The Defiant: An Unbeaten Path (2 page)

“Please, she needs your help. She’ll die if she doesn’t get any help.”

Nicholas opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Becky. “Nic, we should talk about this as a group.”

Nic turned to Becky, who was still seated inside the Suburban. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bryn roll her eyes.

Nicholas again was about to respond, this time to Becky, but again she interrupted, “We have to help if we can. Call the group together.”

Nicholas grimaced and hollered, “Get the group together, quick meeting.” He turned and saw everyone had already come together to see what was happening. He turned back and barked, “Colin, keep an eye on the boy.”

Colin nodded.

When Abigail exited the Suburban, she turned to the boy and asked, “What’s your name?”

He smiled and said, “Luke. My name is Luke.”

Colin kept a close eye on Luke while Nicholas pulled everyone together. He wanted to rush the meeting, as each second they sat still on the road left them vulnerable.

Before they had left San Diego, the group had agreed to give Nicholas the role of leader but had come to an understanding that the group would make decisions jointly if possible, specifically if it meant life or death, but wasn’t an emergency.

Nicholas quickly explained the situation and called for a show of hands.

Those in favor of helping Luke were Abigail, Becky, Sophie, Proctor and his wife, Katherine; those opposed were Nicholas, Colin, Bryn, Abigail’s boyfriend Rob, and Frank, with Marjorie standing by Frank, silent.

“Looks like we move on. I’m sorry, but like Bryn mentioned, we’re a day out from safety. We can’t sit here any longer than we have to,” Nicholas said.

“Wait a second, Mom hasn’t voted,” Becky said, challenging Nicholas.

“Of course she did, she voted with us,” Frank snapped as he took Marjorie’s arm.

Marjorie looked at Becky and held her head low.

“Mom, I can’t believe you’d be in agreement on leaving this boy behind,” Becky lamented.

Frank took a step towards the old Dodge Dart, but Marjorie refused to move.

“C’mon, Marj, time to load up, we’re leaving.”

“No!” she spat.

Her sharp reply to Frank made everyone’s head turn.

“Frank, I love you, and I’ve agreed with you so many times in my life, but this time I can’t. What kind of people are we if we just leave children alone and in need.”

Frank went to respond, but not before Bryn fired back, “I’m sorry, but you don’t know this kid, nor do I. We can’t risk it. He could be walking us into an ambush or trap.”

“He very well may be, but we need to take that risk, because if he’s telling us the truth and we leave him and his poor sister to suffer, it doesn’t make us any better than the bad guys that are roaming out there.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Bryn snapped.

Marjorie recoiled from Bryn’s harsh response. She folded her arms and declared, “My vote is to help the boy.”

Nicholas watched the back and forth right after Marjorie cast her vote. The entire thing made him feel sick to his stomach. He agreed with Bryn, he knew something was off about this and didn’t want to take the risk, but he had also sworn to make their process as democratic as possible.

Unable to stop herself, Bryn skewered Marjorie and the others who voted to help. “Not one of you will be in the group to go look for this supposed girl. You have the easy vote, cast a vote, but someone else does the heavy lifting! Typical bullshit!”

“Not true, I’ll go,” Abigail said.

“Me too,” Sophie followed.

Soon both groups began to talk over each other.

“Be quiet, everyone needs to be quiet!” Nicholas exclaimed.

All eyes turned to Nicholas and silence fell over the group.

“We agreed to vote on circumstances like this, and even though I think this idea is risky, I’ll go along with it. Here’s what’s going to happen.”

“Dad, I’ll go,” Abigail chimed in.

“No, that is not going to happen. I’ll go and take Proctor with me.”

“I don’t think Proctor should go, he’s needed. What if something happens to him?” Katherine objected.

“Sorry, but he goes. If this kid is right, we need his skills to bandage up the girl.”

“I agree, send Colin,” Becky said.

“No, and this decision is not a group vote. Proctor comes with me.”

Proctor nervously looked around, hoping someone else would disagree, but everyone kept quiet. “Hey, Nic, I know I voted for us to go, and I’m not disagreeing, but it might be best if I stay.”

