“Did you want me to let the kids know they’re not going back to base with us?” Jaxson asked.
“No, I’ll do it,” I volunteered. I tossed my keys to Gavin. “Be nice to my baby,” I warned him.
He nodded with a raised brow. “I’ll treat her right. Ready, girls?”
Jemmy and Sierra nodded.
“Let’s go,” Dawn stated.
Gavin, Sierra, Jemmy, and Dawn were driving my Jeep back. Since our last attack, we found out there were other entrances to the mountain that we were unaware of. They were headed to another access road. We weren’t going to the main entrance. We only hoped that the second guard shack hadn’t been discovered from the back entrance.
“New plans,” I shouted cheerfully as I hopped onto the bus. “I know most of you thought we were finished here, but we’re not. Drumroll please.” I waited for the sound of open palms slapping the seats and their laps. “I bet you didn’t know that this was an overnight trip. You’re now going to an indoor water park!”
Most of the bus erupted in cheers. It was so deafening, I nearly had to cover my ears. The poor bus driver did.
“Blake,” Tyra Henderson raised her hand.
“Hmm?” I tried to keep my smile in place. Tyra was in middle school. She was also one of the brightest kids in her class.
“My mom and dad aren’t answering their phones, and the base is in lockdown,” Tyra said with a worried frown.
Nervous chatter erupted on the bus. I looked over at Jace, who had followed me up on the bus.
His look was full of meaning. “We’re well aware of that,” Jace said clearing his throat. “But everything is going to be okay.”
“I want to go back,” Tyra stated resolutely.
A few voices piped up in agreeance.
“You can’t,” I told her firmly with an apologetic look. “I know you might be worried, but we’re going to take care of this, and we’ll let you know the moment we find out everyone’s okay.”
“We don’t have our swimsuits or PJs,” one of the little girls in Alex’s class called out.
“We’ll get them there,” Megan chirped.
“Can I get a two piece?” another girl asked hopefully.
“Would your mom let you?” Megan countered back.
Megan had made it her mission to get to know everyone in the compound. She just didn’t just know who they were, she got to really know them; their history, their background, what drove them to come to the compound, and more.
“No,” she grumbled honestly.
“I’m sure we can find a cute tankini or one, piece though,” Rachel enthused.
“Okay,” the girl beamed.
Somewhere along the way, Rachel and Jemmy garnered a little following. Rachel had continued keeping her hair bleach blonde since Halloween. However, like Jemmy, she had added more colorful highlights to them. She was currently rocking purple highlights while Jemmy had blue.
It was hard not to notice when some of the little girls started to put the temporary sprays in their hair as well.
“Be safe,” Alex insisted in my head.
“I will,” I told him. “Have fun and enjoy the rest of your birthday.”
I sought him out and found him sitting in the back next to Nadia. He smiled and waved at me. I was glad he was taking it better than I thought he would.
The SUV had barely rolled to a stop before I was launching myself out of it and running toward the coffee shop. I didn’t know why we thought it was okay that Troy left by himself. He could have been hurt, if not worse, killed. The idea of losing him had been too much.