Amber
Oh, my God! As glad as I was to see the ground, it was coming at us way too fast! This could not be normal.
Hit the ground running, they said. More like sprinting. Josh had to let go of my waist to reach up and grab the handles to guide us. I braced myself as we touched down, and tried to take spritely, fast steps to keep from tripping or twisting an ankle. I let Josh take the brunt of the weight, like he told me to.
“Nice!” he whispered.
And then I heard the gunshots.
Josh did exactly what the troopers in front of us had done. When we came to a stop, he released our cords and we sprinted low into the corn field. The next thing floating down wasn’t a person, but a trunk with weapons, ammo, and my med bag. When it was nearly at the ground, Josh and Tex, who had miraculously made a perfect landing, ran out and grabbed the handles, jogging awkwardly into the corn.
Screams and gunshots were getting louder. Somewhere amid that madness were Tater and Remy.
“We have to hurry!” I said. Tex grunted as he wrenched the stuck latch open and I grabbed my bag, flinging it across my chest, along with a gun. They both grabbed as many as they could carry, and we ran toward the sounds. Corn leaves smacked my face in the near darkness. The sky had taken on a spooky, smoky glow.
Behind us, paratroopers landed and ran our direction, but every second felt like time wasted. We had to get there faster! We sprinted past a large cart filled with hay, and I could see a break in the stalks ahead—a clearing. My heart hammered against my rib cage when I saw people sprinting past, more gunfire splitting the air.
A Baelese woman shouted, “Stop!” and the human male in sight of us came skidding to a shaky halt, his whole demeanor going from tense to slack. I was so thankful for my ear plugs. Josh put out his arm to stop me, and he poked his gun through the stalks, taking aim as the Baelese woman pointed her gun at the human who’d been running. Josh shot before she did, and the female soldier let out a gargled sound as she collapsed, writhing.
Tex ran to the human man, and gave him a hard shake. “Take this.” He pressed a gun into the man’s hands, and his eyes slowly cleared. He looked around, confused.
“We’re U.S. military. Either get yourself to safety or help us kill these bastards.”
The man’s mouth gaped for a second, and then he ran a hand over his face, nodding and standing taller, taking stock of his gun.
“Atta boy,” Tex said. He moved forward, motioning for me to stay behind him, and Josh took the rear.
In the clearing was chaos. U.S. soldiers came out of the stalks in a freaky wave. Most of the humans had scattered, chased by Baelese. But far head, by two hay bales, was a figure on its knees, grasping his head and rocking. I would recognize him anywhere.
“Tater!” I started to run to him, but Tex, grabbed my arm.
“Behind me!”
I forced myself to stay behind him as he moved forward, pointing his gun right, then left. I felt Josh right behind me. When we got to Tater, my heart was in my throat. What was wrong with him? Was he shot?
I started to bend down, but Tex grabbed him from under his arm.
“Not here in the open,” Tex said. “Let’s move him into one of these buildings.”
I got under the other arm, and we were able to drag him into the closest building. It had rows of bunk beds. Tex went through the room, looking for Baelese, and speaking to humans that he found hiding. Josh guarded the door while I fell to my knees next to my brother. He sat, leaning against the wall, his eyes shut. It was too dark in the room to make out details, but we didn’t want to turn on a light and alert the enemy.
“Are you shot? Hurt?”
He didn’t answer.
“Tater!” I patted his cheek. “Open your eyes!”
He did, blearily, but looked unfocused.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked.
“Amber Maria Tate,” he whispered. A disgusting sensation filled my belly. Why did he sound so formal?
“Actually, it’s Fite now,” I said. He didn’t react and the feeling inside me worsened. I’d met others who acted like this, and I didn’t want to believe it.
“We are under attack,” he whispered.
“Attack? Tater, it’s us. We’re taking back the base.”
“I . . .” He flinched and grabbed his head, pulling up his knees. “I am to obey the Baelese.”
Oh, shit . . .
“What’s wrong with him?” Josh asked from the doorway.
“He’s got the fucking worm,” I told him.
Now it was Josh’s turn to curse. I shook all over as I reached for my bag, fumbling with the zipper. “It’s okay, Tater. I’ll fix you.”
