The Uprising (The Julianna Rae Chronicles)

by Aral Bereux

If the Senate only knew, he smiled. Where would I start once the power is mine for the taking?

  His men waited patiently in their trucks, neatly lined along the stretch which led them into the well hidden location. When he slipped the glass plate into his shirt pocket, for exchange of his cigarettes, the patrol officer with the wide eyes stole a quick look in his direction. He lingered before the struggle to light up against the drizzle of rain and wind forced him to lean into the large tree trunk, away from the stare. There he stayed, raising his sights to scrutinize the men waiting in the pouring rain, waiting for his orders while the cigarette smoke curled around the cold mist.

  The patrol officer bothered him. His gaze narrowed as he drew in the first of his addiction for the evening, feeling the fresh rush of adrenalin course through him quickly.

  Another traitor in the ranks, it’s all I fucking need.

  He straightened, feeling the happiness that came with this knowledge. He propped the cigarette between his lips, so his hands reached his holster freely. The Sig’s grasp slipped in his palm, but as an expert marksman the sights weren’t difficult to align with his target. He raised it slowly and with a calm that centered him. There wasn’t another satisfaction in the world that could grant him the power he was about to wield. He lived for these moments, and a smile curled around his cigarette while he aimed at the objective. He squeezed one eye shut, focused down the sights of his gun, at the face staring back, and admired the wide-mouthed terror across the officer’s face.

  Down the hatch, and open wide, asshole.

  Taris pulled the trigger. The bullet wrenched the head back before what was left from the explosion, slumped over the driver’s wheel in a bloodied mess.

  His squad stopped their incessant chatter to stare at their Commander.

  Taris holstered the gun with a casual ease so he could enjoy the last of his cigarette before the night’s hunt began. Mission accomplished, objective destroyed.

  Game over man, game over.

  For his crew, there was nothing left to whisper about.

  CHAPTER 3

  3rd May, 2018, 0045 hours.

  Devils Canyon Township, 80 miles west of Camp 2.2.1

  ‘You hate him don’t ‘cha?’ Devo said.

  Daniel watched Devo sling the empty duffle bag over her shoulder, as he pushed his bike behind the large building. It was the only multi-level one in the main street with a broken Pharmacy neon sign hanging above the back entrance, where they stood.

  ‘Hopefully this clinic hasn’t been ransacked.’ Daniel studied the building’s disheveled appearance.

  Scanning up to the roof line, the broken brick and smashed in glass was the stand out feature for him. The quiet street, with its trees lining the medium strip, was a contrast to the obvious looting of the building they were scouting.

  ‘It’s been done over a few times.’

  He agreed. The building had seen better days. It looked crooked and old, hanging precariously on an angle. If he were to kick at a loose brick, he feared the entire building would come down on top of them.

  ‘Last time there was plenty for taking,’ she nodded for him to follow.

  Daniel double checked the street again. He searched every shadow, honing his every sense, for any sound or movement lurking in the darkness which would betray their position. The street was empty, but for the rain throwing itself against the disrepair of the road. The few trees lining the street, bowed to the storm front pushing in from the west.

  He lifted the collar of his jacket against the wind; following Devo through the break in the door proved more unsafe than he’d anticipated. It was narrow, with long shards of glass jutting out, threatening to latch onto his arm with their sharp teeth. He needed to turn side-on, to squeeze through what Devo passed between easily.

  The lower level was trashed. Daniel scanned his gaze across the open room, using the streaks of light shining through the windows, as a guide. Devo ambled past him, walking down the center of the room, when he thought he heard movement coming from the next level. She walked, and he listened, staying close behind her, trying to determine if what he heard was real, or just the wind outside.

  ‘Devo, wait!’ Daniel grabbed her arm.

  She pulled herself free. Her steely gaze cut through him before she turned away, stepping over the broken debris one careful foot at a time.

  Daniel reluctantly followed with his instincts paranoid and his eyes squinting in the dark, trying to capture the shadows that lurked. His heart was in his throat, the pharmacy had been turned over all right, and judging from the fresh mud, it had been done in the last few days.

