Silenced (23 page)

Tripp mutters something to me as he hands me my pack and my trident. I nod at him like I’m listening and peer through the fence to get a better look at the building. After a few seconds, I realize it’s a small country jail. It’s so well preserved, looks like a mirage in the middle of a wasteland.. Like something spat it back from the pre-shit world. Tripp smacks me on the shoulder, leaving a low, throbbing pain. I peel my eyes from the jail and narrow them at him.

“You heard anything I said, beauty?”

I open my mouth to answer, someone claps. My eyes dart around the parking lot before landing on Juliet.

“Okay, people,” she says with her hands still pressed together. “We’re staying here for the night. According to our Scouters, this is the most secure location in the area. That being said, I don’t want to take any chances in light of the recent attack we came under. So, we’re going to clear the entire area before settling in for the night.” She pulls her Browning and cocks it before aiming it at the ground. “Anything inside gets a death blow. I don’t care what it is.” She nods behind her toward the jail. “Let’s move.”

I slip my trident into its holster and pull out my side arm. I nod at Tripp before following Juliet, Kiwi, and the rest of the group through the fence and toward the front doors. My heart pounds my mind wide-awake.

Juliet brandishes a long, silver stick and places one end of it into the lock, securing the fence. One of Compound Six’s gadgets. Universal lock pick. There is a low click, then Juliet slides the lock off and opens the gate. It lets out a whining creak.

We all pass through and wait for Juliet to close the gate behind us.

“Lee, Jameson, Stiles,” she says. “Stay out here while we clear the building.”

Jameson nods, and we continue forward. Juliet picks the lock on the glass doors that lead into the jail, and we turn on our flashlights at almost the same time. The room fills with four tunnels of light, each one of them darting around to focus on various corners of the room. I train my light on the center of the jail.

A mid-sized, circular desk sits in the middle of the room. I pause at it and then wave Tripp by me so that I can bring up the rear. From the main room, there are three separate hallways. Kiwi and Juliet take the one to the far left while Tripp heads down the middle hallway, leaving me with the one on the far right.

The corridor is wide with six doors lined up on the left. Pressing my back against the wall, I creep up to the first door and point my flashlight and gun inside. The room is empty except for a bare cot pressed up against the wall opposite the door. I step in and peer behind the door to make sure no monsters are hidden, ready to spring out.

I repeat this ritual as I move down the hall. In the last cell, I almost slip on something near the door and have to reach for the wall to balance myself. Pointing my flashlight down, I see a small pool of black liquid.

“Ugh.” I run my boots against the floor in an attempt to get the shit off of them while I examine the pool closer. While I’m flicking my flashlight along the floor, I see something that makes my gut tense.

Bits of hair and sheets of flesh are scattered throughout the black pool. I realize it’s blood. I follow the trail of hair, blood, and teeth and find a woman dressed in a cop uniform squatted in the left corner of the room.

I say woman, but it’s more like a woman-thing. Something that used to be human.

The woman-thing is slowly ripping her hair out with one hand, while gnawing on the other. Her fingers, long and bone pale, are ruined flesh sticks that look like they’ve been through the meat grinder.

I gag.

Her dead eyes snap over to me.

I pause and wait.

Her eyes roll back into her head, turning into oversized, milky white marbles. A low moan fills the room. The thing takes her fingers from her mouth and plants them on the floor on either side of her. I holster my gun and remove my trident. I snap it open to its full length and creep closer to her.

Footsteps echo behind me. It tries to slide closer to me using her ruined hands. In one swift movement, I plunge my trident through her skull. She tumbles to the floor. Behind me, someone clears their throat.

I turn to take in Juliet. She looks past me and nods. Another set of footsteps echoes from down the hall and, within seconds, Jameson and Stiles come up behind her.

“The rest of the place is secure,” Juliet says. “Jameson, Stiles, get that body out of here. Richards, I need you to come to the main room for a minute. Then everyone can turn in.”

I nod, press the button on my trident, then wait for it to shorten. As I put my weapon back in its holster, I step away so that Jameson and Stiles can remove the body from the room. I make my way down the hall at Juliet’s heels. Tripp, Lee, and Kiwi are already there. Kiwi and Tripp are on the circular desk, leaned into each other, sharing some conversation. Tripp looks up first, and then their muted voices stop and Kiwi straightens.

