Plagued: Book 1 (24 page)

Chapter 25

Blood Blisters

Sky slapped Kara across the cheeks. “Get the hell up! Unless you want to die, stand up and run you idiot.”

Kara finally stumbled to her feet and followed Sky. Mary turned and ran to the swinging doors. Melissa provided cover, shooting into the back of the kitchen. Hugo stood over the bleeding body of the guard Quill had set on him. The man's throat was cut from ear to ear and he was making horrible, gurgling sounds, pressing both hands against the gaping wound.

“My mom!” Sky shouted.

Hugo backed towards them. “She's lost. Quill has her. Go. Save your sister.
For the love of God, Sky!
”

The five of them ran across the ballroom, past the brightly lit forest of trees hung with fairy spiders. Sky knocked over one of the wolves as she half-supported, half-dragged Kara. Mary tossed Hugo her gun and helped Sky with Kara. Melissa and Hugo took the rear, both of them slamming new cartridges into the ammo chamber as they ran. Melissa was still dressed in her Regency empire-waisted costume. The combination of formal dress and automatic weapon would have been laughable if Sky hadn't been so panicked.

They made it out the front doors and kept moving. Trying to get closer to the safety of the crowd still gathering outside.

“Hugo told us you were in trouble,” Mary said breathlessly.

“Said he needed a couple of soldiers who could kick ass,” Mary added.

“We came and kicked ass,” Melissa held up her hand and Mary slapped it.

“Shot his ass!” Mary crowed.

“Yes you did!” Hugo acknowledged very earnestly. “Let's go to the parking lot.”

Hugo was still wearing his black suit, though with the addition of a thick white bandage around his thigh. His wound was still bleeding. Sky could smell it. She had seen the flash of Quill's knife at Hugo's side. There was no blood she could see. He must be wearing a stab-vest.

Looking around anxiously, Hugo shrugged out of the coat and wrapped it around the gun. Melissa and Mary looked at their guns and at each other. They had nowhere to conceal them.

Kara gave a little moan of pain or fear or both. She seemed to be in shock. Her eyes unfocused, looking around as though she couldn't figure out what was happening.

Mary whipped off her Phantom of the Opera cape and tied it around Kara's shoulders. A disheveled girl in pajamas would draw more attention on a military base than a couple of trainees with weapons. Even if they were in fancy dress.

Sky pulled up, forcing Kara to a stop. “I'm not going anywhere without my mom.”

Hugo reached out to touch her. “Quill is gone. Out the back by now. He will not kill your mother. We must save you and your sister.”

“How do you know he won't kill her?” she demanded, grabbing him by the shirt and shaking him. “
How do you know?
”

A look of fury passed across his features. So fierce, Sky flinched.

“He wants an audience. Her death would have no meaning without one. We have some time.”

“You're leaving
tomorrow
. What kind of time do we have?”

“I will not desert you, Sky. Believe in me.”

“Guys!” Mary urged. “Going now.”

Without waiting for them, the twins headed in the direction of the cars.

“Sky, where's your car?” Mary called.

Still expecting shots to ring out or Quill to attack, Sky bit her lip and pulling her sister, headed for  her aunt's Honda.

“They're going to check I.D.'s.” She opened the car door, “What about Kara?”

“Look in your glove compartment.” Hugo helped Kara into the front seat, pulling the seat handle so it would recline. Going to the tailgate, he opened it and took out a blanket Eloise kept there. Bringing it around to tuck over Kara.

Sky opened the glove compartment and found Kara's Home Guard identification inside.

“Your aunt put it there. She called and told me.”

Melissa and Mary held up their weapons. “What do we do with these?”

Hugo held out his arms and the girls loaded him up.“You soldiers were unbelievable. We never would have escaped.”

Melissa pointed at him, wagging her finger. “No, you would not. The Mathews kick ass.”

“This night is all about asses,” laughed her twin.

“Speaking of asses, Sis. We better go cover ours.”

They skipped away, hand in hand before Sky even had a chance to thank them.

Hugo climbed into the back seat. “Go to the left at the end of the row. I need to get rid of these guns.”

Her stomach dropped. “My weapon! It's in the kitchen still.”

Hugo cursed under his breath. “Too late now. Quill will have taken it as more leverage.”

