by T A Williams
The New World
After The Event Book 7
By T.A. Williams
Copyright ©2016 T.A. Williams
All rights reserved by the author. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the written consent of the author
Alec
The smell of unwashed bodies filled his nose even in the open air, not that he could complain, especially since he was one of the biggest contributors to the smell. Alec tried to ignore the sour smell and focus on the rock-hard protein bar that was crunching about in his mouth. He sat with his back against the warm Humvee and his butt on the cracked asphalt. Across from him was a man covered in grime with severe burns covering over half of his face, a man who had fought alongside Alec’s brother. Mason wiped away the last of the crumbs from his grimy beard and took in a deep breath. They were both exhausted, hungry and in bad need of rest. Mason had carried him out of the prison camp and stolen a Humvee--the man had saved his life. For the last two days they had traveled as quickly as they could, certain that at any moment they would see a Chinese Humvee in pursuit of them, but they never came. Mason stood up and Alec could hear the cracking of the man’s bones. He walked over and pulled out the last gas can and Alec could hear the liquid splashing around inside. There didn’t seem to be much left.
“Are we going to have enough?” Alec asked.
Mason unscrewed the nozzle and peered inside. “We’ll be cutting it close, but we should.”
The world tilted slightly and Alec closed his eyes to correct it. He had been beaten nearly to death by a creature named Xu, a man that was full of hate and evil to the core, but thanks to Mason that man was no more. Despite that, Alec could still feel the scars left behind by that beating. It was still hard to walk for more than a couple of steps at a time, partially because he was so weak but also because he periodically had a hard time keeping his balance.
Mason poured the last of the gas into the Humvee and threw the empty gas can into the back. The tired man wiped the sweat from his face and rested against the Humvee.
“He is a soldier?” Alec asked.
Mason’s face brightened and he nodded. “A helluva soldier.”
Alec shook his head, trying to figure out how the snot-nosed daydreamer he had grown up with had suddenly become a soldier. Mason had already told him how Ben had stowed away in Mason’s truck and how they ended up together, ultimately choosing to go fight a war in New York, but none of it made sense.
“Why did he leave?” Alec felt the pain wash over him. “Was he that mad at me? Did he really think I abandoned him? I was trying to find our sister.”
“He wasn’t mad at you.”
“Then why leave? He had to have known how it was going to feel when I returned and he wasn’t there. He knew that by leaving he was hurting me.”
Mason took in another breath and shook his head. “He wasn’t mad at you and he wasn’t trying to hurt you. I think he left to protect himself.”
“Oh yeah, leaving the safety of our home is a hell of a way to protect himself. What the hell did he need protection from?”
“From the possibility you might not return.”
Alec let that sink in. “What…what do you mean?”
“I think he was afraid that he would be there waiting for you to return for the rest of his life. Then he would know that he lost his father, Joseph, Ally and you for good. I think that was too much for him.”
The world tilted again as the wave of emotion hit him. Ben hadn’t believed in him. Ben didn’t think that Alec could do it so he left. The realization that Ben was partially right sank in. He had almost died multiple times during the journey to try and find his sister, and she was still missing. In some ways it was a miracle that he had been able to make it back at all.
“Look,” Mason got down on one knee and placed his hand on Alec’s shoulder. “When he snuck away Ben was very much a child. He was afraid you would never return, he was ashamed that he hadn’t fought alongside your father when the raiders came and kidnapped Ally, and he just wanted a fresh start. He left a child but the person I was with in New York is a man.”
Alec felt the tears running down his face and the image of Mason shifted as his vision became unsteady.
“Your brother is capable, he is brave and he is smart. I know he is ok.”
“I have to get to New York,” Alec said forcefully.
“You can’t. Neither of us can right now.”
“My brother is alive and in the middle of a warzone. I’m not going-”
“You can’t walk more than a few feet at a time,” Mason said, interrupting him. “Both of us are malnourished; a stiff breeze could knock us over and we are bingo on fuel and food. I understand what you want, trust me, but we wouldn’t make it halfway.”
Alec didn’t have the strength to stay angry and as soon as the fury left his body he felt like he was going to collapse. “I know,” he said weakly. His eyes teared up again and he smiled. “But he’s alive.”
Mason smiled and nodded his head.
Alec let out a half-contained sob. “Ben’s alive.”
Mason gave him a moment then reached out his hand. “Come on, we may be able to make it before nightfall.”
Alec gave Mason his hand and was pulled up to his feet while using the Humvee to steady himself. “Yeah, let’s go home.”
As they pulled out of the abandoned parking lot a light drizzle began and eventually turned into a heavy downpour. Alec listened to the rain hitting the vehicle and thought about how much Ben must have changed. Alec felt like he had lived through several lifetimes and knew he had changed immeasurably. He was sure Ben had done the same. And what about Ally?
“Who was attacking the camp?” Alec asked. “Was it us?”
Mason was quiet for a moment. “It’s possible. I never got a good look but they were well armed and had a Helo.”
