by A. P. Madden
Luke crossed his arms defensively. “Is this because of the injury?”
“Of course it is!”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? But I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Everything was under control-”
Caelan shot him a thunderous glare.
“Okay, not completely under control, but it worked out.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Caelan growled.
“Who? Seth? It’s not his fault, he actually-”
“Not him. Stanley. This is his fault. He demanded that we send our people to find the kid, and look what happened to you. You could have died, Luke.”
“But I didn’t,” Luke said gently, putting a hand on his friend’s arm. “I’m still here, and it’s over now. You don’t need to threaten anyone.”
“I wasn’t planning to threaten him,” Caelan said. “That would give him a chance to run before I killed him.”
Luke blinked. “You’re not serious.”
“I am.”
Luke stared at him, and he realised that Caelan was serious. He wasn’t exaggerating or blind with anger or saying things he didn’t mean.
He was actually talking about killing Stanley.
“You can’t,” Luke said.
“Oh, I definitely can,” Caelan snarled. “He deserves it. And who would miss him? His group would probably thank us.”
“It’s murder.”
Caelan scoffed, “Murder? Be serious, Luke. We’re living in an apocalypse. The world ended years ago. We don’t have the luxury of pretending to be good people anymore, and we don’t have to limit ourselves by the rules of a world that no longer exists.”
“We’re not limiting ourselves. It’s a choice. We choose to be good, to be better than men like Morgan. Come on, Caelan, you’re not thinking straight. You’re just worried about me. But I’m fine, see?” Luke spread his arms and managed to grin. “I’m still charming, irresistible and dashingly handsome. There’s barely a scratch on me.”
Caelan tried to hide his smile. “You’re still an idiot.”
“A dashingly handsome idiot.”
Caelan chuckled. “Alright, fine, let’s forget I said anything.”
“Fine with me. Come on, let’s go get some food, I’m starving.”
***
Chapter 20 - An Opportunity
Caelan knocked on his bedroom door a few days later.
It was the afternoon, but Luke was taking a nap - his energy levels still hadn’t fully recovered after nearly bleeding out - so he woke with a groan and kicked his legs over the side.
The knock came again. “Luke?”
“Come in,” Luke grunted, pushing himself to his feet and pulling on a shirt.
Caelan caught a glimpse of the bandage on his side and grimaced, but he didn’t comment on it. “There’s news. Come over to my office when you’re ready - we need to discuss something.”
“Okay.”
“The others are already meeting to go over the plan. There’s a new group in the area, and we need to deal with them before things get any worse.”
“I leave you alone for two weeks and everything falls to pieces,” Luke said with a smile.
Caelan didn’t reply, and Luke’s smile faded.
“How bad is it?”
“Potentially? Very bad. Come and take a look for yourself.”
***
“Who are they?” Luke asked, examining the board on the wall. There was a map of the area their camp was in, estimates for their numbers, and a basic outline of an attack.
Luke didn’t comment on it, but it was obvious Caelan had already decided to take down the new threat. He wanted Luke’s opinion on how to attack, not whether or not they should do it.
“Our information says they were part of Morgan’s group, but he was too restrictive for their methods.”
Luke frowned. “Morgan was too restrictive? What the hell were they trying to do?” Then, the rest of his sentence registered in Luke’s mind. “Wait, methods for what?”
Caelan hesitated. “We’re not entirely sure. Morgan was helping them, at first, by giving them resources and subjects to work on, but eventually, he must have decided it was too extreme, even for him. So they came to our neck of the woods because it’s one of the furthest places from him within the valley.”
“We captured one of their men,” Simone said. “The prisoner told us they’re experimenting with mutant blood. Capturing innocents and injecting them with blood or tissues from the mutants. He wasn’t clear on the specifics, but it sounds bad. They want to see what changes the mutant blood will have on humans.”
Luke stared at her for a long moment, struggling to imagine why anyone would want to carry out experiments like that on living people. He had seen a lot of strange and horrible things since the world ended, but this was completely new.
“They’re going to keep doing it,” Simone added. “We first heard about them because they took a family from a small farm just north of our forest.”
Luke knew the house she was talking about. He had never met the people who lived there, but they had been trading eggs and milk with the factory for months now.
“How did Morgan even find people who know how to apply mutant blood to human subjects?” Luke asked.
“Of course,” Caelan said. “That’s it!”
Luke frowned at him. “What’s what?”
“That’s why Morgan has been looking for scientists,” Caelan said. “He wanted them to work on this project, whatever it is, and now he’s lost control of them.” Caelan was grinning, and he chuckled to himself as he thought about it. “Morgan made a mistake. A colossal mistake.”
“So he gathered scientists for this messed up experiment, and now they’ve turned on him?”
“Exactly.”
“Was this the same reason he wanted Maria?”
“Probably,” Caelan said. “A surgeon would be vital for keeping those people alive while they were being experimented on.”
“This is sick,” Luke said.
“This is an opportunity,” Caelan said.
“Wait,” Luke said, turning to him. “Simone used the word prisoner. The prisoner told you all this.”
