The first bomb shook plaster from the roof of the compound. I ducked under my metal desk, taking the blueprints of Soriah with me.
“Crynn!” Fawke Newton, my boyfriend and partner bolted into my office.
“Down here.” I waved a hand over the desk.
He slid under with me, wrapping his arms around me. “The people are panicking.”
“The bombs can’t get through. The worse that can happen is some of the roof falls in.” I hoped. Fallen plaster tiles could be fixed. “I don’t think they know exactly where we are. They’re trying to flush us out. Are the people in the tunnels?”
“They’re headed that way. Dante is leading them. Lars is staying in the control room. He’s got drones in the air.”
“Then we need to be in there with him.” I rolled the blueprints and shoved them in a drawer before heading to the control room with Fawke at my side.
Dust filled the air. A few stragglers headed for the tunnels. Tunnels that still hadn’t been fully explored and that I hoped would lead us into the heart of Soriah. I would bring that city to its knees for the sake of the people they’d oppressed.
I had a personal vengeance as well. On my eighteenth birthday, I’d spun a wheel and become a Stalker. Someone sent into the outside world to kill malignants, a breed once human but transformed by the poisonous bombs dropped on the outside world. All because Soriah wanted to broaden their borders. I’d become one of many of those in power considered invincible. Well, I’d shown them otherwise by forming an army of my own.
“What do you have?” I stared at the monitors in front of Lars, a man who had once been a scavenger for the white city and had become irreplaceable to those of us who lived underground.
“The army is bombing randomly. I don’t think we’re in any great danger.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “It’s only a matter of time, Crynn, before they pinpoint our location.”
“Hopefully, we’ll be inside Soriah at that time and their focus will be off our compound.” There were several hundred people living down here that I had to protect.
“Should we go out and fight?” Ezra entered the room.
“Not yet. Not until they move away. If we go out now, they’ll know we’re hiding close.” I watched as a drone flew over the army.
Soldiers’ heads turned toward the sky. One of them took aim and shot the drone out of the sky.
Lars sighed. “That’s the third one.”
“Don’t fly anymore. We don’t have an unlimited supply. Turn on the outside cameras.”
The monitors switched to the outside view. The army was too far away for the cameras to pick up as much as the flying machine had, but it showed me enough. A small army and one tank. Where was the rest of the army?
Fawke must’ve had the same idea. “Despite not wanting to, we need to go out and find the rest of the army. We can’t have them setting up camp on top of us.”
“You think they’re bombing above us to clear space?” I faced him.
“Makes sense. The former amusement park has enough space if they cleared it off.”
If that happened, we’d be trapped. We’d have to travel much farther through the tunnels in order to get out. “Okay, but just you and me. We need to leave enough of our fighters to protect the compound if the army succeeds in getting in.”
“They won’t. We’re impenetrable,” Fawke said.
“I’m not taking any chances. These people depend on me. We leave at dark.” I turned and marched to the office. If we were going to move forward with plans to attack Soriah, I needed to study the blueprints.
“I’ll bring you supper.” Fawke followed me from the room and headed for the dining area.
In my office, I spread the blueprints on my desk, occasionally wiping dust away as plaster rained down on my head. I traced a finger along the compound, then into the tunnels. I found a place where we could dig through, but that would only alert the white city that we were coming.
Frustrated, I searched the office for more blueprints. I soon had quite a pile spread out on my desk.
“Where do you want this?” Fawke grinned from the doorway. “It’s chicken tonight.” He removed the napkin he’d used to keep the dust off my food.
“I guess on top of this mess.” Not for the first time, pleasure at having brought chickens with us from the cult we’d shut down filled me. It gave a welcome break from rats and pigeons.
Fawke sat across from me with his plate. “The samples of the rain the last scouts took show less poison. Soon, the rain will no longer burn when we go out in it.”
“That also means the malignants will be more active.” I took a bite out of a chicken leg, closing my eyes in bliss. “The rain was our only break from them.”
“True, but I’m still glad to hear the news. Find anything?”
“No. I could use your help poring over these prints if you have time.”
“Sure. We have a couple of hours until dark.”
