Terrence looks over at the people in the control room and then back at John. “Not really, not in this area. There’re men spread throughout the complex helping out in various areas, but without radio contact it’ll be almost impossible to track them down.”
“Well, then, it’s just us. Terrence, take Maggie and Peter to the armory and get them equipped with any weapons they need . . . oh, and make sure you take them to the secondary armory, not the main one; we need to get guns that haven’t been modified with our safety features yet.”
Terrence acknowledges and then takes off with Maggie and Peter close behind. They soon come back carrying enough weapons for everyone, and even a handgun for John.
After gearing up, they leave the control room and move at a pace that’s hindered by John being on crutches, even though he’s moving at a surprisingly fast pace through all the hallways, stairs, and corridors that lead to their destination.
About a half hour later, they get to a long hallway covered with signs pointing to the evacuation point.
They soon see Chris crouched down and peeking around a corner.
Isla whispers for Chris and he abruptly turns around and looks at them for a second before moving toward them and embracing John. He then gives them the rundown on the situation and informs them that Adam and his men have been camped out just outside the tunnel leading to the exit and they’ve been working on something.
John thanks Chris and Isla for going after his family, and then starts moving again down the hallway. They try to stop him, but it’s too late. He’s already been seen by two armed men, who start to move toward him aiming their rifles.
“Adam!” He continues moving toward them. “Adam, come out, you backstabbing piece of shit . . . show yourself!”
The two armed men continue moving toward him until they halt after receiving orders coming from behind them, but continue to point their weapons at John.
Moments later, Kate appears around the corner with Adam directly behind her. “John, stop. Don’t come any closer.”
John stops moving. “Baby . . . are you guys alright?” His heart sinks once he gets a good look at her face, and a look of terror he’s never seen before.
He glances at Adam and can see him telling her something.
“Adam, what the fuck are you doing with my family?” John grits his teeth.
Kate’s lip quivers and he can tell she’s trying to hold back her tears. “John, go back . . . I’m sorry, but you have to go back.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere. What is he telling you?”
Adam moves slightly out from behind her. “John, John, John.” He shakes his head. “I warned you what would happen if we opened the gates, and look what happened. You’ve destroyed this entire place and now you’re going to lose your family. I just wish you’d listened to me and all of this could have been avoided. But now you’ve forced my hand to teach you a lesson that will haunt you for eternity.”
“Adam, so help me God, if you harm my family, I’ll—”
“Oh, shut the fuck up, John. You’re in no position to make threats. And I suggest you turn back the way you came or else—”
“Or else what, you fucking coward?! Or else what!”
“Or else you will truly learn what hell is like . . . so this is your last warning.”
John starts moving toward them again. “You’re a fucking dead man, Adam. I’m gonna rip your fucking throat—”
“Is that how you want it, John?! Huh! Fine, then come and get it!” He pushes Kate forward and then pulls out a small device. “Witness hell.”
Adam hits the device, triggering an explosion that sends everyone flying backward and slamming to the ground, knocking them all unconscious.
Chapter 25
Kate falls to her knees and doubles over from an explosion of emotion after the realization that she has just watched her husband die, and she falls apart. She cries uncontrollably while the chunks of concrete and dust slowly stop falling. Her numb body feels incapable of moving when two hands grab both her arms and drags her limp body backward.
She’s able to get one hand free from her dragger and she reaches out toward the rubble in her daze of emotion. She can hear someone speaking, but the words are muffled as she repeats her husband’s name over and over again.
She reaches up and tries to hit the dragger’s hand, but she can’t seem to make contact. She finally hits the hand and it lets go. She falls to the ground, but then turns around and starts crawling to her husband to help, but it’s no use; the hand grabs her again.
Once Kate starts to get pulled again, she instantly snaps out of her fog and starts to fight. “No! Get off of me! I need to help John!”
“He’s dead, Kate. There’s nothing you can do for him,” Adam says it with such a cold tone that it only angers Kate even more.
She yanks her hand away and then kicks Adam in the leg. She stands up, kicks him in the balls, and then turns to the rubble and jumps on top of it, ignoring the pain that just shot to her head from slamming her knee on a rock.
She’s able to pull a few chunks off the wall of concrete that’s filled in the hallway all the way to the ceiling before someone grabs her around her waist and yanks her back.
She thrashes her body around, trying desperately to get free, but her holder is just too strong and she tires quickly.
She finally stops fighting back and looks up to see Adam getting off the ground holding his sac and looking infuriated. He slowly walks over and slaps her in the face. “Don’t ever do that again, you fucking little bitch, or else—”
“Or else what, you fucking little coward of a pathetic excuse for a human being!” Kate spits in his face and waits for another slap.
Adam calmly wipes his face with his hand and then slaps the spit on the ground. He looks back toward the hallway and points with his finger. “Or those kids might not be so lucky.”
Kate’s face blanches when the thought of putting her kids in danger sets in. “You wouldn’t, Adam . . . please don’t hurt my children.”
