“It’s not that simple, Jon.”
“No, it is that simple. If Lennox decides he trusts me and that I really am immune, then I’m just going to leave anyway. Why would I stay here after what you’ve done to me?”
“Things are more complicated than that.”
Jon could hear a sort of sadness in Raylon’s voice. The man was conflicted; there was no doubt about that. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Raylon sighed. He stood facing the wall to his right, clearly unable to look at Jon. He put his hands on his hips.
“Lennox is planning on turning you over to Malcolm. I just came by to tell you as a courtesy.”
Jon scoffed. “You’re joking.”
Raylon shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m not. Apparently, Malcolm is really upset about what you did to the Vultures. And Lennox is worried about what he might do if he knew you were here and we didn’t turn you over to him.”
“Raylon, this means that Malcolm is responsible for burning down Hope’s Dawn. That his camp is where our friends are.” Jon took a couple of steps forward, but Raylon put one hand up. He put the other on his waist, where he had a gun.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Jon’s lips parted. He took a couple of steps back, unable to do anything but shake his head. “I thought more of you than that,” Jon said. “I can’t believe this.”
“Blood is blood, man. You don’t know how crazy that Malcolm dude is. And I’ve got to think about what we built here, and about my little niece.” Raylon looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, Jon.”
“Yeah, sure you are.” Jon turned around, unable to look at Raylon anymore. “Get the hell out of here.”
He could feel Raylon staring at him. But after a few moments, Raylon said something under his breath and exited the room. He slammed the door behind him, leaving Jon alone with his thoughts again.
It seemed as if Jon was finally going to meet this Malcolm.
26
On the way to the meeting place, Malcolm fell into the old habit of chewing on his fingernails. His anxiety had risen to an all-time high after they’d come up short at the prison. While Malcolm was glad he might get to face the Savage alive, part of him had hoped to find the coward’s half-eaten corpse in that prison kitchen—like the woman had promised he would. But now, he might get to finish the bastard off himself. The idea thrilled him, but made him anxious all the same.
He rode in the backseat while Bryce drove, and Bennett sat in the passenger seat. The men must’ve been able to feel Malcolm’s anxiousness because they didn’t say anything the whole trip over. Malcolm was okay with this because it allowed him the mental space to think.
Relations with Freedom Ridge had always been tense, but they’d gotten worse over time. And nothing had angered Malcolm more than knowing the Savage had been there recently. A war between the two settlements seemed inevitable. He doubted that two camps of this size, fighting for the same resources in such a small area, would both be able to sustain themselves. And given the ideological differences between himself and Lennox, Malcolm knew the two camps would never merge. That wasn’t even an option in Malcolm’s mind. So, he knew that war was coming, and it might arrive sooner rather than later if he found out that Freedom Ridge had helped out with the prison raid.
Of course, if Lennox did, in fact, have the Savage in his possession and was willing to turn him over to Black Hill, that could cool things down between the two camps, if only for a little while. But Malcolm still believed a fight would come eventually. It all came down to the dwindling resources they had to share.
When they arrived at the meeting place, Malcolm was pleased to see he’d made it there first this time. For better or worse, it gave him more time to think about the meeting and what he would say to Lennox. More than that, it gave him more time to anticipate whether or not Lennox would have the Savage with him.
“You think he’s going to bring him with him?” Bennett asked.
“I’d be surprised,” Malcolm said. “I just hope for his sake that that’s what he called me out here for to begin with.”
“What else could it be?” Bryce asked. “He said he had someone you wanted. He’s smarter than that.”
“Do you want us beside you when you meet him?” Bennett asked.
“You can hang back by the car like always. But be ready in case he or any of his goons try something stupid.”
The vehicle containing Lennox pulled up, parking where it usually did on the other side of the empty lot from Malcolm. Adjusting the collar on his jacket, Malcolm stepped out of the SUV. He moved a few feet away from the vehicle as his two companions exited the car behind him, posting themselves next to the SUV as he’d instructed.
A joint hanging out of his mouth, Lennox stepped out of the car and made his way toward Malcolm, who also started walking. The two men met halfway between their vehicles. Lennox took the last toke of the joint before flicking it away.
“Thanks for meeting,” Lennox said.
“Is he here or not?” Malcolm asked.
“You like to cut right to the chase.”
“I don’t have time for games. You said you have someone I want, and I can only assume you were talking about that bastard.”
Lennox stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Look, this isn’t an easy thing for me to do. Despite what you think of him, he’s a good man.”
Malcolm stepped forward, coming within only a few inches of Lennox’s face. “That piece of shit is nothing of the sort. He’s a pig, and he’s going to die like one, whether you give him to me or not.”
Lennox stared down at the ground. He shook his head, with the look of a man who was clearly conflicted. “I’m willing to give him to you, but I have some conditions.”
Malcolm said nothing. He simply waited for Lennox to state his terms.
“I just wanna be sure there’s gonna remain peace between our two camps,” Lennox finally said, looking up. “I know about what you did to Hope’s Dawn, and don’t try to pretend like that wasn’t you. That isn’t going to happen to Freedom Ridge. There’s room for both our camps if we stay out of each other’s way.”
