The Mortis Desolation (Book 1): Mortis (9 page)

“
T
ell me everything
,” I said as soon as the words came out of her mouth.

She looked me up and down, giving me a shady look. “Well, I’d love to, but you’re gonna have to get me out of these first if you want a word.” She raised her hands up, drawing attention to the ropes that bound her hands.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Right, sorry,” I said. We spent the next few minutes cutting their bonds. They rubbed their hands, and kept thanking us over and over again.

“Let’s go somewhere a little less open and talk,” the girl said.

I nodded my head. “We’re camped in a hotel down the road. We can speak in the lobby.”

“That sounds good to me.” She turned to the slaves. “Anyone who wants to come is welcome with me.”

The group murmured, and it seemed as if most of them would stay.

I did my best to hide how eager I was. If I could get them on my side and convince them to join us in taking back Jefferson Memorial, our number would have increased by over three times. It still wasn’t a lot, considering how many Roves there were, but every little bit helped.

I extended a hand to the girl. “My name is Miles,” I said.

She shook my hand. “Nina.”

“Well, Nina, it’s nice to meet you. Let’s go.”

I
sat
down in a chair in the hotel lobby. My body sunk into the cushion, and a cloud of dust shot into the air. The sunlight filtered through the window and illuminated the monochrome room. Not even the paintings on the walls held color.

People sat down in the chairs around the room, talking amongst themselves in a hushed tone. Daniel, John, Mila, and myself all sat together, while Nina and a pale, lanky boy sat next to her. He kept rubbing his hand on his shaved head.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Trevor,” he said with a weak voice.

“What’s with your shaved heads?” John asked from a chair to my right. He leaned forward, eager to hear their answer.

“We’re not entirely sure. One day we woke to them dragging us from our beds by our hair. They lined us up and shaved our heads. They wouldn’t say why, but it was probably just another way to assert their dominance. At least that’s what I believe.”

My body flushed with heat. The Roves sickened me, and I wanted nothing more but for them to be out of my life. I couldn’t bear the thought of what they were doing to the people of Jefferson Memorial. I definitely wasn’t able to think about them doing things like that to Ashley when she was one of their slaves.

“Can you tell us what you know about Jefferson Memorial?” Daniel asked.

I nodded my head. “Yeah, we really need to know.” I leaned forward slightly in my chair.

Nina looked at our faces, hers growing quizzical. “What makes you so interested in Jefferson Memorial?”

“Well, this is the farthest the Roves have settled from their territory. Their reach is expanding, and it doesn’t bode well for the settlements out here,” Daniel said in his best diplomatic voice.

While he was right, that wasn’t the main reason, and he knew that. I wasn’t sure what angle he was playing, but I didn’t have time for it. “We’re from Jefferson Memorial,” I explained. Daniel shot me a look, but did nothing further. I continued. “We’d like to drive the Roves from our home, and any information would be helpful.”

Nina sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I don’t know much, but I did overhear some things that I didn’t like the sound of. I think they have more reasons for settling this far out then just because they’re bored and want the power.”

I sat back in my chair, trying to process what she was talking about. “What exactly did you overhear?” I asked, sitting back up.

“I don’t know what exactly, but it sounded as if they were searching for something. Like they didn’t take Jefferson because they were bored and wanted your supplies, or wanted to expand their territory. It sounded as if they were using Jefferson Memorial as a base of operations. Jefferson had it all, but its location being the main reason they took it. What exactly they’re searching for or using the location for, I’m not sure. But like you said,” she said, looking at Daniel, “it doesn’t bode well for everyone else living out here.”

I turned and looked at John and Daniel. From the looks on their faces, I could tell their minds were racing as fast as mine. What could be the Roves’ reason for taking Jefferson Memorial if it wasn’t just because they wanted to expand their reach?

“What if this is all connected?” I thought out loud.

“What do you mean?” John asked.

I thought about it for a few moments more before speaking. “The sudden increase in zombies, the atras, and then the Roves taking Jefferson for unknown reasons. What if what they’re searching for, or using Jefferson for—or
whatever
they’re doing—what if it has something to do with everything else?”

Daniel’s eyes darted around the floor as he processed what I’d just said. John stared into space, his mouth slightly opened. I could tell my theory frightened him as much as it did me. Because if this was all connected, my friends and I got the short straw every time.