“Who else would it have been if not the US military?”
“You know how we were visited by the Chinese helicopters? There were some pretty big wigs that got out of there, or at least that is how Xu and the other soldiers treated them. Xu seemed to lose it when they visited. I don’t think they liked how he was running things, or at least the output he was generating.”
“But why would they attack their own base?”
“Did you see Xu as the type of person willing to give up power? I don’t know. If it was the Chinese then they were either going to wipe the base out completely, killing us all, or they were going to take it over, meaning we were once again prisoners. I didn’t feel like taking that chance.”
“I understand,” Alec said, letting out a yawn. If Mason was right there was a chance the people they had been imprisoned by could still be there. The rhythmic sounds of the raindrops hitting the windshield put him into a trance and at some point he fell asleep.
The bump jolted him awake. For a second the world spun around, refusing to let him see where they were, but after a few seconds it came back together and he saw they were on a gravel road. A very familiar gravel road. The grass and the road had essentially merged into one, but Alec knew this place. He looked to Mason, who gave him a confirming nod. Alec saw where a fence had been knocked down, the same fence the Chinese Humvees had destroyed when they chased after him right before he had been caught. Which also meant that the body of his horse couldn’t have been far. Surely they found her and gave her a proper burial. That is when his thoughts turned to Bethany. He was actually going to see her again. He had his share of girlfriends prior to the world falling into chaos, but the connection he had felt with Bethany was above and behin
d anything he had felt before.
“Uh, I thought this was the place,” Mason said as he brought the Humvee to a stop.
Alec looked ahead and saw where the road seemed to simply end. The brush and grass converged and to the untrained eye it looked like they had reached a dead end. He couldn’t help but smile. They had gotten much better at hiding the roadway.
“The road is still there, it’s just hidden,” Alec said.
Mason turned his attention back to the road. “I see, smart,” he said, nodding in approval.
“We used to have a pulley system on the other side that would allow you to lift up the tree and brush.”
Mason got out of the Humvee with a grunt and approached the obstacle in the road. The sun had fallen behind a row of trees, leaving the area covered in shadow and getting darker by the moment. There was a snap of a twig to the right of Alec and when he turned he saw a man staring down the barrel of a rifle pointed right at Mason.
“Don’t move,” the man shouted.
Mason turned with his hands in the air. “We’re unarmed.”
The man behind the rifle stepped forward into a ray of sunlight that had snuck through the row of trees. The light illuminated his face, partially covered in an unkempt beard and eyes that Alec recognized. A man that in another life had been a part of the Council of their settlement and had helped Alec hunt down the raiders that had stolen his sister.
“Freddie?” Alec caught himself saying.
The man hesitated and shifted his attention to Alec while keeping his gun trained on Mason.
“Who are you? Do I know-” The man paused and his eyes grew wide. “It can’t be…Alec, is…that you?”
Alec felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he nodded his head.
Freddie dropped the rifle and took a step forward while craning his neck toward Alec as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “It….can’t be.”
“It’s me,” Alec said, wiping away his tears. “I’m home.”
Alec
They had done it.
The farm home that had turned into a settlement and had been deemed New Hope was now something else entirely. Alec marveled at the dozens of small houses that dotted both sides of the road, the pasture full of horses and cattle and the groups of people working out in the fields. The place had been transformed. As they pulled up the driveway Alec saw the place that had once been called home.
The last place that had housed his entire family.
A relic from his past.
They pulled up and stopped outside the house and an old friend stepped outside with his daughter, who was no longer a young girl but a young woman. When Alec had ventured out searching for his sister he had been beaten and nearly killed by a group of thieves. The man in front of him, Trevor, had found him and nursed him back to life. If Alec had to name a person he considered to be his best friend, it would be this man.
Freddie jumped out of the Humvee and waved toward Trevor. “Come quick, it’s Alec, he’s back!”
Trevor just stood there, mouth agape, as Mason got out and helped Alec out of the Humvee. Alec put his arm around Mason and used him to take a few steps forward. Trevor shook his head in disbelief and then ran over and placed his hand on Alec’s chest while peering at his face.
“My God, Alec. Is it really you?”
Alec nodded his head wearily. The emotion and the long day were already beginning to get to him. “You trying to say that I’ve looked better?”
They helped Alec inside the house and laid him down on the couch. The soft couch felt good against his tired body.
“Are you hurt?” Trevor said as he grabbed his bag of medical supplies.
“No, I’m good,” Alec said.
“He is hurt,” Mason disagreed. “Please check him over. He’s malnourished and….his equilibrium is off.”
“Equilibrium?”
“He was beaten, badly.”
Trevor flashed a look of concern before nodding his head. He turned to Jamie. “Go start a fire for a bath.” Jamie ran off and he turned his attention back to Mason. “Thank you and I’m sorry, you are?”
“Mason.”
“Mason?” Freddie said as he stepped around and gave him a better look. A look of recognition dawned on his face and he looked around. “But where is Ben?”
