Chapter 24
When it comes down to actually being brave enough to enter the burrows, hardly any are willing to go. The people ready to fight come down to Travis, myself, Colonel Kirk Samuels, Chris, Katie, Jace, Luke, and the two unknown Guerrillas; who both appear to be around nineteen years old. Chad said he’s going to stay at base to get a backup team together. He says it’s to be prepared in case things go wrong, but I think he’s too scared of facing these monsters again.
“Thanks for watching Ty for me.” I say to Lilly while I twist a silencer on the end of the pistol’s barrel. When I had asked her to keep an eye on Ty it seemed like she was relieved that we weren’t asking her to go. I don’t blame her. She’s still recovering from the action with the looters, and the aliens that killed most of her family.
“No problem. I feel bad that I can’t come with you guys though.” Lilly smiles wearily. She’s wearing a camouflage uniform I assume she got from somebody here.
“It’s okay, really. I have a walkie-talkie, so radio me if there’s an emergency. But only if there’s an emergency. I don’t want to bring any attention to myself unless it’s needed.” The radio clips onto my jean shorts waistband, right next to my handgun. I reach down and readjust the four daggers that are bursting out my thigh holster. The holster itself is only designed for two, so I had to stuff the other two between the holster and my bare thigh. The cold blades press firmly against my skin.
“When will you be back?” Lilly asks curiously before taking a gulp of water from a silver canteen.
“We’ll be back before it gets dark.
As I watch her drink water it makes me thirsty. I haven’t had anything to drink since before the parkour-paintball game. My eyes narrow in on a water droplet as it drips down her canteen.
When she sees the desperation in my eyes, she motions the canteen at me, “Want some?”
“Sure, thanks.” I reply. I snatch it from her hands quickly. As I press the opening to my mouth, cool water slips through my lips. I swallow a few gulps, enjoying the fresh taste. I have to stop myself from drinking the entire thing.
I smile gratefully as I pass it back to her. “Thanks again.”
“No problem. Anything I can do to help.” Suddenly, her eyes light up, like she’s just remembered something. “Speaking of, I’ll be right back.” She says quickly before darting out of the Z Room.
“Um, okay.” I chuckle to myself as she sprints into the tunnel.
“What if you don’t come back? You’re really going to trust her with your son?” A familiar voice snarls from beside me. Heather stands at my shoulder with a scowl. I hadn’t heard her walk over in the crowded Z Room. The guerrillas are saying goodbye to those of us who are going.
“We’ll be back before it gets dark.” I say sharply.
“Hope so. It’d be unfortunate for Ty to become an orphan.” She says with a smirk.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip, stopping me from chewing her out. I don’t have time to deal with her. I need to prove to everyone that I can do this. My shoulder brushes against hers as I push past her towards the tunnel.
A few feet in the dimly lit tunnel, I find Travis playing catch with Ty. Cano’s short black tail wags excitedly as he watches the football spin through the air, landing in Ty’s arms.
Travis throws his hands up, palms facing out, when he sees me walking towards him. “We need to stop now. It’s time for us to leave.”
Ty lets out a deep sigh. “Fine.”
“Give me a hug and kiss goodbye.” I say with my arms extend out towards him. With a running head start, he jumps into my chest and squeezes me. As I breathe him in, the idea crosses my mind that this may be the last time I ever see him again. I shake the thought as my lips press against the top of his head. The grease in his hair rubs against my chin, reminding me how badly he needs a bath. We all do. When we get back I’m going to give him a water bottle bath with the travel size baby wash I found in the storage here.
“Attention.” Colonel Kirk Samuels announces loudly. “It’s time to move out.”
“I don’t want you guys to go.” Ty says, his voice soft.
I look him in the eyes and reply calmly, “We’re coming back.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
I kiss him once more on the head before setting him back down. I hate leaving him behind, but he’ll be safer here. At least… I hope so.
“Come on Ty!” Allie yells from down the hall. She’s holding two flashlights, with the other kids standing behind her; all with their own.
Ty hesitates. He stares up at me as he chews on the inside of his cheek. A bad habit he got from me.
“Go on. We’ll see you when we get back.”
He nods his head and then runs off to play with them. When he reaches Allie, she passes him a flashlight. Together, they run away yelling, “Not it!”
Travis climbs up the ladder into the Bullseye Room first. Once his legs disappear into the warehouse I grip my hands around the metal rails. Before I can step up a girl’s voice echoes in the tunnel “Wait!”
Lilly runs up to me and says, “Here.” In her hands is a pile of military grade camouflage netting.
I take a piece of the netting and hold it up. With a raised brow I ask, “What is this?”
“They’re hoods to wear over your faces. The Colonel asked me if I could do something with this scrap netting to help camouflage better. This is what I came up with.”
She puts one over her head then spins it around until the two cut out holes line up with her hazel eyes. The ends of the netting are cut jagged, like a knife was used. The hood hangs right past her shoulders to the center of her chest. She looks like an executioner.
“It’s gonna get hot in here, but it’ll help you all blend in fully.” She says from underneath the dark netting.
“I’ve never seen this before.” I reply.
I throw one of the homemade hoods over my head. The eyeholes are the perfect size to see through. As I breathe in and out normally I can see Lilly is right about one thing. These things are going to get hot. For a second, I think about cutting a mouth hole but end up deciding against it. The more disguised the better.
“Thanks, these will definitely come in handy.”
“You’re welcome.”
When I turn to climb up the ladder, Lilly says, “Wait.”
“What is it?” I ask, turning back to face her.
Tears begin to well up in her eyes. She quickly blinks them away and says with an unsteady voice, “Just… Be safe. I know we haven’t known each other long, but you guys are special to me. You saved my life…”
“Don’t worry. We’re coming back. You just worry about keeping an eye on those kids.”
