The Breaking, page 20
part #2 of The Reckoning of Anecor Series
“What about the others?” Bryn asked, checking her mirrors to be sure there was no patrol vehicle behind them.
“I’m surprised Troy gets away as much as he does. It’s just him and his parents. Just like Selby. Cassidi has two siblings, I think. Like I said, she doesn’t say much, and I’ve never been to her house. But Troy and Selby are both the only child their parents had. Now Selby’s family knows. I’m not surprised. And I won’t be surprised if Troy’s parents find out either.”
“And Rebecca?”
Bendi was quiet for a moment before responding, “Well, I guess Becs is an only child, too, now. She said once that her parents were having such a hard time with Jonathan being gone that they seemed lost in their own worlds. I think they just don’t notice. It must be so hard for Becs. They were all so close. We have to end all this, Bryn. We have to find a way.” Bendi said this last with a passionate intensity that she rarely showed, as she blinked back the tears welling up in her eyes.
Bryn’s heart ached for this girl who felt everyone else’s pain. Yet she was also starting to see that Bendi had a strength that belied her gentle nature. Not for the first time, Bryn found herself entirely impressed with this group of kids. She did not think that 5 or 6 years ago she would have had the same courage they all displayed, not even in these same circumstances. Was it really only 5 or 6 years ago that I was their age? It feels like a lifetime.
“We will, Bendi. We seem to be getting closer now. You guys joining us? Well, it seems to have sparked progress, even if Melody isn’t open to it. We’ll do what we have to.”
They were now pulling up to the transit station. Destin was already there, waiting in the shadows of the platform so that she wouldn’t be easily seen by anyone coming and going from transit. At this time of the evening, there were still enough people making their way between the center of town and each of the quadrants that the transit center was far from vacant, though only two other vehicles could be seen in the area. Destin stepped out from the shadows as she saw Bryn’s car approach.
Bryn’s concerned heightened when she saw Destin’s look of fear and despair. She could feel Bendi tense up beside her, as well. Bryn couldn’t imagine what could possibly cause this sort of reaction in Destin.
“We drivin’ out to look for the others?” she asked as she climbed in the back seat. Bryn and Bendi looked at their phones to see if they’d received messages from Remy or Rebecca. Bendi looked at Bryn and shook her head no, indicating that she hadn’t received a response.
“Looks like it,” Bryn replied.
“Cuz we’re going to have to look for Troy, too.”
CHAPTER 31
“
N
ot one of us.”
“No. But, I still can’t breathe. You think he’s—”
“Oh, yeah. No way he survived that fall.”
“It’s one of the guys from BRO. No Guard uniform.”
“Yeah…wishin’ it had been a guard, though.”
“Why?”
“Cuz you can bet they have more skills at huntin’ down folks than the guys from BRO who got sent out with them.”
“Good point. Probably why he’s down there, though, and not still up here. At least it wasn’t one of us.”
“Yeah. And our odds just got a little better,” Selby shot a grin in Cassidi’s direction.
“You’re a strange one, Selby.” Cassidi looked back down at the body crumpled below, “I’ve never seen a dead person before.”
“Me neither, man. The bodies at BRO were the closest thing. They looked dead, but I know they weren’t really dead, so that doesn’t count.”
“Becs saw Jonathan after he died. I don’t think I could have handled that.”
“Can’t imagine how that musta been.”
Cassidi and Selby stared down in silence for a moment before turning, without words, and continuing along the ridge to where it widened. They scanned the area below, looking for signs of the other three men, but seeing nothing. They walked on a little further, reaching a place where the ground rose up again in front of them.
“Looks like we got a choice here. Goin’ up wouldn’t be smart,” Selby said, surveying the situation before them and the steep, shear slab of rock rising up quickly from where they stood.
“Nope. Forgot my climbing gear today,” Cassidi replied. “So, it’s right or left.”
“Yep. Goin’ right takes us into new territory. Going left will take us back towards Montrose, or back down to the road. I vote right.”
“You do? Why?”
“Cuz we’ve never been there before.” Cassidi rolled her eyes at this comment. Selby added, “And, besides, it looks like two people already went that way.”
“Seriously? How can you tell?” Cassidi asked looking in the direction to the right of the rock face.
“Not hard when you look down,” said Selby, pointing at the ground a short distance off where two sets of scuff marks were evident in the sandy surface. “You can see that these marks are too big to be anything but people. And it’s probably two of us.”
“Since it looks like the four men broke off from one another. And now there are only three.”
“Yep. Exactly.”
Cassidi turned and led the way to where they hoped they’d meet up with two from their own gang. The route was slow going as they continued to look for signs of the other two passing through. Periodically, they called out Rebecca’s name and Remy’s. Barely above the sound of their speaking voice, just in case another of the men found his way down this side of the mountain.
Their phones had no signal here, so messaging was pointless. Their best bet was to catch up with whomever went this way, tell them the news of the fallen man, and attempt to make their way back towards Montrose. It would be getting dark very quickly. Once darkness fell, movement in this unfamiliar terrain would be slow, but they’d have the benefit of the cover of night to hide in. At the very least, they would be able to retrace their steps and head back down to the road with much less fear of being spotted in the forest.
