by Max Lockwood
Bethany moaned in pain as she hung upside down, suspended by her seatbelt. Will screamed out in frustration as soldiers with flashlights approached the vehicle on foot. She tried to unlatch her safety restraint, but there was too much crumpled metal in the way. She was trapped.
“They’re alive,” a voice said as a bright light shone in Bethany’s face She saw a machete enter through the broken window, so she closed her eyes, hoping that it would all be over soon. Then, with one quick swoop of the knife, she fell.
Once the runaways were removed from the stolen car, they were handcuffed and shackled. The guards were not gentle with them as they shoved them into the back of a police vehicle. Bethany began to complain, but then again, they did just kill the leader of the militia. There would certainly be more hell to pay.
Before they returned to the compound, a fist pounded on the back window, startling Bethany.
“What have you done?” Mark screamed in her face. “How could you do such a thing?”
She turned her head to face forward, not wanting to look her brother in the eye. He wasn’t the real Mark anyway. If Will had been brainwashed enough to take orders from the man who’d killed the woman he loved, then there was no telling what Mark was capable of.
On the drive back to the base, Will moved his tethered hands toward Bethany’s.
“I think this is the end,” he whispered. “I don’t see how we’re going to get past this.”
She looked away from him, stifling a cry. She couldn’t accept failure. Everything that was happening on base was wrong. With the head of the organization removed, she wanted to fight until the whole thing crumbled.
“Stick with me,” she said. “We’ll get through this.”
16
Bobby Dean tapped the bottom of his empty glass on the restaurant table. “I’ve about had enough of you people,” he said, pointing a finger at Callum. “Everybody has been acting so weird around us and I don’t like it. It seems pretty clear to me that something fishy is going on here. Why don’t you be a man and tell me the truth right now?”
Callum blinked. “Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Have I offended you in some way?”
Bobby Dean leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath in, air whooshing through his front teeth. It sounded like he was gearing up to enter a screaming match with the mayor.
“I gotta take a leak,” he said abruptly, getting up. Alec was relieved. He didn’t want to add any more heat to their current situation.
“How is everyone?” Melissa asked Alec, searching for the right words to use.
“Thomas survived the fire,” he replied. “In fact, he’s here in the hospital.”
“Ah, yes, your sickly friend,” Callum chimed in. “He’ll be better in no time.”
“Thomas is here?” Melissa gasped. “How? What’s wrong with him? Why is he in the hospital?”
Alec paused before speaking. “After I left, I retraced my path and came across him. He had gotten himself into a little trouble, so I helped him out and brought him here. That’s when we were picked up. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He was feeling sick when I found him.”
“A daring rescue!” Callum said, delighted to find out more about his new residents. “Why don’t you join our rescue and recovery team? You’d be a perfect fit.”
Alec and Melissa ignored Callum’s suggestions. He seemed happy enough just hearing his own voice.
“How about E—” Melissa started before correcting herself. “How about Lainey?”
“She’s fine. At least, I think she is. She’s in New York.”
“That’s good,” Melissa said. “I’m happy for her.”
While she was glad that Elaina was in a position where she could do some real good, Melissa couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of her. After all, they had been traveling as a close pack for a while. It felt unfair that only one person in their group had made it to safety. But she didn’t dare express her disappointment to Alec, who was clearly very nervous about her wellbeing.
“That’s your friend in New York,” Callum said, trying to keep up with the cryptic conversation.
“Uh, yeah,” Alec answered as he tried to imagine what Elaina was doing at that very minute. Then, he got an idea that surprisingly hadn’t occurred to him in the hours he had spent in Safe Haven. “Callum, you said you had contacts in the east—would it be possible for me to use a phone to call someone on the other side of the quarantine?”
Callum cringed. “I’m afraid not. Our radio signals are for emergency use only. If we let everyone in the town make calls at their leisure, then we would miss out on vital information. I’m terribly sorry, but we can’t make any exceptions to that rule. Currently, I’m the only person with clearance to communicate through radio.”
“Okay,” Alec replied, choosing his battles carefully. “Let me know if that policy changes.”
Bobby Dean returned to the table and immediately poured himself another glass of whiskey. His retreat to the bathroom appeared to do very little to cool his anger.
“Tell me about that receptionist,” Bobby Dean said coolly, pointing to the woman who checked them into the hotel. She had just returned to her post, her long hair swishing around when she hurried around the lobby.
“Annabelle? She’s been here for a long time. She was part of the commune before I came here. She’s an excellent worker. I tend to think of her as my right-hand woman. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m thinking about asking her on a date,” he said sarcastically. “No, because she’s been giving me the stink eye ever since we woke up from our naps. Then she had to go ahead and sic her weird kids on us.”
“Annabelle is just trying to keep our town running smoothly,” Callum replied. “She’s been under a lot of stress lately with all the new arrivals. Things haven’t been easy for her. It’s been a rough transition from a small, close-knit commune to a refugee camp. If she got upset with you for some reason, it was possibly warranted. She knows this place better than anyone else—except me, of course.”
