Dark New Beginnings (Into the Dark Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller Book 7)

by Ryan Casey

  Aiden’s hands shook. He looked at Kelsie, wide-eyed. And Mike could see the way she was looking back at him. He could see that expression on her face.

  Disappointment.

  She’d put her faith in him. She’d shown trust in him.

  And she’d been betrayed, too.

  Tears building in her eyes.

  He looked at her and opened his mouth, like a part of him still wanted to argue; like a part of him still wanted to stick to the story he’d been running with for all this time.

  But then his shoulders slumped, and Mike saw the defeat come over him. “I panicked,” he said. “I just… I just wanted to go back to the way things were. I just wanted to go back and for all this to end.”

  Mike knew Aiden was caught up in a dilemma of his own. But he didn’t feel any sympathy for him at all. “You betrayed us. You killed one of us. And you tried to kill me. You’d have left Kelsie all alone. And you want me to feel bad for you? You want me to understand what you’re going through?”

  “I wanted the best for Kelsie.”

  “Bullshit,” Mike shouted.

  He stepped towards Aiden then, and he saw it. That slight lift of his rifle. That knee jerk, self-defence reaction.

  The reaction that Kelsie saw, too.

  The reaction that would tarnish her opinion of him—for good.

  “You want the best for yourself,” Mike said. “You think you’re different to everyone else, but you’re not. You’re really not. You saved Kelsie once, sure. And I thank you for that. Really. But you couldn’t follow through with it. You want the easy life. You want to sustain the illusion. You just couldn’t go all the way, could you?”

  “I wanted to try and make it work. But I just couldn’t see it. There’s no other way.”

  “Of course there’s another way,” Mike said. “There’s always another way.”

  Mike saw Aiden’s rifle rise even more. But the way he was holding it, shakily. It made Mike wonder whether he really had the capability of firing. Whether he really had it in him to cause more pain.

  But then, of course, he did.

  If he felt like it’d lead to a good life… of course he did.

  So Mike took a deep breath.

  He fought through the nerves that surged through his body—the nerves that were natural whenever anyone was pointing a rifle at you—and he stepped right against it.

  “You did what was right for you, and nobody else. The sooner you can see that, the better. The sooner you can accept the truth… the better.”

  He saw Aiden’s jaw twitching. Saw him trying to think of something to say.

  And then at that moment, he snapped the rifle from his hands and slammed the back of it right against his chin.

  He saw the momentary confusion. Saw his grip loosen.

  And then he swung that rifle around, and he pointed it at Aiden before he even knew what’d hit him.

  “On your knees,” Mike said. “Right this second.”

  Aiden stood his ground. Tears started to rain down. And Mike just found it disgusting. He found it pathetic.

  “Right this second—”

  “I did what I had to do,” Aiden said. “I did what I had to do to try and survive—”

  “On your knees!”

  So Aiden got down. He got down, and he lifted his hands. But all that time, he just stared back at Mike. All that time, he looked into Mike’s eyes.

  And all that time, Kelsie looked on, shock and horror on her face.

  “I’ve done something bad. Really bad. But maybe… maybe there’s still a chance for your friends.”

  “Bullshit,” Mike said. “Don’t lie to me. Don’t even think about lying to me.”

  “You can kill me, but it won’t change anything,” Aiden said. “If you kill me, you lose your last chance of helping them. Because you won’t get in there. None of you will get in there.”

  “I don’t give a shit what you say,” Mike said, ramming the tip of the rifle closer to his forehead. “Shut your mouth right this second and—”

  “I never wanted it to end like this,” Aiden said. “I always wanted another way. I made a mistake, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Just… just forgive me. Even if you kill me, forgive me. Please.”

  Mike heard those words, and he didn’t feel them. He just felt more disgusted. More determined in what he was going to do.

  But then he looked at Kelsie, and he saw a different look in her eyes.

  He saw something that he didn’t feel. Something that seemed unfamiliar to him. Alien to him.

  He saw a look of sympathy.

  “Look away, Kelsie.”

  But then she looked back at Mike. She looked back at him with those eyes, and he felt it.

  “Please,” Aiden said, eyes closed now. “Forgive me. I just wanted the best for Kelsie. I didn’t see another way. Please.”

  “Shut up.”

  “I’m a parasite. I—I’m weak, really. Deep down. I was never a soldier. I was a runner. I abandoned my family. I abandoned everyone I cared about because I was so scared. I caused so much death. So much pain. But I’m trying. I’m always trying.”

  “I told you to be quiet.”

  “I never trusted myself. I got scared again. I just wanted… I wanted to try and find the right way.”

  Mike didn’t say anything in response. He just looked back at Kelsie and again, he saw that look. The way she was looking at him.

  “Mike?” she said.

  “Kelsie, look away—”

  “There’s always another way,” she said.

  He heard her words. Felt his hands shaking. And he saw himself at that crossroads again.

  The crossroads of killing someone. Someone who had done something bad. Something unforgivable.

