Sundown Series (Book 4): Torment

by Konstantin, Courtney

  They decided to leave out of the back door of the salon. When Rafe cracked the door and peered out, he held up a hand, indicating there were four infected in the alley. Rafe, Max, and Alex rushed out of the door together, taking down the slow infected before they realized they were close by. The bodies fell to the ground in the alleyway and Griffin, Cliff, and Mateo came out to join them. Together they moved near the wall and made their way to the end of the strip of stores.

  When they reached the end of the alley, Rafe stopped short and everyone froze. Instead of looking ahead, he turned his head and looked into the windows of a church across a small road from them. By the way he cocked his head, Alex knew without asking that he had seen something that caught his attention. Alex waited, trusting her brother's instincts to know when to move. He stood extremely still and stared at the same spot for what felt like an eternity. When nothing seemed to move, he finally motioned that it was time to move forward.

  They rounded another set of shops and found themselves entering a small housing development. There weren't as many places to hide and move, so they took shelter behind a shed for a moment, before looking at a map again. Alex moved to stand next to Rafe.

  "What was that back there?" She asked.

  "Pretty sure I saw someone move in that church. But when I turned to look, they made sure to stay unseen," Rafe replied.

  "Friend or foe?" Alex wondered.

  "My guess, in this town? Foe. We may not be a surprise after all. But there's no way of knowing if there are still residents hiding away from the military," Rafe said.

  Alex nodded and they both went back to the map. They determined what housing development they were in and they realized they were closer to the camp than intended. They knew they couldn't approach the gates until dark and decided to wait it out in the yard of the house they were next to. Alex was full of nervous energy and couldn't find a way to relax as they waited for the sun to fall behind the horizon. Max just watched her warily as she paced the wall one way and then the other.

  "Sit down, you're making me nervous just by watching you," Max finally said.

  "You're already nervous and worried," Alex replied. When Max didn't reply Alex looked down at her. Max looked away from her sister and Alex immediately felt bad for being short. She sat cross-legged next to her.

  "And with good reason. I'm sorry. I'm just thinking about what is happening to Marcus," Alex said, reaching out to put her hand on Max's arm.

  "I know. I am too. I of all people know what happens behind those walls."

  "Unless they didn't keep him alive," Alex replied quietly.

  They sat in silence for a while as the shadows stretched across the pavement. Alex was feeling antsy and uncomfortable, so she stood and began to pace the small area. She needed to be in action. Sitting without forward motion was driving her crazy.

  "I'm going to do a quick scouting mission. Make sure there are no hordes or anything nearby," she suddenly announced.

  "I'll come with you," Rafe replied immediately.

  "Me too," Max said, standing up from her spot.

  "Three of us as lookouts is a little much," Alex said.

  "We know how to move quietly. We aren't letting you out there alone," Max said, shrugging her shoulders at Alex's argument.

  Alex knew she wouldn't win so she conceded and the three of them set off behind the house they were sitting near. Alex led the three of them as they moved quietly across the open backyard area that sat between the houses. When they came to a large green space, Alex darted to the nearest tree. Rafe and Max mimicked her, putting themselves in the shadows of nearby trees. Nothing seemed to stir as they waited. Alex wondered if the military swept the town on a regular basis to clear it of the infected.

  Alex stood still, looking out into the park area. The empty swings hung still; no children busy trying to have fun in the last minutes of the sunlight. The slide didn't cause any squeals from children as they’d rush down the spinning plastic tube. If she closed her eyes, she could almost remember laying in the sun at a Las Vegas park while Billie and Henry ran themselves ragged. She wondered if the world would ever be safe again for that uninhibited type of play.

  A low whistle sounded from behind her and Alex turned to see Rafe motioning across the park. Alex squinted, trying to see what he was seeing. She didn't see any infected or anything moving in that direction. She slowly moved back to Rafe's hiding spot to ask him what his signal meant.

  "We're being watched," Rafe said quietly. He didn't whisper as much as spoke in a quiet voice to prevent sound from carrying.

