Chapter Two

 

 

I wandered around the tent city that had become our home. We still called it Genesis.

The non-Warrior engineers had scoured below us in the original Genesis for months and they had managed—they hoped—to disable all the bombs Icahn had hidden there over the years. Our former leader might have hidden bombs. He could be counted on to be destructive. The habitat might still blow up. We’d never know for sure.

While a few brave souls had gone back down to spend the winter in the warmth beneath us, preferring the possibility of being killed to staying up and freezing with the rest of us above. Most of Genesis’ inhabitants had started to really create a life for themselves above ground.

Little communities had formed around the placement of tents. Those who lived below the river were referred to as the BR zones. They mostly consisted of farmers and teachers. We had to patrol their area a lot during the night. For the most part and there were real exceptions, they weren’t very good at protecting themselves. The vamps had figured that out and tried to break through our lines there. So far, they’d only managed it once.

But that had been one bad night.

On the other side, the AR held the rest of the non-Warriors. They’d taken better to the weapons training. I’m not sure exactly why. The president of Genesis, newly elected, lived there. President Davis Trumpest resembled a turtle so distinctly that we ended up referring to him as The Turtle. He watched me with serious eyes, as if he worried about me, or wanted me for a purpose I didn’t understand.

Then there was us. The Warriors. We lived up the hill, looking down over the rest. It gave us the ability to watch what happened, to protect the people around us. Our genes made us Warriors, physically able to fight vampires and werewolves. The non-Warriors could do it sometimes, with the right training, but we could do it almost by instinct alone. Add training to that and we could really do damage to monsters.

If only we could. The adult leaders preferred to just fight back and never fight forward. Put a bandage on the problem. Endlessly fix a leak. That’s why we had formed our secret society. We’d take out every vampire in the world until we located Icahn.

We’d find him someday too, and then we’d kill him. Of that, I felt certain. The man would die, brutally.

Tonight, however, I’d go back to my tent surrounded by the people who shared my genetic abilities and pretend nothing weird loomed on the horizon.

“Rachel, wait up.”

I turned around to find Keith Endover barreling toward me. There had been a time when I would have done anything for his approval. I stopped in my tracks. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t run away when Keith called my name. Even if I found it difficult to look him in the eyes because I couldn’t tell him what I did during the day.

Keith finally caught up to me. Slightly winded, he laughed. “You were really moving fast. I’ve been calling your name for ten minutes. Did you not hear me?”

What could I say to him? “Sorry, Keith. Just daydreaming, I guess.”

With his strawberry blond hair, chiseled cheekbones, and blue eyes, he always looked younger than his actual age, which this year was forty-two. He and his wife Tiffani had a baby nine months earlier. Levi looked cute, but I had the same problem as with Tia’s baby. I would stare and stutter. Not a pretty sight.

“How are things? We never see you.”

My dread at talking to Keith made me sad. Keith and Tiffani were the closest things I’d ever had to real family—outside of the Lyons, and that had gotten horribly complicated after I’d gotten Chad Lyons killed.

“I’m sorry about that.” I didn’t offer more. If I said little I wouldn’t have to lie.

“Right, well.” He put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes. “Everything okay?”

“Yes.” I smiled, and I could feel the long, jagged scar on my cheek stretch. I’d gotten that annoyance from a vampire scratch and a subsequent infection that nearly killed me.

“Great. Then I’ll walk with you. Going to see Jason?”

I hadn’t intended to, having just left him. I meant to keep stalking around while I figured out how to get my emotions in order so I could lead an invasion down a vampire hole.

“Yes, I thought I’d see what Jason is up to.” Apparently, I’d be paying Jason a visit. Again.

“So, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“Oh yes? Everything fine with you?” I pulled my coat tighter around my body.

“Yes. Are you cold?”

I shrugged. “A little.”

“Maybe you should go to the manufacturing area and get a new coat.”

“That could be a good idea.”

“Anyway, I spoke with Patrick Lyons.”

The name made my stomach clench up. The father of Chad, Micah, and Tia. The head of the Warriors. He and the Turtle ran Genesis. Patrick’s son was dead, and whether I’d meant for it to happen or not, I was responsible.