“Becs?” Cassidi called into the trees again. Silence followed.
And then, “Cass?”
“Yes! Where are you?” Cassidi answered back, trying not to shout out loud in her excitement.
Rebecca and Daniel came through a thickness of undergrowth. Cassidi broke into a run and caught Rebecca in a hug, then held her away from her, observing the strain on her face.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. One of the guys was chasing us. He fell.”
“I know. We heard the scream and went to investigate. I was so scared of what I might find, but we had to know.”
“I thought for sure he’d catch us. It would have been my fault. I slowed us down,” Rebecca said in a stricken voice.
Daniel came up behind her and put an arm around her. “No. It would not have been your fault. You did great, Becs.”
Cassidi looked questioningly from Rebecca to Daniel.
“I froze, Cass. I did fine climbing up the rocks, but then we got to the top. And the world just started spinning. I couldn’t move. And I wouldn’t have without Daniel. I’d have stayed right there, like I was waiting to be captured!” Now Rebecca sounded angry. Angry with herself for a fear she’d had since early childhood. A fear that gripped her. A weakness in herself she hated.
“But you moved past it, Becs. You overcame it! You ended up doing it on your own. Without my help. I just got you started. You did the rest. Don’t blame yourself for any of it. I’m not sure I could’ve done what you did,” Daniel said.
“What was that?” Selby asked.
“I had Becs get behind me and hold on to me, so that she would have something to look at, you know, to keep her from looking around. Well, the guy who was following us was getting closer. She saw that, and…well…she just, I don’t know, shoved the fear aside, pushed me ahead, and told me to move faster or we’d get caught. She let go, and we sped up. Even I was nervous up there. It got real narrow. But Becs just kept going, not letting me slow down or help her. Of course, that made the guy speed up, and he obviously didn’t do so hot on getting across. Even when that happened, she wouldn’t stop.”
“No. I couldn’t think about it. There was no way I was going to turn around to see what happened. Even though I knew. The only thing I was thinking about was getting to where the ground got wider and there was more around me.”
“Yoooo…Becs! That’s somethin’ else, man!” Selby went up to her and picked her up in an exuberant hug, then plopped her back down in front of Daniel. “Oh, sorry, man. Didn’t mean to take her outta your arms or anything.”
Daniel laughed, “Think nothing of it, Selby.”
“Becs, you’re amazing. You’ve had that fear for as long as I’ve known you, which is pretty much forever. Never mattered to me. It was just a part of you, but I totally thought you’d never get over it,” Cassidi said, voice filled with pride.
“Thanks, guys. But it could have turned out really bad, if Daniel weren’t there. I just wasn’t about to put any of us in any more danger. I had to do what I did. Maybe now I won’t freeze the next time. I hope not, anyway.”
“I hope there isn’t a next time,” Cassidi said.
By now, twilight had fallen over the forest. It was quiet, other than their voices.
“Guys, I think we oughta head back. It’s gettin’ dark. Hopin’ that means the three guys left will give up the hunt. But I have to let my folks know we’re alright before they decide to take matters in their own hands.”
“Don’t think Remy would be too happy about that,” Daniel said. “Especially since he hasn’t even told Melody yet about them.”
“Yep, so let’s start headin’ back,” Selby said as he turned to head back in the direction they’d come.
“Wait, Selby. Daniel and I came this way because we can get back to the ranch from here.”
“Really? How do ya know that? You been out here before?” asked Selby.
“Nope. But I’ve been on the peaks all around the ranch, and I can see out this way from the opposite side of the ranch from where BRO is. That peak right up there is the next one over from the lower ones around the ranch. We don’t want to go all the way down this mountain, because then we’d have to climb back up. But if we can traverse it, we can climb over and down onto the ranch after we get past that,” Daniel pointed to the silhouetted peak above them.
“I’m all for not backtracking,” said Cassidi, “especially since there are still three men who might be looking for us. Or waiting for us anywhere along the road back.”
“I hope the others are alright,” Rebecca added.
“Well, we aren’t gonna find out just standin’ here.” Ever eager to be making forward progress, Selby was getting antsy now with the chatting. “Daniel?”
“Right. This way,” Daniel replied, leading the group in the direction that he was fairly certain would take them to the ranch. He hoped so. He’d seen that jagged peak above them countless times, seen all the intervening space between the ranch and the peak. He just hoped that memory would serve him well down here on the ground. He wasn’t about to let the others know of his doubts, though. Not with Rebecca counting on him to get them to safety.
CHAPTER 32
R
emy looked down at his phone, surprised to see that a message had come through. It was from Bryn.
“Lucash, wait.” Lucash stopped and Remy opened the message, typed a quick response, and then gestured to Lucash to keep going.
“Something wrong?” Lucash asked.
“Maybe. Why?”
“Just looked like it when you read the message.”
“Yeah. Not sure yet. But we need to get to your girlfriend and get back out here by the road. Someone’s coming to get us. Don’t worry, it’s someone you can trust. She’s in on all this too.”
