Apocalypse Assassins: The Complete Series

by D. Laine

  I nodded thoughtfully. “Marcus loved Maria, too.”

  “I know, and I’ve thought about that. But we weren’t ready then. We didn’t know what to expect or where the threat would come from.” He looked at me briefly. “Now we know what we’re up against, and we’re prepared.”

  I stared into the night, absorbing his words. They were true, all of them. But there was something he wasn’t saying. Something I knew we both had thought about, but had never discussed.

  “You know this might come down to one of us, right?”

  “I know,” Jake said. “I’ve thought about that, too.”

  After that, we stopped talking. We fell into our own heads, lost in our own thoughts—which I suspected were the same.

  Someone had to take out Lucifer. Either we stopped his vessel from opening the gate—or a Watcher battled him. Maybe Maria’s Watcher could pull it off alone. But if not, one or both of us would have to give in.

  But not yet. I had resigned myself to the possibility of sacrificing myself, but not tonight. Not until all other options were exhausted.

  I had a damn good reason to want to see the end of this. I had a future to live with the girl currently snuggled against me.

  I had told Jake I was fine—and I was fine. The agency had taught us to not only function, but excel, with little sleep. But after another hour of staring at the same dark road, Thea’s steady breaths in my ear began to lull me to sleep.

  I tried to fight it. Despite Jake’s reassurances, the last thing I wanted was to experience another dream like the last one. We couldn’t afford any more encounters with the Watchers.

  They found me anyway.

  FOG SURROUNDS ME, limiting my sight, but I know I am not alone. A Watcher waits for me. Not in the forest this time, but somewhere flat and treeless, somewhere I don’t recognize. In front of me stands a chain-link fence; behind that, the dark shape of a building. Perhaps the start of a town, but I don’t have time to study it closely. Maria wanders out of the fog, demanding all of my focus.

  “You are weakening,” she announces in an unfamiliar voice—the monotonous tone of a Watcher.

  I shake my head, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the obvious. “No.”

  “You’re close,” Maria insists. “You’re getting closer, right where we want you, where we are waiting for you, and where you will ultimately beg us to take control of your insufficient human body.”

  “Sounds like you have it all planned out.”

  Watchers apparently don’t appreciate sarcasm, because her eyes narrow into slits.

  My feet are suddenly numb with cold. I look down to find them buried in snow. It drifts from the sky as a fine white mist, sprinkling my face with wet flakes.

  “Lucifer is making moves and gaining strength,” Maria says, her voice weakening, becoming faint. “His vessel is nearing the gate. The time is coming. You must . . .”

  Thea’s voice cuts in. “Dylan?”

  I glance around, but do not see her in the fog and the thickening snow. It falls harder and faster. Within seconds, I am buried up to my knees.

  “What’s happening?” I ask Maria.

  She doesn’t answer as she moves away with a cunning smirk. I watch until she disappears. I can now see what is definitely a small town behind her, surrounded by the chain-link fence. I force a foot out of the snow and lurch forward.

  “Dylan.” Thea calls to me again.

  Everything—the snow, the fog, and the town—disappears.

  I BLINKED as Thea’s face materialized above me. The remnants of the dream faded, and reality set in. My sore neck muscles confirmed that I had fallen asleep sitting up in the front seat of the car with Thea in my lap.

  She had twisted around, and held my face in her hands. Her worry-lined eyes searched mine. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I tried to move, to stretch out the stiffness in my back. It wasn’t easy to do in the tight spot we were in. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  Her teeth scraped her bottom lip, drawing my eyes lower as she whispered, “Who were you talking to?”

  I looked away, not wanting to answer that question. Spotting the heavy curtain of white over her shoulder, through the windshield, I tensed. As in the dream, it was snowing. Hard.

  “What’s going on?” Moving Thea into a more comfortable position, I sat up and glanced over at Jake in the driver’s seat—but it wasn’t him.

  Ewing’s knuckles gripped the steering wheel tight, and he frowned without bothering to look at me. “What does it look like? We’re driving through a goddamn blizzard.”

