Into the Real

by Z Brewer

  Steadying my shaking hands, I signaled, and the rest of my team sprang into action, moving forward and spreading out, navigating the maze of shipping containers. If God was looking down on us, at least one of the containers would be unlocked. If not, we’d have to go with ever-reliable bolt cutters. I didn’t have a plan C.

  Focus, Quinn. Focus on the mission. There’s no time for worrying about anything other than the present.

  Jack made sure we were clear, then pointed two fingers to his eyes and then to a large, yellow container about twenty yards away. He, Marley, Henderson, and I moved in. Thompson covered us, his finger on the trigger, his eyes sharp.

  I grabbed the handle on the door and pulled. It swung open with ease. God was with us after all. Inside were more supply boxes than the Resistance in Brume had ever had in our stores at one time. A strange mixture of awe and anger filled me. Everyone knew the Allegiance was well fed, well cared for, but seeing the proof, when we in the Resistance were hungry and tending to our wounds with filthy bandages, made my blood boil.

  I barked at Randall and Davies, “Move your ass, soldiers!”

  From the other side of the yard came shouts as the fire spread and chaos erupted. Several Allegiance soldiers were attempting to douse the flames with buckets filled with water from the lake. Even from this distance, peering out of the container, I could see the fear on their faces. Something was wrong.

  From my comm came Lloyd’s frantic voice. “Get clear! It’s gonna—”

  An immense BOOM ripped through the air, shaking the container we were in, its blast pushing me back. My chest ached, as if it’d been kicked hard. The sound of the explosion made my ears ring. My heart pounded within me—almost loud enough to block out everything else for a moment. My mouth tasted metallic.

  Steadying myself, I looked out at the shipping yard and assessed the situation. My throat grew dry when I added up the details amid the carnage. Our distraction had become their destruction. One of the containers Lloyd and his team had set aflame had exploded. Whatever had been inside was volatile. Much that was left of the container’s metal walls had curled back. People were screaming. Bodies—and parts of bodies—were strewn all around the area.

  Davies and Randall strapped their bags closed and slung them onto their backs before booking it out of our container, heading south toward our rendezvous point. I remained frozen to the spot, taking in the horror. There must have been welding tanks in the now-nonexistent container. What else could explode that way? I had no idea. I’d wanted to get in and out without taking any lives. Failure consumed me. This mission had been my idea. I knew it was dangerous, and I took the risk anyway. I closed my eyes, trying not to imagine the families of the fallen and how broken they would be to hear the news of their loss. Slipping my pack on, I moved out of the container with the last part of our plan in my trembling right hand.

  In the glow of the still-burning fire, I spied a familiar face on the other side of the supply yard. The man had just climbed out of a Jeep. As if my hatred had reached out like a hand and turned his head, Caleb stared right at me. I thought I saw the flames reflected in his eyes, and wondered if he saw the same thing reflected in mine. I was briefly relieved to see him here, because it meant that he was still alive.

  What the hell was that about?

  Regaining my composure, I lit the Molotov in my hand and tossed it into the supply container behind me. Rationally, I knew that these were supplies we might find ourselves needing one day. But I wasn’t being rational right then. I wanted to make the Allegiance suffer. I wanted what was theirs to burn.

  As the bottle burst into a cloud of flames within the container behind me, I gave Caleb a sarcastic salute.

  There were those who said there was no negotiating with Caleb—that killing him would be the only way to stop him. Lia was in that camp. Maybe my hesitancy to do so was what would get me in the end. Or maybe, as farfetched as it seemed, I could make Caleb see the error of his ways. Or at least get him to leave us the hell alone.

  The smell of burnt flesh and hair filled my nostrils, and I had to fight to not retch at the stink of it. I trudged forward, my pack feeling heavier with every step. I couldn’t block out the agonized screams of Caleb’s men. Some because they’d been injured. Some because my decision to come here had murdered their friends, their family members. Shit had gone sideways in the worst way imaginable.

  Shut up, Quinn. Shit always goes sideways, and you know it.

