Judas: The Relic (The Iscariot Warrior Series Book 2)

by Roy Bright

  As the realization that she is in unfamiliar surroundings kicks in, she looks around trying to work out where she is.

  The room itself appears to be a storeroom of some sort, sparsely lit with boxes piled up to one side. The bed on which she lays is basic and functional at best, covered with a bland gray blanket that feels rough to the touch. She shifts her vision to the opposite side of the room and sees a small child – a young girl, sat upon a steel chair in the corner, clutching a small teddy bear upon her lap, her eyes wide and with a smile to suit.

  “Well, hi there,” she says, smiling back at the child. “My name’s Charlotte, what’s yours?”

  She jumps off the chair and runs past her, out of the door.

  She laughs. “You certainly have a way with the kids, Charley, I’ll give you that.” She swings her legs to the left-hand side of the bed, onto the floor, and sits up, rubbing at her face again. “Come on girl, let’s get up and see where we are.” She stands up and rearranges her clothing.

  “Well, good morning – or evening, I should say,” a familiar voice calls out from the doorway.

  She spins around to see a smiling Gary enter the room carrying a bowl of food, steam rising from it, the smell filtering in.

  He has just enough time to sit the bowl down on the table as she races around the bed and throws herself at him, squeezing him tight.

  “Hiiiiiii,” she says, close to tears, “oh my God, I’ve missed you so much.”

  He strokes her hair and returns the strength of her embrace, then laughs as he moves his head back to look into her face, “I have missed you too, my little cherub, although for me you were only gone for three days; looks as though it has been a hell of a lot longer than that for you. And there wasn’t much time to catch up back at the bank.”

  She laughs, releasing him from her bear-like grip. “Shit must seem pretty crazy, huh?”

  Gary laughs back, “Shit does indeed seem pretty crazy, young lady, as does your language. Clearly you’ve spent too much time around Judas,” he laughs again, “but I guess I am gonna have to get used to you being an adult now.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” she says, stepping back and sitting on the bed, patting the empty space next to her.

  Gary sits down.

  She curls a loose strand of hair back over an ear. “I was a bit too young to realize what it was my dad had planned and by the time I did well, it was kinda too late.” She smiles and grabs one of his hands. “I thought about you all the time though, thought about how you will have missed me growing up. Sorry about that.” Her eyes are as apologetic as her words.

  He smiles and squeezes her hand. “Hey, it’s okay, I mean, it’s not your fault, right? I have to admit though, that when he said he was taking you away to experience a proper childhood I didn’t think he meant all of it.”

  He laughs and she giggles back at him.

  He squeezes her hand again and smiles. “Besides, it isn’t as though I would’ve watched you growing up in a way that was… normal.” He lets go of her, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

  “Oh my God,” she says, shoving him away, “do not be… that guy.” She mimics him with the same gesture and then laughs.

  Chuckling, he puts his arm around her. “Ahhh, I’ve missed this, just the two of us goofing around, you and your crazy Uncle Gary. Good times, huh?” He smiles.

  She laughs, “Good times, Uncle Gary, I’ve missed it too.”

  They sit together for a short while, neither speaking, enjoying their reunion. After a few minutes, Charlotte squeezes his hand and stands up. “So, where are we?”

  “Selfridge Air National Guard Base, about 30 miles northeast of Detroit.” He gets to his feet. “You remember seeing the military guys when you popped outta the portal?”

  She nods.

  “Well, this is where they are holed up.”

  “They? Army?”

  “Mostly Air Force, the guy in charge is Army for sure though, you can just tell.”

  She nods while frowning. “So what’s the deal here, is it secure?”

  “As secure as we’re gonna get in these tricky times. They have a fairly intact perimeter in place covering the main buildings in which we currently reside. They tore down fencing from the outer perimeter and erected it here, as the place is just too big to contain with so few numbers. They have power from diesel generators that are in great condition and they also have a hell of a lot of fuel, so that’s a positive, and access to a nice stockpile of weaponry and even a few Apache gunships, would you believe.”

