by SD Tanner
“You’re grumpy today.”
Ip speaks: You call it thought. I only hear swill. Of your thoughts, I have had my fill.
He harrumphed and put his arm around her slender shoulders. “You and Gears are well matched. You’re almost as crabby as he is.”
Leading Ip, he walked through the door and into the room with the holding cells. It was a grey looking room with several desks facing the two prison cells. The cells had heavy metal bars with a small, but sturdy cot that was really a board with chains attached to the wall above it. Opposite the bed was a bucket he assumed acted as a toilet and nothing else. In a corner of the room with the desks, were the remains of computer equipment that must have once been used in the office. The whole place had a damp, moldy and slightly salty smell to it. It was a dim, dank and miserable little room, and Gray was sitting slumped on his cot looking completely disheveled. His wire-rimmed glasses were crooked, his shirt was covered in stains, his trousers were torn, and he was wearing only one shoe.
“Hey, dumbass, we’ve kinda swapped positions.”
At the sound of his voice, Gray looked up at him wearily. “I suppose you’re here to execute me.”
Standing outside the cell, still drinking his coffee, he asked conversationally, “So, they takin’ care of you here?”
Gray became agitated. “No, I’m in terrible pain and they won’t give me anything for it.”
The medics at the CDC examined Gray before he was sent to the island. They’d run some basic tests and informed him that Gray appeared to be addicted to prescription drugs, and he would probably experience withdrawal symptoms. Aside from some physical discomfort and psychological vulnerability, it wouldn’t be life-threatening for him to stop taking the medications he’d been misusing. Gray’s discomforts suited him just fine, and as far as he was concerned, the withdrawal symptoms meant he would torture himself and that would save him the job.
Ip speaks: This one’s head is full of fluff. He does not think well enough.
He chuckled and said, “Ip reckons you’re brainless.”
Still looking dejected and sounding flat, Gray asked, “How would she know?”
“She can read your mind and she says you’ve got nothin’ but fluff in there.”
Gray ran a thin, pale and trembling hand through his white grey hair. “Well, she might be right about that.”
Based on what he’d seen of Gray while being held prisoner, his answer surprised him. Turning, he grabbed the key from a nearby desk and dragging a chair with him, opened the door to Gray’s cell. He plonked the office chair down so it was facing Gray, and sitting his large bulky body on it, he stared at him with renewed interest. Gray didn’t move, but stared back at him, showing no fear or even tension. He was surprised and even a little intrigued by Gray’s reaction.
“You seem pretty calm for a prisoner.”
Gray looked at him blankly and said nothing. Ip wandered into the cell and sat on the end of the cot watching Gray curiously.
Ip speaks: An angry man he is not. He did not like the Devil’s lot.
Understanding her observation, he asked, “So, you didn’t really like livin’ with Ruler?”
To his surprise, Gray’s shoulders heaved and he began to cry. He didn’t sob quietly, but loud howls of anguish erupted from somewhere deep inside him. Covering his mouth with his hands, Gray’s eyes darted wildly in surprise while he tried to smother the noise that was emanating from him. Now quieter, Gray’s body continued to convulse as if the pain he held within was trying to explode from his core. He watched and waited while Gray fought to regain control of himself.
Between howls and gasping for air, Gray said despairingly, “I don’t know what happened…I was scared…I wanted to be safe…but not like that…’
Burying his face in his hands, Gray continued to sob. “I was supposed to be the POTUS. Hull and I were going to use Ruler to get control and then kill him, but it got crazy. I couldn’t deal with it. I took drugs. Lots of drugs.”
Taking his hands from his face, Gray looked at him earnestly. “He’s insane! He drives people insane. It’s what he wants. He wants you insane with fear. It’s all he wants. He feeds on you.”
As if a dam had burst, Gray continued in a voice filled with shock and desperation. “His evil demons feed on the living, but Ruler feeds on the pain they cause. I’ve seen things. Things no man is meant to see. He can do things that are beyond nature.”
