“It’s him, isn’t it?” one of them asked.

  “I think so. Six foot, tattoos, blue eyes and dark hair. How many guys like that have you seen around here?” a quiet voice replied.

  “Do you think they’ll actually give us the reward?” one of them asked.

  “We’ll get the reward and then hand him over.” He recognized that voice as Tara’s.

  It grew quiet, and he realized the women were walking away, still talking, but he couldn’t make out the words. Their female captors weren’t nearly as innocent and peaceful as they claimed.

  “Were they talking about you?” Malachi asked, his breath washing over Austin’s face.

  “Certainly sounds like it. I guess I have a price on my head. That’s new,” he grumbled.

  30

  Amanda wasn’t happy. No one had wanted to go with her to the mine. Ennis and Wendell had decided it was more important they work on the security of the house and set more booby traps, rather than go in search of Nash. Savannah had volunteered to go along, but that wasn’t an option. Austin would kill her if something happened to his daughter. Some of the revivalists had looked like they were considering volunteering, but in the end they’d all opted to leave Nash to his own devices and work around the house, some of them openly assuming that he must simply have moved on and that looking for him was a waste of time.

  She angrily snapped a branch that was hanging in her way as she stomped through the forest. “Selfish jerks,” she muttered.

  Wendell had almost seemed happy that Nash was missing or had chosen to leave the group. She couldn’t help but think he had something to do with the disappearance. He’d had that look in his eye that made her distrust him in general.

  She’d packed extra food and water, anticipating she would find Nash along the way. He’d be tired from staying out in the forest all night. She’d lecture him and then they’d go back to the house; no harm, no foul. That’s what she was hoping for. So far, though, she’d seen no sign of Nash, and it was worrying her all the more.

  She knew she was close to the mine, however. She’d been walking fast, wanting to cover as much ground as possible. The extended daylight worked to her advantage. She’d be able to make it back to the house before nightfall—she hoped.

  “A-ha!” she exclaimed when she recognized the area. She quickly covered the remaining distance to the mine entrance, her legs burning after the long journey. She could feel sweat pooling at the small of her back and reached behind her to lift her shirt away.

  She stepped inside the mine after taking a moment to sip her water, pulling out the glowstick she’d brought along and quickly snapping it, slapping it against the rock wall to make it glow bright. Her eyes adjusted to the dim glow, allowing her to see clearly. She walked along, remembering what Nash had told her about the door off to the side. He was either here or he wasn’t, and if he wasn’t, then she was back to square one, but at least she’d have checked the most obvious option.

  She found the door in no time. It was hanging open, exposing the contents of the room. Cable sat coiled in a corner, and just beyond it, she could see the door Nash was convinced held more secrets. If the documents they’d read were factual, the door could be the opening to an underground lair for the bad guys.

  “Please tell me you didn’t get in there,” she whispered, pulling the gun from the holster on her thigh and holding it in front her while she held the glowstick in her other hand.

  She froze when she saw the pack on the floor. Nash’s. She spun around, clearing the room before moving to the pack and lifting it up. There was a dark stain on the ground. She shone the light over it and determined it was blood. She stood holding the light in front of her, aiming at the solid door and trying to decide what to do. She could see indentions marring the smooth metal surface.

  “Noo, no, no,” she muttered, realizing the dimples were caused by bullets.

  She focused on the ground and found brass casings scattered around the area. Someone had opened fire in the room. She focused on the small stain that was no bigger than the size of a fifty-cent piece, and then looked around. There wasn’t a lot of blood. It could have been from a small cut, she reasoned. If Nash had been standing where she was and been hit by a bullet, there would have been more blood, she told herself, trying to make herself believe Nash was okay.

  Out of pure curiosity, she tried to open the door, unsure what she would do if it actually opened. If Nash was right and the door led to some secret hideout, she didn’t want to just waltz in like she owned the place. But the door didn’t budge. She looked around the room again. Nash had to have been taken inside. He wouldn’t have run without his pack.

  She reached down and ran her hand over the dark circle she saw in the pack, only now realizing it wasn’t a stain. It was a hole—a bullet hole. “I’ve got to get help,” she whispered, heading back into the mine and walking towards the entrance at a fast clip.

  When she broke into the bright daylight, she looked around, paying more attention to the ground. The rain the night before had washed away any footprints that may have indicated how many people she would be dealing with when she came back. And that’s when it hit her—she already knew what she was going to do. She was not going to leave Nash in that hole, no matter what.

  She jogged toward the house, knowing there was no way she could make it there and back before darkness fell. Still, adrenaline pumped through her veins, giving her a fresh boost of energy and driving her to move faster. They couldn’t afford to wait. Nash had been gone a full day. He was being held prisoner and could very well be injured. They had to rescue him.

  Amanda’s heart raced, her breathing becoming labored as she pushed herself to keep moving. She couldn’t slow down. Every minute counted. The heat was beginning to wane as the sun sank lower in the sky. She nearly walked right into one of the booby traps in her haste to get back to the house, narrowly avoiding a bucket of rocks being dumped on her head.

