The Uprising (The Julianna Rae Chronicles) (12 page)

4th May, 2018, 1900 hours.

The Farm House, 7 miles west of Camp 2.2.1

Julianna ran through the woods in the only direction she could go. It didn’t matter she was continuing west, it was away from Taris and his band of Militia. She weaved in and out of the trees, jumping obstacles she couldn’t side-step quickly enough. She needed to put some distance between them first. She needed some thinking time.
             

             
Her lungs and legs gave out, collapsing her against a fallen tree trunk. She huddled in the long grass, clutching at the dirt while the cool breeze washed over her sweaty body, waiting for the reassurance that didn’t come. There were situations where one could reassess and make new plans, adjust them accordingly depending on the outcome, and continue the forward march. This wasn’t one of them. The only direction to take was deeper in-country. Retreat, lick the wounds, and wait.

             
Taris could sense she was close and she sensed their hunt for her. It was impossible to move towards the sectors. Tonight, she’d lay low and focus on blocking him – to stop them from finding her. The dogs howled from the darkness of the trees behind her, and the drones hummed in their search. She was well ahead of them, but her scent pumped through the air, they were closing in from all sides. She didn’t doubt the troop’s dedication to search the entire area. They’d have the man power and transportation. She was on foot. She was exhausted.

She
spotted the old pier still jutting from its shores, the lake lapping against its rotting wood, and cringed. The spent fire from the night before, still sat under the branches. She’d run in circles since the chase started. She was no farther from the farm house, than when Taris saw her at the corner, escaping from the small hole.

Triple
Shit!

Julianna thought of the bike
at the house. She pulled the keys from her jacket that Bas had thrown to her, feeling their weight between her fingers as the dog unit barked and the hover drones lasers broke through the trees, almost on her location. The path through the trees, led to the farm house. They were searching from the other direction; she could double back, if she was quick.

She stumbled
, picked herself up and ran fast, ignoring the branches whipping at her arms and scratching her face. The prickle bushes caught her clothes, pulling her in and slowing her down.

Julianna stopped at the edge of the trees.
Her chest pounded, rising high on each in-breath while she stared at the clearing in front of the farm house. The motorbike – her old faithful, beckoned under the night sky for one last sprint through one last clearing.

The keys fumbled between her shaking fingers. Her leg swung over the bike and kicked up the stand. The engine purred like a new-born kitten.

Taris thrust through the trees. He was alone
in his cold stare, standing still and confident. The others were chasing her ghost in the woods, cutting circles, searching for her, in fear of their Commander.

He ou
tstretched his hand and uncurled his fingers from their fist, clenching her throat in his suffocating and invisible grasp while he dragged her from her bike. His abilities were stronger than she remembered, but thinking was hard, while she clawed her own skin for release as the bike crashed down over her legs.

Taris bent over her. His
black eyes glistened, his lips parted to show his intentions, and he choked her with his bare hands.

‘Commander!’
             

             
The weight behind his grip burst stars into her vision. She heard his name called again.

‘Commander! It’s the General on the comms for you again.’

‘Yeah, tell him I’m busy,’ he yelled back.             

He
pushed Julianna’s head against a sharp rock, lifted it again and pushed. The jagged rock gashed into her skin, his intent blinding him to her raised knee, aimed at his ribs. It moved him enough that she could breathe but he stood his ground, watching as she stumbled to her feet. A warm trickle of blood seeped down her neck in a thin line, and everything turned black. The soldier on the comms watched, as she passed out in front of them.

*    *    *

Julianna’s eyes flicked open at his intrusion into her mind. Blocking him started a dull headache, and her quick breathing stopped her from focusing on anything else. She wasn’t strong enough with Taris this close. She pushed all her thoughts away and concentrated on his sounds.

His voice bounced along the thin walls of the abandoned farm house when she closed her eyes again
, echoing in the dull headache that was fast gaining momentum. He continued to sift through her mind, eagerly hunting for answers, and only then did she understand the comfort beneath her was from the bed she had slept in the night before.

‘Come out now, show me what you’re hiding in that pretty little mind of yours, and I won’t lay a finger on you,’ he leaned over her. ‘The way I see it, you’re fucked either way, it’s just how fucked up you wanna
’ be when you hit the camp.’

‘You know me, Taz,’ her voice waived. ‘I’ll take my chances and I really need to get back to the city right now.’

She couldn’t move.

‘Is that where your watcher is? In the city?’

She closed her eyes again. Her mind spun under his invasion, the room swum under her eyelids. In the darkness, his taunts stretched into the back of her mind. She switched on the music, it didn’t help. He swiped it away as though a pest buzzed around his face feeling the sting of his forceful slap.

Her nose
trickled blood, then poured, forcing her to roll onto her side to drain the gush from her nose backfilling into her mouth. Taris moved from the mess and abandoned her mind.

‘You’re a tough one to read, even with these extra gifts the Senate has given me.’

