The Morgan Strain Series (Book 2): Point of Proximity

by Max Lockwood

  “Not at all,” Derek replied. “I’m just saying that they’re going to come after us with everything they’ve got, and we’re going to fight like hell. But, if we can beat them at their own game and make ourselves impossible to find, then we might not have to fight them at all.”

  Derek’s pep talk was just what they needed. Still worried about being captured again, they made their way down the highway, alert, but also excited. Nothing could stop them.

  But, inside of Natalia’s body, her father’s latest creation made its way into her cells, multiplying by the minute. Even Bretton wasn’t exactly sure what his new virus would do, as it hadn’t been thoroughly tested yet. In fact, his only daughter was one of the very first test subjects.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Elaina sat up in her shared cell. “Did you hear that?” she whispered to Alec.

  “No, I must have dozed off. Where’s Thomas?”

  She peered through the bars. “I don’t know. Maybe he left to go to the bathroom.”

  Elaina stretched her limbs. They had been in the cell all day with little interaction with the outside world. After Thomas told them that he needed some time to think, he went to the end of the hallway and never returned.

  “Should we try to talk to him?” Alec asked. “It’s been a while since we talked to him and I don’t want him to change his mind about our innocence.”

  “I don’t want to upset him either. He seems like he’s on the edge. I would hate to break him now.”

  “What choice do we have? We’re running out of time.”

  Elaina pressed her cheeks between the bars, trying to get a clear view of Thomas. “Maybe he’s sitting in one of those empty cells.”

  “Let’s find out,” Alec said. “Hey,” he called. “Is anyone down there?”

  Keys rattled and Alec shot Elaina a told-you-so smirk. She leaned back on the bench, ready to present another argument as to why they should be released.

  But instead of Thomas, a big oaf of a man stomped down the hall. He reeked of body odor and cigarette smoke. His t-shirt may have been white at some point, but now it was a dingy grey with stains of all kinds.

  “You rang?” he laughed, exposing two rows of yellowed teeth.

  “I—I didn’t know that the other guard left,” Elaina stuttered, confused.

  “You can’t expect the kid to be here all night,” he said. “I drew the short straw and that’s why I’m down here. I’d much rather be on the roof, shooting at the zombies,” he drawled.

  Elaina and Alec looked at each other. There was no way they were going to convince this man of their innocence.

  “I bet you know what it’s like, son,” he said to Alec. “You’re a cop. Sometimes, it’s more fun to hunt people. It gives you a rush. Nothing like shooting squirrels or even deer.”

  “I don’t take pleasure in killing,” Alec said flatly.

  “Well, your little girlfriend sure does. I suppose that’s the only thing we have in common.”

  “She didn’t do this,” Alec protested.

  “Shut up,” the man said, pounding his fist on the bars. “The boss was right about you two. He says it was a mistake to put you in the same cell. It was too generous of him. That’s why he told me to bring the girl to the witness stand.”

  “The trial isn’t until tomorrow,” Elaina shouted.

  “But we have such a nice little cage up there for you. You’ll look so cute, like a little birdy in a cage,” he cackled.

  “You’re disgusting,” Elaina spat.

  He chuckled. “Says the mass murderer. Come with me. It’s time to get you ready for your trial.”

  He fiddled with his key ring until he found the key to the cell.

  “You stay back, boy,” he said, pointing a chubby finger at Alec. “You’re not scheduled for your punishment until the day after tomorrow. I’d hate for your execution to come early.”

  Alec and Elaina could see the bulge of his pistol in his front pocket. They knew better than to make any sudden movement.

  The man grabbed Elaina by the hips and pulled her out of the cell. She started to resist, but he grabbed her harder and yanked her out.

  “Please let me stay here until morning,” she pleaded. “Just one more night.”

  “Rules are rules. I have to do what the boss tells me.”

  “Please,” she screamed. His grubby hands were dangerously close to inappropriate places. “Let me go.”

  The man slammed Elaina up against the bars, blocking Alec from helping her. He was just too large and unmovable.

  “Cut this crap out,” he drawled. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Take your pick.”

  “I’m not going,” she insisted.

  The man pulled out his radio and pushed the button, quieting the static. “I need some backup in the jail. Our guests are not behaving like ladies or gentlemen should act.”

  Within minutes, another man arrived and threw Elaina over his shoulder and left without saying another word. Elaina screamed and thrashed the whole way outside of the jail.

  The new guard quickly turned the key in the lock, trapping Alec back inside.

  “That girl is fiery,” he said. “I like that. Makes things interesting in the bedroom. I bet you can tell me all about that, Mr. Policeman.”

  “Stop it,” Alec groaned, covering his ears with his hands. This only made the man talk louder.

  “She’s got a pretty face. Shame it will be blasted all over the sidewalk soon.”

  “Enough,” Alec roared. He wanted to reach through the bars and wring the man’s neck.

  “Someone’s a little touchy,” he joked. “Sleep tight, kid. I’ll wake you for your trial in the morning.”

  The guard walked down the hall and sat on a folding chair, resting his arms above his head. He looked too pleased with himself.

