Charles smiled. “Don’t worry, Malcolm, we’ll be fine.”
“Let me see you out,” Foster said. He walked the two men out to the car. “Are you sure you two will be okay?” he said. “I’ll go with you or I could send Sams with you, if you want.”
“We’ll be fine,” Charles said with a smile. “We can always use the bartering idea if we need it.”
“Fair enough. If you have any trouble, you don’t hesitate to call,” Foster said. “You got me?”
“Of course,” Charles said. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. We should be back in an hour or two.”
The two men got into the Land Cruiser. Charles turned the ignition, and the vehicle started right up. He gave a quick wave to Foster, put the vehicle on drive, and pulled away from the retail strip.
The Reaper moved cautiously behind a row of bushes. His master had told him it was important not to be seen by any humans, and he took care to stay hidden. He looked cautiously and saw three humans standing near a vehicle. He saw two of them get into it, and a moment later there was a loud noise which made him flinch. As the motorized cart pulled away, he saw one man standing alone. The human then turned and went back into the building.
“Sir, I think I have found them,” he said mentally to his commander.
“Who?” Haas said.
“The one they call Fos-ter. He was meeting with two other humans who have left. I believe he’s alone now. Shall I attack him?”
“No. I want you to follow the other humans.”
“But, sir, I thought we were supposed to find Fos-ter.”
“You did,” Haas said mentally. “You’ve told me where he is. But I doubt he is alone.”
“I don’t understand. I saw Fos-ter. He was alone after the others left in the loud machine.”
“There could be more inside the building that you can’t see. Forget about Foster for now. I want to know where the other ones are going.”
“Of course, sir.”
“I will send other warriors to your current location to watch Foster and keep an eye on him,” Haas answered. “But I want you to find out where the other humans are going.”
“I must hurry, then. They’re near the end of the road.”
“Do it,” Haas ordered. “Report to me when they have stopped and gotten out of the vehicle.”
“I follow and obey your command, sir.”
A few blocks later, the Land Cruiser pulled to a stop, and Charles put it in park before turning off the engine. The parking lot for the veterinarian’s office looked completely abandoned, and despite no one being there for several days, there were a large amount of leaves and trash scattered throughout the parking lot.
“This place could use a serious cleaning,” Gregory complained.
“This is good,” Charles said. “It means most have probably ignored this place.”
“Good point, Dad.” Gregory said. “Let’s go in and get what we need.”
The two men disembarked from the vehicle and walked towards the building. Gregory tested the front door and found the knob locked.
“Let’s try the back, shall we?” Charles suggested.
The two men worked their way around the back of the building. The door lay on the ground, facedown and broken.
“Looks like we won’t need to break in,” Gregory quipped. “Someone else already did it for us.”
“Yes,” Charles said. “But we should still be cautious going inside.”
The two men worked their way into the building. All the animal cages were opened, and nothing was in sight. It appeared that someone had released any animals that were in the veterinarian’s care. When, at some point, Charles had no idea. He softly said, “This place is so quiet.”
“Feels weird,” Gregory said. “A little spooky, even.”
“I was thinking something along the same lines,” Charles said. “At least we don’t have to worry about any animals having starved to death in the office. Any ideas where they would keep the medication or the bandages?”
“There would be some bandages in each treatment room. But there’s probably some type of central pharmacy for the medications.”
“Amanda said medicine is a top priority,” Charles said. “Let’s start looking for those first.”
The two men worked their way through the building till they reached an area that looked like what they were looking for. Some of the cabinets had been broken open, and there were pills and debris scattered everywhere. Whoever had looted this place had shown no regard for anyone who might follow after them.
“What a mess,” Gregory mumbled.
“I agree,” Charles answered. “Let’s put anything we want to take with us over on that counter. Make it easier to pack up when we’re done. Anything that ends in a -cine is probably an antibiotic.”
“Like tetracycline?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you see anything that says antibiotics or pain reliever on the packaging, then we should take those, too. We can let the ladies tell us what they are once we get back to base.”
“Seems kind of wasteful.”
“Perhaps.”
There was a loud crunch of glass being stepped on nearby.
“Wait,” Gregory hissed. “Did you hear that?”
“Shhh,” Charles whispered. He moved and closed the door they had come through, then retreated to the center of the room.
The Reaper stood panting heavily. He’d had to run very fast to catch up with the humans in their loud machine. Fortunately, they hadn’t noticed him before they entered the building that he was currently watching. He had moved over to a large viewing portal and seen them moving around inside. He retreated before they saw him and reached out mentally to his master. As he stepped back, there was a loud crunch under his foot. He felt a small pain and paused long enough to remove some sharp material sticking out of the bottom of his foot. It had taken longer to remove the offending item than for his appendage to self-heal.
