Into the Dark (Book 8): The Next World

by Casey, Ryan

  Bobby waved a hand, dismissing Gerry. “Whatever. It’s just an idea. But I won’t forget this little chat. I won’t forget you didn’t want to hear me out when it comes to it.”

  “It won’t come to it,” Gerry said.

  Bobby smiled. “You sure about that?”

  Gerry looked at Bobby, and he felt a wave of something, then. He could only describe it as disgust. Pure hatred for this man.

  “Graham might be bad,” Gerry said. “But he’s a damned sight better than you’d ever be, you dumb piece of shit.”

  He wasn’t where those words came from. He’d been hoping to keep them inside him.

  But he just couldn’t stop himself.

  He just couldn’t resist.

  He saw the way Bobby looked back at him, then. Disgust of his own across his face.

  Then he saw the way Bobby went to square up to him. “You’ll regret that,” he said. “I promise you, you’ll reg—”

  Gerry felt it before he heard it.

  His feet.

  His feet elevating off the ground.

  Then he saw it.

  Bobby disappearing into a ball of fire right before him.

  It was only then when he properly registered the sound.

  The deafening blast.

  And as he flew into the air, as the heat surrounded him, Gerry could only do something that took him by surprise. Something unexpected.

  He found himself smiling.

  Because change was coming.

  With the fire came the change.

  He thought about what he’d seen before Bobby had bothered him.

  Who he’d seen walking towards the wall.

  And how he’d let them walk.

  How he’d let them come this way.

  He remembered what he’d seen, and he prepared for the flames to surround him.

  Because he knew something different was coming.

  Something different was ahead.

  And he was allowing it to happen, once and for all, as the flames surrounded him, and as the searing heat closed in.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The second Mike heard the deafening blast up ahead, he knew it was time.

  He took a deep breath then started to climb over the fence towards the rear entrance. He knew that the guards inside the hospital would be suitably stunned by the explosion. He could see from here that it was significant already. The smoke rising. The sound of debris crashing back against the ground. The shouts, the cries, all of it signalling the plan was well in motion.

  He climbed over the fence. Dropped down, knife in hand. He knew Gina was close behind. He thought about Kelsie and Siobhan with Arya, out there in the woods. And part of him wanted to go to them. Part of him wanted to make sure they were okay.

  But the main part of him knew Romesh was in here. And even if they didn’t manage to take this place for themselves… they were going to rescue him. They were going to get him out of here.

  He looked around, scanned the grounds. It was weird, being back here. The flashbacks were what hit him most. The memories of what happened to Alison the last time he was here. The memories of the guilt that he’d never shake; the guilt that had been sparked when he’d taken flight and run away.

  But he was back here, now. So he had a chance.

  A chance to change things.

  A chance to make things right.

  It began with Graham.

  He was going to take that chance, no matter what.

  He rushed to the end of the alleyway. Looked left, then right.

  There were people. Guards. All of them racing towards the wall, which had clearly been destroyed. All of them caught up. Panicked.

  And Mike sensed he was fighting a losing battle, here. He sensed that maybe he’d misjudged. Maybe he’d got this wrong. Maybe they weren’t going to be able to win these people over after all.

  But even so… he had to have belief. He had to have faith.

  He had to hope that one way or another, things worked out here.

  When the people passed by, Mike stepped out. He rushed along the street, heading towards the cell. Because he knew that if Romesh was being held anywhere, it was going to be in that cell he knew so well.

  He kept moving towards it, Gina by his side. Because he knew time was of the essence. As much as he knew the distraction would help, it was only a matter of time before someone saw him. Someone who knew exactly who he was.

  And he couldn’t let that happen.

  Not before he got to Romesh.

  Not before he knew for definite that he was okay.

  He rushed. Kept on going. But then as he reached the turning in the alleyway, he stopped.

  Because he could hear footsteps.

  Footsteps getting closer.

  He looked around the edge of the alleyway.

  That’s when he saw them.

  More guards.

  More guards coming in his direction.

  He held back. Put a hand up to stop Gina progressing.

  But he knew they were running out of time.

  He knew they had to be fast.

  He pulled back. Held his breath as they hid in an alleyway, watching the guards pass by.

  And as he stood there… he swore he saw something.

  One of the guards.

  They looked right at him.

  He saw the way they looked at him. The confusion.

  And he waited for the moment.

  The moment where they called to their friends.

  Where they caught him, once and for all.

  But then something else happened.

  The guard.

  He half-smiled. Nodded.

  “Good luck.”

  And then he kept on running.

  Mike was stunned. He couldn’t move, not for a second. It was only when Gina nudged his arm that he came back to reality, back to the present.

  “Mike?” she said.

  “Yeah,” he said, dazed. “Yeah.”

