Chapter 20 - Haley
How had Caitlin survived? We had watched her get eaten alive by zombies back in Iowa.
"I know you guys must have a lot of questions." She started. "And I'll start by saying that the person who was in your group, the person who used to sneak your supplies and snatch your food, the person you successfully killed, that wasn't me. She was a look-alike, sent by the Elemental Legion to try to slow you guys down." I know that element controlling rings were weird.........but this? One thing was for sure, our lives had just gotten a lot more complicated than it already was.
"The Elemental Legion?" Inquisited Weir fascinatingly.
"Yeah, they are a secret order that spied on a man named Richard Morgan and his science team. The Legion was obsessed with finding a way to control the elements, and Morgan and his team were researching the subject. The Legion had already mastered two elements from years upon years of training; time and electricity. They used their mastery of time to see the future and travel through holes in time. Apparently, you guys are in possession of tings that control the elements. They knew this a few months ago, they knew you would be masters of the rings. That's why they kidnapped me and replaced me with a look-alike, to try to disintegrate your group before you got to the rings." She responded. This changed everything, this meant that Caitlin was on our side after all.
"So when did they nab you?" Wilson asked.
"Before you guys picked me up in Canada for the road trip, they predicted the whole zombie apocalypse and knew it was going to come during our vacation. So they grabbed me at the most convenient opportunity. You guys have been with the fake me the entire time. Before I escaped, I learned of your location, then destroyed all the Intel they ha don you guys. From what I can tell, they have no idea where you guys are now." She responded.
"Well if you don't really know us, I guess we need to introduce ourselves." Ryan suggested.
"Not necessary." Responded Caitlin. "They tracked you guys for so long that I know almost everything about you guys. And unfortunately, that means the Elemental Legion knows even more." If all of this were true, we were in some serious danger. Not only was someone spying on us, but they know our greatest weaknesses as well.
"How have they been doing this?" Asked Wilson.
"They can control the zombies somehow. You guys remember Colorado Springs? When Haley was first knocked out? That huge zombie horde that Ryan took out? That whole horde was controlled by the Elemental Legion to try to kill you. All of the bad things that have happened to you guys aside from the sprouter were caused by the Elemental Legion. The land mines by the apartment complex, the burning building, those men behind the burning building, the actual complex, Jeremy shooting his dad, the huge horde, the gas station, the mall's collapse, everything. The men behind the burning building were actually members of the Elemental Legion." Caitlin responded. Her voice changed pitch when she mentioned the mall's collapse. If she knew about that, she must have known about Jeremy. "It won't be long until they re-establish their spies and interfere again." She continued. "We have to stop them." If we took control of their technology, we could control the zombies. We would be able to cleanse the world. We had to do it, not only for ourselves, but for mankind. I explained my theory to the group and they all shared the same idea.
"Caitlin, do you remember where they kept you captive?" I asked. Caitlin nodded and told us we were in for a long trip. It was a good thing we had a lot of water with us. We gathered the water jugs and trudged toward the Elemental Legion HQ. We went to take the new-looking car, but we discovered that it didnt have a motor in it, only a battery. One thing was for sure, we needed another method of transportation. According to the directions Caitlin had given us, it was a long way away, and we needed to get there ASAP. We walked for about half an hour before we crossed to the interstate, where there were scattered cars everywhere. the only issue was getting one that still worked. We looked in at least 50 cars before I heard the sound of a motor running. I went over to investigate, and sure enough it was a running Ford F-150 with nobody in it. The fuel tank was only at 1/2, so it couldnt've been abandoned too long ago. I looked down into the middle of the seat and saw miscellaneous papers scattered around. I also noticed a torn watch laying there. I picked up the watch and examined it. It looked almost identical to the watch Jeremy always wore. Could this mean..........
"Haley!" I heard Ryan call. I stepped out of the truck and into plain view so he could see me.
"I found a truck!" I called in return. Everyone walked over to me and examined the truck.
