Flawed (40 page)

“That’s it,” Woody said. He turned and met Ellyssa’s gaze. Worry mixed with fear settled along the grey of his eyes. But there was a lot more there, too. All the things he had told her or hadn’t. Ellyssa could read it on his face without intruding into his thoughts. He grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You ready?”

Ever since they had discovered the macabre scene back at the cavern, Ellyssa had been ready, and the prospect of finally going to free their family fed excitement into her veins. Beneath the excitement, anger slithered, lying in wait for her to release it. With a small, reassuring smile, Ellyssa nodded.

Dr. Loki went over to Ann and Loreley, and hugged them both. “Come back,” he said.

Ann gave him a kiss on the cheek. “No worries there,” she said. “After all, you trained us.”

“Okay,” Dr. Loki said, rubbing his hands together as if trying to rub away his fear, “hop on board.”

Armed with their weapons, backpacks, and binoculars, and clad in white snowsuits, the team of seven stepped onto the platform. Holding hands, Ellyssa stood between Rein and Woody. Both she loved desperately, although differently. The thought of losing either of them struck a chord in her heart, and an undertone of apprehension coiled around the excitement she’d felt earlier. With all that was at stake, Ellyssa couldn’t afford for the opposing emotion to take root and interfere with her judgment. She smothered it.

Dr. Loki pushed the button, and the lift jerked. “Good luck.”

As the platform rose toward the dark sky, and icy air and snow whipped down through the opening, Ellyssa looked down at the retreating doctor. His teal eyes moved with the ascent, and his thin lips tightened behind the trepidation his expression held. Slowly, he disappeared from view, and the elevator clanked to a stop.

A moonless sky greeted Ellyssa as she stepped off the platform; stars flickered against the black backdrop. Wind gripped hold of Ellyssa, pushing and pulling, trying to claw its way inside her snowsuit. Leftover snow from the blizzard swirled in the moving air and pecked at her exposed face. Cold was an understatement. Ellyssa finally grasped the full meaning of the phrase “When Hell freezes over”.

Ellyssa moved against the blustery weather that seemed to be determined to make the trek as hard as possible. At least the doctor wouldn’t have to worry about prints leading back to The Pit that evening.

The sun had started to dip in the western horizon over what Ellyssa had started to think of as the Small Squad. Rein had laughed when she’d mentioned it, and countered that they were the Small Squad of Doom. Woody had agreed, and shortened the term to Squad Doom. Then everyone laughed. Tension’s death grip on them had loosened, but only a little.

“Have a look,” Rein said, handing her the binoculars.

Lying on her stomach, her suit keeping her warm against the elements, Ellyssa took the binoculars and gazed through them. Through the snow, barely visible, she could make out the black dots moving around the perimeter.

“Every fifteen minutes,” Rein confirmed. “From what I can tell, there are three sets of patrols. Maybe four.”

Woody took the binoculars from Ellyssa as she moved to her knees. “That’s not going to leave us much time.”

“I still don’t like the plan,” Trista said.

“We have to. One group needs to free the women, the other the men,” Woody said.

“It will work out fine,” Dyllon said as he wrapped his arm around Trista. “You and I will do the women’s side. Okay?”

Biting on her lower lip, Trista considered the options. Her eyes darted away, a sure sign of fear taking hold.

Shuffling over to Trista, Ellyssa placed her hand on her shoulder. As Ellyssa thought about calming images, like the feel of Rein’s arms around her when they’d lain in bed, her own mind quieted. She wanted to transfer that feeling to Trista. “It really will be fine. I promise. We need you.”

Inhaling deeply, Trista said in a gush, “I guess.” Then, under her breath, she continued with, “Don’t think I don’t know what you did.” She paused for a moment. “Thank you. It helped.”

“Ellyssa’s right. It will be fine,” Dyllon reassured, casting a knowing look over at Ellyssa. “All we’re going to do is go through the fence, get your family, and hightail it out of there.”

Trista gave Dyllon a dubious look. “Do you really think it will be that easy?”

“Hey. Since everything that has happened since…you know”—Dyllon referenced the massacre in the cave—“you’ve been through so much. If it wasn’t for your persistence, your strength, we would’ve never found Woody, Rein or Ellyssa.” Dyllon cupped Trista’s cheek. “We are going to get your family back. It might not be that easy, but we’re going to do it.”

