“Well, start at the beginning.”
Andrew cleared his throat. “A few days ago—maybe a week, I don’t know—the Roves came and took over. Things were going…well, like how you’d expect. Anybody who lived here before the Roves became slaves, and anybody who defied them were killed. A few days later, though, we were attacked by these creatures. I don’t know what they were, except they were horrifying. They were black and quick as lightning. They would envelop whomever they were attacking with their part liquid bodies and then disintegrate—both the human and the creature themselves.”
Ira felt her mouth hang open and her skin go cold. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What Andrew was saying couldn’t be true. Those creatures didn’t exist. Couldn’t exist. There was just no way. Andrew had to be crazy, just like everyone else. Still, Ira didn’t stop him. She wanted to hear more before she decided for sure if Andrew was crazy.
“I was able to get in here,” he said gesturing to the vault around him. “I shut the door behind me and propped everything I could up against it. The creatures didn’t bother me. They didn’t try getting in here, so I’m the only one who survived.”
“What do you mean? It looks to me as lots of people survived,” Ira said.
“That’s just it,” Andrew said, standing up from his leaning position. He began pacing back and forth. “The next day, I took a peek out. There’s this black liquid everywhere, and who do I see cleaning it up? Everybody who was here the day before. They were cleaning up the mess, and those who weren’t were going about their day as if nothing happened. I couldn’t explain it—can’t explain it. Those creatures came, seemingly killed everybody, but the next day everybody was back.”
“But they aren’t normal,” Ira said with confidence. “There’s something off about them.”
Andrew nodded his head. “Exactly. They have the same bodies as those before, but it’s just a shell. They’re acting like robots or something. They seem to have the memories of the people they used to be, but they don’t know how to act like those people.”
Ira couldn’t believe she was asking this question, but it seemed logical given the situation. “Are they robots?”
Andrew scoffed. “You saw the blood from Bethany. Definitely not robots.”
Ira eyed Andrew suspiciously. “You don’t seem too upset over the fact that Bethany is dead.”
Andrew shrugged. “To me, she died a couple days ago. I don’t know what these people are now, but they aren’t who they were before.”
Ira took a deep breath. “Okay, so is there any way we can bring them back? Make them who they were before?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Daniel
Daniel rolled out of his bed, his whole body aching. He’d gotten in just after sundown, and after dropping the vials off with Peter, he went straight to his room, stayed up talking with Rachel for a bit, and then slept harder than he could remember sleeping in a long time.
He stood and stretched. He winced when he felt Rachel’s cold hands touch his side.
“Does that hurt?” she asked, jerking her hand away.
“Not really,” Daniel said as he reached for a shirt and put it on. “Your hands are just cold.”
“I can’t believe you took on those Roves and the Xenomortis on your own,” she said, her voice dripping with affection.
“I didn’t take on the Roves, Rachel,” Daniel said as he dressed.
“Oh, you’re right. You just took on a Xenomortis. Never mind, I’m not impressed anymore.”
Daniel turned and saw her sitting up in bed, holding back a laugh. He rolled his eyes, walked over to her, and gave her a kiss. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
Daniel sat down on the bed and put on his shoes.
“’What are your plans for today?” Rachel asked.
“I’m going to have a talk with Rocco about how his people just left me behind.” Daniel grabbed the small revolver from the nightstand and put it in the holster around his right ankle. He covered it up with his pants and then moved on to the next shoe.
“Yeah, if I see them I’m gonna kick their asses,” Rachel said, her face scrunching up.
Daniel chuckled. “Don’t bother. They aren’t worth it.”
“Well, still, if they come into the infirmary with a headache or something, I’ll have conveniently run out of aspirin.”
Daniel stood up, ready to go. “Miles hasn’t come back yet, has he?”
Rachel shook her head, worry crossing her face. “Are you worried about him?”
Daniel scoffed. “I’m always worried about that guy. He should’ve been back by now.”
“You think something happened to him?”
“Either something happened to him, or he got himself into some trouble.”
Rachel got out of bed and began getting ready. She splashed some water in her face. “You going to go look for him?”
Daniel walked to the door. “Well, Rocco wants me to take some of his people to Jefferson Memorial so they can check it out for themselves. If Miles isn’t back by the time we leave, I’ll look for him when we go out.”
“Are you going to Jefferson Memorial today?” Rachel asked, turning to face Daniel.
Daniel stood with his hand on the doorknob. He shrugged. “Hopefully so. I mean, we gotta act fast. No reason to waste any time.”
Rachel crossed the room. She planted a kiss on Daniel. “You be safe, whatever you end up doing. Okay?”
Daniel smirked, and nodded his head. “Yes, ma’am.”
They smiled at each other for a few moments, looking into each other’s eyes. They kissed one last time before Daniel left the room and started his day.
*
Tessa led Daniel through the old movie theater and into the room that Rocco used as his office. His giant, hundred-plus seat office. If you asked Daniel, he found the whole thing superfluous. Daniel found Rocco’s office choice of office interesting though, since Rocco didn’t strike Daniel as a person who liked to show off. He seemed like he would have preferred things simple. Daniel guessed that everybody wasn’t as they seemed.
