The Zero Trilogy (Book 3): End of Day

by Summer Lane

  Bravo trotted silently beside her as they rounded the back of the buildings. The base was beginning to come to life. Civilian survivors were milling around the Civilian Ward, and soldiers were switching their posts at the gates. She sniffed, smelling raw sewage, and wrinkled her nose.

  They kept walking, coming to the small training area near the wall. She slammed her fist into the hanging punching bag. She raised her leg and kicked it.

  She kicked it again, punched it again, circled it like a predator, and attacked it with vicious ferocity. She beat her fists against the hard leather until her knuckles began to bleed, and the frustration she was feeling inside dissipated.

  “That is how you should fight all the time.”

  Elle whirled around, panting, surprised.

  Cheng stood ten feet away, silent as a shadow, his watchful gaze glittering in the early morning sunlight. Elle threw a glance at Bravo. He hadn’t alerted her to Cheng’s presence.

  What a traitor.

  “How long have you been watching me?” Elle demanded.

  “Long enough.” Cheng walked to the other side of the bag. “You’re dangerous when you’re angry.”

  “I’m not angry.”

  “You’re a good liar, too.” Cheng gave her an apologetic smile. “Elle. About Luli...you need to understand that she’s been through a lot.”

  “We all have,” Elle snapped.

  “Luli has her reasons for acting the way she does.”

  “Don’t make excuses for her,” Elle hissed. She stepped close to Cheng. “If she tries to kill me, I will kill her first. Understand?”

  Cheng didn’t twitch.

  He slowly nodded.

  “There’s something else,” Cheng continued after a long silence. “Felix wants to see us in Headquarters.”

  Elle exhaled.

  “I think he’s got an assignment for us,” he explained.

  Elle looked at Bravo. He dipped his head. She followed Cheng, her expression stony. She wasn’t sure what she felt. Anger? Fear? It hadn’t taken more than a few days for someone to try and kill her here; although, to be fair, it hadn’t been Cheng’s fault…as far as she knew.

  By the time they reached Headquarters, Elle had calmed down a bit, taking deep, even breaths. Felix was waiting in his office, one leg propped up on a chair, chewing on an unlit cigarette. He looked up, distracted as they walked in.

  Luli was standing near the window. Elle curled her fingers into fists. Luli raised an irritated eyebrow and looked away. Bravo snarled quietly.

  Felix stood.

  “Cheng, Elle,” he said. “Bravo. Thank you for coming. I’ve called you here because I’ve got a report that there are civilian survivors hanging on for life in a shelter about six miles uphill from us. Not sure how many. We want you to observe them, and if you deem them a non-threat, approach them. Bring them back to Bear Mountain, to the Civilian Ward.”

  Elle asked, “What if these people end up being hostile? What then?”

  “Then you don’t engage,” Felix replied. “Come back, and we won’t waste our resources on them.”

  “Where are they?” Cheng asked.

  “Here.” Felix touched his index finger against a map hanging on the wall. Elle peered at the marking. There were a few cross-streets, but nothing particularly striking about it. “You may take a vehicle, and whatever weapons you need.”

  Elle felt proud in that moment – proud that Bravo was her friend, and that together, they both brought something to the table that was valuable.

  “Cheng knows how this goes,” Felix went on. “And so does Luli.”

  Elle looked up. She locked gazes with the girl.

  If Felix sensed the tension, he said nothing.

  “You need to get going,” Felix advised. “Survivors usually move from place to place. I’d like you to catch them before they have a chance to leave.”

  Cheng nodded.

  “Yes, we will,” he promised. “We’ll be back soon.”

  “Thank you,” Felix said.

  He twirled the unlit cigarette between his fingers as Elle, Bravo, Cheng and Luli left the office. He dropped it on the desk, sighed, and coughed.

  Chapter Three

  The militia gave them a pickup truck. It would have been black, had it not been for the thick layer of dust. Luli silently slid into the front passenger seat and slammed the door, a sour expression on her face. Elle checked to make sure she had everything she needed – katana, handgun, ammunition – and kneeled down next to Bravo.

