Maxwell began to laugh from the pit of his stomach. “You can help us? Do you really think we’re idiots? Afana sends one of his men here to lead us into a trap.”
Ryder didn’t like the direction the conversation was going, but it was the direction she’d known it would go. “I’m not one of Afana’s men. I’m a female who was kidnapped when I was a child, the same age as Jessica. I’ve pretended to be a male all my life in the bunker to keep from being raped by the men. I hate Afana and his men more than anyone here. I want revenge, and I thought you would as well! Clearly, you have smaller balls than me!”
Ryder wasn’t sure if she’d gone too far with the last comment, but fuck it, she’d said it now. Too late to go back. Everyone in the settlement was staring at her, and she could feel Carter’s eyes burning into her back.
“Oh, thank god,” he blurted. “I knew it! No dude could look as hot as you.”
Ryder gave Carter the side-eye. Not really the time!
“Prove it,” Maxwell said, making Ryder feel uncomfortable.
Son of a whore. He couldn’t just take my word for it, could he?
Ryder knew that she’d have to show them. She removed her layers of clothing, dropping each garment to the ground. She hated feeling like she was a piece of meat. That was the reason she’d concealed herself all these years. To stay away from perverts’ eyes, like the eyes which were locked on her now.
The wolf growled at Maxwell and the other men. He knew what was going on and wanted it to stop.
Ryder got down to the bandages, the last scraps of cloth before baring her chest.
“They’ve seen enough,” Carter exclaimed. He picked Ryder’s clothes up off the ground and passed them back to her. He held them in front of her like a blanket.
“You’re right,” Maxwell said. “We have seen enough, and yes, she is female. But she’s still from Afana’s bunker. She can stay in your shack until we decide what to do with her—and you.”
Mama Lou and Peter peered into the tunnel Terrier had gone down, and they were greeted by a nasty surprise—Nestor’s dead body. They scanned the tunnel to see if anyone else was there, but they were alone.
Peter leaned down to look at the body and make sure he was dead. He felt for a pulse, but there was none. However, there was a smell of rotten eggs coming from his flesh.
“How long has he been here?” Mama Lou asked.
“His body is still warm,” Peter answered. “It hasn’t been long.”
“Push his body under the pipes. We can't have any more guards coming down here, not until we’ve found Terrier.” Mama Lou and Peter agreed on that plan, and he rolled Nestor under the large metal pipes.
“This shit is getting weirder and weirder every second,” Peter remarked, and Mama Lou nodded in agreement.
A high-pitched scream came from the women’s ward.
Peter took off running, then looked back at Mama Lou. She couldn’t run as fast. She waved him on. “I’ll catch up. You go.”
When Mama Lou came into the women’s ward, Peter was standing in the doorway of one of the cubbies with Terrier by his side. The huge men were staring into the room, unblinking.
Mama Lou prepared herself for the worst. Over the years, she’d seen some horrific sights, but nothing could have prepared her for this. Vera was sitting on the bed, gorging herself on the remains of a man. His gut had been ripped open, and his neck was oozing blood from a bite.
It hadn’t been a woman screaming. It had been the man Vera had just killed.
Vera looked up at them with blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes glowed red, and she was pissed that her feeding time had been disturbed. When she stood up, her clothes were drenched in blood. Vera ran toward them with her hands out, but Peter slammed the door shut just as Vera reached it. The force of the impact knocked her down, and they heard a thud from the other side when her body dropped to the floor.
When Peter opened the door again, he and Mama Lou looked down at Vera. She looked like she was out cold.
“What the fuck?” Mama Lou demanded. Vera’s eyes opened, and she quickly got to her feet. “Close the door.”
Peter did, and he held the door shut to boot. The handle rattled as Peter tightly gripped it. Terrier got a chair and propped it under the knob for additional reinforcement. It took a moment for Mama Lou and Peter to comprehend what had happened to Vera.
Mama Lou looked at Terrier. He didn’t seem too surprised by what they’d just seen. “You’ve seen this before?”
