The Dark Days Series | Book 2 | Sanctuary

by Cole, Christopher

  “I thought he died in prison!” Faith almost shouted.

  “Guess not,” Corporal Wade said.

  My friends all looked confused.

  “Who’s Grim Harvard?” Ashley asked.

  Captain Noir looked at all of us and stated, “Kids, listen to me very carefully. Stay away from Grim Harvard.”

  “Why? Who is he?” Carrie asked.

  “Grim Harvard is a cold-blooded killer without conscience or mercy. He is one of the most ruthless mass murderers in American history. He has killed hundreds of people with his bare hands!”

  “What?” I asked, surprised.

  “He was known as The Vigilante. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, he went on a long killing spree, but he didn’t kill just anybody. He never killed innocents. He killed only murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang leaders, mob bosses, crooked cops, human traffickers, drug lords, and psychopaths. He is a very dangerous man. Hell, he even killed a few terrorists,” Will explained.

  “Yeah, but in 2006 he turned himself in and got life in prison. So, how in the holy hell is he alive and here in this Fort?!” Kayley demanded.

  “I don’t know, the military must have made him a deal or something,” Captain Noir said.

  I was trying to figure all this out and to see how it makes sense. So, he used to be a vigilante and killed bad people? That does explain why he killed those two muggers, but does that make him evil? He helped me, and he only killed bad people, not “innocents.” However, they just said that he has no conscience.

  “Is he that dangerous?” I asked.

  “Yes! He’s a murderer. He may have only killed bad people, which I applaud, but he is very, very dangerous. Killing the guy who killed his wife wasn’t enough for him, he just had to keep going,” Tracy said.

  “His wife was murdered?” Molly asked.

  “Yeah, that’s what started his killing spree. Some guy on a home invasion broke into his house and killed his wife. The killer eluded the police, but Harvard found and killed him taking his revenge. But that wasn’t enough, so he went a killing spree for ten more years.”

  “Ten years?!” Ashley asked shocked.

  “Yes, so listen to us. Stay away from Grim Harvard, you hear me?” Captain Noir asked.

  We nodded and answered, “Yes.”

  After a long silence Captain said, “Okay. Good.”

  I asked, “What do you mean, that he has no conscience or mercy? You mean, he’s a psychopath?”

  “No, psychopaths are violent people that are crazy. Grim is more of a sociopath; he has no conscience – sociopaths don’t feel anything for others. No empathy, no fear so no human compassion – and to him, probably no weakness,” Captain Noir answered.

  Now this doesn’t add up, because if that were true then why would he stick his neck out for me and kill those muggers? In fact, if he doesn’t care about anyone or anything then why is he helping me? Why does he want to help me?

  After dinner was over and the sun went down, I headed back to the Way house.

  “Nathan?” Clara called, from her bedroom.

  “Yeah, I’m in here,” I called, from my bedroom.

  She came in and let out a breath of relief.

  “Finally, you’re home. You were at Will and Kayley’s apartment?” Clara asked.

  “Yeah, I had dinner with them,” I answered.

  Clara sat down on my bed, “Nate, do you have to visit them so often?”

  “We’ve been through a lot together . . . they’re like family to me and they like seeing me. When I don’t visit them, they worry.”

  “Well, I worry, too, and I’m your mother. Why did you come back so late?”

  I held up the copies of the photos Kayley gave me, “This – we were making memories.”

  As she gazed upon the photos, I reached for the other Polaroid camera inside my backpack.

  “Oh wow, it seems so long since I’ve even seen photos. These are good Nate,” Clara said.

  “Thanks Mom . . . we found two of the same cameras in an old RV before we got to the Fort and here’s the other one. I thought you might want it,” I said, giving her the camera bag.

  Clara stood up and her eyes slightly widened by the gift I gave her – I hope the camera still works.

  “Oh my God, Nathan . . . thank you,” Clara smiled.

  “I think it might still work, but it needs to recharge,” I said.

