by Lowry, C. L.
CHAPTER 4
“How the fuck did this happen?”
“Micah, it was that military dude you sent with us. He did this to Adina.”
“How?”
“He pointed his rifle at—”
“I don’t mean literally, you idiot,” Micah barked at Wolff. “I’m asking how he was able to get to my queen when there were six of you to go through to even get to her.”
“The chemical gas. He had her release the gas, and none of us had masks on. Half of our men turned into those things, and the other half had to try to fight them off. We failed because we ran out of ammo.”
Micah flipped a table over. “Ammo? Are we really talking about ammo right now? We have stockpiles of ammo, and you motherfuckers are going to come in here and tell me that you ran out.” Micah paced back and forth. He swiped at a set of candles that were on another table, sending them flying across the room. “I just don’t understand why he did this. Why did he go after Adina?”
“He said something about us killing his family or some shit like that.”
“His family?” Micah paced the room as he tried to wrap his brain around the entire incident. “What is he talking about?” Micah asked Dannie.
Dannie was sitting by Adina’s side, practically in tears. He was holding her cold hand. He looked up at Micah. “I don’t know anything about that man’s family, nor do I care to know. He tried to kill my sister, and I’ll die before I give him another opportunity to get close to her.”
Wolff side-eyed Dannie. He was not buying the innocent act and did not trust the young man who was parked by Adina’s side. “Boss, how do we know that they aren’t all in this together. This fuckin’ fairy and the other two came in here with that punk. For all we know, they planned this attack.”
Dannie jumped up and punched Wolff in his face. He just blacked out. The quick blow caused the thin man to stagger back. Adina was Dannie’s family, and to be accused of setting her up was the worst form of disrespect he ever faced. Wolff countered with an elbow strike to Dannie’s face, knocking him to the ground. Dannie immediately tasted the blood in his mouth. Dannie kicked Wolff’s leg, forcing it to buckle. Wolff threw a flurry of punches at Dannie. He was able to block a few of them, but most of them landed. Dannie scratched Wolff across the side of his face, drawing blood.
Wolff hit Dannie with another elbow and slipped a knife from his waistline, sticking it in Dannie’s side. Dannie screamed in pain. “Break this shit up,” Micah ordered, seeing Wolff cock his arm back for another strike. Two of Micah’s henchman grabbed Wolff and pulled him off Dannie. Dannie held his side, attempting to stop the bleeding.
“Get the fuck off of me!” Wolff yelled.
“You need to calm down.”
“Micah, you better get these men off of me, or you’ll pay.”
“Or I’ll what?” Micah asked, holding a Desert Eagle pistol to Wolff’s head.
Micah frowned. He was not in the mood for the disrespect. He was still emotional about the dilemma he and the organization were just put in. Wolff didn’t say a word. “I asked you a question. Or I’ll what?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, who?”
“Nothing, sir.”
Micha lowered the Desert Eagle. “You need to get one thing clear. You work for me. The next time you decide you want to threaten me, I promise you that you’re going to eat a bullet.”
Wolff raised his head and looked Micah in his eyes. Wolff wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Micah, but he knew that without Adina, there was not much he could do. He was going to have to conform to Micah’s orders if he knew what was best for him. He still tried to escape the grip of the henchman but was unsuccessful once more.
“Now, go fetch us a few cars to take out. We have a new mission.”
The henchman drug Wolff out of the room. Micah sat down beside Adina. He never knew seeing the strongest woman lying there helpless would fill him with rage. His people had brought first-aid supplies up, and their medical staff was scurrying around, preparing to treat Adina.
Micah looked around at the staff. “Where the hell is Doctor Jin?” he asked angrily.
“We don’t know. He wasn’t in the lab with us,” one of the medical staff members replied.
“Somebody go and find him and let him know what just happened. I need the best of the best tending to Adina.”
“Yes, sir.”
Micah grabbed one of the cloths and began wiping the blood from Adina’s face. It did not take long for the cloth to get covered and for him to grab another one. Micah really did not want to leave Adina’s side, but catching Kyle was more important to him. Leaving the mission up to Wolff was not an option. Micah wanted to be hands-on with this mission to ensure that it would be carried out properly. He also planned to take his best men along for the ride.
“Baby, I promise you that I will end this. We are going to hunt him down.”
CHAPTER 5
Hours had passed since the sound of the crash. Sade gazed out the broken stained-glass window and stared at the full moon. Dark storm clouds were beginning to cover the sky, so she enjoyed the sight of the moon before it was blocked. Below her, the beasts were howling, which were followed up by more howls coming from outside. The night breeze was soothing as it cooled her skin. Sade imagined being in a different world. She imagined a world in which she didn’t have to hide all day behind silence and fear. She missed her parents. Unexpected tears fell from the corners of her eyes and fell into the dark pit below her.
Sade inched over. A part of her wanted to fall with those tears. She longed to put an end to her misery. She attempted to run her fingers through her tangled hair, but it was no use. Her fingers got snagged on every attempt. It had been so long since she had combed or done anything with her hair. Soon, it would start to lock. Giving up on the knots in her hair, she shut her eyes.
