Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (63 page)

Angela climbed into the Excursion without looking over at the bonfire. Brady was there, drinking and hanging out with his team, but his eyes hadn’t left her since she’d come through the trees.

Kyle closed the driver’s door and Angela followed his lead. She and Marc had already said their goodbyes and she blushed at the memory of being in his arms, of kissing him in public. Different, was an understatement.

“Eagle Four, signing off.”

“Copy…”

The pause filled itself and Kyle shared a grin with her. “He wanted to say be careful, but he knew Adrian wouldn’t like it.”

“Yeah, he didn’t enjoy being told what to call us on the air, either.”

“You mean you’ll miss being little...
hick-up!
…little Darlin’?”

Angela snorted laugher at the close match to Mitch’s voice. “No more than you’ll miss being
that Damn Italian!”

There was another round of laughs at her words. Mitch and Kyle had a hate-hate relationship and it was often entertaining to watch them butt heads.

The other Eagles went into check-mode around her and Angela did the same as Kyle pulled them out of the light and into the hard darkness.

He keyed the mic. “Eagles by three.” He switched the channel and hit the button again. “Fifteen. Vests and guard, the new rotation. Billy has Point when we land, Daryl on Drag.”

Angela ran over all of it in her head as she got comfortable. They would arrive in fifteen minutes. They were to wear their vests and run immediate patrols from the moment they arrived. They would be using the new formations they’d been practicing for the last two days, with her in the center, Billy in front, and Daryl in the back. Neil and Seth were riding with Adrian, and their teams surrounded the convoy.

Satisfied, Angela lit a smoke and leaned back, listening to the light banter of the men around her. She was definitely learning and the perks of it continued to please her as well. She slipped an adoring hand over the shiny barrel of the new rifle that had her initials burnt into the stock. It was her reward for the wolf mission.

Kyle and Billy saw the motion and exchanged looks through the rear view mirror. When she fell into battle mode, she wasn’t a woman, only an Eagle in Adrian’s Army, and the feeling was better than any of them had dared to hope for.

3

Nothing moved around them.

The Eagle teams swept the dim buildings and shadowy streets of McCook continuously, but other than the cleared path through the middle of Norris Avenue, there was no sign anyone had been here recently. Guns already in hand, they rolled tensely by the one square block that still held a generous bandstand covered in shredded red tinsel and dark bulbs. They slowed down.

Adrian held up a hand as they came to the Amtrak hub. The size of a small warehouse, the brick walls had been defaced with ugly slogans, the most disturbing of which, was the dark red message:
Fresh Meat!
The windows were broken out, huge antenna collapsed and hanging over one side of the tall roof, and debris covered the short set of steps to the front door.

There was food in there?
It was a common thought as they got out of their vehicles and fell into battle-mode. It was too quiet, not even the crows were circling, but the sense of being watched was clear.

“Anything?”

Angela shook her head, staying close. “Not yet… it’s darkness.”

Frowning, Adrian motioned them forward and Kyle led his team inside, while Neil and Seth stayed around their Leader. Angela remained with Adrian, as per Kyle’s instructions before they left. Adrian didn’t usually go on runs out of camp - the sheep liked having him there - but since the attempts, the blond man was determined to draw out their traitor.

“5-by, ground floor.” Kyle’s voice was tense as he cleared the first level, clearly hating the alien environment around them. There wasn’t any debris blowing or even wind whistling. The silence was disturbing and the team cleared the next area quickly.

“5-by, basement.”

The supplies they needed were on the bottom floors, where the trains came in. The halls were filthy… and empty of noise. Nothing slammed, moved, twitched. Except them, at their own noises.

“This feels hinky,” Daryl stated lowly as they swept the room they needed and took up guard positions around it.

“Yeah.” Kyle hit the button. “In and clear from ground, down.”

Adrian motioned again and Seth’s team moved inside to clear out the top floors. His fear went with them. It was something that never changed, the horrible feeling of waiting, hoping they came back when he sent them out.

Angela gave him an understanding smile as they moved inside with Neil’s team flanking them. She could feel his worry as they joined Kyle’s team in the long room full of crates. She opened her mouth to give him comfort, and they both looked up in concern at a loud thump from the direction Seth’s men had gone.

“Check in, Redbird.”

“Redbird clear. Watch for booby traps. Seems like someone tried to make a stand here.”

Angela shook her head, mental alarms blaring to life. “I don’t think it’s safe up there.”

Adrian keyed his mic. “Get down here, double-time.”

“Copy.”

Adrian went to Kyle, who already had his men prying open the dusty shipping pallets. “Five minutes.”

Unaware that there might be a problem, Kyle’s eyes spotted the clipboard still hanging on the damp wall. “All full of cereal and water bottles. We’re set for another month now.”

Adrian moved back toward where Angela was standing guard on the door to the small room. When Seth came through the hall, his hand dropped automatically.

“We saw a kitchen setup. Someone’s living here.”

Adrian raised his voice a bit. “Maybe they’ll come with us when we leave. We welcome all survivors.”

Message delivered to anyone lurking, the blond went to help Kyle’s team pull the supplies they needed most.

Surrounded by two teams, Seth and Angela stood just outside the door. Their lights were all trained on the only unsecured hall, the one they’d used to get down here, and they watched tensely.

Clang... clang!

Everyone flinched and those who didn’t have their guns drawn did so now.

More noises came to them, footsteps and voices maybe, and Seth waved her back toward the working men as Neil’s Eagles moved closer to tighten their line of defense. “Stay with him.”

Seth waved his own men forward as soon as she was out of sight. He wouldn’t let them get any closer to Adrian without knowing if there was a problem. This station only had one other exit - through the actual train tunnels, that were likely flooded by the thick smell of mildew. Right now, they were rats in a trap.

