Grayson Ryder: A Thief's Thrill

by M. L. Giles

  After what felt like an eternity, Evan ceased his struggle and fell silent.

  He was gone… The image of his burning body made me realize that my nightmare had come partly true.

  Aiden turned to us all after Evan had died. That bastard raised his arms up in the air, shouting loud enough for us all to hear, “Let the celebrations begin!”

  Everyone around me gave a loud cheer. From behind, I could hear drums being played rapidly, accompanied by a guitar. Fire rose into the air, being spat out by a male and female fire-breathing duo. The cheering crowd broke off into smaller groups, beginning their orgy of drinking, dancing, fucking, cheering, and chanting… All of this done around the remains of Evan’s burning body.

  Aiden strutted around the groups of raving lunatics like a peacock showing off. Four scantily clad women wrapped themselves around him. One of them was Wendy wearing a revealing red dress to match her hair.

  Not one person here showed any remorse or emotion when Evan was set on fire. Not one.

  This wasn’t a group trying to survive in a harsh world. This was a cult; a pack of wild savages being led by an arsonist.

  I looked back at the fire. Evan’s remains were barely visible behind the wall of light. The same smell of burning flesh forced its way into my lungs once more.

  The thrill that always came with doing anything risky seemed to burn away along with Evan. This was the first time in my life I was in such a dangerous situation without the stimulation to keep me going.

  Without the sensation of thrill spurring me on, I was overcome with a desperate desire to run, one that I had to struggle against. They still had Colton – someone I cared about just as much as my sister.

  If it was Gloria they had locked up in there, I’d be doing the exact same thing I am doing right now. I might be a selfish shit sometimes, but I am fiercely loyal to those few (very few) I truly care about.

  There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was going to let Colton suffer the same fate as his father.

  Colton was leaving this place with me, no matter what.

  All I had to do was wait for this party to end.

  Chapter 22

  Deception.

  Found at Last.

  Aiden’s victory party went on for many hours. During that time, I was able to move freely around undetected thanks to my disguise. Using that to my advantage, I had managed to investigate the ground floor of the hospital, finding that very few people guarded the interior. The few that were still on guard inside were also enjoying the festivities by downing vast quantities of booze, singing raucously, or just having random sex.

  All except one guard who stuck out like a sore thumb amongst these people. One paltry guard who sat on a row of plastic seats in a corridor, with two women standing in front of him, mocking the sad-looking guy.

  Gullible, clumsy Thomas.

  His usually pristine appearance had been stripped away. The thick glasses were gone, along with the usual tie and mustache. His buttoned white shirt was covered in yellow paint and hanging open, revealing his skinny, smooth body. Even his black trousers were torn off at the knees.

  “Come on, tell us!” one of the women kicked Thomas’ exposed shin. “If you were with Colton’s group, why shouldn’t we off you too? Give us a reason.”

  Thomas rubbed his shin, looking scared by the aggressive women taunting him. “B-B-Because Aiden s-said W-Wendy and I c-could—ˮ

  “Listen to him! Weak. Pathetic… He’s no different than the people at the hotel.”

  Both of the women kept kicking his shin repeatedly, mocking him with a laughter more akin to cackles.

  “S-Stop it!” Thomas cried out, desperately trying to protect himself from their kicks. “I d-didn’t want to c-come here. I j-just wanted W-Wendy to be h-happy!”

  There was a part of me that took pity on Thomas, despite his betrayal. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest to hear this was Wendy’s doing.

  I walked over to the three of them. “Ladies! Ladies!” I spoke with a faked accent and deeper voice, not wanting Thomas to recognize me. “Give the man a break. We need him for tomorrow.”

  The kicking stopped. All three of them faced me but only one of the women spoke. “This is a place for the strong! What possible use do we have for his scrawny backside?”

  “Someone needs to clean this place up after we’ve partied hard tonight, yes?” I gave a playful wink. “Might as well be the new guy. Now go get a drink outside! Join in the fun!”

  The women walked off, giggling away to themselves. As one of the women walked past me, she brushed the back of her hand over my crotch and whispered, “Find me later.”

