Vigo's Lament: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 3)

by Chris Yee

  “Let’s go back,” she said. “Let’s find them and help.”

  Trevor shook his head. “I’m not going.”

  She ignored Trevor. “Rupert, let’s go help them.”

  Rupert considered her words and then nodded. “If we can help our friends, we should at least try.”

  A long smile stretched across her face.

  Trevor eyed the bowl of stew that Ella had pushed to the ground. Some was still in the bowl and had not touched the floor. “How are you going to get there?”

  “Shoot,” she said. “That’s right, they took the boat.”

  “The evacuation pods,” Rupert said. “You came here in one. We can take one back.”

  Trevor shook his head. “Those things aren’t designed for long distance. We had enough trouble getting them as far as we did. There’s no way you’ll make it back in one.”

  Ella lowered her head. “Without a motorized boat, we can’t get back. We could go on a raft, but that would take weeks. Maybe even months.”

  “And we can’t fit more than a week’s worth of supplies on a raft,” Rupert said.

  “So what do we do?” She asked, looking back at Rupert and Trevor. She knew the answer, but she asked anyway, hoping they would have a miraculous solution.

  “I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do,” Rupert said.

  She lowered her head and stared at the table. Their friends were in danger. She could feel it in her gut, but there was nothing they could do.

  NINETEEN

  ALAN’S HEART POUNDED in his chest as he ran down the halls. He no longer minded the awful smell rising from the dead. He was more concerned with not dying himself. He raced down the corridor, flailing his arms and panting.

  He turned the corner and stopped to catch his breath. When he peeked back around the corner, there was no one there. Just a hallway full of bodies. He had lost them. Or they let him go. Either way, he was still alive.

  He stumbled to the elevator, unable to think straight. His head was spinning with overwhelming confusion. He entered the elevator and pressed Level 1. The moment the doors closed, he bent over and threw up in the corner.

  Charlotte was dead. Vince and Izzy were captured. Now he was on his own. What should he do? Run? Hide in the streets and hope they never find him? Go back up to rescue Vince and Izzy? Or return to Snow Peak?

  Yes. That was the only reasonable option. Return to Snow Peak. But he refused to leave his friends behind, trapped in a cell. He would return to Snow Peak and plead for Ella and Rupert to help him. He couldn’t do it alone, but with the help of others, he might be able to pull it off.

  But how would he get back? He did not know the way to the docks, and their raft was long gone.

  Then he remembered what Charlotte said. The Spire had its own dock. It would be on the lowest level, below Level 1. He pressed the cancel button and instead hit Level 0. There he would grab a boat and sail back home. That was the plan. Grab a boat. Get Ella and Rupert. Come back. Rescue Vince and Izzy. What could possibly go wrong?

  Of course, he knew everything could go wrong. The boats might not start. Ella and Rupert might not come with him. They might be too late. It would probably take him at least two weeks to get there and come back. But that would not stop him from trying.

  He wiped the chunks from his mouth and stood tall, ready to run once it the doors opened. He would not waste time. Not a single second. When the doors opened, he would sprint to the dock as fast as he could.

  The elevator beeped and the doors slid open. He dashed out, but quickly realized he did not know his way to the docks.

  “Crap!” he yelled, and then covered his mouth, remembering that guards might be around. There was an interactive map on the opposite wall. He ran up and tapped the screen furiously. He found Level 0, and then the docks. Down the hall. Two rights and a left. He hit the wall with his fist, and ran down the hall, repeating the turns in his head. Down the hall. Two rights and a left.

  No one was around. Level 0 was deserted. That was good news for Alan. No obstacles. No distractions. No one to stop him. He took a sharp right, and the salty scent of sea water entered his nostrils. Another right. The horrific scene was stuck in his head. Charlotte falling over in an explosion of blood. Vince shaking furiously as electricity surged through his body. Izzy lying helplessly on that operating table. These images flashed in his mind and pushed him to move even faster. The tip tap of his feet was overtaken by the sound of waves, crashing into the Spire walls. He took a quick left.

