He took a step back and Mia felt the return of the invisible barrier that had grown between them.
“I can’t turn my back on them,” she said.
Rowan threw his hands up. “Then what are we supposed to do?” he asked. “Wait here until they come swarming in?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Maybe not, but it’s a damn good question.”
She tried to keep the conversation to a dull roar, but her response came out before she had time to consider the impact.
“Asher still believes we can get the generators on in time if we can reach them.”
The mere mentioning of Asher’s name produced a roll of the eyes.
“I don’t care what he says.”
Mia opened her mouth, but before she could respond, her name echoed down the hall.
“Mia, Mia.”
Asher ran toward them from the turn at the end of the passage. Rowan groaned unnecessarily loud at the sight of him. A moment later and the two of them stood across from Mia, neither acknowledging the other. Asher was out of breath, sweat rolling down from the edges of his closely cropped hair. He managed to get out the meat of his message.
“They got through,” he said. “They opened the tunnel to hive five.”
♦
The tribal council was gathered and several other members deemed essential were added to the group. Mia arrived to find barely enough space within the conference room to move. Rowan groaned at the sight of it. Mia decided she was satisfied that he agreed to come at all.
Asher led the way, working around the room until he and Mia found their seats. Rowan made a space for himself in the back of the room. Mia waited until he gave her a nod before turning her attention to an ongoing debate. Apparently, there was a good deal more to the discovery.
“…what do you mean disappeared?”
The question came from Walker. His attention, and almost everyone else around the table, was focused on four people sitting across from him. Mia guessed from their clothes and their general look of disarray that they were part of a digging team. The lone woman among them took on the question.
“We were taking a haul topside for a dump off,” she explained. “Limmy and Duncan stayed down at the site. We rotate the heavy lifting,” she said as she looked around at the inquisitors. All of the other conversations died away, leaving her voice as the lone focus in the room. “It takes a while to get up there and get back down again.”
“What did you find when you got back to the site?” Walker asked.
“Nearly the entire passage was open,” she said.
The comment produced a low murmur from the onlookers. Sara raised a hand to try to cut off any interruptions.
“Go ahead, please,” Sara said.
The woman nodded and then looked at the others from her team before continuing.
“We were shocked,” she said. “The other side of the passage was clear and open. We took a look around, each of us calling out for Limmy and Duncan. I figured they found something good or Duncan was trying to scare us. He’s good for stuff like that.” She snickered uncomfortably. “That was when I found the lamp.”
“Did you find the rest of your crew?” Sara asked.
The woman shook her head. “We backed out of there,” she said. “That lamp was broken, beat in and there was…” She paused. “It was covered in blood.”
The long silence was washed away by a wave of noise as the room broke into discussion. The woman and her crew took the opportunity to slip away from the table and head for the door. The result of the initial surge of deliberation was universal. Soldiers were dispatched to the newly created passage between hives four and five. They would keep up a rotation until the council could decide on a way forward. That, however, was about the only thing they could agree on.
A majority of the onlookers drifted off to spread the news, and Mia was left looking around at the familiar faces of the primary council members. Her gaze settled on Rowan. She was glad to see he hadn’t slipped out with the rest of the crowd. Asher’s voice cut through the room.
“We should get in there as soon as we can,” he said. “We have people who know their way around that hive.”
The silence following the declaration surprised Mia. There were few matters brought up in the council that weren’t disagreed with by at least one of the other representatives. She realized that this time it was her turn.
“It’s too dangerous,” she said. “We need to make sure the crews can safely reach the generators.”
The support was something less than resolute.
“There’s little time to waste,” Hinnick reminded them. “Marcus was pretty clear on that.”
There were a number of head nods around the table.
“We don’t know what’s down there,” Mia responded.
She was surprised to hear Rowan speak up.
“Yes, we do,” he said, stepping away from the wall and approaching the edge of the table. “We’re going to run into the same thing we’ve run into every time we’ve tried to clear out a level of any of the hives. But hive five and six are connected through several passages.” He looked directly at her. “You and I,” he swept his eyes across the faces sitting at the table, “and most of the rest of you, have seen it for yourselves. They kept a small army of the dead locked away in those cages and we still don’t know why.”
Asher chimed in. “You let most of them out.”
Rowan’s cheeks flushed red as they glared at one another. Mia thought she might have to get between them.
“You should remember that’s part of the reason most of us are alive today,” he replied. “Some of us were prisoners here, not part of the monsters who controlled the compound.”
Mia slid her hand under the table and grabbed Asher’s arm as he tried to stand. Rowan stared at him for a moment longer before releasing his gaze.
“There’s plenty of dead down there and probably enough infected to wipe us all out,” he said, and then he added, “I’ll go down first and scout out the way.”
Mia nearly snapped her neck trying to get her head around to look at him. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll go with him,” Asher countered.
Mia ground her teeth. “How can—”
“I want to go, too.”
