Imminent Threat

by Felisha Antonette

  “I see.”

  He looks over the uneaten food on Luke’s tray and grabs his vanilla yogurt. “Do you want them to kill me?”

  “No. I want to know why you think they didn’t.”

  He shrugs. “They’ll probably use me later to get more information. A few of the Creations are going off to another end of the world for war settlements. They’re going to warn them about the threat placed on us and request to join forces.”

  “Requesting help…?” That’s nothing like us, especially from overseas, we’re the best we have. If they agree, they’ll likely end up sparing Creations to fight overseas too. Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing, if this world finally got along.

  Cory nods, brows high as his eyes are wide. “Exactly. There’s a lot of weird shit going on around here.”

  “You’ll tell me what that is?” I spot Seits observing me from the door of the mess hall. “I don’t think I should be seen talking to you,” I tell Cory.

  He looks around the room. “No. No time soon. And yeah, you probably shouldn’t.” Standing, he says, “I’ll go for now. I’ll talk to you later on tonight after everyone’s asleep.” He parts, heading out of the mess hall.

  I drink my bottled water. Outside, the storm is taking its vengeance on the desert for being so dry. We’ve not seen rain in a while, but I fear it will bring in the desert heat, and it’s going to be hard to train in triple digit temperatures.

  I drag the back of my hand across my forehead, already feeling the effects of the heat.

  Food trays slap the table as my friends crowd around me, laughing and joking. “Everybody knows you’re a nerd Floyd. If she doesn’t like that you’ve read every book in the library, tell her to kick rocks,” Collins says.

  “Don’t call my brother a nerd,” Fein defends. “But she’s right. Forget about her and cuss her out using words she won’t understand.” She bumps her shoulder against his. “Your brain can be a weapon too.”

  Floyd smiles when his sister winks at him. “Thanks,” he says.

  Sean, at my left, leans over and in a low voice says, “Sorry about earlier, I didn’t know.”

  “Don’t be,” I say to him.

  “If it counts for anything,” he says lower and closer. “He’s upset like you are.”

  “That doesn’t help,” I say. “But thanks.” Thanks for nothing. You telling me that didn’t do anything but make me feel like something else is missing. Reminding me of my feelings and making me aware of the burn returning to my throat.

  I cannot deal with this emotional stuff. I need to kill something. Fight someone. Get Luke to punch me a few times to remove this boulder from my stomach. To manage all these emotions of hurt and despair.

  This entire time, I’ve been thinking my parents were murdered by something else unknown to us. And now, we’ve come to find out the ones we work for are the ones responsible. How could they do this to us? How could they make us work for them, knowing how broken we were about our parents’ death and keep such a secret?

  They want to destroy the world, which isn’t new, but the reconstruction of it after the destruction is, and I have a feeling this is really where Luke and I come in.

  I cross my arms as a thought forms. We’ll destroy them before they move forward with this plan. Luke and I will stop the destruction they’re starting with the threat of the Zombies, and we’ll make sure this world remains protected, like we promised. But first, we need to stop the Zombies from creating more. There must be someone up there with them who’s against this. Someone who will help us stop them, or at least, believe the world’s destruction is not the only option.

  “Ky,” Fein calls. “Are you paying attention?”

  Everyone’s eyes are pinned on me as though I was asked a question and I’ve failed to respond. “No. Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Sean says. “Collins is just running her mouth about her group and what type of group she wants to get tomorrow. And how she’s so much better than everyone else. Same shit that no one cares about,” Sean complains.

  Nodding, I scoot from the bench. “I’m going. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  “See, told you, you were boring, and no one cares, Collins,” Sean says behind me.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  My group and I sit around waiting for the newcomers to join us. Like when we arrived, they received my name on a list by theirs, and they come to us. While we wait, we joke around playing Hot Hands and Can’t Catch It.

  Can’t Catch It is my favorite because we get to slap each other in the face. If the person does not move fast enough and they get slapped, they lose.

  “Ahh,” Anthony yells, shoving Jesail for slapping him too hard.

