Retaliation: The Mortis Desolation, Book Two (6 page)

D
aniel stood
in the back of the truck and looked out on Brinn from their position a few hundred yards away. Things did not look good. The zombies had broken down the fence and were now meandering about the courtyard, searching for any signs of life. Daniel knew that they wouldn’t find any. He felt the pit in his stomach grow as he thought about the atras and how they were the reason that there was nobody around for the zombies to find.

He looked up at the sky, making sure there were no clouds. It was clear, and the sun was high and hot in the sky. It was around noon, exactly the time Daniel had planned for it to be. He wanted to be there when the sun was as high in the sky as it could be. They still ran the risk of running into an atra while inside the newspaper headquarters, but that was just a risk that they were going to have to take. They needed this sample to learn
something
about the creatures. He reached down and patted the high-powered flashlight that was clipped to the belt loop on his pants. He wasn’t sure if the atras were sensitive to all light or if it was just something about sunlight, but it still made him feel better knowing he wasn’t going to be completely in the dark.

“That’s a lot of zombies,” Ron said from where he stood on the ground, leaning against the truck.

“There’s a back entrance that we’ll go through. Hopefully they’re all inside the fence.”

“Well, you’re the boss, but I think getting in and out would be a good idea. If what you say about those creatures are true, I wanna go while I can still feel the sun beating down,” Mike said.

Daniel took a deep breath. “All right, let’s go. Follow me and keep quiet.” Daniel mentally kicked himself for saying that last part. Of
course
they knew to follow him and keep quiet, but it just seemed like something he’d hear Miles say.

As he climbed out of the back of the truck, he found himself wondering where Miles was, and, surprising even himself, wishing he was there, despite the fact that they usually never saw eye to eye.

Daniel checked his gun one last time. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. It was Jorge.

“Listen, Daniel,” Jorge said. “The only reason you’re in charge of this mission is because you’re the one who knows what’s going on here. If something happens to my friends, it won’t be pretty for you. Understand?” Jorge towered above Daniel, giving him a nasty look, and waited for a response.

“Yeah, I got it,” Daniel said. He didn’t say it sheepishly or with cowardice, however. He spoke defensively. Even though he didn’t feel as if he was the appropriate person to be in charge, he still wasn’t going to let Jorge getting in his face like that. He held Jorge’s gaze for a few beats, before breaking. “All right guys, come on,” he said as walked toward Brinn and the sea of zombies.

* * *

The moaning and scraping noises that rose from inside Brinn filled Daniel with dread. He walked down the street, staying close to the back wall of a building. Just on the other side were hundreds of zombies wandering around aimlessly. Daniel whispered a quiet prayer that he wouldn’t give them a target. A goal.

He reached the alleyway that led to the newspaper building. Daniel came to a halt, and held up a hand, ordering his followers to do the same. He peeked around the corner and counted five zombies standing in the alleyway. They rocked back and forth slightly, but weren’t changing positions. They just stood there as if they were waiting.

Daniel got lost in the moment for a second as he studied the zombies, their clothing tattered, skin leathered, and hair falling out. He couldn’t believe that they were human at one time. It’d been a long time since he’d had the chance to really just
look
at one this close. He was used to staying inside the inner walls of Jefferson Memorial and leaving Miles or the other guards to deal with the zombies.

“You got a plan or you gonna stare them to death?” Mike asked with a toothy grin.

Daniel shook himself from his thoughts. “Yeah, get your knife and stab them. Quiet as possible.”

Something felt strange to Daniel, but he wasn’t sure if there was something actually wrong or if his nerves were messing with him. The whole situation was weird and—funnily enough—
alien
to him.

Daniel pulled his knife from its holster on his belt. The zombies looked up and began shuffling toward Daniel and his group as they approached with their knives ready. Daniel grunted as he thrust his knife into the head of the zombie closest to him. It let out a rasp, and when Daniel pulled the knife out, the zombie collapsed to the ground. He looked up as Jorge took out the last zombie. Daniel gave him a nod as a way to tell him good job, but Jorge ignored him and began wiping his knife off on his shirt.

Daniel wiped his off as he walked to the dumpster that sat in front of the back door to the newspaper headquarters. “Help me push this out of the way,” he said.

The four of them moved the dumpster with ease. The green door that led inside stood in front of them. Daniel grabbed the doorknob and turned it, but the door was locked. “Shit,” he breathed. He’d forgotten that Mila had used a key to open the door last time they were there.

“I got this,” Ron said. He pulled out a small pocket knife and flicked it open. Then began fiddling with the old lock, and after a few seconds, the door popped open.

“Thanks,” Daniel said.

They walked into the back room of the newspaper headquarters.

D
aniel walked
into the main room of the newspaper office, and his stomach dropped. There was no black liquid on the floor. The cement looked as if it was stained black, but when Daniel bent down and touched it, it was cold and dry.

“I thought there was supposed to be some black stuff here?” Mike asked.

