Page 5 of Whispers and Warriors
“Is it safe?” The question came from the back, Emma’s voice a mingling of fear and hope. “Can we trust it?” “How do we get to Africa?”
Alex wasn’t certain how Liam had this information since he’d been in the hallway, but he trusted Liam with his life. If there was a way to get to Africa, Liam would know it, and Chris would ensure they survived.
“Safer than here,” Liam replied, his gaze sweeping over the group. His blue eyes were luminous, a beacon of resolve amidst the chaos. “We’ve got nothing left for us here.”
Alex watched in the mirror as faces creased with worry, the contours of their expressions etched with the scars of too many battles. Each voice rose and fell, a tapestry woven with threads of concern.
“Fuel?”
“Supplies?” They were practical questions, grounding them even as their world crumbled.
“Risky,” Bash murmured, yet there was steel beneath the trepidation.
“Better than being sitting ducks,” Alex countered, the words lashing out like a whip. He could almost taste the salt spray of a distant ocean, the promise of freedom it whispered.
“Could be a trap,” Bash chimed, voicing a fear that gnawed at them all, but he was the only one gruff enough to stay it.
“Or it could be our salvation,” Liam shot back, his glasses catching the sun’s light, framing the determination in his eyes.
The discussion swirled around Alex, a maelstrom of doubt and resolve. Each word was like a pulse against his skin, the urgency propelling them forward as inexorably as the revving engine. This was it—their leap into the abyss, guided only by the fragile hope that beyond the treacherous seas lay a haven untouched by the lies that had ensnared them.
“Then it’s decided,” Chris said, his voice a low rumble above the truck’s din. “We’re a unit. We might be equal in many things, but I’m still leading, and we all know this is dangerous as hell but no more so than staying in America. Final say is we’re taking this risk, but we’ll be ready to ditch out the second anything feels off.”
“This sounds crazy,” Emma hissed, her fear finally seeping through. “You want us to cross a fucking ocean?” She spatand Ranger gave a quick bark. “We barely made it across the country.”
“What happened last time won’t happen again,” William spoke as clear as day.
“No, because this time there will be an entire ocean attempting to kill us as well.”
“Emma,” Liam chimed in, and Alex relaxed. He hated that Liam was her north star, but it had to be one of them. “I wouldn’t do this if I thought we could stay. If I thought only the unit was in danger, I would’ve suggested leaving you there to thrive. But you’re in more danger than us. It’s barely living what would happen. Fail to get pregnant after three months and you become fucking stock. You figure there are five of us very greedily enjoying your body and no baby. Your time was limited, and they wouldn’t dare risk letting us live to protect you.”
The truck’s growl was a living thing that somehow manifested the rage growing in him with the reminder of what they just ran from.What you’re still running from.Alex’s grip on the leather-clad wheel was tight enough to whiten his knuckles, betraying the turmoil that churned within him. Beside him, Liam’s profile was etched with concern, a silent reflection of the weight pressing down on them. They were making choices that could very well lead to their end, but standing still was no longer an option.
Emma’s voice pierced the heavy air, soft yet resilient. “I love you all,” she said, her words weaving through the cramped space, “and I trust you. But if any one of you dies, I’m going to hate you forever.”
Alex’s heart clenched at her declaration, the simple honesty of it cutting through the cacophony of their shared fears. He’d seen her kill, watched the world stain her hands with an indelible mark, and yet she remained a beacon in their twilight existence—hope personified.
“Emma,” he murmured, barely audible over the engine’s roar. The rearview mirror captured a glimpse of her hazel eyes, clear and unwavering. Despite everything, she trusted them—a band of broken men racing toward a whisper of salvation.
A surge of protectiveness washed over Alex. She had been the one to heal parts of him he hadn’t known were wounded, with her gentle touch and unyielding spirit. She’d tended to William when violence had marred their fragile peace and stood steadfast beside each of them as they navigated a world where every breath was borrowed time.
Once this is over, she’ll still feel that way.
Alex promised himself, a silent vow cast into the turbulent winds of change that not one of them wanted. His eyes flicked to the star tattoo on the back of his hand, a symbol of their unity. It would guide them now, through the labyrinth of lies and betrayal that had once shackled their reality.
Liam caught his gaze, a silent conversation passing between them. No words were needed, they understood the stakes. The road stretched out like a ribbon of possibility, and Alex pressed the accelerator a fraction deeper, propelling them toward the unknown.
Their journey was a tapestry of love and sacrifice, woven through the ruins of a world that had forgotten what it meant to be human. As the city’s skeletal remains faded in the rearview giving way to a vast emptiness, so too did the last vestiges of Alex’s most recently shattered dreams.
THREE
Emma’s stomachchurned as the truck sped down the deserted highway. Trees blurred into a sea of brown and occasional green when she dared to peek out the front window. She pressed her cheek against Chris’s muscular shoulder and tried to steady her breathing. The cool leather of his jacket soothed her flushed skin, but her nerves remained frayed.
It had been at least two hours and none of them spoke. The silence was unnerving, an unsettling reminder of the way it had been when they first met, finding her inside the radio tower. Though it felt like forever ago, it had only been a few short months.
“Chris,” she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut against a wave of nausea. “Are we doing the right thing? Running away like this?” It wasn’t that she didn’t trust their choice, but the longer they sat in silence, the more she wanted to be back safe and sound in their base home.
He turned his chin downward, angling his chiseled jaw to meet her gaze. Piercing brown eyes bore into hers with a resolute intensity. “We have no choice, Emma. It’s not safe at the baseanymore. It likely never was.” His voice was low and even, each word carefully measured.