  He moved his eyes over the room in an ordered fashion, left to right, right to left. He scanned every corner, object, anything that offered a hiding place. There wasn’t a thing left between the broken glass and empty boxes strewn across the cluttered room. The place had been looted ten times over, and then trashed some more.

  The town was full of wild prets – renowned as unharnessed, untrained creatures, much like him, except he had Granddaddy Hal to steer him in the right direction. He once had a watcher too; he didn’t consider himself as one of them. He didn’t tear others apart for the sport of it. His crew, back at the Gatehouse, made sure his blood-lust was checked away from those who watched eagerly for him to make a mistake.

  From the corner of his eye, she was glancing in his direction. The open staircase leading to the second level was in front of her and shrouded in the grasp of night. ‘You hate him lots.’

  But he could feel the call of the wild prets outside. Beckoning him to join them.

  He grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving further into the dark herself.

  ‘Why’d you leave us? Caden said you went to the Militia again. Is it true? ’

  ‘We need to move,’ Daniel stepped away from the blood-lust seeping through him. He let her arm go to focus his pistol towards the thick darkness on the wooden staircase. Its gloom was impenetrable past the first landing where the moonlight was unable to reach. Shadows danced on the lower walls, teasing his watcher instincts.

  The sweat beaded across his brow.

  ‘All the good stuff’s up in the back room,’ she grumbled. ‘There’s nothin’ down here.’

  He flicked his torch. His watcher senses were settling down.

  The girl was pissed at him, he sensed that too. His eyes flickered at the shadows dancing on the walls. They were from the trees outside, casting their shadows in the storm winds.

  ‘Let’s get what we came for, and move the hell out.’ The first step creaked under his cautious weight.

  ‘Did you leave because of him, or because of us?’

  Daniel spun his stance on the first step, to glare down at the girl staring back. ‘Let it go will you, Sarah? Fuck, I had my reasons. Now, can we just do this? We can’t be wasting time with your silly ramblings.’

  Devo went first. Her shoulder pushed into his chest, as she thumped into the dull glow mapped out with his torch. Daniel huffed, reaching for her arm again and turning the torch off in protest. His fingers sunk into her elbow, screwing his fingernails into her skin to pull her from the step above him.

  ‘Will you stop for a moment?’

  ‘You took us to the camp and then you left us.’ she stated. ‘You left us with them, and forgot about us!’ She ripped her arm from his grip.

  ‘Shit’s sake Devo! Wait will you?’ He jumped the stairs to follow her. ‘Sarah Deveaux! You’ll wake the living dead!’

  Devo disappeared on the angle of the stairs curling around the wall. Any reason for staying quiet disappeared quickly as she thumped her angry footsteps throughout the building.

  He raised his gun on the second level, searching for her. ‘Devo?’ he called.

  The reception area was small. Bent chairs were scattered to his center, broken glass smashed to his right, permitting the icy breeze to curl around his body. The rain pelted down outside, and a stray drizzle carried along the breeze, to land over his arms.
>
  They’re waiting outside. They’re close.

  The smell of the dirt on their unwashed skin and blood under their pointed nails reached his nose.

  He focused on Devo’s shadow bouncing over the narrow hall, where rooms sprouted randomly to either side. When he looked up, she looked over her shoulder, oblivious to the shadow standing in front of her, waiting to pounce.

  ‘Devo!’ he yelled. ‘Get down!’

  But she didn’t see the arms stretching out, or the blood stained claws, until they ripped through her skin. His voice didn’t offer enough warning in the midst of her anger, and the wild noc bit down hard, gnawing at her forearm for its feed, until she screamed and hit out, connecting only with the air in her blind panic.

  His boots connected well with the wooden floor. He dived onto the creature attacking Devo’s arm, pushing himself and the noc into her pool of blood and crashing Devo into the wall.

  The noc screamed and hissed, calling to Daniel for pardon and to its herd in the storm, as Daniel’s hand tightened around its throat. Devo's scream filled his head. His grip clenched as the muddied hands scratched at his shirt. Daniel rammed its head against the solid floor – thud, thud, thud – until the sickening crack under his strength, was the last thing they heard.