  “HA! Not even in your wildest dreams,” I thought.

  Thomas looked up at me, still rubbing his sore shins. “Thank you. I p-promise I’ll clean this place up good tomorrow.”

  I sat down beside him on a plastic chair. “What did you mean when you said you didn’t want to come here?”

  His face twisted in regret at his poor choice of words. “I-I… I didn’t mean it! I wanted to come here, h-honest!”

  He was backtracking out of fear. I needed to calm him down. “Relax, man. It’s cool. I’m sort of new here myself. Don’t you like it here with us?”

  “Well, y-you see—ˮ Thomas looked around to make sure we were alone, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “The group at the hotel wasn’t as bad as Aiden made them out to be. A lot of them were good people, especially this one guy who kept me safe for nearly a year. Truth is, your group is a bit too much for me… S-Sorry.”

  “Then why did you come here?” I asked.

  He looked around again, still nervous about saying anything out of line. “Because my girlfriend, W-Wendy, didn’t want to wait to have kids. She f-felt like Aiden would give her the freedom to do what she wanted, while a-also protecting her better than Colton could’ve… May I ask you something? In confidence.”

  “Of course.”

  “Do you think—ˮ Thomas stopped talking to let a group of partygoers walk by. “Do you think Aiden would let me leave and Wendy stay? Is Aiden the sort of man who would let s-someone leave if they wanted to?”

  That question had a simple answer. “Doubtful. Aiden doesn’t seem to like deserters. He wants everyone either united under his banner or gone.”

  “Christ…” Thomas tugged on his hair, breathing heavily from panic. “I’ve made a big m-mistake! L-Lord, what have I d-done?”

  “…Thomas? Look at me.”

  He did as I asked. I slipped my scarf-mask down momentarily to reveal my face to him.

  “G-G-GRA— Ow!” I was forced to slap my hand over his mouth for a second, or risk Thomas yelling my name out loud. He got the message and returned to whispering. “The two people A-Aiden sent after you said they’d killed you! What happened?!”

  “It’s me, remember? Gave them both the slip.”

  Thomas looked around frantically. “You have to get out of h-here, Grayson. These people are… they’re…”

  “Crazy? Insane? Bonkers?” A few other more offensive names came to mind.

  “All of those! T-These people are dangerous. Ever since Wendy and I brought Evan here, I’ve seen them do some t-terrible things. We need to leave.”

  Thomas wasn’t joking. These fanatics would kill me if I was busted. Usually that would’ve been incentive enough to flee, but I wasn’t going anywhere without Colton.

  “After what they just did to Evan and the people at the hotel, I’m not leaving Colton to suffer the same fate.”

  To my surprise, Thomas looked at me in confusion. “What do you mean? What’s happened to Evan and the hotel?”

  “They burnt him alive in the car park an hour ago, Tom. As for the hotel, it was burnt down with most of Colton’s group still inside. You seriously didn’t know this already?”

  “W-What!? We left with Aiden right after you were c-chased off. I had n-no idea about either!” Thomas gagged, covering his mouth with his hand. “I-I’ve been keep
ing out of e-everyone’s way here, but now even W-Wendy’s avoiding me. She’s always off gallivanting with A-Aiden instead!”

  There was a part of me that felt like he kind of got what he deserved for going mindlessly along with Wendy’s plan. Still… “Sorry to hear that, Thomas.”

  “Dammit, Grayson! I can’t h-handle this. You must get me out of here. P-Please!”

  I think Thomas knew he wouldn’t last a week longer amongst these people. His shield up until now had been Wendy, except that was now fading away thanks to Aiden.

  “All right,” I nodded slowly. “If you agree to do everything I say, exactly as I say it, I’ll get you out of here. Got that?”

  “Anything you say!” he answered, with a desperate man’s enthusiasm.

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. First, take me to where they’re holding Colton.”

  I don’t think Thomas realized how dangerously close he came to death during our meeting. If I’d have thought for one moment he was going to betray me again, I would’ve killed him.