Daniel looked around the floor, but there was nothing there. “There was,” he said as he stood. He began searching around the room for any drop of liquid.

“Guys, what the hell is going on out there?” Ron said.

Daniel turned and looked out the windows at the front of the building. The large windows faced the town center. Zombies were gathered around a point in the middle of the courthouse yard. They were piling up and crawling on top of each other, as if they were covering something up.

Daniel couldn’t turn his eyes away, even though what they were seeing terrified him. He couldn’t even begin to hypothesize what they could be doing.

“Well if what we’re here for isn’t here, we need to get out of here. I don’t like the look of that,” Jorge said.

Daniel turned to him. “Wait, Jorge. We need to make sure there’s no atra liquid.”

Jorge’s nostrils flared, and his face flushed with anger. “Do you see that out there? We need to get out before they find us.”

Daniel stood tall. He didn’t know where this courage was coming from, but he wasn’t going to allow Jorge to push him around. He was terrified of the zombies, but he knew what the atras could do. He’d seen it with his own eyes. And he wasn’t leaving until he had something that could help him in their fight against the evil creatures. “We’re not leaving.”

“No,
you’re
not leaving. You can stay if you want.
We,
” he said gesturing at Mike and Ron, “are leaving.” Jorge turned and walked into the back hallway that led to the alley.

Mike and Ron looked at each other for a moment in hesitation, but they turned and followed Jorge out.

Daniel went into overdrive. They weren’t going to wait on him, but Daniel had to find some of that liquid. He couldn’t be left behind, though. He wasn’t made for that. It would surely be a death sentence.

He ran over to a desk and searched underneath it. It was dry as a bone. His heart began to beat harder and faster in his chest. He glanced out the window at the pile of zombies, and his eyes met a few stragglers at the edge who’d caught a glimpse of him. They began to shuffle toward the building, eager to dine on the new meal they’d just discovered.

Daniel practically dived for at the next desk, searching beneath it as fast as he could. There was still no sign of the liquid. That’s when he noticed that the desks he’d searched under had openings at the bottom, which allowed light to get beneath the desk. Sunlight. The one thing that they knew killed the atras. And if it could disintegrate the atras, it made sense that it would evaporate the liquid they turned their victims into.

Daniel turned and saw a desk that had boxes stacked in front of it. He ran behind it, and there was a small pool of the black liquid beneath it. He pulled off his backpack and grabbed two vials from inside. He scooped up two samples of the liquid, careful to not get any on him. He sealed the vials and carefully wrapped them in a rag. He put them back into his backpack, and bolted for the back door. The zombies began banging on the glass as he exited the back door, slamming it shut behind him. He turned and ran down the alley, his mind racing. If the guys didn’t sprint back to the truck and if he ran as fast as he could, Daniel figured he’d be able to reach the truck before they left.

As Daniel turned the corner, he almost fell face first as he slammed to a halt. He jumped back into the alley, falling backwards onto his ass. He pushed himself backward and up against the wall. He prayed he hadn’t been seen as he inched to the edge of the alley. He looked around the corner and got confirmation. He hadn’t just been seeing things.

A truck filled with Roves had pulled up, and men began unloading. Some of them had guns, while others unloaded cases of equipment. The ones with the equipment didn’t look like your typical hardened Rove members. They commanded an air of superiority and intelligence as they began unloading their equipment.

Daniel’s attention turned his attention from them, however, and toward the Roves he was familiar with. The ruthless killers with their assault rifles were walking right toward the alley where Daniel was hiding.

I
ra huddled around the campfire
, sipping from the cup of water in her hands. She wasn’t necessarily cold, she just enjoyed the sensation of the heat burning her face. She would sit there staring into the flames until she couldn’t handle the temperature anymore. Once her face was cooled, she would turn back toward the fire and start the process over again.

Ashley sat across the fire from Ira. She roasted some strips of meat over the fire, staring at the cooking food with great intensity.

Ira hadn’t spoken to her much since her rescue. Ashley seemed to be a very determined, focused person. Ira figured they wouldn’t get the chance to talk until Ashley had done everything she needed to do. Ira began to grow anxious, as there didn’t seem to be much left for Ashley to accomplish. She knew that once dinner was ready, they would begin to discuss things.

To Ira, Ashley seemed like a good person. She’d saved her, so she owed it to her to think positively of her. However, Ira found herself nervous at the thought of Ashley not being who she seemed. What if she was an insane person who would kill her the moment she began trusting her? That seemed unlikely since Ashley wouldn’t have saved her if she was just going to kill her later. Still, Ira wouldn’t be able to rest easy until she knew exactly what was going on.

“It’s almost ready,” Ashely said.

The heat grew too much for Ira to stand, so she turned away from the fire. It took her eyes a bit to adjust to the darkness, but once they did, she studied the trees around her. They were tall, flush with leaves, and were abundant. They had set up camp in a tiny clearing. The tree line was just a few feet away in either direction; Ira was unsure how to feel about that. On one hand she enjoyed the cover the trees offered; however, they also could give cover to evil things at the same time. Ira was sure that at any moment a zombie would pop out of the trees or a Rove would come and take her back into slavery.

