by Lowry, C. L.
“Yup.”
“Good. Now, let’s go find our friends.”
CHAPTER 25
Micah rolled over in the bed. His group had taken over an entire city block and they took up residence in every home on the block. The home Micah, Londo and a couple others shared was in good shape. Obviously, someone had cleaned the place out, when it came to food and supplies but luckily, they did not destroy the older model townhome. The full-size bed was perfect for Micah to get a good night’s rest; however, his mind was still on Kyle. No matter how comfortable the bed was, Micah could not sleep. He was quickly running out of options and had yet been successful in catching his prey. The last thing he wanted to do was show back up to The Association with avenging Adina.
Sunrays shot through window and beamed directly on the bed. Micah squinted his eyes and raised his hand in front of his face to block the sun. Loud chatter could be heard coming from the main level of the home. His head was pounding. It had been days since he had slept, and the fatigue was beginning to creep up on him.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Who is it?” Micah asked, as he slowly sat up in the bed.
“Londo,” the voice behind the bedroom door responded.
“Come in.”
Londo busted through the door. Sweat dripped down his face and he was panting like an old dog in the peak of summer. “They’re gone, boss.”
“Who’s gone?”
“Our people. Half of them left.”
Micah popped up, out of the bed. “What the hell you mean they left.”
“Big Bill just came to me this morning after no one showed up to back him up on the morning security detail. That was Ricky’s job to do, so I went looking for him. When I checked the spot that they were staying in, I noticed Ricky was gone. Him and everyone else that was in the home. Then I checked other spots and it was the same thing. Half of our people are gone.”
“What the fuck,” Micah yelled. The drywall crumbled as his fist blasted through the wall. He followed up with a few more punched into the wall, before turning back to Londo. “Where the fuck did they go?”
“I don’t know but I think they went back home.”
“And why the hell would they do that?”
“Wolff.”
“Wolff? What about him?”
“I got into an argument with him last night and he said a few things that I didn’t like. Going home was one of them. I’m guessing the others followed him.”
“So, you knew they were all going to leave, and you didn’t it was important to tell me?”
“I didn’t think he was going to do it. He went on this rant about us chasing our tails and suggested I head back home with him. I told him that anyone who leaves will die. My message was clear.”
“And obviously the message wasn’t received.” Micah pushed pass Londo and headed into the hallway. He checked the other bedrooms before making his way downstairs and out the front door. A part of him wished he were dreaming, but unfortunately it was a harsh reality.
Wolff was not the only one who felt that the mission they were currently on was pointless. He wasted no time gathering those that wanted to leave and heading back to The Association. Wolff wanted an update on Adina. He needed to know if his leader would survive, because he could not stand following orders from Micah. Even Dannie took the opportunity to sneak back to The Association by blending in with the others. He knew that he could not provide Micah with the information that he wanted, and it was only a matter of time before they left him for dead.
The black tactical boots slammed on the pavement, as Micah stormed down the street. The pounding of his head became more severe. He grimaced as he did his best to fight through the pain. He carefully checked each home, hoping that Londo’s suspicions were not true. His search only revealed betrayal. His numbers had been cut in half and he did not know what else was in the mind of those that left. He could not understand what was more important than finding the man that shot Adina.
Micah slammed the front door of one of the homes, as he exited. Londo stood in the middle of the street and watched his leader. Micah looked at him with defeat in his eyes. He still did not understand the motive. Londo slowly approached.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan is not going to change. The mission stays the same. We are going to find that scavenger and skin him alive. We’ll continue the search with the people that stayed with us. We’re going to find this guy soon.”
“What about the men and women that left?”
“When we’re done, we’ll skin them alive too.”
CHAPTER 26
“I promise you all, this is going to be the best move you all ever made,” Dalton announced.
The small group following him was eager to get to this “promise land” of endless supplies he could not stop bragging about. Although The Saviors provided a sense of security and protection for their territory, there was a small number of members who wanted them to be more aggressive and more dominant. Some thought The Saviors were playing things too safe. They believed The Saviors had the numbers to slowly take over the city, but Maverick wanted to be cautious about each move that was made. He was very thorough when deciding who was allowed to enter the group and ensure he got rid of people who broke the rules. Dalton was one of those people who wanted the group to be more dominant. It did not take him long to gather up more like-minded members and head back to the hospital. The thought of leaving all those supplies behind clawed at his mind since they completed that mission.
“It’s just up here,” he said.
Dalton was only able to snag a few guns away from the encampment, one of which he had aimed at the front door. The others were distributed to those in the group who felt comfortable using the weapons. The group definitely was not as skilled as the team that Maverick put together for the original supply mission. This did not matter to Dalton because he trusted his skills with a handgun and would not hesitate to take action. In the back of his mind, Dalton felt guilty that he was not completely honest with the group. He bragged about the supplies that were in the hospital and the potential they had to grow in the building, but he failed to mention the mutated beasts that the Alpha team encountered during their mission.
