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

by Ryan, Matt

  Lucas pointed to a small craft heading their way. It bounced on the waves and churned up a mist. Gladius stood behind the wheel, her red hat flapping in the wind, hair damp and matted against her head. She didn’t look happy and drove the boat to the shores’ edge. The boat sprayed water on them. He closed his eyes and spit the water from his mouth. It wasn’t like he could get any wetter.

  “Get on,” Gladius said.

  Her doll sat on the seat next to her. It creeped Lucas out when the doll’s eyes followed him as he boarded.

  “Thanks,” Julie said.

  “Yeah, thanks for the lift,” Lucas said.

  “Hey, Hank.” Gladius flashed her brilliant smile. “Can you sit next to me and hold Gem? She almost fell out getting here.”

  “Uh, sure,” Hank said and picked up Gem and sat in the passenger seat.

  Lucas was happy to take a seat next to Julie on the back bench. Gladius turned the boat around and headed into the ocean. The circular boat glided over the waves and made for a smooth ride if you didn’t mind the constant mist blowing in your face.

  Lucas scooted closer to Julie, put his arm around her and pulled her closer. “I missed you,” he whispered in her ear.

  She looked weary and tired, but she wrapped her arm around his waist and placed her head on his chest. It was the closest moment they had to being alone in way too long. He held her tight and didn’t say anything. Before they knew it, they pulled up to a massive house built into the cliffs of the shoreline.

  Gladius pulled the boat into a cave below the house and parked it at a dock. The motor silenced as she placed her hand on a screen.

  “Oh no, look at Gem, her outfit’s a mess,” Gladius pouted.

  Lucas snorted, “Silver lining, she looks exactly like you.”

  Gladius gave him a sharp look as Hank lifted Gem to her. Gem’s arms extended out, searching for her owner’s embrace. The matching red hats they both wore were soggy and their hair was matted down. Gem’s hands pulled at her hair and looked at it.

  “I’m so sorry, Gem, I should have left you behind, but I just couldn’t leave you alone, not right now.” She hugged the doll and got off the boat. “Come on, people, I didn’t get all soaked just so you could cuddle.” Gladius glared at Lucas and Julie, then walked up the wood staircase and through the door at the top.

  Hank hopped out and started up the stairs as Lucas helped Julie out of the boat.

  Travis greeted them at the door. “I’m so glad you guys made it, when I saw the building go down . . . well, I thought the worst.”

  Lucas shook the man’s hand and gawked at his house. Floor to ceiling glass covered one wall, giving a stunning view of the ocean. Works of art hung on the wall, sculptures of men and women and shiny metal decorated the corners. Not to be outdone by the weapons lining much of the free space on the walls. Even with everything competing for attention, Lucas couldn’t look at anything but the motorcycle displayed in the center of the room, gleaming with high polish.

  Travis must have noticed his eyes lingering on the bike. “You like this motorcycle?”

  Lucas glanced at Travis. “Yeah, cool bike.”

  “The gas engine was last built in Vanar five hundred years ago.” He moved his hand close to the handle bars but stopped. He stared at the bike, shaking his head. “This bike still runs. Sometimes I think of taking it to the city.” His eyes brightened with the thought. “But it would be a little flashy.”

  “Yeah, sorry about your building, I hope no one was in it,” Lucas said.

  Travis stared at the white marble floors. “I’d had it cleared hours before. I suppose I knew MM might try to kill me when I helped Poly.”

  “So you were going to help us the whole time?” Julie asked.

  “Yes,” he said loudly. In a quieter voice, he continued, “It destroyed me to have to stand behind the man who killed my daughter.”

  Julie looked away from Travis, she gritted her teeth. Lucas knew she was holding back something, maybe something about Compry? Lucas pictured Compry pushing the lunch cart into their table during training, making the plates crash around. She must have hated being a servant in any capacity. Lucas wished he could have learned more about her.

  “I’m sorry about Compry, she was a great woman. I’m glad to have known her for the time I did,” Julie said.

  “Thank you,” Travis said. “You’re all soaked. Gladius, why don’t you take them to the guest rooms and get them some clothes.”

