The Wretched Series | Book 4 | Wretched Aftermath

by Michaels, E. G.

  Your ability to heal doesn’t work if you get shot in the head, the loud voice in her head lectured.

  A low growl sounded near her. Angel turned her attention toward the sound and saw it was the pack leader. She didn’t know his name. Beeks hadn’t told her, either. And if she were being honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. He was somebody she didn’t want to spend any more time with than she absolutely had to.

  “Charge!” the pack leader snarled. He signaled for them to rush toward the one part of the structure. The pack moved as one and rushed forward.

  Angel dropped to all fours and bounded after the rest of her pack. She was the last one to enter the building. As she entered to the structure, she saw humans fighting with her pack mates. Angel felt a low growl exit her throat. There was a person with a metal object in his hands. He pointed it at one of her pack mates and pulled a trigger. The object made a loud noise, and Angel saw her pack mate get hit by a bullet. Angel felt her teeth bare. This human was dangerous, and she needed to be careful.

  It didn’t make sense. Beeks told her they were just going to talk to the humans, but that’s not what was happening. Angel shrank back, hugging a nearby shadowed wall.

  As she waffled in indecision, she saw the pack leader slam into the armed human from behind. The man hit the ground hard. He managed to roll onto his back a split second before the pack leader grabbed his throat with its teeth. The man tried to scream, but his voice was cut short as Reaper teeth punctured his throat. Angel heard a loud crunch and saw an immediate gush of blood spray out.

  Angel felt a wave of horror wash over her. This wasn’t talking. This was killing. As she looked around the room, she saw that the rest of her pack mates were killing the humans, too. Worse, a few of them had already begun to feed on the dead.

  Angel stood up. She felt her body shaking uncontrollably. This wasn’t what Beeks told her they were supposed to do.

  “Stop,” Angel whimpered. “This isn’t right.”

  “Quiet, pup,” the pack leader growled before diving back onto the dead human. A man. His lifeless body was lying in a growing pool of blood. And yet her pack leader was feeding on the remains.

  This wasn’t right. This isn’t what Beeks had told her that her family would be doing. Angel backed out of the building. She had to get away. Angel dropped to all fours and began to run away as fast as she could.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Hey, you got the reverend’s ear, don't you?”

  Joseph stopped and turned slowly toward the voice’s source. He looked the man up and down once before answering. “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re Ezekiel's assistant, right?”

  “Joseph,” he corrected. “And yes, I’ve been known to help the reverend. Is there something that you need?”

  “I’m not sure who to talk to about this,” the man stammered.

  “Well, what is it?”

  “More like a who. Silas.”

  “Lower your voice,” Joseph hissed.

  “Sorry,” the man mumbled.

  Joseph looked in both directions of the hallway. There didn’t appear to be anyone else in sight. He lowered his voice and asked, “What about him?”

  “I’m not sure he’s all there.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Well, he was going after that group we’re supposed to find, led by that former cop.”

  “Ah, yes, I know who you’re talking about,” Joseph said. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Right. Sorry,” the man said. He offered a handshake. “Name’s Will.”

  Joseph looked it at quizzically and decided it was better to accept it than risk alienating the man. He grasped the man’s hand, which was cold and clammy. He flashed a quick smile. “Nice to meet you. You were saying?”

  “Right,” Will stammered. “Well, we tried to take them above a store.”

  “Them?”

  “The cop and his friends.”

  “I see. Please continue.”

  “So we tried to get them. Except they were holed up real good, and we couldn’t reach them. They shot a couple of our men, and Silas didn’t take it too well. One guy tried to leave, but Silas just shot him down.”

  “What?” Joseph said. He felt the blood leave his face.

  “He shot him like he was nothing but a broken-down old dog. Made us all leave him there to die. It was cold-blooded, man. And that’s not all.”