  She pushes him, and he falls off the bench. “Don’t be a sore loser. You should’ve been faster.” Joe shoves Jesail, and Amber pushes Joe. “Back off, Joey,” she mocks his name with an insulting edge.

  “Stop this,” I say, moving between them. “It’s all in fun, don’t make this serious. Plus, you can’t kill each other here. Act normal for the newcomers. Don’t scare them off, Amber and Jesail.”

  Jesail, laughing, asks, “Why single us out, Ky?”

  “Because,” Edward cuts in. “You two are evil bitches.”

  “Hey,” Jesail and I snap. “Watch your mouth,” I add. “These evil bitches can whoop you any day. Remember that.”

  “Captain?” a small voice greets. “I’m Rebecca.” She’s tall and fit, arms hanging past her hips, meeting the length of her hair. “Rebecca Carter.” She solutes.

  “At ease, Rebecca. We are a casual group. I’m Kylie Alexander. We’ll save introductions for when everyone’s joined us so we only have to run through them once.”

  Danny, Luke’s and my friend from back home who we used to help out from time to time, is coming my direction with Seas and her sister, Sam, also from back home. They aren’t twins. “Danny, Sam, Seas!”

  “Hey, Ky,” they sing.

  Muffling my excitement at seeing my old friends, I rise to my feet and offer a simple smile. “You’re with me?”

  “Yep,” Danny says.

  I high five him. “Bet you’re glad to be here.”

  “Hell yeah.” He looks up to the ceiling and rubs his palms together. “Permanent roof over my head and free food. Glad to see you and Luke are okay. I didn’t know what to think after they snatched you two up that night.”

  I pat his shoulder. “We’re always alright, Danny. This is my group.” I point around me. “A few of them are reckless, but more of them are… not. But they’ll do. We’re in fifth ranking overall.”

  Danny curls his upper lip. “Why isn’t your entire team reckless? I don’t want to be on a suck-bag team, Ky.”

  “Hey,” Alex blurts, glowering at Danny. “We do not suck bags!”

  I chuckle. “Right, they don’t suck bags. They’ve gotten better.”

  Seventeen others join us, and before Jord takes the stage, my group runs through introductions, each greeting the newcomers by twos. After everyone’s settled down, Jord jumps onto the stage in one swift movement. He first stands with his back to the crowd and then turns on his heels, hands cuffed behind his back.

  In one sentence, he reveals the Zombies are infecting our land. “Lifeless cannibals are flooding The America.” He wants to leave it there, but Seits steps in to explain how something went wrong during vaccination that caused a dangerous virus to spread. She goes over why we started Separation early and details about the Zombies. Fear sinks into the eyes of many Normals. Creations sit stone-faced, taking in the news.

  “We have one spot open for a male leader. Do well, and if your leader recommends you, you will be considered for this position. It will not be easy to fill, and there will be tests and requirements to qualify.” Jord concludes the announcements and opens the floor back to Seits.

  Danny nudges my arm. “It will probably be a Creation that gets that spot.”

  “Maybe not. If so, he would have told
us before you all came today. I think they’re looking for a Normal to fill the spot.”

  One thing Cory was right about, something weird is definitely going on around here. These secrets and Jord’s portentous demeanor confirm it.

  “If I do well, you’ll put in a word for me?”

  “Of course. But you would have to do extraordinary, not just well.”

  “I will,” he promises.

  I sit among my team, gaze glued on Marc across the room. A larger group stands behind him; they have been standing the entire time. He looks away from Seits and around the room every so often after a blink or two. Monitoring the newcomers. Perfect posture swells his chest and warns anyone that he’s not one to be reckoned with. Fully suited, his black scarf sits cuffed just beneath his bearded chin, ready to be pulled over his face. His dark hair is pulled back today, brightening the shadows of his pained expression.

  Marc’s indifferent and fearless. But his eyes lighten and rise from their always-lowered guise when he looks at me. If he cares about nothing else, in that moment, he cares about what he’s seeing. In that instance, I see him as more than a Creation designed to destroy whatever’s asked of him, but as a person who harbors the strength to take on my weakness.