Terrier nodded. “Yes, Mama. Twice today.”
“Twice?”
“Ivan and Nestor.” Terrier frowned and shook his head. “I heard a woman’s screams and came to help, but it wasn’t a woman in trouble, was it? Vera looked like her usual happy self.”
“Afana has been down here,” Mama Lou told him, reaching out to squeeze his arm. “You need to stay hidden until we can work out what to do with you.”
23
Carter’s shack was basic, with just a bed on the floor and a pile of clothing next to it. Carter smiled and shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting guests.”
The wolf stood in the doorway looking inside. He wanted to go in to keep an eye on the two of them, but he also wanted to be outside so he could see what was happening in the settlement. He decided to wait on the doorstep, since his heightened hearing would let him know if anything went wrong inside.
“I’m going to take a nap,” Carter said as he placed his weapons beside the bed and slumped onto it. “You’re welcome to join me.”
Ryder scowled. I knew it! That treacherous shitehawk! As soon as I revealed I was a female, his cock became his brain, and no doubt it’s just as small! That thought almost made Ryder smile, but she wasn’t in a smiling mood.
“What the fuck?” she asked.
“You know, sleep? Or is that something you don’t do? You’re really hard to be nice to.”
He wasn’t thinking about screwing me, or was he? Is he playing tricks on me?
She shook her head at him. “How long will it take them to decide on what they are going to do?”
Carter shrugged. “Maxwell likes to talk, and the others like to listen. It could go on for hours. I’m going to sleep. You might as well do the same.”
Within a minute of lying down his eyes were closed, and he was snoring. How could anyone else sleep when he was making that amount of noise?
Ryder sat down inside the shack and leaned her back against the wall. The wolf looked at Carter and shook his head. Ryder caught Fluffy’s reaction. He was a smart wolf.
She looked into his warm orange eyes. “Come here, Fluffy.” Ryder made kissing sounds, trying to get the wolf to come into the shack.
Leandro really didn’t want to answer to Fluffy, but he liked the idea of being closer to Ryder while Carter was asleep. So, he decided to go into the shack. Ryder was a little nervous about inviting a wild animal to sit with her, but he’d saved her life so many times now that she didn’t think he’d try to harm her. He was protecting her.
The wolf sat down beside Ryder and let her stroke his back. His white fur did feel fluffy. “Do you like being called ‘Fluffy?’” Ryder whispered, not wanting to wake Carter. She was enjoying the quiet time with him.
The wolf growled. She knew that he didn’t like the name from that response, which made her smile. “How about Snowflake?” The wolf growled. “Snowy?” The wolf didn’t respond, and Ryder took it that he liked that.
“Perfect. Fluffy Snowy it is.”
The wolf growled, and Ryder laughed.
Fluffy’s ears rose, warning Ryder someone was coming. She kicked Carter’s feet, waking him up abruptly. Ryder hadn’t slept, but Carter had been dead to the world since his head hit his pillow.
In a heartbeat, Carter was on his feet with a weapon in his hand like he hadn’t even been asleep. She was impressed. He turned and looked at Ryder. “What is it?”
“Someone’s coming.” She got to her feet, along with the wolf, and the thr
ee of them stood, ready for anything—or anyone.
When Fluffy growled at the door, Carter swung it open, taking Maxwell and two rather large men by surprise. Ryder and Carter both held their weapons at the ready, and the wolf had his fangs bared. They weren’t the best welcoming party.
“Easy, guys,” Maxwell said. “We don’t want to fight.” He didn’t have any weapons.
Ryder lowered her blade and stroked Leandro’s back, and he stopped growling. Carter followed Ryder’s lead.
“No more of Afana’s men are in the area, luckily for you,” Maxwell reported.
“Have you decided?” Ryder asked.
“Yes, we simply can’t help you.”
Ryder felt the rejection like a sucker-punch to her gut. She had known that would probably be the answer, but she had hoped to be proven wrong.
