I was intrigued but kept myself on track. I had to stay focused. “Well, they seem to go out often. So why didn’t your people—not even your Genari—know about the new creatures: the atras?”
There was a moment of silence as Mr. Griggs searched for an answer.
“Mr. Griggs,” I said before he could respond. “Your people seem to be good. They seem to have the right training, as I’m sure they have all sorts of military background. However, they don’t have the knowledge of someone who has survived topside for years. They didn’t even know how to defeat the atras.”
“Yes, but neither did you until recently,” Griggs said, becoming defensive.
My heart skipped a beat as I watched my house of cards begin to shake. “Maybe so, but that’s just an example. The fact is that I could teach your men a few things, and they could even teach me a few things.”
Mr. Griggs sighed, tired of my games. “What’s your point, Miles?”
“My point is this: I would like to go out with your scouting squads. I can show them some things about the outside that they might not know. I mean, I’ve already taught them how to kill an atra from in here. Who knows what I could teach them on the outside?” I said.
Mr. Griggs nodded in acknowledgment. He couldn’t deny that I’d already given them very useful information.
“I just want to do whatever I can to get you to trust me,” I said. “My people need me, Mr. Griggs. I’ll do whatever I need to do to help them. I think I can help you as well.”
Mr. Griggs sat there for a moment. I felt my heart flutter. I hope what I said was enough. Finally, he spoke. “Miles,” he began. “I think we can come up with something that will be mutually beneficial.”
I sighed in relief as quietly as I could. It was a start.
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel
Daniel looked at the squad he was supposed to lead on the mission and felt very inadequate. There were three large men with him, all of whom had military training and the ripped bodies to prove it. Leading a squad on a mission wasn’t something that he was used to. That was Miles’s job, or Pike, or any of the other people who’d frequently gone off on different missions back at Jefferson Memorial. But Daniel? He’d always stayed behind. He had to make sure the place ran smoothly. He was practically in charge of the place, as George—their actual leader—didn’t seem to know what he was doing, always asking Daniel for help.
But leading a mission to a zombie-infested settlement? Hell no. He wouldn’t even have to do this if Miles would have come back from Jefferson Memorial. Daniel figured it must have been a longer journey then he thought. They’d been separated for a couple of days, and Miles should have met up with them at Riven by now. But no, of course not. Of course he wouldn’t be back in time, and now Daniel was sitting in a truck with three huge military dudes off on a mission, and they were all looking at him to tell them what to do.
Daniel looked out the window from the front passenger seat and watched as the trees flew by. They were beginning to thin out, which meant they were getting closer to more civilized places. At least, places that were once more civilized. That meant it wasn’t going to be long before Daniel would have to step up to the plate. It was time to take the politician, manager, and leader part of him and add soldier to the mix. Daniel just hopped it wouldn’t be a recipe for disaster.
“You tell us when we need to pull over, boss. Don’t wanna get too close if the zombies are as bad as you say,” Jorge, the driver of the truck, said to Daniel.
Daniel tried to ignore the patronizing tone that he used when he called Daniel boss. “Yeah, don’t worry. We got a bit more to go.”
There was a bit of awkward silence. Daniel cleared his throat and turned on the A/C. Without missing a beat, Jorge flipped it off.
“A/C uses gas,” he said.
“Oh yeah. Sorry.” Daniel could almost feel himself shrink. He was way out of his element. Daniel knew that being out of your element was a recipe for disaster. If he wanted to get these guys’ trust, he’d have to get himself together.
“So you guys got a lot of guns and shit at Jefferson, right?” Ron, one of the guys in the back, asked.
Daniel turned in his seat to get a better look at him. He was an older guy, probably somewhere in his thirties. His head was shaved, but he had a slight amount of scruff on his face. He looked tough with his muscles bulging from a tattered green T-shirt. However, the smile he wore on his face made Daniel feel at ease. He seemed like he was a really nice guy. “We got a lot,” Daniel answered.
“How’d you guys get so many? We hear a lot of people around there are jealous,” Mike, the guy sitting next to Ron, said. He had bushy red hair and a thin red beard.
“We, um…” Daniel was taken aback by how genuine they seemed. They had tough exteriors, but Daniel could tell by the look in their eyes that they weren’t just messing around with him. They were just trying to be nice, and Daniel could feel himself getting a bit more comfortable. “Well, we were just fast, I guess. Fast and lucky. We got to a bunch of different military ammunition stockpiles and scavenged a bunch of gun stores once they were all abandoned. All this,” Daniel said as he gestured to the outside world, “happened a lot faster than everyone realized. There was a lot left over whenever the world gave up and went into survival mode. We were just ahead of the curve, I guess.”
“We were kinda in the same situation,” Jorge said in a gruff voice from the driver’s seat.
Daniel turned to him. “You guys got a good-sized armory?”
Jorge looked at him from the corner of his eye. “Good enough to keep us safe.”
Ron scoffed from the back seat. “Don’t worry about Jorge, Daniel. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
Daniel forced a smile. He didn’t want to laugh because he knew it’d probably offend Jorge. Daniel figured that Jorge didn’t like him because he was an outsider and because he was running this mission that he, admittedly, had no business running. Daniel couldn’t help the fact that he knew where Brinn was, what he needed, and what the situation there was like.
