by Lowry, C. L.
“I want to know exactly where he is,” Micah stated as he walked up on Rob. His blood was boiling, and he was tired of Dale’s games. Seeing Benny’s mangled arm made things worse.
“I can take you right to him sir,” Rob replied.
“I’m going to give you a team and want you to bring him back to me, alive. I want to have the honor of slicing that traitor’s throat myself.”
“Yes, sir.”
Micah walked towards headquarters, to begin reviewing which of his soldiers would be joining Rob on the task. A small cramp formed in Rob’s torso. The thought of what he just did to Dale was beginning to eat away at his conscious. Dale was nothing but loyal to Rob since they met on their journey to find a safe haven. Wandering the crime-filled streets of Philadelphia, Rob had become a victim of a robbery when three men approached him and took all his belongings. Before the men could turn to run, Dale showed up and demanded they give the items back while he held them at gunpoint. Ironically, the men dropped the items, and Dale still killed them. “It’s because of people like that. They’re the reason we have to live like this now.” He remembered Dale’s words so clearly.
Rob walked towards the Mercury but stopped in his tracks when he saw a red Jeep being parked in the designated vehicle lot. It was the same Jeep they took on the mission that ultimately cost them the lives of seven crew members. The fresh bullet holes on the passenger side confirmed his suspicions. A husky male exited the vehicle. He didn’t look familiar to Rob, but seeing as though Micah welcomed strangers with open arms; it wasn’t unusual to spot an unfamiliar face inside their territory. The male’s intuition must have told him something wasn’t right because he immediately locked eyes with Rob. The two men shared menacing stares, as Rob’s fists began clenching. He wanted to confront the man but knew it wouldn’t end well. There had to be a way for him to warn The Association about the new face, without disclosing the error in their ways under Dale’s leadership. I will handle that dude one day when he least expects it. He watched as the man disappeared behind a building and continued his tasks, while he thought of a new plan.
Rob grabbed the backpack from the backseat. It was soaked in Benny’s blood, so he threw it on the trunk of the vehicle, before opening it. I wonder if there is anything good inside. His eyes lit up as he began to inventory the bag. The first item he grabbed from the main section of the backpack was a bottle of Vodka that appeared only to be half-full. A box of forty-caliber ammunition and a loaded magazine were also in the bag. Rob turned the bag over and dumped out the remaining items. The contents included a marker, pack of Newport cigarettes, a lighter, a folded up sheet of paper, a pack of gum, and a small cylinder device. Rob licked his crusty lips and wrapped them around one of the cigarettes. The small flame coming from the lighter danced around the tip of the cigarette. He inhaled and filled his lungs with the calming smoke, before releasing it into the air. His hands shook as he handled the cylinder, attempting to open it and reveal its contents. After failing to open the device, Rob discarded it and moved on to check the other items. He slowly unfolded the sheet of paper, while blowing more smoke into the air. Rob’s eyes perused the paper, and the cigarette fell from his mouth.
“Micah. Micah,” Rob yelled as he searched for the leader. Tripping up the steps, he made his way into the large stone building. “Micah.”
“What’s going on?” Dre asked after hearing all the shouting Rob was doing. Dre was Micah’s younger brother and controlled all aspects of The Association’s defense systems and procedures.
“I have to show this to Micah.” Rob pressed the paper against Dre’s chest. He looked down at it and immediately went to show his brother.
Dre opened the large doors to the meeting room, interrupting Micah and Adina who were lip locking near the window. They both grabbed their guns when the doors swung open. “Sorry to interrupt bro, but you have to see this.” Dre slid the sheet across the table, and Adina hovered over Micah’s shoulder as he carefully examined the sheet. It wasn’t just a sheet of paper; it was a map. He pounded his fist on the paper, rattling the wooden table he was leaning on.
“Where the fuck did this come from?” Micah asked.
“Rob found it,” Dre responded, turning around and signaling for him to enter the room.
“Where did you find this map?”
“When Benny and I were leaving, some guy was getting mauled by one of those beasts. This is his bag, and it was near the car, so Benny grabbed it. I started going through the bag, and once I realized what it was, I brought it right up.”
“What else was in the bag?”
“Some ammo, cigs and some metal can that I can’t get open.”
Micah turned to Adina who was holding the map in her hand. They always planned for this to happen, but didn’t think it would be this soon. “Our whole area is circled on here.”
“Yeah, somebody definitely planned to get here. We have to find out who they are and what they want.”
“What do you think they want, baby? We know what they want. They want our empire. We have food, shelter, guns, and numbers. That’s what they want, all of it.”
“Wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Rob said it was only one guy. What if he was coming for refuge? What if he just wanted to join us?”
“Are you sure he was by himself?” Adina asked Rob.
“I — I honestly don’t know. There was no one else around. I assume if he was traveling with a group, that they would have helped him. He was literally being eaten alive by one of those monsters, and no one was around to help him.”
“See that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Nobody is going to let something happen to one of their own without putting up a fight. Plus, he had the map. They wouldn’t just abandon the guy that has the directions to where they want to go. That doesn’t make sense,” Micah stated.