  “There’s more?” Joseph stammered. “Oh, dear.” He looked around for an open chair. He found one and moved to sit down. He flopped into it. The chair groaned loudly but held his weight.

  “We headed back to HQ and Silas just started reading all of us the riot act, Carl tried to talk to him. But Silas just snapped,” Will said. “Stabbed him in the arm and then a leg. Started to torture the guy until Carl told him what he wanted to hear.”

  “I-I don’t know what to say,” Joseph stammered. “This isn’t the type of behavior we condone.”

  “Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, the guy is fucking nuts,” Will said. “Look, I don’t know how much longer I can keep working for this guy.”

  “I understand. You did the right thing by telling me.”

  “I-I don’t want to die, man,” Will pleaded. “I only signed up to be a Guardian because it meant better lodging and status in the church.”

  “Don’t worry,” Joseph answered. “I’ll talk to Ezekiel about it.”

  “Thank you. I really appreciate it, man.”

  “You’re welcome. And I’m terribly sorry, but I completely spaced your name again.”

  “It’s okay. You’ve probably got a lot on your mind and meet lots of congregation members every day. Especially since you’re helping Ezekiel with so many things,” the man said. “My name is Will.”

  “Will, I promise you I’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll have Ezekiel talk to Silas about it, right away.”

  “Thank you, Joseph. Thank you.”

  It had taken every ounce of self-restraint Silas had to remain out of sight and not spring immediately into action. Especially after he heard his name being mentioned. Silas had followed Will on nothing but a gut feeling. But now he knew the truth. The man was nothing but a little tattletale. And tattletales couldn’t be trusted. Silas carefully retreated back the way he had come. He’d find a way to make him pay for his transgression. But only when Silas was ready to collect.

  Foster walked up to the door and knocked twice. He heard Walker’s voice tell him to enter. Foster opened the door, and as it swung open, he saw Sams sitting there at one end of a table. There was a pile of bullets and other material in front of him. “Emily said you wanted to see me?” he said carefully.

  “Mandatory class,” Walker said. “Grab a seat and get comfortable.”

  “Any chance of seeing a syllabus?”

  “None,” Walker answered. “You don’t need one. You two are going to learn how to make Reaper bullets.”

  “Any particular reason why?”

  “Yeah,” Sams said. “He’s fucking tired of making all of them by himself.”

  “I can’t say I blame him,” Foster said. “It’s a lot of work for one person to have to do. Especially with the number of bullets we’ve been using lately.”

  “Redundancy,” Walker said. “Right now, if something happens to me, you lose your only Reaper bullet maker.”

  “Nah, ain’t no Reaper going to kill you,” Sams said with a boyish grin. “You’re too tough for that.”

  “Tough, not immortal,” Walker said. “Keep in mind, we’ve been lucky so far that we haven't been separated from each other for any lengthy period of time. What happens if we are? What happens if I take another shot to the head, but I don’t come to right away?”

  “In other words,” Foster said, “plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

  “Exactly. Redundancy.”

  “All right,” Foster said. “Let’s get to it, professor.”

  “Where is she?” Beek
s asked.

  “I do not know, my Lord,” the Reaper pack leader answered. He kept his eyes glued to the floor in front of him.

  “You were in charge of keeping an eye on her,” Beeks snarled. “What part of your job wasn’t clear?”

  “I don’t know what happened. We were feeding. I was preparing food for her. And when I turned, she was gone.”

  “Really?” Beeks said. “Is that what really happened?”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  “Don’t move,” Beeks ordered. He slid off his throne and moved toward the still kneeling soldier.

  “What? I don’t understand—”

  “Hold still.” Beeks reached out and seized the Reaper pack leader’s mind. He began looking through its memories, stopping on the ones of Angel. He quickly replayed their exchange, using the minion’s memories like a prerecorded video. After a few minutes of review, he let go of the mental images and turned his attention to the creature now shaking in front of him.

  “You lied to me,” Beeks snarled. “You were busy stuffing your own face. And then you yelled at her when she complained.”

