“Don’t you think you’re blowing this a tad out of proportion? I mean what are you now? The champion of democracy?” He asked.
He caught Wendham’s face again. He was paler than he originally thought. Blood was seeping from his shirt. He was probably going to die. Was he bitten or just stabbed?
He put a hand on Wendham’s shoulder.
“I get that you want revenge. So did I and I was wrong and although I didn’t admit to anyone, I was regretful after, and you will be too. You don’t even understand how much I regretted what happened to Rachel. That doctor at Yale was so cold, so unflinching, he didn’t care, I do. Rachel was one of the few bright spots around here, but now she’ll be remembered as a hero.”
“I know the truth,” he said almost straining. He could hear it in his voice now.
“You’re delusional, you should go see Jack. You know I risked my life for you and her!”
Wendham shook his head and stepped back bringing up his gun.
“It’s useless Peter, we could go around all night. But I’m quite resolute.”
“I’m sorry to hear that Wendham. I enjoyed your friendship.”
He looked past Wendham’s men and saw the occasion glint of steel in the shadows.
He nodded, side stepped Wendham, knocked his gun down and slammed his fist into his shoulder wound. Wendham fell to the ground.
“Attack!” Peter yelled.
The shadows were already firing on Wendham’s men and then his forward troops moved. It was over as soon as it started.
Peter grabbed Wendham and faced him at his remaining troops. They’d already thrown down their weapons.
Lee stepped out of the shadows, he embraced Olivia and kissed her. She hugged him, but looked over at Peter.
“I thought you were dead!” Lee turned his attention to Wendham, “You piece of garbage,” Lee kicked him in the ribs. “See easy!” Lee said looking down at Wendham. “Do you know what we do to traitors?”
Lee kicked him in the side again.
“I almost thought you’d gone soft, what with talking to him and trying to get a truce,” Lee joked.
The truth was Peter didn’t want to kill those guys or Wendham, he just had to. He pointed his gun at Wendham. Wendham was sobbing, looking at the ground.
“You get to be with Rachel…” Peter said, his vision blurring momentarily.
“Go to hell,” he said.
“Already there,” Peter said and put his gun in its holster. He nodded at Lee.
Lee fired once.
Wendham fell to the ground with his eyes open, Peter crouched down and closed them.
“What are we going to do with all the bodies? We shouldn’t bury them with our good soldiers,” Lee said.
“Throw them over the cliff,” Peter ordered. “Let the sea have its blood.”
Chapter 3
“So much for global warming,” Peter said, catching a snowflake on his hand, “July and its bloody snowing. What a messed up world.”
Sophie nodded. She sat beside him on the bench he had dedicated to Maddie out by the cliffs. She was bundled up and had a blanket wrapped around her.
Snow clouds reflected a little bit of light onto the dark world. It’d been a week since he’d battled Wendham and life seemed to have regained a bit of normalcy, whatever that could be considered as. Since then Olivia and Lee had further upped the security and put the guns in a better lock-up. They’d also increased security around the school and started laying out a grid system around the school made of electrical fencing, connected to the school generator. Hopefully keeping the enemy at bay.
“It’s funny…” he said looking up at the dark sky.
“What is?” she asked.
“The fantasy of light, the illusion of day.”
“Hmm?”
“Well, if you really think about it, day is just really an illusion. If it wasn’t for the atmosphere it’d be dark all the time, it’d be like being on the surface of the moon where there is no atmosphere, sure the sun may be out, but when you look around it’s just darkness. But here on earth the sky is blue because of the atmosphere, so really it’s just an illusion, and this is reality.”
He didn’t know if he was in charge or just thought he was in charge. He helped over-look everything, but Olivia used her influence over him to make things possible and he didn’t even try to stop her. But who cares as long as they were all safe?
“Think I’d be the main character if this was a movie?” He asked Sophie.
She laughed and still stared straight ahead.
“You’d be the villain Peter! And if we were in a movie it’d be a comedy where me and Madison have a contest trying to turn you into the prom king, but then she loses and goes out with the jock with a heart of gold.”
“No, that’s stupid,” he exclaimed and shook his head, “Besides I’ve saved everyone! Villains don’t do that.”
“Hitler thought that. Osama Bin laden thinks he’s saving the world from the American Imperialist. And I think you know it, you’re not as bad as them of course and I’m not comparing you to them, but I think on some level you know. It’s not that you’re a bad leader, it’s just that you let others take advantage of you and turn you away from what you should be. A classical case of brain washing. I mean you did destroy a national landmark.”
“I, once again, didn’t destroy Yale, the Night Crawlers did!”
“Okay, but you’ve become synonymous with the destruction of Yale and all the valuable material inside of it. And you and your ilk want to create a nationwide army and return it to its former glory.”
“I’m just being safe.”
“I don’t think you are. You also seem to kill at your will like we have no laws.”