“Get to your point, Lennox.”
“I want boundaries. We can use this exact meeting spot as our own sort of Mason-Dixon Line. Freedom Ridge gets everything on our side, and you get everything on yours. We don’t cross the line for any reason.”
“But the prison’s on your side,” Malcolm said. “We got some stuff from there when we went looking for the Savage, but there’s still a good bit inside.”
“We can each send a crew there and split what’s left. I’d say that benefits you since we did all the goddamned work of getting in there to begin with. We do that one job together, and then we’re done. You stay on your side, and I stay on mine.”
Malcolm considered the proposal. “How do I know you’re not bullshitting me about him being alive? I’ve already been lied to once about him.”
“You’re gonna have to trust me because I assure you that he’s alive. You’ll see for yourself soon enough. But you’re also going to have to do something else for me.”
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. Again, he didn’t respond. He just waited.
“I want you to let the other people from Hope’s Dawn go.”
“No way,” Malcolm said without considering the option. “Those people are traitors and murderers, and they’re going to die as such.”
“They’re good people who you let your Vultures enslave, simply for your own benefit. You can’t blame them for what they did. I’m not going to let you keep them as prisoners, especially those innocent kids.”
Malcolm shrugged. “You can have the kids. We weren’t going to hurt them, anyway. I’m not a monster. But those other people are, and they have to pay for what happened.”
“This deal doesn’t happen any other way, Malcolm. Either you let those people go, or I’m just going to turn Jon loose.”
Malcolm wanted to do nothing more t
han break Lennox’s jaw. His demands were irrational. Those people deserved punishment just as much as Jon did. But Jon had killed Judah, and he had to pay.
“Fine,” Malcolm said.
“So, we’ve got a deal?” Lennox stuck his hand out.
Malcolm hesitated, and then quickly shook his hand.
“With it being this late in the day, we’ll make the swap tomorrow. As my way of saying thanks since you’re making several concessions, I’ll have Jon brought to you. We’ll bring him to the old water tower right down the street from you at noon.”
“My men will be waiting.”
With that, Malcolm turned around and headed back to the SUV. He could see the look of disappointment on Bennett’s face. He and Bryce had been able to hear the conversation.
“You’re really going to turn all those people over to him?” Bennett asked.
Malcolm looked at the Vulture leader. “Stick with the plan. Continue to arrange the executions. I’m going to make sure we get the Savage without turning even one of those goddamned traitors over to Lennox.”
27
Brooke sat on the floor with her legs straight out. She gripped her hair tight as she stared down at the ground. Brooke knew Hugo’s body was still lying there in the middle of the room, even though it was too dark to see it.
It had finally happened; the world, and this room, had become her own personal hell.
More than anything, Brooke couldn’t understand how this had happened. Bennett claimed that Brooke had lied to them when she’d only told them the truth. She hadn’t left out any details, even leading them right back to the kitchen. But apparently, Jon’s body hadn’t been there. Bennett hadn’t given her any other information, though. Only one question floated in her head now.
Was Jon alive?
It seemed impossible. As many close calls as Jon had had, no one could have made it out of that situation inside the prison alive. The kitchen had been filled with nearly two dozen zombies, and Jon hadn’t had anywhere to go. He hadn’t had enough ammunition to take all of the creatures out, and Brooke had assumed he’d died before she and the others had even made it out of the prison. Her last memory of him was of Jon standing up on the stovetops, doing all he could to keep the creatures focused on him so that his friends could escape the room.
It all had to be a cruel joke—nothing but a way to mess with her mind. Bennett had said that all the zombies in the room had been killed, and they’d found no sign of Jon. The only thing she could think of was that Raylon had betrayed Jon’s wishes and gone back to the prison to try to save him. Perhaps they’d taken out all the zombies in there and then retrieved Jon’s body.
But was it possible that he was still alive? That he’d found a way out of there? As implausible as it was, Brooke couldn’t keep the possibility out of her mind.
Still, she wasn’t sure she would ever find out. How long would it be before they brought Terrence in here and shot him right in front of her, just like Bennett had done with Hugo? And who else would they bring in to torment her? Beyond that, she knew her own time would come. These people had no reason to let her live, and now that they saw her as a liar, she didn’t know what sorts of punishment that would bring.
All Brooke could hope for was that they’d leave Lucas alone. She didn’t know what the future would hold for her son, but she was coming to terms with the reality that she wouldn’t be a part of it. She couldn’t help but cry when she thought about it. She’d have to plead with the people here to take care of him, no matter what happened to her.
The more she thought of Lucas alone without her, the more overwhelmed Brooke became. How would he grow up in this world without either of his parents? Peter hadn’t been the best husband or father, but she would have chosen him to raise their son over any of the lunatics here.
She couldn’t take it anymore. Brooke made a fist and banged her hand on the ground. She elbowed the wall behind her and hit anything she could, crying and yelling out.
