An uncomfortable pause passed before it crackled to life with an unfamiliar voice.
“This is Frank in Reed. I have another package.”
“Go ahead,” said the voice on the radio.
“I’ll deliver to you.”
“Price?”
“We can discuss pricing when we link up. I’ll come to you.”
The radio went silent for a minute before the voice answered, “Meet us outside Evansville, Interstate 64 and Interstate 69 in two days.”
“I’ll be there.”
Daryl waved his finger and said, “You need to make sure he’ll be there, or there’s no deal.”
“This is Frank again.”
“Go ahead.”
“I also need to make an exchange for one of the children, a boy, six years old, goes by Hudson.”
Again the radio went silent, this time for much longer.
The pause was torture for Daryl.
Suddenly it crackled to life with a different voice. “Frank, this is Marty. No deal on the boy.”
Daryl’s anger grew hearing the man say that.
“Understood, we’ll still meet for a drop of another package, okay.”
“Fine, whatcha got for us that’s so good you’re willing to come to us?”
Feeling that the mention of Hudson might have alarmed them, Daryl became concerned that everything was unraveling.
Frank struggled to find an excuse but went with an outlandish story. “We came upon a large group of tween girls this morning after you left. I knew they were your type, Marty.”
“Tween girls, hmm, fine, meet us in Evansville, but no deal on the boy.”
Daryl reached for the radio, but Frank pulled away and keyed the handheld. “We’ll see you in two days outside Evansville.” He turned off the radio and pocketed it.
“Damnit!” Daryl screamed.
“I held my end; you have a location. I never promised to deliver him on a silver platter.”
Daryl leered at Frank, then stormed off; he passed Rivers, who chimed in, “How do you know he’s not lying to you?”
Daryl stopped and asked, “Was Marty the contact for the slavers?”
“Yes.”
“What do you suppose he did, tell them we were coming?” Daryl asked.
“Exactly.”
“And how can you help in this situation beyond your comments?”
“Um, I…” Rivers said as he attempted to find the correct response.
Daryl turned to Devin and ordered, “Get in the vehicle and fire it up. We’re heading home.”
Rivers walked towards the SUV too but Daryl stopped him. “Where are you going?”
“With you?”
Frank’s men jumped back into their vehicles and seconds later sped off back towards Reed.
Alone on the empty highway stood a spiteful Daryl and a fearful Rivers.
“I owe you nothing. You betrayed the trust of the town that elected you years ago by not preparing for this, and then you betrayed them again by forming a band of butchers who you set loose to terrorize the local area, and if that wasn’t enough, you preyed upon those people and used them to sustain yourself. You are a disgusting human who deserves neither mercy nor forgiveness. To allow you to live would place me in a position that I can’t live with, to know you have the ability to continue in this world, to possibly replicate what you did here somewhere else is something I cannot allow,” Daryl said as he pulled out his pistol.
“No, please, just let me go. I won’t, I promise, I won’t do anything like this again.”
“For the sake of other innocents out there, I can’t take that chance,” Daryl said as he leveled the pistol at Rivers’ head and squeezed the trigger.
Denver International Airport
With her head pounding from straining her eyes glaring at sketches and computer screens, Lori was ready for a hot bath. As she walked the lonely hallways of the executive suites, she remarked to herself how odd it was that Horton hadn’t contacted her all day. She fully expected to see him or at least hear from him, but nothing. Maybe, she thought, he no longer needed to court her. How quickly he went from a romantic to almost a husband in his disinterest of her, she mused. Her thoughts then catapulted to David and Eric; with the attacks on the other camps, she was concerned for their well-being. Travis seemed confident they were safe, but she couldn’t help but be concerned. She knew not enough time had gone by since their departure for her to reach out, but she hoped Horton could help in this department. Her plan was to use her feminine charm to get him to check on them and provide information and ensure their safety. Of course, in return she’d be more eager and willing to be his…concubine was the word that popped in her head, prostitute was another. It was hard for her not to have these feelings; sex and intimacy were very personal and emotional things for her. She was not the type of person who could compartmentalize things of that nature, so she had to channel her energy and focus in other places, that being finding a time and place to escape his clutches and reunite with her family.
When she reached the chancellor’s private hallway, the first guard wasn’t alone; he had two others with him. The process of passing through was not changed, but she wondered why the increased security. The number of guards was even greater at the entrance to the residence, four extra men, and none gave her a second look when she entered.
Concern gripped her when she saw this. She wondered to herself if more attacks had occurred, and if they could be under threat at the DIA. Once inside, she heard Horton, but he wasn’t alone. He was with four other men huddled in the living room, and the conversation was loud. She skirted off towards the bedroom unnoticed. By the brief parts she heard of the conversation, she could tell things were urgent; this must have been what prevented him from inquiring about her today. Deep down she had been a bit apprehensive concerning her lunch in the cafeteria, and now she saw that her concerns were minimal compared to what else must be happening.
Keeping the promise to herself, she drew the bath and undressed. The entire time she was prepping for her bath she kept thinking about what must be happening. Unable to control her curiosity, she walked to the bedroom door and cracked it.
