Chapter 7
Star
Don’t venture out alone at night.
I should have listened to my mother’s first rule. My father had corrected her to tell me I should never be outside at night under any circumstances.
They’d both been right.
If I hadn’t insisted on going alone, even slipping out without anyone else’s knowledge, I wouldn’t have met someone who I couldn’t erase from my mind.
His breath lingered on my skin, thousands of prickling tingles sweeping in waves.
His voice whispered in my ear, sinful promises made in the cold, dead night.
His touch engaged the darkest part of me, playful yet demanding at a time when I needed restraint.
Rage.
A perfect name for a cold-hearted Savage.
As soon as the chamber door was opened, I took a deep breath and shoved aside all thoughts and powerful images of the night before. What had occurred would remain my secret, brought out only at nights on my own.
“You’re safe. Star is safe!” Trina pulled me into her arms, holding me briefly before noticing I hadn’t arrived alone.
“I’m fine,” I told her, bristling in seeing so many of the villagers crowding around. Yes, they’d been worried about me, but their eager faces were a telling statement of how exhausted everyone had become from the recent move. “It just took a little longer than expected.”
As a group, we’d traveled a couple hundred miles, barely surviving on hope and meager supplies to try to secure a safer location. While the bunker existed where the map had shown it, a portion had been picked clean.
Still, we’d found food rations hidden, other creature comforts that had allowed us to build a new village.
With the help of two of our members discovering a protected underground bunker, one meant for those allowed to survive the initial blast. We’d been very lucky to find it because a harsh winter had settled in.
I gripped Wren’s shoulders, one tiny hand clinging to my cargo pants, the other remaining on Jake’s head. I’d been so surprised he never left her side, including when we’d heard animals following us.
“Who is the child?” Thomas asked, his approach too aggressive. Enough so Wren gasped and hid behind my legs. He was a true soldier, a man who’d rallied the troops while training those who would never have thought about serving in any security position before the war.
“Her name is Wren.”
“She is not wanted,” Thomas continued. He also believed newcomers should be forced to earn their place within the community.
“Be careful of your tone.” Mine was just as agitated. “Both the child and the dog are now with me.”
He was younger than most, a former soldier still in boot camp when the world collapsed. While his knowledge had proven invaluable, the fact he’d lived for many years in isolation had driven him a bit mad. Plus, he wasn’t thrilled that I outranked him.
Outranked. What a joke. This wasn’t a military operation, but people needed organization, to pretend as if our security system would offer safety. However, I had earned both my title and my reputation in a brutal manner.
“Yes, Commander,” he hissed, turning away immediately.
Commander. Rebuilding a structured organization within the new world had been important once the harshest of the aftereffects had begun to loosen their death grip. But in the past few years and with the rise of the Resistance, the creation of a hierarchy had been done out of necessity.
Even with a cause, when people grew bored, they violated what few laws remained in place. I’d had the benefit of living in a military compound for years, taught military strategies and weapons before I was eighteen. In the eyes of the Resistance, I was a leader.
But in my mind, I was a girl longing to be transported back in time to beautiful places now only existing in books.
“The dog? Is it rabid?” Trina pressed, her fear mimicking several others.
I laughed even as the ache in my bones manifested into a deep sigh. “No, he’s not rabid. He’s a wonderful dog and will not be hurt nor will he hurt any of us. Does everyone understand?”
The group who’d greeted me nodded.
“We were afraid something happened, Commander,” Stan said as he approached. An engineer by trade, his services had also come in handy over the years. Between him and my father as well as a couple of others, they’d managed to keep the aging mechanical equipment in working order.
“I was forced to hide for the night. Nothing more. I couldn’t leave Wren and Jake.”
His smile was genuine, a true kind soul even after his horrific losses. Including his wife and children. All six of them. He’d also been a teacher, guiding me through martial arts training. Everyone’s past came into use. “Your mother and father instilled morals in you. I’m sure they are proud.”
Very few people knew the amazing husband and wife were my adoptive parents, although they were the only ones I could remember. I wouldn’t have known had they not told me when I’d been ten or eleven. To me, they were my everything, which was the biggest reason I’d risked Rage’s fury by escaping.