  “Fine,” she said. “Come on, Gem.”

  The bedrooms were as elegant as the rest of the house. Ocean views from the solid glass walls and works of art on the others. How rich was Travis? Lucas didn’t understand the collection of artifacts. He liked the weapons and such, but did you need to have so much of everything? He didn’t want to be flashy with his bike, yet he displayed it front and center.

  Lucas didn’t like men who said one thing and did another. But Julie seemed to trust the guy and that was enough for him in the end.

  Gladius took Julie to another room and closed the door.

  “You want to take a shower first?” he asked Hank.

  “Sure.” He headed into the bathroom.

  Lucas sat on the soft bed and disrobed down to his underwear. He searched the room for a spot to place the clothes. A bronze statue in the corner of the room of a man flexing his large muscles looked like a coat rack. He draped his clothes over his bronze arms.

  “That’s a statue of Articus, and it’s probably worth as much as this house.”

  Lucas spun around to find Gladius standing in the doorway holding a stack of clothes. She eyed him up and down in his boxers and raised an approving eyebrow as she walked into the room.

  “You don’t knock, do you?”

  “What’s the purpose?”

  Lucas shrugged. “Thanks for the clothes.” He took the stack of clothes from her, trying to act as comfortable as she seemed.

  “You and Hank aren’t like the men around here.”

  Lucas put on the shirt, the fabric was softer than anything he ever felt. “What do you mean?”

  “Most men see my advances and it’s game on. But you two back away and avert your eyes. I haven’t even seen you look at my fantastic body.” She pushed her chest up for a second.

  “I only have eyes for Julie. And Hank . . . well, he’s just Hank. I don’t think he would hit on a woman, even if his life depended on it.”

  She appeared to soak in his words, nodding at the right times. He never noticed before, but she was beautiful in a quirky way, with her over-the-top clothes and strange personality. Then it hit him, she didn’t have Gem with her. With that thing around, he had never looked at her directly.

  “Yes, I saw you and Julie on the boat, cozying up. I don’t mind, most of the men I play with are married, she would never know.” She smirked.

  He didn’t know if she was playing with him or serious, but he didn’t want to find out—his danger meter was peaking. “Where’s that doll of yours?”

  Her coy face changed to a scowl. “She’s getting cleaned, and her name is Gem.”

  “Hey, Lucas, can you—” Hank halted his steps into the bedroom when he noticed their company. Eyes bulging, he brought his hands down and covered his parts, scooting back behind the door. “Sorry . . . Gladius,” his sputtered, face turning a deep shade of red.

  “You two are so weird,” she said and left the room.

  Lucas chuckled and brought the clothes to Hank, who snatched them and closed the bathroom door.

  AFTER EVERYONE WAS SHOWERED, THEY met in the family room.

  Travis sat in a chair, holding a glass of liquid. “Would anyone like a drink?” he asked, standing at their arrival.

  “Yeah,” Lucas said. Julie shot him a look and he rolled his eyes.

  “I’m going to find Poly,” she said and brought out her Panavice.

  Travis walked to the bar and dropped a few cubes of ice in a glass and poured two fingers.

  “Thanks
.” Lucas took the glass, raised it to Travis, and swallowed the contents. His eyes watered a bit and he almost coughed, but choked it down. He didn’t want to seem like a noob. Looking to Julie, he found her glaring into her screen.

  Hank picked at his too-small shirt, the fabric making him look like some bodybuilder. Lucas wasn’t sure what to do next, but sitting in a fancy house and looking at each other wasn’t going to get anything done. He slapped his legs and let out a long breath.

  “Patience,” Julie said.

  She knew him so well. He slowed his mind and stared out the window. The dark ocean churned and slammed into the rocks below. He wasn’t a fan of quiet moments anymore. When his mind had a chance to catch up with him, it would wander to the terrors of what he’d seen. The bite on his leg, feeling himself changing into a grinner, Nathen and Compry being shot, Almadon’s body, killing the pilot on the aircraft. He took a deep breath. He felt his heart beating hard. He needed to do something to get away from the thoughts.