“What were you talking about?”

“We need to nominate someone from your year to step up and take over as leader.”

This stopped me in my tracks. If they intended to nominate me, I’d be surprised. Micah or one of the others was a much more acceptable choice. In any case, Keith had finally opened up a topic of conversation I wanted to have—even if it was really stupid to do so the day before I intended to break all the rules.

“Why are we still bothering with all of that?”

Keith rubbed his forehead. “What?”

“The mechanics of Warrior society is all a setup Icahn used to control our lives. Who cares who leads? What does it even matter? We were a game for his vampires to practice their feedings on. The Warriors. The rules. All of it. It’s nonsense. Why are we continuing on with this whole process? Nominating. What we can and cannot do. It’s nonsense.”

I knew I shouted but I couldn’t seem to bring down the tone of my voice. Keith, to his credit, didn’t flinch at my assault.

“Leadership is a tricky thing, Rachel.”

I shook my head. “Answer my questions, Keith. Unless you can’t answer them because there is literally nothing to say. Everyone has bought into this idea that we have to do as we always have done, when the truth is that we don’t have to do any of it. Not one thing.”

“If you had let me finish, I would have answered you. We’re in charge of these people, whether we want to be or not. They can’t survive out here without us. That makes them our family, whether we want them to be or not.”

His words struck at me. That had to be how he felt about me. His responsibility—was that our relationship? His family because there was no other choice?

“What is that look on your face?”

I extended my hand. “Please continue.” Before I lost it and dissolved in a childish bunch of tears.

“Rules—even ones that Icahn created—give everyone a sense of security. There will be time to figure out what we need to change and what we don’t. Think about it. It’s only been a year since we lived underground. People have moved back down because they still can’t handle the shift.” He laughed, which surprised me. What part of the speech he’d just given had he found amusing? “You’re young. I get it. You’re ready to move on, to change things. Trust me, don’t rock the boat right now.”

“Why? What will happen to me if I do?” I had to be out of my mind to ask him. What if I accidently gave us away?

“I guess it would depend on what you did. What were you thinking about doing?”

“Nothing.” I stared him right in the eyes. “What would I be capable of doing? This is me we’re talking about here.”

He put his arm around my shoulder. “You have great potential. I’d hate to see you screw anything up.”

Keith nodded, as if he’d made an excellent point. Sometimes adults thought they’d taught me a lesson or given me a piece of advice, and then they’d act self-congratulatory at having accomplished their objective.

He continued. “So, what do you think about being nominated for the leadership role for the Ones and Twos?”

“That was Chad’s role.”

I almost never said his name. Other people liked to bring him up when they talked about me. Very few of my conversations included him. I couldn’t make it like Chad had never been born—I wouldn’t want to—I loved him, first like a friend and later like my boyfriend. But the sheer power of saying his name brought me to my proverbial knees and made me never want to discuss him.

“You don’t think I know that? I nominated him. Not that anyone came close to being as qualified as he was. Chad was born for leadership.”

I closed my eyes. Before we’d been attacked by vampire-worshiping humans, we’d had a few perfect moments in his sports utility vehicle together. His mouth pressed against mine, my body getting hot. So different than with Jason, where I seemed to leave my own body when we touched. I opened my eyes. It was wrong to even compare them. But I’d only been kissed by two guys—making comparisons was inevitable. Plus, Chad was dead. It wasn’t as if I could hurt him anymore. He would probably prefer me to remember kissing him than thinking of his altered face when he’d been changed into a vampire. Moments before I’d plunged my stake into his heart….

“Rachel….” I rubbed at my forehead. “Life is for the living.” Keith’s voice had lowered an octave as he delivered that remark. “Too much of this grief—the kind you are carrying around like it’s your job—it’s not good for you. It’s not what Chad would have wanted. He’d want you to take the position.”

