Falling Darkness Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - Books 1-3

by Kellee L. Greene

  29

  Ethan rushed through the crowd with Tommy and Wayne at his heels. Ethan slammed into Philip knocking him to the ground before he’d even gotten within ten feet of Kate.

  Laura stood, and even though her hands were tied, she worked to maneuver her family away. Ethan pressed his foot down on top of Philip holding him in place. His gun ready if he needed it.

  Tommy and Wayne both had their weapons out, ready to do what they needed to protect Kate. Kate slowly backed toward Ethan. She was surprised a battle hadn’t erupted and was even more surprised she was alive.

  Kate hadn’t considered other outcomes to killing Simon. She didn’t know what to do… what to say… but what she knew was that she felt like running.

  “What now?” Ethan said so softly only Kate could hear him.

  She shook her head. “We leave? Can they stop us?”

  “She saved us!” someone in the crowd said, and several others echoed the sentiments.

  Kate’s eyes scanned the crowd. They weren’t looking at her with fear-filled eyes, they all looked… relieved. One of the guards Kate had thought was one of Simon’s most loyal was cutting Laura free.

  Laura wrapped her arms around her kids, and they pressed their faces against her torn shirt. Their small bodies trembling with an overwhelming sadness Kate could only imagine.

  Kate took a step back. All the eyes on her felt as though they were pushing down on her lungs. It was getting hard for her to breathe.

  The guard that had cut Laura free cautiously approached Kate. He held his hands up and bowed his head.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” the guard said. “I cannot thank you enough.”

  “It’s… I… ah,” Kate stammered unable to find the words.

  “What do we do with him?” Ethan asked pushing his foot down harder, trying to get Philip to stop wiggling.

  Kate shook her head. “Why are you asking me?”

  A woman from the crowd stepped forward, and Kate flinched as if she was afraid the woman was going to assassinate her on the spot. The woman stopped her approach shaking her head apologetically.

  “We are all very thankful,” the woman said.

  “You’re welcome,” Kate said biting her lip as she looked at Ethan.

  Two people came out of a building nearby, and Kate jerked her gun in their direction. She lowered it when she saw they weren’t a threat. One of them was carrying a large blanket which they carefully spread over Joel’s body.

  The guard near Kate cleared his throat. “What should we do with him?” He asked as he gestured toward Simon’s dead body. “The pit?”

  “He’s the most Unholy of us all,” the woman said.

  Kate was starting to not only feel overwhelmed but also claustrophobic. She blew out a deep breath and turned to the guard. “Why are you asking me what to do?”

  “Who else would we ask?” the guard looked confused.

  “No idea, but not me,” Kate said taking another step back right into Ethan.

  “We trust you, Kate,” the woman said.

  Kate shook her head. “Why?” Her voice squeaked in a higher pitch than usual. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as though she felt hundreds of ants moving over her skin. “I… I don’t know what to do.”

  “You’ve been out there,” the guards said.

  “Not only that but we hear you’re the best,” the woman pulled her shoulders back. “You know, at killing The Unholy.” She cleared her throat. “Those things.”

  “The fence will keep them out,” Kate said quickly.

  The woman shook her head. “And if they don’t? It could fail again.”

  “I need to—”

  Laura approached with her two kids pressed against her body as if they’d been glued there. “Kate, please, whatever you do, don’t leave us.”

  Kate felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She pressed her hand to her chest and turned away from the crowd. Before she knew it, her legs were moving. She was running into the darkness away from the crowd… away from the town… away from everyone. She didn’t stop until she slammed into the fence.

  Tears started to flow out of her eyes. Simon had been right, she was weak. Why would any of them think for even a second that she knew what to do?

  The whole time she’d lived in the town, everyone had seemed to ignore her. No one had really given her the time of day, and now here they were begging for her leadership.

  Leadership. That was a word that had never been used when describing Kate. She knew it and everyone her whole life had known it… Kate was a follower.

  Kate dropped down to her knees and pressed her forehead into the chain-linked fence. She should be out there, on the other side of the fence battling The Unholy far, far away from The Way.

  “Kate?” Ethan’s soft voice floated through the air and into her ears. He sat down on the ground next to her. “If you want to leave, we’ll leave, but—”

  “No,” she said holding up her hand, “why are there always buts?”

  “Hear me out?”

  Kate turned and leaned back against the fence. She sat there, shoulder to shoulder with Ethan not sure if she wanted to hear what he had to say.

  “Fine,” she said burying her face in her hands.

  “He’s gone. Everyone is happy he’s gone.”

  “I didn’t even think about it. I just reacted.”

  She could feel Ethan’s eyes on her. “It doesn’t matter. But think about what we have here. We’re safe inside this fence, with food, water, and shelter. Out there is an unknown. With Simon gone that changes everything.”

  “Does it?” Kate wasn’t being cynical, she seriously wasn’t sure if anything would be any different. Maybe fewer people would die for no reason, but maybe they wouldn’t.

  “Of course it does. In here, we have a real chance to change things, to make them better, not to mention we’d struggle less.”

