Eleven

The safe zone didn’t look like much, just a cluster of metal buildings in a large parking lot surrounded by a fence on steroids.  Different forms of temporary housing had been set up near the perimeter.  A few military-style tents rustled in the wind, and a weird little weather vane on top of one of the RVs shifted direction and let out a low creak.  Nothing else moved.  At least, not that Drav could see or hear from our current distance.

The majority of the fey waited behind the barn that belonged to the house across the road from the safe zone, a good half a mile away, while Drav watched and listened and described everything to me from a small group of trees much closer to the base.

Since arriving, Drav hadn’t seen any human movement.  However, Ghua assured us that Tucker and Jerry had driven right up to the gate, and it had opened for them.

Drav picked me up and sprinted back to the barn followed by the few fey who’d accompanied us close on his heels.  Molev listened to Drav’s description of the place.

“Do you think the humans are still there?” Molev asked me.

“Yes.  I think they’re just hiding.  I want you guys to stay here,” I said.  “Just Drav and I will go forward.  When they see us, they’ll come out.”  Probably heavily armed, but I didn’t say that.  “Drav, you’ll need to walk behind me.”

“No, Mya,” Drav said, gently cupping my shoulder because of the bite.  “Your body is not meant to protect me.  Mine is meant to protect you.”

I sighed.

“Would you listen if I said I’d rather you not come with me at all?” I asked.

“No.  I won’t.  We will walk to the gate together.”

“And we will follow at a distance,” Molev said.  “Not all humans are like you, Mya.”

Molev and the fey hung back by the trees midway between the house and the fence while Drav and I approached the gate.

“Stop there!” a voice yelled when we stood within twenty feet.

“My name is Mya,” I called.  “This is Drav.  We’re looking for the safe zone where people from Oklahoma City would have been taken.  I’m trying to find my parents.”

“We know who you are,” the voice called back.  “You need to leave.”

“Leave?  Are you kidding me?  Do you know what I’ve gone through to get here?”  I took a step toward the fence, but Drav scooped me up in his arms and turned his back to the gate.

“You put me down right now, Drav,” I said.  The anger in my tone wasn’t meant for him, but the asshole yelling at me.

“He has a gun pointed at you,” Drav said.

“Leaving isn’t an option.  Please, Drav.”

He scowled stubbornly.

“Will you at least turn around?” I asked.

He did, and I looked for the speaker but didn’t see anything.

“If you really did know me and who I’m with, you wouldn’t bother with a stupid fence and guns.  Ask Tucker and Jerry how well that worked for them.  We don’t want your damn supplies or whatever else you have in your buildings any more than we wanted theirs.  I just want to find my parents.”

“Can’t help you.  Leave.”

“No.  You want me to leave?  You’ll have to shoot me.” 

Drav growled very loudly but held his ground. 

“And I can promise you shooting me will be the biggest mistake of your life.  You don’t want to see these guys angry.”

“We already have.  Two of them took out three units in less than a minute.”

I didn’t believe him.  Ghua would have told us about any altercations when he’d returned.  The fey weren’t shy about killing or talking about it.  I opened my mouth to call the disembodied voice out on his lie then remembered the two exiled fey.

“The two that attacked you aren’t with these guys,” I called out.  “Those two are outlaws, the men these guys have been looking for.”

“Yeah right.”

“What part don’t you believe?  That these guys have outlaws, just like we do, or that they are looking for the outlaws, much like our own FBI looks for high-profile criminals?”

Silence answered me.

“Throughout the history of our world, fear and intolerance of differences have led to countless wars, segregations, and violence.  That world is dead.  We don’t need to repeat the old world’s mistakes in this new one.”

“What do you want?” the voice said, finally.

“For you to listen and try to understand.  These men have been here longer than any of us.  In fact, we are descended from their people.  They have been locked away beneath the surface for thousands of years.  The quakes from our drilling released this shit storm on us.  Not them.  They had nothing to do with the hellhounds coming here or the attacks by the two men they have been hunting.

“Since I’ve met Drav, the man holding me, he’s kept me safe from all of it.  The infected, the hounds, even my own people.  You have no valid reason to ask us to leave, other than fearing what’s different.”

The bay door to the largest white building rolled open, and a uniformed man strode out.  He walked part way to the gate.

