Escaping Madness: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Live Free Or Die Book 3)

by Hayley Lawson

  Ryder waved her hands at Massimo. “Nanocytes?” Ryder was more than confused by the words.

  Massimo pressed his thumb and forefinger together. “Nanocytes are tiny computers which are in my bloodstream. Leandro’s too, although he has a different kind than I do. Possibly, just possibly, others have nanocytes as well? What if someone was screwing around with them, and the result was the Madness?” Massimo wandered in thought for a moment while he considered the implications. “Bethany Anne would never have allowed anyone to play God like that.”

  Ryder gave him a quizzical look. “Bethany Anne?”

  Massimo shook his head. “A tale, or rather many tales, for another day, my dear.”

  Ryder shrugged and let it pass. “I wonder if there is a way to switch the Madness off?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Massimo admitted. “Does Afana have much modern equipment in the bunker?”

  Ryder nodded. “On Level One, there is loads of stuff that looks like it’s from the future, but really it’s from the past. The advisors use the equipment to run the bunker.”

  Massimo nodded, “I’ll take a look at it once we’ve taken over the bunker.” He grinned.

  Massimo looked like there was no doubt in his mind that they would overthrow the bunker. Ryder liked his confidence.

  Ryder took a deep breath. They were near the tree line in front of the bunker. Only a few days ago Ryder had run for her life through these woods, and Fluffy had protected her from the tiger and then dragged her out of the stream.

  She looked down at Fluffy, who’d walked alongside her for most of the journey. Ryder was grateful for the company. She stroked Fluffy’s back. “Thank you for protecting me.” Fluffy looked up at her and chuffed. He really was a handsome wolf, but she knew Leandro was still in there.

  Every so often, Fluffy would sniff the air. Ryder thought he was checking for the Mad or people from the bunker.

  Fluffy was always protecting her.

  She wondered how his hangover was, then laughed when she remembered Massimo telling her that he didn’t drink and had never been drunk. She kind of understood why he had decided to do that as a wolf. Ryder had been drunk more times than she could remember; sometimes out of choice, other times not. Thinking about drinking made Ryder thirsty, so she took a sip of water and then drank some of Massimo’s hard alcohol. That way she could have a clear head, since one balanced the other.

  She had noticed when they were leaving Massimo’s house that Tightwad also had two water flasks. She guessed that his contained the same as hers, and she hoped he was planning to balance his fluid intake like she was.

  Tightwad’s skill with the swords when he fought against the Mad had taken Ryder by surprise. Graham had definitely given him the right weapon. Ryder was looking forward to the using new spear he’d given her and was excited about serving some Justice with it. It was going to go right through Afana’s men’s motherfucking hearts. It was what they deserved after keeping her and the others captive, but then again, those fuckers probably didn’t have hearts. She’d stab them in that spot anyway, but instead of blood on the blade tip, she was expecting to see black slime. These men were going to go straight to Hell, and Ryder was going to send them there.

  Graham drew the cart to a stop. “The trees are too thick here. We’ll have to carry our weapons from this point, and leave Black Beauty tied up with the cart.” Graham lifted the blanket up to reveal the weapons—and little Tommy.

  Everyone was surprised when the mountain kid Ryder, Carter, and Fluffy had protected from the bear sat up from under the blanket and gave everyone a nervous smile. “Um, hi?”

  “What are you doing here?” Carter sounded like a disapproving parent.

  Tommy’s smile quickly faded. He knew he was in trouble. “I can help,” he pleaded.

  Carter looked at the sky in the hope that a higher power would give him strength, or at least an idea what to do with the kid. “This isn’t a safe place for you,” Carter told him, shaking his head.

  Tommy thought quickly. “I can help lay traps. You know I’m the best at that,” Tommy said in a hurry, and Carter nodded. “See?”

  “Not so fast,” Carter said sternly, acting all grown up. It was a funny sight to see. “You can stay with Black Beauty and create traps around her and you,” Carter told him.

  “But—” Tommy began.