  “My Lord, I can—”

  “Shut up,” Beeks said. “You failed me.”

  “I’m sorry, Master. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Too late,” Beeks said. He reached out strongly, seized the pack leader’s mind, and mentally began to squeeze. The creature stiffened and screamed out in pain. Beeks continued to squeeze until the soldier collapsed lifeless on the ground.

  Beeks slowly checked the rest of the throne room. As he visually scanned the room, each one looked away. Except for one soldier. The minion stood firmly in place and didn’t break eye contact.

  “You,” Beeks said softly.

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  “You are now in charge of his pack. Your predecessor failed me. Do not fail me like he did.”

  “I understand. I honor and obey your word.”

  “The one who answers to the name Angel did not feed with the others,” Beeks answered. “I want you to find her and bring her back. Alive.”

  “Of course, my Lord.”

  “Go,” Beeks ordered. “Take as many of your pack as you need with you. Bring my Angel back to me.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  There was a knock on the door, and Ezekiel shouted for the person to enter. He didn’t have to look up to see who it was. He knew from the distinctive knock and footsteps that his trusted assistant had entered his office.

  “Sir?” the man said carefully.

  “Yes, what is it, Joseph?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “About what?” Ezekiel asked as he slowly closed the book he had been reading and placed it on the corner of his desk.

  “The new leadership of the Guardians.”

  “Close the door, please,” Ezekiel commanded. He waited till the door closed. He set the book he had been reading down on his desk, walked over to the liquor cabinet, and poured a drink, keeping Joseph waiting the entire time. “Do you have a problem with Silas?” Ezekiel asked carefully.

  “I wouldn’t say that I personally do, but...”

  “But what?” Ezekiel demanded. He could feel his impatience rising and tamped it back down. Joseph didn’t deserve to be treated that way, even if he had interrupted Ezekiel getting to an exciting part of the thriller novel he was reading.

  “Some members of the congregation have come to me in confidence. They’re worried about some of his methods. It appears Silas has been using the Disciples’ beliefs as an excuse to torture people.”

  “Tough times call for tough leadership, Joseph. I am fully confident Silas will do what needs to be done.”

  “I-I don’t understand,” Joseph stammered.

  Ezekiel studied the man. He looked like he was ready to faint. “Do you think this man Foster will follow Canterbury rules?”

  “Sir?”

  “Do you think Foster or any of his group of trained killers will hesitate for one moment to come in here and treat us fairly?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” Joseph said, “I haven’t met any of them.”

  “Be glad that you haven’t.”

  “They’re human.”

  “And humans have a long history of doing a multiple of sins,” Ezekiel said. “Do you think they will have any remorse in their hearts that will keep them from slaughtering every man, woman, and child in that chapel? I must remind you that every single one of them is relying on us to keep them safe.”

  “They’re afraid of us. We have allied with the Reapers. We far outnumber Foster’s group.”

  “Oh, they’re not afraid. Not at all. If they were, then why didn’t they flee when the Guardians confronted them at the marina?”

  “But what about the congregation? Don’t you believe they’ll come together to keep each other safe if we’re attacked?”

  “I hope so. But let’s look at the facts. The flock say they believe in us. They believe in the Guardians, too,” Ezekiel said. “But what are they really believing in? I’ll tell you what it is. That we will keep them safe from all harm outside. And that harm includes Foster and his group. The minute that safety disappears, the flock will scatter to the four winds.”

  “I-I think I understand.”

  “Good. Anybody else has a problem with Silas, please tell them to come talk to me directly themselves.”

  “As you wish, sir,” Joseph said. “If there’s nothing else, then I guess I’ll be leaving.”