  Around the corner was the large dock. It stood even larger than the Western Gate, but he had no time to awe over the vast space. He needed to find a boat, but which one? He hoped for a fast one, but he could only guess. His eyes filtered through each one, studying his options. There were so many, it was impossible to choose.

  Instead of wasting more time, he pointed to the one nearby. “That one,” he said. It was as good of a guess as any. He trotted up and hopped in. It was smaller than the others. Not quite as large as the one they arrived in. There was no pantry. No bedroom. No lounge. There was only one floor with one room. The control room. It was all he needed.

  He tinkered with the controls. He had watched Charlotte steer before, but this was different. The buttons and levers were jumbled around. He examined the panel, studying each one until he found what he was looking for. He slammed on the button and heard the motor start.

  He gripped the lever and carefully pushed forward. A maze of boats stood in his way. He maneuvered through, resisting the urge to push the throttle to the limit. He would not be helpful to anyone trapped in a pile of boat wreckage. He restrained his hand until he made it through the gate, and then pushed it up as high as it would go. The motor growled and the boat jerked forward, moving at a steady pace.

  Alan looked down at the water. “Is that all you got?” He pushed more buttons and grabbed more levers. The motor pushed from a growl to a roar and the boat jerked forward with unexpected speed.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” he yelled. “Don’t worry Vince, help is on the way.”

  TWENTY

  TRISH STARED AT Charlotte’s body as the guards dragged her out. A long streak of blood trailed behind. She then looked at Vince, unconscious on the ground, still shaking from the powerful shock that was sent through his body. Both of them were traitors. Greene trusted them, and they stabbed him in the back. The City was in shambles, and they were to blame.

  She moved her eyes to Izzy, who was motionless on the table. The girl was back in the City, and she was alive. Trish looked back to Vince with curious confusion. She had thought he was working with Simon, but for reason’s she could not explain, he attacked him. He drained his energy and ended his life. From the rage she saw in his eyes, it was obvious he hated the man.

  And then Charlotte saved Izzy. The girl was Greene’s flesh and blood, but the woman who led Greene to his death also saved Izzy from hers. She sacrificed her own life to save her enemy’s daughter.

  They were people she believed to be traitors. They were responsible for the death of her friends, but now they were helping for reasons she could not explain. Thinking about it made her head spin.

  Jonah snapped his fingers and pointed to Izzy. “Get the girl off the table and lock her up with the rest of them. We can’t do the surgery anymore. Not until we find another doctor.” He approached the doctor, who was grasping his bloody wrist. “You are free to go.”

  The doctor was trembling, his face soaked in tears. “I need medical attention. Get someone to help me.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t have the resources. Consider it lucky I’m letting you live in the first place. If it were up to Simon, you would already be dead. But I’m a nice guy. I’m letting you go. You’ll be fine. You’re a doctor. You’ll figure it out.”

  “I can’t treat myself,” he pleaded. “I need someone to stitch me up. It hurts so much. I can’t even hold still.” He held out his hand, and it shook beyond his control.


  Jonah shook his head. “Sorry doc. It’s not my problem. I’ve already paid you for nothing. You didn’t complete your job, but I’m letting you go anyway. You’re stretching it. Get out of my face before I change my mind. And to make sure my money doesn’t completely go to waste, head upstairs and switch on the power in the cell room. I got to make you work at least a little. Otherwise, I’m just throwing money down the drain.”

  The doctor glanced at him for a moment longer and shambled out of the room with a lowered head.

  Jonah looked to Trish, who averted her eyes. “Why so nervous, honey? I’m not going to hurt you if you cooperate. We know everything we need to about that girl so far, but if the time comes and we need your help, I expect you to answer our questions honestly. Do that, and you have nothing to worry about. You’re the only one alive who knew about Greene’s daughter. It would be a shame if that were no longer the case.”

