Alive (Sundown Series Book 3)

by Courtney Konstantin

  “He has no one,” Charlie said quietly.

  “Not anymore. Now he has us,” Alex replied.

  “You Duncans. You are all a force, aren’t you?” Charlie asked.

  Alex had to laugh out loud at her observation.

  “You could say that. We just want to be together. And we’ll do whatever is necessary to make that happen.”

  “Then let’s go get Rafe.”

  Alex wasn’t sure what she had expected being out with Charlie. But the woman didn’t slow them down at all. She was full of energy and seemed fueled by her concern over Rafe. They took turns carrying the medical bag, as Charlie was also carrying her own bug out bag on her back. Rafe had taught her a lot about necessities and survival during their time staying in the cave.

  After a few hours of walking in silence, Alex called for a break and everyone found places to sit and take time to drink water. She watched her sister for any stress or pain. Max was good at masking things, so Alex had to watch her closely for any changes. When Max met Alex’s eyes, she just nodded at her, letting her know she was ok. Then her eyes shifted to Charlie and took on a different look. Alex had a feeling Max was planning on mischief with the woman.

  “So, Charlie, what are your intentions with our brother?” Max said loudly.

  Alex almost choked on her water at the question just as Griffin spit his across the forest floor. Max had a slight smile on her face, clearly saying she knew what she was up to. Alex looked over at Charlie and saw her face had turned pink and she was looking down.

  “You don’t have to answer that,” Alex said, attempting to save the woman.

  “Why not? Seems we should know what’s happening with our own brother,” Max pressed.

  “Rafe’s personal life is none of your business, Max,” Alex replied.

  “Sure it is. Especially now. Come on, Charlie, give us the details.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. Rafe is the man that has been protecting me. He’s been kind and prepared. I’m not sure what would have happened to me without him,” Charlie replied.

  “So basically, he took you in when the dead started to walk?” Max asked.

  “Not exactly. We came together before the plague started.”

  “Before? Why?”

  “Max, that’s enough. She already said it’s a long story,” Alex cut in.

  “It is. And I think it would be best if Rafe was with me when I tell it. He has his own side of the story to fill in,” Charlie replied.

  “So, you have no intentions with him? Why not?” Max asked.

  Griffin laughed out loud this time and Max punched him in the shoulder. He tried to stop his laughter, but he ended up snorting instead and that caused everyone to laugh as well. Suddenly, a bark from Storm stopped them all from laughing. Charlie shot to her feet and looked at the dog. Alex didn’t know what was happening, but she followed Charlie’s lead just in case.

  “Storm is, how do I put this, well trained,” Charlie said, whispering now as if she believed they were being listened to.

  “Trained for what?” Alex whispered back.

  “Rafe calls him his early detection system. He’s good about notifying about the infected or any strangers.”

  Alex picked up her machete and pulled her 9mm from her hip. She waited and watched the dog for his signals. Storm growled and lowered his body to the ground, his gaze locked on the woods. The sound of rustling needles was the first sign of something approaching. The smell reached them next. Alex looked back to Charlie waiting to see what she would have the dog do.

  “It’s the infected, I think,” Alex said.

  “Storm, attack!” Charlie said to the dog.

  The white dog took off like a shot, weaving through the trees to his victim. Charlie didn’t hesitate to follow, and Alex was on her heels. She didn’t need to look to know Max was following. Not far from where they had been sitting and laughing, the group ran up to find Storm attacking an infected. It was only one of a group of five that had stumbled through the forest. They had heard the living laughing not far away and it brought them closer to the living flesh they needed to feast on.

  The infected that Storm faced was a small woman. Woman was a general idea, as Alex couldn’t be sure. The small stature of the infected gave Alex the idea that it was at one-time a female. One month after dying the infected’s body was decomposing in places, skin hanging from wounds that would never heal. The skin was gray and mottled with gore and filth from wandering looking for its meals.