“What about the Guard and the other two men? What if they come back this way? It’s gettin’ pretty dark, and I’m not thinking they’ll continue up on the mountains.”
“No. Probably not. That’s a risk we have to take. I’ll warn Bryn if they pass by us on the road. She can pull off and hide. Doubtful they’ll be looking for a car on the side of the road. But we need to get back there fast, so they don’t go by without us knowing.”
In the growing darkness, Lucash was having to find his way by the light of Remy’s headlamp from behind. He still moved quickly. By now, he knew this trip in from the roadside well enough. He was holding his breath the entire time, afraid he’d get there to discover Juniper gone. Or worse.
As they reached the hiding spot, it seemed to Lucash in the dim light that it was undisturbed. Unless Juniper left and covered her tracks. He halted at the entrance.
“This it?” asked Remy.
“Yes.”
“Why are you standing there, then?”
“Just trying to be prepared for what I might find,” Lucash said in a voice almost too quiet to hear.
“Oh. Of course. Sorry.”
Lucash took a deep breath, and then quickly pushed aside the brush at the entrance.
๛ ๛ ๛
Bryn unlocked her phone with a touch, then handed it to Bendi, “There’s a message. From Remy. Can you read it? I don’t want to pull over.” They had just picked up Destin and were beginning to make their way to the edge of town and out to the area where Bryn knew Remy and the others had gone to look for the escapees.
“Sure,” Bendi said, taking the phone from Bryn’s hand and opened the message. “‘Got one of the escapees, on the way to get the other. Guard found us. We all ran. Different directions. Meet us on the road out. We will wait for you. Three of us. One is very sick.’ Oh! Oh, no. I wonder why just one? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“No. But…this is likely a milder version since it isn’t programmed specifically for the targeted person,” Bryn said, mulling this new information over as she spoke.
“It’s going to be a tight fit in here with three more people. Didn’t Remy have his truck?” Destin interjected.
“He did,” Bryn said. “Not sure why he doesn’t have it, but it might have to do with the Guard. We’ll find out when we get there, I suppose.” Bryn picked up speed as much as she dared. The city streets were becoming less and less occupied by people, but one never knew when either the Guard or Citizen Patrol would show up in the area. They had their regular rounds, but a lot of ground to cover. Once they got to the edge of town, their biggest concern would be the guards who went in search of the escapees.
Bendi checked her own phone again. Still no message from Rebecca. Now she was growing very alarmed. After reading Remy’s message, she had to acknowledge the possibility that something could have happened to any of the others. They knew Remy was okay, but that still left Rebecca, Selby, Cassidi, and Daniel to worry about. And Davi and Mel, too. She didn’t really know them, but she was concerned for their safety as well.
“Destin, we’ll be driving for a bit, so how about you tell us what you meant when you said we had to now find Troy, too? What happened? What did you do?”
“Me? Why do you assume I’m the reason he’s gone?” Destin asked, truly offended.
“You really have to ask, Destin?”
“Well, for your information, me and Troy were doin’ just fine.”
“Really?” the surprise was evident in Bryn’s tone.
“Yes. Really.”
“Okaaay. So, what happened then?”
“Well…I’m a little afraid to say, honestly.”
“Why?”
“Two reasons. First, you’re probably gonna be mad, and I really don’t want to deal with that right now. Second, this one’s here,” Destin jabbed a thumb in Bendi’s direction, “and I know she’s Troy’s friend, and I don’t want to upset her. It’s…um…pretty disturbing…”
“Please don’t worry about me. I want to know,” Bendi said.
Destin hesitated, doubtful of the truth of that statement given what it was she knew about Troy now. And that was just scratching the surface of the nightmare they’d discovered in the files. It was almost too much for Destin to process, and she wasn’t a kid anymore. She quit being a kid years before she was Bendi’s age. Destin could not understand what Bendi was doing here, mixed up in Colossus. She seemed so naïve. So…sheltered. Even more than her other Tier 3 friends were.
“Destin, you don’t have to worry about Bendi,” Bryn said when Destin still hadn’t started talking. “She can handle it. Whatever it is. She’s a lot tougher than you think. And I promise I won’t get mad,” Destin reacted with a grunt of disbelief. “I mean, seriously, look at us right now. Do you think that this doesn’t fly in the face of Melody’s orders?”
“Oh. Alright. But you asked for it. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She was quiet again, this time, gathering her thoughts. “Hard to know where to start.”
“Start with Troy. If he’s disappeared, we need to know why so we can figure out what to do about it. After we deal with our current crisis.”
“Troy’s dad is working with Manglebee and BRO,” Destin blurted out, then fell back against the back seat, as if exhausted. And that wasn’t far from the truth. This evening had taken its toll, and the information she and Troy had discovered, as well as Troy’s disappearance, left her feeling like all she wanted to do was go home and sleep for days.
“What? Are you sure?” Bryn asked? Bendi didn’t respond.
“Well, I am almost positive. You said his last name was Sullivan, right? When you introduced us the other day, I thought that’s what you said.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Yeah, then if it isn’t his dad, it’s someone else close to him. Last name Sullivan. That’s what I saw.”