  Alec fumed in the cell. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do with Elaina back in the courtroom, but he knew it wouldn’t be good. He tried to get some rest, but sleep wouldn’t come. He tried to make new escape plans, but he didn’t have Elaina with him to talk things through. He was completely lost and alone without her.

  As time passed, horrible thoughts ran through Alec’s mind. Images of watching Elaina being shot down by a gang of hooligans with a warped sense of justice flooded his head. Eventually, it was morning—the day of the trial.

  “Wake up, boy,” the guard hooted. Of course, Alec had never fallen asleep, so he sat up a little straighter in his cell, looking for the first opportunity to fight.

  “I’m up,” he replied wearily.

  “Exciting day. Things can get a little boring around here. This livens things up. It’s just a shame we can’t get the national news out here to talk about this on the TV. We’d be heroes.”

  “You’d just be another murderer,” Alec muttered under this breath.

  “I’ve got a little something to show you,” the man said, leaning closer. He pulled a small device from his pocket. “The boss gave me this as a present for watching your sorry self down here. It’s sort of like a cattle prod. You step out of line, and I’ll zap you so hard you’ll lose control of your body. I don’t want to have to use it, so don’t give me any reason to.”

  “I doubt that,” Alec winced.

  “Let’s go,” the man called. “Time’s a wasting.”

  He fumbled with his keys, squinting to find the right one. Alec could smell the alcohol on his breath as he craned his thick neck to search for the correct key to open the door.

  Alec heard footsteps coming down the hall. Without looking up, the man shouted to the newcomer.

  “Is that you, Jimmy? I need some help with these damn keys. Why do they have to make them so small?”

  From behind the bars, Alec could see Thomas walking toward them, clearly carrying something. When he got nearer, he realized there was an aluminum baseball bat swinging from his hand.

  In one fluid motion, Thomas raised the bat and swung it directly into the fat m
an’s head. He stood puzzled for a moment, before ultimately collapsing to his knees. His fall shook the floor and his head made a loud smack on the concrete floor.

  “The trial started,” Thomas said, quickly flipping through the keys until he found the right one. He turned the key in the lock and cut Alec’s ties with his pocket knife.

  “You’re going to help us escape?” Alec asked incredulously.

  “On one condition—you take me with you.”

  Alec smiled. Relief flooded his body. “Of course.”

  “Then we need to do this right. Everyone is at the trial right now. Take his gun and my car keys,” Thomas said, pointing at the unconscious guard. “You’re going to go outside and get in my truck and wait.”

  “Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better if the both of us worked together to get her out?” Alec asked.

  Thomas shook his head. “I’ve thought about this carefully. You’ve got to get in my truck and watch for us to come outside. When the time is right, start the truck and pull up in front of the courthouse. We’ll jump in and you’ll get the hell out of here. You have to be careful, though. If you attract too much attention while you’re outside, then we’ll have trouble. You got it?”

  Alec hesitated to respond. It wasn’t long ago that the kid was unsure about helping them. Now, suddenly, he had a plan to help them all escape. Alec didn’t want to suspect the plan was fishy, but he’d learned that it could be hard to trust people in this new world.

  Best case scenario, they would all escape without being noticed, and the gang wouldn’t find them. Worst case scenario, they were being set up by the youngest member of the crew and would be tortured and killed in horrible ways.

  But, Alec had no choice but to trust Thomas. If his plan worked, it would save their lives. If it didn’t, they were probably dead anyway.

  “I need to get back in the courtroom,” Thomas said nervously. “Remember the plan—wait in my car and pick us up when the time comes.”

  “Okay,” Alec said, following Thomas to the entrance of the jail. When they reached the foyer, Thomas wordlessly pointed Alec toward the correct exit.

  “Good luck,” Thomas muttered as he jogged off in the opposite direction toward the court entrance. Alec looked behind him one last time before exiting the building.

  Outside, he clicked the remote until he heard the soft sound of a truck unlocking. He followed the sound through a parking lot full of nearly identical pickup trucks until he found the source of the sound.

  Carefully, he opened the door and climbed into the cab of the truck. It was a brand-new truck, most likely taken when the town was abandoned. It seemed highly unlikely that everyone in that group was wealthy enough to be able to afford these kinds of vehicles.

  Alec watched the entrance to the courthouse carefully, ready to turn the keys in the ignition at the first sign of movement. According to the clock, he had only been waiting a few minutes, but it felt like much longer. He felt restless and wanted to act, not wait around for something to happen.

  Noticing the hunting knife in the passenger’s seat, Alec was suddenly struck with inspiration. He grabbed the long blade and quietly got out of the truck.

  Creeping around the parking lot, he carefully punctured as many tires as he could. Starting from the west end of the lot, he stabbed tires at random, watching them go completely flat. Then, he’d run to the next truck and continue his procedure. He worked his way to the end of the parking lot, slashing and stabbing tires as he went.

  As he worked, the tension and anger he had been holding inside was released like the air from the tires. Low on sleep and food, he was entirely powered by his frustrations and fury for how Elaina was being treated. When he returned to Thomas’s truck, he felt a little better.

  Still, he was nervous. Now, fifteen minutes had passed since he initially got in the truck. He assumed the trial wouldn’t last long, as the jury had already made up their minds about Elaina.