  Charlie didn’t hesitate. She carried a knife that Rafe had given her. The blade quickly embedded into the back of the skull of the infected that Storm was attacking. The infected had been trying to grab the dog, but Storm just danced around its legs nipping at her, biting off fingers in the process. Alex had to swallow back the bile that wanted to rise in her throat as she saw the dog’s muzzle covered in black and red smears.

  Alex immediately slid into fight mode with her machete swinging down with a mighty strike against the nearest infected to her. The infected was larger and less decomposed than the woman. Alex pivoted from in front of the infected, to gain the angle to chop at the head. Wearing overalls and rubber boots the infected seemed to follow Alex easily. The quicker movements threw Alex off and she slid back the other direction, testing the infected. Its head followed Alex with no problem, though there was no intelligence or understanding in its black eyes.

  Max joined her, with her tomahawk chopping at the temple of another infected. She looked at the infected that Alex was dancing with and looked at Alex as if she had lost the last shred of brains she had. Alex motioned to the infected to show Max what she was seeing. Max stopped after pulling her tomahawk free and was shocked when she saw the infected’s hands shoot out and almost grab her sister.

  Alex still was faster, but the faster infected reminded Alex of what she had seen almost a month ago before arriving at the compound. Infected that seemed faster. Since then she hadn’t seen the same thing, making her think that it was just an off incident. Maybe an infected that was newly turned. Maybe they just seemed faster because she was panicked in the woods looking for her daughter Billie after she had run off.

  Thinking of that time made Alex’s steps falter. Billie had run off when she found out that Alex had not told her about her father being dead. Blake, her husband, had been the first infected she had killed. She had kept the secret from her children, protecting them, she had told herself. But when the explosive information was revealed, Billie had run headlong into a forest. A forest she hadn’t known was crawling with the infected.

  It was there that Alex had thought she had witnessed a change in the infected. Some seemed to run after their targets. They were faster as one almost took Alex out, knocking her to the ground where she was wounded. Though they were faster, the healthy humans still got away safely. However, since that time, in all of the infected that Alex had faced, none seemed to move like the faster ones she saw. With all of the other worries on her mind, she had pushed it aside and worked on what was right in front of her.

  Alex, done with her testing, finally ended the large infected with a blow to its head. When she turned she found Max watching with her mouth hanging open. Griffin and Charlie stood over the infected they had dispatched. Alex cleaned her machete, using the coveralls the infected was wearing.

  “What was that, Alex?” Max asked.

  “Did you see it? How it moved faster than they normally do?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah. It moved easier, though not smoothly like someone that’s alive.”

  “What are you talking about?” Charlie asked.

  The immediate issue handled, Charlie had turned to Storm to look him over. From where she was crouched with the dog, she looked up at the sisters.

  “Before I got to the compound, we ran into a horde of infected. It was a mess of a situation. I thought I had seen infected that were almost running, but not quite. It was dark, and I was panicked, so when I hadn’t seen something like tha
t again, I started to figure I just imagined it,” Alex explained.

  “But that was exactly like this? I mean it hadn’t been running. But it turned and followed you quicker than anything I’ve seen,” Max added.

  “So, you’ve seen different behaviors? From the infected?” Charlie asked, standing up now.

  “Maybe? I’m not really sure.” Alex answered.

  “This can’t be happening,” Charlie said, as she began to pace around the small clearing they were standing in.

  “What can’t be happening?” Max asked, standing in front of Charlie to try and make her stop.

  “I can’t be positive. I would need to see more of the infected. Compare them. But for changes like that, large changes, that could mean something in the disease is changing. And that’s never a good thing.”

  “How could it just change?” Alex asked.

  “Nothing about this pathogen is normal. I have worked daily trying to discover if there is a way to create a cure...” Charlie trailed off, stopping herself from saying more.

  “And?” Max demanded.