  “Gunships? Wow, neat.”

  “Yeah well, don’t get too excited as I think they only have one pilot, and I’m not even sure that he is qualified to operate them. Plus, the avgas is running low so even if he could fly it they would only use it if absolutely necessary. Again, it’s just what I have been led to believe.”

  “The what?” she asks, her brow furrowed deep.

  “Avgas – aviation fuel,” he replies, “it’s the stuff the helicopters run on and it’s in short supply.”

  “Oh, I see,” she says, somewhat sarcastic, “Avgas, got it,” she points at him and winks, while making a clicking noise with her mouth.

  He laughs. “Okay then, let us go and meet the Colonel, as he is very anxious and somewhat excited to speak with you my dear.”

  “Oh?” she replies, intrigued.

  “Indeed,” he says, raising his eyebrows up and down, “he is a deeply religious man so let’s see some of the savior here today shall we? Rather than a whole load of cocky, pointy, clicky teenage girl.” He winks.

  She laughs and bows. “I will do my best to be as reverent as possible.”

  He looks serious for a second. “I mean it, sweetie, this is a good man and you being here is a very good thing for him, for all of them in fact.” He looks away from her, toward the door. “These people have been through a lot but since they found out about you, their spirits have been lifted and hope has started to resurface.” He looks back at her and smiles. “The Colonel told me the camp hasn’t been like this in a long time, Charley, a long, long time. So, please – be mindful of that, okay?”

  “I got it. I promise.” This time there is no sarcasm, no flippancy from her, she understands him in full.

  “Awesome. Thanks sweetie.”

  As he turns to leave, she grabs his left arm, stopping him. “How long have I been out for?”

  “Five days, sweetie.”

  “Five days?” she says, her eyes wide.

  “Five days,” he repeats, nodding his head, “so you might wanna think about dialing down the Divinity attacks in future, at least until we get some understanding of what you can do, how it affects you, and more importantly how you can control it at will.”

  She nods, “Yeah, I think you might be right there.”

  “What about Judas?” he says. “Is he joining us any time soon?”

  She shrugs. “I guess, although he had something pretty important to take care of. He will join us when he can, no doubt.”

  He smiles and nods. “I hope so, honey, because I have this feeling that things are gonna get much worse before we know it.”

  “You and me both, brother,” she says, following him out of the door, “you and me both.”

  Twenty-Six

  “Wow. Look how happy everyone is,” Charlotte remarks as she enters the area, once office spaces for staff members of Selfridge Air National Guard Base but now knocked through and converted into a large central hub for the couple of hundred new occupants. A fevered chorus of chatter spreads throughout the hall as people watch her enter, excited at seeing the one they believe to be their savior. She peers at the faces closest to her.

  A few women clasp their hands to their chests, smiles wide across their faces, a man takes hold of his young daughter and lifts her onto his shoulders so that she can get a view of The Light, while others tap one another, pointing and whispering.

  But, despite the differing reactions of
the people present, Charlotte receives only one empathic emotion from them all… hope. Looking at Gary, she grimaces while laughing a little also. “No pressure then?”

  He places a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be fine kiddo, just be… you.” He smiles and motions with his eyes for her to go ahead and start speaking with them.

  A couple of soldiers close to Charlotte and Gary dart toward and flank them, driven by an instinctive need to protect assets.

  Gary smiles, raising his right hand. “At ease boys, we’re fine, she’s totally got this.”

  Charlotte nods and they relax. A little.

  Watching her, his face beams with admiration as she weaves through the crowd, greeting and conversing with the people. He smiles at every burst of laughter, every pat on her back, and every hug, as she engages group after group. He feels a wave of emotion flood over him as she comforts them. Those who have suffered a great deal, lost so much; tearful as they embrace her. He watches as she walks among them, doing what she was destined to do. To bring fresh hope to those who had lost all of theirs. He wipes away a small tear as Colonel Taylor plants a large hand on his right shoulder.