Maxwell shook his head. “We just don’t have enough men to help. If they went with you, then our settlement would be vulnerable to Afana’s men. Then, there was the living dead incident yesterday. We have two enemies and barely enough men to protect ourselves from either, much less both. Tommy and the other kids told me what you did to save him from the bear. We could use someone with your skills around here if you’d like to stay.”
Maxwell was offering Ryder a home here, to live free under a real sky. She liked the idea, but that wasn’t an option for her. Not yet, at least.
“Thank you for your kind offer, but I can’t accept. I must help my friend and the others. They shouldn’t be forced to live that way. No one should.”
Maxwell smiled. “I was worried you’d say that. We can’t have you leaving since you know our location.”
Carter interjected. “I brought Ryder on a path she couldn’t follow again.”
“You should have never brought her here,” Maxwell said before turning his attention back to Ryder. “He may not have led you on the direct path, but he did, nevertheless, bring you here. You know how many people live here, as well as the dangers that we face. Our settlement is vulnerable, and I can’t put these people at risk.”
“Are you saying I’m your prisoner?” Ryder was getting out of here one way or another. Maxwell’s choice would determine what happened next.
“You’re not a prisoner,” Carter said, with a hint of a smile on his lips. “More like a guest with security.”
Same bullshit, different place. Ryder looked at Carter. If he was her security, she’d have no problem getting out of here.
Maxwell’s smile grew wider, and with that, Ryder knew Carter wouldn’t be the one on guard duty. He looked at the two large men beside him. “Adam and Louis will be your guards.”
Ryder hoped they were all muscle and no brains. She decided to play along—for now. It normally made life easier. “I understand.”
“Carter, you’re on toilet duty.” Maxwell smiled again.
“Oh, come on!” Carter groaned.
Doesn’t matter where you live. No one wants toilet duty.
Massimo had to leave Kelvin to check on the town. The town seemed fine for now, so he returned to the church and the bodies. He decided it would be best to burn the bodies to try to stop the disease from spreading further.
He placed a handkerchief over his nose and mouth in the hope that he wouldn’t catch it and also to block the horrific smell—like rotten eggs. It was like their bodies had been dead for weeks instead of only five minutes, except in the case of Andrew. His body actually smelled worse.
Massimo had wrapped the bodies and thrown them on a fire he’d built in a clearing behind the church. The flames ravaged them. When he was all done, he headed to the Old Dog.
He needed a drink—a fucking strong one.
24
General Murray, his son, and Advisor Robert brought Knuckles and Tank to Level One. The men were out of breath since they’d run up six flights of stairs. When they arrived, Afana was already waiting for them, with his thick arms crossed in front of him.
“It’s about fucking time!” Afana snapped. Afana had jumped through the holes in the glass floors, sealing each after him, rather than climbing the stairs. Now he stood in the security area, surrounded by advisors.
Tank and Knuckles hadn’t fought their captors, even though they knew they could have. It wouldn’t have been worth it. If they’d resisted, Afana would have come after them himself.
“We’re sorry,” Robert said. “Thank you for keeping the stairs open for us.”
“Close them now,” Afana commanded, and instantly, the advisors got to work.
Alarms sounded throughout the bunker, and an announcement came over the speakers. “Everyone in the bunker, stop what you’re doing. Go to your sleeping area immediately!”
Afana saw the chaos begin on the monitors as everyone did as they’d been ordered. They ran to their sleeping areas, which were in the tunnels off the social area of each level.
Afana had quarantined them.
Afana pointed at Tank and Knuckles. “Begin your work on these two. I want to know everything about this virus. I will not have an outbreak like last time. Do you understand?”
After the Ebola breakout, Afana had wanted to find the cause, how it had spread, and how to stop it. With Ebola, there was no cure, only preventative measures to keep it from spreading, although Afana remembered that there had been the occasional experimental vaccine before the WWDE.
The scientists had found out a lot of different things from studying the brains of people with the Ebola virus. Afana hoped that his scientists would find out a way to stop this virus before it spread. Otherwise, after two centuries, the bunker might be in its final days.
