The Harvest (Book 1)

by Ferretti, Anne

  Austin paused for a long minute. It had been a bad idea to bring the creature to the bunker, but he wasn’t going to express this opinion out loud, guessing Zack regretted the decision without having it pointed out to him. His suggestion was plausible as any theory they might put into action. Austin finally looked at Zack and nodded.

  They talked their way through a plan as they wheeled the alien back to the work room. The plan was simple, involving a blow torch and protective gear from head to toe. Despite the Captain’s strong objections, Zack insisted on performing the operation. “The world can afford to lose me Captain, but not you. People need you.” He explained in his typical casual manner. “I’m no hero. Just a kid with an above average IQ, who sold pot for a living.”

  Austin didn’t buy his arguments, but Zack’s mind was made up and there wasn’t time to convince him otherwise. “Ok. Let’s get started.” After helping Zack into his gear, Austin took his place behind a thick sheet of metal.

  Zack fired up the blow torch and pointed the flame at the alien’s chest, turning the heat on high. Only a few minutes into it perspiration was running down his neck and back. His hands felt like they were on fire and he began to doubt his decision to take the helm. Physical endurance wasn’t one of his strong suits, but he’d be damned if he was going to puss out in front of the captain. Taking a deep breath, Zack stepped closer, pushing the flame on the alien’s body.

  The first wisp of smoke was barely visible through the flame of the torch. Zack raised his hood for a better view, killing the torch at the same time. Austin came to stand next to Zack. They watched together as the outer skin began to disintegrate and fall off the alien’s structure. They stared in awe at the intricate system of what looked like hundreds, maybe thousands of fiber optic wires that wound in and around human like organs.

  29 GHOSTS

  Colin tracked Zack to the infirmary, but when he arrived the place was empty. The work shop seemed like the next obvious place and would give him an opportunity to check on Charlie. The expression on her face had worried him, but she insisted everything was fine. Women always say everything’s fine, Zack informed Colin after a fight with his girlfriend. The thing is, Zack had added, when they say everything’s fine, it really means nothing is.

  Colin knocked softly and waited. When Charlie didn’t answer, he tried again a bit louder this time. Panic ebbed into his mind, but reason argued she might be asleep, and there shouldn’t be cause for alarm. That look though, it kept creeping back into his thoughts. The handle turned easily and he pushed the door open.

  Inside was dark except for a shard of light coming from the bedroom. He called out her name, and was answered with silence. A knot began to form in his stomach, twisting tighter the closer he came to the door. He reached out, as if in slow motion, and pushed the bedroom door open. The light was coming from the bathroom. He called out to Charlie one more time, hoping she would yell at him to get out. Again he was disappointed and the knot twisted tighter. He took a step toward the bathroom and his foot made a squishing sound on the carpet.

  “What the hell?” He leaned down, examining the carpet. “What.” He muttered in surprise and then his eyes widened into saucers. He pounced on the bathroom door; throwing it open against the wall behind causing it to momentarily bounce back in his face, but not before he glimpsed the red tide flowing from the tub. He ran over to where Charlie lay submerged up to her chin in water tinted red from her blood. Colin reached into the water, hooked his arms under her armpits and yanked her from the water onto the tile floor.

  Colin inspected the slashes she’d made across her arms. There were at least four on each arm and at least two cuts appeared deep. He grabbed towels and wrapped the wounds best he could, all the while he fought to ignore the images flashing before him from a past he’d forgotten. Placing a rolled towel under her head, Colin left, returning in seconds with phone in hand.

  He tapped the phone against his head waiting for Zack to pick up. He hoped he was right about them being in the workshop.

  “What is it twerp? I’m in the middle of a...”

  “Charlie tried to kill herself.” Colin stopped him.

  “What? Whatta ya mean?”

  “She cut her wrists and arms. She’s bleeding really bad. You got to hurry!”

  “Wrap her arms and keep the pressure on. We’re on our way.”

  Colin knelt next to Charlie and tightened the towels wrapped around her arms. Not wanting to, but knowing he had to check, he placed two fingers on her neck. He held his breath, hoping to God or whoever would listen, that he’d found her in time. After an eternity he felt a faint pulse underneath her skin. Commotion from the other room announced Zack and Austin’s arrival.

