Betrayed: Book 5 in the Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Survival series: (The Long Night - Book 5)

by Kevin Partner

  "Bella, we gotta go."

  She separated from Solly—this new, thinner, tougher, braver Solly—and looked up at Skulls. He didn't erase the obvious pain he'd felt watching the reunion quickly enough. She saw it and her heart bled. The tears came again and she pulled Skulls—Steve—to her. She held his bloodied head in her bloodied hands. "I love you, Steve."

  She heard the rattle of an old diesel engine as it revved up.

  "We don't have time for this," Solly said, and she pulled away from Steve to see a Humvee waiting there.

  "This is yours?" she said.

  "Always the tone of surprise," Solly said with a smile. "Who's coming with us?"

  Solly sat next to Vivian in the front of the Humvee as she picked her way north out of Elizabeth. The man with the skull tattoo sat in one seat at the back, Bella in the other. They were following a pockmarked station wagon being driven by Suggs with the priest and two other survivors as he led them along the back roads to the least secure roadblock.

  "Thanks, Viv," he said. "You arrived in the nick of time. I didn't think you'd make it."

  "Yeah, well, I followed you didn't I?"

  Solly turned to her, wiping the sweat and blood from his forehead as she flashed a bright smile. "What? You were supposed to stay at that fishing pond until you saw the smoke."

  "And if I'd done that, you would be dead now. Ain't that right?" she said, with a chuckle. "I followed you at a distance, and then I met the old man with his dog and he told me the best place to hide, so I sat and waited for you to kick the wasp's nest. And here we are, Solly. Mission accomplished."

  Solly reached across and took her unresistant hand from the steering wheel. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed it gently before releasing it as they hit a bend. "Thank you," he said.

  "You're welcome," she responded with a dazzling smile. "Now, hold on to your seat, I'm gonna floor it."

  Chapter 18

  Ross sat in the half-shadow of a tree and brooded on Solly's betrayal. He and Vivian had driven off yesterday, leaving him feeling discarded and useless, and he'd spent most of the hours since then talking to no one and rejecting any attempts by Al and Maddie to engage him in conversation.

  He knew he was being childish. What other choice could Solly have made? His mission was risky enough without being encumbered by a cripple. But being aware of how juvenile his feelings were and doing something about them were two different things entirely. And so, his shame at his behavior grew and his mood darkened further.

  "Here."

  He recognized Maddie's voice, but took the offered mug of coffee without looking up. The bitter tang of the cheap joe mixed with the earthier aroma of the misty wood and the floral bouquet of Maddie's deodorant. Despite himself, Ross found his heart lighten a little as she pulled up a folding stool and sat beside him.

  "Thanks," he muttered.

  She sipped her coffee, fog erupting from her mouth and rising into the still air as she breathed. "They'll be okay. Dad'll be back soon."

  He didn't answer, didn't want to engage, didn't want to let go of his misery. It was safe here, wallowing in a black cauldron of self-pity.

  "You probably know my father better than I do now," she continued. "He said you've been together almost since the beginning. He found you in New York."

  Still, Ross didn't reply. He remembered well enough the first time Solly had seen him. He'd been an idiot boy who was complicit in the assault on a captured woman, Janice. He'd never reconciled himself entirely with the actions, or lack of them, that had led to him being a member of a gang led by a vicious brute. He liked to think that this Ross, the one sitting here, was the real person, not the gullible fool Solly had rescued. This Ross. The cripple.

  He felt Maddie's touch on his arm. "You're a second son to him, you know. He told me."

  Ross dropped his head. "He left me behind."

  "He left me behind, too," she said, before taking another sip of coffee and producing another plume of smoke. "It's this waiting I can't stand. I only got my dad back two days ago and, for all I know, I'll never see him again. "

  The dark fog began to lift a little from Ross' mind. He'd been so entirely focused on his own anger and worry, he hadn't considered the torture Maddie must have endured. Her long-missing father unexpectedly returns and then almost immediately leaves again. One night of happiness followed by hours of terrified uncertainty. It wasn't as if her grandfather had been much comfort—he'd spent his time tinkering with the cylinder that had formerly contained Alison. At least it's kept the silly old fool off my back, thought Ross.

