The Preston Six Collection: (Book 1, 2 and 3)

by Ryan, Matt

  He crouched low, not able to run, but slid his soaked feet through the trickle of water as fast as he could—checking his map at every turn. The pipes kept getting smaller the further he pushed on.

  Stopping at the last intersection, he shined his light down the small pipe. It was eighteen inches in diameter, with a trickle of water cascading into the larger pipe. He took a deep breath and with the Panavice in hand, pushed himself into the pipe, arms first. If the pipe got any smaller, he’d risk getting stuck.

  His stomach lay in the cold flowing water, while his shoulders rubbed the sides of the pipe. He inched his body forward like a worm. He held his face above the water clogging up. The water hit his chin and he lifted his chest briefly, to let the clogged water travel by him.

  His Panavice’s light turned off and blackness filled the pipe. Blackness in every direction, he felt the water rising up his chest and he pushed up, but his back hit the top of the pipe. He didn’t think he could turn back even if he wanted to. His shoulders rubbed the sides and he felt an emotion trying to grab at him and make him do stupid things.

  He closed his useless eyes and controlled his thoughts on his other senses. His fingers touched the Panavice’s master reset button and he felt the faint vibration of the device as it reset itself. If it didn’t work he’d have to go the rest of the way in the dark. In seconds, the screen flickered to life and it brightened the pipe. He used his hands and feet to snake his body forward.

  Laughing, he thought of Joey—whom he knew was claustrophobic—crawling through this pipe. The kid was amazing, but he would lose it in this pipe, who wouldn’t? Even he had to keep his mind off of the building water and slimming pipe ahead.

  He inched forward and saw light ahead, beaming down on a square drain box feeding the pipe. Using his feet and hands, he kept moving until he got to a small concrete box with a metal drain grate on top. Water dripped in from one side, hitting his face, as he pulled his body from the pipe. He sat in the water with his head near the opening. Looking through the slatted grate, he saw stainless steel shelves and racks of a commercial kitchen.

  Harris listened for any sounds of people—nothing. Pushing the grate up, making sure it didn’t make any sounds, he laid it on the black rubber kitchen mat.

  Soaking wet, he stepped out of the drain box and placed the lid back on, making a small clanking sound. He winced and looked at the swinging door. He didn’t want to hurt anyone simply because they heard a sound.

  Looking through the window he saw the dining room. Empty, he pushed the door open and walked by the tables for what looked like an employee’s lounge. He spotted another door marked Locker Room and swung the door open.

  A man sitting on a long wooden bench in the room looked up as he entered. He stopped putting on his shoe.

  “What happened to you?” the man asked.

  “Sink broke, sprayed me something crazy, it did,” Harris said putting on his dumb face and voice.

  The man shrugged and tied his shoes. “Stay dry,” the man said as he left.

  “Will do,” Harris said with a simple grin.

  Once he was sure the man was gone, his simple smile turned to a frown and he used his Panavice to hack into a locker’s digital lock.

  Taking the black shirt and pants, with a black jacket, off the rack, Harris laid them on the bench. He tossed his wet clothes in the locker and threw on the fresh clothes. He was getting closer to his destination. The urgency built, but he fought it back down. The kids were smart, they wouldn’t have put themselves in danger. Plus, he had a ways to go before getting to Travis. One step at a time.

  Holding the Panavice up to his face, he took a picture. Sliding his fingers around the screen he adjusted it to a small thumbnail.

  He accessed the personnel list and added his picture and dossier. Frank Shift, appeared on the screen next to his picture. Next he hacked into Travis’s personal itinerary and added himself on the list to meet him in the next fifteen minutes.

  “Thank you, Almadon,” he said with a smile, putting the Panavice in his pocket. Even in her death, she was saving him.

  He pushed open the swinging door and walked down the hallway to the receptionist desk near the front doors of the building. The receptionist didn’t look up from her Panavice, as he approached the desk.

  “Ahem.”