  Clara planted a long kiss on my head and then kissed my face a few times. She hugged me and I hugged her back. Jonathan leaned against the doorway and knocked.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Jonathan, look. Nathan gave me this camera,” Clara said.

  “Where’d you get that?” Jonathan asked me.

  “I found it in an RV before we got to the Fort,” I answered.

  “It’s nice, looks a lot like the old ones. I didn’t even know Polaroid made digital cameras.”

  “I know, right?” Clara asked.

  “Well, I’m pretty tired, so I’m going to bed,” I said.

  “Alright, sleep well Nate.”

  Clara hugged me again and I hugged back.

  “I love you Sunshine,” Clara said.

  I was expecting to feel a sharp sting in my heart, but it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would when she called me that. I should feel guilty for that, but surprisingly I don’t and I hated myself for it.

  “I love you, too,” I said back, hesitantly.

  Clara kissed me on the head and then headed for her bedroom. Jonathan looked at me with a smile.

  “That was a good thing you did,” Jonathan said.

  “Yeah,” I muttered.

  “Listen, Ellen is going with you tomorrow to the Black Shadow. She’s not much of a listener, so can I count on you to look out for her?”

  “I don’t know if I can promise that. They might assign us separately.”

  “You’ll try, right?”

  “I’ll do what I can, but she’ll probably want me to stay away from her.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Just make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid,” Jonathan said.

  I said whatever I had to say to Jonathan even if it wasn’t fully true. I’ll keep an eye on Ellen whenever I can, but I can’t be everywhere at once. Besides as she stated very clearly to me, she can take care of herself.

  Before he left my bedroom, I called out, “Wait.”

  He stopped to turn around and face me.

  “What was he like?” I asked.

  Jonathan knew whom I was talking about. He thought for a few moments before answering, “Like you, only . . . different.”

  Chapter 10

  Nathan/Sonny

  I was awakened suddenly by the doorbell ringing repeatedly, followed by pebbles hitting my window – it was still dark, but almost morning. I got out of bed to head for the balcony and opened the sliding glass door. I looked down to see Will and Molly with Captain Noir and Corporal Wade. Will, Molly, and Captain Noir were standing in the front yard looking at me while Corporal Wade was sitting in the driver’s seat of a Dodge Charger that used to be a state trooper car, but was now a military vehicle with armor plates and bars over the windows and windshield.

  “Nathan!” Will called.

  “Will? Molly? What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Get dressed and get down here now,” Captain Noir said.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Blair’s baby has been born. You gotta come,” Molly answered.

  Blair had her baby. I didn’t waste another second as I got dressed and got my shoes on. I was wide-awake now. When I got out of my bedroom, Jonathan and Clara emerged from their bedroom. Jonathan was just wearing his boxers and Clara was just wearing a T-shirt.

  “What in the world is going on?!” Clara demanded.

  “It’s for me. Blair’s baby has been born. They want me to see her before I have to start training,” I answered.

  “What? Now? Nate, do you—? “

  “Mom, I h
ave to do this before I go. It’ll be quick and then I’ll be back here to join everyone else.”

  Clara and Jonathan exchanged looks.

  “Okay, we understand,” Jonathan said.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Wait!” Clara called, when I was halfway down the stairs.

  I looked up and she kissed my face before hugging me.

  “I love you. We both love you,” Clara said warmly.

  I hugged her back and responded, “I love you, too.”

  I ran out through the front door, got in the backseat of the car, and they drove me out of the neighborhood.

  “Blair had her baby?” I asked, fixing my hair.

  “Yeah, her water broke sometime around midnight – both she and her daughter are okay,” Will answered.

  “It’s a girl?”

  “Yeah, it’s a girl. Will thought we should see her before we head out,” Molly said.

  “Huh, so finally little Emily has been born,” I said.

  “Emily?” Will asked.

  “Yeah, she said if it was a boy, she’d name him Max and if it was a girl, she’d name her Emily,” Molly explained.

  “Oh.”

