“I could ask you the same thing,” the stranger said. Holding his saber in one hand, he used the other to fish around the inside of his shirt and pulled two more bloody bullets from his torso.
“That is…that is disgusting,” Melissa said. She threw up on the ground behind her, the lack of anything in her stomach making her dry heave in pain.
“I think your people need food and rest more than they need answers,” the stranger said. “No need to flee tonight. The camp is ours.”
“We can take watches in shifts,” the captain said. “I’ll take the first watch. You all get food and some sleep.”
While Taylor was not inclined to agree with the stranger’s idea to stay put, one look at her group and she knew they would be useless on the road. They had only managed to make it this far on adrenaline and will. Her own stomach was staging a protest. Sleep was something she was sure would quickly turn into a coma if she closed her eyes.
“Grab what you need for the night and stay by the vehicles,” Taylor said, rubbing weariness from her eyes. “Frank and Jason, we’ll need a fire. And you, Iron Wolf or whatever you call yourself, you don’t leave my sight. I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I want answers, now.”
A few minutes later Frank and Jason were stoking a small flame. The captain’s silhouette could be seen outside the fire’s glow. His breath made small puffs of white as if he were smoking a cigar.
Melissa had doled out canned food to everyone, and Cidney handed out blankets to keep the group warm.
Taylor stared across the growing fire at the stranger. She expected him to transform in the blink of an eye into whatever it was he had been during his fight with the Reckoners.
He ignored her stern gaze, busying himself with removing his bullet-hole riddled shirt for a clean one. Besides being bloody, his torso was clear of any wounds. He pulled his hair back in a ponytail and draped his saber over his right shoulder. The hilt of his weapon peeked over like a parrot resting beside his head.
“I’m not going to kill you,” he said, rummaging through the bottles of water and canned foods set in a pile beside the fire. “I could if I wanted to, but I’m not.”
“I very much doubt that,” Taylor said, grabbing the bottled water he had chosen from the pile. She took it from his grip and dangled it in front of him in midair. “I could kill you with a thought.”
For a brief moment the scene was so tense even Frank and Jason forgot to pretend to be busy. They both stared wide-eyed at Taylor and the stranger.
A wild look came over the stranger’s eyes, followed by a smile. He plucked the bottle of water out of the air. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“You first,” Taylor said, lifting a can of tuna from the pile and opening the lid with a thought.
The stranger sat on the ground in front of the fire and took a long drink of water then asked, “What do you want to know?” At the possibility of answers Frank and Jason stopped playing with the fire and took seats to listen. Melissa sat stroking Cidney’s hair, who was already fast asleep on her lap.
“Let’s start with your name and why you were chained by the Reckoners when we found you,” Taylor said. She lifted slippery bits of tuna from the can with her fingers.
“My name is Lupus Abelardus, Lu for short, and Iron Wolf to my enemies. I’ve been gathering information about the Dread and their allies. I ran across the Reckoners a few months back before they got into the human slave business. They were just a roving band of survivors back then. I let them go without a second thought. Once I heard what they had become, I made it a point to hunt them down.”
“Didn’t look like you were doing so hot when we found you,” Taylor remarked.
“They caught me when I was sleeping.” Lu grinned as if he was remembering a fond thought. “It happens. If you hadn’t stumbled by I would have figured out a way to escape.”
“Would it kill you to show some gratitude?” Jason grumped.
“I don’t know, little sheep,” Lu said, looking at Jason for the first time. “It might.”
“What are you?” Frank asked, looking Lu over with a hint of admiration through his glasses. “I saw you take those bullets like a champ. Your eyes and your teeth changed too. I saw it, like a—a werewolf.”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Lu replied.
“We’ve seen some pretty crazy things, including humans infected with pure evil, the Dread giving powers of its own to people creating super creatures, and…” Frank trailed off, looking at Taylor.
“You can say it,” Taylor said with a nod.
“And one of our own turning into something—something great that was meant to combat the Dread,” Frank finished.
They weren’t the words Taylor was expecting. She thought Frank was going to paint her as some kind of freak, not a savior.
Lu shrugged. He cracked open a container of pork and beans, threw his head back, and drank from the can as if the contents were liquid.
“I’m not exactly homo sapien,” he said after he swallowed. “You’ve probably gathered that by now. I’m part of a small gene pool of elite humans that have remained hidden in plain sight amongst our human counterparts since the beginning of mankind. Our enhanced genes allow us prolonged life, strength, speed, eyesight, smell, and more. When the Dread started infecting the Earth the Elites decided to step in and help. Not really my first choice. Con—our leader—can be a stubborn do-gooder sometimes. All the time. I was one among many who were sent out to gather intelligence on the Dread.”
Taylor had to remind herself to close her jaw. If the world wasn’t crazy enough not only was the Dread evolving, not only was she still trying to figure out what she was, but now there was a third player in the game, these Elites.
“So when you tap into this elite gene your eyes go yellow and your teeth grow?” Frank asked hesitantly as if he had pegged Lu wrong this entire time and was now rethinking his position on the man.
“That’s right.” Lu threw his empty can into the fire. “It’s really only my canines that grow in length.”
