Through The Veil (30 page)

Griff’s
face reddened again in
embarrassment. “Well, it’s better for all of us if her gift is working at
maximum capacity.”

Marcus chuckled. “Sure, we’ll let you stick to that story.
But seriously, thank you.” They embraced with a guy-hug.

The next day, the three Warriors and Lori were up long
before dawn, ready to head out and cross the Veil. A mix of anticipation and
adrenaline sizzled through Lori’s veins. None of them had slept for shit the
night before, nerves too taut, worried for those they were headed to rescue and
for each other. No one wanted to end up trapped in one of those cages in the
ES.

The four of them had practiced their skills using Lori’s
gift as a team and had developed it to the point where they were fairly
confident in their abilities. The thing that Malcolm had drilled into them was
their need to conserve energy. They had to be able to get all of them and the
four Others back through the Veil when the time came to escape. It would take a
great deal of energy to get that many people through, especially after they
battled to get the Others free. Everyone remained concerned that they would be
completely cut off from the WS. There wouldn’t be a soul to help them if they
ran into trouble. No one from the WS would be able to cross to save them if
things went badly.

They planned to take a different route to the labs than Lori
took the first time across. For their escape and the transport of the injured
Others, they needed a bridge that would hold a car they planned to steal. They
also didn’t want to cross anywhere near
Springlake
,
just in case. It was a risk, but the whole trip was a risk. They just wanted to
minimize those risks to the people they left in the WS.

While they didn’t regularly use them, the WS had kept a few
cars running for emergency use, so the Warriors were familiar with the concept
of driving. Because their road system had become so decimated by time and
elements, it really didn’t provide a viable means of travel anymore. Wings also
were just not meant for riding inside cars. But with the physical liabilities
of the Others, they thought getting out via vehicle would be easier so they’d
decided to steal a car in the ES. Their plan remained fluid depending on the
circumstances they couldn’t predict. But Marcus trained specifically so he
could now hotwire a car in less than a minute.

Malcolm, Aaron, and Bethany accompanied them as far as the
bridge. Even with her weaker telepathic skills, Lori could feel the worry and
doubts each of them had the closer they got to their destination for crossing.
The biggest risk to this mission and these incredible Warriors remained the
unknown of what they were walking into.

The two brothers constantly touched base with each other
mentally. Lori remained concerned about what this trip would mean for the two
sets of siblings: Marcus and Malcolm, and Brooklyn and Bethany. The siblings
hadn’t truly been separated in the entire eighteen years since the Veil fell,
and they’d developed their mental pathways between them. It would be difficult
to adjust to not having that special bond once they crossed into the ES. At
least, they all assumed the connection would be severed. Maybe they’d be in for
a pleasant surprise about this one. They needed a pleasant surprise, actually
several of them would be nice from this point on out.

It was still full-on dark when they got to the bridge, but
they were only thirty minutes away from twilight, so they had to get a move on.
They had no idea if any of the bridges were monitored, so they wanted to get
across by cover of dark if at all possible. They said their goodbyes hurriedly
and then set out on foot across the bridge.

Before they arrived at the edge of the Veil, Lori could feel
the energy pulsing off it like a small electrical buzz located just under the
surface of her skin. Before when she’d done this, she hadn’t been able to
analyze any of it. She’d only had time to act and pray.

The team followed her lead on this aspect of the mission, so
they halted when they reached the Veil and allowed her to analyze it. One end
of it felt weaker than the rest, but that section gave her a bad feeling. Since
the bridge was wide, she moved as far away from that section as possible and
nodded to the others to let them know they’d cross here.

Lori led with her knife and the rest followed in a line
behind, all holding hands to strengthen their bond as she began to maneuver the
energy pathways. Using her ability proved so much easier now, both with the
strength of the other three shoring her up and the added focus provided by the
knife. Manipulating the barrier felt like slicing through butter. They slid
through easily, and as
Griff
cleared it, Lori
released the energy pattern.

The lack of fog on the other side provided a shock after all
this time living within it. It also left them extremely exposed. Lori
immediately glanced to where the Veil felt weak from the other side and
stiffened. A guard shack sat there. Lucky for them, the guard slumped over,
asleep in his chair, none the wiser that they’d just passed through.

“Head quietly to the tree-line. Guard asleep in the
guard shack at three o’clock,”
she warned the others.

The man never stirred, as they escaped farther down the
bridge and immediately dispersed into the trees. They all carried full packs
filled with supplies. Aaron had the foresight to add moving quickly and quietly
with the packs over rough terrain to their exercises, so they had no problem
with being heard.

Griff
was in charge of their
navigation. He’d discovered the exact location of the labs from their dream
walk and had studied the maps to get them there as quickly as possible using a
map and compass. They ran in a single file line behind him now. The terrain
appeared rough and dark, and Lori was thankful they’d been practicing maneuvers
in the dark so her eyes were somewhat adjusted. She still stumbled way too
often, but Marcus, who ran behind her, always caught her with a strong grip
when she began to fall.

