The Rebel Christian Publishing

  Copyright © 2025 Valicity Elaine

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  ISBN: 978-1-957290-62-1 (eBook)

  Print: 978-1-957290-63-8

  This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination. Inclusion of or reference to any Christian elements or themes are used in a fictitious manner and are not meant to be perceived or interpreted as an act of disrespect against such a wonderful and beautiful belief system.

  Cover designed by Valicity Elaine

  The Rebel Christian Publishing

  350 Northern Blvd STE 324 - 1390

  Albany, NY 12204-1000

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  Contents

  Eternus

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  Epilogue

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  More books by Valicity Elaine & TRC Publishing!

  The Rebel Christian Publishing

  Trilogy Order:

  Decipis

  Exodus

  Eternus

  Eternus

  Book III in the Treachery Trilogy

  By Valicity Elaine

  A Rebel Christian Publishing Book

  1

  Caesar

  The sky is yellow gold, like someone cracked an egg and let the yolk spill across the clouds. I’m not one for sunrises but my eyes are glued to the horizon today. We’ve got a big delivery, so the timing must be perfect. If anything goes wrong—delays, poor directions, etc—we could be sitting ducks and that’s dangerous. Bandits and scavengers have been a real problem lately, the world is still reeling from this sudden war, people are hungry and desperate which makes them just as lethal as the enemy soldiers. I’m positive there are eyes watching (there’s always eyes watching) which makes the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I’ve been a Runner long enough to know when we’re in over our heads.

  My eyes scan the horizon again; bronze and burnt orange have bled into the milky yolk. Just a few more minutes and the truck should get here. Eternus Campsite has set up connections to other safehouses and settlements so there’s a healthy trade route set up now, but we fill the gaps with scavenging whenever we can. This load comes from a settlement over a hundred miles away. Everyone’s been talking about the delivery, our biggest one yet. Packages of food, clothing, weapons, even medicine—which we desperately need.

  Obviously, Raven and I couldn’t handle this one alone so two other pairs of running partners joined us this morning. That’s six people total, more than I’ve ever teamed up with on a single mission. Six may not sound like much, but Major Banks and her team have also joined us to provide backup. They’re hidden in the nearby abandoned buildings, watching over us through the scopes of their automatic rifles. It’s a scary realization. In just a few moments, we could be under fire. The Runners don’t have guns to shoot back, but I’ve seen Keoni in action. I know she’ll keep us safe.

  I can’t even imagine how frightened the delivery drivers have been all this time. Last month, we lost a driver to a group of looters. He was ambushed on the highway and forced off the road. Major Banks and her team were deployed to recover whatever they could. They found the truck abandoned in the desert, the supplies stolen, the gas tank emptied, and the driver’s body tied up in the back. His throat had been slit, but he’d also suffered broken bones, lacerations to his face, and he was missing three fingers.

  They’d tortured him. Probably to get him to unlock the back of the truck so they could steal the supplies, but also for information. Delivery trucks have a destination. A campsite. Eternus enjoys taking in survivors, but most looters aren’t looking for the camp to join us. They’re trying to find the location so they can take over.

  We’re at war; the entire world. No one is safe.

  We’ll have to separate into our pairs and take different routes home. If anyone runs into trouble, only part of the supplies will be lost. We also haven’t shared our directions with each other, so we won’t be able to rat out the locations of any other pair.

  As the rattle of a delivery truck fills our ears, Raven tries to lighten the mood, “First pair to make it to Eternus gets first pick of the supplies.”

  Despite my nerves, I’m excited by the idea of a race. You already know I used to be captain of the track team, running is in my blood, but this race will be different. We won’t be physically running, Keoni has already assigned a van to each pair. Once we get our supplies loaded, we’ll travel with Keoni’s soldiers to the coordinates she’s given us and then hitch a ride with whatever driver is there waiting. Most of the race will be in the hands of our driver, but I’m sure Raven and I can shave off some time by hustling to the coordinates.

  She must see the eagerness on my face because Raven touches my arm and smiles. “We’ve got this,” she whispers. She squeezes my bicep and I’m not too ashamed to admit it makes me smile back.

  I’ve spent the last few months in a hospital bed because of my own stupidity. Every face I saw had lowered brows and a wrinkled forehead. Major Banks was disappointed. Raven was pissed off. Even Dr. Brown shook his heavy head; he was kind enough to never voice his anger toward me, but I felt it all the same. That’s why this mission means so much to me.

  I made a huge mistake by trying to steal supplies and run off to find my friends. I knew it was wrong. I’ve learned my lesson. Now, I’m trying to prove to everyone that I can handle this. They can trust me. So, I can’t mess this up. Especially since Raven’s sister is here. I replaced her as Raven’s new running mate when I first arrived in Eternus. She was recovering from a near-death experience at the time, but now she’s well enough to join us here. Her name is Katia; she’s tough as nails and will likely beat our team back to Eternus. Other than the occasional hello at church on Sundays, she barely acknowledges my existence, but still… I want to impress everyone I can, even her, and especially Major Banks.