  Then, he finally saw the front door swing open. Leading the pack was Thomas, dragging Elaina behind. Her face was expressionless, as if she had completely worn through her feelings. The rest of the gang followed, looks of sheer delight on their faces. It didn’t look like a rescue at all—it looked like a funeral procession.

  Not wanting to miss his cue, Alec ducked down in his seat and watched. If he drove up there too early, the men would certainly shoot out his truck before they got to the bottom steps. If he waited too long, the men would shoot Elaina and Thomas before settling in on Alec. Everything had to be right.

  When Thomas was a third of the way down the long staircase, Alec started the car and gunned it toward the steps. Thomas picked up the pace, his eyes wide with fear.

  Alec ramped up the stairs, his tires climbing the incline. He turned and swung the passenger’s side door open, right in front of Thomas.

  Unable to see who was behind the tinted window, Elaina began to pull away from Thomas and the truck. Suspecting it had something to do with her imminent execution, she squirmed a little, giving a last-ditch effort to escape.

  Thomas pulled her forward by her tied hands as hard as he could. She flew into the front seat and Thomas wedged himself in the seat next to her and slammed the door shut.

  When the others realized what had happened, they drew their guns immediately and fired. Alec sped away as gunfire filled the air. Thomas rolled down the window and wildly fired shots back in their direction. Eventually, they were too far away to be hit with the handguns and hunting rifles.

  “You have no idea how happy I am to see you again,” Alec gushed at Elaina, who was still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

  “There’s no time to talk,” Thomas said quickly. “They’re going to be hunting us down in no time.”

  “Actually,” Alec smiled, “it may take them a little while. While I was waiting, I slashed all their tires. They’re going to have to find a new truck if they’re going to chase after us. In fact, by the time they realize what’s going on and get onto the roof to snipe at us, I figure we’ll be out of range.”

  Thomas smiled and relaxed in his seat. He rolled up the window and leaned against the door.

  “I was afraid I was going to lose you,” Alec said softly to Elaina, who was still wearing the same stony expression.

  Her mouth remained closed, but she did lean over and lightly rest her head on Alec’s shoulder. That was enough of a response for him.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Uh, Derek,” Will said as the car began to sputter. “I think we’re about out of gas. What do you want me to do?”

  Derek climbed back inside the vehicle and looked over Will’s shoulder. “We’ve only gone about a hundred miles. That’s much better than I could have expected. Put the car into neutral and coast for as long as possible. Prepare to do some walking.”

  A forced exhale came from Victoria’s lips. She was clearly in a lot of pain, but trying to power through it with breathing exercises.

  “Do you think you’ll be able to walk on that thing?” Will asked.

  “I’ll do my best. I might need a little help.”

  “I can help you,” Will said, smiling at her through the rear-view mirror. “How are you feeling, Melissa?”

  He was trying to build rapport with his new travel companions and it was starting to work. Melissa, who had been cold to him at the start, was starting to come around to Will. It was hard not to—he was just too nice and friendly.

  “My side freaking hurts, but I can still run. I would kill for an ice pack and some painkillers right now.”

  “How about you, Natalia,” Will asked, looking back at his friend.

  “Fine,” she said quietly. She was still more in shock than anything else.

  “Hang in there, girl,” Will said. “Let us know if you need anything.”

  They managed to coast without any gas propelling them for a little while longer. But it was inevitable that they would have to abandon the car at some point. They were between to
wns on the back roads and there was no sign of civilization. Will pulled off the road and put the car in park.

  “Before we go,” Derek said, “let’s take anything that can be of use.”

  Melissa moved her feet and kicked something that shattered.

  “There’s a bunch of light bulbs down here,” she said.

  Will leaned over to look. “I think those are headlights. But they’re for different kinds of cars. That’s weird.”

  “I don’t think we have any use for those,” Derek said, searching the back of the car. “I found some ammo. Melissa, give me your gun so I can reload it for you. I’d hate to have an accident after we went to such great lengths to get here in one piece.”

  She handed him her gun and returned to the front of the car to search for supplies.

  “There are some canteens back here,” Victoria said, sloshing the water inside around.

  “I found a little first aid kit,” Natalia said, unzipping the small bag. “Do you want me to look at your leg?” she asked Victoria.

  Everyone turned to look at them. Victoria bit her lip.

  “I don’t know if it’s a good idea, given the fact that we aren’t sure what the injection is going to do,” Victoria said delicately. “I know you’re more than capable of fixing me up, but it might not be such a good idea.”

  “Of course,” Natalia said, shaking her head. “You’re right.”

  She felt so helpless. She couldn’t even safely drink out of the shared canteens. No one wanted to touch her. Even Will had been up in the front seat while she rode in the back. She was tainted. No one wanted her around.

  “I can change those bandages, Victoria,” Will said kindly. He found a bottle of iodine and pain relief ointments and quickly applied them to her wound before wrapping it back up. He dropped the used bandage on the ground. It was almost completely soaked in blood.

  Because they were now out of bandages, Will started wrapping medical tape around the bandage, hoping it would stay on long enough to get her to the next destination.