“We don’t have laws Sophie. I’m just trying to make us safe. I’m… you know I didn’t kill Rachel on purpose right?”
“We’ve gone over this, I know. I’d have shot you myself if I thought you meant to do it. But I am running out of friends.”
“You didn’t have a lot of close friends did you?”
Sophie shook her head. She pulled her coat closer to herself.
“I just never could. I was always raised to believe that I was better than ninety nine percent of the one percenter’s, and if I worked hard I’d be better than the other zero point one percent and once it’s drilled in your head you believe it. Not that I’m blaming my parents, it’s just the lifestyle. Madison once told me that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to get into heaven.”
“She was apt to quoting bible verses.”
“She was. And that worried me. I wasn’t a bad person. I just thought I was playing my role. I still would be now, if things hadn’t gone bad. And a million others also would have played their roles, rich, pretty, smart, whatever. It’s so stupid isn’t it? All that time I wasted, thinking I was something, Ms. Something, better than everyone else and now look at me. I’m wearing rags, I’d kill for a chocolate bar or a Happy Meal. All my brand name purses, bags, clothes, my last name means nothing now.”
“All the people I’ve ever been mean to before, I rely on them to live each day. You know I go to the stables everyday and I can’t do all the work. But every day, some of the guys, like the geeky guys that I use to be so mean to, help me shovel or clean or groom the horses. I wouldn’t have given them the time of day before.”
“That’s heavy.”
“And Madison always told me about being a bitch. She said you wouldn’t get far in life being like that. But I said look at my dad, mom, sister. Jerks in the purest sense of the word. My father would fire you if he thought he’d be able to make a buck. He was ruthless. And now is he even alive? Surely he would have rescued me. All the money in the world means nothing in this darkness... I should have listened to Madison.”
“Have you been thinking about this a lot?”
“It’s all I think about.”
“Well I certainly can say you’re no
t the same person. You’ve changed a lot.”
Sophie stuck out her tongue to catch a snow flake.
“Who thought we’d be sitting here like this?” Peter asked shivering. Sophie looked over at him and pulled her blanket off and put half on him, he moved closer to him and put her head on his shoulder.
“Thanks. But I’m not apologizing, just so you know,” he told her.
“Didn’t expect one.”
“Good because I’m a grown man and I know what I’m doing,” Peter said maybe more sharply than he intended.
“No, in the old world, everyone was a teenager, even if you were in your forties.”
“Hey, back in the middle ages kids younger than us were killing and getting married. How many Roman Emperor’s were teens?”
“How many teenage roman emperors’ were complete psychos? But they had a different upbringing. Some were prepared for their world. We’re brought up spoiled and sheltered. We’re a culture of Narcissists. And they probably weren’t sleeping with their best friend’s girlfriend.”
Peter looked over at her, she turned to him and then back to the gulf.
“We’re not sleeping together...”
“Puh-lease, yes you are. Honestly… please. And regardless whatever you’re doing, you’re not only putting your life at risk, but Lee’s, mine, Olivia’s and potentially the entire schools. Lee is your friend, is this how you repay him? I mean really what are you two going to do? Is she doing this for you two or is she doing this for herself?”
“What?”
“She’s a total power tripper. Playing the two most powerful guys here against each other. And really if she cared about you she’d break it off with Lee and then wait for awhile so as not to hurt him.”
“You don’t know,” he protested.
“Have you ever once thought it’d be easier if he was killed or just left?”
“She’s scared! Could you break it off with Lee?”
“He’s not my type, but I broke it off with Alessandro when I realized he was going to do something stupid.”
“But you wanted to go with him!”
“At one point I did, until I realized he was just letting his beliefs get in the way of common sense. Madison told me to come with you guys and that was the smartest thing to do, and that’s what I was going to do. Madison would tell you exactly what I’m telling you right now if she was here.”
“If she was here I wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“And we both know Olivia’s full of bull! And listen to yourself blaming Lee! Your best friend!”
“Whatever! So I’m never supposed to love again or have a relationship?”
Peter was getting mad, Sophie turned to him and gave him a look to calm down. He was kind of surprised she even had a look like that in her.
“Yes you are Pete. And you will. But I’d like to think that Madison managed to teach you something in your short time together. But we both know something isn’t right. And despite your job leading us, one day you’ll have to grow up and make adult decisions.”
“I make hard decisions every day.”
“Loving someone shouldn’t be that hard! Was it that hard with Madison? No!”
Sophie wrapped a arm around him and hugged him.
“I always thought it was cool not to show emotion. I was what you’d call an ice princess I guess. I was taught it was a weakness. I know it doesn’t have to be. Madison showed me that, I just always tried not to listen. But I hate seeing you slip away right in front of me. And Madison would hate for me to let you.”
“Are you just doing all this for Maddie?” He asked.
“Haven’t you been listening? You’ve got to do things for yourself and to help others.”
She stood up and stretched, “I should go to bed.”
He stood up too.
