AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mornin’,” he says, and both men nod. “Any news from Kaitlyn?”
“Yeah,” Lennon says, sticking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “Apparently, one of the trade contacts we’ve been using is actually Homani. Kaitlyn didn’t want to contact anyone directly until she heard from you. She was up all night on the comms, so I told her to catch some sleep, and we’ll fill her in after the meeting this morning.”
Gage raises an eyebrow. It’s not lost on him that the Homani have been hiding in plain sight, just as the clones have been. “Have we gotten the word out about the meeting?”
“Yep,” JD says with a pop, motioning to the trickle of people headed their way.
Lennon glances at Gage. “What are you going to tell them?”
The faces of the crowd are a mix of concern and curiosity. “The truth.”
Chapter four
Afteralongdayof discussions, Gage and his crew set out toward Smith’s Farm. Gage glances in the rearview mirror of his truck at the vehicles behind him. He, along with forty of the best trained clones from Crescent Harbour, had been chosen by their people to aid their Homani brethren. The drive up the coast, then inland toward Smith’s Farm is a long one, but they are almost there. After the initial shock of learning of the threat they now face, and that the Homani still exist wore off, it was agreed upon that a scouting team would be sent out to meet the ghosts from the past.
As they approach the area, the sun glints off a wire fence just inside the tree line as tendrils of smoke rise sporadically amongst the forest top. Gage reaches his arm out of the open window of his truck to signal for the convoy of vehicles to pull over. He parks and jumps out of the truck, he waits for everyone to gather.
“I got a bad feeling about this,” Lennon says warily as he approaches.
A pit forms in Gage’s stomach as the acrid smell of smoke reaches him. “Yeah, me too.” He turns to address the group before him. “We’ll walk from here. Stay alert.”
Stealthily, they walk along the tree line, stopping just as a gate with a security post comes into view. Men are running to trucks parked inside the gate. Bags of what he assumes to be supplies are being hastily loaded into their beds. Their pale faces and rapid movements suggest panic and the pit in Gage’s stomach deepens. From the frenzied activity of the sentries posted, his heart sinks as he realizes one thing.We’re too late.
Approaching the men posted with caution, he steps into their line of sight and raises his hands in an effort to show they mean no harm. One of the guards spots him, the man’s jaw drops as he scrambles for his radio.
“Matt, it’s Carl. I need you at the gate. It's urgent. Yougottaseethisforyourself.”
The other two guards pull guns. “Stop where you are.”
Gage takes a breath, reassuring his animal that there is no need for defence. “We’re here to help. We mean you no harm. I need to speak to the leader of your colony.”
One of the men looks over to ‘Carl’ who is staring wide-eyed at Gage.
“Carl!” the burly man with the gun yells.
Swivelling his head briefly in the man’s direction, the guy’s body jerks before he responds. “Matt’s coming.”
Gage sizes up the leader of Smith’s Farm as both groups walk from the gate into town. The man, who had haltingly introduced himself as Matt, sent a guy he referred to as his second and a woman ahead. Matt had said something about warning people named Calli and Dawn of the group’s arrival, but by the strange looks Gage was getting, it was pretty clear it was about him.
Raking his hand through his curly black hair, he clears his throat and cuts to the chase. “I’m getting the feeling that I remind you of someone.”
“Maverick. He’s no longer with us. It’s complicated,” Matt says, stopping to face him. The leader of the farm cocks his head. “We just found out about the cloning facility in Arizona from Beth and Finn, who recently joined our community. I take it that’s where you’re from?”
Gage studies the other man with eyebrows raised. “Beth and Finn? We’d heard about them. Some of the scientists whispered about two subjects who had escaped with their handler, but most of us had given up hope of ever leaving there alive.”
“How did you escape?” Matt gestures to the people Gage had brought with him.
I need to be honest if I want to gain this man’s trust.
“Our facility was destroyed not long after the bombs were dropped on the Washington site. A few sympathetic workers freed as many of us as they could before taking off for safety. Others weren’t so lucky. Their handlers put them down before the explosions began,” Gage says as he kicks a rock lying on the dirt road.
“What?” A deep voice roars from behind Gage, causing both men to spin around.
Gage looks up at the mountain of a man.Jeez, this guy’s gotta be six-nine if he’s an inch.A scar runs from the corner of his eye down his jawline.
The man’s dark green gaze doesn’t waiver. “They killed them?” he growls, more of a demand than a question.
A woman wearing glasses, with a messy bun poking out of a beanie, steps out from behind the behemoth and takes his arm. “Finn. Let the man speak.”
