The Alpha Plague - Books 1 - 8: A Post-Apocalyptic Action Thriller

by Michael Robertson

  “And then you met me in a dark, dank dungeon where you were about to be branded like cattle. It’s all anyone would need for an epiphany, right?”

  The first genuine laugh since Flynn had been in the canteen, the sound of it echoed through the empty space. “Even with all of that, I knew you were special. If nothing else, you intrigued me enough to make me want to find out more.” He blushed as he said it and stared down at their clasped hands. “Kinda helps that you’re smoking hot too.”

  When Flynn looked up, he found Rose staring at him. Because he’d already wasted opportunities, he couldn’t waste this one. He half stood up and leaned across the table towards her.

  Time stood still, and for a moment he didn’t think she’d meet him in the middle. But then she got to her feet and moved towards him, her lips slightly puckered.

  A loud bang suddenly went off inside one of the two corridors leading deeper into Home. It happened in the corridor farther away from them, and at the other end from where they were.

  They stopped—both still leaning over the table with just a few inches between their faces—and stared in the direction of it, waiting for something to happen.

  “What the fuck was that?” Rose said.

  Before Flynn could reply, a banshee wail rang through the empty complex. So loud, her scream sounded like it came from several places at once. After he’d stared at the corridor for another second and not seen her come out, he looked back at Rose. “Does that answer it for you? I’m guessing Angelica was watching us about to kiss.”

  A shake of her head and Rose’s eyes spread wide as she sat back down again. “If you mean that much to her, why did she split up with you?”

  The moment of romance had gone thanks to his crazy ex. Flynn shrugged and sat down too. “Fuck knows. She obviously liked playing me and Larry off one another. Now she’s lost control of that, she’s showing her true colours. She’s fucking mental.”

  “Pure control freak,” Rose said.

  The march of footsteps took their attention away from Angelica. They entered the room before the people did. They came from the direction of Home’s foyer. Both Flynn and Rose watched the space they would enter through.

  Brian, Sharon, and Dan appeared, walked over to the table, and remained on their feet when they got there. Where Flynn had expected Brian to speak, it caught him off guard when Dan did. “We want to stop her.”

  “I think that’s a good idea.”

  Sharon spoke this time. “So what do we do?”

  “Well, seeing as I’ve had a bit of time to think …” Flynn lowered his voice to admonish the guards, “being locked in a dark cell and all …”

  None of them replied, so he continued. “I reckon the best time to surprise them will be during one of their twisted games. There’s so much going on, it’ll be easy enough for us to hide in the town while everyone’s distracted. We can then come out of the buildings when there’s a big crowd. If we co-ordinate our attacks, we can take down the royal complex’s muscle before they know what’s hit them.”

  This time Brian spoke. “And what about the rest of them? They’re a large community, right?”

  “I reckon we can persuade them not to fight,” Flynn said. “Once we cut the head off the snake, they’ll see they’re free. As much as they bow down to the Queen, I can’t see them caring when she’s gone. Especially if half of them want a life she won’t let them have.”

  Silence swept through the place before Dan looked at Rose and said, “And what do you think?”

  Rose flushed red. It clearly caught her off guard to be asked by Flynn’s previous community. After a moment’s silence, Flynn saw her visibly relax and she said, “I can’t think of a better option than what’s been put forward.”

  “So when’s the next games?” Sharon asked.

  After he’d looked at Rose and she offered him nothing, Flynn turned to the guards. “I’d say soon from what we saw, but I don’t know. Rose and I can go to the town and scope it out.” Another look at Rose. “That okay with you?”

  She shrugged and nodded yes.

  “And how do we know you’ll come back?” Brian said.

  “You know I didn’t have to come here in the first place, right? If I didn’t care about the people in Home, I’d be a million miles from here by now.”

  The hard frown on Brian’s face suggested he wanted to argue with Flynn, but he had nothing. Instead he shrugged and said, “Fine, I’m trusting you on this.”

