The Caitlin Chronicles Boxed Set

by Michael Anderle

  Eventually, they came to a large building with a frontage that might once have been all glass but was now nothing more than a skeletal frame. Isabella led Caitlin and the others inside, and Mary-Anne waited a few minutes before following.

  Taking careful steps through the entrance, Mary-Anne paused at the old reception area of the library. She knew it was a library from the artwork of books painted on the peeled and faded walls and the stacks of yellowing pages which littered the floor.

  Maybe this is a good time to brush up on some history. Read about biology and chemistry, math, and physics, or see if there are any good fiction works about unicorns and trolls. Mary-Anne chuckled to herself. Sure, but who’s got time these days? She remembered her favorite book, an epic about rings, elves, and hobbits. Maybe one day, I’ll find it again and take another journey into that one.

  But not now.

  She looked up and down the reception, then took a deep breath, hoping to catch the humans’ scent. She veered left, followed through several corridors, and was about to open a door when two things stopped her.

  First was the multitude of voices suddenly rising up on the other side of the door. The second was something she hadn’t smelled in a long, long time.

  Mary-Anne caught the incredibly faint whiff of a vampire.

  The Broken City, Old Ontario

  Caitlin couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  There were hundreds—likely thousands—of shelves lined to the brim with books upon books upon books. She’d spent most of her life believing that most books from the past had been destroyed or damaged since the World’s Worst Day Ever—that fateful apocalyptic day some centuries before where the world nuked itself to shit. It was unbelievable to think that this building was almost full of books from floor to rafters.

  But that wasn’t the most impressive part. Her jaw dropped when she saw the hundreds of people wandering to and fro inside the grand space of the old library.

  “Wow…quite the hidden colony you have here,” Caitlin said just loud enough for Isabella to hear.

  “We’re people, Caitlin. Not ants.” Isabella smiled.

  Sleeping bags littered the floor, and small canvas tents were set up on ropes hung suspended between bookshelves. Though Isabella was right—they weren’t ants—they sure did a great job in recreating a large-scale model of the inner workings of an ant mound as they scurried this way and that.

  “How…how is this possible?” Caitlin asked.

  Before Isabella could speak, a small girl with pigtails and a muck-smeared face sprinted towards them. “Izzy!” she cried, leaping excitedly into Isabella’s arms and planting a wet kiss on her face.

  “Hey, Ruby.” Isabella chuckled, then placed the girl back down. “What have I told you about attacking me like that? One day, you’ll knock me down, and I won’t be able to get back up again.”

  “Did you find them? Did you? Did you?” Ruby asked, a sparkle in her eye as she bounced up and down with her hands clasped together as if in prayer. “Please tell me you did?”

  Isabella looked awkwardly back at her men. “No sign today,” she said sadly.

  Ruby’s excitement dissipated. Her head hung as she fixed her gaze on the floor.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll try again tomorrow. They can’t have gone far.”

  Caitlin was about to open her mouth to ask whom they searched for when the other woman caught her eye and gave her a look that suggested that now was not the time.

  Isabella bent down and rested her hands on her knees. “I tell you what, why don’t I come over later and read you a bedtime story? Any book you like.”

  An ember of Ruby’s excitement returned, though it was nothing compared to her initial greeting. “Any book I like?”

  “Any except those naughty ones that Quince keeps on the top shelf.” She winked.

  “Fine!” Ruby huffed before flashing a grin and kissing Isabella on the cheek. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too,” she responded, tousling the child’s hair. She watched as Ruby ran away and disappeared back into the throng.

  “Sweet girl,” Caitlin said.

  Isabella nodded. “Yeah. One of the sweetest.” She stared dreamily off for a moment before turning back to the others and muttering, “Come on.”

  Brisk and business-like again, she led them through the large open space, smiling and waving her hellos to people as she passed. Oscar, Dwight, and Howard flanked them, also muttering their greetings. Tom and Laurie walked practically shoulder-to-shoulder with Joe at their side.

