The Decaying Empire by Thalassa Laura

Author:Thalassa, Laura [Thalassa, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Skyscape
Published: 2015-04-21T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

We woke up before dawn. Neither of us spoke as we changed for fear that our new home was bugged. We stepped outside, our breaths frosting out in front of us. Last night before we fell asleep, we’d decided on scouting our new facility this morning.

The cabins were behind the facility, higher up on what appeared to be a mountainside. Behind them was wilderness. Lots and lots of wilderness. And that was where we’d explore today. We moved through the trees, every so often passing a cabin. Most were still dark.

Eventually we left behind the dirt paths. This could be a bad idea, depending how big the facility was. After jogging for about a mile, I grabbed Caden’s arm and pointed. When he met my eyes, he nodded, putting a finger to his lips.

We crept closer, carefully placing our feet to minimize the noise we made. Above us rose a fence almost identical to the one at the Big Sur facility. Chain-link and topped with barbed wire. And it hummed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. An electric fence?” Caden whispered.

“But no guard towers,” I noted, looking down the length of it.

As with the fence at our former facility, a dirt road circled the outside perimeter. However, unlike at our last facility, this one also had a dirt road that ran just inside the fence.

We saw the distant flash of headlights before the rumble of an engine broke the silence. Caden grabbed me and swung us behind a tree, hiding us from view.

I was pressed against his chest, and our breaths mingled. My eyes drifted up to his, and he tenderly tucked a flyaway wisp of hair behind my ear. We both waited as the patrol approached.

I peeked around the tree. “Four armed guards, just like our last facility,” I said as they drove by.

When my attention returned to Caden, he was still staring at me. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

But it wasn’t nothing. Affection and desire mingled in his eyes.

Caden checked the wristwatch he wore. “Now we wait for the next patrol.”

Fifteen minutes later we saw distant headlights illuminating the fence. By that time Caden had begun to shiver.

“Cold?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Caden said. “I’m too hot for that shit.”

I rolled my eyes. “Real humble.”

“Humble is for pussies,” he said smugly.

“If pussies are humble”—I crouched down as the vehicle drew closer—“then I guess dicks have vastly overinflated egos.”

Caden squatted next to me. “I see what you did there.”

The sound of the engine seemed too close. A minute later I realized why. Caden cursed and pushed us more fully behind the tree trunk. The second vehicle passed inside the gate, so close I breathed in the dirt and exhaust it kicked up.

Peering out from behind the tree, I began to count the number of guards, four—and to focus on their visible weapons, assault rifles. As soon as my eyes landed on the driver, I hissed in a breath.

I’d vaguely recognized at least one face from the campfire the night before, which could only mean one thing.

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