“Daniel! It is good to see you,” Rocco said, giving Daniel a hug once he was close enough.
Daniel wasn’t sure how to reciprocate, so he just gave Rocco an awkward pat. The two of them walked over to Rocco’s desk and sat down.
“I hear you had quite the experience on the outside,” Rocco said with a hearty laugh.
Daniel wasn’t as amused. He stared at Rocco, and when his laughter came to an awkward halt, Daniel spoke, his anger simmering. Seeing how casual Rocco was after all he’d been through made Daniel fume. “Your men left me behind, and I almost died. Roves came, and I barely escaped. Not to mention the Xenomortis I had to kill on my own.”
Rocco’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. “Y killed a Xenomortis? On your own?”
Daniel slammed his fist down on the desk and stood, his body shaking with anger. “If your men screw with me one more time, it won’t be pretty. Do you understand?”
Rocco nodded his head.
“I will take Ron and Mike with me to Jefferson Memorial. Jorge can stay behind.”
“Now Daniel, I must insi—”
“Rocco, you listen to me. Your men left me behind. Do you not understand that? Need I remind you where your daughter would be right now if it wasn’t for us? And this is how your men treat me? Ron and Mike, they were just following Jorge’s orders. I don’t blame them. But I don’t want Jorge in my sights.”
Rocco’s face flushed. “You are in no position to negotiate, Daniel.”
“No, Rocco, I’m in every position. My people saved your daughter. My people are studying the atra fluid that I obtained. Your people have done nothing but try and hinder us. We’re trying to help, and if you help us, we’ll hurry up and get out of your hair. That is, if there’s any hair left after the Roves are finished with you. You need us,
Rocco. You’re flying blind without us.”
Rocco fumed as he sat in his chair. Daniel knew Rocco would listen to him. He had to. He held all the cards in his hands.
“Fine. Ron and Mike will go with you to Jefferson Memorial.”
Daniel smirked. “Sounds good to me, Rocco.” Daniel stood, and began walking out.
“Daniel,” Rocco said. Daniel turned to him. “If you ever have an outburst like that again, it won’t be pretty.”
Daniel smiled. “See you when I get back, Rocco.”
He turned and walked out. Daniel wasn’t sure where that confidence came from, but he liked it. He enjoyed telling Rocco what he was going to do and seeing Rocco listen.
Daniel whistled a tune as he walked out of the abandoned movie theater and onto the streets of Riven.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Miles
The sun was high as we trekked through the woods. The heat beat down on us, with spotty shade provided giving little comfort. In just the few days I spent inside the bunker with the A/C, it was all it took for me to withstand the deat. Three years of living without it flew right out the window after just forty-eight hours of having it. It might have also been the fact that I was wearing a heavy pack and long pants and shirt. I wasn’t even one hundred percent sure what was in my pack, and I was beginning to suspect that they weighed it down in order to make it harder for me to run away.
I wasn’t even sure where we were going. The only mention was Trevor calling it Hatch Four. I assumed it was something that was normal, since Ulysses and the rest of the guys never batted an eye at its mention, or ask any more questions.
We reached a small ravine that had a babbling brook at the bottom. I walked down the steep incline after Trevor and Victor, trying my hardest not to trip and fall
I hopped over the brook and started going up the other side. I grabbed ahold of a tree root to help pull myself up the other side. As I started to climb, however, I felt myself being pulled back. I gripped onto the tree limb as tight as I could to keep myself from tumbling down. I looked over my shoulder as Ulysses climbed past me, having pulled himself up with my pack.
Anger bubbled up within me. It knocked at the doors of my consciousness, wanting to be released. If I wasn’t preoccupied with keeping my balance and not falling down back into the ravine, I would have given in. It was a long time since I wanted to punch someone so bad.
I calmed down a bit once I climbed up out of the ravine. He wasn’t even worth it. He wasn’t the one who took my home from me. He wasn’t the one who took the person I loved from me. That was the Roves. They were the ones who deserved my anger.
And they were going to get it. If only I could just get the hell out of the bunker for good.
We continued walking toward the hatch. I thought it was something close by, so I planned on finding out what the hatch was whenever we got there. However, after a few more minutes of walking, I decided to ask. “So where are we going again?”
“Hatch Four,” Trevor said. A few moments passed before he realized. “Right! You have no idea what we’re talking about,” he said with a deep laugh.
I heard Ulysses mutter something under his breath, but I ignored him. “Yeah, new guy,” I said with a big cheesy smile, just to perturb Ulysses.
“There are a dozen or so hatches spread around these woods. They were put there originally for soldiers to stay in to keep an eye on the area around the Bunker. But once things settled down after the first year or so, we stopped keeping guards in them. Now they’re just used for storage.”
I had to admit, mini-bunkers around the woods sounded pretty cool. Although I guess the real bunker itself was pretty cool. “What are we going there for?”
“Supplies. Going to grab a handful and put them in Fields—a small town close by—and then you four will go get them. After that, we’re going to take the supplies to a drop-off point for a nearby community called Garner.”