“Always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst,” Woody said. “We have everything we need, and they aren’t expecting us. Here. Take a look.” He handed Trista the binoculars, and she used them. “Their security is a lot lighter than I thought it would be. Thanks to Ann and Loreley, we have extra help and extra supplies. We have things that we didn’t have before. All we have to do is wait for night.”

A halfhearted grin appeared on Trista’s face as she nodded. “Okay. We can do this,” she said. “We really can.”

Dyllon reached over and pulled Trista into his arms, placing a kiss on her temple. “Of course we can.”

“So, to go over the plans again,” Ann said, as she started to draw a picture of the compound in the snow. “Loreley and I will set up here and here.” She drew Xs. “We will cut a hole in the fence here on the female’s side, and here,” she continued, looking over at Ellyssa. “We’ll help you over the wall, but that is as far as Loreley and I go.” She stopped and looked up to make sure that was understood. When everyone nodded, she continued. “The male barracks is on the left. Take out the guards posted there. And for you, Trista, the female barracks is also on the left. Same thing, take out the guards. Get your friends and get the hell out.”

The unfurling of excitement fueled Ellyssa’s drive as they went over the rest of the plans.

Aalexis’ reflection looked back at her in the darkened windowpane as she absentmindedly touched her bottom lip. Xaver’s kisses lingered there from the night before, and the swollen flesh served as a constant reminder. Still, she couldn’t believe she had taken the step into the taboo land. Even more, she didn’t really care. The fire Xaver had elicited in her had burned through her veins in a relentless desire of wanting more of him. Of wanting him closer. Aalexis remembered how she’d clung to him as he pressed his mouth against hers. In a way, it had almost been magical, if she believed in such illusions.

She didn’t.

Bringing her hand down, Aalexis glanced at her brother over her shoulder. He must have felt her eyes on him, because he looked up, a grin on his face.

“It will be tonight,” she said. “I can…feel it.”

“I agree.”

“The conditions are perfect.”

“Are you ready?”

“I have waited a long time for this.”

“As have I.”

“Things should go smoothly. Ellyssa has already proven that she will risk her life for the inferior beings.”

“As I would for you.” Xaver moved behind her. Aalexis could feel his breath brushing against her hair.

“I still will not for you.”

“I know, my beloved sister.”

Aalexis closed her eyes at the term of endearment. She did love her brother, there was no doubt. Her heart inflated whenever she thought about him; she assumed the physiological reaction was due to love, but her life was still more important.

She knew it, as did Xaver.

“Are the guards ready?” she asked.

“The sergeant-at-arms has been informed. I have no doubt he will be efficient. His love for power is equal to that of the colonel and the general. The delusions of substandard humans.”

“Yes. His willingness to subject himself to our experiment proves that. He will make a good soldier for the facility until our work is complete. Then we dispose of him.”

Clouds blew in with the unyielding wind, and the plains were blanketed in a deep ebony night. The conditions worked for and against Squad Doom. The darkness provided a great cover, but it also forced Loreley and Ann to move closer than had originally been planned.

Through the binoculars, Ellyssa watched two hunched white forms move behind two black forms. She swiveled the view over to where Trista and Dyllon had gone. It took her a while to distinguish their white lumps through the wintery camouflage.

“We got to get closer,” Woody whispered, as if afraid his words would be heard over the bluster of the wind.

“Let’s do it,” Rein said, pushing up on his hands and knees.

After the sweep of the spotlight passed, he scrambled off. Ellyssa and Woody followed. They moved in a few meters, until Loreley and Ann could be somewhat seen without the aid of the binoculars.

Ellyssa’s excitement mounted as Ann made some sort of waving gesture to Loreley. The two black forms had moved to where the wall divided the two camps. The time for action had arrived, and Ellyssa blanked, letting loose the training that had taught her to move swiftly…deadly.

Ann and Loreley brought up the crossbows at one moment, and within the next, the two black forms staggered then dropped. Their skill was just as cold and efficient as Ellyssa’s, and she couldn’t help but be a little impressed. Dr. Loki’s program had trained them well.