“She freaked out when we went to the hospital to check things out. What if I just wanted to see if I could work in there?” Bobby Dean challenged. “You said you were short-staffed in there.”
“She was just trying to protect patients and doctors. Besides, all job assignments go through me. You can put in requests and have your special skills be known, but I give the final word. It seems to me that you’d be best in our housing department. We need strong people who can help build new housing.”
“But I’ve never built so much as a table in my whole life,” Bobby Dean argued.
“That’s not a problem. We have people to teach you. Melissa, I think you would be good in our school, perhaps a daycare.”
“But I hate children,” she said.
“And Alec would be a strong fit for our rescue team,” he said, ignoring Melissa. “Everyone has a place here. That’s what makes this place so special.”
Bobby Dean finished his second drink and slammed the glass on the table. “I think you’re dodging the point, here. You’re just making excuses for that woman and those kids. What they did was unnecessary.”
“I apologize for your inconvenience,” Callum said. “If it would make you feel better, I’ll have a talk with them and discuss your issues with how you were treated. This will all smooth over and you’ll wonder why you were ever upset in the first place.”
“Bullshit,” Melissa said under her breath.
“I second that,” Bobby Dean said.
Callum looked hurt. “I don’t know what else I can do to please you people,” he said, his voice going up an octave. “I apologize for very trivial issues, and it’s not good enough for you. I’ve given you a nice place to stay and a good meal. I’m at my wit’s end here.”
A warning bell went off in Alec’s head. Callum was someone with a lot of influence over the quality of their lives while they were in Safe Haven. Even more importantly, he cou
ld be the deciding factor in whether they made it out of there or not. If a well-refined man was on the verge of a conniption, then that would mean trouble for the rest of them.
“I think you two are being a little harsh on Callum,” Alec said.
“I disagree,” Bobby Dean argued. “I think we haven’t been harsh enough.”
“I don’t think I follow, Alec,” Melissa said, looking disappointed in the lack of support from her travel companion.
Alec pursed his lips and looked Melissa in the eye, silently pleading for her to follow along.
“It can’t be easy to have all of this power,” Alec said. “There are so many important decisions for Callum to make. It’s got to be stressful. I think we should have a little compassion and do what we can to make things easier on him. I’m sure Callum doesn’t appreciate all the criticism. He would probably prefer it if we were on his side.”
“Dude, I don’t know,” Bobby Dean said. “He did drug us.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Alec continued. “Everyone does what they have to do to get by. Everyone does,” he emphasized. “So on behalf of my friends, I’d like to formally apologize to you, Mayor Callum. We got off to a bad start due to some misunderstandings, but I think we’ll try a little harder to do better in the future.”
Callum nodded, touched by Alec’s apology. “That means a lot,” he said softly. “It is stressful to have so much power. It would be nice to have more allies.”
Melissa still looked confused, so Alec nudged her foot under the table with his.
“Is there anything you want to say to Callum?” Alec asked the other two.
Finally, it clicked in Melissa’s head. Alec wasn’t suddenly sucking up to Callum because he agreed with him. He was using Callum’s ego against him. If he could persuade Callum that they were not a threat, he would be more inclined to help them out and less likely to stand in their way.
“Yes,” Melissa said, mustering up all the melodrama she had inside of her. “I’m terribly sorry about the way we’ve treated you. You’ve been nothing but nice to us and we’ve been nasty in return. The truth is, we’re very scared about the future. Acting out makes me feel like I’m in control of my fate, as funny as it seems. I hope you accept my apology.”
Callum’s eyes had become misty. He was so pleased by all the compliments that he didn’t even seem mad anymore.
“Of course I do, Melissa.” He smiled. “Thank you. I know it’s not easy to admit mistakes.”
“Oh, come on!” Bobby Dean drawled. “What’s gotten into you two? I thought we were on the same page here. This place is creepy and you know it. Something is not right.”
“Our attitudes weren’t right,” Melissa corrected, kicking Bobby Dean in the shin. “Don’t you want to apologize to Callum?”
“Nope,” Bobby Dean said simply.
“Are you sure?” Alec asked, raising his eyebrows at him.
“Nah, I’m good.”
Callum got up from the table and pushed in his seat. “I’m sorry, I lost track of the time. I really ought to be going.”
“Please, don’t let this idiot upset you,” Melissa said, trying to sound convincing.
“Hey!” Bobby Dean interjected.
“Oh, it’s not his fault.” Callum chuckled. “I don’t expect everyone to be so reasonable. But before I go, there’s something I wanted to ask you, Melissa.”
“Yes?”
Callum looked at the ground coyly before his piercing blue eyes met hers. “I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me. Tomorrow evening, perhaps? I can have room service send you something nice to wear. It would really be an honor if you joined me.”
Melissa felt dizzy. If he was asking her what she thought he was asking, it was a preposterous proposal. He was so moved by her over-the-top brownnosing that he was asking her to a private dinner.
“Like a date?” she sputtered.
She felt two different shoes kick her in the shins.
“I–I don’t know,” she said. “Would it be appropriate?”