“No, you’re needed. The girl is hurt and she needs a doctor. The last time I checked, that was you. Sorry, old buddy, but when you vote to do something you have to also reap the consequences,” Nicholas said and walked towards Luke.

Bryn strode over to Proctor and Katherine and with a toothy grin said, “Next time you’ll think twice before voting to risk people’s lives.”

Proctor exhaled deeply and headed towards the trailer to get his gear.

Nicholas watched the back and forth with Bryn and Proctor. He was tempted to chime in but decided the group didn’t need his petty remarks; this wasn’t to say he was pleased with his old friend’s vote. He strode up to Colin and said, “If we don’t come back in twelve hours, head north, go to the ranch, we’ll catch up later.”

“You sure?” Colin asked.

“Yeah, don’t sit around waiting for us. I don’t want any rescue missions. I can’t risk my family, you take care of them.”

“I don’t think they’ll agree to leave you behind, and Bryn, she’ll be hard to stop too,” Colin protested.

“Tell me you’ll do as I wish.”

Colin looked down; he was torn to give Nicholas his word but also understood the practicality of it.

“Promise me,” Nicholas pressed.

“I’ll take care of your family and get them to safety. I promise on my honor no harm will come to them,” Colin solemnly declared.

“Also, if you hear anything that remotely sounds like a gun battle, leave. If anything at all makes you feel like the group is threatened, leave.”

“Nic, I think you need to override this vote.”

“I can’t, this is what we decided back in Carlsbad, and I owe it to them to stick to the concept. Plus, this kid could be telling the truth.”

“He’s not a babe in the woods. He’s gotta be fifteen or sixteen,” Colin joked.

“We voted, we go. It’s that simple because there could be someone in need; then we need to help them.”

“But you know this is too risky.”

“Yes, but it also might be slightly true.”

“Listen, boss, even if it were true, you could still be walking into a hornet’s nest. I encourage you to veto this.”

“If we’re going to build a future community, then I need to fulfill the group’s wishes.”

Colin shook his head.

“So we’re good, you’ll do as I say?”

“Yeah, but what happens if they call for a vote?”

“Ha, I’ll leave that for you to figure out. Good man, thank you,” Nicholas said and patted Colin on the shoulder.

Luke loudly cleared his throat.

Nicholas looked over at the young man and marched over to him.

Fear gripped Luke as Nicholas came within inches of his face.

“Looks like you got what you wanted.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

Nicholas grabbed him firmly by the arm and pulled him close. “Let me be very clear. If this is a trap, you’ll be the first person I shoot, just remember that.”

A cool breeze blew in and tussled Luke’s thick sandy blond hair. With a shaky hand, he pushed the long bangs that covered his light blue eyes and said, “It’s the truth, sir, I swear it.”

Nicholas clenched his teeth and spat, “It better be the truth.”

Undisclosed Bunker Facility, Superstition Mountains, East of Apache Junction, Arizona

For the third time in as many weeks, Michael found himself waking in a strange place, with injuries. The first time was on a beach, the second in a tiny children’s bedroom, but this time was different, he found himself in what looked like a hospital room.

His vision was blurry and the dim overhead fluorescent lights didn’t help. At the foot of his bed he made out the silhouette of someone.

“Where am I?” he asked.

The person stopped writing on the clipboard and immediately exited the room. The bright light from beyond his room splashed across the eggshell-white walls and laminate floors.

He tried to adjust his position in the bed but was stopped when he discovered his arms were secured by straps to the metal side railings. Several forceful attempts proved futile and he gave up.

The door again swung open, bringing in the light. He looked and saw two people enter. They approached the foot of his bed and stood.

“How are you feeling?” a woman said.

Michael squinted to make out who it was but was unable to, but the voice he recognized. It was the woman from the crash and from his dreams. “Karina?”

“Yes, sweetheart, it’s me,” she replied.

Next to her, a tall man leaned in and whispered to Karina.

“No, let him rest more,” Karina replied back to the man.

Michael couldn’t make out what the man said, but he feared it wasn’t good.

More of his memory had returned, but it still wasn’t complete. He remembered being with her and that they had been romantic but nothing more, and based upon his situation, there was definitely more. Ever since he’d washed up on the shores of the Sea of Cortez, he had wanted to know why, and for the first time he was with someone who knew him and could help fill in the empty spaces of his life.