Grabbing hold of his arm, Gray looked at him intently. “I’ve seen dead men talk. I mean dead men. Men who have been gutted from here to here.” Taking his hand back, Gray pointed to his abdomen and then his chest. “Dead men…but still talking…screaming for mercy.”
With wild eyes and in an awestruck tone of voice, Gray asked, “How is that possible?”
Ip speaks: To keep the soul in the body that is dead is a cheap trick and should not be over read.
He glanced over at her and thought, that’s a hell of a trick. She shrugged and looked bored.
Unaware they were able to communicate telepathically, Gray looked at him expectantly and he replied candidly, “You shouldn’t throw your lot in with the Devil.”
Gray’s shoulders slumped. “No, but I didn’t know that’s what he was, and by the time I knew I was in too deep.” Looking sad and defeated, he added, “My future is over now. I’m destined for an eternity in hell. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything I know to help you, and then you can shoot me. It doesn’t matter when I die. I know where I’m going once I’m dead. Ruler owns my soul.”
Ip speaks: The other side is of fairer mind. He can always be of another kind. If your heart is true, they will accept you.
Redemption, he thought, but it has to be real. “Do you mean that, Gray? Are you willin’ to help your fellow man, or have you jus’ given up hope?”
Having calmed down a little, Gray looked at him and said sincerely, “It’s one thing to be a bad man, and quite another to be a stupid one. I was a stupid man. I allowed fear and greed to rule my decisions, but I didn’t know the path I’d chosen until I was on it, and once I was on it, I didn’t know how to get off it. I took drugs to hide from the consequences of my own decisions, so I’m also a weak man.” Placing his hands in front of him, palms facing upward, he added, “I am sorry for being a weak and stupid man, and if the last thing I do is help you rid the world of Ruler, then it will be the one thing I’ve ever done right.”
Ip speaks: His heart is clean. He says as he means.
“You’ll be alright, Gray. Ip says you ain’t lyin’ and God likes to forgive.” Batting Gray on the shoulder, he added, “I ain’t gonna shoot you, Gray. I kill our enemies, but that don’t make me willing to commit murder, and killing the innocent is murder.”
Gray looked back at him in confusion. “But I’m not innocent, Pax. I stood by and watched Ruler destroy men, women and children, and I did nothing.”
“That’s between you and God. We judged man as being deserving of life, but exactly who lives and who don’t, ain’t up to us.”
Ip speaks: Finally a Horseman sees! Our job is to rule and you know what that means!
Dismissively waving his hand at her, he thought, I ain’t stupid, Ip. Even I know there’s more going on here than we’ve gotten our heads around. Turning his attention back to Gray, he said, “We need to stop Ruler, so anything you know that can help us is useful.”
“I don’t know what will help you, so I’ll tell you what I know. Ruler isn’t human and neither are the ones you call super hunters. They’re demons that possess the living and infect them with a strain of the hunter virus. Somehow the person stays alive, but is possessed with a strain of the hunter virus, and they have the ability to control the hunters.”
He nodded and with a disgusted expression, he said, “We’ve kinda worked that out, and I saw the one at the prison, so I know the livin’ are still in the body with ‘em.”
“The demons can possess anyone, with or without the hunter virus
. But it’s not as easy for them to possess the living if they’re not infected with the virus. You can’t be possessed by a demon without giving them permission, and not many people are willing to do that. Well, they weren’t, but under Ruler’s control people can get pretty desperate.”
Gray sat back and was clearly thinking back over his time with Ruler. “Ruler is insane, but everything he does has a purpose. It took me a long time to work out his purpose. I thought it was to control man on earth, but now I’m not so sure. If he keeps destroying the earth and man, he’s going to run out of people. They’ll either starve or die at his hand.”
“So, what’s he doin’? What’s his endgame?”
“I’ve wondered that. I think he’s a shark. He moves in, collects souls and moves onto his next target.”
Ip speaks: Not souls for the sake of the soul. Energy is what makes him whole.
Looking over at Ip, he asked, “Whatdaya mean?”
