The Pursuit (The Permutation Archives Book 2)

by Kindra Sowder

  It had barely taken a few steps when a thunderous boom echoed and bounced off of the trees, the sound of a shotgun being fired causing most of the wolves to flee as the shot collided with the one that was nearing me. I looked up to see an older gentleman, seeming to be in his early forties with a scruffy blond beard and long brown hair, the face instantly recognizable as one that I could finally find some solace in as blue eyes met my own.

  Caius stood before us just inside the tree line, the shotgun still aimed at the wolf even though it had fallen to the ground. My gaze flitted to the creature, and I crawled to it as I watched the light fade from its eyes, one last whimper of pain leaving it before its suffering finally ceased. I sat down on the ground and petted its bloodied fur, turning to see the others. Ajax was on the ground holding his leg, his pants bloodied as he grimaced in pain. Ryder had a bite mark on his arm, but that seemed to be the extent of his injuries while Julius was unharmed, the carcass of a brown wolf at his feet and steaming from the reaction of the acid he ejected on its flesh. A howl ripped through the air. A sound of mourning for two fallen pack members that had died in the line of duty, trying to feed the pack. A fallen comrade. A fallen hero. Much like my dear friend Cato. And I could sympathize.

  Caius cleared his throat, trying to grab my attention, and it worked. I turned quickly to look at him as the confusion of how he even came to be there now flooded my mind like a tidal wave, occupying anything and everything. He placed the barrel of the shotgun on his shoulder, the clothes he was wearing drab and filthy from what could be physical labor of some kind, and smirked as he spoke with that slight slur unique to him.

  “What the Hell took you guys so long?”

  Chapter

  FIFTEEN

  It wasn’t long before Ryder and Julius were helping Ajax into the town with labored grunts and moans, Caius leading us into an inn where he had been staying. From what Ajax and Ryder had stated about King’s Forge, they only allowed those within the resistance to stay one night and one night only, but Caius had been here for two now. That definitely made me doubt my own timeline of the events but, then again, being locked away without sight of the sun or the moon does that to a person. It throws off their natural rhythms, and I had fallen victim to it even after finally being exposed to the outside world. I had so many questions now I wasn’t sure which one to ask next, but first things first. Their doctor would want to see us. At least, that’s what Caius had said. And who was I to turn away a doctor?

  The town was a lot smaller than I had thought it would be, but it made up for it with stealth and quiet. Each building had been renovated but still looked like the old, sleepy town of Aiken from the history books as far as I was concerned. The inn Caius led us to was covered with weathered and dark wooden siding that you could tell had seen its fair share of the elements, the windows changed out to include bulletproof glass panels. You could tell because it had a different sheen to it than regular glass like the light barely passed through it and bounced off in some locations within it. Like a soapy and opalescent film had developed on its surface that you couldn’t wash off.

  The small digital sign above the door, most likely installed by King’s regime, read ‘McClary’s Inn and Tavern’ in bright green letters that threw a glow across the ground. Caius moved with purpose as we followed, the rest of them trailing not too far behind me as he pushed through the thick solid wood door with two large hands. It seemed that while there were a few modern courtesies here, that it was still largely the same town it had been over one hundred years ago with only a few modern conveniences in different places that I didn’t care to dwell on. I saw him flip a switch just inside the door, the sign above the door changing to say ‘no vacancy’ as we neared the door. My jaw nearly hit the floor as I crossed the threshold, Julius pushing the door open as Ryder hustled Ajax in and sat him on a bench at a table near the door. Ajax grimaced and hissed as he adjusted to a more comfortable position with his leg outstretched. Ryder knelt down in front of him, and I kneeled beside him, Ryder lifting the pant leg as easily as he could in an attempt to keep him from experiencing even more pain. Ajax grunted through gritted teeth and held in a gasp of agony, his massive hands gripped his thigh like it would stop the flood of discomfort.

  “Sorry, but I have to take a look,” Ryder apologized as he continued to lift the pant leg, rolling it up so it wouldn’t fall back down to the injury.

  Julius hung back, but watched with rapt fascination and disgust at the sight of so much blood. When I looked at him, he gave me a weak smile, but his flesh was already turning a sickly shade of gray, and he looked as if he could pass out at any moment.

  The wound looked ghastly, blood oozing from puncture wounds caused by the wolf’s fangs as they had torn into his flesh. This was going to scar. That I was sure of. Nausea rolled through my gut as I lifted my hand to my mouth, trying to stifle the sensation of being near gagging as I swallowed the saliva my mouth was overproducing.

  “We’ve got to move him down to the basement,” Caius said as he walked to another door within the room that was scattered with long tables and benches, a modern bar situated to the far left. “The doctor is down there.”

  From what I could tell, the floors were original hardwood, refinished to look brand new. Impressive. The entire place was, but I had a feeling I hadn’t honestly seen anything yet. Ryder and I stood at the same time. I took a step back as Ryder and Julius moved in to help Ajax rise from the bench, a careful balancing act. He cried out in agony as he stood, pivoting on his uninjured leg while the other two adjusted to take on his weight equally. Ajax grimaced as each man situated his arms over their shoulders, taking his full weight so he would only have to hop along barely to keep up. Each man grunted with the effort, but Caius didn’t stick around. He was already moving toward the back of the room toward yet another heavy wooden door that I knew he wouldn’t hold open for any of us. He was in too much of a hurry to get us out of the open and away from prying eyes.

