Marked

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The bags thudded against the rocky terrain, lifting up dust in a few places. Hundreds of faces looked on quietly at the only salvation that lay before them.

Most of their expressions shared in her disbelief. Her entire life she had thought the capital was invincible. Never in a million years would she have guessed that one day she'd be a part of an attack against the same city that seemed impenetrable. Yet here she was, preparing to end it all once and for all or die trying.

"Henry knows how to fly an aircraft," Michael said to Juan. "You'll go with him back to the bunker to ensure all three of our aircrafts are loaded with enough fire power."

Juan nodded his head in agreement. "Only three?" He asked.

"That's all that was there when we took over the bunker. Guess the capital never let us have any more, for obvious reasons."

"Well jokes on them. We now know their dirty little secret and thanks to them we know exactly where to hit them where it will hurt the most." Yalina said.

Michael turned away from them then and headed back towards the hundreds of bunker soldiers who looked to him for direction. There was something about him that people trusted, despite him being the traitor's son. Maybe Michael was more like his father than Abby, but whatever it was that made them put their faith in him, Rachel was glad. He, at least, seemed to know what he was doing.

"Fifteen of us will go to the generators to take out the power. Bryan, you will be responsible for getting them there and then back to the bunker as soon as you're able to. You won't be able to reach the capital in time to fight with us, so you will be of better use back home. We will radio once we are at the outskirts of the city so that you can proceed to attack the generators." Michael said to an older man with a blonde beard.

Bryan tipped his chin in acknowledgement, his burly arms crossed in front of his massive chest.

"It's crucial that none of us use our watches." A woman advised from the frontlines of the crowd. "We don't know if the capital can tap into them and it's better not to risk it."

"Yes, she's right," Michael agreed. He pulled a few radios out from one of the many black bags and began to distrubute them around. "We will use these to communicate and nothing else. I want each group leader to have access to one."

"We're going to need all the man power we can get if we're going to make this work." Yalina continued, taking a step forward and placing a hand on Michael's shoulder. She spoke loudly, so that her voice echoed perfectly through the mountains. "The rest of us will make the drive to the capital and wait for the power to be cut off and for the bombs to be dropped. Then we attack."

A gust of cold air buffeted against the armored trucks and the people grew uneasy by this.

"We can do this." Rachel reassured. "We need to do this, for our families."

The bunker people muttered their agreements, determination replacing fear. All around them, the mountains stood tall against a backdrop of stars, silent witnesses to their plan.

"Everyone pick up a gun." Michael ordered. "It's time to bring down the monsters that hunt us once and for all."

The line moved quickly, each person approaching the pile of armory, dipping down to pick up a weapon or two and then filing away silently. Tension was thick in the air, intermingled with the howls of the wind which only made what they were about to do feel more daunting.

Rachel shivered inside her jacket but it wasn't from the cold. Her nerves were pulled as taut as wire. It was then that Juan approached her, his eyes cast with worry but overpowered by deep determination.