Chapter Five
The next morning, everyone woke up bright and early. As they were climbing out of their tents, Aaron called Ronan as he was walking towards the fire pit.
“Hey Ronan? May I speak to you alone for a second?”
“Sure,” Ronan said, finally reaching him.
“I just wanted to apologize,” Aaron replied. “I treated you unfairly, even though I do have my reasons.”
“Oh, really? And what are those?” Ronan asked.
Sighing, Aaron ran a hand over his face and replied, “Over a year ago, we welcomed a young man who always seemed willing to help everyone out. One day, we went on a run that went well. When we got back though,” he continued, tears in his eyes, “everyone who had stayed behind, with the exception of your mom, had been killed, including my wife and son.”
“Your whole family?” Ronan was clearly in shock.
“Yes. Do you know what the bastard said when your father caught him and asked him why he did it?”
“What?”
“That he was a loyal follower of Damien, the “true” king and that he’d been sent here to spy on us! And you know the best part?” he asked. “He was told that if he performed his task properly he could indulge, and ever since then, my trust in people hasn't been the same and I've been suspicious of newcomers.
“Look, I'm sorry for your loss, Aaron. But I understand you better now. Would you like to tell me about your wife and son?” Ronan asked.
Aaron’s lips stretched into a smile.
“Sure, I'd be honoured,” he replied, softly, “My wife, Esmeralda was absolutely stunning. She was also sharp as a whip, sweet as a flower, and so very caring. My son, Colin was a beautiful little boy who was only six years old when he was killed, but I swear Ronan you couldn't meet a more precocious child,” he said, taking a small photo out of his pocket and handed it to Ronan.
“You had a beautiful family, Aaron. I am deeply sorry for your loss,” Ronan looked at the photo.
♦♦♦
That morning, Xavier called a meeting for all of the residents in the camp, saying he had urgent business to discuss.
“Since our last run went so splendidly,” Xavier said. “We need to go for another run and soon. We’ll have to go in a smaller group of about four,” he went on, “since the other group of six from before worked ever so well,” he said, “I'll need some volunteers.”
Raising their hands, along with Garrett, Xavier managed to get Ronan and Theo as volunteers as well.
“Excellent,” he said.
“Ok, same time then?” Garrett asked, just as exhausted and worn out as Xavier was.
“Yeah, I guess. Roughly the same area,” Xavier replied. “We can't go to the same hospital, We’ll go to a different one but go at the same time since that’s the most convenient time for the majority of us.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Garrett replied.
♦♦♦
An hour later, Theo, Xavier, Garrett and Ronan headed off for Sick Kids Hospital.
When they navigated the general area to get to their destination, their group always had to be careful when doing so, as there was a constant risk they could be caught at any moment.
This particular half of Toronto was a dismal wasteland that looked as if an atomic bomb had gone off in the area. Cars and buildings were almost barely recognizable.
When they entered through the front door, the first thing they noticed about the hospital entrance was a large bench which served as a flower pot in the lobby. Hanging high in the foyer was a display of three hippos in a circus as acrobats, that moved periodically from one point to another.
Down the hall, they saw elevators and a long hall leading to the back of the building. They headed down the hall took a quick right and continued until they reached the blood services department. They walked past the empty reception desk and into the blood work room where a large stand in fridge that was positioned against the far wall.
Fridges like this one had been invented shortly after the outbreak. Blood that was stored in them at a cryogenic temperature, which would have needed to be used as a food source for when things got back. They were lunar-powered and there were hundreds of them in the various hospitals throughout the city.
The blood that the fridges held were from when Damien had started harvesting humans and hunting them down. Before then, any humans gave their blood voluntarily. Now, those that had kept at the camp escaped and were constantly on the run, and being hunted by the savages.
Garrett moved towards the fridge and knelt in front of it. He opened the door and began removing blood bags. He placed the bags carefully into a larger bag, which he passed to Xavier when it became full. Once they had a large enough supply they left and made their way out of the hospital.
As they were leaving, Garrett heard a small whimper come from the far right of the main corridor. Leaving the others, he tracked the sound until he reached a large plastic table that had been knocked over.
Looking behind the table, he found a small human child gazing up at him, with curious yet fearful eyes.
Garrett immediately ran back towards the others.
“Guys! You have to come see what I found,” he said. “You won't believe it, C’mon!”
Wondering what had Garrett so excited, Xavier exchanged a glance with the others. They then all followed him to the table where Garrett pointed to the child.
He spoke softly to the child, trying to coax them from behind the table. Then he knelt and poked his head behind the table.
“Kid? Are you there?” he asked, “It’s alright, you can come out.”