  As I rushed to the door to keep from losing sight of Caius, comforting sounds of apology came from both Julius and Ryder as they attempted to help Ajax along and moving in my direction. I collided with the door. It looked a lot lighter than it actually was, causing a grunt to pass through my lips as I pushed and held it open with my entire body.

  We were entering a long hallway, Caius already halfway down it, and headed toward a bay for what I assumed was an elevator of some kind, but I wasn’t sure. The walls were covered in dark wood paneling that had more of a sleek, modern look than the exterior of the building. This was new. It was easy enough to tell, but not so new that it was outfitted like other inns throughout the larger cities. Their walls contained soft digital lighting that drew less energy. His blond hair shone in the dim lighting, a slight limp to his gait I had never noticed before now which made me question if it had always been there or not. And he moved quickly despite it, causing me to believe that he’d had it for quite some time and learned to live with it. Possibly even inside the compound. Possibly even for the last five years. Even more questions popped into my head as I held the door open waiting for the three men to squeeze past me. They had to come through sideways, the threshold not large enough for them to just walk through, making Ajax’s pain even more pronounced as he had to use his injured leg to move through this way. I looked at him with sorrow and watched as they walked, wishing there was more I could do to help besides becoming a doorman.

  “Sorry, sorry,” Julius whispered as if the apologies would make the pain stop, but we all knew there wasn’t anything we could do until we made it to our destination. And I had a feeling that Caius was armed with much more information about this place than we were, waiting to unfurl everything they had like a gift.

  All I knew about King’s Forge now was that it used to be called something else but, after King had taken his seat of power, the name was changed and turned into the town solely responsible for the man
ufacturing of his weapons used throughout the country. The weapons that the Paradigm stole from King’s own supplies to arm themselves with to fight. That just left me to assume that the Fallen Paradigm had many more connections than I was prepared for. Even more within King’s ranks than I even wanted to know about. This meant more secrets. More questions. My mind was flooding with them already like a tsunami had been unleashed since we walked from the tree line and through that door.

  “Caius,” I shouted, “please.” I needed him to stop walking away from us. I needed him to guide us. To guide me through the maze of uncertainty I found myself in. And I depended on him. How he didn’t know that already was beyond me.

  He stopped in his tracks and turned toward us, all three men having made it through the door and shuffling in his direction as Ajax hobbled on his one good leg. Each of their steps were short and quick, but still effective, moving them swiftly down the dim hall and toward our escort.

  He jerked his head back in the direction he had been headed and said, “It’s this way.”

  I nodded, but my stare never left his as I let the door swing shut behind me, following them down the long hallway until we came to stand beside Caius, who then began walking again without waiting for us to notice. After a few more feet we came to a pair of stainless steel doors, the most modern thing I had seen in the entire place beside the bar out in the lobby area and the digital sign outside. Caius pushed open a small metal door below the bright buttons that would take us up or down, revealing a third mystery button. It turned red as he pushed it, closing the tiny metal door that blended in perfectly with the shining faceplate surrounding it. I nodded, showing my approval for such furtive measure that went largely ignored.

  “And where will this take us?” I asked as we waited, a small trilling sound alerting us to the arrival of the elevator we were waiting for.

  He turned to me and smiled. “You’re about to enter a place only the privileged ones see. Down deeper into the Forge than most have ever seen.”

  “That’s reassuring,” I sighed. I didn’t even attempt to hide my cynicism.

  The doors opened, and one singular woman greeted us in a white lab coat, her hands gripping the handles on the back of what was in front of her with white knuckles. The sight of it caused anxiety to race through me, my heart rate picking up as sweat beaded across my forehead. My body wanted desperately to run, but I fought the urge and clenched my fists as my sides. A shining metal and black leather wheelchair was in front of her, her long dark hair reaching far past her shoulders and sweeping her hips, her olive skin and dark brown eyes beautiful in the dim lighting of the inn. Underneath the lab coat was a pristine black pantsuit, heeled boots on her feet that looked brand new under the lights. Government money for certain, but, despite my fear, I piled into the elevator behind all of them as Ryder and Julius lowered Ajax into the chair with strained grunts and moans.

  As soon as I turned my back to them, the metal doors came to a close, locking me in the elevator with my companions and one newcomer that left me uneasy. My heart skipped a few beats, but I tried my best to even them out by taking deep and steadying breaths. It seemed to help until I focused on my reflection in the silver metal, and I was taken aback. My eyes were wide, wild with fear and my skin was slightly sun-kissed bringing a slight red hue to my cheeks. I had begun to sunburn despite the tree cover from outside, a couple of spots beginning to peel as my slightly greasy hair flared around my shoulders. My lips were dry, and my cheeks had started to hallow just slightly, giving away the fact that I hadn’t had a full meal in one only knew how long. We had lived off of what few rations there were before being separated from not only the rest of our group, but the rest of our weapons and food. Ajax, Ryder, Julius and me had hunted for small game to survive until we had made it to King’s Forge, but it wasn’t enough.

