Endgame (Book 2): Alekhine's Gun

by W. A. R.

  “Yeah.” Miles stated, before turning to his right and jamming his knife up into the chin and eventually into the brain of a Biter. He quickly dropped it. Yet another nurse. “If they had run through, they would have alerted these things. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.” Amber turned and Miles changed hands with his knife and reached forward, gripping the back of her neck and jerking her head down with his right hand; she let him easily, having saw another coming from the opposite direction. He never stopped, swinging his arm and driving the blade into a Biter’s temple as it reached for her. She quickly moved, dipping out from under his grasp and driving her sword upward, meeting the chin of a Biter. Miles turned as she did this, twisting past her shoulder and pushing his knife down atop one Biter’s head. These two were in gowns. Amber and Miles both pulled back quickly, removing their blood and flesh covered weapons from the creatures before turning to take out three more from behind. They did this, moving around one another and with one another before there were at least fifteen Biters lying at their feet and no more within seeing distance. They could be heard, however. The buildings were littered immensely with these creatures. They were everywhere; there was no escaping them. Amber knew that before they even made it to the last building where Lacy and Buddy were, they would be worn out.

  Amber turned to Miles and looked at him curiously, her breathing heavy. He stared down at her, his eyebrows furrowed once again in deliberation. As they steadied their breathing, determining what was said and what their next course of action would be, his gaze turned to her and she sighed. He took her in, making her feel everything that she had suppressed in response to her obsession and her pain. Now it was back ten-fold, her acceptance and epiphany of everyone and everything similar to before Damien was found out, only more profound. But for him, it seemed as if everything had changed and that hurt…so much so that at times in the night when she would feel his presence across the way, almost hear his breathing, she felt her heart break. Why do you think he’s so distant? She swallowed thickly, ridding herself of the pain that cinched like a rubber band around her throat, threatening to choke her. Turning, she began walking towards the dark hallway. Miles, taken by surprise at her sudden action, followed her, both parties replacing their weapons on their person.

  “Have you been this way yet?” he asked of her and she shook her head, looking for any door that would indicate some place for Rusty or Michael to hide.

  “Nope. You?”

  “Same.” He told her, and she could feel his eyes on her, analyzing, contemplating, and anticipating what he was going to say next. “What are you thinking?” he asked of her, his voice sincere and yearning for an answer. She sighed.

  “About getting out of here.”

  “Why? When we go back, we will only have more work.” He told her, knowing that she had already considered that. “At least here, we have had a moment alone.” Ah…she thought, feeling her heart skip a beat. So, he felt that too.

  “Well, maybe that’s how it should be.” She told him, the emotion squeezing tightly around her like a vise. She didn’t mean it; of course she didn’t mean it.

  She could physically feel his surprise. “What?”

  “We should find Sara and Patrick. Sara went back the other way, so…you can go find her while I find Patrick. We can all meet back here. The more of us, the better. This place is crawling with Biters.” She told him, hoping she kept the emotion from her words. Every word hurt, and she wasn’t being bitter. She just wanted him to find peace and she had been nothing but a problem for him. She knew that. She cared too much to put that on him.

  Her words, however, had the opposite effect she intended. He stopped in his tracks. “No. As I said earlier, we shouldn’t split up. And furthermore, that is not how it should be.” He was angry, it seemed, and she had to wonder why. He was the one exuding his distance, even though he did care for her, she was no longer sure how deep that went. She was only trying to help him by letting him know that it was alright to hurt her, that she would understand…even if she could no longer be around him should that happen. It would destroy her.

  She halted her movements and groaned, feeling far more emotional than she should have in that moment. “Roman…” she began turning to him in exasperation. She, again, didn’t want to argue.

  “Are you really going to let what she said get to you? Is that why you’re being so…withdrawn?” he asked and Amber felt her face heat up. She swallowed thickly, feeling embarrassing tears sting behind her eyes. So he had heard everything that was said.

