Children of the Apocalypse Complete Trilogy

by A. L. Kessler

  “You can’t kill the Devil, Sammy.”

  I gave a dark laugh. “Watch me.”

  Ruthie took us back to the human realm where the guys were all gathered on the couch watching us.

  “He’s locked away. Sammy was able to remember it, he traded his life for hers.” Ruthie helped me to a chair. “So now we’re on our own. Once Sammy is healed, I’ll go talk to the archangels about getting someone who can undo the seals. But we’re talking about risking a heaven and hell war if we take an archangel in there.”

  “But we’re talking about the end of the modern world if we don’t.” Pete said. “We’re talking about the apocalypse and not having any humans to save or protect soon.”

  “Of course there will be, because Death no longer exists here.” I looked up at the muted newscast. “So not only are we all starving, but we’re all going to suffer because there is no release. Eventually we’ll be one war-ridden, starved, plague infected world.”

  Kaleb leaned back on the couch. “What does Lucile get out of this?”

  “A world full of evil and chaos.” Aeron stood and paced the room. “Why live by morals if there is no death? Why worry about killing and looting when there is no fear of an afterlife consequence?”

  I licked my lips. “Temptation is everywhere, there’s nothing to keep people in line, in balance. She’ll thrive off all that power.”

  “Evil will become stronger than good.” Ruthie sighed. “So what do we do from here?”

  I ran a hand over my jeans. “I want clean clothes, and a shower, or at least a wet rag. Then we continue to at least try and locate what gateways the seals are near. That way we have something to give to the archangels when you convince them to help.”

  “I have to convince Michael.” She cringed. “It’s harder than it sounds and it might take a while.”

  I smiled. “You can trust me with the boys, they’ll take good care of me.”

  “Mm, they better.” She shook her head. “Okay, first order of business is to get Sammy cleaned up and back to a functioning Child of the Apocalypse. Then we start looking again. The college is closed until after spring break. We have another week to check out some of the places that may be a gateway and figure out if a seal is there.”

  “I’m functioning.” I glared at her.

  She gave my cheek a gentle pat. “When you can stand without leaning on your scythe we’ll consider you functional.”

  “You did say you’d take a couple days off.” Pete picked at the sofa arm. “We can do research so you don’t feel like you’re just sitting around.”

  I nodded. “Okay, fine. I’ll go with that. Kaleb, you went to check on the famine situation, what did you find?”

  He pushed his glasses up with one finger. “We’re expecting floods, which is only going to make things worse. Food prices have tripled again since you’ve disappeared. They are rationing foods as well. Soon there won’t be much to ration.”

  And then the fights would start breaking out more. “Aeron?”

  “No true wars have broken out yet, but we’re on the edge of it. Texas backed off, but they completely closed their borders to travelers, as have several other states. Russia is threatening to invade because they think we have a cure, but we all know that neither country has able bodied men to fight.”

  “Until they realize that there is no such thing as a fatal wound for the time being.” I leaned my head back. “Other than that, the world is still okay?”

  “Nothing has taken out modern technology and people are still going about their normal lives. There’s a lot of talk about how this is all a conspiracy and how the government will claim to save us when they had control all along.” Pete shook his head. “They think that people who come down with the plague are being transported to some secret camps and will be found to be free of the disease.”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Humans are weird. Everything scary comes down to a conspiracy.”

  “Or terrorism. Which is what the news is claiming.” Pete laughed. “Little do they all know.”

  I shifted in the chair. “What happened to my sandwich?”

  Kaleb passed my plate over. “Try not to waste food, that shit is expensive right now.”

  I munched on my sandwich while my mind churned over all the events that had happened and that I could remember. Lucile had something else coming. I’d be freeing Death and taking revenge for my mother. The trickster demon would die by my scythe. I tightened my grip on the plate and took a deep breath. I’d heal faster now that I was out of hell and the wounds were properly taken care of.

  My father’s eyes flashed in my mind. The sorrow and tears they carried when he realized I had been tortured until he’d shown up. I drew in a shaky breath. Now he was living his own hell and I was sitting here weaker than a kitten.

  “Sammy?” Ruthie’s voice drew me away from the memory.

  I raised my gaze to look at her. “Yeah?”

  “Don’t focus on it. Don’t let yourself get lost in the memories and in what could have been. Okay?”

  “Easy for you to say, but once I have something else to keep me busy I’ll be able to stay out of my own head.” I took a bite of the sandwich. “Bring me a computer and I’ll start on that research.”

  Pete jumped off the couch and disappeared down a hallway.

  Ruthie sat down in the spot Pete abandoned. Kaleb stretched. “Aeron and I are going to go check out the city and see how this new situation affects everything.”

  The two of them marched out of the house and the door clicked shut behind them. “So, I guess this means I’ve failed my first semester of college?”

  “You have some incompletes due to family tragedy. You’ll get it next semester though.” She smiled.

  I snorted. “Yes, because we’ll get this solved during the spring semester.”

  “You never know. We’ve already made headway. We know that the seals are in hell, and thanks to you we have the location of one.”