“Let’s go,” Rein said, excitement and a tinge of fear coating his voice. He twitched in anticipation.

Clear of the revolving light, they took off before the other patrol rounded the corner. Ellyssa glanced to the side, hoping Dyllon and Trista were on the move, too. She couldn’t see anything except Loreley bolting toward where her two friends were supposed to be, over at the female side.

Ann’s white form was at the designated spot. She already had most of the links clipped by the time they arrived. After making a few more snips, Ann pulled part of the fence back and slipped inside where she cut through the three rows of razor wire. As expected, the coils sprang back, leaving the way clear.

“You have to move quick,” the redhead said. “If worst comes to worst, we can probably take out the next patrol, buying a little more time, but I wouldn’t count on it.” She handed the wire cutters to Ellyssa. “Go.”

With the help of Rein and Woody, Ellyssa climbed onto their shoulders. Reaching up with the cutters, she snipped through the razor wire, then dropped the tool on the ground, careful to avoid everyone beneath her. Positioning her hands, Ellyssa easily hefted herself up and over the wall and landed on the other side with barely a sound.

While she waited for Rein and Woody, Ellyssa squatted. The whole area was eerily quiet. No movement, no nothing. She couldn’t even see guards posted at the barracks. They were there, though, a conglomeration of voices, too many to single out anything decipherable.

Rein dropped down next to her, and a little bit later, she heard the crunch of Woody’s feet hitting the snow.

“Where is everyone?” Rein asked, his voice low.

“I do not know,” Ellyssa answered, the robotic tone unsurprising.

“I don’t like this,” Rein said.

“Neither do I.”

Woody shuffled between them. “Can you get a read on anyone?”

“I can get a read on everyone. One second.” Ellyssa swiveled her mental wall around and pegged a soldier standing on one side of the doorway leading to the prisoners’ barracks.

The soldier was bored and very cold, and more than just a little annoyed. He looked over at the male he’d been assigned with, who was wearing a black snowsuit. Besides his eyes, his face was hidden behind a thick scarf.

“No one is coming. The sergeant is a dumbass.” An image of a man with cropped hair, hard dark-blue eyes and a stone face appeared in Ellyssa’s mind. “Who in the hell would go out in this type of weather?” the soldier Ellyssa was reading said.

The other soldier shrugged. “I just do what I’m told.”

“They are expecting us,” Ellyssa said, breaking the link.

Rein’s eyes narrowed. “If they are expecting us, then why isn’t this place crawling with soldiers?”

“I do not know,” she responded.

“Can you get a read on Trista and Dyllon?” Woody asked, looking worried.

Ellyssa latched onto their signals. Trista and Dyllon had made it over to the other side of the fence and were going over the plans again. “They are fine.”

Rein shifted his weight over onto his other leg. “Anything else?”

Ellyssa scanned several soldiers, filing through them quickly. Just the same thing over and over—cold, annoyed, waiting for their shift to be over. In a dark building, a male’s brain patterns spiked weakly, as if on the brink of death. He was freezing and in pain. They would have to check out the building that housed the incinerator, too.

Continuing her search, a brief signal flared as she passed, a familiar one. Ellyssa reached out with her cerebral feelers, trying to grasp onto the pattern, but there was nothing there, just dead space. Ill at ease, Ellyssa finally let it go, hoping it was nothing, regardless of the warning her subconscious was shouting at her. Time was ticking, and they had to get moving. Loreley and Ann would encounter the next patrol soon.

Ellyssa shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Maybe they are still a bit wary. Dr. Loki said they were expecting a possible rescue.” Rein’s hand swept in a semicircle. “This isn’t the type of security they would have if they really thought we were coming.”

“True,” Ellyssa said, but not really believing it. Whatever it was, the soldiers didn’t know exactly what was going on, and she hadn’t found anyone in charge. Maybe Commandant Baer was asleep.

Woody huffed out a breath that formed a puff a smoke in the air. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Glancing at Ellyssa, Rein kissed her, hard, his lips fighting to convey all he felt for her. Pulling away, he said, “I love you. Don’t forget it.”

“Never.”

He touched her temple. “Keep me in your mind.”

“I will know if something happens.”

Without another word, Rein left as planned. Someone needed to keep watch on the main building and front gate, and Rein had volunteered.