Critical Measures

by Kip Nelson

  Critical Measures

  Beyond The Collapse Book 4

  Kip Nelson

  Copyright © 2018 by Kip Nelson

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter One

  They all were in their new home. They had managed to escape the clutches of Lisa and her malicious cohorts, and finally they felt safe, but it was not time to rejoice just yet. There still was so much danger. The people around them still were suspicious. Adam and the others had to be reminded of the horrors they had committed every time they looked around. Whether it was the charred buildings, the pile of dead bodies, or the sunken eyes of the people who lived there, they all were forced to face what they had done. The only person who was innocent was Annabelle. Even Tara felt guilty, as though she should have asked more questions and fought back sooner against Lisa.

  They knew that, at some point, Lisa was going to retaliate as well. Adam, Tara, Peter, and Annabelle all had been about to die, and it only was due to Diana’s good timing and Joanna’s sacrifice that they had a chance to escape. Adam still was thinking about that sacrifice, trying to decide if one good act was able to redeem a lifetime of selfishness. But as he looked around he knew that if there was no redemption for any of them, they all were screwed. They all had done bad things.

  He was glad to be away from Lisa, but he didn't feel at home in this new place. It was hard to do that when so many people glared at him, their gaze as sharp as daggers, blaming him and the others for the deaths of their loved ones, the destruction of the camp, and the theft of their supplies. Adam couldn't blame them either. They didn't know what he and the others had been through, and it was no use trying to justify themselves since there was no justification for what they had done. From what Matthew said, most of these people had survived Lisa's attacks more than once. He couldn't imagine what life had been like for them. His own life was bad enough, but to be hunted continually, to have your hope ground down into nothingness? It was all too much to bear, and he admired them for their courage to keep fighting.

  After he'd spoken with Diana a little bit they mostly helped rebuild in quiet, as the mood around the camp was solemn. Adam noticed that Annabelle was sticking close to Diana, even though she had been reunited with her father. That was one good thing to come out of this entire dark mess at least, and Adam hoped they would be able to recapture their old relationship. He thought about his own parents, who had died long before the world fell apart, and wondered if they would be proud of him if they saw him now. He didn't even know if he was proud of himself, he just was trying his best to survive.

  The group had been helping for a few hours when Stan broke the silence and offered to show them to their new homes.

  “We've got plenty of room,” he said, not thinking before he spoke. Of course they had plenty of room. So many people had died. He cast his single-eyed gaze down to the ground and seemed for a moment as though he was swallowed up by the immense grief of it all. Then he took a deep breath and internalized whatever he was feeling.

  “I can't promise it'll be five-star, but it'll be a roof over your head, Annabelle,” he said, kneeling so he was at eye-level. “You can come back with me if you like, or you can stay with Diana a little while longer.”

  “I think I'll stay with Diana, if that's okay?” Annabelle said in a small, trembling voice. A brief look of disappointment flashed across Stan's face, but he knew it was going to take some time. You couldn't just put two people back together and expect things to be exactly the same, especially not when so much had happened to the two of them.

  “Of course,” he said, forcing a smile, and then rose to his full height.

  He showed them all around to where they could stay, in proximity to each other. Then he explained how to access the food supplies and that they would speak soon about plans, but advised them they should rest while they had the opportunity. None of them had had much sleep through the long night, and they all were looking forward to resting. Diana and Annabelle were the last ones to leave. When Stan showed them to the door of a house he paused for a moment, almost as though he didn't want the moment to end.

  “Thank you for looking after Annabelle,” Stan said eventually.

  “It's okay,” Diana said, and leaned in to give him a quick hug, just so she could whisper in his ear, “just give her time.”

  Stan nodded, but there was sadness in his one eye. Diana reflected on the dynamic between the two of them. Barely any time at all had passed since he'd had her tied up, ready to interrogate, and now she considered him a friend. The fact that both of them loved Annabelle gave them a kinship that was difficult to share with anyone else. Diana thought back to her own father and how she never wanted to see him again. Although she knew Stan was a good man and wanted the best for Annabelle, and she hoped the two of them could find the path back to what they had been like before the world went dark. It was clear to Diana that Stan wasn't sure how to feel either. It must have been strange for both of them finally to find each other after they both thought they never would see each other again.

  Stan bent down and gave Annabelle a hug. When they first had seen each other, they had been filled with pure, exalted joy, but that quickly had given way to the reality of the situation. They had been through a lot and neither of them were sure how to act properly. It didn't feel right that they just slip back into the rhythm they used to have, not least because Annabelle's mother wasn't with them anymore. They had to adjust to the fact that now it was just the two of them. There had been so much upheaval in Annabelle's life already that Stan didn't mind her staying with Diana a little longer. He needed to work out a few things for himself anyway.