  I squinted through the windshield in an attempt to gauge the severity of the storm. I couldn’t see the road through the whiteout. Heavy clumps of wet snow rolled across the glass with every squeaky swipe of the windshield wipers.

  “Where’s Jake?”

  “Back seat,” Ewing said. “He needed a break.”

  I glanced into the back, confirming Jake had taken Ewing’s spot. His face plastered to the window, he was oblivious to what was going on outside. Sadie sat straight up in the seat beside him, chewing her lip nervously.

  “Is he talking in his sleep?” I asked her quietly.

  She shook her head. I knew he needed his sleep, same as I did, but I didn’t like the thought of him being at the mercy of the Watchers.

  “Do me a favor, and wake him up?” I asked of Sadie. Turning back to Ewing, I demanded, “Where are we?”

  “Hell if I know,” Ewing said. “Honestly, I don’t know if I’m even on a road anymore.”

  “How long has it been snowing?”

  “Ten minutes.”

  “That’s it?” There had to be a foot on the ground already. That wasn’t natural.

  “It came out of nowhere.” Glancing at me, Ewing asked, “Do you think . . .”

  “Would you be offended if I blamed this one on Lucifer?”

  Ewing grunted. For once, he seemed to agree with me.

  “Maybe we should pull over and ride it out,” Thea suggested softly.

  Studying the heavy flakes that pelted the car, I shook my head. “He’ll just bury us alive if we stop.”

  I knew without a doubt that what the Watcher said in the dream was right. Lucifer was gaining strength. He was making big moves.

  And he was determined to weaken us into submission.

  11

  THEA

  Growing up in Montana, I had seen some bad snow storms. One of my favorite memories involved being snowed in with my parents for nearly a week when I was eight. Considering they had been prepared for the apocalypse, days stuck indoors with no electricity had been nothing to them. We had built an entire family of snowmen.

  As an adult, I enjoyed snow for its refreshing beauty. It made for some amazing pictures. But I didn’t have my camera, and I wasn’t a photographer anymore. I was a survivor of the apocalypse, and this was a deadly, unnatural amount of snow.

  We were also in the middle of nowhere, which meant we had no shelter. Even if there was something out here, we would never find it in the thick curtain of falling snow. We were driving blind. Then thirty minutes after the snow started, we couldn’t even drive. The tires on the car stopped spinning and we were forced to abandon the safety of our mobile fortress.

  The thigh-high snow we stepped into was only half the battle. The artic winds assaulting my exposed face and neck were just as bad, if not worse. While we all had coats and boots, they were not enough. We were in no way prepared for this kind of storm.

  And Lucifer knew it.

  In a strange flip-flop of roles, Robbie, Sadie, and I pushed the guys when their steps slowed. Ewing, as the one of us least blessed by the mixed blood flowing through our veins, was only a little better off than Dylan and Jake. I didn’t have the energy to figure out why he hadn’t developed the strength and durability the rest of us had. Sadie took full responsibility of keeping him alive.

  That left me to focus solely on Dylan and Jake. When they slowed, I encoura
ged them take one more step. Then another. And when they thought they couldn’t do it, I forced them to keep going. With their hands held by either mine or Robbie’s, they somehow summoned the energy to trudge forward.

  I knew it was difficult for them, because it was difficult for me. For all of us. Beside me, Robbie and Sadie slowly deteriorated. Their steps grew weaker while Dylan and Jake nearly stopped moving at all. Glancing at Robbie, I saw the fear in her eyes being gradually replaced by the vacant stare of defeat.

  We had survived a volcanic eruption that crippled an entire nation and left thousands dead, mobs of bloodthirsty tags, and the knives placed in our backs by the agency. After all of that, and all that we had endured to make it this far, I refused to go down to a freak snowstorm.

  Fear of losing now could either cripple me, or make me stronger. I took all the uncertainty, all the worry, and all the doubts, and rolled them into a big bundle of determination that pushed me forward when my body wanted to give up. We would make it. We had to. Otherwise, Lucifer won.

