The Resistance: Book 5 of the After The Event Series (13 page)

Alec

              Everything was black.

              His nostrils picked up the smell of fresh concrete and as he came to he saw a ray of light coming from somewhere above him. Alec let out a moan as he pushed himself up onto his knees. The ray of light was coming from an opening in the concrete a few feet above him. That was when he realized where he was. He had wondered why they dug all those holes and now he was in one. The soldiers had lined the ground and walls with concrete and the opening in the top, his only view of the outside world, was barred and just barely a foot wide and tall. The concrete had been poured quickly and had never been evened out so Alec’s skin was cut by the uneven ridges all around him.

              The top of his new home opened and sunlight came pouring in, causing the darkness to flee. Alec covered his face until his eyes adjusted and when he looked up he saw Xu standing there. The man’s cold eyes stared at him but his face didn’t reveal what he was feeling.

              “You think you’re a hero?”

              Alec sat back against the concrete wall. “No.”

              Xu shook his head. “Americans always think they are heroes. You think you can stand up and say a bunch of words and people will follow you. This is not movie. I will kill everyone who stands up.”

              Anger pushed away Alec’s pains. “You’re a monster.”

              Xu’s lips went into a snarl. “No, I am not monster. I am God. I decide who lives and who dies.”

              The hole was a little over five feet deep so if Alec stood up his head would be out of the hole and into the building where Xu was standing. He wondered if he was fast enough to jump up and grab the man before he could react. There were probably other soldiers in the room behind Xu but he might be able to kill the man before they killed him.

              “You cannot kill a god,” Xu said, sensing what he was thinking.

              “Why?” Alec asked. “Why are you forcing us to kill each other?”

              Xu shrugged his shoulders. “I’m bored.”

              Alec stared at the man’s face and realized Xu wasn’t trying to be intimidating or threatening. He was telling the truth. Neal and Walt were dead because this man was bored.

              “You won’t get away with this,” Alec spat. “You’re not a god and you will die.”

              Xu let out a loud bellow. “He will see hero.” And then the door slammed shut and Alec heard it lock, leaving him back in a dark hole with a small ray of light shining through near the top.

              Night came and then it gave way to the day. When night returned Alec was still in the cage and still had not been given any food or water. The pit of his stomach ached, sending pain throughout his body, while his tongue felt huge and dry. After a time he felt lightheaded, almost as if he was floating, but he didn’t mind because it caused the pain to lessen.

              When light came pouring back through his window Alec barely noticed. He sat on one side of the hole and stared at his father watching him on the other side.

              “I’m sorry, Dad. I wasn’t able to find Ally and because I left Ben ran away.”

              His father just stared back at him.

              “I couldn’t bring our family back together. I came back and tried to build a home, a place where they would be safe if they ever found their way back but, but I failed.” He felt a tear running down his cheek and wiped it away. Still his father didn’t say anything. “Why won’t you talk to me?” He felt anger coursing through his veins. “I tried! I didn’t give up on Ally. I haven’t given up on my family, I…” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. Then his father disappeared.

              He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up. He opened his eyes and saw the rays from the sun were smaller, meaning the sun was setting. What had woken him up? Alec lifted his head and saw a water bottle sitting a foot away from his face. Where had it come from? The sound of something else falling into his hole caused him to sit up and there he saw a carrot laying on the ground.

              “You okay?” The voice came from his window.

              Alec sat up and saw the dirty face of someone from Rambo Camp.

              “We know you did what you had to do,” the man said. Alec recognized his face; he had been good friends with Walt. The man handed him another carrot. “Sorry, this is all I could get today but we will try to sneak a few more things out of the garden tomorrow. When you’re done with the water throw the bottle outside and we’ll fill it up.”

              A wave of dizziness washed over Alec and he steadied himself by placing his hand against the wall. “Thank you.”

              “Thank you for what you did for Walt. You…you could have just killed him and left him, but you made it…pleasant.”

              The man’s face disappeared and Alec was once again left alone, only this time he had food and water. They were the best carrots his taste buds had ever tasted and the coldest water to ever run down his throat. In the days that followed every night as the prisoners made their way back from their jobs someone from Rambo Camp would stop by with food and water. That was how he survived.

Ally

              A glass of wine.

              She had been subtle, Coby less so. It began with an innocent conversation between the two of them, talking about things they missed. It just so happened that Dena was within earshot of this conversation. It didn’t take her long to join in and one of the first things she mentioned was that she missed wine and would do anything for a glass of it. From then on Ally and Coby knew what they needed to find. It was hard at first. The marketplace had a lot of different things; it even had its fair share of alcohol, but most of it was homemade and only the desperate, or crazy, traded for it. On her third day of searching the marketplace she found a woman who had two wine bottles, not out in the open where other people could see, but when asked she admitted to owning them. At first the woman refused to even consider trading a drop of the liquid but Ally turned on the puppy dog eyes and shared why she was looking to trade for it. Once the woman relented Ally realized it was going to take everything she had and more to convince the woman to actually give it up. At first Ally offered a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo and several rolls of toilet paper. The woman laughed.