  "Where?"

  "I saw movement in the trees, right off the street," Rafe replied.

  "Living?"

  "If it was an infected, it wouldn't be still."

  "We've seen weird things before," Alex replied.

  "Not this. Too normal. I think it's the same person I saw in the church," Rafe said.

  Alex realized that meant they had been followed for awhile. She knew that wouldn't just be a survivor watching them. They would have given their position away sooner or would have approached the Duncans. No, she knew this was someone from Callahan's military. And that meant he was a threat.

  "What do you want to do?" Rafe asked. Max snuck over to join them in the shadows. The darkness of dusk was starting to fall and sneaking would no longer be necessary.

  Alex studied the area. If the stalker didn't know they were spotted, the Duncans could have the element of surprise. The inside of the park was exposed, but trees lined the outside, giving a private illusion. As the sun disappeared the trees became darker and a plan began to form in Alex's mind.

  "We need bait," Alex said.

  "Draw his attention away from the attack?" Max asked in a quiet voice.

  Alex nodded. In quiet voices, the Duncan siblings worked out the plan. Max was the most well known to the soldiers in the area and likely the biggest point of anger by the Major. The men following Callahan's orders would be hard-pressed to pass a chance to catch their escaped prisoner again. Max wasn't completely comfortable being bait. As Alex stared into her sister's eyes, she reassured her over and over that she would never allow Callahan to get his hands on her again. Max's outer bravado was dented slightly when she wilted under the idea of being tortured again. Alex squeezed her shoulder and tried to convey with her eyes that everything would be fine.

  Rafe and Alex took positions behind the trees on their side of the park. Max, with a tomahawk in hand, crept into the park center. She didn't let her eyes fall on the area they knew their prey was. While she moved slowly in the open, Rafe and Alex carefully moved from tree to tree. With the darkness almost complete, they couldn't be completely sure the man was still where they last saw him. Not for the first time Alex found herself praying that having Max alive was more important that shooting her on sight. As they hadn't been attacked yet, she was fairly confident this was the case. But seeing her little sister in the wide open, with an unknown enemy in waiting, made her nerves short circuit.

  Max stopped at their previously agreed spot, halfway around the park circle from where the intruder was last seen. She was then to turn back the way she came to act as if she were communicating with someone behind the trees. Alex and Rafe were betting on the chance that the intruder would be busy watching Max. With his eyes elsewhere, they could easily sneak up and disable whoever it was. Rafe took lead, his knives the more quiet weapon of choice right then.

  When they snuck to the trees closest to the intruder, Alex almost missed the man completely. However, when she allowed her eyes to roam and focus, she realized there was a man up in the tree, not on the ground. He watched through a rifle scope, as Max used random hand signals to talk to pretend Rafe and Alex. Rafe motioned to Alex as he noticed the man in the tree as well. They each froze in their spot. Without needing to communicate, both Duncans knew what it meant for the man to have the high position on them. If Rafe were to throw a knife and the man didn't tumble from the tree, he would have easy shots
to make against them. He also had his rifle trained directly on their sister. There was no knowing if he was just using the scope to watch her, or if he was taking aim.

  They knew how to take necessary risks, yet Alex held up a hand to let Rafe know she wanted him to wait. He didn't question her decision, just nodded and stepped deeper into his chosen shadow. From Alex's tree, she could see the man clearly. She recognized that he was a soldier, wearing his fatigue uniform. That confirmed her suspicion that Callahan had sent the man. She had to wonder how long the man had been watching them. Alex herself had not been at her top level of performance after what she had been through in the brothel. If the man had been on their tail longer than their arrival into the city, Alex blamed herself for not knowing he was there.

  Alex turned to see Max looking around the park again and Alex knew she was running out of ways to distract the soldier. She would also be wondering why she hadn't heard the fighting of her siblings or if they hadn't found anyone, why hadn't they come to get her. Alex thought quickly and without much thought to what was coming next, she signaled to Rafe to stay and watch the man. She then quietly jogged back to the general area where Max was pretending they were hiding. Alex then followed Max's original path, her head on a swivel, but her eyes never falling on the soldier's perch. Alex could see Max's eyebrows raised in question.

