All The Broken People (The Dread Series Book 2)

by Jonathan Yanez

  After his conversation with Taylor, he had maneuvered through the dark to a tall building with a vantage point of the compound. There he waited for eleven o’clock to approach. One of the many gifts his Elite gene granted him was enhanced vision. It wasn’t so good he could see in the dark but much better than the average human. In this way he had found and tracked the man Taylor called Cole to the largest house in the compound. It was a two-story structure with guards stationed on the front porch and in the backyard.

  Cole entered the building at nine o’clock and never came out. Lu studied the course he would need to take to infiltrate Cole’s house. He was meticulous in every detail, like a master strategist when laying plans to conquer a city.

  Lu had been part of the Elites for centuries. His Elite gene granted him a slowed aging process that wouldn’t quite promise immortality but neared the conversation. He had taken part in countless battles and a few assassinations. His skill set wasn’t geared for quietly sneaking around; he’d much rather bully down the gates and take the threat head on. Against a force this size, however, when lives hung in the balance, Taylor’s plan would be better.

  Lu found himself thinking about the woman as he waited for the hours to pass. She was strong for a human, stronger than even some of his own kind. When he had seen her she didn’t hesitate to relay her plan. Lu had a suspicion she would have found a way out if he didn’t provide assistance. There was something different about her.

  He shook his mind from such thoughts. What would his sister say if she could look into his mind right now? Lu looked at the place of the moon in the sky. It would be a clear night full of bright light from the stars overhead.

  Grunting, he stretched his arms and legs, for which his muscles thanked him. He went over his plan again.

  Cross the distance fast. Kill the guard on the tower. On the ground. Take out the two guards in the back of the suit’s house. Through the door. Kill the suit.

  He visualized himself acting out each of these points. He knew his strategy would have to change. These things rarely went exactly as planned. He would adapt where he had to, kill his way out if he was cornered.

  When the time came Lu was ready. He took the stairwell down from his position on the roof. The building at some point had been full of offices. Now it was a, dark empty shell with graffiti sprayed across the walls in the halls, and refuse strewn across the ground.

  The feeling was like being in a stranger’s home, except Lu was alone and in the dark. The Elite human took the stairs two at a time, focusing his senses to alert him of any danger.

  As he expected there was none. Besides roving groups of city guards there was nothing inside the city. Even the mindless Dread that seemed to be everywhere else across the globe had abandoned New Olympia. Whether this was due to some power Cole possessed, or perhaps a knowledge that they were needed elsewhere, Lu didn’t know. Not knowing things bothered him. It allowed his imagination to wander across a plethora of dark possibilities.

  The night was clear and crisp. Lu made his way from building to building until he was in line with the section of the wall he decided to scale. It was in the direct path of a watchtower and the part of the wall nearest Cole’s house.

  He took his time examining the rubble before he began his sprint. Cole had ordered every building surrounding the compound razed to the ground, in part to offer them better visibility, and also to make expanding his walls a faster process.

  So much rubble made it easy for Lu to find what he was looking for. A long piece of metal rebar lay like a spear. He snatched it up.

  Tapping into the power of his Elite gene was like walking to Lu. He had done it so many times in the past the transformation was flawless. His eyes changed from green to yellow, his canines grew in length. The long metal rod felt good in his grip, it was solid; it would work. Lu rolled his shoulders, ensuring the familiar sensation of his saber was still sheathed on his back. Without another thought he began his run. He didn’t have the advantage of being a small target. Sooner rather than later he would be spotted. That was fine, Lu was fast. In the matter of seconds he was already in range. The wind whipped around him sending his long brown hair into a frenzy.

  The guard hadn’t moved the spotlight yet. Where most would only see the bright illumination of the rotating floodlight, Lu could make out the outline of the guard behind it. He was tall with a small head and no neck. Lu carried the piece of steel rebar cocked back on his hand ready to send the weapon flying at a moment’s notice. With each step he came closer to his target the odds of his plan working rose in his favor.

  Aim small, miss small.

  Lu repeated the words given to him as a child when focusing on a target.

  Aim small, miss small.

  Then it was time. The guard jerked to the side sending the bright light directly at Lu. All the Elite human could see was white. He planted his left foot, skidding to a halt as he did, and sent the makeshift spear flying, his mind’s eye remembering where his target stood even without the benefit of sight.

  The weapon hurtled violently through the air.

  As soon as Lu released his weapon he took off again. At any moment another guard in the towers to his right or left could find him. Lu knew his spear had found its mark but a slew of other eventualities were too real to allow himself any kind of satisfaction.

  A moment later he was at the base of the wall, scaling the structure like a spider. He launched himself up and punched handholds into the surface. While he wasn’t strong enough to rend holes in the metal altogether, he could create large dents to allow himself a hold long enough to gather himself and jump again.

  The metal sheets made more noise than Lu would have liked. A dull thud vibrated through the wall as he moved up. Shouts from the other two towers rose but he was committed now.

  A second later he was over the wall. He stood in a square box with a tin roof that made up the tower. The space was bare with only the spotlight and the corpse of the guard. Lu examined the body of the unfortunate soul who had been assigned to watch that specific tower.