“I can't explain not having it when we regroup. They'll be calling us in any minute probably.” She had to lean against the car, her head was spinning. “Every gun has a registration number.”

“Electronic?” he asked.

She nodded, “The scanners automatically log it in and register if the weapon has been fired.”

“What about getting out the gate? Did they scan it when you came in?”

“Not specifically.”

“Will they check when we leave the gate?”

“They shouldn't.”

“I'll take one of these.” He pointed to the weapons in the trunk. “Fix the digital signature and wipe it so they can't tell it's been fired. I'll get it back to you in a few hours.  Remember, they have no reason to suspect you.”

“Okay, okay,” she said shakily.

Hugo directed her to a car she didn't recognize, several rows over in the parking lot.

She hadn't asked Hugo how he'd gotten away from the men who were supposed to take him home. She didn't care. Right now she needed to get her sister to talk, tell them any information that might help their mom.

He got out of the Honda and popped the trunk on the other car, transferring the weapons there.

“Kara, talk to me,” she implored.

There was no reaction, she didn't even turn her head.

Sky put her hands on her sister's shoulder and shook it hard. “God damn it Kara, man up!”

Kara just sort of erupted into motion, slapping at Sky and yelling, “
Don't touch me, don't touch me,
” over and over.

Hugo wrenched open the door and grabbed the girl.

“Shut up!” He hissed, shaking her much harder than Sky could. “You'll bring the MP's on us!”

Sky reached over and slapped her sister, trying to shock her back to the real world.

“Get it together soldier!” Sky shouted.

That seemed to finally get through. Kara stopped struggling. With a disgusted snort, Hugo let her go and finished stashing the weapons in the other car before hopping into the back seat and waving her out.

“Tell me what you know, Kara,” Sky said as she drove towards the gate. There was a long line of red tail lights as everyone queued to get out. 

“I don't know anything,” her voice was a hoarse croak. “I woke up once in a room tied to a bed. I felt sick to my stomach and they let me go to the bathroom.”

“How many men did you see?”

“I don't know! They were all huge and dressed in black. I couldn't tell if there were a lot or just the same ones.”

“What about the house where they held you. Do you know where it was? Any clues that we could identify to find it?”

She made a face. “What are you? Secret agent girl? No. I saw nothing except the bathroom and  bedroom.”

“Did you meet Quill?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes flicking to Sky's and back. That look said it all. Frightened, haunted.

“He told you what he was going to do. To you and mom and me?”

She nodded. “That was in the house. I fell asleep and when I woke up, I had that shock thing around my neck and one of the big men told me what would happen if I moved.”

“We can't tell Tactical or the Home Guard anything until we talk to Aunt Eloise and Hugo's father.”

“Who's Hugo?” she groaned, putting her head in her hands.

The line of cars was barely moving. At this rate, it would take them an hour to get off the base. If they even made it past the gate. Quill was still out there and who knew what he was plotting next. Hugo was already asleep, stretched out in the back, one arm flung over his face, breathing deeply.

Sky brought Kara up-to-date on the secrets and lies revealed over the past few days including the involvement and death of her lover, Major Bromwell.

After that, Kara wouldn't say anything else. She wouldn't even look at Sky. Sky could hardly blame her. The man Kara had not only admired but given her body to, was a murderous traitor. And she was carrying his baby.

Chapter 26

Blood On The Ground

After dropping Hugo off at home, Sky shed her uniform, crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep that night. The image of her mother fighting with Quill, would not be banished. The night's events replayed again and again. She didn't know she could cry so much. Her stomach muscles cramped from choking on her sobs.

Eloise came in at some point and held her like a little girl, smoothing her hair and whispering words of comfort. They didn't work. Sky knew she would never be the same girl again. Not after this. The Halloween Masquerade was supposed to mark their transition into a more adult world. She never realized how horrific that change could be. She didn't want to grow up. Not anymore.

She didn't so much fall asleep as pass out finally.

Far too soon, her aunt was shaking her awake.

“Tactical called. All the Juniors and Seniors are on duty at the Coronation Fan Fest because of yesterday's attack. Threat levels are at Orange. Come on, dear. Open your eyes.”

Sky groaned, her head was pounding and she felt nauseous. She started to rub her eyes. They stung so badly from crying she had to quickly stop. Stumbling into the bathroom she was ill, though there really wasn't anything to throw up. She had hardly eaten the day before.