  My resolve shattered a moment later, when Jake’s legs crumbled beneath him. He rolled over onto his back, and fear trumped determination. He made no effort to get back up, and within seconds, his face was covered by a layer of snow.

  I crawled to his side and tugged on his arm. “Get up.”

  Then Dylan dropped to the ground beside Jake. Face down. The lower half of his body submerged in deep snow.

  “No!” I got to my knees and pulled on both of them. “Get up! You can’t stop now. We can’t—”

  Sadie crawled up beside us. She grabbed Dylan’s other arm. But her tug was weak. She ended up on the ground beside him, staring up at the snow that continued to fall on us.

  “I can’t . . .” She panted. “I can’t do it anymore.”

  “No.” Dylan pushed himself up. Barely. “Don’t stop. You guys are stronger—”

  “We’re not leaving you,” I told him. “So you get up. Now. Or we all lay here and die.”

  “You’re going to make us do this together, aren’t you?” He had the audacity to grin, like he enjoyed being buried alive by the snow.

  “We all stay, or we all go.” I finished our group mantra with a stern nod.

  “Then let’s go.” He reached over to give Jake a shove. “Come on, Walker. Your sister says naptime is over.”

  Jake didn’t move.

  “Jake, get up.” Dylan rolled over, temporarily blocking my view of my brother as he leaned over him. There was a long pause, and then, “Jake!”

  Dylan lifted Jake’s shoulders off the ground and shook him hard. My stomach dropped at the sight of my brother’s head rolled back lifelessly, his eyes mere slits.

  “Fuck!” Dylan roared. “Thea?”

  I crawled forward on numb knees to take Jake’s hand in mine. His fingers were cold and stiff, but I felt the tingle of our connection. Barely, but there.

  “He’s alive.”

  “We need to get out of here.” Dylan’s drive returned full force. Mentally, he was all in. Physically . . .

  Dylan dragged Jake a few steps through the snow before his body gave out. From where I lay, they appeared as nothing more than two dark lumps through the thick white, nearly blinding curtain of snow. Using the last of my energy, I crawled the few feet toward them. I knew then that this was it. There would be no getting out of this mess alive.

  The thought of dying out here, like this, was scary as hell. But being with them in my final moments made it a little less terrifying. It was better than dying alone. The others were somewhere nearby, but Jake and Dylan were all I wanted now.

  I threw myself into the sliver of space between them, seeking physical contact with both of them. Head nestled into Dylan’s side, I held on to the thin thread of a connection still humming between Jake and me. Barely.

  I was losing Jake. I would lose my brother before I had the chance to really know him.

  I would lose Dylan next. Before we had the chance to really be together.

  We would lose it all.

  Face tipped toward the sky, I screamed—taking my frustration out on the only entity left to blame. The one who had done this to us. Lucifer.

  “Is this what you wanted?” I demanded, staring up at the magnificent white powder raining down on me. “I thought you wanted a fight, but it’s all over now. You win!”

  I didn’t expect Lucifer to respond. Not technically. I had only intended to take away the glory of his victory, even if only to make myself feel better about it. But he did respond—sort of. He responded in a surprising way.

  Like a switch had been turned off, the snow stopped. The howling wind died. Gray storm clouds broke apart to reveal a black sky dotted with the same familiar stars shining down on us. Comforted by their sight, I smiled. As the last flake of snow drifted onto my cheek, my eyes fluttered shut.

  When they opened again, the sun had risen behind me. I stretched toward what little warmth it provided. It wasn’t enough, and I drifted away, slipping into the darkness once again.

  Noises brought me back to the surface. Snarls and growls surrounded me.

  Tags. I knew it in my gut. But I couldn’t force my body to move any more than I could keep my eyes open.

  Shouts. Gunshots. Voices.

  The tags were gone. The hands on me now were not trying to hurt me. Their words were assuring. They were helping me.