  Caitlin found herself smiling at the sight of them. If Joe had appeared out of place in the middle of the forest, he certainly didn’t seem to belong in the city. With his big beard and ten-gallon hat, he looked more like a warped character from an old western rather than a settler amongst these people who had found a home in the wasteland of the Madness.

  “You okay, Joe?” she called back.

  Joe nodded. “I ain’ts seen this many folks since…ever. Where did all these peoples come from?”

  This time, it was Oscar who answered. “Refugees. Wanderers. The lonely and the wounded. When the Madness came, it is said that the cities were the first to fall. The Madness spread and infected faster than any virus the world had ever seen. Before too long, the Mad were forced to abandon the cities and look out in the wild for food.”

  They reached a door at the end of a large room and stepped through, then made their way up a series of stairs and into a balconied room which overlooked the congregation below.

  “Only a handful of people stayed behind, barricaded in rooms within the city center with stores of tinned food and the barest minimum of produce.”

  Caitlin walked over to the balcony and looked over the crowd, noting then that the majority of them appeared to be women and children.

  “When foodstuffs grew scarce,” Isabella continued, joining her at the balcony, “we had to get brave. Open the doors and explore the remnants of the city. Over time, we found stragglers and loners, families and couples wandering through the streets, all drawn to the city from afar by the hope that something could still exist within. As the years passed, our community grew. We take in those who are lost and in need of aid. In need of a home.”

  Caitlin thought about this. How a city could be a beacon of hope for so many people still out there in the world. How people were drawn to the larger relics of the old world, rather than old wooden towns hidden in the forest. Maybe there’s something in that. She considered the possibilities. If she was looking to unite the world’s people once again, was the forest really the best place?

  “Then why have you been so rough on us?” Tom chipped in, bitterness in his voice. “What was with the tied and dragged through the tunnels like a friggin’ hostage act?”

  “You think we made it this far without being careful?” Isabella said. “We’ve got our protocols. We’ve got our protection measures.”

  “Though even that can’t always stop the dangers,” Howard added.

  “The infestation you spoke of?” Caitlin asked.

  Isabella nodded grimly.

  “What are we talking, here? Termites? Ants? Cockroaches?” Tom asked belligerently.

  Laurie shuddered at the thought of thousands of creepy-crawlies scuttling across floors and up walls.

  “Not exactly.” Isabella laughed. “A slightly bigger problem. Bandits.”

  “Bandits?” Caitlin said. “Izzy, you’ve got to be kidding. You’ve got an army of nearly half a thousand down below, with Lord knows how many more if there are more men around than are represented here. What fear can you guys have of bandits?”

  “Don’t call me Izzy.”

  Caitlin looked confused. “Ruby did.”

  “Ruby is an eight-year-old. She can call me what she wants.”

  Caitlin smirked at Tom and Laurie. “Well, I’m sorry, but our group assigns nicknames and they sort of stick. Ain’t that right, guys?”

  “That’s right,” Tom sa
id. “Kitty-Cat.”

  Caitlin’s face dropped.

  “Ha! Tit-for-tat, Kitty-Cat.” Izzy laughed.

  Caitlin grew red as the rest of the Vanguard began laughing.

  “Okay, enough. I’ll get you for this,” she said, pointing at Tom. “Answer the question. Why is a half-thousand-strong community afraid of a few itty-bitty bandits?”

  Izzy’s smile faded from her face as she looked awkwardly at her men. “Because they’re more than just bandits, Kitty-Cat. They’re Weres.”

  The Sewers, The Broken City, Old Ontario

  The room stood in absolute silence.

  There were a fair number of them now. Weres lined up on either side of the room, standing in the shadows and looking down at the floor in reverence. Kain recognized most of their faces and even tried to catch their eyes, but they all avoided him.

