Deadrise (Book 4): Blood Reckoning

by Brandt, Siara

  “Did they bury Preston and Farran?” Parisa asked.

  “No. They left them under some lilac bushes,” Cayla told them. “I know Farran liked lilacs. Just like Addy’s mo- ”

  “Don’t,” Addy cut her off, unable to bear even thinking about it. “Don’t say it.”

  “If Beck wasn’t drinking,” Cayla went on. “Mader wouldn’t be here in the first place. We all know that.”

  “But they are,” Parisa said, answering both questions at once.

  Beck had allowed Mader into the group and he either wouldn’t or couldn’t control him. Beck was more concerned with alcohol and drugs than with keeping the group safe. And both those things made him cross boundaries he wouldn’t normally cross.

  “Mader is dangerous,” Addy said. “We’ll have to do something about him eventually.”

  “Beck is the only one that can get rid of him,” Cayla said. “First, he has to stop drinking to do that. I don’t think that he can.”

  “Well, someone has to do something,” Addy went on. “Look what Mader has already done to us. How many more people have to die because of him? When our uncle was drinking, he- ” Addy began.

  “Hush,” Cayla cut her off abruptly. “Let’s not talk about that.”

  “But not talking about it only makes it worse,” Addy argued.

  “Maybe he’s through,” Parisa suggested as the darkness settled in around them.

  “Men like that don’t stop,” Addy told her.

  No one contradicted that.

  “He wants to silence us,” she heard Parisa’s whisper in the darkness.

  “Silence can be a killing thing,” Cayla whispered back.

  And so, with the very real threat of Mader Stokes looming over their heads, the three women hid in the darkness of the attic, hoping against hope that daylight would come and banish the beasts that inhabited the shadow realm of their nightmares.

  Chapter 16

  Morning dawned grey and overcast. In spite of that, Addy was aware of the light as it changed and grew, even behind the ominously-dark clouds. Something was about to happen today. She didn’t know what it was. She just knew she needed to be prepared.

  She had wanted Lathan’s voice to waken her from her deep sleep. Maybe with a kiss. But Lathan wasn’t back yet. She was alone. Even Cayla and Parisa were gone. She had to leave the attic. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  As she got dressed, she thought about Beck. Maybe if they told him they didn’t want to follow him anymore, he would accept that. Maybe. But then would Mader become more powerful? It seemed to her that he would. If they allowed Mader full control, would any of them survive? And if Beck gave himself over completely to his weakness, then would he see that he couldn’t be a good leader and let them all go? Because no matter how many issues the adults were mired in, Sisha had to be kept safe. So did the other children, who were still innocents. They could not be sacrifices, burnt up on the altar of the sins of the people who were supposed to take care of them. Then all was lost. Utterly. Something would die inside Addy if she abandoned them.

  She would talk it over with Cayla and Parisa when she found them, but right now Addy felt compelled to find Sisha to make sure she was safe. Too much time had already passed since she thought she heard Sisha crying last night.

  As she laced up her boots, she heard the steady drip, drip, drip of rain outside the window. She had gotten so used to the sound that it was almost a comfort to her. As she got to her feet, however, the dripping suddenly ceased and the room became eerily silent. Addy held her breath. It was as if everything in the world had come to a stop. Everything. There was even a moment of breathless awareness when Addy realized she wasn’t alone. She thought she heard, too, the faint, faraway cry of a child once again.

  Then there came a powerful rush of wind that moaned like a restless ghost rattling the glass panes and seeking entry through the window. Electricity crackled as lightning struck something nearby. Thunder shook the very foundation of the house. The rain poured down on the roof again with renewed fury and the dripping resumed.

  But Addy came to a sudden standstill at the bottom of the staircase.

  “So there you are,” Mader said softly. The familiar greying black hair and mustache made her stomach clench. He was leather-clad from head to toe. His smile promised evil. Absolute, pure evil. “This is our day, Addy. I knew you couldn’t stay in that attic forever. I’ve been waiting for you all night.”

