Bone Dust & Beginnings (Alexa's Travels Book 1) (2 page)

When did death become so mundane to me?
Edward wondered briefly. There was no mistaking the feel, not since the War… and the aftermath that had turned him into a murderer.

Alexa tensed upon seeing the open hole in the parched dirt. She’d escaped the compound, but she wasn’t free. Corbin would never give up the hunt, and because of his connections, killing him wasn’t an option. He knew where her kids were, where they would be in the future - all of them. Until she had another way to locate them, that one-eyed bastard had a pass on her wrath. Regan, however…

The need to comfort the trembling woman had Edward hurrying carefully into the darkness with his prize. "Half a minute, and then we’ll have light - no longer."

Edward immediately cursed himself for putting an exact time on it, and then felt his lips curl up in distain. Time meant nothing now.

He didn’t fumble or feel weak, as he moved them down the ladder, and the warrior allowed herself a rare moment of comfort. Eyes closing, Alexa burrowed against his thick chest like a lover.

His clean, musky smell was tempting, but she didn’t draw more energy. Where they were going next, he would have need of it. Another of her fighters was begging to be found (saved), but before that, some of her children would be set free. She would live with
that
guilt no longer.

The darkness was complete as he pulled the lid closed and drew a deadbolt that didn't echo due to a light touch. Those outside would think they were still bartering… in one form or another. Unless they knew of this hole, then blood might spill. It was a risk to let this stranger take her below the ground, but in 2016, that's all life was anyway - a risk.

The steps went on for what seemed like much longer, but by her count, they were on solid ground before the thirty second mark.

"Lights."

Instantly, a dim, blue glow brightened the dank cavern that was really a half-collapsed section of the government bunker that edged this town. Filled with mud that had leveled the walls in places, it was an enormous room with dark doorways and tunnels leading to all ends of the abandoned complex. One small side of the area was nearly pristine. Edward headed that way.

The other was like looking in a museum window at a display marked:
War of 2012
. There were rusted guns and shell casings, and even mildewed smears still visible on the walls under artwork long since hidden by the black mold crawling up seams and sills.
There were also graying bones in the corner, but it wouldn’t bother her to sleep here. It was a leftover from the other world, one she’d seen too many times to be upset over.

Stacks of cobwebbed chairs and machines lining the room winked in the soft glow, and Alexa turned her attention to what lay above. The panels of lights and maps faded into sleep mode as she watched, and she felt respect for his ingenuity. Despite the damage, he had gotten some of the old technology to work.

She grinned. "Clever. I am in great need of that skill."

Edward opened his mouth… closed it. He already liked her praise - a lot.

Aware of his response, Alexa leaned a bit deeper into his warm embrace, testing his character. Her lips brushed his jaw. "Would you have your service repaid in such a manner?"

If he chose to trade, she would honor it - and leave him here come dawn.

Alexa was gently held back, and then lowered to a half-filled air-mattress near the steps. For an instant, there was the sense of his body about to follow hers down… and then she was alone on the neatly made pallet.

"I'd talk about it another time...” Still fighting the lust, Edward moved back another step. "But Afterworld demands debts are settled while both people still live, so here's what I want... To know we fight for New America. I can give everything to that."

Braced, Edward waited for the scorn and mockery those words usually brought. Someone who could control horses through the violent weather was much sough after, but being a patriot was not.

Alexa understood what wasn’t said. Would-be masters came asking for him, as she may have had to if not for the flag, but once inside, his loyalties became clear and he was left behind. Especially by the women, who were more than half of the leaders she had come across since the War, but also by the few men still trying to gather an army to protest that shift in power.

Her hand tensed automatically as she answered. "I seek those who came before us."

Edward’s eyes widened. That legend was one he soaked up eagerly. To think that there was another life to be had, a second chance, no matter who you were before… what you’d done.

He stared in shock. "It is
I
who owe
you
."

Alexa leaned back onto the pallet, but never took her eyes from his. Almost clean, the smell of it wasn’t one that she would mind on her skin.

"And why is that?"

"Because I'd die in Safe Haven, or trying to prove it exists!"

The woman nodded, warming to him, "And you shall get your chance. So we both shall."

Too weary to resist the exhaustion, her eyes closed. "I'm Alexa."

"Edward. May I see to your wound?"

Satisfied, the leader gave her first of six a stunning smile, sending him to his knees in a dazed awe. Her pleasure was designed to draw, to unite. Normally used for ties with a mate, she was employing it to bind fighters to her for the quest. Where Adrian Mitchel led, Safe Haven followed. The same was true of his only daughter.

2

Shortly after he began to pry the bullet from her pale, perfect thigh, Alexa passed out, and Edward was glad. She'd made little sound, other than to carry on a conversation - quizzing him on the things she saw in the room, the technology that he’d brought back to life. She was strong, more so than any of those who'd come before, and Edward found no revulsion inside to be serving a female. Not this one. He already sensed the end that was waiting, but in time, he might be
willing
to die for her.

"Tell me how you came to be here."

He hadn't known she was awake, but to his credit, Edward controlled the flinch.
"As we eat."

They were in the soft, blue glow of the cobwebbed ceiling lights, his store above them closed for the evening. There were hours of time to kill before dawn brought a start to their journey together, and even the distant drip of water in the darkness was slow.
 
In Afterworld, when nighttime fell over this dead land, time became… longer.