  "What is it?" Max said near Alex's ear when they were standing near each other.

  "Soldier to my 3 o'clock. He's in a tree. We couldn't get to him without putting you at risk. Follow my lead," Alex replied.

  Max nodded and as Alex walked back toward the trees, she followed carefully. Alex turned her head and focused on the trees she had just come from. She used her hand to signal that they were moving on, pretending to communicate with Rafe. She hoped that their ruse was convincing enough. Once in the trees, Alex ran to the edge before crouching behind some of the last trees outside of the park. Max slid to her side and turned to look back the way they had come.

  "What are you thinking?" Max asked.

  "If the man is truly supposed to follow us, he'll think we've left the park. He doesn't know that Rafe has eyes on him. I'm hoping our show will bring him out of the tree and Rafe can attack," Alex said.

  Just then a high-pitched cry came from the other side of the park. Alex stood up quickly and pulled her knife and 9mm before running back through the park. She could hear Max's feet pounding behind her, the thought of stealth out of their minds now. The sisters burst through the trees on the far side of the park and found Rafe pulling a knife from the thigh of a soldier. The man's hands were pushing on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Alex cocked her head and guessed Rafe struck an artery. A move she knew wasn't accidental.

  "You're going to bleed out," Alex said. The man didn't look at her, just stared at the blood bubbling up between his fingers. Rafe looked over to Alex and she nodded. Her brother removed the man's belt and created a tourniquet high on his leg.

  "We'll try to slow down the process if you answer our questions," Alex said.

  Rafe grabbed the man's leg and pushed down on the wound until the soldier's eyes bulged and a painful scream erupted from his lips.

  "With all the noise you're making, we can also leave you to be eaten. It's up to you," Alex continued.

  The soldier gritted his teeth and met Alex's gaze with a hatred that she could truly feel. She found it so odd to have a man she never met, regard her with such malice. She could only imagine what the Major told his men when he sent them after the Duncans. Alex couldn't decide which direction she wanted to go with the man. She didn't want to keep him with them. Most likely he already raised the alarm and Callahan knew they were coming. Though that was probably a given already and Callahan didn't need anyone to tell him.

  "Is our friend still alive?" Alex asked. The man still didn't answer. Alex crouched down and pulled the man's fatigues closer to her. She found his name stitched into the chest.

  "Fletcher is it? Listen, Fletcher. We are reasonable people. We have a friend that is a doctor that could possibly help you with this leg. Or we can get you to the military encampment where they could clean you up. Either way, those are only options if you answer my questions," Alex explained.

  "I already know you have Charlotte Brewer with you. She has the cure. We are all looking for her and the cure to save the world," Fletcher said quietly. It sounded rehearsed, something repeated to him over and over again.

  "She does not have the cure, so you can drop that stupidity," Rafe said, kicking the man in the uninjured leg.

  "Liar," Fletcher hissed.

  "Listen here, you little piss ant," Rafe started, but Alex cut him off and motioned for him to step back before he stomped on the soldier.

  "My brother has a temper when it comes to the doctor, as you all keep trying to kidnap her or kill him. You might want to be more careful with your words," Max explained casually. She stood easily, tossing her tomahawk back and forth between her hands.

  "I'm a member of the United States military. You have committed a crime by attacking me," Fletcher said.

  "Your laws or at least your perception of them, mean very little to us," Alex said.

  "That's because you're on the wrong side of history," Fletcher replied.

  "Are you going to answer our questions, Fletcher? Or are you bleeding out here?" Alex said, bringing them back to the subject.