They hardly made a sound as they ran. Only their harsh
breaths echoed over the quiet. Not even the birds sang although they should be
awake. The animals were aware something different intruded in the middle of
their forest.

They had run for half an hour through the depths of the
trees when
Griff
held a hand up to stop them.

Lori heaved a breath, thankful for a break from their
blistering pace. Up until a few weeks ago, her entire world had consisted of a
cage and walking between lab rooms. She wasn’t exactly up for this kind of
cardio workout. She gulped down some water as Brooklyn examined her with
concern. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Lori nodded but still didn’t have the breath to talk. They
knew all along that she’d be the weak link at this stage.

“I can give you a shot,” Brooklyn continued. “Don’t let
pride keep you from using it.”

“No, truly, I’m okay.” Lori stood a little straighter trying
to convince them that she’d be fine. They had adrenaline shots which were going
to be vital later for the Others. Not knowing how much they would need, there
was no way Lori would use them at this point unless absolutely necessary.

While
Griff
consulted the map and
compass, Lori glanced at the pink glow beginning to illuminate the sky from the
east. Daylight was coming. “Don’t forget your hats,” she instructed. “It
actually may be a good idea to get them out now while we’re stopped.”

This trip had required Lori to design some new garments for
the Warriors. Luckily, the village had a bolt of camouflage fabric in their
storage left over from before. Bethany had given her carte blanche of the
resources the village had on hand, which included sewing machines. She had
recruited a couple of seamstresses and created military-like uniforms for them
to wear. Since soldiers were always around the labs from various military
groups, they should blend in.

None of the three Warriors had seen true sunshine for the
last eighteen years so she remained concerned about the effects the sun might
have on them. As a result they each had new billed hats to protect from the glare.

She also had to create a way to hide their wings. Through an
extensive network of interlocking fabric bands, they’d been able to tie them
back. All the bands were created with a breakaway system so the Warriors could
easily free their wings if they needed to during battle.

Griff
began to fold up his map,
looking confident in their direction. He donned his hat and then struck a pose.
“How do I look, Short Stuff?”

The last day or so,
Griff
had
started calling her Short Stuff. The nickname should tick her off, but it
didn’t. Warmth spread over her every time he said it, so she just grinned at
him. “You know you’re gorgeous,
Griff
, but my man
looks even better in it. Sorry.”

Marcus just nodded at
Griff
with a
superior tilt to his chin before he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
“Thanks, baby. You look pretty good as a soldier, too. Hot. Definitely hot.” He
leered at her which sent her nerves into overdrive.

“Oh, man,” Brooklyn groaned. “Tell us which way to go,
Griff
, quick before we get to see them commune with nature
in a way that will mentally scar the two of us for life.”

“Come on, give a guy a break,” Marcus admonished as he
continued to leer at Lori. “I’ve been watching her ass swing for half an hour
now and haven’t touched. I think that shows great restraint on my part.”

Lori smirked at him. “I did wonder how you always knew right
when I was about to fall.”

“You and me, baby.” He waved a hand between the two of them.
“We’re in sync. Simpatico.”

“Okay, okay.”
Griff
shook his head
at their byplay. “We need to get going.” He glanced back down at his compass
and squinted toward the fingers of dawn just stretching across the sky and
pointed in that direction. “We’re
gonna
be going into
the sun all day. By my calculations, we have to get over those two peaks there
and then the lab should be just another half a mile into the valley after
that.”

Lori could see the first peak that he talked about, but
darkness still enveloped the second.

Regardless, it was going to be a long day.

“I know it’s been a long time since I visited here,”
Griff
said. “But do the mountains seem bigger now?”

Lori nodded. “Yeah, after the Veil fell, the mountains began
rising. They seemed to stop a year later, but something shifted when it all
happened and this whole mountain chain became larger, both wider and taller.”

Griff
looked at Marcus in
consternation. “That probably happened at the same time the west dropped off
and became ocean.”

Marcus nodded grimly. “I’d guess you’re right.” He squinted
at the rough terrain in front of them. “It’s going to be a long day and we
don’t have time for a new world geography lesson, at least not today. Let’s go
rescue the Others.”

* * *

As they cleared the final ridge above the lab,
Griff
held his hand up to halt their progression. Marcus
frowned, tilting his head at the heavy rat-a-tat-tatting echoing over the
forest. For about the last twenty minutes, the acrid smell of smoke had also
begun to permeate the air. Now the smoke had thickened.

“Can you see what it is?”
he asked
Griff
, who walked at the front of their group. Marcus
brought up the tail as they navigated the narrow space between the boulders at
the top of the mountain.

“I’m not sure,”
Griff
answered,
“but I think it’s gunfire. I think the lab is under attack. Lori,
are you getting anything mentally from your friends?”