I’d done what I’d had to do, including using a toxic spray to render them unconscious. The moment light had fallen across the horizon, I’d been ready. Thankfully, I’d discovered a GPS device in a soldier’s bag, which had provided me with a clear path back to the compound.
There’d been no other choice. Not one that was acceptable.
The experience had been… fascinating, including that Rage had taken the time to clean my weapons, the blade of my sword shining more than before. Perhaps a portion of the Savage’s training.
“Thanks, Stan. How is Mama?”
He’d always tried to keep his spirit up even when we’d faced one crisis after another, but I could tell by his expression that in my absence, she’d taken a turn for the worse. I’d been terrified of leaving her, but what choice had I been given?
“She’s asking for you. Maggie had spent time with her.”
“Okay.” Maggie, a nurse. My mother wouldn’t be alive without her being a member of our group.
“So has Tom. He needs to get some rest,” he encouraged.
My father was always by my mother’s side. Their love had transcended so much.
Stan was our resident soothsayer, or at least that’s what I’d called him. He was an older man, yet in all the years I’d known him, he never seemed to age. Wise and careful with his opinions, he was considered both the voice of reason and our resident sheriff.
We’d been forced to banish two people over the years, his decision the final one.
He was also like my grandfather, happy I was eager to learn from his teachings. In his previous life, he’d been a professor. Before that, a soldier in the Marines.
What he’d taught me and the worlds he’d allowed me to experience through his eyes and the books we’d found together had been invaluable.
“Thank you for letting me know. Come on, Wren. There are some people I want you to meet.”
As I tried to walk away, Stan touched my arm. “You appear different. Are you certain nothing happened?”
“Different how?”
“As if searching your past for an answer that you’re afraid to discover. But there is a difference in the light in your eyes. Maybe one day you’ll make peace with who you are.” He wasn’t the only member to have cryptic words.
His words struck me differently than they would have only a day before. “You’re very astute, Stan, but in this case, I’m simply worried about Mama. I found drugs I hope will help. Others as well for everyone.”
The look of relief on his face wasn’t surprising. Medication was worth its weight in gold.
I took Wren’s hand, pulling her down one of the corridors.
“Come on, Wren. You’ll get to meet my mother and father.
I’m not even certain if you know what that means.
They are very special. They raised me and are considered family.
” She walked beside me, able to keep pace.
I could tell she was listening yet as of now, she’d said almost nothing.
But her love of Jake was growing exponentially. I was so glad she had him. And relieved that she’d felt better this morning. I’d begun to think Rage had been correct in his assumptions.
I’d heard stories about healers, individuals gifted with the ability to help heal someone. Seeing how she’d reacted to the gash Rage had obtained both before and after her touch had shocked me.
I couldn’t allow her to drain her life’s force on healing a Savage. Somehow, I’d need to explain the difference.
Was that wrong of me? Was that a horrible thing to do?
Rage hadn’t been anything like the creatures I’d been warned about. Including from Peter. He’d mentioned most had gone rogue, their programming ceasing to work sometime in the years following the experiments they’d endured.
Without too many details, he’d simply told me most were dangerous.
Now I wondered if his choice of words had been planned as everything else about the man.
Others passed in the hallway, chatting about whatever and it struck me how very normal it seemed. As if their world hadn’t collapsed. Maybe it was true that the strongest survived, even learning to live against all odds.
I don’t know why my thoughts had pulled me in such a direction. My mother used to warn me against becoming morbid even as a young child. I’d been forced to look up the definition.
As soon as we approached the room, I realized seeing my mother in her condition could easily frighten Wren.
“Star,” Maggie said as she approached. “Did you find some medications?”
“So many I wished I could have brought them all with me. From what I read, there are several that could help with Mother’s cancer. How is she?”
Maggie had often reminded me that there were some diseases that couldn’t be cured, many making a comeback after the Great War.
The expression she wore was another reminder that this was one of them.
“She’s stable. She had a difficult night but is resting.
I’ll take the bag for you and we can discuss options later. ”
“Thank you.” I waited until she’d walked away before turning toward Wren. She deserved to know what was going on.