  He tried to get over what had just happened. And he couldn’t deny the hope he felt. The optimism.

  Because someone had shown him backing.

  Someone had actually shown him some kind of promise.

  And that had to mean something.

  It just had to.

  He ran further along towards the hospital. The grounds were quiet, dead. And he knew he wasn’t going to have long. This place might be a deteriorating ghost town in comparison to what it used to be like, but eventually, someone would be onto him. Someone would find him.

  It was then that he stepped around the corner and saw the cell.

  He stopped. Tensed his fists.

  And then he walked towards the cell.

  “How’re we supposed to just get in there?” Gina asked.

  Mike lifted the key he’d grabbed all those months ago when he’d escaped there out of his pocket. “One step ahead of you.”

  “What? You actually held on to that?”

  “I guess you could say I had a feeling I’d be needing it again, deep down.”

  He had images as he made his way towards it. Images of what he might find there. Images of what he might see.

  Romesh.

  He needed to be okay.

  He needed him to be alive.

  He looked at Gina. Took a deep breath.

  Then, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  The first thing that hit him was the smell.

  He covered his nose. Went to heave, right away.

  But then he forced himself to keep going. To keep moving. To keep pushing on.

  He stepped inside the cell.

  And the next thing that hit him was that there wasn’t just one person in here.

  There were lots of them. Eight. Nine. Ten. No, twenty, at least. More and more people the more he looked.

  He saw that Romesh wasn’t amongst them.

  He felt a wave of sympathy as these malnourished prisoners looked back up at him. He wanted to help them all. To get them out of
here.

  “We’re getting you out of this mess,” Mike said. “But… but my friend. Romesh. Do you know where he is? Do any of you know where he is?”

  He waited, but they were gagged. So he was going to be waiting a long time for an answer.

  He went to remove the gag from the first of the people when he heard a voice behind him.

  When he saw the fear in the eyes of the people in front of him.

  “You don’t have to worry about Romesh,” the voice said.

  When Mike looked around, he saw who was standing right at the top of the steps.

  He knew who it was, right away.

  Graham.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Mike saw Graham at the top of the steps, and he felt his stomach sink.

  He was alone. But he had the advantage of elevation as he peered down at him and Gina.

  Especially because of the hammer he was holding in his hand.

  “Well,” he said, walking down the steps. “I have to say, I always expected we’d meet again someday. But not in these circumstances. Not like this.”

  Mike took a few breaths. It was the first time he’d seen this man since he’d taken Alison’s life right in front of him. He felt that hate building inside. That same lust for vengeance that he used to feel about Calvin.

  Only he knew he couldn’t let emotion cloud what he had to do here.

  He was here to take Graham out of the equation for the good of this place. Not for his own benefit.

  And he had to take this opportunity while he could.

  “Your time’s up,” Mike said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his knife.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Graham said. “Especially not when you find out who we ran into out in the woods.”

  Dread grew inside Mike.

  Arya.

  Siobhan.

  Kelsie.

  “You think we’d just allow them to lurk around the hospital grounds like that?” Graham asked. “You really thought you could just cause an explosion like that and expect us to all fall into disarray?”

  “Don’t you dare lay a finger on them,” Mike said.

  Graham smiled, just about visible in the darkness. “You see, I would’ve thought you’d learned a lesson from last time. Learned some manners. We were lenient, allowing you to get away, allowing your people to get away. But I would’ve thought that the memory of what happened to your dear Alison might just deter you from coming back here. From trying anything stupid. But hey. I suppose you always were a slow learner, right?”

  He looked up at the door.

  Mike looked up, too.

  And he sensed what was happening here.

  What was coming.

  He was going to run back up there.

  He was going to lock them down here.

  There was only one thing Mike could do.

  He lunged towards Graham. Knife in hand. Because he had to take the risk. Even if he did have Kelsie, Siobhan, Arya. Even if his threats were genuine.

  But Graham was too quick.

  He staggered back.

  Rushed towards the stairs.

  Left Mike and Gina chasing.

  He reached the top of them. Grabbed the sides of the door. Looked at Mike and Gina with an expression of utter hate on his face.

  “You made a mistake coming back here,” he said. “A big mistake. And you’ll see how much of a mistake it was, in time. You’ll see exactly why you shouldn’t have showed your face here again, not after last time.”

  “Graham!”

  But it was too late.

  Graham slammed the door shut.

  Mike slammed against it. Tried to turn the handle. Tried to break free.

  But it was no use.

  “We’re trapped,” he said, turning around to look at Gina, defeat on her face barely visible in the darkness. “We’re stuck in here.”

  He climbed back down the steps. Sat down in the middle of this stench-filled room full of people, full of prisoners.

  And he knew he’d made a bad call here. He knew he should’ve just stayed away.