“Well, that all depends on you and how well you cooperate . . . as long as you play nice, they’ll be fine. If not, who knows . . . I can’t guarantee it.” Adam turns to walk away.
“Then you’ll guarantee my children’s safety if I cooperate?”
He turns to her with a smirk. “It couldn’t hurt.”
Suddenly, gunfire erupts coming from the evac corridor, making everyone duck. One of Adam’s men runs over shortly after and informs them that there’s someone up ahead engaged in a firefight.
Adam turns to the man still loosely holding onto Kate and tells him to get her and the kids behind some cover.
Kate turns her head in his direction. “You mind getting your filthy hands off of me, you disgusting troglodyte?”
The man looks at Adam, who in turn looks at Kate. “So do we have an agreement then?”
“Leave my children alone and you won’t hear a word from me.” Kate fakes a smile and then looks toward the corridor.
“Excellent.” Adam turns away and moves toward the tunnel right when his man and the children come running around the corner; all three kids are crying and looking terrified.
They run into Kate’s waiting arms and she pulls them all close, never wanting to let go.
Adam points to his men. “You two, on the tunnel.” He points to his other man. “You, cover them.”
Everyone gets into position with Adam standing over one of his men’s shoulders, trying to safely see down the hallway. A few rounds have definitely made it into their area, so the caution is high.
He crouches as low as possible and then tells his man to move out of the way so he can see. Seconds later, he sees two men running toward them, and his man on the other side of the tunnel opening yells out for them to stop; the men slide to a stop and hold up their rifles.
At first, Adam can’t tell who it is, but then recognizes him. “Martin, is that you?”
Martin
yells back. “Yes . . . Adam, is that you?”
“Yeah, man, come on.” He looks at his men and tells them to stand down, then walks over to Kate and looks her straight in the eye. “Don’t forget what we talked about.” He looks toward the kids and then back to her.
All she can do is pull her children closer while gritting her teeth and forcing another smile, just wanting another chance to kick him in the balls but this time with a running start.
Adam smiles back and then turns just as Martin and another man enter the room looking out of breath.
Adam walks over and shakes Martin’s hand. “Martin, so good to see you. Who’s your friend?”
Martin releases the handshake and turns toward Jason. “This is Jason.” He turns back toward the hallway. “His brother, Dave, is right behind us, along with Von. We’re under attack by a few military soldiers on our tail.”
Adam shakes Jason’s hand while looking very perplexed. “Why would the military be shooting at you?”
Martin looks at Jason and then back to Adam. “Long story. Listen, Von’s been shot in the arm and we need a med kit. Any idea where we could find one?”
Adam looks toward one of the walls containing a rack full of supplies and walks over and pulls down a white box with a big red cross. He hands the med kit to Martin.
Martin takes the kit and then proceeds to tell them the plan on how they’re going to extract Von and Dave and get them back to the room. They all come to an agreement and then move out and hug the wall while moving as quickly along with trying to stay as low as possible.
Martin knows they’re getting close when the amplified gunfire and brighter muzzle flashes instantly irritate the senses. He slows the pace when they get close to the alcove where Dave and Von are held up. He sees Von leaning up against the wall while Dave continues to fire off short, controlled bursts.
As soon as Adam’s two men get into position on the other side of the hallway alcove, they return fire and Dave stops and ducks behind the wall and reloads his rifle.
They discuss a quick plan and then move out.
Dave peeks around the corner again and starts firing his rifle at a much higher rate and the other two men do as well.
Martin and Jason both grab Von by the vest and drag him into the hallway as the cover fire picks up. They drag him all the way to the holding room and then pull him to the side.
Kate instantly rushes to his side while grabbing the med kit and immediately goes to work addressing the gunshot that’s a through and through in the arm.
Dave and Adam run into the room and both take cover on either side of the tunnel. Moments later, Adam’s men come running into the room one after another, and Dave and Jason return fire.
His man trades places with Adam and joins in the attack. Adam walks over to where Kate is stitching up Von and then looks at Martin, who’s looking at Von.
“How many are out there? And are they going to be a problem?” Adam looks at Martin.
Martin tries to pull his attention away from Von, but he can’t take his eyes off of him. “Can’t say . . . hard to tell . . . maybe three or four.” He finally pulls his attention away from Von and then looks at Adam. “Why are you in the holding area, anyway?”
Adam hesitates before answering. “We were trying to escape this place. The doors are open and the Infected are sure to overtake this place within days . . . we were getting the fuck out.”
Martin looks at Adam and then at Kate and then at the kids. “This is all you got out? Where the hell is everyone else? And why wouldn’t you just go to lockdown in the residences?”
Adam lowers his head and then puts his arm around Martin’s shoulder and leads him away from everyone. “Listen, Martin, I didn’t want to say anything in front of the kids because we don’t need a bunch of whining brats running around.”
Martin jerks his head back slightly and looks at him with a furrowed brow.
