The Scavenger Series | Book 2 | The Scavenger Hunt

by Lowry, C. L.

  Everyone was armed and they were ready to start firing, especially Londo. Just because Micah wanted Kyle alive, that did not mean that he wanted him unharmed. Londo was ready to do damage and avenge Adina.

  “Slow it down,” Micah ordered. He spotted the trail of blood the was coming from the vehicle. He also noticed the spent shell casings the covered the street. Everything in the neighborhood reflected chaos. “Clear the truck and make sure you cover each other.”

  Micah’s team surrounded the truck. A team of four cleared the vehicle while the others watched their surroundings. With all the destruction around them there was no telling if a threat was going to pop out. “It’s empty boss,” Londo yelled out. “There’s a lot of blood in here though.”

  Micah kneeled and looked into the truck. There is no way he survived after losing this much blood, he thought. When he looked past the Chevy, he spotted bodies that were sprawled out in the street. The bodies were all in front of a church which had extensive fire damage. The body of one of the mutated creatures was also on the bloody pavement. “Hey, let’s move on this church,” Micah ordered. He and his team advanced on the damaged church, being cautious at the front doors. The last thing Micah wanted to do was leave any stone unturned. Finding the truck that Kyle was driving was a small victory for him, but he needed to get his hands on Kyle.

  The church was dark. Micah’s team lined like a firing squad in front of the broken front doors. The sun dipped behind some large clouds, which made it difficult to see inside of the wreckage. It appeared that during the fire, the top levels had caved in on the main levels. Micha and his team had no idea how many bodies were crushed under the wreckage. The only thing that peaked through the rubble was the black ambulance.

  “What do you think happened here?” Londo asked.

  “I can’t tell.”

  “Do you think he was involved.”

  “More than likely. But did you see how much blood is in the truck?”

  “Yeah, I saw it. You think he’s alive?”

  “I doubt it. Nobody is surviving from losing that much blood. At some point, I need to stay realistic when it comes to this hunt. I’ve already lost my people and I think we should head back and see how things are going. What about the ones that left?” We’ll figure out what to do with them once we get back.”

  “And what about Wolff. I think he is the one that led them all back.?”

  “We’ll kill him in front of the others to send a message. Treason will always be punishable by death. He got a pass for allowing this bastard to get to Adina, but he won’t get a pass for this. I want his head on my mantel and his body fed to his followers.”

  Londo gathered the team and they loaded back up in the vehicles. This time Londo drove and Micah rod shotgun. He could get his mind off the Chevy. He had gotten so close to capturing Kyle, but he was a little too late. From the looks of it, somebody else may have gotten to him first.

  The ride back to The Association was rough. Micah felt like a failure and now he had to punish one of his own people. He was not looking forward to his encounter with Wolff, but he knew it was time to set the tone. If he let Wolff get away with this act, there is no telling what the disobedient man would do next.

  Dark clouds filled the sky, and the sun began to set. Micah and his team were on the strip back to The Association. As they pulled up, they noticed a large number of vehicles pulled up outside the gate. “What the hell is all of this?” Micah asked.

  “It looks like we have company. I’ve never seen these vehicles before,” Londo responded.

  “I’ve seen that one before,” Micah said, pointing to the black ambulance. “It was one just like it inside that burnt church. Stop here and let’s make sure everyone is on point. We don’t know what the hell we are walking into.”

  Londo slowed the vehicle down. They stopped about 200 feet away from the front gate. The burnt car was still crashed into the gate. As Micah and his team approached, people began flooding from inside the walls and also from the vehicles. “Who the hell are these people?” Micah asked as he watched the Underlings crowd around the front entrance.

  “We’re about to find out,” Londo muttered as he gripped tightly on the shotgun he was armed with.

  The Underlings just stared at the team as they approached. Micah and Londo were a few steps ahead of the rest and halted when they spotted a familiar face. “Welcome back,” Wolff said.

