by W. A. R.
She was timid and quiet and she never spoke of what occurred in the warehouse, and Michael wasn’t sure that he even wanted to know. Men began constructing a new building near the warehouse and though many questioned what the building was to be, none of the men answered. Michael had shrugged it off and continued searching for any way he could pull his weight in the community. Within a few weeks of this, Michael and the three brothers were requested to have an audience with Adrian, and whenever they appeared, this esteemed man had offered them a job on his security, on his outpost team. Gladly, they had taken it, wanting in some way to provide for their small family, to pay the man back for all the gracious things he had done. It didn’t escape Michael’s notice, however, the dark glint in Adrian’s eye as he watched them and that was the very first indication of what a cruel and hateful man he was.
A week later, they were meant to go on their first excursion. The night before this, however, Adrian had announced a town meeting to be held in the now finished building. As they entered, Ryder holding onto little Destiny and Abby, they had stared in wonder and curiosity. It favored a barren and discolored football stadium, except smaller. There were high, profoundly sturdy walls surrounding but the top was open. There were seats that circled an empty…arena…and they began almost seven feet from the ground. Walls stretched up to the beginning of the seats, with doors opposite one another. Lance led them to the front row, a devious smirk playing on his lips and Michael understood that the man knew what was going to happen. Oddly enough, Michael couldn’t shake off the feeling of seeing this building as something similar to the roman coliseum. He followed behind Abby until they finally sat. Lance sat beside Ryder, and Destiny sat between Ryder and Abby, whom Michael was seated next to. Riley and Rusty sat on his other side, their eyes, like his, roaming over every curious and excited face in the place. Adrian stood in a sectioned off area, making him project the aura of having a higher power, of supreme authority, and the look in his eyes left no room for argument where that was concerned. Damien stood next to him, his face an impassive mask. It didn’t take much longer for everyone to quiet down as Adrian oversaw his people and as the silence grew, he spoke.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, there are a few things that need to be said before the event of the night occurs.” He called out, his deep voice echoing and there was no denying the excited admiration in the eyes of the people in the community. Adrian soaked this in. “As you all know, we have been working on a cure…using people that have been bitten or fatally wounded as a means of experimenting.” Michael’s eyes widened at this and he glanced at Riley, who appeared just as shocked as him. A cure. A bonafide cure. Was it possible? Lance had vaguely discussed it but the extent of it was that it could have been a possibility. He then searched every other face in the crowd across from them and they were merely enthusiastic, some were saddened, but most were accepting of this…torture. “Every day we grow closer to this cure, all thanks to you wonderful people.” He paused, letting the community give itself a pat on the back. The idea disgusted Michael like nothing else. Whether these people were dying or not, how could they be experimented on? It just didn’t sit within him right, and judging by the looks of the rest of his group, he wasn’t the only one who felt this way. “Now, you may ask why I am discussing this cure and to answer your question, I want you to look around you at the building.” His eyes danced with a cold light. “You will see two doors in the empty arena before you. From one door will come one of our own, a fighter and from the other a monster.” Michael suddenly felt sick. What was the purpose of this horror? “You are safe where you sit, I promise. We need to strengthen ourselves in the face of adversity, to fight against what we are afraid of, to fight against what we are trying to end. We need to become one against the enemy and so, these games will begin.”
“Games? Is he serious?” he heard Riley scoff from beside him. Michael shrugged, glancing uncertainly at the enthralled people surrounding them.
“Each week we will take volunteers, and only volunteers, and they will go up against a monster to prove strength, trust, and oneness with the community.” Silence. “Are there any concerns regarding this?” he asked and though he addressed his people, a sure sign of what was supposed to be respect Michael knew that it wasn’t. If you were smart, you knew better than to disagree with him. And so, their small group sat silent until a large smile slipped across his face and he threw up his hands. “Then let the games begin!”
And with that one door slammed open and thrust into the empty, dirt-ridden arena was Sara. Michael’s eyes widened and he jerked his gaze to Damien, who was now seated and though he tried to appear impassive, he wasn’t. Michael could see the fear and worry deep in the depths of his eyes. His eyes then flicked to Adrian, whose eyes darted from Damien to Sara, his eyes dancing with a twisted light of excitement. A whimper was heard in the arena and he turned then to look back as Sara. She stood motionless as the door slammed shut back behind her. She wasn’t speaking, and she was terrified. He knew then that she was not a volunteer. There was no way that she was, but as her eyes found Adrian’s from across the arena they hardened and she shifted her feet, appearing more stable and defensive. She shifted a knife in her hand, gripping it tightly. She wouldn’t cry out for help, Michael knew, and he couldn’t blame her. It would make her appear weak, and besides, these people wouldn’t believe her. Adrian was their savior, their provider, their truth, and their light. She was going to have to fight.