“So what’s with these creatures you were telling us about before we left?” Ron asked.
Daniel felt a chill in his spine. He looked out the window at the passing trees, almost as if he was making sure they were truly alone before he began speaking. “To be honest,” he began. “I’m not one hundred percent sure what they are. That’s why we’re doing this, after all.”
“Yeah, we know, but what are they like? You just said they were some sort of liquid things,” Mike said.
Daniel shook his head but then stopped himself. “ I guess they kinda are liquid. But they have a solid form to them. I guess kinda like a solid core or something? I’m not sure at all. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a sample of this stuff back to Peter, so he’ll be able to figure out what he can.”
“Yeah, I hope so. If what you say about the darkness is true, we’re going to be screwed if they come to Riven.”
“About that. What’s with all the windows to the hotel being boarded up? The only place there weren’t any windows boarded up was the library across the street,” Daniel said.
There was a moment’s hesitation before Ron answered. “Truthfully, I don’t know. I didn’t get to Riven until after they had the whole shindig set up.”
Daniel glanced over at Mike to see if he knew, but Mike just shrugged. “I came with the same group Ron did. Jorge is the only one in here who was around at the beginning.”
Daniel turned to Jorge, but he ignored him and stayed focused on the road. After a few moments of Daniel’s staring, he finally responded. “Now’s not the time for that. We need to stay focused.”
Daniel tried not to let out a sigh of disappointment and frustration. He faced forward in his seat, looking out the windshield. In the distance, he could see a water tower stretching into the sky, as if it was a beacon telling passersby that they were entering civilization. “We’re getting close,” Daniel said. He placed a hand
on the butt of his assault rifle. “Everybody get ready. This could get hairy.”
Chapter Sixteen
Daniel
Daniel stood in the back of the truck and looked out on Brinn from their position a few hundred yards away. Things did not look good. The zombies had broken down the fence and were now meandering about the courtyard, searching for any signs of life. Daniel knew that they wouldn’t find any. He felt the pit in his stomach grow as he thought about the atras and how they were the reason that there was nobody around for the zombies to find.
He looked up at the sky, making sure there were no clouds. It was clear, and the sun was high and hot in the sky. It was around noon, exactly the time Daniel had planned for it to be. He wanted to be there when the sun was as high in the sky as it could be. They still ran the risk of running into an atra while inside the newspaper headquarters, but that was just a risk that they were going to have to take. They needed this sample to learn something about the creatures. He reached down and patted the high-powered flashlight that was clipped to the belt loop on his pants. He wasn’t sure if the atras were sensitive to all light or if it was just something about sunlight, but it still made him feel better knowing he wasn’t going to be completely in the dark.
“That’s a lot of zombies,” Ron said from where he stood on the ground, leaning against the truck.
“There’s a back entrance that we’ll go through. Hopefully they’re all inside the fence.”
“Well, you’re the boss, but I think getting in and out would be a good idea. If what you say about those creatures are true, I wanna go while I can still feel the sun beating down,” Mike said.
Daniel took a deep breath. “All right, let’s go. Follow me and keep quiet.” Daniel mentally kicked himself for saying that last part. Of course they knew to follow him and keep quiet, but it just seemed like something he’d hear Miles say.
As he climbed out of the back of the truck, he found himself wondering where Miles was, and, surprising even himself, wishing he was there, despite the fact that they usually never saw eye to eye.
Daniel checked his gun one last time. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. It was Jorge.
“Listen, Daniel,” Jorge said. “The only reason you’re in charge of this mission is because you’re the one who knows what’s going on here. If something happens to my friends, it won’t be pretty for you. Understand?” Jorge towered above Daniel, giving him a nasty look, and waited for a response.
“Yeah, I got it,” Daniel said. He didn’t say it sheepishly or with cowardice, however. He spoke defensively. Even though he didn’t feel as if he was the appropriate person to be in charge, he still wasn’t going to let Jorge getting in his face like that. He held Jorge’s gaze for a few beats, before breaking. “All right guys, come on,” he said as walked toward Brinn and the sea of zombies.
*
The moaning and scraping noises that rose from inside Brinn filled Daniel with dread. He walked down the street, staying close to the back wall of a building. Just on the other side were hundreds of zombies wandering around aimlessly. Daniel whispered a quiet prayer that he wouldn’t give them a target. A goal.
He reached the alleyway that led to the newspaper building. Daniel came to a halt, and held up a hand, ordering his followers to do the same. He peeked around the corner and counted five zombies standing in the alleyway. They rocked back and forth slightly, but weren’t changing positions. They just stood there as if they were waiting.
Daniel got lost in the moment for a second as he studied the zombies, their clothing tattered, skin leathered, and hair falling out. He couldn’t believe that they were human at one time. It’d been a long time since he’d had the chance to really just look at one this close. He was used to staying inside the inner walls of Jefferson Memorial and leaving Miles or the other guards to deal with the zombies.
“You got a plan or you gonna stare them to death?” Mike asked with a toothy grin.