  Trish continued to avoid eye contact. Instead, she focused her eyes on Izzy. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Of course she doesn’t deserve this, but sometimes life is unfair. Trust me, a lot of good will come from this. Her death will lead to great things.”

  She continued staring at the girl, considering what to say next.

  “If you don’t cooperate,” Jonah said, “I’m afraid there’s no reason for me to keep you alive.”

  “You could just let me go, like the doctor.”

  He shook his head. “That doctor was willing to help. He was just put in an unfortunate circumstance. You, on the other hand, have not helped me or hurt me. You have yet to make a decision. If you choose to help me, then you’re an asset. I will take care of you. But if you choose not to help me, I can only assume you intend to hurt me. That is something I can’t ignore. I can’t let someone like that go free. You’ll just come back later and bite me in the ass.” He looked at his hand and noticed a splotch of blood that had splattered onto his palm. He wiped it away with the tip of his thumb. “So, what will it be? Help me, or hurt me?”

  She took her eyes from Izzy and moved them to Jonah. “Help you,” she whispered.

  Jonah leaned in. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I will help you. Ask whatever you’d like about the girl and I will answer. However, I will not harm the girl in any way. I will only provide information.”

  Jonah smiled. “Fair enough.” He looked up at his guards. “Why are you taking so long? You don’t need to clean every last inch. Just leave her body there. She’s not going anywhere. She’s got a hole in her face for Christ’s sake. She’s out of the room. That’s good enough. Now get back in here and lock up our prisoners before they wake up.”

  The guards dropped Charlotte and moseyed back in. One lifted Izzy in his arms. Another walked up to Trish and spun her around.

  “Please,” she said, “you don’t need to cuff me. I’m not going to run.”

  The guard glanced at Jonah, who nodded. He shrugged back and joined the third to help carry Vince. Jonah grabbed his turtle mug off the desk, before following the others out. He walked beside Trish, taking careful sips of tea.

  He looked over as he walked. “You know, if it were up to me, things wouldn’t have happened the way they did. I would not have killed your coworkers. Of course, Greene’s soldiers were a threat that needed to be dealt with, but the labbies were different. I have no reason to kill your kind. In fact, you are of great value to me. After all, I intend to continue the tests. That requires labbies.”

  Trish said nothing. She looked straight ahead and followed the guards as they entered the cell room.

  “I also need test subjects,” he continued. “I should have acted sooner, before Simon set them free. Now I have to gather them back up. The only good that came from the attack was Greene’s death. He needed to move aside so someone could take his place. Someone with guts to do what it takes.”

  “And you think that person is you?” Trish asked.

  “I do. I don’t expect you to believe it right now, but in time, you will. You’ll see the wasted potential that slipped through Greene’s fingers. He was on the right track, but he needed to grow a pair.

  Their feet clanged on the metal grating as they descended the stairs to the lower levels. Jonah watched Trish as he talked, trying to gauge her reaction. She showed none.

  “Simon, on the other hand, needed to tone it down. He was extremely passionate, which is something I admire, but his passion was for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, I was able to channel that passion into something useful. We never would have broken through the walls without him.”

  “You owe the world to Vince,” Trish said. “Without him, Simon never would have succeeded.”

  Jonah nodded. “I suppose that’s true. I’ll remember to thank him when he wakes. Both for helping Simon, and for killing him. I would have done it myself, but now I don’t have to.”

  “What are you going to do next?”

  “I’ve already told you. I plan to continue Greene’s work. The first step is to find another doctor so we can get a good look at this girl’s brain. She will be the first test under my belt. After that, we must expand. I have already started to gather more subjects. They’re scattered throughout the City, but we’re sniffing them out.”

  “Your guards are okay with that?” Trish asked. “Just a moment ago they were fighting to free the test subjects. Now they’re gathering them back up? Why would they do that?”

