Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 27 - To Kill a God - IV

  Rachel had already done it. Beverly was calling Jackson in as they spoke. All she had left to do was wait. He'd show up, they'd trap him and she'd pull the trigger. It was as simple and straightforward as she could make it. She'd picked a spot where they could see into the clearing easily, but out of the path she expected him to take. All that remained was the watching and the waiting.

  The waiting was the real struggle. She was at the edge of the tree line, watching through a curtain of pine needles as the telltale grey robes flitted about. The rain was pouring down in buckets now, sending them scurrying into the cabins. Rachel noted that Ruby had recovered well over the last day, on her feet and shouting instructions like normal. She supposed that Ruby was the de-facto leader while Cinza was indisposed.

  As Rachel watched them taking shelter, she realized why the picture looked so wrong. There were so few of them left. Of the eleven members, only five were visible. Ruby was on the porch outside their cabin, calling out to Yusuf to help Aaron with the farming tools. Yusuf was still sporting the bandages from the first fight with the golems, but he was as willing and determined as ever. Aaron kept dropping the rain-slicked tools back into the mud, but Yusuf simply leaned down and gathered them up in his robes like a basket. Aaron nodded and started tossing the rest in.

  Rufus emerged from the other cabin with Makoto, as they ran out to grab another one of the blankets laying out in the rain. They flipped it to drain it of the water pooling up in the center, before bringing it back inside. Makoto flicked his head as they walked by the furnace on the side, and the pile of wood laying in the space beneath lit up instantly. Smoke started billowing out of the chimney, but as it reached toward the canopy it seemed to dissipate without a trace.

  There were six missing. Brittany Wilkins, who had lost her leg to Robert Harrison's bear trap. Her husband Matthew had gone with her to the hospital. She might have survived, but they'd have a lot of questions to answer. Rachel wondered how they'd talk to the police who'd inevitably show up. She expected Cinza had coached them on such a possibility. Cinza was exactly the type to prepare for future confrontation.

  Morton Pollock had been shot by Robert and airlifted to the hospital, but Rachel was almost certain he was dead. He hadn't gotten any treatment for too long, and he hadn't been breathing when the paramedics had loaded him on board. Nikki Parsons had gone with him—and given what she'd just been through, Rachel didn't expect her to return.

  Nate Price had fled town, as far as she knew. Rachel had no idea where he might be, if he was even still alive, and didn't really care if she was being honest with herself.

  Finally there was Cinza herself, presumably sequestered in the cabin behind Ruby. Her face was stuck in Rachel's mind. Cinza had trusted Rachel completely with every secret. She'd told Rachel of this hidden place, and she'd answered every question Rachel had asked. When Rachel needed her, Cinza had stepped up. She'd benefitted, obviously, but it was still at great personal risk.

  More than anything, Cinza had understood the hard choices Rachel had been forced to make. She believed Cinza would understand her decision, though Rachel dearly hoped she'd never realize what had happened. What Rachel had done.

  How Rachel had used them.

  She half-expected thunder and lightning in the rain clouds above to punctuate her dark thoughts, but this was still the Northwest, and thunderstorms only rolled through once or twice a year. The rain came down in buckets though, and Rachel was grateful for the thick canopy that protected her from most of it. Alden was taking cover behind her as well, ducking below another tall tree—though still close enough to strike on a moment's notice.