  “In here!” Colin yelled out. “In the bathroom!” Zack rushed in ahead of Austin. Colin stood up, his legs shaky from the after effects of the adrenaline rush. “She’s got a pulse.”

  Zack carefully scooped Charlie up. “You better carry her.” He handed her over to Austin and they ran to the infirmary.

  ***

  After the first hour, Zack felt certain Charlie would live through the night. He glanced over at Colin, who sat in the corner staring at the air, looking ghost like. Zack sighed, wishing it had been anyone else to have found her, knowing it was a sick thing to wish on a person, but thinking there should be some kind of limit on the number of times a person witnessed a suicide before they turned twenty.

  Colin’s eyes focused in on Zack’s concerned stare. “Maddie called.” Colin announced in a monotone voice. “She said Austin needed to hurry before she killed his prisoner.”

  Austin stood up. “You got this?”

  Zack nodded and waved him to go, telling him not to worry, but Austin was already out the door. Staring at the door, a sudden wave of sadness fell over him. A sadness for them all, for their unlucky existence, for chance, or fate, which had allowed them to survive while everyone else was murdered, for being human and unable to do a damn thing about it. He glanced down at Charlie, who was breathing steady, and couldn’t help wondering if they had done right by saving her. Zack stroked the side of her face. Who were they to make that decision for her, he thought sadly? They, who had no idea what she had suffered through before reaching the bunker, had decided she should live, but why? Because what they had to offer was so much better, so much safer.

  “Why’d she do it?” Colin asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe she thought those men were back.”

  “Why’d mom do it?” Colin asked.

  Zack turned to face his brother, hiding his surprise. “Why does it matter?”

  “Because I want to know. You do. You know.” There was anger in his voice. “I have a right to know.”

  “Leave it alone Colin.”

  “No. I’m not going to leave it alone damn it.” Colin stood up. “I found her that day. Not you. Not dad. It was me. I saved her. And I want to know why I had to save her.”

  “Come on dude. It doesn’t matter.”

  Colin stormed over to his brother and shoved him against the wall. “It fucking matters.”

  Charlie moaned in her sleep.

  “Keep it down would ya?” Zack warned.

  Colin lowered his voice. “It matters.”

  The brothers stared at one another, neither willing to give in. Zack didn’t see the point in drudging up the past, not that past, but Colin wasn’t backing down.

  “Outside.”

  Zack and Colin went out into the hall, closing the door behind them. Zack crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “You sure you want to hear this?” He hoped Colin would change his mind, but he nodded yes. “She was pregnant.” Colin’s eyes grew wide. “Yeah. When she told dad he wigged out. They had a bad fight and the ole man took off. I thought he was gone for the night, so I left to get cigarettes. When I got back, dad was there. He had mom in the bathroom and the son of a bitch was punching her in the stomach. She was bleeding a lot. I hit him over the head with the lid from the
toilet tank. Knocked the fucker out. Wished it had been more permanent.”

  “Why wasn’t he arrested?”

  “I didn’t call the cops. I called Pauly.” Zack sighed. “That’s what you did. Dad was a made guy. If I called the cops, who knows what would have happened to mom, to us.”

  “And that’s why she tried to kill herself?” Colin was almost too stunned for words.

  Zack nodded. “After losing the baby, she was super depressed. I begged her to leave him, but she refused. She knew Bobby wouldn’t ever give her a divorce. He’d kill her first. So she figured she would beat him to it.”

  “How pregnant was she?”

  “Four months I think.”

  “Do you know… What was…” Colin couldn’t finish.

  “A girl.”

  Colin’s shoulders fell. “Why’d he do it?’

  “Cuz he was a sorry asshole, who had no business breathing for as long as he did.” And, Zack thought, if someone else hadn’t shot him he would’ve gladly pulled the trigger and done the world that very favor himself. He only wished it had happen sooner, before ole Bobby used his mom’s stomach as a punching bag.

  “Do you think she’s dead?”

