Chapter 59
Fifty-Nine
Tobias
Noise jerked me from sleep, making me flop back, up, and a little sideways as fright took over and my body tried to avoid all of it. Beside me, Callah gasped and sat up as all the lights turned on. For one whole second, I had no clue what was going on, and then I recognized the overpowering wail.
The intruder alarm.
"I have to go," I yelled at her, grabbing her arm to make sure she saw me. "Callah, stay here!"
She nodded with wide, scared eyes. I didn't like that look, but there wasn't time to reassure her.
Seconds were ticking past, and we'd been warned what to do if this happened.
Rolling from our bed, I found a pair of pants and yanked those on, not caring if she was right there, able to see everything.
Without slowing, I peeled off my sleep shirt and grabbed something more appropriate. With that only barely over my head, I used one hand to pull the hem into place. The other was scrambling for socks. The moment I had those, I ran into the other room for my boots.
Weapons. I'd need those first. My team should be doing the same, and I needed to get them organized. Most were unmarried men, which meant they'd have farther to run than me, thankfully. So, the moment my boots were secured, I rushed out the door and joined the mass of men running toward the armory.
"Hunters, left side!" someone called.
Without slowing, I shifted left. Most of the other men shifted right, and that side of the hall slowed, but now there was enough space for me to actually run.
Down another hall, then a turn, and one more long hall came after that.
I could feel my lungs protesting this much running, but I wasn't wheezing like some of the older men.
And there, at the door to the armory, three men were handing out weapons.
Each man grabbed his and turned, taking a circular route to get to the entrance.
Someone had tried to get in. Outside, there could be an army or a lone person.
Maybe a Dragon, maybe a Reaper, or maybe ancient equipment finally failing after centuries of neglect.
Like a wave of bodies, we all headed the same way. When the main hall branched, the hunters kept going toward the actual doorway. All the other men were guided toward the dining hall where they should be setting up their own defense.
"Fourth squad!" a man yelled just as the sound stopped.
In its absence, my ears were ringing, but I could make out other squad leaders calling for their men. I decided to do the same.
"Third squad!"
Timon reached me first. Abiel was right behind him.
After that, Elijah made his way over, dragging Uriah and Jeshiah with him.
That meant all my men had made it on time, but I honestly didn't know what came next.
Still, needing to know what was going on, I decided this was as good of a time as any to prove my dedication.
"Move up," I said, pushing past them to show what I meant. "We are here to defend the compound, and no one will get past us, am I clear?"
"Yes, sir!" the men mumbled behind me, but they did follow.
Then we all stood there, guns at the ready, and waited. Seconds turned to minutes. The silence felt overly loud after the intensity of the alarm, and now every shuffle of a foot or rustle of clothing made me want to tense.
Then, from the back of the hall, "Disable the alarm!" That sounded like Mr. Saunders.
Mr. Peterson shouldered open a door at the side and hurried in. I could hear something moving. Something that sounded heavy. He made it back into the hall just as Mr. Saunders stormed past me.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"We don't know," I said, making the elder turn to face me.
"Why would you know, Mr. Warren?" he demanded.
"Because I've been here since before the alarm was silenced." And I tipped my head at the door. "Whatever triggered it is still out there."
"Is it one of us?" Mr. Saunders demanded of Mr. Peterson.
"Wrong code," Mr. Peterson said. "I can't tell you more than that."
So Mr. Saunders waved Mr. Peterson back into the room - but he didn't follow. Instead, the old man turned to me again.
"Mr. Warren, since you're so eager to get noticed, I think you and your team can check what's out there."
My guts clenched. "Yes, sir."
I knew what could be out there. Ayla had been asking for that code.
She had to be sick of the waiting by now.
Maybe Sylis had made a guess? Maybe the Wyvern had simply decided to try something at random?
I didn't know, but those people were smart enough, coordinated enough, and determined enough to set this up.
Which meant I might be walking into a trap.
He flipped a hand toward the door, so I called my men behind me and moved closer.
Elijah and Timon shifted to my shoulders.
Uriah and Jeshiah flanked them, and Abiel filled in the spot directly behind me.
They knew where to be, and our recent training sessions made sure of it.
I simply wasn't convinced they'd stay in place if something was really out there.
"Open it!" Mr. Saunders ordered.
I glanced back in time to see him duck into the same room Mr. Peterson was in. The concrete one with a security door. The one that could be held if anyone tried to rush inside. The room that would keep him safe while the rest of us died making sure of it.
Electricity buzzed loudly, and one by one, the massive security bolts were released. Each one was as big around as Callah's wrist, and I counted five times they clanked as they withdrew from the steel frame, but I didn't move until the buzzing stopped.
