Page 4 of Echos and Empires
William’s lips brushed her shoulder. “We should get cleaned up before the others send in a search party.” There was a teasing glint in his eyes as he added, “Or decide to join in for round two.”
Emma laughed and allowed them to pull her to her feet. Her muscles protested the movement, a pleasant ache suffusing her body. She’d be feeling this for days, and the thought sent a dark thrill of satisfaction through her.
“I believe for me it would be round … oh eight?”
“You always complain we don’t spend enough time together now that we all have jobs.” William gave her a hard kiss.
“Yes, well, I always need to recover after these days, so I have no complaints.” She followed them back to where the others were already dressed again, no evidence of their quick marathon to be seen.
For five precious months, they’d carved out a refuge on this island, a place where they could live and love without fear.
Tugging off the drenched tank, Emma grabbed a plush black towel off the hook and began to run it over her, her legs still trembling so much she worried she’d have to sit. Walking to the living room proved to be harder than she thought, but seeing Chris, Alex, and Bash lounging naked brought a smirk to her lips.
You love every single thing about them.
She knew it wasn’t entirely true, but it was hard to remember that most days.
Truth be told, Emma rarely slept alone these days. There was a constant rotation of warm bodies in her bed, arms holding her close through the night, food to eat and not a true danger anywhere in sight.
Life was as perfect as it could get after the world exploded.
TWO
Driedleaves crunched beneath Chris’s feet as he walked beside William. It seemed even the jungle could fall prey to some of the changes the bombs left, creating a colder fall than the plants could survive. The air was thick with the scent of salt and damp leaves, and the distant call of seabirds echoed through the trees close to the shoreline. He’d grown used to the sounds. While this place wasn’t entirely home yet, it grew closer by the day.
Even on rotation. Even when I’m forced back into the man who the military owned.
Chris led the way, his eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of disturbance, while William followed closely, his gaze equally vigilant.
It was a scene that should have been peaceful, but Chris couldn’t ignore the familiar tension in his muscles, a readiness that never left him. He moved with purpose, each step measured and precise. The scar on his cheek twitched slightly as he concentrated, a constant strange sensation that he never seemed to ignore. No matter how much time passed, there would always be a trace of fear, of guilt, at the life they’d left so many others toendure, and it was if the scare was the only visual reminder any of them had this far away from the pain and devastation.
Their life on the island had settled into a routine he never could have imagined.
“We’re coming up on six months,” he spoke not knowing if William was evening listening.
Less than six months since they fled the mainland. Ran from a life of danger and destruction. From a world that had lost so much of the creations they’d created to violence and danger. Yet here they were, with cell phones and computers, in a world that seemed as distant as it was surreal.
Chris couldn’t shake the feeling that it was too good to be true. Liam’s warning from the night in the navigation room a few months back echoed in his mind, but he refused to believe it. The island was perfect. Except if it wasn’t, it would be his fault for bringing them all to more danger.
He wasn’t certain he’d ever be able to breathe without worrying someone would hear. He’d put on an act for his unit—for Emma—but he’d never truly feel safe. Even with a position on the council offered soon after they arrived as recognition of the service he’d abandoned, Chris didn’t think he was truly part of the community.
He glanced at William, whose expression mirrored his own unease whenever they spoke of it.
Chris knew they all felt it.
That strange disconnect between the life they knew and the one they found here. But while William’s concern was more hopeful than paranoid, Chris’s was rooted deeply in years of caution and loss, too firmly embedded to shake free. He couldn’t let himself relax, couldn’t allow himself to be lulled into complacency. Not now, not ever, no matter how good things seemed.
They were all outsiders, coming together to form something bigger.
Something that feels so out of touch with the way the rest of humanity lives.
The path twisted through the trees, and Chris’s thoughts twisted with it, a tangled knot of doubt and determination. He had taken on more responsibility than ever before, more than he’d ever imagined, and the weight was immense, pressing down on every second. Yet it was a burden he was willing to bear, if it meant keeping them safe. If it meant keeping Emma safe.
“The south side,” Chris said, his voice cutting through the rustle of leaves, officially ready to work and not just linger in his mind. “It’s too exposed. I want to set up a perimeter, maybe double up on patrols so it’s a few times a week. Think they’ll go for it?”
‘They’ were the other council members and the men he’d basically been part in charge of as a new section commander in the security unit. Chris had more power here than made any sense, but dishing out order to anyone other than the unit he truly considered his men still set his stomach swirling.
William nodded, his blue eyes thoughtful behind a fringe of blond hair. “We could use some of the old fencing,” he suggested. “Reinforce the weak spots, maybe set up some traps as a warning system. Treat it like the bases treated the world when everything blew up.”
