Ordinaries: Shifters Book II (Shifters series 2) (19 page)

Chapter 35

The Rebels and the Cave

–TANNER–

“I hate this!” Kae says, as she grips her seat. The ship rocks as the asteroids bounce off the hull. I must have been holding my breath for the fifteen minutes since we entered the field. Kai sits next to her, seemingly unaffected by the turbulence.

My big brother, Bryce is sitting next to Kai with his eyes squeezed shut. This is the first mission we have taken him on. I know he was young during the escape from Gaia. I used to get so mad about his night terrors waking me up nearly every night; now I know he has some memories of the fighting and getaway. I wonder if this is bringing back his memories, his nightmares.

Alice is next to him. At least she has some experience now. She’s taller and stronger, and with her hair short, she looks like a warrior. She pulls her harness to make sure it’s secure. She looks down the ship at the rest of the group and then looks right at me. I should look away, but I don’t. She straightens in her seat without breaking her stare. Her eyes are dark and sad, her expression blank. All I can think about is we left her dad behind. On Earth. With Marques.

The ship takes another blow, and I look back at Kai, who is way too calm.

“Come on, Viktor,” Christopher says into the com system.

I can hear Viktor say something in Russian back, and Christopher curses. “What part of ‘clear the way’ did you not understand?”

“You fly y-your ship. I made it through just f-f-fine,” Viktor stammers.

Christopher slams his headphones down. “Our ship is bigger than yours, you stupid . . .” Christopher trails off. I know he must have shut off the com system. Christopher knows how sensitive Viktor is.

Kae is squeezing her eyes and her jaw, and her fingers are white as she grips the seat bottom. The ship rocks violently as we take another assault. “We’re going to make it, Kae,” I manage to say. I give Kai a look and motion my head toward his new partner.

Kai rolls his eyes and reaches for her hand. He gently pries it from the seat bottom and holds it between his hands. Kae forces her eyes open and looks at him. She looks around the ship packed with Ordinaries and our group of Shifter Young and says, “I know we will. Sol
é
saw it. But I
still
hate it.”

I nod. I know what she means. Even though I know what Sol
é
sees is always true, it brings little comfort when the ship feels like it will come apart any second. Ryland had Viktor send the coordinates to lead us through the supposed path he created. He told Christopher it was “legkoy progulkoy.” I seriously had no idea what that meant until Christopher smiled and told me, “He said, it’s a cakewalk.”

Obviously, Viktor has no idea what a cakewalk means!

“How much farther, Christopher?” I yell.

“A few more minutes, little man!” Christopher yells back.

Okay, I know he’s huge and all, but when did I become a “little man?”

I make the mistake of looking through the front window and realize we are spinning clockwise, then counterclockwise, and back again. I feel bile creeping up my throat, and I snap my head back to Kae.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, her eyes wide.

“Nothing,” I choke. I just have to focus on Kae. She’s right in front of me. I have to convince myself we are not spinning. It’s not like I can feel the movement. Kae is right in front of me. Kae is steady. We are
not
spinning.

It’s not working!

Kae is staring at me. She narrows her eyes. I close my eyes hoping if I can’t see anything my stomach will settle. My head spins, and I double up spewing my lunch all over my shoes.

“Ew gross, Tanner!” Kae yells, shaking her hands frantically. “It touched me!”

I groan. “I just got these. I liked these shoes.”

“Christopher!” Kai yells. “Get a report! Have they landed yet?”

“Give me a minute here,” Christopher says. “I’m kind of busy.”

Kai sighs and leans back.

I look at Kae, who’s flicking at a small speck on the side of her calf like I sprayed her with the Ebola virus or something. “Sorry, Kae,” I weakly apologize.

She tries to smile and says, “No, I’m sorry. I just kind of have this problem with . . .” she scrunches her face, “germy things.”

The ship stops shaking and the group cheers. I would be happy, but I still feel queasy and my shoes are covered in whatever it was they fed me. Which, by the way, tasted about the same way coming up as it did going down. I really can’t wait to get back home and have some real food. I wish I could be back home right now with Ryland picking on me and Peanut telling us about her teacher, Miss Polly.

Christopher puts the headphones back on and asks Viktor for a report. He has the com system set without the speakers on. He talks for a minute then sets the headphones down and stands up.

