The Change: Episode one, page 19
Angelica was talking to her in low tones I couldn’t make out, and I heard Baker stretch out on the other couch. What would happen now? I’d shown her a disloyalty and that wouldn’t be forgiven… would it?
Scared of losing the first real home I’d ever had and terrified of her not wanting me anymore, I listened to the sound of the train starting back up. I let its jerky motions cover my struggle to find a solution for the mess I had made of things.
C
“You should take him in the back room and finish it.”
Baker’s challenging tone sent the flames back into my guts, but I only snorted. “They don’t make cuffs that strong.”
Baker’s eyes said that with him, I didn’t need them, that he never created this type of chaos. I knew that to be a lie, though, and I raised a brow. “Maybe you and Angel should take it.”
By the way his face darkened, I knew I’d guessed right, and I ignored her gasp of anger. She wouldn’t make a move for him unless I approved it. “She’s generous, too.”
Not wanting to kill anything that might grow between them, I motioned toward the door. “We’ll stay out here.”
“So will I.” Angelica’s voice was strained.
I shrugged. “Suit yourself.” I gave Daniel’s huddling form a heated look, implying I wanted this room for my own purposes, and she jumped to her feet.
“Fine!”
She stormed to the door with a hard look at Baker. “You touch me, and I’ll rip your head off after it’s over.”
Baker chuckled. “Might be worth it.”
The door slammed behind her, and the Convict flashed me a tight grin that I saw right through. “She’s burning hotter than you were.”
I nodded, not upset by his interest in my cousin, but still wounded by Daniel’s attempt to save himself. It was clear who I valued more.
“Be gentle and she won’t be able to resist.”
Baker gave me another of those searching looks that had me shaking my head. “No test. If you can help her, and she wants you to, my approval is there.”
Even Baker understood to ask first - it was the way males were trained now - and I loathed it. I wanted a mate like those I’d read about, someone to stand beside me, not a man who would sell himself out for protection.
I wasn’t sure why Daniel had reacted that way to the attack, but now that I had myself almost under control, I moved toward him to find out. If he’d thought to secure a place with the Snake Leader, then we had more trouble than I thought.
I pulled the edge of the cloak down and was shocked to find tears. He looked at me in utter dejection.
“I didn’t know what else to do!”
In that instant, I let go of my anger. He was so fragile, so vulnerable… I sighed, running a hand along his pale cheek as my heart broke. He may never turn back into the Daniel I’d loved as a boy, but there was no doubt that I wanted him anyway, in any condition. “I forgive you.”
His eyes swung to mine in shock, and I dipped my head to his lips without another worry over his loyalty. He hadn’t wanted to be split from me and had relied on the only skill he’d been taught. It was enough.
When his arms tightened, I gently pushed him back. He’d had enough trauma for one day, and so had I. “Try to sleep.”
Daniel stared at me in worry, still not sure things were okay between us, and I leaned forward to place another easy kiss to the mouth that I was beginning to think I might be addicted to. “I’ll be right here the whole time.”
He obediently laid his head back down, and I moved to the other couch to stretch out. I would miss the feel of him next to me, but with blood still drying on my hands, I was dangerous, and not just to him. Even a trip to the washroom would have to wait until I was seeing through flat black again.
Someone had tried to take what was mine, and I’d killed them. It wasn’t the first time, and I knew I’d be doing it again soon enough. After our betrayal with the Hounds, I wasn’t entirely sure this hadn’t been a case of the same thing. Had the Network paid the Snake females? I thought back to the bullets we’d taken as I had grabbed Baker. Maybe the Trackers had been the ones shooting.
When we returned home, I would check into it. No one double-crossed the Pruetts and lived to tell the story. The Network would not be excused from that strict rule.
Chapter Eighteen
Atlanta
D
Morning brought another long hour of riding in the same room as we waited to reach our stop. Angelica and Baker seemed to have worked some things out. They were playing Hob Jong at the small table, exchanging threats that weren’t so hostile as to cover the sexual tension flaring between them. Did that bother Candice? I couldn’t be sure. She was stealing quick looks at them the same as I was, but her face was blank, and I couldn’t guess at her thoughts.
I knew she was fond of her cousin, but I doubted that type of comfort was the norm for a close family. Still, sharing one male among the entire household was an accepted practice, and I wondered if the Pruetts agreed.
“Atlanta, five minutes to Atlanta.”
The cheery train voice had me turning to peer out the closed blinds in anticipation. I’d read the articles on the Georgian city, but I had never dreamed I would actually get to see it. Last night’s horror was locked away with the rest of the ugliness in my life. She’d forgiven me, and it would never happen again. I’d... I would fight next time. Satisfied with my own progress, I turned to look at our destination.
The city had once been a beautiful southern Mecca backdropped by magnificent mountains and majestic blue skies. I had seen it once, in a very old magazine one of the other bachelors had swiped from a renter. That image had been in my mind every time the Pruetts said Stone Mountain.