All eyes turned toward the doorway to find the last volunteer. Jonah’s face was partially hidden by the darkness in the hall. He smiled at his sister and waved. Mia had heard enough. She popped up from her chair with much more emphasis than she intended.
“Everybody hold on.” She tried to calm herself. “Jonah, out of the question.” His face soured as he said something under his breath before disappearing into the hall. “If this is what we decide to do,” she paused a moment to see if anyone would object, “then let’s make sure we have the right people.”
The council started in, everyone talking at once. Mia focused on Rowan. He’d given up his spot at the table and was headed for the hallway. She rushed after him.
“Where are you going?” she asked. “We have to decide, and I’m sure they would like to hear what you have to say.”
Rowan shook his head. “No they don’t,” he said, flatly. “Talk about it all you like, I’m heading down there.”
Mia was stunned by his brazenness.
“It’s dangerous,” she said, and then she blurted out a worry that’d been bouncing around in her head for quite some time. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
He didn’t answer right away.
“I want to get out of here,” he said.
That didn’t answer the question, but she didn’t stop him. She was surprised when he took her hand.
“I want us to get out of here.”
Mia grew mad although she didn’t immediately understand why. “We’re not the only ones here.”
His expression hardened. “I’ve been down there before,” Rowan said, sweeping aside her comment. “I’ll make sure we can get someone down there and
get the power back on.”
Mia knew he had no idea what that work would entail, and neither did she. Rowan made no effort to understand the technology of the old world, and her own comprehension was rudimentary at best. She clenched her teeth again before getting out her suggestion.
“Asher needs to go with you.” She continued before he could growl at her. “He knows how the generators work. What if you get down there and they’re ruined? You wouldn’t be able to tell that.”
She took his silence as a sign he was at least considering her proposal. Her hope vanished when he abruptly blew up at her.
“Can’t you give me some space?”
The shock of Rowan’s shout brought the ongoing conversations around the room to a halt. Mia locked up. It took her a moment to realize Rowan wasn’t yelling at her. He wasn’t even looking at her. She’d figured out the problem a heartbeat before Asher came to a stop beside her.
“I’m trying to help,” he said in a sheepish tone.
The trio stood in an uncomfortably close circle staring at one another. The rest of the tribal council gradually resumed their discussions. Mia took a long breath and let it out. She realized neither Rowan nor Asher were going to talk first.
“You’re right,” she gave in. “You should both go.” They looked at her in unison. “But you should take some support with you. Guns,” she added before walking away. “You should take plenty of guns.”
She’d had enough. If they wanted to run off and risk their lives, she wasn’t going to be able to stop them anyway. The Canaan Tribe needed to get the power back on before the mindless horde of undead and their driving infected leaders came pouring into their home. Asher was qualified to inspect the generators and maybe even get them on again. Rowan could take care of himself. Moreover, none of it made her feel any better about it.
5
Bree and Gabriel stared in wide-eyed wonderment at the key. Bale and Tate were on their way. Jonah held it up for all to see, still trying to hide it from the two dozen or so other kids in the sleeping quarters. The key was a particularly coveted item. Jonah clasped onto it as if it might crack into a thousand pieces at the slightest touch.
“How did you get that?” Bree whispered.
Jonah smiled, proud of himself, and then his cheeks slowly sagged as he remembered where it came from.
“She has two of them,” he said. “She won’t even miss it.”
There were a handful of override keys found after the activation of Canaan’s security system. Mia had two of them, one she carried at all times, the other she kept locked away. The remainder were spread out among the tribal council representatives of the hives. She’d only ever shown three people where the spare key was hidden.
“Mia’s going to kill you,” Bale said when he got a look at it. “Don’t drag me into this.”
Jonah thought for the oldest and strongest of the group Bale should be a bit more adventurous. Gabriel’s response was typical.
“We’re going to get into big trouble.”
Jonah shook his head. He looked to Bree for support, but her stern glare didn’t appear as inviting as he’d hoped. He decided to take a more diplomatic approach.
“Just hear me out,” he said and then quickly relayed what he’d heard during the council meeting the night before.
“How come you didn’t say anything last night?” Bree asked.
“You were asleep,” he reminded her. “And besides, I didn’t make up my mind until this morning.”
The boys pushed in closer, and Tate asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“Make up your mind about what?”
Bree cringed as if the answer might hurt. Jonah puffed his chest out and responded with bravado.
“We’re going to go down to hive five and look for the rest of that missing crew.”
There was a long bout of silence, and Jonah wasn’t sure they’d heard him. He was about to repeat himself when the entire group burst into laughter all at once. He lowered his brow as he scanned their chuckling faces. He considered stomping on their feet but decided that it wouldn’t help his fight.
“I’m not kidding,” he insisted. Something about his face got his point across. One by one, the others went quiet. “We need to do this.”
“You mean go down there with Rowan and their crew, right?” Bree asked.