The child looked up at the other three. Finally the child said, “Who are you?”
Garrett smiled and gestured to himself, “My name is Garrett,” he said, he then pointed at Ronan, Theo and Xavier in turn, “And these are my son and our friends. We won't hurt you.”
“Really?” The child said.
“I swear,” Garrett said. “What's your name?”
“Mackenzie.”
“Okay, Mackenzie, we can give you food and shelter.”
After a few moments, Mackenzie said, “Okay. Anywhere is better than here. But on one condition.”
“What's that?” Garrett asked.
“That no one will hurt me.”
“No one will hurt you, I swear.”
The five of them quickly left the hospital, and soon arrived back at the camp.
“Oh, thank God!” Hayley said when she saw them, “I was worried sick!”
Garrett took her delicate face in his hands and looked into her eyes.
“It was just a simple run.”
Nodding, she took the bags, and placed them in the camp’s cooler.
Seeing Mackenzie, Hayley asked Garrett, “Whose this?”
Garrett replied, “This is Mackenzie and they’re going to be staying with us for the next little while.”
Hayley said, “Of course they can. They can stay here for as long as they'd like.”
Garrett took Mackenzie’s small hand and led them towards where they had the tents set up.
After he had left Mackenzie in one of the tents, he walked back to Hayley, “Did anything happen while we were gone, love?”
Hayley shook her head, “No. Nothing, thank God,” she asked, “How about you?”
Garrett smiled, “Everything went fine, perfect actually, Is dinner ready?”
Hayley led them towards the firepit where a pot was steaming. Reaching the pit, the couple sat beside their son and Theo.
Garrett grabbed two large bowls, filled them with the stew that she’d made and passed one of them to his wife and son.
“Thanks Dad,” said Ronan, a smile on his lips as he took the bowl from his father.
“No problem,” Garrett replied.
♦♦♦
The following morning, the entire camp was in chaos. While they were assessing the damage they found e
verything strewn about and several tents torn. It was common knowledge that Damien’s followers moved with stealth from the time that they’d first attacked the camp.
Seeing blood on one of the tents, Xavier turned to Garrett and said, “Hey Rett, I think you should look at this.”
Curious, Garrett looked over at the tent and saw the words, The next time we don't find him, we will kill all, written in blood.
Garrett’s first immediate thought was that the blood was Mackenzie’s. Frightened, he ran off to look for the child. He looked all over the camp until he found the child curled up in one of the tents a frightened look on the child’s face.
Relieved, Garrett held out a hand to him. Mackenzie took his hand, and they walked back towards the others.
Ronan turned to his father and asked, “Why exactly is Damien so interested in me?”
“When I told you that he wanted that gene in your blood, that wasn't the entire truth,” Garrett replied, “While initially he wanted to use your blood for his gain, about six years ago his intentions somewhat changed.”
“Changed how?”
“We found out that Damien intended to take your gene to distribute among his followers.”
“He’s the leader of the Sanguists, isn't he?” Ronan asked.
“He is. And he has been for a while now, They’re all Nightwalkers, like many of us here are. But now, he wants to use your gene so that he and his men can travel during the day,” Garrett said. “You need to understand, we needed to keep you safe, which is why we brought you here. We knew Damien’s followers would try something since he's always wanted our throne for himself.”
Shocked, Ronan stumbled back a bit, his blue-green eyes flashing with the hurt that he felt. “So that’s why I was brought here?” he asked, “Because you didn't want him to get his hands on me first?”
Xavier having heard their conversation, stepped in and said, “That's not what your Dad meant.”
“Then what? Because it looks badly either way,” Ronan shot back.
When neither Xavier nor Garrett answered, Ronan ran off feeling betrayed. He only stopped when he reached a statue by the church, and collapsed against it. He let out a desolate yell, tears streaming down his face.
By the time Xavier found him, he was sobbing, Xavier dropped to his knees, wrapped his arms around him, and allowed him to cry against his chest.
Ronan’s sobs finally died down. He looked up at Xavier and said, “How could they?”
“You're the only Daywalker in existence,” Xavier said, “If Damien’s followers had that gene they would be unstoppable.”
Ronan’s eyes widened as he realized something, “So where does my Dad fall into all this?” he asked.
“Your Dad wanted to protect you, that’s all,” Xavier replied, “You’re his only son and he couldn't risk you being in danger.”
Ronan remained silent, for a while, “We should head back,” he finally said, “I need to talk to my Dad and get things sorted.”
Both of them quickly headed back to the camp.
As soon as he found his dad, Ronan asked him, “Is what Xavier told me, true? That you were trying to protect me?”
Garrett nodded and replied, “Yes, son.”