  “That is one of my biggest concerns, and I currently don’t have a solution. I have my loyal group of guards right here. They truly believe in my vision. There are a few others in the Spire, but the majority of the Crowns support Simon’s vision. It completely contradicts mine. Right now, they are cooperating because they think the orders are coming directly from Simon. They trust that his orders have meaning and that it’s part of his master plan. They don’t know I’ve taken control, but they will soon catch on. It’s only a matter of time. I’m hoping the results of this test with the girl will help sway some of them. If I’m lucky, it will convert enough to outnumber the rest. If it doesn’t, Simon is dead so they won’t have a leader. At least not at first. I can use that time to my advantage.”

  “I don’t think that will work,” Trish said.

  “It is risky, I’ll admit, but I do believe it will work.” They moved away from the staircase and walked up to the cells. “This is where the three of you will stay until I find a replacement doctor.”

  The guards placed Vince and Izzy in the cell, both propped up against the wall.

  Trish glanced into the cell, and then to Vince. “Wait, you’re putting us all in the same cell?”

  Jonah nodded. “Why not?”

  “I can’t be locked in with him. He’s a traitor. He is responsible for the death of my friends. I can’t stand to look at him for another second.”

  “Suck it up. We can’t all get what we want. You’re lucky enough that I’m keeping you alive.” He nudged her forward, but she resisted.

  “No! I will not.”

  Jonah sighed. “Fine. You can have this cell.” He opened the one to the right.

  “I want to be on a different level.”

  “For Christ’s sake, I don’t have time for this. Just get in the cell.”

  “No. I demand to be on my own level, far away from him.”

  “You’re in no position to be making demands. Now get in the damn cell.” He pushed her forward.

  She spun around and slapped him in the face. “You said you want me to help. I will be more helpful if I’m happy. I will not be happy if I’m anywhere near this scum. Give me my own level and I’ll make things much easier for you.”

  Jonah pressed a palm against his cheek, which was turning red, and smiled. “I like you. You’re bold.” He looked to his guards. “Escort her a few levels up.”

  “The girl, too,” she said. “The girl comes with me.”

  “You’re pushing your luck, lady. You’re bold, but you don’t know when to stop. I’m feel
ing generous, but not that generous. The girl stays.”

  “You can’t leave her with that monster.”

  “I can do whatever I want. I’m in charge, remember? I make the calls. If I say the girl stays, the girl stays.” He waved his hand to the guards.

  They closed the cell door and dragged Trish up the stairs. Jonah watched as she disappeared into darkness. He stayed behind and glared at his unconscious prisoners. A wide smile stretched across his face. “You may have bought some time, but sit tight. Your time will come. As soon as I find another doctor, we’ll slice you up nice and good.”

  He grabbed the bars and shook with force. The door swung freely. The power had not been restored.

  He crossed his arms. “Damn it doc! You pay a man to do a job, and he hits the ground running. Well, that was money down the drain.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  VINCE WOKE UP in the same cell again. This time, it was different, though. Izzy was locked in with him. He looked across the catwalk at the kiosk. The light on the panel was still out. They had not turned on the power. He walked to the door and kicked it as he had before, but this time, it did not budge. He leaned over to see a mechanical lock wrapped around the bars. They must have had trouble turning the power on.

  Jonah wandered up on the catwalk and peered inside the cell. “I wondered how long you would be out. Those shockers are pretty nasty, huh?” He wrapped his fingers around the bars and pulled. The door held firmly in place. “You’re not getting out this time, so make yourself comfortable. It will be a while before we find another doctor. It’s delicate work to remove organs. We wouldn’t want to damage them.”

  Vince stood up, but did not say a word.

  “You’re shy, aren’t you? Both of you. Either that or you just don’t like me. Trust me, I’m a good guy. I know when I owe someone. You killed Simon for me. For that I thank you.”