  She stood her ground. Even though she was feeling fear inside, she didn’t want to show it in front of him.

  “I know you for what you are,” she said, mustering up the courage she needed to face him.

  “Whatever that might be, you and me, we can be right together,” he told her as he took a step forward.

  “You don’t know the meaning of the word right.”

  He let out a low, mocking laugh. “You’re still clinging to those damned commandments, I see. Even after all that you’ve been through.”

  “I see that you have been busy breaking them,” she said. The evidence was all over his arms which were smeared with blood and perspiration.

  He looked down and held his arms away from his body. “What this?” He huffed out another mocking breath. “I’ll probably break a few more of ‘em before the day is over,” he said as his gaze lewdly raked her body.

  She heard a commotion outside. Wheels. Machinery. Shouts.

  “The soldiers are here,” Mader said, enjoying the look of alarm on her face. “They already took Cayla and Parisa with them.”

  “You didn’t stop them?”

  “It’s you I want, Addy.”

  “I wouldn’t let you touch me if you were- ”

  “Yeah, I already know. The last man on earth. I just might be close to that. Unless Lathan really does end up being the last man standing.” He took a few aggressive steps towards her. He was not in a hurry. It seemed like he wanted to intimidate her, like he wanted to make her react. “I made Beck do what I wanted,” Mader went on. “Even he couldn’t control me. Are you really going to put all your faith in Lathan?”

  “Yes,” she said, really meaning it. Lathan had stood by her through her worst days. She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Lathan.

  Mader gave an exaggerated sigh. “I chose you, Addy. I would think you’d be grateful for that. I would think you’d be flattered.”

  “Flattered? You’re a murderer. You take the lives of innocent people- ”

  She meant to say more, but suddenly Beck was there, too. The front door banged open and there was Beck standing on the threshold. There was still no sign of Lathan.

  “I know what you did,” Beck said, his voice hoarse and ringing with strong emotion as he faced Mader. “I know about Preston and Farran.”

  Mader gave an unconcerned shrug of one bare, blood-stained shoulder. He even grinned as if the situation was to his liking.

  “I’ve been drinking until I pass out,” Beck went on. “I know that. Then you come along. Someone who is out of control. Someone who doesn’t give a damn about consequences or about anyone else, who doesn’t care about doing the right thing.” He pressed his hand tightly against his chest. “I admit that my burden became too heavy and that I couldn’t carry it anymore. I was lost in the darkness for a long time. I was to the point where I couldn’t live with myself anymore. But you have no excuse for what you’ve done. I’m going to find my way back, fight my way back to the beginning again. That’s who I really am. That’s the only way we can honor the past.”

  Addy heard the voice of a single songbird as a glimmer of sunlight swept through the forest, even though it was still raining. The sunlight and the birdsong filled all the dream, a contrast to the violent scene about to be enacted before her.

  The air was filled with tension as Beck and Mader faced each other.

  “I’m calling the shots now,” Mader said. “Because you’re too weak to lead this group, Beck. You should have gotten rid of me a long time ago. You let me loos
e. Just like a genie out of a bottle. And you know there’s no putting me back now. No matter how many wishes you might make.”

  Beck asked one single, heart-felt question. “Why?”

  “Why? Because I can. Because everyone who tries to stop me has to pay. You just have to believe that I’m stronger.”

  “I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else.”

  “We both know the things you’ve done. We both know how close you’ve been to giving up.” Mader snorted. “You can try to stop me, Beck, but we both know you’re going to lose. Face it, you are a failure.”

  “No,” Beck ground out, a measure of his old strength rising to the surface. “You’d like me to believe that.”

  “You really think you can win?” Mader taunted. “You? You turned against this group with the choices you made. You’re no better than me. Now you’re getting judgmental? That’s good. You’re pathetic.”

