Omen Operation
before he stepped forward and picked up the broken phone.
    “So, the laptop is no good either? No internet, no files, nothing?” Rayce asked.
    Julian nodded. “She ran a full wipe on both. The laptop just has a few family photos and a spreadsheet, but there’s no data.”
    “Does it have a name?”
    “Yeah, the document itself was labeled ECHO.”
    Porter inhaled a sharp breath, and his jaw clenched.
    Dawson was nodding, thinking to himself while he rubbed his hand up over his mouth. His forehead creased, foot tapped against the floor.
    “You’re with us?” he asked.
    “All the way,” Rayce answered, holding his hand out for Dawson to clasp tightly.
    All Brooklyn could think about was the outside. The world beyond the arms of their little forest and the trees that had kept them secluded. She thought of her parents, of her friends. She wondered if they would recognize her now, if they would remember the girl who left.
    “Amber—” Dawson brushed past Stephanie, whose lips hung open in silent offense “—go raid Cabin D. Fill a bag with medical supplies. Take as much as you can.”
    A girl with cropped black hair nodded.
    “Gabriel—” he looked over his shoulder “—can you help Brooklyn get dressed and finish packing our cabin?”
    Gabriel nodded. She slipped her hand into Brooklyn’s, where their fingers interlaced.
    “What can we do?” Porter asked.
    “Find the keys to the bus and the car while Rayce and I get the guns.”
    “Whoa, you aren’t taking guns!” Stephanie shouted.
    Dawson’s lips pulled up into a smug grin. “Yes, we are. Actually.”
    “I’ll…” Stephanie huffed and puffed with wide eyes as she searched her surroundings. The redhead grunted and she dove to snatch up Terry’s gun. “I’ll stop you! Those guns are staying, and so are all of you because someone is going to come relocate us!”
    Dawson tilted his head to the side, analyzing the gun trembling in Stephanie’s hands.
    Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Stephanie’s back was slammed against the near wall, and the gun was once again clattering on the ground. Gabriel kicked it away, her hand wrapped tight around Stephanie’s throat. She squeezed hard, lips pulled back into a snarl.
    Stephanie choked and kicked her feet while blood rushed to her face.
    “Point a gun at him again,” Gabriel seethed, “and you’ll wake up without the use of your legs.”
    Stephanie gagged and choked. Gabriel let her go. Stephanie’s thin body slumped into a heap.
    “I could’ve handled it, ya know?” Dawson said playfully as Gabriel returned to Brooklyn’s side.
    “Or you could just say thank you,” she quipped as her lips spread up into a smile.
    Dawson rolled his eyes and stepped over Stephanie’s legs to look outside at the rest of their peers.
    “For those of you who want to come with us, get your things. We leave in an hour.” He looked back at Stephanie, who smacked away the tears trailing over her cheeks. “For those of you who don’t want to come with us, stay out of the way.”
    They dispersed.
    Dawson and Rayce jogged toward the weapons shed. Amber gathered a couple of people to get the medical supplies. Porter stayed with Julian to look for the keys, and Gabriel guided Brooklyn back to the cabin.
     
    ***
     
    When everyone was ready, they met in front of the long white bus with black windows. It’d been parked behind Terry’s cabin since the very beginning. A way out in case they needed to evacuate, in case there was a breach.
    Brooklyn stood on her tiptoes so she could look around the other side of the cabin, where a tough-looking four door black truck slept in the grass. That was theirs.
    “We’ll follow behind you. Keep your walkie on, yeah? Our best bet is communication at this point.” Rayce slid his half of the pair of walkie-talkies they’d found onto his belt.
    Dawson nodded. “You guys have enough food and water in there?”
    “We’ll be good,” Amber said from her place

Similar Books

Silver Girl

Elin Hilderbrand

Shadow Creatures

Andrew Lane

The Vampire's Kiss

Cynthia Eden

Absence

Peter Handke

Sun of the Sleepless

Patrick Horne

The Bow Wow Club

Nicola May