by Shelly Crane
"I swear, Miguel," Celeste said as she tripped over the doorway and kicked it in retaliation. "Your accent is so much more pronounced when you're itching for violence."
"As it should be," he answered and looked around the worn and weathered warehouse. He looked at me. "Should we just ring the bell?" he said sarcastically.
"I'm afraid we're just winging it."
"Great," he drug out as he eyed the massive creaky doorway. "I'll let my coconut be on the chopping block first, since I don't have a pretty little sheila waiting for me."
"Neither do I," Josh muttered behind me, almost startling me because he'd been so quiet.
"Aw, Miguel," Celeste chimed. "You want me to search in my mind for you a lovely little sheila?" she goaded.
"Oh, boy," Danny replied.
"Alright, everyone, let's muzzle it so I can think," Miguel growled.
He looked around as we all stood in the doorway. It was wide open, but that didn't mean anything either way. It was a very likely possibility that we would search for days and find nothing. I almost growled at the thought as we inched our way inside, but it didn't take long before we heard a crunch behind us.
My fingers automatically went to the stake in my back pocket. With Miguel and me flanking the group we stood silently waiting for something to indicate what we had heard: friend or foe?
"What was that?" Celeste hissed as Kay pulled her tighter to her just and Danny did the same thing.
"Quiet," Miguel barked, which was silly given the word he had just said. "Hello?" he called. "We aren't here to hurt you."
The silence was too eerie, too telling. It reeked of trouble. I motioned them back to the doorway until we could regroup and maybe grab more weapons. My actions were futile as two Lighters dropped down from the roof right in front of the doorway.
"Mmm, Keeper," one of them acknowledged with a nod and a grunt. Then he looked at Kay and grinned. "And Keeper. What a surprise."
"Lighters right out of the gate," Miguel mused beside me and switched his stake from one hand to the other. "And I was beginning to think my lucky rabbit's foot had failed me."
As I began to think strategy, one of the Lighters walked straight to Danny, his gait lazy and languid as if he had all the time in the world. I balked and blurred to him, but Danny held his hand up. He easily handed the Lighter a slim stake and I watched as he walked back to his comrade and staked him right through his stunned chest. The lightning burst through his chest and the crackle in the air had barely gone away before the Lighter then staked himself in a blur. Another burst of lighting burst forth upward, taking out the rickety ceiling and a huge chunk of the wall.
We all turned to Danny. He shrugged.
"I figured I'd make it easy on you, Keeper-o-mine. Sorry, Miguel, I know you wanted to bust heads."
"That wasn't much fun," Josh said and laughed at Miguel's expression.
"It was rather anti-climatic," Miguel sulked and I almost laughed.
"Yeah, dude," Josh said and slapped Miguel's arm. "Why'd we even come along? We're outdated models now."
"Well, it was just-" Danny started, but there was a loud groan.
We all stopped and looked around. The groan was strained and metallic. It got louder and I was clueless, but Miguel must've understood.
"The building's coming down. Move!"
We moved, but it wasn't fast enough. I could have blurred and made it, but I would have had to leave someone behind. So I stayed behind too, blurring my way to Danny out of instinct instead, and as we all watched the ceiling collapsed around the massive hole already in the structurally unsound ceiling from the lightning. We leapt back and though we were out of danger, we were covered in dust and pieces of wood and metal. Our way out was blocked. The doorway was smashed and covered in large chucks of debris too big to move with our hands.
As Celeste muttered as Kay helped to brush her off, I took the opportunity to address my Special, after looking him over to make sure he was alright first, of course.
"You know that was all on you, pal."
"What?" he screeched. "I saved us from the Lighters!"
"Yep, just to trap us instead," Josh said, but he laughed and pulled a big chunk of something from Celeste's hair. "Dude, we're screwed now."
"I'm sure there's another way..." he stopped his explanation when we all turned to see we were in a box. No doors, no windows, no stairs. It was a holding containment of some kind and we were now stuck. "Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Celeste said in a grunt, but then softened. "But, it wasn't entirely your fault, babe."
