Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope (Post Apocalyptic Thriller) (13 page)

A shotgun blast cut through the air. Addison looked back at
the barren forest. She heard ATV engines revving up. She knew if they headed
her way, there was no way to outrun the vehicles. They were made for the
terrain, and their drivers were likely familiar with the area. This also meant
that any structures available for hiding would also be known to them.

She began to run, but in her haste tripped over a large
branch. The fall knocked the wind from her lungs. Blood trickled from her nose
across her cheek. She picked herself up off the ground and looked around. She
couldn’t run fast and stay safe at the same time. The obstacles on the ground
made it impossible. She couldn’t hide behind a rock or on the ground. They’d
know where to look. She had to go up.

It had been years since she climbed a tree, but she figured
it was like riding a bike. She scouted the area until she one with low branches
she could reach.

A few minutes later, Addison began her ascent. Ten feet off
the ground, she spotted an ATV. She shifted to her left and hugged the tree.
The ATV’s engine went silent. She remained motionless, attached to the tree as
if part of the bark.

“What’re you doing up there?”

She recognized Ralph’s voice.

“You can climb down on your own, or I can shoot you. Don’t
make a difference to me. From this point on you’re just gonna be a drain to
us.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She risked her one chance and had
blown it. She began to descend the tree, stepping carefully on each branch. As
her torso brushed against the bark, she felt the mug inside her jacket. She
reached the final branch, steadied herself against the tree, and then jumped
down.

Ralph gestured with his head for her to come closer. He held
up a handheld GPS. “Don’t think about doing anything. They know exactly where
I’m at. Now, I want you to get on the back of this ATV. You jump, I’ll shoot
you. Try to strangle me, I’ll shoot you. Do anything but sit there like a good
girl, and I’ll shoot you. Got it?”

Addison nodded, eager to sit down. He motioned for her to do
so. After she was settled, he stepped over the seat and came to rest on top of
it. She leaned back, reached inside her jacket and pulled out the mug. It felt
solid in her hand. She let her right hand drop to her side. Her body shifted in
the same direction, then jerked left. She brought her right arm up, high in the
air. The momentum continued downward, slamming the mug into the back of Ralph’s
head. The mug shattered and Ralph’s scalp split open. Blood flew everywhere.
Ralph slumped forward as a river of crimson poured down his back. She didn’t
know if he was unconscious or dead.

And she didn’t care.

She climbed off the ATV, and then pulled Ralph off of it. He
began to cough as she dragged him across the forest floor. Blood trickled from
his mouth and nose. He must have smashed his face when he fell forward. She
left him propped up against a tree so that he wouldn’t gag on his own fluids.

Addison raced back to the ATV and searched for the GPS unit
Ralph had shown her. She found it tucked into a bag strapped around the
handlebar. The GPS reminded her of one she’d used at her grandparents. Her
grandfather told her he could track her with it. It always made her feel safe.
Not so much today, though. She powered off the unit and threw it on the ground
near Ralph’s feet.

Addison turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to
life. The gas gauge indicated the tank was full. Not enough gas to get her to
Charlotte, but maybe to the border. She had a general idea of where she was.
All she had to do was head south. Eventually she’d find a road. With the ATV,
she could get off quickly if the situation warranted. Fuel was a concern, but
she would cross that bridge when the time came.

She cast one last glance at the bloodied man resting against
the tree. His eyes were open. He extended his middle finger in her direction.

She returned the gesture, and then she took off into the
woods.

Turk gasped for air. His arms, chest and core burned. Sweat
rolled down his brow and stung his eyes. His hands were numb from holding their
grip for so long. He pulled his body up, aiming to clear his chin over the top
of the bar he hung from.

“One…more,” he said, his teeth clenched.

He completed the rep and dropped to the floor, landing in a
crouching position. Sweat flew off his body, splattering the thick rubber mat
that lined the workout room. The mat gave off a strong odor even though it had
only been installed four years ago.

He shifted his gaze from the mirror in front of him to the
monitor with the security feed. Four separate images were shown on the screen,
each showing a section of the perimeter of the compound. It looked quiet, empty
outside.

It’s time,
he thought.

Turk returned his gaze to the mirror. Marcus stood in the
doorway behind him. Turk nodded, and then rose and turned to face his brother.
There had been no further major incidents with Marcus, but it was obvious to
Turk that no one, including himself, felt comfortable around the guy. Marcus
was, as he had always been, bad news. Turk could tell that the guy would grow
to be a major nuisance in the compound if they were in there for an extended
period of time.

Marcus used different types of intimidation with the others.
Sometimes it was a look or a stare, other times it was more apparent, like a
shoulder bump or a deliberate elbow. He saved the hardest of those for Turk
while in the gym or on the rec floor. The others inside the compound would have
thrown the man out if it weren’t for Turk’s relationship with him.

“Wanted to see me, bro?” Marcus asked.