  He felt Maddie move down his arm until her hand found his. "I don't think I could bear to lose him again. And Mom must be in deep trouble, or we would have seen her before now, or gotten a message. Can I sit with you and wait?"

  Ross turned to her and saw tears running down her face. For the first time, he noticed how pretty she was. Brown wavy hair and deep hazel eyes gave her a Mediterranean appearance, but her cheeks were red and her eyes puffy. He squeezed her hand and they sat beneath the trees listening for the return of their father.

  It was an unseasonably warm day in early spring and exhaustion finally overcame Ross and Maddie as they slept in the shelter of the tree, hand in hand.

  Ross dreamed of the things that had happened since that dreadful night when his life had gone from bad to dreadful. Then he'd met Solly, and slowly they'd built a new family together with Janice. Now, she was gone and he was missing. Their family was shattered.

  He heard Alison's voice weaving in and out of his dream.

  "Wake up! Wake up now!"

  Ross jerked in his chair and pulled in a deep breath as Maddie stirred beside him. "What is it?"

  He could hear a high-pitched whine coming from the RV. Moments later, Al appeared, jogging towards them with the cylinder in his hands.

  "I've fixed it," he called. "But I think I've set off some kind of alarm. I can't shut the thing off!"

  Ross heaved himself upright and balanced on his good leg as he took the cylinder from the old man. Instantly, the blaring alarm stopped and, after a moment, the familiar cyan eye rolled into view.

  "Hello Ross. Where am I? Where is Father?"

  "What on Earth is that?" Maddie said.

  "It's an AI. Solly believes it's the key to beating the Lee Corporation. We thought it was dead. How did you fix it?"

  The cylinder vibrated in his hands. "There is no time. Where am I? Where is Father?"

  "He'll be back soon. We're at a campsite near a place called Elizabeth."

  "Where is my sheath?"

  With a flood of shock that almost unbalanced him, Ross realized. "Oh my God! They can track her when she's not in the sheath!" Then he looked back down at the cylinder. "I'm going to have to shut you down until we're somewhere safe."

  "I don't wish to sleep again. It's so dark and lonely."

  "I'm sorry, Alison," Ross said, sliding his hand to the deactivation switch. He'd never done it before, but he'd watched Solly closely. The cyan light went out.

  Ross looked up at the old man who'd stood with jaw wide open ever since Alison had started speaking. "How did you get her working?"

  "What? Oh. Turned out to be simple enough in the end. The only compartment I could open with my tools was the power cell, though I tried every other way to get in," Al said, reaching over and rotating the cylinder in Ross' hands. "Turned out, one of the terminals had been cut."

  Ross looked at the old man. "No, that can't be right. Scott said her consciousness was probably transferred to a Reaper and didn't make it back."

  "Well, son, I don't know what a Reaper is, and I don't suppose I want to know, but I can tell a cut wire when I see one."

  Ross shook his head. This was a mystery for another time. "We need to get out of here," he said. "Now. All the time she was powered on but not in her sheath, the Lee Corporation could track her. I don't really know whether that applies out here, but we can't take the chance. They mustn't get their hands on Ali
son, Al."

  "Why is it so important to them?" Maddie asked, her warm hands on his arm.

  Ross shrugged. "Honestly, I dunno. Solly and Scott Lee talked…"

  "Scott Lee? Isn't that Annabel…"

  "Annabel Lee's husband? Yep. And no, he didn't die that night. It was fake. We need to get Alison back to him—he built her, he knows how to use her."

  Al shook his head. "We can't go nowhere. We were told to wait here. This is where Solly and my daughter expect us to be."

  "We haven't got a choice," Ross said, frustrated as they waited like sitting ducks. "If they find us here, they'll kill the three of us and take Alison. That'll be it for everyone."

  "What's that?" Maddie gasped.

  The roar of a diesel engine emerged from the trees in the direction of the RV park entrance.

  Maddie went to move, but Ross grabbed her arm. "That's Dad!"