  Dotted here and there between the lineup were animals—creatures whom Kain recognized from their glory days when they had been able to transform. The select few of the pack had obviously chosen to remain in their animal form and made themselves useful in other ways humans couldn’t…wolves for trackers, panthers for hunters…an array of cats, dogs…

  And bears, oh my, Kain thought, glancing at Bryce.

  Seated in the center of it all, on a large rusty chair, was a man more ripped than anyone Kain had ever met. He was the definition of butch. Veins pulsed along his arms, his shirt so ripped that the abs showed through with ease. A shaggy crop of hair covered his head and face.

  It hadn’t taken Kain long to figure out this Were’s power when they first met all those years ago.

  Geralt studied his prisoner, his amber eyes keen and focused on the shabby Were standing in front of him. Kain returned the study, unsure who would be the first to break the silence.

  Just as Geralt opened his mouth to speak, a rumble traversed Kain’s stomach, followed by a trumpeting sound from his ass.

  Kain feigned shock, delighting in the eyebrows raising around the room. “Woah! Sorry, but something had to break the tension. What do you think we’re doing here? Sizing each other up for blowies? Come on, Geralt, where’s Kain’s hello?”

  The Alpha stared for a moment longer before a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “They said I wouldn’t miss that shitty sense of humor,” he growled. “Kain Sudeikis. It’s been some time.”

  “Two years, four months, seven days, sixteen hours, and twenty-seven minutes. Y’know, approximately.”

  “Is that so?” Geralt seemed indifferent.

  “How the fuck should I know? When was the last time you saw anyone with a working watch?”

  Geralt held up his wrist, showcasing a metal watch which had dulled and faded over the years. Its face was cracked, but even from afar, Kain could hear it ticking.

  “Son-of-a—” he started. “Where did you find that?”

  A low laugh rumbled out of Geralt’s mouth. He unclipped the watch slowly, placed it into the waiting palm of a Were beside him, and in the speed of a heartbeat, lunged forward at Kain. His eyes burned with amber, his teeth sharpened into points, and his clothes fell behind him as he transformed into the proud shape of a brown bear.

  Kain was knocked backward and struggled to breathe beneath Geralt’s weight. The bear bent down and growled in his face, a low roar threatening beneath the rumble. His claws grew and began to bite into Kain’s skin.

  Kain closed his eyes and noticed the weight suddenly lessen. When he opened them again, a naked Geralt sat straddling his body.

  “No offense, Ger, but I’m not really into dudes. If you want to stick your beanpole in a back door, I’d suggest Bryce, perhaps? With his shape and size, I’m sure he’s got enough padding to take you.”

  Bryce grumbled something inaudible and clenched his fists

  Geralt, however, did not stir. “Kain, Kain, Kain…you really don’t learn when to shut up, do you?”

  “It’s never been my strong point, no,” Kain replied.

  Geralt continued as if Kain hadn’t spoken. “I think, perhaps, if you understood the situation you’re in, then perhaps you’d be a bit more careful with your words. Death could be but a mere word away.”

  Kain’s face straightened at this. “Let’s be honest, Geralt. If you wanted me dead, you would have done it already. Why go through this whole charade if all you want is vengeance?”

  Geralt’s eyebrow lifted with curiosity.

  “You just showed it in front of everyone here. If you wanted me dead, you could do it in a heartbeat. So, then, why don’t you bear the truth?” Kain paused a moment, looking around the room for some kind of reaction. Despite himself, Bryce couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Thanks, B.”

  Geralt nodded at Howie and Madeline, and they dragged Kain back to his feet. The naked man strode back to his chair, not even bothering to cover himself as he took a seat.

  “You’re right, Sudeikis,” Geralt said casually as if unfazed by Kain’s apparent apathy at his words. “You’re right. I do want something. The same something that I wanted long ago and wasn’t given, and this time, I will get it.”

  “Yeah? You seem very confident. What is it?”

  “Your respect.”

  Kain contemplated this. Had he ever really respected the brute who had taken charge of the pack all that time ago? The Were sat on his pedestal and let the others do the work. That same Were promised a cure to the Weres from the Madness and took a dark turn down a hellish path to discovery…

  “Have you made any progress?” Kain asked quietly. “Have you had any success?”