  I felt my conscience twist and squirm. In a way, I was no better than Caleb. He was a monster, but I was a monster, too.

  You can’t run from the monster. The monster is you.

  The words entered my mind so softly that I almost missed them. Hadn’t I heard them before? My lips were dry as I ran my tongue over them. Had Lia said that to me when I’d told her I was going out for a smoke? No, Lia would never go that far, even when she was mad at me. Though maybe if she’d seen the massacre I’d just caused . . .

  Suddenly, I was glad that I’d forgotten her handkerchief again. Maybe it was the reason for our bad luck back there, but I was relieved that Lia hadn’t been any part of it.

  A shuffling to my right drew my attention, and I raised my rifle instinctively, but not fast enough. Sharp pain shot through my hand as someone slammed the butt of a gun down on my wrist. I released my weapon with a curse, and it fell to the ground, quickly lost in the long grass. Before I could reach for it, they hit me again—this time in the skull. I fell into the black abyss of what-the-hell-just-happened.

  My head was pounding when I woke later. I was still in the clearing, and it was still dark, so I couldn’t have been out for long. I could make out shapes in the darkness—it looked like every member of my team from the shipyard, including Lloyd and his men. Their faces were drawn and showed their fear. Several looked at me, as if pleading for me to save them, to save us all. Wasn’t that what the face of the Resistance was supposed to do? Rescue them all with a gun in one hand and a flask in the other, like a real man? Seeing their desperate, silent pleas for help ripped my insides to shreds. What if I couldn’t save any of us? What if this clearing was where the Resistance in Brume came to an end?

  Standing all around them, around me, were soldiers. Well-armed, well-dressed, well-fed soldiers. We were surrounded. Which meant that we were screwed.

  In front of me stood Caleb, his shoulders back, his eyes lit up with pride.

  “You’re slipping, Quinn. I told Kai you’d never fall for an ambush like this, no matter how desperate you and your people were. And yet . . . here you are.” He put emphasis on each of the last three words, like he was relishing them. Behind him stood my brother, Caleb’s number one. Our family had been ripped apart by the tyranny of the Allegiance. The real question was, who had betrayed who?

  Kai said nothing. He only met my eyes for a moment before staring straight ahead like a good little soldier. A well-trained pet. Caleb said, “Did you really think you could get away with stealing from me, killing innocent people, and destroying the property of the Allegiance? You must think a lot of yourself, Quinn. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that conceit is weakness?”

  His words sent a wave of anger over me. If anyone was conceited, it was him. Parading around in a uniform sporting medals that he hadn’t earned, from wars that had never happened. I clenched my jaw and fought to keep my cool. “Set my men free.”

  The corner of his mouth tugged upward in glee. “I’ll take that under consideration.”

  “Do what you will with me. But send them home to their families.” I looked pointedly at my brother, who still avoided my gaze, and wondered if the chasm between us was insurmountable. “You must have one ounce of decency in you somewhere, Caleb.”

  Caleb paused for a moment, as if considering. Maybe his soul was still salvageable.

  Then, with a nod, he addressed Kai with the casual tone of someone who was asking to be passed the salt at dinnertime. “Kill them. All but one. Set the weakest among them free, so
that the rest of the so-called Resistance will know what happened. A cautionary tale.”

  Kai unsnapped the holster on his hip and moved toward the others without a moment’s hesitation. The sight of his unquestioning loyalty turned my stomach. I hated him. In that moment, I couldn’t imagine ever repairing the rift between us. He was Caleb’s lapdog and no brother of mine.

  My chest tightened as Kai positioned himself behind Jeremy—a younger guy who’d only just started coming on missions, who’d spoken at length of his parents and how supportive they were, who’d said that one day he was going to propose to his girlfriend and they’d be married under a blossoming cherry tree. He was just a boy. Just a kid. Shaking my head, I pleaded with both my brother and his leader. “Don’t do this. Please.”

  One member of my team let out a soft whimper and another broke down in tears. They were losing faith in my ability to save them. How I wished I could say they were the only ones.