“Old world or new world, I can’t just give you another safe zone location and risk countless lives because you say your intentions are good.  You want us to trust you?  You need to prove you aren’t like the other two.”

“How?” I asked.

“Jerry and Tucker told us about the supplies they left behind with Bud.  We have seven vehicles ready right now.  Some of these demons can help us retrieve the supplies.  The rest can tell us more about their race.  How many there are.  Where they come from.  And just how fast and strong they are.”

“First, they aren’t demons.  They’re fey, like from our legends.  Second, do you really think they should tell you all their strengths and weaknesses and get your supplies for you just to prove they’re trustworthy?”  I gave a harsh laugh.  “You’ve got this so backwards it’s just sad.  You should be the ones proving you’re trustworthy.”  I lowered my voice and glanced at Drav, who still held me.

“Let’s go.”

He turned, more than ready to take me away from what he perceived as a threat.  The man stopped us.

“Fair enough.  You help us with the supplies, and I will help you find your parents.”

Drav stopped walking and looked down at me.

“I don’t trust him,” I said, honestly.  “He’s dressed like some branch of military.  Last guy like that tried to shoot me in the head to save me from you.”

“Yes.  But without his help, how will we find your family?  Your surface is much larger than our caverns.”

I sighed.  “Can you put me down?  It’s hard to negotiate when you’re carrying me like a child.”

“This is how you carry children?”

“Sometimes.  Are you going to put me down?”

He considered me a moment then did as I’d asked.  I immediately faced the man by the building.

“Drav and I can’t make this decision alone.  We’ll need some time to discuss it with the rest of our group.”

“We leave in ten minutes.”

“Fine.”  I looked at Drav.  “We better hurry then.”

Drav picked me up, ran back to the trees, and started speaking to Molev before I even knew what was happening.

“The man said he knows where Mya’s humans are and will tell us if we protect them while they get supplies from Bud’s house.”

“That’s not what he said.”  Both men glanced at me.

“That’s what he meant,” Drav said.

“Are you against us protecting them, Mya?” Molev asked.

“No.  I’m against them using you, and you guys getting hurt in the process.”

Molev grunted.  “Let’s go talk to this human.”

The whole lot of them, including Timmy, came with us when we returned to our previous position not far from the fence.  The man inside hadn’t moved.

Molev stepped forward.

“My name is Molev,” he called.

“I am Commander Willis.”

“In exchange for helping us find Mya’s family, I will send half my men to protect your people while you gather your supplies.  The other half will remain here to protect Mya and Timmy until our men return.”

“You have yourself a deal, Molev.”

Molev turned toward his men.  “The supplies stay with Mya and Timmy.  Kerr, will you go?”

Kerr nodded and stepped to one side.  More men joined him until the group seemed roughly split in half.  From within the fence, the sound of engines roared to life.  Huge military trucks, like the ones that had evacuated us from the dorms, pulled out from the white building behind the Commander.

“Be careful, guys,” I said as the gate rolled open.

“Be safe, Mya,” Kerr said.

The rest of the fey stood back while the trucks rolled through.  Kerr’s group of fey fell-in around the vehicles, keeping pace with an easy jog.  I turned toward the gate as it started to close and only made it a step before a gun was lifted and aimed at my head.

Drav growled low behind me, his hand resting on my shoulder.

“What the hell?  We had a deal.”

“The deal is that they prove we can trust them, and we help you find your parents.  We never said we’d let you in.”

Had it only been me, I wouldn’t have cared.  But we had Timmy.

“It’s too cold for a four-year-old to sleep out in the open.”

“We’ll find you a tent.”  With that, the commander turned and walked away.

Byllo watched me.  The look in his eyes said he’d rip down the fence and get whatever I thought Timmy needed.  The little boy in Byllo’s arms watched me with solemn eyes, too.  I gave them both a reassuring smile.

“We’ll be fine.  Let’s find something to eat and drink.  Then, I have a surprise for you both.  Do you know how to color, Timmy?  I bet Byllo doesn’t.”

*    *    *    *

Timmy and I squeezed into the tent while Drav and Byllo stood outside.  Having them so close was a comfort, but I would have rather had them be able to stay in the tent with us.

