The Complex (The Omega Protocol Chronicles Book 3)

by Courtney McPhail

  The Complex

  Book 3 in The Omega Protocol Chronicles

  Courtney McPhail

  Copyright © 2017 by Courtney McPhail

  All rights are reserved to the author. No part of this ebook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Book Cover by: Stephen Landry

  PART 1

  PART 2

  PART 3

  PART 4

  To Xander

  You’ve been my writing buddy since I started this whole thing.

  Miss you XO

  In 2017, the course of human history was forever altered. A cataclysmic event, which would come to be known simply as The Infection, swept across the globe. The world population was decimated and civilization as it was known came to an end.

  Few records exist to document the early days of The Infection. These chronicles you hold now are the most comprehensive collection of first hand accounts of that time. They tell the story of those who took it upon themselves to ensure humanity’s survival.

  PART 1

  Subject File #742

  Administrator: Who did you leave behind?

  Subject: Travis. I didn’t want to but I had to make the call. If we went after him, we risked everything. Our lives, our safety. I had to make the choice between one life and many.

  Administrator: It was a difficult decision to make. It is only natural to feel guilt over it but there are ways you can move past it and let the guilt go. It could help with the nightmares.

  Subject: I don’t want to let it go. My choice cost a man his life. I have to keep that with me for the rest of my life.

  Administrator: Self-flagellation won’t bring him back.

  Subject: You never know.

  “Travis?”

  Malcolm stared at the man who climbed onto the dock. Travis Wakefield was supposed to be dead but now he was standing here in front of him.

  He looked a little different, a plaster cast on his arm and a light brown beard covering his face but it was him.

  “How?”

  It was the only thing he could think to say. Travis smiled, revealing a flash of white teeth in the middle of his beard.

  “Long story,” he answered, “But it starts with them.”

  Travis held out his good hand to the small woman in the rear of the boat, helping her climb up to the dock.

  “This is his wife Raquel.” The woman smiled at him, pushing back some of the dark tendrils of hair that had blown free of her long braid. “They took care of me in Marysville. Raquel, this is Malcolm Evans, who I’ve told you about.”

  “We’re so happy to meet you finally. We’ve heard a lot about you,” Raquel said.

  She looked to be in her mid-thirties, her brown skin smooth with only a few wrinkles around her dark eyes. She was small, barely reaching Travis’ shoulder, and no taller than the young boy behind her.

  “This is my son, Alejandro,” she introduced the boy, who had the same dark colouring as his mother. He looked like he was around the twins’ age, his face still rounded with baby fat. He looked up at Malcolm big brown eyes that were filled with curiosity and a bit of apprehension.

  “That is my other son, Mateo, and my husband, Javier,” she continued, gesturing to the man and teen boy who joined them on the dock.

  “A pleasure to finally meet you,” Javier said, holding out his hand to Malcolm. “Travis has told us a lot about you.”

  As he shook his hand, Malcolm appraised the man. He was short and stocky, with a thick black beard that was showing a few grey hairs. The hair on his head had a few greys along the temples but the rest of it was as dark as his beard. He carried a Glock on his hip, the weight clearly comfortable to him as he moved next to his wife and took her hand.

  Mateo joined them, a younger replica of Javier. He had to be around thirteen or fourteen, a smattering of dark whiskers on his upper lip. In a few years it would likely grow in as thick as his father’s. He had a matching Glock on his own narrow hips, his jeans sagging slightly under its weight.

  Angela cleared her throat beside him, giving him a wry smile as he realized he had forgotten she was there.

  “Sorry, this is Angela Sheppard,” Malcolm introduced her. “She was with the CIA before. She and her group were here on the island when we got here.”

  As Angela exchanged greetings with the others, Malcolm found himself staring at Travis again. He still wasn't quite believing it.

  “How is this possible?” Malcolm said again, shaking his head. “We thought you were dead. The men from Marysville said they’d killed you.”

  “They thought they did,” Travis replied. He reached up to touch the pink scar on his forehead. “I don’t remember a lot of what happened. I remember being in the cop car with Veronica and the men running us off the road. That’s where things get fuzzy. I remember coming to for a bit when I was dumped in the back of a pickup truck. I talked to them but I don’t remember what I said and then I must have passed out. Javier filled in some of the blanks for me from there.”

  Javier nodded. “We lived in Marysville. When the infected came to town, we locked ourselves in our house. We lived off of what we had and I would sneak out to the empty houses in our neighbourhood for supplies. When I was out a truck drove by and they tossed Travis out on the street.”

  Travis shrugged. “They either thought I was dead or figured the freaks would take care of it. Javier took pity on me and got me back to his house. He and Raquel patched me up and took care of me until I got better.”

  Jesus.

  Those good ol’ boy assholes had told him that Travis had died after he had given up the location of their camp and Malcolm had believed them. He should have known better.

  “Travis, I’m sorry that we didn’t go back for you.” It was a feeble apology but he needed Travis to know there was no malice behind the decision. “Those men came to the camp and we had to get out of there.”

