A/N… Apparently, this site is messing up with emails again. My suggestion is to get the app; it's pretty spot-on with alerts. You can set your own notifications, font, background. It's not bad.
We're still deep in the fighting, so I'll get out of your way.
~oOo~
Chapter 16
EDWARD
Bullets zinged by us as we ran away from Aro's building toward the old boarded-up coffee shop where we'd left Alistair and his team. Raiders were everywhere, firing at anything that moved. They didn't seem to care whether it was residents or resistance or even other raiders. They were just shooting.
With a quick glance back, I could see the barracks in flames, and occasionally, something would cause another explosion. My guess was ammo or aerosol canisters or fuel tanks, but it didn't matter. Even their precious Hummers were on fire.
Residents of the Sound were panicking, spilling out of the apartment buildings and the hospital. They were running away from the fighting and fire. I wasn't sure where they'd go, but they weren't my priority. The raiders were.
The five of us burst into the coffee shop, coming to a standstill when several guns aimed our way.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jasper called out from a spot on the floor.
The guns didn't lower on Garrett until Charlie vouched for him. "He's with me! He's good!"
Sam went back to the boarded-up windows, but Jake and Seth started asking questions immediately.
"What the fuck happened up there?" Seth asked.
"Is Aro dead?" Jake asked at the same time, shoving his cousin to the side.
"Yeah, he's dead," Emmett answered, but I saw who Jasper was tending to, and I rushed to the corner of the coffee shop.
"Christ, what happened?" My knees hit the floor next to Alistair, who was bleeding from several gunshot wounds.
"He was seen and then got in a fucking fight with a raider, who made enough noise to call his buddies. And when they shot him, he set off the bombs early by accident," Jasper explained, applying pressure to Alistair's wounds, but I could see the labored breathing, the sallow skin, and the dulling look in the older man's eyes. He was shivering, but he was sweating profusely.
We were going to lose Alistair.
"Dammit, Al," I said through a sigh.
A shaky, blood-soaked hand reached for my shirt, taking it in a surprisingly strong grip. "Aro… Did you—" He gritted his teeth in pain, not finishing the question. "The computers too…"
When he trailed off, I nodded. "We did everything, Al. Just stay still; we'll get you back to my dad. Okay?"
He shook his head, pulling me closer. "Promise me, Ed…" He wheezed, swallowing roughly. "D-Don't relax. Don't get lazy. There will always be someone who is willing to take what you've built. Un-Understand?" When I frowned and nodded, he sputtered on. "Charlie and I may have started this shit, but you… Edward, you lead them. You have since you were a kid. Never stop resisting. No matter what. I don't give a shit if the US government rebuilds; we're no longer pawns in their agenda."
When I didn't say anything, he snapped, "Promise me, Ed!"
"I promise, Al."
His nostrils flared as he fought another wave of pain. The gunshots and rapid communications continued around us, but soon, we'd have to leave this old, dusty coffee shop. There wasn't enough ammo or coverage where we were. And we'd need to hunt down the rest of the raiders.
The grip on my clothes released, and I squeezed my eyes closed at Alistair's empty gaze. Aside from Charlie, he'd been the one man who'd stepped up to guide me, teach me, and protect me when I arrived in Oz a scared, angry boy. I'd only known that Bella's captivity was wrong. Anything above that had been molded by the man lying in front of me. The loss of Alistair would run deep and severe throughout the residents of Oz. However, for me, it was like losing a family member.
I reached over to shut his open eyes, not knowing how I was going to break that news to everyone back home. My Bella would be heartbroken. It was that last thought that brought me back to the task at hand. We needed to finish the raiders and get the fuck out of the goddamn Sound.
Something else exploded a few blocks away, causing everyone to pause, including our enemy.
"Fuck. The entire Sound is gonna burn," Jasper advised, dropping back to a knee on the other side of Alistair. "We gotta move. Or at least find another location to dig in." He sighed sadly at Alistair's lifeless body, reaching down to cover him with a tarp that had been draped over a table. "Dammit, I was really hoping…" He trailed off, meeting my gaze. "Edward, we'll come back for him, but we gotta move."