  But someone who had just done things like he had.

  Done unthinkable things, but in the name of those closest to him.

  In the name of what he cared about.

  He looked at Aiden. And this time, he saw him staring back up at him. Staring at him, tears in his eyes.

  “Forgive me,” Aiden said. “I never meant for things to end this way. I just… I just wanted to find a way that worked. For everyone. Please.”

  Mike inhaled deeply.

  Then he steadied his grip on the rifle.

  He looked Aiden in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  And then he pulled the trigger.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Mike pulled the trigger of the rifle.

  He saw Aiden’s eyes widen. Saw the shift on his face. That moment of not understanding; of not totally comprehending what was happening.

  And he saw that look in Kelsie’s eyes, too.

  Because he’d moved the rifle.

  Just before firing, he’d moved the rifle.

  Aiden looked down at his body like he was making sure he really hadn’t been shot.

  But Mike wasn’t waiting around.

  He pointed the rifle back at Aiden, right back against his forehead.

  “You should consider yourself lucky,” Mike said. “You should be a dead man right now. I’m not the kind of person who forgives lightly. And I haven’t forgiven you. I won’t forgive you. But you’re more useful alive to me than dead right now. If you really care about Kelsie, you can do something for her right now. Get inside your home. Find my people. Find my dog. And get them out of there.”

  Aiden’s eyes were wide. He looked like he was in total shock. “I—I—”

  “Quit your stuttering,” Mike said. “I’ve had enough of it. You’re pathetic. But you can do something right for once in your pitiful little life. Go back there. Help our people. Can you do that?”

  Aiden looked over at Kelsie. “Kelsie, I—”

  “Hey,” Mike said, smacking his forehead with the rifle. “You’re not talking to her. You’re talking to me. Answer my question. Can you go back there? Can you help us?”

  Aiden looked down at the ground. “It’s a suicide missio
n.”

  “Well, I’ve got news for you, mate. If you don’t make a decision fast, you’re a dead man anyway. So how would you rather go out? Doing something right? Or like this?”

  Aiden shook his head. “How do you know I won’t just—just go back there and send people out here to find you? How do you know I’ll help your friends at all?”

  Mike thought about what Aiden was saying, just for a moment. Then he looked back into his eyes. “Because as much of a prick as you are, you care for Kelsie. As morally bankrupt as you might be, you want her to get away. You wouldn’t have killed for her if you didn’t. If I believe you about one thing, it’s that you’re weak as shit. But you still have a chance to change that. You still have a chance to put that right. Remember something. I’m the one who’s here for Kelsie. I’m the one who’s looking out for her. Who’s protecting her. So as much as you might try to work your little games… Kelsie’s with me. Like it or not. Understand?”

  Aiden shook his head. Wiped his eyes. Then he looked over at the extraction point. “That’s the thing,” he said. “I don’t—I don’t see how it’s possible.”

  Mike frowned. “What do you mean you don’t see how it’s possible?”

  “The truth is… if I go back there, they’ll want to know where I’ve been. They’ll want to know where Dom is. Why I’m in the state I’m in. They’ll ask questions. And they certainly won’t let me go setting anyone free. They won’t let me out of their sight.”

  Mike’s grip on the rifle tightened. His desire to just finish this useless shit right now was growing by the second. “So what you’re saying is, you can’t help us?”

  “I’m saying that I was sent out here to kill Kelsie for what she knew about the extraction point. I’m saying I wanted to get back there to give her enough supplies to escape with. As much as you hate me… I’ve helped. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the operation we’ve been running at the extraction point. I’m sorry that doesn’t align with your values. But don’t think it’s easy for me, too. Don’t think it’s easy for any of us.”

  He stood up, then. His legs were shaky. His face was covered with tears and sweat.

  He pointed at Kelsie. “I did what I could for her. And I’m still doing what I can for her. Get away. Both of you, just—just get away from here. Take this opportunity while you still can. Because I can’t promise how long it’s going to be here for.”

  Mike looked at Kelsie, then. He looked into her wide, tearful eyes.

  And then he looked back at Aiden, and he took a deep breath.

  “Thanks for nothing,” he said.

  He lifted the rifle.

  Went to fire again.

  But then he heard it.

  The cracking of gunfire.

  Then more.

  He looked around, the hairs on his arms standing on end.

  Because this gunfire wasn’t just coming from anywhere.

  It was coming from the extraction point.

  He could see it. See it from here.

  The running.

  The shouting.

  The screaming.

  He looked at Aiden. And he could see the way Aiden was frowning. He could see he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand.

  “What’s happening?” Mike asked.

  Aiden looked at him, then. His face was totally pale. He was shaking.

  “Aiden?” Mike said. “What the hell’s going on down there?”

  “They’re rebelling,” Aiden said.

  Mike frowned. “What do you mean they’re rebelling? Who’s rebelling?”

  “The people. The citizens. The… the guards. They’re rebelling. Something’s happening. They must know.”

  “Know what?”

  “The truth.”