  “I haven’t found anything that would work. The only thing I know is to prevent infection you must avoid a bite. If things are mutating somehow again, I have no way of predicting how that could manifest, ” Charlie replied quietly.

  “This is it. This is what Callahan was after,” Max exclaimed, as she turned to Griffin.

  He walked to Max to be a physical support if she needed it. Alex could see the wild look in her sister’s eyes and knew she was seeing things she had been through. Griffin pushed her hair from her face and looked into her face. Max’s hand gripped his wrist, grounding herself in the moment.

  “Callahan?” Charlie asked.

  “That’s the man that threw me in a cell and tortured me. He punished me for not telling him where my brother and sister were. He said Rafe knew things about the plague and he wanted what he had. I didn’t believe it. Couldn’t understand how Rafe was mixed up in something that was ending the world as we knew it,” Max said, her voice soft and even.

  “There’s so much for me to tell you.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Max

  Her palms were hot and sweaty. She knew it, but Griffin held on tight anyway. They sat around a small fire listening to Charlie retell her story of the facility, meeting Rafe, her car being ran off the road, her house being broken into. Max believed every word the woman said, even without knowing her well. Not only had Rafe trusted her and taken her in, but Max had been tortured by the same man that was sending the soldiers after Charlie.

  Alex had insisted on the fire, though Max had tried to argue. The fire at night wasn’t safe. But after seeing Storm react to the infected, Alex trusted the dog to let them know of any intruders long before they showed. Max knew her sister was thinking of her, keeping her warm and comfortable as they heard how things tied together. A part of Max was thankful to know she wasn’t tortured for nothing. It was true. Rafe did have information about the plague. He had Charlie. And Charlie’s head was full of everything Callahan wanted.

  “Rafe knew you would come to the compound. He also knew you were a force to be reckoned with. He believed the soldiers wouldn’t bother you, because they hadn’t come for him originally. They only wanted me. That’s how we ended up hiding in the cave. We thought we were keeping you safe by hiding,” Charlie said, finishing her story.

  She looked at Max, her eyes full of sympathy. Max looked away, not wanting the sentiment. She did better with anger and the thoughts of revenge. Callahan’s face was always in her mind, smug, with his perfectly straight white smile, pressed uniform, and impossible hair. Max fantasized about knocking the perfect teeth from his head. She lost herself in the idea of beating the sadistic bastard with her bare fists.

  “Max?” Alex’s voice broke into her daydream.

  “Huh? Oh, what?” Max replied, realizing she had missed something.

  Griffin squeezed her hand and looked at her. At least he didn’t always show her sympathy. When she looked into his eyes now, she saw love. That she could accept, especially from him.

  “I was saying, Rafe would never have stayed in the cave if he knew what had happened to you, Max. I’m sorry. He was so worried about keeping me and the information safe,” Charlie repeated.

  “There’s no one to blame for anything but Callahan. Rafe did what he thought was right. As far as I’m concerned, he made the right choice. I trust my brother. He knows that the information you have is more valuable than my life,” Max replied.

  “No, it’s not,” Griffin cut in.

  “He’s right,” Charlie said. “I don’t think Callahan wants this information for the cure. I’m not even sure I can cure it. I haven’t found anything that indicates it’s curable. I think the man we call 'The Suit' is trying to cover their tracks. I have the proof that this all started in that facility. I have the proof that the government was working on chemical weapons and one went wrong.”

  Charlie’s words hovered in the air, silence closing in on them. Max watched the flicker of the small flames. She then snorted and laughed ironically. All heads turned to look at her, even Storm.

  “Dad was right. I can’t even believe it,” Max explained. When she saw a blank look on Charlie’s face, she continued. “Our dad always said it would be the government that would kill us all. It wouldn’t be some enemy from a different country. It wouldn’t be terrorism. It would be our own government.”

  “I imagine he’s laughing at us right now,” Alex added.

  “Well, I guess it’s good that your father believed that. Because look at you now. You’re ready for anything,” Charlie said.