  The noc’s protest stopped. Daniel’s violence claimed victory. Its eyes rolled back, and its tongue stuck past its teeth, worn from mauling its victims, to drool over its bloodied lip one last time.

  Devo bent and picked up his Sig, aiming it at the lifeless attacker, dripping blood from the chunk missing in her arm over its metal. Her hand shook the gun as she stared. The night was quiet again, but for their panicked breathing and the wind moaning outside.

  Daniel stared at her wide-eyed with fury. ‘Fuck Devo! Told you, didn’t I?’ Daniel pushed up from the lifeless body and snatched his gun back. He waved it around. ‘Fuck me, you have no fucking idea! No fucking idea at all! Not a damn clue! Clueless!’

  He paced.

  ‘Clue-fuckin-less!’

  They stared down at the dead nocturno lying between them, with its mouth open and tongue leaning out. The last of her blood was drooling from its mouth. Its eyes were dark; the pupils large on closer inspection, and Daniel kicked it for good measure.

  She got lucky, he thought. Without me she’d be dead.

  He felt the herd calling him to replace their alpha male.

  ‘How bad’s that arm?’ Daniel took it under his palm. Curling his fingers and pressing down firmly, he radiated his ability through her skin. He ignored her quiet whimpers. He felt no sympathy. The healing process began; her body greedily pulled back any blood left on her skin, into the bite, and the wound sealed up neatly.

  The temptation left him; the smell of her blood was gone. She whimpered once more, and the glare he gave Devo shut her up. He turned the arm, studying his work, making sure it was healed completely.

  ‘Stupid bint.’

  The hallway was dark, but for his torch light. The rain pelted down outside, and lightening lit the area up in flashes. There was no one else, he was sure of it. Everyone was outside. The long hallway was their safeguard, too, only one way in and one way out.

  He flicked his torch in the direction of the staircase and administration area, and then into Devo’s eyes, before he lit up the door behind him.

  The end door of the hallway had SUPPLY ROOM boldly imprinted in black lettering. Its kicked in white panel, hung loosely on its hinges. The imprint of the boot was still clear, and he figured a size thirteen was most likely the culprit of the damage. It wasn’t so far-fetched that it was probably Caden’s on an earlier venture.

  Daniel took the lead.

  He aimed his torch, crossing his hand cautiously over his pistol, to search the single room. The light bounced from wall to wall, illuminating the rows of shelving, still laden with medical supplies. The shadows cast from the torch stretched over the tiled floor with each dubious footstep, until he reached the end of the long room, to stand before a line of refrigeration units.

  He admired the beauty of what he was seeing, everything at his fingertips, and he bent down to ogle the rows of vials through the glass doors. A smile that he was careful to hide spread across his face.

  ‘Be quick. Won’t be long before we’re swarmed in wild noc.’

  Devo moved to the shelves lined up behind him, with her eyes cast down and the duffle bag open; sliding her arm across each level, guiding everything along them, into the bag quickly and ignoring what dropped to the ground.

  Daniel disregarded her raucous. The refrigeration system had long shut down with the power supply cut to the sectors and surrounding areas, but the insulation had done its job. Everything was still cold to touch and safe to take. The rows of morphine vials were shouting out to his stretched fingers. He pocketed some, filling his rucksack with the rest.

  He stretched in, hunting for what they came for, bending his tall body double, and shoving his head halfway into the unit to find the one single vial of white liquid, knocked onto its side.

  He curled his fingers around it greedily, and searched for more. Moving from one unit to the next, until he reached the last refrigerator at the end of his wall – there was nothing left on his side.

  ‘Anything on your side?’

  Devo continued to slide her arm across the shelving.

  ‘Devo! What the fuck is your problem? Any antibiotics on your side of the world, or not?’

  ‘In a minute!’ She snapped and moved to the wall beside her where she picked the flimsy lock with the point of her knife.

  Daniel waited.

  The padlock dropped to the floor and the door flung open, hitting the shelving beside it and sending everything crashing to the floor.