  “What is all of this?” Micah asked.

  “This is The Association. Well, it’s currently under new management.”

  “Who are all of these people?”

  “These are our new friends. They came to join us, on our mission to take over the world. Unlike you, some people actually enjoy being here. It’s a good thing we came back too because somehow one of those mutations got loose inside the buildings and there is nothing but bodies in here.”

  “Well, get to your post and let’s make sure none of them return. We have to fortify this gate too.”

  Wolff laughed hysterically. He looked over to the others who also began laughing. Micah and his team were confused. There were hundreds of strangers around them, and they all began laughing.

  “What’s so fuckin’ funny?” Micah asked.

  “The fact that you think you’re still in charge. You don’t get to go out on your little excursion and then come back, barking orders. We don’t answer to you anymore Micah. There’s a new sheriff in town.”

  Micah’s eyes locked onto a subject that stepped up, from behind Wolff. The large hood on the black trench coat was pulled over his face. A rifle was slung across his chest and skull gas mask was draped across his shoulder. The Reaper slowly removed his hood, shocking Micah and his team.

  “Dale?”

  “Back from the dead,” The Reaper said.

  “What is going on?”

  “I’ll make this quick. Me and Wolff here are the new leaders of The Association. My friends here go by the name of The Underlings and will be joining this movement.” Loud cheers erupted from The Underlings.

  “Where is Adina?”

  “Adina is exactly where you left her? Is she even alive or are you just in denial and holding on to her body?”

  “The doctors that were caring for her, I want to speak to them.”

  “Well, your lead doctor ain’t caring for shit but himself. Word on the street is that he has been creating more of these smoke grenades. I need them all.”

  Micah was confused but tried his best to remain composed. He was not sure what The Reaper was referring to, but he planned on finding out sooner than later. He looked in the distance and saw Jin making a getaway towards one of the rear buildings. “Well, if you let me in, I will get them all for you,” Micah asked as he took a step forward.

  The Reaper raised his rifle and sticking it in Micah’s face. A chill went up his spine as he slowly began backing up. “You ain’t coming in here,” The Reaper muttered. “You are no longer welcome on our territory. Out of respect for Adina I’m going to let you live but the next time I see you, I won’t be as generous.”

  Micah scowled at The Reaper. He could not believe the words that just came out of his mouth. Micah was never a big fan of The Reaper back when he was Dale, the head of Adina’s search teams. The two men always butted heads because Micah believed that The Reaper was reckless. Little did he know, The Reaper was only acting under the orders of Adina. Micah felt the urge to draw his pistol and put The Reaper down, but they were extremely outnumbered. Londo was also craving for some action. He could not take his eyes off Wolff and vice versa. The two men despised each other and Londo was willing to risk his own life to take out Wolff.

  Several small explosions went off inside behind the front gate, grabbing everyone’s attention. A few members of The Association and The Underlings were injured because of the explosions, but the more serious concern was the red smoke that began seeping out from the grenade canisters. Micah quickly released the canisters that were hanging from his belt,
releasing a thick, orange cloud of smoke in the air. All the members of The Association began covering their mouths, knowing the result of inhaling the toxic gas that was releasing with the smoke. The Underlings were not too familiar with the bioweapons that The Association created. They began dropping like flies.

  The shotgun roared as Londo took a shot at Wolff before, dipping back into the orange smoke. The other members of Micah’s team began firing at the Underlings too. The Underlings blindly shot back, but most were still dropping as the gas continued spreading. The Reaper donned his mask and let his rifle rip into the orange smoke. The scene was chaotic. Bodies were dropping left and right. He ran into the orange smoke, hoping to go toe to toe with Micah. This was a battle that he dreamed about.