“It’s a possibility, that’s for sure. And us and Jefferson Memorial are the common denominators,” Daniel said as he rubbed the back of his right hand. He stood up and walked to the back of his chair. He leaned against the back of it, letting out a sigh.

“I’m sorry to hear about your home,” Nina said after a few moments of silence. “But that’s all I know. If it’s alright with you, it’s been a while since I’ve been home, and I have a father whom I haven’t seen in almost a year. I’d like to return to him as soon as I can.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the reunion she would soon have with her family. “You’ve been a lot of help, Nina. Thank you. You can leave whenever you’d like. We have a lot of work to do.”

She smiled and nodded her head. “Thank you. My father is the leader of my town, Riven, about fifty miles from here. You’re welcome to come with.”

I chuckled. “It’s a tempting offer. I know the place, and I remember hearing it’s very secluded. We have our own home to take back, though. But thank you.”

Nina nodded her head. “Of course. It’s an open invitation. I really cannot thank you enough for saving us.”

I stood from my seat, as did Nina. “Don’t mention it,” I said. “It’s something hopefully anyone would’ve done, if for no other reason then to take out a few Roves.”

Nina wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I was taken aback and wasn’t sure how to respond. I settled on giving her a couple of pats on the back. “In any case, thank you.”

A warmth grew from my chest and spread across my body. I couldn’t help but smile. It felt incredible to finally have something go right. To be responsible for making such a direct and drastic difference in someone’s life. At time when everything was going terribly wrong for me, there was a ray of hope. I began to long for a time when something going wrong was the anomaly, not the other way around.

I took a deep breath. As I exhaled, I spoke under my breath. “Thank you.”

“
I
want
to go with them,” Rachel said.

We stood around the hotel room we had set up camp in. Rachel stood with her hands on her hips, the expression on her face that of determination.

“Rachel, we don’t know who these people are,” I said.

“Yeah, we do,” Daniel said, pitching in.

I turned to him and cocked my head, waiting for him to explain more.

Daniel leaned back and eyed me while scoffing. “Don’t you play dumb, Miles. You told Nina yourself you’ve heard of her settlement.”

I looked away and gritted my teeth. Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a little. I did know a
bit
about Nina and her people.

“Riven is secluded in the forest, and has lots of former military people there. Frankly, if they weren’t content with where they are, they’d be our biggest threat at Jefferson Memorial,” Daniel said with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

“Yeah? Well if they’re ex-military, why has the leader’s daughter been in slavery for almost a year? Why didn’t they do anything to try and save her?” I asked, regaining my confidence, as I was sure I’d just won this argument.

Daniel stood there for a moment, stumped. “Maybe they did, alright? You don’t know one way or the other. But the fact of the matter is that they have supplies. Supplies we need. They could have medicine for Julia and Pete.”

“They just have broken arms. They aren’t going to die.”

“Actually, Julia could get an infection from her wound if it isn’t taken care of properly, and that’s not something I’m one hundred percent sure I can prevent with our limited supplies and given the germs and diseases that cover every surface out here. She needs to be somewhere sterile,” Rachel said. “And as for Pete, he’ll be fine. However, there could be things there for him to set up a mini-lab or something so he can begin some preliminary research.”

I turned to Pete who was sitting up on one of the beds, leaning his back against the headboard. “She’s right,” he said with a shrug. “Sitting around here waiting for you guys to do whatever you’re gonna do with Jefferson isn’t doing us any good. At Riven I can at least try and figure out what’s going on.” He raised his broken arm, set in its makeshift cast. “I’ll do nothing but slow you guys down with this thing.”

I sighed and looked down, trying to process everything. They all had good points, and them going to Riven would be the best option. Still, I hated the thought of splitting up. I couldn’t do my best to protect them if they were fifty miles away. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing them. But trying to convince them to stay would be selfish. They needed to be in Riven. To be in their element.

“Miles,” Daniel said in a soft tone. “We’re not asking your permission. We’re going. We just want you to be okay with it.”

I looked up at him. “Yeah, I get that. But
we
?” I asked, puzzled.

Daniel sighed. “Yes, we. I’m going too.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Daniel stopped me.