It wasn’t like that now. Every inch of the city was covered in green vines. It looked like the jungle pictures on the next page, and I stared in amazed disappointment. “What happened to it?”
I felt them all turn to me, but I didn’t understand how this city could be so overgrown. None of the others we had seen on the wall screens were like this.
Angelica explained. “They used to keep the vines back by trimming them. It grew a foot a day. When the War came, this area was contaminated, and the Kudzu plant took over in man’s absence. It now grows a foot an hour.”
Baker’s voice was low. “It makes it the perfect place for us.”
I turned to look at him, surprised by the tone. “Us?”
Candice flashed the convict a sharp look.
Baker shrugged in response. “It wasn’t like they weren’t going to notice.”
“They didn’t need to spend the time worrying about it,” Candice snapped back.
I was gratified to see Baker flinch back from her anger, but I hated it, too. He might be a harder class than me, but he was still a scarred, scared man looking for a loving owner. The Network had robbed us, and in more ways than just the obvious. I kept my eyes on the jungle of vines as the train rolled to a gentle stop, and Candice filled her cousin in.
“There are males. A lot of them.”
Angelica snorted. “Figures.”
I heard her shove herself to her feet and heard Baker grunt in pain.
“What was that for?” He questioned in surprise and I guessed she’d hit him.
“Don’t go against Candice again. Ever.” Her loyalties declared, Angelica’s steps took her to the door. “I’ll do a sweep.”
The door slid closed behind her, and I listened to the rest of the conversation with an intensity I was glad they couldn’t see.
“Where will we pick up the ride?”
“Two miles in. Already there and stocked.”
“Quiet?”
“Unlikely.”
“They’ll want to talk to him and see if he wants to stay.”
“I don’t.”
“He’ll talk to them.”
She ignored my words, and I stopped a protest. Candice wouldn’t let them keep me. I knew that.
“What about your cousin? Will we need to lock her in a cell?”
Candice snorted. “Not unless you throw in a male. She’ll rip the doors off to get to them if she really wants one.”
After seeing Angelica’s compassion, even I knew that wouldn’t happen. Candice was joking. It was another discovery.
“We have the titanium cuffs,” Baker taunted.
“Really…”
I felt her eyes swing to me and heard the convict’s amused grunt.
“Yeah, they might hold you.”
I flushed at the thoughts that comment brought and was glad when the train alert sounded again.
“We are arriving at Atlanta Depot. Please check your room for all of your items before disembarking, and thank you for taking the Network Rider.”
My face was still red as we moved toward the door.
The weather had been unusually calm for the last few days, but we saw that had changed as we stepped from the rickety platform. The wind was gusting heavily, the gritty sky above us rolling in shades of purple and green. A storm was coming, and I shivered, stepping closer to Candice. Then my eyes registered my surroundings and I forgot about my fears.
The Kudzu plant was everywhere.
It wound up trees, choking them until the trunks underneath were as petrified from the lack of water as they were in the Forests of Kentucky, but this was worse somehow. Instead of dead trees, these were dying trunks with their killer living around them like a shroud. The Kudzu covered every inch of ground and area that I could see. How did Candice plan to travel through there? I doubted I was much of a hiker.
I looked over to see Baker staring at all the greenery and vines with a slight smile and understood he considered this home. I shrugged. Maybe there was more to see underneath, but from where I stood, it was a jungle to be conquered. The only open area was directly in front of the platform, and a few the other passengers who got off at this stop moved that way. I studied the three signs I could see from where we stood.
“Enter at your own risk. Unguarded.”
“Stay on main path and turn around at the marker. Those who go further will NOT be searched for.”
It was the last one my eyes lingered on.
Number of people who’ve gone off the beaten path and never returned 398 400 401 404
The number clearly wasn’t done growing, and before I could wonder if we would be the next tallies added to it, Candice let out a low snort.
“Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you?”
Baker chuckled. “Gotta keep them out somehow.”
“How many of those missing people really exist?”
“Ten or so. All but one chose to help us.”
I wanted to ask what they had done with the other adventurer who’d found the rebel base hidden inside this dense jungle and chosen not to keep the secret, and managed not to. There were other people around us, one even staring at Baker like she might recognize him, and I knew better than to speak this time and draw more attention.
The Network guards were also staring our way, and I was very glad to see it was the group from last night. They would report the sighting, but maybe not exactly where Baker had been or who he was with. That sent me into another level of panicked worry. What would happen when the Network found out the Pruetts had aided Baker?
Angelica joined us, and I listened to her words, but my mind was on the future. If the Pruetts were arrested, would I be able to help them escape?
“Your parents have the other two convicts in custody. They’re exchanging them directly to the Network hub there, and then heading home.” Angelica’s dark eyes switched to me before returning to my owner. “I’ll take him back if you want.”
I clamped my lips shut and worried.
C
Angelica’s offer was tempting, but I made the only choice I could. If he were away from me, I’d be too distracted. “No.”
