Chapter 3: Holly
IT WAS STILL dark out when Griffon crept into his room to wake Holly. He was oddly relieved that she had locked herself in the room during their short stay at headquarters. The fewer people that knew she was there, the better. He trusted all the men in his home explicitly, but if word got out that they were harboring a woman, it could be bad. Not all the units were … upstanding in every way. He shivered to think if Sarg got wind of his little guest. “Holly, wake up. It’s time to leave.”
Gas was scarce, even with the AMAN, but Bobby had allocated whatever he needed for this mission. Others knew Bobby as General Steinfeld, highest ranking officer of the AMAN, but to Griffon, he was family. It was an important mission, and Griffon knew Holly would contribute to his unit. She was infectious with people, and her sincere message of hope was wrecking havoc throughout AMAN territory. It hadn’t taken much to convince Bobby that the smartest move they could make was to ally with her and use her for their benefit.
He tried not to think about how he was using her. He preferred to think of how he had saved her from a life with that loser Jared Hastings. Even taking his name under false pretense had to have devastated her reputation back home. He was right to get her away from Jared. And she would come to realize that, in time. He was certain of it.
“Holly, you have to get up now.”
She moaned and stirred. Watching her stretch and seeing her shirt ride up, exposing her stomach brought on all sorts of thoughts that he didn’t have time to act on. They had to get moving.
“Hmmm?” she moaned in confusion, making the situation worse for him. It was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard.
Knowing they were already on borrowed time, he shook her and spoke a little louder.
“Holly, get up, get dressed. It’s time to leave here.”
She stiffened and then jolted from his bed.
“Griffon?” she asked in confusion, and he could see it on her face as reality settled back in. “What’s going on?”
“The plane is ready. We’re leaving here.”
She nodded and rose to follow.
“Don’t you want to change?”
She glared at him. “I have nothing, Griffon, or have you forgotten?”
He felt bad. He had forgotten. She’d been in the same clothes for days. After all the craziness and in his excitement of just having her near, it had not once dawned on him that she literally had nothing but the clothes on her back. He cringed.
“I’m sorry. I’ll have one my men hunt up something clean for you before we leave.”
“Why bother? Let’s just go.”
He knew he was screwing everything up. Nothing he did around her was ever right anymore. He didn’t understand how or when they had gotten so off track.
Holly followed Griffon out of the building they stayed in, and ran with him to the clearing just behind another building where a small plane awaited, already running and ready for takeoff. As he helped her inside the flying beast, Holly immediately recognized Cameron and Bruno who had been her liaisons for Griffon and who visited her on several occasions. There was also a blonde man who couldn’t be much older than Holly herself, as well as the pilot and copilot. She didn’t bother with formalities or even basic friendliness as she took the open seat next to Cameron. Griffon sat next to her. Squished between the two men somehow made the entire situation all the worse.
She didn’t want to put on the headphones being offered her, but Griffon glared at her until she conceded. She immediately heard what she assumed was the pilot’s voice through the headset.
“Strap in, sit back, and relax. We’re going to be in the air for quite a while today. Skies look clear ahead and should make for a smooth and easy trip.”
He had a nice voice, she thought. And since she didn’t want to look to her right where Griffon sat, she took the time to study the men across from her. Bruno was a big hulking man with broad shoulders and an entirely bald head. It had made him stand out more in her mind, as he did not wear the signature ponytail the AMAN were known for. Actually, she noticed, with exception of the copilot and Griffon, none of these men wore their hair long. The pilot’s head was shaved almost as bald as Bruno. Cameron had always kept his hair short, and combined with his glasses, he looked a little nerdy.
The blonde man she could discern nothing about. He looked close to her age and also wore his dirty blonde hair short. It was a longer than what she knew her mother would consider clean cut, but not by much. He had deep blue eyes that she couldn’t stop staring into. There seemed to be much pain and misery in their depths that drew her in. Inside, she shivered from the cold stare he returned.
They were only in the small plane for a couple hours when Griffon looked out of the window and motioned for her to do the same. The plane had dipped down lower, and curiosity had her begrudgingly leaning over for a look. She gasped at what she saw.
“Richmond,” Griffon mouthed to her.
Below, a once thriving city was all but destroyed. No people could be seen, and buildings lay in the streets in pieces. Bridges were blown out and she couldn’t even describe the sheer level of devastation she saw there. Overgrown plants climbing the walls of what was still standing told her this was not something new. This happened a long time ago. A single tear slid down her cheek from just thinking of all the people lost to such destruction.
Griffon saw her crying and reached over and gently brushed a lone tear from her cheek. She didn’t pull away from him, and he was thankful for that. They remained silent as the plane flew on. It wasn’t long before they were coming down for a landing. Holly didn’t really remember anything of life before the Compound, except for what her parents and teachers had told her of the outside world. In her journeys with her squad, she thought she had seen so much. She knew now how very wrong she was and how little she had seen of the world from her sheltered sanctuary.