He faces us, looks at my shoes and shakes his head, saying, “Viktor and Ryland have landed.” The group cheers, and he quiets them. “We have the coordinates and the codes. I have set the course. We’re about ten minutes out.” His demeanor lets on that there is more. “We must be prepared. The rebels have guided them in, however . . .”

Marcus steps out of the cockpit and says, “They will need our help.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

Marcus looks at me. “Your sister’s okay.”

“Then what’s the problem?” I ask.

Marcus looks at Christopher. Christopher looks up and says, “Viktor’s been shot.”

“What?” Kai says, finally breaking his unusual calm.

Christopher looks at me and says, “Your sister was able to get him to the rebels, but the Enforcers have taken up positions and have them penned in.” He stares directly at me. “We need him. I need him. Bring him back.”

–RYLAND–

I knew landing on a poisonous planet containing a Shifter manufacturing colony would be dangerous. What I didn’t realize was the whole planet was surrounded by an invisible web that detects any and all incoming or outgoing movements. We were surrounded before we even landed.

There was a shootout. I wasn’t going to be placed in a Shifter labor camp! Unfortunately, even though I totally rocked it and won singlehandedly, Viktor— the idiot—was shot. So, even though the small rebel forces were able to get us to this tiny cave they have been using as a hideout, slowly dying out here in the green poisonous air, we are penned in, and Viktor is dying.

There are exactly five Ordinary factory workers who managed to escape and form a rebel base here in this cave. Despite their small number, they have been launching attacks for months on the factory, having to plan carefully to avoid casualties within the general population of workers. They have been successfully making their mark here for months, and they have revealed themselves to save us, dooming us all.

There are at least thirty Shifter Enforcers in fully equipped biohazard suits, impervious to the poisonous air, surrounding the base of the cliff we are hiding in. We are outnumbered, outgunned, outmaneuvered, and trapped.

I realize this is all my fault. I should have allowed us to be taken prisoner by the guards. We could have infiltrated the population of the colony and formed alliances with those strong enough to fight. We could have worked within the system and found those we needed in order to win this planet.

Instead, we’re all going to die here.

Yet again, I find I’m blaming prophesy. I understand that Sol
é
is a powerful seer and her visions always come true. I also understand she sometimes doesn’t fully see how they will come about. Say, my death will allow them to successfully win the planet. Was I prepared for that? No!

We had to abandon our ship and all our tech, which means we have no way to contact our fleet and warn them. We also have no way to radio for help. We are going to die here, and they will just show up to find our heads mounted on spikes or whatever Shifters do with their enemies.

Worse yet, they will probably infect us with that crazy plague and use us to attack our own people. My brother or Kai or Clay will have to fight my zombie self and kill me. They won’t have a choice, but it will probably haunt them forever. I hope they don’t have that crazy plague here, but the amount of hope I have is small and weak.

They have been yelling at us for hours, trying to get us to surrender as they create more and more defenses around the base of the rocky cliffside. Viktor has been moaning and whining, filling the cave with the iron scent of his blood. He has been begging us to surrender because he thinks they will treat him.

I’m grinding my teeth in frustration because I don’t know what to do. The rebels shifty, soot-covered eyes are watching me as if I am some sort of Messiah. As if I am supposed to know how to save them.

I’m just about to give up and surrender, thinking perhaps being taken to the colony might be best, when an explosion rocks the world. I peek through the cave opening to see a fire raging on the eastern horizon, blazing against the dark sky.

“They’ve done it,” one of the Ordinaries breathes in ecstasy as our guards abandon their posts to run toward the fire.

“Who has done what?” I ask.

“The factory workers,” a small girl breathes, coughing with the effort of speaking. “They’ve revolted.”

“Why would they do that?” I ask. “Why now?”

“With so many Enforcers watching us . . .” the oldest man shrugs. “They must have found an opening.”

“We need to get back to our ship. Now,” I say.

They look at me with frightened eyes, the eyes of hunted, wounded animals. They slowly shake their heads. “We need to stay here.”

“You can’t possibly do that!” I snap. “They know where you are. Besides, we have to radio our fleet. They need to know what’s down here.”

Viktor moans again.

“And I need a med kit for him,” I say decisively.

Despite their obvious fear, they finally nod.

“Pack quickly,” I say. “We need to leave in five minutes.”

“What about him?” the oldest man says, nodding at Viktor. “We can’t carry him that far.”

“Make him a litter,” I snap. “I have to go take out the guards that stayed behind.”

“There are still guards here?” the small girl asks with a shudder that racks her whole body.