The group approached the hospital. Dalton spotted the front door with the broken window. He opened the door and shined the flashlight of his handgun down the hallway. He smirked when he saw nothing but emptiness. Dalton’s description of the building did not match what the group was currently looking at. The hospital was eerie. Without the daylight, the hospital was pitch black. The moon sat behind the clouds, not assisting in illuminating the building.
The shattered glass cracked under their feet as they stepped inside the building. Some of the members were in possession of large candles, which they lit before stepping in. The flickering light of the candles bounced off the white walls in the hospital, allowing the group to see inside the building. Having some sort of illumination calmed the members. They were so used to the constant lighting that The Saviors arranged in the safe zone. There were people designated to make the candles and others who insured they were lit throughout the night and replaced them when they were about to go out.
Dalton led the group but not like Maverick. He had his gun up and was ready for a threat, but he was so ecstatic to be in the building that he was not focused. He peeked into the first room, which was the one that he and Erik cleared at the beginning of their mission. It looked exactly how they had left it. He then checked the second room.
“Welcome to your new home,” Dalton announced when he re-entered the hallway.
The other members of the group looked around and began cheering. It was the start of a new beginning. Each member began running and claiming their rooms. Dalton was the last to take his room—intentionally. That was his way of showing the group what kind of leader he planned on being. He stepped into the hospital and threw his belongings in the corner of them. Ariel walked into Dalton’s new
room and handled him a candle. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. I am excited for our future.”
“And the future will be bright. Our small group will grow into a large community. A community that will be prosperous.”
“I can’t wait to explore this place and see what we have. I bet the generators still work. We have to find a way to cut them on.”
“I didn’t even think about that. If we get the generators going, then we can light this place up.” Dalton imagined the possibilities the group would have with power in the building. He knew it would not be hard to fill the building. “That’ll be the first thing we do in the morning.”
“Can’t wait,” she stated before stepping out.
Dalton sat on the hospital bed and kicked his boots off. He had to take it all in. Although this was what he planned to do, it was unreal to be in this moment. The pressure of being a leader was weighing on him, especially because he knew what lingered at the end of the hall. He thought about what excuse he would use once they rest of the group found out about the dead beasts. He did not want to cause any panic inside the building. I’ll just act like I didn’t know they were there. Maybe I’ll drag them into room so no one sees them.
He grabbed the large remote that was connected to the bed and pressed the call button. He then reached over and rolled over the IV stand. Dalton was like kid, touching everything in the room. He filled the empty cabinets and drawers with items from his bag. Afterward, he walked into the bathroom. Surprisingly, it was clean. The first thing Dalton looked at was the toilet. Expecting it to be filled with urine and feces, he was surprised to see that the water was clear. The toilet had not been used, which was one of the perks of not getting one of the first rooms that were ransacked. He was certain that bathrooms in those rooms did not match his.
Dalton pulled back the shower curtain. He turned the faucet, hoping to see water drip from the shower head. That would be too perfect, he thought. The disappointment quickly went away when he spotted hospital soap, shampoo, and conditioner hanging in the shower. Dalton ripped open the soap, allowing the scent to escape the packaging and enter his nostrils. He then opened the mini bottle of shampoo. The fresh scent was intoxicating.
Dalton lifted his arm and smelled his pit, which was funky. It had been a while since he washed and even longer since he washed his clothes. Maverick wanted to preserve the rainwater that was collected for drinking, cooking, and cleaning wounds. He did not want to waste their water supply on bathing and washing clothes. Just in spite of The Savior’s rules, Dalton took his clothes off. The stench of his body odor was overwhelming.
Dalton lifted the toilet seat and splashed water on his body. It was the most refreshing feeling he had felt in a long time. He dipped the soap into the toilet water and began rubbing the bar across his body. Dalton did not even bother washing himself up in the shower, but instead, he washed up right in front of the toilet. He splashed water on himself again, this time rinsing the brown suds off his dirty body. He ran the bar of soap around his body for a second time, ensuring he cleaned every area. On the second rinse, he was sure to splash water in his hair. Pouring shampoo on the top of his head, Dalton allowed the fresh smelling gel to run down until he dripped on his shoulders. He rubbed the shampoo through his dirty head and rinsed it out with toilet water.
Maverick can kiss my ass with his stupid rules. This is how we are supposed to live. Dalton raised his arm and smelled his armpit again. The sweet scent of the soap had masked the funk. His body odor was not completely gone, but a ten-minute bird bath was not going to do much against months of funk. There’s not even a towel in this room. Dalton grabbed the sheet off the hospital bed and wrapped it around his body, using it to dry off. He was still in awe. His new life was off to a good start.
“DALTON!”
