Page 17 of His to Take

9

Ann’s feet were sore,and her thighs ached with the fire of a million ant stings. Or what she thought that many ant stings would feel like. Every part of her hurt and she had come to hate the pack she wore on her back. After a week, it would be safe to think that you should be used to walking miles every single day.

That wasn’t the case, though. She had a blister on the back of her left heel that made every step sting like she’d shoved a razor blade into her foot, and there wasn’t a part of her that didn’t ache. They hadn’t found any more people, not since the sisters all those days ago, but they had found guns, ammunition, and more clothes to trade for the old ones they had on.

“I told you those hiking boots would give you blisters.” Her mother said as she dropped back to talk to her daughter. “I’ve got a bandage if you need it?”

“I think I do. We’ll check on our next break.” They’d started walking long distances during the night once they’d left the sisters behind.

Ann’s father was certain that any survivors left would make their way to the cities. And if there were soldiers running around, they were more likely to be in the cities too. They weren’t overly excited about running into the soldiers, but a little spying might come in handy. John wanted to know what the soldiers were doing, if they really were the enemy, and if there was a haven above ground.

They’d discussed it and decided that if the soldiers were really dangerous, then they’d go back to the bunker. Well, all of them except Rex. He was determined not to go back down there. At least he’d left her alone since that last night, Ann thought and looked up at his back.

She refused to give him any more of her thoughts right now and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The nights were warm now, and she had on a pair of black cotton shorts. Not practical if a wild dog attacked her, but the shorts kept her from overheating.

“Do you think we’ll stop soon?” Ann turned to her mother to answer but jumped away when bright lights filled the road they’d been following, and a voice rang out of the night to order them to halt.

Everybody scrambled. That had been the plan, and it was a good thing too, because that’s exactly what happened. Mary grabbed Ann’s hand and pulled her daughter to the edge of the building they’d just walked by. Ann quickly glanced back and saw that her father was right behind them with the Wolfsons following behind him. None of them stopped to ask questions, they just ran.

Blue lights flashed, over and over again as they raced away, and Ann was sure her heart would burst out of her chest. She could barely breathe she was so afraid, but her mother pulled her behind the building, and they waited for the rest to join them. They could hear the sound of an engine moving down the road toward them, and then the sound of running feet.

They all took out the weapons they’d scavenged. Ann had a small handgun, and she thumbed the safety off as she shakily pulled it up in front of her. The Wolfsons and her father were all in the way, but she was ready. Blue lights of energy zoomed by the corner of the building. Ann was surprised when the lights started to come from all sides.

The air filled with smoke from the guns and the noise they made, but nothing seemed to stop the invading soldiers. Mary screamed when she saw a giant of a man come around the corner and pulled the trigger of the rifle she had slung over her shoulder. The bullets just tinkled away from the man as he walked towards her, and Ann unloaded the pistol in her hand.

Nothing stopped him, it didn’t matter where she aimed the gun, and she screamed her horror as the man pushed Mary out of the way. Soldiers flooded in from both sides, and screams filled the air now rather than shots. It was over before Ann could take in exactly what had happened.

The soldier that pushed her mother to the ground now forced Ann to her knees. She put her hands over her head and looked around to see the rest of the group had done the same. Her father’s head hung low, as if in defeat or shame, as did Stephan’s. Amanda and Rex, however, glared at the soldiers.

Ann could only look around, terrified of what came next.

Mary got up from her spot on the ground and knelt beside Ann.

“You are still young enough to bear young,” a soldier that had come up behind the first one said. He was looking down at Mary. “But I think you are bonded to this man, yes?”

“I am, yes,” Mary said, her eyes frantic.

Ann stared at the soldier, fear a grip that tightened around her throat. They all still wore the black shields over their eyes and the masks that covered their mouths and lower face. She noticed the soldier that spoke had an accent, but she couldn’t place it. She’d grown up in California, where people from the strangest places often popped up, and in the age of online videos and television, but the accent did not ring any bells.

A fresh wave of fear washed over her when the soldier spoke again.

“On your feet. This is the end of the road for you.”

“The end of the road?” she squawked, but the men ignored her.

They were taken to a vehicle that looked like an odd square box, painted a bluish-gray shade. There the soldiers stood around the two families. The one that had spoken stepped forward, dropped something on the ground, and a green light appeared. It was the size and shape of an elevator, but completely clear.

“Get in,” the soldier ordered and pushed Ann forward.

She resisted, afraid that the box would turn out to be her coffin, and she reached for her mother. The man pushed her again, harder, and both women tumbled into the box. Everything went quiet around them, and they looked around, now frightened beyond thought. They couldn’t see beyond the faint green glow of the “walls” of the box. Tears slid down their cheeks as they clung together, wordless. Her father soon appeared, and immediately after, the ground felt as if it dropped away and they sped into the air.

Screams filled the air, and Ann dropped to the floor of the box as gravity forced her down. She thought her body would explode from the force that was exerted on her, but it all suddenly stopped, and the box stopped moving. What now?

She blinked tears from her eyes and stood up when nothing more happened. Her mother and father had tumbled back, against the walls, then righted themselves, their eyes on their only daughter. What happens now?

They were left to wonder, moments turned to minutes then to hours. Ann did not complain, though she needed to relieve her bladder, and her tongue was so dry it stuck to the roof of her mouth if she didn’t pay attention. Her mother started to speak, from the place where she huddled at the side of her husband, but the box disappeared, and they could see that they were in some large hanger.

People shifted through metal guide bars that separated the place into… paddocks? That was the only word that came to mind as Ann walked between her mother and father. They were like cattle being led to the slaughter. She’d tried not to think the worst as they waited in that box, but now all the thoughts came to her, fully formed and terrifying.