He retreated behind a nearby row of bushes. It was time to make his report. He was surprised when his leader answered immediately.
“Yes?” Haas answered.
“Sir, I have news for you. The humans have stopped and gone inside a structure.”
“Show me,” Haas ordered.
The soldier stood still and stared toward the building in front of him.
“I know this place,” Haas said. “It is near us. Wait there. Observe, but do not engage.”
“As you command, Master. But sir, what should I do then?”
“Wait for us to arrive and join you. If they leave, I want you to follow them without being seen.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier replied simply, turning his attention back to watching the building. He felt a brief burst of pleasure, knowing he had pleased his master.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Malcolm, you got a minute?” Lizzy asked.
“What’s on your mind?” Foster said.
Lizzy cleared her throat before continuing. “Are you sure we’re going to get to Hope Island?”
“You don’t think we can get out of town?”
“No, not that.”
“So you’re worried Black won’t come through?”
“You have to admit it’s a possibility,” Lizzy answered. “We’re counting on him being able to convince the powers that be to send a plane or helicopter to come get us.”
“I’m confident that Black will come through.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“We’re just going to have to wing it and hope for the best.”
“You’re kidding,” Lizzy exclaimed. “That’s your plan?”
“I’m not sure what other realistic options we have right now,” Foster admitted. “We’re in a beach resort town. The ocean is to our east. Without a boat and someone who knows how to navigate the open waters, that’s not a good option. If we head south, we’re going to head deeper into Disciple territory and move farther away from our intended destination. If we head nor
th toward Philly, there’s a good chance we could run into a lot more Reapers.”
“What about to the west?”
“Already considered it,” Foster said. “Nick said that’s where there’s a heavy amount of Guardian and Reaper patrols.”
“All right, I’ll admit, those options don’t sound very promising,” Lizzy answered. “But what would help improve the chances of the military sending a plane or helicopter to us?”
“Besides what we’ve already promised to share with them?” Foster asked. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, what if we made it a safer pickup? There’s a few airports in Delaware. Maybe they could pick us up from one of them. If we pick one that is far enough away from Rehoboth Beach, then the Disciples won’t be an issue.”
“It’s possible. But to be honest, the larger airports have probably been run over by the Reapers.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Take Dover Air Force Base,” Foster said. “It’s a military installation. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they got attacked by the Reapers at some point.”
Lizzy chuckled. “Sounds like a death wish. We have the largest military in the world.”
“I’m not sure how much that might matter against these things. No disrespect to any of our armed forces, but the Reapers aren’t easy to kill.”
“Unless you have silver bullets.”
“Right. But I don’t think they know about the Reapers’ weakness,” Foster replied. “To be honest, I’m using the information to get us sanctuary on Hope Island.”
“You need to tell them.”
“I will.”
“And what happens if something happens to you?”
“Then someone else in the group will tell them.”
“Malcolm, I don’t think you’re listening to me. If this information were to die with us, then what happens to the rest of the human race?”
“And if I don’t use that information to get all of us someplace safe, then where are we?” Foster countered. “I don’t think it’s the kind of thing they’ll just accept me telling them over a sat phone, either.”
“Meaning?”
“I think I’m going to have to prove to them that it works,” Foster said. “I might have to show them proof.”
“Are you serious?”
Foster said nothing.
“You are, aren’t you?” Lizzy demanded. “How in the world do you walk through doorways with that inflated head of yours?”
Foster saw red. “Take a look around you. Everyone looks to me for the answers.” His voice grew gradually louder. “It’s not ego. It’s doing whatever the fuck it takes to keep everyone in this group safe. And I do it without asking for any pats on the back or praise.”
“You’re shouting at me.”
“Sorry.” Foster took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He lowered his voice, then continued. “I do it because I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you.”
“I know,” Lizzy said as she looked toward her feet. “You’re just trying to keep all of us safe. Including me.”
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as neither one of them seemed ready to speak up again. The seconds seemed to stretch out to minutes.
“Malcolm?”
“Yeah?”
“I just thought of another place that might work,” Lizzy said carefully. “I mean, it could pass as an airport.”
“What do you mean, pass?”
Lizzy proceeded to explain, and as she did, a smile began to form on Foster’s face.
“That’s brilliant,” Foster said excitedly. “Especially since a lot of people aren’t likely to know about it.”
“You really think so?”
“Absolutely. Great thinking, Lizzy,” Foster said. “Let’s gather the group, and we’ll share the news with them.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Actually, give me a few minutes. I need to make a call.”
“Black?”
“Yes.”
“You got it, Malcolm.”
Foster waited till Lizzy left the room and pulled out a satellite phone and dialed it. It rang once, and then he heard a male voice answer.
“Black here.”
“It’s Foster.”
“Uh-huh.”