  Zack shook his head. “Dunno. But the odds are on yes.”

  Colin nodded in agreement. It was the first time they’d spoken of the likelihood that she was dead, having up until that moment avoided the topic, whether by conscious effort or not, they just didn’t talk about her. Zack walked over to Colin and put his arm around his shoulder. They didn’t speak.

  30 WORM HOLES

  Austin ran to the holding cell, stopping to compose himself before he opened the door. He didn’t allow himself to think about his feelings. Not for his wife. Not for his son. Not for Madison. The only thought he allowed to enter his mind was how to end Disciple Morgan’s miserable existence and it wasn’t going to be quick.

  He didn’t know everything Chase had done to Charlie, but he saw the initials MC tattooed behind her ear. A mark indicating she belonged to Chase. He also saw the faded bruises across her back, recognizing them for what they were. By the expression on Zack’s face it was obvious he was also all too familiar with the cause of those marks.

  Inside the room Madison paced like a caged cat. Her head jerked up when Austin entered. At first she felt relief, but turned wary wondering which Austin she was going to encounter. He raised his eyebrows at her, his expression remained neutral, absent of hostility, absent of any emotion. “He’s all yours.” She headed for the door, deciding it didn’t matter which Austin was there, she didn’t want to spend time with either one.

  “Sorry I took so long.” He said.

  Surprised by his apology, Madison paused to look at him. “Is everything ok?”

  The corner of his mouth curled up. “Relatively speaking?”

  “Not relatively.”

  “Then the answer is no.”

  “Trouble in paradise?” Chase asked. He sat motionless on his cot, staring straight ahead.

  “Was he a problem?” Austin asked, ignoring Chase.

  “Other than he wouldn’t shut up. No.”

  “Ask him Maddie. Ask him about the file.” Chase commented, and was ignored.

  “That got really annoying.” Madison replied, not letting on she gave a damn about the file.

  “Do you want to know about the file?”

  “Say yes. Please say yes Maddie.” Chase cooed, laughing madly when Austin threw him a glare.

  Madison blocked out Chase’s lunacy to focus on Austin. She saw nothing. No signs of what was going on behind his cold stare. No clues to guide her on whether she dared to ask or just let it go. “Do you know what’s in it?”

  “I have an idea.” Austin answered.

  “Aw. Come on Captain Reynolds. You have more than an idea.” Chase yelled out.

  “Shut up scumbag.” Austin warned, anger flashing in his eyes.

  “Ask me Maddie. Ask me.” Chase begged. “I know what’s in the file.” He added in a sly innocent voice.

  “How do you know?” Maddie asked.

  “Don’t talk to him.” Austin ordered, getting in front of Madison, blocking her view of Chase.

  “Because I took the pictures.” Chase replied, smiling with satisfaction that his words garnered their sought after impact on the captain, who turned to face him. However, the look in Austin’s eyes was not the anger he expected his words to cause. When the captain took a step towards the cell Chase thought maybe he went too far.

  “What did you say?” Austin stopped in front of the cell, his voice was deadly calm.

  “Nothing.” Chase sat back down on his cot.

  “You took what pictures?” Austin pulled out his knife.

  Chase eyed the blade and consciously tucked his hands out of sight. “There’s no need for violence…

  “I’m going to give you three seconds to tell me what you know before I start cutting off body parts.”

  “I don’t know anything.” Chase insisted. “I’m just a Disciple. A nobody.”

  “After I cut off each finger I’m going to cauterize the wound. That way you won’t bleed to death while I’m removing your toes one by one.” Austin reached to open the lock.

  “Aren’t you going to do something?” Chase pleaded with Madison, who shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

  Austin unlocked the cell door and slid it open. “Three.” He stepped inside the cell. “Two.” He took one step towards Chase.

  “Ok. Ok.” Chase backed up to the far end of the cot. “I’ll tell you.”

  “Don’t feed me any bullshit.” Austin tapped the tip of the knife on Chase’s knee. “Bullshit equals pain.”