  Geralt took his time responding. A smile crept up his face, and he nodded. “Yes. We have made progress.”

  Kain gasped. “How is that possible?”

  Geralt stood, walked over to Kain, and said, “Let me show you.”

  He could offer no refusal as he was nudged forward by Howie and Madeline. The Alpha exited the tunnel, and they followed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Silver Creek Forest, Old Ontario

  “Remind me to never listen to you again,” Belle said, slashing at the throat of a Mad and watching him fall to the floor. “Oh, yeah. Let’s disobey orders and go out by ourselves into the forest after Caitlin and the gang. Oh, yeah, what a great idea that’ll be! What could possibly be bad about that?”

  Vex laughed. “Is that supposed to be your impression of me?”

  “No, this is,” Belle said, pinning her nose back with a finger and making a series of snorting noises.

  “Charming,” Vex retorted between grunts as he kicked a Mad in the chest and sent him slamming back into a tree. At the same time, he wheeled his arm around, stabbing his sword into a Mad attempting to attack him from behind. “At least I don’t fart in my sleep.”

  “Hey!” Belle protested, spinning elegantly to avoid the arms of her next attacker before he tripped on a root and fell on his face. She drove one of her blades into the mid-section of his back. “We both do that.”

  They made easy work of the Mad, though both were left panting afterward. Luck didn’t seem to be on their side at all. They felt as if they had traveled through the forest for weeks, and all they had encountered were Mad. Every time it felt like they were making progress, they’d hear the tell-tale stomp of the creatures through the brush and had to turn their attention to the killing. When the coast was clear, it took a further chunk of time for Vex to re-check the map and calibrate their direction against what little they could see of the moon or sun.

  “Come on,” he said, jabbing his finger at his copy of the map and leaving a nice bloody finger smudge on the paper. “Not far to go.”

  “If I had a dollar for every time you said that—”

  “We’d still have no use for dollars.” Vex smirked.

  Sure enough, not an hour later, they saw the great abandoned factory looming out of the trees.

  “Finally!” Belle proclaimed as she sprinted forward.

  Vex caught her wrist and tugged her back. “Let go of me. Befor
e I get…Maaaad,” Belle joked.

  “Wow. That never gets old.”

  “Seriously, let me go.” She struggled against Vex’s strength.

  “Wait a second,” he said, cocking his ear. “Listen. You think we should just run in there willy-nilly without checking if it’s clear first?”

  “Willy-nilly?”

  “Yes.”

  Belle stopped her struggling and relented. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Truth is, I really need a piss, and I’m tired of hovering and fearing that I’ll get poison ivy or some shit.”

  Vex raised an eyebrow. There were times along the way when, despite her young age compared to his own, he saw her as nothing more than an equal. Someone who could handle the blade and had a maturity that matched his own.

  This is not one of those times, he thought as he shook his head and approached the factory cautiously.

  The building was empty. Well… save for a litter of bodies all over the floor. They could see from a glance that they had certainly made it to the right place, though they hadn’t made it in time.

  “The Kitty-Cat crew certainly leave a fair old mess, don’t they?” Belle commented, returning from a side room she had disappeared into to do her business. “I thought we were trying to clean up the world, not make it messier.”

  “Says the girl who just pissed up a wall.”

  “On the floor. You think I could aim that high?”

  Vex thought a moment, laughing as he imagined Belle attempting to cock a leg and spray upwards. “Fair point.”

  “So, no sign of them at all?” Belle asked.

  “None. Just a bunch of open tins of food in an upstairs room.”

  “Shit. Now what do we do?”

  Vex had no idea. In an ideal world, they wouldn’t have been waylaid by the Mad in the forest. He could only assume that the passing of Caitlin and her crew had aroused the initial party of the Mad and, like fish in the current created by the engine of a boat, they had been caught in the messy wake.