  She shook her head and kept walking. “So, you heard what was said?” she asked evenly, knowing that he wasn’t going to let it go. The darkness of the hall consumed her. A bright light ahead looked as if there was more sunlight in the room than just that offered by windows. It may have been another exit. She smirked at this, hoping to find the others and get out of there. She was beginning to feel guilty about letting Lacy go off on her own.

  His footsteps echoed in the hallway behind her and his voice was rough, firm. “I heard enough.”

  “And you didn’t think to let me know you heard?”

  He picked up his pace. “I didn’t think you were actually going to let it bother you this way.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Why not? Surely you don’t believe a word she said. I mean, I heard what you told her but…” He trailed off, watching her as she tensed. She gulped, the emotions biting at her. Why did this test have to be relatively easy? Couldn’t it have been more difficult, taking all of her focus instead of allowing her mind to wonder? When she didn’t respond, she could feel his surprise and hurt. “Oh my God…you do believe her.”

  Amber saw the light coming from around the corner and felt slightly relieved to be out of the darkness. “It doesn’t matter.” She told him, unwilling to talk about it and yet unable to lie.

  “Of course it matters.” He told her with such conviction that it cracked like a whip against her heart. “So stop brushing it off like it doesn’t.” Pause, and then he sighed, defeated and concerned, opening his mouth once again to speak.

  “Sweetness! Roman! I hear you guys!” they heard Buddy shout from somewhere in the distance, effectively cutting off whatever Miles was going to say. Amber knew he was bound to be around the corner somewhere. Amber stopped for a moment, trying to decipher the tone of his voice before proceeding. The thundering sounds of footsteps running told Amber that he was fine. She grinned a little, thankful for his interference. Miles, however, was not, and he gripped her elbow turning her to him. He stared down at her in the dim lighting, his eyes digging and apprehensive. He held her captive and she found it very difficult to breathe. She needed away from him. “Where are you?”

  “Over here Patrick!” she called, never tearing her eyes from Miles. He narrowed his eyes at her and she knew that he was irritated.

  “This conversation is far from over.” He told her firmly, his eyes asking her for the promise of a later discussion. She didn’t reply, didn’t utter a sound, and in fact, she couldn’t. “We need to talk. It’s long overdue.” He told her, his gaze raking over her expression. She wasn’t even sure what her expression was. She was his prisoner, just as she always had been and her chest tightened, her breathing grew heavy, and he seemed to notice this. His hand moved from its grip on her elbow, sliding up her arm to her neck. His fingertips brushed her hair out of the way before sliding against the overly sensitized skin. She couldn’t breathe and her heart beat hard against her chest. Why did he do this to her? His thumb brushed along her jaw sensuously just as the footsteps grew close enough to warrant attention. “Dammit Buddy.” He grumbled before releasing her and stepping back, turning and facing the end of the hallway where Buddy suddenly came into view with Michael in tow.

  “Look who I found!” Buddy exclaimed excitedly, his eyes dancing with pride. Amber exhaled shakily, gathering her wits about her. They needed to talk? If she wasn’t scared before, s
he was terrified then. What was there to talk about that wouldn’t inherently hurt her in some way or another? Still, she needed to shake it off in order to proceed. She plastered on a smile and quickly left Miles’s presence, walking towards them purposefully. Miles followed.

  “So all we need is Rusty? Nice.” Amber stated, smiling at the two men as she turned to round the corner. “Knowing him, he’s probably jumping from place to place.”

  Buddy looked at the two, his eyes darting between them before they landed on Amber. “Where’s Lacy?”

  Amber shrugged. She was tired of that question already. “She went her own way.” She then looked at Buddy curiously, still walking towards the sunlight. “Where have you been?”

  He grimaced, releasing Michael and rushing towards her, trying to cut her off in her advances. She halted her movements as he blocked her path. “That’s not important. Let’s go back this way…there isn’t anything over there.” Miles looked at him curiously, as did Amber. Amber lifted a brow at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, easing him to the side and out of their way.