  “I get it,” Travis told him with a reassuring smile. “You had to worry about keeping everyone else safe. I know things got bad for you guys.”

  Travis saw his curious look and he gave him a tight smile. “When I was back on my feet, we went to the camp. I saw Jose and Ana’s graves. Did those assholes kill them?”

  Malcolm rubbed a hand over his head, that old wound opening again. “No, it happened before they showed up. Jose got infected while we were out there and nobody realized it until after he had killed Ana.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. They deserved better.”

  “They did,” Malcolm agreed. He didn’t want old memories to bring down his mood. Today had seemed like nothing but bad news but now they had something good. Travis had come back from the dead and he needed to focus on that. “What happened to you after that?”

  “I remembered the coordinates for the island so I decided to follow,” Travis said and then looked back at the Reyes family. “I was able to convince them to join me.”

  “He told us about this place and who you were,” Javier said. “We couldn’t stay in Marysville any longer and it sounded as good a place as any to come to.”

  “It took us a bit longer with my injuries,” Travis said, “And we got knocked off track near Cincinnati. The city caught fire and it was spreading out. It was massive and we had to take the
long way around but we eventually made it. How long have you been here?”

  “We got here two weeks ago,” Malcolm told him.

  The radio on his hip beeped and Mendez’s voice sounded from the speaker. “So, we’re all wondering if we need to stay in our positions or if things are good?”

  He had forgotten that the others were still at their posts around them.

  “Yeah, we’re clear. Come on out,” Malcolm said into the radio. “Craig, you can bring the boat back around. We won’t need a way out. Trey, go tell the others at the lodge that we’re clear.”

  He put the radio back on his belt and smiled at them. “We weren’t sure who you were so we had some cover.”

  Javier and Raquel's eyes grew wide as they took in the number of people who emerged from the trees that surrounded the boathouse.

  “How many of you are here?” Javier asked.

  “Twenty two with another one on the way,” Malcolm replied.

  “Jenny and the baby are okay?” Travis asked, worry in his voice.

  It was then that Malcolm realized he would have to tell Travis about Alan. He couldn’t put it off on Jenny, knowing that she was still deep in her grief for her dead husband. She shouldn’t have to take on the burden of breaking the news to Alan’s brother.

  “They are both doing great,” Malcolm said, bracing himself for what was to come, “But I’m sorry to say that Alan didn’t make it.”

  The grin that had spread across Travis’ face at his first words faded with his final ones. Emotions played across his face, sadness, anger, maybe even relief. Malcolm had been witness to the brothers and their complicated relationship. He couldn’t blame the man for not being sure how he felt at the news of his brother’s death.

  “How?” was all he said.

  “We went into a town looking for supplies. We saw some people in trouble and Alan wanted to help them. We got pinned down by freaks and while we were trying to escape, he got infected trying to help a guy. We were able to bring him back, give him a chance to say goodbye to Jenny before he passed. He went out a hero.”

  Travis nodded, blinking his watery eyes a few times as he chewed on his bottom lip, trying to keep his composure.

  “I never would have expected that from him.”

  Malcolm figured it was best to save the story of Alan’s mistakes for another time. “He changed a lot on the road. He helped us out of more than a few scrapes.”

  Travis nodded, his lips pressed tight together but he didn’t say anything.

  Javier put a hand on his shoulder. “I know how much you hoped to see him again. I’m sorry we never got the chance to meet him.”

  “Thank you,” Travis said, his voice thick with emotion but he forced out a smile. “You can meet Jenny though and the others I told you about.”

  “I think they’re eager to meet you guys too,” Malcolm said, nodding back at the others who were gathering at the end of the dock. “Come on, let’s go introduce you to everybody.”

  It became a whirlwind of names, handshakes and hugs as the two groups met at the end of the dock. Malcolm noticed that Veronica stood away from the group, checking over her rifle. Jackson was beside her, watching her instead of the others.

  Malcolm knew that she was in a strange headspace. Less than an hour ago, she had been holding Harold at gunpoint, ready to kill him because she believed he had hurt Audrey. He understood why she had done it. Audrey was like a daughter to her. If it had been Trey or any of Janet’s kids, he probably would have lost it like Veronica.

  Still, this was a good moment. Travis was here and maybe that would be enough to forget about how bad it had gotten today.

  He walked up to her. “You doing okay?”

  Her eyes were on Travis shaking hands with Banks. “Fine. You know, I should go check on Audrey and Hannah. They’re probably scared after getting herded down to the bunker.”

  “Trey already went back to get them,” Malcolm said but Veronica was already walking towards the lodge before he’d finished his sentence.

  Jackson watched her but didn’t make any move to follow her.

  “She knows that I don’t blame her for what happened today, right?” Malcolm asked Jackson.

  “It ain’t that,” he replied. “It’s Travis.”