“Well, how did he know we were here? Our entire area is circled, which means he had to be close enough to our territory to mark it down. If he was that close, why wouldn’t he just come up to us?”
“Who knows Dina. I just don’t want to overreact and make this out to be something it isn’t.”
“And I don’t want to be unprepared if someone plans to take what we have.”
“Listen, I will bump up the guards and get our search teams prepared for any encounters we may run across. They did a great job out there earlier and brought us back some new bodies, and one of them is close to you. There are probably thousands of more people out there that deserve a chance at a new life. Life beyond ruin and devastation. The more we grow, the more powerful we will be.”
“We need to rule with an iron fist. Fear is true power. This country was built on bloodshed, and we will rebuild it in the same manner.”
“That bloodshed will make us targets, and one day we will have to answer for our sins. Are you ready for that?”
“Are you?”
“I’m willing to die for my beliefs and The Association’s cause.”
“Me too.”
It was something about Micah’s leadership that drove Adina crazy. Who would have thought a woman that bounced around from shelter to shelter and an ex-convict would have built such a strong organization. “Can you guys leave,” she requested as Dre and Rob exited the room and closed the door behind them. Micah laughed, knowing the little heated exchange they had was driving Adina wild. Everything about Micah was intoxicating to Adina. The way he protected her and their people warmed her heart. She placed the map on the table and wrapped her arms around his neck. Micah’s hands rested on her hips as he gazed into her deep brown eyes. He pulled her body into his, ensuring they felt each other. Adina’s grip around Micah’s neck tightened as she began feeling a tingling sensation in her stomach. Their lips touched, and both of their bodies began to warm up. “Promise me you will protect our kingdom,” she asked, just before leaning in for another kiss. Her soft lips would have convinced Micah to go to war with the entire world, so Adina’s small request was easy to follow
up on.
“I promise.”
CHAPTER 27
Raw, bedeviling misery filled the atmosphere. Darkness surrounded Dale. He was suffocating on pain and vengeance. The world seemed to be crumbling around him, and there was no one around to help pick up the pieces. It had been hours since he returned to the home with Benny and Rob, but they were long gone. They didn’t know what to say to the broken man that sat in the shadows, next to the remains of the woman he loved and the beast that snatched her soul away from him. Two strong reminders that he had nothing else to live for in the new world.
Dale’s trigger finger was itching as he held the pistol to the side of his head. Without Dana, he was empty and alone. He was haunted by the souls of the dead; the souls he snatched the lives from. It had been months since he was able to close his eyes in peace, without having to worry about nightmares. The faces of his victims always appeared in his sleep, and the guilt of taking their lives was a heavy burden he carried around daily. I don’t deserve to be here, he thought. The pressure from his grip removed the slack from the trigger. The shot would ease the pain from all of Dale’s sins, and he would finally be at peace. He would no longer be around to cause havoc and hurt anyone.
Just as Dale was about to put himself out of misery, a faint light flashed from under the bed. What the fuck is that? He was ready to pull the trigger, but curiosity got the best of him. In a world where necessities such as electricity and running water had become a thing of the past, he had to know what was generating the light and how was it operable. Dale crawled toward the light, which had dimmed. He reached out and grabbed the source of the light. It was an Apple iPhone, and a low battery message displayed on the home screen. Dana probably dropped her phone, he thought as he held the device up. He remembered how she always took selfies when they spent time together. The last thing he needed was to see her face because of the circumstances, but he knew looking at her pictures would give him some form of closure. Pressing the circular home button with his thumb, access was gained into the device. The camera app was already open, which allowed Dale to thumb through the saved photos.
Anger washed over Dale, blanketing all else as he looked at Dana’s photos. Moments prior, Dale wanted to run from his sins, but seeing the photos was a grim reminder as to why he had to sin. Dana’s photos weren’t cute selfies, raunchy flicks or memories from her life before the epidemic. Dale scrolling back and forth between ten photos taken of her while she was tied to the bed. They were clearly taken before she was mauled to death and two more photos were taken after the horrific event. Dale had stumbled upon a video that appeared to be recorded from inside a vehicle, which showed him and his crew capturing the very beast he shot in the head. The same beast that made a meal of Dana.
Dale paused, speechless. His recollection of that day was fresh, and he couldn’t believe someone had gotten close enough to the group to record them. They were supposed to be clearing out all vehicles and buildings, but somehow the person that recorded the video slipped by unnoticed. I shouldn’t have left Dana alone. I wouldn’t if I knew someone was lurking around and watching us. There was no chance in hell Dale would have let the stranger live if they would have spotted him. That fact was eating him alive because he knew that moment could have saved Dana’s life. Dale’s head was as clouded as the polluted air around him. His face was glued to the phone as he began skimming through more photos and videos. Disbelief throbbed in his head, and he hoped that at any minute he would awaken from the brutal nightmare. Dale never experienced that type of pain before, so it had to be unreal.