Brooke was making so much noise that she didn’t hear people approaching the room. The door opened, and she stopped thrashing. Trying to catch her breath, she looked toward the shadowy figure in the door.
“What the fuck do you want?” she asked through tears.
Two men entered the room and grabbed Hugo under the arms. Without bothering to cover him up, they dragged his corpse along the concrete floor, leaving a trail of his blood in his wake. She didn’t know what they would do with his body, but whatever they did, she knew it wouldn’t be the sort of ceremony he deserved.
Neither man shut the door after dragging the body out. She looked at the doorway, with some light coming through from another room. After a moment, the balding leader appeared with his hands behind his back. Brooke’s nostrils flared, and she rocked back and forth slightly.
“If you’ve come to kill me, just do it,” Brooke said. “But promise me that you’ll take care of my son.”
The man said nothing. He walked across the room to the windows and opened the blinds, letting some light into the room. The sun was going down outside, so the illumination was sparse.
He marched back across the room toward the door. When he’d almost reached it, a woman came into the room, holding the hand of a small person with a hood over their head.
Brooke’s heart raced.
The man pulled the hood off, revealing Lucas’ face. His cheeks were red, and his eyes matched, teardrops cutting through the dirt on his face. The woman let him go, and he ran to Brooke.
Brooke had enough slack in the chains to embrace her son, and she held him tightly. Both of them let all of their tears flow.
As she held her son, Brooke noticed the leader still standing in the door. He stared at them.
“Remember this,” he said. “When it’s your time, remember that I wasn’t so much of a monster that I didn’t let you say goodbye.”
The man then shut the door, leaving Brooke and her son in the room alone.
Pulling away from his mother, Lucas looked into Brooke’s eyes. She wiped the tears from his cheeks with her thumbs and cupped his face.
“What did he mean, Mom? Are you going to be okay?”
Brooke didn’t want to lie, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell her son the truth. If this was indeed the last time she’d see him, then she wanted to relish these moments.
She wrapped her arms around Lucas and stroked his hair. Staring blankly at the wall, she continued to cry. “It’s going to be fine,” she said, knowing she was lying. “Everything is going to be just fine, baby.”
28
Jon lay on his bedroll staring at the ceiling. It was pitch black outside, leaving the room in darkness. Even with the windows allowing him to see when it was day or night, he still had trouble keeping up with the time. He’d drifted in and out of sleep during the night, his mind racing with so many thoughts.
More than anything, he thought about his friends. Jon knew they were alive. He just wondered if they’d been able to escape the hell at Hope’s Dawn without getting taken as prisoners. But if what he thought was true, and this Malcolm guy’s people had taken them, then there was a chance he might see them again.
Reflecting on his conversation with Raylon, Jon wondered how he could have been so wrong about the people here. He had never totally trusted Lennox, but Raylon had been different, or so he’d thought. But after this most recent encounter, it seemed as if Raylon had only used Hope’s Dawn to get into the prison. Hope’s Dawn had been nothing more than his way to convince Lennox to agree to break in and finally see what was inside. Raylon didn’t give a fuck about him, Brooke, or anyone from Hope’s Dawn.
It was disappointing, and reminded Jon of why he’d remained alone for so long. Brooke, Terrence, and the others at Hope’s Dawn had helped bring back his faith in people. But he had let that go too far. Jon should have been more cautious. He regretted not leaving as soon as Lennox had shunned him when they’d first met, before Raylon had told them about the prison and then taken t
hem there to see it. They could have found the medicine they’d needed elsewhere.
But would any of it have mattered? Not going on the prison raid wouldn’t have prevented the attack on Hope’s Dawn from happening. Jon would have been at the camp during the attack, though, and could have helped save some of the people who’d died. Maybe he wouldn’t have survived, but now it seemed he was finally heading toward that fate anyway.
This was very possibly going to be his last night alive, giving him a good enough excuse not to sleep. He’d have plenty of time to sleep soon.
Jon lay there for another hour, reflecting on all that had happened, before he heard a commotion in the house. He knew there was at least one guard in the house, and sometimes there were two. But other than some walking around, he rarely heard much. This was a loud noise, and it was obscure enough that it brought Jon to his feet.
He next heard footsteps coming toward the room. The door rattled as a key entered the knob from the other side. It opened, and someone stood in the doorway holding a candle. They raised it up toward their face enough for Jon to make out who it was.
“Raylon?”
Raylon walked all the way into the room, not bothering to shut the door behind him. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Look, I fucked up before. You were right. I should have trusted you. So, I’m here to make up for that now.”
He took a couple of steps toward Jon, who backed away from him. Raylon cocked his head.
“How do I know I should trust you now?” Jon asked.
“What other options you got? You wanna wait around here until the morning when Lennox sends a couple of goons in here to take you to Black Hill and turn you over to Malcolm?” Raylon held up his keys. “Or do you want me to unlock those handcuffs and take you there myself so that we can help our friends?”
Raylon was right. It wasn’t like Jon had much of a choice. When Raylon came toward him again, Jon didn’t budge.
Dead South | Book 3 | Dead Hope Page 9