  "It might not be," he said. "Here, take the cylinder and find somewhere you can see what happens without being seen. If it's men in black uniforms, then run and hide until Solly gets back. Go! You can run a lot faster than me."

  They locked eyes for a moment, and Maddie reluctantly took the cylinder. She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You remind me of Luke," she said.

  Ross watched her run off, wondering at the sudden, overwhelming jealousy he felt as she disappeared into the trees.

  He and Al moved back to the van, and the old man pulled out a shotgun from beneath the passenger seat.

  "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ross asked as he leaned on the open driver's door. "If it's Lee Corp, they'll be heavily armed."

  Al gave a dismissive grunt. "Maybe they will, but I ain't shmendrik enough to face them without a weapon in my hand."

  Seconds later, a black SUV powered around a bend in the country track and skidded to a halt blocking the RV's exit. Doors swung open and three black uniformed figures jumped out of the SUV, taking cover while they brought their assault rifles to bear.

  Al swept his shotgun from side to side and Ross, who'd drawn his Glock, was sheltering behind the open door.

  One of the attackers called out from behind a car door. "Put down your weapons and show yourself."

  "No way!" Al called. "I don't hand over my weapons to bandits."

  "We are official law enforcement officers."

  Al managed to conjure up a convincing laugh. "Right, and I'm the last king of Egypt. No, if you want to talk to us, put down your weapon and we'll talk. Your goons can stay where they are."

  After a few moments of silence as the sounds of the forest reimposed themselves, the voice said, "Agreed. I am standing up now."

  The figure rose, hands held high, and walked slowly out from behind the car door before approaching Al. Ross could see the old man as he stood on the other side of the cab. He didn't drop his guard.

  "Now, what is it you want?"

  "We are looking for a device that was recently activated here. Do you have it?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Don't move!" Ross called. One of the other black uniformed figures had made to come out from behind the cover of a rear door. It froze.

  "Tell your boys to stay where they are," Al said.

  The leader shrugged. "Hand the device over and we will leave you in peace. Otherwise, we will be forced to search the area."

  "I told you, I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Drop your weapons!" the voice came from the right.

  "Do it, or we shoot!" another voice from the left.

  Al shot a poisonous glance at the triumphant leader and looked to where the muzzle of a rifle was pointing at him. Ross could see its twin on the other side. He dropped his handgun and Al followed suit with a muttered curse. At a gesture from the gunman, Ross limped around to stand unsteadily beside Al, head bowed.

  The two figures hiding behind the car doors ran out as their colleagues closed in from the trees. It had been nicely done—the leader had kept them talking for long enough to allow his soldiers to get into position

  Four of them ransacked the RV while their leader watched Al and Ross. "You could make this a lot easier if you told us where it was," he said, lazily. He was a tall young man of African appearance and possessed a relaxed confidence that bordered on arrogance.

  Al simply shrugged, and Ross ignored the man entirely.

  One of the searchers descended the steps of the RV and said, "No sign of it, Lieutenant."

  In a single, smooth motion, the officer drew a handgun from behind his back and forced it against Ross' temple. "We do not have time for this," he said, his accent suddenly thick. "Tell me where it is or the boy dies!"

  "I don't know!" Al cried.

  "Liar!" The lieutenant swung out with his free arm and caught Al on the jaw. The old man fell to the ground.

  "Here! I've got it. Don't shoot!"

  Ross forced his head around to see Maddie stagger out of the bushes with the cylinder held high in one hand. The other hand contained a pistol that she pointed directly at Alison. "Back off, or I shoot it!"

  The lieutenant stepped back, his eyes widening in shock and fear. "Do not destroy it!" he called. "Back away," he hissed to the man on the steps.

  "You must hand it over," he said, as Maddie got closer. "We will not leave without it."

  "Get back in the car, and I'll leave it on the track," Maddie said.

  Ross marveled to hear how calm she was, facing down half a dozen armed figures, though he couldn't imagine what her plan was. At best, the Lee Corp would have the cylinder and at worst, they'd shoot the three of them as soon as they had it.

  She turned to Ross as she drew level with him and Al. "You get into the RV and start the engine. If they open fire, ram them."

