“Sit,” the man offered with an easy smile. He took a seat himself, deciding on a leather-bound armchair.
“Watch him,” Lu said to Taylor under his breath. He chose a standing position with his back to the wall. “I’ll make sure no one comes in behind us through the door.”
“Right,” Taylor said, finally feeling free to give the man her full attention. She sat next to Cidney on a long couch. Frank and Melissa did the same on a sofa to their right.
“I’ll start from the beginning and give you as much detail as I can,” the man said. For the first time he showed an expression other than calm and welcoming. “There is so much to tell and our time is so short. My name is Umberto Talon and I am an Arc Guardian. Our founder, Alan Price, knew the Dread was coming years before it broke free in this world. He set up installations such as the Vault on every continent. He began recruiting men and women into schools called Academies. Here we learned about the Dread, trained to fight it when the time came, and waited.”
Umberto paused. He lifted his dark eyes to the ceiling, contemplating his words. “I was the instructor at this Academy. When the Dread did strike I was told by the Messenger to send my students out to combat the threat. I was needed to save as many people as I could within the Vault and wait for a woman. It’s a decision I struggled with from the beginning. I hated the idea of sending those I trained out into the world to meet a threat I myself would hide from. But the Messenger has never led me astray. I called all those who would listen and offered them a safe haven here within the Vault. I’ve been here waiting for a year and a half. Now, like the Messenger said, you’ve come.”
A moment of silence reigned while the group digested the information.
“What Messenger are you talking about?” Melissa asked with a hint of confusion.
“She’s a celestial being that fights against the Dread. She’s been appearing to those willing to combat this darkness and organizing its defenses. Our leader, Alan, would say she is a close friend,” Umberto said. “You all must understand we are not alone in this struggle. The world is a vastly more complicated place than we thought. Your friends here are a prime example.”
Umberto looked to her, then Lu.
“The others you rescued,” Lu asked, “who were they?”
“And in that question lies a victory for our side,” Umberto said with a wide smile. “They are doctors, engineers, construction workers, nurses, and many more ready and willing to help. I can honestly say they are more eager than I to leave this place.”
“So you belong to a fraternal order of Guardians whose sole purpose is to fight the Dread,” Cidney repeated out loud. “You’ve been waiting here for a year and a half for Taylor to come to you, so you can train her? In what?”
Umberto turned to address Cidney, his gaze firm. When he did speak his voice was gentle. “Not to train Taylor. I’ve been waiting to train you, Cidney. You’re the one that will hold the fate of the world in your hands.
Epilogue
Her lungs ached as though she had run a hundred marathons one right after the next. The simple fact was that she nearly had. The Dread gave her the strength to continue on, the ability not to require sleep and the endurance to make the trip.
Truth be told, she would have enjoyed the journey under any other pretense. To see the world so fully and completely under the heel of the Dread was intoxicating. Everywhere she looked there were bodies strewn across the ground, mercenary groups like the Reckoners and Brotherhood rounding up slaves for the Dread.
That was why the pain in her chest angered her so. Taylor had caught her off guard. Her charred black skin and the pain that came with it was a constant reminder of her mistake.
Dr. Spear had fled the compound as soon as she had regained consciousness. Already the slaves had been freed. It was all she could do to gather her samples and research before she ran.
At first she wasn’t sure where she was going. It had been enough to get outside the compound walls and escape New Olympia. Soon after, the doctor knew she needed a destination. That was when the Dread had called out to her. Now she was following its path like an obedient child.
Her journey had taken her down the country and to the former state of Texas. She knew she was close when she began to notice the number of Dread that lined the roads. It was like all the infected mindless had been called to the state. Roving bands turned into crowds, crowds into oceans of Dread infected humans. It would have been impossible for Valery to make her way through if they had not moved for her on their own.
Like a sea parting they opened a path for her without question. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of Dread formed a barrier from the rest of the world to the Dread stronghold in what had once been known as the Lone Star State.