  She found Ennis sitting on a stone, sharpening a branch into what looked like a spear. “They have him!” she exclaimed, standing in front of him and gasping for air.

  “What? Who has him? Who’s him?” Ennis asked.

  “In the mine. They have Nash,” she managed to get out.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, lowering the stick and folding the blade back into his knife.

  She nodded. “Yes. There’re signs of a gun battle. I found his pack. It had a bullet hole and there was some blood on the ground. I think they took him through the door. We have to go back for him.”

  “What door?” he asked, looking around behind her as if someone might have followed her.

  “The door!” she shrieked. “The same door he’s been telling us about! The same door that’s outlined in the documents Callum passed off to Austin!”

  She felt frantic, and she wanted to shake Ennis until he listened and understood.

  “Do we know he’s alive?” he asked after a moment.

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t know, but we can’t leave him! We’ve got to try and save him!”

  “I’ll go,” Ezra said, coming to stand next to her.

  Amanda turned to look at him. “You will?” she asked, knowing there’d been some tension between them.

  “Yes. I’m a pretty good shot now. I’ll go back with you,” he replied. “I really thought he’d just left or I would have gone with you before.”

  “We’ll need a few others,” Amanda said, already planning the rescue mission in her mind. The more people they had on their side, the better the odds of a successful rescue mission.

  “I’ll talk to Jordan. Mike will probably go; maybe Harlen, too,” he said.

  Amanda was nodding. “Thank you. We have to leave first thing in the morning, earlier if we can. I don’t think it’s safe to try and move through the forest tonight, but we have to be ready early,” she repeated, her hands shaking as the adrenaline that had fueled her return slowly ebbed.

  “You need something to drink,” Ennis said, putting an arm around her shoulder and guiding her toward the house’s entrance.

  It was the first kind gesture he’d shown her in a while. “Thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Ennis walked with her inside the house, and they found Tonya cleaning up the kitchen.

  “What is it?” she asked, her voice full of fear.

  “I’ll get you a drink,” Ennis said, moving towards the pantry.

  He returned a few seconds later, handing her a bottle of vodka. She took a swig straight from the bottle, letting the alcohol calm her nerves.

  Then, Amanda collapsed onto a barstool and quickly retold the story of what she’d found, leaving out some of the information about what might be behind the door. None of that mattered to her. They had to get Nash back, and if they were lucky, maybe they’d see what was worth hiding and trying to kill for.

  “We have to get in that door. It’s solid, but maybe a tire iron will work,” Amanda mused aloud.

  Ennis cleared his throat. “I might have something that can take care of the door.”

  “What?” Amanda asked.

  “It’s a little plastic explosive,” he said, offering a small smile.

  “C-4?” she asked with shock.

  He shrugged. “Basically. It’ll get the door open.”

  “I’m not even going to ask how or why you have it. That should definitely do the job, plus providing enough of a distraction for us to find Nash, assuming he’s being held in there somewhere,” Amanda said.

  “I can go along,” Gretchen volunteered.

  Amanda looked at her. “Thank you. It might be dangerous. No, it will be dangerous, but I could really use your shooting skills.”

  “It’s fine. I’m in. He’s one of us, and I want to get him back,” Gretchen replied.

  “Then it’s settled,” Ennis declared. “We’ll get things ready, and the five of you will set out as soon as it’s safe to do so in the morning. The rest of us will stay here and guard the house,” he said.

  Amanda looked around the kitchen that was now filled with the revivalists. Wendell was hanging back, leaning up against a wall and watching it all. He hadn’t volunteered to go along, which wasn’t all that surprising. God forbid the man actually lift a finger to help anyone else, she thought to herself.

  31

  “When I say go, run—don’t stop, don’t look back. Don’t worry about me, either,” Austin whispered through the thick darkness in the shack.

  “I will,” Malachi answered.

  “They want me. If you can get away, do it,” Austin reiterated, regretting he’d ever allowed Malachi to come along. “Get back to the house and let them know they aren’t safe. The reward on my head is going to make all of you targets.”

  Tonya would be crushed if something were to happen to her son, and Austin wasn’t going to take away her only child. He simply refused to let that happen.

  “Got it.”

  “I heard the horses, so they’re close. I don’t know how long we’ve been in here, but let’s hope the women are asleep by now,” he said, hoping their captors weren’t all that skilled in the art of prisoner-taking and that they’d gone to bed with the falling night.

  They had to get away before the soldiers showed up. Austin had no doubt in his mind that one of the women would set out with daybreak in search of NWO soldiers to fetch the reward for capturing him. But now that Austin had spent some time using his hands to push apart the slightly rotted wood that had been used to cover one of the windows, it was time to move. He pushed more, until he felt it give, and then worked the other side. He was confident he could break it free with some hard hits.

  “Ready?” he asked Malachi, unable to see the kid, but feeling his shoulder brush against his lower arm.

  “Ready.”

  “On the count of three,” Austin whispered. “One, two, push!” he whispered loudly.

