Slowly, Rogue turned, placing her back to the wall. Her eyes darted from building to building, trying to take in each rustling leaf and dancing spot of light. The setting sun created deep shadows, giving any number of predators ample places to hide.
“Get going!” Sikes bellowed as he leaned over the wall. Rogue turned to face him, tilting her head back to see the very top.
From inside, the walls had seemed like an impenetrable fortress. From outside, they looked like a crumbling relic. Deep gouges and long scratches stretched on for as far as she could see in either direction, a testament to their necessity. Rogue reached out, running her hand along one of the deep scars in the stone.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled, rooting her in place. Every muscle in her body tensed, hoping that a long-necked Alamosaurus was responsible for the shakes. Though big, they were harmless. From up above, the Watch shouted as they reacted to whatever was behind her.
Slowly, Rogue turned.
It wasn’t a long neck.
The carnivore towered over the decaying strip mall. Its oak colored skin was slashed with stripes of dark chocolate brown, concealing the beast within the trees. In the waning light, against the backdrop of the forest, the creature had been invisible. The Albertosaurus lifted its head and scented the air.
***
Moran gasped. “An Albertosaurus. My God.”
“The Albertosaurus was the least of my problems, as it turned out,” Rogue said.
She went on to tell them about her subsequent escape from the carnivore, her run-in with the Zuniceratops, killing the Nyctosaurus, running from a pack of Utahraptors, almost drowning, defeating the Clidastes, and passing out in the rain.
“What happened then?” Moran asked in a breathless voice.
Rogue continued the saga, telling them about Seth rescuing her, finding other survivors, including her mother at the Zoo, the disastrous egg hunt, and being kidnapped by Bones. “And that’s how I ended up back here.”
“That idiot, Bones,” Bruce growled. “Did he really think either Douglas or Sikes would forgive you? Especially after you told them off in public? How stupid can the man be?”
“I know. He’s as crazy as a loon,” Rogue said, shaking her head. “I’m pretty sure once he’s told them all he knows, they’ll get rid of him too.”
“Of course, they will,” Bruce said. “He’ll join us in here soon enough, mark my words.”
Moran, who’d been suspiciously quiet thus far, turned to Rogue. “You found your mother?”
Rogue nodded. “I did.”
“And? What’s she like?” Moran asked with an undertone of fear in her voice.
Rogue reached through the bars to grip Moran’s hand. “She’s my mother, and I love her, but she’ll never be you.”
Moran’s breath hitched in her throat, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too,” Rogue said, leaning against the bar. “But I’m here now, and I’m not leaving your side again.”
Chapter 19
Rogue was yanked from the depths of sleep by the sound of a door creaking open. She sat upright, stiff from lying on the cold floor of her cell. “Who’s there?”
She blinked when the sharp light of a flaming torch cut through the darkness. It was the guard. The same one who’d locked her up that morning. He placed one finger to his lips. “Shh, be quiet.”
Moran and the others likewise stirred, though they kept silent. Rogue watched with some confusion as the guard unlocked their cells one by one. Finally, he beckoned to them. “Come on. We don’t have all night.”
“What’s going on?” Moran asked, her voice thick with suspicion.
“You’re leaving, that’s what,” the guard said.
“Leaving? What on earth do you mean?” Moran replied.
“I mean, I’m helping you lot escape,” the guard said.
“Why?” Rogue asked, both shocked and surprised in equal measure.
“I’ve had enough. Torturing people is wrong. Killing them for believing in freedom is wrong,” the guard said, walking toward the exit. “Also, you have friends in high places.”
“Friends?” Rogue repeated, puzzled. “What friends?”
A shadowy figure entered the prison, and a feminine voice said, “Good evening, Rogue. Or should I say, Lillian? It’s been a long time.”
The woman stepped into the light, and Rogue sucked in a breath. “Kat!”
“It’s me,” Kat said, stepping closer.
“You bitch,” Rogue cried. “You left me at that orphanage to die.”
“I did,” Kat said. “And I’m so—”
Kat’s head slewed to the side as Rogue’s palm connected with her cheek. The crack of the blow echoed through the cells, and Bear chuckled. “That’s my girl.”
Kat pressed one hand to her face, but she remained surprisingly calm. “I suppose I deserved that.”
“Deserved it?” Rogue hissed through clenched teeth. “You deserve far worse than that, you poisonous witch. Especially after you betrayed Moran.”
“I’m not the one who betrayed them,” Kat said, dropping her hand. Her cheek glowed crimson from the force of Rogue’s blow, the flesh swollen and puffy. “You pack quite a punch for someone so little.”
“There’s more where that came from,” Rogue said, rubbing her stinging fingers against her leg.
“If you didn’t betray us, who did?” Moran demanded. She’d exited her cell and now leaned against Bruce. He had one arm looped around her shoulders, though it looked like a stiff breeze could blow them both over.
“Steven got sloppy. He aroused suspicion, and the general had him followed. Once it became clear he was the mole, it was a simple matter of questioning him,” Kat explained. She flashed Steven a dark look. “You should’ve been more careful. As it is, I barely escaped discovery as well.”
“And you expect us to believe that?” Rogue said with a sneer. “I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you.”
“Your anger at me is justified, Lillian. I wronged you as a child, and I’ve regretted it ever since. You and Corinne were the only family I had, and I threw it away because of misplaced anger and guilt.”
“Guilt?”
“I blamed