  12

  DYLAN

  My eyes peeled open as we were led through a noisy metal gate bordered by a high chain-link fence. The voices around me came from a group of heavily armed men dressed in military fatigues. I quickly recognized them as members of our own armed forces.

  They carted us into a building that smelled faintly of wet dog. Spotting a plaque on the wall as I was carried through a large open room, I saw why. A veterinary degree from Utah State University surrounded by dozens of pictures of animals explained the peculiar smell.

  Seconds later, I was deposited onto something cold and hard. After that, everything moved incredibly fast. My chattering teeth drowned out the voices that flitted around me. At some point, my wet clothes were removed, and a warm blanket was placed over me. Something bit me in the arm and I flinched. Too late, I realized I had a needle sticking out of me. Clear fluid dripped from a bag suspended above my head and flowed through a tube straight into my arm. Whatever it was made my fingers and toes tingle.

  A dominating, deep voice came from near my feet. I tried to look for the owner, but another pair of hands forced my shoulders down.

  “Where are we?” I managed between my clenched teeth.

  The same voice answered. “You’re safe.”

  “What about . . .” Where was Thea and Jake? Sadie? Had I lost my sister? Again?

  “All the members of your party are here. You and one other male appear to be the worst. Doc is working on him. Everyone else is stable.”

  “Jake?” I tried to sit again—but those damn hands wouldn’t let me. Or was it me? Too weak to lift my own shoulders off the table?

  “You need to relax.”

  “Let us help you.”

  “Your body temperature is dangerously low.”

  The deep voice faded, replaced by many unfamiliar voices. They moved quickly, and I couldn’t focus on any one face long enough to see who was helping me.

  I was grateful for their help, but I couldn’t relax. Not until I knew Jake was going to be okay. Because the last time I remembered seeing him, he had looked dead.

  “I need to see my friend.” I jerked against the hands holding me down.

  The faint light shining through a narrow window on the wall across from me reflected off of something approaching me from the side. Something sharp and pointy. I felt the prick in my arm, then the burning pain as whatever was in the syringe shot into me.

  Before I could ask, a black curtain descended.

  I STIRRED at the subtle sound of fabric rustling somewhere nearby.

  The sun had dimmed outside the window. I suspected
at least a few hours had passed since I had been brought in here. My teeth were still clenched tight. Every now and again, a shiver raced through me. The thick blankets piled on top of me helped, but I feared I would never thaw out.

  Then Thea stepped into my line of sight, and I warmed a little more on the inside.

  She was dressed in a light-blue shirt easily three sizes too big for her. It hung nearly to her knees, making me wonder if she had anything on underneath.

  And that thought did wonderful things to my body temperature.

  “Jake is okay,” she told me.

  That helped, too.

  “His heart almost stopped, but they got him warmed up fast enough.” She inched closer to my bed. “The guys who rescued us are with the U.S. Army. They’ve fortified a small town here . . . wherever it is we are. All I know is that we’re safe for now.”

  I tried to nod, but ended up shivering instead.

  “I once heard that body heat is the best cure for hypothermia.” Thea smiled.

  “I would suggest sex but I’m afraid to find out if my dick got frostbite,” I managed. I hated that my voice sounded weak. Almost as much as I hated the fact that I couldn’t stop shaking. “That and you would obviously have to do all the work.”

  She laughed as she slipped under the blankets, and it was the best sound in the world. Her warm body curled around mine, warming me at every point she touched. Every few minutes, she shifted to give attention to a neglected area of my body. Each time was like feeling her touch me for the first time.

  As a testament to how insanely cold I was, I didn’t attempt to make it more than it was. I simply welcomed her presence and her touch. After a few moments, my teeth stopped chattering. Shortly after that, the peaceful bliss of sleep called to me.

  No Watchers waited for me this time.

  THE BUILDING WAS MOSTLY DARK when I woke again, and strikingly quiet. No longer delirious from cold and whatever else had been shot into my arm, I finally took in my surroundings.