              “Giorgio Armani,” the woman said. She laughed again at the blank expression on Ally’s face. “It is a perfume, my favorite perfume back in the day. Rachel down the street has a bottle that she refuses to trade. You get me a bottle, I’ll give you a bottle.”

              Rachel told her it would take all the soap Ally had, along with five bottles of shampoo and a rabbit or squirrel a week for the next month. Ally agreed but was two bottles of shampoo short. Luckily she knew exactly where to find the other two bottles. That was why she found herself back out in the wasteland.

              She had left early in the morning and at that time there was a thin layer of fog over the ground. By the time she sneaked her way out of the safe zone and got to the outskirts of the wasteland the fog had taken over everything, making it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of her. Still, she was determined, and Tiger didn’t seem to have a hard time seeing where they were going.

              As she navigated through the foggy remains of Los Angeles her mind wandered and she found herself thinking about her life now. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it was better than it had been in ages, since Jess. When it was just her and Tiger they had a roof over their head and something to eat most nights, but she had been lonely. Now things were getting better and she was happy.

              Tiger froze and she did the same. The dog turned toward her and let out a low growl just as Ally made out the sound of footsteps coming from behind. She grabbed her bow, notched an arrow and pointed it in the direction of the sound. It got louder and louder until a dark form began to take shape in front of them. That dark shape then turned into a person--not just any person, but Adam. The man was sweating and out of breath but when she came into view, and when he saw the arrow pointed in his direction, he raised his hands in the air.

              “Ally, it’s me, don’t shoot!”

              “Adam, what the hell are you doing here?”

              The man’s eyes grew large. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I saw you sneak out and wanted to know where you were going. I lost track of you for a bit but then I saw someone coming out here. I tried to convince myself you weren’t crazy enough to come out here all alone but sure enough, here you are.”

              “I have to get the last of the shampoo bottles and I have a stash out here.”

              His eyes grew even larger. “This isn’t the first time you’ve come out here?”

              Ally dropped her head and shrugged. “I’ve come out a few times looking for things.”

              “Jesus Ally, you could get hurt. And before you say you can take care of yourself I know you can but that doesn’t mean you should come out here all by yourself,” Adam’s arms were crossed and he had a very serious look on his face. Ally laughed. The hard expression softened but his arms remained crossed. “You know I’m right.”

              “We’ll get the shampoo then head back and I’ll never come out here alone again. Deal?” Ally asked.

              Adam took in a deep breath and let it out all at once. “Let’s be careful.”

              She didn’t want to admit it but she did feel a little safer with Adam at her side. The man had probably never been in a real fight in his life and he slowed her down slightly, but it was still nice. The heavy fog didn’t let up and she struggled to stay on track. Several times she lost her way but managed to hide this from Adam, but she suspected Tiger knew, as the dog looked at her sideways numerous times. After a while the fog began to thin out and she was able to find the street she was looking for and began to follow it to her secret stash.

              “Is that-” Adam started.

              Ally followed his gaze and on the far side of the street she could make out several shapes on the ground. Her bow was at the ready before she had even begun to try and register what it was.

              “Just stay back,” Adam said quietly. “I’ll go check it out.”

              “You don’t have anything; I’ll check it out,” Ally said as she walked in the direction of the shapes.

              After a few steps she had a pretty good idea of what the shapes were. Within a few more, all doubt was erased from her mind. Three bodies lay next to each other. The wall behind the bodies was riddled with bullet holes and as she got closer she could make out blood and bullet holes all over the bodies. Even worse was that the bodies belonged to their own soldiers. The guns were gone; the bodies had been searched and looted.

              “We have to get out of here,” Adam said quickly.

              They turned and began to jog back in the direction in which they came when Ally noticed shapes moving in the fog ahead of them. Tiger stopped and the hair on the back of his neck rose. Adam grabbed her arm as the shapes began to form showing three different people approaching. Without thinking Adam turned to run dragging Ally with him. She was still looking back when the Chinese soldiers cut through the mist, rifles in hand. One of the soldiers yelled something and then Ally watched as the men raised their guns. Adam pulled her around a corner just as the world around them exploded as bullets pounded the ground and broken buildings. Ally turned her attention forward and began to run when she heard a yelp. She turned and saw Tiger stumble as the force of the bullet knocked him off his feet. The animal rolled several times until a partially destroyed wall stopped him.

              “No,” she heard herself say over the sound of the gunfire. She stopped. She had to save him.

              She took a few steps forward when she felt someone grab her from behind and she was lifted in the air. She fought against Adam’s grip but he was too strong. Tiger laid there on the ground as Adam carried her away and she saw the dog’s head move slightly just before he was lost behind the fog.

