Shield by Evie Mitchell

Author:Evie Mitchell [Mitchell, Evie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thunder Thighs Publishing

10

Audrey

A hand clamped over my mouth, jolting me from sleep.

I blinked awake, tensing to protest, only to have the hand drop away.

"Hush," Shield whispered, his lips near my ear. "We have company. Listen."

A chill raced down my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end as I listened, taking in the unnatural silence of the night. In the distance I heard it, the rumble of something big and mechanical.

"Dress," Shield whispered. "If we can hear them, it means they aren't afraid of detection. And that means they have the gun power to back it up."

In silence, we dressed, my heart pounding as I began to consider scenarios, calculating our odds against as yet unknown threat.

There are only a few machines that make that kind of noise independently. This means we're either facing a tank or large engineering vehicles, or we're in for a fleet of mobile, weaponised militia.

"How close?" I asked, zipping up my jeans as Shield moved to the lookout, his gaze trained on the horizon.

"No lights," he murmured. "But the noise is growing. Best case, maybe an hour."

I nodded once as the door to the small tower pushed open. A man stood in the shadows, a sniper rifle in his hands. Average height, but strong and lean, his expression was grim as he entered the tower.

"Ryan," Shield greeted, pushing away from the lookout. "What's the plan?"

"We hold." He moved to Shield's side, beginning to set up the weapon. "But Audrey's needed downstairs."

I blinked. "What?"

"My wife is in labour, and Mari is precious cargo." Ryan glanced over. "Farmer says he needs you with them in case."

"Fuck."

I swallowed my own curse, echoing Shield's. A birth would complicate an already precarious situation.

"Audrey—" Shield stopped, scrubbing a hand over his face. "How much fuel do those tankers have?"

"Enough to get us to Cunnamulla and a little further. Why?"

"We might need to make a quick getaway."

A loud explosion in the distance cut off Shield's response, the wooden floor under our feet vibrating.

"They've made it to the landmines," Ryan commented mildly, his eye pressed to the scope of his rifle. "If they get past the pits, then we'll start to worry."

I glanced behind me, noting that all sources of light in the fort had been extinguished. Men and women hurried through the dark, weapons in hand, guided by the light of the moon.

In the distance, the mechanical roar stopped, the night falling silent.

"Shit," Shield murmured, placing a hand on my back. "Something's wrong."

Ryan flicked us an impatient look. "Get her down to the infirmary with the rest of the civvies and get your ass back here. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Shield turned us, guiding me outside and pressing a hand between my shoulder blades. I crouched, keeping my body below the height of the wall to my right.

As we reached the staircase, a loud humming noise reached us. We both paused, exchanging a look in the dark.

"Is that a—?"

My question was cut off by a yell from the tower behind us.

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