“I don’t believe it,” Jason said, looking to Frank and Melissa for support. “I mean, are we supposed to take this guy at his word? We saw what he can do.”
“He came back though,” Melissa said quietly. “Taylor freed him. He could’ve run.”
“I don’t know,” Frank said with a massive yawn. “Maybe he’ll kill us in our sleep and it’ll be like sleeping forever. That doesn’t sound so bad right now.”
Four pairs of eyes turned to look at Frank after his morbid comment.
“What?” Frank said, leaning back into a slouch, his eyes beginning to close. “It was a joke.”
“I don’t know if I believe you, Lu,” Taylor said. She stood. The comfort of the fire was enticing her to fall victim to sleep’s call. “I sure don’t trust you. I would ask you to release your weapon but I witnessed what you can do with your bare hands. You’ll have to sleep away from the others, where whoever is on watch can keep an eye on you.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” Lu rose and walked beside Taylor to where the captain stood guard. “I’ll be out of your way tomorrow. I just need some sleep of my own and I’ll be gone. Although you did say you’d show me yours if I showed you mine.”
“I can take over for you,” Taylor said, greeting the captain. “Get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” the captain said, looking at Lu with a sideways glance. “I can stay up.”
Taylor observed the aging captain with admiration. If she had to be stuck in the Alaskan wilderness fighting off human and the Dread alike, she was glad Captain Martin was with her. “I’ll be fine. If he tries anything I’ll dangle him in the air for a bit.”
“I bet you would,” the captain chuckled. As he walked away he looked over his shoulder. “I’ll send Frank to relieve you in a few hours.”
Taylor stood with her back to the fire, the stranger in front of her a few yards a
way, bundling himself in a blanket he had been offered by Cidney before she fell asleep.
“Well, boss, when you’re ready.”
Taylor was trying to figure out where to start. Her eyes were searching the tree line through the frosty air, ensuring any escaped Reckoner had left for good.
“We’re safe,” Lu said, noticing her gaze. “Give those bloodshot eyes of yours a rest for a moment. I’d be able to smell them if they were close.”
“I’m sure,” Taylor said. Taking a deep breath she started. She told him everything from the very beginning. When she was first called to the Jones’ residence, how the Dread had used Vanidrum as a catalyst, the escape from Los Angeles, her own transformation with the serum, and finally how the Ark fell.
He was attentive, which Taylor wasn’t expecting. No interruptions or snarky remarks. When Taylor was done she actually felt better. It was the first time she was able to tell someone her story from start to finish. In some ways it was even cathartic.
“You’ve been through a lot,” Lu said, leaning back and directing his eyes to the myriad of stars above. “Has she come to you yet?”
Taylor sifted through the fog of a sleep-deprived mind to focus on his question. “What? Who?”
“The Messenger,” Lu said, his own deep voice trailing off with signs of fatigue. “She comes to all the forces fighting the Dread, usually in a dream or a vision.”
“When my change first happened I had dreams of the Dread itself, but no Messenger.”
“She’ll come,” Lu said with his eyes closed. He fell asleep.
Taylor remained awake watching the stranger. The rise and fall of his chest was almost hypnotic. She was surprised to find herself wishing Lu had stayed awake longer. It had felt better than she would have thought, to talk to someone like her, someone who was different. She wasn’t the only supernatural being fighting the Dread, and in a way that was comforting.
***
Frank took his shift a short time later. Stumbling toward the fire with the rest of the group, Taylor was asleep before her head even touched down on the musty blanket she used as a pillow. Her dream was one she would not remember when she woke.
She was standing in her old apartment. Noise so buried in her past that she almost didn’t recognize it echoed in the far distance. It was the sound of honking cars, children shouting with joy, and people mowing their lawns. It was everyday white noise she didn’t realize she had come to miss so fervently.
Although somewhere in the deep recess of her subconscious she must have known this was a dream, that thought was pushed back, buried deep.
She looked around her small, sparsely decorated apartment with a smile on her face. It was just like she remembered; plain and simple, she loved it.
Even her clothes were familiar. Her brown leather jacket, worn jeans, and heavy boots. Taylor could have stood in her apartment enjoying its simplicity for an eternity had it not been for the figure sitting on her bed.
The woman was looking at Taylor, a sad smile on her lips. Her hair was raven black, her eyes penetrating and elusive at the same moment. “Do you know who I am, Taylor?” the woman asked.
“The Messenger,” Taylor said, surprising herself that she had an answer, and somehow knew that she was correct.
“That’s right.” The woman stood. She was tall, wearing a bright white robe that fell off her like water. “Now a harder question. Do you know why I have come?”
“I don’t,” Taylor said, racking her brain for memories outside of her reach. “Wait, something about coming to the forces who fight the Dread?”
“That is correct,” the Messenger said with a twitch of her full lips. “You were wise to listen to Lupus Abelardus. His path has been arduous. He has seen the very worst our enemy has to offer, but he is coming to understand if victory is to be a real option, we must all stand together.”
“Am I a mistake?” Taylor blurted out the question that had been nagging her since she had first woken with the serum inside her. She had refused to be so vulnerable with anyone in the past. “I mean, was I chosen by…by something, or am I some kind of lab experiment gone wrong?”