“He’s not with me. It’s a long story.”
Freddie looked to Alec, who nodded. “It’s ok, and it is a very long story.”
“Where is Jack?” Mason asked.
Jack was the old man who had lived near them when they had first taken refuge from the crumbling world. The man had watched over Ben when Alec left to look for his sister. The same man who had been killed by a criminal that Alec should have killed when he had a chance.
“Jack is gone,” Alec said. “I…I’m sorry; I hadn’t thought to tell you.”
Mason sat down on the couch with a pained expression on his face. “He was a good man.”
Jack and Ben had taken care of Mason when his helicopter had crashed. Obviously that ordeal had made them close.
Trevor sat Alec up slowly but the world still tilted slightly. “I’m just going to take off your shirt and take a good look at you, all right?”
Alec looked around at the people gathered in the room.
“Please give us some space,” Trevor said before Alec had to utter a single world.
Everyone but Mason left the room and then Trevor proceeded to take off Alec’s shirt. It felt more like he peeled it off and Alec knew a rancid smell was wafting from his dirty body but instead of a look of disgust on Trevor’s face, he saw a look of shock. Trevor’s eyes welled up and he turned to Mason, who simply nodded.
“We’ve been through a lot,” Mason said quietly.
“I’ll give you a bath and then…I’ll look you over. How are you?” Trevor asked Mason.
“Better than him. I can wait.”
Alec laid his head back on the couch. “I’m ok, guys. I just need a hot bath, fifty pounds of food and to sleep for a couple of days. After that I’ll be good to go.”
Trevor gave him a sad smile. “I missed you, friend.”
“I missed you too, all of you.”
Jamie came and told them the bath was ready so Mason and Trevor helped him into the bathroom. The little energy that Alec had was gone at this point, so they all but carried him in there and then placed him into the hot bath. The warm water washed over his skin and Alec let out an audible gasp.
“Too hot?” Trevor asked.
“No, it’s just been too long,” Alec answered.
Trevor used a sponge to wash away what felt like years’ worth of skin and dirt that was caked onto his body. By the end of it the bathwater was nearly black, his skin was tingling all over and he was nearly asleep. As Trevor and Mason pulled him out of the water, Alec fought to keep his eyes open.
“Get some rest; we’ll take care of you,” Trevor said gently. “You’re home now.”
Alec
Alec awoke in the soft bed and felt like he had slept for the first time in years. The sunlight streamed in his room and the sounds of a village poured in gently from his open window, along with the cool morning breeze. He rolled carefully on his side and saw a place that only looked vaguely familiar. People were riding around on horseback, people in the distance were farming and others were just mulling about talking.
“How are you feeling?” Trevor stood at the doorway with a look of concern on his face.
Alec rolled over and smiled. “Better than I have in a long time.”
Trevor walked over and sat in a chair near his bed.
“What’s wrong?” Alec asked. “I know I haven’t worked out in a while, but did I look that bad?”
A genuine smile appeared on Trevor’s face and he shook his head. “You’re a tough SOB, I’ll give you that.” He took in a deep breath and the smile disappeared. “You’re badly malnourished, I’m sure you are aware of that.”
“Their menu was lacking.”
“You have cuts, bruises and abrasions over nearly every inch of your body. I cleaned and bandaged you up as well as I could, but we’ll have to keep a watch to make sure nothing gets infected.” Trevor paused for a moment. “Tell me about the problems with your balance.”
Alec thought about trying to spin into another joke but his heart wasn’t in it. “I just get a little dizzy when I stand up.” Trevor didn’t say anything in return. “Ok, I feel like I am constantly dizzy. Any ideas why?”
“There is still some evidence of severe blows to the head.”
Alec’s mind slipped back to that place. The heat, the constant fear, Xu. He saw Xu standing above him and the man’s fists raining down on him, again and again and again.
“My hope is that it will pass in time,” Trevor finished.
“And your fear?” Alec asked.
“We’ll deal with that if it comes to that. When is it the worst?”
Alec started to shrug but stopped himself. “Any sudden movement, or when I’m tired or upset. I can walk short distances and not have any issues.”
“We’ll give it time.”
“And Mason?”
“He is doing ok,” Trevor said. “Like you, he needs food and has plenty of bumps and bruises but he should survive. Those…burns on his face-”
“They happened before he was captured. At least that is what he told me. You’ve done a hell of a job here,” Alec said, changing the subject. “I barely recognize the place.”
“We’ve done a hell of a job.”
“Is everyone still here?” Alec asked. His thoughts were on her.
Trevor frowned. “I’m sorry. Bethany is gone.”
The world twisted and Alec held on to the bed, trying to steady himself.
“After you were captured her father took her and they left. They didn’t think this place was safe anymore.”
Alec closed his eyes as the world jostled about him. She was gone. There were days, weeks, months where the only thing keeping him going was the hope he would see her again. He had lost everything.
