Jaded Warriors book 2 (Jade Series)

chapter 37

CHAPTER 37





The daunting thought of Damian coming back for me curdled my insides but I forced it out of my mind the best I could as I rushed over to Megan’s house. I needed to figure out a way to warn Kane of their plans and help Gage. They weren’t together anymore which sounded like that was Morrison’s plan, to separate them and they didn’t have much time.  I had a thought, but it was crazy! I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. 


“Megan?”


She peeked into the hallway and spoke in a hushed tone. “Back here.”  She folded clothes in her room. I walked in, sat on the bed and picked up a cloth diaper to fold and hide my trembling hands. “What’s up?” She asked.


Drawn to Rylie, I peeked in her bassinet and saw the steady, gentle rise and fall of her chest. She was sound asleep. I still couldn’t get over how much she looked like Casey. Each day she got older, she looked like him more. I couldn’t resist commenting.


“Megan… She looks so much like Casey,” I whispered.


“I know… Casey and Quinn looked a lot alike…”


My head snapped back as I looked at her. “Megan!” My jaw dropped and I covered my mouth, dumbfounded as I quickly put two and two together.


“I’m sorry, Jade… I feel terrible that I benefitted from Quinn's death when it caused so many problems for you… I’m sorry. You have no idea how much you helped me.”


“Were you…? Did you…?”


“I was just another girl to him and he meant nothing to me… I meant nothing to him.” Megan looked down at her hands. “Quinn said it was his right, Morrison expected girls my age to be pregnant, but since I’m not married I wouldn’t have even been able to raise her. Rylie would have been taken from me and gone straight to the compound, Jade.”


“I don’t get it, Megan? Girls are forced to get pregnant then punished for not being married by having their child taken away? Why? How is it effective having a bunch of kids without parents?”


“He raises them how he wants them raised. They aren't kids to him, just another body to serve him, fight in his Militia… been going on for years.”


“Maya and Corby?”


“Yeah…”


“Why?”


“To create followers. They don’t know life any other way. They believe what he says, they respect him. This didn’t start with Morrison it started generations ago. That’s why it’s so big now, why he has enough to form an army.”


This was all too much to think about. My head whirled. How could all these people live in society and not draw attention to them? How did they go unseen?


“Enough about Morrison. You looked a little flustered when you ran in here, what’s up?” If I was flustered then, I descended next into a complete tailspin as I remembered why I came over in the first place. 


“I know who the traitor is… Or should I say traitors.”


She looked at me, baffled. “Who? And how do you know?”


I leaned over and whispered in her ear suddenly paranoid that the walls could hear me.


“What! Are you sure?”


“I saw them both, talking in the woods.  I overheard their conversation and it wasn’t good. Last week, that night when Dr. Walstrom came for Casey and Gage, it was a trap. Kane never sent for them!” I paused for a minute to let that sink in. Megan’s eyes got wide.


“They’ve been separated from Joel and Kane. They aren’t even remotely close to where Kane is! Gage and Casey’s troop is outnumbered and are struggling to keep from being taken over… They probably have no idea… Damian is back here to bring me in.”


“He’s here?”


“Yeah.”


“We need to let the guards know!”


“Yeah, but not yet.”


“What should we do? We need to go tell Deanna!” Megan said. “Maybe she’ll know what to do.”


“Wait...It gets worse, Megan. But I have a plan.”


***


“What!  Are you crazy! No! Absolutely not!” Megan shouted. Rylie slept soundly until she startled at Megan’s outburst. We both looked at her for a moment as we held our breaths and waited to see if she would cry. She settled back down and dosed back off to sleep again as she sucked on her bottom lip. Megan grabbed my arm and led me out into the front living room.


“You can’t! What are you thinking?” she said, on the verge of becoming visibly upset.


“Somebody has to do something, Megan! We don’t have a week! If we don’t do something now, they will all be dead!” I paused. “Olivia won’t be coming to get me to take me back to Sonja’s for two more days. There is no one else Megan.”


She was quiet as she tried to think of another way to handle it. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of losing Gage. I was scared, terrified and my plan didn’t leave me feeling any better, but I couldn’t risk everything to be left to chance anymore. Something had to be done.