  Without warning, Beck lunged. Mader hit him and he went down. But Beck got up again. After several more brutal punches, both men were bloody, but still focused on each other. Beck got up again and again, but Mader seemed unstoppable. Then Mader swung with all his might, this time with a metal bar, taking Beck by surprise. Beck went down and stayed down.

  Panting over Beck’s bleeding, motionless body, Mader looked at Addy through narrowed eyes. His swollen, bloody lips drew back from his teeth in a hideous smile. “Now where were we? Oh, yes. We were discussing how flattered you should be by my feelings towards you.”

  He stalked slowly towards her like a deadly predator. “I think about you day and night, you know. Haven’t you felt my eyes watching you?”

  He reached for her but she avoided his grasp. He reached again. Her small hands balled into fists and she managed to hold him off temporarily, but her hands came away sticky with blood. She almost gagged at the stench of his unwashed body and his foul whiskey breath.

  “You know you want me, Addy.”

  “I . . . want you . . . in hell,” she panted.

  When she continued to back away from him, he gave a short, humorless grunt, evidence of his growing impatience. “Let’s stop playing games,” he growled. “Farran and Preston couldn’t stop me. Beck couldn’t stop me. What makes you think you can? You’re just prolonging the inevitable.”

  She heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down. Desperate, she searched the room for a weapon she could use against him. There had to be something. She knew she would have to fight Mader off herself. Beck was still lying motionless on the floor in a widening pool of blood.

  She grabbed the metal bar that was still wet with Beck’s blood. She swung with all her might and it connected with the most prominent part of Mader’s body.

  He froze, groaned and wheezed like a flesh hunter as he doubled over. His entire body quivered as he cupped his hands gingerly over his deflated, injured sex. Then after an interminable space of strained silence, he threw his head back and howled in agony and rage. It was a sound that echoed and re-echoed through the vacant rooms of the house.

  He made an effort to straighten up and Addy saw the damage she had done. He hung out there, no longer a threat, but limp, bloody, wounded. Only his face was bloated. With venomous rage. Was his rage the last thing Farran and Preston had seen? she wondered. If she continued to resist him, she knew his rage would be unleashed on her, too, but she had to fight him off. She would fight him with her dying breath.

  “If you want it that way- ” he gritted through his lingering agony. “Let me . . . show you the ways . . . that I can destroy you.”

  He shook himself and straightened a little more. “If I can’t have you,” he hissed. “I’m definitely not going to let someone else have you. I’ll see you dead first.”

  She not only heard the vehement promise behind his words. She felt it.

  A soldier appeared in the doorway behind him, startling her. “We have to take her now and test her,” he said.

  “Test me for what?” Addy asked. She looked at Mader and pointed. “He’s the one who needs to be stopped.” Surely anyone could see that.

  “But you’re the one who has blood on your hands,” the soldier said.

  She looked to see that it was true. There was blood there that she hadn’t been able to wipe away.

  “It’s time,” the soldier said impatiently. “This place isn’t safe anymore.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mader said sarcastically. “You won’t be alone. I’ll be riding along with you, too.”

  “You can’t stay here,” the soldier repeated. “We’ve been sent to clean these houses out.” He looked out the window. “The wagon is here.”

  “What wagon?” Addy asked.

  The soldier looked at her as if she should already know. “The one that carries the dead and the dying.”

  “What’s at the end?” she asked.

  “You already know. The concentration camp. Where the people walk around like the living dead.”

  “Ach. Is she still fighting?” another, more authoritative voice asked.

  “Yes,” Addy whispered passionately, speaking for herself.

  She heard a deep sigh. “Hiding in the attic won’t work,” the new voice said. “You see, I know you read the forbidden words of Ann Frank when you were younger. Such an avid reader.” The words were mocking.

  She saw then that the new soldier was wearing a Nazi officer’s uniform, which alarmed her even more.

  “We’ll keep you barely alive,” he told her. “It will be like a living death. Then you’ll be just as the others are.”