  Lu’s aim had been slightly off. He had been aiming for the man’s throat. Regardless, he had still managed to do the job.

  He plucked the piece of metal out of the right eye socket of the guard under his feet with a sound that reminded him of using a plunger on a clogged toilet. He could hear shouts being exchanged from the surrounding towers but he had no time to stay and listen.

  Rebar in hand, he jumped the four stories to the ground below. Lu’s augmented body absorbed the blow. A shot of discomfort ran up through his heels when he landed. Where any other man would have broken bones Lu landed and began his run once again.

  The two-story house that harbored his target was directly in front of him. The pair of guards that stood sentry were already raising their voices, along with their weapons.

  So much for stealth, Lu thought. He released his spear from his hand, still on the run. The rebar took the guard on the right through the chest. It shredded both Kevlar and bone then sprouted from the man’s back, pinning him to the house behind.

  Lu was in the motion of reaching over his right shoulder for his saber when the second guard’s bullet caught him in the left bicep. Pain seared through his muscle for a moment. It was a familiar pain he pushed aside. His healing factor would force the bullet out of both tissue and skin. He would be healed within seconds.

  Instead of focusing on the pain Lu threw his saber at the guard. The weapon rotated through the air end over end, impaling the man.

  The blue clad guard dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. He looked at the blade budding from his chest as shock stole away any curses he might have for the occasion.

  Lu reached the guard before he fell, jerking his sword free. Not missing a step, he slammed into the front door of the house. The door gave way under the immense pressure, sending Lu skittering inside.

  The house’s decor was what he would have expected from a man who wore a suit while people
slaved and died in his compound. Ornate decoration hailing to an art deco influence met his yellow eyes wherever he looked. Pictures of Greek gods, angels, and men were placed on the walls. Brown leather couches and a glass table in the middle of the living area finished off the room.

  As Lu searched the first floor he tuned into his Elite hearing for warning of the guards outside. The alarm had reached the entire compound now. Even as he entered room after empty room the house was being surrounded.

  Lu abandoned his search of the first floor and took the stairs three at a time to the second level into a hall with five doors. Four doors were closed. The furthest one was open with a light shining from within.

  Lu decided the open door was his best bet and ran through. Saber in his right hand, he bullied through the door to find himself in a study. Maps lined the walls, and a large desk stood on the opposite end where Cole sat with an intimidating figure next to him.

  “Ahhh, there you are,” Cole said, leaning back in his chair as comfortable as though he were inviting a longtime friend to his home. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  ***

  By the time they took her back to Valery Spear’s home Taylor was exhausted. A meager lunch and a skimpier dinner had left her void of energy. When they tied her to a table both by her wrists and ankles Taylor was already giving in to the call of exhaustion.

  As much as she would have liked to wrestle against her captors she knew her time was better served with rest. Lu would come through. He had to. At eleven o’clock when Lu did his part, her powers would resurface. The best thing she could do now was regain as much of her strength as she could. She would need every ounce of it if they were to free the slaves.

  Taylor slept fitfully, plagued by nightmares. She couldn’t remember all the details when she awoke but she remembered being in the slave pen, dead bodies that looked like small piles of sticks and clothing all around her. In her dream she vomited down her shirt.

  Taylor woke with a start. She wasn’t alone. She blinked, trying to focus on what had saved her from her nightmare. She was in the same room as the night before. Instead of hanging from the ceiling she was strapped to a gurney. In front of her were the couches, to her right a mantel with a clock ticking down the minutes.

  She craned her neck to an uncomfortable position to see. It was fifteen minutes to eleven.

  “I see you’re up and excited to begin,” the doctor said pleasantly. “So am I.”

  Taylor moved her gaze away from the clock and to her left where Dr. Spear was inserting her long fingers into white gloves. Her elongated animalistic nails punctured the stretchy material.

  “I would try and reason with you except there’s nothing of you that’s left inside, is there?” Taylor asked.

  In fifteen minutes she had a decision to make, to kill the doctor or try and capture her. The pre-doomsday Taylor wouldn’t have even thought twice about sparing the woman. The Taylor of today, now understood that a Dread free world could only be achieved with allies.

  “Talkative today,” Valery remarked, reaching for an orange extension cord and plugging it into a wall socket behind her. “Great. I wanted to ask you a few questions. I’ve been working with the blood and tissue samples I took from you last night and I think I’m beginning to realize what you are. Of course, I won’t understand for sure for quite some time. I’m barely scratching the surface here, but I have a few working theories.”

  Nothing the doctor had to say should have piqued Taylor’s curiosity. She loathed the fact Valery could have answers to the question she was still asking herself. Why had the serum affected her differently once she was infected by the Dread?

  “What do you know?” Taylor asked, trying to mask the intrigue in her voice.

  “Well for starters, we were looking at the serum and how it affected you entirely wrong while we were at the Ark,” Valery said. She plugged the opposite end of the cord into a sinister looking power drill. “We were still trying to approach the problem from a logical standpoint, using science that we understood. However, the Dread is far past any of that. It’s a primal instinct more than anything else. It’s an entity that goes as deep as any force in history. The truth as to what you are is more wrapped up in the conversation of light and darkness rather than any scientific explanation.”