“But John’s dead and, in his last dying breath, he asked me to get his family out safely, so I promised him I would. There just wasn’t enough time to get anyone else out.” Adam lowers his head again. “I wish I could have saved more, but there just wasn’t time.” He looks like he’s about to cry when he looks away.
Martin relaxes his face and lowers his head and puts his arm on his shoulder. “You did the right thing, man; you saved John’s family which was his dying wish, so I commend you for it. God rest his soul. But how did John die?”
Adam leads him to the other open blast door and shows him the rubble of concrete. He tells him that they were all trying to escape when John tried to save them all and sacrificed himself and detonated some C4. Unfortunately, it took him with it.
Martin again reassures him that he did the right thing and eventually removes his arm from his shoulder once Adam appears to calm down and focus his attention on the problem at hand . . . their escape route is blocked.
Chapter 26
John opens his eyes just enough to see and is instantly met with a blinding light. A silhouette of a head moves in front of the light, forming a glow around the head until the face comes into focus.
John doesn’t recognize the person looking at him and he starts to get nervous. He tries to open his eyes fully, just enough to see the beautiful women standing over him who oddly reminds him of his wife. “Who are you?”
“Please . . . don’t be afraid. We mean you no harm.” The woman takes a step back.
John darts his head around the room, ignoring the pain that seems to come from his entire upper body. He sees two other people dressed in the same reflective looking cloak-like garment who seem to be checking on everyone lying on the ground while holding some kind of device over their bodies.
John swallows hard and winces in pain after feeling the back of his head. That same pain that tells him he’s not dead or dreaming forces him to stop when he tries to get up and he physically can’t.
“You should let me take a look at you and scan your body for trauma.” The woman pulls the same tablet looking device out of her cloak.
John looks at the device and then at her. “I have to get to my wife. Can you help me get up?”
“First I need to see if you have any major injuries and go from there.” She leans forward and gets to her knees.
John looks at his niece and Peter and waits for the two cloaked individuals to finish what they are doing before he responds to the woman. “Are they going to be alright?”
“They’ll be fine, John; they’ve just been knocked unconscious. It’s you we need to determine otherwise.”
“Who are you people? What, are you with the government or something?”
She laughs and then sits back on her feet and shakes her head. “No, John, we are not. My name is Ena, and this is Nye and Tye.” She points to her associates wearing the cloaks. “And you can just say we’re not from around here.”
The man and a woman just nod and smile slightly, but don’t say anything.
Ena returns the nod and then looks at John. “Please, John, we must hurry. You could have internal injuries that need to be addressed.”
John tries to move again, but for some reason can’t move his legs. He grabs ahold of one of his legs and is immediately surprised that they are completely numb. He looks up at Ena. “Something’s wrong. I can’t feel or move my legs.” He pulls on them again, but they don’t move.
Ena looks at his legs and then at Nye and Tye, who get up and move toward them.
They all get around him. “Okay, John. You need to stay still while we check you.” Ena swipes and taps on her device like you would a tablet.
John looks at her and then at the other two. “What’s going on? Why can’t I feel my legs?”
“That’s what we need to determine, John. Please let us help you.” She continues to tap on her device and only glances at him.
He lies patiently and waits for them to do what he saw them do to Maggie and Peter. Ena proceeds to hold the device over his body and begins to scan John from head t
o toe.
The device starts to beep when they get to his stomach.
Ena looks at the device and then at him. “Okay, John. We need to roll you onto your stomach. Your spine is severed at your L3 and L4 vertebra and needs to be repaired immediately.”
The news shocks John, rendering him speechless and unable to comprehend what he has just heard. His mouth remains gaped open when they slowly roll him onto his stomach while Ena continues to tap on her device. John tries to speak, but nothing comes out . . . just a slur of emotion robbing his speech.
Tye sprays something on the area that instantly freezes it while Nye pokes John with a needle which causes total body paralysis, followed by Ena placing the device on his back.
It displays an image of the spinal column as the program adjusts until it locks onto the spine. It then starts to unravel a belt that self-wraps around his waist and displays a green light once it stops compressing.
Another light starts to blink as they wait, followed by a few more beeps before it finally stops, but is immediately followed by a bright red light emanating from underneath the device.
It only takes a few minutes for the device to finish before the red light finally stops and it starts to blink green again. Ena looks at the image on the device while the belt unwraps and she’s pleased with what she sees.
She takes the device off as Tye finishes unwrapping the bandages from John’s leg. Ena places the device on his leg and it quickly cauterizes the wound and only leaves a scar.
They finish up with Nye injecting John with another shot.
His body jerks to life and he’s able to feel his body again . . . even his legs. He tries to turn over but they stop him, but then help him turn over. “What did you do to me? Why can I feel my legs now?”
“Your surgery had a one hundred percent success rate. You should be a little stiff for a few days, but then you should be back to normal . . . and by the looks it, maybe even better off than before.”
John looks at all three of them with wide, confused eyes, not knowing what to say or do.
The Ark Series (Book 3): The Ark of Alliance Page 13