All was quiet in the church. The beasts were no longer howling, and Sade was sound asleep. Rain began to fall, trickling down the side of the church and into every broken window and cracked siding. Hearing the rain was soothing. The other teens were also sound asleep.
There was a bang at one of the side windows of the church. Then, there were two more. The board on one of the windows was being kicked in. One of the culprits was holding a shirt up to his bloody face, while the other was making his way into the church. He broke out the glass window and donkey-kicked the wooden panel that Levi had nailed up.
“I’m going to fuckin’ kill that kid with the bat,” Worm said while holding the shirt up to his face.
“You should have done that when he hit you with that bat,” Bucky replied.
Worm and Bucky were two peas in a pod. Both were drug addicts who killed and stole just to feed their addiction. Their main concern was getting their hands on anything that would get them high. They were two of many men and women in the Underling organization with some type of addiction. Some were drug addicts, some were alcoholics, and others had sick sexual addictions. Before, the addicts used to run around scavenging houses to see what they could find. For the most part, they stayed out of the way.
Things changed when The Reaper took over. He empowered them all, even though they were flawed. He gathered up societal rejects and brought them all together. He united the criminals, addicts, and survivalists. The Reaper helped them build their name and struck fear into the streets. Before, they used to stay in the shadows. But now, they operated from the shadows. They learned to use the darkness to their advantage and that was when they struck.
When it was nightfall, they had to worry about the monsters. Not only the ones who were mutated but also the ones who lurked in the shadows. The Reaper took pride in this. His group travelled in packs, and they raided any building they could. He let the addicts have free range in the pharmacies, and the alcoholics were let loose in the markets and bars. The Reaper encouraged this type of reckless behavior, and because he did, they all followed him without question. Those who did not want to f
ollow were killed, and if they were not killed, it was because they were only following so that they would not be killed.
Worm and Bucky were two of the worst in the group. They did not care who they stole from, which was why Worm was running through Kyle’s pockets despite the man being so close to death. Worm carried around an ice pick and would have jabbed Kyle with it if he had put up a fight. Bucky was too busy scavenging through a building but ran out once he heard Levi yelling. Now, it was their time to strike back.
“These motherfuckers definitely got something to hide in here,” Bucky said as he continued kicking through the window.
“I bet it’s fuckin’ drugs,” Worm replied, licking his chops.
“It’s a church, you idiot. They don’t have drugs.”
“How you know?”
“Because who the hell keeps drugs in a church?”
“The same people that board up a church to keep people out of it.”
It was like a lightbulb came on over Bucky’s head. Although there was no logic behind Worm’s explanation, to a drug addict, it was good enough. Bucky began kicking harder and was able to knock off the nailed up 2X4. Both men were soaking wet.
Bucky climbed through the window and into the church. Worm waited patiently to follow him in.
“I can’t see shit in here,” Bucky said when he landed into the church. The dark clouds in the night sky prevented the full moon from shining through the window.
Worm climbed halfway through the window and started digging into his pockets. He gripped the small BIC lighter and pulled it out, handing it to Bucky. Bucky took the lighter and stepped forward with it. Bucky attempted to spark the lighter, but it was soaking wet and did not work. He wiped it on his pant leg, hoping to dry it off a bit.
“What’s going on, Buck?”
“I’m tryin’ to get this stupid lighter to work. Is it empty?”
“Naw, I just used it a couple days ago.”
Bucky flicked his thumb on top of the lighter again, hoping to ignite it. The lighter sparked but did not light.
“Come on, Buck. Light the damn thing. I can’t see the ground, and I don’t want to fall when I come in.”
“Man, here. It’s your fuckin’ lighter, so you get it to work,” Bucky said, walking back over to the sound of Worm’s voice and handing him the lighter.
Worm wiped the lighter off with his bloody shirt, then shook it. He flicked his thumb on top, and the lighter ignited. The small flame provided enough light for Worm to see in front of him.
“It’s about damn time. Now, hand it over.”
“Your ugly mug should be left in the dark,” Worm joked. He extended his arm out to give Bucky the flame.
The flame from the lighter not only lit up Bucky’s face but also a few feet behind him. Worm’s mouth hit the floor.
“B-B-B-Buck,” Worm tried muttering, but his words would not form.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Give me the damn lighter.”
Bucky saw that Worm was not moving or saying a word. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and his pale skin turned almost paper white. “What the fuck, Worm. You are acting like you saw a ghost or something.”
A growl came from behind Bucky. He froze in place once he heard it. He heard another one, then a few more. He wanted to turn around but was stuck on Worm. Worm still did not move or say a word. The growls were getting louder. Bucky slowly turned his head around and was facing a set of large sharp fangs. He screamed and ran toward the open window. Multiple beasts ran after him.
Worm dropped the lighter and climbed back out the window. He took off running, not even looking back to see if his friend made it out. While running, he could hear Bucky’s screams.
CHAPTER 6
BOOM!
The front door being kicked in shook the entire building. Micah and his team of goons stormed inside like a SWAT team. Interior doors were knocked off the hinges, and furniture was sent crashing to the ground as the team thoroughly searched the property.
