Page 36 of Echos and Empires (After #3)

There was nothing special about the area of beach Chris chose.

It was an area unlike any other, albeit a little farther from the community to avoid eyes.

The lighthouse had never worked according to Maria, but it made a wonderful beacon.

But still, people came and went to the beach by the old lighthouse all the time.

There was nothing to draw attention or suspicion.

Bash kept back, making certain he was ready to defend Chris if needed.

The weight of the moment pressed down on him as if he were the one who had to go and prove to these virtual strangers that their lives were in danger.

The air was heavy with expectation, with the unspoken knowledge that the choices made could reshape the fate of the entire island.

There were only eight people there aside from his unit. And Emma was not one of them. Should they have read the situation incorrectly, Chris wanted her far from harm’s way if things turned violent. One less thing for them to worry about. Bash agreed instantly.

He looked out at the eight the team had essentially hand picked to come to this very first attempt at saving their world.They were a mismatched group to say the least. Three women and five men.

Five men who hadn’t fallen prey to whatever mind control shit was in the vitamins.

He only recognized the general and the woman from the meeting, the others being recruited by someone else.

The former general, with a snarl on his lips, stood farthest away.

Let’s just hope he’s not here to spy.

But in each face, Bash saw the same thing. A fierce, desperate determination, tempered by the ever-present specter of fear. They might not know what he wanted, but it was clear they were concerned by what was here.

He knew that fear intimately. It had been his constant companion these past weeks, a cold knot in his gut that tightened with every passing day.

But as he looked out at the assembled faces, he felt something else stirring beneath the dread - a flicker of hope, fragile but stubborn. Bash had to assume Chris felt it, too.

“I know you’re all risking everything by being here,” Chris began, his voice steady despite the nerves jangling under his skin. “And I won’t insult you by pretending otherwise. What we’re doing...if we’re caught, the consequences will be severe.”

He paused, likely letting the weight of those words sink in, possibly thinking about the fight he’d had with Alex earlier in the day, so similar to the one from last night with Bash.

They’d fought over the goal of the meeting today, about whether they would come out and speak their peace or not, but at the end of the day, Chris was the leader and Alex fell in line.

Bash refocused on the group before him, taking careful note of Chris’s resolute expression . “You’ve been asked here because someone in my family felt something when we spoke to you.”

And if we’re wrong, we have Emma’s serum to wipe your memories, Bash thought with a smirk .

“The island isn’t what it appears. The bombs weren’t what they appeared to be. And most importantly, Victor Warrington isn’t what he appears. He’s a demon in human skin and the one responsible for the destruction of earth.”

Not one person made a move to leave. None spoke out. They all simply stayed where they were at, their eyes on Chris.

“Victor Warrington was behind the creation of this island and six others identical to it. He was also behind the creation —and deployment—of the biological bombs. These islands were meant to recreate humanity. The plans we saw made it seem as if Victor wanted only genetic perfection. To remove cancer, autoimmune diseases, everything that was not the peak of human condition.”

Chris paused, once again giving any of them the chance to screw him over. Not one person did, though a man he’d never met with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. Scoffed, but didn’t make a move to leave.

“On the island, Victor is claiming to control fertility through created vitamins. Vitamins the men needed to impregnate difficult female bodies.”

A wave of bile lurched up in Bash’s throat at the way it sounded, and he swallowed it back, wincing at the burn.

He wasn’t the bad ass man he pretended to be.

Not all the time at least and this was one of them.

He didn’t need a reminder of the hell the world had gone through at that bastard’s hands.

“While they may do that, our notes also show he’s created some kind of mind control weapon and my team believe it’s triggered through the vitamins. Have you taken them?”

One by one, the five men shook their head or spoke a simple ‘no’ out loud.

“The love of my life is pregnant. Twins. Done without his vitamins might I add. But our children won’t be safe here. No one’s will be. We need to take Victor down. We need to put Victor down.”

Chris let the threat hang in the air. His gaze on Zach.

“And where do we fall into this?” Viola, a young teen asked, her voice almost too quiet to hear. She was chosen by William because her family was the largest on the island and had the most to loose.

“We gather more like us. More who can be swayed or are already on to something to be off. More women whose unborn babies may be in danger. We will build an army, whether one of peace or violence will depend on who joins. I will tell you, there is no shame in wanting him dead for destroying the world, and my ultimate goal will be to destroy his goals and then put him down. Even if my unit and I do it alone.”

“And how will we operate? We can’t come en masse to the beach. Some sections are off limits due to the dangerous coastline.” Zach seemed to test him.

“We’ll communicate via notes. It will start with my unit and we’ll get word to you who will get word to others you deem safe.

There’s nothing more to tell as we don’t know it yet and I’m not ashamed to say that.

” Chris cleared his throat and glanced at Liam who nodded.

“What I can say, is if my family is harmed in any way, we’ll consider you all traitors to the cause and wipe you of all knowledge… or worse.”

Again, Chris waited for a cry of rage. To Bash’s surprise, nothing came.

“We will meet again. ” Chris turned his back as if by way of dismissing the group who’d dared to come.

Bash stood there a moment, letting the enormity of what had just occurred wash over him. The die was cast now, the pieces set in motion. Every day forward would be a battle, a never-ending struggle against an opponent with almost limitless resources and a complete lack of scruples.

But they had taken the first step. They had dared to hope, to believe that a different future was possible.

They had a long road ahead of them, but at least now, they were on the path. Come what may, they would walk it together. Bash moved toward Chris, certina they were not in danger.

“You think we’re safe?” William asked as he moved to stand beside Chris.

“I think we did what we had to do, and now we protect Emma and our children with every breath we have.”

“Speaking of Emma,” Alex called from his spot near the water. “Who’s going with her tomorrow afternoon?”

“I am,” Chris spoke before anyone else could claim it. “I need to see what I can find out while she’s in that back room. I may have a little more clearance being on security and the council.”

Bash had no objections, but he could’ve pointed out they should all go and try to break into that room. But he wasn’t the leader, and he had to trust Chris, or this would all fall to hell.