Daniel shook himself from his thoughts. “Yeah, get your knife and stab them. Quiet as possible.”
Something felt strange to Daniel, but he wasn’t sure if there was something actually wrong or if his nerves were messing with him. The whole situation was weird and—funnily enough—alien to him.
Daniel pulled his knife from its holster on his belt. The zombies looked up and began shuffling toward Daniel and his group as they approached with their knives ready. Daniel grunted as he thrust his knife into the head of the zombie closest to him. It let out a rasp, and when Daniel pulled the knife out, the zombie collapsed to the ground. He looked up as Jorge took out the last zombie. Daniel gave him a nod as a way to tell him good job, but Jorge ignored him and began wiping his knife off on his shirt.
Daniel wiped his off as he walked to the dumpster that sat in front of the back door to the newspaper headquarters. “Help me push this out of the way,” he said.
The four of them moved the dumpster with ease. The green door that led inside stood in front of them. Daniel grabbed the doorknob and turned it, but the door was locked. “Shit,” he breathed. He’d forgotten that Mila had used a key to open the door last time they were there.
“I got this,” Ron said. He pulled out a small pocket knife and flicked it open. Then began fiddling with the old lock, and after a few seconds, the door popped open.
“Thanks,” Daniel said.
They walked into the back room of the newspaper headquarters.
Chapter Seventeen
Daniel
Daniel walked into the main room of the newspaper office, and his stomach dropped. There was no black liquid on the floor. The cement looked as if it was stained black, but when Daniel bent down and touched it, it was cold and dry.
“I thought there was supposed to be some black stuff here?” Mike asked.
Daniel looked around the floor, but there was nothing there. “There was,” he said as he stood. He began searching around the room for any drop of liquid.
“Guys, what the hell is going on out there?” Ron said.
Daniel turned and looked out the windows at the front of the building. The large windows faced the town center. Zombies were gathered around a point in the middle of the courthouse yard. They were piling up and crawling on top of each other, as if they were covering something up.
Daniel couldn’t turn his eyes away, even though what they were seeing terrified him. He couldn’t even begin to hypothesize what they could be doing.
“Well if what we’re here for isn’t here, we need to get out of here. I don’t like the look of that,” Jorge said.
Daniel turned to him. “Wait, Jorge. We need to make sure there’s no atra liquid.”
Jorge’s nostrils flared, and his face flushed with anger. “Do you see that out there? We need to get out before they find us.”
Daniel stood tall. He didn’t know where this courage was coming from, but he wasn’t going to allow Jorge to push him around. He was terrified of the zombies, but he knew what the atras could do. He’d seen it with his own eyes. And he wasn’t leaving until he had something that could help him in their fight against the evil creatures. “We’re not leaving.”
“No, you’re not leaving. You can stay if you want. We,” he said gesturing at Mike and Ron, “are leaving.” Jorge turned and walked into the back hallway that led to the alley.
Mike and Ron looked at each other for a moment in hesitation, but they turned and followed Jorge out.
Daniel went into overdrive. They weren’t going to wait on him, but Daniel had to find some of that liquid. He couldn’t be left behind, though. He wasn’t made for that. It would surely be a death sentence.
He ran over to a desk and searched underneath it. It was dry as a bone. His heart began to beat harder and faster in his chest. He glanced out the window at the pile of zombies, and his eyes met a few stragglers at the edge who’d caught a glimpse of him. They began to shuffle toward the building, eager to dine on the new meal they’d just discovered.
Danie
l practically dived for at the next desk, searching beneath it as fast as he could. There was still no sign of the liquid. That’s when he noticed that the desks he’d searched under had openings at the bottom, which allowed light to get beneath the desk. Sunlight. The one thing that they knew killed the atras. And if it could disintegrate the atras, it made sense that it would evaporate the liquid they turned their victims into.
Daniel turned and saw a desk that had boxes stacked in front of it. He ran behind it, and there was a small pool of the black liquid beneath it. He pulled off his backpack and grabbed two vials from inside. He scooped up two samples of the liquid, careful to not get any on him. He sealed the vials and carefully wrapped them in a rag. He put them back into his backpack, and bolted for the back door. The zombies began banging on the glass as he exited the back door, slamming it shut behind him. He turned and ran down the alley, his mind racing. If the guys didn’t sprint back to the truck and if he ran as fast as he could, Daniel figured he’d be able to reach the truck before they left.
As Daniel turned the corner, he almost fell face first as he slammed to a halt. He jumped back into the alley, falling backwards onto his ass. He pushed himself backward and up against the wall. He prayed he hadn’t been seen as he inched to the edge of the alley. He looked around the corner and got confirmation. He hadn’t just been seeing things.
A truck filled with Roves had pulled up, and men began unloading. Some of them had guns, while others unloaded cases of equipment. The ones with the equipment didn’t look like your typical hardened Rove members. They commanded an air of superiority and intelligence as they began unloading their equipment.
Daniel’s attention turned his attention from them, however, and toward the Roves he was familiar with. The ruthless killers with their assault rifles were walking right toward the alley where Daniel was hiding.
Chapter Eighteen
Ira
Retaliation: The Mortis Desolation, Book Two Page 5
