Nothing to Nobody by Rachel Aukes

Author:Rachel Aukes [Aukes, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

Joe tried to call the others, but his armlet had no signal. Blocked.

He looked up and saw the drones break into groups as they descended, now no more than two thousand feet up. Joe sucked in a breath and spun back to the captives, who now stood at the fence nearest him. He ran toward them, drawing his blaster as he closed in. Several of the captives took fearful steps away.

Joe waved them away from the gate. “Stand back!” He started firing at the lock when he was still several feet away, and he kicked the gate inward as he came to an abrupt stop.

“Come with me!” Joe motioned for them to follow, and he didn’t wait. He ran through the camp, taking the most direct route back to Rex. He threw furtive glances at the drones and at the captives running behind him. The freed prisoners were weak, and the gap between them and Joe was growing. He grumbled and ran back to them, though he suspected his presence put them in even greater danger.

“Keep going that way. We have cutters ready to roll out,” he shouted as he picked out the slowest member of the group—a young woman who was favoring her left ankle. He grabbed her and put her over his shoulder before beginning to run again. They’d barely reach Rex before the drones were within firing range.

The engine noise grew louder, and he saw trucks and bikes entering the camp. He waved his arms at Rex as he ran. “Blow the grenades!”

“I can’t! Signal’s blocked,” Rex called back as he jogged down to help.

Oh, yeah.

“What’s up with you always taking in strays?” Rex asked as he grabbed two captives who were falling behind and put one over each shoulder. Rex was built like a tank, but he was no doubt using his exoshield’s power pack to be able to run while carrying two full-grown adults.

Joe kept running, panting, “Couldn’t leave them behind.”

Laser fire hit the ground several feet to his right. Joe instinctively ducked, and hazarded a glance to see that the drones were in firing distance. He began to zig and zag to make himself a harder target. The woman he carried grunted but held on tight.

More blaster fire pelted the ground around him. He heard someone cry out, but he kept running, knowing that if he stopped or even slowed, he’d be shot. Vehicles were weaving through the camp and closing the distance. A gang member fired from his bike, and a blaster shot zinged by.

To his relief, he saw two familiar cutters tearing toward them, but that relief disappeared when he saw several gang trucks not far behind. The cutters slid to stop in front of them, kicking dirt at Joe and the others. Rex dumped his captives, ran for Beatrice—which Val was driving—and threw open the door to the back seat. Joe hustled to Kit’s Shark, opened its door, and helped the woman inside. Then he turned back to the refugees.

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