"Stay close," I warned my men - and then reached up to push the door open.
It was heavy. I'd never tried to move it before. The thing was always opened by the operations leader and closed by the team leaders. This time, I was doing it, and I had to use more than a little force. I didn't grunt, but I wanted to.
A space opened, then a bigger one. When it was large enough for me to fit through, I paused, leaning to check the gap, but only overwhelming light waited on the other side. That meant we'd be blind!
"Squint," I ordered. "It's bright out there, so brace for the flames of Hell." And then I stepped through.
The first thing I saw was a massive, dark mound. The next was a flickering light in the middle of it, which cut through the shadows in the recessed alcove around our entrance. One by one, the men followed me, but outside this alcove was nothing but whiteness.
I squinted, trying to make out the trees I knew were somewhere over there.
Instead, I saw the pile. Keeping my gun up, I shifted closer, ready for anything to come at me, but I never looked away from where the trees should be.
My eyes watered, protesting the brightness, and yet subtle forms were nearly visible.
Still ones. Forms shaped like trees.
"Stop!" I ordered.
All five of my men froze in place. Straining my ears, I listened for any sounds. There was wind, rustling, and a sort of buzzing I was pretty sure came from an insect. Sylis had called them flies. But except for those things, there was nothing at all - except the pile.
"Cover me," I told the men as I lowered my gun.
Then I reached out, testing to see if my light-blinded eyes were deceiving me.
My hand found something covered in hair.
It felt both similar to and nothing like Ayla's dog.
That was clearly hair, but the limb I was holding was hard, lean, and as big around as my own arm, so I grabbed for something else.
Eventually, I found an item small enough I could pull it back into the shade. Without the glare, I realized I was right. This was like Ayla's dog, in a way. It was definitely an animal, at least. This one likely weighed about twenty pounds and had massively long ears.
And it was dead.
"The good Lord save us," I breathed as I realized what I was standing before. "It's meat."
"What?" Elijah asked.
"Meat!" I snapped, turning to hold up the carcass. "When he brought you back, they said something about meat."
"Eat deer," Elijah mumbled, "I hear it tastes better."
"It's a gift from God?" Abiel asked.
"I don't think so," I told him. "But there's nothing out here but us."
"What set off the alarm?" Timon wanted to know.
"Whoever left the meat?" I guessed. "But they clearly didn't want to stick around. I think they smashed the keypad to get our attention and ran. Jeshiah, go tell Mr. Saunders what we're looking at."
"Yes, sir!" he replied, slipping back inside as if he was relieved to escape.
But this was a lot of meat. I couldn't even focus on it, but a pile taller than me and who knew how wide? It was more than we'd ever brought back while I'd been hunting! This was more than the load that had convinced the elders to let us skip an outing.
It was enough to feed everyone, and not made of men.
The sound of the door moving made me flinch hard. Elijah saw it and glanced away without laughing. I'd have to thank him for that later, but the person who came out? It wasn't Mr. Saunders. Instead, it was Gideon.
"What did you find?" he demanded as he shoved the door even wider, letting his own men make their way out to stand beside mine.
"Meat," I said, gesturing to the pile. "It's all animals."
"From where?"
"From whoever decided to drop it here," I hissed. "And they didn't stick around long enough for us to gear up, get here, deal with the doors, and everything else. Gideon, they had at least ten minutes to get away, and some things up here can move fast."
"Are you sure they're gone?" he asked.
"I can step into the burning if you want me to prove it, but either they're completely silent, or they're gone."
"We need to wait for sundown," Gideon decided. "Second squad! You're on watch for an hour. Fourth will take over after that. Tobias, send your men to find the suppliers. We'll need carts for this and bodies to move it. Let rendering know they'll be needed."
"Yes, sir," I said, gesturing for my squad to do exactly that, but I lagged behind. "Where do you want us, Gideon?"
"I want you to see which men didn't respond. Get me those names, because the elders deserve to know who's shirking their duties."
"Yes, sir," I said, turning to leave.
"And don't mention what it was!" he called after me. "A false alarm, Tobias. Nothing more."
"Understood!"
Because we didn't need anyone to wonder why meat had arrived on its own. That would lead to questions, and we all knew questions caused problems. God was supposed to do the providing of miracles. We were supposed to work hard for the things we needed. But this?
This was a sign, and one that had nothing to do with God, our piety, or anything else.
For some reason, the Dragons had decided to feed us, and I didn't know why.
Either they had poisoned the meat, intending to kill us all; they were trying to teach us that food tasted better when it wasn't from people; or they had some other plan.
But it didn't matter. No one would ever know about this. If the elders even admitted there was excess, they'd give all the credit to either themselves, or possibly to God, but I had a feeling they'd be the ones to take the credit.