Caelan didn’t even attempt to look guilty. “Yes, he told us. We needed information before we went rushing in. And now we have it.”
“How did you get this information?” Luke demanded. “Did he just offer it up voluntarily or did you make him talk?”
Caelan didn’t say anything, but the answer was written all over his face.
“Jackson is still down there with him, but don’t worry, it’s nothing he won’t recover from,” Eric added, trying to appease Luke’s obvious distress.
“That’s not the point,” Luke said, but he bit back the rest of what he wanted to say.
Luke took a deep breath and looked back at the map. Later, he told himself. Deal with this first, and then talk to Caelan. Innocent people are at risk right now. They need to be the priority.
“We have the numbers,” Luke finally said, keeping his thoughts to himself.
A flicker of surprise passed through Caelan’s eyes, but he recovered quickly. “Yes, we do. We can leave tonight if you’re ready.”
“Tonight?”
“They won’t be expecting an attack in the dark.”
“Because no one else is reckless enough to do it,” Luke said.
Caelan nodded. “Exactly. We’ll have the element of surprise. Besides, if we wait too long, they’re going to notice that one of their men is missing. There’s no body, so they might figure out that someone captured him. We can’t give them time to draw that conclusion.”
Luke was silent for a moment, examining the board, and then he sighed. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I’m in. Let’s do it.”
“Hold your horses.” Jackson stepped into the room, wiping his hands with a cloth. Luke didn’t want to think about what he was wiping off. “There’s more,” Jackson continued. “The group used to be part
of Morgan’s camp, but they didn’t part ways on good terms. They stole from him. Weapons, food, vehicles. A lot of very valuable things.”
“Morgan will probably be coming after them to get his stuff back,” Luke said.
Jackson nodded at him, but he spoke to Caelan. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. But also, if this weapons stash is as big as the prisoner said, it could be a crippling blow against Morgan. We get this, and we could take down his entire camp by ourselves. We wouldn’t have to beg for help from the super-city.”
“This seems too perfect,” Caelan said. “Are you sure he was telling the truth?”
“I’m sure.”
“Alright.” Caelan walked around the desk to the board, and he examined the map again.
The room held its breath as they waited for his decision.
Jackson broke the silence first. “What do you want to do, boss?”
“The plan doesn’t change,” Caelan said. “Higher risk, higher reward. If we move fast enough, we might be able to get in and out of there before Morgan and his men show up.”
“It’s dangerous, though,” Ronnie said quietly.
Caelan glanced at him. “Problem?”
“I just... It’s dangerous. Shouldn’t we think about this?”
Jackson turned sharply to face him. “You don’t want to come with us, is that it?” Jackson demanded.
“That’s not what I meant,” Ronnie said quickly.
“That’s what it sounded like,” Jackson said. “Are you too scared to risk your life to protect our people?”
Ronnie stammered helplessly for a reply, and Luke stepped between them.
“He’s got a good point, Jackson. If we do this, there’s a high chance we’ll run into Morgan, and his people will be armed and shooting to kill. We could lose people. It’s worth taking a minute to think about it.”
Jackson stepped closer to him, and Luke could feel the aggression seeping out of his skin. They were almost exactly the same height, but somehow, Jackson had raised himself up and he was looking down at Luke with a sneer. “We did take a minute. Caelan thought about it, and he said we do it, so we do it. Alright?”
“As long as he’s considered the potential loss of life, and he still thinks it’s worth it, then I’m good,” Luke said.
“He has.”
“I’m sure he can speak for himself.”
Jackson’s jaw clenched, and Luke briefly wondered if he was about to get punched, but Caelan spoke before anything could happen.
“Luke’s right,” Caelan said. “Jackson, step down. I appreciate the loyalty, but we’re responsible for everyone who comes with us on this trip. There are families here, people who care about each other. If anything happens, we need to be able to look them in the eye and tell them we did everything we could to keep their loved ones alive. Otherwise, they won’t trust us, and I don’t have time to deal with a coup.”
Jackson slowly took a step back, and Luke relaxed.
“Let’s go over the plan,” Caelan said. “We need everyone’s eyes. If you see a gap or a flaw or anything else we missed, don’t keep it to yourself.”
***
Chapter 21 - Morgan
The night was a bright one - moonlight illuminated the street and showed everything clear as day. It was almost deceptive because Luke was used to the mutants to roam in the dark, so he should have been safe, but for whatever reason, moonlight didn’t affect them the same way as the sun and other light sources. So Luke and everyone else had to add mutants to the list of potential dangers they were walking into.
The target was a small town - little more than a village, really - and they got halfway up main street before everything went to shit.
Guns fired and people shouted and screamed and vehicle engines roared up and down the backstreets. People fired from inside buildings and threw molotov cocktails, and Luke quickly lost sight of most of his allies.
Morgan’s men were everywhere.
Luke couldn’t tell the difference between the scientist group and Morgan’s men, but it didn’t matter. Everyone who wasn’t from the factory was an enemy.
He didn’t know how long he ran and attacked and hid. It could have been hours or a few minutes. His body was running on sheer adrenaline and he was hyper-focused on the present.