The loud scream of his name caught the new leader’s attention. He threw on his pants quickly, grabbed his gun, and ran into the hallway. Water still dripped from his body and down his face. He was not sure who called his name. He looked down the hallway near the other member’s rooms, but nothing stood out. Turning to the other end of the hallway, his eyes locked on a silhouette. Shadowy figures lingered around the end of the hallway toward the dark wing where the corpses of the beasts that the Alpha team killed were slowly rotting.
“Whoever you are, you have to leave. This is our building,” Dalton ordered.
Three dark figures emerged from the shadows, one laughing at the order they had just received. Another had his mitts on one of the members of Dalton’s group, Peter. The man was standing behind Peter, and his arm was wrapped around Peter’s neck. Peter was a fifty-seven-year-old man who had retired from being a SEPTA mechanic. He spent his career repairing buses and trains, and now he was on a search to repair that damaged lighting in the building. His quest led him to cross paths with the three men. Peter was known as a tough and courageous man, so when Dalton heard Peter scream his name, Dalton knew something troubling had occurred.
“I’m serious. Let that man go and leave right now.”
Other members of the group began exiting rooms to see what the commotion in the hallway was all about. This caught the trio’s attention. Initially, they were not sure how many people Peter was with, but as they poured out of the rooms, the trio realized they were outnumbered.
“As you can see, this won’t end well for you three. You have five seconds to leave here and never come back.”
With a swift elbow to the midsection, Peter delivered a blow to the man that knocked him back on the floor. Peter took off running toward Dalton, only to stop in his tracks after a few steps. It happened so fast that no one saw when the knife was thrown, but everyone saw it sticking out of the back of Peter’s head when he dropped to his knees and subsequently to the floor.
Dalton was filled with rage. He sent shot after shot at the three men. Four other members of the group came out firing their weapons also. The trio began retreating into the dark hallway. Bullets zipped past their heads, and some ripped into different parts of their body.
Dalton took off in a full sprint after the men and continued firing until the slide on the gun locked back. He hopped over Peter’s body and disappeared into the darkness. Dalton activated the flashlight on the gun and scanned the area. Where the hell did they go? He immediately spotted the bodies of the beasts. There was blood all over this end of the hallway, making it difficult for him to differentiate the blood from the fresh wounds, which had dripped onto the blood covered floors. Dalton did not even know two of the men got struck when he was shooting. He took a minute to collect himself, realizing that he was alone in the dark hallway. The other members of his group never advanced into the darkness with him.
Dalton stepped lightly as he moved forward. He was cautious, checking each room as he carefully made his way up the hallway. He stepped past the two rooms that the Alpha team had raided during the supply run. That had been the farthest they went that day, so Dalton had no idea what was waiting for him past that point. He thought long and hard about whether to keep going or not, but fear got the best of him. “This is no time to be a hero,” he mumbled as he turned around and headed back to his group.
CHAPTER 27
“How are you doing Dr. Lee?” one of the medical staff members said.
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“How are our patients doing?”
“They are doing good. The one said he’s still in a lot of pain, but all of his vitals check out. The boy seems fine. He’ll probably be out of here in a couple days.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m going to go check on the boy.”
Dr. Lee entered the medical ward. Although her main focus in the group was mutation research, she always stopped in on the medical ward to check on patients. The thought of having a whole floor to herself in the hospital was an unbelievable offer, but Dr. Lee made the decision not to go with Dalton and his group. She understood most of the points that he
made, but she did not agree with the “everyone can do what they want” mentality. There was no way she was going to start over with a group that was not going to be structured.
She showed up to the meet point at midnight, but she did not meet with Dalton. Instead, she watched from a distance to see who planned on leaving with Dalton. One by one, they showed. She was surprised to see the faces that were showing up, prepared to start a new life at the hospital. She was also surprised to see the number of members who were going to be in the group. It was less than twenty of them. There was no way that Dr. Lee was going to leave one of the safest locations in the city to go join a small group like this.
She entered the room that Levi was currently staying in. Levi watched as the door opened to his room, and in walked the forty-five-year-old Asian woman. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A dingy lab coat was draped over her shoulders. She held a neat pile of clothes in her hand and placed them at the foot of the bed. “These are some clean clothes you can change in to. I also got you this,” she said, tossing an apple to the teen.
“Thank you, ma’am.” The teen wasted no time sinking his teeth into the juicy fruit.
“It’s no problem at all. I’m Dr. Lee. What’s your name?”
“Levi,” he replied with a mouth full of apple.
“Oh, that’s a nice name. Well, Levi, it looks like I have nothing but good news for you. Besides being a little dehydrated, it seems that you are a fairly healthy young man. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for your friend. What happened to him?”
“Honestly, ma’am, I don’t know. I found him that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I belong to a church. I was in there with my friends, and I found him in the alleyway down the street from the church. Some guy was over the top of him, so I grabbed my bat and chased him away. The next day, a bunch of them came back to the church, and they ended up burning it down. That’s how I ended up at the hospital with that guy. He was hurt so badly I didn’t know where else to take him.”