I finished tucking Timmy into one of the sleeping bags the others had brought with us then lay down beside the boy.  His eyes remained locked on me as he sucked his thumb.  I stared at him, too, so he would know I was awake and watching and, hopefully, feel safer because of it.  Gradually, his blinks became long and heavy until his eyes finally stayed closed and his mouth grew slack.

After pressing a kiss to the boy’s brow, I crawled out of the small popup tent.  Drav offered his hand and helped me to my feet while I looked around.  The sky had darkened considerably since I’d gone into the tent.  Most of the men lay in groups on the ground, apparently at ease with sleeping in their clothes under the stars.

“Is everyone settled?” I asked.

“Yes, Mya.  Is Timmy asleep?” Byllo asked, his bright yellow gaze on the tent.

“Yeah.  Just.”

Byllo continued to watch the tent.

“If you think you can squeeze inside, you can check on him.”

Byllo nodded and crouched low to unzip the tent and crawl inside.  He barely fit.

“Are you ready to sleep?” Drav asked me, his voice carrying through the night.

I shook my head.

“I need to visit the bushes first,” I said softly.

“I will take you.”  He threaded his fingers through mine and led me toward the copse of trees a fair distance from where all the fey men had bedded down for the night.  The same exact spot I’d visited a few hours ago in daylight.  Now, the light from the fenced-in area barely reached this far.

I released Drav’s hand, ready to step into the trees on my own, but he stopped me with a hand around my wrist.

“No, Mya.  I will check it first.”

I stood on my tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“Okay.  But please hurry because I really need to go.”

He walked into the trees, disappearing for several long minutes during which I bounced on my toes.  When he finally emerged and gave me the go ahead, I rushed into the darkness without another thought.

The struggle with my button gave me a moment of worry before I dropped my pants and squatted.  I tried to pee quietly so I could still listen.  It proved impossible, though.  Commander Asshole was going to get an earful when I saw him tomorrow.  Had he even given one thought to what it would be like for a healthy human female outside the fence?  Probably not when he simply needed to unzip and wave it around to relieve himself.

A breeze stirred some dead leaves behind me.  I frowned and turned my head.  No breeze touched my skin.  A dark shape moved in the trees with me.  I opened my mouth, ready to scream when another shape came from behind me.  I struggled to finish my business as the two collided with barely a sound.  The disgustingly familiar wet sound of a head being removed heralded the end of a threat.  How many times would this man need to save me?

Shaking, I quickly zipped and buttoned then flew at Drav as the body fell to the ground.  He tossed the head aside and turned just in time to catch me in his arms.  I didn’t hesitate to pull him down for a kiss.  He bent willingly toward me.

My fingers touched matted hair.  A tiny alarm went off in my head.  That alarm grew louder as the man stiffened at the first press of my lips to his.

I jerked back, almost falling into the puddle I’d made.  He caught me with an arm around my waist and pulled me upright before releasing me.  We stared at each other in the dark.  Well, he probably stared, I could barely see the outline of him.

“You’re not Drav,” I said softly.

His teeth flashed white then he just disappeared.

“Mya?” Drav said from further away.  “Did you call me?”

I stumbled toward the sound of Drav’s voice.  He caught me in his arms, and I clutched him tightly.

“What is it?  Are you hurt?”

“No.  An infected was in there.”

He growled and picked me up, quickly removing me from the trees.

“It’s dead.  A fey killed it.  I thought the fey was you.”  I looked up at him feeling slightly sick.  “I kissed him.”

He stopped walking and looked down at me.

“I thought it was you,” I said again, my voice catching.

“Shhh.”  Drav leaned his head against mine.  “Do not cry.  We will find who tricked you, and I will remove his head.”

I sniffled and half-laughed.

“You can’t.  He would die.”

“I will not share you.”

“No.  I don’t want you to either.  I think I startled whoever that was as much as I startled myself when I realized it wasn’t you.  He took off as soon as I released him.  As long as you’re not mad at me, let’s not make a big deal about this.  It was a mistake.  That’s all.”

Drav opened his mouth to say something more, but never uttered a sound.

A lone howl echoed in the air.  Gooseflesh exploded on my arms, and I stared up at Drav, panic coursing through me.

He picked me up in his arms and ran toward the fey.