  Kai’s steps never slowed. I took another breath to beg him to stop, but before I could utter a word, he withdrew his pistol and discharged it into the back of Jeremy’s skull.

  BANG.

  He was no longer Jeremy, no longer a boy, no longer a kid. His parents would mourn him forever. His girlfriend would weep for him beneath that blossoming cherry tree.

  My entire team fell silent, their tongues frozen in shock. With barely an intake of breath, Kai moved to Thompson next and squeezed the trigger again. Panic engulfed me as the shot fired, echoing out into the world. Thompson’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground. It was clear that nothing I said would deter my brother from following his orders. “Stop it, Caleb. Don’t do this!”

  “It’s already done.” Caleb smiled. He’d just ordered the execution of people who wanted nothing more than to live free, and that fucker smiled. “I must say, I take great pleasure in knowing that your faction’s resolve will crumble upon learning of your demise.”

  He was arrogant to think that a revolution relied on one person’s continued existence. But then, arrogance was Caleb’s forte. As Kai fired off another shot, I cringed, steeling myself for the next. “My people aren’t that weak. They don’t need me to win this war. Killing me won’t stop the Resistance.”

  Gripping me by my tactical vest, Caleb pulled me to standing. The corner of his mouth twitched. I’d gotten to him. My words had picked at a scab just enough to make him bleed. He was standing so close that I could feel the heat of his breath on my skin, but I couldn’t get a read on what he was planning to do next. He released his grip, slapping a hand on my shoulder, shaking it some as if we were old friends. The smile blooming on his lips filled me with unease. He said, “Perhaps you’re right. Maybe killing you won’t stop the Resistance. But it will give me enormous pleasure to watch you die.”

  I took a hard swing at him, but his arm shot forward, blocking my hit. His fist made contact with my stomach and I bent at the waist in pain. It was a hard punch, but one I probably deserved. Maybe it would be enough to distract Kai from his task. Maybe a member of my team could get free and . . .

  When I looked down, I saw a bowie knife in Caleb’s hand. Blood poured from my gut onto the grass. The asshole had stabbed me. I stumbled forward in shock, falling into him, hoping that what I’d said to Caleb had been the truth. The Resistance would go on without me. It had to.

  Because I was dying.

  16

  Falling forward, I was surprised when Caleb caught me, and I had to stifle a scream. He’d been nowhere near me when I’d laid eyes on Coe disappearing through a door just a moment ago. Hadn’t he been upstairs searching for Lia on the second floor?

  “Quinn! Are you okay?” The nailed board he’d been carrying as a weapon clattered to the floor when he caught me.

  Of course I wasn’t fucking okay. I was in the decaying ruins of the school. Lia was nowhere to be found. And I’d just laid eyes on the most terrifying monster in Brume. The image of those long, spindly arms dragging that scaled body through the doorway haunted me. I was about as far from okay as a person could get. Shoving him away from me, I scrambled to stand on my own.

  For some reason, my stomach ached.

  Caleb’s voice shook in concern. “I thought you were passing out on me there. You all right? Is your arm okay? Maybe we should head back.”

  “No. No, I’m fine.” Even I didn’t believe my own words, but I put them out there anyway. I wasn’t sure why. To comfort Caleb, maybe? Between the two of us, I was pretty sure I was the one who needed some comforting, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I hadn’t needed his damn help to climb in the window, and I didn’t need him to protect me now.

  My blood had soaked through the bandage on my arm, but I paid it no attention. Health concerns aside, I had bigger problems. If we had any hope of surviving this little excursion, we had to find Lia as fast as we could and get out.

  But where the hell was she?

  Caleb grabbed my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze as if to shake me from my thoughts. “Quinn.”

  My panic and confusion began to subside, and as I looked at him, a strange sense of familiarity washed over me. It was as if I’d known Caleb for a long time. Liked him, even. Hated him. Shaking off the weird feeling of déjà vu, I said, “Any signs of Lia upstairs?”

  He shook his head and said, “No, but I heard something in the cafeteria. You good to check it out?”

  My jaw felt tight. “I said I’m fine.”