“It’s ready,” Ashley said.

Ira turned back to the fire and saw Ashley was handing her a plate that held three strips of meat. Ira winced at the heat on her face as she took the plate. Her face hadn’t had time to cool off, so she had to back up from the fire a bit before she began eating.

“So, Ira. Where were the Roves taking you?” Ashley asked.

Ira swallowed her delicious food before responding. “Jefferson Memorial, I think is what they called it.”

Ashley chewed her food and nodded. “That sounds right. Do you know anything about what’s going on there?”

Ira shook her head. “No idea. Other than I find it curious that the Roves are beginning to branch out so far. They’ve got pretty much all of Dallas. Don’t see the need for them to want the rest of Texas too.”

“Yes, curious indeed,” Ashley said.

Ira couldn’t quite put her finger on the tone Ashley used. It was subtle, but it made Ira feel as if Ashley was toying with her. She didn’t like it, but she couldn’t call her out. Even if she could, she knew she probably wouldn’t. She owed Ashley too much.

“Ira,” Ashley began. She set her plate to the side, having barely touched her food. “I know a lot is changing for you right now. You’re probably really scared, and everything happening is very surreal.”

Ira began to dread what Ashley was going to say.

“But, you see, I knew you were going to Jefferson Memorial. That’s why I was following your transport. I was hoping to save you all, but that didn’t happen. But I have you, and I need your help.”

Ira felt her appetite fade away. She was terrified at what Ashley would ask her to do.

“I need you to infiltrate Jefferson Memorial for me. Be my eyes on the inside. The Roves are doing something there that’s going to affect everyone. Something sinister. I need to know what that is so I can stop them, but I can’t do that from the outside.”

Ira stared at Ashley with shock in her eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was asking her to do. “So you want me to go back to being a slave?”

“In a way, yes. But not just a slave. You’ll be gathering intel on them and bringing it to me so that I can figure out a way to stop them. Maybe even stop them for good. I don’t know. But we can’t just sit around while they sit behind the Wall of Jefferson Memorial doing whatever they’re doing.”

Ira turned her eyes to the fire, watching the orange flames dance. She couldn’t tell if the heat on her face was from the fire or the anger flushing her skin. “Why don’t you just do it yourself?”

“I wish I could. You have no idea. But they’ll recognize me—both the Roves and the people of Jefferson Memorial,” Ashley said.

Ira looked up at her and saw the sadness in her eyes, just for a moment. Ashley looked away and composed herself. “What do you mean they’ll recognize you?”

Ashley took a few more moments before meeting Ira’s gaze. “I was one of the founders of Jefferson Memorial. I helped build it up to what it was before the Roves came and took over. All my friends lived there. It was our home.

“I was captured by the Roves while on a scouting mission with my squad. I was being stupid and got separated. They took me and made me one of their slaves. Eventually, I escaped on my own. I’m well known among the Roves. I’ve been a bit of a nuisance to them at times,” Ashley said with a smirk. “Long story short, I can’t go in. But if you could get in there and tell me what’s going on, how many of them there are, and all the details like that, I could hopefully come up with a plan to take them down.”

Ira was bewildered at what Ashley was telling her. She almost had to stop listening because it was all just so much to take in. “How long would I have to be in there?” Ira couldn’t believe she was actually considering it.

“Only for a couple of days. A week, tops. I know it’s a lot to ask,” Ashley said as she moved closer to Ira. “Trust me. I was a slave once too. But if we could pull this off, we would not only be freeing slaves, but we’d be freeing my family. Plus, think of how hard of a blow that would be to the Roves! The first time they venture out of Dallas, they’re crushed. It would be quite humiliating and humbling, that’s for sure.”

Ira had to admit, humiliating the Roves did sound nice. She looked into Ashley’s pleading brown eyes. She had a gut feeling that she had to help her. She wasn’t sure why, but she wasn’t sure of a lot of things at the moment. Helping Ashley just felt like the right thing to do. She owed her one, and if it meant freeing more slaves just as she herself had been freed, she would do it. She didn’t even feel as if she’d
deserved
to be freed, much less be the only person to survive an attack like that. Her mind flashed back to her only friends being devoured by the zombies. Especially Isabel. Sweet Isabel. She felt her eyes fill with tears. She pictured her insides being torn out and the immeasurable pain she must’ve felt.

In that moment, Ira had never felt more undeserving.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll help you. I’ll do whatever needs to be done to stop those Roves and save your family.”

Now Ashley’s eyes welled with tears. “Thank you,” she said, her voice cracking. She sat back and picked up her plate of food. She began to nibble at the strips of meat as she stared into the fire. A smile formed on her face.

Ira felt a smile of her own struggling to emerge. She was going to make a difference, and that was more than she could have asked for.