“Only three,” I say angrily. For rebels, these people are cowards.

I have to sneak down the mountain as stealthily as I can, but they still fire at me, spraying me with rocks and debris that tear at my face and arms. I am able to kill two before incapacitating the third. I’d love to take him with us and interrogate him, but it will be difficult enough to travel the three miles back to our ship carrying a bleeding Mole Man.

Chapter 36

Another Pilot Would Be Nice Right About Now

–TANNER–

The com system crackles, “R2 proceed to brama gate four six. Secure channel six seven code zeena ex uni four.”

Christopher responds, “Good to hear your voice. Message received and out.”

“You too. Out,” the voice responds.

Christopher switches the com system and repeats the instructions to our other pilots. I look at Kai, but he shrugs. “The J’s had their dad set up a secure connection for when we got here. Sounds like it worked.”

Shouldn’t I know more about this stuff? Seriously? Am I not supposed to be one of the leaders?

I look at Kae and say, “You ready for this?”

She nods. I wish Devon were here. I mean, if she weren’t trying to kill me and all. Cooper and Greg would make me feel better since I know they can fight, but I understand why they are needed on Six. I’m not sure how ready Kae is for this.

Marcus stands up and comes toward us. He addresses the entire crew, including the other ships connected to the com system. “The Wizard is cloaked, so it’s safe for now. It’s surrounded by Enforcers, so we won’t attempt to recover it right now. We will have to draw attention away from the ship before it is detected.”

“Where’s my sister?” I ask Marcus.

He looks at me and then looks away. “We will proceed to a cavern system approximately three miles from the landing site. The rebels have an encampment there. That is where we believe our scouts are.”

“No,” I spit. “We’re going for the ship.”

“We have ships, Tanner. We will unite with the rebels.”

I stand up and say, “They’ll be at the ship.”

“They will be with the rebels.”

“I know my sister. Viktor is injured. She will take him to the ship. There are medical supplies. She can get him to Corey if she can get him to the ship.”

“The plan is set. We will go to the rebels.”

“Fine. You go to the rebels. Take me close enough to Viktor’s ship. I’ll meet up with them, and we’ll reunite at the rebel caves.”

“We can’t afford to lose you. You stay with us.”

Kai stands and faces Marcus. “I’m going with Tanner!”

Marcus shakes his head.

“And me,” Kae says, as she stands next to Kai.

Bryce and Alice both stand and say they are going with me, too. Marcus starts to object, but Christopher emits a low guttural sound.

Quinn mumbles, “Is this how you control your group?”

“If you must,” Marcus says, eyeing Quinn. “We’ll drop you to the south about one mile. It’s in the mountains. Stay clear of the Enforcers.
If
you find them, contact us immediately.” He writes something down and hands it to me. “These are the coordinates. Viktor will know what to do with them. Assuming, of course . . .”

I snatch the paper from his hand and stuff it in my pocket. Christopher maneuvers the ship and drops us near the base of the mountains to the south of Viktor’s ship. He gives us a crude map, and they take off. The air is heavy. Hard to breathe. The red ground is rough with a few scrub bushes scattered around.

“Which way, Columbus?” Kai asks, sarcastically.

I look at the map and turn around. “This way.”

We start walking toward what I hope is where my sister and Viktor landed.

Kae speaks up. “This is so exciting. I mean, it’s ugly, but cool. Does that make sense? Probably not, but thanks for letting me come. Oh, look! Berries!”

She starts to run, and Kai says, “Poisonous.”

She pouts and turns back. She perks up and asks, “You’re so smart, Kai. How do you know about berries?”

“I don’t.”

“So maybe they’re okay?”

“Let’s just assume everything is poison. It’s safer.”

Kae wrinkles her forehead and nods. She runs back to Kai and holds his hand. Kai lets her.

Strange.

We walk up and down clay mounds. I keep expecting to see the Enforcers or The Wizard over each rise, but it’s never there. Finally, we see a group of people wearing some kind of breathing devices. Really? It’s hard to breathe, but we’re doing okay. There are about a dozen of them wandering around like they’re looking for something.

“We must be close,” I whisper.

Kai nods, and we all hide behind a small mound. “Over here,” Kai whispers, and we all follow him, taking turns weaving our way down the hill and taking cover behind small outcroppings of rocks.

We look over the rise, and I say, “There it is.”

Kae asks, “What? I don’t see anything.”