  I set my empty plate on the floor. “If I go back to hell, I’m killing any demon I see, because I will not be taken back into Lucile’s mercy. She’s a scary bitch.”

  “I won’t let her have you again. Now that the horsemen are taken, the only ones who can stop this are you guys and that means you are now targets.” She shook her head. “Expect an uptick in demons and Sins.”

  I snarled. “That’s the other thing, if I ever see Lust again, I’m going to chop off his nuts and feed them to him.”

  “That’s my girl. Fighting spirit and all. You just hang on to your drive for revenge.” Ruthie laughed. “I’d like to see you do that to Lust. I’m pretty sure he’s never had anyone even think about threatening him like that.”

  I shrugged and cringed as it pulled on my injuries. “I don’t like being messed with.”

  Pete came out with the computer and handed it to me. “All set up for you with a user account. That way you don’t stumble across anything you don’t want to see.”

  I didn’t even want to think about what kind of nasty stuff was on a male college student’s computer. “Thanks for thinking about my delicate eyes.” I pried open the lid and clicked on my icon. “Leave me to my research, I’ll be fine.” I typed in phrases to start my search for the gateways.

  The rain slid down the windows of Aeron’s house. The clouds hid the moon and any light it might have provided as we all sat in the living room with a map spread out in front of us. There was a city that was now deserted, with rumors of paranormal activity within its borders. It was evacuated and quarantined because it was deemed unsafe to visit, but Centralia would be our next destination. Three states over and a two-night drive. Flying was out of the question because it now required a twenty-four-hour quarantine before you were allowed to fly. Of course, driving required us to go through border checks.

  “Do you think that we need to worry about the gasses? Because they can be deadly according to the website.”

  Pete shook his head. “We
’re Children of the Apocalypse, just like we can’t get infected by the plague, a little gas isn’t going to kill us. Might feel the crazy effects, but I have gas masks in the car.”

  “Why?” I glanced up from the road map.

  “Because I was worried they might try to bomb the U.S. and whereas we probably wouldn’t die, I don’t think any of us want to deal with the effects of a chemical attack in our lungs. If Death was still around we might have to worry about dying from it.”

  I shrugged and looked back down. “Okay, we’re looking at three days of driving, we can leave in the morning and I’ll be healed up in plenty of time.”

  “We’ll have to stop at every border, three days will be cutting it close.” Ruthie tapped her finger on the map. “We’ll stop here and here, then finish the drive that third day.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take us to talk to the Gatekeeper?” Kaleb leaned back on his hands. “Think it’ll be as quick as the Devil’s Playground?”

  I cringed, thinking about how our visit with Hag went. “Hopefully without anyone dying.”

  “We’re all coming back and we’re all coming back in one piece.” Ruthie sighed. “We can’t afford to lose any team members at this point. We actually stick to the ‘no one goes anywhere alone’ rule.” She looked at me and I held my hands up.

  “I know, I know, and I’ll stop following sexy demons.” I looked back at the map. “We assume it only takes us a day and we start the three-day trek back and we’ll barely be back in time for classes to start up again.”

  “Assuming they do.” Aeron said. “If they don’t, then we double our efforts, find the Sins and force the information out of them.”

  “And how do you expect we do that?” I met his gaze. “It’s not like they are just going to willingly tell us.”

  “How do you think? We torture them.”

  I closed my eyes at the thought. Phantom pains radiated through my body at the thought of Lucile’s claws and the panic returned at the thought of the walls closing in. I took a deep breath, trying to banish the thoughts away. “That would make us no better than them.”

  “It’s a war, Sammy. Sometimes we have to do questionable things during a war.”

  I stood and wrapped my arms around myself. “I won’t have a hand in the torture.”

  “You’re willing to kill, but not torture?” Aeron’s voice held an edge of mockery.

  I spun around to face him. “A quick death is different than being laid out to be tortured.”

  “You’re going to be a horseman, you’ll have to do what is needed to keep the world in balance.”

  I turned away and walked out onto the deck. My hands shook as I tried to push his words out of my mind. I wouldn’t give in and have a hand in the torture. A quick death meant little suffering. Of course, with my father missing, there would be no death and no escape from the torture. I closed my eyes at the thought of healing only to be tortured again, or to have to suffer wound after wound, only to not be claimed by Death. I gripped the railing and tried to focus on the rain falling.

  The drops hit the cover of the deck with a dull thudding, keeping a rhythmic tempo. I took a deep breath and savored the smell of rain as it hit my nose and the moisture the breath brought with it. The thoughts of hell faded and I opened my eyes.

  “Sammy?” Pete’s voice caught me off guard. I’d expected Ruthie, but not one of the guys to come out after me.

  I turned around and leaned against the railing. “I’m okay.”

  “Are you sure?” He took my hand and uncurled my fingers. “Aeron can be a little bit…drastic when it comes to wanting his way.”

  I flexed my hands and sighed. “I know it probably doesn’t make sense to anyone, but torture…I can’t do it. I want no part in it. Killing demons, even Sins, I’m okay with that, but I’m not going to have a hand in torturing someone. Drawing out their death… I just can’t do that.”

