Graham’s Resolution, Book 9 - The Crimson Dawn

Chapter 1 – Tehya

Damp, moss-covered slats sagged beneath her weight. There were already punched holes through the rotted deck, and no one had yet shored up the hazard since they arrived the night before. It was an injury waiting to happen—at least a twisted ankle, at worst, a broken leg. And no one cared, especially not her. She sat on the reinforced edge facing the river through the trees, staring at the pale, poached yolk as it impaled the tines.

When a baby wailed, Tehya gave a slight jolt, then remembered Addy had multiplied. She remembered, too, that she was an aunt again and that somehow her brother, Bang, was the father. It was going to take time to get used to his pride. And then the warmth of blood spilling over the back of her hand as she slid the blade along Meg’s throat flashed into her mind. What comes with the good always follows with the bad. Dismissing the recent memory of what she’d done, she eyed her left hand as her fingers tapped, unbidden, against her thigh. The nightmares last night had caught her by surprise.

Corey had warned her—the spirits of those killed would return to her, always be with her, and to kill only when necessary. The haunting was the cost of taking a life. She hadn’t believed him then. She believes him now. But this was her first kill. What haunted her was knowing she’d taken a life that wasn’t hers to take. What she hadn’t expected were the others; she’d caught their peculiar stares. They had witnessed Meg’s death, and she had been the assassin. She wanted to yell back at them, “What was I supposed to do? Let you all blow to bits? It was the only way.”

But there had been no time to discuss the grim particulars. Graham had hugged her, whether she wanted it or not, after she’d cried out in the night. He took her by the shoulders. Told her she was in shock and asked if she wanted to talk. To talk? Hadn’t she been taught her entire life to kill or be killed? She shook her head. What was there to talk about? Cheryl would be dead if it weren’t for her. Most of them would have died soon after, blown away by bits of Cheryl. Did they blame her for doing her job? It all felt so wrong. She could tell how they avoided eye contact. She had disappointed them. But there was no time to sort it out.

The moment they arrived, either the baby was wailing, or the adults were yelling. And worst of all, somewhere on the other side of the property in the former Cascade sector, Clarisse was still fighting for her life in a metal hut, shot twice—once in the upper arm, and again in the lower ribcage. Every time Tehya caught a glimpse of McCann as he came in and out, it didn’t look good. This made Tehya return to the scene and wonder how things could have played out differently so that she could have arrived sooner. If Clarisse died, it would be all her fault for not getting to Meg sooner.

“You hungry?”

Tehya looked up at Mark, holding something that looked like a sandwich, but half the crust dangled over the edge of his fingertips.

“Dad said to bring you this.”

She shook her head.

“Dad said you’ve got to eat.”

“I did.”

“Liar. I’ve been watching you. You haven’t touched a thing.”

He sat down and smudged right next to her. The lank sandwich still in his hand, offered out like a question, and the worn waterlogged fibers of dead wood creaked with his sudden weight.

“I don’t want your damned sandwich.”

She flicked his hand. She watched his empty fingers open in surprise. A moment of cringed silence.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just not hungry.”

“It’s okay. Look,” he pointed down. “They are.”

Over the edge of her boot toe, where the offering landed, ants were already marking their territory over the white hills of baked grains, first one, then twenty-one.

“It’s getting dark. We should go in,” Mark said.

“Pphf.”

Tehya shook her head.

“What, are you too big for orders now?”

“Oh, that was an order?”

“Man, the sarcasm….”

“I can’t help it. It just comes out. I don’t mean to be mean.”

“Hey, I get it. But I wasn’t trying to tell you what to do. You’re being too sensitive. I’m saying that because we’re on watch next. We need to relieve Bang so he can get back to his new family. That’s why I came to find you. To give you the sandwich because you missed dinner, and we’re not getting anything to eat for the rest of the night. Now, if you want to keep this up, you’re going to get lightheaded in about three hours, and you won’t be able to do your job. Or you can get your ass up now, get in there, and make your own damned sandwich, because you’re going to need it. We have a job to do, to keep them safe, and I know you take that seriously.

What you did back there, Tehya….”

“Don’t! Don’t say it.”

His voice lowered. “Tehya, what you did back there was the right thing. It was shocking, but you stepped up, and you did the hardest thing of all, right in front of everyone. You did what the rest of us failed to do.”

She swiped hot tears away. “Then why is everyone treating me so different?”

“Because you’re the one we’re supposed to protect. And you just proved us all wrong, and we’re ashamed for it, Tehya. Meg bested all of us, except you. We’re all just trying to come to grips with the fact that you’re all grown up. Now that things have calmed down, no one can deny that.”

He put his arm around her as only a brother could and drew her head to his lips. “We love you, knothead. We’re just trying to get used to you being a badass now.”

She pulled away. “But Kade and Clarisse—what if they don’t make it?”

Mark looked down but shook his head. “McCann’s doing the best he can. Marcy’s in there too, helping. Macy’s taking care of Addy, the baby and the rest of the kids. McCann barely got the bullet out of Rick’s shoulder when he exploded. But Kade’s alive, Tehya. A broken arm and concussion, but he’s alive. He wouldn’t be had you not acted when you did. Neither would most of us.

They heard more shouting from the room beyond the porch screen door.

“You call that calm?”

Tehya shook her head. “Everyone’s scattered. I don’t even know where Corey is. Sam stopped off halfway as sentry. Does he even know about the baby? Know that he’s a grandpa yet?”

Mark smiled and shook his head. “No, not yet. He’s going to be pissed when he finds out. Rick decided not to tell him by radio.”

“What a way to come into the world. The back of a worn-down runaway pick-up truck.”

It was Mark’s turn to scoff. “Yeah, well, your entrance into the world wasn’t much different.”

He stared ahead as the sun dropped behind the trees.

“What was she like?”

“Your mom??”

He sat up, straightening his back. A sad smile crossed his lips as he looked at her, his eyes lingering over her face and long, dark, sleek hair. “Tala was just like you in every way except you have Dad’s eyes. And, well, she was nice, and she didn’t throw perfectly good sandwiches on the ground.”

Tehya smiled, even laughed a little, when a few tears slid out. She took a deep breath, wiped her nose with the edge of her sleeve, and stood, slinging her rifle over her shoulder. “Okay, I’ll grab something and get posted.”

“Um,” Mark hesitated. “Go around the other side where Bethany set up the stove. They’re still discussing our next move.”

She shook her head and muttered as she left, “I don’t care what they decide. I’m doing it. I’m going after Reuben’s girl if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Tehya….”