  “Stay close to me,” she whispered.

  Of course.

  She jumped into the bed of the pickup and Bravo followed. She sat down and hung her arms next to her knees, keeping a sharp eye on the cab. Cheng propped the driver door open. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he thought better of it and jumped in. He gunned the engine.

  Elle wondered what he and Luli were talking about inside the cab.

  The militia didn’t bat an eye as they let them out the front gate. It was standard routine to them – letting the ragtag teenagers out of the compound, hopefully coming back with more survivors. Elle kept her arm around Bravo as the truck rumbled along the dirt roads, scenery flashing by like a movie screen. She watched everything closely, expecting something to jump out of the tall grass and pounce.

  The weather was chilly, but Elle liked it. It invigorated her senses, made her sharp. They drove through switchback trails and odd roads that jutted out onto the side of steep hills. One wrong turn and over they’d go.

  After an hour of twisting through the infuriatingly confusing maze of back country roads, they arrived. Cheng killed the engine, leaving the pickup hidden in a wad of shrubbery and trees. They were at a higher elevation here. The temperature had dropped.

  Elle hopped out of the truck. Bravo followed. He sniffed the air, curious. He took several cautious steps forward. There were trees everywhere. A dangerously steep dirt road curved upward. A thick, metal chain was drawn across the path with a sign that read: TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT.

  “Well, that’s welcoming,” Elle deadpanned.

  Luli got out of the passenger seat and walked to the road. She refused to make eye contact with Elle. Cheng moved toward the road. He was tall and lean, dressed in black with a long jacket. Today he had two katanas strapped to his back, making an X. His face was pensive, serious.

  “Felix didn’t mention how many people were going to be here, did he?” Luli asked, her tone flippant.

  “He did not,” Cheng replied. “Elle, why don’t you let Bravo lead the way?”

  “Bravo,” she said. She pointed forward with two fingers. “Search.”

  Bravo moved forward, steadily slinking up the dirt road, silent and following the scent of the trail. Elle and the others moved quietly behind him. Cheng first, Luli second, and then Elle.

  They kept climbing the road. It got narrower and narrower. Elle found it hard to believe that anybody could have ever driven a truck up here without tumbling down the steep embankment. As they reached the peak of the hill, Bravo paused. He waited for the group to catch up.

  “Let me guess,” Luli whispered. “He smells a bomb.”

  “He’s hesitating,” she said. “Something’s not right.”

  Danger, danger, Bravo warned.

  “What is it, boy?” Elle asked.

  Don’t know.

  “Drop,” Cheng said.

  They all dropped to their stomachs, crawling forward inch by inch. Elle was thankful to be near Cheng rather than Luli. Just around the corner, a doublewide mobile home sat huddled in the dirt. It was filthy. No cars were in sight. Laundry hung on a line. Pigs snorted and roamed around the front of the property, several of them wallowing in mud. A foul, offensive stench wafted from the house. Luli lowered her head.

  “God, what is that smell?” she muttered.

  Cheng answered, “The pigs.”

  To the side of the house, an outhouse had been constructed, and the smell emanating from t
he structure was rank. Elle had to hold her breath to refrain from gagging. Hundreds of flies buzzed around the building.

  There was no other noise. Nothing.

  “We’ll go around the back of the house and check it out,” Cheng whispered. “If there are people in there, they might be sick or wounded. We need to find out before we do anything.”

  She looked at Bravo.

  “Go,” she said, making circles in the air with her finger. “Around the back.”

  Luli rolled her eyes, but Bravo darted around the edge of the property, checking under bushes and behind trees. Elle got up, careful to make no noise, and followed the same path that Bravo had taken, then Cheng came, followed by Luli. They worked around the back of the mobile home, crouching in the trees.

  More flies were buzzing around the back door. A rotting corpse lay there, a man wearing overalls. His body had begun to decompose, and the smell was horrific.

  “Do you think he was the only one who lived here?” Luli wondered.

  “No.” Elle pointed to the door. “There’s fresh mud on the steps. The pigs have been fed. Somebody’s living here.”