  Kate shook her head. “I’m not the type of person who can take care of an entire town.”

  “Everyone out there seems to think you can.”

  “I’m just a woman who couldn’t take it anymore.”

  “And all of them were fed up, I was fed up, and none of us could do it. None of us had been able to do what you did.” Ethan put his thumb on Kate’s chin and forced her to look at him. “I believe you can do this, just as much as the others do, if not more.”

  Kate swallowed hard as her stomach twisted. Ethan pressed his forehead to Kate’s.

  “I will follow you to the end of the earth if that’s what you want, but if we stay, I will stand at your side helping you with anything.” Ethan smiled. “We can fix this.”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said, turning away from him.

  “How about this? What if we give it a try, and if at any time you want to leave, we go? We just tell everyone sorry, pack up, and leave.”

  Kate pressed her palms to her knees. “Why do you want to stay? You were all ready to leave this shit hole behind.”

  “I wanted to leave Simon and what I thought were his followers behind. Now that he’s gone, this place can be polished up into a sparkling gem. It can be what I thought it was going to be since the beginning.”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said shaking her head.

  She knew that the people in the town would be helpless without someone to fight The Unholy. If they broke through the fence, it would be the end of everything they had. The townspeople didn’t know how to fight The Unholy, and who knew if those that did would bother to stick around.

  Could Kate really just walk away when there were people counting on her? Maybe it was time for Kate to stop running away. Maybe it was time for her to see if she was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

  “Okay, we’ll stay,” Kate said holding up a finger. “On one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That once we get everything running smoothly and people trained to defend themselves against those creatur
es, that then, we can leave.”

  A grin spread across Ethan’s face. “If that’s what you want.”

  “I do.” Kate nodded as she turned and looked out through the fence into the darkness. “There could be something out there.”

  “And maybe there isn’t.”

  “One day, I want to find out.”

  Ethan stood and stretched out his hand. “So it’s settled then? We’re staying?”

  “We can stay for now.” Kate took his hand, and he helped her to her feet. “But I’m not staying in Simon’s office. In fact, I might have it burned to the ground.”

  “As you wish,” Ethan said bowing his head.

  “And that guard was right.”

  “Right about what?”

  Kate raised her eyebrow and pulled her shoulders back. “We need to burn Simon’s body.”

  As they walked back toward the town, Kate felt a small bubble of confidence growing in the pit of her stomach. Then again, maybe it had always been there.

  Together with Ethan, Kate was going to help the town pick up the pieces. When they got back to the town center, most everyone had dispersed. A few remained whispering to one another as they waited to see what would happen.

  Kate walked over to Simon’s dead body and shoved her hands into his pockets. She removed a keychain with several keys and stuck it into her pocket.

  “Burn it,” Kate said to the guards that were still standing in the area.

  “What about him?” one of them asked jerking his thumb at Philip.

  Kate shook her head. “For now, lock him up.”

  “Aw, Kate, come on,” Philip whined.

  “For hitting me,” Kate said raising an eyebrow.

  “Should have killed ya!” Philip spat as he was dragged away.

  Laura was on her knees with her arms wrapped around her children. She looked up at Kate her eyes redder than an apple.

  “What should we do?” Laura said, her voice scratchy.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss. It shouldn’t have happened,” Kate said biting her cheek to feel pain instead of the sadness that radiated out of the now fatherless family. “What do you want to do? You’re more than welcome to stay. I mean if you want.”

  “Okay,” Laura said looking up toward the hotel room. “Until I figure it out.”

  “Tommy,” Kate shouted over her shoulder, and he came running. “Would you escort Laura and her kids, she’ll show you where to go.”

  Laura sniffed hard. “Thank you, Kate.”

  Kate nodded, but she hadn’t done anything. In fact, she probably could have done more… she wished she would have done more.

  It didn’t take long for everything to be cleaned up and everyone to disperse. Kate stood there staring down the empty road.

  “You okay?” Ethan asked stepping up next to her.

  “Yeah, I think I am.”

  Ethan smiled. “I really think it’s going to be okay.”

  Kate nodded even though she knew there were things she’d have to deal with. Things she’d have to figure out. But she could do it, and she believed she could do it better than Simon had.

  She wasn’t going to run… at least not yet.

  UPRISING

  Book Two

  Chapter 1

  Kate had wanted to burn Simon’s office to the ground but eventually decided against it. She was afraid that knowing her luck, she’d burn the entire town down to the ground. Everything that had been inside his office, however, had been burnt to a crisp.

  Every piece of furniture had been replaced with unused items from around town. They’d found a nice sofa, several sturdy chairs that weren’t overly dirty, and a beautiful solid wood table that Kate used for a desk. She reluctantly used the building as her office because it was better than having the townspeople come to her new hotel room with their questions and requests.

  She forced herself to forget that Simon had ever been there. Besides, Simon had been the problem, not the building. It was just too bad that the things that probably had happened inside the building made her stomach churn.

