Dark Days | Book 7 | Hell Town

by Lukens, Mark

  Kate got up and opened the flaps in the tent to let Tiger out before he started meowing. He was probably hungry and he probably wanted to prowl around the store. She would check his food and water, making sure they were filled.

  She was hungry too. She hadn’t eaten much last night and nothing this morning.

  She got out of the tent, still trying to be quiet. But she was pretty sure Brooke was sound asleep now, pure exhaustion finally taking over. Kate left the flap open and looked back at Brooke, at the drawing tablet lying near her.

  Kate stood up outside the tent. She could tell from the light coming down through the skylights that it was probably late afternoon now. She’d slept through most of the day. She felt a little groggy as she checked Tiger’s food and water bowl, adding a little more food. Tiger came running to inspect what had been added to his bowl.

  Kate left the flaps open on the tent in case Tiger wanted to go back inside. She checked on Brooke one more time. She was still sleeping. She saw Brooke’s drawing tablet again and she reached for it, slipping it out of the tent.

  She thought of the latest drawings in the tablet, especially the last one, the one of Petra and the Dragon. She wanted to show Jo the drawing.

  Moments later Kate was at the door to Jo’s office, knocking on it.

  “Come on in,” Jo called out.

  Kate pushed the door open, poking her head in. “Were you sleeping?”

  “I slept for a few hours. Just got up a few minutes ago.” Jo sat on the edge of her air mattress on the floor.

  Kate suspected that her knocking might have just awakened Jo.

  “Come on in,” Jo said again. She got up and grabbed a water bottle from the bookshelf at the head of her bed and walked the few steps to her desk, sitting down behind it.

  Kate noticed that the M-16 Max and Fernando had risked their lives for was leaning upright in a corner of the cluttered office.

  And Jo noticed the drawing tablet tucked under Kate’s arm. “Close the door,” she said. “Come sit down.”

  Kate closed the door and sat down in the chair in front of Jo’s desk.

  Jo lit another battery-powered lamp on her desk, brightening the small room up a little more. She took a few long sips from her water bottle. “You want a bottle of water?”

  Kate realized she was thirsty. She nodded.

  Jo reached down behind her desk and opened up a cooler. She gave Kate the warm bottle of water. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Sorry about Max this morning.”

  “Max is his own man. Just because you guys traveled together for a few days doesn’t make him your responsibility.”

  Kate shrugged and took a sip of her water. It was warm but tasted so good.

  “The problem is that I think Max may have been right,” Jo said. “We needed to go after those weapons while we had the chance, before the parking lot was swarming with rippers after we dumped those bodies, or before the Dark Angels had a chance to come back.”

  “The Dark Angels will be back whether there are rippers out there or not. They’re not going to give up so easily.”

  It was Jo’s turn to shrug. “Yeah, I know. But Max was also right about the rippers maybe carrying the M-16s and ammo away. They’d played around with them before, might use them as a club, like he said.”

  Kate didn’t say anything. She drank more of her water—she’d drunk half of it already.

  “Anyway, I think Max was right. This morning may have been our only chance to get to those guns.” She paused for a second. “I should’ve told Max he was right. And I will soon.”

  “Max should’ve told us what he was going to do. We should’ve all talked about it together.”

  “Maybe he was worried I would second-guess him. And maybe I would have. Maybe I would’ve overthought it. Paralysis by analysis, as they used to say. Afraid to make the wrong decision, afraid of losing someone else.”

  “You’re still our leader here.”

  Jo smiled. “Thanks.”

  “It doesn’t excuse what Max did. He should’ve told us. I have a feeling that Fernando didn’t even know what Max was going to do.”

  Jo nodded like she had come to the same conclusion, or maybe she had already talked to Fernando. She was quiet for a moment, staring at Kate with her intense green eyes. “Why do you think Max went after that gun out there?”

  “I think he wants a weapon,” Kate said without hesitation. “I think he was hoping you would let him take it with him when he leaves.”

  Jo didn’t say anything.