“It’s time,” Turk replied.

Marcus furrowed his brow and held out his hands. “Time for
what?”

Turk walked past his brother, bumping his shoulder into the
man. “Time to lock up.”

“What about—”

Turk turned around and raised his hand to silence his
younger brother. He knew the reason Marcus was concerned was because the man’s
ex-wife and son were supposed to arrive a few days prior. They hadn’t shown up.
“It’s time to lock up. Everyone that’s here is here. We can’t worry about those
that aren’t. Chances are that anyone creeping around out there doesn’t have our
best interests at heart.”

“C’mon, Turk. Just give them another day.”

Turk turned away from his brother and began walking. A few
seconds later he heard his brother’s footsteps fall in line behind him. The
sound echoed off the surrounding concrete. They weaved their way through the
structure until they reached the front entrance. This was the only point of
ingress and egress that Turk made known to those inside. He couldn’t trust
anyone else with the knowledge of the secret tunnel that led two hundred yards
to the north, with an exit camouflaged near the woods.

They stopped in front of the steel security door. Turk
closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He reached out to the side with his
right arm and grabbed Marcus’s shoulder. Turk squeezed, and said, “You ready?”

“For what? We just locking it up, right?”

“Why would I need you here if that was all?”

“I don’t know. Figured you might have some code or something
I needed to memorize.”

Turk grinned. “Nothing that complex, man.” He reached out
and flipped the cover off the security pad. Then, while entering the code, he
used his body to block Marcus’s view.

“Seriously?” Marcus said, an edge to his tone.

“Yeah,” Turk said. “Seriously. I’m the only one who knows
it.”

“What if you die?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan for that.”

“Yeah, well, we might all be finding that out sooner rather
than later.”

Turk finished entering the code, returned the cover to the keypad
and pushed the door open. He stopped and looked back at Marcus. “You
threatening me?”

Marcus shrunk back an inch. It wasn’t much. Just enough to
let Turk know that he still had control.

“Follow me,” Turk said.

He led Marcus through a carved out tunnel. Red emergency
lights cast small pools of light over the space. A gap of five to six feet
persisted between each where blackness took over. Five minutes later, they
reached the outer security door. Turk felt along the wall for the hidden panel
and pulled it open.

“Ain’t that already locked?” Marcus asked.

Turk nodded.

“Then why do we have to lock it up?”

“I’m going to disable it.”

Marcus exhaled loudly and crossed his arms over his chest.
“And why’d you bring me down here? Do I need to know this code?”

Turk activated a monitor affixed to the wall next to the
door. He used a controller next to the security pad to rotate through the
outside cameras. Once he determined the area to be clear, he disengaged the
door lock and pushed it open. Humid air scraped past them. Turk felt sweat bead
up on his forehead. He looked at Marcus and extended his arm.

“What?” Marcus said.

“You’re the badass. Go on out there and secure the
perimeter.”

Marcus squeezed past Turk. He stopped before making it all
the way past. He turned halfway. “Give me a gun.”

Turk eyed his brother for a moment. Should he arm a
sociopath? He reached behind his back and retrieved a pistol. He extended it
toward Marcus, barrel in his hand. Marcus grabbed hold of the weapon and pulled
it toward him. Turk didn’t let go.

“It returns to me the moment you walk through this door. Got
it?”

Marcus nodded. Turk released his grip on the handgun. The
two brothers faced off for a few more seconds. Finally, Marcus broke off the
stare and looked down at the gun. He started to inspect, but Turk cut him off.

“It’s loaded.”

Marcus looked up, nodded, turned and moved toward the
ladder. Turk watched as Marcus ascended the ladder to the hatch.

“Hold off on opening it,” Turk said.

“All right,” Marcus said.

Turk ducked back inside the tunnel and cycled through the
cameras once more. The area looked clear.

“Okay, you’re good to go.”

He heard the hatch lift and the sound of his brother
climbing out of the tunnel. Turk pulled the door shut but did not engage the
lock. He watched Marcus move toward the wood’s edge. His brother ran crouched
and low to the ground, dropping to his stomach once. Marcus remained prone for
a minute, then rose and continued to the woods.

“It’s time,” Elena said from behind him.

Turk said nothing. He stared at the monitor. His wife’s hand
fell upon his shoulder and squeezed gently.

“He’s a cancer,” she said. “You know it. I know it. Everyone
inside knows it.”

“He’s my little brother.”

“And he’s going to end up killing someone. What if it’s me?
Worse still, what if it’s Layla? What will you do if he hurts one of us? If he
hurts anyone inside, for that matter?”

Turk lowered his head to the side until his cheek brushed
Elana’s hand. She traced her fingers along his shaved head.

“All right,” Turk said. “Watch the monitor and let me know
if he starts heading back.” He pulled the door open and climbed the ladder. At
the top, he secured the hatch lock. This was one of two manual locks in the
compound. On his way back down the ladder, Turk fought off tears. He imagined
his mother looking down on him as he effectively shut off his little brother.