  Carter cut him off. “No buts.” He shook his finger at Tommy, who pressed his lips together as he tried to bite his tongue. “Hop on down so everyone can get their weapons.”

  Tommy did as Carter instructed, and everyone leaned into the cart and collected their weapons. Ryder got extra knives and strapped them around her legs. She added more arrows to the quiver on her back. She could use the alcohol Massimo had given her to make them flame. She had a flint and steel in her pocket. Finally, she retrieved her new spear. It was very lightweight, which was perfect because she could handle it with ease.

  Ryder was ready. She looked around at the rest, and they were ready too.

  “We need to tread carefully through the forest. Tigers, bears, wolves, and other animals live in there. There will also be hunters, who will be hunting the animals and anything else that crosses them. Which includes us.” Ryder told the group.

  “Oh, my!” Massimo chuckled at his own joke, but, as usual, none of the others got the reference.

  “They can try to hunt us.” Graham spun his axes. “My two friends are looking forward to meeting them.” He grinned at them all.

  Ryder didn’t want any of them getting injured, or worse, killed. “Don’t underestimate them. For their whole lives, all they have done is hunt, and some of them are very good at it.”

  Carter turned to Tommy. “Don’t leave this cart. Are you listening?” Carter spoke sternly.

  Tommy lowered his head. “I’m listening.” Tommy looked and sounded disappointed.

  The Merry Men made their way toward the bunker. They were ready for anything. They would be the first to fire and shoot to kill, Ryder was sure. The Merry Men were going to take control of the bunker, free every innocent person, and make those who had trapped them there pay for it.

  That was Ryder’s promise, and apparently everyone else’s.

  The forest in front of Afana’s bunker was quiet, and Ryder didn’t like it—not one bit. It was too quiet, and too easy. There were no hunters or animals; the place was devoid of anything living. Ryder had never seen it like this. Something must be happening. There was no way that Afana could know they were coming since she’d killed the hunters who came after her. There was no one else. How could he possibly know?

  Ryder raised her hand, and the group stopped. They’d reached the bunker, but there was no one guarding the entrance.

  What the fuck?

  A rustle came from the left, and everyone turned to it with their weapons ready. “Don’t shoot, it’s only me,” Tommy called as he came into view.

  Ryder raised her eyebrow. “Tommy.”

  Everyone muttered, and the kid looked sorry.

  Carter was furious. “Get back to the cart,” he snapped in his most grown-up voice.

  Tommy started to speak. “But—”

  Carter cut him off before he could say any more. “I’ll shoot you in the butt if you don’t make a run for it!”

  Tommy looked at Carter in fear, since Carter was a good shot. Tommy legged it back to the cart.

  “That kid.” Carter shook his head.

  “He reminds me of you,” Ryder replied.

  “What, cute?” Carter grinned. This wasn’t the time for a back-and-forth game. They had a fight to win.

  Ryder turned to the others. “Something is happening. There were no men or animals in the forest, and now there is no one guarding the bunker. And then there is the smell of rotten flesh. I don’t think Afana knows that we’re here. I think he’s fighting a battle in the bunker.” Ryder was concerned. Was Terrier in danger, or was he the one who had caused this? Had he already escaped? The question
s whizzed through Ryder’s mind. Was she too late?

  “Do you want to go ahead?” Massimo asked. “What if there are Mad down there?”

  “If that’s the case, we can use it to our advantage. The generals will hopefully be distracted by the Mad, and we can attack them while they’re not paying attention,” Ryder explained.

  Carter was anxious to get inside the bunker. “Hopefully. Let’s get inside and see.”

  Ryder felt the adrenaline running through her body. She was ready to get back into the bunker and free Terrier and the others.

  Ryder pulled on the handle and the heavy metal door actually opened. She hadn’t been expecting that. She’d thought that they would have had to use the explosives Graham had brought with him. Ryder turned to Graham and saw the disappointment on his face and the explosives in his hand. She shook her head, and he unwillingly put them back into his backpack.