The meeting was not only robust, it was getting divisive. The other men appeared to have complaints, and the main crux of what she could hear dealt with Horton.
“Chancellor, I’m sorry but things have gotten out of control. If you’ll pardon my frankness, your mind has been on that pretty little woman.”
“I agree, this is no time to be playing house. We have been planning this for too long to get lost in our private matters,” said a second man.
“I’m not distracted, and I’m not playing house,” Horton challenged them.
“Chancellor, you were given this position of responsibility, but you still have to adhere to the Guidestones and the Code of the Council, you have been implementing and pushing phases that are not in alignment with the other chancellorships,” the third man said.
“I agree, we’re here because of this expedited plan you’ve put into place for Arcadia. It is too early, and before we can move on establishing our new capital, we must ensure we control the territory under our jurisdiction. The complaints coming from the other chancellorships have merit; they are using all available resources to combat the Scraps.”
“I have everything under control. I moved up our schedule for construction because Iwant Arcadia to be the capital city of the capital cities in our Order.”
“That is not what we have discussed. You need to stop this and focus on dealing with the Scraps and controlling the regions,” the first man said.
“I have this under control, and stop complaining about what I’m doing with Mrs. Roberts, which is my personal affair.”
“Chancellor, might I remind you, there are no personal affairs in our plan. The needs of the one do not outweigh the needs of the many.”
“I have to agree with Councilman Smith. This woman is causing you to do things, act
differently.”
“Enough about her!” Horton snapped.
“You went ahead and ordered her brought here. You claim that she is your DNA match,that’s fine, but we understand she’s pregnant. What are you planning on doing about that?” the first man asked.
Hearing this, Lori leaned in closer.
“I will take care of that; it’s not your concern. That baby will not be born,” Horton said.
Lori flinched when she heard Horton. Her instincts told her to run, but where would she go? She felt so alone.
“Good, I’m glad to hear that. If she is your DNA match, the only children she must have are yours. You know that’s the law.”
“I’m well aware of the laws; I helped write them.”
“The plan for Arcadia must stop, and you are hereby ordered by the council to proceed with the Cleansing of the Land. The other chancellorships have been underway with this order for a month. They have calculated the numbers, they have identified who remains, but the others must go. We must eradicate the planet of the very scourge that almost destroyed it. The Death completed phase one, phase two is now complete, time to begin phase three, Chancellor. Once that is complete to our satisfaction, you can go back to phase four, building our new home,” the second man ordered.
“I can do both simultaneously. You gave me your confidence before, please let me proceed.”
“Impossible, the others have spoken. Just mothball your plans for Arcadia and begin the Cleansing; you have to get the population down further.”
“Why are we decreasing more? We are well within our stated initial goals of seventy-two million. We have an estimated twenty million less than that. Tell Chancellor Chang he’s the one who needs to get his jurisdiction in order, not me,” Horton said, reminding the men of their previously stated agreements as it pertained to population control.
“The unintended consequence of The Death was the mass kill off of many of the animalspecies. We never thought the virus would cross-mutate across species, but it did. There are not enough resources to feed and maintain our original numbers. We must reduce our numbers by half, we need to get the overall North American population down to thirty-five million,” the first man said.
“I wasn’t told about these new numbers,” Horton exclaimed.
“You’re being told now. Put off Arcadia and get to work on the Cleansing immediately. Killing off fifteen million people will take some time,” the first man said.
Those last comments confirmed Lori’s suspicions; everything from The Death to her being there was all one conspiracy. It wasn’t some random asteroid strike that must have been the perfect patsy to release what would be listed as one of the greatest mass extinctions the planet has ever seen. Horton and those men were mass murderers; they had committed a holocaust so they could have the world to themselves.
She had heard enough. She needed to get out of there and fast; her baby’s life was now in the balance. In a mad rush she dressed herself. Once ready, she slipped out of the bedroom but stepped right into one of the men coming from the kitchen.
“Hi, you must be Lori,” the man said. He put out his hand for her to shake.
Not wanting to cause a commotion, she took it and said, “Yes, yes, hi. And you are?”
“Oh, a friend and colleague of the chancellor’s.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said with a grin.
“Have you been here for a while?” he asked, suspicious now that she might have overheard their conversation.
“Oh, no, just walked in to grab a jacket, got it, and was heading back out to go for a walk.”
“Hmm, why don’t you come with me?” he suggested, placing his hand at the small of her back and nudging her towards the living room.
“No, it’s fine, seems like you’re busy.”
“Not anymore, why don’t you meet the rest of the group.”
She resisted, but he applied greater pressure.
Horton and the other men were still talking, their chatter too loud for them to overhear her and this man.
“I’d really appreciate if you didn’t push me. I can go myself.”
“That would be easier,” he said, a devilish grin now stretched across his face.
The only thing that separated them from Horton and the others was a wall. Once they made one turn, she’d be in front of the others and the man could inform them of his suspicion that she might have overheard everything they had been discussing.
