Pablo hated when broken bones healed over without proper setting. Four months into the apocalypse and orthopedics occupied most of his patient load. So many terrible fractures or failed amputations. As he silently thanked Xelan once again for his meticulous instruction, he fought to ignore the familiar pang that accompanied his gratitude. Grief sucked.
Sweat stained his scrubs in the medical tent. One window unit wasn’t cutting it. Lynn and Sagan brought him extra fans, but he couldn’t use them during surgery. This malaligned bone operation required a lot of concentration to make up for the incorrect length. He rebroke it, adjusted the alignment, and fastened a rod to correct it. Four hours later, he sighed into his mask as he finished the last stitch.
Without regular pat downs from Lynn at the time, he might have compromised the surgical site. She left before he finished washing up to check on Pride and Ambush. The occasional stray thought for them most likely contributed to the sweat bullets. Recognizance was risky, but yesterday they all agreed it was necessary.
“You haven’t been here this entire time. This is as far as indecision has gotten us.” Caedes reasoned with Tameka without his usual intimidating growl. At the shake of her head, he turned from her and sought the group. “I am asking for a volunteer squad. Any attempt at this point serves as an excellent one.”
Sagan stepped in his way. “You won’t make it back.”
“At least we’ll take some of them out. Make it easier for a future team to—”
Cypher stood with an apple in hand. “I’ll go.”
Lynn clicked her tongue at him in disapproval.
“We need a win.”
“Yea. We do.” John spoke up, and the room went quiet. “I can’t sit by and watch this anymore. They’ve taken so much—” He peered over at Tameka. “From all of us. I’m going.”
“The man who fell kept this unit together.”
Everyone turned to the doorway.
Pehton and Tumu stood at the entrance. The dark alien addressed them, “You are rife with indecision and half-assed ideas. Getting antsy waiting on the next round of grave news. You need some action. So here’s what we’ll do.”
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After she laid out the recon plan, everyone went to work. Including Pablo, who went about setting up his hospital for trauma intake. He wished that his training covered Icarean injuries more, but Xelan and Lucas assured him the nacre healed almost anything. Aside from gold.
With that, Pablo wondered how the train was doing. Colton and Smith reported ETA for Little Rock, Arkansas was two days. They amassed an overwhelming following for their ranks. Almost two million people followed the caravan via additional trains or convoy. That was a lot of bones to set.
He put it out of his mind until later. Living in this world, he learned to compartmentalize. Happy thoughts. He smiled at the memory of Lynn’s confession yesterday. Afterward, he sped up construction on his side project. He knew without a doubt Lynn would laugh at the treehouse when she first saw it. But they deserved some damn—
“Pablo!” Lynn cried out to him next door.
He found her shaken, near tears.
Oh no.
“I’m right behind you.” He followed her out to the ATV, and they hauled ass to the cabin. “Do we know if they’re alive?”
Her grim silence frightened him.
They barged through the door to find the group once again surrounding the comms device. Pehton’s feathers flared as she stared at the knobs and dials. Tumu sat with a film closed over his eyes. Bones waited in the corner, glaring out the window as if he could will his vengeance on those bastards across the distance. Tameka huddled beside Sagan, who listened intently to the headset.
She flipped a switch, and the message played out of the speaker. It played on all channels. “—Progeny to Iona-29. We know you are on Earth. We know of your means of travel. If you wish to see your friends alive again, surrender the remaining Progeny to Iona-29.” It replayed on a loop.
Sagan switched to all channels. “Progeny to CoN Freaks. We will not give into your demands, and you will not hurt our friends.”
Bones and Tumu looked at her. Pehton widened her eyes.
“Never. Again.”
After a long moment of silence and a lot of bated breath, King Nox himself responded, “What are you proposing?”
“Three days, Nox. I’m coming to get my friends. They better be alive.”
“On my honor.”
She flipped the switch off and snarled to the room, “As if you have any.”
“What did he mean by ‘your means of travel?’” Tumu asked in the sudden quiet.
It would be one of those conversations, then. Pablo, exhausted, took a seat. After Sagan and Tameka appeared two weeks ago, the girls ordered everyone to keep their abilities from Tumu for now. Lynn sat beside him and watched the show.
Sagan glanced at Tameka. The redhead’s lips tightened into a thin line as she shook her head. “We don’t know. I thought he was referring to the conduits.”
Tumu stared another minute like he didn’t believe her. He eventually dismissed it with a shrug.
Pehton whistled. “You two certainly have enough fire to go around. What’s your plan?”
Sagan winced. “I don’t have one. I just wanted to buy us some time. I guess yours fell through with his arrival?”
The avian woman nodded. “I wasn’t expecting to encounter him so soon after coming to Earth. He sounds properly menacing.”
“Shadow. This is Batman. Over.”
Sagan picked the mic back up. “Batman. This is Alpha Progeny Two. Go ahead.”
“Shadow, Batman and Karter have an idea. Over.”