  When he started sputtering my name out loud, I admit, I almost went to cut his throat. It would’ve hurt me to silence him in such a way, but nothing was going to jeopardize my purpose for being here.

  Not even someone I have survived beside for almost a year.

  As we walked side by side through the smoky, flame-lit corridors together, I kept a hand in my pocket, firmly gripping the handle of my concealed blade.

  Thomas led me to the second floor of the hospital – the same one I had searched for Hugo’s office. On the way, I filled him in on what had happened at the hotel. He seemed genuinely upset, enough to make me believe he knew nothing about it.

  Our conversation earlier did make me question whether Wendy knew about the hotel, though. I mean, she did witness Evan die, so it’s safe to assume she knows more. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t even care.

  “There.” Thomas nodded down a hallway, towards a large set of double doors with a miserable looking guard standing in front of them. “Colton’s in there.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, pulling Thomas back around the corner we had come from.

  “Y-Yeah, I think. They moved him directly there after taking him to Aiden’s room.”

  I peeked around the corner, trying to remain hidden. “What’s in there?”

  “Erm, not much.”

  “Details, Tommy-boy!” I urged him. “Your life is on the line here too.”

  Thomas let out a tiny, high-pitched shriek. “T-T-There’s separate sections with beds in, that’s a-all I remember! They u-use these leather straps attached to the b-bed to keep people r-re-re—ˮ

  “—Restrained?” I interrupted. Thomas nodded.

  Only one older, grumpy-looking man guarded the door. He was resting with his back against the wall, arms folded and with a metal pipe leaning against his leg.

  I had two plans in mind; have Thomas lure the guard away, or go with this hunch I had about the guard.

  I opted for the one that would keep the nervous wreck at my side.

  “Follow my lead,” I said quietly to Thomas, “and act drunk.”

  Thomas gave a shaky nod, then immediately began to sway slightly on the spot. I stepped into the long hallway with the guard ahead, making my way towards him with Thomas by my side.

  “Hey-hey, mate!” I called out to the guard using a fake voice. It was time to test out that hunch of mine. “Awww, did you get stuck watching doors instead of enjoying the party?”

  The grumpy man looked at me. “Yeah. That bastard, Rocco, was meant to take over, but he’s probably too pissed up to remember by now.”

  “Really? That’s cold, man,” I slurred my words. “One hell of a party out there!”

  “Y-Yup!” Thomas dramatically stumbled, landing against the wall. Anyone with half a brain could tell he was overacting. “It’s… totally rocking o-out there, d-dude. It’s off the charts!”

  “THIS is why I work alone,” I thought, cringing.

  The guard furrowed his brow and huffed. “Great. Fucking great. I’m not getting any tonight.”

  My hunch was right on the money. This fellow was upset at missing out on the party. Thankfully, Grayson Ryder was here to save his night.

  “You want to take off and get a drink?” I asked. The guard immediately looked happier. “We can handle the big scary door.”

  He turned fully to us, unfolding his arms. “For real? You’ll take over? Won’t you be missing out?”

  I put my hand on his shoulder, guiding him away from the door. “No worries, mate. My friend here was offering me a blowjob, so I can watch the door while enjoying myself at the same time. You go have some fun.”

  “WHA—” Just before Thomas could break character, I looked sternly at him, hoping he would get the message. “I mean, y-yeah! T-That’s right, I… o-o-offered him… that.”

  With a happy “Thank you”, the guard whisked himself off down the hallway. He was like a child who couldn’t wait to spend their pocket money at the shops.

  A big, old, wrinkly child.

  “How do you do that?” Thomas whispered to me as the guard walked off.

  “Do what?” I asked.

  “The convincing lies, knowing what to do all the time, controlling your n-nerves, all of it!”

  I had no idea how to answer him. “Instincts? Experience, maybe? I really don’t know. Come on, let’s grab Colton so we can leave this place for good.”

  With the elderly guard gone and Colton so close, I relaxed a little.

  Big mistake.