  Staring up into those cold blue eyes, Chase believed Austin was ready to kill him and had no serious intentions of lying. Of course intentions could change, but Chase was no fool, nor would he suffer like a fool. He would tell the truth, as unbelievable as it might sound, he would lay it all out for the captain to hear. Once the words were out though he was sure he’d be a dead man, but better to die swiftly than to suffer needlessly.

  Before he could open his mouth to speak, a fleeting regret made his tongue heavy and his decision to tell the truth less palatable. He thought of risking the truth in order to preserve the future life he had been promised by Father Roth. He would be a great leader, stern, but revered. The images of his fantasy world swirled around in his head enticing him like the sirens song to a lost ship. They were irresistible.

  “One.” Austin sliced the tip of the knife into Chase’s knee, breaking through the material of his pants into his skin drawing blood.

  The sirens ceased. Chase decided his intention would remain on the straight and narrow, for now. “Ok. I’ll tell you.”

  “From the beginning.” Austin demanded. “When the Sundogs arrived.”

  Chase rubbed his face with his good hand. “Can I at least have a drink of water? Maybe a bite to eat? I’m very hungry.”

  Austin keyed the radio. “Zack you read me?”

  “Yep. Is Maddie ok?”

  “She’s fine. Can you bring water and food for the prisoner? Over.”

  “Roger that captain. Be there in ten.”

  Austin left the cell, locking it behind him. He walked over to his backpack and picked it up. He turned to Madison, waving her over. “I want you to look at these photos of my wife.” He reached in the pack, pulled out a folder and handed it to her. He lowered his voice. “I believe they’re fakes.”

  “Why do you…”

  “I just do.”

  “Right.” She took the folder from him. “In here?” She waved her hand at the table.

  “Yes.”

  Madison walked to the table and laid the folder down. She sat in the chair and stared at the folder. It was understandable why he didn’t want to see the pictures, but what was he hoping to gain by having her look at more grisly murder photos, especially if they were fakes. Madison stewed over this for a moment and then
mentally smacked herself in the forehead. Of course, she thought, he wanted her to verify they weren’t real, because even fakes were more than he could handle.

  Madison pulled her chair up to the table and opened the folder. Lying on top of the stack was an eight by ten of a woman standing on a beach. She wore a bright colored sarong over her swim suit. The wind blew the material against her body. She was smiling and waving at the person taking the picture. Madison assumed this must be Austin’s wife and he was the photographer that day. By the size of her stomach, Madison guessed she was five or six months pregnant at the time.

  “What’s her name?” Madison asked, realizing he’d never told her or ever said it out loud that she could remember.

  “Roxanne.” He replied, feeling pain saying her name out loud. If he’d seen the photo, he could have told her Roxi was eight months pregnant and the picture was taken one week before he abandoned her, but he wasn’t looking.

  Madison picked up the photo. Roxanne. She repeated in her head. Not what Madison had expected, but not a complete surprise either. Of course he would go for the soft, demure type. His opposite, someone to counter balance his hard personality. No matter, she told herself and focused on the details of the photo. She flipped it over, moving on to another photo of Roxanne on the same beach. Several more photos were similar. She glanced back at Austin. “These are all from before…before the Sundogs came.”

  “Keep going.”

  Madison sifted through several more photos, all of Roxanne. There were only a few photos left when she came to the reason why Austin didn’t and couldn’t look himself, why he told her to go on. The last several photos were graphic images of a woman, similar to those gruesome pictures in the other folders and to images she’d witnessed firsthand.

  Madison covered the bottom photos with a close up of Roxanne lying on a bed, her eyes closed. She analyzed Roxanne’s face, the curve of her cheeks, her full red lips, and her tiny nose. On her neck, about half way down, was a small mole. Even that was cute Madison thought and chided herself for feeling the slightest tinge of jealousy.

  Madison examined the photos again, but this time with a detective’s eye. Ugly emotions faded away, replaced by instinct and years of training. That mole on Roxanne’s neck again caught her attention. She pushed the picture to the side revealing one of a mutilated decapitated body. The clothes were similar to what Roxanne wore in another picture. The skin tone was even and the hand lying over the stomach was petite, like Roxanne’s, but not concrete evidence proving without a doubt it was Roxanne.