She forces a laugh, “Okay. I will.”
She hugs me goodbye then runs down the tunnel to where we last saw the children. After she disappears in a room, I climb up the ladder. Cano stands below me and whimpers softly. When I reach the top, I twist back and say, “Shoo.” He doesn’t run away. Instead, he jumps up the ladder towards me. His large paws pushing off every other railing until finally leaping into the warehouse. That explains how he got inside the warehouse earlier.
I kick the hatch door, slamming it shut. With the camouflage hoods in hand, I walk towards the group. I stop beside Travis and wait patiently for the Colonel to wrap up his conversation with Katie. When she had volunteered to come along, I figured it was in case someone got hurt. But the way she talks to him makes it seem like she is going to be covering us from outside with her dad.
The Colonel shifts his eyes to the pile of hoods in my hands. He nods at them and asks, “Are those from Lilly?”
“Yes, they are.” I reply and pass them over.
He pulls one from the pile and tugs it over his head. His breathing becomes deep as he says, “Not bad. These should work.” After looking around for a few seconds, he takes off the hood and says, “I want you all to take one of these. I
have reason to believe that these will confuse the Grey Ones.”
“How so?” Questions one of the younger boys.
“I believe they’ll be looking for humanistic features.”
“What about our scent?” I ask, thinking back to the monster that took long whiffs of Ty while he slept. “They can smell us.”
“You’re right. That’s why I’m relying on camouflage to confuse them long enough for us to escape with one of their own.”
As he hands the hoods over to Katie, he asks, “Will you pass these out? And don’t forget to keep one for your dad."
One by one, we all take a hood from her soft hands. After they’re all passed out Colonel Kirk Samuels begins to hand us each a camouflage uniform to change into. Travis is already wearing his own, so he holds onto my silenced pistol while I get changed.
After stripping off the thigh holster full of daggers, I throw on the camouflage pants and coat over my clothes. The uniform smells like other people’s body odor, but it fits well enough that I don’t have to worry about wearing a belt. After I clip the thigh holster on over my pants, I shove the daggers back inside. It’s a tight fit once all four are stuffed around the holster, but it’ll work.
“Nighthawk. Come in Nighthawk. This is Alpha Dog.” Colonel Kirk Samuels says into his walkie-talkie.
“Nighthawk to Alpha Dog. I can hear you loud and clear.” Chris’s voice is barely understandable underneath all the radio static interference.
“The pack is getting ready to leave the doghouse. I repeat the pack is getting ready to leave the dog house. Expect our arrival in ten minutes.”
“Roger that. Over and out.”
Dressed and armed, we wait for instruction from the Colonel. He stands tall, looking each of us in the eyes. With a firm tone, he says, “We are taking the Humvee and heading east to the Japanese Gardens. That is where we will meet back up with Staff Sergeant Chris Lee. He will continue to cover us from the outside with his daughter, Katie Lee. Katie here is not only going to be a soldier covering our backs from the outside, but she is also going to act as our medic. Any questions so far?”
Silence fills the warehouse as we all shake our heads. His eyes shift around our group. “When we get to the burrows we’re going to need to army crawl our way in. Be prepared for anything. Remember to keep the silencer on your guns. We need to be as quiet as possible to bring back one of these bastards alive. Let’s move out.”
The Colonel leads us out the warehouse door, into the street. We follow him quietly while he takes us around to the back, where a couple of loose car covers hide the Humvee. His fingers clutch onto the fabric and yank, exposing the military vehicle. He reaches down his shirt and pulls off the dog tags hanging from his neck. Attached to the chain is a key.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you don’t have a watch, so I grabbed one for you.” Katie whispers, standing beside me.
Turning to face her, I find the black digital watch in her hand, “Thanks Katie. I appreciate it.”
I wrap it around my small wrist and glance at the time. It’s 10:33 a.m.
Once the engine roars loudly, we each take turns climbing inside. I get in first and take a seat on a big metal box in the back. Travis slides in beside me and set his hand over mine. His palm warms my cool skin as he gently rubs his thumb back and forth over mine. He didn’t want me to come, but I know that’s only because he cares. Maybe after today he will see me as less of a damsel in distress, and more as a soldier in this war.
Katie’s loud laugh brings my attention to her in the seats ahead. She rolls her big, doe eyes at Jace and says, “Keep dreaming boy.”
His hand clutches his heart as he exclaims, “Oh! That hurts, girl.”
He never quits. A small chuckle escapes my mouth as I turn back to Travis. He looks down at me with a small smile; his dimples sunken in. His muscular arm wraps around me and pull me closer to his chest. When he presses his soft lips press against my forehead, they linger for a second before pulling away. “I love you, Belle.”
“I love you too, Travis.”
Cano is the last to hop inside. Once he sees us in back, he moves our way. His heavy body plops down on my feet. In an attempt to get more comfortable in the crowded truck, he rolls over on his side. His golden brown eyes lock with mine, and within seconds they close. As I stare at him, I wonder if they will attack him? Or if they really are targeting humans alone?
It only takes a few minutes before the Humvee halts to a stop. “We’re here.” Colonel Kirk Samuels announces loudly.
I sit up straight and stare out the windshield. Without anyone here to maintain the gardens, plants have begun to grow over one another, or die off. My eyes stop on the burrows ahead. I slide my fingers through my hair and twist it in a high bun. In my stomach, butterflies are fluttering like crazy. Part of me, wants to turn around and go back. But the bigger part of me, wants to stay and fight. I know that this is my chance to prove that I can be a soldier in the war for humanity. Not only to Travis, but to myself.