"Copy that," I said, looking around the room to check on Jasper's team.
He'd had Sam, Jake, and Seth. On the other side of the barracks would be the water, which would have Mr. Weber, Angela, Ben, and Maria. They had long-distance weapons – snipers, RPGs, and rifles. They'd stop any raiders from escaping the Sound.
Everyone inside that coffee shop was waiting for me. Despite Charlie's elder status and Garrett's knowledge, it seemed the responsibility of all this shit had fallen to my shoulders. The cousins were tallying points for who eliminated the most raiders. Sam's gun never let up. Jasper, Emmett, and Alice were gathering up what Al's team had brought with them – ammo, supplies, and a few grenades.
I stood up slowly, reaching for Alistair's rifle. "All right, we're gonna move. Everyone knows where the boat is, so we're going to kill everything from here to the underground. We'll come up a few blocks away on the north side of the Sound."
"We were supposed to evacuate through Oz," Jasper countered.
"Well, shit has changed. I want all of you with me," I snapped, turning to Alice. "I need you between Jasper and me at all times. At least until we get below ground. Okay?"
"Yes. I can fight, Edward," she stated, holding up my .45 she'd used on Aro.
"Fine. Keep it. Use it." I faced them all. "On me. Let's move out."
My goal was the garage next to my parents' old building. It would be far enough away from fires and fighting that we could get everyone underground. Jasper's team was supposed to have led any remaining raiders back to the main gate of Oz to end them with the landmines, but plans had changed. We'd lost Alistair, and in the process of losing him, we'd moved all the timelines forward.
At this point, no one was going to leave my fucking sight.
Everyone paused at the door leading back out onto the street. Emmett and Jasper took point, the latter glancing back to me. Adjusting Alistair's weapon, I nodded once for him to go.
We slammed out of the coffee shop, aiming straight out the back and down to the next intersection and around the corner of the building. Chips of concrete hit my face and clothes as bullets were let loose at the building. Aiming down the street as everyone turned the corner, I fired off several rounds, sending a few raiders diving for cover.
"Garage. Go!" I snapped, pointing to the building the next block over.
"Son, you sure you wanna go underground?" Charlie asked. "This shit could collapse. The fire could've spread down there."
"You know a better way?" I asked him, pressing my back to the building when shots were fired my way again.
"Yes. Through this apartment and out the back. There's a safe house far enough away from the fires," he stated firmly. "Edward, it'll be safer to let shit die down before trying to get to the water right now."
I knew which safe house he was considering; it was the same one that Bella and I had used many times, but mainly the time I'd stolen the vaccines.
Sam and the boys rushed up to us. "You guys head to that safe house. We'll lead the raiders on a wild-goose chase away from it. We'll meet you there. Give us an hour, Edward," he suggested in a rush.
I didn't want to split us up again, but there wasn't much choice. Bullets ricocheted off the wall next to me again, and I spun around the corner to fire off more shots.
"Fine. Go. Lead them toward Oz's gate then meet us at the safe house when you're done," I commanded, grabbing Jake's arm before they took off. "You two… I don't give a fuck about points or who the fuck is winning your twisted game. Watch your asses."
He grinned, and Seth let out a light laugh. "We got you, Ed."
They made a big, noisy deal about crossing the street, causing the raiders to give chase.
Turning to Charlie, I said, "On you, Charlie."
He nodded, taking off at a run toward the entrance of my parents' old building. The lobby had a few residents milling around in the lobby, but we caused a stir when we all burst through toward the back. That particular building stood a chance of surviving the fires. I wasn't sure about the hospital, and Aro's building was probably doomed.
Again, a touch of guilt ran through me as the lot of us spilled out the back of the apartment building and onto the street. Some of these people in the Sound would have no home come morning. They would have no policing units or maniacal leader or any way of getting supply shipments. It was over for them. And there was another part of me that had no sympathy for some of them because they'd allowed things to continue along a terrible path all so they could stay comfortable.
Charlie led us through abandoned buildings, across intersections, and wound us around, using almost the same path that Bella used to use. By the time we came upon the older house that had been split into four apartments, the streets around us were quiet. Sam's plan was working.