“Miles, just listen. I’m the most diplomatic out of all of us. Riven is full of ex-military, and they owe us one. We saved their leader’s
daughter.
That’s a huge bargaining chip. If I can get a relationship going with them, get them to trust me, maybe I can convince them to help us drive out the Roves.”

I thought about it for a moment, before it clicked. I smiled and nodded my head. “Oh man,” I said with a laugh. “That’s a great idea! If we could get them on our side…” The possibilities flashed in my mind, and I was filled with hope. “We could actually do this. We could actually take back Jefferson, and do it with ease.”

Daniel smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad you understand. It’ll work out great.”

I began to figure out what I could do to help. “Okay, so whoever doesn’t go with you can come with me. We’ll scout out Jefferson, try and figure out what’s going on. Then we’ll go to Riven, meet up with you all, and then figure out how we can pool together our resources to driving the Roves from Jefferson Memorial. Sounds good?”

“Sounds good,” Daniel said. He extended his hand, and I reached out to shake it.

“You make sure you get those soldiers on our side,” I told him with a smile.

Daniel let go of my hand and shrugged. “How can they say no to this charming face?”

I chuckled. “Good luck to you too, Rachel.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’ll see you all soon. You’d better get going. Nina and her group aren’t too far ahead of you.”

“What? No car for us?” Pete asked, his eyes widening.

“Not unless you find one along the way that can fit us and all of Nina’s people,” Daniel said.

Pete slumped back. “Dammit,” he cursed under his breath.

I
t was almost
nighttime as I parked Mila’s Range Rover in the parking lot of a church a few blocks away from Jefferson Memorial. The day was in its golden hour, as the sun was setting on the horizon. I took a deep breath and turned to look at my squad.

John looked at me from the passenger seat, while Mila sat in the back, screwing the silencer onto her gun. Frankly, I was surprised that she came. She had no obligation to, and even held disdain for Jefferson Memorial. Still, she probably felt like keeping her mind off the massacre at Brinn, as well as getting answers to whether all of this really was connected.

“You two ready?” I asked.

“Yep,” John said.

Mila just nodded her head, opened the car door, and climbed out.

John looked at me and motioned his head toward where Mila stood outside. “She good?”

I watched Mila for a moment through the window as she stood there staring at the horizon, waiting for the two of us to emerge from the car. I looked back at John. “Are any of us?”

John sat there for a moment and sighed. “Yeah, alright.”

We both exited the car, and the three of us walked to the front of the Range Rover.

“It’s a few blocks down the street,” I told Mila, pointing down the road. “We’ll need to stay hidden, there’s no telling what’s out there. This is just recon.” I made sure I emphasized that point to John. “So, no being a hero.”

“You telling that to me or to yourself?” John asked with a sly smile.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Just something the both of us need to keep in mind.” I turned my attention to Mila. “How well do you know the area?” I asked.

She shrugged and examined the street around her. She pointed at the dilapidated strip mall across the street that used to house a thrift store and a laundromat, along with a couple of other niche shops. “Sean and I spent a week there and scouted out every inch of a ten-mile radius last year,” she said in a monotone. “Even spent a good time studying your place.”

I stood there studying her face for a moment. There was nothing there, nothing behind those eyes. I felt her pain, to an extent. While I’d not lost
everyone
in my life, I did lose the ones that meant the most. So I understood what she was going through.

“You sure you wanna come with us?” I asked. “You could stay with the Rover if you wanted. Totally fine with us.”

Mila shook her head. “No, it’ll be good for me. Let’s just get moving.”

I nodded my head. “Okay, yeah. Let’s go see what the Roves are up to at Jefferson Memorial.”

I
t was almost completely
dark as we reached the gas station across the street from Jefferson. I stood at the ladder attached to the back of the building, and gestured upwards. “You can go up first, Mila.”

She nodded and let her assault rifle hang loose at her side. She climbed up the ladder, followed shortly by John.

I climbed up last, and when I reached the roof, got down on my stomach like John and Mila were. The roof was flat and gave us a clear view of Jefferson Memorial straight ahead, surrounded by its tall wooden wall.

“There’s home,” John said, his voice somber.

I said nothing in response. I couldn’t find the words. Sadness and anger hit me in waves. I should’ve been behind those walls with my people—my
family
. Instead I was lying on a gas station roof, looking for any sign of weakness that could give us an invasion for our retaliation.