  She looked up, annoyed. “Yeah?”

  “I have a meeting with Travis in ten minutes.”

  She shuffled some cards on her desk and pulled one out, marked with a sixteen and handed it to him.

  He took the plastic card and gazed at her with a raised eyebrow.

  She looked up when noticing he wasn’t leaving. “Take the elevator, slide your card and press level T.”

  “Thank you,” Harris said, with a bow of the head.

  A set of elevators were at the other end of the receptionist’s room. He walked over to them, thinking it was too easy. The elevator door opened and he walked in, slid his card and pressed the T button. The elevator moved up.

  Something felt wrong to him, the receptionist, the man in the changing room . . . he went through the list in his mind searching for anything he missed. His gut was warning him. He would feel a lot better if he had his guns, instead of a kitchen knife. He glanced at the camera in the upper corner of the elevator.

  He moved his back against the wall and held onto his knife, jumping, he hit the blade into the cameras lens, sending small pieces of plastic and glass to the floor.

  Watching the floors move up on the screen. 30, 31, 32 . . . he knew he had to make a decision, if he had walked into a trap. The panel above the doors displayed a “T.” He moved to the far wall and placed a foot on the back, like a sprinter on the starting blocks. He tensed his muscles and took a deep breath.

  The doors slid open. He lunged forward and landed on the soft carpet outside the elevator.

  “Nice moves,” Gladius said from behind her desk. She stood up and walked around her desk.

  Harris climbed to his feet and smoothed out his shirt.

  “Your knife is on the floor,” Gladius said.

  He leaned over to pick it up when he noticed the stance she used, sideways with a hand on her hidden hip. Her steely eyes watched him, with no fear. Her ridiculous shiny pink outfit with a white square box on her head, made him mistakenly take her as a similar buffoon to the receptionist below. A small doll walked to her side and crossed its arms. The doll had the same pink fabric and white square hat.

  He held his knife in his hand and gave her an open relaxed look. He didn’t know what she was hiding behind her hip, but he suspected a short sword. Her eyes weighed him.

  “You’re Harris?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He saw no reason for the fake persona at this point. “May I have the honor of knowing your name?”

  “Gladius.” She sneered. “You hacked into my system, you think I’m stupid?”

  “Frank Shift needed a pass into that room.” He pointed to the wooden double doors behind Gladius.

  “That’ll never happen,” Gladius said and raised her sword at a right angle over her head and raised her forward knee.

  He looked at his four-inch long kitchen knife and shook his head, taking a deep breath.

  “Please, Gladius. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She flinched. Harris took a small breath and waited for her attack. She lunged forward with a sweeping blow meant for his leg, Harris leaped to the right, dodging her, but she continued to swing and stab her sword at him, missing by inches. He jumped over her desk, keeping it in between her and him. She was way better than her appearance led on.

  She stopped her attack, stood on the other side of the desk, breathing hard, face red with anger. Her square white hat dangled on the side of her head. Her doll climbed on the desk next to her.

  “You’re a fast one,” she sneered.

  “We don’t need to do this. I just want to talk with Travis.”

  Gladius moved to the right side of the desk, while Ha
rris kept away by moving to the left.

  “I won’t let you kill my dad,” she said. “Like you killed my sisters.”

  He let go of the tenseness in his muscles. He had loved Compry and Karabella, if he could have given his life in either situation, he would have. He felt responsible for both their deaths, there wasn’t any way he would let another die from his actions.

  “Your sisters meant a lot to me,” Harris said. “And I’m very sorry about what happened.”

  “You’re sorry? You’re sorry?” Gladius jumped on the desk and lunged at him.

  He was expecting this and ducked below her swing, using his arm to hit her legs, sending her falling onto her back. As she fell back against the desk, he grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard, forcing her fingers to release the sword. He grabbed her other arm and used his weight to pin her on the desk. The doll punched his arms with soft, baby punches.

