Chapter 45

It took two trips from the teens' van to unload the supplies they'd brought. Not only did they have enough sleeping bags for each person, but they also had two large boxes of groceries. Potatoes, bananas, rice, beans, and canned soup. More food than the twelve Humans in the Armory would need for one night. The Brothers of Fervor's kitchen seemed reasonably well stocked as did Kait's. Adding to that the food Freyja already had on hand and they could survive for at least a week if necessary. It wouldn't be the most comfortable week but Freyja had experienced worse. She was certain the gaggle of kids treating this like a sleepover hadn't lived through anything close, however.

They'd introduced themselves after bringing in the supplies. The boy was Dylan, the tall girl: Megan, the blonde with pigtails: Saffron, Snow had the princess bangs and long dark hair, while Karen's fluffy hair was now wrapped in a soft green bonnet. The smallest of the group was also the youngest, Melissa, the only high school freshmen present, everyone else were seniors.

The kids fussed over where to put their sleeping bags while complaining about how hard and weirdly uneven the metal floor was. Hal and Kaylee had greeted them but then set up their sleeping area some distance away. Gee, Damien, and Zoe kept the inflatable mattress as far away from the back of the Armory as possible without blocking the garage door the way it had previously. Gee didn't need to say out loud that he wanted space from the neatly organized guns. None of the newly arrived teenagers had noticed the racks of weapons, which was a relief. Thankfully, Kira-217 had added trigger locks to the guns that previously hadn't had them.

Freyja felt the minds of everyone within the Link; Human and Hive. The Hive cats continued to keep watch. Occasionally, one would doze off and their dreams would bleed over a little in the background. She wasn't sure if any of the Humans besides her picked up on the errant visions of chasing mice. No one had shown any signs of having sensed anything, but then again, Freyja hadn't mentioned or reacted to it either.

"Listen up, kids," Freyja began, just loud enough to be below a shout but forceful enough to get everyone's attention.

Melissa and Saffron stopped slapping one another with pillows to listen to what she had to say.

"As soon as it's safe to do so, we're taking you back to your parents," Freyja said.

"Aww, come on!" Megan protested.

"I think it's a good idea to go home," Snow agreed. "There was an awful lot of blood outside the building."

Megan turned on her. "Well, yeah. We're at war. Of course there's gonna be blood!"

Freyja grit her teeth. "This isn't a war."

The tall girl spun toward her. "Oh, yeah? And what is it, then?"

She shifted her eyes, making them visibly glow red. "This is survival. Whatever Kira-217 told you to expect is out the window. The Hive is in disarray. The Butcher Administration went from unpredictable to pure chaos. My own brother was shot today thanks to that man's supporters."

"But, like, NATO or the UN will help, right?" Dylan asked weakly from where he sat on his unrolled sleeping bag.

Freyja shook her head. "Butcher burned those bridges way before this. They've probably got their hands full with the Hive as it is. No one is coming to save us. Our best bet is to get you back to your families and to safety. We can hole up on Carrie's ranch in Spring Brook."

"We just hide until this blows over?" Saffron asked.

"No. This may die down somewhat, but it's not 'blowing over.' Not anytime soon. Not until the Hive are dealt with and the Butcher Boys subdued. It may be a year from now, it may be ten, but none of that matters if we can't do something about the ship that's coming," she explained.

"Ship?" Dylan asked.

Freyja took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "The Hive has a resource recovery ship on the way. Best case scenario it gets shot down by whichever government has the tools to do so but I highly doubt anything we throw at it will work. At least, not given what I know about the Hive's weapons."

"What are we gonna do about a spaceship?" Melissa asked.

"You will be doing nothing. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll find a way to get you back to your families. Carrie has room at her ranch for all of us to crash if your homes aren't safe."

"What about the cats?" Gee asked. "The rest of the wormy ones?"

Freyja shut her eyes, shifting them back to normal, then opened them again. "I'll talk to Kait about that tomorrow. Get some sleep, everyone."

***

Officer Phil Gatas had taken the long way around to his destination thanks to the raging grass fire burning unchecked North of the rural property. He assumed firemen who normally worked the area were a bit preoccupied with the infernos raging in the city of Georgetown to the South. The wind kept the air around the small farm homes relatively clear of smoke, but he knew that could change at any moment. It wouldn't take much for the flames to overtake the location. Officer Gatas' skin crawled as he crept past a large gray cat sleeping on the trunk of a beat up sedan.