Kai says, “I see it, too.”

Bryce and Alice both ask, “What is it?”

“The Wizard,” I tell them.

Kae pokes her head up and says, “I don’t see anything.”

Kai pulls her down and says, “It has like a biometric cloak thing. Viktor invented it. Tanner and I are programmed in.”

Bryce’s eyes go wide, “Cool.”

Kai says, “We’ll have to figure out a way to distract the guards.”

I notice some movement on a rise across from the guards. “I don’t think we’re going to have to come up with anything.”

“What?” Kai asks. “Why?”

I point to the rise and Kai sucks in a breath. We all watch as Ryland soars over the Enforcers.

–RYLAND–

I slam into the first Enforcer with enough force to collapse his lungs. Even through the mask, I hear him wheezing. I wince, wondering if he has a wife somewhere.

My shoulder aches with the impact, and I’m quite sure I have severely bruised the bone there. There’s no time to think about this. The next Enforcer is raising his weapon toward me, ready to fire.

Even though I am shifted, he’s moving faster than I am. I’m not sure how this is possible, but I have to move as quickly as I can if I want to live. I dive toward him, feeling the blue electricity slice down my back. I’ll have a burn there for the rest of my life, but no real damage is done.

Before he can fire again, I rip the weapon from his hand and fire it at him. His mask flies free, revealing the aged face of an elderly man. My stomach knots when I see his blue-gray eyes pleading with me to save him.

Another Enforcer is firing at me, and I don’t have time to dive clear of his aim. I’m going to die now. I’m going to die, which means Viktor is going to die.

Before he pulls the trigger, the Enforcer is knocked to the ground by a blow to the head. I feel elated. I have inspired the Ordinaries to fight! They have come to help me! Perhaps I am a leader after all.

Then, I see that it isn’t one of the Ordinaries rescuing me. Kai is standing there with a smirk on his face. “Need some help?” he says gruffly.

I snort. “I was doing just fine by myself. Mole Man was slowing me down,” I say with a shrug as I see Alice, Kae, and Tanner take out the remaining Enforcers.

I grin. “Good, you guys ready to meet our new allies?”

The Ordinaries slowly peek up from behind some boulders a few hundred feet away. “Are we safe?” the small girl calls.

“We need to get on the ship quickly,” I say. “We need to get Viktor to Corey.”

Tanner nods.

“Where is he?” I ask, suddenly confused. “Where is everyone?”

“Marcus thought you would be in the mountains,” Tanner says evenly, although I can hear the anger behind his voice. “He wouldn’t listen to me when I told him you would be here.”

I nod. “Then we need to move faster than I thought,” I snap. “Viktor is dying.”

Kae’s eyes well up, and I feel an overwhelming sense of fear and loss. I almost choke on it. What’s happening?

“It will be okay,” Kai whispers.

The feeling flows from me, and it’s replaced by a flooding sense of pride and joy and belonging. I realize quickly these feelings are not my own. They belong to Kae.

I look to Tanner, eyes wide, and wonder if he is feeling this as well. Does Kae have this affect on everyone? If so, she will be more useful in this rebellion than I ever expected.

She will be able to share hope, joy, peace, and courage with our army. She will be able to inspire and grow our army. She will be able to instill fear and desolation in our enemies.

She will fight war on a whole new front.

Even as I think this, we are boarding the ship. I realize with a start that no one with us can actually pilot the ship. How are we supposed to get Viktor to safety?

Before I can ask, Tanner begins to shake. He shudders violently, and the whole ship begins to rise. Viktor moans weakly as Mona caresses his forehead.

Before I know it, we are arriving in the mountains. The moment we land, Tanner collapses with the effort as Corey rushes on board with his medical team, heading straight for Viktor.

Chapter 37

Who Knew There Was an Ambassador Apt?
Now, That’s Useful!

–TANNER–

That would’ve been way easier if I was actually a pilot. I drop to my knees, feeling completely drained. I lie on my back and close my eyes . . .

I hear someone calling my name. Devon? I open my eyes and see her beautiful face beckoning me.

I look up at her and say, “I thought . . . I lost you. Where have you been?”

She looks confused. “What are you talking about? I’ve been here the whole time.” Confused, I reach up and touch her face, and she asks, “Tanner, are you okay?”

“I am now.” I cup my hand around the back of her head and pull myself up to kiss her.

