Final Extraction by Julie Trettel

Vada

Chapter 12

 

 

 

Watching Silas walk away from me like that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. Nothing they had ever done to me physically or emotionally while in captivity had been as painful as that look of defeat and rejection in my mate’s eyes. I only prayed we would meet again someday, and I could somehow make his pain disappear.

The world around me was still in chaos as I quickly hid behind a stack of boxes we had never even unpacked.

“What the hell just happened here?” Trevor’s voice boomed.

I cringed back hating what I had to do next. It would have been so easy to just go with Silas. I wanted to be with him and explore all of those feelings he ignited in me, but that was the coward’s way out. I was no coward.

I had come too far not to see this through to the end.

I didn’t like how Silas had left. Was I too forceful? Would he even try to come for me again? I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little concerned he wouldn’t, but I had to hold strong that he would at least try again. I couldn’t even allow myself to think about any other scenario. I knew I would rescue them all. It felt like that was my life’s mission, and I would kill Trevor for what he had done to so many, but not until they were all safe. Having everyone coming together in one place was a huge opportunity to make this dream possible.

“Well, they didn’t get them all,” Keeley said as she spotted me without pointing out my presence to Trevor.

“Get everyone together. I hate this place. It’s been nothing but trouble since our arrival. We’re moving out tonight.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll get things rolling,” she said and walked away.

Why hadn’t she outed me? I couldn’t think of any reason and didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.

People thought I was still in my room so really no one even guessed I’d been present for any of it. As Keeley led the charge of collecting the shifters and getting them into their cages, she waited until the coast was clear and looked around again to be sure the coast was clear before motioning for me to come out of my hiding place.

I hesitated. Could I trust her?

“They’re coming. Move now or stay behind and risk being caught. But if you’re still here then I know it’s for a reason, so move.”

I sighed and stepped out of my shadows. I quickly ran to a cage and got in.

“We’re going to get them, Vada,” Keeley said so quietly I was certain I imagined it.

Seconds later Trevor came out and looked over the remainder of his shifters now all in cages.

“Not as bad as I expected. We can work with this. With the others coming in and the new humans added to the mix for final testing, we should be in good shape.”

“You abducted humans too?” I blurted out.

He turned and glared at me then smiled. It gave me the creeps. “Vada. I’m happy to see you will be joining us. I have big plans awaiting you at our next stop.”

I didn’t respond at all. I shivered when his cold stare moved on away from me.

Things started happening quickly. We were loaded onto the truck once more. If we were truly headed for Canada and they planned to drive the entire way, it was going to be a long dark trip.

Just when I thought we were done, someone yelled out.

“Hold up. Don’t shut the doors. I have a traitor to add to the mix.”

The fork lift approached once more with a new cage. I saw Jake in this one. His face was swollen and distorted. I almost didn’t recognize him. His clothes were tattered, and he was bleeding which only excited the carnivores in the truck.

The doors closed and we were engulfed in darkness once more.

“Jake, are you okay?”

He moaned.

“Dammit. I told him to get you out of here. I knew this was going to happen.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. You’re losing a lot of blood. I don’t even know if you’re going to survive this trip.”

“I’m a survivor. I’ll make it.”

I said a quick prayer that he was right.

As I had suspected, the drive was long and exhausting. They gave us no food and water on purpose to weaken our spirit. No matter what they said, I was certain of this.

Much to my surprise, at a stop along the way, the back door opened.

“We’re there already? How many days has it been?” Jax, the turtle shifter, asked.

“It didn’t feel long enough. Shh, someone’s coming,” I responded.

Keeley jumped into the back as some of the humans placed bag after bag of fast food and then gallons of water into the truck.

I stared in surprise.

“Are you sure about this?” one of the humans asked Keeley.

“They’re no good to us dead,” she said sarcastically. “I’ll handle it myself,” she added with a huff as if it was a major inconvenience to her.

She went one cage at a time and gave each person a gallon of water and a bag of some sort of fast food, no doubt the lowest quality and cheapest possible. I knew the downside to whatever this generosity was would only make them all have to pee soon and that food would likely give them the shits too. There was a reason they didn’t water and feed us during travel. Doing so made for horribly unsanitary conditions.

Jax looked at me from the cage across from mine. “Is this okay?” he whispered.

“Be thankful you’re on the top,” I told him, not joking even a little.

When it came to his turn, he took the food and water being offered, but unlike the rest of them, he only sipped a little water, conserving it. At least one person was already done drinking their gallon and not at all considering the outcome of that mistake.