  Max and Alex agreed, but everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Max wasn’t sure where this left them. Even without knowing Charlie, Max knew Rafe wouldn’t allow Callahan to have her. If she were to be captured, death was the only way for them to silence her completely. It was clear to Max now that the US Government had fallen to the plague. This faction controlled by 'The Suit' seemed to be calling a lot of the shots with the military. That gave them a fair amount of power over the country.

  The fire burned out and they all climbed into their sleeping bags. They opted for no shelter building that night, so they could move faster if the need arose. They didn’t want to leave too many signs of their presence through the forest. Rafe missing had everyone on edge. It was hard for Max to believe that Rafe was taken down by the infected. He was a skilled fighter and smart. He wouldn’t be taken unaware by an infected. That left the military. And that option turned Max’s stomach into knots.

  They were moving before the sun had broken the horizon. Everyone had a silent understanding that they needed to move as fast as possible to track down Rafe. Storm had his nose to the ground everywhere. Max was partially expecting him to suddenly start running off and show them where Rafe was. Nothing was that easy, though.

  It was when they arrived into town, driving the Bronco they had retrieved, that Storm took lead. He barked once at Charlie and she watched him. He looked toward the alley that led the way to Issac’s building. Charlie gave the dog a one whistle signal and he started trotting away. The group followed him carefully, watching for anyone that might be in hiding looking for them. Finally, at the back of the dry cleaner, Storm pawed at the door. It was quickly opened by a battered and bruised Issac.

  “Oh my god, Issac!” Charlie exclaimed.

  The old man ushered them inside before locking the door solidly behind them. He limped his way into the larger room and Charlie immediately opened the medical pack. She made Issac sit on the counter while she looked at the cuts on his face.

  “What happened?” Alex asked.

  “Those damn soldiers were back,” Issac said, wincing slightly at the crack in his lip.

  “They did this to you? Why?” Charlie said.

  “I guess I said more than they liked. They were looking for you and Rafe again. I wouldn’t tell them anything and then I might have opened my mou
th. They have little patience I guess.”

  “Was Rafe here?” Charlie asked.

  “Yes. Oh god, that boy should have gotten away. But he cut one of them and when they realized who he was, they all went after him. Leaving me here. I heard this morning from another survivor living nearby that they saw them dragging a hooded person with their arms secured behind his back. It had to be Rafe,” Issac said sadly.

  “Oh god. Was he alive?” Charlie asked, her voice taking on a panicked sound.

  “I don’t know for sure. But why would they have a dead man hooded? They didn’t want him to know where they were going.”

  “Do you know where they were going?” Max asked.

  “Not exactly. Some of us survivors keep in touch. We try to track their movements around town. They come from the east usually. That’s my best guess.”

  Max began to pace, plans trying to form in her mind. They only had a general idea, but Max knew they would be going back to the safe zone that Callahan controlled. That would be east, then they would have to turn south at some point. If they could catch them before they got too far away, it would be easy to handle the soldiers and get Rafe back. Alex stopped Max from walking and pulled her to the side.

  “What are you thinking?” Alex asked.

  “We need to go now. Try to run them down before they get to Callahan. If they get back there, Callahan might not hesitate to kill Rafe.”

  “Ok. Let’s go. They only have one way to get out of town and head the direction they need to go. They wouldn’t know we are after them.

  The sisters moved back to where Charlie was bandaging Issac and applying ointment to his wounds. The old man looked as if he was only putting up with the ministrations because he didn’t want to upset Charlie. Max waited only a moment before breaking the silence, her patience on the very thin side.

  “Is he good? We need to catch up with them. They are almost a day ahead of us.”

  “He’ll be alright if he stays inside and rests. Can you do that, Issac?” Charlie said.

  “Young lady, I’ll follow whatever your orders are. You’re the doctor. You know best,” Issac replied, with a little wink of his eye that wasn’t swollen half shut.