by L. T. Ryan
“You’re scaring me, Sweetie.”
He took a deep breath, exhaled through his nose. “The men left in a hurry. Maybe thirty minutes later, I saw something pass through the woods. It came out. More followed. Before I knew it, there were twenty or so out there, all huddled up. One found Marcus’s body. He couldn’t keep it a secret from the others. They…” He stopped, closed his eyes and searched for the best way to phrase it. “Marcus isn’t there anymore.”
Elena gasped as she brought her hand to her mouth. Perhaps she, too, was able to separate herself from the act of exiling Turk’s brother. It was surreal in a way, after all. But this, faced with the fact that he’d been murdered and then devoured, might be too much to bear.
“What can we do?” she asked.
Turk shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think this tells us three things. Those things are near. They can smell blood. And we’ve got another band of survivors who ain’t so friendly close by.”
Tears rolled down Elana’s cheeks.
“I’ve got to go out there,” Turk said.
“What?”
“They know we’re here. I’ve got to disassemble everything we have out there, then cut the security.”
“I thought the doors were sealed for weeks?”
Turk shook his head as he walked toward her. He placed his hands on her shoulder, tucked his chin an inch, and looked her in the eye. “Everything can be overridden by me. Simple as that.”
“But if you take out the cameras, we’ll have no way of knowing what’s going on.”
He nodded.
“Is that smart?”
He shook his head. “They’ll be back. And when they come back, they’re gonna destroy everything they can find. Worse, if they’re smart, they’ll follow the trail, which will lead them close enough to where they can figure out where we are.”
“But this place is impenetrable, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Look, don’t worry. I’m just being cautious. I’m gonna go out there and dismantle all but one. I think I can keep one active and it won’t hurt us.”
“You’re not going now, are you?”
“No. Tonight. I might bring one person along to spot for me.” He paused a moment. “Go back to Layla. I need to start preparing.”
He waited for his wife to leave. She crossed the room. The door slammed shut with a thud. Turk inhaled deeply, held it, and exhaled through his nose.
“Why was I so stupid,” he muttered.
He pulled up the server. Sean still hadn’t responded. Turk typed another message. “Location compromised. May need to evacuate. Make alternate plans. Do not come here until I give the okay.”
Turk leaned back in his chair. All of this was his fault. He’d considered building a holding cell, but hadn’t. Waste of space, he’d thought at the time. With the number of people he might need to house, he wanted every inch to be usable in the bunker. Because of that decision, he’d sent Marcus into the new world, and now trouble, perhaps rightfully so, had found him. But the others didn’t deserve it.
And that’s why, tonight, he wasn’t going out to disable the security feeds.
Turk planned to go hunting.
Chapter 36
The draft followed the floor. Addison figured that out quickly. She also determined that the room slanted downward, away from the walk outside her cell. So when she had lain down, she did so near the front of the cell. The breeze that passed was cool and calming. Everything else had her feeling unsure and panicked.
The men across from her ignored her. They had their own problems, she figured. As did everyone down here. No one spoke. A few cried. It seemed everyone had accepted that this was their fate in this shadow of a world they now inhabited.
A thump at the end of the hall indicated the door had opened. She listened for the sounds of footsteps. Muffled, they grew louder. She pressed the side of her face against the rusted iron bars and closed her left eye. Through her right, she saw a man escorting two females. Both were average height, although one looked young.
Addison’s cell was the only one that wasn’t full, so she had a feeling they’d be her new roommates. They couldn’t be any worse than Carla, especially at the end.
“Get back,” the man said, stopping in front of her cell.
Addison scooted back to the wall, avoiding the corner where she had urinated when she couldn’t hold it any longer.
The lock slid back. The door swung open on rusted hinges. The sound made the hair on her neck stand up. The young woman was pushed in first. The older one followed, pulling the first close to her and moving to the side opposite Addison.
Addison waited until the man locked the door and left. She introduced herself. “How did you end up here? The roadblock?”
“No,” the girl said. “We were —”
The woman wrapped her hand around the girl’s head and silenced her.
Addison looked toward the cell opposite hers. The three men sat on the floor staring at each other.
“It’s okay,” she said. “We’re all in the same boat. You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t feel comfortable. At least let me know your names.”
The girl looked back at the woman, who nodded. “That’s Barbara, and I’m Emma. We were separated from my father. Some men took us. I don’t know what happened to him, but there was a fire and bodies and…”
Addison touched the girl’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about your father.” She glanced at Barbara. “And your husband.”
“He’s not my husband. I was his wife’s best friend. She was away when this all started. She made it home, but she was…”
Addison looked toward Emma. The girl turned her head. A tear fell from her eye.
“I’m sure your father is out there. Maybe they’ll bring him here and you’ll be reunited.”
“I hope they don’t,” Emma said. “I don’t want him to be captured.”
Addison took note of the fear in the girl’s voice. She told her, “This is just a place they keep people until they can tell they aren’t sick. After that, they’ll bring you into their group. You’ll be able to live a normal life again.”