“Did you know that Olivia wanted to kill the horses and eat them?”
Sophie’s face dropped.
“She ordered it and everything. She doesn’t ask. I put a stop to it though. I said we’d need them.”
“What a bitch!”
She looked at Maddie’s marker.
“I’ll let you two be alone,” she said and gave him another hug and then walked away, “If only everyday could be so uneventful,” she said in the darkness.
He fell to his knees and touched Maddie’s marker. He was alone with his thoughts and he was a bit scared. It was too quiet. The world was dying more and more every day.
“You know, if you hadn’t died I wouldn’t be having these problems,” he told Maddie’s marker, “But even if you were here, you’d just tell me that my problems are of my own design and the future’s what you make it…”
He looked out at the violent gulf waters. He closed his eyes tight and just listened, hoping to hear the old familiar sound of birds or gulls screeching. He was also hoping to stop the eruption of tears about to fall.
“What else do I have to do? I just want everyone to be safe. Is the city safe? No not really! But why?” He asked himself.
He thought and opened his eyes.
“How do I keep everyone safe? Martial law? Have that already.”
He looked around and then at Maddie’s marker again. He had dug her grave and buried her, he even almost fell in, “Of course, the hole!”
Chapter 4
One night, Olivia brought Peter the Gutenberg bible. He couldn’t read it of course since it was in German, but he kept it out in his office to remind him of what happened. He don’t know how she got it, or why. But he thanked her for it.
He called everyone into his council room. He’d announced that he had a plan. And he pitched his offensive plan against the Night Crawlers. Some of them looked at him with skepticism.
Lee shrugged and smiled, “You know me, I’m up for anything crazy,” he said tossing a piece of paper he had in his hands.
“Peter, come on,” Sophie said.
He made a mental note of not inviting her to these type of things.
“In short, we rig the hole with explosives, once they come up, if they come up, we blow it. It should kill all the ones in the immediate vicinity and obviously cave in the hole,” he explained.
“And what exactly stops them from digging another hole?” Sophie asked.
He stopped for a minute and breathed in.
“Well, for one, we don’t even know if they’re going to come back up and another we plan to go down far enough to discourage them from digging another hole.”
“Sounds easy except for the staggering amount of casualties and you’re forgetting that if they want to keep attacking us they will. You’re hoping that they have an intelligence that can analyze the risks and decide that their gains in our little part of the world aren’t worth the casualties. We simply don’t know that,” Sophie said.
“Thank you Ms. Military analyst, you’re right, so we’re just going with faith. Further, this also buys us time and we shouldn’t have any casualties. And Sophie, if we truly want security and assure our survival we must attack deeper, and closer to the source. And now I wish we were the military because I would launch hundred of operations to attack the holes and to go as deep as possible, but we obviously can’t. But we can do our little part.”
Sophie shook her blonde little head, “If you say so.”
“I do,” he said most cordially. She might not be the biggest pain in the neck, but she still gave him a pretty hard time about his ideas. She caught his eye and smiled at me, He smiled back. “Besides, we’re only bringing volunteers. I want people to want to go on this mission.”
“And maybe we can throw some prisoners down there too, kill two birds with one stone,” Olivia added, maybe just to be heard. He wasn’t aware that they even had any more prisoners.
“So, anymore questions?”
He looked out at the faces. No one said anything. He walked over to Lee and patted his back.
“Excellent! This could be the end game. And hopefully provide us with a little pea
ce, especially since they know where we are.
There were new faces filling out the council, like Alex Cagle, a seventeen year old genius. Justin Kashrech, a star athlete that had really risen in the ranks according to Lee. And Johnny Hollow, another star in the army. He knew Justin and Johnny casually and liked them, they were okay.
They always asked him about West Point. More and more lately, people really wanted to know about his military back ground. He was a mini celebrity. He had to watch out about that. He found it weird, he did try to hide his West Point background, but it didn’t work too well, but he guessed as long as no one knew about his horrors there, he was safe.
“Any more questions?” He asked. “Good then. We need to start working on really large explosives. Dismissed.”
They started shuffling out. He turned and looked outside. It was nice outside, no snow, no rain, but no sun, nice was a relative word around here.
He stepped out onto the balcony. This morning it had been sleeting out. Some kid who knew about the weather told him this was due to the sun not being able to warm us and that it’d be like this for awhile, rain and snow on our little ice planet for the foreseeable future. But he also said it was good weather for bug hunting. But as it got colder and colder on earth, the bugs would eventually just stay away from the surface making a direct assault next to impossible.
“Don’t you miss the sun?” Olivia asked him and stepped out onto the balcony.
“Everyone’s gone,” she said. “We don’t have to play coy.”
He looked down at his watch, it was seven thirty. Perfect time to be having fun in the summer sun, not plotting wars.
Olivia walked up and kissed him.
“I have to say you’re kind of crazy,” she laughed.
The Complete Creeping Darkness Page 20