  “You don’t have a choice, Brian.”

  A shake of his head and Brian walked away from them. When he’d left the canteen, Dan looked at Flynn. “Go easy on him, yeah? You’ve taken your pound of flesh with the whole pissing-himself thing. Nothing can bring Vicky back, just like nothing can bring our kids back. We appreciate what you’re doing for us, and I think it’s time we moved on.”

  It went against every instinct in him, but Flynn let go of his anger and nodded at Dan. “Can someone get us some food and drink before we leave?”

  Dan nodded, his eyes smiling, even though the rest of him didn’t. “Of course.”

  Chapter 39

  Flynn and Rose had kept up a quick pace on their return to the Queen’s town. Rose entered the hotel foyer first and Flynn followed her in. The large space made him feel exposed and he looked everywhere he could think of. Too many places for people to hide in. As always happened, Rose moved as if on a carpet of air and his clumsy steps called out their presence to anyone who wanted to listen.

  Rose ran through the doorway to the ground floor first and Flynn followed behind. The stale brown and red carpet at least muted his steps, even if it did stink of rot.

  It made sense to return to the same spot they’d been in before, so Flynn followed Rose when she turned down the corridor with the window at the end of it.

  Like before, they stood far enough back so they wouldn’t be seen, but close enough to the window to be able to view the plaza. Both of them breathed heavily from their quick pace. The Queen had mentioned twelve prisoners a few days back. How close was she to twenty?

  Because Flynn wanted to get as close to the window as possible, he pressed against Rose and looked out. He loved the way she smelled. Even in a world with no perfume and irregular showers, her natural odour gave her skin a flat and calming smell. Not like Angelica, who had a strong acidic reek to her. Almost as if the poison inside her oozed from her pores.

  To look at the watery prison out in the plaza spiked Flynn’s pulse and his stomach turned over against itself. How did the women cope in there? Why weren’t there any men in with them?

  As hard as Flynn looked, he couldn’t see her. His stomach sank. They’d left it too long. He should have done more out in the meadows and made sure her and her partner didn’t run into the Queen.

  But then, in one corner, holding onto the bars above her head, he saw the brown hair of the pregnant woman. Not quite relief because she had to exist in that watery hell, but at least they still had a chance of getting her out.

  When Rose leaned back into Flynn, he took the press of her body. She didn’t ask him to step back, so he put an arm around her waist and continued to look outside. A lazy atmosphere hung over the plaza. Hours must have passed out there where nothing happened.

  Not only had Home fed Flynn and Rose, but they’d given them weapons. Rose had gone for a sword and machete. Flynn had also taken a machete and had a crossbow strapped to his back. Now much more able to cope with any threats, he felt slightly more confident than he had the last time they’d been in the town.

  Just one guard stood out in the plaza. A hunter, he had a dark scowl and stubble on his square jaw. He stood over the pit with the women in it. The women barely moved and he looked beyond bored, his eyes half closed as he rocked like he could fall asleep at any moment. No doubt the Queen always had someone on guard, standing there for hours on end, doing nothing but waiting. No way would she risk letting the women escape. If it got back to the royal complex what she did to the
m, maybe she’d lose her tenuous grip on the power she had over the place. Flynn and Rose would get the women out of there so they could take the truth back to the royal complex with them.

  Since Home had dressed Flynn in a sweatshirt when he’d been unconscious, he now sweated harder than he would have in his T-shirt. In any other situation he would have moved away from the person’s body heat next to him, but with Rose, he didn’t care. He’d wait there forever and deal with the discomfort.

  When Rose reached down to Flynn’s hand on her stomach and stroked the back of it, Flynn’s heart kicked and his breath caught in his throat. She then slowly turned around.

  The pair stared at one another for a second, Flynn getting lost in Rose’s dark eyes. Their lives were at risk in this town. They might not make it out. Maybe destined to die, maybe not, he couldn’t wait any longer.

