They Walk Among Us

They Walk Among Us copyright c. 2012 T.A. Chase

Part Twenty-Six-

Of course, I wouldn’t let Zach kill Gideon or any of the rebels. If it came down to killing, I’d do it. Having blood on my hands meant nothing to me.

::Keep your cool. I’ll deal with Gideon when the time is right.::

To be honest, I wasn’t ready to take Gideon out of the picture. The rebels had a role to play in my mission, even if I didn’t want them to do anything yet. If Gideon was truly using drugs, I’d take advantage of his addiction. Again, I wasn’t above using any means necessary to achieve my goal.

::We’re leaving the compound now. You should be hearing us soon.::

::All right.::

I leaned my head back against the tree, and closed my eyes, not wanting them to know I wasn’t completely knocked out. I needed to hear what Tyler and Gideon had to say. Even when humans had the upper hand, if their opponent was awake, they kept secrets. By pretending to be out, they would talk freely around me.

The roar of a vehicle alerted me to their arrival, and I managed not to cough when the cloud of dust from the road enveloped me. Doors slammed, and their auras brushed against mine. I was barely able to keep from gagging at the darkness surrounding two of the men. Those auras had to belong to Gideon and Tyler.

“I thought you were running when we came back and you were gone from the safe house,” Tyler spoke. “Do you know what he is?”

Zach grunted. “I had my suspicions, but he’d convinced me to leave before you got back. When I realized he was using me to get away for the government, I thought you might want him. I don’t have any real idea what he is besides strange.”

“You haven’t noticed anything odd about him?” The harsh ruined voice had to be Gideon speaking.

I focused a little bit of my power, reading the nuances of his mind and soul. There wasn’t much I liked about what I found. Gideon wasn’t interested in freeing the country from the government, he wanted the power for himself, and he was willing to use the rebels to get it.

::Watch Gideon, Zach. He’ll sell you all out if he got the power and money he wanted.::

Zach grunted again, his way of telling me he understood.

“Once I realized he used me, I told him we were driving out of the city to get away from the agents. I got him this far, drugged and left him here, so I could go and get you.”

I mentally wrinkled my nose as Gideon crouched next to me. God, the man reeked of drugs, stale sweat, and fear. I couldn’t tell if the fear was his, or from someone else. He grabbed a fistful of my hair, and yanked my head back. I yelped groggily, letting them know I was sort of awake.

“Looks like he’s coming around.”

Gideon’s foul breath washed over my face, and it took all my control not to shove the man away from me.

“He’s a pretty one, but I’ve found all the Opalites I’ve run into have been remarkably good-looking.” He leaned in close to me, and whispered, “I think I’ll enjoy having you share my bed.”

::Over my dead body.:: Zach’s thought shot into my brain.

::Don’t do anything yet. Trust me. I won’t let it get that far.::

I wasn’t just saying it to ease Zach’s anger. I would never be sharing a bed with Gideon. The only man who would be my lover from now on would be Zach, if he stayed with me. Before Gideon could do anything to me, I’d take his mind and make it mine. It was one of the powers I had that made me the person in charge of the mission to get the jewel.

“Put him in the trunk. We need to get back to the compound. You’ll join us for drinks, Zach, and we’ll talk about what we’ll be doing with this Opalite.”

Someone picked me up, and dumped me in the trunk of the car. I winced at the bruises created as I landed on something hard, but I didn’t moved beyond that.

::Are you okay?:: Zach sounded concerned.

::Just a few bumps and bruises. I’ll be fine. Gideon isn’t interested in doing anything to me yet. I need to be put in the cells where they’re holding Anson and the others.::

I have no idea how long it took us to get back to the compound, but finally the vehicle stopped, and the trunk popped open. Again someone lifted me out, and I was carried inside. They sat me down on something hard and cold. My hands were untied, but it was the sound of a door shutting that caused me to open my eyes.

Glancing around, I noticed I was in a cell with walls of bars on three sides. The fourth wall had to be an outside wall because it was built of stone. I stood, shaking my arms like I was trying to get the circulation back into them. I wandered the cell, learning the dimensions and examining any weaknesses it might have.

“Are you an Opalite?”

I swung around to see a young woman sitting in the cell to my right. I studied her for a moment, and she blinked when I nodded.

“I thought so. The bastard never looks happy unless he’s bringing a new victim in.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry you got caught. This is a hell on earth for Opalites, and some humans for that matter.”

After edging closer to her side of the cell, I reached out to touch the bars. They weren’t electrified or anything like that, which seemed odd to me.

“Gideon wants us to develop relationships. Makes it easier to break us if we see our friends being tortured.” She touched the top of my hand with her fingers. “There’s something different about you. You don’t seem scared. In fact, you look rather smug about getting in here. Why are you here?”

::To free you all.::