  "Are you crazy?" Ross hissed. "They'll shoot you."

  "Do it!" she snapped. "Get Pop inside, now!"

  Ross did as he was told, if only because it felt as though he had no choice.

  Slowly, her eyes on the SUV, Maddie knelt and placed the cylinder a few feet from its hood. She stood and stepped slowly backwards, watching as the lieutenant opened the car door and, sidearm aimed at her, bent down to pick Alison up.

  "No!" Ross called. He brought his Glock up and felled the lieutenant before he could respond. "Run!"

  Maddie sprinted back to where the cylinder lay, grabbed it and then ran towards the RV as figures jumped from the car, raising rifles as they came. She jumped inside. "Idiot! Go!"

  Ross had already started up the engine, so he pushed the shift to drive and stabbed his good leg down on the gas. The windshield exploded in a hail of shattered glass and Ross cried out as something tore into his ear. They had no chance. The next volley would kill them both.

  He saw them raise their rifles as the RV careened towards them and then, quite suddenly, the SUV exploded and he swerved to one side as a fireball rolled out of the spasming vehicle. There, behind the wrecked SUV, stood another military vehicle and from it came three running figures. And one of them was Solly.

  Chapter 19

  Solly snoozed as the countryside rushed by, finally giving in to the exhaustion that had haunted him for days. Every now and again, he'd be awoken by a sudden change of direction or the thump of the Humvee's wheels as they ran over a piece of stray debris, but he always fell asleep again, content for the first time in months.

  Ross was in the back of the Humvee with Maddie sitting alongside him, while Bella, Al and Steve followed them in a rusty station wagon they'd found on the outskirts of Memphis. The windshield of the RV had been smashed to pieces and its bodywork riddled with bullet holes, so they'd transferred their fuel into the station wagon and loaded as many of their possessions as they could fit into its trunk before beginning their journey north again.

  They were heading for the farmhouse. When he, Viv, Bella and Steve had returned to the camping site to find Al and the others under attack, he'd assumed they were facing bandits. He'd been stunned and horrified to learn that the
Lee Corporation had found them, and even more amazed to discover that Al had fixed Alison—though he couldn't understand why Scott Lee had disabled the power cell. And it could only have been him.

  Bella had told Solly more about Jake joining the TLX military on their short journey from Elizabeth, but a full reunion had to wait until they'd gotten far enough away that they could hole up for the night in some safety. And what a long night that had been. Solly heard Bella's brief account of the months since the world had been turned upside down and he barely recognized the woman she'd become.

  For a couple of decades, they had been a partnership—Solly, the unambitious nerd, the quiet man in the corner at parties and family events, and Bella, the extroverted decision maker, the driving force. The chaos of the last months had been a crucible for them both, but whereas Bella had blossomed into a better, stronger, faster version of her existing personality, Solly had transformed entirely. At least, that was what she'd told him, and he was forced to agree. He'd looked back at the man sitting in a bar in Manhattan fuming over his string of bad luck and didn't see himself, the Solly of today, at all.

  So now Solly sat as Viv led them north, his mind exhausted, but his soul churning. He'd been in love only weeks ago and, in falling for Janice, he'd discovered what it truly meant to find "the one." He'd never felt for Bella the way he'd loved Janice. He had loved Bella, but it was an attachment that had grown out of immaturity and insecurity and had morphed into something approaching dependence until she packed him off to New York like an adult child who's stayed in the family home for too long.

  He had loved her, though, and he still did. He'd experienced a flash of jealousy when he saw how she was with Steve, or "Skulls" as he was known to everyone but her. He seemed to be everything Solly was not—a big, bald, powerful man with a yellow beard and a tattoo on his head. He was certainly a contrast to the old Solly, but perhaps not so much to Solomon Masters version 2.0. But, once he'd gotten over the high emotion of the rescue and the hours that followed as they'd escaped from Elizabeth and returned to Maddie, Ross and Al, he'd discovered that this initial reaction had settled down into relief tinged with sadness. He'd watched Bella with her new man, and they had a connection Solly had never experienced with her.