We studied print after print until I saw it. “Look.” I tapped the print. “It’s quite a hike, but one of the tunnels does lead to Soriah.” I flopped back in my chair. “How long do you think that will take us?”
“If we don’t run across anyone not happy to see us or any malignants, I’d say three days.” He grinned. “Good job. When do you want to this?”
“Once we’ve trained every able-bodied man in this place and explored the tunnels. I want to know what we’re up against.”
“I’ll get Dante and Gage on that right away. Meet you in the armory.” He cleared our plates and left the room.
A week to train, another to scout the tunnels…we’d be inside Soriah within the month. My heart pounded. Success or fail, we would face the leaders and bring down their tyranny. Elect honest officials who cared about the people.
A vision of a better world formed in my mind. One where people could pick their careers and not rely on the spin of a wheel. I envisioned a free world where men and women could become whatever they wanted to work hard enough to achieve.
A few minutes later, I entered the armory and suited up, making sure my ear bud was secure. “Let’s make this quick.”
“Sounds good to me.” He grinned. “We’ve plans to make.” He slipped his ear bud in. “Lars, is the exit clear?”
“Looks good. Watch out for falling objects. They’re still bombing the area.”
As if we couldn’t tell from the roof shaking over our heads. I followed Fawke to the exit door we’d hidden with debris. If the army started clearing the area, they’d uncover the door. We needed a better way of keeping them out once that happened. The best thing would be to dismantle the army altogether, something I didn’t know how to do. Every time we killed soldiers, more arrived. They were as bad as the monsters I’d once hunted.
Fawke slowly opened the door and stepped out, peering around the pile of debris. “Good news is there is plenty of blasted concrete to hide behind as we head across the lot.”
“Lead the way.” I followed as he darted toward the buildings rising to our right.
I hoped to convince the few soldiers doing the bombing to join us. A lot already had and we could use another tank. If they didn’t surrender, we’d have to put them in our crowded prison or kill them. The killing never sat well with me. If they did want to join us, they still had to be jailed until I felt they could be trusted.
We moved as silently as possible, our progress camouflaged by the noise of the tank. Malignants had learned to steer clear of the noisy machine and stayed quiet in their hiding places.
Fawke held up a fist for me to halt. After a couple of minutes, he waved me forward, drawing his weapon. I did the same.
We moved through the shell of a building. The stench assaulted me. Malignants had once made this their home as evidenced by the nests they’d left behind. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. I expected a shriek and an attack at any moment. When we left the building, I released a pent-up breath.
The next pile of debris revealed the soldiers. Fawke and I stepped silently behind them.
“Hands up.” Fawke aimed his weapon.
Six soldiers whirled. Their hands slowly rose over their heads.
“Who’s in charge?” I asked.
One of them jerked his head toward another.
The man removed his helmet. “That would be me. Took you long enough to come.”
I frowned. “Explain.”
“We all volunteered for this mission in the hopes you’d confront us. We want to join you.”
I glanced at Fawke, then back to the man. “Then why the bombing?”
“Because we were ordered to. If the General didn’t hear the bombing, he’d get suspicious. You don’t know what it’s like, ma’am. Working for Soriah. Nobody cares whether we live or die. We heard some others deserted.”
“Maybe the malignants got them.” I shrugged.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. I think they’re with you.”
“If we allow you to come with us, you hand over your guns, radios, and the keys to the tank. We’ll blindfold you and put you in jail for a while. Then, you’ll either join us or remain imprisoned.”
They were quick to drop their weapons. The leader dropped the keys in Fawke’s outstretched hand. “We agree to those terms.”
It was going to be a long night. We couldn’t let them know how close they were to the compound. We’d have to zig-zag around to hide the distance.
Fawke blindfolded the men, then had them walk with one hand on each other’s shoulders in a straight line while he led them. I took up the rear.
“Keep it quiet, guys,” Fawke said. “The malignants will come out now that the bombing has stopped.”
As we moved, the occasional shriek would come from one of the buildings. Tension knotted my shoulders. We were in no condition to fight unless we gave the soldiers back their weapons. Weapons they could then turn on us.