Putting on her Tactical uniform was slow going. The fight in the kitchen yesterday had knocked her around pretty badly. There were massive black and yellow bruises over her ribs, her arms, and all along both thighs.

“Take these and drink this,” her Aunt held two tablets in one hand and a sports drink in the other as Sky came downstairs wearily.

“The pills are mine, they'll settle your stomach and rev up your system. You need to get your electrolytes back up and get some sugar and salt in you. So drink. I've got a toasted ham sandwich ready. You can eat it in the car. I'll drive you to the assembly point on University Avenue. Kara is still asleep upstairs. I'm going to take her to the hospital when she wakes up. I think...” Her aunt paused and looked at the ground. “I think she might be damaged by this. Seriously. She's going to need counseling and help to get back to normal. She's not very strong, despite those captain's bars. Not really.”

“
Mom
.” The word came out in a sort of strangled moan. Sky had told Eloise everything that happened from the moment Quill appeared on the base.

“I know. I've brought her immediate superior into the loop. Whether he's trustworthy or not, I can't even guess. They're going to know something is wrong no matter what. I thought we should have at least some of their resources working for us.”

“Or against us,” Sky pointed out.

Her aunt didn't try to deny it. “Yes, there is that.”

“What do I do?” Sky put all the hopelessness she felt into those three words.

Unfortunately, Aunt Elly didn't have an answer.

Her aunt picked up the Tactical bag from where Sky dropped it by the door the night before, and the two of them walked to the car. “I've put a substitute gun inside. Hugo brought it by. Act normally. If they want to know why you look so ragged, just say you got a tummy bug and a fever.”

Sky slammed the car door and slumped in the seat. “Is Quill going to come after me?”

Pulling away from the house, her aunt said nothing.

Chapter 27

Blood of the Innocent

Sky could hear the excited voices of the crowds a block away as she hurried to join her squad. The Coronation broadcast was set to start at noon with specials on the Prince, musical performances by singers from Britain's new 'Talent World' TV show, and all sorts of fun. The royal procession would start about ninety minutes later, traveling from Buckingham Palace through the city to Westminster Cathedral. The show was actually a delayed broadcast because of time differences. No one cared. It was an excuse for a massive party and a show of solidarity locally and internationally. Further evidence that life was slowly returning to pre-plague normalcy.

The Coronation Fan Fest was set up along two blocks of University Avenue in the middle of downtown and it was packed. No one who could walk, crawl, or roll wanted to miss being part of this worldwide event and sharing it with everyone else. Posters and banners of the soon-to-be-King Philip lined the street. He was young, tall and very handsome, with thick fair hair that fell forward in a sweep of bangs and a wry, sideways smile that made his eyes twinkle. The camera loved him.
Everybody
loved him.

Five giant screens set high on mobile broadcasting trucks spaced out along two blocks meant everyone could see no matter where they were. Rows of seats were lined up in front of the two main screens at either end. On the sides, lines of long tables and benches were positioned so the crowd could eat and drink as they watched. Vendors and food trucks were cooking up all sorts of specialties from all over the world. The day was sunny, dry, and in every way perfect for an outdoor event.

After the sniper attack at the mall and the bombing, everyone was on high alert making for a much bigger presence of Tactical and Home Guard soldiers at the Fan Fest than previously planned. Even Chase had been called back despite having his left arm still in a cast. At the briefing, Sky learned no one had been killed in the armory explosion for which she was immensely grateful. Since Sergeant McNeil was still missing, her group's squadron leader for the day was Sergeant Kahn.

The sergeant was a tall, dark, no-nonsense sort of woman, uninterested in chit-chat or camaraderie. This assignment was just temporary and she'd written their names on the back of her hand so she didn't have to bother memorizing them. She hardly even bothered to make eye contact. Babysitting a Junior Squad, they all knew, wasn't exactly considered an elite assignment.

Sky was paired with Raj and sent as part of the detail to patrol the food vendor parking area along with a small flock of flybots set to detect explosives. This assignment sucked because they could only see one of the screens when they swung around the far end of the parking area. The sound, though, came through tantalizingly loud and clear. A group of Home Guard regulars were in charge of the entrance gate on the other side. They ran electronic detectors and mirrors over and under every vehicle in or out. Flocks of drones, some of them armed, hovered overhead scanning everyone and everything.