She coughed, spilling more blood onto the mattress. The headache gripped her with its teeth, shredding away the chunks as she tried to raise her head from the mess. Her eyes blurred his image. The bleeding slowed, but the metallic taste inside her mouth reached deep inside her stomach.

‘Caden’s your watcher
?’ Taris left the chair he straddled, to pace beside the bed. ‘Not something foreign to me though, I’ve known for a few days. Obvious really, why else would he constantly stand in your shadow? I found it ironic.’

She took the blanket still crumpled on the bed to wipe her nose and lips; spitting what blood was left into the fabric.

Taris crouched beside the bed and helped wipe her face. ‘He’s in Sector Three, in the safe house I presume?’

‘There is no safe house in Sector Three.’

He released the blanket to clap his hands. ‘Well rehearsed. Hal said the same thing before he gave up the location. Wonder if Bastiaan will too.’

‘What about Bastiaan?’

‘We’re not talking anymore, Julianna. Unless you have information for me, I’m not interested.’

She clutched the blanket with her trembling fingers.

‘Brings back memories, doesn’t it?’ he waved his hand and left her again. ‘You and me in a bedroom together.’

She couldn’t move under the curse he
’d cast. All she could do was follow him with her eyes as she remained pinned to the bed.

‘I’m a lot stronger, don’t you think?’ he unbuckled his belt and
dropped his gun and holster onto the floor behind him. ‘The Senate and Council are done humoring you and my cousins – to the point they awarded me more ability than both those men put together,’ Taris kneeled onto the bed. ‘I still can’t decide if I should kill you now, or make you suffer.’

‘The Senate wants me alive,’ she whispered.

He nodded. ‘Yes they do, but how can I help it if one of my overzealous soldiers discharges their firearm in your direction when you try to escape?’

He lowered the zip on her uniform pants, and unlaced her boots. Both slipped
away easily, with her ability to fight lost against him. He flicked the elastic of her knickers, admiring the tear straying down her cheek.

‘Please, I’m begging you, Taz. Don’t do this.’

‘For all the grief you’ve caused me, if this is all I do to you, this will be your blessed day. All I ever tried to do was help.’ His hand slipped under the band, lifting the material away.

‘Please,’ she sobbed. ‘Please don’t, please.’

‘I can smell him on you,’ he frowned. ‘Last night perhaps.’ His fingers slipped further. ‘He’ll smell me too, once I’m done. Then what? You think he’ll want you back? You think he’ll understand? Or will he cast you away as he does with all his women? Does he even know how I keep finding you? Have you told him? Has he learned our dirty little secret?’

She shook her head.

‘What was it that made you cry?’

‘Why
are you hunting me?’

Taris took her hand between his parted lips. They curled in t
he corners, and his eyes danced as they locked onto hers. He opened his mouth and clamped down with his teeth. She screamed as he held his bite in place, chewing deep into her skin. Her blood streamed down, and he took another bite, tasting the red lines running down her wrist.

He
dropped her hand into the dampness pooling. She watched his every move from where he commanded her to silently remain.

‘But maybe right now I can take pleasure in my new found accomplishments.’

He teased the waist of her knickers, snapping the band and lowering his hand to her naked thighs.

‘Just have Caden to go and it’ll be mission complete for me. Maybe I’ll let you think about
that, and when I come back in ten minutes, you can tell me where he is.’

The bedroom door
opened apologetically.

‘They never leave you alone, not for a moment.’ He
sighed and turned to the door.

A soldier peered in. ‘The General insists on speaking with you, Commander. I have him on the radio outside. He won’t take no for an answer.’

Taris left his belt and gun on the floor. ‘Think about what I said. I’ll be back for your answer, and if it’s the wrong one…’ he made a motion of cocking his finger in her direction. ‘No one will be the wiser.’

The
door latched closed. Unable to move, she stared at the ceiling, shivering under the breeze caressing her bare legs from the open window.

If Caden was right,
she thought.
If he were right I could free myself
.
If they’re right about needing a watcher, escaping a simple cast as being pinned to a bed, should be easy.

And then she frowned. Her hand no longer stung, nor did it bleed; a smile crept over her face.

Her nose bled again, and her head pounded. The heaviness left her body the more she concentrated on her freedom. Slowly, Julianna wiggled her toes and move her fingers. Inch by inch as the blood streamed over her lips, she moved her legs and arms, not stopping until she sat in the center of the bed, staring at the gun in the middle of the floor.

She grabbed her pants, slipped on her boots, and dived on the belt. His Sig pistol was loaded when she checked its
magazine. The keys to her bike were attached to his key-keeper, beside a heavier set. She took both and crouched below the window, peering out to the one soldier standing beside the Jeep with Taris. Taris handed the radio to the soldier and stepped onto the rotting veranda; turning to watch the soldier sprint into the trees, calling the troops to return. She knew her chance was now.

After all
, she thought as she levered herself through the window,
the hunt’s over.