"Ok, fine. Maybe I should have lured them outside first. I thought I was helping. What do you want me to say?"
"Well," Miguel drawled, "I don't really think 'woops' quite covers it here, mate."
"Woops," Danny rebutted sarcastically. With his arms crossed, he said, "Seems like it works just fine to me."
Simon Says
Chapter 14 - Cain
"Simon, man, come on. Somehow, I have survived for many years without you hanging on my heels."
"That is not true!" he answered vehemently. "I've watched you every day since you were a baby. If you had ever been in real danger, I would have come for you, even in the war."
"Touché, but I still want you to sit in the car and wait. I'll scout and then give you guys the go ahead, ok? That body of yours is breakable, you know."
"I'm not too keen on this idea either, Cain," Jeff turned traitor and spouted.
"Whatever, turncoat, I'm the only one here trained for things like this."
"Cain has his sonic hands….boomy thing," Marissa said and I nodded to my unlikely ally. "He'll be fine."
"Yeah," Billings chimed in, "he'll be fine with his hot hands or whatever. Let the Marine go first."
"For the sake of argument," I explained, "let's call them Magic Fingers." I grinned, but no one smiled but Marissa, who was hiding it from Jeff. "Guys, I'm gonna go so crazy out here if y'all don't simmer down. Chill, mellow, chillax, veg, something. I can't handle all this alpha male bull crap the whole time, ok?"
"This is about me keeping you safe, no matter how useless you think I am," Simon said with an edge. "You can keep all your alpha male talk and your idioms to yourself."
"Ah," I laughed, "looky at Simon, playing professor."
"Cain," he said in exasperation.
"I'm just joshing you, man." I punched his shoulder lightly. "You've got to lighten up."
"I'll lighten up when we are back in the bunker."
"Alright, I'm going to move on inside. I'd prefer you all wait for me to check first, but if you must come," everyone piled out with gusto, "then…come on," I sighed.
"This is the whole point in bringing a team with us," Jeff said as he passed me, towing Marissa behind him. "Strength in numbers."
"Or," Billings replied happily, "it could be the weakness is the loud footsteps of the many." He stopped and stuck his hands in his pockets when everyone glared at him but me. "Depending…on how you look at it."
"Billings has a point," I said.
"Sadly, not a good enough one," Simon rebutted gruffly. "We stay together, end of discussion."
"Fine. Simon says lead the way," I replied and swept my arm wide for him to do just that.
He looked at me in confusion before shrugging, no doubt just brushing my sarcasm off as unnecessary. I did not get people who couldn't appreciate a little sarcasm.
"So, it looks deserted, but we better tread lightly just in case," Jeff said and took up the front lead. From the looks of things he'd coined himself the leader of the troupe. That was a-okay with me. I was a Sergeant no more and had no inclinations to pick back up the stars.
"Great. And I'm guessing you want to lead the way."
"Despite what you believe, Cain," Jeff answered easily, his voice steady, "you are still the more breakable of the two. It's better for a Keeper to go first, always." He started to walk on, but then stopped and barely turned to me. "Besides, you don't want me to have to go ba
ck and tell Lillian that you didn't make it, do you?"
"Low blow, man," I growled at him for even mentioning her name. I was trying to put on my game face, harden myself up for a fight, and he was bringing up the one thing that made me crumble?
"It's true."
"Regardless," I barked back.
"Let's go."
I followed, scowling at his back. Maybe I needed to rethink this whole not-in-charge thing because taking orders sucked.
I bit on my lip ring. Something I'd always done before a mission or fight was pinch or scratch myself to get alert and pissed. When I pulled it or irritated it, it made me agitated. It seemed to bring me an edge of pain that I needed to want to hurt someone. I also used to hum when I cleaned my guns and polished my boots. It was a running joke in my barracks that I was a psycho because of it. But for some reason that I was unaware of, Nirvana made me want to hurt people. Hey, whatever works to get the job done right?
