Page 98 of Redemption
He smiles quickly before looking in the direction of the town again, grinding his jaw at what lies ahead before turning back to me. “Stay close. Don’t trust anyone. And please, for the love of God, listen when I tell you to do something. There’s no room for error. But if, for some reason, things go sideways, remember what I said about the outposts. They’re everywhere.Even towards Jacksonville. Find the yellow doors if you need to, and then get the hell away from here.”
“Ok.”
“Alright... let’s go.” With a nod in confirmation from me, a final kiss is brushed against the top of my head before he turns around and leads me into the unknown.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Aly
The moon is bright in the sky when we enter the town. Crickets chirp, frogs croak, but loudest of all is the thumping of my heart.
Well, no, that’s not exactly true. While we’re both donning matching black ski masks to hide our faces and keep our anonymity, there’s absolutely no hiding when it comes to the decibel level of my obnoxious clothing. Darius was absolutely right; the windbreaker is loud as fuck in the dark silence of the night, but we had no other options for me to change into, so it is what it is.
Onward to mayhem!
We left Sadie hidden in the dense underbrush just outside the town’s limits, but Darius assured me that she’d come running if one of us whistled. How he knew this, I have no idea, but all I can do from here on out is trust him.
We chose to enter Phoenix Rising not by the main road but through the residential section. Darius stated these houses were currently sheltering every soul living within the community, apart from those new arrivals who had yet to be processed. While it’s dangerous to try to infiltrate the town fromright under their noses as they slept only a doorstop away, he indicated it would also be the least active area of the entire town.
“The northeastern quadrant is where the Ascension rites take place. Those are always held in the middle of the night so as to not conflict with any daily duties the attendants need to perform. The southern quadrant at the far end holds the security barrier for the southern rim. You might have passed it if you came from Jacksonville.”
We certainly did. The three-car-high pileup that formed a manmade wall straight out of the Mad Max series is anything but forgettable. And staying as far away from the Ascension house, especially after learning what goes on there, was priority number two—with rescuing the guys being priority number one. Knowing all this, taking the residential route was definitely the best option.
With a left turn onto Bracken Road, we enter the town proper. Buildings rise around us, varying with prior purpose. There are administrative buildings, small businesses, a hair salon, a library, and even a school in the distance. Or, at least, the skeletons of what they once were. I pause to take everything in, quietly wondering where in this suburban jungle my guys might be.
Suddenly, Darius shoots his arm up at an angle, his fist clenched next to his head in a silent command to stop. I do so and wait as he silently creeps around the building towards something I’ve not yet seen. Like a cat in the night, he stalks his prey, tip-toeing cautiously, and then suddenly, he attacks.
Out from an alcove hidden between two buildings, he yanks at a man dressed all in black, throwing him to the ground with a thud. There’s no scream or yell for help, but as I step closer, I can see why. Darius surrounds the man from behind,his arm around the man’s throat, choking him without any remorse. “There ya go,” he whispers next to the man’s ear. “Just let it happen. That’s right.” A second later, the man grows limp before falling unconscious in Dare’s arms.
Darius glances up at me before lifting himself from the ground, his forearms now tucked under the man’s arms as he drags him back into the alley. Then, with the help of a few zip ties, a dirty old sock, and a roll of gorilla tape from his pack, he steadies the man up against the wall, fully trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Unable to help my reaction, I gawk at him. He did all that in less than a minute. That was.... that was fucking impressive.
“Shyea it was,”Me-two announces, drool visibly dribbling from the corner of her mouth as she stares at the scene before us.
Noticing our (my) obvious discombobulation, Darius raises an eyebrow and softly mutters, “What?” pairing it with a knowing smirk I can practically hear with the way he says the word. Of course, the bastard knows he’s a badass and probably what that just did to me.
Fucking hell.
Thankfully, we have no time to lose, so we soldier on, maneuvering through the desolate streets.
A few moments later, Darius throws his fist up again, stopping me in my tracks as I look on with apt—embarrassingly intrigued—amusement. Unlike the last time, I see what he does. Off in the distance, there’s a man walking across the street, looking like one of the security personnel Darius alluded to the other day, especially with the giant rifle held in his hands.
Just as before, Darius sticks to the shadows but picks up his pace when the guy notices him from a block away.
“Hey! Hands up!” he shouts, the command echoing in the otherwise abandoned street, but it does nothing to slow Darius’ approach. In fact, I think he’s running faster, racing right up to the guy who lifts his rifle, aims at Dare, and then...
Darius leaps, his legs wrapping around the guy’s neck before he swings his entire body upside down and to the right, forcing the man to flip to the ground before he’s even able to pull the trigger.
“Holy fucking shit!” I whisper-shout in tandem with my delusional twin, amazed and... oddly turned on by what just happened.
The man on the ground is quick to recover, however, rolling himself onto his feet before rising once again, his hands fumbling for his weapon, but it’s too late. Darius meets him eye to eye before lifting his fist and punching him square in the jaw. An instant later, the man crumbles to the ground without another thought.
Total fucking knockout.
“Holy monkey tits. Did you see that?!”Me-two shouts from the sidelines.
“Uh huh,” is all I can muster up to say, still astounded by who Darius has become.