The redhead’s unease had Angela’s grip tightening on her gun as she went to Adrian. She couldn’t get a read on the survivors here and that was a bad sign. “We heard them, half a dozen at least. Sounds like they’re coming this way.”

“Will they talk to us?”

Mind flooding with fear, Angela pressed Adrian toward the back of the room, where Kyle and his Eagles were now jerking the crates out in a rush. “It’s all darkness.”

Adrian recognized the danger and let her push him behind them, but when she would have gone back to stand at the door, he captured her wrist. “Stay with me.”

She nodded at the order, not about to argue. She’d only wanted to make sure Seth and Neil were all right before coming back to defend him. “No worries. We’ll get you back to camp, safe and sound.”

Adrian grinned, loving her no-nonsense attitude when things began to roll. “
You
, Angie. We’ll get you back to camp.”

She flushed, remembering her place.

And then Seth screamed. It wasn’t a shout or warning yell, but a desperate cry of pain, and Angela shuddered.

“Grab him!”

“Get back to the boss!”

“Open fire!”

Gunshots echoed through the building like thunder and Adrian was by Angela’s side when she darted out the protected doors and into the chaos.

“Get them back!”

Neil’s shout was ignored as Angela slid to her knees by the bloody redhead they were lined up in front of.

“Stabbed... gutted my leg!” Seth looked up at them in shock. “I only said hello…” he groaned, hands covered in blood.

Adrian helped her stem the flow with his red bandana.

“It’s deep.”

“Pickaxe.” Adrian pointed to the bloody weapon that must have dislodged as they fell back. He ducked under Seth’s arm to get a grip, mind shuddering at the man’s painful shout from the movement. He’d heard that sound too many times.

“Here they come,” Neil warned, feeling nothing, but cold, hard anger.

Adrian scooped Seth up and over his shoulder as the unseen faces rounded the corner of the hall. He registered the blood running down his back, but didn’t feel it as full survival-mode kicked in. “Do not shoot first!” he ordered, still slowly backing them toward the room where he knew Kyle’s men now waited to surprise their attackers. The line of Eagles followed him with their weapons pointed, making sure Angela was covered too, as she kept pace and tied off the bandage on Seth’s bloody leg.

The new arrivals came up the hall in a mad rush against the glare of the lights, clumsy, angry steps that bounced off the walls and sounded like a huge mob.

“On my mark,” Neil ordered, not interested in letting anyone into Safe Haven who would attack Seth, and Adrian didn’t correct him. The sense of wrong was just too strong to ignore. He hadn’t found survivors, only more walking dead.

 
“Maybe we should fall back to…”

“Too late…” Angela stated grimly. The Witch was whispering for her to open fire. These weren’t sheep.

“I get dibs!”

“Don’t hit the heads!”

“The woman! Get the woman!”

Bloodlust filled the mob, mouths watering and they charged through the blinding glare of lights with their weapons raised.

“Stand your ground, Eagles!”

Rusty weapons raised in hunger, the people slid to a stop, more at the command than at the sight of so many armed men. Their naked skin was covered with streaks of red war-paint, black eyes under crimson layers that glared insanely.

Silence fell over the dusty station, the residents unsure of challenging the armed strangers despite the promise of fresh meat, and the pause gave the Eagles time to catch those important little details.

Closest, Jeremy caught the odor of decay as he stayed in front of Adrian; his stomach dipped as he placed the smell. It wasn’t paint they were covered in.

“What the hell are they?” Daniel asked, seeing that every iris was solid black. His horrified question broke the spell over the two groups.

Fresh Meat!

Angela snarled in revulsion. “Cannibals. All this food and they eat each other!”

Adrian spotted the gruesome decorations that proved her words; teeth, ears, fingers, some so small they could only be from a child. Hatred rose up in dizzying waves
. They were hunting the refugees who came through here… then eating them.

“Get them!”

The order came from a bald man wearing only crimson and a necklace of tiny bones, and the mob charged forward eagerly at the encouragement.

Adrian slid Seth’s weight onto Angela’s shoulders and the words fell like dust from his mouth as he drew. “Take them out.”

When it was over, Adrian swept the scene with disgust. What was it about the human brain that led to this deterioration of basic right and wrong?

“All clear.”

Adrian motioned them back to the mission and the Eagles began carrying boxes and crates of supplies out to the waiting semi. He usually only took half of what they found, and then 10 percent of what was left for their reserves, but this time he had them empty the rooms.

Curious and needing something to keep herself from staring at the pile of bodies, Angela let herself ask him why. She hadn’t shot any of them, but it didn’t make it easier. “Is it a punishment? Taking everything?”

Around them, the work slowed a bit. She wasn’t the only one who wanted to know, but she was the one he would give those answers to.

“No. I suspect they’ve been using the food to lure other survivors out of hiding. This will be one less stockpile for them to betray each other with.” His gaze lingered on the dirty windows. “I’d sweep this town with fire if we had the time. It’s very unlikely people are living here still, just these… animals, preying on refugees who come this way.”

Angela’s voice wasn’t even, but it was a comfort. “Maybe Cesar will do it for you.”

She felt his mind developing the plan that would ensure it happened and turned back to Seth before her guilt could begin crying. “You ready?”

The redhead grinned drunkenly, the morphine easing his pain. “No, but do it anyway, Ang.”

She smiled at the shortened name and stuck the red-hot iron against his skin.

The Eagles turned from his agony and their guilt over the most recent executions was lightened. And Adrian had known it would be, Angela realized, hurrying to finish with the gaping hole in Seth’s leg. That was why he hadn’t ordered them to do this outside. The image of those... animals would always come with Seth’s screams and ease some of their nightmares.