"This was Jeremy's." Weir informed us. "I recognize it from when I went down to his house for Spring Break 2 years ago. There's a crack in the same spot on the windshield and the same dent in the bumper. And look, it's even got the same ketchup stains in the back seat as the one he had." How had Jeremy's truck gotten all the way out here from Missouri? And how did it have only a half tank of gas?
"Well, we better get going." Ryan suggested, and we all agreed. Ryan climbed in the driver's seat, I climbed in the passenger seat, and Zach, Ashley, Weir, Wilson, and Caitlin all climbed in the bed of the truck. Ryan started the weave in between the spew of cars on the highway.
"Hey! That's my truck!" Someone yelled from behind us. It couldn't be.......could it?
"Ryan stop the truck!" Weir yelled. As instructed, Ryan slammed on the brakes.
"Holy crap! Zach! Andrew!" The person behind us yelled, still trying to catch us. It looked like a kid, probably 10 or 11 years old.
"JJ!" Weir yelled as he hopped out of the bed. Weir and the kid wrapped in a hug as I stepped out of the truck.
"You're Jeremy's nephew right? I remember you from his 15th birthday party." He nodded.
"Sure am, my uncle taught me everything he knew about zombies! Too bad I couldn't save my parents though.......and I have no idea where my sister and little brother are......." He trailed off. It was obvious this kid was saddened by the loss of his family.
"You can just hang with us JJ, don' worry." Weir said consoling JJ. At that, the frown that was on JJ's face turned into a little bit more of a smile. JJ climbed into the back seat and we kept driving.
"So JJ, you drove here?" I asked.
"No, not all the way, my dad drove us from Missouri to the western end of Kansas, but then we got attacked and I couldn't save them. My sister and little brother got lost, and I drove for about 40 miles, then this guy in black showed up on the road and offered to drive me a little ways. I told him I needed to pee, and when I came back to the truck, you guys were driving." JJ responded. "I wonder what happened to the guy in black, he dropped this." JJ said as he held up the watch. I swear, that watch looked identical to the one Jeremy always wore, but then again, they used to make millions of those same exact watches. I then dropped my suspicions of the watch for the moment. As Ryan drove down the highway, JJ and I exchanged questions and stories. I asked him about the man in black, he asked me about Jeremy. I shared my survival story with him and he shared his. All the while, Caitlin was directing Ryan to the Elemental Legion HQ.
"Hey Ryan, stop for a second." called Caitlin from the back. Ryan obeyed and Caitlin hopped out of the bed. She walked over to a walker that was straggling the outside of the road. She cut his head off with her knife and examined the back of his neck. "Hell." She said in the distance. She came back to the truck and announced that the Elemental Legion had their spies already regrouped and working. "We'll have to be extra cautious now, they'll do anything to keep us away from them." She continued. Knowing that someone knew every move I made was kind of intimidating, but the reason for this mission was to eliminate them, so I half-expected to be heavily monitored. I looked at my ring and pondered it's ability. Could I do what Wilson did and merge with light? Could I re-direct lgiht to become a distraction? Could I heat something using the light? I wasn't sure, but I was intent on fin
ding out. We started driving again, and I stared at the window. the sun was beginning to set, and we would need to crash soon. A few hours passed and night had fallen. It was starting to become that time of year when the nights would start to drop in temperature. All of us couldn't sleep in the truck, so we decided to make a fire to keep all of us warm. Ryan and Zach went out to look for firewood. I stepped out of the truck and into the grassy area next to the road with Ashley. JJ, Caitlin, Weir, and Wilson stayed in the bed and talked.
"Whoah Haley, you're glowing!" Ashley gasped. I was too immersed in thought to realize what was going on. I looked at my hands and my body, and amidst the darkness, I was indeed glowing. I looked at my ring and it appeared to be glowing as brighter than I was.
"This is awesome!" I gasped. I thought about something, and decided to try it. I stepped forward and threw my hands out to my sides. I then swept my hands through the air in front of me. Sure enough, everything began to illuminate. The trees, grass, road, even people. it looked as if it were now daytime, but with a nighttime sky.