  “He wants to find Petra.”

  “I know he thinks he owes her,” Jo said. “Hell, we all owe each other in some way or another. I’m sorry Petra’s gone, but she took a risk going with Lance and the others. She wanted to go with them, practically demanded it.”

  Kate knew.

  “We have no way of knowing if she’s still alive. Going after her right now, without being sure, it could be a suicide mission.”

  “I know, but I think Max is still going to do it.”

  “What about you? Are you going with him?”

  “No.”

  “You’re sure about that?”

  “Yes. Max wants to go to Jeff’s house. He thinks Petra got away there. He thinks she’s still hiding out around there.”

  “But you don’t seem like you believe that.” Jo’s eyes shifted down to the drawing tablet Kate had laid on the desk.

  “No.”

  “I see Brooke’s been drawing again.”

  Kate opened the drawing tablet up to the man and his son. She turned the tablet around so Jo could see it better. “She drew these sometime last night.”

  Jo studied the drawing.

  “You haven’t seen these two in your dreams?”

  Jo shook her head no, sighing heavily. “If I have, I don’t remember it.”

  “There are more drawings after that one.”

  Jo flipped to the next page, and then the next. She studied the two men, the thin and scraggily one, the muscular one with the crewcut and a pistol with a silencer on it, and the blond woman with the dark glasses. There was no recognition of them in her eyes.

  Another page and Jo froze, staring at the drawing for a long moment. “It’s Petra.”

  “Yeah. Petra with the Dragon right behind her.”

  Jo slid the tablet back to Kate, the tablet still open to the drawing of Petra—an exact likeness of her. Petra was wearing the same clothes she’d had on when she’d left with Lance and the others. Her hands were handcuffed in front of her. Petra’s expression was a mixture of uncertainty and stoic resolve—somehow Brooke had captured that in the drawing. And hovering right behind her, with his hands on her shoulders, just a gentle touch, nothing too threatening, was the Dragon.

  “What’s this supposed to mean?” Jo finally asked.

  “I don’t know. I think it means that the Dragon has Petra.”

  “It means she’s still alive?”

  “I think so. Max seems to believe she’s alive.”

  “Could we ask Brooke about it?”

  “I did. She doesn’t know. She just draws what she sees in her dreams.”

  “You didn’t see this in your dreams?” Jo asked, nodding down at the open drawing tablet. “You didn’t see Petra and the Dragon?”

  Kate shook her head no.

  “But you’ve seen these other people, the three men and the boy, the blind woman?”

  Kate nodded.

  “You think these dreams are being sent to you and Brooke by the blind woman?”

  “And Max,” Kate reminded her. “He sees them too. Yes, I believe that. I never used to believe in stuff like that, but I do now. I think she’s sending us . . . like visions. And I think the Dragon is sending them too.”

  “You think the Dragon sent a message that he’s holding Petra?”

  “Maybe. Could be.”

  “Have you shown this drawing to Max?”

  “No. Not yet. But I think he needs to see i
t before he sets out for Jeff’s house.”

  “Yeah, but it will make him want to go after Petra even more.”

  “But at least Max will know that Petra’s not around Jeff’s house. He’ll know that she’s with the Dragon.”

  Jo sighed. “But we don’t even know where the Dragon is.”

  Kate thought of the hellish town she’d seen in her dreams so many times, but she shook her head. “No, we don’t know where he is.”

  Jo stood up. “I’m going to take a shift up on the roof. It’ll be dark soon and we all need to stay alert.” She paused. “Max isn’t going to try to sneak out tonight, is he?”

  “I don’t know. I’m going to talk to him about this.” Kate closed Brooke’s drawing tablet and stood up to leave.

  CHAPTER 23

  Kate

  Kate went back to the tent. She was hoping Brooke was still asleep so she could take the drawing tablet to Max without her knowing.

  Brooke was gone.

  So was Tiger.