Dale studied the face that filled eighty-five percent of the photo album. He was looking directly at the person responsible for Dana’s death. A sick individual that found her demise entertaining enough to record on his phone, along with many others. There had to be close to thirty bodies that were notches on the belt of the young, ostentatious man in the pictures. Dale had never encountered anyone that was as ruthless as he was, but it seems he would soon meet his match. His determination and urge to kill would not be satisfied until he ripped the man’s heart from his chest. A new type of evil was emerging from the middle-aged murderer, and it planned to take no prisoners in this war. The Reaper was born.
CHAPTER 28
After parking the Jeep, Marcus walked caught up to the rest of the group who were receiving a short tour of the territory. He looked back to see if he was being followed by the weird man that was eyeing him up. Marcus knew something wasn’t right about the exchange, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. His initial thought was that the older white male that was eyeing him up could possibly be racist and didn’t approve of seeing a young black in his territory. That was an issue he faced his entire life, so he wouldn’t be surprised if the nasty and hateful habits of the old world had carried over. Whatever the issue was, he knew he had to stay vigilant because there was no telling when he would see the man again.
“Marcus, you made it back, so I’m assuming you found the parking lot with no issues?” Jin asked.
“Yeah, I found it,” he replied, still looking over his shoulder.
“Did you leave the keys on the seat as instructed?’
“Yup.”
“Good,” Jin replied before turning to the group. “The keys are always left in the vehicles because we share everything we have. When we send people out on missions, they have access to weapons and vehicles at will.” The small, Asian man reached into his white lab coat and pulled out small bottles of water, handing them to each of the new guests and Cierra. They wasted no time chugging down the lukewarm liquid as it moistened their dry throats. Once they arrived, Jin ordered Amanda to be with the rest of her family to grieve the loss of her brother. He was in charge of overall lab operations for The Association. As a former Chemist, he was interested in studying the mutations as well as the effects the chemical gas had on the earth. Jin was a brilliant man, and he was definitely an asset to the organization. He hoped to find a cure for the mutations and help in rebuilding humanity, but he had a ton of research to do before that could happen.
“Our first stop will be the laboratory, where we conduct small experiments. I must warn you, there are some creatures inside and they are harmless, so you shouldn’t be alarmed,” Jin advised as he led the group to a large warehouse and swung open the large double doors. The group entered the makeshift laboratory, with its dim lighting courtesy of solar panels that covered the roof of the building. When everyone heard the word laboratory, the group expected the sterile all white environment with secure access doors, but this was entirely different. The environment seemed more like a sweatshop than a laboratory. Everyone was dressed normally, besides a few individuals that wore white lab coats like Jin. They seemed to be in charge because they were pacing back and forth while barking orders at groups of people that seemed to be hard at work.
“What are they doing?” Candice asked, noticing everyone in that part of the building had the lower portion of their faces covered with t-shirts, scarves, and masks.
“They are mixing the formula we use to recreate the chemical gas the government created,” Jin replied.
“Recreate?”
“Yes, we can’t completely duplicate the gas, so we are trying to get as close as possible to the real thing. We are running low on originals, so we have to find a way to imitate it. They are all protecting themselves from breathing in the toxic particles that cause the mutation.”
“So where did the originals come from?” Kyle asked wondering how such a powerful weapon got into the hands of street thugs.
“You’re going to laugh at the story,” Jin stated while chuckling. “Right after Micah claimed this area, he took a crew out to search around, and they came across a military convoy that was passing through town. Micah and the crew needed weapons, so they attacked the convoy. Both sides had a ton of casualties, but Micah was able to secure the vehicles, the weapons, and some of the troops.”
“What do you mean some of the troops?�
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“During the attack, some of the troops surrendered. Micah isn’t an evil man and he let them know he was only after the weapons, to start over fresh. Most of the troops now live here and are in charge of our Defense Operations and overall security for the leaders.”
“You said most. What happened to the others?”
Jin’s head sunk into his chest and he continued the tour of the facility. As the group walked past the first section of the building, they gave each other weird looks seeing as though the last question about the captured troops went unanswered. Large barriers separated the warehouse. Some doors allowed access to each separate area, and those doors were heavily guarded. Each guard recognized Jin and allowed the group access to the different sections. They entered another large area of the building, where different types of animals were being stored. The smell of feces and wet fur reminded the group of farms and the local zoo. There were several cats, dogs, horses, deer, chickens, monkeys, and even a huge tiger. They were all in cages and had individuals walking around them taking notes on clipboards. No one from the group said a word. There was no question what was going on in the room. Animals have been the subjects of chemical testing for centuries, and it was clear that hadn’t changed in the new world. The room was noisy with all the sounds the different animals were making, but there was loud banging coming from the room next door. The guards opened the next door, and Jin continued showing the group the facility. As they entered the next room, a foul smell lingered in the air. It was much worse than the animals but much more familiar to the members of the group. Cages were being rattled, bars were being thumped against, and the sound of fast-paced footsteps set the tone for the room. Kyle couldn’t believe his eyes once he saw more than fifty beasts sitting in cages throughout the room.