Conceived in Blood, A Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Novel

by Linda Andrews

  Silencing her with a shake of his head, Uncle swore under his breath. "We have no proof the stun-guns were bound for them."

  "You have no proof they weren't either. And given Gavin Neville's last words in Dark Hope, the Cabinet must conclude the obvious."

  "And the 'Viders?" A vein throbbed at Uncle's temple. "Are we just going to ignore the threat they present?"

  "The 'Viders must be studied further." Aunt Maggie's voice competed with the sound of drumming fingers. "Now we suggest you do your job and find the traitor within and stop trying to start a war. Humanity is still at dangerously low levels. We cannot afford to waste people."

  On screen, a 'Vider rammed his spear through a man's chest. The bald savage paused by the dead man to reclaim his spear then ran on.

  "Most people." Aunt Maggie cleared her throat. "And as we did not authorize Sera's departure, the Cabinet strongly recommends you return her to Dark Hope immediately. The media will be in a frenzy if they learn she could be in danger."

  Sera shook her head. Home? She didn't want to go home. The cabinet hadn't been convinced to act. Not by a long shot.

  "What's that, Maggie? I think those solar flares are interfering with the signal." Uncle faced Thackery and drew a finger across his throat.

  "Joseph Dawson, don't——"

  Thackery's fingers danced over the screen. "We lost connection with the Cabinet, sir."

  "Solar flares will get our satellites every time." Shaking his blond head, Mayfair peeled aside the wrapping of his cake.

  Kennedy swaggered to his desk. "I wonder what technical difficulties people encountered before the magnetic poles began to switch places?"

  Uncle smiled. "Communication was always problematic in the field."

  Harlan balanced her dessert on top of his. His features were blank, not even a twitch of emotion. "So that's it then? Dark Hope stays safe and everyone else can face the 'Viders."

  She'd let him down, let down all those people who would have to face the savages alone. She set her hand on his arm, muscle solidified under her palm. "Harlan——"

  "Over? My hairy ass." Uncle yanked out a chair and plopped into it. His fingers danced over the keys. "We haven't even begun to fight. That isolationism bullshit is standard SOP for the Cabinet. They’re afraid, pure and simple but they won’t admit it."

  She relaxed in her seat. They weren't giving up, just working around the system. "So what's the plan?"

  "To begin with, I'm requesting a dozen more officers. An outsider breached our perimeter, and we'll need more guards." Uncle winked at her before returning his attention to the screen. "Mayfair, I think you're due for a two-day refresher course in firearms."

  Mayfair sat up straighter. "Ingrid will be glad to see me."

  Uncle nodded. "See if you get her to part more than her legs for you. We'll need at least four dozen TSG-23s and a few dozen bricks of explosives."

  Geez. Could they rub in her naivety any more? No human on Earth had evolved. Sera studied her nails.

  Harlan nudged her knee. "Sex and survival must be a universal rule."

  She nudged him back. "Gloating isn't attractive. Guess that's why you pay for it."

  His grin widened. "We negotiating?"

  One of these days, she'd——

  "Sera," Uncle snapped. "You know your duty. I suggest you get ready to depart."

  She whipped around in her seat. "But Uncle——"

  "That's an order, Officer Tahoma." Uncle pointed to the door. "Out!"

  Yanking her back pack off the floor, she strode to the door. She was more than a PR stooge, she was an officer and a damn good one. Hadn't she proven it by finding and neutralizing the stun-guns? Hadn't she brought Harlan in, convinced him to tell what he knew about the 'Viders?

  Okay, maybe that one hadn't gone exactly as planned.

  Grabbing the cake, Harlan walked to his pack.

  "Sit your ass back down, Westminster. I'm not through with your debriefing." Uncle removed the stun-gun from his holster and set it next to him on the desk. Her stun-gun. The one she'd rebuilt.

  Harlan's eyes narrowed but he sat in her vacated seat.

  "Bye, Sera." Thackery whispered as she passed.

  "See you." There had to be a way out. If she didn't find it, the Cabinet would never allow her to leave Dark Hope again. Her fingers trailed over the cold metal knob before she pushed it down and tugged open the door.