  With Corporal Wade’s driving, we arrived at the hospital in less than fifteen minutes. He ran through intersections and barely slowed for cornering – making us all a little nervous. He slid into the parking lot almost like a Hollywood stunt driver.

  “Jesus! Did you get your driving lessons from Grand Theft Auto?!” Will asked.

  “Nope. Fast and Furious, Gran Turismo, and Need for Speed,” Corporal Wade answered confidently.

  “More like Crazy Taxi I’d say,” Captain Noir added.

  “Where is Blair?” Molly asked.

  “Same floor that Izzy had Hope,” Will answered.

  The sun was about to come up as the sky slowly started to light up. Molly and I both got out of the car and rushed inside to climb the stairs. When we got on the second floor and out of the stairwell, we saw Izzy standing in the hallway.

  “Izzy!” I called.

  She turned and waved, “Molly! Nate! You came!”

  “Is Blair okay?” Molly asked.

  “See for yourself,” Izzy pointed with a smile.

  The sun started to rise and its light was beginning to shine in, lighting up the inside of the hospital. We looked through the window and saw Blair lying in bed holding her newborn daughter. Just like Izzy when she had Hope, Blair looked so happy as she gazed adoringly at baby Emily. Molly and I walked closer to the window to get a better look at her; Emily was just as small and beautiful as Hope.

  “Blair,” I spoke through the window.

  Blair looked up with a smile, “She’s an angel – my little angel.”

  “Yeah, she’s beautiful . . . just like her mother,” Molly said.

  Blair’s bed was close to the window and she spoke to Emily, “Hey, see that boy there? That’s Sonny. He saved our lives . . . he saved my friend’s life and her little girl’s life. He saved his friend Molly’s life too. He’s our hero.”

  I smiled sheepishly and waved to her. Emily looked right at us, at me – her brown eyes were so big and pretty. The whites of her eyes shined bright. Looking at Blair holding her daughter gave me the same great sense of happiness and hope as did Izzy and her daughter Hope. I turned to Molly with a smile and she smiled back – her beautiful light blue eyes glistened and sparkled with the sunlight and her smile made her light up. She’s so beautiful. Molly hugged me tightly, and I hugged her back feeling her body against me, it felt like my heart was bursting – I know I will remember this day for the rest of my life – I kissed Molly’s head and she kissed my cheek. Will came up and as soon he got to us, he hugged us. Molly and I hugged him as well.

  “Thank you for bringing us here,” I said.

  “There was no way I could let you miss this day,” Will said.

  “How did you know?”

  “Noir and Wade had night shift patrol. When they saw a lot of commotion happening at the hospital and found out Blair had come to deliver, they came to our apartment to get Molly and then we bee-lined to go get you,” Will explained.

  Will pulled out Kayley’s camera and took a shot of Blair with her baby. Then he took a few shots of Molly and me with Izzy. He printed two pictures, one of Blair with Emily and the other of the three of us – they were great. Our visit didn’t last long, Captain Noir came up to let us know that we had to go pretty soon. Izzy and Blair’s smiles disappeared when he did. I gave a look to Molly that we needed to say something reassuring.

  “We’ll be okay. We’ve made it this far, we can handle training,” Molly said, confidently.

  “Just be careful, okay?” Izzy said.

  “We will. Oh Will, can you hold on to these for me?” I asked, handing him my watch and key chains.

  Will looked confused.

  “I don’t want to lose them in training, so can you hang on to them for safekeeping?”

  “Yeah, of course,” Will answered, as I handed him my things.

  I looked at Molly and her compass necklace. She realized the same thing and took it off and handed it to Will.

  “Please keep it safe,” Molly said, handing it to him.

  “I will, I promise,” Will said.

  Izzy and Will hugged both of us and we got ready to head out, but I had to use the restroom really quick. When I came out, Grim Harvard and I almost ran into each other.

  I scoffed questioning, “Following me again?”

  Grim started, “Actually I was— “

  “Shut up!” I ordered.

  “Excuse me?” he said menacingly, as his eyes narrowed.