Still looking bored, she replied, “All life needs fuel. The Devil must be fed or he cannot rule.”
Looking surprised, Gray turned to Ip. “Why does Ruler hate you?”
Ip gave him a small smile. “I am Death. It is my role to kill. The Devil will die. His energy is mine to spill.”
In a flash of insight, he saw images pass through his mind. Not of people, but of feelings and he realized she had killed Ruler many times before, but never alone. He’d been there with his brothers and each time they’d cornered and killed Ruler time and again. That was their mission. To enforce their right to rule and Ruler always disagreed with their decision. How many times have I done this, he wondered?
Ip speaks: We are busy making wrongs right. Sometimes we must enforce our rule with might.
“Can we lose?”
Ip speaks: Whenever there are sides of equal skill, there is never a guarantee of the kill.
Gray didn’t realize his question was meant for Ip and he said, “Oh yes, you can lose. According to Ruler, you’ve already lost, so yes, you can lose. Ruler may be right. You may have already lost. If Ruler can get a soul to submit to him completely, he can create a demon and he already has a lot of them. If people get desperate enough, they can join him and if they do, then there’ll be nothing left on earth but demons. If that happens, then you’ve lost. Mankind is gone.”
He looked at Ip to confirm Gray’s assessment, and she looked back at him with a steady stare. She’d told them repeatedly they were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. According to her, the seven seals were broken and they’d been called to rule on the future of mankind. He thought with some frustration, if that’s true, then being a Horseman ain’t very useful. It seems to come with a lot of responsibility and no special powers.
“What else do you know, Gray?”
“You’re running out of time. Ruler’s feeling very confident. He wasn’t worried about losing the Ranch or the camp. He was planning to set up somewhere else anyway. He converted Hull’s human army into demon super hunters, so he’s got several thousand super hunters and they’re all able to handle weapons. He figures he can go anywhere now and he will. Once he takes this continent, he’ll move to the next. How much resistance can there be now he has better skilled super hunters?”
Gray leaned forward and said seriously, “Whatever it is you think you can do, you’d better get on and do it fast, because if you fail to stop him here, you won’t be able to stop him at all.” Rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache and sounding slightly puzzled, he added, “There’s just one other thing I never quite understood. Ruler said there was a new star that he thinks is a child, but I don’t know why he thinks that. Whatever it is, he’s frightened of it. It’s his number one priority to kill that child, but I don’t really know why.”
He turned to Ip and gave her a quizzical look and she said, “It is the light he fears the most. Between us and it, his will can be lost.”
Nodding, Gray said, “Then that child is very important to him.”
CHAPTER FOUR: Make or break (Gears)
As he walked into the building that housed the briefing room at the Marine supply base, a man and woman walked past him wearing sunglasses. Both were tall, slender, young and attractive, but that didn’t explain why they’d caught his attention. Shrugging off the distraction, he walked to a small corner near the entranceway they used to make coffee. The kettle was still hot and he roughly spooned a generous heap of coffee grains into a clean mug, spilling some on the table while he also reached for the kettle. Clumsily he poured the hot water into the mug, spilling it over the side, and cursed loudly when the splashes of steaming water scalded his hand.
Behind him, a woman’s voice said calmly, “Let me do that for you.”
Turning, he saw Kat standing behind him and he smiled down at her. “Thanks.”
While Kat deftly made him a cup of coffee just the way he liked it with extra milk and a lot of sugar, she said, “Pax is right about you. You’re built like a gorilla, but everything around you is designed for humans.”
Grateful for her help, he grunted. “I’m not sure if you’re bein’ rude or complimentary.”
“Neither, Gears,” Kat replied with a smile. “It’s just a fact.”
Kat had been their administrator since they set up their first base in Brookhaven, Mississippi. She always inducted new people into the base, gathering their details, dealing with their issues and assigning them to living quarters and work. When it came to the needs of the survivors, he trusted her advice. Together they walked into the briefing room, where TL, Mackenzie, Benny, Captain Ted, Cutter, Logan, Nelson, Isaac, Philip and Axel were waiting.