  “Damn,” Kate whispered. She stood up and looked around, seeing if she could spot Brooke somewhere near the tent. Her eyes stopped at Neal’s tent. She figured they would have to fold his tent up now. No one would want to sleep in there now. Jeff’s tent, either. Maybe if others came to the store, they could sleep in them, others who wouldn’t know who used to sleep in those tents.

  Others? Was she thinking about the people she’d seen in her dreams? The people Brooke had drawn?

  It didn’t matter; the tents weren’t her decision—that was Jo’s decision.

  Kate thought Tiger might have run off exploring the store again. Maybe Brooke had gone looking for the cat. Last time Tiger had wandered off, Kate had found Brooke in the sporting goods section.

  Instead of looking for Brooke, Kate went to the other side of the store. She walked past the cleaning and bathroom supplies, then the dry and boxed food, the stacks of drinks down another aisle, then the row of empty coolers and freezers. Then she passed the fruit and vegetable area and headed for the deli. Before she even got there, she heard voices—she heard Max’s voice.

  Brooke was with Max. They sat together with two of the others: Phil and the doctor. They were all eating some kind of sandwiches.

  Max smiled at Kate. “Pull up a chair and make a sandwich. The bread isn’t going to last too much longer. Who knows when you’ll ever get to eat bread again?”

  The thought of it depressed her.

  Brooke stared at Kate, her eyes shifting down to the drawing tablet tucked under her arm.

  Kate didn’t say anything about Brooke’s drawing tablet, and Brooke didn’t ask for it, didn’t throw a tantrum, demanding it back. Tiger sat between Max and Brooke, waiting for the occasional scrap of meat or cheese to be handed down to him.

  As Kate pulled up a chair, the doctor and Phil stood up. Both had already finished their sandwiches.

  “I need to talk to Jo,” the doctor said.

  “I’m going to help clean up in the kitchen,” Phil said.

  Max handed Kate a plate with sandwich fixings, and then another plate of bread. Kate made a quick sandwich while the doctor and Phil left them alone.

  “I guess you talked to Jo,” Max said with a sheepish smile. “Let me guess. She’s not only pissed but also disappointed in me.”

  Kate didn’t want to talk with her mouth full, but she couldn’t help taking a big bite of her sandwich. She was surprised by how hungry she was, just like she’d been surprised at how thirsty she’d been in Jo’s office. “You took quite a risk this morning.”

  Max nodded.

  Brooke kept her eyes on Kate.

  “But Jo understands why you did it,” Kate said and then took another bite of her sandwich, chewing quickly. “She said it was probably the right thing to do.”

  Max’s eyebrows arched up in surprise. “Oh really?”

  Brooke looked at Max, smiling at the expression on his face, the tone of his voice.

  Kate couldn’t help smiling at Brooke, and then she took another bite of the sandwich she’d made: salami, hard cheese, spicy mustard. It tasted like heaven, and it was already halfway gone.

  Max waited patiently for Kate to continue.

  “She’s worried you might be planning to leave,” Kate finally said after swallowing her food.

  Brooke’s smile disappeared, her body suddenly tense, worried eyes fixed on Max.

  Max frowned at Brooke then looked at Kate. “Maybe this isn’t the right time to discuss this.”

  “Because Brooke’s here?”

  Max didn’t answer.

  “You don’t want Brooke to know you’re planning on leaving?”

  Brooke searched Max’s face for the truth.

  Max smiled sheepishly at Brooke, but he didn’t deny it.

  Kate ate the last bite of her sandwich and drank some water to wash it down. “I know you’re worried about Petra.”

  “She’s alive, Kate. I don’t know why I’m so sure, or how I even know, but I’m sure of it. She’s alive and she needs our help.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  Again, a look of surprise from Max. And there was hope in his eyes.

  “I think there’s something you need to see,” Kate said, picking up Brooke’s drawing tablet.

  Brooke looked alarmed for a moment.

  “Max needs to see this,” Kate told Brooke.

  Brooke gave a reluctant nod.

  Max accepted the sketch pad from Kate—she’d already opened it to the drawing of the man and his son. He stared down at the drawing pad in the fading daylight, using his small flashlight to illuminate the page better. “This guy and his son . . . I’ve had dreams about them too.”