Terrier didn’t get far down the tunnel because he was distracted by the sound of a door slamming and boots running, followed by banging and yelling.
The door to the stairway out of Level Six had been locked.
Terrier looked through the glass floor of Level Five above him and saw the guards that had locked them in. Everyone was trapped on Level Six now. Why had they been sequestered down here?
He stood behind a wall and watched what was happening. The guards on Level Six were yelling at the men on the other side of the door to let them out. The glass was soundproof, but they didn’t need to hear to understand what the men were saying. After a while, the guards on Level Five turned their backs and walked away.
Other men on Level Five looked through the glass floor at the chaos, and Decso stared at Terrier. Of all the people! Terrier shook his head. Don’t be a dipstick.
Decso pointed at Terrier and smirked. That prick! He made a run for it down a tunnel and out of sight. Now that Decso knew he was down here, the whole bunker would know.
Mama Lou was quickly by Terrier’s side. She’d just come from leaving Peter to stand guard at Vera’s door since she didn’t want to risk her getting out.
“What do you think is going on?” Terrier asked.
“Afana didn’t come down here to look for you at first. It was to find the hunters who brought in Ivan’s head—Sergei, Pavel, Nestor, and Yegor. Afana knew that you and Ryder were part of that hunting group, and he wanted to know where you were. He made me search for you, and he sent the others out to hunt Ryder down.”
If Terrier’s face could have gone white, it would have. “I’ve got to help Ryder.” Terrier made his way to the stairs, and he pushed the guards away, knocking one to the floor. Terrier towered over the guard, but as he scurried away, another guard, Edgar, pulled his gun from his holster and pointed it at Terrier.
Mama Lou stepped between Terrier and the gun. “We can’t fight against ourselves. We need each other down here.”
Edgar didn’t protest, even though he should have. He was going against the general’s orders, but all of this was against orders. He shouldn’t have been locked on Level Six. He didn't belong down here. If Terrier the beast couldn’t get out of here, no one could.
Edgar lowered his gun. “Be my guest. Try to open the doors. I want to get the fuck out of here, too.”
Terrier battered the heavy metal doors. They bent inward from the force of his kicks, but he wasn’t strong enough to break the bolts on the other side. He was locked down here, and they were out there hunting Ryder.
Terrier couldn’t give up. He continued to bash at the door, sweat rolling down his face. His muscles felt like they were being ripped apart, but it was nothing compared to the way his heart broke when he imagined Sergei capturing Ryder.
Mama Lou placed her hand on his arm. She could feel the blood pumping. “It’s no good. You can’t open it. There’s nothing you can do.”
Terrier slumped on the stairs. Edgar had a defeated look on his face. If a monster like Terrier couldn’t open the door, there was no chance he could. Edgar motioned for the other guard to follow, and they left to find the other guards. They were a few more down on this level, and there was safety in numbers.
Mama Lou let Terrier catch his breath before she spoke. “You can’t help Ryder, but you can help us. I know why Afana was down here looking for you and the other hunters. It was about Ivan’s head. What was wrong with it?”
“Ivan looked the same as Vera before we chopped his head off. Nestor as well.”
She nodded. “I thought that was the case. It must be some sort of disease.”
Mama Lou paced a little by the staircase. Terrier remained seated.
“That would explain why everything has turned upside down,” Terrier said somberly. But he felt some relief. If that were the case, then they had quarantined the disease in the bunker. Maybe Ryder got away from the infection, and all she needs to do now is stay away from the hunters.
Terrier clenched his hands at the thought of what they would do to her if they found out she was really female. It repulsed him. Ryder had been his lifelong friend, and he couldn’t fail to protect her, even though he hadn’t been able to protect his own sister.
They both looked up through the glass levels. All the doors had been locked, and everyone was in quarantine.
Madness Unleashed_Age Of Madness_A Kurtherian Gambit Series Page 14
