Trapped in Time-Extinction (16 page)

Andy said, “Just give him the best directions possible and he’ll just have to find it.”

Tyler started shaking his head, “And while my warriors are running around in that nightmare searching for it, our fliers will be flying overhead beaming anything that moves.”

Melody nodded, “Something like that.”

Tyler looked at Olivia, “How many babies will be there?”

“Thousands.”

Tyler shook his head, “So it boils down to, am I willing to place all of my warriors in danger or place you in danger?”

Olivia stared at him and nodded. Tyler sighed and shook his head, “Why is it that just when you find the one you’re going to love for a lifetime, you have to put them in harm’s way and risk losing them forever?” Olivia’s heart melted and her tears started flowing. Tyler stared at her, “Can you give me an answer?”

Olivia looked up and said, “Just lucky, I guess.”

Tyler was shocked by her answer but after a moment he began laughing. Melody joined him as he walked over to Olivia and took her in his arms. “We will survive this! You got that?”

Olivia held on to him and nodded, “I never had any doubt the first time. We’ve had practice so we’ll do it better the second.”

Andy looked at Tyler, “So you’re going to take her with you?”

“I owe it to my men and to those babies. I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t try to save them.”

Olivia looked up, “I feel the same way.”

Tyler pulled her closer and said, “You know that you and I will have to start practicing from the beginning.”

Olivia put her head on his chest and smiled, “If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

Andy looked at Harvey and saw him smiling. He had been reluctant to allow someone so young to join the Council. Harvey looked at Andy and nodded. Melody walked over to the couple and hugged them, “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your doing this.”

Olivia smiled, “Any mother would understand.” Melody smiled and looked at Andy. He sighed and went over to hug her.

Tyler continued to hug Olivia and he said, “You know this changes the plan?”

Maxius looked at him, “How is that?”

“The Fleet will have to make an appearance before we can start our attack. The Destroyers will have to be given time to move their babies to the Care Center before we start moving through the city.” Andy’s eyes narrowed and Tyler shrugged, “It actually makes it easier.” Andy tilted his head and Tyler said, “Once they start firing the big guns at the fleet, they won’t hear us moving through the city.”

Andy looked at Maxius, “We’re going to have to take out the guns guarding the harbor before we can move the fleet in.”

“Rory will take care of that with the powered gliders.”

Olivia shook her head, “I suspect they’ll have those new small guns guarding them as well. And the harbor guns are in range of the guns on the cliff, I think.”

Andy shook his head and said, “We’ll work it out. You need to focus on your mission.”

Tyler released Olivia and said, “We have a lot to do before we’re ready. Are you done with us?”

Andy nodded, “Get to work.”

Tyler took Olivia’s hand and led her out of the Holy Cave. Melody looked at Harvey, “I like her better than Mindy.”

“Who doesn’t?”

Maxius and Mark laughed when Andy said, “Rory.”

Andy looked at them and they burst out laughing; Maxius said, “Rory likes her more as well.” Andy could only shake his head.

• • •

Tyler was silent as they walked down the hill from the holy cave and after a few moments, Olivia looked up at him and said, “I’m really sorry you were forced to declare your feelings for me.”

Tyler shook his head, “I promised myself that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I made with Mindy in my next relationship; that I would take my time to make sure.”

Olivia smiled, “You knew but didn’t want to admit it.”

Tyler stopped and looked at her with a furrowed brow, “How do you know that?”

“When Andy said that he wouldn’t send Melody and that he couldn’t force you to do it either, you didn’t show any surprise. We both know how Andy feels about Melody. It was clear to him how you felt about taking me with you. You didn’t have to say anything after that, I knew.”

Tyler stared at her, “You didn’t say anything about your feelings.”

“Are you that insecure?”

Tyler sighed, “Yes, I guess I am. I’ve just been rejected by someone who I’ve cared about for years.”

“Tyler, when you flew out of the Destroyer City with me, you flew away with my heart. I saw into your soul when it looked like we were going to die after the ship had left us. Your courage and calmness during that time showed me who you are. I made up my mind while I hung below you that if we survived, there would never be another.”

