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

by Ryan, Matt

  “We’ll follow you,” Hank said.

  Lucas took his time moving through the building. It was so much creepier in the dark, and the inferno outside only sent a moving orange light through the few windows the building had. The sound of the crackling fire returned as they reached the front door.

  Sticking his head out of the top half of the door, Lucas peered down the street. One direction was the endless horde being burned, while the other was a dead, dark street. Their path seemed to be laid out for them. He was sure there were grinners down the road, but the building would be on fire soon and he didn’t want to be stuck on the roof, waiting for the inevitable. Leaving, they had a chance.

  Lucas climbed over the bottom half of the door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Outside the building, the smoke had worked its way down the street and he felt it burning in his lungs with each breath. He coughed some of it out, trying not to think of what he was consuming. The heat already pushed against them. They needed to get out of there. He gripped Julie’s hands as Hank lifted her through the opening.

  “Come on, Hank.” Lucas crouched low. With Julie’s hand wrapped inside his, she showed him those beautiful eyes. He would find a way to keep her safe. When Hank’s feet hit the pavement, Lucas pulled Julie into a run and looked back to make sure Hank was keeping up. The big man’s feet stomped on the pavement. Go, Hank, go.

  He passed the first building with a busted front door. Too close. He saw an old brick building a block down the road with a car parked into a wall. His eyes started stinging from the smoke. Did the wind shift?

  Lucas slid to a stop, pushing Julie behind him as he stepped forward with Prudence in hand. Four grinners ran toward them. He fired three times in quick succession. A large rock flew by and hit the fourth grinner in the head, knocking it to the ground.

  “Nice throw,” Lucas said to Hank.

  He grinned. “Little league is finally paying off.”

  “Right, what were we? Oh, the Red Dragons!”

  “Yeah, we had first and second base on lock. No one stole from us.”

  “Can we get out of here?” Julie coughed, maybe to punch home her point, but Lucas heard it loud and clear.

  He led them further down the road, the smoke diminishing enough to where he could take full breaths. He spotted the building he wanted. A car stuck halfway into the building. Bricks fell around the car and created a hole big enough for them to climb through. Lucas climbed over the back of the sedan and slid off the hood and into the building. Looking back over the hood of the car, a tattered skeleton of a person sat behind the wheel with its boney fingers gripping the steering wheel.

  Hank and Julie slid over the hood and into the building with him. The head and arms of the skeleton fell with the jostling from Hank’s weight.

  The faint orange light from the distant fire gave just enough light for him to make out the tables and chairs in the restaurant. A few tables lay on their sides next to the intruding front end of the car. The rest of the restaurant looked untouched—in bad need of a cleaning—but otherwise it looked as if it could take customers the next morning. A long bar stretched the length of it and ended at a door propped open.

  “Come on, we need to get higher.” Lucas walked past the tables and chairs, guided by the bright light of Julie’s Panavice. Salt and pepper shakers still sat on the middle of each table. How quickly had LA fallen? These things should have been looted a long time ago. Did no one live in LA? Lucas pointed Prudence at the open door.

  A chair screeched and Lucas swung around with his bow. Hank grabbed the chair he had just run into with a sorry expression on his face. Lucas took a quick breath and turned back, continuing toward the door. On the floor was a decayed body, holding the door perpetually open. The door squeaked as he pushed against it and stepped over the body.

  Lucas struggled to see every corner of the dimly lit foyer. The ceiling towered above them for three stories and ended on a dark skylight. Bits of moon light peeked through the thick layer on the glass.

  “Do you think any of those things are in here?” Julie asked. She shined her light up the stairs.

  “Probably.” A month ago he would have told her it was fine. He knew better now. Fate had so far been on their side, but at some point he felt it was going to betray them.

  The first step on the stair creaked under his pressure and he winced. One shaky hand grasped the railing while the other held Prudence.

  “Step on the edge, next to the railing,” Julie said.

  He placed his foot on the next step and it felt firmer, the wood didn’t make a sound. He moved up the steps with light feet and reached the second floor. Julie and Hank were right behind him.

  He held his bow and arrow, pointing it in the darkness. He waited for Julie’s light to shine ahead, lighting their path. Julie stood next to him and lit the surrounding floor, a set of doors on each side of the staircase and a walk path around it, but no grinners. He glanced down to the first floor and noticed more of the orange glow coming through the glass.

  “I think we should get to the roof and make sure the fire is not getting any closer.” Lucas lowered his bow.

  Another staircase and they were on the third floor.

  “Over here, there’s roof access.” Hank pointed to a door.

  The metal door opened and a steel ladder led up. Lucas sighed. He didn’t like leaving Julie alone for one second in Ryjack. He would never leave her alone again if he could help it.

  “I’ll go first, Julie, stick close to me.”

  He climbed the ladder and pushed open the steel lid on top. The smell of smoke rushed in. He looked down at her and she looked up, giving him a smile.

  “How’s the view from down there?” Lucas asked, shaking his butt.

  “It’s what nightmares are made of,” Hank spoke before Julie could answer.

  He laughed and climbed onto the gravel flat roof. It was much like the last one they abandoned, with large metal AC boxes and skylights peppering the roof top.