* * * * *
On the ground at last, Holly looked around. She couldn’t believe here eyes. She was so surprised by what they saw, it barely registered in her brain. They weren’t on land; instead she was standing on a ship, a huge metal ship long enough for their small plane to not only land on, but look tiny compared to the enormity of the thing. And surrounding them was water. It was more beautiful than she could have imagined. She looked out and saw land on two sides in the distance. What was this place? she wondered.
Her legs felt a little unsteady as they hit the ground, or rather, the upper deck of the ship. Never in her life had she been on a boat, and it was surreal to think of it now.
“Easy there, girlie. You’ll get your sea legs on you fast enough,” the copilot informed her as she exited the plane.
“Look at this place.” She spoke in awe.
“It’s beautiful here, but don’t be deceived, you are not entirely safe yet; we need to get you down below,” Cameron said with a sad smile on his face.
“Okay,” she said, and followed his lead to a door that lead to a ladder staircase descending into the belly of what she imagined just might be the largest ship ever built.
She noticed the blonde man stayed close to her side while Bruno hovered near Griffon. As they moved deeper into the ship, down a few narrow hallways, Holly realized how cramped the place suddenly felt, and it saddened her. Even living underground for most of her life, she had never felt as claustrophobic as the way the inside of this ship made her feel. There was no color. Everything was a drab gray or rusted over, and she suddenly missed the clean white walls of the bunker and the warm wooden panels of the living room in the home she shared with Jared and their squad.
Thinking of Jared caused a physical pain in her chest so sharp she was bending over and gasping for breath as tears ran down her cheeks. In the days since her abduction, she had refused to show fear or grief in the eyes of her enemy, but in the dark gloom of the place she now found herself, everything she had held back overwhelmed her.
“Shit!” Griffon swore. “Jesse, take her to her quarters and give her time to adjust and calm down. Keep me posted. I have to check in with Cap.”
“Follow me,” the sullen blonde told her, but she couldn’t move as her breaths came harder and shorter and the room began to spin. He shook his head and swooped her up into his arms, carrying her to a room at the end of the hall.
Inside the room were rows and rows of bunks. They were piled three high in some places, and she shuttered to think of laying on them. Jesse eased two mattresses off as if they weighed nothing and stacked them one on top of the other in the middle of the floor.
“Lay down. It’ll pass,” he said, gruffly.
She did as she was told and even managed a quiet, “Thanks,” as her breathing began to slow, but the tears weren’t showing any signs of stopping.
He left her to cry in peace. “I’ll be just outside that door when you’re done.”
Holly was grateful and put off at the same time. On the one hand, the stranger was nice enough to leave her alone; on the other, he seemed to belittle her meltdown with his words. She couldn’t decide from one minute to the next if she liked this Jesse or strongly disliked him.
In all the days she had withheld her grief at Griffon’s, she slept little. That, combined with crying for a good half hour and allowing herself to feel again, exhausted her. She didn’t fight the sleep that threatened to overcome her as she gave fully into her grief. Jared was dead. It was the last thought on her mind as darkness overtook her.
Sometime later, she was awakened. Someone was shaking her.
“Wake up! What is wrong with her?” She heard a slightly familiar voice that she couldn’t place.
“Jesus. Nightmares. That’s all we need. I’ve heard about them, but never actually seen her have one,” she heard Griffon say.
Waking foggy headed and unsure of where she was, Holly balled into a fetal position and held herself, rocking back and forth. It’s okay. It’s okay, she thought to herself. I’m alive. Griffon’s here.
As much as she hated Griffon for what he had done, she knew he would never physically hurt her, but physical pain was nothing compared to the excruciating emotional pain she was feeling.
“Jared,” she whispered.
“Who’s Jared?” the blonde asked.
“Nobody. He’s a nobody.”
“He’s my husband,” Holly spat back at him. “Or was, before you killed him.”
She saw Griffon blanch before turning defiant.
“I know, Holly. I know all about your fake marriage. Jacob told me everything. I’m sorry the guy’s dead; but don’t pretend like he was more to you than he actually was.”
“You don’t know shit, Griffon.” She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of anything more than that.
He shook his head and walked out, slamming the door behind him. The blonde man stayed.
“Married or not, what does that even mean these days? I can tell he meant a great deal to you, and I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” he said, sounding sincere, before leaving the room, too.
Holly sat, surprised and confused, trying to shake off the nightmares. Once she pulled herself together, she stood and went to the door they had exited from, only to find it locked. There were three other doors in the room. One led to a bathroom with showers. She turned on the water to find it lukewarm, at best. The other two doors were also locked. Suddenly, the walls were caving in on her and she had to fight back the hysterics of claustrophobia once again.
She banged on the first door, and it swung open quickly. She came face-to-face with the blonde stranger.
“It’s Jesse, right?”
“Yes ma’am. Jesse Sullivan.”
“I’m Holly.”
“I know.”
“Why are you keeping me prisoner? I was under the impression that I was more of a guest needed for this mission.”
“You will not have full run of this ship, Ms. Holly. My assignment is to watch you around the clock. Anywhere you go, I go. Period.”
* * * * *