Billings bumped my arm.
"Hey. So, the old guy is your Keeper right? And Jeff is a Keeper and Marissa is a..."
"Muse," I provided."
"Yes. Muse. Why did we get stuck with all the crazies and the other group only got one?"
"They have five," I told him. "The only one without power is Miguel."
"Really? I can't keep track. I forgot some of you... Specials," he drug out the word, "have powers too."
"Watch it, pal. I'm one of those Specials," I said and bumped back his arm.
"I know. That's ok. I'm really curious about it all, actually. How did you know you were a Special?"
"Simon showed up and told me," I answered steadily.
"And you just believed him?"
"Well, no. It took some persuasion. But when he spoke into my mind, that was pretty much all I needed."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that too," he grumbled.
"Dude, you've got to get over this whole grudge against the Keepers. The Lighters were feeding you horse manure and you were eating it up like Sunday dinner."
"You are way too descriptive, man."
"Just saying," I reasoned even as I continued to look around for signs of life.
"Horse manure or not, the Keepers weren't exactly honest either."
"When?"
"Well, when I showed up for one. Not one of them made themselves known to me until you outed them."
"I didn't out them," I argued and lowered my voice so the ones ahead of us couldn't hear. "If you had come down the chute and the first thing anyone said was, 'Hey man, I'm a Keeper, can I take your gun for you?' You'd have run for the hills before I could even stop you."
"Probably," he conceded. "I'm just saying, you say that the Lighters are deceitful and shifty, but I've heard stories, man. I mean even Merrick had to kidnap Sherry and lie to Danny to get them to go with him."
"For good reason! Same reason we let you settle in and get comfortable before we told you. Could you imagine Sherry being told by some guy, her ex-boyfriend no less, 'I'm an alien or angel or whatever and I've come to help you. Pretty please come with me underground?' No way, man. Sometimes you have to stretch a lie a little bit to see the truth underneath."
He was silent for a second before he muttered, "Did you just make that up?"
"I did," I said and smirked proudly. "Like it?"
"You are something else, Cain."
"Hey, slowpokes! Let's get going," Jeff called and then put Marissa behind him as they flanked the door.
He rapped slowly and lightly on the big wooden door. It was an old abandoned house. Merrick's group took the business district. We took the side with mostly houses on the outskirts. In honesty, I was glad we got this. We'd probably see more action, I figured.
No one answered so Jeff tried the knob. Locked.
"Kick it in, Chuck," Billings told him eagerly.
"What?" Jeff asked. "Who?"
I laughed as Billings said, "How can you not know who Chuck Norris is?"
"Um, I've been somewhere else, and since the Lighters came I haven't had time to dig into earth's pop culture. Chuck Norris had his own Keeper, I'm sure," Jeff sneered sarcastically.
"Seriously?" Billings replied in excitement. "You really think he had one? He could still be alive somewhere. We could track him down-"
"Really?" I said incredulously. "We're really having this conversation?"
"Chuck would be a vital asset," Billings sulked. "He does all of his own stunts and everything."
I didn't know whether to laugh or kick him for being an idiot, so I just said, "This isn't Zombieland, ok? We aren't going to run into Hollywood and land ourselves into Bill Murray's mansion."
"Bill Murray," he mused. "Think about all the people who could still be alive out there somewhere. I bet we could find Chuck if we looked hard enough." Marissa was laughing into her fist and Jeff and Simon were positively clueless.
"Ok," I stopped him, "first off, we need to eat soon because Billings is going into delusions." I heard his disgruntled 'hey' but kept going. "Secondly, move."
I kicked the door open for them and it gave way surprisingly easy. But the wood was rotted and my foot landed on the other side all by itself. I grunted in annoyance. This was the most ridiculous, unorganized mission I'd ever been on.
Jeff smashed the wood around my leg the rest of the way with his boot and the door fell loudly to the floor inside the house. We waited for a second. I had to hold out my hand to Billings who was trying to make a break inside.