  “I'll see you guys later. I'll be just over there if you need me,” he said, pointing to another house down the street.

  Annabelle nodded, and she clutched Diana's hand as they walked into their newest home. Diana had learned not to get attached to places too easily. Ever since she had run away from home as a young girl she had lived a transitory lifestyle. Since home never had meant that much to her she never saw the importance other people placed upon it. To others it meant safety and sanctuary, yet to Diana it only had been dangerous and horrific. No, safety to her was being with someone she loved and trusted. For a long time it had been her sister, now it was Annabelle and, to a lesser extent, Adam and Peter.

  Diana collapsed on the couch and let her head fall back. A long, guttural moan escaped her lips as she relaxed for the first time in what seemed like forever. Annabelle climbed onto the seat next to her and curled up, resting her head on Diana's chest.

  “This is perfect. All I need is a hot bath,” Diana said.

  “And pancakes,” Annabelle added.

  “And pancakes,” Diana agreed.

  They stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying the brief respite. Diana felt her eyes growing heavy. When she closed them, she wasn't sure they would open again. Yet she knew she had to talk to Annabelle about a few things. So, she shifted her position and made sure Annab
elle was going to stay awake.

  “How are you doing, honey? It's been a long day.”

  “Yes, it has,” she said. “I'm okay, just tired.”

  “I bet. You know, your dad was the one questioning me. He had a tattoo of your name on his wrist, and it was lucky for me he did because that saved all our lives. When I told him about you he didn't believe me at first. He thought he'd never see you again. He actually cried.”

  “He did?”

  “Oh yeah, and he said that even if we hadn't convinced Matthew to send a few people to help us, he was going to go back there and get you. He loves you very much.”

  “I know.”

  “And it's okay that you wanted to stay with me. You know that, right? It's going to take a little while for the two of you to get used to each other again.”

  “Yeah.”

  Diana waited for Annabelle to say more, knowing there was a lot going on inside the young girl's mind. She had to be patient to let it all come out. Diana stopped asking questions and let the silence hang in the air, stroking Annabelle's hair soothingly until the girl felt comfortable enough to tell Diana her worries.

  “I thought he was dead,” she said, her words coming out along with soft sobs. “I thought I'd never see him again, and then he's right there, and I feel like all this time I should have been looking for him.”

  Annabelle proceeded to tell Diana about that horrible night when she had seen her parents be dragged off, and she had been forced to run away into the shadows of the city to survive. Diana continued holding her. Annabelle trembled the more she spoke, and it was a challenge for Diana to keep a lid on her own emotions. When Annabelle finally was done Diana let her breathe for a few moments and then replied.

  “It's a strange situation, and it's going to be hard to figure everything out in your head, but it's all going to be okay. We've had enough misery in our lives. This is a good thing. And it doesn't mean that anything has to change. We still can see each other, and I know things with your father won't be like they used to be, but it doesn't mean they'll be bad. You two will find your way again, I know it.”

  “You do?”

  “Hell yeah, because you love each other, and that's the one thing about all of this,” she waved a hand around, gesturing to the world, “can't take away. Now, I'm hardly a hopeless romantic, but there are some bonds that can survive anything, and I know you and your dad have something like that. I saw it in the way he reacted when I told him you still were alive, and how he was determined to come and find you. I saw it in you when you first saw him and when you ran to him. I know you've been trying to not think about him for a long time, but you don't need to feel guilty about that. You don't need to feel guilty about anything.” She squeezed Annabelle tightly.

  “But what you do need to do is talk to him and spend time with him. If you need me to be there I'll be there, but it's important you hold onto things in this world because you know how easily they can be lost. I know if my sister miraculously came back to me, I'd be the happiest person in the world. I'd probably annoy her because I'd never let her out of my sight.” Both of them laughed through the emotion, and both of them choked back tears. “Family is everything Annabelle, especially now.”

  “You're my family,” Annabelle said, and buried her face in Diana's body. Diana looked down, and was overwhelmed with a profound sense of love and warmth, something that opened a wellspring of emotion within her and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks.

  Adam and Peter had been together for so long now they had become accustomed to each others' presence and didn't want to be apart from each other for too long. As such, they had decided to share accommodations, and Tara was with them too, as she did not want to be alone. Adam was standing at the window, looking out at the devastation, still feeling guilty about everything they had done. During the night of the attack the great blaze had engulfed many buildings and the scorch marks still were evident. Although now, in the cold light of day, Adam could see the smaller things; the bullet holes that riddled the buildings, the dark crimson stains of blood that had seeped into the ground. It wasn't just people that could be scarred, he thought, but places, too.