“Where am I?” he asked her.

She approached the side of the bed and took his hand in hers.

Her warm touch coupled with her presence made him feel secure. Seeing her tall, lean body brought back memories of them together, wrapped in each other’s embrace.

“Just rest, sweetheart, you’ve been through a lot.”

“I can’t remember a lot. Why am I here?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Why did you crash into my car?”

“We didn’t; that was some of Viktor’s men,” she answered.

“I don’t understand.”

“We were following them. We knew they were tracking you. Had we known they were going to ram you, we would have stopped them sooner.”

“I don’t understand,” he said again. “Why is someone trying to kill me?”

The man blurted out something in Russian and from his tone he sounded upset.

Karina turned and replied in Russian.

Michael was confused; he looked to Karina and asked, “What did he say?”

“Not for you to worry about, what is important is that you rest. Soon we’ll talk, but for now, rest.”

“Okay, but can you remove the restraints?” Michael asked.

The man again said something in Russian.

Karina snapped at the man in Russian, then turned to Michael and said, “Of course, but do you promise you’ll be good.”

“Of course. I don’t even know where I am. How can I do any harm?”

“You’re restrained because you hurt a few nurses,” the man charged.

“I did?”

“Unfortunately, yes, you did.”

“Are they okay?” Michael asked, concerned that he might have unintentionally hurt an innocent person.

“Karina, this is not a good idea. We can’t be sure he won’t hurt someone again.”

“I don’t remember, I swear, there must have been a reason,” Michael said, defending his actions.

“It was the drugs he was on and the traumatic events he lived through recently,” Karina replied, she too defending Michael’s actions while under the influence of hardcore narcotics.

“Why did you give me drugs?” Michael asked.

“Yes, you were a bit upset and not yourself when we brought you here,” Karina said. Her tone softened when she talked to Michael.

“I promise I won’t do anything. I’ll cooperate fully,” Michael said. He meant what he said only halfheartedly; he just wanted the restraints off.

The man stood like a statue, obviously contemplating the request. “Fine, but he’s your responsibility, do you understand?”

Karina unbuckled the thick leather restraints and took a step back for caution’s sake once he was free.

Michael rubbed his wrists, happy to be free to move around.

The man gave Michael a hard look and moved his right hand to a pistol holstered on his hip, giving Michael a clear clue as to what he would do if he tried anything.

“Where am I?” Michael asked Karina.

“Get some rest and we’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Michael was desperate to know more. “And who is that?”

“That’s Anatoly; he looks and acts like he’s angry all the time, but trust me, he’s a teddy bear.”

Anatoly glared at her.

Karina stepped forward again and bent down. Her long black hair fell onto Michael’s face as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Get some rest.”

“I will and thank you,” Michael replied, holding up his freed hands.

Anatoly and Karina walked to the door. Just before she stepped out, Karina turned back and said, “Welcome back, I missed you.”

Vista, CA

Vincent hadn’t seen another person since watching Roger and his family leave. At first he dealt with the solitude, fully expecting to encounter some straggler or wandering person coming up to the compound, looking for a handout, but no one came. He could only imagine the neighbors were too frightened to return. Not having one person show up seemed odd, but not so much that it troubled him. Not having to deal with anyone was nice.

It had taken him only half a day to pack one of the SUVs for his eventual departure, so his remaining days had been spent hobbling around the property on patrol. Using the satellite phone Roger left him, he tried calling his parents, but all he got was a pulsing tone indicating the system was down. Many times he thought about his unit and wondered what they were doing. Not a day would go by without him contemplating returning to Camp Pendleton, but his intimate knowledge of Marine life and the Marine Corps in general allowed him to squash those thoughts. He had one chance to go help his parents, and if he ended back up at Camp Pendleton, they’d put him to task right after he healed. This was his only opportunity and he would take it.

A small grove of mature avocado trees sat near the north end of the property on a sloping hill. The climb to the top was difficult for him, but once he crested the hill, it proved worthwhile. His spot atop the hill gave him a great vantage point of the property, house and outbuildings below as well as a view of the surrounding area, plus he enjoyed the cool westerly breeze that blew off the ocean beyond.