I saunter over and lean against the desk on the other side of Tripp, then train my eyes on Juliet. She claps her hands.

“Okay, people. The good news is that we’re making great time. This place is secure. We can eat and rest up here.” Her ice blue eyes flicker to me and she sighs. “The bad news is, something is on to us. Something that doesn’t want us to reach the crossroads.”

Tripp straightens at this. “What’s onto us?”

Juliet shrugs. “No idea. Most likely a witch.” Her eyes are still locked on my face. Her voice is matter-of-fact.

“Why would you think that?” Tripp asks.

She sighs again and doesn’t say anything for a few moments.

“Because of the wraith attack,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

Kiwi looks between me and Juliet. “Okay, you obviously know something we don’t. Why does a wraith attack tell you someone is on to us?”

“Yeah, why can’t it just be what we expected? Monsters running around unchecked.” Tripp’s nose scrunches up.

I shake my head. “Because wraiths don’t just run around. They’re conjured and sent after specific people.”

Juliet nods. “He’s right. They hunt specific souls. As far as I know, a god can control them, or a powerful witch. Either way, something sent that hive after us.”

I glance back over at her. For someone that hates my kind so much, she sure is schooled about our world.

“So, what does that mean for us?” Tripp asks Juliet.

She stares over at him and flips her hair. “We stick to the plan. But we stay alert. We have to assume that whatever sent the soul hunters has a few more surprises to send our way.”

Tripp chuckles. “Doesn’t sound like much of a plan. Do what we told you, but look out for even more dangers than anticipated.”

“Well, it’s the best option we have,” Juliet says.

I straighten and tap my fingers on the desk. “Did the wraiths attack Lee, Stiles or Jameson?”

Juliet looks at me with a furrowed brow. “What?”

“The wraiths. Did they attack them?”

Juliet frowns, so I look at Kiwi, then Tripp, for an answer. Kiwi just shrugs while Tripp gives me a blank look.

“Where is this going, Richards?” Juliet asks.

I slide my gaze back over to Juliet. “I’m just betting they weren’t. Humans… they don’t tend to survive a thing like that. The only reason you’re still kicking is because you’re bound to me.”

Juliet’s expression doesn’t change. Not that I expected it to. It never does.

When no one speaks, I sigh and say, “I’m just wondering if you have a witch back at Compound Six… and if that witch has any ties to our group. And by our group, I mean those three motherfuckers.”

I flash her a wide smile. Her face still doesn’t change, but I can tell I’ve given her something to think about. Well, it’s more that I can
feel
that I’ve given her something to think about. There is a quick stab of suspicion in my gut.

She flips her hair, then claps. “I’ll look into it,” she says in the same polite tone she always uses. The one I can’t stand.

She picks her pack off the floor and points to a door at the far right of the room. It’s set next to a wall with a large plastic window. I can’t make out what’s on the other side of the plastic.

“We found some kerosene lamps in there. Pick a spot and get some rest. We leave at first light.” With that last command, she stalks away, down the far left hallway, where she vanishes into the dark.

I’m not feeling too social so I give Kiwi and Tripp a small smile. “Night, guys.”

Then I turn on my heels and head for the room with the kerosene lamps. After grabbing one, I head for one of the holding cells and slam the door shut behind me.

The room falls into absolute darkness. I mean, I can’t see shit. I wave my hand in front of my face to prove it. I take my flashlight from my pocket, then set it on the cot where it fills the cell with a narrow cylinder of light.

Then I peel the pack off my back, along with the trident, and place them under the bare cot. The yellow light from the lamp casts looming shadows on the peeling walls. The cot whines under my weight.

I start the long task of removing all the weaponry I’m saddled down with:

The two Browning BDM’s, the 870, extra ammunition and four ka-bar, fixed blade combat knives. Good thing the AR-15 is still in the car, or I might be at this all night.

I know I’m supposed to stay dressed and combat ready, but fuck that. After the wraith attack I’m tired. I just want to feel normal for one night.

I rip my protective vest off and toss it on the floor, then peel the tight Kevlar suit down to just below my waist.