  ‘Devo, shut it will you!’ he snapped.

  She bent down and searched under his light. He was about to give up when she pushed two sealed vials full of the thick liquid into his hands. She returned to the medical kits and bandages under his stunned glare.

  Just saved your ass and you’re still being a bitch.

  ‘Right then.’ The vials slipped into his shirt pocket. ‘We need to move out of here. Get these back.’

  ‘Does Julianna even know who you are?’

  He took inventory of the room once more, and noticed Devo staring at him. ‘No, and it’s not for you to be saying anything.’

  ‘You left us alone with Caden.’

  ‘He’s a prick. I know that, Devo. I’ll never argue that one, but he kept you and Katherine safe.’

  ‘Safe?’ She lunged at him with the bag in her hand. ‘You call what happened to us safe? Kat’s dead because of you!’ She slung the duffle bag over her shoulder. ‘She’s dead because you joined the Militia, and he sent her in to find information on you.’ She pushed past him, ‘She’s dead because of you, and he’s a predator, asshole.’

  ‘I didn’t know!’ Daniel called after her.

  But it was the empty room he really wanted.

  She offered him a flip of her tallest finger as she stepped over the body lying over the hallway.

  Devo’s head bobbed down the staircase and away from his sight. He grabbed a handful of syringe packets from the shelf beside him. He pushed them deep into his jacket pocket, clunking the glass vials against each other.

  They clunked more as he took the large step over the heap of body before him. The noc stared up, grinning from its gaping hole of a mouth.

  I know your secret.

  ‘Yeah, but you’re dead, motherfucker.’

  You can’t hold it together anymore. My friends are calling you. Your family is calling for you.

  ‘What would you fucking know?’

  The thump, thump, thump on the last steps called his attention, and he swore again under his breath. Devo was storming away in her rage.

  Outside wasn’t safe; his noc family gave him that certainty. Their scent was strong. It gave rise to his sprint along the hallway, taking the steps two at a time, and calling for D
evo. The lower pharmacy level was empty. Devo was outside.

  Crap!

  She was a norm, alone and dinner beckoned to his wild family.

  Daniel jumped the strewn hurdles across the room.

  He knew what Caden was, but Bastiaan? Bastiaan promised to keep them safe. How could he not keep her safe? How could he let Katherine go into Camp 2.2.1, and Central Command? Was it really his fault? Did he really do all this? Was Katherine really playing both sides of the war, because of him?

  He sprinted through the narrow doorway, scraping his shoulder against the glass jutting out from its frame. He felt the sting, and watched his skin struggle with healing itself.

  You’re getting weak again, my man. You’ll need a feed again, soon.

  Her bike revved outside. Devo wouldn’t wait for anyone tonight, and he hurried out.

  ‘Bullshit!’ she yelled.

  ‘What?’ He flicked his head up from his arm, in time to jump from her lunging bike. It missed his boots, but she moved it forward again.

  ‘Bull you didn’t know. She went in a week after you left. I constantly looked over my shoulder without her there; you’re scared of him yourself. So how can you stand there and say: you-don’t-know? Huh, teeelll meeee!’

  Daniel jumped out of her way. He eyed the empty streets, expecting the noise to draw more unwelcome company. The bike lunged between his legs and stopped shy of his manhood.

  ‘It’s not that simple, Devo!’ he yelled. ‘Caden’s my freaking watcher!

  He watched her expression retract. She closed her mouth and wheeled away from his groin. He saddled his own bike. He enjoyed her stunned silence, and the thoughts running wild in her mind.

  ‘And I’m not about to wear Katie’s death, you prissy little bitch! Sorry for what Caden did to you, whatever he did and if he did, but I left you with Bas, and if he couldn’t protect your sorry little ass from his own brother, then maybe you got what you freaking well deserved!’

  It felt good. He needed to vent. It was that, or rip her apart himself.

  In the corner of his eye, he could see the movement in the empty lot across the road. The prets were lurking, moving in their direction, they’d pounce before long; under attack from his dead buddy’s herd. Daniel wheeled his bike into the main road.