  “That body’s been there for several days,” Cheng observed. “They haven’t moved it.”

  That was disturbing to Elle. If someone had died at her house, she would bury the body, not leave it to rot in the backyard. A sense of morbid dread washed over her, and she felt sick.

  She whispered, “I don’t think this is something we need to see.”

  “We have our orders from Felix,” Luli gritted out. “I’m going to see what the hell is going on here before we go back empty-handed.”

  Elle waited for Cheng to say something, but he remained silent.

  Luli broke cover, heading toward the back door.

  “You’re just going to let her do that?” Elle hissed.

  “Sometimes,” Cheng replied, “you have to let people make mistakes, or they’ll never learn anything.”

  Elle stared at him. He was either very wise or very dumb.

  “Bravo,” she whispered. “Come with me.”

  She broke cover next and snuck to the other side of the door, just under a window. The smell of the corpse was overwhelming. Bravo didn’t like it. His hackles rose and he growled again. He sniffed the front steps of the mobile home, snapping his teeth.

  “What?” Luli demanded. “What does that mean?”

  “He smells something dangerous,” Elle whispered.

  “What is it?” she mouthed to Bravo.

  Poison…

  Cheng crept up behind Elle’s shoulder.

  “As long as we’ve come this far,” he shrugged. He stepped up to the front door, swung one of his katanas out of its sheath and drove his boot into the corner of the door. It swung open with a mighty crack, stark against the silence of the morning.

  “Bravo, search,” Elle commanded.

  Bravo dove into the mobile home like a bullet, his nose low to the ground. There were no lights inside. Elle was right behind Cheng, and she had her own sword in her hand. The interior smelled musty and dusty, like black mold and wet cloth. It was an acrid scent, one that made Elle’s hair stand on end.

  Cheng threw open the curtains in the living room, revealing dusty furniture. The couch and carpet was stained with dried blood. Splatters were smeared across the walls. The television had been shattered. A mirror had been broken. Shards of sharp glass were scattered on the green shag carpet.

  Suddenly Bravo began to growl dangerously, frozen, staring at a closed door.

  “He found it,” Elle stated.

  “He found what?” Luli demanded.

  “I don’t know.” Elle walked to Bravo. “What is it, Bravo?”

  Bad. Be careful.

  He never removed his gaze from the door.

  Elle sheathed the sword and pulled the Smith and Wesson from her belt, pointing it at the door. She looked at Cheng.

  “I’ll go first,” he said.

  He held his sword in one hand, slowly opening the door. Luli removed a knife from her belt – the same weapon she had threatened Elle with last night. But Elle didn’t think about that now. As the door swung open, a chilling scream ripped from the room. A woman charged into the living room, waving a knife in the air, colliding with Cheng. He stumbled backward, quickly regaining his balance, and shoved the woman away. Bravo lunged at the woman, sinking his razor sharp fangs into her wrist. She dropped the knife. She screamed again, crumpling to the ground in a trembling heap.

  “Bravo, release!” Elle gasped, heart thudding against her ribcage.

  It was difficult to tell the woman’s age. She was thin. Her hair was long and matted, her skin pulled taut against her bones. She wore a shapeless sack of a dress. Saliva dripped from the sides of her mouth. Wild, colorless eyes rolled back in her head.

  “Please, God!” she screeched. “Not like this!”

  Her wrist was gushing blood.

  Bravo released her, but he was still growling, keeping his body between her and Elle. Luli stepped forward, a disgusted expression on her face.

  “Who are you?” she demanded. “Did you kill that man?”

  “You’da killed him too,” the woman moaned. “Oh, God…they’re coming. All of them. There’s no way out.”

  “What are you talking about?” Elle whispered.

  “They worship the blood. They crave it.” The woman coughed and stared up at Elle. “They’ll kill us all.” Her eyes seemed to clear for a moment. “Are you one of them?”

  “We’re with the militia,” Elle explained. “We can help you, if you just tell us who you are and what happened.”

  The woman began cackling.

  “The world’s going to hell,” she muttered. “We’re all along for the ride.”

