The Death: The Complete Trilogy Read online

  He hit the illumination button on the side of his G-Shock watch. Upon seeing the time, he grew more worried for Tess and Brando.

  “Where are you, Tess?” he asked out loud.

  With her being twenty minutes late, he began to plan a strategy. He went back and forth as to what he should do. He wanted to go immediately to look for her, but what if she was only running late and they missed each other, only for her to arrive back at the cornfield and he then getting into trouble. After minutes of thought, he decided he’d wait for ten more minutes and then go looking for them. He grabbed the shotgun and stood looking at his watch like a person waiting for a pot of water to boil.

  When the watch hit the ten-minute mark, he stepped out and began to walk in the same direction she had gone. With it being so dark and his hearing obviously not the best, he would take a series of steps and stop to listen. On his third stop he heard something, and it was alarming. He squatted down and continued to listen. At first it was unintelligible until whatever it was got close. He heard huffing and puffing followed by a familiar voice: Tess.

  “Psst, psst!” Devin said.

  “What are you doing out here? I told you to stay put,” Tess whispered as she closed in on him.

  “I, um, you were late,” Devin said, then heard more than one person. “Who’s with you?”

  “Let’s get back inside the cornfield.”

  Devin followed her and the unknown person back into the corn.

  “You were more than thirty minutes late, so I went to go find you and Brando. By the way, where is he?”

  As if on cue, Brando jumped into the corn and walked up to him. He rubbed his face against Devin’s shoulder and positioned himself next to the edge of the field.

  Devin returned Brando’s affection by petting him and scratching his head.

  “Um, who’s our guest?” Devin asked.

  “Devin, meet Brianna; Brianna, this is Devin,” Tess said.

  “Hi,” Brianna quietly answered.

  “Hi, Brianna, nice to meet you,” Devin said, then turned to Tess and said, “What happened?”

  “It’s a short story. Those military guys, let’s just say they’re not the good guys. They’re a group of rogue militia that happened across a shitload of military hardware. Apparently they go from town to town raping and pillaging.”

  “Oh, that’s all,” Devin joked.

  “Brianna here was hiding behind her house. Brando found her first. She had escaped The Death only to be possibly raped and murdered by those thugs.”

  “Nothing happened to me. I reacted quickly when I saw they weren’t nice,” Brianna said.

  “How old are you?” Devin asked, curious as Brianna’s voice sounded young, but he couldn’t see her that well.

  “I’m seventeen.”

  “What’s next?” Devin asked Tess.

  “We get the hell out of here as soon as we can, and that means now.”

  “Good.”

  “The edge of the cornfield runs in a north to south direction. Let’s head south along the edge so we’re not out in the open. Travel as far as we can under the cover of darkness, go all night, and rest during the day.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Devin said, putting on his pack.

  “Thank you for helping me,” Brianna said.

  “Were you alone?” Devin asked.

  “Yes, my parents died six months ago. I’ve been by myself since. The small group of us who survived were helping one another make it through.”

  “Let’s talk while we move. I want to get as far away from this town and those guys as we can,” Tess said, putting on her pack.

  Tess took out glowsticks with lanyards, cracked and shook them. She placed one over Devin’s head, hooked one to Brando’s collar, and when she went to place one over Brianna’s head, she finally got a good look at the young woman.

  Brianna’s long natural blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail; her complexion was still soft and supple even after living six months in substandard conditions. Her deep blue eyes looked at Tess with gratitude. She reached out and touched Tess’s arm.

  “Thank you, Tess, you saved my life.”

  “Not a problem, glad I was there.”

  “So are we going somewhere safe?”

  “Sweetheart, I don’t think that place exists anymore.”

  Day 187

  April 6, 2021

  Three Miles North of Reed, Illinois

  The trees waved back and forth, their leaves fluttering from the soft warm wind that blew in from the southwest. The early afternoon sun was high in the sky and shined bright against the deep blue sky.

  A grin stretched across Brianna’s face as she watched with deep appreciation the trees’ slow dance with the wind. Never before in her life had she taken notice of the raw beauty the outdoors provided. There was one thing that The Death had given her, and that was a reconnection to life and to nature. The time since her parents died had also given her hours and weeks of reflection on the meaning of all of it. At first she, like many others, wanted to know why, but soon that transformed in how, as in how to survive, because the Death was the first wave of misery. Soon those survivors would know that the subsequent waves of death would be at the hands of another human. She had adapted quickly and discovered that she had an inner strength she never knew existed before. So often people are never aware of what they can do until they are tested.

  Tess’s restless sleep pulled Brianna back to the realities of where she was. Glancing at Tess, she saw the thin veneer of sweat that coated her exposed skin. Worried as to her condition, she walked over to Devin to wake him.

  “Hey, Devin, psst, Devin, wake up.”

  Devin opened his eyes and sat up quickly. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “What is it?” he asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes and quickly standing.

  “It’s Tess. She doesn’t look good. I’m worried.”

  Devin looked over at Tess and saw the glistening sweat and trembling lower lip.