  I pushed open one of the double doors, walking in casually without thinking. The room was large and dark, with only two sources of light; one from the human bonfire outside, the other came from a flashlight held by the man sitting opposite us, reading a book.

  As soon as Thomas and I entered the room, the young guard dropped his book on the floor (romance novel by the looks of the two, half-naked women snogging on the cover), then shone his flashlight on us.

  “Stop right there,” he demanded in a squeaky, broken voice. “Why are you two in here? Only Aiden is allowed in here until tomorrow.”

  “Er, we are replacing you for the night.” I tried to come up with a lie on the spot, hoping to find a way out of this.

  “Is that so?” the guard asked, unconvinced by my words. “Weird. I was told I’d be here all night… Sam is meant to be replacing me in the morning.”

  This wasn’t going well. The young, skinny-looking guard stood up, sliding one hand over a huge wrench on the desk beside him. His eyes darted between me and Thomas from behind broken spectacles.

  I took a deep breath before continuing. “Aiden wants everyone to enjoy themselves tonight! We were asked to take over so you can enjoy the party too, bud!”

  Maybe it was wrong of me to expect the same lie to work twice in a row, but if life had taught me anything, it was that when the cards were down, stick with what works.

  On this occasion, however, it did not.

  The guard dropped his flashlight, letting him grip the wrench with both hands. He made a direct, reckless charge at me, lifting the hefty tool up.

  Thomas, being the brave adventurer he is, jumped back against the door, cowering for his life.

  In seconds, the guard was right in front of me, taking a horizontal swing for my side with the wrench. I rushed forward, taking the impact of the handle of the wrench to my side rather than the jaws. The impact hurt my ribs like hell, but not as much as the survival knife I’d thrust into the side of my attacker’s head.

  He stumbled back a few times, dropping the wrench onto the vinyl floor. His mouth began to open as if he was about to say something.

  I couldn’t allow that.

  With my free hand, I covered the lad’s mouth to muffle any sounds. With the other, I pulled the knife out of his head and swiftly struck him repeatedly at where I estimated the heart to be.

  The blood… I hated it. I hated what Aiden had done to me
; what he had turned me into. I didn’t want to kill this lad who was obviously in his late teens and scared of us. But if he had succeeded in calling out for help, Colton, Thomas, and I would’ve all been killed.

  As the lad dropped to the floor, I remembered my sister’s words from the night she died.

  “We all have to do stuff we don’t want to do in order to get by. It sucks, but that’s how it is.”

  You were right, Gloria. It does suck.

  I wiped the knife clean of blood on my trousers before pocketing it. The flashlight was still turned on, lying beside the chair our attacker was using. I walked over and picked it up, shining its light on Thomas.

  “Y-You… K-K-Killed him! I-I-I thought y-you didn’t d-do that?”

  “If the lad had killed me, you would’ve been next, Thomas.” I spoke calmly to him, even if internally I was also shaken by my own actions.

  Thomas started to slowly open the door behind him. “You’re j-just like them… You’re n-no better than t-them.”

  “WHAT?! Don’t you dare compare me—ˮ

  A strong sense of déjà vu washed over me, causing my rapidly rising anger to freeze.

  At one point, I had compared Colton to Aiden because Colton had killed the previous group’s leader. Colton became so angry at me for that comparison, just like I was about to with Thomas.

  I had saved Wendy and Thomas on a fair few occasions, helping them avoid danger, always telling them that murder was wrong. How could I be mad at Thomas when it was me that had safeguarded him from the notion of killing for survival.

  And now here I was; a bloodied body at my feet, murder weapon resting comfortably in my pocket.

  At least now I understood why Colton had become so angry all that time ago.

  “Thomas, I know killing is wrong, but this isn’t the same world we knew before the virus,” I explained as calmly as I could. “If we are going to survive in this new world, we need to be prepared to defend ourselves, not just hide in the shadows.”

  There was a tense silence for a few seconds. Thomas was struggling to take in what he was being told. I knew exactly how he felt because I had felt the same way not long ago. Deep inside, you have this constant war going on between what we once knew to be normal, versus what needs to become normal.