  There’s a reason they restrict couples in Creations, a reason why they have Breeders, and there’s a reason why I’m here not as a Normal or a Breeder, but a Creation.

  I look away from Marc when it appears he’s about to turn in my direction.

  Seits continues, “Tomorrow we will start preparation for any type of war we may come against. Human or otherwise.” She jumps from the stage and leaves the room.

  Luke stands near Jord by the stage, seeming distracted. The both of us have a lot to figure out. He’s probably contemplating exactly where the betrayal started and what lie lead us to being willing to hang on their every word.

  “Kylie, Luke, Marc, and Sean,” Jord calls. “Meet me in my office in three hours.”

  I hold back the urge to shake my head. He’s going to have us go out in the rain and do a sweep or something. And I’m going to have to do whatever it is next to Marc.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  On the far wall in Jord’s office, a sleeping avatar takes up the wall-length screen. It’s usually dark, like a window looking out into the night, but the Guidance may have had reason to reach out, and he’s yet to cut the screen off. There’s a door in the wall beside it, which appears to lead to a bedroom. Beside the door is a water dispenser. I swallow hard and wipe the sweat from my brow.

  “Seits will be here any minute,” Jord informs before asking, “How are your units looking to you so far?”

  “Well, sir,” Sean answers, “we’ll have to see after we start working them.”

  Nodding, Jord laughs. “Some of them have never worked out a day in their life. This will be quite entertaining tomorrow.”

  Sean joins in with his throaty chuckle.

  “Sorry you are the only girl, Kylie. Collins should be present, but her attitude is not right for these jobs.”

  “For any job,” Sean says under his breath.

  “I am not uncomfortable, sir,” I state, keeping my eyes on him, his desk, or the sleeping avatar.

  “Sorry,” Seits comes in. “I needed to follow up with a few of the female leaders.”

  “It’s okay, General Seits. Go ahead.”

  “There needs to be a clearing check around the grounds, making sure we are clear of any and all the walking dead in at least an eight-mile radius.” She sits on the edge of the desk and folds her arms. “We cannot accompany you this time because of the newcomers and our requirement to be available.”

  “Is this something the four of you can handle?” Jord asks.

  “Yes, sir,” Luke and Marc respond.

  “Yes, sir,” I say with a nod.

  “Yeah,” Sean adds.

  “Suit up and load up. I expect each of you to be out by nightfall. Grab what you need. Respond!”

  “We understand.” We leave for our house.

  Once the sun sets, I suit up, covering every inch of my body. The four of us head out to Jord’s office for firearms and ammunition.

  “Once the entire area is swept, come in. Fall out,” Jord orders. We leave into the midnight rain. The beams of our flashlights glisten off the droplets before they join the mud.

  “It’s hard to hear anything over the downpour,” I say to Luke.

  “And we can’t see with the clouds,” he says.

  “Déjà vu,” I state.

  We cover our eight miles at one end. It takes us an hour to walk out and come back. We head to the other end of the base, where the entrance is on one side and hills are on the other. We tread beyond the entrance, out five extra miles.

  We’re all clear.

  “Let’s head back. It’s clear on this end too,” Luke says.

  I search for him, shining my flashlight in the direction I heard his voice. The silver beam slices over an approaching figure. I whip back, a woman now only inches from latching her nails into Luke.

  I fire.

  The sound of my hollow-tip infused round digging into her brains and then exploding is satisfying.

  Our boots drag across the ground as we scurry to each other’s backs.

  A line of Zombies are coming toward us, steps slow, spines straight. They’re dressed in cleaner clothes than the others I’ve seen. They continue walking and look upon us. “These may be newer Zombies,” I say.

  “You noticed that too, huh,” Sean agrees. A buckle unclasps, someone likely filling their free hand with their spare pistol.

  “We treat them no differently,” Luke says, firing off shots that call the Zombies to action.