  He received no pleasure seeing her squirm against his grip, trying to come to the realization she’d lost. She kneed him in the side, but he ignored it, staring into her face. She spit into his, he felt the wet saliva on his cheek. He didn’t wipe it off, he deserved it and more.

  “That’s enough, Harris,” Travis said.

  Harris picked up Gladius by the arms and spun her around so her back was against his chest, holding her like a straitjacket, facing Travis.

  “I just want to get the kids and be on my way, Travis,” Harris said, absorbing Gladius’s kicks and head butts.

  “They’re gone,” Travis said, standing at his door. “Let Gladius go and we can discuss this in my office.”

  His heart picked up and eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

  “I will not discuss this with my daughter held captive.”

  Harris whispered in Gladius’s ear, “I am going to let you go when I get next to the door, don’t try anything foolish.”

  Her little doll moved to the floor and punched his leg.

  He carried her across the room, keeping an eye on Travis. Gladius tried to shake loose and bite his arm, but he made it to the door way. He let Gladius go and gave her a good push against her rear, sending her deep into the other room. He stepped into Travis’s office and Travis closed the door.

  “She’s a lively one, isn’t she?” Travis said.

  Harris had been in this room many years ago, he noticed the new weapons mixed in with the ones he was familiar with. He picked out several weapons to grab. Was that a blood stain on the floor? He spotted Maya’s picture on the wall and quickly looked away.

  “Let’s not waste time,” Harris said.

  Travis took a crystal decanter, half full of brown liquid, and poured himself a small glass.

  “Would you like a drink?” Travis said.

  He could tell he was stalling. Guards were probably in the elevator right now. He needed to make this quick.

  “You better tell me now—”

  “You don’t get to tell me,” Travis yelled and threw his glass against the wall, “what to do.”

  “We can square up on the past another day, this is about protecting those kids, taking away something from Marcus, trying to get our world back from him.”

  Then he realized something, Travis, one of the world’s best swordsmen was standing in a room of swords, with a person he probably hated more than Marcus, and was having a drink.

  “Why aren’t you trying to stick me to a wall?”

  “I made a deal with Poly,” Travis got another glass and filled it. “I can’t hurt you.” He drank down the brown liquid and filled it again.

  Harris let out a small laugh and raised an eyebrow. “She beat you in a duel.” He wasn’t asking, but making a statement.

  “Yeah, well, she didn’t include herself or her friends in that deal, and I’d already made a deal with Max.”

  Harris’s fist clinched and he walked toward Travis. “What did you do?”

  “Listen, I didn’t want to, but my hand was forced before they even stepped in my office. Then . . . I met Poly.” He rubbed his face with his hand and looked past Harris. “And the others.” He stared at the brown liquid in the glass as he swirled it. “They told me to send them to the MM bunker, but I didn’t, I sent them to Ryjack.”

  “How could you?” Harris squeezed the kitchen knife in his hand and took one step toward Travis.

  “It was one of the few locations I know. It was better than sending them to their bunker.”

  “How, so they can die in a land of the undead?”

  Travis huffed and threw back the rest of the liquid into his mouth. “I told Max I made a mistake on the coordinates, they know where they are and they’ve set up a trap at the nearest master stone.”

  “Take me there,” Harris said stepping closer.

  “I intend to, I’m sure they won’t be too disappointed that you went to Ryjack as well.”

  Travis took off his necklace with the key and used it to open a drawer at his desk. He pulled out two guns, slid them toward Harris across the table, tossing holsters on top. Harris held back a gasp at the sight of his guns on Travis’s desk. He blinked twice, while staring at the guns and then looked at Travis.

  “This was going to be the crowning addition to my collection, I already had a case being built,” Travis said, sliding a case of bullets across his desk.

  “Why are you giving them to me?”

  “I have one condition,” Travis said. “You must protect Poly, she is the last one to be trained by Compry. There is a lineage there that needs to be preserved.” It seemed to be more than that, but he stopped.