With a sigh of relief, I pick up my flashlight and flop down on the cot. The frame squeals its welcome. I turn off the light and try to drown in darkness. I lay back and pretend the mattress is comfortable. I try and hide from all the shit falling down all around me. But most of all, I try not to think. After a few moments, I let my eyes shut.

My thoughts drift to Sadie, and I try and bat her face away. It bounces back like its being served by an enthusiastic tennis instructor. The fourth or fifth time her face fills my thoughts, I sit back up. Then, my door creeps open.

I glance up. Tripp is there with a smile and dangling a lamp on two fingers.

“Thought you might want this, but I see you have one already.” He comes in without waiting to be invited. I guess after you carry a dude naked, there’s really no point in observing any social contract.

“Thanks, man.” I rub my eyes with my thumb and index finger.

“No problem.” He places the lamp next to the cot, then sits next to me. “You hungry?”

“Nah, man.”

“You okay?”

I glance sidelong at him, then stare back toward the door. “I mean we’re in a world of shit, but other than that…”

“No, I mean about Sadie.”

I clench my jaw and try not to let anger bubble up in my gut. I can’t think of anything to say, and I don’t want to talk about it so I remain quiet.

“Oh, tough guy routine, huh? Hot, but bullshit.”

I clench my jaw tighter.

“Kiwi is real messed up about it. She feels really…”

I clear my throat and quickly change the subject. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Um, what?”

I turn my head slightly to look at him. “Out there, with Juliet. That there might be a witch back at C6.” I shake my head, angry with myself. “I should have kept my damn mouth shut.”

Tripp’s face wrinkles in confusion. “Why?”

I peel my eyes away from him and shrug. “Just seems like… the witch is one of us. I’m afraid Juliet will retaliate. I hope I didn’t help.” I drop my gaze to the floor. “Seems like a dick move is all.”

Tripp crosses his legs and sighs. “Well, what else were you supposed to do? We have enough to worry about without worrying about some wayward witch on our tails.”

I laugh, but it’s a chopped off sound. Not a bit of humor in it. “Wayward, huh? What if it’s just someone trying to stop us from saving these…” I clench my jaw again. “These people?”

There is a long stretch of silence after my question. Finally, Tripp clears his throat.

“Are you saying you don’t think getting this cure is right?”

I laugh, another bitter, humorless sound. “I don’t know, man. Maybe I don’t. Nah, I don’t think it’s right. They did this to us. To themselves.” I turn my face away from him and stare at the wall. “But it is what it is.”

There is another length of silence. Then, Tripp laughs and claps my shoulder. I try not to wince away from the pain. He really needs to watch that shit.

“I call BS.”

I turn back to him. His eyebrow is lifted. It makes him seem like he thinks he’s clever. Like he just figured something out. Before I can say anything, he goes on.

“I think that you’d be here, doing the right thing, even without Sadie hanging over your head.”

Now I laugh like I’ve heard a damn good joke. “Well, you don’t know me very well.”

Tripp stands, exacting a squeal from the cot. “Whatever, beauty. Maybe you just don’t know yourself well enough yet.” He pulls something out of his pocket and tosses it to me. I glance down at a pack of crackers in brown wrapping. “In case you get hungry.”

As he heads for the door, I clear my throat. “So, you think we’re doing the right thing?”

He turns around, and I raise my eyebrow at him. “Is that why you’re here?”

He stares at me for a few moments, then nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I think we’re doing the right thing.”

My nose wrinkles. “Why?”

He shrugs. “What the hell else are we supposed to do? Watch the world go to shit?” He smiles. “Goodnight, Pike.”

I nod at him as he makes his way to the door. It snaps shut behind him. I open the dark brown packet by its serrated top edge. Inside are two wheat crackers. Without thinking, I stuff them into my mouth. Keeping my mind on the act of chewing helps keep the shit I don’t want to think about at the back of my mind.

When I polish off the last bit of cracker, I crumple the wrapper up in my hand and shove it into my pack. I pick up my flashlight, aim it at my pack, and try to locate the one box of matches I have stuffed somewhere inside. After only a few seconds, I give up and lay back down on the cot.