She frantically thought of how she could get out of this, but with each step she was beginning to give in to her fate. Then a large geode caught her eye, the ten-pound piece of amethyst might be her saving grace. She quickly grabbed it, spun, and smacked him squarely in the forehead.
The man’s forehead split wide open, and blood gushed out of the gaping wound. The blunt force trauma from the blow knocked him out, his unconscious body fell to the floor with a thud.
When he hit the floor, she listened to see if the others had heard. From their continued chatter, it appeared they hadn’t. This was her chance, her one and only chance to flee, and she took it. There was no going back, she was committed, but with no plans on how she’d escape or where she’d go.
Jenks Residence, Reed, Illinois
Daryl wasted no time in loading the SUV for the trip to Evansville. He knew he could arrive well before they would, as it was not more than a twelve-hour drive, but these days nothing was a simple drive. The roads were full of obstacles and hazards, and if he wanted to arrive with enough time to recon the area, he’d need to leave immediately. The sun was leaving them for the day, and soon the blackness of night would envelop them. He’d use the night to his advantage and drive without headlights, using only a pair of night vision goggles to help him see.
Devin, Tess, and Brianna all began to help, but when Daryl saw them loading the Humvee for the drive, he stopped them.
“Nope, you’re not coming with me. You all have done enough. It’s now up to me.”
“Don’t be crazy. You’ll need our help. The slavers can’t be a nice bunch; you’ll need us,” Devin insisted.
“No, you need to complete your journey, and that’s that,” Daryl said.
“Devin’s right. You need our help. You helped us when we needed it. You didn’t have to, but you did,” Tess argued.
“Sweetheart, that was all Mary. If it had been my idea, you wouldn’t be here,” he reminded her.
“We’re coming, and that’s that,” Devin again insisted.
Seeing they were stubborn, he gave in and allowed them to help and prep the Humvee for departure as well.
“So where are we headed?” Tess asked as she carried out her personal items and placed them in the Humvee.
“Devin didn’t mention it yet?” Daryl asked.
“No, I didn’t quite hear where it was, with the wind and Frank’s mumbling redneck twang, it made it difficult to understand,” Devin mentioned.
“Not far, down in Indiana, near Kentucky.”
“I’ve never been to Kentucky, the bluegrass state, right?” Devin asked nonchalantly.
“It’s beautiful down there. Well, at least it was before,” Brianna offered.
“If I can get your help, let’s pull the plane back into the barn. There’s no saying how long we’ll be gone,” Daryl suggested.
All three finished with the vehicles and followed him down to the runway. After a half hour, the plane was back inside and the doors secured.
Daryl set a Claymore charge close by the entrance of the barn to ward off any possible intruders. He found that it only took one going off to discourage looky-loos.
“Let’s get some chow, and then we can head out,” Daryl suggested.
They all gathered around the formal dining table at Daryl’s insistence while he prepared a quick meal.
Brando was even given a chair to sit in; Daryl wouldn’t have it any other way.
As Tess, Devin, Brianna and Brando waited for Daryl to serve dinner, they chatted with one another, ke
eping it light. With the stark realities of the world, they created a rule that when they could, they’d discuss anything other than what was happening to them.
“I have a game for all of us to play,” Devin said cheerfully.
“A game? I’m in,” Brianna asked, excited at the proposition.
“Why not,” Tess said.
Daryl walked in with a bottle of wine and asked, “Who wants a glass?”
“Do we have time for all of this?” Tess responded.
“If I could grab Hudson now, I would, but it’s dark, and I don’t think we’ll run into those slavers until the designated meeting,” Daryl answered, defending his actions to have a last meal at the house before leaving.
“Fine, I’ll take a glass,” Tess said.
Devin raised his hand and said, “Pour away.”
Brianna looked around shyly, not saying a word.
“Do you want some?” Daryl asked, seeing her curious expression.
“Can I?”
“Are you kidding me, of course,” Daryl said and poured her a full glass before pouring himself one. He swirled the wine and looked at it somberly before saying, “I bought this bottle for my ten-year anniversary with Mary. They told me it was a good bottle, I hope so.”
All three could see the sadness in his eyes as he looked at his glass.
A grin reappeared on Daryl’s face as he raised his glass and said, “A toast.”
“A toast?” Tess asked cynically.
“Enough of your sourpuss attitude,” Devin quipped.
“I just think—”
Daryl cut her off and said, “Tess, relax, sometimes we have to just let things go. We could all step out in an hour and get killed. Let’s enjoy this one moment with one another, okay?”
She scrunched her nose but surrendered to his desires. “Okay, I agree, no more sourpuss.”
“So, a toast to new friends, thank you for being there when I needed you,” Daryl proclaimed.
“Cheers!” all three said in response.
“And to you too for helping us when we needed it,” Tess reminded him.
“Our mutual experiences taught me a lot. It taught me that I need to trust a little, not everyone out there is bad. I found you three, sorry, four,” Daryl said, looking at Brando. “If I had my way—”
The Death: The Complete Trilogy Page 23