“Megan…” I said between tears, “they will kill Gage and Casey, and Kane… Joel, Deanna’s husband and the others... What kind of life will be left for us here? Everyone who we love will be dead... Do you want Rylie to ever see her daddy again? Do you want her to end up in that compound? It’s up to us.”


“What about Marge... Maybe she will know a way to get them word.”  Megan now on the verge of tears herself, desperately searched for anything, anything but what I suggested.


“We can’t trust Marge anymore, Megan. She is friends with Dr. Walstrom.” I paused at the realization of my words. I couldn’t believe I said it. There was no way. Marge couldn’t be, could she? “I don’t know if she is in on it or not. I don’t think she is but he has been getting information from her and she’s getting their supplies, I’m sure about that. Whether she knows it or not, she’s been helping him. We should tell Deanna though, I just don’t know if we should wait until after I leave… She will never let me go.”


“But look at you, Jade. You will be spotted.  People know who you are on the other side too you know, and they don’t like you. You went against Damian! Against the rules… They will recognize you,” Megan said, pleading with me not to go.


I thought about that. “Well, we will just have to change how I look then. Make me so they don’t recognize me. I can keep a low profile for a few days. It will only be a few days, Megan. You know what the women are like there. Make me look like one of them… Please.”


“Do you realize what you will be walking into? They will brainwash you, lie to you, try to get you to the believe things that you would never believe. But you do, you end up doubting yourself. They are deceptive and will intimidate you into getting what they want! They call themselves a family, but they are evil, even to each other. They will lead you to believe they are your friend and turn on you if you do anything suspicious. You don’t want to go in there! It makes me sick just thinking about it! I got out! I was one of the very few lucky ones. Lucky to have Casey, who was smart enough to figure out that everything Morrison had been teaching us was wrong.”


“Megan…! I was there, remember! I know a little about what it’s like!”


“I know… Which is why I can’t figure out for the life of me…? Why you want to go back in there?”


“Because, Megan! I need Gage to come back! My brother needs help! They all do! I plan on finding them… I need your help, please. Will you help me?”


The babble’s and coo’s from Rylie cut through the strain of our conversation as the sounds floated down the hall through the air. We paused to listen as her carefree squeals resonated louder. Her innocent sounds couldn’t keep my seriousness present and a smile appeared on my face.


“She’s awake.”


“Yeah.” Megan smiled back, and then sighed. “Jade if something happens to you, I don’t know if I will be able to forgive myself… I will help you, but you have to come back.”


I smiled at my best friends concern for me. I was lucky to have her for a friend. Megan grew quiet, and then finally I saw a spark in her eyes.


“I found some hair color in the bathroom here when we moved in. It’s a dark brown color. We could cut your hair and color it dark and maybe you will be less recognizable.”


I shrieked in excitement and gave her a hug. “It’s going to work, I promise. It has to.” I smiled at her. “I’ll leave by tomorrow morning. Then you can tell Deanna and Olivia so she can send word to Arizona and New Mexico that we need their help. If they don’t come, the Militia will be coming for them next.”


***


“I hope this works, Jade,” Megan said, as we waited for the color. “I am so scared for you. You better come back.” She looked like she would cry at any minute as she turned away from me to check the timer for the third time. She absently rubbed at her face with the back of her hand. I smiled at the smudge of tint she put on her face.


“You have color on your cheek…” I said, then she looked in the mirror and rubbed it off with the tip of a wet towel. “I’ll be fine Megan, and I will be back as soon as I can.”


“If anything happens to you, Gage will never forgive me for not stopping you,” Megan said as she looked at me through the mirror.


“If I don’t go, we may never see Gage and Casey again, Megan,” I reminded her.


“I know, but I still don’t feel good about this.”


“Do not to tell anybody that I left, Megan. Only Deanna and Olivia, and you make them promise not to tell anyone either. Not even Marge.  Nobody can know I’m gone, or where I went.”


“People might ask where you are.”


“Just tell them… I don’t know... Tell them I’m still not dealing very well with everything and I’ve locked myself in my room.” I laughed as that exact scenario fit me six months ago. “I don’t know.”


“That’s not funny!”