  The gunshots ring out, digging into mud or flesh. We jab and kick those getting too close, aiming to keep them at a distance. Their numbers lessen, and Marc or Sean is the last one of us to shoot. The pounding rain lightens to a soft drizzle. Moonlight leaks through the separated clouds, scattering light over the once deserted land, now covered in corpses.

  “Everyone okay?” Luke asks. “No one scratched, bitten, or spit upon?”

  “No,” I answer, my response followed by Marc and Sean.

  We take a moment to reload our guns. Sean leans against me as we scope the area. I shove him off when he puts all his weight on my shoulder. “Sean, you are too heavy for me to support you. Get…off,” I struggle to shove him off me.

  He laughs, finding it amusing, like he does everything.

  “Let’s get out of here so we can finish this clearing,” Marc says from behind me.

  Luke comes to my side. “I agree, we are soaked and since they’re popping out, we’ll likely need to make another round.”

  “At least, it stopped raining,” I say.

  I lift my gaze. A strong gasp swells my lungs with air, and my heart pounds with panic.

  Luke fires.

  But it’s too late. They were so quiet.

  Three Zombies lunge at Sean and me.

  My raised gun is knocked out of my hands and bounces off a Zombie an inch from me.

  I’m swiped out of the way of the oncoming Zombie. Something cracking is followed by two gunshots.

  I’m thrown to the ground where I catch myself on my hands. It’s not until I hit the ground that I realize I was being held away from the danger.

  Marc shoots a Zombie that’s latched onto Sean’s face. He charges for them, shoving the Zombie off his brother.

  I scramble from the ground, racing to Luke, who is standing a foot away from Marc, Sean, and the Zombie lying in the dirt beside them.

  No. No. No!

  I run to Marc’s side and drop onto the mud beside him. Sean’s eyes are turning red, blood lining his lids. He’s missing the flesh from the entire left side of his face and neck, gnawed off by that flesh-eating monster.

  “We have to get him back,” Marc says, trying to pick him up.

  “He’s not going to make it,” Luke says.

 
“Sean?” I call.

  “Huh?” he answers, not fully coherent.

  “How are you holding up?” I ask, looking him over. Blood’s pooling beneath him.

  “I can’t feel anything,” he says in his lighthearted tone. “Just sucks.”

  Marc’s hand is tightly wrapped around Sean’s, and only Marc’s embellishments illuminate from his efforts. “That’s not going to work,” I tell him.

  He nods, never tearing his gaze from his brother. “We have to get him back,” he mutters.

  They’ll treat him like they did Susan.

  “Pain is pricking through my head and my face,” Sean says, cringing. He groans and tries to turn over on his side, but Marc keeps him grounded.

  Marc’s head bows. “Come on, Sean. We have to get you back.”

  “If I turn into one of those things, Marc…just shoot me. Don’t try to save me or heal me. Just kill me,” Sean says.

  We have to do something. We can’t let Marc lose his brother. The weight of an elephant drops on my shoulders. I meet Luke’s eyes. He’s going to kill me for even thinking it, but I can’t let Sean turn. “Luke,” I beg. “We can’t.”

  Mud splatters as he marches over. He yanks me to my feet and harshly whispers, “No Ky. Don’t even think it.”

  I look over my shoulder. Marc struggles to pick up Sean, trying to help him stand. “Please Luke, call them and make them help him. They have to,” I whisper, swallowing the tears trying to spring from my eyes. “I can’t allow Marc to lose him. Not over saving me.” Why on Earth would he do that? “Luke, please?” I beg, voice trembling. “If I’d caught that bite, you’d do it anyway. Then you would explain later. Come on. Please.”

  Luke throws his head back. “Kylie, please don’t start crying.”

  I grab his shoulders. “Please, Luke, call them so they can help him.”

  “Okay, Ky, let me go.” He shoves me back. Clearing his throat, he puckers his lips and blows blue and green particles past them toward the sky. Seconds later, a coyote howls from somewhere nearby. “Come on. You are going to owe me so big for this.”