  “I don't know how I'm ever going to cope with what we've done,” Adam said.

  “I remember feeling that way when I was in the army. When I was over there I had to look at what I'd done, and when I came back I couldn't forget it. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the horrors of what I had faced. It's something we're going to have to live with, and hopefully, in some way, we'll be able to make up for it.”

  “But there's no bringing back the people who died,” Adam said.

  Peter didn't say anything in reply. Tara came up behind Adam and rested her head on his shoulder. He enjoyed the feeling of her being close to him, the warmth of her body, the sensation of her breath rushing against his neck. It made him feel less isolated, even though he wasn't sure he deserved her kindness or affection. She followed his gaze and placed a hand on his back. It was comforting to know she was there.

  “Is everything going to be okay?” she asked.

  “I hope so,” Adam replied grimly.

  Ever since his brush with death he'd been thinking a lot about life, and he knew what he wanted. He wanted to make the world a better place and make up for all his sins. He was filled with a resolute determination to make it so, and to vanquish the scourge of Lisa and Lee and all the others who stood in the way of people's happiness. He looked out upon the camp. He knew he would do whatever it took to help these people and make amends for the atrocities he had committed in the name of Lisa, in the name of justice.

  Chapter Two

  Through the night they all slept wonderfully, even though some nightmares haunted them. During mealtime they had been stared at again by the others, and Adam heard harsh muttering about them eating their food. He was about to say something, but everyone else told them not to do so. Stan joined them, although things still seemed strained between him and Annabelle, but they talked a little more as a group and they were able to relax. It was so good to have Diana back with them as well. Adam hadn't realized how much he truly missed her until he saw her again. It was as though they were a family and were together after a long time apart.

  During the night he thought a lot before he went to sleep, trying to think of a plan to defeat Lisa. At least, that was his intention. What actually happened was that he went through a list of all his mistakes and tried thinking about what he could have done differently. It was a long list. In the games he used to play and design it would have been easy either to go back to a different save point and try another strategy, or just to give up on the whole thing and start again, but this was real life. Any decision he made had to be the final one.

  As he lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, with his hands folded behind his head, he smirked to himself. He was thinking about Hololife, the revolutionary technology that had been about to change the world, before the world changed of its own accord. He found it grimly amusing that a lot of people probably would have loaded up a scenario such as this, to experience what it was like to live in a broken world. But they could take off the helmet and return to the safety of the world they knew. He could not. Every decision seemed to bring with it a multitude of grim consequences, and it was difficult to see the right path, if there even was one.

  The following day, the group met to eat breakfast and then they went to the church again to meet Matthew. When they arrived, a few people were kneeling before the Lord, praying and paying their respects. It was comforting to know people could hold onto their faith when they lived in hell. Matthew was toward the front of the church and greeted them with a smile. At least he understood their story and was willing to listen to them and take their help. He was an admirable man, Adam thought, the kind of man Adam himself wanted to be, even though he never would. There was a weariness to Matthew, though, the same kind of weariness they all were feeling. Yet, they all persevered because it was all they could do.
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  “I hope you slept well,” Matthew said, “and I wish that I could give you more time to relax, but I think you know as well as I do that we just don't have enough time. We all know Lisa probably is planning another attack. So, I need to know what you know.”

  The others glanced at each other, but it was Adam who spoke first. “Lisa never leaves the camp herself, she has other people to do it for her. Her main deputy is Lee, and he leads all the attacks. Everyone else is...I wouldn't say loyal is the right word. I think they're just scared of doing anything against her because they know what she's capable of. But I don't think we can count on them to join our side, not at first anyway. They've lived that way for so long they've been conditioned by her and they won't fight back. We'd have to deal with Lee and the others first, before we dealt with anyone else.”

  “What about their weapons?” Stan asked.

  “They're in a building in the middle of the camp,” Diana answered, “and only Lee and the other guards are allowed to be armed. Otherwise, the weapons are distributed prior to an attack. If we manage to catch them by surprise, we might be able to take a lot of them out before they even get to the weapons.”

  “Lisa will be in the community center. That's where she always is,” Tara said, “but don't forget that you can't just go in there shooting wildly. There are kids to think about.”

  “We're not going to do anything reckless,” Matthew assured her, “that's why we're here now. What do you think is going to happen if we deal with Lisa?”

  “It depends if we take out her guards as well. If Lee still is standing he'll carry on the fight, to the last man. If we deal with them as well...I doubt the other people will want to carry on. They'll just want to keep living.”