I am jolted awake as Ryland’s hand assaults my cheek—that’s gonna leave a mark. “What are you
doing
?”

“Ry!” I say, in shock. “Where’s Devon?”

“You mean the defector? The one that tried to kill you?” she spits. “How would I know? Did you try to kiss me?”

“Um . . . I thought you were—”

“Don’t even say it,” she growls through clenched teeth.

I hold my tongue and notice everyone is staring at me, even Viktor. “Viktor? Are you okay?”

He sits up, grimacing, “Ah . . .” He flips his hand like it was no big deal. “It was a minor wound. I’m fine.”

“Yeah?” Ryland teases. “Is that why you asked me to be sure to tell Christopher how much you loved him and . . . ?”

Viktor glowers at my sister, and she stops, stifling a laugh.

Christopher looks down at his recovering friend and says, “That’s okay. I love you too, comrade,” as he helps Viktor stand.

“Where exactly are we?” I ask.

“You flew us here,” Ryland says.

“You directed me,” I say, reminding her.

“We’re at the rebel camp outside of the city,” Kai says, flatly.

“Where are they?”

“In the caves.”

“They can’t live out there. Get them in the ships.”

“They’re Ordinaries, Tanner,” Ryland says, like I know what that means. “They know we’re here for them, but they don’t exactly trust us with their lives yet.”

“Don’t they know who we are?” I ask. “I’ll talk to them.” I stand and start to walk to the door.

“Wait!” my sister shouts. She looks at Kai and says, “Do you think maybe . . .” she nods her head toward Kae.

“Kae?” An easy smile curls on his lips and he says, “Kae, do you think you could talk to them?”

“Huh,” she stammers. “Oh.” An excitement washes over her. “Yes! Absolutely! I can talk to them. Um . . . what should I say?”

Ryland smiles at her and says, “It really doesn’t matter. Just do your ‘Kae’ thing. They’ll trust you.”

Kae smiles and bounds out the door. Her curls bounce like a blond slinky as she practically flies. I have to admit, she will do a much better job than I would convincing them to get on our ships, since my plan was to pretty much call them a bunch of idiots for not trusting us and order them to climb aboard.

Probably best for me not to go out there. I did just pass out, dream of my old girlfriend who stuck a knife in my side when we were reunited,
and
tried to kiss my sister. I’m not exactly making the best choices right now.

I look at the door that Kae just walked through, and I see a young girl peeking her head in. A man appears and tells her it’s okay to go in. A total of five people come in with Kae right behind them, a smile on her face so big it could easily cover two of her.

Um? That was fast!

Mona materializes and says, “Welcome to The Wizard.”

The group of newcomers jumps and then turns to leave, only to be calmed by Kae’s presence. “It’s okay,” she says. “This is Mona. She’s part of the ship. Come on. I’ll show you around.”

They relax as Kae bounces around like a perky cruise ship director, showing off all of Viktor’s creations.

Best ambassador ever!

I look at Ryland and ask, “Are the rest of them on the other ships?”

She deflates slightly and says, “You just met them all.”

“Seriously?”

She nods. “They know how to get in and out of the city, though. And they are in contact with Ordinary rebels within the city. They can get us in. They also told us they can get us in with the rebels on other colonies. News of us taking over Six has been spreading. The rebellion is in full force throughout the colonies. There’s one more thing.” She pauses like she has something she’s afraid to tell me.

“What?” I ask.

“Lena has been building forces here.”

“On Nine?”

I know why she didn’t want to tell me. Because if Lena’s here, so is Devon! I still can’t believe she’s working with Lena. There’s no way she was a spy. I can’t believe that. I know she felt the same way I did. Nobody could fake that. But the way she looked at me when she plunged the knife into me was so cold. Calculated. Cruel. She acted as if I were the one who betrayed
her
. I know I saw her soften, even if for only a moment. It was there. For a split second, her face was full of love. For a split second, she looked at me the way she used to.

“We’re going to find her,” I tell her, resolutely.

“Don’t get ahead of us, Tanner,” Kai says.

I scowl and say, “Right. As soon as we’re done here, with the factory, we are going to find her.” Kai and Ryland both nod.

“I don’t get it,” Alice says. “Why do we have to find her? Who’s Lena?”

Bryce nods and says, “It’s not Lena that Tanner’s after. It’s Devon.” I look at him.

–RYLAND–

“She’s a traitor,” I spit. “She’s working for Lena and the Shifters. She stabbed you.”