Kelly acted like she’d woken up on another planet. She gawped around the tarmac, not seeming to recognize anyone or anything.
“Kelly?” Shane rushed to her.
“Yes,” she replied. Her eyes widened with excitement. “Yes, Kelly. That’s my name.”
She smiled at him, but then the lost expression returned.
“Who are you?” she asked. “What is this place?”
“It’s me, Shane,” he replied, worried. “Let’s get you inside.”
She shied away when he reached for her arm, her cheeks flushed with panic.
“Don’t touch me,” she said.
“Okay.” Shane lowered his hand.
“You’ve been through a lot,” Laura said, stepping next to Shane. “But you’re safe now.”
Laura’s soft tone and her caring smile calmed Kelly.
“Maybe you should rest a bit more,” Shane said, his heart breaking to see her so confused.
“Kelly?” Nat’s voice drew their attention toward a group of kids gathered near the next building.
The little girl pushed her way through the crowd and ran toward her sister. She stopped near Shane, looking up at him as if to see if it was safe to come closer. Her concern was justified since Kelly had shot her with the plasma rifle less than twenty-four hours before. Someone must’ve explained to Nat that Kelly had not been in control. Otherwise, he doubted she’d come running. He nodded at her, hoping she’d cause Kelly to remember. Nat opened her arms timidly and stepped closer. Kelly’s face contorted with bewilderment before filling with terror.
“Stay away from me,” Kelly shouted. She turned and ran into the building.
Tears filled Nat’s eyes. She had so much sadness in her little face that it made his vision blur too.
“It’s okay, Nat,” he said, grasping for reassuring words. “Kelly just needs a bit more rest, then she’ll be back to normal.”
The strong girl rubbed tears away with the back of her hand, her chin crinkling in an attempt to hold back a deluge. She nodded to him, turned, and slowly made her way back to the other children. Off to Shane’s right, some kids started shouting at each other.
“I’ll look after her,” Laura said and opened the door to the barracks.
“Laura,” Shane stopped her. “This place is a time bomb. We leave in an hour.”
“I’ll have her ready,” Laura replied.
Shane turned away, stunned.
“I got this,” Steve said, walking toward the arguing kids.
“Thanks,” Shane replied, a stressed tremor in his voice. “I need to see if Jones found some maps.”
He passed his big friend, and Steve put his hand on his shoulder.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said. “We got them back.”
“We did,” Shane responded with a weak grin. “Thanks, buddy.”
Trying to clear his head and focus his attention, he weaved his way across the crowded tarmac to the captain. Jones had spread maps across a few tables and stood with his arms crossed over his chest, staring down at them.
“Captain,” Shane said.
Jones blinked at him, like he’d been lost in memories. His face showed heartache and sorrow that made Nat seem cheerful in comparison.
“Yes,” the alien said, clearing his throat and then his expression. “I think I’ve found the best way out of the mountains.”
Shane surveyed the route Jones had plotted for them. It bent, turned, and appeared as if it would take far too long to travel.
“Can’t we take a more direct path?” Shane asked.
“Not with all these people,” Jones replied. “I’ve plotted our course over the easiest topography. This is the fastest way.”
After the journey from the coastline through the woods to the hidden base, Shane had realized the captain knew the mountains better than anybody. He couldn’t help feeling jealous. After all, his ancestors had lived in these woods since the first Europeans came to America, and he should be more the expert than Jones.
“How long do you think this will take?”
“If we push hard, I think we can make it to the farmlands on the western side here,” Jones pointed at Kentucky, “within a few days.”
Shane rubbed his chin, studying the path and then Jones. The captain had already said that he wanted to go south, toward Atlanta. He wanted to make sure the rebel wasn’t taking a longer route just to slow them down so he could try to convince Shane of his earlier plan. His gut told him Jones wasn’t messing around. He approached the transport, stepping beside the now-unmanned antiaircraft gun.
“Let’s move out,” Shane yelled.
Everyone fell quiet, their blank stares on him.
“You heard him,” Tracy seconded. “Platoon leaders, get you people on their feet.”
Tracy and his friends had organized the teenagers and assigned the oldest kids to leadership positions. It astonished him how well her system worked. The platoon leaders shouted orders, and squad leaders beneath them picked up the slack. Within a minute, about a third of the kids on the tarmac were on their feet with the packs they were assigned to carry on their backs. The children looked glum and weren’t at a position of attention, but Shane doubted a seasoned military general could’ve brought order to such a large group in the amount of time Tracy had. He could hear orders being shouted in the forest beyond, an indication of how large the group he led had grown.