  More shotgun blasts went off, followed up by more explosions. Both the red and the orange smoke became thicker. Members of Micah’s team had also released their canisters and donned their masks. The Reaper fell forwarded after being struck in the back of the head with a shotgun. Londo jumped on top of him delivering several more blows. The Reaper grabbed Londo by the neck and Londo reached down and began tugging at The Reaper’s mask. The Reaper continued to try to choke Londo but was quickly overpowered. He grabbed the handle of his rifle and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, none of his rounds struck Londo. He tried bringing the rifle up higher, but Londo pushed down on his arm.

  The Reaper quickly grabbed the back of Londo’s mask and pulled it off. Londo panicked and began throwing punches at The Reaper. Two of his strikes landed and broke The Reaper’s mask. The two men tried their best to hold their breath as the thick smoke surrounded them. Londo delivered another blow to The Reaper but missed and struck the ground. A sharp pain shot through his knuckles and wrist. That was just enough of a distraction for The Reaper to Londo off him. The two men stood and Londo gripped his shotgun, aiming it center mass on his target. His finger slid onto the trigger and then a second later slid off. Londo dropped the shotgun and held his hands up to his neck. Blood poured from the fresh wound to his neck. Wolff used all his strength to pull the hunting knife from Londo’s neck and stab it into his back. Londo was too busy tussling with The Reaper, he never noticed that Wolff crept up behind him.

  Both men fell to the ground. Londo hit the ground hard, as his severed carotid artery sent blood squirting out of his neck wound. Wolff was also down. The entire right side of his body was covered in blood. His right arm was also ripped off from Londo’s initial shot from the shotgun. Wolff did not let the severe injury stop him from getting to Londo.

  CHAPTER 46

  The blasts of gunfire and agonizing screams continued to fill the air. The chemical gas that disseminated through the red smoke resulted in the countless casualties on both sides. It was still unknown what damage the chemical gas in the orange smoke had caused. The orange smoke contained the same gas that caused mutations in some and death in others. Bodies were covering the floor and it was only a matter of time until the mutations would occur.

  Jin knew that he was a wanted man. The Reaper sought after Jin’s knowledge of the chemical gases and Jin knew after that knowledge was obtained, there would be no further use for him. The Underlings were already taking anything they wanted. They were raiding the living quarters of The Association members and pilfering through the supply rooms. It was sickening. Jin immediately headed to his lab, to save his hard work and test results. He knew the smoke canisters that he let off would soon go empty and once the smoke cleared, the war would continue.

  The doors to the laboratory were standing open. “What the hell are you doing?” Jin asked angrily. There were members of The Underlings rummaging through the makeshift lab that Micah and Adina had assigned for the mutation research. One of the men was stuffing a bag with the canisters that Jin and his team created.

  “Who the fuck are you?” the man asked.

  “I’m the doctor that runs this lab, now give me my canisters,” Jin said as he ran over and grabbed the bag.

  The man swung a punch at Jin, which was countered. He threw another, which Jin ducked and followed with a gut punch. The man dropped the bag and charged at Jin and attempted to tackle him to the ground. Jin wrapped his arm around the man’s neck as he was being tackled. Jin squeezed on the man’s neck, holding him in the chokehold. The thin man’s face turned red as he slowly began to lose air. Jin loosened his grip after being kicked in the face by one of the other Underlings. They did not even let him get back to his feet before they began attacking him. A few of their members jumped Jin and began stomping on him while he was down.

  Jin did his best to cover up while in the fetal position. His adrenaline was high, so he could barely feel the kicks and the punches that were being delivered to his body. The beating continued for about a minute before the men ran out with the bag of smoke canisters and files that were on the table. Jin stood to his feet, after realizing that the assault was over. He scanned that lab, which had been ruined. He stumbled toward the wall and opened the door that led to the testing section of the lab. It was clear that The Underlings had not yet reached this portion of the lab because there were extra canisters on one of the tables that were untouched.