Within seconds the other door slammed open and what happened next made Michael’s skin crawl. It was the man from before, the man that was physically fine. He hadn’t been bitten, nor had he been fatally wounded. Now, however, blood coated his back and his skin was sallow and sunken in. A freezing coldness slipped into Michael’s gut at the sight of him, catching yet another lie of Adrian’s. The man had been turned while here, in the community. What had occurred in that warehouse? He sniffed the air, looking around him with unseeing eyes. He was ragged, decrepit, and whenever Sara’s bravado slipped, Michael damn near lost it.
“Dad?” she had whimpered, and Michael shifted to the edge of his seat, his hands gripping the safety rail before him so tightly his knuckles hurt. It was her father and he was now an undead monster; the undead monster that she alone was going to have to face. She was surprised, had no idea that her father was supposed to be a monster. Still, as his heart pounded against his chest, Biters were sluggish and slow. She could rid herself of his diseased face and mourn her loss later. And yet, as she stood there in shock, tears flowing from her face, the man turned to her and launched forward. Michael stood then, unable to stop himself. The monster could run!
The knife flung from her hand and Sara screamed, kicked, pushed against the creature that was once her dad as he attacked her…all in an attempt to keep him at bay, surprised by his fast legs and swift movement. He had taken her by surprise however, and she didn’t stand a chance. Michael knew then what had happened. She had disagreed or had favor taken away from her in Adrian’s eyes and she was thrust into the snake pit to die for her transgression of doing so. As for her father…Michael wasn’t a hundred percent sure but he had an idea…the experimenting that the Adrian was doing…the experimentations that these people agreed with…was occurring to regular people. They were guinea pigs. There were shouts at her to fight, and she struggled. Others had stood beside him then, his entire group, and every person in the surrounding crowd. Most were cheering, some had their mouths covered in shock. It wasn’t long before Sara’s screams reached their climax and her father’s teeth got her. Blood coated her skin and Destiny cried in fear. She faltered as this happened and he attacked her even more so. Things grew silent as the people watched her twitch, her life leaving her, and as soon as she took her last breath, Justin stepped in and aimed his gun, effectively taking out the Biter. Cheers erupted from the stands as Michael glanced at the people in his group. They did the same before Ryder pulled Destiny close to him. Michael’s eyes stole to Adrian, who s
at laughing hysterically, clapping, and they all began to clap their hands as well.
If there was anything they learned in those few minutes, it was this:
1. They had to keep up a charade of acceptance. They could not get on Adrian’s bad side if they wanted to live.
2. Adrian was a twisted dictator and they had to get free of him.
3. They had to save others from the same fate that both of these people had just received.
This was their mission then, as after they went to their house that night, they had discussed it in more detail. The following day the men went out, and from that point on any time they went out, they somehow found a way to save some people, to scavenge items for their own community. Over time they got to know the people they worked and lived with, and after that they were able to free and save more people. They had taken them to the community and whenever they could, any free chance they had away from the others, they would find a way to escape there and work on reinforcing it. They found solar panels and necessities. The people helped with all of this, never leaving, only building on what they had. Some gardened, some sewed, others worked on the walls. They worked together as a team while they slowly grew. The only catch to all of this, however, was that they could really only save coworkers or prisoners. Those in the community like Abby and Destiny, had to remain there, at least until they could find a safe, reasonable way for them to escape without risking the lives of others.
This went on for months, the three brothers and Michael playing their parts so well that Adrian was pleased with them. He entrusted them with more and more but still, none of them had gotten as close to him as they wanted. It wasn’t just Adrian they were concerned with. Sure, they could take out Adrian and then Justin could take their lives…but then what? Damien would be next in charge, and the community would agree with this. That was their hold-up. The community had grown vicious and blood-thirsty. They wouldn’t hesitate to launch a way because hell…they were all Adrian’s army. Sure, Michael thought that cutting of the head of the snake would have sent them all crumbling down but the deeper he got, he realized that the truth was that this community was like Hydra: cut off one head and two more grow back. That was the empire that Adrian had created and thrived in. Regardless of what happened to him, his legacy would continue. The only way to stop it would be to cut off the head and burn the wound, preventing the others from rising up…the only problem was that they had no idea how to burn the wound without hurting innocent people.