  My stomach felt empty, and my body felt fragile and heavy all at once, pulling at me as I felt it gurgle. The sound wasn’t audible. That was a fact that I was thankful for. My green eyes looked tired, deep purple circles forming just underneath them in a show of my fatigue. I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to hold myself together as I felt the pieces begin to shatter and break away as I stood there. And the shivering set in as I finally noticed the difference in the air from outside to inside, the bill settling into my bones. I tried my best to suppress it, but the air coming through the vents was a lot cooler than I had grown accustomed to outdoors.

  Within moments the elevator doors opened, a rush of even colder air pushing past me and into the space, chilling me to the bone even more. The shock of the cold was nothing compared to my surprise at what I saw when I looked up, my eyes widening at the sight of one of the largest underground labs I had ever seen. Well, the only underground lab I had ever seen. A flicker of terror ran through me again. The only lab I had ever been in was the one at the Compound, and we all knew what happened there. I wasn’t even ready to re-experience any of the torture.

  A large mass of people in white coats moved in tandem throughout the broad expanse of the lab, and I had frozen in place, not wanting to move. I undoubtedly had developed what some would call white-coat syndrome, the site of even just one enough to send me into a panicked state. A hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to find Caius’s baby blues staring at me, the annoyance and hurried expression on his face had melted away and was replaced by understanding.

  “If it helps, I felt the same way, but they aren’t here to experiment on us. I promise,” he explained in an attempt to reassure me. He jerked his head to point out of the elevator. “How about we get out of the elevator so Ajax can get some help, huh?”

  I had to be honest, I had nearly forgotten in my flustered state. Swallowing it down, I took a tentative step out of the elevator and out into the lab that I was certain would be my new home for the next twenty-four hours. The woman pushed Ajax out of the elevator and past me into the throng of people, all of them moving as if they were one. One mind, one body, one soul. Another shiver crept up my spine at the thought. The others followed her, Caius dragging behind when I stopped walking and stared at the people moving around me, only seeing flashes of white coats that caused my heart to pound even harder within my chest.

  “What is this, Caius?” I asked when he stopped in front of me, turning to see if I’d follow. “This doesn’t look like a forge to me.”

  He smiled and said, “That’s because the forge is up there.” He pointed up toward the ceiling, toward the Earth above our heads and surrounding us. “The labs are down here.”

  “Whose labs?” I was trying so hard to understand, but my fuzzy mind didn’t even want to make the attempt.

  “The Fallen Paradigm,” he stated with a smile. “I thought it was obvious.”

  He reached out with one arm and pointed to a massive far wall made up of a material that looked a lot like concrete blocks, but I knew better. They were made of an even stronger medium and in block form was the best way to utilize their strength. An insignia that I had never need before covered the wall. One that I had no clue about until this very moment and should have been on our weapons instead of King’s sickening crest. The symbol was dark against the light gray, nearly black and had been painted lovingly onto the stones, proportions perfect. The symbol of three interwoven triangles stood out, whitewashed into a dark pair of what seemed to be angel wings from what little I remembered from my father’s favorite books. I was hoping they didn’t think that was what we were. Angels. Saviors of humanity. If that were the case, I didn’t feel like one and I felt saddened at the thought that our race’s survival even rested on my shoulders. We were a part of the human race, just the next step of what we were to become. Evolution was a word that had been bounced around a lot during that initial announcement, and I was inclined to believe that’s all we were. Nothing more, nothing less. And definitely not the servants of God.

  “Mila.” Caius�
��s voice pulled me from my thoughts, the ever darkening realm of my mind becoming an even more sinister place than I could’ve imagined. “Come on. Our doctors are going to want to take a look at you.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and led the way, weaving through people, workstations, and lab equipment.

  I so desperately wanted to ask exactly what the symbol meant as far as the Paradigm was concerned, but I decided that moment wasn’t the best time. And that Caius probably wasn’t the best to get that answer from. My mother was running the show, but I was certain she had not come to King’s Forge. Would she have been the one to greet us? Right? Possibly so, which led me to believe she wasn’t there. I followed Caius toward the back of the enormous space where it seemed examination rooms were set up, each one separated by a thin blue curtain for privacy. I cringed at the sight of it. Ajax’s voice and pained shouts echoed from the one all the way to the far right nearest the far wall, causing an anxious shiver to creep up my spine. My feet carried me there, and I pulled the curtain back just enough to step inside, finding my group inside with the woman who had brought up the wheelchair in the elevator. Ajax was trying to remain still as she examined his leg where the wolf had bitten him, his jaw clenched and his screams from her touch being forced out through gritted teeth.

  “Sir, I’m going to need you to remain still if I am going to examine your wound properly,” the olive-skinned woman said, the hint of a Middle-Eastern accent that was muddled from being in the United States after years. I was going to assume she was raised in the United States, but I couldn’t be certain. She touched his leg with a gloved hand, and he flinched again, moving so quickly she barely had time to roll her stool away from him, nearly being kicked in the face.