  We moved down the hall to a pair of double doors that had once been painted blue, but were now mostly rust-colored, each of them propped open by rubble. Standing to one side, my back against the wall, I took a breath and leaned forward just enough to take a glance inside the cafeteria. Caleb stood to my left, following my lead without needing to be told.

  The room was filled with long tables, but there was no sign of Lia. From the far end came the sound of metal clanking, as if someone or something was banging pots and pans around in the kitchen. Caleb and I exchanged nods—an unspoken understanding that we were going in there no matter who or what we might be facing.

  Gripping my bat, I stepped forward, one foot on a tile at a time. My footsteps were soundless and slow. I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to face whatever monster or thug might be waiting for me, but I was cool with going first. It wasn’t like Caleb was taking any initiative to lead. Plus, if I was being honest with myself, it felt nice to let him know who was running things here. Lia and I were the group. He was just a temporary addition.

  I hoped.

  Outside, the wind had picked up, as if a storm was approaching. It was hard not to feel like that was a bad sign. Maybe this was the day I’d lose out to the horrors of Brume. Maybe this would be the day that I died.

  My feet moved silently over the cracked tile, but Caleb might as well have been an animal on the loose, with his boots clomping on the porcelain. My eyebrow twitched, and I flashed him a glare. But he just looked at me like he had no idea what I was irritated about.

  Something heavy hit the floor in the kitchen, and my heart shot into my throat. My chest rose and fell in quick breaths as adrenaline flowed through me. Carefully, I reached for the handle and cracked the door open just enough to get a good look at what we were dealing with. Caleb leaned in so close behind me, I could feel his breath on my hair.

  A Ripper was facing away from the door, nosing through piles of pots and pans, and I wondered if it had smelled a rat or something. It had to be pretty hungry to go after something so small, which wasn’t good news for us if it noticed us. The thing was over six feet tall on all four of its long, thin legs. Its feet—if they could be called that—looked more like clawed human hands. Translucent skin revealed every muscle, every vein.

  Caleb’s face went white. Scanning the room, I saw a long pipe propped up in the corner nearest the door. The metal was cool in my hand when I plucked it from where it stood. My plan was simple—trap the thing inside the kitchen long enough for us to find Lia and get the hell out. Hopefully before it
noticed our presence.

  Reluctant as I was to do so, I handed my bat to Caleb. But only because I couldn’t maneuver the bar through the door handles to barricade the monster inside and swing my bat at the same time, should it come down to that.

  Abruptly, the beast looked back over one of its hulking shoulders at Caleb and me with its dead, lidless eyes.

  “Shit!” Slamming the door closed, I held the door fast and scrambled to slide the pipe through the handles. The Ripper heaved its body against the door, nudging it open a couple of inches. The pipe fell from my hands to the ground in a loud clank. I braced my body against the door, but the Ripper pressed its skull against the seam and kept pressing until its snout was free enough to snap at me. “Caleb!”

  Breaking free from his frozen terror, Caleb swung my bat hard and hit the beast on the end of its nose. It snarled and backed off enough for me to get the door closed again—just long enough for me to grab the pipe and slide it through the handles, locking the creature inside. The thing rammed the door again and again. I didn’t know if the barricade would hold. I just knew we didn’t want to be there if the creature got out. Grabbing Caleb by the sleeve, we took off running, following the maze of hallways. We skidded to a stop and rested our backs against the wall beside a set of lockers, our chests rising and falling as we gasped for breath. I could still hear the Ripper hitting the door, but its attacks slowed, as if it were growing tired, growing weak. It must not have eaten in a good long while.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a light and turned to investigate. With a chuckle, I said, “Well, would you look at that?”

  The door to one of the lockers was halfway open and emitting a green glow. I yanked it open with a squeak of metal on metal to reveal a cardboard box full of glow sticks. One of them had broken and acted as a beacon. On the top shelf sat a box of bandages, ointment, and a bottle of aspirin. It must have been someone’s stash. Or maybe it had been here since before the wall of fog had closed in on Brume. I didn’t know and didn’t care. It was mine now.