  Flynn leaned down to kiss Rose and she stood on her tiptoes to meet him. She pressed her full lips against his and a buzz ran through him, so strong he could almost hear it.

  As they kissed, Flynn pulled Rose in tight, forceful with the passion he’d kept contained for so long. Rose twisted into his embrace.

  They parted for a second and stared at one another, breathless with the intensity of their kiss. A slight glaze had spread across Rose’s eyes as if intoxicated by it. Flynn felt the same. “Wow,” he said. “You can’t believe how long I’ve wanted to do that for.”

  Rose nodded. “Me too, even though it’s probably not the most appropriate place for it.”

  Before Flynn could reply, the voice of a guard called through the hotel. It came from the same floor they were on. From the same corridor. Footsteps joined the sound. It suggested there were more than one. It suggested they were close.

  The moment shattered, Flynn stared at Rose. She stared back, her eyes wide, her jaw limp. She let the air out of her lungs as she said, “Fuck!”

  Chapter 40

  “What are we going to do?” Flynn whispered, breathless in his panic. Instead of looking at Rose, he watched the end of the corridor in the direction of the sound. He freed his crossbow from the harness across his back, pressed the stock into his shoulder, and looked down the barrel, waiting for something to aim at. Even if he only took one of them down before they were overwhelmed, it had to be better than none.

  Rose moved close to him and whispered into his ear, “I want you to wait here and don’t follow me.”

  He pulled his focus away from the end of the corridor and looked at her. “What are you going to do?”

  “I have a plan. And it’s important that you let me do it. We need to serve the greater good, don’t ever forget that. At present, you’re more important than me. You can go back to Home and get an army ready. They won’t listen to me.”

  “But we can get out of this together.”

  “Can you hear how many there are?”

  The march of steps sounded like at least six to eight guards headed towards them. Flynn didn’t reply.

  “We won’t last two seconds against them. At least this way, you can help everyone.”

  “But—”

  “Let me do this, Flynn. I trust you’ll find a way to help me, but it’s not now, okay?”

  Flynn lowered his crossbow as he fought against the sadness twisting through him. Not entirely sure what she had planned, but certain he wouldn’t like it. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

  “Make sure you come back, then.” Before Flynn could reply, she said, “Besides, I can swim.”

  “What if the Queen tries to kill you straight away?”

  “It’s not her style. She likes ceremony too much. Besides, she’ll want you too. Maybe she’ll see me as bait.”

  Cold dread sank through Flynn, but he stayed put while she walked away from him towards the sounds at the end of the corridor. There seemed to be a logic in what she’d said and he certainly had nothing better to offer. He’d have to find a way to rescue her and liberate the people of the royal complex. But he’d do it. Especially if her life depended on it.

  As Rose walked up the corridor, she dropped her machete and sword. Best to appear as non-threatening as possible.

  The urge to follow her still pulled on Flynn, but then he listened to the people approaching. Too many for them both to take down, and they’d both be spotted if one of them didn’t do something. What if they were both spotted anyway?

  Too late to do anything about it, Flynn watched Rose step out into the next corridor. She’d sprung the plan on him, and although she’d convinced him, it already seemed like an awful idea. What if she’d gotten it wrong and they killed her straight away? But what could he do about it now?

  A male voice shouted, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry,” Rose said, a forced vulnerability in her tone. “I’ve been hiding here for days now. I can’t cope anymore. I’m tired and hungry. I want to go back to the royal complex.”

  Several men laughed at her. “You’re hoping, aren’t you?”

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve fucked the Queen over, love. You don’t get to just come back into the royal complex. Now, on your knees, and hands behind your head.”

  Although he couldn’t see her, Flynn listened to Rose drop to the ground. Torn between acting and remaining put, his crossbow shook as he raised it to his shoulder again and watched the end of the corridor. Rose had a point when she’d said Home would follow him. Besides, he could wait and see what they did to her. He could decide if he needed to come out fighting now, or if he’d have time to go back to Home. Either way, he couldn’t simply leave Rose until he knew she’d be okay.

