The Dark Days Series
Dark Beginnings
Episode 4
by
Ginger Gelsheimer and Taylor Anderson
© 2014 Ginger Gelsheimer and Taylor Anderson
Published by GK Publishing at Smashwords
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
The characters and events described in this book are fictional. Any resemblance or description, either in word or photographic portrayal, to any person, either living or dead, is strictly coincidental, and for reference only.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
From the Autors
Chapter 1
The splattered blood feels hot on my face even with the cold and blowing snow. I can hardly make out Shane’s lifeless body through my tears of fear. Please let me wake from this nightmare.
Cold and heartless, Tobias turns his gun on Skipper. My chest grows tight and I wait for another deafening shot.
CJ forces the barrel of his weapon into my cheek so hard that I feel a welt form immediately. They will kill me just as easily as Dorian killed Shane. Are the basic laws of society dead forever?
Unable to contain my nerves any longer, I vomit off to the side. My fright has mounted into intense anger. “You’re a murderer!” I stare Dorian down and realize the sheer terror engraved on the faces of everyone else, including Dorian’s thugs. “Do you obey no law?” The game has changed.
Kaleb moves toward me and I can sense his genuine concern, but I discreetly nod him off.
“I told you I will do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of the human race.”
“You killed an innocent man! How is that survival?” My cheeks burn from streaming tears and the cold wind that cuts into my skin.
“You’ll be next if I have any more trouble from you. You get me?” He narrows his black, empty eyes.
My blood boils and I refuse to look away. I will kill Dorian Lennox the first chance I get!
“Anyone else have any objections?” Dorian scans the group. His gunmen scrutinize us, grazing their weapons across our chests as they walk past. I wonder if they were ever human—with feelings and compassion, or if they have always been thugs?
Dorian returns to his cart. “That’s what I thought. CJ, Tobias, grab the bulls. You and you…” he points to Pug and Skipper, “…secure a couple of cows. Let’s move.”
I remember Elsie’s darts are wrapped up in my coat pocket. I could try to take Dorian out now, but I’d likely be overpowered by his goons. I decide to wait until we stop somewhere to sleep before I make a move. I’m worried about leaving Masaru and Edgar but at least they are safe—away from Dorian. Hopefully, they will remember the place I showed them on the map and think to find Kane and Elsie.
***
We have traveled long enough to feel the hot sun on my face turn to the freezing chill of nightfall on the back of my neck. We walk through a blizzard that’s created a complete whiteout. My feet are frozen, which is good because I can’t feel the pain anymore.
Dorian stops momentarily to allow the animals to drink from a creek. At least he has compassion for them. He steps out of the cart to refill his own water bottle.
“We stopping here for the night, Dorian? This seems good a place as any.” Even Tobias looks on the verge of collapse and his lips have turned purple.
“No. We keep moving.”
“But-”
“I said we keep going.”
Kaleb closes the distance between us enough to whisper. “Are you able to walk?”
“Are you offering to carry me?”
“If I need to.” His lips curve upward.
I don’t forget that he is still one of Dorian’s thugs. “I’ll be fine,” I say, taking another bone crushing step into the deep snow. Pug and Skipper catch up and take their places close to my side.
Kaleb takes the hint and steps away to make room for them. “Dorian, we could all use some rest. We’ve been walking for a full day,” he says.
Veins bulge from Dorian’s temple and I can feel his negative energy about to explode. He stops the cart and storms toward Kaleb with his gun readied. “You’re either with me or against me. I said we aren’t stopping.”
Kaleb moves closer until the tip of the gun touches his forehead. He doesn’t flinch.
Dorian sets the trigger and they stare each other down.
Silence.
Dorian’s eyes twitch. The gun shakes in his hand against Kaleb’s forehead.
The tension in the air is thick and I realize I’m holding my breath.
“Dorian,” CJ approaches the two of them. “You’re going to need him when we get back to the shelter. Let’s just keep going.”
Dorian eyes down the barrel.
It’s going to happen. He’s going to kill Kaleb right here, right now.
I close my eyes. I’ve seen enough bloodshed today.
Click, click. Dorian dislodges the weapon.
Without another word, he jumps into the cart and continues on.
***
It’s been hours since we last stopped and I’m not sure my toes are connected to my feet any longer when I finally see the shelter in the distance. I feel a desperate sense to save these people from this evil, murdering dictator Dorian, but my instinct screams at me that this is not the right time. Sure, I could get a dart solid in his neck, but he’d wake up eventually, and I would probably find myself hanging by a short rope from a tailfin.
I had hoped to have a chance to get close enough to Skipper or Pug so we might formulate a plan to overtake Dorian and his crew. Unfortunately, he made sure to keep us separated after the Kaleb incident.
A memory of Ben playing with his Lego pet-weapon creation from the plane ride flashes through my mind. A smile forces its way onto my face. At least there is something good about coming back to Dorian’s prison. I wonder what Ben’s been up to while we were gone—some kind of plotting and planning I imagine.
