Read Before the Darkness (Refuge Inc.) Online
Authors: Leslie Lee Sanders
Tags: #erotic MM, #Romance MM
lungs. Far in the distance, about twenty yards
away, a chain linked fence with coils of barbed
wire on top surrounded what looked like the
of icial entrance into the side of the nearest
mountain; a wide metal archway which lead
deeper inside the immense rock. The dark
archway lit up with several rolls of lights on
inside walls.
Near the big white medical tent a man in
a similar white uniform raised a bottle of water
in his hand and waved them over. Adam took
Elliot's hand in his and interlocked their ingers,
ignoring the pain in his other arm and the
uneasy feeling in his gut. "Ready?"
Elliot nodded excitedly and they moved
toward the tent.
A speaker sounded in the distance near
the metal archway. The words it repeated
echoed off the surrounding mountains in a
casual male voice. "Your contribution is essential
to a promising future. We cherish your support.
Your involvement is a vital asset for a better
tomorrow. We cherish your support." And on
and on it went, repeating the same sentences.
They quickly walked hand in hand
toward the waving man in the white uniform.
Upon approach, the man handed Elliot the bottle
of water and pointed to Titan as the dog panted,
its tongue dangling out the side of its mouth.
"The dog won't be allowed to go inside
the compound." The words were barely
recognizable, muf led by the white facial mask
covering the man's nose and mouth. "They have
a special place for pets to go." He placed his
hand on Adam's shoulder and quickly led them
inside the medical tent, Titan on their heels.
"Names?"
"I'm Elliot and this is Adam." Elliot helped
Adam along as they closely followed the man to
a small black laptop computer that sat on a small
metal desk in the corner of the tent. "He tried to
look past the mask at the man beneath it but all
he could make out were dark eyes; dirty, pale
skin; short, well groomed hair, and the blue
latex gloves on the man's hands.
The man leaned over the computer and
quickly pecked the keyboard with both index
ingers. "Elliot what?" His voice rushed and
muffled.
At irst Elliot had no idea what the man
was asking, but then his mind clicked into gear.
"Uh, Stewart. Elliot Stewart."
The man continued a steady peck at the
keys. Once inished his eyes shot to their
interlocked hands and his eyebrows dipped
when he looked back up at them. "And your
friend?" He jerked his head toward Adam, hands
hovering millimeters above the keyboard.
"Adam Weber." Elliot answered. He
glanced around inside the tent. It was spacious,
clean and empty. No people being treated as he
expected. "Are you medical? Do you work for
the government or something? He really needs
some help and quick. A car—"
"All your questions will be answered
inside the compound." The man stopped typing,
again his fingers rested in midair. "Occupation?"
Adam cleared his throat. "Do you really
need this information right now? Can you get us
some help first?"
"Yes, I need this information before we
can treat you." He rolled his eyes and shook his
head as the look of impatience took over his
body language. "Occupation?"
"I work … I
used
to work as a customer
service rep." Elliot's words rushed together as
he rapidly spoke. "At Food Plus, I didn't—"
"Occupation?" the man interrupted,
looking to Adam.
Elliot didn't mind that the man cut him
off. Maybe he had other people he needed to
help too. It was the way the man looked at him
that made him uneasy.
Adam cleared his throat again, his eyes
low and bloodshot. "I worked as a … as a …" he
cut his eye to Elliot. "A police of icer for
Phoenix."
The man continued to slowly click at the
keys. Elliot took the moment to give Adam a
questioning glance, but Adam looked like he was
in too much pain to care what Elliot thought
about him lying anyway.
"Don't have any way to pay for this,"
Adam added. "That recording is talking about a
contribution—"
"Sure you have a way to pay for this," the
man said. He turned his head slightly toward
them, eyes locked on to Adam's. "Everyone
does."
Adam and Elliot exchanged an awkward
look. Elliot spoke first. "What do you mean?"
The man stopped typing and stood erect.
He sighed. "Why do you think I need all this
information before we can treat you? You
provide what you can offer and we give
accordingly. Simple as that. Now hand me the
bag."
Elliot brought his hand to the strap
around his shoulder. "Wait, this is our stuff. We
need this."
"We have more stuff inside," the man
said. "Plenty of stuff. If you don't want to
cooperate stop wasting my time and go back to
where you came from. If you want our help," he
held out his hand, "give me the bag."
Elliot looked to Adam as he slipped the
backpack from his shoulder. "What is this place
exactly?"
"Your salvation." The man snatched the
bag from Elliot's grip then reached across the
small desk to unlock a little black box. Once
unlocked and opened he pulled out a plastic
cartridge. "Your hand?"
Elliot held out his hand. "What is this?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions." The
man turned his hand over and stamped the
word
Pod 4
onto the back of his hand with what
looked like black ink from the cartridge. He did
the same to Adam, except Adam's hand read
Pod
6
. "Go through that archway there and they will
treat you inside. Just show them the stamp on
your hand. I'll have someone take the dog to the
vet inside." He snapped his ingers and another
person in a white mechanical suit, face mask and
blue latex gloves appeared behind them with a
collar and leash. "In the meantime, it'll be in the
canine nursery with other dogs."