"What are you doing!" Yelled Caitlin. She jumped from the bed and ran toward me. "Haley, turn everything back! quick!" She said hurriedly. I swept my hands over everything again and the darkness of the night returned. "It's my fault, I didn't tell you!" She yelled.
"What's wrong Caitlin?" I asked hurriedly.
"Whenever you use the ring's power, it angers the Elemental Legion, they're more likely to attack!" She explained.
"What will they attack with?" I asked.
"It could be anything out here." She replied. I thought about what they could use against us. There were no walkers nearby, no electrical currents. Then it hit me.
"We have to find Zach and Ryan!" I yelled. Just then, we heard two screams come from the forest. Weir, JJ, and Wilson all hopped out of the bed and ran toward us. "Come on!" I yelled as I ran toward the woods in an attempt to find my colleagues. "Ryan! Zach! Where are you!?" I yelled the loudest I could as I continued to trudge through the trees and brush. I looked into the night sky as I ran. The beautiful stars, the magnificent shade of blue. It was so peaceful in my time of panic. Something in my gut was starting to tell me to watch the sky for some kind of sign. I wasn't sure what it was, but I listened to it. I ran into tree after tree, but I kept my eyes on the sky. Finally, just as I was going to look back to my front, a huge fountain of fire sprung from the treetops. That's where Ryan and Zach are my gut kept telling me, go there! My gut was right about the sign, but was it right about following it? I decided to find out the hard way. I began to run toward the huge fountain of flames. As I got closer, I heard maniacal laughter, and a familiar voice. I could swear that voice belonged to Jeremy. I pushed through the final trees before the fountain and found myself in a small field. This field was about the circumference of a sumo-wrestling ring with trees encircling it. I stuck to the treeline, and before me I saw Zach and Ryan in the middle of the field tied to a wooden pole, unconscious. Behind them, I saw a silhouette of a man holding his hand in the air and emitting the fountain of flame. Next to him, I saw an elderly man, he must have been at least 100 years old at least, directing and encouraging the silhouette.
"Yes, yes that's it! You will master the ring in no time!" The elderly man shouted. That silhouette must have the ring of flame!
"Hold hit!" I yelled without thinking. At the sound of my voice, the elderly man looked away from the silhouette and made eye contact with me. The silhouette continued whatever he was trying to do.
"Aaaah Haley, just the woman we've been expecting!" The elderly man shouted in a twisted, maniacal voice.
"How do you know my name?" I questioned.
"Oh my dear." He replied. "Caitlin told you about the Elemental Legion yes? You should know that we know everything!" He exclaimed. The Elemental Legion? They could get here this fast? This was unbelievable!
"Let my friends go old man!" I tried to be as menacing as I could, but I don't think it intimidated them much. The silhouette’s head now seemed to be pointing in my direction. While still continuing his fountain of flames, he leaned over and said something to the old man.
"Yes, she may seem familiar to you because she was once your ally before your accident. But remember my apprentice, your former 'allies' planned your accident to get rid of you!" He responded. I had no idea what he was talking about. "They betrayed you, but the Elemental Legion is too smart to double-cross a tremendous asset such as yourself!" He continued. The silhouette once again leaned over to the old man, but this time his face entered into the light. I was stunned. I knew the silhouette, he should be dead.
"Yes, that would probably be for the best" The old man responded. But it couldn't be, he couldn't have survived through his ordeal. I was lost in thought, but the one smidgen of reality I saw was a fireball coming from the silhouette and hitting a branch of one of the trees I was in front of. This branch was right above me, and it quickly detached from the tree. It fell and hit me in the head, then trapping my body under it. All I could see were fire and trees, and before I lost consciousness, the image of Jeremy's face coming into the light from the darkness of the silhouette ran through my mind.
To Be Continued
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book. If you liked it, please recommend it to your friends and watch out for the second installment in Jeremy Bene's 'The Fear Of' Trilogy.
Kinemortophobia (The Fear Of The Undead) Book 1 Page 20