“Yes it is… kind of,” I said, then smiled at her through the mirror as the timer went off.


“Jade, you are terrible,” she laughed as she adjusted the temperature of the water. Warm mahogany brown color swirled in the bottom of the tub with foamy white and pink bubbles as I leaned over it and washed my hair until the water ran clear.


Megan handed me a towel and I wrapped it around my head like a turban to soak out the excess water. I looked in the mirror as I let the towel fall, draping my shoulders. I didn’t look anything like myself. My wet hair looked almost black but as it dried, my hair turned to dark warm brown waves that ended sharply past my shoulders. A drastic change from my blond curls that fell to the middle of my back.


“Do you like the hair cut?” Megan asked, almost regretfully. She definitely changed me and she did a good job. I hardly recognized myself.


“Yeah,” I said, then gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s perfect… and it will still fit into a ponytail.”


“Be careful.”   


“I’ll be fine, I promise.” I turned towards her and gave her a hug. Suddenly, I felt afraid for her. “You are going to have to be careful too. Maybe you should stay with Deanna. Damian is on his way here and who knows what he’ll do. He’s looking for me… and maybe Casey. He was furious when he found out Casey was helping Kane.”


A new worry appeared on her face. I didn’t mean to alarm her, but she did need to be careful.


“Okay… Are you leaving in the morning?”


“Yeah, while it’s still dark. I don’t want anyone to see me.”


“Say that Paula sent you. She’s my aunt and supplies Morrison with girls when he needs them.”


“Paula who?”


“You shouldn’t know her last name when they ask. That was how they know they were really sent from her… And you’ve never seen her either. She works through various people but never shows her face. If they ask who your contact person was, just say Melinda,” Megan said as she packed a small bag with one more vial of color if my hair started to grow out. “Hopefully you will have found Kane by then but take some just in case.” She said. She went back to her room and returned bouncing Rylie in her arms and a black baseball hat with a pin on the front of it in her hand. “Wear this hat. It will cover your hair if it starts to grow out. This is their symbol. The ‘A’ inside the center is the anarchy sign. Morrison called for Anarchical Order. It means…”


“I know what it means. I have it tattooed across my chest, remember. Basically, it means… The time has come…Morrison is taking over… they are all blind followers of him and can’t think for themselves, among other things, blah, blah, blah.”


Megan laughed at my blatant lack of respect for the man. 


“Yeah, I guess you know. I forgot that he gave you the mark. That could be a problem.”


“Why?”


“Anyone can wear the pin to say they support Morrison and the Militia tattoo it on their right arm below the sleeve line to demonstrate their loyalty, but only certain people can have that mark tattooed right there. It says you are part of Morrison’s family and when you marry you get your husband’s underneath it. Not every family places their tattoos’. They don’t have to. It’s kind of like a ‘coat of arms’ each family has their own, Morrison made that one his.”


“Oh, that’s weird.”


“Yeah, don’t show it to anyone. Morrison wouldn’t have you working out among the followers. You can wear the pin,” she said as she absently rocked back and forth, still bouncing a fussy Rylie as she gnawed on her fist and made little squeaks.


“Okay.”


“Both of your parents are dead and you came from Montana, okay. Don’t trust anyone and don’t be nice. They will see niceness as a sign of weakness,” Megan said, then she smiled at me.


“What should my name be?”


“Let me think about that for a minute,” she said as she followed me to the front door. I glanced out the window, well past dark now and time for me to leave. Tears welled in her eyes as she gave me a hug. 


“Jessie, what do you think about Jessie?” She said as she forced back her tears. “It sounds strong, but still beautiful like you are.”


“Ok.”


I smiled at her thoughtfulness. I loved that, other than Gage, she was my best friend and I cherished our friendship. I pulled an envelope out of my bag and handed it to her. “Will you give this to Olivia to give to Sonja?”


“Sure,” she said, then took it and smiled back as she pulled me into a hug. “If I think of anything else that might help you, I’ll come over… Be careful, okay.”


“I’ll be back.”  I gave the baby a kiss and I left.