  As the sound of footsteps marched away from Flynn, his heart sank. But he fought against it. Whatever happened, he wouldn’t lose another person.

  Chapter 41

  A few minutes had passed since the sounds of the guards had vanished down the hallway, marched through the hotel’s foyer, and gone outside. Flynn stared out of the small window at the plaza beyond.

  When the stomp of what sounded like several guards entered the square, he watched the hunter by the pit look in the direction of the noise.

  “Where did you find her?” the hunter asked.

  “In that hotel. Says she’s been in there for days. Where’s the Queen?”

  “Here.” Her sharp call sounded like the caw of a crow as she emerged from an alleyway on the other side of the plaza, her angular face twisted as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. “Well, I never thought I’d see you again. And where’s lover boy?”

  “Gone,” Rose said, still acting weak. “Once we’d escaped, he went back to Home and his girlfriend.”

  Flynn shook his head. They hadn’t agreed on that. Rose had made him think she’d let the Queen know he’d be coming for her. It would make her worth keeping alive.

  A tilt of her head and the Queen pushed her bottom lip out in mock sympathy. “Aw, poor you. Dumped by your boyfriend before you’re even an item. And after all you did for him.”

  “Fuck you,” Rose said.

  The Queen laughed for a second and then her mirth fell. She spoke in monotone. “Put her in the pit.”

  Flynn shouldn’t have agreed to her plan. Nausea turned over in his stomach to see the hunter by the pit snap the bolt open and rip the cage up. The hands holding onto it let go and the women already in there gasped as they trod water. Some held onto the edges, the brown-haired pregnant woman being one of them.

  Before they could shove her, Flynn watched Rose jump into the water. Better to take what control she had.

  The slam of the gate crashed through the plaza and echoed off the walls of the buildings surrounding it before the hunter cracked the bolt back into place.

  Flynn watched the Queen down the barrel of his crossbow. One bolt through the window into her head and she’d be done for. But one bolt wouldn’t take down an army. They needed to attack when they had enough people to go to war. At present, Rose’s life wasn’t in immediate danger.

  After
the Queen had walked onto the bars over the pit, stamping on the hands that tried to hold on, she smiled. “The good news for you lot is we won’t be eating you any time soon. You’ll all get to swim in there for another week at least. It’ll soften you up if nothing else, make you a little more tender. I should probably throw some seasoning in with you.” She laughed at her own joke and some of the hunters smiled with her.

  “We have twenty prisoners in the dungeon. That means we’ll have the games tomorrow and enough meat to last us for a good few days.”

  Flynn lowered his crossbow. Rose could last the night in that pit if he left her there. The guard in the plaza would make it too hard to bust her out just on his own. He stepped away from the window. If he could get back to Home and bring an army, they could free Rose and the others. She’d be okay for one night.

  By the time he’d reached the end of the corridor, Flynn couldn’t hear the Queen’s words anymore, but her vicious cackle called through the town, turning his blood cold.

  Just one more day and he’d get the chance to cave her fucking head in. Flynn turned his back on the corridor, the Queen, and Rose, and took off towards the hotel’s foyer at a jog. Hopefully all the guards were in the plaza so he could get out of there without incident.

  Chapter 42

  The uneven ground sent Flynn’s feet twisting and turning as he walked over it. He’d been on the move for hours, the thought of Rose in the watery pit driving him on. That and the Queen’s plan to have another set of games tomorrow. They didn’t have any time to fuck around.

  When Flynn left the Queen’s town, it had been late evening. The air had gradually cooled as it welcomed the chill of night. He’d not seen anyone on his walk, but that didn’t stop him keeping a hold of his crossbow with both hands as he moved through the long grass. Before he’d left the town, he’d decided he’d shoot first and ask questions later. Nothing could get in the way of him saving Rose. Nothing.