“Claudia! Move along!” Dorian interrupts my daydream.
He pulls ahead in the cart, leading us to the main entrance at the southwest side of the shelter. The air is still, eerily silent. I scan the grounds looking for any sign of Ben or anyone else, and as I take my next step, it almost becomes my last. My foot slips out from under me on a small patch of ice. I fall backwards out of control but feel like I’m in slow motion. My eyes are closed, preparing for the blow. Before I hit the concrete, Kaleb catches me from behind.
“I gotcha.” He helps me back to my feet.
“Uh, thanks. I didn’t see the ice.”
As I regain my footing, Dorian slows to a stop in front of the main entrance. His dark stare sends chills down my spine.
“Oh, you won’t be going in there. Take them to the C-terminal,” he commands CJ.
I swallow hard; surprised Dorian hasn’t already killed me. He can’t let us rejoin the general population—we know his secrets. What would they think if they found out about the underground colonies and nuclear weapons…and that he was a cold-blooded killer?
I feel slightly relieved when I see Finch coming. I guess he’s managed to get another cart working while we’ve been gone because he’s driving it.
“See you guys finally made it back,” he pulls up next to us, raising a brow to CJ and Tobias, who lead the bulls by the ropes around their necks. “Nice cows.” Finch casts a Cheshire grin at me.
Strange.
As we approach the C side of the airport, I notice that the slide is missing from the plane where I first met Janie. I scan the wet pavement to my right. Damn. Someone found our hiding spot. The handle from one of the umbrellas used to protrude out ever so slightly and now it’s gone.
The silence is broken by chunks of snow falling from the roof and I look up just in time to see Ben scurry off. I look around to see if anyone else noticed, but everyone seems oblivious.
I struggle to keep the smile hidden.
We have almost caught up to Dorian when he circles back to us.
“Stay here.” He steps out of the cart and huddles close to Tobias and CJ, standing further behind with the bulls. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I see him motion to the other side of the airport. Pug and Skipper follow behind them.
“Wait!” Dorian stops them. “You two…hand the cows over to CJ and Tobias. You’re coming with me.”
CJ and Tobias disappear around the corner. Two less guns. The odds are moving in my favor.
Thump, thump, thump! A single snowball rolls off the roof and hits Dorian on the head.
Ben! There is no holding back on this wide grin.
Another snowball and another…suddenly, an avalanche of snowballs falls down on top of Dorian. He’s completely buried.
His shouting is muffled beneath the mound of snow. I catch a glimpse of Ben and Janie up on the roof giving each other a high-five. Lying next to them is a large piece of the yellow rubber from the slide that was missing. They must have rigged it to hold back the frozen arsenal.
Finch slowly removes snowballs from the top of the pile.
“No!” I blurt out before I think about what I’m saying. “Don’t let him free. He killed a man, Finch. He’s a murderer!”
Kaleb nods to confirm.
“He killed Shane for trying to keep what was ours,” Skipper adds.
“Just shot him right in the head,” Pug struggles to get the words out. Before Dorian separated us, he told me Shane had been like an older brother to him. I know he’s hurting.
Finch uncovers Dorian’s head down to his neck.
“Get me out of here, Finch!” Dorian demands.
“You’re a bad, bad man, Dorian Lennox. Is this true? You’ve killed a man?”
Dorian squirms, struggling to free himself.
“Well?” Finch probes for an answer.
Now! I turn my back and remove the darts from my pocket. With haste, I unwrap them and pull one out by the red feathered tip. My hands are shaking as I load it into the blow gun. Without asking Finch’s permission, I fire one into Dorian’s neck. He passes out cold within seconds. I load another one and aim for Kaleb, the only guy with a firearm. He hands the gun over and puts his hands up.
“Welcome home.” Ben smiles as he tosses down a makeshift rope ladder. Genius. He has knotted short ropes, laced through flattened liter-size water bottles, to create steps between two longer ropes.
He motions for Janie to go. “Ladies first.”
As she climbs down the ladder, Ben springs from the roof, bounding atop several objects before he lands on the ground. It’s surprising how strong and athletic he is for his small frame.
He runs over and embraces me. It feels good to hug him and I clench him tight—he’s the only family I have now. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he says. He straightens his glasses. “I knew you’d make it back.”
My eyes are already tearing from the cold, but now I feel a real tear, warm, falling down my cheek. I hug him again. “I wasn’t so sure until just now. I’m glad you’re okay, too.” I didn’t realize how scared I would be to lose him until that moment.
Finch motions us to the cart. “Time to get out of here.”
Ben senses I’m skeptical. “It’s okay. He’s with us now.” He looks over his shoulder behind us and smiles to Pug and Skipper. “Where’s Edgar and Masaru?” He scoots in next to Finch inside the cart.
“They stayed back,” I say, squeezing in beside him.
“Why would they do that?”