  "Mayfair, you'll return on Captain Saldana's ship." Uncle rocked back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. "Cousin Leon will know how to smuggle our extra cargo on board. If you're caught, we'll say it's a security test. God, I love our drills."

  Sera shut the door quietly behind her. Let them have their plans. She had her own to make. And it all started with a trip to the armory.

  Chapter 27

  He was going to die. Lee blinked back the hot tears stinging his eyes. And Sammy, his darling granddaughter, would be alone. At the mercy of the assholes who killed him. He jerked on his shackles. Why? Wasn't he a Neville? Why had God allowed the wicked to rule, and the righteous like him to be punished?

  He sagged in his chains. Blood trickled down his sticky arms. Cold seeped into his bones, numbing the pain his torturer had inflicted. Perhaps he deserved to suffer, but not Sammy. The hope, the cure, it had all been a mirage.

  Lee had abandoned a century of traditions, a glorious last soliloquy, and the best damn farm in Sanctuary for what? To be cursed for violating God's rule. Man held no sway over Corpse Belly or other diseases.

  He'd been a fool to think otherwise.

  Worse, he'd been made a fool. Damn Tino. Lee hoped the man’s twin brother, Quinn, rotted from the inside out. Watched his leg putrefy, blacken, then see the sickness creep into every part of his body.

  Water dripped nearby, punctuating the silent torture chambers.

  Fatigue burned Lee's eyes, but he shook it off. He wouldn't sleep away his last moments on Earth. Perhaps he should try again to reach his tools.

  And then what?

  He squeezed his eyes closed. How could it have come to this? Had he not presided over the Actors Guild and fairly enforced the laws? Had he not treated everyone in the manner they deserved?

  A whisper of movement sounded outside the door.

  Lee's head snapped up. So soon? He must have fallen asleep. A key rasped in the lock.

  If this was the life he had to give, so be it. But they would remember he went down fighting. Balancing on tiptoes, he wrapped his fingers around the manacles. He'd get in a few kicks before they offed him.

  The door opened on silent hinges.

  A shadow backed inside. Metal glinted in the man's hand. He rested his free hand against the wall near the switch.

  Lee tensed and his mouth dried. A knife was a better way to go than that switch. That damn thing felt like he was being filleted alive.

  The man's head cleared the door, then he eased it closed. Turning, Tino smiled. "His honor must think lots of you to put you down here."

  "You bastard!" Lee kicked with his right leg. Pain kindled a fire in his arm joints. The fool had a lot of nerve to show his face after betraying Lee.

  Tino held his finger over his lips. His bruised flesh nearly swallowed his beady eyes. "Shh, I'm on corpse duty, and you're supposed to be dead." Chuckling, he batted aside Lee's legs as if they were mosquitoes and raised his knife. "Dead folks are quiet like."

  This was it. This was the end. Lee raised his chin, stuck his face right into Tino's armpit. His eyes watered. Holy shit, didn't the man ever hear of soap?

  "Bossman wasn't too happy about the guards letting us in." Tino's moon-shaped face wrinkled. Metal slid against metal. "But once I showed him the gold you had, he didn't beat me too much."

  The shackle slipped off Lee's wrist. His arm flopped down to his side, refused his commands. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head when the feeling returned.

  "Hope you don't mind losing your gold. You won't need it where you're going." Ti
no undid the other shackle.

  No, dead people didn't need gold. Lee's other arm dropped to his side and his legs buckled from his weight. The scores of whip marks reopened across his back and legs.

  Tino swept him up and over his shoulder. "Now don't make a sound and keep your eyes closed. You're supposed to be dead."

  Blood rushed to Lee's head and he felt every vein in his skull pulse. He sipped shallow breaths, fought unconsciousness. Useless arms flopped against Tino's wide posterior as he walked down a long hallway.

  "Finally got yerself one, eh?"

  Lee closed his eyes at the man's voice. Maybe if they thought he was dead, the new guy wouldn't torture him.

  "Bruce went too long on the 'lectricity." Tino spun around. "He's practically bald from it."

  Fingers probed Lee's scalp. He held his breath to keep from crying out.

  The newcomer twisted Lee's head this way and that as if trying to unscrew it from his neck. "Bruce said this one was uppity. Asides, his honor didn't see no use for him." The newcomer stuck his fingers in Lee's mouth. "Any gold in there?"