Of course, there were none to be seen. The Jefferson Memorial Bank took up the entire block. Not the building itself, but the area around the bank as well. The small fields that we made by spending months breaking apart the concrete; the area where we parked the vehicles; the gathering area where a lot of time was spent hanging out when there was nothing else to be done; and the outdoor shower area. The entire compound sat behind four giant walls that surrounded the block. We had spent a lot of time on the place, and security was a huge focus. The Wall was tall, and the closest buildings were further away than normal, thanks to the wide road surrounding the place and the small field of grass on each side. This provided whomever was on the wall with a large line-of-sight. That, coupled with our weapons, trench, and The Wall itself, meant we hadn’t been worried about people or zombies getting into our home. All that preparation, yet our enemies just walked right into our front door and took the place out from under us! Now all those security measures were really biting us, because I couldn’t see a weakness.

“Is the hole still in The Wall? I can’t tell,” John said, straining his neck to try and see.

I shrugged. “I can’t tell from here either. If it’s not already, you can bet they’re hard at work on it. By the time we get a plan put together and execute it, you can be sure it’ll be prepared, though.”

“Dammit,” John cursed under his breath.

I sighed. “Yep. Dammit.”

“Hey, Frank, come in Frank,”
a voice said. It sounded as if it came from somewhere to our right, the opposite side of the station.

My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively pressed myself harder against the gas station roof.

“Yeah, Frank here,” a gruff voice said. He was somewhere by the right wall.

“Slaves are locked in their rooms for the night. Boss says you and Johnny are to bring the prisoner in ASAP. Go through the back door, take him right to the safe.”

“You got it. We’ll be there shortly,” the man I assumed was Frank responded. The sound of two sets of footsteps went from the right side of the building, around to the front. The front door swooshed open, then shut.

John turned to look at me, the look on his face asking what was going on. I just shrugged and mouthed
I don’t know.

I began inching backwards toward the ladder.

“What are you doing?” Mila hissed barely above a whisper.

“Seeing what’s going on,” I replied as quietly as I could.

I reached back with my feet until I felt the ladder. I inched backwards until I had to begin climbing down the ladder. John and Mila followed closely behind as quietly as they could.

When I reached the ground I clicked my gun off safety and made my way to the edge of the gas station. I peered around the corner and saw no one was there. I stepped around the corner, but someone grabbed me and pulled me back.

Mila pushed me against the wall, her hands pinning my shoulders. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

I pushed her hands off me. “I’m seeing who the prisoner. It’s obviously someone they want to keep a secret.”

“We’re not supposed to be heroes, you said that yourself. Strictly recon,” she whispered, throwing my own words back into my face.

I gritted my teeth. “I don’t have time to argue. This is someone important. We could use it to our advantage somehow.”

“How are we going to do that when we’re going to get ourselves killed by Roves before we get the chance to?”

“Listen,” I said standing up tall and straight and taking a step forward. Mila held her ground. “I’m doing this whether you like it or not. I’m not letting someone else become a slave to the Roves if I can help it. They’re going to torture them, and probably kill whoever it is. If I can stop that, I will. Maybe whoever it is knows something about what’s going on, or what the Roves are doing with
my
home. So you can jus—”

I heard footsteps emerging from the front of the gas station, along with some whispering. I stopped talking, and pulled my gun up to my shoulder.

“You can help me or not, but I’m doing this.” I turned to John. “With me?”

John nodded and flicked his gun off safety.

Mila was visibly angry. “Fine. But for the record, this is stupid. We don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into.”

I ignored her last statement and turned the corner. I stayed close to the wall of the gas station as I sneaked to the front, the light of the moon illuminating the way.

I peeked around the side and saw three men standing in front of the door. Two in front, one in back. In between them stood somebody that towered above the three men. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough for me to see who he was, plus he was facing away from me. But his figure was slender, and he was probably close to seven feet tall.

“Come on, Jim,” the man in the back shouted into the gas station.

A young man came out of the door. “Sorry, sorry,” he said as he put on his baseball cap. “Couldn’t find my lucky hat.”

“Alright, well, let’s go,” one of the men in front said. They turned around and began walking toward Jefferson Memorial, two in front, two in back, with their prisoner in the middle.

I got a glimpse of the prisoner and my knees felt weak. Mila was right. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

Because their prisoner was an alien.