I looked at Trevor, trying to figure out what he’d just said. “Garner? I’ve never heard of it. And I’ve heard of most settlements in the area.”
The rest of the group laughed, like they were all in on a joke and I was left out.
“Maybe you should be better at your job. Maybe I can show you a few things,” Victor said in his slight New York accent.
“Like what? The best hide and seek tactics you learned from playing with your buddies?” I said in retort.
Victor shot me a look, and I felt a little guilty for attacking him like that. I reminded myself that Ulysses was the dick. The jury was still out on the other two. Although to be fair, Victor seemed to just be feeding off Ulysses.
Trevor tried to hide his smirk, but I could tell he had one. He cleared his throat and explained it to me. “The people who run Garner stumbled upon one of our hatches one day. They’re well hidden, but not hidden well enough for them. They waited for us to come by, and when we did, they confronted us. We came up with a story about how we found the hatches a few weeks earlier and figured out the codes. We told them that we’d share some supplies with them if they kept quiet about it. They agreed, and so do we. They have a pretty good set-up going on too. It was started by this family who built most of the buildings in the place by hand. Built a decent wall around it, too. They got livestock and gardens and things, so that, mixed with the fact that they’re tucked away in the woods, means that they really never have to leave. That’s why you probably never heard of them.”
“So they have no idea about the bunker?” I asked.
“Nope,” Trevor responded.
“And it’s going to stay that way,” Ulysses said.
I gritted my teeth. Just breathe, I thought, trying to calm myself down. Get through this, and you’re one step closer to getting out of this mess.
“All right,” Trevor said, interrupting my train of thought. “We’re here.”
I looked around, and it looked as if we were in just any other part of the forest. There was nothing special about where we were standing. Trevor obviously knew where we were, though. He walked over to a tree stump that was a few feet wide. He picked it up and moved it aside. He brushed some of the dirt away and revealed a keypad. He punched in a code, and there were a series of thunks as the locks were disengaged. Trevor gripped a handle at the edge of the hatch door and pulled upward. The tunnel lit up, and I could see the first few rungs of a ladder that led down into the hatch.
“Let’s get in and out, all right?” Trevor said as he sat down at the edge of the tunnel, and then turned around to put his feet on the ladder rungs. He began climbing down, Ulysses and Victor following.
It was just Cody and I standing topside. I gestured for him to go. I was genuinely trying to be nice, but Cody shook his head.
“Sorry, you gotta go next. We’re not supposed to leave you on your own.”
I sighed in frustration. Of course that would be the case. I walked to the edge of the hatch entrance and looked down. It was quite a drop—a couple of stories, probably. I put my feet on the rungs of the ladder, turned myself around, and began climbing down.
My feet hit the concrete floor, and I began to breathe in the artificial-tasting air. I looked around the hatch, and I had to admit it was pretty nice, especially given the accommodations I was used to.
There were ten bunk beds on one side of the room and ten on the opposite. There was a full kitchen in the back left, and the back right had a living area. Straight ahead, in the center of the back wall, was a door that I assumed led to the locker room and storage area. I saw Trevor come out of the back room with an armful of soup cans. Ulysses followed behind with a case of water.
“You’re giving them cases of water?” I said, more thinking out loud then asking anyone in particular.
“A few cases of water is worth it if it’ll keep them quiet about the hatches. Wouldn’t want anybody sneaking around here and finding something they aren’t supposed to,” Trevor said with a wink. “Besides, having an ally on the outside can be valuable. When
something’s valuable to us, we take care of it. Something to keep in mind.”
I understood what Trevor was saying; however, I couldn’t help but feel that Trevor was being so friendly because he felt bad for me and my situation. He understood that I was a soldier. He knew that it was my duty to get back to my home—to save my family. But I couldn’t just leave the bunker. I could tell that Trevor was doing everything he could to help me do just that—without putting his own neck on the line, of course.
“Okay guys, I think that’s it,” Trevor said once he’d loaded up his backpack. Ulysses slid one case of water in his backpack, and another in Victor’s. They barely zipped up, but they were able to get them sealed. “Time to get the show on the road.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Miles
“Are there usually zombies here?” I asked as I stood at the tree line, looking out at Fields. A group of ten zombies were wandering around a gas station, looking for some flesh to devour.
“I don’t know. You’re the expert on the outside. You tell me,” Ulysses said. I wasn’t facing him, but just from the sound in his voice I could tell he had a stupid look on his face.
I didn’t respond, but the childish snickering between him and Victor made me want to, except with my fists. I couldn’t believe that they were adults. I mean, technically at nineteen I was an adult too, but they were full-grown, brain-fully-developed, twenty-five-year-old plus, at least, adults. Yet they were making wisecracks and bullying the new kid like they were in middle school. I couldn’t wait until I didn’t have to deal with them any longer, and I found myself missing my squad.
John.
Julia.
Pike.
Ashley.
We were the dream team. Kicking ass, taking names. Now with Pike and Ashley dead and Julia recovering from her wounds—unless something terrible happened since I saw her last—the dream team was just John and me. Except John was back at the bunker, so the dream team wasn’t looking too good.
Retaliation: The Mortis Desolation, Book Two Page 9