That is until their most recent trip. When they had followed Damien and the small group of people as they ran to Thurston, the last thing they had expected was what had happened. They had expected them all to die at the hands of hybrid monsters. And yet, Michael watched in awe as Amber and Miles fought in the moonlight against these creatures, barely making it out alive. He couldn’t find words, and he fought back grateful tears as he watched this woman save his father’s life and then take in these strangers so openly. It was amazing. His father was alive. But…no one could know that. Especially after the conversations began about what had occurred began. Lance and Justin, among others, were fascinated that these people had taken down the hybrids. It was amazing. They were a unit, that much was obvious, and they had impressed the enemy without even realizing it. Slowly, they observed them, Michael included. They had sent word back to Adrian about what was happening shortly after they arrived after hearing from Damien that they suspected that the creatures were created. So, they were also intelligent. He had watched as Miles and Amber sparred, how Amber and Buddy cooperated. He watched how Kyle looked after his mom and how love was stretched between every individual. He had witnessed how his father took to these children as if they were his own, and he had witnessed the depth of admiration with which he looked at Amber, and how she looked at him. He witnessed the budding romance of Cassie and Jacob, and how Rick slowly came round to his senses. Every night he went to bed with these thoughts on his mind. He needed to save them, to help them. It wasn’t too long into this that Michael had taken the three brothers scouting alone with him and he had explained the situation, had explained who these people were and how badly they needed to be rescued.
Still, he was unable to help them whenever Jackson was taken, and he watched as they all caved into the emotional turmoil of his passing. He couldn’t warn them whenever they left that morning, hoping to find safety against whomever was creating these monsters, not knowing that one of them was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He couldn’t stop Miles, Brian, and Shelly from being taken, but he was able to warn Amber, and following that he was able to help her and the rest of her people. And they had fought, some dying, but they had made it to the meeting that changed everything.
Chapter Seventeen
Miles had to admit that he was impressed with the town. His eyes widened as Michael slowed the truck to a stop, reaching a hand out the window. He was unsure of what signal he had given the people in the towers but apparently it worked, and the gate began lowering. Miles glanced over at his son in awe. He was proud, so very proud, and there were no words to express how he felt. He swallowed thickly. It had been months since he had last seen him, spoke to him, and yet here he was, finishing his story of how he had come to be where he currently was. Miles turned and watched as the gate lowered further to the ground. He was anxious and he was unsure why. He felt tired, drained, and he could barely think. His emotions were running ragged and since he had been dragged out of the truck and placed before Michael, he had been on the verge of tears. He wanted to collapse right then and there, and then whenever he affirmed his previous statement of Amber being alive…everything came crashing down. He accepted this truth for what it was, remembering how he had known that his son couldn’t do it. Michael wasn’t that heartless, and even if he was, Miles was sure that he couldn’t accept the vision of his son killing his…what was she? Alive, he thought quickly with relief, she was alive. The rest they could figure out later.
“You can calm down you know.” He heard Michael laugh from beside him. Miles jerked his gaze to the young man in surprise as they slowly began to move forward. He hadn’t even noticed how the gate had met the ground. He sighed. He was an emotional mess. This relief, this comfort, it was all too much, too good to be true.
“I am calm.” He replied swiftly without thinking. He was surprised, he would admit, at the uncomplicated easiness that he and Michael had fallen back into rhythm, their rhythm. Still, he wondered how the others were faring with these strange people and then he remembered how they had all accepted Michael. If Amber, George, and Miles trusted him, then they could too. After Michael had explained his story, had discussed how he had gotten all tangled up in this mess, Miles then explained to him how he had gotten involved in everything. It was nice, talking to Michael about everything. He had truly missed him. Michael tossed him a knowing look.
“She’s alright.”
Miles chewed on his thumb nail and looked out of the window. “I believe you.” He watched as houses passed slowly by, people who had been playing or working stopped to look at them. The place was huge, and he was surprised at the sheer amount of people that these four men had been able to help. Another surge of pride ran through him.
“Why are you trying not to think about her?” Michael suddenly asked and Miles jerked his attention to his son, shocked and a little offended.
“What?”
Michael sighed and shifted his left hand on the steering wheel looking out of his window. “Dad,” Miles’s heart clenched. It was so good to have Michael back. “You damn near killed George after what happened, and had the men not interfered, you would have.”
Miles looked guiltily out of the window. “I wanted answers. I…I don’t know why I doubted him.”