Tyler pulled her into his arms and held her close. I guess I didn’t allow myself to see that because of Mindy.”

Olivia leaned back, “Don’t sell yourself short. Why did you confront Mindy about her feelings?”

Tyler stared at Olivia and after a moment lowered his head and shook it, “I guess I felt something for you and needed reassurance that she would be there for me.”

“Were you surprised by her response?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Come on, Tyler. I’ve only known her for a short time and I can see how superficial she is. Were you really surprised?”

Tyler thought about the question and took a slow breath. He blew it out and said, “I guess in the secret place in my heart I was hoping she would do exactly what she did.”

Olivia smiled, “So you could be with me.”

Tyler shook his head, “Your ability to see things clearly is amazing. I guess the fear of losing you is what forced me to really look at my feelings.” Tyler took her by the chin, “However, in the future, you will not keep anything from me. I expect you to be open and honest.”

“What do you think would have happened if I told you when you first started training your warriors that I was going with you?” Tyler stared at her in silence and Olivia said, “You would have put all your attention on getting us ready to the detriment of your warriors. I will be open and honest but I will also do the right thing for your welfare.”

Tyler stared into her eyes and knew she was right. How different she was from Mindy. Tyler nodded and said, “Just like the first time, you will follow my orders without questions and without hesitation.” Olivia nodded. “You’re going to agree that quickly?”

“Tyler, I’ve seen you in action. I didn’t know you then but now I know you will do the absolute right thing at the absolutely critical moment. I trust you with my life. There is one thing that I wish we could do but I don’t see any way to make it happen.”

“What is that?”

“I wish there was some way to save Liza and Logan before they’re taken to be chained on the Destroyer defenses.”

“I don’t see how that is going to be possible without alerting them of our presence.”

“I know. I just know they have good hearts and I hate to think about them being killed.” She took a deep breath and held his hand.

“Alright, in the morning, I will turn the forty groups over to their leaders and have them practice climbing the walls while you and I work on flying together.”

“Fair enough.”

Tyler pulled Olivia close and kissed her for the first time. If there was any possible doubt about how they felt, it dissolved in that kiss. Tyler walked her home and then went home to worry about how he was going to keep her safe. He also thought about the two slaves that Olivia had lived with. There was no way to do anything about them, so he put them out of his mind.

M
indy sat against the wall watching the warriors practicing landing in trees at the edge of the river. She had to admit they were pretty good. She recognized that she had made a mistake dumping Tyler and now it appeared that slave from the east had latched on to him. Well, she wasn’t going to give in that easily. She looked up at the top of the wall she was sitting against and saw Rory practicing with his fliers. They were going to have to attack the cliffs guarding the harbor entrance and Rory was pushing them hard. She looked down and was startled. The slave girl was standing in front of her. She hadn’t even heard her walk up. She jumped to her feet.

Olivia watched Mindy pounce to her feet like a Raptor. She smiled and said, “When you and Tyler were still a couple, I was told about your relationship and, though I was very attracted to him, I stayed away and avoided him out of respect for you and him. You are not doing the same but are demonstrating an utter lack of respect for us. You should stop doing that now.”

Mindy sneered, “And what are you going to do about it? I’m a Master Warrior and I can kill you twenty different ways.” Olivia shook her head and chuckled. Mindy grew angry, “What do you find so funny.”

“First of all, you can’t use any of your weapons to kill me, the Community would punish anyone that killed another member, so that threat holds no water. Second; I’ve watched the warriors training and they are the absolute best at using their weapons to kill from a distance. Even the Destroyers can’t match them. But one thing I’ve noticed during the hours of training the warriors do every day.”

Mindy’s eyes narrowed, “Just what is that?”