Raj asked where she'd disappeared to in the middle of the ball. She'd missed him winning 'Best Costume' in the adventure category. Not just for Juniors, he said proudly, but overall! She hinted that she and Quill had been having adventures of their own and he interpreted that as any seventeen-year-old boy would, smiling and giving her a knowing wink. She let him ramble on about some drama involving Daphne and Andrea's date caught kissing in a corner in the back in the dark. Apparently there was blood.

Shortly before noon, the scheduled start of the main event, t
he giant screens blurred and the hit from the re-released Killer's album blasted over the sound system. Everyone cheered, expecting the procession from Buckingham Palace to begin. Instead of Prince Phillip's smiling face, Sky in her tactical uniform appeared on every screen at once.

The picture was followed by a voiceover that blasted from the speakers. “Thanks for the history lesson. I'm not interested in saving the world.”

Sky couldn't breath for a moment. She'd said those words at Hugo's house.

The roar of anticipation fell to a confused muttering as everyone stared. The phrase was repeated and then came on as script, replicating itself until it filled every screen. In the middle, a window opened and there was a close up of Sky's face as she said the phrase. The Killer's chorus roared back on and the screens cut to Sky holding a gun on Major Bromwell in the blood vault.

'Appalled' did not do justice to the storm of emotions that raced through Sky's head and heart. Today was not going to be a good day.

The film cut from her to  a close-up of the major saying, “My promotion is rather more costly than I thought.” He pointed to the storage vault filled with frozen blood bags behind him. The sound system echoed, “
my
promotion, my promotion
.”

“We want the blood,” Sky's voice echoed from every amplifier around the Fan Fest. A picture of her in the vault, visor up, blasted onto the screen. First one large shot and then rows and rows of smaller ones running from screen to screen, blinking on and off. “I'm just sixteen, I don't care about history,” Sky's voice said.

Quill must have bugged his father's house, otherwise how could he have that?

“
Don't care, don't care
,” echoed her voice.

'We want the blood,' appeared in giant block letters, and the Killer's chorus roared louder.

The major smirked. “Aren't you a little young to be a traitor?”

The film cut to Sky in her Tactical uniform followed by the retort of a gun. The screen zoomed in on the major's snarling face and froze, printing the image over and over before segueing into footage of the armory explosion.

Her face was superimposed over the flames with her full name and the words 'Traitor' flashing in red. The screens synched and the image followed by the word 'traitor' raced around and around.

Sky was watching, frozen to the spot, the intent of what was happening taking time to sink in. She felt a hand on her arm and whirled to see Raj.

He had his weapon up.

She froze, wondering if her was going to shoot her.

He whispered, “Captain Rajipur.” Motioning for Sky to follow, he jogged away
towards the concession area.

That was his pirate name whenever they played together as children. Visor down, she ran after. She trusted him. She had to.

Everyone was talking loudly and someone started shouting, 'Traitor, traitor!” The chant was taken up by the crowd and rose in volume like a wave, sweeping back and forth.

Very soon, someone was going to look closely and see her name across the back of her tactical vest. She should toss it. Raj pushed people aside shouting, “Coming through!”

He led her behind the concessions back to the vendor's parking area they had patrolled. Raj slipped between two trucks parked close together.

“I didn't...” Sky started to protest as soon as he stopped.

Raj held up her finger in a
shushing
motion and pointed at Sky's comm link, making a pulling movement.

Sky tugged the wire out of the port connecting her earpiece/microphone and the radio unit inside her vest. Raj did the same.

“No time for explanations. I texted Melissa and Mary. They're waiting behind the drugstore across from the deli, by the garbage cans. Do not speak when you see them. Understand?”

“I didn't do this!”

“Of course you didn't. Like to know who did.
Go!
”

She ran. The drugstore was one block down from where she stood. A group of Tactical soldiers jogged across the street not ten yards in front of her, carrying saw horses to close off the street. There was an alley to her left. She could take that, or she could double back and maybe get through the sound system tents. That was probably full of Tactical people by now, trying to track the source of the video hack.

She decided to head for the alley only to see a shadow out of the corner of her eyes. It looked like a man. Or maybe a boy. The shadow stood in front of the alley and put up his arms out as though to keep her from entering. Sky shrank back against the wall, trying to see who the shadow was coming from. As she hesitated, three Home Guards in full uniform emerged from the alley. If she'd gone that way, they would have gotten her for sure. Looking around, she saw the shadow had vanished along with whoever it belonged to.