  She wondered why the doors were open and had no guard, but she’d happily accept the invitation. With the help of the others, she pulled open the door. For each millimeter they opened the door, Ryder’s heart rate increased. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t shitting herself, but this wasn’t about her feelings. It was about her friends.

  When they’d opened the door enough for them to enter, the place was eerily quiet. This was normal for Level One. The bunker was soundproofed so Afana couldn’t hear the noise from the lower levels. The lower levels were the noisiest since they were the fullest.

  Fluffy was right by Ryder’s side as she walked into the bunker. This was the calm before the storm.

  In front of them was where the advisors worked, behind a glass wall with a door that led to the outside. Over the years a few had tried to escape when the door guards weren’t looking, but they never got far. Normally the daylight was a shock to their system. They’d gaze at the blue sky, which they’d only seen glimpses of from their work area.

  Those who were captured ended up in the lab next to the work area and would become the next experimental body for their co-workers. That alone was enough to prevent most of them from trying to leave.

  Ryder led the group along the wall out of the eyesight of the advisors, who were at that moment looking down through the glass floor.

  Ryder waved Massimo to the front of the group, then pointed at the advisors’ stations. “You need to turn the cameras off from there and open the doors,” Ryder informed Massimo. She didn’t know how or where, only that he could turn them off from there. All she remembered was Advisor George bitching about resetting the cameras from Level One when he came to the lower levels to fix the cameras she’d broken.

  “I’ve got this. Come on, Leandro,” Massimo said to Fluffy. Massimo didn’t see the wolf, just his son. Just like Ryder.

  “Good luck,” Ryder said.

  “Luck? A vampire and a wolf don’t need luck. Those we go after do.” Massimo grinned, enjoying his new strength. “Call us if you need us. We can hear you wherever you are.” Massimo nodded reassuringly. With that, the father and son, vampire and werewolf, took off toward the advisors’ stations. They ran along the wall, hiding in the shadows.

  The plan was for them to wait till Massimo had turned off the cameras, so the advisors wouldn’t be able to alert the bunker that they were here. Part of Ryder wondered if they still needed to follow that plan. She had to find out if there were Mad on the loose in the bunker.

  Ryder paused. “Wait here.”

  Ryder edged forward. She had to get to the glass floor so could see down to Level Six.

  Ryder was shocked when she looked down. The glass floors were smeared with blood, and there were piles of bodies. She gasped in horror and leaned back, bumping into something. She swung around, but it was just Carter.

  “Carter!” Ryder hissed through gritted teeth.

  He wasn’t paying her any attention; he was looking down through the levels. “This place is huge. Where is Natalie?”

  “At the bottom, on Level Six,” Ryder informed him. He was right. The place was huge.

  Carter squinted to get a better look down to the lowest level, but the blood-covered glass floors made it impossible.

  The others had joined them as well.

  So much for them following orders, Ryder thought.

  There was no one around to see them, so they didn’t need to hide. Oh, shit, the cameras! How could she have been so dumb? The cameras were pointing right at them, so she quickly looked at the advisors. They weren’t looking at her. Ryder couldn’t see the computers because the advisors were blocking the screens. Their eyes were still locked on the glass floor, watching what was happening beneath them, which meant that the cameras weren’t working. George hadn’t fixed them yet, and no wonder, with everything going on.

  That meant that Massimo and Leandro didn’t need to turn off the cameras.

  “Come back,” Ryder whispered.

  Massimo and Leandro turned to face Ryder. They’d heard her whisper, but it was too late.

  They were already in front of the glass wall, and the advisors had seen them.

  Massimo turned away from Ryder. As he did, his fangs protruded out of his gums, and his eyes glowed red. The advisors who had spotted Massimo were staring at him in horror, and the others quickly followed suit.

  He pushed open the door, which wasn’t locked. There were squeaks from the Advisors’ chairs as they quickly got to their feet and backed away from Massimo and Leandro. This wasn’t quite the fight the two had expected. The advisors’ faces were as white as their lab coats as they backed away from Massimo and Leandro.