  Cheng stood up and walked into the bedroom. When he emerged a few moments later, he was carrying what looked like a shopping bag.

  “What’s that?” Luli asked.

  “Cocaine. LSD.” Cheng dropped it on the couch. “My guess is that Bravo smelled the drugs.”

  Elle nodded.

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “This woman is higher than a kite,” Luli stated, rolling her eyes. “Fantastic.”

  I told you it was poison. Bravo barked low. Bad stuff.

  “Do you even know what your name is?” Luli demanded, kneeling down. “Seriously. Woman. Look at me. What’s your name?”

  The woman looked at Luli. And she smiled.

  Her teeth were covered in blood.

  “My name is death,” she garbled.

  She convulsed, gagging, her eyes rolling back in her head. Drool and foam streamed from the sides of her mouth. And then she went still.

  She was dead.

  Luli stood up.

  “Disgusting,” she said. She walked into the kitchen, searching the cupboards.

  Elle felt strangely sorry for the woman – what a way to die. Overdosed on drugs, and shocked into death by a surprise visit from people who could have saved her life.

  Elle reached forward to close the woman’s eyes.

  Her hand shot out and grabbed Elle’s wrist.

  “No!” the woman screamed, suddenly animated again. “All of us are dead! ALL OF US!”

  She pulled Elle closer. Elle shoved her knee in the woman’s chin, but she didn’t flicker. She was so high on drugs that she was oblivious to pain, clueless to the reality of an inflicted wound.

  Bravo attacked, his teeth sinking into her ankle. She didn’t even feel it. She just laughed, sputtering incoherent garbage about death and darkness. Elle was flat on her back, the woman leering over her. Cheng grabbed the woman by the hair and flung her across the room. She smashed into the wall and bounced right back up, cursing and spitting.

  Elle rolled to her feet and slid her katana out of its sheath. Bravo charged again, biting her other arm. Again, the woman seemed oblivious to the fact that she was being wounded. She struggled against the dog, shrieking, “They’re coming!! The world is over, don’t
you get it? Over! All of us are dead!”

  The woman reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a knife.

  She meant to kill them. Elle could see it on her face.

  And then Luli was behind the woman, her own knife in her hand. She drove it into the back of the woman’s neck, sinking the blade into the flesh until all that was visible was the handle. The woman’s face went slack. The light went out of her eyes, and she hit the ground with a thud.

  Silence.

  Luli stepped forward and pulled the knife out. Blood dripped across the carpet. Bravo circled the dead woman, making sure she would not rise again. Sweat slicked Elle’s neck. She was breathing hard. The woman’s sudden attack had caught her by surprise.

  “I guess we’re done here,” Luli stated, a smug expression on her face. She looked long and hard at Cheng, then stalked outside.

  There was a heavy pause.

  “Why would she kill the man outside?” Elle said at last, trembling.

  Cheng shook his head.

  “It’s probably better that we don’t know.” He assessed Elle. “Are you hurt?”

  “No.”

  That was a half-truth. She was sore from head to toe. The woman had nearly broken her wrist when she’d shoved her backward, her physical strength freakish.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Elle said, shuddering.

  Bravo came and rested his head against her knee.

  She wouldn’t die. He seemed distressed. Why?

  Yeah. Well, the drugs did that.

  Elle had heard stories of people who had been so high on powerful drugs that they didn’t feel gunshots. They wouldn’t stop unless you put a knife in their heart, until their body physically shut down.

  She suddenly hurried out of the mobile home, feeling stifled. When she stepped outside, she saw Luli standing over the body of the dead man. She looked to be deep in thought. When she saw Elle, she turned away and headed toward the front of the property.

  As she disappeared, a strange feeling came over Elle.

  Something was coming.

  She just didn’t know what.

  Once again, Elle found herself in the training area near the wall. She was alone, as usual. Her only audience was Bravo, keeping a careful watch on the surroundings. It was mid-afternoon, and the weather was strangely warm. Elle had tossed her jacket off, wearing only pants and a short-sleeve shirt. Her black hair was getting long again. It was nearly touching her shoulders.