Chapter 6 #2
A pristine, manicured lawn led to the front porch where two figures stood on guard.
Torches flickered in the early morning light, casting weird shadows across the grass.
The very fact that there was a lawn at all spoke volumes as to the amount of money the unofficial mayor brought in.
Watering something like that in the desert would cost hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars to maintain.
“There’s no need to be quiet.” Sloan rotated her wrists and rolled her shoulders. “We’ll go in and speak with their leader and make her give us our people.”
“That’s one plan we could try.” Edison scrunched his nose as he caught a whiff of Sloan and her stolen cloak. “But is it the best? What’s that smell? Did you piss yourself?”
Sloan ignored Edison’s comment. “It’s the fastest way to getting our people back, besides going straight in and killing everyone. You two stay close. If things go bad, we have backup within earshot. We’ll be fine.”
Before either of the scientists could ask what she meant by “backup,” Sloan began to move again. When she was halfway across the dirt road, the two guards standing sentry at the front of the house caught sight of her.
“Stop right there,” one of them shouted in a nasally voice. He lifted a rifle in their direction, as did his counterpart. “What’s it you want?”
Sloan kept her sword low by her side. She knew she could be on top of the two guards within a heartbeat.
Her accelerated healing would allow her to take the bullets with minimal pain.
She hadn’t been shot in the face, though.
The idea made Sloan wonder if her body could heal from such a wound.
Instead of testing her question, Sloan placed her sword in her belt.
“You have two of my friends.” Sloan continued to walk forward until she was at the building's gate. She placed her hands on the smooth, metal fence. “I want to speak to your leader about their release.”
The two guards looked to one another for a consensus. Sloan was surprised to find out she could hear their whispers at such a distance.
“What do you want to do?” the nasally guard asked his counterpart. “Kill them here, or get the boss?”
“The boss isn’t sleeping, but she’ll be pissed if we bother her.”
“Yeah, but will she be more pissed if we kill them and she actually wanted to speak with them?”
“You’re right. Keep your rifle on them and I’ll go wake her.”
“Stay where you are,” nasal-voice shouted. “If any one of you three moves, I’ll blow your heads off, I mean it.”
“Calm yourself.” Sloan raised an eyebrow. “We’re not going to try anything.”
The other guard disappeared into the house. While the trio of New Hope escapees waited, the guard squinted through the dark.
“Say, aren’t those the two fellows who were in the sheriff’s station?” He got on his tiptoes and leaned farther off the porch. “They are! You freed them, and then you came here to demand your people be released? You’ve made a bad move, lady.”
“Yeah, well, I guess that was my move to make.” Sloan shrugged, not feeling a bit of regret at her actions.
The door to the house swung open again and the guard who had disappeared inside came out. “She said she’ll see you.”
Sloan looked over to Edison and Oliver. Both of them shrugged.
No more words were needed. Sloan could tell by their body language the last thing they wanted to do was to enter the house. However, neither of them had seen the latest she was capable of. Along with that, they had no idea Aareth was waiting for Sloan to send a whistle for him to come and help.
“We’ll be fine.” Sloan opened the steel gate, taking the lead. “Stay close.”
The gate was heavy, even for Sloan. It was solid steel, the thickness of each bar equivalent to the shaft of a spear. Sloan followed the cement walkway through the front lawn.
Along with the lush, green grass, Sloan got a better look at the garden. Bushes were trimmed perfectly; apple trees and a few rosebushes added just the right feel. Whoever this Kimberly was, she appreciated order and a well-maintained home.
Sloan reached the porch where the two guards waited. The one with the nasally voice was tall with a puckered face like he had just tasted something sour. The other one was still a young kid no older than Jack.
The thought of Jack made Sloan wince. She knew she needed to find out what had happened to him along with the Ahab sisters, but she was only one woman. She could only deal with a single crisis at a time.
“Your weapon,” the young kid asked, pointing to Sloan’s sword.
Sloan didn’t think twice. She removed her saber, handing the weapon to the boy, hilt first.
“We’ll be needing to pat the three of you down, as well.” The nasally guard looked Sloan over. “Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if you were hiding something.”
“Go ahead.” Sloan spread her arms out to either side of her body. “Just make sure all you’re doing is looking for weapons. If I feel hands where they shouldn’t be, I’ll make you wish you hadn’t gotten out of bed this morning.”
The nasally guard laughed, but there was no mirth in the act. His expression was nervous as he lowered his weapon.
“Be careful,” Edison said as he was patted down by the kid. “She means it. She almost castrated me earlier today and I didn’t even touch her.”
The nasally guard placed trembling hands over Sloan’s shoulders, back, and legs. His touch was quick but thorough.
“They’re clean,” the boy said, nodding to nasal-voice. “All of them.”
“All right, then, inside.” The sour-faced guard opened the front door for them, ushering entrance into the estate.
As Sloan stepped through the doorway, her heart skipped a beat at the menacing creature waiting for her.