  Miles stepped with her, unwilling to leave her side. “You’ve covered every hall?”

  “Well, no, but…”

  Amber shook her head, astonished by his hesitance. “Then why shouldn’t we…” but she stopped dead in her tracks as she took in the sight before her. Her stomach weighed down like a rock and a strange sense of foreboding came over her.

  Amber felt the bile rise in her throat at the grotesque scene and she recalled the description of the little girl that Brian had seen when he and Rick went to get Charlotte. The blood covering her clothes, the hunger in her eyes. And she was reminded of that as she stood there. It was heart-wrenching and she felt her face pale, the stench of death permeating her nostrils, lifeless eyes and bloated bodies of innocent, blonde, brown, and black-haired children…some in pink and purple dresses, others in a pair of overalls or even blue jeans and a hoodie. It was hard to tell judging by the deterioration of their bodies and of their clothing, but just as the other building had been, they had been locked away, aging and decomposing with no food. They were somewhat well preserved. Was this a nursing home and a…

  “It’s a daycare.” Miles finished her thought, stepping up beside her, taking it all in. Their eyes were wide with disgust and amazement at the brutality of the scene. The toys, the overturned tables and the crayons littering the floor; the stuffed animals once so precious, blankets for warmth no longer needed. Oh…how it hurt. She could no longer keep the bile at bay and she turned, bringing one sword-holding fist to lean against the wall and the other arm stretched across her stomach as it clenched and convulsed, sending the contents of her already empty stomach out of her mouth, up her nose. It hurt. All of it; the emotional and the physical, the spiritual aspects of it. But she had to deal with it, she knew that. Still, if she wanted to succeed she had to compose herself. Miles looked around once more before going to her, leaning around her left and peering at her face. He touched her shoulder lightly. “Are you alright?” he asked and she shuddered under his touch. She couldn’t look at him, even as her eyes burned. Get it together woman! She felt as if she were falling apart. They would never know…they couldn’t know.

  “I’m fine.” She told him, shrugging from under his touch and turning towards Michael. Buddy looked on apologetically. “A daycare? Really?”

  He shrugged. “It was appropriate.” A shudder ripped through her then and she couldn’t shake the chill that skated down her spine.

  She shuddered and Miles looked around. Groans and high pitched shrieks met his ears. Amber winced, the feeling sinking deeper into her stomach, almost freezing her to the spot. She felt tense, frightened and alert. He looked at Amber, his expression curious and unsure. “Do you feel that?” he asked of her and she felt breathless for a moment at how in tune they were with one another. Of course, she had forgotten about that. She had forgotten about many things.

  She nodded, looking around them at the building. “Yes.”

  He gulped. “I think we should get out of here.” He said easily, turning from one of the many hallways and grabbing Amber’s elbow, leading her from whatever lay in wait. She didn’t argue, didn’t even put up a fight because she wanted out of there just as badly as he did. But something wasn’t settling right within her. Buddy and Michael followed without question. They rushed down the darkened hallway back to where they were previously, almost as if heading towards some unattainable goal.

  “What’s going on? What did you feel? What are y’all talking about?” Buddy asked as he and Michael walked hurriedly. Michael looked on with worry in his eyes; worry and curiosity.

  “I…I’m not sure…just something…like something bad is about to go down. I just know that we need to leave. Now.” He told them, but there was only one problem with that.

  “Sara and Rusty.” Amber breathed out on a whisper, feeling her heart cinch tightly.

  The sinking feeling rose Amber’s stomach as Miles led her away from the daycare building and she stopped as those names hit her like a ton of bricks. They still needed to find them. Miles stopped as well, not questioning it and also not releasing her. Their feet came to a halt and their eyes looked up around them, completely taking in everything around them. The roar of engines met their ears and Miles tensed. He turned to Michael.

  “Expecting someone?” he asked, and Michael, whose eyes widened with fear, immediately reached for his radio, fumbling with his shirt and his belt where it was clipped. He didn’t even reach it before Riley’s voice filled the hallway.