I glared at Keeley when she came to me. I still didn’t trust her. She opened the door to my cage and shoved the stuff inside.

“Don’t be stubborn. It’s important you live.”

I snorted. “Yeah, because Trevor has big plans for me. I remember.”

“Because you’re important to Silas,” she whispered.

Jake heard her where the others were too busy eating to pay any attention to the conversation.

“What do you know about Silas?” Jake demanded.

“I know Vada’s his true mate and I’m willing to bet he’d do just about anything to save her. So I wonder, why is she even still here?”

I bit back a growl. She knew.

“But you, Trevor’s convinced you’re a spy, but I honestly didn’t see that one coming. I’ve certainly not seen you around Westin Force headquarters.”

“Never been there,” he admitted.

“So you were the one that left the laptop behind, weren’t you?”

“No,” he said. I knew he was lying. It had to have been him. Dick would never have been that careless. I was still in shock he hadn’t noticed until we arrived.

Was that how Silas and his team had found us so quickly? Did they come for me there and find the laptop?

I still didn’t understand how Jake was staying in touch with him, but he had known they were coming. He had warned me about it himself, so he had to be. I hoped he was able to get word out to him once more with our new location. Seeing him locked in the cage next to me, I didn’t see how that would be possible.

“You have to warn them. You know what he’s planning, Keeley. You have to get word to Silas,” Jake practically begged.

She shrugged. “Perhaps. We’ll see.”

She opened his cage and shoved the food in, but he grabbed her arm to stop her and stared into her eyes.

“You have to.”

“You should have gotten out while you could. Both of you. There’s not much I can do to help either of you now.”

She pulled her arm away from his grip and slammed the door. I didn’t even get to look in the bag before she jumped out of the truck and closed the door sending us back into darkness.

“What was even the point in that?” I muttered.

“She’s telling us she’s on our side. She’ll get word to Silas.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Because when it matters, she always does. Who do you think told him you were still alive?”

I pondered that. Had Silas really thought I was dead? He had seen the building collapse on me, of course he thought that. Was Keeley really the one that had told him I wasn’t?

“Who’s Silas?” Jax asked.

“No one,” I said automatically, feeling the lie in the pit of my stomach.

“Forget you ever heard that name if you know what’s good for you,” Jake warned.

Please, tell me who Silas is. Can he help us? Will he?

I heard Jax’s voice in my head, but it sounded different than normal. I didn’t have to see him to know he wasn’t speaking aloud. Jake was still talking as if he couldn’t hear him.

Don’t freak out. You can’t tell anyone. Just think it and I’ll hear. I hear everything.

Everything?

Yeah. Like I know that Trevor dude is trying to save his mother. She’s dying and her time is almost up. He’s going to kill us all. If she dies, we are no longer needed, so he’s desperate and will do absolutely anything to any one of us to find a cure before it’s too late. We’re nothing but vermin to him, Vada.

I know, I thought sadly.

I heard him. We’re all dead.

Relax. I’m sure help is on the way.

Silas?

I hope so.

He’s your mate? But you aren’t ready to accept him yet.

Get out of my head, Jax.

Sorry. It’s a bad habit. Easier to tune in than out.

Is Jake okay?

The human?

Yeah.

He’s in a lot of pain, but I think he’ll be okay. I don’t understand why Trevor left him alive.

To screw with me, I thought before I even realized that’s what I was thinking.

Yeah, that’s possible. Trevor doesn’t know what you are. You need to keep it that way even though it drives him insane and he’s going to try to get it from you… any way necessary.

Thanks for the warning. I can handle it.

Are you really a gorilla?

Get out of my head, I warned again.

He laughed. Sure. But if you need someone to talk to, just think my name, okay?

Yeah, sure. And Jax, you can’t tell anyone.

I’ll keep your secret, Vada. And you know my secret now too.

“Vada, are you even listening?” Jake asked.

“Uh, sorry, what did you say?”

“Never mind,” he huffed. “I’m going to try to sleep some now.”

I wished I could sleep, but I knew I wouldn’t. After the encounter with Silas, my body was still buzzing. He kissed even better than in my dreams.

I struggled with the memory of hurt in his eyes as he walked away from me. I’d caused that pain and every time I relived that moment it brought physical pain back to me. I was certain there was absolutely nothing Trevor could do to me that would hurt more than that look of disappointment and anger.