  Taylor eyed the clock; seven minutes until eleven.

  While the doctor was speaking she continued to prepare her instruments. She opened a steel folding table. On the tray she had placed a variety of drill bits. She reached for one now, her extended fingers gingerly fitting it onto the drill she held in her hand as she continued to explain. “It’s all still very new to me. I’m only beginning to wrap my own mind around a power that is closer to magic than science. That’s why I decided to secure a sample of your bone marrow sooner rather than later.” Valery pulled the trigger of her drill. A high-pitched whirling sound came from the tool as the drill bit spun faster than the eye could track. “I’m not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt. You should know that it’s for a great cause. If I can unravel the nature of your origin, well, it would be an incredible feat. It would open the door to a whole new branch of science.”

  A twinge of terror spread through Taylor. She thought for the first time that Lu might not be able to accomplish his task before Valery started her work. She fought back the alarm in the pit of her stomach.

  Valery reached for a stool on wheels behind her. She took her time making herself comfortable. “Try and stay as still as you can. Perhaps we can get away with one insertion tonight,” she crooned. “We’ll need you for the future. You are the key, my dear.”

  Taylor swallowed back a plea. She never begged, and she refused to start now. The drill’s terrifying sound came from somewhere out of her vision. Valery was preparing to begin.

  Taylor hated herself but she looked at the clock again. The tiny hands read eleven o’clock. With a feeling that trumped relief she desperately reached for the power to free herself from the diabolical doctor’s schemes.

  It was nowhere to be found.

  Chapter 15

  “Oh you needn’t worry about my guards entering the room behind you,” Cole said with an easy smile. “I’ve instructed them that once inside the house they are to leave you be. The sounds your Elite hearing is picking up are only the noises of my guards setting a perimeter.”

  “How did you know I was coming?” Lu said, switching his gaze from Cole to the monster standing beside him. It was hard to believe the thing had at one time been Jason but there was no denying the fact now. Lu had smelled something off about him before, now he mentally kicked himself for not realizing what it was. This new interpretation of Jason was hairless, with a hunched back and long, sinewy arms that nearly reached the floor. It didn’t wear a shirt or shoes, only a loose-fitting pair of jeans. If anything Jason had once been still existed, it didn’t show.

  “That was easy.” Cole rocked back and forth in his chair. “Jason was infected by Valery at the Ark. He reported to us. We monitored you and Taylor when you entered New Olympia. To our determent we lost you when you two split up. I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up.”

  Lu’s senses were working on overdrive. There were two of them when he had expected one. That in and of itself wasn’t the part that worried him the most. It was that neither Cole nor Jason showed any signs of panic whatsoever. Lu could smell fear like a stench that reeked from his enemies. He sniffed it on the two guards before he killed them at the door.

  The idea that neither of his two opponents gave off even the slightest whiff meant Lu was missing something.

  “Before we begin,” Cole said, finally standing. “I’d like to understand more about you and your kind. Prior to the Dread taking over, you and your families were content to remain hidden. It is my understanding you’ve done so since the beginning of time. Why are you making a stand now? Why throw in your lot with humanity, which is so very clearly below you?”

  Lu knew he sho
uld keep Cole talking until he could figure out what it was he was getting himself into but he was out of time. Taylor needed him. “I can’t speak for the rest of the Five Families,” he replied with a growl deep in his throat. “Personally, I signed up so I could kill men like you.”

  Lu launched himself toward Cole. With three quick strides he crossed the room, vaulting over the desk to cleave Cole’s head from his shoulders. He never made it.

  A force that felt like a truck striking him collided with his body and threw him into the wall. The intensity was so great the wall shuddered and cracked under the impact.

  Lu’s saber went skidding as he grappled with Jason, or whatever it was the Dread had twisted him into. He was strong, maybe even stronger than Lu. Cold, clammy hands reached for Lu’s face. Thick fingers grabbed onto his throat and squeezed.

  Lu began to feel lightheaded. It was clear this creature with long limbs was made for grappling. Even now Jason was on top of him like some kind of bizarre monkey struggling to claim his last breath.

  Abandoning the idea he could pry open the monster’s grip, Lu reached for a single finger. Where an entire hand might prove too strong for Lu to compete with, a single digit wouldn’t stand a chance.

  With a hyena-like sound gurgling from Jason’s throat, he squeezed harder. Lu’s vision was going blurry. He had to act soon. With a herculean effort he grabbed onto one of the inhumanly long fingers that wrapped around his gullet, forcing it forward past its point of ordinary movement. He was rewarded with a loud crack.

  Jason was off him a second later howling in pain, a finger on his left hand sticking out like a bent tree branch.

  Lu was coughing, regaining his breath. On his knees he searched the room for his weapon. It had skidded across the study and came to rest near the opposite wall.

  “Oh well done,” Cole said, standing behind his desk. “I wondered if Jason’s physical attributes alone would be a match for the infamous Iron Wolf. Well we can be grateful that the Dread gave him more than strength and length of limb.”