn’t sure, but she thought there was a note of hesitation in Mojica’s voice. She passed it off. She was not going to lose herself again.

1 Hour to Egress

Selah paced near the front of the store. She had bitten every one of her nails. The Green forces outside had not tried to contact them, but every half hour or so they lobbed another bomb at the front of the building. Even Dane had gotten used to the mind-numbing percussions and wasn’t crying anymore. Selah looked around at everyone in different states of rest. She had regained her own momentum and marveled at how easily the mind became used to a constant state of stress.

But it was time to leave. They needed to be gone from this insane place where people didn’t even try to talk but preferred to just keep bombing, apparently for fun. She imagined being trapped in the Mountain. Her feelings of claustrophobia threatened to overwhelm her. She tamped those things back down. Focus.

Mojica hurried over. “Everyone get ready. Our transportation is on the way.”

Selah helped her mother and Treva get Cleon ready to travel. His color had turned to a pasty gray. Selah could see him slipping away by the minute. She didn’t know how he was holding on, but she knew why. Treva herself was ashen and almost unresponsive except to throw herself over Cleon when an occasional bomb caused dust to filter down from the ceiling.

Mari had been keeping Dane occupied. She knew of Cleon’s wish to remain behind, so she casually brought Dane over to talk with him for the last time. Selah watched with a broken heart. She had lost half of her family to this Mountain.

Twenty minutes later Selah was getting anxious again. Had the transport fallen victim to Green security?

Bodhi rushed over. “They’re here. Let’s go home.” He snatched up a pulse disruptor. Mojica grabbed her weapon, while Mari handed laser darts to Selah and her mother.

A huge armored unit stopped in front of the store, blocking it from the militants. Two sharpshooters hopped out and laid down suppression fire while Mojica and Bodhi hauled Cleon’s litter into the vehicle. A few random shots pinged off the armor plating.

Mojica and Bodhi darted back inside. “It seems they get the drift that we’re leaving and not trying to overthrow their new regime. I think they’ll let us leave, but keep your heads down just in case.”

More suppression fire came from Mojica’s sharpshooters, but everyone was able to get inside the armored unit without incident.

Selah sat back against the seat and put her head on Bodhi’s shoulder. He patted her knee and smiled. “We made it.”

Egress

Selah counted the time in her head. It was ten in the morning. Their unit had lacked enough power for the weight it was carrying and needed a charge replacement. They still weren’t to the tunnel.

Bodhi held her hand. “There won’t be any problems getting in, will there?”

“We’re here.” Mojica piled everyone out and hustled them into the access corridor. Selah tried to keep Treva’s attention from Cleon, but she stayed right beside him.

Mojica motioned Bodhi to stand by her and called the group to attention. “We’re entering the tunnels two at a time to avoid setting off any alarms in the Mountain. We will stagger leaving by two minutes. First Bodhi and Treva, then Mari and Dane, then Selah and Pasha. I will bring up the rear with Cleon and the two TFs carrying the litter. Remember, people, always bear to the left in all tunnels and junctions. That is of paramount importance. We don’t want anyone lost in these tunnels.”

Treva protested. She refused to leave Cleon. When Selah told her she was endangering everyone’s life, she reluctantly agreed to go with Bodhi. Selah kissed him goodbye and hugged Treva. They went through the door. Selah realized Mojica had set it up this way to keep Treva far ahead where she wouldn’t know Cleon had been left behind until it was too late for her to go back. She felt bad having to deceive her this way. But it would save her life.

Next Mari left with Dane after he’d gotten copious kisses from Selah and Mother.

Selah and her mother spent their last minutes with Cleon. He barely had a wisp of breath left. He could no longer open his eyes fully. Selah kissed him goodbye. Tears fell from her cheeks and rolled down Cleon’s gray face. Selah brushed them away and moved to the side to wait for Mother.

Mojica assured Selah that Cleon would be left where he could be found for a decent burial. Selah’s lip quivered as she talked. She turned back for one last look, then allowed Mother to pull her into the tunnel.

Selah felt the strength in her mother’s hand. “Mother, I’m so sorry about Varro and Cleon. It’s all my fault.”

“None of this is your fault, my daughter. Varro chose his own path a long time ago, and we were just part of the many ripples,” Mother said.

Selah ran for the first ten minutes, tears clouding her eyes, but drawing strength from her mother. She saw nothing but a halo of light from the ribbon down the center of the ceiling. The farther she got from the Mountain the better she felt, and the more her head seemed to clear. She remembered what Bodhi had said about the tunnel curving, but she didn’t sense much of that. Strange.

The tunnel straightened out and she could see Mari and Dane up ahead. That wasn’t right. They were supposed to be two minutes ahead. Dane appeared to be limping. Selah and Mother caught up.

“Mother, I fell and hurt my ankle,” Dane said when he saw her.

“We will make it better when we get out of here. Come, we have to hurry,” she said. She grabbed him by the hand and tried to pull him along, but Selah felt them lagging. Dane wasn’t moving well, and Mother seemed to be winding down too.

Mojica and her TFs caught up. “We need to move, people. This is not good. We’re only through about half of Bodhi’s hour-long travel time, and my ComTex says there’s fifteen minutes left before the Mountain seals.”

“What would happen to us in here? Would we be sealed in the tunnel?” Selah’s eyes darted around. This was not the place she wanted to use her last breaths.

Mojica’s lips twisted. “I don’t know what would happen, but I don’t want to have to find out either. Let’s move it.” She turned to the TFs. “You two take Dane.”

The boy started to protest leaving his mother, but one of the TFs threw him over his shoulder and started to run. The other one followed.

If this had been any other day, Selah could have kept up. Little food and no sleep had brought her to the end of her reserves. A cramp stitched her side near her bad hip. She winced and tried to ignore it until it radiated up and stabbed her in the diaphragm. She breathed through the pain.

They were quickly wearing down. Selah desperately needed water. Her mother fell behind, and twice Mojica had to put an arm under hers to hold her up. Mari held her up on the other side. They made a little better time with Mother’s feet barely hitting the ground.

They turned a corner that Selah didn’t expect. She stared in disbelief.