“How long have you been in here?” Emma asked.
“Not long. I was out there, but I did something stupid.”
“What?”
“Ran away.”
“So you’ve been down here twice?” Emma asked.
“No,” Addison said.
“Then you were here when it all happened?”
“No. They brought me here when they came upon me on the road.”
“But you didn’t come down here first.”
Addison shook her head. The girl was sharp.
“So they don’t just put people down here to make sure they aren’t sick first.” Emma pulled away from Barbara and went to the front of the cell. “I bet everyone in here did something to be put in here. Whether they challenged someone, or were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They aren’t worried about them being sick.”
“I’ve got a friend out there. She’s…” Addison stopped herself from revealing Jenny and her connection to Phil. “She can be helpful. I’m sure word of my capture has gotten around the camp and hopefully to her. I expect her to visit soon. She may be able to help us.”
“May?” Barbara said. “I can’t pin hope on ‘may.’”
Addison glanced toward Emma, who faced away from them. “You better, lady. It’s all we have anymore.”
The cell filled with bright light. The women looked down and covered their eyes.
“What the hell is that?” Barbara said. “Where’s it coming from?”
Addison blinked hard a few times and let her eyes adjust. She pointed toward the ceiling. “Up there. They’ve got some kind of a tube thing. My grandparents have a few in their house. The sun hits a mirror and, whatever, it makes it bright. Best I can figure, they covered it with sod or something and randomly pull it away.”
“Does anything happen after they do?”
<
br /> Addison shrugged. “Have only seen it a couple times now. Nothing happened either time.”
Barbara rubbed her eyes with her palms. “That hurts.”
“Wait until it goes dark again.” She noticed Barbara’s gaze travel to back corner where there was a hole in the floor. “Yeah, it’s what you think it is.”
Barbara shuddered. “How did this happen? How did the world end up like this?”
Addison thought back to a conversation she’d had with her dad on the subject of the end of the world. She paraphrased what he had said. “Bound to happen at some point, right? We all live in our little sheltered worlds, no matter how good or bad. We often fail to look at the big picture. There are bad people out there. And then there are people worse than them. The bad people aren’t afraid to do what’s necessary to eliminate those that pose a threat to them. They, too, often fail to see the big picture. The end result is this. Everyone’s fucked.”
Barbara glanced at Emma. “Not in front of the girl.”
“I’ve heard it before, Barb. You know my father.”
Barbara sighed. “Yeah, guess so.”
“Think he’s out there?” Emma asked.
“You know he is. He’ll make it here and rescue us.”
“There’s so many of them,” Addison said.
“You don’t know Sean,” Barbara said. “Former Special Forces. Air Force PJ. Know what that means?”
Addison shook her head.
“He’d jump in from thirty thousand feet with nothing but a pistol to rescue someone with half their body shot off. If anyone got in his way, he’d eliminate them. Trust me, when he gets here, we’ll all be better off for it.”
“His name’s Sean?” Addison asked.
Emma and Barbara nodded.
“Ryder,” Barbara added.
“Well Sean Ryder, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Chapter 37
What the hell am I doing?
Sean continued to doubt himself. There had to be more men than what he had seen on his property. And here he was, walking naked into a lion’s den. In what world did this make sense?
“It’s not much further,” Derrick said.
“I can see the map too,” Sean said.
“Yeah, but, you don’t know that there’s checkpoints on the road on either side of the camp now.”
“Won’t that give away your position?”
“We’re subtle. You come with us or we shoot you.”
Sean pictured a couple country boys sitting in the back of their trucks on the lift-gate. Rifles placed across their legs. Beer in one hand, ham sandwich in the other. He imagined the stretch of road ahead of them. A five-mile trail that offered no alternate routes. And forget about parallel roads. The thick trees throughout the countryside meant they’d have to travel on foot for several miles.
“How many at each check point?” Sean asked.
“Two to eight.”
“That’s quite a range.”
“Just depends.”
“You ever work it?”
“Nah, Dad don’t trust me.”
“Dad?”
Derrick said nothing.
“Phil’s your father?”
Derrick looked away. Sean watched a bead of sweat trickle along the edges of the guy’s sideburn.
“Yes or no, Derrick.”
“Yeah, he’s my dad.”
Sean nodded. Things had gotten interesting.
“I’m a bargaining chip now, ain’t I?” Derrick said.
“Kid for a kid, right?”
Derrick wiped the sweat from his brow. A damp line remained, entwined in his eyebrows. “He won’t negotiate with you. More ‘n likely, he’ll kill your little girl, and then dare you to kill me. He’s got the numbers. What you got? A bum leg is all I can see.”
“And you.”
“Let me tell you something, Mister. I ain’t worth jack shit to my old man. It’s all about the good of the community now. You want to get your kid out alive, then you best fall in line with Phil. Offer your services to the community. Get trusted. Then make your move.”
Sean said nothing. He mulled over the man’s words.