  Mike looked back at the extraction point. Heard more gunfire. Saw more running around. More chaos.

  And as he looked down there, he felt the fear for Alison, Gina, Arya building by the second.

  “We need to go down there,” Aiden said. “If you want to save your people… this might be your only chance.”

  Mike looked at him. “What?”

  “This is unprecedented. This isn’t supposed to happen. But if it’s happened… it means there’s a chance. It also means your people are in danger. Big danger. So there’s only one thing we can do.”

  Mike looked at Kelsie. And as anxious as he felt about all of this, he knew what was coming next.

  “We’ve got to go down there,” Aiden said. “We’ve got to save your people. Before… before it’s too late.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The moment Mike reached the gates of the extraction point, he knew that Aiden was right about this being a suicide mission.

  It was a beautiful morning, but there was an air of darkness around this place. An air of darkness that wasn’t there previously, Mike figured. The gates to this place were wide open and unmanned. Every now and then on their way down here, Mike had seen people running past. Women. Children. Fear on their faces. Panic in their eyes.

  That determined look on their faces like the only thing in the world they wanted was to get away.

  Aiden was by his side. Kelsie was alone in the woods. And Mike felt uneasy about that. Mostly because he knew this could just be some kind of ploy. A ploy where he’d got Mike and Kelsie apart from each other once again; where he could pretend something had happened to Mike when in fact he’d killed him.

  But Mike had the rifle that Aiden had once carried. And he was making sure it was pointed at Aiden at all times. Just in case.

  “You know this place better than me,” Mike said. “Lead the way.”

  Aiden looked inside the extraction point, eyes wide. “I just never thought I’d see this.”

  “See what?”

  “This place. I never thought… I never thought I’d see it falling apart like this. I always believed it would find a way to stay standing. Maybe not forever, but… well. For longer than this.”

  He looked at Mike as the gunshots continued to pepper out; as the smell of burning filled the air.

  “This is what it looks like,” Aiden said. “This is what happens when people lose their hope.”

  Mike heard the undoubted crying of a child. A child who’d been shot, or a child who’d watched their parents die. And as much as he didn’t want to see eye to eye with Aiden… he knew where he was coming from, now.

  This place, as illusory as it was, had provided hope.

  And that was something that had been taken away—no matter how it was the truth had somehow got out.

  “But anyway,” Aiden said, turning to the extraction point. “I guess we have no choice. Not anymore. You ready?”

  Mike looked at Aiden, distrust still running through his veins.

  Then, he nodded. “After you.”

  Aiden stepped through the gates of the extraction point.

  Mike followed closely behind.

  The first thing that struck Mike, walking through this place, was just how much like a model village it felt. It didn’t feel real. Even though there had no doubt been people living here for months in some cases, it didn’t feel lived in. And that added to the creepiness of it. That added to the sense that this whole place was an illusion, a sham.

  The bodies didn’t help.

  There were men. Women. Children. People sprawled across the road, blood seeping out of different parts of each. Some of them were still alive, but barely. Others were already too far gone.

  “What happened here?” Mike asked, more to himself than anyone.

  But it was Aiden who answered him. “Like I said. The truth. It must’ve got out. And when it got out… things got messy.”

  Mike tried to digest everything he was seeing as he carried on walking. “You would’ve been on the side of the people shooting those guns,” he said. “You would’ve been culpable in a massacre. You see that now, don’t you?”

  Aiden didn’t say anything. He just kept on walking.

  But the more he walke
d, the more Mike sensed his eyes were opening. The reality was setting in.

  And as much as he’d never been able to trust him… he sensed that it might just work in his favour.

  “The dogs,” Aiden said, pointing off into the distance. “They’re usually…”

  He stopped speaking. And when Mike looked to where he was pointing, he realised why.

  The dog cages were open. Bar a couple of dogs still sitting in there, the bulk of the dogs had escaped and were running everywhere, clearly caught up in the drama.

  Some of them had been shot.

  Mike pushed aside the looming dread in the pit of his stomach of the possibility of finding Arya.

  He wasn’t ready to lose her.

  He’d never be ready to lose her.

  “I don’t know where we’re even going to start trying to find your people,” Aiden said. “We don’t even know they’re still around here. They could’ve gone. They could’ve left.”

  Mike looked around. He scanned the area. He didn’t know exactly where she was. He didn’t know anything for certain.

  But he just felt like she was close.

  Very close.

  “She’s here,” he said. “They’re all here. I have to—”

  “I suggest you don’t move another muscle,” the voice said.

  Mike turned around.

  And when he looked around, he saw a man, standing there. Muscular. Well-built. Two other people beside him.

  All of them dressed like Aiden.

  All of them holding rifles.

  All of them pointing them at Mike.

  “Stand down,” the dark-haired man said. “You don’t have to worry anymore, Aiden. We’ve got this dickhead. Time to take this place for ourselves.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Kelsie wasn’t sure how long she’d been hiding in the grass overlooking the extraction point when she heard the footsteps close by.