The front door slammed in its frame
at the same time she landed on the wooden porch. Taris didn’t hear her steps as she ran to her up-turned bike.

The rev of the engine caught his surprise
. Taris glanced through the window with a pained expression, to catch her wave with his pistol in her hand and the bike kicking dirt into the air as she sped down the trail, towards the interstate.

4th May, 2018, 2100 hours.

The Tunnels at the City Sector Limits

For the moment the burden eased; full camp, all men with military training, functioning weapons, medical supplies. Thinking that, Caden ambled around the stockpiles that he’d secreted into a small out-of-sight area, while his new squad whispered between each other, back and forth, about their new commander’s silence.

He handled an assembled semi auto, jumping it into h
is hands a few times to feel its weight, and nodded happily. Isis had promised him, and he’d delivered quickly.

Things must be bad,
he thought. Devo caught his eye.
Real bad if he’s pulled out all the stops.

Forty strong men with not a woman in sight. The thought made him happy.

No place for a young girl, no matter her snipping abilities. This one she would sit out,
safe house for Sarah.

He placed the auto in the stockpile. Bas
had left him with the final decision.

No more distractions in battle
,
Bas had said, pointing out the same issue with Julianna.  Caden had shrugged it off, arguing that Julianna
wasn’t that important to him. The conviction in his voice didn’t convince Bastiaan, and Caden found himself doubting what was said, once he said it aloud.

But her skills are invaluable and her company an asset.

He slipped the weapon into a duffel bag and closed it. There was too much to carry on foot. They’d need to resource transport for the return to the camp or send a group in the morning to return.

O
r ask for Daniel’s help.
His face contorted at the notion. He’d need to play nice tonight, for the sake of everyone else. Caden deliberately pushed his face into a more pleasant expression.

‘Daniel,’ he called. It took another effort to get his attention. ‘Danny boy, need your help.’

Daniel scoffed at the suggestion. 

Man, he’s going to smash me one.
             

‘I’m taking Devo to the safe house. If you can show the men back, resource a Jeep or two for the supplies, I’d appreciate it.’

That was nice enough.

His smile felt forced.

‘Sure thing,’ Daniel said.

Caden fe
lt his elbow pulled to the darker side of the tunnel. His boot found the water channeling through the center of the walkway and he cursed at its icy bite leaking into his sock. He lifted his dripping boot onto higher ground, ignoring Daniel’s grasp.

‘Something’s wrong,’ Daniel whispered. His eyes were dark and his lips drawn tight.

He’d felt the pull too, thought he’d heard both his brother and Julianna’s whisper, but dismissed it as paranoia after a long few days. The plausibility of communication was viable, but unlikely. They were too far apart and too tired and he was feeling the effects of concealing the cave, and the late night last night.

‘Barely a dull tug,’
Caden put his hands on his hips, breaking Daniel’s grip. ‘What’d you hear?’

‘You heard it then?’ Daniel said in a low voice, looking around at the forty sets of eyes watching.

Caden shrugged his shoulders. 

‘I should go
alone, scout out the situation—’

‘We need to move. Time isn’t a luxury for us, Danny.’

‘It’s an hour more,’ Daniel lowered his head. ‘They have Hal. Don’t think for a damn second I enjoy that thought,’ he eyeballed Caden. ‘Not for a damn second!’

Caden
considered him stressing over the entire situation and the boy wasn’t good with stress. His training post initiation was a disaster every time stress appeared.

His crumpling
,
just like he did back then
. Caden nodded thoughtfully.

‘Sorry, Danny boy. I know he’s your world. Ride out now. We keep everyone here until you return. I need to take Devo though.’

Daniel nodded. ‘She knows?’

‘Be quick, don’t screw around.’

Daniel’s eye’s darkened. ‘You’re the one fucking my sister.’

The fury returned. ‘Just be quick. Meet here. Two hours.  No later.’

I really do have to watch myself with this prick. He’s likely to fuck it up again, dumb fuck!

Daniel agreed. ‘Not a prob-lem-o. Maybe I can bring them both back, so little sis c
an join Devo at the safe house as well.’

‘She’s an expert marksman, I’m keeping her with us, and she’s good with a blade.’

Make me justify it again Danny boy, I can hit it home if you like?

Daniel took a st
ep back with his hands raised.

Then they heard her.

Their eyes connected in the moment of wide terror as they darkened to a coal black. Their senses heightened, the voice clearly coming from the only person they had in common. Caden listened again, concentrating on the distant cry, begging him to go where? He could barely hear her call.

Safe house. I can’t find the tunnels. Please, they have Bas
tiaan.

I
t fell silent but for the sound of running water echoing along the chambers.  The watchers among them stared at their new leader, scrutinizing him under their stare, while the norms ignorantly continued their whispers and weapons checks.

He tried to respond to her. It was no good, they were too far apart, or she was too weak. Then her words were computed inside his mind and his heart leapt
into his throat.

They have my brother.