  “How do we turn off the cameras?” Massimo used his vampiric voice, and Leandro let out a growl for good measure. When the advisors shook their heads, he sighed. This would mean a fight. He moved in front of them. “Tell me!”

  One of the advisors rushed at Massimo with something metal in his raised hand. Massimo wasn’t going to take any shit from this lab guy. They needed answers and quickly. Massimo twisted the man’s head off like a daisy, then dropped it to the floor. The man’s body followed it.

  “Tell me, or that will happen to you!” Massimo wasn’t messing around.

  “They… They…are down,” an advisor spluttered, pointing to the blank monitors.

  “Down?” Massimo repeated.

  The man was right. The monitors weren’t showing anything.

  “Well, that was easy.” Massimo looked at Leandro, who was standing by his side. Leandro looked up at his dad blankly and shook his head.

  The advisors looked on with wonder and fear. The vampire was speaking to a wolf?

  Leandro walked over to the door and nudged it, then glanced back at Massimo.

  “What?” Massimo exclaimed, raising his hands. Leandro growled in frustration. He tilted his head to the door and then at the advisors.

  Massimo pushed his hand through his silky hair, then did it again. He liked the way his hair now felt; so much thicker. “Do you want me to take them outside?” Massimo asked.

  That was greeted with a growl.

  Ryder was stood in the doorway now along with the others. “Are the cameras off?” she asked.

  Massimo nodded. “Yes. Apparently, they were already off.”

  “And the doors. Are they open?”

  “Oh, that’s what Leandro was trying to tell me. I’m losing my marbles in my old age.” Massimo grinned, a little embarrassed. He only had two tasks, and he’d forgotten one of them. He put it down to adrenaline messing with his brain cells.

  Ryder marched over to the head advisor. “Advisor Robert, why are they open?” She narrowed her eyes, wondering why Robert was here. He was always by Afana’s side. He was his right-hand slimeball. She grabbed him by the lapels of his lab coat and shook him roughly. “How come?”

  “Because Afana opened them. He’s about to clear the trash out of Level Six,” he replied with a menacing grin on his face.

  Ryder was confused. “Why?”

  The slimeball’s smile grew. “To get to Terrier
and the other traitors. Then he’s coming after you.” Advisor Robert laughed happily.

  Ryder was right up in Advisor Robert’s face now. “Not if I find him first.”

  15

  “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,” Ryder remarked. “Let’s get them in the lab in case there is another way for them to alert Afana that we are here.”

  Massimo nodded in agreement. “Good idea.”

  He pushed open the door to the lab. “Holy snot balls.” Ryder almost gagged when she spotted Knuckles strapped to a bed and a pile of what looked like Tank on the floor. His body was bloated like Afana’s, and his eyes were like Ivan’s. He appeared to be a mix of Mad and vampire, which wasn’t a good look. Knuckles didn’t look any better. He was staring into the distance rather than looking at them. It was like he hadn’t seen them.

  “That’s Tank and Knuckles. Those two usually guard the bunker. Looks like Afana had other plans for them today.” Ryder turned to Advisor Robert. “Is this your handiwork?”

  “It was for science,” Robert told her unrepentantly.

  “You repulse me,” Ryder told him in return.

  Advisor Robert clearly didn’t care what Ryder thought of him, but he would care about this. Ryder punched Robert on the jaw, sending the sack of shit to the floor. “Not so tough without Afana, are you?”

  Ryder and Massimo stepped into the lab, leaving Advisor Robert on the floor hugging his jaw.

  Knuckles’ neck creaked as he turned to them, his eyes were glowing red, and saliva drooling out of his mouth. He had the Madness. He growled at them and fought the restraints around his neck, wrists, and ankles.

  “What have they done to him?” Ryder asked Massimo, but she didn’t need an answer. There were blood samples around the lab, and Ivan’s head was sitting in a puddle of melted ice. Afana had used Tank and Knuckles as test subjects, infecting them both with the Madness—and Knuckles, possibly, with Afana’s own blood.