Alexa pushed up to sit against the wall, as Edward drew their dinner from a sweetly steaming pot that had once been a large coffee can. There were a variety of soothing noises, from the gentle crackle of the fire he had rigged to blow out of a vent, likely miles from here, to the soft hum of the machinery running the lights. His things were few and neat, ready to be grabbed, and she counted no less than three other useable exits besides the stairs she'd been brought down. It was a nearly perfect hole-up, but was he really the perfect student he appeared to be?

Making little noise, Edward handed her a plate-sized serving platter with three small bowls and a cup of what looked like milk. He moved back to collect his own, and she sampled the food warily.

"
Mmm
..."

Her low groan of pleasure had Edward turning toward her in need…

Alexa was impressed with his self-control when he stopped, went back to collecting his own bowl. Descendants were hard to resist.

"I call it swill."

Alexa snorted, scooping a larger bite of the slightly garlicky stew, "
‘Tis
pig, after all."

Edward was glad she understood the main ingredient. Many people now refused to eat pork. Swine flu vaccinations were long gone, but the nasty beasts were abundant. Their ability to eat almost anything was both the source of their survival and the revulsion of survivors. For a long while, human carrion had been the only readily available food source.

Alexa watched him settle a few feet away, noting the strength of his body, the ebony glow of his hair in the lights. He would be a solid hand when trained. Even now, he was a good addition.

"The Draft brought me here from Colorado. This is part of the bunker we were held in."

He didn't pray before eating, and Alexa hadn't expected him to. She doubted he’d
believed
in a long time. That was another thing all of her crew would have in common.

After a quick chew and swallow, he continued, and she speared one of the potato-like lumps in the second bowl.

"There were a lot of us - too many for them to keep feeding. A few months after the War, the regulations were changed. If we could prove we had kids, a family we would swear to return to, we could go.”

Another bite and swallow, this one to smother his anger, before his deep voice went on, "I was only married, not eligible. So, I killed a guard, took his keys, and let the other four barracks of draftees out."

Alexa jabbed another creamy bite, stomach growling. "The bunker was breached?"

"By those I set loose. Afterward, they sacked the closest towns, killing, raping,
burning
. Lexington was the only one to rebuild."

Alexa met his eye pointedly, "And why didn't they end you for it when they found out? Why do they tolerate even the sight of you here?"

His lined face flushed at the brutal honesty, but the outcast didn't look away, "Because there are only a few of them still alive who know… and I'm very, very good with my guns."

Alexa’s lips curled upward. "Is that so?"

Edward went back to his meal without repeating or even confirming.

Pleased, she forked a yellow tidbit in the last bowl. "Go on."

Alexa delighted in the taste of vanilla and crushed pineapples. Brown sugar too? He either had a good stock or knew where supplies were. That might come in handy.

"I went home first, as many of us eventually did, but my old life was… murdered. I came back here and opened a store with the things I'd gathered."

"Why return to the scene?"

Edward answered with an openness that hid nothing. "I had hoped there would be someone here who could kill me for my crimes."

“And after you realized they could not?”

Edward’s tone deepened into the misery that had been pulling her to this place, to his tent. “In time, I thought maybe I would find the courage to do what they couldn’t.”

Determined to ease his pain, Alexa’s words rang in the chilly air, "I will give you new ways, new hopes… if you can follow, swear yourself to me.”

Edward smiled slightly at the official offer. "I was yours the instant you chose my flag over everyone else.”

3

Alexa jerked awake in the darkness, instinct telling her danger was close.

She looked around to find Edward heading up the steps. He didn’t presume to tell her what to do, only cast a slightly curious look over his shoulder as he blended into the shadows.

Alexa quickly gathered her things, satisfied with her first. She was already sure who was stomping through Edward’s tent - the loose ends she had left in the desert. Most likely, it was a scouting party coming ahead of the main teams. When she’d escaped Corbin’s control, she had been tracked, but she’d stayed underground and remained out of their reach. Being spotted out of her hole-up had been an accident that she wouldn’t repeat twice.

Voices wafted down the stairs as she moved on a leg that was nearly healed thanks to the vibrant energy of her host. She judged the time to be just before the dawn's ugly break that would have woken her naturally.

Louder, angry words echoed now, and Alexa stilled as rage flared. One of those voices was familiar… and loathed. She’d thought to sneak away, but it wasn’t a scouting party. That was Regan was up there. She wasn’t leave without spilling his blood.

Alexa pulled herself onto the ladder and began to climb.

"Where is she?"

Standing behind the thin counter, Edward kept his tone even, "The woman left last night after buying ammo."

He waved a hand at the rack he had emptied into his bag while closing the store. "She went south."

Four of the soldiers stomped around, poking boxes and bins, turning over crates.

Their leader, a redhead with a mean twist to his lips, pointed toward the hole they'd seen him climb from. "What's down there?"

"My cellar."

Martial Law had not been revoked, and it made dealing with soldiers awkward. It was almost impossible to know if they were real or impostors, but it didn’t matter this time. Edward hated these men on sight. He was already sure they were the ones who’d shot Alexa.

"Search it."

"No."

Edward's words were like stone, and the four soldiers looked to their leader for direction.

Regan felt the challenge and sauntered closer. They’d followed their prey by common sense. This was the only outpost within a hundred miles, and she needed to regain her strength, her energy. She had to still be close by.

Regan studied the merchant, looking for the telltale signs. Deep bags under his eyes, a pulse that pounded slightly faster than was normal due to a low energy bank being refreshed. Yes, she’d taken from him, but… why wasn’t this man a pile of bones like the others they’d found?