Adam and Elliot's irst and last names
were written on a dog collar in black marker
that was placed around Titan's neck. As soon as
the leash was attached, the mysterious person
led the dog out the backside of the tent.
The man glanced behind them, picked up
a bottle of water from a box of bottles on the
loor and raised it in the air, waving with his
other hand simultaneously. Pivoting, Elliot saw a
group of three people covered in dust
approaching the tent.
"I got work to do." The man mumbled,
shooing them away with his hand. "Go inside
and they'll help you."
Elliot and Adam followed a newly paved
road toward the metal archway. Upon approach,
the tall and abundant lood lights which gave
light to the surrounding area heated the paved
road beneath their feet. The smell of hot tar
mingled with the overpowering rotten smell
Elliot had gotten used to. As far as Elliot knew,
the paved road led deeper inside of the huge,
dark tunnel with thick metal walls. What lay
beyond the tunnel he didn't know. Although the
uncertainty of what lay ahead rattled his nerves,
it fueled him as well. It seemed to fuel Adam too
as his pace quickened with his determination.
"We did it." Adam gripped his injured
arm to his body with his stamped hand. "I admit,
the past few days . . . crazy. If we never found
each other things would've been different. I'd
probably be dead if it wasn't for you."
Elliot placed a comforting hand on the
small of Adam's back. "I couldn't do any of this
alone." Nearly inside the tunnel, large round
lights alongside the walls of the passageway
lighted their way in the darkness. "Feels like
we're crossing into a new beginning for us,
huh?"
"Something like that." Adam held out his
hand and Elliot took it. "Yeah, a new beginning."
THE END
Amid the Darkness Excerpt
Refuge Inc., Book Two
Excerpt
When the heavy, rusted metal door to the
compound closed, Adam knew it would be
closed for good, trapping him and a couple
hundred people underground and away from
the devastation on the other side.
The word
trapped
came to mind only
because
it
perfectly
described
the
claustrophobic feeling that overwhelmed him.
He'd thought he'd gotten used to being in such
close quarters with so many injured and
frightened people. He was wrong. For nearly a
month, it never really felt like the salvation he
heard on so many people's tongues.
He made his way through a crowd of
people who stood crying, praying and staring at
the thick latched door as if they just attended a
funeral, mourning the loss of their previous
lives. For many, that was exactly what it was. For
others—the women and men in ine clothing
and who harbored every necessity they could
ever need and more—Adam was sure it was the
beginning of a new life. The glass half full
concept.
The skin on Adam's arm itched under its
cast, but he distracted himself by touching the
cold metal door with his good hand, a silent
goodbye to the hellish world beyond the
barrier, a world so familiar yet altered.
A warm hand on his shoulder stole his
attention. He pivoted to stare into worried
brown eyes with eyelashes that
luttered
uncontrollability like a small winged insect. He
smirked.
"What are you doing?" Elliot glanced over
his shoulder repeatedly, paranoid. "These
people are gonna go nuts any minute and try to
knock that door down all at once. You're asking
to be trampled. Come on."
He allowed Elliot to grab his hand and
pull him to the back of the crowd and down the
hall which led to Pod 4. The long metal corridor
echoed with the sound of their footsteps as they
made their way to the large shell shaped area at
the end.
"The speakers said we'll have to get used
to our own pods and—"
"I know what the speakers said." Out of
the six rooms in the pod, Elliot pulled Adam to
the irst room on the left and pushed the metal
door open. It creaked and whined on its hinges,
and echoed back through the corridor. "I'd like
to know who's behind all of these stupid
messages before I start obeying them."
"They're just trying to help ease the panic
by answer questions and keeping order." Adam
walked into the small chamber and instinctively
looked up at the lone rectangular sound speaker
that hung from the corner of the cramped room.
There were two twin beds in the room, each
with a mattress and a box spring on squeaking
metal frames with wheels. Just like his room.
Adam sat on a bed, looking around at the boxes
piled in a corner. "Are you ever going to go
through your stuff, get organized?"
"Get organized?" Elliot glared. "Look at
us. We're wearing hospital scrubs in an
underground bunker that's just been sealed off
from us ever leaving, and, and you're thinking
about being organized?"
"They're not scrubs."
"We look like mental patients." Elliot
stood and paced the narrow space between the
two beds. "I don't like this. Not at all."
"Who likes it?" Adam scoffed. "We're not
supposed to like it. We're surviving and it's not
easy to do."
"It'll be easier if they let us wear our own
clothes at least." Elliot continued to pace.
He was right. Adam didn't understand
why they took their personal items and gave
them boxes of necessities from their own
supplies. Toilet tissue, toothpastes, even on the
left breast pocket of the scrubs they wore was
all labeled with a blood red R and a shiny silver
halo around it.
Static broke over the small speaker in the
corner of the room, and then a monotone male