“Ready when you are,” Tracy reported.
“What about the rest of them?” Shane asked.
“They don’t want to go with us,” Tracy replied. “A few other groups have formed, and they are heading in different directions.”
“Okay,” Shane said, surprised. “Guess it makes our job easier.” He couldn’t help feeling relieved, though he worried they might need the extra people if they were attacked.
“I’ll grab Kelly and Laura from the barracks,” Maurice said. He’d also taken responsibility for Jules, as Tracy had her hands more than full managing the new recruits.
“Thanks, Maurice,” Shane said sincerely.
“Of course,” Maurice replied with a kind smile.
The preacher’s son had known Jules longer than any of them, and he’d taken on the role of shrink enough for Shane to know he was the best person for the task. With Maurice and Laura looking after Jules and Kelly, Shane felt he could turn his full attention to leading his new army.
“We’ll follow you,” Shane said to Jones.
The captain nodded. He rolled the maps, stuffed them into his pack, and then glanced at the Anunnaki soldier they’d captured. Petrov guarded the prisoner.
“Don’t worry,” Shane said. “He’ll be at the front with us. No harm will come to him.”
Jones gave him a grateful look, slung his pack over his shoulder, and turned and walked toward the eastern side of the base.
Maurice exited the barracks with Kelly and Laura. Kelly looked calm, and he hoped she was starting to remember. But her eyes didn’t search the crowd for the people she knew, and she wore a shy expression like she felt out of place.
“Let’s go,” Shane shouted.
The order echoed across the base and into the forest. With Jones at his side, he led the way between the buildings and into the woods. His grandmother had raised him to respect nature and to cause as little damage as possible when visiting the forest. The noise of hundreds of feet crunching through the pristine wilderness made him ill.
“This is going to leave a massive scar,” Jones growled in disappointment, glowering over his shoulder at the hoard following behind.
“It is,” Shane said. He’d been surprised by Jones’ hidden sensitive side before. “But it’ll heal.”
It bothered him as well, and so did Kelly’s behavior. However, a new ability to separate himself from his emotions had arisen on the trip from Charleston to the hidden base. Destiny chose him to lead these people, and he wouldn’t let them down.
He remembered not caring about anyone else but himself and Kelly and felt ashamed. It wasn’t how he’d been raised, and though a part of him knew it was wrong, he couldn’t resist the overwhelming influence of his emotions. If how important it was for him to be a good leader hadn’t been apparent enough to him before, having all these new people following him really drove home the point.
“This might be the hardest thing we’ve had to do yet,” Steve said, coming up on Shane’s right.
“What, take a walk through the woods?” Shane tried to spark Steve’s robust sense of humor.
“No, man,” Steve said, not smiling. “Feeding all these people.”
“With the livestock and deserted farms on the other side of these mountains, there’ll be plenty to get us through the winter,” Shane replied. “I’m sure some of these kids grew up on farms. They can help teach the rest.”
“We’re just gonna settle down somewhere and hoe a field?” Steve didn’t sound like he objected, but more like the solution sounded way too simple.
“I don’t see how we have any other choice if we want to survive.” Shane kicked a log that lay across the path, making sure it wouldn’t move when the kids trampled it. Satisfied, he looked at Steve. “The other option is to go after the food reserves Jones knows about.”
“No. I hate Atlanta,” Steve agreed. He easily kept pace with Shane, who’d left the rest of the kids behind trying to keep up with the captain. “It’s just a tall order. And what about that green-haze thing that spoke to us? We just gonna pretend that didn’t happen?”
“Well, I haven’t really had time to process it,” Shane replied, adjusting the rifle hanging over his right shoulder. “But I reckon Maurice is right on this one. If we’re being judged, we should show this thing the best side of us. I don’t see how we can do that fighting over some food reserve.”
“I see your point. Not like we can fight something we can’t see anyway.” Steve nodded down the hill. “That dude is spry considering he’s weaker than most of us.”
“Yeah, and Lord knows how old,” Shane replied, remorse from pushing the captain around coming over him. “He knows this forest like a regular hillbilly.”
“Putting us to shame,” Steve said. “If we can settle, and the green thing leaves us alone, I intend to spend a whole lot more time in these woods.”
“Me too,” Shane agreed, though he knew they liked the wilderness for different reasons.