  Lee fought the urge to gag. Had the animal dipped his hands in shit? Was cleanliness unheard of among these people?

  "Nope, his honor kept it." Gravel crunched. Tino walked over the dirt road.

  Other footsteps sound close behind. "What about his balls and dick? Can I have 'em to sell as breeder’s aphrodisiacs?"

  Lee clenched. They wanted his privates? Fucking animals.

  "They're scorched." Tino shrugged Lee off his shoulders, then lay him carefully on a bed of straw. "Breeders won't want 'em, even the desperate ones. All shrunk up, like they are."

  Lee opened his eyes to a slit. A body lay next to him. In the lamplight, he recognized Quinn. Had the brother died? Is that why Tino had turned him in?

  But Tino was helping him escape.

  Something didn't add up.

  "Damn. His honor must be really mad at you if you don't even get to sell his parts."

  The wagon bucked as Tino climbed aboard. "I got the wagon and mule. Sissy's been wanting one for ages."

  "That ol' nag and rickety cart." The newcomer scoffed. "Together they ain't worth as much gold as I got in my tooth."

  "Sissy'll be happy." Tino slapped the reins and the wagon jolted forward. "See you at the Royal House with the rest 'o the boys after I drop off Quinn at the station and throw the corpse on the fire."

  Lee moaned as straw stabbed at his cuts. God, he hoped the clatter of the hooves covered it.

  "See you Tino."

  Lee counted the clomp of hooves. Twenty. Thirty. How far until he was safe? Forty. Forty-one.

  "Got yer clothes out. Get dressed but don't stick your head up." Tino flicked a blanket over Lee.

  Lee pushed the covering off his face. "Where's Sammy? I'm not leaving without her."

  "She's on the train, waiting."

  Lee's fingers dug into the blanket. "She's safe?"

  "She's stabled, but sickly." Tino guided the mule through traffic. Music and lights spilled onto the street. Laughter and chatter swirled around him. "Doc Julia gave me 'til first train to get you out or she'd send Sammy to Dark Hope alone."

  Groping along the straw, Lee searched for his pants. He raked the fabric closer. How the hell was he going to get them on? "Won't they be watching the trains?"

  "Yep, but Doc Julia's smart. And just between you, me and Bertha, his honor is a bit afraid of them folks from Dark Hope. Even if someone spies you, you'll get on that train."

  "What happens to you, if I'm spotted?" Not that Lee cared, but it might help to know if this was another set up. There was more gold in the wagon. His honor could have suspected it, used this fake release to have Lee lead them to it.

  "Another beatin' probably." Tino shrugged. "I've taken others afore his honor was done with 'em. Sometimes it's hard to tell dead from mostly dead."

  "Who's Bertha?" Lee touched something cold. His heart beat a little faster. Was it a weapon? He traced the edges. Damn, a lid. Well, he might be able to break the jar and cut someone up. He wasn't going back to that hell.

  "Your mule." Tino clucked and made another right. "I'll keep her safe for you, til you come back and are ready to head home."

  Tino's actions made no sense. He had the wagon, the mule and all Lee's belongings. "Why?"

  "Promised." Tino slowed the cart. "You saved Quinn; I'll put you on the train myself. Asides, your little girl, she fed me and wasn't scared. Maybe I'll marry her when she's older. You're old, so she’ll be good breeding stock once she’s fixed."

  Over Lee's dead body. Not that he'd say the words. Tino might take him up on the offer.

  Blades of shadows drifted over Tino's face. The clomp of hooves increased in volume, and light flooded the cart. "There's Doc Julia now."

  Lee shaded his eyes. Christ, they were there already. He wasn't even dressed. He pushed his pants toward his feet. Damned if he'll board that train naked.

  "Tino!" A woman called out. "Over here."

  The wagon veered to the left.

  Lee recognized the voice of the woman who'd worked on his Sammy. A loud humming vibrated along the ground.

  As soon as they stopped, a face appeared over the side. Doc Julia lifted his blanket and scanned him. "Christ Almighty. The things you Outlanders do to each other."

  Peering over her shoulder, Tino frowned. "He don't look too bad for being in Bruce's company for most of the day."