  Keoni is in charge of the Search-and-Rescue Team for Eternus, that means it’s her job to go out and find survivors to bring back to the camp. If I have any chance of ever seeing Mya again, it’ll be with Major Banks. I’ve got to do my best here.

  The rumble of a car engine grows louder, accompanied by puffs of smoke that rise above the broken buildings surrounding us. We’re hiding in an open parking lot that three other buildings share; a small restaurant, a hair salon, and a tiny smoothie shop. There are abandoned cars in the lot, covered in thick layers of red Arizona dust, there’s also an empty shopping cart that’s burnt black like it’d once been on fire, and in the corner of the lot is the body of a dead dog rotting behind a dumpster.

  The truck pulls in beside the dumpster; it’s a semi that coughs out smoke as the driver puts it in park. A few agonizing moments of silence yawns through the lot before the driver opens the door and hops out. It’s a hefty woman wearing goggles and a vest which I instantly recognize as bullet proof. Hopefully, she won’t need it.

  I watch through unblinking eyes as the driver unlocks the bed of the truck and lifts the gate. The sound of the metal cage echoes through the abandoned lot far longer than it needs to. I feel like I can hear my own heartbeat, and each one pumps fear through my body, straight to my brain. My hands clench into fists, my breath hitches, I swallow and realize my throat is dry.

  Raven nudges me but she doesn’t speak, when I glance over, she holds up three fingers. Three minutes until we can move in. Raven takes the lead on all of our missions; she’s taught me her signals and even a bit of sign language so we can communicate without words. Right now, we’re waiting for the driver to return to her seat so she can keep watch from the north while the first team moves in to unload the cargo. We’ll only send one pair out at a time, so if there is an ambush, only two people will be at risk. Raven and I are the first pair up.

  Once the driver settles down, Raven taps my shoulder twice and we move in. We duck low and step swiftly, covering ground faster than I expect. Raven is small and nimble, she climbs onto the truck without needing any help, despite the platform being over her head. Tall as I am, I trip hopping onto the bed and curse as I nearly fall onto my face. Raven shoots me a look and I nod back with a sigh. She hates when I curse, but I can’t help it. We started going to church while my foot was in a boot; neither of us knew how we felt about God, but we agreed to take that journey together. It wasn’t fun or pretty. I remember bawling like a child during service one Sunday, Raven was there, rubbing circles on my back. I have no idea what overcame me. I can’t describe the emotions that ran through my head in those moments, but I know they were real and so was the Voice I heard as I cried.

  I love you.

  Simple. Clean. Peaceful. I’ve been chasing after that Voice ever since, but there are times like now where I mess up. Cursing seems to be the one thing that gets me. For Raven, it’s her temper. We hold each other accountable; she checks me whenever I swear, and I remind her to keep a cool head whenever her temper gets the worst of her. We work well together, even now as I wordlessly apologize for my language and sling my backpack to the floor.

  Raven accepts my apology and starts passing me boxes to tuck away. We work in complete silence for about ten minutes until we hear a high-pitched whistle. The sound makes my blood freeze, but Raven’s calm demeanor lets me know it’s just our halfway point signal. We’ve got a few minutes and then the next team will move in. We’ve hardly packed as much as we need to, but we can’t afford to stick around. I end up shoving things into my bag and then carrying a stack of boxes away in my arms. I’ll load these into the wagon we’ve got.

  As I’m loading the wagon, I hear the whistle for the next team to move in. Their footsteps resound around me while I stack boxes of Oreos on top of each other. Raven eyeballs the sugary snack but says nothing. When she touches my elbow, I smile, keenly aware of every little gesture she makes. Good job. Ruffling my hair, hurry up. Her hand on my cheek—you ok? I am. I feel great right now, loading my stash and then falling back into our defensive positions. We did our job and everything is running smoothly. I hope everyone noticed. I hope they saw how fast and smoothly we worked. I can only pray it makes a difference to Major Banks. Maybe after this mission I’ll request to join her team again. She rejected me the first time and wouldn’t hear a word of my request after my huge blunder, but this changes things.

  I sigh as the next whistle splits the air. The last pair to approach the truck is Raven’s sister Katia and her male counterpart. He’s a tall blonde guy who protectively hovers over her as they crouch-walk to the truck. We wait in painful silence as they climb in and begin loading their things. The morning air is humid, I suck in deep breaths to clear my nerves, but just as I begin to calm myself down, I hear another whistle.

  Too early. I glance toward Katia and her partner; they’ve stopped loading their gear and have poked their heads out the bed of the truck to see what’s going on. The confusion on their faces confirms my suspicions.

  Something’s wrong. That whistle wasn’t a signal—it was an alert.

  I shouldn’t be surprised. We drove a semi into a parking lot and really thought we could peacefully unload it while the world starves around us. When I think of it that way, I’m surprised we lasted this long without trouble.