  Smoke swirled around the air but in a manageable amount, like a decent campfire. The bright orange light in the distance lit an entire block of the city. The sky above darkened in the black smoke rising into the air. The moon disappeared as the black cloud overtook it.

  “Look at it go,” Hank said, shaking his head in wonder.

  “Oh man, I think we made a big mistake.” Julie pointed to the building on fire. Lucas squinted at the flames stretching out of the windows from the building they used to be in. If the fire grew that quick, it could be at them in a matter of hours.

  “You think Joey, Samantha, and Poly are okay in that?” Hank asked.

  “They’re underground, so they shouldn’t be in any danger of the heat, but they could be choked out if the smoke clogs up their filtration system.”

  Lucas stared at Julie with shock.

  “But a MM bunker shouldn’t have any trouble with it,” she quickly added. The speaker rang out a distorted bell sound. “The fire must be melting that speaker.”

  With the blazing fire marching toward them, grinners lurking in every direction, and smoke filling the air and sky, Lucas felt uneasy. But they could stay there for a while longer. He peered over the edge of the building at the worst possible second. “No.”

  “What is it?” Julie rushed to the edge of the roof and looked down.

  “One of them saw me.”

  Below them, the car that punctured through the brick building shook a steady stream of grinners piled against it, stumbling into the restaurant below. Another grinner looked up at them and snarled. It thrashed at the car and the grinners surrounding it.

  “If we hurry, maybe we can get to the front door.” Lucas ran across the roof and slid next to the open steel lid. He peered down to the dimly lit foyer and saw the horde of grinners stumbling around the hostess podium and a few starting to walk up the stairs.

  “Great,” Julie said.

  “Let’s get back on the roof. There should be one of those fire escape
things, right?” Lucas didn’t wait for an answer and bounded up the ladder and back onto the roof, running around the perimeter of the building. He had seen so many movies where the building had a steel staircase on the outside. After a full sweep, he conceded that once again, Hollywood had failed him.

  “Nothing.” Lucas bent over, breathing hard.

  “You think those things can climb ladders?” Hank slammed the door and sat on it. “I don’t want to find out.”

  Julie shook her head. “I don’t think they can, it would require fine motor—”

  A huge sound of crashing steel and stone interrupted her words. The building they were once on imploded. The debris fell to the street, crushing their Tesla and setting the street on fire with bits of the building.

  “We were just on that building.” She stared at the pile of rubble.

  “That’s not happening to us,” Lucas reassured her.

  “You can’t say that. That fire is moving this way. We have no way out. It’s only a matter of time.” Julie paced, not looking at him.

  Lucas felt the panic building. His gut started screaming at him. There had to be another way. Not doing anything was worse than trying and failing. He closed his eyes and held out his hands, hoping the idea would hit him. Then, he felt it. One tiny drop, then another. He opened his eyes and gazed at the black sky. Streaks of rain came down, hitting his face.

  JOEY TWISTED THE HANDLE TO the door going outside and let go. “It’s not locked.”

  “Might as well be,” Poly huffed. “Maybe the grinners below have moved on?”

  “Let’s check it out.” He wasn’t confident in her theory, but didn’t want to be next to the window anymore.

  Samantha rolled her eyes and they walked down the few flights of stairs to the steel windowless door that led back into MM’s bunker. Joey pressed his ear against the cold metal and closed his eyes.

  “I don’t hear—” A scratch over the door stopped him from finishing his sentence, he jumped back from the door, expecting it to open. He glanced at Poly who raised an eyebrow at his jump. “What?”

  “They’re behind the door. You’re right, we’re stuck here.” Samantha put her hands on the top of her head and tried to deep breathe her panic away.

  “If we’re quiet long enough, maybe they will move on.” Joey thought about when Ferrell said they’d be gone after a bit. But how long would they survive in a stairwell?

  They cringed at the loud bell.

  “Jeesh, that thing must be right on top of us,” Samantha said.

  Poly stared up the stairs. “I’d rather be up top, at least there’s a bit of sunlight up there.” She stepped up the stairs, rounded the cornered, and disappeared into the upper levels.

  “She’s changed.” Samantha looked after her and back to Joey. It was the first time they had been alone since Poly arrived.

  “We all have,” he said.

  “I don’t think I have.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m scared, Joey. This is crazy shit, you know?”

  She shook and gazed at him with fearful eyes. Joey pulled her into his arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, speaking softly into her hair. “We’re going to get through this. I mean, have you seen Poly with those knives?”

  Samantha giggled and pulled back to meet his eyes. “Thanks, Joey.”

  Poly came back into view and watched him embrace Samantha. She stopped her movement and looked hurt, then sped down the rest of the steps. “You need to see what’s happening. Come on.”

  He followed Poly up the stairs, looking at the back of her head as they climbed. After the second flight, he could hear grinners yelling. As they got close to the door, the smell of tar seeped under the crack, and it felt a bit hotter than it did before. The small window on the door flickered with orange flames and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “What is it?” Samantha asked, vying for position at the small window, but Poly and Joey took most of the real estate.