  “Deal.” Harris put on the holsters and slid the guns into them.

  Travis took him to the elevator and down to the basement. He walked in front, giving his back to Harris. Harris stared at the back of a man he’d known for a long time, not knowing this new version. What influence did Poly make on him?

  “Do you know the code to the bank?” Travis asked, standing at the door of the Alius stone.

  “I do.” Not that he would trust Travis to give him a safe code.

  “At some point, Harris, you’re going to have to face what you’ve done to my family.”

  Harris closed his eyes and lowered his head. “If this ends badly with the kids, you’ll have to face me, and I’ve made no deal as to your safety.”

  Harris slid his hands over the stone.

  POLY’S JAW FELT LIKE IT might fall off. She covered her open mouth with her hand and stared at Carl and Mary. Their offer hung in the air over them, like an elephant.

  Carl moved side to side uncomfortably. “This may be the only chance for her to bear a child. Her and Peter, together, just isn’t right. You can be as quick as you like. Her mom explained how things work and we cleaned her all up for you.”

  Mary buried her face in her hands. Lucas’s complexion had been pale since the bite, but it took on a new meaning of the word as the realization of what they wanted from him hit home. He turned to Julie with panic in his eyes. Poly blinked, but kept her hand over her mouth.

  “Please, this isn’t comfortable for us, but you may be our only chance to keep our family going.”

  Mary peeked through her fingers to Lucas.

  “I’m sorry . . . but I’m with Julie,” Lucas struggled to get the words out.

  “I see, what about you, Hank? I would expect you to be extra gentle with her.”

  “No, I can’t do that.” Hank rubbed his hands over his face. “It isn’t right.”

  “I told you, I’m ugly.” She mumbled the words through her hands.

  “No you’re not. You’re very pretty,” Hank said firmly.

  Mary’s hand lowered from her face. “My mom’s shown me a few things. I know what to do.”

  “What is with this planet?” Julie whispered to Poly.

  That was it though, they weren’t on Earth. Their thoughts of what might or might not be proper, were different here. This family would end without an offspring, but did they really want to bring another child into such a horri
ble world? Poly couldn’t imagine raising a child in Ryjack. However, looking at them, holed up in Cost Plus, they had found a way to be a family. They had love, but at some point the store would be depleted. And they wouldn’t last a day beyond its safety.

  They all stared at each other in silence.

  Mary turned and put her face into Carl’s chest. Carl gazed at them, pleading.

  “It’s not that she isn’t attractive,” Lucas said. “Mary, you’re beautiful. There’s a man in this world for you, it’s just . . . we aren’t it.”

  Mary whimpered and turned around, running down the aisle and disappearing from view. Poly wanted to go after her, comfort her, even with the crazy request her father made. If MM had found Earth first, she could be Mary.

  “If you can please reconsider, we’ll be in the family room.”

  “Okay,” Hank said.

  Carl nodded his head and sulked away.

  “That was the craziest thing ever,” Lucas said.

  “Why didn’t you guys help them out?” Julie asked.

  “Oh, I’m saving all this. . . .” Lucas ran his hands down his body. “For someone special.” He eyed Julie and she rolled her eyes.

  Hank stared at the empty aisle and then sat down on his sheet. “I’ll take first watch.” He kept eyeing the spot where Mary and Carl were and didn’t answer Julie’s question.

  Poly laid on the concrete floor, staring at the ladder running up the wall. If she listened closely, she heard the faint thumps against the concrete wall next to her. She rolled on her side and faced Julie.

  “You think this world will always be this way?”

  “I don’t know. Those things should die off at some point, as long as new people aren’t infected.”

  “Yeah.” She had no idea if that was how it worked, but she hoped there would be an end for these people.

  “If I had more time, I would personally kill every one of those grinning things.” Lucas sat down next to Julie and placed his bow on his lap.

  “You think they’ll try anything tonight?” Poly asked.

  “Nah, though if they try and take advantage of me, I hope you all got my back.”