My brother. My poor Tater. That thing in his head. I wanted to puke as I remembered what the humans in Alaska had gone through when I took them out. But it had to be done. I found the rectangular device and pulled it out.
“You have to stay very still,” I told him. “This is going to hurt.”
I held the device to his forehead and pressed the button hard with my thumb. It took a few seconds before Tater’s back arched and he let out a terrible sound. He pushed me, and I pressed forward, sitting on his bucking knees, but he shoved me and bucked.
“I need help holding him down!”
Tex and a human male and female rushed over, grabbing him and sitting on parts of him. I used all of my strength to help hold him down and keep the device in place. Another man came over and grasped his head. It was a painfully slow process, his shouts of pain killing me every second. I let out a cry of relief when the bloodied metal tip became visible from his nostril. I dropped the magnetic device, and pinched the tip of the worm with my fingers, yanking it out and throwing it. Josh gave it a hard stomp.
Tater’s body began to seize, and I leaned over him, taking his face.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “You’re going to be okay. Look at me.”
I held his face hard, and he slowly stilled.
“Amb,” he whispered groggily.
I let out a sob and pulled him into my arms. He was sweating and limp. Tex helped him sit up.
“I’m here,” I said.
His arms went around me, and I held him tight, feeling lighter as his embrace strengthened.
“What . . .” he whispered. “Oh, God, my fucking head.”
“I know,” I said. “Listen. We’re all here. We’re taking back this base. Everything is going to be all right.”
“Tex.” Tater turned his sweaty head to peer at his friend.
“Right here, bud.”
“Where the fuck is my weapon?”
I shook my head as Tex and Josh both laughed.
Tex pulled a rifle over his shoulder and pressed it into Tater’s hands. We stood, unsteady, and Tater wiped his nose, sniffing and grimacing. I knew what he wasn’t saying—that he had a killer migraine, like the others had—but I doubted he was going to let it stop him.
“Where is Remy?” he asked, making my heart jump.
“I haven’t seen her yet,” I admitted, hoping like hell that she was okay.
“We need to find her,” he whispered.
Running steps approached from outside and Josh reported, “It’s Sean and Carmen.”
Sean was one of the head officers for this operation. Josh waved them in.
Sean squinted into the dimness. “Is that Tate?”
“Yes, sir,” Tater said, sounding pained.
“Holy shit.” Sean stuck out his hand and they shook, then the officer looked at me. “There’s another room like this, with beds, just across the way, and we have three injured in there. Can you head over?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Any sign of Remy out there?”
Sean shook his head.
“I’ll take Amber,” Josh said. “How many more of the enemy are out there?”
“We’ve got most of them holed up in the big warehouse building,” he told us. “But they’re using voice control to make the humans surround them as shields and fire at anyone who tries to come through the door. We’re going to have to surround the building from all sides and try to cause a skirmish in the front while we break in through the back.”
“Aw, yeah,” Tex said with a dirty chuckle. “I’ll go in from the back side any day.”
Carmen gave him a glare, and he grinned at her with his scruffy beard as Josh snickered.
Sean, always the professional, didn’t react, but what he said next sobered Tex right up. “They’ve got a bunch of kids in there too, man. Armed kids under voice control.”
Silence rose in the room as our horror set in. Using kids was low, and it made the mission much more delicate.
“Fuck the back side,” Tex said. “Let’s get our asses on the roof and pick ’em off from above.”
Sean nodded. “There’s a thought. Let’s see what we can do.”
Before I could ask how the hell they planned to do that, Sean gave a motion for them to follow. Tex left weapons with the humans, along with a handful of ear plugs, and Josh cocked his head for me to follow. Carmen grabbed my hand as she passed and we both squeezed, wishing each other luck.
But before Tater could leave my sight again, I wrapped my arms around his waist for a quick hug.
“It’s good to see you,” he whispered. “You have no idea.”
“I have a pretty good idea,” I told him. “Be safe, okay?”
“Yeah.” He started to pull away when he looked at me, suddenly aware. “Wait . . . was I dreaming or did I hear you say your name was Fite?”
“Tate, come on,” Officer Sean called.
I smiled. “Yeah. Mrs. Fite. Now go on. We’ll talk soon.”
He smiled back, just a small one, but it was enough to boost me with a shot of pure joy before we parted.