  Joey grimaced at the sight outside. The grinner’s staggered around on fire, lighting up the darkening sky. Plumes of black smoke rose from their bodies as they lit the surrounding grinners.

  “It’s a fire,” Poly said in an obvious manner.

  “Fire?” Samantha pushed her way into a spot at the door’s window. She covered her mouth and talked through her shaking fingers. “How did the fire start?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I bet it was Emmett.” Poly pointed at the door with her kitchen knife. “He probably lit them on fire on his way out.”

  Joey nodded in agreement. It was a good theory, but he didn’t think Emmett would have wasted the time to do something like that.

  “Whoa, it’s getting hot in here.” Samantha pulled her hair back with her hand.

  Joey felt the sweat on his brow. He stepped back from the door and the heat lessened. He glanced at Poly and Samantha. Their faces glistened with perspiration. “We should get to the bottom of the stairs, I bet it’s cooler down there.”

  A couple flights down and they were at the bottom, next to the door with the scratching grinners. At least it was cooler. Joey picked a concrete wall to sit down against. Poly sat next to him and Samantha found a spot next to the door. A grinner hit the door and Samantha jumped with a shocked squeal and moved.

  “Those things don’t quit do they?” Samantha glared at the door.

  “No, not really. Ferrell said they usually get bored after a while and go back to whatever it was they were doing before.” Joey stared at the door. They were surrounded and the stairwell was starting to feel smaller and more confined. They were trapped. He felt a hand on his.

  Poly gazed at him with those soothing eyes. He took a deep, calming breath.

  “So Ferrell’s the weird guy that grabbed Julie in the bunker, right?” Samantha said.

  “Yeah, sick bastard. He had one tough door though.”

  Poly laughed and he joined in. Why was it so funny? The man took Julie. Samantha smiled and looked at them quizzically.

  “It’s really not funny, but when the old man snatched Julie away, I thought Lucas was going to burn the old man’s door down with his mind,” Poly said. “None of us knew what to do so we just went crazy on a two-inch steel door, getting nowhere.”

  “Yeah, well I was the one who got the tool box to open the door.”

  “Uh-huh, after Harris told you to.”

  “Hey, it was better than doing nothing,” Joey said.

  “Anyway, it took you minutes to get the door open.”

  Joey shook his head at Poly’s playful banter.

  She smiled at him.

  “You know, you and Lucas are the ones who attracted all the grinners at that casino with all your dancing and outfit changes,” Joey shot back.

  “Hey, I looked hot, they couldn’t resist.” Poly put her hands on her hips and gave a little shimmy.

  “Wait, I haven’t heard this one. What happened at the mall?” Samantha asked.

  “Poly stole a fancy dress from a store and she and Lucas paraded around together, making all kinds of noise—”

  “Then,” Poly took over the story, “from the creepy depths of the casino, a hand-slapping grinner pulled his way from the last blackjack table.”

  “It flipped out when it saw us,” Joey said.

  “Lucas took it out, but it had already summoned all its friends.”

  “We barely got out alive.”

  Poly and Joey laughed. Maybe the joy of living through something so terrible made it funny.

  Samantha raised an eyebrow. “Joey’s been holding back on me.”

  “I just left out some of the gross stuff.”

  “Poly’s stolen dress doesn’t sound gross.”

  “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn.” Poly crossed her arms over her body and hugged herself.

  “Well, while you were in a Vegas mall, I was hooked up to machines all day and night. They were pulling something from my body, much more than blood, it felt like
my soul. I could feel myself slipping away.”

  Joey’s head snapped to her. “I thought you didn’t remember anything?”

  “I guess I didn’t want you hearing the gross parts either.”

  “I’m sorry, Samantha, we didn’t even know you were taken until much later,” Poly said and placed her hands on her lap.

  “You all had each other. I had no one.” Samantha rubbed her earring between her fingers.

  “If we had any idea you were taken, we would’ve focused on getting you back,” Poly said.

  Joey sighed and stared at Samantha. She looked away from his gaze. They hadn’t talked much about the time she spent by herself. The pain she was carrying stabbed at him. He got up and sat next to her, hugging her. He felt the sweat through her shirt. She gave him a quick hug, but the heat didn’t make for the best hugging environment.

  “It’s getting hot in here.” Samantha pinched her shirt and pulled on it.

  “She’s right, it’s getting hotter.” Joey ran up the stairs. The flames roared over the small window and the heat made sweat pour over his face. He stammered back down the stairs, shaking his head. “The flames are on the door.”

  Poly wiped the sweat from her face. Samantha stared at him with frightened eyes. He moved to the door leading back into the bunker and placed his ear against the door. A shifting sound, like something being dragged on the floor then a thump against the door.

  “They’re still out there.”

  “You think it’s going to get hotter in here?” Poly asked.

  “As the walls and door heat up, yeah it could get a lot hotter.” Joey glared up the stairs. He had led them into a trap. If Emmett wanted them dead, why didn’t he just kill them in his office, or when they were unconsciously transported to Ryjack? It didn’t make sense for him to set the world above on fire. He leaned on the wall.

  “The concrete walls are still cool. Let’s lie on the floor against the inner walls.”