  It hit him and he felt like an idiot for not realizing it immediately. Veronica had been with Travis in the crash. When she found the group she had told them what had happened. She had thought Travis was dead and had left him in order to get away from their attackers. Malcolm had his own guilt and self-hatred for leaving Travis behind on the word of his attackers. Of course Veronica would feel the same.

  “This ain’t good for her,” Jackson said, his eyes still on the path where Veronica had disappeared. “Don’t get me wrong, glad yer friend is back but she’s already on the edge. This ain’t pullin’ her back.”

  “Go check on her,” Malcolm said, “We’ve got things here.”

  Jackson headed down the path and Malcolm went to the others, calling their attention.

  “I know we’re all excited but we should move away from the water. Why don’t we gather things up and head to the lodge? Show them what we’ve got here.”

  The others helped gather up the supplies Travis and the Reyes had brought with them and they headed towards the lodge. Travis fell in step with Malcolm at the head of the column, glancing back at the others before speaking to him in a low voice.

  “I just want to make sure it’s okay that I brought them with me,” he said. “I know that this place isn’t meant for civilians but I didn’t know what else--”

  “They helped you,” Malcolm interrupted. “They are more than welcome here.”

  Travis smiled with relief.

  “Jenny, wait, slow down, if you trip, you’ll hurt yourself.”

  Malcolm heard Trey’s voice up the path a second before Jenny appeared, an arm holding her belly as she did her best to run, Trey on her heels. Jenny came to a stuttering stop, her other hand flying to her mouth as she took in Travis.

  The man came to a stop beside Malcolm, tears glittering in the corner of his eyes as he stared at Jenny. Travis only hesitated a moment before he crossed the space in a three long strides and wrapped his good arm around Jenny.

  “How?” she gasped. “We thought...”

  “I know,” Travis replied, “But I made it and so did you.”

  The smile that had been on Jenny’s face dissolved as tears filled her eyes. “Alan didn’t. He--”

  A sob choked off her words and Travis hugged her tighter, running a soothing hand over her back. “I know, Malcolm told me.”

  Jenny buried her head in Travis’ chest and he leaned in close to her ear to whisper something to her. Malcolm turned away from them, trying to give them some semblance of privacy for their grief. Trey stepped around them and came to stand beside Malcolm.

  “I tried to get her to stay at the lodge,” Trey said, “But she wouldn’t listen.”

  “It’s okay,” Malcolm assured him, “I don’t think anyone could have kept her away.”

  Travis was wiping away Jenny’s tears with a tender hand as she stared up at him. Malcolm wondered how many of those tears were from grief for her dead husband and how many were from relief to see his brother alive. The dynamic between the Wakefields had been complicated from the beginning. Even with one less player, Malcolm had a feeling it was still as complicated as ever.

  “Travis,” Jenny said, “There are things you need to know. Alan, at the end, there were things he said...”

  Fresh tears sprung to her eyes as her voice cracked and Travis shook his head.

  “We can talk about the details later. We’ve got time. Why don’t you show us this place?”

  Jenny nodded, wiping away her tears and taking a calming breath. “Yes, and you have to introduce me to your friends.”

  “Gladly,” Travis said, threading her arm through his and nodding at Malcolm that they could continue.

  Malcolm led the w
ay to the lodge as the Reyes family followed behind them, exchanging introductions with Jenny.

  The others had gathered out on the deck and when the group appeared on the path, they all let out a cheer.

  “Well, that is a nice reception,” Javier remarked with a grin.

  “Today was a hard day,” Malcolm told him. “You arrived at just the right time.”

  “Oh, so we shouldn’t take the welcome personally?” Javier said.

  “Sorry,” Malcolm said, “That’s not how I meant that.”

  Javier grinned. “I’m joking. I’m just happy that you allowed us to come here. When Travis first told us about this place, we weren’t sure if we would be welcome. We knew this place was more than just some refugee centre. Travis talked about it being a new home. We weren’t sure that we would be seen as useful.”

  “The fact that you made it all the way here tells me that you are useful,” Malcolm said.

  “I’m glad to hear you say that,” Javier said, “But I know taking in four mouths to feed is a lot to ask so you should know that we're all hard workers. My boys are young but they will work. My wife worked at a nursery so she knows how to grow things like fruits and vegetables. I was an electrician. We have things that we can bring to the table. We’ll earn our keep. We want to be a part of this.”

  The man was making a hard sell and Malcolm had to admire him. He was ready to do whatever he needed to do to take care of his family even if it meant putting them in the hands of others.

  “Javier, you and your family saved Travis. Not only that, you brought him back to us. You and your family will always be welcome here.”

  “Thank you,” Javier said, his relief palpable. “Coming here, we weren’t just running from the sick people. The healthy ones were just as dangerous. It seems like there aren’t any good people left out there anymore.”

  “There are,” Malcolm said, “But they are just harder to find these days.”

  “Thank you for this chance,” Javier said and held out his hand for Malcolm to shake.