  “Yeah,” Kate said. “I have too. But you need to keep going to the last drawing.”

  Max flipped through the pages carefully, like he was looking through a fragile antique book. He looked at the drawing of the skinny guy with the shotgun and the beautiful blind woman for a moment, and then turned the page to the muscular man with the pistol and the silencer. He turned the next page and stared in shock at Petra and the Dragon, his breath caught in his throat. He looked at Brooke, then at Kate.

  “I think he has her,” Kate said. “If you would’ve run off to Jeff’s house, you never would’ve found her.”

  “The Dragon has her,” Max whispered. “How do we find her now? How do we know where the Dragon is?”

  “I don’t know, but at least we know she’s with him. I think it means she’s still alive. I think he wants us to find her. He might even show us where she is.”

  “She’s in that town, isn’t she?” Max said. “That . . . that place with the dead and the tortured. The place we’ve all seen in our dreams. Hell Town.”

  “I think so.”

  “But we don’t know where that place is.”

  “I think he might show us the way eventually. I think he wants to lure us there by using Petra.”

  Max blew out a long exhale and shut off his flashlight. He handed the drawing tablet back to Brooke like he didn’t want to touch it anymore, like he didn’t want to see Petra like that on the page or imagine what was happening to her right now. He looked at Brooke. “Have you seen where Petra is?”

  Brooke just stared at him.

  “Brooke,” Max said, his voice a little lower and sterner, like a father’s voice. “Petra’s in trouble. She might be hurting. Scared and alone. She needs our help.”

  “I don’t know,” Brooke whispered.

  “You’re sure?” Max pressed.

  Brooke nodded.

  “You saw Petra with the Dragon,” Max persisted. “But you didn’t see where they were?”

  Brooke shook her head no. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. “It was . . . it was foggy. Gray. I couldn’t see anything else.”

  “Max,” Kate warned.

  He looked at Kate, his expression softening like he just realized he’d been trying to bully the answer out of Brooke.

  “
Jo’s right,” Kate said. “Petra knew the risks she was taking when she left with Lance and the others. Just like Lance did. Just like the others did. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help her, but we can’t do anything until we know more.”

  Max sighed again, a sound of frustration. He looked away.

  “Promise me, Max . . . promise that you’re not going to take off.”

  Max didn’t promise—he didn’t say anything.

  “Max?”

  He finally nodded.

  “We need to stick together right now. We need to protect this store. It’s the only future we have. I’m pretty sure the Dragon isn’t going to kill Petra. I’m sure he needs her alive to lure all of us to him.”

  Max nodded, wiping at his face with his hands.

  “You won’t go yet?” Kate asked him.

  “No,” Max said. “I’ll wait.”

  Kate wasn’t sure if she could believe him.

  CHAPTER 24

  Petra

  The drive down to the Dragon’s town took less time than Petra thought it would—but she’d slept for hours in Jacob’s pickup truck, leaning against the passenger door. Her arms were a little sore from being handcuffed in front of her for so long, her right shoulder a little raw from where the seatbelt had pulled at her. But she actually felt physically better than she had in a long time; she felt like she’d finally gotten the best sleep in weeks, the best sleep since this whole nightmare had started. Part of the reason was that she felt relatively safe for the first time in a long time; even though she was being abducted by Jacob and being taken to the Dragon, at least she wasn’t outside and trying to sleep with one eye open, constantly afraid of the rippers coming to get her. Yes, maybe it was absurd to feel safer riding in this truck with Jacob, a dangerous man who could kill her at any time, but she couldn’t help it—she felt safe for the moment.

  Another reason she felt better was that for the first time in a long time her dreams hadn’t been haunted by nightmares. Of course she was probably heading to a nightmare right now, and maybe that’s why the Dragon hadn’t invaded her dreams. And maybe part of it was pure exhaustion taking over; maybe she had literally passed out for a few hours in this truck.