  “Michael, Rusty, you need to get everyone and get out now! There are two trucks from the compound pulling in and I can’t stop them. It looks to be Jasper and his group. Get them and get out!”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Michael, Rusty, you need to get everyone and get out now! There are two trucks from the compound pulling in and I can’t stop them. It looks to be Jasper and his group. Get them and get out!” Riley all but shouted at them before a brief second of static came on. The sounds of trucks grew louder, but so did the sound of toddler Biters from behind them that heard Riley’s exclamation. Miles’s grip on Amber tightened as he instinctively pulled her closer.

  “We can’t get out without Riley. We’re locked in.” Miles stated and Amber felt like hyperventilating. He was right. They couldn’t escape. They were going to have to fight.

  “What in the hell…” Buddy began but Amber cut him off, her eyes digging into Michael.

  “Jasper. Who is he?”

  Michael swallowed and Amber could see the worry and fear in his eyes. “He is one of Adrian’s upper hand men, not that Adrian trusts him with the more…morally sound…tasks. He’s dangerous. He claims to have tortured people to death before the outbreak…says that he got out of the prison he was in thanks to Adrian finding him when the outbreak hit. He’s…vicious…thrives for the pain of others and his people are just like him.”

  “Fuck…” Buddy grumbled, moving to remove his rifle from his back. Amber’s heart palpitated and Miles stepped forward, releasing her. She immediately reached back to grab her swords.

  He stared at Michael. “Will they come in here looking for us?”

  “He’s going to see the truck and the Biters along the fence and know that someone is here…whether he sees Riley or not, he will know that someone is here…”

  Miles began removing his knives, leaving his guns on his hips. The Biters grew louder. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  He turned to Amber and she nodded. “We need to leave this hallway. The Biters are coming and we need to find Rusty and Sara.”

  “What are we going to do about Jasper? We are stuck in here and will be when he and his people come in.” Michael asked as Miles and Amber began rushing from the hallway, seeing shadows of other Biters ahead of them. Neither of them looked over their shoulders, their tension and focus on what lay ahead of them. Amber now felt that she couldn’t breathe for a different reason. Ev
erything within her was like ice, cold and unnerving. And yet at the same time she was so alert and focused that she took in everything, the scent of death, the feel of everyone around her, the sounds of heavy footsteps and shuffling feet on marble.

  “We know more than them at this point. Let’s make sure it stays that way.” Miles said firmly as they neared the corner where they had turned previously. “Stay together, follow our lead, and be ready for anything.” All she could think about was their last battle against these people, about how they had been trapped in the house and had to form a plan to deceive them then as well. Dammit. Miles looked at Amber, piercing her with his stare. He told her silently not to leave his side; that they were in this together this time. She nodded, and she knew that first, they had to rid the area of Biters before forming a plan.

  Amber was light on her feet, and was once again reminded what danger and fear did to the body. The lack of sensation, the pumping of adrenaline, the alertness and sharpness of her eyes and her senses told her everything that she needed to know, just as it did the others. And so, when they rounded the corner, Miles swung his arm out to press against Amber’s chest, urging her back and around to his other side as he drove his knife into a Biter’s head with his left hand. She maneuvered easily with his request, turning completely against and around his back, using him as leverage, swinging her sword in a wide arc that met another Biter in its temple. Both creatures crumpled to the floor and Amber moved quickly around Miles, him following her lead.

  “Come on. Sara went this way.” She said, knowing that for certain there should be absolutely no use of their real names, lest these enemies hear them. The trucks grew louder before they finally seemed to come to a rest. They continued running, ignoring the sounds of Biters creeping up behind them. Michael and Buddy followed the pair, wide-eyed and nervous. They sprinted as quietly as they could down the hallway and once they reached the end of it, they paused. The roar of the engines died and Amber felt the intensity heighten. She looked down the two split hallways, as did Miles, from left to right.