Olivia drew back her right arm and hit Mindy on the jaw with a roundhouse right hand. Mindy dropped like a bad habit. Everyone on the sands and on the wall stopped what they were doing. Even Rory was shocked by what he saw. Olivia turned Mindy over and waited for her to regain consciousness. After a few moments, Mindy moaned and Olivia grabbed her chin and said, “Focus!” Mindy’s eyes turned to Olivia and Olivia said, “You never practice fighting at close quarters. Being a slave forced me to learn how to fight off other slaves that were intent on abusing me. I’m pretty good at it. If you come sniffing around Tyler again, you’ll get another one of these. Nod if you understand.” Mindy shook her head and Olivia said, “Bad answer,” as she drew back her fist.

Mindy yelled, “I was clearing my head, I understand.”

Olivia dropped her right arm and pulled Mindy to her feet. “I really looked up to you when I first saw you but now I have nothing but disgust for you.” Mindy was struggling to stand and Olivia steadied her. “You are a Master Warrior and what are you doing while the Community is preparing for war? You’re lying around chasing Tyler instead of playing a role in defending the community. What a waste of talent!”

Olivia turned and walked away as Mindy heard the warriors on the wall and on the sand cheering Olivia as she walked back to where Tyler was waiting for her. Mindy saw Tyler hug her and for the first time realized, he was gone. His expression was clear; he loved the slave. She put out her arm against the wall and heard the cheers. She shook her head, “Boy that twit could throw a punch.” She looked up at Rory on top of the wall and saw him shake his head. It was clear she was an embarrassment to him. She walked away and began to see herself through other’s eyes. It was a long walk from the wall.

• • •

Andy looked down at the harbor and saw six ships being covered with camouflage material. Maxius and Annelise watched with him and Maxius shook his head, “This is going to take most of the remaining camouflage uniforms we have in storage.” Andy nodded. Maxius looked at him, “And you’re ok with that?”

The corner of Andy’s mouth went up and he blew out a short snort, “Who are we going to need them against if we eliminate the Destroyers?”

Maxius stared at Andy and after a moment smiled, “How about the ones coming here from the sky.”

Andy looked at Maxius, “All of our warriors have uniforms. However, I don’t expect to use very many of them to confront the aliens.” Andy turned and pointed at the ships, “We can salvage most of the material after the fight. If we can win this war, we’ll no longer need to hide.” He looked at Annelise, “What have you been able to determine about the ships?”

“They’re almost twice as fast as the ships with regular sails. They can make the trip to the Destroyer City in less than two and a half weeks.”

“The rest of the fleet will take five weeks to arrive?” Annelise nodded. “What about them taking a more northerly route than the fleet?”

“That will take longer, but they’ll still arrive a week ahead of the fleet.”

Andy nodded as Maxius said, “Tyler’s Group could probably use the additional time to set up their attack.” Maxius took off his head cover and three of the ships disappeared. He shook his head, “I understand that Tyler is having a third of his warriors carrying a pouch filled with oil.” Andy nodded. “Where would he possibly find a use for it if he’s planning a stealthy approach to the coastal wall?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”

Maxius shook his head, “Are you losing your touch? I thought you knew every detail before an attack.”

Andy smiled, “That was when I didn’t have complete trust in my subordinates. I don’t have to worry about you, Mark, or Tyler. Did you see the glider he had built to fly him and Olivia?” Maxius shook his head. “It has two of the new battery motors and a control arm that will extend ten feet. He’s going to fly the glider into the branches of the tree and use one of the motors to stall it. The control arm will extend dropping him into the top of the tree.”

“How is he going to retract a glider that big?”

“Actually, once he pulls the retract cord, the glider will fold up into three separate packages that will swing down into the tree with rows of hooks to catch them.”

“How will he fly out?”

Andy shook his head, “That glider has to be launched fully extended from the ship and it can’t be used again once it lands.”

Annelise looked at Andy, “That sounds like a one way trip.”

Andy smiled at them, “I feel reasonably certain that he’ll have an extra glider pack ferried in by one of his warriors. However, I don’t think he intends to use it.”

“He might to save her.”

Andy looked at Maxius, “She won’t leave unless the babies are safe. I think he knows that and is planning accordingly.”

Annelise slowly nodded, “He’s really an extraordinary warrior.”

Andy nodded, “He reminds me of me. He belongs on the Council.”