  A small whistle called Alex's attention and she turned to look at Max. In the distance the telltale groaning could be heard, Fletcher's screams calling the infected right to them. The darkness was covering their path, but Alex could hear them on the other side of the copse of trees. She looked back down at Fletcher and wondered how far she would go to get the information from him. Alex knew that her sister would go as far as it took. Rafe could easily be pushed to the edge of humanity if the environment was right. Alex, on the other hand, wasn't sure how much she was capable of. She tried to not see Fletcher as the young man he was. She tried to only picture him radioing their position to Callahan. She could see them taking Marcus from the brothel at gunpoint. Was it enough?

  "Seems we have some company coming," Alex finally said.

  Fletcher's eyes widened and he began swinging his gaze wildly around them. Using his hands, he began to try to stand on his good leg. Rafe stepped forward and pushed him over again. He hit the ground with a grunt, but that didn't stop him from trying to pull himself away with his hands.

  "Do you think that will get you away from the infected? And what if they are the fast ones? We might not be able to stop them before they have dug their claws into your body cavity," Alex said. She then crouched down, bringing herself eye level with the man.

  "Answer our questions and we won't leave you here," she said quietly.

  Fletcher clearly didn't believe her and Alex was at her limit of patience for the day. Hell, probably for the entire apocalypse. She stood up and walked toward the sound of the infected. She motioned for Rafe to wait and Max joined her. Carefully, Alex picked her way through the trees until she could see the teetering infected. She could tell by their aimless movements that after they heard Fletcher, they had lost the trail. She looked at Max, ensuring she was ready. The two of them could easily handle the three infected that seemed to be in the group. However, the point wasn't to kill them right away.

  Alex coughed once and Max called out. Immediately, all the dead faces swung in their direction. Alex waited a beat and noted that none of the infected seemed to move faster than usual. That was what she was hoping for. The slow dead would be easier to manage for what she had in mind. Max turned to her with a look that said, "Now what?"

  "Let's lead them back toward Fletcher. Maybe seeing the infected will loosen his tongue some."

  "Seriously, Alex?" Max asked.

  "Yes, why?" Alex asked, perplexed by her sister's hesitancy.

  "This seems a little harsh for you. Even I would think twice before leading infected right to a man that can't run away," Max replied.
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  As they discussed the plan, the infected got closer and the sisters had to take a few steps back before becoming easy targets themselves.

  "I'm not going to let them eat him, well not on purpose at least. I just want him scared. He needs to tell us about Marcus."

  "What if he doesn't know anything?"

  "We'll find that out and then we'll just drop him close to his people. Let them fix him up," Alex said.

  Max didn't question the plan any further. The two of them kept their eyes on the infected as they ran into trees and stumbled to catch their desired cuisine. The sound of their hissing and growling was loud enough to carry to Rafe and Fletcher. The sounds of Fletcher arguing with Rafe was an indication that he knew what was coming. The infected stared at Alex and Max with black bottomless holes in their faces. Their hands were up, fingers bent into claws as they swiped at the empty space in front of them.

  When they walked beyond the trees that hid Fletcher, Rafe moved and faced the infected that came their way. He eyed the three and then looked at his sisters.

  "Really?" He asked.

  "What happens next is completely up to Fletcher here," Alex said.

  In show, she slid her knife back into its sheath and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Though she was pretending to be calm and composed, she knew that her siblings wouldn't let the infected get to her. Alex stood over Fletcher and watched his face. He had gone ghostly pale, either from blood loss or fear, she couldn't be sure. He trembled and had a hard time pulling himself along with just his arms. When the infected were fifteen feet from him he swung his gaze to Alex's.

  "You can't do this!" He screeched.

  "Get louder, they love that," Max said over her shoulder. Alex watched as an infected tried to reach her. Max danced away on light feet, bringing the infected back into the trees, before leading him back toward the group.

  "Kill them!" Fletcher cried.

  "We will, once you answer my questions," Alex said.

  Fletcher stared as Rafe stepped forward to sweep the feet from under one of the infected. The dead body bounced to the ground, with no coordination keeping it from falling in an unnatural pile of limbs. The third infected with the group seemed focused on Fletcher and continued to come forward toward him.