Solacium

Ch 24: Blake

Panic rushed through my body as soon as I heard the voices Vorian was talking about. I knew something was wrong when he asked if I was expecting anyone. However, nothing could have prepared me for how bad the situation really was.

Vorian was fast, rushing through the forest when he heard the panic in my voice. The closer we got, the more voices I could hear. There were just so many of them, far too many to count. At the thought, dread settled over me, and I subconsciously tightened my grip on Vorian.

Please let Jada be okay...

As soon as I knew we were getting close I warned Vorian, pointing to a tree that we could hide behind and get a better view of what was going on. Moving behind the tree, Vorian set me down gently, placing my duffel bag back over my shoulders as I braced myself against the bark to remain standing behind the large base of the Douglas fir.

The voices were loud now, coming from all kinds of people as they shouted back and forth at each other. What's worse, is that now that I was close, I heard other sounds too. Specifically the sound of cars revving their engine and the loud beep of a truck backing up. Sounds I had not heard in a long long time.

This was bad, really bad...

My mind raced as I thought about who or what we were dealing with.

Could it be the Deviants? Could they have traced me back to the cabin? Or was it someone else, someone even worse...if that was even possible.

Though, after everything I had seen in the past few days...I was beginning to think it was definitely possible.

With a groan, I ran a panicked hand through my hair. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Vorian move. My eyes followed him as he braced himself at the edge of the tree, chancing a glance at our cabin beyond. I held my breath as his eyes searched the area, narrowing as he muttered a curse under his breath. I felt my chest sink.

Shit. That wasn't a good sign.

With my heart beating rapidly in my chest, I moved around to the other side of the tree where I copied Vorian, slowly peeking my head out to look.

I gasped, stumbling back.

What I saw was worse than I could have ever imagined. Dozens of men surrounded the cabin, all heavily armed with machine guns slung around their wide shoulders. Black trucks also lined the perimeter of Jada's cabin, with one of them harboring a large holding cell-like container in its bed. As if on cue, the men opened the back of the truck, exposing the container.

Who the hell were these people and what did they want?!

At first glance, they looked like the military. Or what I remembered it to look like. However, their uniforms were different somehow. They were something else, but what?

Before I could think, I saw a man emerge from the house. He was tall, and built like some G.I. Joe reject with his grey hair buzzed short and his uniform. He pulled on someone behind him and Jada appeared beside him. His arm was firmly holding her while he pointed his gun at her head.

Jada! Damn it! I cursed, slamming my fist against the tree. After seeing that, I sunk back behind the base of the tree, leaning against the rough bark as I closed my eyes.

Then I heard a voice.

"Come on out alien, we need to talk..." A deep voice called out.

Damn, he knew we were here...I thought darkly, hitting my head against the tree. I didn't need to look to know it was that man, the man that held Jada at gunpoint.