  “She really is something,” the Colonel says, his gaze following her around the room.

  “That she is, Colonel,” he replies, once again smiling, “that she is.”

  Colonel Taylor turns to face him. “I really would like to meet her once she’s finished here. A more personal meeting with just the two of you, so I may understand what could lie ahead for us.”

  “Sure thing, Colonel.” Gary says, nodding, “I’ll make sure we swing by ASAP.”

  “Please, call me Nathan,” he says, placing a hand on his back. “I cannot help but feel outranked.” He looks upward.

  “You got it, Nathan,” an amused Gary replies, holding out a right hand and sharing a firm handshake with him.

  For the next two hours, Charlotte works her way around the room, flanked by the two soldiers who seem to have taken it upon themselves to be her personal bodyguards, ensuring that she isn’t overcrowded or mobbed. For the whole period, she meets people eager to tell their tales of heartache and loss, of survival, and each of their stories touch her a great deal. On many occasions she has to fight back the tears that threaten to overwhelm her, not wanting the people to witness a lack of composure, aware that what they need right now, more than anything, is her strength as well as her ear.

  As she begins to conclude the ‘meet and greet’ she notices a small group stood at the periphery of the congregation. There is no sense of any fear or hatred coming from those people, as has been the case in past from a number of religious zealots that her group had encountered, but she definitely draws a feeling of wariness from them. She decides that being polite would be best, and nods in their direction.

  They eye one another, smile thinly back, and then make their way toward one of the exits.

  She looks at Gary and frowns. “You catch that?”

  “Yeah,” he says, his attention still in the direction in which the group left the hall. “It’ll be nothing, sweetie. Just forget about it. You ain’t gonna be everyone’s savior, you know. Some folks will never accept religion, even if it has been laid out as bare as it has over the last couple of years.”

  “I guess not,” she says, half-smiling, her head cocked to one side a little. She ponders on the exchange.

  Gary was quite right. She couldn’t be the flavor of the month with everyone, even if they had no allegiance whatsoever to the darkness. There were still many out there that had and continued to shun religion, and the most probable outcome of the Apocalypse getting underway was that they would hate it even more, that anything representing a deity – even if it were a force for good – would be treated with the same disdain as those who had caused the world to descend into the madness that it was today.

  A small tug on her black leggings brings her back into the moment and she looks down to see a pretty little girl’s face beaming up at her, a warmth and pureness emanating from it so strong that it causes her to place a hand on her chest and smile.

  Behind the child stands an older boy and a girl, both in their late teens.

  Charlotte bends down to the girl’s eyeline. “Well, hello there, you were the one in my room earlier, weren’t you? So, who might you be?”

  She smiles, twisting her hips from side to side, her hands grasping the teddy bear in front of her. “I’m Abigail,” she says, her voice soft and sweet. “I’m six,” she adds without prompting.

  “Abigail?” Charlotte says, exhaling. “I once had a beautiful friend called Abigail.” She strokes the girl’s hair, her eyes distant, a faint smile on her face. “So, do you like to be called Abi, like my friend did?”

  “No,” she replies, very matter-of-fact, “I like Abigail better.”

  Charlotte giggles and looks up at Gary who shrugs his shoulders.

  “Well okay, Abigail,” she says, putting emphasis on her full name, “there’ll be no abbreviations for you.” She looks up at the two teenagers behind her. “And are these your big brother and sister?”

  Abigail turns around to look at them and smiles. “Yeah, my booger-faced biggies.”

  “Hey!” remarks the teenage girl with a gentle push of Abigail’s shoulder, “behave you.” She steps forward, smiling and offering her hand. “Hi, my name is Sarah, Sarah Fisher. You’ve met my cheeky little sister, and this is—”

  “Isaac,” comes the stern reply before Sarah has a chance to introduce him, “and you are the Daughter of God, yes? Or so we are led to believe.”

  Charlotte purses her lips and looks down while nodding. “Yeah, that’s right. If you believe in such things, of course.”