  Because they’d come back here, and all of a sudden, Kelsie was in danger. Siobhan was in danger. Arya was in danger.

  And Romesh was nowhere to be seen.

  “We made a mistake coming back here.”

  He regretted the words right away. Especially when he heard Gina sigh.

  “We did the only thing we could—”

  “We did the reckless thing. Now we’re stuck down here. We’re alone. We’re…”

  He felt something, then. A spark inside him. A spark of an idea coming to life.

  He stood up.

  Looked around at all of these people.

  Because that’s where he was wrong.

  “We’re not alone,” he said.

  “Are alone. Aren’t alone. Make your mind up.”

  He ignored Gina. “Help me get these people free.”

  He walked over to them. Heard their breathing intensify as he tried to cut them loose. Put a hand on their shoulders. Smiled at them. “You’re going to be okay. We’re going to get you out of this.”

  And when they’d cut everyone free—all twenty-one of them—he saw them stand. He saw them look around in their large numbers.

  And he realised Graham had made a big mistake rashly locking him and Gina down here, knives still in their possession.

  “We’re going to get out of here,” Mike said. “We’re going to take them by surprise whenever they come back here. And we’re going to take Graham out, once and for all.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Graham knew he’d made a mistake the moment he slammed the door to the cells shut.

  Mike’s weapon. Gina’s weapon. They could plan something between them. Plot some kind of surprise assault.

  And even worse… they could free the prisoners.

  Rally them.

  Get the prisoners onside to help them.

  He needed something better.

  He needed to think.

  He needed to find a way to really, truly finish them, once and for all.

  He looked at the wall, which had been destroyed. Looked at the bodies in the rubble. And he felt sick. Sick that someone would attack their home like this. Sick that someone would bring it to its knees all for their own desperate, self-centred motives.

  He looked around at the men, the women, the children, all of them huddled together with their gaunt faces, all of them looking on with something like apathy in their eyes.

  “Don’t you see now?” Graham said, holding up his hands. “Don’t you see what they’ve done to us? After everything I warned you about. After everything I told you would happen. Don’t you see it?”

  He looked at these people—his people.

  And for a moment, in the eyes of a few of these people, he thought he saw something else.

  Anger.

  “You did this,” a voice said.

  Graham narrowed his eyes. Scanned the people. Probably one of the cocky men. Someone who’s always had it in for him.

  “Who said that? Step out. Step out right this second.”

  “I said it.”

  When Graham saw who stepped out, he felt his whole world crumbling.

  It was Peter. One of his guards. One of his most loyal.

  He was looking at Graham with total disdain in his eyes.

  And the longer he stood there, the longer he stared like that… the more Graham sensed that mood was being shared by the others, too.

  “What did you just say?”

  “I said you did this. You were the one who caused this. You were the one who made us fearful of outsiders. You were the one who spun a lie to get us to rally behind you. And you are the one who has continued to run this place with an iron grip. This isn’t anyone else’s doing. It’s your doing. And you’d better own it.”

  Graham heard chatter amongst the people, now. Whispers. Then voices getting louder.

  And at that moment he c
ould see it. He could feel it.

  Power.

  His grip on power slipping.

  His control of this place crumbling.

  Because the fear was disintegrating.

  He smirked. Laughed a little. “And you think these savages could do any better do you? Really?”

  “I think anyone would do a better job than you,” another voice said.

  Graham looked around for this person, but he was losing sight of who was saying what. Mostly because there were more people standing up to him. More standing against him.

  This mob was trying to overthrow him.

  And he couldn’t allow that.

  He had to take a stand.

  A hard stand.

  “I appreciate your thoughts,” Graham said, looking around at his guards. “They’ve been duly taken on board. Now I’ve got a message for you.”

  He nodded at the guard to his left.

  “Kill one of them.”

  He waited. Waited for his guard to step forward. Waited for him to do his duty.

  But he didn’t move.

  He just stood there, stared at Graham.

  And then he did something else.

  Something even more defiant.

  He dropped his knife.

  Graham looked at him, jaw clenching.

  Then he looked at the next guard.

  And the next.

  And the next.

  But they were all following in suit.

  They were all repeating what he was doing.

  One knife falling, then another, then another.

  And before Graham knew it, he was surrounded.

  Surrounded by people who were standing up to him.

  Who were standing against him.

  Who were defying his leadership.

  He took a deep breath and looked up at the clouds. Because he knew a day like this would come, eventually. He knew there was a chance there’d be a coup against him. It was just the way of the world in the old days, and the present was way more like the old days than it was the world that had collapsed.

  He just never imagined it would be this big.

  This widespread.

  He looked back down at his people again, smile on his face.

  And at the flames of the wall burning behind him.

  Because he knew that if he was going to be ousted… there was one person in particular he didn’t want anywhere near the leadership of this place.