  A loud pop! fills the air and Raven and I both jump in response. I fight every instinct to duck and hide as I stare into the lot, gaping at our surroundings. In the distance, a ribbon of red smoke dances into the air. That isn’t from us. We don’t use smoke signals because it draws attention, the exact opposite of what we want, so when the smoke drifts above the buildings next door, I hear Keoni shout, “Bethel formation!” and we all leap into action.

  We went over the possibility of an ambush before we ever set out on the mission, so when Major Banks gives the order, I move on instinct. My right hand unsheathes the hunting knife I keep strapped to my thigh and then I grab our wagon with my other hand. Raven takes point with a crossbow, an overstuffed pack on her back and another piled on top of that and tied down, so it doesn’t sway as she crouch-walks to our escape route.

  I try to follow her as best I can, but another pop! goes off and the entire lot is covered in a crimson cloud. At this point, I have to run to keep up with Raven because I don’t want to lose her when I can barely see two feet in front of me, but I overestimate how quickly she’s walking, and I end up stepping on the back of her foot. She turns to yell—that temper getting the best of her—but more pops! go off around us and I straight-up tackle her to the ground before she can even speak. Mercifully, Raven understands what’s going on, so she doesn’t complain about a six-foot-five body landing on top of her. Even if she was upset, there’s no time for her to voice it. Gunfire erupts all around us, followed by screams and shouts in voices I don’t recognize.

  I have no idea what’s going on. I have no idea where anyone is at, but I know I’ve got to do something.

  I push off of Raven and drag her to her feet. “Do you know the way from here?” I shout.

  She turns a circle, clutching my hand so we don’t lose each other in the smoke. “I can’t see anything!”

  Okay, we’ll do this the hard way, then.

  I drag the wagon in front of us and turn it sideways, so it blocks us like a short wall. We have to duck to stay hidden behind it, but with all the supplies piled on top, it’s better than having no protection at all.

  “We’ll push it together!” I shout to Raven.

  Her reply is an angry scream as she shoves the wagon with me. We work slowly, ducking each time a spray of bullets fires into the air. I have no idea what direction the enemy is coming from, but I don’t plan to stick around and find out. I know we’ve made it to the edge of the parking lot when the ground turns into dead grass. Quickly, I shove myself upright with a proud grin.

  “We made it!”

  Raven runs around the other side of the wagon and crouches in the grass, loading her crossbow. She starts firing into the red smoke without a word, so I cover her, scanning the area as I clutch my knife. We’re a little further east than we need to be, but we’ve managed to land close to our escape route. Keoni is in charge of our return squad, but I have no idea where she’s at—or if she’s even alive. We can’t leave without her because we need the van to get back. There’s no way we can walk all the way back to Eternus with this haul. It took us a week to get here on foot without any packs. It’ll be twice that time with all this stuff, not to mention any looters we might bump into.

  “We’ve got to find Major Banks!” I shout to Raven.

  A screaming man bursts from the red smoke and Raven shoots him in the chest without hesitation. Once he’s twitching on the ground, she glances up. “You sure you want to go back in there?”

  I don’t want to at all, but I may not have a choice.

  “Can you handle yourself?” I ask.

  Raven nods but her face looks worried. She’s thinking of her sister.

  “I’ll look for her,” I promise, then I run into the smoke.

  The parking lot is pure chaos. Men screaming, gunfire filling the air, and terror rushing in like an untamed fire. I can hardly think over all the noise, over the insanity I feel knocking at the door of my mind. It begs entrance, trying to take over every thought and instinct within, but I beat it back with a desperate prayer. Please, God—

  “Caesar!” The voice belongs to Major Banks, loud and clear as the knife in my hand. I grip it as I change direction and sprint toward the woman I trust with my life. She’s waiting by the loading truck with Claudius, Katia and her partner—a tall guy named Bobby. There’s a gash over her eye leaking bloody tears down her face, but other than that, she looks more angry than afraid. I suppose that’s a good thing. “Where’s your partner?” she shouts in my face.

  “She’s safe! Waiting at the east side of the lot!”

  A bullet pings! into the metal side of the truck and we all duck at once. Claudius throws his body over Keoni, she doesn’t fight him until rapid footsteps approach us—then a screaming man bursts through the red smoke and Major Banks shoves Claudius away to raise her gun, but I’m faster.

  I swing without thinking, shocked by how easily my blade cuts into the man’s soft flesh. I stab him in the cheek which makes him shriek but he keeps pursuing. That’s when Keoni releases three bullets: two to his head, one to his chest. He collapses on the ground right in front of her, blood staining the cracked pavement.

  Keoni keeps talking like there isn’t a dead man at her feet. “Grab whatever supplies you can and make it to the east side of the lot.”

  Claudius and Bobby hop into the truck while Katia catches the supplies they toss down and begins stacking it into the wagon on the ground. Keoni holds cover with her rifle, and I move to stand beside Katia to help load the wagon.

 

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