Night and day Valery traveled, her burning chest a constant reminder of what Taylor had done to her. The doctor’s mind ran wild with machinations of what she would do to Taylor if she ever got her hands on her again.
Days passed this way until Valery was looking at the most beautiful sight she had ever witnessed. The horde of Dread abruptly stopped, giving way to towering ebony structures. Humans of every age and ethnicity toiled under the blazing sun erecting walls and towers befitting a castle.
Human guards now employed by the Dread watched them with severe eyes, ready to strike or kill any slave not moving fast enough.
Valery was finally home. With the samples of Taylor’s blood and tissue she would resurrect a new super soldier.
Something specifically created to kill Taylor Hart.
End Book Two
Bonus!
Get Instant Access to A "Secret" Bonus Chapter From All The Broken People by Jonathan Yanez Now!
Click HERE.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Taylor Hart will be back in the next installment of The Dread Novels, A Special Kind of Crazy, coming soon. Until then stay informed by following the link below!
To show my appreciation for you, the reader, you can join my Readers Group by visiting http://www.jonathan-yanez.com. The Readers Group will keep you updated on release dates for upcoming projects, give you access to exclusive excerpts, and provide you with free ebooks.
BEFORE YOU GO…
DON’T MISS OUT!
Would you like to be a part of our FREEBIE FRIDAY LIST and get 5 FREE E-books sent to your inbox each week? Every week we send out different e-books including ALL different genres such as Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Westerns, Paranormal, New Adult, and much more! If you’d like to join over 9,500+ subscribers and growing, click below to be a part of FREEBIE FRIDAY…
Join FREEBIE FRIDAY!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I guess I could just say the entire team at Limitless Publishing and I wouldn’t be lying but I feel like that would be taking the easy way out. So in no specific order:
Jennifer O’Neill who I look to more as a friend and mentor than anything else.
Jessica Gunhammer who has been on the ball making things happen since my first book was published.
Dixie Matthews who always has a word of encouragement. I look forward to her emails.
Felicia Sullivan who is always on time with her deadlines. She works with me to make sure my stories are as polished as possible.
Lydia and Crystal from the marketing department who are so eager to help and easy to work worth it makes release days feel like a walk in the park.
Everyone else at Limitless Publishing who I don’t directly interact with but I know is tirelessly working to make my novels a success.
Also Deranged Doctor who is responsible for another great book cover. You guys and gals are awesome.
My wife, who supported me without blinking an eye when I told her I wanted to become a fulltime author. That was five years ago now. Her encouragement has kept me going.
Finally my baby girl Josephine. Jo, thank you for providing me fodder for stories on a daily basis. I love you my beautiful little monster.
Titles by Jonatha
n Yanez:
The Elite Series
#1 The Beast Within
#2 The Trials
#3 The Judge
#4 Bad Land
The Nephilim Chronicles
#5 Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes
#6 Alan Price and the Temple of Artemis
#7 Alan Price and the Statue of Zeus
#8 Alan Price and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Dread Novels
#9 All the Beautiful People
#10 All the Broken People (Coming Dec 20th)
#11 A Special Kind of Crazy (Coming 2017)
#12 Blood in the Air (Coming 2017)
#13 The Axe and Knife (Coming 2017)
The Thrive Saga
#14 Thrive
Soon to be included in the Timeline
The DeCadia Series
#1 The DeCadia Code
#2 The Crucible (Coming late 2016)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jonathan Yanez is also the author of The Elite Series, The Nephilim Chronicles, The DeCadia Code, Thrive, and Bad Land. His books have been optioned for film and are available in ebook, print, and audio book. He would love you to leave a review after you finish reading All the Broken People.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JonathanYanezAuthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JonathanAYanez
Website:
http://www.jonathan-yanez.com/
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6928878.Jonathan_Yanez
All The Broken People (The Dread Series Book 2) Page 19