Emmett went first, and everyone slipped silently inside the house one by one as I kept watch, and when the streets around us stayed dark and silent, I met everyone at the top of the stairs just as Charlie pulled the key from its hiding spot. He opened the door, immediately checking the window.
Jasper did the same to the window in the bedroom, saying, "It's almost dawn. We can stay low until the sun sets again…" He trailed off at my groan, huffing a laugh at me. "Relax, Ed. The longer we chill, the safer it'll be to get everyone out."
I nodded, holding my hands up in surrender. "I know. I get it. But the longer we hide, the more stress we're causing everyone back on the island."
That shut them all up for a bit. Garrett and Charlie each took a window to watch the street. Emmett sorted through the stashed supplies in the apartment to see what we had and if it would last us a full damn day. Jasper settled Alice on the sofa, telling her to get some rest, that we'd keep watch.
"Here," Emmett whispered, holding out a first aid kit.
I took it, giving him a curious look.
He gestured to his face. "You're a bit of a mess. You might wanna clean it up a bit."
Nodding, I stepped into the bathroom, closing the door and lighting a candle. I assessed myself in the mirror, snorting that he wasn't exactly wrong. With the fight with Aro and the concrete chips that had ricocheted off the building, my face was cut up. My lip was split from Aro's punch, though it had stopped bleeding. There were two cuts above my eye and one light one across my cheek.
"Shit," I whispered to myself.
Bella was going to be pissed. That thought made me snort a little, but I turned on the water, letting it run awhile. After washing my face, I applied a bandage to the cuts above my eye. Everything else had stopped bleeding.
Two explosions shattered the silence, and I blew out the candle and rushed out of the bathroom. Jasper and Charlie were looking out the living room window that faced south. Before I even glanced out the window, I saw the glow light up the Sound.
"The fuck?" I asked softly.
"Oz's front gate. Sam and the cousins led those assholes right into the trap we set," Jasper explained with amusement.
We groaned when another landmine exploded, and I shook my head. Charlie handed me binoculars, and I scanned the old wall and gate. We'd rigged every entrance to Oz because they were supposed to burn us alive today. Time had run out, but we'd beaten them to the punch.
"At this point, they're just running on fumes," Garrett said softly from the bedroom doorway. "No one's really leading them now. They're just doing what they think they need to do, what they've been trained to do."
"Did the message get out before Alistair set off the bombs?" I asked Jasper.
He nodded. "Oh, yeah. And that shit just sent them into a frenzy, which is how Al was seen," he explained, grimacing a little. "They couldn't call anyone or access any of their drones. Every computer and TV were filled with Aro's creepy-ass face. Al was checking our six out the back of the coffee shop, and some little raider came running by. It was all over. They each reacted, shots were fired, and there you go. Al pulled the trigger on the bombs."
Jasper folded his arms across his chest. "His biggest worry was that setting them too soon would cause you problems upstairs."
Emmett snorted, sitting down next to Alice on the sofa. "Alice had our backs."
Grinning at Jasper's proud yet curious expression, we told him how it went, starting with Demetri and ending with setting Aro's apartment on fire, including how Alice had been the one to get the thumb drive set.
"No shit?" he asked her, and she laughed. "Way to go, darlin'!"
Emmett and I grinned at each other, but I let that shit slide. I wanted to tease Jasper, but I couldn't. Who the hell was I to rag on him? I'd been attached to Bella since we were kids, but we'd been together since we were seventeen. I'd taken some teasing, but I didn't give two shits about what they'd thought, so I wouldn't do it to them. I liked Alice, who'd been through a tidal wave of bullshit, and Jasper was calm and patient. Fuck, they were probably perfect together.
And all those thoughts made me want to set eyes on my Bella. As I paced in the living room, I worried that my girls were stressed, that Bella wasn't getting enough food and sleep. I doubted it, but maybe my mother was watching over Bella and Rose. Dad swore he would monitor Bella and the baby…just in case.
I fell down in a chair next to the sofa. Everyone got quiet for a bit. The sun started to come up, and I glanced over to see Emmett with his eyes closed, and Alice was out like a light.
