G.U.A.R.D. Book #2: Aberrations

-10-

     A voice came through my ears, fuzzy and vague. Tiredness and exhaustion rested at the fringes of my brain, but I forced myself to focus on the sound. It wasn't long before I deduced it to be a male voice saying, "Kid... wake up."

I groaned when two fingers prodded my shoulder.

"Come on."

When the events of the night came rushing back, my eyes snapped open. Light blared into them.

"Ah." I squeezed them shut. "Is it morning already?"

"Sullivan, stop shining the light in his eyes," the same voice ordered.

The brightness faded away, and I peeped open my eyelids again.

"Radio the commander that he's up."

"Yes, doctor."

I could hear footsteps and ruffling noises and slowly opened my eyes. The moment I didn't see Cindy in my arms anymore, I sat up. A pain erupted in my side, and I let out a small yell, grasping it.

"Okay, you need to get back down again." Two, gentle hands firmly took hold of my shoulders and eased me back down. My back touched a cushion. "Just lay there for a little while. You were injured in a lot of places."

"Where's Cindy?" I asked, squeezing my eyes shut from the pain. "Who are you?"

"The girl's safe and being taken care of. We're with G.U.A.R.D. Our commander will be here soon to-"

"Doctor Trainer," a female voice suddenly said. "I'll take it from here."

"Yes, commander."

I opened my eyes a little, seeing I was laying in a tent with two cushions and an electronic lantern in the center. A woman just walked in. The man who had been talking to me gave me a small nod, then left through the tent flap. The woman sat on the other cushion and looked at me. She had a blonde bob back in a ponytail with a small face and blue eyes that were serious, but not unkind. The G.U.A.R.D. symbol was on both shoulders of her black shirt. She also wore a bulletproof vest over, and a leg belt that carried a gun.

"Who are you?" I asked warily.

"I'll have a lengthy conversation with you later," she assured me, "but I'm on a tight timetable. I need you to tell me why Agent Lee Slade is down in the League's camp, and what his plan is."

I gazed at her suspiciously. "Why? What's going on?"

"My teams are in position to rescue yours, but I need to know who all is in there and what they're planning." Her tone was impatient, but not irritated. "I'll answer your questions later."

I didn't trust her—whoever she was—but if she was with G.U.A.R.D. and planning on helping, then I had to. So I told her. Not everything; just the basics: we were on a rescue mission for a kid who was captured by the League. I didn't tell her about my mom, nor did I say anything about Anthony's or Cindy's metahuman abilities.

"How does Slade expect your Anthony to make a distraction?" the woman asked incredulously.

I tried to think of a reasonable excuse through the weariness in my brain. "He's... special."

Well that oughta work.

She sighed. "Oh, for Pete's sake. Just give me their positions."

I told her everything else, and then she left. She told me that she would see me later, but she didn't say anything else. Doctor Trainer, a middle-aged guy who was tall and hefty, came back in with his first-aid kit and leaned down next to me again.