  “You have an interesting collection of art,” Lucas said.

  “Thank you.”

  “I never got to thank you for the bow and arrows, Travis. It is the most remarkable weapon I have ever shot.”

  Travis grinned. “I’m glad you have it. A bow of that caliber is supposed to be used. It was a waste on my wall.”

  Lucas glanced at Julie who moved her fingers across her screen. He hated small talk. This Travis guy seemed okay, but how could he trust a man who sent them to Ryjack? They could’ve died in the bank if it wasn’t for Julie. He continued his conversation to eat up the silence. “You ever use that Alius stone yourself?”

  “What’s an Alius stone?” Gladius asked. She walked into the family room holding Gem. They wore a matching blue dress and hat.

  “Oh, just a type of weapon,” Travis brushed her question off and addressed Lucas. “And no, I haven’t. Most don’t even know they exist.”

  Lucas eyed Travis, he saw the pleading in his eyes to drop the subject and while everything inside was telling him to stir it up, he moved on. “Yeah, it’s pretty hardcore.” He stared at Julie, trying to get her attention by sheer brain power. It wasn’t working.

  She started talking without looking up. “I’m following a lead. They have some strange diversions. Emmett signed off on a bunch of packages to be moved. It could be Poly, but let me keep digging.”

  “I’m sorry you guys lost Poly,” Gladius said. She sat down on the other armchair and petted Gem’s hair. “I originally thought she was some obnoxious girl after my dad, but she turned out to be a little more interesting than that.”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow at her words, but didn’t make his thoughts into words.

  Julie stood from the couch, clutching the screen with shaky hands. “Ryjack,” Julie said. “They were taken to Ryjack, in their LA bunker.”

  Hank swore and Lucas leaned his head back, shutting his eyes.

  “Gladius, can you go get the boat ready?” Travis said.

  She huffed and picked up Gem, storming off to a back room.

  “There’s no stone anywhere near it.” Julie sounded panicked.

  Lucas took in a deep breath and opened his eyes. They were in the largest city in the country. Ten million people equaled ten million grinners. “Do you know where, exactly?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then, let’s go,” Lucas said. “What’s the closest stone?”

  “Vegas.”

  Great, the last time he left Vegas was in a pit full of grinners. They were probably ten deep by now all piled up around the stone. “Let me guess, Ferrell’s is the next closest?”

  “Yep, and there’s another weird thing,” Julie said. “I think they left a trail for me to follow. They want us to go there.”

  “Trap,” Hank said.

  “Most definitely,” Julie agreed and looked at Travis.

  “I would go with you in a second, if present circumstances were different,” Travis said.

  Lucas eyed him, trying to decide how legitimate he was. Travis seemed to brighten up when they mentioned Poly’s name and Julie trusted the man, but he seemed to be hiding something.

  “There is also the issue of the stone being under water here,” Hank said.

  “The backup pumps will kick in and get rid of most of it,” Travis answered.

  “Well, thanks for having us,” Lucas said, before standing up and walking next to Julie.

  “Wait, let me get you a few toys to take with you,” Travis said.

  If he brought out a weird Gem doll, Lucas would leave—with or without his friends.

  Travis placed his palm on a screen next to a large steel door. A green light lit above before the door hissed and clicked as it opened. Lucas entered the small steel room, smiling. Similar to his now destroyed office, the walls were lined with weapons and steel cabinets he was sure contained more weapons. He had to give the man credit for his collection of killables. They were mostly blade weapons, but a few bows and strange guns lined the walls.

  “My vault is your vault.”

  Lucas didn’t need any more of an invitation. He went to the display case with a bow on the wall and many arrows lined up below it. He could never trade out Prudence, but she would love to have new things to shoot. He touched their narrow shafts, feeling the smooth surface of the arrows.

  “I thought you might like these. Let me show you something,” Travis said and opened a drawer below the display.

  “These might look small and weak, but I assure you they are as strong as any arrow you’ve ever used. And look, you can store a hundred in a quiver.

  “Thank you,” Lucas said. He took the box from Travis and filled his quiver with the thin arrows.