I was considering closing my own eyes because I was fucking exhausted. The adrenaline from fighting and running had officially faded away. I'd been away from home and Bella's arms pushing three damn days now. Charlie was awake, still watching out the front of the apartment. Jasper was on the floor at Alice's feet, and his eyes were closed, until a creak in the house made his eyes snap open.
Sam? he mouthed to me.
I held up a finger and slowly stood. Grabbing my rifle where I'd set it on the coffee table, I aimed it toward the slowly opening door.
"Don't shoot," we heard Seth whisper, peeking into the apartment.
"What the hell took you so lon—" I started to ask, but it cut off when he pushed the door all the way open.
Sam had Jake's arm around his shoulder, practically carrying the boy.
"Holy shit!" I said, putting the gun back down and taking Jake's other arm. "Bedroom."
There were makeshift bandages around Jake's thigh – T-shirts, a belt, and what looked like twine. However, it wasn't stemming the blood.
Shrugging out of my jacket, I turned to Jasper. "I need the kit. I left it in the bathroom." I turned to Sam. "Is there still a bullet? Or did it go through?"
"No bullet. I checked, but we couldn't stop long enough to wrap him up properly," he replied softly.
A pile of towels and washcloths landed on the bed, and I glanced up to see Alice with the kit.
"Want some help? I kinda know a thing or two about cleaning wounds," she offered in a whisper.
I tried not to think about what that meant with her experiences with Aro, so I simply nodded.
Together, we carefully removed the belt, the twine, and the two shirts that Sam had used to stem the blood flow. Alice pulled out her knife, cutting Jake's pants so we could truly see what we were doing. She wiped away some of the blood, and we both sighed that the bullet hadn't nicked anything major. The femoral artery seemed okay. He was bleeding; he just wasn't bleeding out. Jake's wound was closer to the bone at an angle and out the side of his leg.
"You lucky little shit," Jasper told him, shaking his head.
Jake couldn't say much; he was in a shit-ton of pain.
As Alice cleaned the wounds, I glanced to Charlie. "We can't wait until dark. He needs my dad."
Charlie seemed to mull it over as he walked to the window. He turned to Sam, asking, "You weren't followed?"
Sam shook his head, wiping the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. "No, I think we finished it when we led them to Oz's gates."
Charlie stayed quiet, finally nodding my way. "It'll be slow going with the kid injured. We'd all have to stay alert."
"We got this, Charlie," Emmett vowed and then pointed to me. "Get the kid wrapped up as best you can. We'll get our shit together. There's not much ammo left, so we'll split it up among us."
Garrett stepped into the room. "Where are we going? Where's that boat?"
Charlie pointed out the window toward the industrial area that could barely be seen from where we were. "There's an old factory not far from where they blew the train. It sits right on the water. Alistair stashed a boat at the dock. It's one that the scouts use to scavenge for supplies."
Looking to Alice, I said, "Let's use the towels you found to cover each wound. Inside that first aid kit is an elastic bandage. We'll bind this leg tight enough to keep him from bleeding too much more." I glanced up to Seth. "We need something to help get him to the boat… Um, a wheelbarrow, a kid's wagon…hell, a dolly. Anything with wheels. Go, but don't go far. Just see if you can find something in the area." As he darted for the door, I added, "Check sheds or garages!"
"Okay." He left the apartment, and I could hear him rumble down the stairs.
Jake flinched, and I patted the side of his face so he'd open his eyes and look at me. "Hang in there, kid. You're okay. We just need to get you stitched up. We can't do that here. So we gotta move. I know it fucking hurts, but once we're outside, you keep quiet. Okay?"
"'Kay, Ed." He hissed in pain but otherwise stayed still as Alice and I wrapped that leg of his.
I heard Seth's footsteps on the stairs, and when he burst back into the apartment, he said, "We're good. I found a cart from the library right down the street."
"Perfect. Let's move out."
Sam and Emmett took Jake's arms around their necks, practically carrying him down the apartment steps. We didn't step fully out into the open until Jasper and Garrett gave the all-clear.