“I agree.” Ronan said, “We need to finish this.”
“I’m glad that we can agree on something,” Garrett replied.
Ronan rolled his eyes, “Only because it's right.”
Chuckling, Garrett shook his head and turned to Xavier. Looking at his best friend, Garrett said, “If that's the cure, we’ll have to go for another run, tonight.”
Xavier replied with a short nod, “I’ll gather the men.”
Chapter Six
When they reached Mount Sinai, they slipped in through the hospital’s entrance. Garrett then led them from the main floor to the basement. Once inside, Garrett led them from the main floor to the basement. At the Blood Work Centre, Xavier stood guard at the door, while Garrett and Ronan went in. They quickly moved towards the corner of the large room where the fridge that stored the city’s blood transfusions was.
Garrett made careful work in opening the fridge and carefully removed the blood bags, As soon as they were done, Garrett and Ronan got to their feet and met Xavier at the door.
“Did everything go well?” Xavier asked.
“Without a hitch,” Garrett said. “Come on, we should get back.”
Without another word, the four of them left the hospital and headed back to the camp.
♦♦♦
They were shocked to find the camp in complete and utter chaos. The tents were slashed, belongings were strewn about, and dozens of corpses were made unrecognizable. They searched for Hayley to get some answers.
Garrett soon found Aaron propped against a tree, clutching his side. His face had been beaten to a pulp, his cheeks stained with blotches of green and black. His eye had swollen and the lid of it was turning black.
“Thank God!” Aaron cried.
“What happened, Aaron?” Garrett asked. He had crouched down so that they could speak face – to – face.
“It was horrible. Your brother arrived with his men and began slaughtering everyone. And then poor Hayley…”
Grabbing the collar of Aaron's shirt, Garrett asked, “What happened to Hayley? Where is she, Aaron?”
“Dead. He… He… raped her, then he killed her!” Aaron said, pointing to the bodies, “I think she’s somewhere over there.”
Garrett sprung to his feet then searched the camp until he saw what he thought was a female body wearing Hayley’s clothing. He dropped to his knees and took Hayley’s barely recognizable face in his hands, as tears streamed down his cheeks.
“Oh my love,” Garrett cried, “I am so sorry I allowed this to happen.”
Ronan joined him in falling to his knees, he took his mother’s hand and wept. His eyes fell upon a small piece of paper that had been jammed in her mouth. Gently taking it out, Ronan glanced at it and passed it to his dad.
Garrett read the note aloud, “Dear Brother, as you must have noticed, I dropped in for another visit. I found the lovely Hayley and decided to have some fun.” Garrett turned pale and Ronan stiffened. “But, I got bored so I simply ended her when I was finished. Don't upset me again, brother or who knows what I might do…”
Garrett turned to Xavier, his body shaking, “Tonight we strike!” he roared, “We take no prisoners! And that bastard will die!”
Getting to his feet, Xavier wordlessly weren't off hoping to find able-bodied survivors.
Garrett suddenly thought of Mackenzie. Getting to his feet, he ran towards the tents where he found the child mangled. Overtaken with grief, he scooped the child up into his arms. He then bit into his own wrist and coaxed Mackenzie into drinking the flowing blood.
After a minute, the child opened their mouth and suckled slowly at Garrett’s wrist. Once the child had finished, Mackenzie slowly opened their eyes and looked up at Garrett.
“What happened? Where am I?” he asked.
Crouching down to the child’s level, Garrett softly replied, “Mackenzie, you're at our camp, don't you remember?” he smiled in relief when the child nodded.
“Now you're in transition. You should know I had to, you were dying.”
“So, I’m like you now?”
“Yes, you are. Would you like to see the others?”
“Sure.”
Pulling the child to their feet, Garrett took the child’s hand as they walked back to the camp. He was relieved to know that Mackenzie was now safe, and that he’ll soon have to teach them everything. Garrett told one of the 26 men Xavier had rounded up to stay behind with Mackenzie.
♦♦♦
An hour later, the band of men set off for Damien’s compound, taking an alternate route in order to avoid detection.
Setting off, they decided that they wouldn't take their usual route.
The grounds of the compound were e
xtensive and were surrounded by formidable stone walls. They were on the site where the castle had once stood, and were said to hold several secret tunnels, such as the one Garrett and Hayley had escaped through during the rebellion. Garrett and his men crept around the compound, noting how many guards were stationed on its walls.
Xavier made quick work of killing each of them. He grabbed each man and pulled them tightly against his body, lowered his head, and savagely tore into each jugular which effectively killed them. When they finally entered the large castle, they quickly ran down the dim lit hallway, and very soon they were waiting out its doors.
The Daywalker Chronicles Page 4