  “You won’t have to. It’s War’s job, not Death’s. Aeron will have to handle it, not you.” Pete tilted my chin up so I could meet his gaze. “You’ve literally been to hell and back. There’s no reason we would have you participate in the torture. If it comes to that.”

  I turned away from him and looked over the yard. The rain slid down the new grass that stuck out from the ground. The dirt held the dark brown tone of mud as it soaked up all the water it could. In other parts of the yard puddles formed where the ground had reached its limit. I closed my eyes. “Maybe I’m not ready to return to the field.”

  “Physically you’ll be fine, but mentally…” He cupped a hand over mine. “It’s going to take time to heal. We’re all here for you.”

  I smiled. “Never alone in this group, huh?”

  “We always have each other’s backs. Remember that. We’ve all been through tough places before. And there will be more to come.” He squeezed my hand. “When the apocalypse is over, we’ll look back on this and realize it was all worth it.”

  He pulled his hand away and went back inside. I turned back to the raindrops and a breeze kicked up, changing the direction of the rain. Grief would fade over time, even if it never went away and all I could do right now was take all the hate and anger and harness it to get the revenge I wanted.

  13

  We piled into Pete’s car. I took the front seat and no one argued. I typed the city into the GPS and secured it to the dashboard.

  “As soon as we get back I’m going to the archangels to talk to them about helping us.” Ruthie leaned between the front seats. “Road trip! Who’s excited?”

  Everyone glared at her and she sat back with a huff. “I’m just trying to make good of a bad situation.”

  “We’re going to a city that is literally sitting on top of fire. There’s not a whole lot of good in this situation.” Kaleb closed the door. “So let’s just go play with the demons and get this over with.”

  I leaned my head back and watched as we drove through the city. Every person wore a medical mask and some went as far as to wear protective eye wear. Guns were seen on several hips in an open carry and I could only imagine what it would be like if someone drew their gun. I glanced back at Aeron squeezed against the driver side back door. I wondered how all the unbalance affected him and the others. Aeron seemed a little more on edge where the others seemed calm and collected.

  Kaleb had been worried. His constant need to check on things and make sure they were as bad as the media portrayed them had gotten worse since I was gone. Now, Pete. Pete seemed right at home amongst all the plague.

  I could barely tell a demon from a human still. I leaned my head against the window as the houses gave way to dead orchards and farmlands. I closed my eyes and tried to pull up the number of deaths and nothing came. “Death truly has gone.” I whispered. “The death toll is zero right now.”

  “We’ll get him back. We’ll get all of them back. We just have to locate or at least know which gateway the seals are near.” Pete pulled the car past another one on the highway.

  “We already know that Death is near the gateway here.” Ruthie stated. “They wouldn’t have dragged her all the way through hell without her noticing.”

  “I was unconscious.” I grumbled. “But I don’t think I was. The place they had to have taken me to Lucile must have been close too.”

  “We’ll figure that one out when we get back. Let’s take advantage of spring break and deal with the City on Fire, Centralia.”

  We passed the rest of the drive to the first border with simple chatting about parties Aeron had held while I was gone, or what geeky thing Kaleb had discovered or built. I smiled at the stories and found I had missed them even though I wasn’t aware how long I’d been gone.

  Pete slowed the car as we came to a border patrol. Concrete roadblocks lined the road, and the only break to move through was guarded by two men with large guns slung on their backs. Their fatigues told me that they were from a branch of military. Their faces were blocked by large respirators with built in viso
rs.

  The car stopped and the men flanked the car, each of them opening the doors.

  “Please step out of the car so we can examine you for signs of the plague.” The voice of one sounded almost mechanical through the mask.

  We all slowly got out and held our hands up to show we had no intention of attacking.

  “Lift up your sleeves, please.”

  I pulled up my sleeves with shaky hands. I had nothing to hide, but I didn’t like being ordered around.

  “Shirt please, just up enough to see your stomach.”

  My hands hesitated. “I’m sorry, I’m not comfortable with that.” My breath sped up at the idea of someone seeing the wounds crossing my body.

  “We can’t let you pass until we know you are showing no signs of the plague.”

  I raised a brow. “No questions asked about anything else seen?”

  “All we care about is the plague. We’re looking for extreme bloating and discoloration.”

  My fingers gripped the edge of my shirt and raised it up. The soldier whistled. “Damn, you went through a hell of a fight.”

  “You have no idea. Are we done here?” I grounded out through my teeth.

  “Pant legs please.”

  I lifted them up and he nodded. “You’re clear.”

  “What business do you five have in this state?”

  “Oh you know, just passing through.” Pete called over the car. “Spring break and we thought we’d go sightseeing. That’s all.”

  The solider raised a brow. “Sightseeing?”

  “We like to live on the dangerous side.” Pete shrugged.

  The solider hesitated for just a moment. “You’re clear to go. Thank you for cooperating.”

  We all piled back in and Pete pulled the car through the checkpoint. “I understand the need to stop the spread of the infection, but really. What would they do if we were infected? Turn us back around?”

  “No they send you to a quarantine station. Who knows what they are doing to people there, especially now that Death has disappeared.” Ruthie shifted in her seat.