She shrugged and dropped back to take Drag while I took Point. With Daniel and then Baker behind me, it made a neat little sandwich that the males wouldn’t like, but Angelica would keep things under control while I broke a dozen Network rules. Helping the enemy, not reporting rebel sightings and locations, lying, falsifying papers, requisitioned supplies being consumed for personal use, evading, trespassing… I sighed. If we were caught, Angelica and I would be executed on the same wall as Baker and his rebel friends.
As we ventured under the naturally-formed green archway, my mental clock started ticking. The Network would be told, but not for a day. The guards currently holding a heavy pocket right now had me to thank for it, and I turned suddenly to give them a hard look. One of them grinned at me, and I returned the sentiment.
“Let’s go.”
We openly moved off the path and into the dense jungle, drawing shocked murmurs from the few tourists nearby. Most had remained at the platform.
“Won’t the sightseers call it in?”
Daniel’s very low voice had me letting out another sigh. “Yes, but Atlanta is thick and wide. They won’t know exactly where we are.”
“What about your parents? Won’t the Network hold…”
Angelica gave him the comfort he needed. “They’ll be questioned and released. The Network won’t hold them responsible for our actions.”
“But they track all messages and…”
“Stop, Daniel.” I turned to look at him and made sure to include Baker as I laid it out for them. I didn’t bother lowering my voice.
“The Pruetts are for freedom. We always have been, and we don’t consider gender a deciding factor. If I choose to help the rebels, we will, and we’ll handle what comes. Do you understand what I mean?”
Baker was grinning. He did, but Daniel shook his head. “You’re putting your family at risk for him.”
I gave a warmer look, meant only for my mate. “Some things are worth dying for.”
Daniel knew I meant him, and his pale face flushed in pleasure. “Whatever you want to do, I’m in. You know that?”
I nodded, turning back. “I do.”
D
It was hard to walk.
The thick vines kept tripping me up, and I struggled to move like the others. Candice took long, high steps that got her where she wanted to go, but when I tried it, the clingy plants wrapped around my boots and jerked me down. After ten minutes, I’d fallen twice, and Angelica moved to my side.
“You have to kinda jump when you land, or they tangle you up.”
When she demonstrated, I picked it up easily, but my lack of knowledge about the outside world had Baker smirking.
“Thanks.”
She gave a curt nod as she went back to her post, and I sighed as I remembered that the sound of my voice was painful to her Changeling ears. I had hoped to settle into the new life and be happy, but adjusting to this world was harder than I’d expected. I swiped the sweat from my brow and followed my owner into the jungle. Maybe next time we’d go to someplace easier, like the beach.
The jungle thickened as we walked, and it wasn’t until I tripped over a thick patch of purple flowers that I realized we were already in the city. It was so covered in the vines that I hadn’t seen it, and I stared in surprise, bringing our little convoy to a halt.
The thick masses I’d thought to be covered trees were actually walls, pillars, old relics of the past that had withstood the tests of time, but not nature. Considering the level of growth here, I imagined even these relics would be gone but not for the covering that kept them from crumbling. If the vines were killed off, what was left of the city would immediately collapse into piles of rock and gravel.
The very tips of arched roofs jutted out from the green leaves, hinting at decaying frames and thickets full of nasty surprises. There would be skeletons inside those overgrown walls, graying bones with no owners, only ghosts.
The thought gave me a chill, and I turned back to the path…Then flushed at the hard looks. I dropped my head and we got moving again.
C
We reached the river all at once.
One second, we were deep in the jungle, and the next I was pulling my mate back from the edge of a steep incline that overlooked a crystal-blue river winding through the vines. Painfully aware of how fascinating Daniel found water, I turned to give him a sharp look, only to see he was already absorbed in the glistening ripples.
I sighed. “Ten minute break.”
Baker grunted behind me, and I heard Angelica snort in cynical amusement. Thanks to the convict’s loose tongue, Angelica was now stewing on having to control herself around so many males. It was a fun trip we had going so far.
“Can I…”
“No.” I hadn’t meant to be so curt. “It’s not safe.”
And yet, we were about to ride the river. I could see the edge of what was probably a scavenger boat waiting just around the bend. I gave Angelica a quick wave, and she moved off in that direction to get the passage she had secured for us. There were ways… and the Pruetts knew most of them.
Daniel stopped at my side, and I looked back to see Baker leaning against a leaf-covered pillar. His goggles were down, and I wondered what he was thinking as he stared at us. I’d known Baker long enough to be sure he would recover and quickly move on. I’d been very worried about having feelings for him because of it. Baker wasn’t a one-woman kinda man, or at least I’d always thought so.
I swung back to the river we were about to use to delve further into the jungle-like city. We could stay on these paths, but once we reached the edge of town proper, we might have to hack our way in. I had chosen a route easier and faster than that, but a bit more dangerous.
I felt Daniel’s attention shift as the boat slowly rode the waves into view. “We’re sailing in?”
Sweat dripped from his brow, and my need flared hungrily. I found very few things sexier than a man working one up. His eagerness had me smiling against my will, and I lifted a soft hand to push the hair from his damp brow. “For a bit.”