***


Goosebumps prickled across my skin as I walked to Gage's. The short distance between her house and ours seemed more like crossing the Great Divide, as I couldn't get there fast enough. An unwelcomed sense of unease shuttered through me and I couldn't shake the idea that someone followed me. I tried to tell myself, the invasive thought that Damian lurked somewhere in the darkness watching me was my overactive imagination playing tricks on me. He wasn't here, he couldn't be, not this soon. But deep down, I knew the idea was more than possible.


The vibrating jitteriness just under the surface of my skin grew with intensity and I crossed my arms and held tightly to myself to thwart off the buzz. My chest grew increasingly tight as I walked up the dark walkway and I scanned the yard with acute awareness, ready to run.


I swallowed at the knot in my throat as I turned the key. The door made an eerie creaking noise as I pushed it open and I crept inside slowly. Dark looming shadows dripped down the walls, reflective of the dull lighting of the kerosene lantern in the corner on the end table. It offered just enough light that I could see, but not enough to ward off my fears and I walked over to it with churning paranoia and turned up the wick. The flue brightened with a golden glow that evaporated the darkness and I carried it with me down the long hallway.


My nerves vibrated into jittery spasms and panic consumed me at the thought that Damian could be nearby. I could only imagine what he had planned when he found me. Flashbacks of his unrelenting brutal attacks in the jail consumed my mind as tears threatened and my throat constricted with every breath I took. It didn’t help that Dr. Walstrom’s conversation played over in my mind. I could still hear their words.


‘Gage and the other men have barely been able to hold the Militia off there. It’s just a matter of time before we push through and take them out.’ And, ‘if we can spread Kennington’s troop thin enough then we should have no problem returning to the city with the skeleton crew they have here...’


I walked into the back room and shut the door as I leaned back against it and closed my eyes to hold back the threatening tears. A shuttering breath escaped me and the weight of the lamp in my hand grew increasingly heavy, I glanced at it. The chimney rattled slightly and the flame flickered, the direct result from my trembling hand.  I set it on the bedside table and glanced at the pack that sat where I left it on the bed, unmoved, undisturbed, and then I crossed the floor to finish my packing.


I filled it as full as I could as I organized necessary items. With a huff, I blew a loose tendril of my hair out of my eyes and sighed as I glanced at the smaller bag that I hung earlier from a hook on the back of the door. Two bags would be a pain, I wanted to fit my stuff into one.


I looked at everything I still needed to fit in the pack. It would never fit. His mom’s black sunglasses that I found on my earlier rummaging, sat on the bedside table. A jacket and few items of clothing from Sonja’s daughter’s closet lay folded on the bed along with some dried fruit, jerky, and cheese, some granola and tea packets, enough to last me for a while. My canteen with water sat next to my personal hygiene stuff, hopefully enough to last for a while, and the journals. I would keep Dr. Langdon’s journals with me and hopefully decipher his words.


I walked to the vented closet door to look for a bigger bag. With my hand on the doorknob I paused as I stared blankly through the slats of the door into the darkness on the other side.


I had a thought.


The last time Gage took me home to see the charred remains I saw my backpack in the barn. The one I packed the night before Gage and I planned to leave. It was much bigger than the one I had here and there were saddlebags in the barn as well. If I went tonight, I could sleep there and rearrange the packs with the rest of what I needed in the morning. Yeah, I definitely needed to go home, tonight.


With my hand still on the closet doorknob, I jumped as a loud booming knock at the front door surprised me and pulled me from my thoughts. I jerked my head towards the front of the house. My heartbeat quickened as I walked towards the front room and closed the bedroom door behind me. A million scenarios ran through my mind of who it could be. I really doubted Damian would knock if he decided to show up tonight so I quickly forced the thought out of my mind. I hoped it wasn’t Deanna. I didn’t want to explain to her why I had my bag packed, I was glad I thought to shut the bedroom door. Most likely, it was Megan in a last attempt to change my mind. She had tried earlier, many times. I glanced down at the empty corner as I reached for the door and casually remembered I forgot to put the gun back as I opened it.


“Megan, I told you… I’ll be fine…” I gasped suddenly and took a step back. The much larger and blockier than Megan’s figure hid the light of the moon and stood in the darkness. The black night masked his face, but I knew who he was. Not someone I looked forward to running into anytime soon.