"Don't you know anything about entering enemy territory?" I asked and pushed him back a little. "Don’t ever enter head first. That's how you end up headless."
"Hey, I know that," he argued, his tone indignant. "I've seen plenty of cop shows."
Marissa was no longer containing her laughter. I peeked back and even saw her wiping her eyes. Jeff looked at her funny, not understanding what was so hilarious. I almost wanted to sit there and explain it all out to him. How this was so utterly ridiculous, just so he'd understand and know why my eyes were rolling every eight seconds, but there was no time.
I'd just have to bear this burden of idiocy myself. So after I checked the entrance I dragged the idiot through the door with me.
"Hello?" I called and heard nothing. I sniffed and almost gagged. "It's rank."
"If it's empty," Jeff started, "we should go ahead and move on. By the next place it'll be dark and we can bunk down for the night."
"Agreed. I'll head upstairs."
"With me," Simon said and pushed in a blur to move in front of me. I gawked at him. He'd never moved fast like the other's before. I realized there was plenty I didn't know about my old Keeper.
I followed him upstairs and we began to search the rooms, Simon first each time. The further we got the more I knew what we were getting closer to. I started to warn Simon, but he already knew. He nodded and had the look of a solemn man. We ventured on anyway, like we had to see it with our eyes.
Even with me expecting it and being a military man, a hard-nosed jerk, a guy who'd seen death and used a gun more than I'd used a hairbrush…I gasped at what I saw.
There on the bed in the master bedroom was a middle aged couple and two small children. They were all lying on their sides, spooned together with their hands entwined in front of them, all had on pajamas. It had been a while since they died and though the window was open slightly to let out the stink, it was still rancid. Their skin was wrinkled and a pale gray from death.
A bottle of something was sitting on the nightstand and a single sheet of paper lay on the bed next to them. My fingers trembled as I reached for it and read it aloud because I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
Demons,
We died on our own, but were not alone. You tried to take us, use us, but we were one step ahead. We refuse to be your puppets. Judgment shall come and it will not be swift for you. My only regret is that we won't be alive to see your demise. Rot in hell while we rest in peace.
-John, Cathy, Ike, Sarah and our Ron, whom you took from us
already…
"Oh…my…" Simon said behind me. "Brave souls," he whispered in reverence.
"They committed suicide," I muttered and though to me their death was honorable, even with the children there on the bed with them to spare them the horrors, it still hit too close to home for me. My own mother's suicide was something I'd never completely worked out. In fact, the shrink at the base said I was borderline incompetent and I was almost sent home for mental instability when I got the call. But I pulled my crap together back then and I could do it now too.
"They weren't affected by the Lighter speak," I mused as I looked at the father's hasty scribbled words. "They knew exactly what the Lighters were."
"It would seem that you're correct. Strange. I'm very curious about what happened here."
"Doesn't matter now."
I set the letter right back where I'd gotten it gently. I hoped the Lighter bastard who stepped into this house knew how to read. He'd be reading what was coming for him and I'd make sure of it if it was the last thing I did.
Judgment was coming.
Hell was waiting.
Hell Is Waiting
Chapter 15 - Sherry
We'd barely gotten Lily into bed when someone was knocking on the hatch door. I bolted up in surprise from the couch. People didn't just knock on our door. No one was in the store right now. In fact, we hadn't even figured out the whole store situation yet with Margo gone and all. We were no longer allowed to sell food except finishing up our inventory. We could only sell gas and maps and things like that.
So who was knocking on our door?
Max and I looked at each other a second before he blurred to the stairs. Ryan was right behind him. Lillian and Ellie came and stood beside me as we waited to see who had paid us a visit.
I wondered if Max would say, "Who is it?" but he just grabbed a stake, unbolted the door and opened it in one quick motion. Then he growled and his hand holding the stake snapped forward. I couldn't see who it was, but assumed it wasn't someone good. Meaning it was a Lighter.
But Ryan stopped him with a hand on his forearm and a, "Wait, brother."