Luke was trapped behind cover as bullets exploded against the ground and the car. He couldn’t get out without getting shot, and he was forced to wait for them to reload or get distracted or killed by someone else.
He glanced around and spotted Naomi. She had pulled someone around the corner of the building, and she tried to tend to his wounds while she hugged the wall and kept her head down.
“They have a medic,” someone shouted.
Luke’s stomach clenched when the men ran towards her. There were three of them, all from Morgan’s group. Naomi raised her gun, but she saw the problem at the same time as Luke.
The men weren’t alone. One of them was shoving another man in front of him. Beaten, bruised and bloody. His hands were bound behind his back, and he looked like he had been through hell. Ronnie.
“Drop the weapon, girl, or your friend gets a bullet. You’re coming with us.”
Luke raised his gun, but he couldn’t get a clear shot. He tried to edge out of cover, but a stream of bullets shot past him and he was forced to duck back down.
Naomi hesitated, but Morgan’s man pressed his gun against the side of Ronnie’s head, and she lowered her weapon.
“Drop it and kick it away.”
She reluctantly did as he asked. “Now let him go.”
The man smirked. “Where’s the fun in that?”
He fired once and Ronnie’s body jerked. Gore spattered through the air. He let go of Ronnie, and the man dropped to the ground like a rock.
Naomi yelled something and lunged for her gun, but they pointed their weapons at her and she froze.
“Careful, girl. You’re coming with us. Morgan is always looking for new medics.”
“Screw you.”
He laughed and stepped towards her. “You-”
His head snapped back, just like Ronnie’s, and he collapsed.
There was a moment of confused silence, and then his friends roared and turned, searching for the hidden shooter. Naomi dived for her gun while they were distracted. Another shot fired, and it was another headshot. Whoever was taking them out had great aim. Naomi raised her weapon and fired, and the final man fell, clutching his chest.
Jackson ran across the street in a half-crouch. He said something to Naomi that Luke couldn’t hear, and she nodded. He gestured that it was time to go, and after she checked the injured man by the corner, she nodded again and let him lead her away.
Luke didn’t have time to react to it, someone appeared in the street. Their eyes widened when they saw him, and they both raised their guns. Luke fired first, and they fell back.
Luke risked another attempt to get out from behind the car, and when nobody fired, he sprinted across the street.
He could hear gunfire ahead, so he pointed himself in that direction and ran from cover to cover. He got to the end of the next street before he heard a noise. He threw himself behind a low wall an instant before the shot fired.
It was a small garden, but part of the wall had collapsed and the garden itself had grown wild and untamed. Luke pressed himself against the wall as bullets flew just overhead and cracked against the stone wall.
He saw movement behind one of the cars in the road. A tall, broad man with dark hair was crouched there, and it took Luke a moment to recognise him.
Morgan.
He was alone and bleeding from a small gash on his forehead, but his expression was cold and collected. There was a lull in the gunfire, and he lifted his head and fired twice.
Luke heard cries of pain, and he knew Morgan hit two different people. Luke had a clear shot at Morgan, and the other man didn’t see him yet. It would be easy.
He heard voices from nearby. There wer
e multiple enemies approaching, and he glanced at Morgan again, cursing under his breath. They were both alone, and neither of them would be able to take out several armed men before they were overwhelmed.
Morgan moved slightly and peered out around the bumper of the car. He ducked back and a bullet grazed the bumper where his head had been a moment before. He took a breath, obviously trying to brace himself for his next attack, but Luke saw something behind him.
A shadow unfolded itself from the darkness and Luke realised one of them had managed to sneak around the side of the car without being seen. He was on the far side of Morgan, walking straight up to him, and Morgan had no idea. A crooked grin split his face and he raised a pistol at Morgan’s back.
Luke fired once, and the man fell.
Morgan whirled around, staring at the dead man behind him. He glanced in Luke’s direction, and his eyes widened when he recognised him. Luke still had his gun raised in Morgan’s direction, and for a moment, they were frozen. Morgan waited for the next gunshot.
Luke lowered his weapon and nodded in the direction of the other men.
After a second, Morgan nodded. He motioned for Luke to shoot at them, and pointed at himself and gestured as if he was running.
Luke laid down cover fire and the men scattered, and Morgan ran from the car to the wall Luke was crouching behind. As he ran, his eyes were on the men, and he fired four times.
Morgan threw himself beside Luke as bullets flew through the air around them.
“Got two of them,” he said, breathing hard. “Maybe a third.”
“How many left?”
“Two,” Morgan said. “More, if the noise draws more of them.”
“Let’s hope our guys are keeping them busy,” Luke said.
Morgan smirked. “There is no ‘our guys,’ kid. There are my men and yours. We’re not allies. We’ll help each other right now because it’s necessary, but as soon as we’re clear of danger, I’ll stab you in the back. That’s a promise.”
“That’s lovely,” Luke said.
“So I’ve been told.”
A piece of stone broke off the top of the wall, and it rolled to the ground beside Luke. “This wall isn’t as strong as I hoped,” he said. The stone gave him an idea, and he picked it up. He shifted position, scanning the area beyond the car and the street.