Chapter 120

Setting up camp this close to the front was jarring to Rain. She helped her team assemble the tent quickly, but after that, there wasn't much to do except for to await orders. The commanders were all being hush-hush about when they might be moving in. The sound of gunfire and an occasional explosion in the distance had all of them on edge, waiting to see if the battle would loom closer or if their forces were making enough headway to push the Mothers back.
Gretchintown was only a few miles from where she was standing. These woods were connected to the area where she and Mist had found the book in the cellar of an old, falling-down house. She wondered if any more fighting had taken place there. The images of the Mothers shooting construction workers who were hiding there came to mind so that when someone’s hand came down on her shoulder unexpectedly, she jumped.
“Sorry,” Adam said as she turned around to face him. Her first impulse was to hug him, but she didn’t. She knew the commanders didn’t appreciate any signs of affection in public when they were wearing their uniforms. “How are you?”
“Nervous,” Rain admitted. “I’m not sure what it’s going to be like to walk back in there.”
Adam nodded. “I feel the same way. It’s hard to believe everything we were running from is right over there.” He looked off in the distance. Shaking his head, he refocused and gestured at the white canvas shelter Rain and three other women had just finished assembling. “Is this your assigned tent?”
“Yeah, this is it. Where’s yours?” she asked, admiring their work. They’d done a good job of getting it to stay upright.
“Over there about eight tents,” Adam said with a grin on his face. She knew he’d counted the space between them, and it made her smile, too. “I probably ought to get back in case we get our orders right away.”
She nodded, but she didn’t think they’d be moving in until the morning. “See you later, then.”
“Yep. Be careful, Rain.”
“You, too.” She couldn’t hug or kiss him, but when he offered his hand, she took it, letting her fingers linger in his for a long moment before he turned and left, leaving her all alone with her thoughts again.
With nothing else to do, Rain wandered over to where her tent mates were sitting on the ground in front of the open flap of their tent. “That plane ride sure was cool,” one of them, a blonde with short hair named Dyan, was saying. “I’ve never been on a plane before.”
“Me neither,” a brunette with a long braid down her back similar to Rain’s said. Her name was Corey, and Rain knew from training with her that she was a badass. “I used to want to be a pilot, but it’s too damn expensive.”
“You could’ve joined the Wings Division,” the third girl, Margo, who was also brunette but with short hair, said. “My dad used to be a pilot for Wings.”
Wings were the ones who handled and maintained all of the aircraft and served as pilots as well. Rain sat down without commenting on their discussion, sort of tuning them out, as they continued to talk about the plane ride.
“Rain?” Dyan said, tapping Rain’s boot with her own. “Did you hear what I asked you?”
“Huh?” Rain said, snapping out of her stupor. “Oh, uh, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t. What did you ask?”
“Looks like someone’s too love-struck to be paying attention to what us girls have to say,” Margo said, causing herself and Corey to have a long laugh.
Dyan wasn’t laughing, and neither was Rain. “I asked if you’d ever been on a plane before.”
“No,” Rain said, shaking her head. “That was my first flight.”
“What did you think of it?” Corey asked, no longer laughing.
“It was amazing,” Rain said. “I loved every minute of it. All of it except for the landing.”
The other three girls grew a bit morose as Margo said, “This must be weird for you, huh? I mean the rest of us are nervous about going into combat for the first time, but for you, this has to be extra nerve-wracking. You just ran away from here, and now you’re back.”
“Yeah, it is,” Rain admitted. “But this is exactly why I ran. So I could come back, and bring all of you fine people with me.”
That got a giggle out of them before Dyan asked, “Is this where you were from? I mean, I know you were from Michaelanburg, but this town we’re about to go into tomorrow and attack, is it your hometown?”
Rain nodded. Pictures of Gretchintown flashed in front of her mind, images of what it was like before she realized that the Mothers were filling her head with an evil doctrine. “Yes. We’ll be entering the only place I’ve ever lived until I got to Quebec in just a few hours.”
“What do you think it’ll be like to be back there for you?” Margo asked.
“I think it’ll be a bit surreal,” Rain admitted. “But I’m eager to see what shape the town is in. We aren’t the first troops to come through there.”
“The others weren’t able to break into their main buildings, though, like the one where all of their medical data and research is housed.”
They were talking about the same building where the incubators were kept, the one where the Bridge was located, and where the insemination ward was housed. The medical ward. “I know,” she said, having heard about that attack herself a few days earlier. The Mothers had defended that building well. It was a strong hold. Rain wondered what was left of the rest of the town. Was her room still there? Was her tablet still laying on her bed?
Probably not. The Mothers probably confiscated that and searched it for information months ago, when she’d first left.
“Do you know any of the military Mothers?” Dyan asked her. “Do you think you’ll have to shoot some people you know?”
One image came into focus in Rain’s mind--Mother White. She wouldn’t mind standing across a vast emptiness with Mother White on the other side so long as Rain had the upper hand and an element of surprise. She wouldn’t hesitate to shoot that woman. “I know a few,” she said. She doubted Mother White was in Gretchintown, though. She was a high ranking military officer, and other parts of Michaelanburg needed her services more.
“I don’t envy you,” Corey said, patting Rain’s boot. “But I’m sure you can handle it. Do you think the others who escaped with you will be able to control their emotions going back in there?”
Rain thought about how tough Mist was. She had no doubt the girl would be just fine. Walt might be a little bit of a disaster, or he might be a warrior. It sort of depended on his mental state at the time. Adam would be able to handle it “Yeah, they’ll make it,” Rain said, hoping for the best.
Margo gave her a confident smile. “I think you all will. But if you need anything, holler. We’ll talk you through it.”
Rain appreciated the fact that they were being so inclusive when she was an outsider, the one who’d brought them all here to potentially die. “Thank you,” she said, feeling guilty for endangering their lives.
“Thank you for having the freedom to escape,” Corey said. “If it weren’t for you, we’d still be training with no hope of seeing action any time soon.”
“And the Mothers would be able to continue with their inhumane practices indefinitely,” Margo pointed out.
Rain was surprised they were happy that she’d brought them here, but it did make her feel a little better to hear that. “You’re welcome,” she said. “If we can destroy Michaelanburg’s evil ideals and bring their leadership to the ground, then it will all be worth it, no matter what happens to me.”
She truly believed that, but in the back of her mind, she prayed that all four of the escapees would come out of this alive because their lives wouldn’t truly begin until they were safely back in Quebec and the Motherhood was no more.