“But if you think he’s gonna cave when you hold that fancy gun to my head, you’re crazy.” He turned his head and spit out the open window. “And you’ll likely end up getting your head shot off.”
“Stop the truck.”
“What?” Derrick glanced between Sean and the road.
“You heard me.” Sean aimed the MP7 at the man’s head. “Stop. Now.”
Derrick slowed the truck down and pulled onto the grass shoulder. They rolled to a stop.
“Get out,” Sean said. “Move to the front of the truck.”
Derrick did as instructed.
Sean stepped down and met him there. “On your knees, hands behind your head, legs crossed at the ankles.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
“Do it,” Sean commanded.
The young man eased himself down and positioned himself as Sean had ordered. His nostrils flared wide and contracted rapidly. His cheeks flushed. His eyes darted around, looking for escape routes, or perhaps help in the form of someone he knew.
Sean walked around the man. The back of Derrick’s shirt was soaked in sweat. Sean placed his prosthetic foot down on Derrick’s crossed ankles. He touched the barrel of his gun to the top of Derrick’s skull.
The man began to cry. Sean didn’t blame him. In this new world, dying at the hand of another man was the least of his worries. At the same time, it should have been his greatest concern.
“Tell me everything I need to know,” Sean said.
“What do you mean?”
“About the setup, the structure. How many men? How many women? How well armed you guys are? Types of weaponry? Patrols, guards, whatever you call them, how many and where? How secure is the perimeter? Are there traps?”
“I…I wouldn’t know most of that, man.”
Sean tapped against the top of his head with the barrel. “I’ve killed before.”
“Okay, okay. About half the place is women. Everyone works, building new houses and stuff. There are always four men on watch around the main camp. They’re positioned north, south, east and west. Four more a bit further out. Shift changes every ten hours.”
“Why ten?”
“Why not?”
Sean shrugged. “Okay. What about the perimeter? Traps and such?”
“I don’t know about any of that. They don’t want most of us leaving alone. And frankly, the danger of what’s out there is enough to keep most people at the camp.”
“What if someone dies? These things smell death.”
“Huh?” Derrick leaned back and made eye contact with Sean. “No one has died yet. At least, not that I know of.”
“And how’s the place set up?”
“The middle is mostly temporary structures for housing. This happened quicker than we thought it would. Dad’s got his place, and a few people stay there. There’s a couple other buildings, and lots more under construction.”
“And what happens to people who dissent? Where do they go?”
“Pardon?”
“Come on, Derrick. No body is without its warts. What do you do with the people that can’t hack it in the group?”
“Can I stand?”
Sean took the pressure off Derrick’s ankles and then took three steps back. “Nice and easy.”
Derrick rose, turned and nodded. “Thank you.”
“Just answer the question.”
Derrick nodded again. He rubbed his wrists as if they’d been shackled. “So there’s an underground, um, prison I guess you could call it. Dark and dirty, carved into the earth. We got a tube thing running into each cell and give them some light each day. Some people are permanent, others are temporary.”
“How many people down there?”
Derrick shrugged. “Ain’t been down there but once, man.”
“How many the
n?”
“Thirty, maybe.”
“And how many cells?”
“Ten.”
“Size?”
“Eight by eight, I guess.”
“You guess.” Sean envisioned the conditions down there and contemplated the fact that he could end up spending the rest of his life in one of those cells if this mission failed.
“What do they do with new people?”
“You mean like your wife and daughter?”
“She’s not my wife.”
“Right, sorry.” Derrick looked away.
“They put them down there, don’t they?”
The man nodded.
“And you know where it’s located?”
“I do.”
“Guess where you’re taking me, Derrick?”
Chapter 38
Turk stood in front of the hatch, prepared to break his number one rule. He would leave alone and without telling anyone. At some point his wife would realize he had gone through with it. She’d go to his computer and look at the security feeds. Maybe she’d spot him outside. Maybe she wouldn’t. Hell, maybe no one would even notice he was gone.
He unlocked the hatch and passed through, closing it behind himself. The humidity took hold at once. Sweat dripped down his forehead, into his eyes. He blinked at the burning sensation. He rubbed his nose after inhaling the mold-laden air. How would the rest of his group react to the outside world after six or seven weeks, maybe more, inside the climate-controlled bunker?
Turk hesitated before emerging from the underground dugout. The horde of afflicted had passed, and the men who’d killed Marcus were unlikely to be around. They’d come back, he was sure of that. But not yet.
He slung is MK 14 EBR over his shoulder. His HK MP7 was strapped tight to his chest and equipped with a suppressor. Finally, he secured a Sig Sauer P226 in a compression holster behind his back. His cargo pants pockets were filled with additional ammunition.
Turk unlocked the earthen hatch and lifted it enough to scan the surrounding area. Muted sunlight attacked his eyes like an icepick. He crawled through and rose to a crouching position. Turk dissected the area in quarters. There were no immediate threats. He spun back around and stared at his brother’s remains. Little was left of Marcus.