Mom was on the ship taking care of Lydia’s baby, who still didn’t have a name. Pop had taken a team to rebuild the Ranch in Texas. Farrington was infecting more people at the CDC. Wolfie hadn’t been able to make it to their base and was still in Lake Lanier. Apparently Wolfie told Gerry he was busy with a woman and couldn’t spare the time. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but figured they would drop by Wolfie’s base on their way to New York. Today they were planning their mission to New York and the movement of people to the UK. Pax and Ip were at the island overnight interrogating Gray and he knew they should be landing back any time now. He’d missed her last night, and although she connected with him telepathically, he decided it didn’t replace the satisfying feel of her warm and welcoming body in his arms. He sat down at the head of the table, spilling his coffee as he put it down on the table next to him.
“That’s going to leave a ring,” Captain Ted commented.
“Seriously, Ted? Are you channelin’ Martha Stewart now?”
“I’m just saying. This is my fuckin’ base and you mess it up just by walking through it.”
Sighing, he decided it wasn’t worth the argument, but before he could start the meeting, he heard the main door to the building slam shut and recognized the heavy footsteps of his brother. Pax appeared in the doorway with his sandy grey hair sticking out at all angles, and making eye contact with him, he grunted. “Gotta take a piss.”
As he disappeared from view, Ip stuck her head in the doorway and when she saw him, she squeaked and bounced happily into the room. He spun his swivel chair around, but before he could get up to greet her, she sat down in his lap, winding her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Ip speaks: The story is told, but he was boring and old.
More than a little distracted by her kiss, in his mind he asked, did Pax behave himself?
Ip speaks: Our brother dear is happy enough. But his thoughts do make me blush.
Breaking from her kiss, he chuckled. “Yeah, well you should stay outta that sewer, honey.”
With Ip still sitting in his lap, he spun his chair to face the team. “Okay, we gotta get organized.”
With a raised eyebrow, Philip said with an exaggerated politeness, “We’re waiting on you, Gears. When you’re ready. No rush. Take your time.”
He frowned at Philip and said sarcastically, “If you’ve gotta
point, Philip, jus’ go ahead and make it.”
“I thought I just did.”
“You Brits are too polite about bein’ rude. You need to work on that.”
“Oh yeah,” Kat said sarcastically. “That’s what we need, Gears. More rude people because we don’t have enough of them.” Rolling her eyes, she added, “I miss Lydia.”
TL gave her a sharp look and said bluntly, “She’s dead. Leave it alone.”
Kat looked back at TL in surprise, but said nothing. TL had been in a foul mood ever since Lydia died. It appeared the hunters ate the remains of the bodies at the Ranch, and he supposed with no body to bury, TL was having trouble dealing with Lydia’s death. Left with her son that may be his or possibly Captain Ted’s, TL hadn’t had any time to mourn for her. It’d only been a few weeks since she’d died and he thought perhaps he was still in shock. He’d tried to talk to him about Lydia’s death, but he kept saying that lots of people died these days and Lydia was simply someone who’d died. It might be a believable answer in that Lydia and TL hadn’t been a couple for long, but given his anger at the world, he suspected there was more going on than his brother was willing to talk about.
That was always the problem with TL. He never talked about anything that was bothering him. Ever since they’d been thrown together as foster brothers at the age of ten, TL was always the least noisy out of the three of them. In many ways, he wasn’t sure he really knew his brother as well as he should. Now, he was worried about him and even Ip couldn’t tell him what was going on. Although she now had a telepathic link to himself and Pax, she couldn’t connect with TL and thought that was wrong. She believed TL was intentionally closed to her, but she couldn’t explain why.
Now was not the time to address that issue, and he watched Pax walk into the room. “Did you wash your hands?”
“Shaddup, Gears. You ain’t Mom and I ain’t holdin’ your hand, so why would ya care?”
He chuckled. “So, what did Gray tell you?”