  “Oh, we believe,” he replies, nodding, “just wanted to ask and make sure that you do too.” He holds out a hand.

  Studying it for a moment, she furrows her eyebrows, pondering his response, then, with a laugh and small shake of her head, takes his hand and squeezes it.

  He nods at her and they remain that way for a moment, staring at each other.

  “Did she die?” Abigail says, breaking the silence, causing everyone to look at her, their faces perplexed.

  “What?” Charlotte says, startled by her bluntness. “Who?”

  “Your friend with my name, did she die?”

  She once again drops to her knees, into Abigail’s eyeline. “Yeah,” she replies, stroking her face, “she died. But I’m gonna get her back.”

  Isaac and Sarah look at each other and frown.

  Abigail smiles then giggles. “So, do you have, like, magical powers and stuff? Is that how you’re gonna get her back?”

  She smiles back at her. “Yeah, something like that.”

  Isaac scoffs. “So you’re going to use your powers to save the world then? I mean, as well as rescue your dead friend of course.”

  “Isaac!” Sarah squeaks, embarrassed. “That is not very pure of you to ask such things.”

  “Questions do not endanger one’s pureness, Sarah. It is action and intent that does that.”

  Confused, Charlotte turns to Gary hoping that he could offer an explanation but he is looking as puzzled as she feels. “I’m sorry,” she says turning back toward them, “but what do you mean, one’s pureness?”

  “That is unimportant at this moment, Miss Charlotte,” Isaac says, stepping further forward, “we just need to know if you are capable of saving the world as I would really like it if my sisters here could get back to as normal a life as possible. The life of the Amish is a simple one, but it is much more preferable a life to this. So, as I have asked, can you save the world?”

  Charlotte freezes for a moment, unable to find a suitable response to his direct question. He has caught her off-guard, having spent the last couple of hours dealing with people without such wary curiosity, enjoying a much gentler question and answer session. To her great relief, Gary bails her out.

  “Okay, I think that’s enough for one day. She has had a heck of a week, more tha
n you know, Isaac,” he gives the boy a stern look, “and she still has a number of things to do and a lot of people to see before we decide on our plan of action. So thank you all for your time but we best be off to meet with Colonel Taylor.”

  “As you wish,” Isaac replies, with a curt nod, “I meant you no ill-will or embarrassment and apologize if my tone was somewhat off; it was merely a question.”

  “Fair enough,” Gary replies, patting the boy’s upper arm, “no offence taken.” He turns to Charlotte, his eyes wide as if to say ‘wow!’ “Okay kiddo, time to hustle.”

  She takes a step toward Isaac and holds out her hand once again for him to take. “I enjoyed meeting you all,” she says looking around at them, “and I would greatly like to continue this conversation another time Isaac, as I feel it would be right of me to explain myself to you.”

  He takes a hold of her hand, shakes it, smiles, and then leads his sisters away.

  “Odd boy!” Gary remarks, taking a hold of her wrist. “C’mon. Let’s go meet the Colonel – he’s very eager to see you.” He looks around the room in an attempt to find the exit.

  Sensing his lack of area knowledge, one of the soldiers steps forward.

  “Follow me, sir, I’ll take you to Colonel Taylor.”

  Twenty-Seven

  “Do you think she likes us?” Abigail asks, staring up at her big sister as they walk the corridor back to their living area, skipping a little.

  “Of course she does,” Sarah replies smiling, “she’s the Daughter of God, it’s her job to like us – to love us, in fact. To love us all.”

  Isaac nods in agreement.

  “I hope so. I like her.” She turns her attention back to the direction in which they are walking.

  “Who couldn’t like you with these, big, fat cheeky chops?” Sarah says, grabbing Abigail’s cheeks and giving them a pinch causing the young girl to squeal with delight.

  With a smile and a rub of her cheek, Abigail resumes her skipping, throwing in a cheery hum to go along with it, enjoying being a six-year-old.