  “That’s fine,” Ezekiel said. He reached for the book sitting on the corner of his desk. “Please see yourself out.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  It was almost eight o’clock as Will hurried through the cathedral’s rows of pews. One of the other Guardians had told him Silas was looking for him. From the tone of his friend’s voice, Silas wasn’t looking for casual conversation. Will had gotten the hint. It was time to get out while the getting was good. Will made his way out the back side door of the church, walking as quickly as he dared, fighting the urge to run every step of the way. Running would only draw attention to himself, and right now he was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

  He made his way to the street and picked up his pace. What the hell had he been thinking by ratting out his boss? He knew if Silas found out, there would be repercussions. He needed to get out of town. Sure, he’d had a good run with the Guardians. Safety in numbers, steady food that he didn’t have to hunt for himself. Walter, the previous leader of the Guardians, didn’t mind looking the other way if one of his men wanted to enjoy the company of a woman on a given night.

  Will could have taken advantage of that unadvertised perk a few times himself. Especially after his wife decided to leave him. He’d lied to the rest of the cult when he told them that Megan had gone to stay with her sick mother in Ohio. But the truth was his mother-in-law was in perfect health, and his wife had hit him with divorce papers two days before the Reapers showed up.

  Ironically, they had joined the Disciples of the Divine because Megan insisted they become members. Something about a spiritual connection and how it would bring them closer as a couple. Except six months later, they were no longer together. Hell, they were living in two different parts of the country now.

  At least she had gotten out in time. There was part of him that was glad she had left when she did. At least she wasn’t in deep shit like he currently was.

  Maybe if Silas had some kind of accident, then I wouldn’t have to leave town, he silently thought. He dismissed the idea right away. Nobody was going to arrange for Silas to die unexpectedly. Will wasn’t the type of man that would bushwhack someone, either. Especially when that somebody was the guy Ezekiel had chosen to lead the Guardians.

  He really missed Walter. The man had always been fair to him. At times made him feel like an adopted son. Will heard a truck engine in the distance and veered in between two yards to get off the street. It had to be one of the Guardian patrols driving. None of the residents under
Guardian protection had been allowed to keep their own working vehicles. He stopped in place and strained to hear. The engine sounded like it was heading away from his position. Will let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He needed to keep moving. He didn’t want to get spotted. Especially if Silas had sent the other Guardians to track him down. Will hopped over a small garden fence, cutting through and carefully opening a privacy fence door.

  There was a low growl near him, and he quickly froze. A pair of yellow eyes shone through the darkness, and Will said, “Easy, boy.” He slowly pointed toward the armband on his arm. “Friendly, see?”

  The Reaper growled once more and turned its attention back to feeding on something on the ground.

  Will carefully went around the Reaper. He didn’t know what that damn thing was eating, and quite frankly he didn’t want to know either.

  He asked Walter once how Ezekiel managed to control these animals. Walter was probably the smartest man he had ever known. But even he didn’t have a clue on how their esteemed leader kept the Reapers in check.

  Will hurried down the street, cutting across again. He heard a truck engine getting closer. Suddenly, a pair of headlights swung onto the roadway, catching him in their light. Will took off running, and he heard the truck begin racing after him. He hopped over a short gardening fence, running past another homeowner’s residence and into their backyard. Suddenly something struck him in the chest, and Will tumbled onto the ground. As he looked up, his eyes made out a metal pole to his left. He looked to his right and saw another one standing there. There was a lingering burning sensation across his chest from where he’d been struck. Rope burn. You idiot. You just ran through somebody’s damn clothesline in the dark.

  Will picked up himself and continued walking swiftly, trying to keep the noise to a minimum. He cut through some trees on another property. Just a few more blocks, and he’d be home. He’d pack his shit and get the hell out while he could. He wasn’t supposed to have a vehicle of his own, even as a Guardian. But Will had somehow managed to keep the one in his garage a secret. If anybody had ever asked, he would have claimed ignorance. Or that he owned it before became he ever became a Guardian. But nobody had ever asked him, and it wasn’t the type of information he thought was worth volunteering, either.