“Being the mayor has its perks,” he responded. “In most cases, I get to make the rules on what’s appropriate and what’s not. If you don’t want to, I understand. I can face rejection.”
Melissa knew that was a lie. He had nearly thrown a tantrum because Bobby Dean thought he was a bad mayor.
“Okay,” she said, trying to fake some enthusiasm. “Sounds like fun.”
“Awesome! I’ll see you tomorrow night at seven.”
He walked away from the table with a smile on his face and a skip in his step.
“Awesome!” Bobby Dean mocked while making a rude gesture at the mayor. “What the hell is going on here?”
“You’ve got a big date with the mayor,” Alec said, a grim expression on his face. “I hope it goes well for you.”
“Me too,” she said, matching his apprehension.
Bobby Dean looked around as if he was the victim of some elaborate prank. “I don’t get it. This guy is clearly an asshole and you two just told him everything he wanted to hear.”
“Of course we did,” Melissa said. “Like it our not, he’s our ticket out of here. If we pretend to play by his rules, he’ll help us. If we constantly defy him, he’s going to make our lives a living hell. Obviously, we all agree that he’s a scumbag.”
“Oh,” Bobby Dean said, finally understanding the situation. “Still, you didn’t have to agree to a date with him. Aren’t you taking good behavior a little too far?”
“I’m not pleased about it. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is go on a date with that man. But what if he tells me something we can use against him and his town? The man’s clearly got secrets and maybe he’ll let me in on a few. Now, I don’t know about you two, but I just want to go back to the room and rest.”
“I’ll go with you,” Bobby Dean said.
“Me too,” Alec joined in. “Do you have any extra room? After all we’ve been through today, I don’t want to ask that receptionist for anything.”
“Yeah, we actually have a spare bedroom,” Melissa said. “The guy we came here with has an infected daughter in the hospital. He was freaking out about her, so Callum said he could go to the hospital to see her. We haven’t heard from him since.”
It took a moment for Melissa to hear her own words coming out of her mouth.
“Oh,” she sighed. “That’s not a good sign, is it?”
Alec grimaced. “It doesn’t sound great.”
Back in the hotel room, Melissa fretted over her date with Callum. What if she said the wrong thing and exposed her true intentions? Being noncompliant was one thing but being intentionally devious was another. She wasn’t sure if she could control her attitude for an entire evening, especially when she knew Callum was bound to say something to trigger her temper.
Then, she remembered what Alec said about Thomas. He was alive, but he was sick. When she left the remains of the cabin, she convinced herself that he was dead. Now that she knew he was alive, she felt conflicted. She didn’t know what her feelings were for him. They had kissed and she’d liked it, but so much had happened since then. She had too much going on to play the role of the lover. She just had to look out for herself.
17
Soldiers crept through the tall grass in abandoned fields in Upstate New York, sent by the government to round up infected people. They spread out, hoping to jolt an Infected from their dormant state in order to hunt them down. Every once in a while, one soldier would wave his arm wildly to signal to the others that their traps had been sprung by a poor individual too sick to understand what was happening. Then, an all-terrain vehicle would appear on the scene, restraining the Infected inside the vehicle for safe transport back to the laboratory.
Once the Colonel approved for more medical testing, the old recreation center on base was fitted with iron bars and concrete blocks, effectively building a jail within twenty-four hours. As the soldiers combed the state for the sick, the cells filled
quickly until the sound of growling and shrieking could be heard from outside the building.
The sounds felt like a punch in the gut to Elaina. The Colonel had no issue with the scientists’ request to conduct trials on humans. As long as the general public wasn’t made aware, the military was keen on cleaning up the “safe” states. It was even better when their elimination efforts could be doubled as necessary research.
Pressure mounted for Elaina, who was terrified of not getting the serum right and letting everybody down. So much work had gone into developing research strategies for her, at her request. If she couldn’t come through with the cure, there would be a lot of disgruntled coworkers calling for her job.
Sometimes, it felt like the only way to be truly vindicated for the crimes she’d never committed was to create the cure. It was silly, because she didn’t have any of Bretton’s research on hand. Unfortunately, she didn’t believe that he did either. He had become especially careless in his work, neglecting to keep notes of every step of the process.
Elaina was told to wait in the lab while the tests were being conducted by army researchers. A few of the officers believed that a civilian scientist had no business dealing with the dangerous Infected and wanted to leave the testing to those with combat training. This didn’t sit well with Elaina.
“Dr. Morgan, you’ve been working so hard,” Dr. Himmler said as he sipped coffee from his green thermos. “Why don’t you sit with me and think about the mechanisms of the virus while the others do the dirty work?”
“I can’t sit still anymore,” she said. “It’s my work and I want to be with it every step of the way.”
“You could get hurt,” he said plainly. “What then? We’ll never finish the project. Please, just try to relax. Maybe a little rest will give you fresh inspiration. Have a nap, take a shower, do something that will take your mind off this. The brain works better when it’s taken care of.”
“Okay,” Elaina said, getting up from her seat in the lab. “I’ll be in my quarters. I’ll make sure I’m back within a few hours.”