  Loud roars echoed in the room. The mutated beasts that were caged wanted a piece of Jin. His test subjects banged against their cages and scratched at the thick metal bars. Jin ignored the beasts and headed to the center of the lab. His focus was gathering supplies and securing the remaining samples. He wanted to get rid of the lab and he no longer needed the beasts that he had caged. The last thing he wanted was The Underlings to piggyback off his hard work and claim his weapons as their own. Jin grabbed a set of bolt cutters and got to work before The Underlings returned.

  “What do we have?” The Reaper asked as he waited by the vehicles that Micah and his team arrived in. With his mask broken, he made a quick exit to get out of the smoke. He enjoyed watching Londo meet his fate and was grateful that Wolff saved his life despite being disfigured.

  “We have a bunch of casualties. Our people didn’t have any sort of protection from the gas,” one of The Underlings said.

  “What about our prisoners? Was your team able to capture them?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Ok, perfect. Let’s go get – “

  Before The Reaper could finish his statement, a large explosion occurred in the lab. The entire building had blown up and rocked the other buildings that were on the property. The lab was fully engulfed. A substantial amount of orange smoke filled the air as it exited the gaping hole that was created when the roof collapsed. The Reaper did not know what to expect. There were so many wounded and dead. There was also no sign of Micah. The last thing he wanted to do was surrender the territory he just obtained, but he also needed a new mask because the orange smoke from the explosion was quickly spreading like a sandstorm.

  Loud roars could be heard coming from the burning lab as eight beasts emerged from the smoke. Their claws dug into the ground as they ran towards the first humans they saw. Smoke particles stuck to their thick fur. The beats began causing havoc on the surviving members of both groups. Gunshots began ripping off at the beasts as both sides focused their attacks on the mutations. A couple of the shots hit their targets and put two of the beasts down, but as the smoke spread, it became more difficult to see them. It as if the beasts were using the smoke to their advantage to strike the humans. They clawed through skin with powerful swipes, punctured arteries with deep bites and tore limbs from bodies with eases. It was a blood bath but both sides stood their ground and put up a fight.

  The ground began rattling as everyone continued their assault on the beasts. The orange smoke continued bellowing out the building, as roars and howls came from a distance. Those who were on the outside of the gate heard the roars, that seemed to be getting closer by the second. A few beasts were spotted running into the territory as the orange smoke attracted them. They too joined in on the battle with the humans. The Reaper had witnessed this scene before. He knew that th
ere would be more beasts coming towards the smoke. He reluctantly entered the black ambulance that was parked out front. Multiple vehicles took off just in time, as a stampede beasts headed to The Association. The sight was unbelievable. Hundreds of the mutations were making their way to the bellowing smoke. Both The Association and The Underlings were not prepared for what was coming their way.

  …TO BE

  CONTINUED

  Continue the story by checking out the next book in this series

  Coming 2022!!!

  BONUS CHAPTER

  The stench of death was in the air. Dannie’s head was pounding. He did not know where he was at. The last thing he remembered was being out with the group, and now he was in a dark place. He attempted to sit up but quickly realized that he was tied down. Sharp pains shot through his wrists and ankles. He yelled out in pain. He looked over to find the source of the pain and spotted the barbwire that was wrapped around his wrists. His first attempt to sit up caused the blades on the wire to slice his skin. Blood was trickling down his wrists and ankles from being sliced.

  “Help me!” Dannie screamed out.

  “Is that how my girlfriend begged for her life?” The Reaper asked, stepping into the room.

  Dannie’s eyes widened when he saw the man enter. A large hood was pulled up over the man’s head that partially covered his face. “Help me. Please get this shit off my wrists.”

  “Don’t beg. It’s not a good look on you. You can’t imagine my surprise when I saw you at The Association. I was in disbelief at first, but there you were running for your life after the explosions. Through all the chaos, I was given a gift from the gods of war and all I had to do was be patient and snatch you up when the time was right. Now, here you are.” The Reaper pulled up a crate and sat on it. He was at the foot of the bed with his eyes locked on Dannie’s face. “Do you know how beautiful fear looks on your face? I love it.”