The sun was up, and the air was smoky. The fires were still going, from what I could see once we started up the street. Jake was alert, sitting up on that cart as his cousin pushed him down the sidewalk.
Residential gave way to industrial, and we took a breather just inside the old diner that Emmett and I had been trapped in the day we blew the train tracks. The day I'd been shot.
Charlie monitored the streets, but he glanced my way. "It's quiet. I only hear alarms in the distance. I can't imagine there are many raiders left, and if there are, then they probably don't give two shits at this point."
I snorted at the way he'd put that, but I nodded and faced the rest of them. "We're gonna move. We're going straight up this street to the rusty warehouse sitting on the water. We're going through it to the other side, where its docks are located. I'll take point."
I led them across the street and slowly pushed the door open to the warehouse with the muzzle of my rifle. I wasn't taking any fucking chances this close to the finish. Once we were in that damn boat, we'd be able to relax, but until then, I was going to shoot any raider who crossed my path.
Jasper and I stepped through the door and called clear. The old warehouse was empty, echoing with the wheels of Jake's cart and our footsteps. We did the same thing out the back, though the door to the docks was a giant sliding one. He and I slipped through to the dock, facing the water.
When there was movement on the water, everyone took aim with their weapon.
"Edward! It's us!" Angela called.
I sighed, practically sagging against the warehouse's metal wall. "Christ, Ang. You just about got shot. Why aren't you on the island?"
Tears welled up in her eyes, and it was then that I took a real look at her situation. They'd been patrolling the water in a second boat, making sure we had a clear path once we got to our boat.
There was a covered body at the bottom of her boat, and when I counted heads, I realized she'd lost her father.
"Ah, fuck," I breathed, glancing back at my group. "We lost Weber."
Charlie frowned, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Angela," he said softly.
"Ed," Jake grumbled, and he was shaky and pale. He was weak, but he would be okay; we just needed to get him home.
Home.
Home would be new. I hadn't even seen where Bella and I would be living yet. There had been too much to do, plans had to be made and then executed. My parents had promised to get us moved. They'd even said they'd get Emily's room ready – again.
"Everyone load up," I said, reaching for the line of the boat Alistair had stashed.
Charlie helped Angela get her motor started, and Sam and Seth helped Jake get in ours. I took one last look back at the Sound. Billows of black smoke still filled the sky. I couldn't quite make out if all the buildings were burning, but I could see that Aro's building was ruined. The fire from the barracks at the bottom combined with the fire we'd started in his apartment on the top floor pretty much insured that the building would collapse.
I gave another glance toward the old Oz. There didn't seem to be much smoke coming from that direction. Something about being done with it all made me shaky, or maybe I was simply beyond exhausted. All I wanted was to get the people with me to the place we were about to start a new path. There were things we needed to plan, new rules to write, and a new way of life was about to start, along with my family that was about to get bigger soon.
Above all of that, I needed to set eyes on my family. We needed my dad for Jake, but what I wanted more than anything was to set eyes on my girl. I wasn't sure if she could see the fires, but this length of time apart from each other would make her nervous.
Hopping down into the boat, I nodded to Emmett to start the motor. "Take it easy, watch the shores, and let's get our asses home."
What I didn't add was that we'd lost too many – both Mr. Weber and Alistair. Two elders were gone, and I glanced over to Garrett and then to Charlie in the boat in front of us. But we gained two more. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.
We followed Angela's boat, with Charlie at the wheel, as the Sound faded into the background. Finally bringing Charlie home to Bella was the best accomplishment of the night. Even though Aro was dead and the Sound no longer controlled us, I was happy that I could reunite those two permanently. He'd been undercover forever.
As Tacoma loomed closer and the Sound faded behind us, I let out a deep, ragged breath and braced myself for a new home.
~oOo~
A/N… This story isn't quite over. I mean, we still have Baby Emily to meet and a new home to set up. There are a few more things to accomplish. However, I'm not sure when this will finish. It won't be as long as some of my other fics, so a few more chapters to go.
That being said, I'm hoping I can get the next chapter up by Sunday. If not, we'll just skip a week. So far, the words are coming; it's just finding time to get them down.
Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)