No time to analyze what just happened. She had no choice but to head to the sound system area. Running as though she had a purpose instead just panic, Sky sidled through the crowds around the tent.

She was nearly through when she bumped into several people, almost knocking one down. He looked at her face and then her uniform.

“Christensen!” he yelled, pointing at her name tag.

The chant was taken up. “Christensen! Here! She's here!”

Hands reached for her and she fired her weapon in the air. Probably sealing her fate as an escaping traitor, but there was no other way. Everyone screamed and dropped to the ground. Sky pulled open the back door to some shop and ran through.

Traditionally, all the stores and cafes on University Avenue had doors opening into the alleys crisscrossing the bigger streets for access by the garbage trucks. She ran through what she realized was the Mediterranean deli, past the proprietors who watched open mouthed. She burst onto University and crossed the street. The stores here were boarded up – no way through. She ran to the right and down, turning into the service alley from there. 

The narrow lane twisted around in a half circle, coming back to the main street. Panting, her heart pounding in her throat, she peered across the street to see the drugstore only a few yards away. So close. Shouts of “Christensen!” meant her pursuers were almost upon her. She saw a swarm of flybots approaching and knew she had to make her move now.

There was a Tactical in front of the drugstore entrance. Looking up, he saw her as well. She couldn't turn around, she had to go forward.

The man ran straight at her and she braced for impact. Instead of knocking her down, he pulled her to the side, awkwardly grabbed two of the sawhorses they were using for crowd control and tossed one at her. She saw the cast on his arm. It was Chase.

He turned around and shoved her ahead of him boldly shouting, “Coming through, move aside, we need to block this off!
Move it!
”

There was no time to say 'thank you.' Dropping the sawhorses at the drugstore door, she ran in and down the aisles knocking over a clerk who fell into a boxed display of cereal. Then it was out the back.

Melissa and Mary were there waving frantically from an open door. They pulled her inside a foul smelling shed lined with garbage cans.

She was about to say something when she remembered Raj told her to be quiet.

Mary handed her a cell phone and Melissa held up a piece of paper with a message hastily scribbled. She made speaking motions with her hands. Melissa's comm was still on, the wire intact. They wanted her to read it. Grabbing the paper she held it to a sliver of light from the door.

“The hackers are using our cell receivers,” she read loudly. “Get rid of your vests, they are using us to relay signals.”

Mary handed her another hastily scribbled note.

“Drip them here.”

Mary waved her hands frantically.

Crap, damn that girl's handwriting. “
Drop
them here. And get to...”

Melissa wrote on the back of the first paper, “the AV center and assemble.”

Mary gave her a thumbs up.

“Okay, got you Sky. Any idea what's going on outside? Our incoming signals are fuzzed,” Melissa spoke with exaggerated clearness. Acting was perhaps not in her future.

Mary shook her head from side to side.

“No, “ said Sky, taking the cue. “None at all, but get going. I'll follow.”

They gave her a thumbs up and each of them kissed her. Mary handed one more paper. 'Hugo will call you,' was scrawled across. They dumped their vests and ran. 

Sky shed her own and picked up Mary's with the name 'Mathews' on it. They'd bought her some time.

Mary's phone buzzed, it was Hugo's number.

“Meet me by the main post office,” he said speaking quickly. “The beat up white sedan from the other day.”

Peering cautiously out the door, Sky stepped into the sunlight. The post office was just at the end of the alley, on the other side of the drugstore parking lot, across the street. She ran to the end of the alley and out onto the sidewalk.

“Soldier!” shouted someone behind her. “You!”

Sky's first impulse was to run as fast as she could. The shadow surged out into her path. She stopped out of sheer surprise, turning to see who was casting it. No one was near enough to throw that shadow.  A Tactical sergeant in gray camouflage fatigues stood nearby, his gun ready. If she had run, he probably would have used his electronic shock gun on her. Or worse. The shadow had saved her from making the wrong choice again.

Swallowing the fear, she jogged over to him.

“Sir,” she saluted.

“Why are you here,” he kept the weapon up as he looked at her name tag, squinting in the bright afternoon sun, “Mathews. You should be with your squad.”