  It had been about a month since Simon had been… eradicated, and things were actually running quite smoothly. The town was happier, and seemingly calmer, but Kate couldn’t help but wonder what else was out there. It was possible there wasn’t anything except for hordes and hordes of Unholy, but until she knew for sure, the thoughts wouldn’t leave her. For now, she simply ignored them because she was oddly, okay.

  Laura felt safe enough to emerge and help out in the kitchen. The improvements to the daily menu were the talk of the town. Folks acted as if they were dining at a five-star restaurant.

  Laura’s kids, Micky and Alice, stayed indoors while Laura worked. They weren’t allowed to leave because Laura didn’t believe the town was safe.

  Kate had given her some old books, pens, and paper to give to her kids, but even with that, they were probably bored out of their minds. One day, maybe Laura would feel safe enough to let them out, but she was still quite apprehensive about everyone in town. And Kate couldn’t blame her.

  Tommy and Wayne worked together to teach the townspeople how to eradicate The Unholy. They were working on training everyone, except for a few of the older folks who didn’t want to bother.

  Several teams still went out daily to take out as many of The Unholy as they could. Even Kate and Ethan ventured out from time to time to keep their skills sharp.

  They’d held town meetings in the church once a week, but only a handful of people showed up. Kate stayed in the office throughout the day fielding random questions and directing the handful of guards of their daily duties.

  Most days were easy. Some days were really easy.

  Ethan spent most of his time at Kate’s side and even though she wouldn’t admit it to him, she was used to having him there. She liked it. She relied on him to keep her balanced. He’d grown on her, and Kate didn’t think for a second that she could have done any of what they’d accomplished without him.

  Kate’s thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on her office door. She put her feet on the floor and tried to straighten her wrinkled t-shirt.

  “Come in,” Kate called.

  The hinges squeaked as the door was slowly pushed open.

  “Hi Miss Kate,” the man said taking off his hat. He fidgeted with the clasp at the back while he avoided meeting her eyes.

  Kate tried to remember his name, but she failed. “What can I help you with, sir?”

  The man with thick, wavy gray hair tried to settle his hands. His mustache wiggled as he twitched his nose side to side.

  “A few of the folks, well, and me,” he said, as if adding himself into the mix was a selling point, “have been talking about starting up a garden. We’ve been wondering if that might be all right with you.”

  Kate folded her hands into her lap and smiled. “Yeah, I think that’s an excellent idea. What exactly were you thinking?”

  “Oh, Miss Kate, that’s entirely up to you.” He grinned.

  “But what do you think? I don’t have a green thumb.” Kate flashed him a matching smile.

  His fingers started to twist against the clasp of his hat quicker. “I was thinking maybe over by the east gate on that empty plot of land. I think we could prepare that section and turn it into a beautiful garden.”

  “I’m sold. Will you be in charge of this project?” Kate asked.

  “Yes, Miss Kate. If that’s what you’d like. It’s something that would keep an old man like me busy. I used to farm before the, you know… problem,” the man said, shifting his hat from one hand to the other.

  Kate nodded. “Sounds like you’ll be perfect for the job then. Let me know if you need others to help you get started. I’m sure I can find a few that would love to help you out.”

  “Thank you, I will,” the man said, and his mustache started to twitch again.

  “Is there something else?” Kate asked.

  The man looked down at his feet. “Well, there
is still the matter of seeds. I know we don’t have any in town, but I do know where we can get some.”

  “Where?” Kate asked cocking her head to the side.

  “My old farm.”

  “And how far away is that?”

  The man shook his head as if he knew he was about to ask too much. “A solid thirty miles. If I could just borrow one of the—”

  “No,” Kate said shaking her head. “It’s not safe out there. When is the last time you’ve been out there with The Unholy?”

  “It’s been quite a while, Miss Kate, but I know where to find the seeds.”

  Kate let out a breath as she turned toward the window. Having fresh fruit and vegetables available would be incredibly helpful to the entire town.

  “Could you give directions to your place?”

  The man shook his head. “I could, but it would be far easier if I came along. Signs could be down. I wouldn’t want anyone getting lost out there.”

  The door opened, and Ethan kicked the mud off his boots before stepping inside. He was halfway across the room before he realized the man was standing there.

  “Oh shit, sorry,” Ethan said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “It’s fine,” Kate said tilting her head slightly to the side. “Actually, your timing couldn’t be better.”

  “Oh?” Ethan asked.

  Kate wished she could remember the man’s name. “So, it was suggested that perhaps we start a garden.”

  “Okay.” Ethan looked back and forth between Kate and the man. “Was this Percy’s idea?”

  Kate nodded. The nod was partially her way of thanking Ethan for mentioning the man’s name.

  “I used to have a farm ‘bout thirty miles north of here. Plenty of seeds out there,” Percy said twisting the clasp.

  “Who’s going out there to get the seeds?” Ethan asked narrowing his eyes.

  “That’s what I was just trying to figure out.” Kate drummed her fingers on her desk. “He wants to go get them.”