Page 3 of Echos and Empires (After #3)
TWO
Dried leaves crunched beneath Chris’s feet as he walked beside William.
It seemed even the jungle could fall prey to some of the changes the bombs left, creating a colder fall than the plants could survive.
The air was thick with the scent of salt and damp leaves, and the distant call of seabirds echoed through the trees close to the shoreline.
He’d grown used to the sounds. While this place wasn’t entirely home yet, it grew closer by the day.
Even on rotation. Even when I’m forced back into the man who the military owned.
Chris led the way, his eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of disturbance, while William followed closely, his gaze equally vigilant.
It was a scene that should have been peaceful, but Chris couldn’t ignore the familiar tension in his muscles, a readiness that never left him.
He moved with purpose, each step measured and precise.
The scar on his cheek twitched slightly as he concentrated, a constant strange sensation that he never seemed to ignore.
No matter how much time passed, there would always be a trace of fear, of guilt, at the life they’d left so many others to endure, and it was if the scare was the only visual reminder any of them had this far away from the pain and devastation.
Their life on the island had settled into a routine he never could have imagined.
“We’re coming up on six months,” he spoke not knowing if William was evening listening.
Less than six months since they fled the mainland. Ran from a life of danger and destruction. From a world that had lost so much of the creations they’d created to violence and danger. Yet here they were, with cell phones and computers, in a world that seemed as distant as it was surreal.
Chris couldn’t shake the feeling that it was too good to be true. Liam’s warning from the night in the navigation room a few months back echoed in his mind, but he refused to believe it. The island was perfect. Except if it wasn’t, it would be his fault for bringing them all to more danger.
He wasn’t certain he’d ever be able to breathe without worrying someone would hear.
He’d put on an act for his unit—for Emma—but he’d never truly feel safe.
Even with a position on the council offered soon after they arrived as recognition of the service he’d abandoned, Chris didn’t think he was truly part of the community.
He glanced at William, whose expression mirrored his own unease whenever they spoke of it.
Chris knew they all felt it.
That strange disconnect between the life they knew and the one they found here.
But while William’s concern was more hopeful than paranoid, Chris’s was rooted deeply in years of caution and loss, too firmly embedded to shake free.
He couldn’t let himself relax, couldn’t allow himself to be lulled into complacency.
Not now, not ever, no matter how good things seemed.
They were all outsiders, coming together to form something bigger.
Something that feels so out of touch with the way the rest of humanity lives.
The path twisted through the trees, and Chris’s thoughts twisted with it, a tangled knot of doubt and determination.
He had taken on more responsibility than ever before, more than he’d ever imagined, and the weight was immense, pressing down on every second.
Yet it was a burden he was willing to bear, if it meant keeping them safe. If it meant keeping Emma safe.
“The south side,” Chris said, his voice cutting through the rustle of leaves, officially ready to work and not just linger in his mind. “It’s too exposed. I want to set up a perimeter, maybe double up on patrols so it’s a few times a week. Think they’ll go for it?”
‘They’ were the other council members and the men he’d basically been part in charge of as a new section commander in the security unit. Chris had more power here than made any sense, but dishing out order to anyone other than the unit he truly considered his men still set his stomach swirling.
William nodded, his blue eyes thoughtful behind a fringe of blond hair. “We could use some of the old fencing,” he suggested. “Reinforce the weak spots, maybe set up some traps as a warning system. Treat it like the bases treated the world when everything blew up.”
Chris considered the idea, his mind already mapping out the logistics. “That could work,” he agreed. “We need to make sure nothing gets through.”
“You don’t like how everyone just seems to trust that the coastline is safe because who else could possibly have a boat but authorized captains?”
Chris nodded. William saw everything, like always.
Their conversation flowed with the ease of two men who had fought side by side, who understood each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Chris valued William’s insights, his ability to see things from a different angle.
It was a quality that had saved them more than once, and Chris was grateful for it, even if he knew William felt left out since coming to the island.
The island seemed to surround them as they walked deeper into their patrol, vivid and alive despite the dead leaves scattered here and there.
The other leaves whispered secrets to the wind, and the seabirds called out their own warnings.
The salty breeze carried the scent of the ocean, mingling with the earthy aroma of the forest. It was beautiful, almost disarmingly so.
Chris’s thoughts turned inward, a familiar tension knotting in his chest. The island was a sanctuary, but it was also a risk.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that danger lurked just beyond the horizon, waiting for them to drop their guard.
The pressure of making the right decisions weighed heavily on him, but he refused to falter.
“You still feel useless?”
William flushed and cursed. “I never should have said anything.”
Chris chuckled. He wasn’t amused by William’s discomfort, but more by the way he always seemed to respond to Chris like he was worried he pissed off someone’s dad.
“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve figured it out.
I did figure it out. I thought you moping on the ship was due to cabin fever, but when it didn’t stop a few days after arriving, I knew something was wrong.
” He stopped walking for a moment and set his hand on William’s shoulder.
“Look, I’m six years older than you, but I’m not a dad.
I’m not going to chastise you—maybe kick your ass if you pull another stunt like shooting Marcus, but I’m not going to be upset.
You had a purpose when we were in a wasteland.
Your purpose now is to help everyone see the things they can’t see, find what we need in a damn jungle, watch the behaviors of people we don’t know. ”
“I’m not sure that was the best pep talk, but between you and Bash, I’d say that was the better option.” William smiled. “Thanks. I don’t always feel like we’re the most accessible since arriving here.”
“Some things do feel different,” Chris agreed, not sure if he thought they were a good different, or if he didn’t maybe want to be back the way things were when they only had each other to worry about.
Chris’s mind churned with the weight of his responsibilities as they continued their patrol.
Each step through the jungle seemed to echo the doubts and fears that plagued him.
The island was a paradise, a sanctuary from the horrors they had left behind, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too fragile, too vulnerable.
He thought of the families that had come to depend on him, the lives that hung in the balance of his decisions.
Every choice he made could have consequences that rippled out like waves, affecting not just his own unit but the entire community.
It was a burden he had never asked for, but one he had shouldered willingly, knowing that someone had to step up and take charge.
But what if he made the wrong call? What if he let his guard down, even for a moment, and something slipped through the cracks?
The thought made his stomach clench, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
He had seen firsthand the devastation that could be wrought by a single mistake, a single moment of inattention.
The scars on his face were a constant reminder of the price of failure.
He glanced at William, walking silently beside him, and felt a surge of gratitude for the younger man’s presence.
William was a steady presence, a voice of reason when Chris’s own thoughts threatened to spiral out of control.
He knew he could count on William to have his back, no matter what challenges they faced.
But even with William’s support, Chris couldn’t escape the nagging sense of unease that dogged his every step.
The island was too perfect, too untouched by the chaos that had engulfed the world beyond its shores.
It was like a mirage, a shimmering oasis that could dissolve into nothingness at any moment.
His thoughts turned to Emma, to the love that had blossomed between them in the midst of so much chaos and uncertainty.
She was his anchor, his reason for pushing forward even when the weight of his responsibilities threatened to crush him.
He knew that he would do anything to keep her safe, to protect the life they had started to build together.
Except run. He had aged fucking twelve years in the last one and a half with all the damn running. They couldn’t run again, no matter how many plans he caught Liam making.