“We might have a possible exfil location. Is that copter back yet?”
“Negative. Why?”
Foster began to tell him about the possible location.
“Are you there yet?” Black asked
“No, we haven’t left yet.”
“Kind of pointless to set up a pickup without knowing if you can land a chopper there.”
“I’m confident the place is secure. From what my source is telling me, we should be able to exfil from there.”
“Uh-huh. Lemme talk with Abrahams and see what we can do.”
“Any idea how long would it take the copter to get here?”
“Damned if I know. I’m not a pilot.”
“Best guess, Sergeant.”
“Once it’s in the air,” Black said, “I think the Blackhawk could probably get there within an hour.”
“Great. I’ll call you back once we get there.”
“Tell you what,” Black said. “Why don’t I call you back once I make sure that Abrahams is willing to send the chopper. Otherwise, you could be standing there holding your dick and waiting for a ride that is never coming.”
“Point taken,” Foster said. “We’ll lay low and wait for your return call.”
“Copy that. Keep those people safe, Foster.” Black said. “I’ll be in touch once I have an update.”
“Okay, will do. Stay frosty, Sarg.”
“Always do,” Black answered before disconnecting the call.
Foster chuckled softly. Things were still unpredictable and chaotic. But he always knew what Black’s reaction and behavior would be. He fully expected the SWAT Sergeant to lean on Abrahams as hard as it took to get them the copter they needed.
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Foster answered.
The door swung open, and Amanda appeared in the doorway.
“Got a few minutes to talk?” Amanda asked.
“Sure.”
“Good. I asked the rest of the gang to give us some privacy.”
Foster’s eyebrows slowly went up.
“Easy, boy,” Amanda teased. “I wanted to be able to talk with you without anyone else interrupting.”
“All right,” Foster said quickly. “So what’s on your mind, Doctor?”
“Are you worried about it?” Amanda asked.
“About what?” Foster said. “Reapers?”
“That goes without saying. We have to always be worried about them. But that’s not what I meant.”
“Okay,” Foster said. “So what’s on your mind?”
“Hope Island. Is it really as good as Sergeant Black says?”
“Why would he lie about it?”
“He doesn’t have a reason to, does he?”
“I don’t think so,” Foster answered. “I mean, unless Abrahams is forcing him to.”
“Do you really think they could?”
“Short of holding his men hostage, I doubt it.”
“I can’t wait to get there, to Hope Island, I mean. Just something resembling a normal life again.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Foster said. “I mean, it could be better than any of the places we’ve already been.”
“How couldn’t it be better? There’s no Reapers. We can continue to go back to the kind of life we used to have before all of this madness began.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“You know I am,” Amanda took both of Foster’s hands in hers. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
“What was that for?” Foster asked.
“For being patient,” Amanda said with a smile. “For being willing to wait for us through all this craziness.”
“That hasn’t been e
asy sometimes.”
“I know.”
There was a tap on the door. Sams called through the door, “Excuse me, I hope you lovebirds are fully dressed. I really don’t want to see Malcolm’s night stick.”
“Derrick, give it a rest,” Amanda snapped. “Nothing is happening.”
“Right, sorry,” Sams said before stepping into the room. He glanced at both of them before continuing. “Oh, good, you’re already dressed. I mean, still dressed. Listen, the day’s wasting away, Malcolm. We need to go check out the new potential base.”
“Right, be there in a minute,” Foster said. He made a shooing motion to Sams.
The former Ranger nodded knowingly, tapped his wrist as if it had a watch on it, and retreated from the room.
Foster sighed. Derrick was reading far more into where things were between Amanda and him. He’d have to figure out a way to bring it up to his friend and set the record straight. He turned his attention back to Amanda.
“Can we pick this up later?” he asked. “We do need to check out the alternate site.”
“Yeah, go on. Keep Derrick and you safe. I’ll see you soon.”
“You can count on it.” Foster flashed a boyish grin before ducking out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Tahoe pulled to a stop in front of the only yellow house on Fieldcrest Drive. Foster shifted it into park and turned the engine off. He paused for a minute, listening for any sounds of incoming vehicles or Reapers.
The neighborhood continued to be extremely quiet, and Sams let out a low, appreciative whistle. “Cute little place. Just screams suburban homeowner.”
Foster glanced at the property. It was a light-yellow colonial home with a tan roof. There were two full picturesque windows to the left of the entrance and one to the right. A white picket fence enclosed the front yard. A detached two-car garage sat farther back from the house.
“Could be,” Foster answered. “Let’s check it out.”
The two men quietly climbed out of the Tahoe, taking care to close the doors as quietly as possible. They proceeded to work their way toward the house, carrying their rifles in a low-ready position.
The Wretched Series | Book 4 | Wretched Aftermath Page 14