              She jostled about as Adam ran as quickly as he could, cutting across streets and destroyed buildings. After a time his pace slowed and she could hear his lungs fighting to get enough air to continue moving forward. The man rounded another corner, where he stumbled on debris, causing him to fall and drop Ally. She immediately jumped to her feet and ran back toward where Tiger last was.

              “Ally, don’t!”

              Ally moved quietly but quickly, keeping herself low and hiding behind the wreckage of the city. It didn’t take her long to find the three soldiers. They were walking now, casually. One of the soldiers was still looking for them, while the other two soldiers were several steps behind talking amongst themselves. They gave no indication that just minutes prior they had opened fire on a man and small girl. She felt a tinge of anger but the thought of Tiger lying out in the street somewhere snapped her out of it and she snuck past.

              The rubble all around began to look the same and for a brief moment she worried that she wouldn’t find him. Then she heard a small whimper. Ally turned and saw Tiger laying against a mound of debris. The dog’s eyes were closed but she could see the steady fall and rise of his stomach. She ran to him and that was when she saw the blood coming from his side.

              “Tiger,” she whispered.

              The dog opened his eyes and she saw his tail flip up and down weakly. She brought his head to her chest and gave him a quick squeeze.

              “It’s ok, boy. I’ll find something to put you on and I can pull you back into town. There is probably a doctor or vet somewhere that can help you. I can find a squirrel a day for the next year and that will more than pay for it.” Tiger’s breaths became slower and weaker. His eyes began lose focus. “Please don’t, Tiger. You’re all that I have left.” She wiped the tears that were pouring from her eyes. “Just fight it.” Tiger licked her hand and she gave him a kiss on the nose and then he left.

              Ally laid her hand on his chest but she didn’t cry. She saw the face of Gruff, the old man that helped take care of her right after she lost her family. She saw Jess, the broken woman who had fought for the both of them and kept her safe. And she pictured them dead, just like Tiger, because of the evil soldiers. The anger that flowed through her was pure and powerful. It devoured the grief and fatigue and left her a single purpose.

              The soldiers were a few blocks down. Now even the lead soldier had stopped looking for them and he was causally kicking a rock down the ruined street while the other two soldiers walked behind him talking. They were killers. They had taken away her best friend and didn’t even feel bad about it. Her first arrow went through the back of the neck of the soldier at the very rear. The arrow head pierced his skin easily and stuck out from the front of his throat. He let out a gurgle, which alerted his companion, whose face twisted in horror. He stepped back as if he was trying to get away from the ghastly sight and tripped over some debris, causing him to fall to his back. The rear soldier grabbed at the arrow for a brief second but then he let go and fell to his knees. The lead soldier turned around but by that time she had disappeared back into the fog.

              Ally moved quickly but quietly, using the debris and fog to stay out of sight. She ignored the gurgles of the wounded soldier and focused on the ones still able to hurt her. The lead soldier had his rifle out and was pointing toward where she used to be, but now she was behind him. Her second arrow struck him square in the back. He let out a scream and his rifle flew from his hands and landed yards away. Ally fell back into the fog. The soldier with the arrow in his neck finally fell over and the sounds of his struggling stopped, while his friend on the ground finally got to his feet and took off running in the other direction. As the lead soldier struggled to get to his feet, the arrow still sticking from his back, Ally approached with an arrow pointed right at the man. He turned to her and his face turned to shock. Her third arrow hit him in his chest and he fell over without a sound.

              She had never been good at tracking. Gruff had managed to teach her how to hunt and shoot a bow and arrow, but the art of tracking was something she had never been able to grasp. Lucky for her, she didn’t need to know how to track in order to find the last soldier. His cries echoed throughout the ruins and he seemed to fall down every few feet only to get up and repeat it again. As the soldier got back to his feet an arrow struck him in his left leg, and he screamed in agony as he fell to the ground. This time he didn’t try to get up. Ally didn’t fall back into the fog or hide behind any debris; instead, she walked toward him. The panicked man had lost his gun during his retreat so he just sat there on the ground watching her, his face showing the same shock as the lead soldier. The anger continued to course through her. She wanted him to suffer, she wanted to scream at him, to hit him, to make him feel all the pain she was feeling. Instead she stopped a few feet from him, pulled out an arrow and shot him in the chest. She stood there as the man’s body fought for survival and lost.

              She heard the sound of shifting rubble behind her and when she turned another arrow was already out and ready to be shot. She stopped as she recognized Adam standing there. The man’s gaze was on the dead soldier but then it turned to her. The anger was gone and in its place the pain and memory of Tiger returned. She dropped the bow and felt the world begin to tilt. The grief hit her in waves and she felt her knees begin to buckle. Ally let go and fell.

              He caught her.

              Ally closed her eyes and cried.