  “I think I have something you might like, Julie.” Travis walked to a drawer and pulled out a bag with an oak tree leaf on it. “It’s a combat med pack. Poly mentioned you saved their lives. It also has water filters and enough food rations to last you guys days out there. ”

  Julie took the bag. “Thank you. I hope we don’t need it though.” She glanced at Lucas.

  Lucas took in a deep breath and felt the hint of pain where he had been bitten. She saved his life those days following. He never told his friends about the night shift he had with Hank in the woods of Ryjack. Hank had fallen asleep and left him with the thoughts he was going turn and kill his friends in their sleep. He had searched for Joey’s guns, but the guy slept with them on. Chills ran down his body and he closed his eyes trying to forget the past.

  “Here, Hank. You should take this gun. It’s a railgun designed to fire hundreds of tiny projectiles. You could mow down a herd of those dead with this gun,” Travis handed Hank a gun with a square barrel.

  “Thanks.” Hank took the weapon and didn’t know what to do with it and ended up stuffing it in his pocket.

  “I bet those grinners have filled that pit back up in Vegas, you got anything for those guys?” Lucas shivered, thinking of how he got bit in that pit.

  “Yeah, let me see here . . .” Travis dug into a cabinet and handed him a device. After they received instructions on how to detonate it, they were ready to go.

  AFTER THE LONG, WET BOAT ride back to the dock in Sanct, they said their goodbyes to Gladius and snuck to the edge of the pit they’d ascended only hours ago. Emergency crews hovered around, and smoke tendrils swirled from the partially collapsed building.

  Thankfully, they were able to sneak around the main groups and get down the elevator shaft with a rope Travis gave them. Lucas went first. He reached the bottom and looked down the elevator hole, only a small puddle of water remained. Lucas whistled and Julie descended down the rope.

  “This is freaky,” Julie called out. Her voice echoed throughout the chamber. She made good time and they whistled to Hank.

  “Did Travis say the weight rating on this thing?” Lucas yelled up.

  Hank didn’t respond as he lowered himself to the landing.

  They climbed down into the elevator with little more than a s
plash of water.

  “Travis said there were pumps,” Julie said.

  The Alius stone room sat lower than the rest of the underground complex and two feet of water filled it as a result. Lucas shook his head. For Travis’s plan to work, he had to move quickly and running through water wasn’t going to make it any easier.

  “How are you going to do it?” Julie asked.

  “Let me practice.”

  Lucas stood in the knee deep water, with just the tip of the stone sticking out of the water. He held the bomb in his hand and thought of Travis’s instructions. He needed to set the timer on the bomb, press in the Ryjack code and get out of the dome before it jumped, taking the ticking bomb with it.

  “Time me.” He walked over and placed the bomb on top of the stone and got into a running stance, facing the door. “Three, two, one.” He jumped toward the door, moving his legs high as he ran to it. The water sloshed around him, soaking his pants and slowing him down. He hit the three stairs at the door way and jumped out into the room with Hank and Julie.

  “Four point two five seconds.”

  He lay on the floor breathing hard. He would have to be less than five seconds to get out quick enough.

  “Maybe we can do something else,” Julie said.

  “No, we’re wasting time as is. Let me try again. Hank, hold my stuff.” He handed Hank his quiver and bow and then slipped off his pants and tossed them on Hanks face. If it gave him fraction of a second it was worth it.

  He tried much harder on the next go.

  “Three point eight seconds.”

  Lucas slapped the wet floor. He needed to shave another second off the time. He stood up, breathing hard and stared into the dang water filled Alius stone room. Lucas considered himself athletic but did he have another second of speed in him? “I’m going to do it for real this time.”

  “No, you’re not even close. You could get killed.”

  “I can do it. I’ve just been taking it slow the last few times. I can do it in two seconds if I really tried. Besides, how many times can I do this before I start to get slower?”

  Julie raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t get away from lying to her, but his logic obviously wore her down. He set the bomb Travis gave them next to the door and put a one minute timer on it as Travis showed him. The bomb showed fifty nine seconds, fifty eight . . .