  Brando also knew something was wrong with Tess, as he was lying next to her and would occasionally rub his muzzle against her leg.

  Devin walked over to Tess, knelt down, and felt her forehead. “Oh my God, she’s burning up.”

  “Do you think it’s The Death?” Brianna asked, scared for Tess and herself.

  “Impossible, she’s immune like we are.”

  “Maybe it mutated,” Brianna interjected.

  Devin wanted to counter her, but it did make sense. Why couldn’t the virus mutate?

  “In her bag is a hand towel. Get it for me.”

  Brianna did as he asked while he opened a container of water. He dampened the towel and wiped her arms, neck and face.

  Tess opened her eyes and murmured, but they didn’t understand it.

  “Tess, what’s wrong? Can you tell us?” Devin asked.

  Tess reached down with her shaking hand and pulled up her dampened T-shirt, exposing the now soiled and bloodied bandage.

  “She’s hurt,” Brianna said, shocked at seeing the bandage.

  “Yeah, she got shot almost a week ago.”

  “Shot?”

  “Yes, but it’s been bandaged at least twice since then. I thought she was taking care of it, but obviously it’s become infected,” he said as he peeled away the tape and exposed the wound.

  Brianna reeled at first from the sight of the red inflamed wound.

  Devin took the peroxide and dosed his hand, then proceeded to press on the wound, causing a yellowish puss to ooze out.

  “Yep, it’s infected. Um, Tess, do you have antibiotics in your bag?”

  Tess mumbled and said, “No.”

  “Shit,” Devin blurted out.

  “I saw a sign for a town, says it was a few miles away,” Brianna offered.

  “I also saw a farmhouse not a quarter mile back, which might be a good first try for any medicine.”

  “What do we do?”

  Te
ss grabbed Devin’s arm and slightly squeezed it.

  He looked into her bloodshot and yearning eyes. He knew what she was asking without saying. He needed to be decisive like Tess. These were times that defined who you were. Being a man who was typically prone to over thinking, he took inspiration from Tess and made a quick decision.

  “We’re going to make for the farmhouse. Odds are no one is there, but the town could pose other hazards. Help me get her to her feet.”

  With Brianna’s help, Devin picked up Tess and cradled her in his arms. He marveled at how light she was. He didn’t know why that struck him, but for someone who displayed such strength and might, he just expected she’d be heavier.

  With a clear head and determination, they made for the farmhouse.

  Denver International Airport

  Lori looked around the bustling and packed cafeteria. This was becoming a morning ritual and one she was growing frustrated with, as finding a seat was difficult. She slowly made her way through the crowd of chattering people but not a seat in sight.

  “There’s plenty of room here,” a man said from a table behind her.

  She turned and saw a man dressed in a military uniform looking at her.

  He waved and again said, “There’s plenty of room here.” Turning to a colleague, he said, “Scoot down, and let the lady take a seat.”

  Lori looked uncomfortable and responded, “Ahh, it looks tight. It’s okay; I’ll find a seat somewhere else.”

  “No, I insist,” he urged as the other man moved down, leaving a large space for her to sit.

  She looked around for another seat that didn’t put her in a group of young military officers, but as her eyes scanned the room again, it appeared the seat in front of her was her only option.

  “Sure, thank you,” she said, placing her tray down and sitting at the table. Nervously she tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at the handsome young officer who offered the seat.

  “Hi, my name is Captain Travis Priddy, United States Marine Corps,” Travis said with a broad smile.

  Lori looked at him and gave a smile. “Hi, Captain, my name is Lori.” She felt a tinge of attraction to Captain Priddy, which at first caused her initial reluctance to sit down. All her life whenever she found someone attractive, she’d act incredibly shy. Even though she was happily married to David, she still couldn’t help but have that same reaction when she encountered a man that fit her type, and Captain Priddy was that type. He was tall, over six feet, lean, clean shaven, with close cropped light brown hair and light eyes. If she were to guess, she’d say he was in his late twenties, which would make him a solid ten years her junior.

  “It’s hell getting a seat to eat, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it definitely is not easy. They should look at opening up a new cafeteria.”

  “Soon that won’t be necessary. Many of us will be moving out.”

  “Oh, where to?” she asked, genuinely curious.

  He realized he misspoke, as he didn’t quite know who she was, so he deflected, “Back into the field, some missions out west.”

  “What missions?”

  Realizing he’d opened a can of worms for himself, he backpedaled a bit, “Sorry, but if I tell you, I’d have to kill ya.”

  She chuckled and said, “I get it. Everything is so hush-hush and spy versus spy around here.”

  “Kinda have to be nowadays.”

  “So besides going and doing secret missions, what is your job, if you can tell me that?”

  “I’m an infantry company commander. In layman’s terms, I’m in charge of a bunch of grunts.”

  “I have always appreciated our armed forces, so let me say thank you for your service.”

  “It’s what we do.”

  “Don’t be so modest, not everyone. I know it’s a crappy job, and the fact you’re an officer means you’re an educated man. Where did you go to college?”

  “No college you’d ever heard of. What about you? What are you doing at the DIA?”