Turk sulked through the tunnel doorway. His wife pulled it
closed behind him. She reached out to hug him, but he pulled away.

“Lock it up, Baby,” she said.

Turk engaged the lock and cut off the monitor. He looked
over his shoulder at his wife, who nodded in return. He took a step back.
Taking a deep breath, he reattached the panel to the wall. Elana grabbed his
hand and pulled him away from the door.

“When I was seventeen,” he said, “I took Marcus to the lake.
Mom forced me to do it. Football practice was starting up the following week. I
was going into my senior year. I wouldn’t be around much after that. I already
knew I that I was going to enlist in the Navy and planned to leave for boot
camp the day after I graduated. She knew this was the last chance for me and my
little brother to bond. I brought along some girl, don’t even remember her name
now. We only dated a week or two. Anyway, I spent the entire time talking to
her, ignoring Marcus. He went out into the lake, probably further than he
should have. I look over and saw him out there swimming, then turned back and
kissed the girl. Next thing I know, I hear Marcus screaming bloody murder. By
the time I stood up and swung my head around, he was gone.”

“You’ve never told me this before,” Elena said. “Why not?”

Turk shrugged. “Anyway, I sprinted to the edge of the lake,
ran into the water, and as soon as I was knee deep, I dove in. Even back then,
I was a strong swimmer. The water was pretty clear, but I couldn’t see him, so
I kept on swimming. Finally, about twenty yards out, I see him floating,
struggling about eight feet under the surface.”

“What happened?”

“He’d felt something brush his leg and thought it was a
gator or a copperhead or something. He panicked, began twisting around and
flapping to get back to shore. He’d come across an old net, anchored to the
lake bed. All that kicking and thrashing got him twisted up. The more he
fought, the further he dragged himself down.”

“Jesus,” she said. “Obviously he got out. How?”

“I had a six-inch blade clipped onto my shorts.”

“That was lucky.”

“Yeah, it was. I always had it when I went fishing, though,
and we planned on doing a little bit of that at the lake that day. So I grab a
breath and dive down about ten feet and begin to cut the net. Marcus was still
kicking and somehow he managed to catch me in the face. It didn’t hurt or
anything, but it surprised me and I dropped the knife. I kept going by hand,
but couldn’t finish, so I swam back up, grabbed another breath and dove down.
The lake was around twenty-five feet deep there, I guess. I had no idea how I’d
find the knife. Luckily, there was enough light that the blade, I don’t know,
kind of winked at me. I grabbed it and swam back up. Marcus was motionless by
this point. I worked fast and freed him. I remember my lungs burning and my
vision going black, but I refused to stop. As soon as we hit the surface I
started mouth-to-mouth. I’d swim, stop, give him a breath, and repeat it. The
girl, Elizabeth was her name. That just came to me. Anyway, she had grabbed the
car and was waiting for us by the beach.”

They stopped at the bunker entrance. Elana leaned against
the door and gestured for him to continue.

“We got him to the hospital, but it took too long. He ended
up being in a coma for a month. Doctors said he might not make it, and if he
did, he’d probably have brain damage. We didn’t know what to expect. The guilt
killed me. I refused to leave his side. Missed football practice, all the
two-a-days and whatnot. Coach was so pissed at me, he benched me until the
ninth game of the season. It ruined it for me. No scholarships, nothing. Mom
couldn’t afford college, so I enlisted.”

“Wait a minute,” Elana said. “You just said, and you’ve always
said, that going into that year, you planned on joining the Navy. You wanted to
be a SEAL.”

Turk nodded. “I apologize for that. Thinking otherwise
always reminded me of what happened that day. You see, Marcus wasn’t a bad kid
until after that event. He seemed so normal when he woke up from his coma. But
he wasn’t. We just didn’t know it yet. Over time we saw, though. He wasn’t born
a sociopath, Elana. I turned him into one.”

She reached out and touched his face, tracing his jawline.
“It’s not your fault.”

“It is.” He pulled away from her, opened the door and
stepped through. She followed him back to the control room. And as he overrode
the system in order to seal them in for thirty days, he said, “I’ll always live
with the fact that I turned him into a killer. And I’ll always have to live
with the fact that I just sentenced him to death.”

The monitors all displayed a scene from outside. Marcus
appeared from the woods. He moved from monitor to monitor as he headed toward
the hidden hatch. They watched as the man stopped, bent over and tried to pull
the door open. It didn’t budge. Marcus rose and looked around. He spotted a
camera and walked up to it. Though the sound was off, Turk had no trouble
reading his brother’s lips.

“Turk, stop fucking around and let me in.”

Elana left shortly afterward.

Turk sat and watched his brother come to grips with the fact
that he’d been exiled from the compound.