It's too quiet. There aren't any bugs, he thought.

Someone had tried to lure his son to this address. They had even sent a substantial amount of money to the boy with instructions to do anything possible to reach the isolated location. The story they'd sold little Robbie involved saving the world from alien invaders. It was a crock of lies and bullshit, fake news broadcast of the President being eaten by aliens notwithstanding.

Fucking Human traffickers.

He silently pulled his handgun from its holster with one hand while unlatching the gate with another, careful to prevent a squeak as he entered the property. The light of his flashlight glinted off cracked windows before hitting creased cardboard boxes hastily taped over others. The house had seen better days but paled in comparison to the horror caked on the dead grass of the back yard. Officer Gatas gagged when he realized the soft soil he'd stepped in was actually human intestines and blood. He bit the side of his hand to stifle his scream, hurrying around the swathe of carnage behind the house.

This is worse than I thought!

Someone was murdered here!

A house cat bounced into view, startling him enough he nearly dropped his gun. The animal was young, light in color, and thin. A veritable ghost in the full moon's light. It stared at him with large golden eyes before bounding into the darkness behind a large wooden barn, chasing after a fat moth.

Officer Gatas reached the open door of the barn, listened a moment, then rushed inside. Once his vision adjusted to the sudden lack of moonlight, he was met by the gaze of countless eyes, peering at him from every nook and cranny of the barn. A large dark figure stood off to the right, just outside his full field of vision. He stepped forward, landing full on the fluffy tail of a long haired cat. The animal screamed, yowled, and curled around in a panic, biting down on his ankle just below the hem of his pants. He felt his flesh tear as the cat continued to bite and scratch.

GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! someone shouted.

Something moved near the tall figure as Officer Gatas struggled to free himself of the cat, he was sure it was whoever was screaming at him, standing off to the side. Panicked, he fired his gun at anything and everything that moved.

"Ahhhhh!"

Freyja rocketed out of the office chair she'd fallen asleep in and raced to the door of the Armory as the crack of gunshots continued to echo from the Barn. Damien, Gee, and Hal each woke up one after another and followed after her. She wasn't sure who else was moving since her focus remained on those connected to the Link, including the panicked policeman in the barn. She managed to hold him in place and still move, but he slipped free with each step she took, leaving her a few paces shy of the barn when everyone else caught up to her.

"What's going on?" Gee asked.

"Dumb cop, just shot cats," Freyja replied through grit teeth.

Officer Gatas inched free when she took another step.

"Take his gun, see how many are hurt," she said. "I can hold him till y'all get his cuffs on him."

Damien, Gee, and Hal slipped past her into the barn. Damien disarmed the frozen officer. Gee slipped the handcuffs out of his holster and forcibly moved the mans arms behind him to secure them. Hal used his shirt to attempt to stop the bleeding from one of the cats that had been hit in the chest. The Brothers of Fervor, Sam, and Kait made it into the back yard just as Freyja released the cop from her grip. Thankfully, the newly arrived teens had sense enough to stay back near the Armory's front keeping watch of little Zoe who rubbed sleep from her eyes and yawned. So, none of them saw the policeman, but there was no way anyone missed him screaming.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I'M AN OFFICER OF THE LAW AND YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!"

Freyja overcame Officer Gatas again after entering the Barn herself, freezing him in place mid-scream. He didn't seem aware enough that he was part of the Link to telepathically shout, but panic and fear poured off him instinctively as he fought to break free of her control.

"Was that gunshots?" Sam asked, phone in hand as he filmed the aftermath of Officer Gata's intrusion.

"How many were hit?" Freyja asked, attempting to keep her focus on preventing the internally screaming police officer from thrashing around as he knelt on both knees in the barn's dirt floor. His body spasmed every time she spoke.

"Five," Hal replied.

"Shit," she hissed.

"YOU-" Officer Gatas' words choked in his throat as Freyja put more pressure on his mind.

Kait's eyes filled with tears when she caught sight of the cat in Hal's arms. "Oh my gods. Sticky Bun! NO!"

Odin bounced into the Barn followed by Gravy Train, Bumble Bee, and Hemi. The cats fanned out to evaluate the injured with Odin settling nearest Hal. Odin's right eye glowed vermilion in the moonlight filtering through one of the wall slats.

"We need Sparks. Quickly!"