  Together, the two of them pushed hard on the board, feeling it give way.

  “Again,” he ordered.

  On the third try, the board hung off to the side. Austin gave it a good whack with his palm and pushed it all the way off before crouching and forming a step for Malachi to use to escape out the window. Malachi was thin and agile, and quickly jumped through the window. Austin never heard him hit the ground.

  He waited, listening for sounds that would indicate their captors knew they were making a break for it. They heard nothing.

  “Clear,” Malachi whispered.

  Austin was too big to fit through the window, which meant Malachi would have to open the door. He hoped there wasn’t a lock—if there was, Austin was going to be stuck unless Malachi could find some way to break in, but at least Malachi would be free.

  Austin listened to the sound of something moving against the door. A second later, it swung open, Malachi’s white grin barely visible in the dark of night.

  He didn’t hesitate a second. They headed in the direction Austin had heard the horses and found them standing in the shadows, still saddled as if they’d been waiting. Austin and Malachi hopped up and rode off, doing their best to be as quiet as possible.

  When they had ridden at least a mile from the camp, Austin finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Good job, kid,” he said to Malachi.

  “Anytime,” Malachi said with a chuckle.

  “I don’t know what time it is or how long until daylight, but we need to keep going. The house should be close. I saw the park on the map. I think we’re about five miles west of it,” Austin guessed. “We’ll rest some when we get closer and try to approach first thing in the morning rather than surprising her in the middle of the night.”

  “I’ll follow you,” Malachi replied.

  They rode for a few hours, not daring to stop for a break until they were a good distance away from the campground. The going was slow as they had to carefully navigate the steep, rocky terrain. Finally, they stopped and rested, taking turns shutting their eyes against the night and getting some brief shut-eye while the horses rested. When dawn came, they were moving again.

  “It’s got to be around here,” Austin mumbled, looking at the barren terrain after they’d traveled for another hour.

  There wasn’t a house in sight. There wouldn’t be, however. It would be well-camouflaged, he realized.

  “Look over there.” Malachi pointed into the distance.

  Austin looked in the general direction, not sure what the kid saw. He blinked several times, and that’s when he realized that the hill, covered with tall weeds, was an odd shape. It was almost a perfect dome.

  “Good job!”

  They rode towards the house that had been built partially underground, grass grown over the top of it. It would be almost invisible from the air. As they got closer, it became a little more apparent. The brown spot was the door, disguised as a rock formation.

  “Ready for this?” Austin asked.

  Malachi shrugged. “I hope she’s a lot nicer than those other women.”

  “Let’s leave the horses to graze over here. I don’t know what to expect from this woman. Be ready to run if I tell you.”

  “What if she isn’t here?” Malachi asked.

  “It’s a possibility.”

  They walked towards the dome. Austin hated not having a weapon. It left him feeling vulnerable, but there was nothing to be done for it.

  “Don’t move.” The deep voice had come from behind them.

  Austin groaned. He was getting really tired of being taken by surprise. “We don’t want any trouble. We’re here to see Dr. Bastani,” he said.

  “I guarantee she doesn’t want to see you,” the voice replied.

  Austin couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman speaking. He looked over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of a tall, scrawny woman with black curly hair and thick glasses. He had a strong suspicion she was the woman they were looking for. It wasn’t like there’d be a lot of people living in the area.

  “I’m unarmed,” he said, slowly turning around.

  “That’s your mistake,” the woman replied, the cocking of the gun a clear warning.

  “We came here to talk to you about something important,” Austin said.

  “Who are you and how did you know about this place?” she asked, the gun still pointed at his chest.

  “I’m Austin, and this is Malachi. Can we please talk?”

  She spat on the ground. “I don’t want to talk to anyone. The last couple of guys who came by to talk are providing fertilizer for my garden.”

  Austin’s eyes widened at her bold threat. Callum could have warned him. She wasn’t like any doctor he’d ever met.

  “I was sent by Callum Barker,” he said, and with the name, he watched the surprise come with recognition on her face.

  “Callum? Where is he?” she asked.

  “Dead,” Austin replied.

  “You killed him?” she replied, not sounding all that upset about the idea.

  “No. We were meeting and a man open fired on us. Callum was shot and killed, but not before he gave me something I think you’ll find interesting. He said to get it to you.”

  “You think I want it? What is it?” she snapped.

  “It’s a USB with some encrypted files on it. He left me a note saying you could open the files. The files have information about the EMP and who’s behind it,” Austin said.

  She scoffed. “What good is a USB going to do?”

  “I have a working laptop,” he replied. His arms were growing tired.

  “You have a working laptop. Well, shoot, do you want a prize?” she growled.

  “Can I put my hands down? I’m not armed and we’re not here to hurt you or rob you. We came up here because we’re hoping you can open those files and tell us what Callum knew,” he said.

  She sighed, lowering the gun. “Fine. Come inside. I was about to have some coffee. You look like you could use some. You too, kid,” she said, finally looking at Malachi.

 

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