Downfall: The Deadlander Series (Book 1)
Page 18
“So … Sarah,” I began, gesturing first to Samireh. “This is Samireh, and the very happy-looking guy is Yuri.”
“Yuri Glazkov.” Yuri stepped forward, extending his hand. “Russian spy and your new best friend.”
Sarah smiled uncomfortably and shook his hand. She then looked at Samireh, but I could tell she thought better of trying to say anything to her. She returned her attention to me in earnest. “Michael, do you have any medicine in that truck?”
I wasn’t sure, so I looked to Yuri.
“Of course we have supplies,” he told Sarah. “What is problem?”
“Quick,” she said breathlessly, darting past us toward the Cougar. “We have to get to the hospital bunker.”
I trotted after her. “Who else made it?” I asked, catching up.
She jumped into the Cougar’s driver’s seat. “Dr. Stein,” she said urgently. “But he’s badly hurt and I don’t know what to do.”
Samireh jumped into the passenger seat, while Yuri and I both climbed in through the back.
Dr. Stein.
He’d been the Tech Secretary before my dad. He was also the co-founder of Boise. If anyone might have some answers, it would be him.
Once we’d closed the hatch, Yuri looked to the driver’s seat and began to say, “Do you know how to drive the—” but Sarah had already revved up the engine and slammed on the gas. The truck jolted forward and we weaved our way over the crumbling bridge before turning toward the hospital. Prior to the attack, its main office had been eight stories tall. Now, I couldn’t see a thing. Only rubble.
“What happened to him?” I shouted up to Sarah as she drove.
She slammed past a burnt-out car and tossed me a glance. “One of those things cut him.”
“Slicers,” Samireh said.
“But they’re poisonous,” I said to Sarah.
“I know. He made some kind of serum. Apparently he’d been working on it for years.”
“But he’s still dying?” I asked.
“The poison’s gone,” she answered. “But the cuts are deep and infected. He can barely talk anymore.”
I glanced over at Yuri. “What do we do for an infection?” I asked him. “Do we have anything for that?”
He rushed over to one of the storage boxes and rummaged through it. After a few seconds, he turned to me and lowered his voice so that only I could hear. “I do not know, Michael. If infection is bad, what we have will not be enough. I must see wound first.”
It didn’t take more than a minute before Sarah ground the Cougar to a halt in front of a collapsed building. “It’s this way,” she said, hopping out of the truck. Yuri and I both gathered up what was left of the medical supplies. It wasn’t much.
We all followed Sarah down a cleared stairwell as we descended into the hospital’s bunker. Opening a heavy door, Sarah ushered us inside.
My eyes went straight to Dr. Stein. He was lying on a bloodstained hospital bed. All four of us rushed to his side. His eyes were closed, but he was still taking quick, shallow breaths.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Dr. Stein,” I said quickly. “Dr. Stein, can you hear me?”
His eyes slowly opened, but his pupils looked hazy. When he focused on my face, he squinted slightly in recognition. His breaths came faster, as if he were trying to build up his strength. “My God,” he whispered. His voice was so faint that we all had to lean closer.
Yuri brought up a syringe and began to fill it. “I have pain medicine.” He looked at Dr. Stein. “Let me give you shot.”
The old man coughed slightly and shook his head. He then fixed his eyes on me. When he spoke, he could only manage a couple words per breath. “Of all people … to live … it’s you.” He managed a tiny smile. “Michael.” He weakly reached for my arm. “There is … a key. Black box … your father …”
I pulled the flash drive from behind my shirt and held it up. “This?” I asked.
Dr. Stein nodded as he started coughing and Sarah pressed a cloth to his brow. “We shouldn’t make him talk,” she told us, but he shook his head and tightened his grip on my wrist. “Michael,” he rasped. “You … Dwalu …”
I leaned closer. “What?”
His eyes seemed to lose focus as he stared up at the ceiling. His breaths became even shallower and faster. “Find … Dwalu.”
I quickly looked at the others, then returned my gaze to Dr. Stein. “I don’t understand,” I said urgently. “Who’s Dwalu?”
His hand fell from my arm, and he inhaled sharply. “He’s …”
“Dr. Stein!” Sarah shouted, gripping his shoulder. But his head lolled to the side as his strength left him. With his last breath, he whispered, “Mantidae …”
***
We carried Dr. Stein’s body up to the surface and gave him a proper burial. Growing up, I hadn’t known him as well as Shaw, but I knew he was a great man. He’d helped found the city where, for at least a time, thousands of people had lived in peace. I owed the men and women of his time everything, I saw that now. My parents, Shaw, Stein; they were the ones who had carved Boise out of the Deadlands. They were the ones who had made my life possible. If I could help it, I would make sure that their efforts weren’t in vain.
Samireh and I. Yuri and Sarah. We all worked together to collect whatever supplies we could. We found food, weapons, and fuel. By the time we finished, the sky was pink from the setting sun.
As Samireh and I walked back to the Cougar, I quietly breathed, “Dwalu …?”
She stopped and looked at me. “We’re going to Grant,” she said firmly. “To hell with the risks, we’re going to get some answers.”
I looked down at my feet, not sure what to say. I had more questions than I knew how to handle. What was the flash drive and why had my parents kept so many secrets? Who was Dwalu? Who was I? From Fredrick Shaw, to Alec, to Dr. Stein—all of them seemed to know something about me that I didn’t.
And in that moment, the white hallway was back. The door was open and the black was flooding in. I tried to push it back, but it was a losing battle. I couldn’t stop it alone.
“Hey,” Samireh suddenly said, getting my attention.
I snapped out of the vision and lifted my head. She looked me in the eye for a moment and smiled. “Don’t worry so much,” she said. “I’m with you.”
END OF BOOK ONE
Thank you for reading “Downfall,” Book One of the Deadlander Series.
If you liked it, please take a second to leave a review.
Also, be sure to check out my other titles including, “True Magic,” an urban fantasy adventure series, as well as “Where the Dragons Go,” a heartfelt young adult contemporary novel written under the penname C.W. Sims.
About the Author
After growing up in the quiet suburbs of Silicon Valley, Colin Sims decided journalism might be a good way to see the world. Thus, after college, he moved to Cairo, Egypt where he studied Arabic and worked as a freelance reporter for three years. Once he returned to the U.S., he worked in television news but couldn’t shake a growing desire to try his hand at fiction. So, in a fit of lunacy one day in 2011, Colin quit his job, bought a motorcycle, and spent the next few months riding across the country and writing his first manuscript. He has been dedicating himself to the craft ever since …
You can find Colin on Facebook: www.facebook.com/colinsimsauthor
Twitter: @colinsimswriter
Or reach him by email at: colinwsims@gmail.com
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