“Kyle!” Micah yelled out. “If you’re in here, come on out.”
Micah was different. The usually calm and strategic leader had a demonic grimace on his face. He wanted nothing else but blood. On any other day, he would be up for negotiations and to hear someone out, but in this case, nothing could explain Kyle’s actions. In Micah’s opinion, not even the loss of his family at the hands of The Association could justify what Kyle did.
The stock of the Remington® shotgun was digging into Micah’s shoulder, and the barrel of the gun entered each room before he stepped foot in them. His finger was just inches away from the trigger. The image of Adina’s bloody body was stuck in his head and fueled the fire that burned inside him.
“I’m going to kill this motherfucker,” Micah uttered under his breath.
He gestured madly for his team to search each floor. Stepping over the broken doors, Micah was sure to double-check every room in the home, which appeared to be deserted. The stale stench in the air and dust-covered walls confirmed his suspicions.
“Hey, boss. Come look at this,” a croaky voice yelled from the master bathroom.
Heavy footsteps swiftly entered the hallway, headed toward Londo’s voice. A thrill of a curiosity ran down Micah’s spine. Londo was one of Micah’s loyal followers and the head of his main security team. Londo shared the same beliefs as Micah, but he was also a survivalist. Although he was born and raised in Philadelphia with his mother, Londo spent the weekends and summers with his grandfather hunting in Karthaus, Pennsylvania. When they weren’t hunting, his grandfather took him to the range to perfect their marksmanship. It was not a coincidence that Micah had Londo lead the hunt for Kyle.
“What you got?” Micah asked as he stepped into the bathroom. Curiosity was getting the best of his nerves.
Micah immediately spotted the remains of a body on the bathroom floor, next to a small tub. He bent over to exam it further. The remains appeared to be in some type of nightgown as he slightly lifted it to get a better look.
“This isn’t who we’re looking for. This body had to at least been here for weeks.” The disappointment could he heard in his voice.
“More like months,” Londo replied. “By the looks of it, I would say that grandma probably fell and wacked her head on the tub a while ago.”
“So, what the fuck does she have to do with our mission?”
“Well, seeing as though this body is all decayed, I’m sure that this blood right here doesn’t belong to her.”
Micah immediately popped up. It was true. There was blood on the medicine cabinet and sink.
“It looks fresh too,” Londo said. “I would say that someone was just here in the past twenty-four hours.”
“It had to be the guy we are looking for. If he’s bleeding, that means he’s injured. Wolff did say he unloaded on the truck, so maybe he hit him.”
“Or maybe that’s Adina’s blood on him,” Wolff chimed in as he stepped into the bathroom.
Micah shot Wolff a look that could kill. The image of Adina popped back into his head. “I suggest you watch your mouth before it’ll be your blood in that sink.”
“Come on, boss. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just saying it could be a possibility.”
“He’s right,” Londo added. “This could be some type of distraction or set up. You never know what this dude is up to. If he’s anything like me, he’s a scavenger. If we’re going to catch him, we have to be two steps ahead of him. We need to know how he thinks so we can know what moves he’s going to make next.”
“And how exactly do you suggest we do that?” Wolff asked.
“We ask the people that were closest to him,” Micah said.
All three men looked into the hallway. Dannie had just assisted in searching one of the other rooms and entered the hallway. “I’ll get this little bitch to tell us everything he knows,” Wolff said, marching toward the hallway.
A strong hand wrapped around Wolff’s bicep, pulling him ba
ck into the room. “Why the fuck are you grabbing me like that?” Wolff scoffed.
“Watch your mouth. You’re not going out there. I think you’ve done enough damage. We don’t need you fuckin’ this up.”
Wolff pushed Londo. Londo pushed Wolff back, knocking him into the wall. “Chill out!” Micah yelled, stepping in between the two men and stopping Wolff from charging at Londo. Both men had their guns locked and loaded, ready to put the other down.
“We don’t have time for this shit,” Micah stated.
“Step aside, Micah. This will only take a second,” Londa said, raising his gun up and pointing it at Wolff.
“Make your move,” Wolff replied, pointing his gun back at Londo.
“Are y’all two serious right now? We have a mission, and we need to stick to it.” Micah stepped forward, putting himself in between the barrels of the two guns. “Where was this energy when you let the sucker shoot my queen?”
Wolff side-eyed Micah, who was staring him dead in his face. “I think it’s best if you went back to the base.”
“Are you serious? I should be the one to put a bullet in that son of a bitch.”
“You already had the chance to do that,” Lonzo added. The tension between the two men was intense.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Micah muttered. “Head back to the base. I’ll deal with you when we get back.”
Wolff gave Micah a look that could kill. A part of him wanted to stay to stand his ground, but he peeped the energy in the room. Not only did Londo look like he wanted a piece of him, but so did the other members of the team. He was outnumbered. Letting Kyle shoot Adina and get away caused Wollf to be alienated. He tucked the handgun into his waistband and exited the room, staring at Dannie as he continued down the stairs to leave the home.
Londo turned to Micah. “Are you sure it was a good idea to bring him with us?”