  “What was that you said a bit ago about telling and killing?” she joked.

  “Ha, good one.”

  “I can’t go into exactly what project I’m working on, but I’m an architect.”

  “Bingo!”

  “Huh?”

  “I know what you’re doing here.”

  “You do?”

  “You’re working on the plans for Arcadia. Only makes sense, I heard they brought in a new team after what happened to the last one.”

  Lori raised her eyebrows and put down the fork she held in her hand when he mentioned ‘the last one’.

  “What happened to the last team?”

  Now a look of surprise traveled across his face.

  “They didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “They’re so cloak and dagger around here. The head honchos always keep people in the dark about everything. No wonder there’s a rumor flying around about them.”

  “Hold on, back up a minute. What happened to the other team? Do you mean there was another team working on the development of Arcadia before I came here?”

  “Yeah, there was.”

  Lori didn’t like hearing this; she urgently wanted to know what happened to them and why she was never informed of this. “Well, what happened to them?”

  “They were killed while conducting a survey of the valley not two weeks ago. By the way, I heard your team came under attack just the other day.”

  “Yes, we did.”

  Travis leaned in and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone, but that’s where we’re heading in about three weeks. We’ll be relieving another company of Marines out there now. Our mission isn’t really that top secret. We’ll be providing additional security support to the units permanently located there and conduct search and destroy missions against the Scraps.”

  Lori shook her head in disbelief at hearing about the deaths of the other team and how coincidental it was to their own attack.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go. I suddenly don’t find myself hungry,” she said and stood up quickly.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to run you off.”

  Realizing she was being a bit rude, she looked at Travis and said, “Thank you for the seat and for the information. It appears that the latter is in greater demand than the former.”

  “Anytime.”

  She turned and took a step when he stopped her.

  “Lori, one other thing.”

  She returned and looked at him.

  He motioned for her to come closer so he could whisper.

  Doing as he asked, she leaned down close to his face and caught a whiff of his cologne. It reminded her of the kind David used to wear.

  “If you ask me, something fishy is going on. Just be careful, watch your back, okay?”

  She cocked her head at his strange suggestion and replied, “Thank you, Captain, I’ll do just that.” She turned and marched towards the internal hard-line phone mounted on the far wall in the cafeteria. She picked up the receiver, pulled out the paper given to her by Horton, and dialed the first number. It rang three times, and his voice suddenly sounded on the other end.

  “Chancellor Horton here.”

  “Chancellor, Lori Roberts, sorry to bother you, but you told me to contact you anytime I had more questions. Well, I do.”

  “Meet me at my topside office?”

  “I’ll be there in as long as it takes for me to walk there from the cafeteria.”

  “See you then.”

  Lori hung up the phone and stormed out of the cafeteria. She again had questions, but this time wanted real answers. How she’d get those, she was unsure, but she’d do whatever she could to get them.

  Three Miles North of Reed, Illinois

  The farmhouse looked abandoned from the road, but so did every house nowadays. There was only one way to find out, and that was to go knock.

  To say Devin was nervous was an understatement. He had found himself leaning on Tess’s n
atural leadership since they had met almost a week ago, but now he had to be the one taking the lead.

  “Brianna, you stay here with Brando and Tess. Let me go ahead,” he instructed her as he placed Tess softly on the ground.

  Brianna nodded her agreement.

  “Hide here, and don’t come out until I call for you,” he ordered her.

  Devin waited till he felt they were secure before he left them in a clump of mature oak trees and brush thirty feet down the dirt road from the farmhouse driveway.

  With Brianna, Tess and Brando tucked away, he carefully walked down the drive, his eyes scanning left to right, looking for anything that might be a threat. Walking up to any house or building could be dangerous and had to be done carefully. He reached the front deck without issue and looked around. Nothing gave him concern, so he quickly scaled the few steps and was on the deck. The front door was only five feet away, and he thought it prudent to just go up and knock. He cleared the five feet and went to knock when he heard the universal sound that sends chills up your spine and fear into your gut, the sound of a pump shotgun’s action.

  “My name is Devin. I need help. My friend is wounded, and she needs antibiotics. Please help. I’m not here to do any harm,” he pleaded with his arms raised, showing he was not armed.

  “Go away. We don’t want you around here,” a gruff male voice yelled.

  “Please, we just need some antibiotics; you can toss them out to me. Something like Amoxicillin if you have any, please.”

  “Get the hell out of here. We’re not a damn charity!” the man yelled again.

  “Please.”

  “Leave or I’ll fucking shoot ya.”

  “Don’t shoot. I’m leaving,” Devin begged. He still hadn’t seen the man but knew he was near the corner of the deck to his right. A strong desire seized him, and he turned to face the direction the voice was coming from. “Sir, please, if you have anything to spare, it’s appreciated; I’m not here to harm you.” Devin caught a look at the man and the barrel of the shotgun. Just behind him, Devin caught a glimpse of a young boy, not more than six. The man was burly, and his face was covered in a reddish brown beard. His hair jutted out from underneath an old trucker’s cap, and his muscular arms flexed as he gripped the pump shotgun.