  Lee blinked. Christ Almighty was right. He'd hate to see the others who'd been imprisoned there longer.

  "This is how it's going to work." Silver winked in Julia's hand before she plunged a syringe into his arm. "Tino, lift him out and set him on the ground. You," she jerked her head at Lee, "will climb onto the bottom tray of the gurney and lie still."

  Lee nodded as a chemical taste exploded in his mouth. Heat crept from the injection site up his arm.

  Tino paled but lifted Lee out of the cart. "The guards'll see. They'll tell his honor that you took the body."

  Frigid air washed over Lee's backside. An odd lethargy gripped him when he touched ground. He barely felt the rocks digging into his bare skin.

  "And they'll see you put another body back inside." Doc Julia set her hand on Tino's cheek. "We have brought a spare."

  A spare? They had spare bodies lying around? Lee grasped the cold steel and dragged his body closer. He was so tired, so damn tired. Soft hands rolled him into place.

  "Now let's get your brother on the gurney. The conductor isn't happy about the delay."

  A shrill whistle rent the night.

  Lee's hand skated across the gravel and he landed face first onto the metal bed. Now for the rest of him. He commanded his arms to move. They lay still at his side. No. NO! He couldn't come this far only to fail.

  His metal bed shook and shifted. Lee’s head slipped off and he inhaled dirt. Blackness ringed his vision. Move arm! His fingers twitched.

  Hands lifted him, rolled him onto the cold metal bed.

  "Stay still now." Doc Julia folded his arms over his chest.

  The world dissolved in a white haze. When he glided over the ground, his head bounced against the metal bed to the squeak of the wheels.

  "Tino, don't forget the body." Doc Julia called out.

  Lee closed his eyes then forced them apart. After a big bump, he tilted up and the ride smoothed out. The ground underneath him sounded hollow.

  "Shut the door and tell the conductor to haul ass." Doc Julia's voice dissolved in a high pitched rev.

  A door slammed. Quiet settled around him, seeped into his bones.

  Her face appeared in the cloud of white. "You're safe now. Do you think you can get out on your own steam? We'll move you to a room with Sammy. She's been asking for you."

  Clean, fresh air surrounded Lee. Safe. He liked being safe. It didn't hurt. And Sammy. She'd be there. She wouldn't hurt either.

  "Lee?" Doc Julia called from far away.

  He closed his eyes and surrende
red to the darkness.

  Chapter 28

  Harlan set a shaky hand on the door knob. This was ridiculous. If he valued his balls, he'd forget this nonsense and get out of this crazy world. With a twist of his wrist, he opened the door and stepped inside. A ticking sounded through the vents seconds before hot air whooshed out.

  Soft white light glowed from the outlet on the wall, but the furniture dissolved in shadows. Chair to the right. Desk against the near wall. A door to a bathing room and toilet on the left. Across from him, a wardrobe and nightstand bracketed the giant bed.

  "That's a good way to get yourself shot." Sera sat up in the center pointing at him.

  From the gleam on the shiny barrel, he knew she wasn't beckoning him closer. Too bad. But then as long as her rabid uncle didn't catch him in here, he might live enough years to regret entering her bedroom. "Everyone's asleep."

  "You're not." She lowered the stun-gun and threw off her blankets.

  He waited by the door, one hand on the knob. Everything inside him screamed for him to leave. "Going somewhere?"

  "Of course we are." She bent over the side of her bed and slid her boots on. With jerky movements she tied the laces. "Unless, of course, you know how to bypass security and avoid the booby-traps to get outside."

  Booby-traps. Why would someone booby-trap their own building, especially when they were surrounded by so much technology? Good thing he hadn't planned on using the front door. The skin between his shoulder blades tightened. He should have known his escape was too easy. "I planned to shimmy out a window and drop to the ground."

  "And risk breaking an ankle? I don't think so." She jerked her pack out from under the bed and shrugged it on. "We're going to have to move fast to stay ahead of Uncle and the cabinet."

  There was no way to stay ahead of her uncle. They both knew it, and part of him was sure she should be returned to Dark Hope, locked up and kept safe. He leaned against the door. "I didn't come to break you out."

  She rolled her eyes. "I don't need your help in breaking out. In fact, you need mine."