I cringe at the vision of Shane falling to the ground. The blast of the gunshot echoes in my mind and I can smell the iron in the blood. “They didn’t have a choice.” Gently, I pat his hand resting on his leg. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“It’s going to have to wait, guys. We need to make a move and fast. CJ and Tobias will be back in no time,” Finch warns.
Pug sits on the backwards facing seat of the cart. He takes up nearly the entire bench.
Skipper motions to the cart. “May I?”
Pug shoves over as far as he can to make room. Skipper sits down slowly and the cart lowers to the ground. Janie shrugs her shoulders and climbs up onto his lap. Now, he can’t see around her ratted, pink hair. “Uh, um.” He blows several strands away from his lips.
“Where else am I going to sit?” Her tailbone digs into his thigh.
“Ahh.” He jerks almost throwing her off of his lap.
Janie scoots over to spread her weight across both of the guys’ laps. “There, better?”
“What about you?” I ask pointing to Kaleb. “Aren’t you coming?”
“No.” He nods his head toward an unconscious Dorian. “Someone has to keep an eye on things here.”
“But Kaleb, he’ll eventually kill you, too.”
“I’m staying to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone else. It’s okay. I want all of you to go. Hurry before they return.”
Finch tips an imaginary hat to Kaleb and pulls away.
“What about the others inside?” I feel bad leaving anyone here.
“There isn’t time and more people will only slow us down. Dorian will be hunting us.” Finch’s expression is dead serious and he picks up speed in the cart.
“Us escaping is their only chance,” Ben says, taking my hand in his.
Frigid gusts bite at my face and neck, and I can barely open my eyes. I face backwards to block the wind, watching the airport disappear into the distance. My lips are so chapped, they’ve cracked and split, and I can taste my own blood. How things change. I used to love that airport because it meant I would be skiing soon or enjoying the summer in the mountains. Now, it’s just a horrific memory.
I divert my attention to save my sanity. “What about supplies? Do we have any food?”
“Janie and I have been quite busy this week, Claudia. I knew we’d need to leave right away once you returned. I just had this feeling.”
Something about Ben has changed in the short time I’ve been gone. He is more than confident, he is becoming a leader.
Janie speaks up from the back. “We put all the stuff down at the gas station to hide it from Fran and the other bullies watching the compound.”
“Other bullies?”
“Oh Claudia, wait until you hear this!” Ben is bouncing in his seat. “Guess who showed up after you left?”
“Who?”
“Aden Lennox…that’s who. Dorian’s brother,” Ben replies, his tone full of dread, yet laughing at the same time.
“No.” I look to Finch for confirmation. I can see it’s true in his eyes. “How’s that possible? Just him?”
“No, him and a couple hundred others.” Ben proceeds to give me the lowdown. “They were stranded on a cruise ship when it happened, and they eventually sailed up the Newer East Coast.”
“Newer East Coast?”
“Oh, sorry, it’s the western edge of what used to be Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.”
“What?” I must be losing my mind.
“Miracle, isn’t it?” Finch shakes his head.
“No, it’s the
universe torturing me.” Dorian has found his brother? I think I’m going to be sick.
“Yeah, apparently they searched for survivors but didn’t see any.” Ben’s manner shifts to dark. “Aden was the captain.”
Go figure. “Where did they even come from?” I ask. I still can’t believe this.
“Alaska,” Janie pipes in from the back. “And they were able to make it within ten miles of the shelter at the airport. Crazy stuff.”
“And there were no survivors along the way?” Skipper sounds horrified.
“That’s what they said. Ghost town after ghost town lined the coast, or what’s left of it.” Ben’s eyes grow wide. “What the massive earthquakes didn’t destroy, the floods did. They said they saw the Hollywood sign protruding from the ocean.”
“Yep, California’s pretty much a goner,” Finch adds.
Are we really the only people left alive?
“They lost hundreds of people from the ship, too,” Ben continues. “Guess the tidal wave washed them overboard, or they were trapped and drowned.”
Finch pulls the cart into the gas station. I immediately notice two other carts with their wagons still attached. Blue tarps are tied over the lumpy pile of supplies they hide away.
“Now, for the big question,” Finch says. “Where to?”
Ben pulls out the map and carefully unfolds it. “We want to go here,” he says pointing to a red circle drawn in ink. It’s the spot where we were supposed to meet Kane, Elsie and the others we had met at the Brown Palace after becoming stranded while searching for supplies.
Finch turns white as a ghost, unable to hide his fear. “Finch? What is it?” I ask.
“That’s where Dorian sent the raid.”
“What raid?” I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.
Finch gives me that regretful look that never means good news.
“Finch, what raid?” I ask again.
He looks up from the map. “Dorian sent his brother and several troops west to look for lumber and supplies. It’s his rebuilding initiative.”
I could care less what Dorian’s future plans are. They certainly don’t involve me. “So, we’re done with him.”
The Dark Days: Dark Beginnings - Episode 4 Page 1