  “The bacteria has already mutated.” The officer was speaking half English, half German now. “Das ist . . . not going to hurt for long. Nein. Nein, don’t fight us.”

  Something shattered outside. Glass.

  “Ach. You remember. Kristallnacht. What a night that was. It won’t be long now. Are you feeling helpless, fraulein? You should.”

  “Give him a shot, too,” the officer ordered, jerking his head over his shoulder.

  “No,” Mader protested, backing away.

  The officer said cuttingly. “What do you think we do to traitors when we are finished with them? Not a one of you can be trusted.”

  “I don’t take orders from you,” Mader said as he struggled. But two soldiers were holding him by the arms and they dragged him out of the house. He was exposed now to the world in more ways than one.

  “You forget your place,” the officer called out after him and then sighed again as he turned back to Addy. “That is the whole misfortune of mankind. They forget. Did their lack of memory not put hope in their hearts, even as we devised the MKultra program right under their very noses after the war? There again, we were invited in. And here we are now,” he said with finality. “Wolves wearing different uniforms and starting all over again until we get it right.” His laugh sent a chill through her for it promised so much evil.

  A heavy wagon creaked along and came to a stop in front of the house. There were distant shouts. Addy could hear the fear in those voices and it frightened her, too.

  She saw then that the wagon was filled with the undead. Even the wheels were made up of writhing corpses, as if its destination was hell. It was surreal. Macabre.

  She prayed for help. For Lathan. Lathan would come.

  Soldiers in long flowing robes and black cloths over their faces reached for her and grabbed her arm. Their nails dug into her skin. The pain was sharp. It hurt and she cried out.

  “This will keep you attached to life,” one of the soldiers muttered above her. To someone else, he said, “We’ll inject poison into her veins and then she’ll be half dead, too. Just like the others. But she needs to stop fighting us. She needs to learn her place.”

  Addy’s eyelids were heavy but she forced them halfway open. To her relief and to her surprise she saw that Lathan was there, standing tall and dark and heroic as his fierce gaze searched the room. She knew that he had come for her. That he would protect her. He was a formidable figure with his ha
rd jaw line and the granite grey of his eyes as he assessed the situation. He said no word, but his mouth, she saw, was set in taut lines that promised vengeance.

  It all happened so quickly. The soldiers weren’t holding her any longer. Lathan had made them go away.

  And then Lathan was leaning over her. “It’s time, Addy. We gotta go. All hell is breaking loose out there. We need to get you to get to a safe place.”

  Paralyzed from the drugs now flowing through her veins, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak. She really was like one of the living dead and it filled her with terror.

  “I’m alive,” she screamed in her brain. “I’m alive.”

  She heard Lathan ask someone else, “Is she going to be okay?”

  But there was another voice. One that was drawing her more strongly. “Come on, Addy. Come on. Wake up.”

  “Don’t give her any more drugs,” a disembodied voice reached her. A familiar voice from her childhood. A forceful, angry voice. One that also wanted to protect her. One she tried to hold on to. “She doesn’t need any more drugs,” she heard repeated.

  “Wake up,” a closer voice continued to urge her, not giving up on her. “Addy, wake up.”

  Chapter 17

  “I said,” he stressed the word. “Don’t give her any more drugs. She’s my daughter.”

  Her father’s voice.

  But how could that be?

  “Her hand moved,” she heard Parisa say. “I know it did.”

  Her father’s calm voice came again, like sunlight breaking through murky clouds. “She does that from time to time. Close the blinds tighter, would you, Parisa? I think the light hurts her eyes.”

  “Do you think she can hear us?” Parisa asked.

  Her father answered, “It’s hard to say.”

  After a pause, she heard Parisa’s voice again. “You heard what that military man said. He was warning us. He didn’t have to do that. He said they’ve been given orders to use whatever force it deems necessary to contain this. What does that mean?”

  “Shhh,” her father soothed. “Don’t talk about that any more. In case she can hear us. I don’t want her upset.”