Chapter 30 #2
Kris stumbles over, fretting away. “Don’t worry.
We’ve got you, buddy. The medics are here with the extraction crew.
” He helps lift Ren to his feet and looks towards me.
“I’ll get him outside. We’ll see you in a minute, right?
” He hooks Ren’s good arm over his shoulder and lifts him to his feet while guiding him to the stairs.
The metallic catch of blood tangles with the strong ammonia coating the air, and their bloody footsteps lead toward the stairs from the crimson puddle where Ren was sitting.
The commotion has come to a stop as the sergeant is finally sedated, and Malcolm stands inside the command post with his fingers tapping away on the console.
“Right.” Roscoe points behind me. “It’s time to get the women.”
I haven’t even noticed—the glass-fronted rooms lining the upper floor are bedrooms. No doubt the gunshot woke the women, who are standing and staring at us beside their beds, the widened whites of their eyes catching like silver in the light.
The women are edging towards their doors, and Roscoe lifts away his balaclava, revealing his gap-toothed grin, projecting his Southern charm across the space.
“Ladies, we are here to liberate you. We’re from the Cornerstone, a rebellion effort against President Beckett’s authoritarian rule.
We have transportation waiting for you downstairs.
A haven awaits you all, safe and secure from Beckett and his government.
” He waves them over, waiting for the women to open their doors and join us.
But they don’t.
He plants his hands on his hips, looking bewildered by their response. “Well, I’ll be damned. They don’t want to come out?”
I see the looks on their faces and know the feeling myself. They’re scared. All these men offering them a way out sounds way too good to be true.
I pull my balaclava fully away, swiping the wisps of my curls from my forehead, and hold my bare palms up before them.
“Hi… My name is Everlee. This here is Roscoe. He’s my father, and I’ve got another father back there in that room.
The Cornerstone is a rebellion effort built by people who have been cheated and robbed by the government…
I’ve never done this before. You guys are my first mission. ”
The women sheepishly step towards their doors, and I raise my voice even louder.
“I understand you’re all in here against your will …
as a punishment. This could have been me!
I fell in love during my Independence Interval.
” I take an inhale, and the force to push his name out moves like an apple through my throat.
“Joseph Finch!” It is painful to part with, but he is my hero, and heroes should be sung about.
“He cared for me, protected me. But they framed him and arrested him and took him away… I was lucky enough to be rescued by these men.” I raise my arm to my friends, whispering to the guys, “Show them your faces.”
They reluctantly pull their balaclavas away, revealing themselves.
“These are my best friends. They saved me in every way possible. This is Leon.” I point towards each with their introductions.
“He’s a musician. Zeke here is an amazing artist, and then Atlas…
He’s a dad and a husband. We’re all real people.
I’m asking you to take a leap with us, and I promise it’s better than this. ”
My emotions surge as I truly hurt for them, but they stand there, unchanged. But I only need one—one to make the first move. I scour their faces, focusing on a petite woman with long black hair and curves. And it’s hard to believe, but the curl of her lip seems close to a smile.
I step forward, singling her out. “Hey, what’s your name?”
“Penny.” She tilts her head with a smirk.
I hold out my hand. “Are you ready to go, Penny?”
She spins around, and my heart sinks. I think she won’t come, but then she frantically stuffs things into a bag, and it’s over her shoulder within seconds.
When she moves to her bed, I gasp as she scoops up a child, small enough to fit in her arms. The baby’s head flops onto her shoulder while she paces towards the door, swinging it open.
She stands tall before me. “Show me the way.”
From behind, Malcolm sweeps in, announcing loudly in his refined accent, “This way! We’re going to head down the stairs. There is transport waiting outside.”
With Penny’s bravery, the other women hurry, filling bags and scooping up children before joining us on the landing.
“Well done, baby girl,” Roscoe says. “It looks like the new mothers are upstairs. We’ll liberate the women downstairs. You and Zeke clear up here, and we’ll meet by the truck?”
“Okay, Dad,” I say as I guide the women.
Leon and Atlas move on while ushering the women towards the front door, and those who exit from downstairs are also joining the line to leave.
Me and Zeke are checking the last bedrooms when he says, with a contagious grin, “My mom fought so hard for women to be free. Now, look at this! It’s actually happening!”
“She would be so proud, Zeke.”
As we watch the last few women walk away, he smiles, his blue eyes sparkling beneath the fluorescent lights.
I bounce with each step as we corral them to the front of the compound, where their transport awaits.
A semi-truck was the most secure incognito option, with blankets and pillows padding out the backs, which are stocked with water and snacks.
Zeke seemed to be tired after we stopped, so I invite him to sit down, grabbing him a water and snack, which he unenthusiastically works away at.
Leon is helping the extraction team as we come out, but Atlas stands stern-faced with arms crossed.
For as much joy as this mission has brought me, I can’t imagine what this has been like for him—to see how restricted their living is, how appalling the rangers are, to even see the small children.
“Hey, look.” I point to a little boy peering over his mother’s shoulder as they wait to climb into the truck. I wave at him, and his smile grows as he lifts his little hand to offer a tired wave.
I dig my elbow into Atlas’ side. “Wave back.”
He grunts as he’s forced to wave, but the boy’s smile erupts to another level, causing him to chuckle.
“Yeah. That was cute,” he reluctantly admits with a roll of his eyes.
We lean against the wall and watch the extraction team take over.
I check on Kris and Ren, who sit with the medics, while Malcolm ushers the last of the crew into one of the semi-trucks.
With a mechanical huff and the release of the truck’s suspension, they roll away, starting their journey to the Cornerstone, while another team will sedate the rangers at the checkpoint as we all return.
I can’t believe it’s over as we make our way back to the truck, and I’m literally skipping with the remaining adrenaline. Malcolm and Roscoe walk ahead, discussing what Malcolm found within the command post through the comms with Rex, while we wade through the woodland.
“That was a great little speech you did, Lee,” Leon says, grabbing me in a headlock and scrubbing his knuckles into my head.
I push him away, laughing as I pat my hair back down. “Someone had to do something. Not everyone is wooed by Roscoe’s Southern charm,” I say loud enough for him to hear, and without looking back, he throws a middle finger salute, just for me.
I turn to see Atlas lagging behind with Zeke. He’s sluggish with his hair curtaining his face as he wipes his forehead. “Yeah, trust our princess to save us all!”
“I am not a princess,” I say, waiting for him to catch up.
“Yeah, of course you are, but like a Princess Leia one, saving … the guys … saving the guys all the time…” He comes to a stop.
“Buddy, what’s up?” Atlas asks.
Zeke’s arm comes to rest against a tree. He heaves, with his shoulders rising and falling, and spits, leaving a string of saliva dangling from his lip. With his head stooped, he catches his breath, and I can see his neck bathed in blood beneath the moonlight.
“Leon, he’s bleeding!”
Leon and Atlas look at each other briefly before scooping Zeke’s arms over their shoulders, and we race forward.
“Dad! Dad!” I cry. “It’s Zeke. We need a medic!”
They both swing around to see the situation unfolding.
Malcolm says, “We won’t get one here in time. Get back to the truck!”
With a jingle from Roscoe’s pocket, he chucks the keys at me. “Go, Everlee. You’re the fastest. Bring it back down the road!”