  “When were you gonna tell me?”

  “Tell you what?”

  “Who you really are.”

  “What are you talking—? “

  I started to get irritated, “Did you really think no one in this Fort would remember you? Did you think that people would forget The Vigilante?”

  I was expecting him to look surprised that I knew his infamous nickname, but he just stood there calmly.

  “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?” I asked.

  Grim shrugged, “No . . . I assumed you probably already knew or would find out sooner or later.”

  “And you thought I’d be okay with that?”

  “Okay with what?”

  I gave off a look of disbelief.

  “Jesus Grim! You are a murderer!” I jabbed.

  “And you’re not? What about Logan or those guys you gunned down?”

  “I killed them in self-defense – to protect my friends. You killed people out of revenge.”

  “If you know my backstory, then you know those people deserved to die. I can promise you that taking them out of the gene pool saved others,” Grim said.

  “I didn’t sign up to work with a criminal – and you can forget the deal. I’m out!” I said, before walking away.

  “I don’t think so, you’re not going to walk away from something that can save your friends’ lives, are you?” Grim called out.

  I stopped.

  “Elite survival and combat skills are worth more than gold in the current world. Jewels and gems won’t protect your friends or put food on the table. Basic skills will only get you so far; skills I can teach will not only get you farther, they may mean the difference between your survival and that of your friends. You don’t want to throw that opportunity away.”

  He was right about that. If the military was only teaching us standard training, then we would have only a fair chance of survival out there. If Grim is willing to teach us more than that, then we would have a much better chance – and, at the right time, that could make all the difference. Of course, I want my friends to live, but the whole thing about working with Grim, a convicted murderer, made me uneasy. I turned around to face him.

  “If you’re smart, you won’t waste this chance. I know what motivates you, son, even if you don’t want to do it for yourself, you’ll do i
t for your friends,” Grim said.

  “But why would you care? Why are you helping me?” I asked.

  “I’ve got my reasons – and they’re my own.”

  I didn’t really have a response to that.

  “You in?” Grim asked.

  Before I could even think I said, “Yeah, I’m in.”

  Grim just nodded and turned.

  Before he walked away, I said, “I know you killed bad people, but, no offense, you don’t seem like a very good guy.”

  Grim stared at me for a few seconds and then said, “The line between good and evil is thinner than you think.”

  I raised my eyebrow and he continued – a rarity I was certain.

  “I’m not one of the bad guys Sonny, but don’t confuse me with one of the good guys either,” Grim said, before walking away.

  He knows my real name. How? In that moment, I couldn’t tell if fortune was smiling on me or not, but I did know that this path was a dangerous one. Ever since the outbreak I had just been reacting – never really had much time to think anything through. This was different – I really didn’t know what to do – I wanted to be smart but this was entirely unknown territory. An unbelievably intimidating man admits his truth to me about his past, and for some reason, wants to help me . . . it felt like a tiger just killed all the hyenas, but instead of eating me he wants to teach me how to be a tiger.

  I somehow felt Grim was not the pure evil the gossip said he was, but if he truly did not care at all about anything, then why would he do this – why is he helping me? Why is he caring for that dog? He’s not completely heartless. Whatever the reason is, somehow, I felt I could rely on him to do as he said. Only time will tell if this is the smart play . . . or the dumbest fucking thing I’d ever done.

  Chapter 11

  Grim

  “Sometimes life gives you a second chance, or even two! Not always, but sometimes. It’s what you do with those second chances that counts.”

  – Dave Wilson

  All of the soldiers and officers of the Pacific Army stood at attention in front of the city hall building of the city as General Shepard walked on an elevated stage overlooking the crowd. All the parents and the children were standing, waiting for General Shepard to address them before their ‘qualifying’ children were to be sent off to compulsory training. The sun was past being orange and yellow, as its brightness turned to a normal hue – but today felt anything but normal. Squinting against the sunlight, the mostly scrawny ragtag collection of kids didn’t look much like army trainees.