The Messenger walked forward and placed a hand on Taylor’s shoulder. The woman’s touch was warm. “To your enemies you will be a lab experiment that went horribly right. To those who fight alongside you, you will be a champion against the Dread. You are only beginning to understand your powers. Continue to learn. The Dread is not the only authority with the ability to evolve. When your changes come do not be afraid. Embrace the development. Care for Cidney, she is more important than you realize.”
“I’d never let anything happen to her, but why is she so important?”
“It’s not my place to say at this time.”
Though Taylor could sense a close to their meeting, there was still so much to learn. There were so many questions to which she still needed answers. “Are we going the right way? Who are the others fighting the Dread? The Guardians? What about…”
Taylor’s questions trailed off as she woke to Melissa’s large eyes staring at her. There was something like wonder in her expression. “You better get up and see this,” she said.
Taylor rose to a standing position on unsteady feet. The sun was cresting the tops of the trees, the cold still clinging on to its grasp of the morning. Taylor searched the area for danger. No hate filled humans turned by the Dread, no mercenaries out to enslave them. Taylor looked at Melissa, a question in her eyes.
It was then she realized everyone, minus Lu who still slept in a clump, and the captain, was staring at the sunrise. The sunrise up until this morning had always appeared from behind the Ark wall or from the top of the wall itself.
It was entirely different to experience the rise of the bright star from the ground. Around them the wild landscape extended out in all directions filled with trees. Scents of wet wood and crisp air mixed together while birds trilled in the air. No wall, no Dread outside their compound, no reminder of their dire situation to dampen their morning.
Taylor could have stood there enjoying the moment forever, nonetheless it was her duty to move the group to safety. “Where’s the captain?” she asked, reluctantly breaking the silence.
“I don’t know,” Frank said, stretching. “Maybe he had to take a piss or something.”
“We should get moving,” Taylor said. If the Dread had decided to pursue they would have a tough time tracking them in the dark, which would buy them some time. “Same teams as yesterday. Jason get weapons, Frank and Melissa on food, scour the camp one last time for anything we can take. We’ll meet at the vehicles in twenty.”
“What about the captain?” Cidney asked, already moving to look for their lost teammate in the woods.
“We’ll go find him,” Taylor said, fighting back worry. “He’s probably checking the perimeter.”
Cidney fell in step with Taylor and the two headed toward the tree line. The most obvious route went past Lu.
“Should we wake him?” Cidney asked. The girl made a move toward the mass of blankets and hair that marked the slumbering Elite human. “He’s coming with us right?”
“I’m already awake,” Lu said, rising from his spot on the ground and shaking off his blankets. “I don’t think traveling together would be best.”
“Why not?” Cidney asked. “We’re all on the same side, and there’s safety in numbers.”
“What do you say, boss?” Lu asked Taylor, arching his back and rolling his neck.
“I think—” She was cut off by crackling underbrush in the woods.
Instinct took action, some faint dream of a memory, impressing the importance of protecting Cidney. Taylor stood in front of the girl, lifting herself slightly into the air to gain a better vantage point.
Captain Martin came into view. He realized the situation in a moment. “Sorry,” he said, running a large hand through his gray hair. “I was the first one up. I thought I’d check our borders to make sure the Reckoners weren’t hanging o
ut. We’re clear.”
Taylor’s heartbeat decreased in speed as the idea of a fight evaporated. “I know you were right to go check, just tell someone next time you take off like that.”
“I will,” the captain said. “I’m sorry.”
“The others are giving the camp a quick onceover. Wheels up in twenty,” Taylor said to the captain. “What do you think of taking Lu along with us?”
“I think he’s dangerous, lacks morals, and is a complete wild card,” the captain said, looking Lu up and down. “With that said we’d probably be dead without him. The firepower those Reckoners brought would have proved too much for even you.”
“I’m right here,” Lu said with a raised eyebrow. “I can hear everything you’re saying about me.”
“He’s dirty but I like him,” Cidney said with a smile. “He’s like a pirate or something with his long hair and sword.”
“It’s like you aren’t even listening to the words that are coming out of my mouth,” Lu griped.
“I already told you where we’re headed last night,” Taylor said. She decided to allow Lu to travel with them. Trust was not a word she would use with him. For now their goals did seem to fall in line and Cidney was right, there was safety in numbers. “I’m not sure where you were going but if you want to come to Washington with us, you may.”
“A pirate, huh?” Lu said, looking at Cidney.
“Yep.” The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Like a pirate, except on land instead of water.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lu said after a short internal debate. “The leader of the Reckoners said they sold their last shipment of slaves to the Dread. Whatever they are planning around this vault in Washington seems to involve us both.”
Chapter 7
He came to her during the night. It was unexpected that he would turn on his own kind, but he was different, he owed them nothing. He told them where Taylor and her group slept. He recommended they skirt the faction for now, and lay in wait at the Vault to ambush them.
Valery was reluctant at first, why wait to pounce on her prey? Why drag out the inevitable?
All The Broken People (The Dread Series Book 2) Page 6