“You speak for him now?” I raised my hand to stop his response. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.” And I wasn’t entirely certain why I had. “I’m not a leader. I never was. I’m the girl who you had to try to save on her sixteenth birthday. My skills have always been mid-level at best. Surviving a storm of evil does not make me good. It makes me lucky. Find someone else. No one would listen to me, anyway. They all think I’m losing my mind.”

That last sentence, well, that was at least true.

“Rachel.” I moved away from him as he spoke. “I can help you. Tiffani can make this better. We’ve been through a lot of loss. Student after student. We had to send all of you up and we had no idea if we’d see any of you again. I had to watch as you and Chad drove away on a mission I didn’t even believe in, knowing there was every chance both of you wouldn’t return.”

“Keith.” I could barely speak as I rushed into his arms. He hugged me as if I mattered. “I’m sorry.”

He thought I apologized for the attitude I’d been giving him. The truth is that I was sorry because the next day when I blew a lid off a vampire hole and led twenty young Warriors down into a lair, there was every chance that none of us would be coming back. We would be more people for him to mourn. These days I knew grief. We’d become best friends.

“You’re going to be okay. Take the job. It’ll give you more to do, to take your mind off things.”

I shook my head as I let go of him. “I have enough.” I patted his arm. “More than enough.”

“Well, at least promise me that you’ll come by tomorrow night to see Tiffani and Levi.”

“Yes. I’ll come.” If I still lived. Keith left and I waited a few minutes before following him back to our tent city. I didn’t need to be at Jason’s encampment, not with his father holding a meeting. I’d rather take a cold bath in the river.

My tent called to me. I had three hours before I had to go out and fight the vampires. Maybe I could get a nap in. The non-Warriors mulled about, enjoying the remnants of the sunlight, knowing they’d have to go back inside, hoping we could keep the vamps back all night. Lately, we hadn’t seen any werewolf attacks and everyone felt certain it was because of the close vicinity of our own werewolves. None of Icahn’s crazed wolves wanted anything to do with Andon’s.

The thought made me consider the meeting Andon had held. I could never let go of the idea that Andon plotted ways to remove Jason from me at every turn. Jason loved me. He’d certainly put up with enough lately to be with me. Still….

I walked through the flap of my tent thinking only of my bed. Two and a half hours of sleep and then half an hour to get ready. Heaven.

Except that Deacon lounged on my bed.

He had lain down and was out cold. None of us slept deeply very often, never knowing when one of the alarms would sound. Daytime had the benefit of no vampires but the lack of werewolf attacks couldn’t be counted on to last. Warriors had to be on call all the time.

Clearing my throat did not make Deacon move.

I walked to the bed, bent over, and rubbed his arm. He smelled like mint tea. I hated to admit how much I loved that scent. I’d clearly spent too much time with Jason if I mused about aromas.

“Deacon.”

He moaned and opened his eyes. “Rachel, I was so happy to be asleep.”

“Don’t whine. This is my bed. You know Jason can’t stand to smell you in here. Up.”

“Do you want me out of your bed? I don’t care what wolf boy wants. I never have.”

“I care what Jason wants and doesn’t want, so I want you out of my bed.”

He muttered unintelligible words as he swung his legs over the side. “I was waiting for you. Where have you been?”

“Do I report to you now?”

He shook his head, and I looked away. Deacon defined male beauty, and I could barely stand it. Men shouldn’t have eyelashes as long as his. The dimple in his cheek? Not fair.

“Of course not. We all report to you, right?” His eyes dared me to challenge him. All of a sudden, I wasn’t tired.

“Deacon, so help me, I’m really not in the mood for this.”

He stood up. “I came to thank you.”

“For what?” I shouted at the top of my voice. I needed to holler at someone and Deacon had picked a bad time to fall asleep in my bed.

“For tomorrow. In case there is no chance to say it. I know what you’re doing isn’t easy. It’s been hell on you. My family, if they still live, they’re in a vampire hole. The fact that you are willing to take steps to try to free them or others like them, means more to me than you’ll ever know.” He swallowed. I could see the muscles move in his throat. “So, thank you. For everything.”

I sat down on the bed. My legs just seemed to go out from beneath me. “Deacon.”

I had no other words.