Jonah shook his head. “This is our chance to show them that we’re as good as they are,” he explained. “Isn’t that what we wanted?” The worried looks didn’t confirm his initial thought. “So, we’re all talk then? The Knights of Rowan are like everybody else?”
The challenge was enough to get a reaction.
“We’re the only ones that go out with Rowan,” Tate said. “I don’t see anyone else doing that.” He looked around at the rest of the bay where most of the inhabitants were in some state of dressing. “I’ll go if you go.”
Jonah smiled, but Bree crossed her arms. Jonah knew she was the key. He fancied himself as the leader of the group, but he knew they wouldn’t do anything without her. Quietly he wouldn’t want to do anything without her either.
“This isn’t a game,” she said. “If we get stuck, there won’t be anyone coming to save us.”
Bale puffed out his chest to match Jonah. “I’m not afraid.”
Bree pursed her lips. Jonah kept quiet and let the peer pressure stew for a moment. She tapped her foot nervously. Jonah knew he’d won.
“Fine,” she said. “I can’t let you guys run off without me. Who knows what would happen.”
All eyes went to Gabriel. He was the deep thinker of the group, and waiting on him to make a decision was a common occurrence. Jonah was willing to allow the natural process to take its course. Bale, however, spurred it on with an elbow to Gabriel’s side.
“All right,” he said. “But I want everyone to note that I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Jonah smiled and the entire group responded together.
“Noted.”
♦
Jonah adjusted his grip on his knife. The feel of it helped to calm his nerves. He was doing his best to control his breathing. He was scared, but he refused to show it.
The override key worked perfectly. It gave them access to the locked maintenance passages in hive four and helped them get around the guards the tribal council put in place. They worked their way down eight levels of stairs to the personnel walkway between hive four and five and then stumbled across the newly discovered opening. Stepping beyond the breach in the passage took a great deal more courage than Jonah imagined. He realized they were on their own from that moment on.
The small personal lights slung around each of the kids’ necks produced enough light to see a few feet in any direction but not much else. Long shadows stretched out in front of them, teasing their minds with hidden terrors. A sudden dose of reality hit Jonah square between the eyes the first moment they turned off the main hall. He made a quick decision.
“Someone should stay back.” The announcement brought everyone to a stop. Jonah gazed into the darkness ahead of them. “Bree was right,” he admitted with a hint of pain. “No one’s going to know where we went.”
There wasn’t a clear choice, but the question was obvious.
“Who’s it going to be?” Bree asked. “Not me.”
Jonah looked from one face to the next, settling on Gabriel’s.
“I’m not scared,” Gabriel announced, in an unconvincing tone. “I’ll go with you.”
“It’s not that,” Bale said. “We need someone with a clear head to be able to go get help just in case we get into some kind of trouble.”
“Give us some time, enough to look around,” Jonah said. “And if we’re not back here, you go tell Rowan.” The instructions weren’t as clear-cut as he’d hoped, but he didn’t have much of a choice. The fear of Rowan finding out what they’d done would encourage them to get in and get out as fast as possible. “Go back to the hive and we’ll meet up with you there.”
<
br /> Gabriel nodded reluctantly as if he somehow knew the request was coming. He glanced at his wrist. The watch was an old world technology, one he’d attempted to explain to the other members of the group several times without much success.
“I’ll give you a few hours,” he said.
Jonah nodded as if the notion made sense to him. He’d heard the reference enough times to know it was long enough to snoop around. Gabriel gave a half-hearted smile before heading back through the breach. Jonah waited until his light disappeared around the turn in the hall before refocusing on what was ahead of them. He moved forward, and it wasn’t long before something on the ground froze them all in place.
The lamp was a standard issue item. The kids had seen them in nearly every cleared room in each of the hives. This particular lamp was broken. The bloody footprints stamped on the ground around the lamp produced a haunting image. The view forced a sudden dose of reality on the group. A response slipped from Jonah’s mouth in a whisper.
“The crew didn’t say anything about that.”
Jonah started again and the memory of the lamp kept the group to a creeping pace. Their general bravado drained away as they crossed an adjoining tunnel linking hives five and six. They reached a split in the main hall, and Jonah made the decision on his own. Tate followed through with an idea to mark the walls at every turn with his knife to ensure they could find their way out. The process continued until the first unusual option revealed itself.
“Well, what do you think?” Bree tilted her head toward a set of descending stairs.
The smooth door that should have closed off the stairway was fixed in place midway across the opening, the power apparently having shut off in the midst of closing. The light from Jonah’s lamp shone midway down the stairs but didn’t reach whatever awaited them on the floor below.
Chunks of stone and metal from the collapsed ceiling blocked the wide opening directly across the hall from the stairs. The explosion of the compound’s security system had produced similar results throughout all of the hives, on most of the levels. The hallway beyond the stairs came to a dead end. The stairway appeared to be the only option unless they were going to give up.
The Decaying World Saga Box Set [Prequel #1-#2 & Books #1-#2] Page 72