The Death Trilogy (Book 1): The Death: Quarantine (28 page)

When the sounds of vehicles hit his ears, he hoped it was Daryl, but to his dismay the sounds were coming from the south; therefore it had to be Frank, and he was on time.

“Here come your cannibal friends,” Devin cracked.

Rivers didn’t respond. He picked up a rock and threw it at a stop sign.

Two pickup trucks pulled up and stopped. Several armed men jumped out of the beds and stood staring at Devin.

Devin wondered if they were looking at him more as a meal or as a threat; the thought itself was disturbing.

“How could you do it?” Devin asked Rivers, who stood a couple feet away from him.

“Do what?”

“Eat people, how could you do that?”

“It wasn’t something I set out to do, but as food supplies dwindled, we had to begin to look for something that could sustain us. It’s eat or die, right?”

“Why not go to a camp, seek help?”

“Ha, go to a camp and be a prisoner of the federal government, give in to their demands. They created this entire mess. FEMA camps are nothing more than glorified prisons or, better yet, re-education camps.”

“How do you know that? Ever been to one?” Devin asked. He had heard this rumor before, but so far he hadn’t met one person who had ever been to one.

“Those who go never come back. Does that tell you anything?”

“Yeah, they’re happy. Why come back to be eaten by fucking savages like you.”

“Believe what you want. I and others chose to remain free, and the only way to do that was stay away from those places.”

“Free to eat other humans, real choice.”

“Fuck you.”

Deborah came to mind and angered Devin. He stepped up to Rivers and said, “Speaking of fucking, you find it fun to rape and have sex with your food?”

“Get away from me,” Rivers shot back.

Frank stepped out of the lead truck and hollered, “You two getting acquainted?”

“Frank, thanks for coming,” Devin called back.

“Where’s the explosives?”

“Coming any minute now.”

Frank looked at his watch and said, “Each minute that goes by means the farther the boy is away from him.”

The growl of a vehicle sounded out in the distance.

Devin looked north and saw the black SUV speeding their way, the double exhaust blaring its arrival to everyone.

“Here he comes now,” Devin said, happy to see Daryl coming.

Daryl was behind the wheel of the SUV and parked it just north of the stop sign and got out. He walked to the back, opened it up, and pulled out a crate. He carried it over to the center of the intersection and put it down.

“There’s my end of the deal. A full crate of C4 with blasting caps.”

Frank and two other men walked over to the crate and examined it. Unsure of what he had, Frank asked a man with him if it all looked correct. The man nodded.

“Great, this is great,” Frank said, a large grin on his rugged face.

One of the men picked up the crate and walked away.

“Where’s the info on my son?” Daryl asked.

Frank walked up to within a foot of Daryl. He took a toothpick from his flannel shirt and jabbed it into his teeth; he swirled it around and spit out small chunks of food.

Daryl looked at him with disgust because he only imagined what he spat was human flesh.

“Info, now,” Daryl insisted.

“You know, I got thinking. You seem to have a lot of cool gear and gadgets.”

“Stop right there. If you think I’ll go quietly or barter more, won’t happen. I know this type of game. You think you can just keep asking and asking. Dealing with people like you is like dealing with a terrorist. This is the deal, take it or leave it,” Daryl said firmly. He was willing to do whatever it took, but dealing with a dishonest party could be like a dog chasing his tail.

Devin stayed far enough back so he could respond if things went poorly, but also far enough back that he had a hard time hearing clearly. By the body language, he could see Daryl was not happy.

Frank chewed on his lower lip as he thought about what Daryl told him.

“Timing is everything. I need that information now,” Daryl pressed.

Frank continued to hesitate. He wanted more but also knew Daryl and his people were formidable regardless of their number. Not being a gambling man, he acquiesced, “Fine.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handheld ham radio, turned it on and keyed it.

An uncomfortable pause passed before it crackled to life with an unfamiliar voice.

“This is Frank in Reed. I have another package.”

“Go ahead,” said the voice on the radio.

“I’ll deliver to you.”

“Price?”

“We can discuss pricing when we link up. I’ll come to you.”

The radio went silent for a minute before the voice answered, “Meet us outside Evansville, Interstate 64 and Interstate 69 in two days.”

“I’ll be there.”

Daryl waved his finger and said, “You need to make sure he’ll be there, or there’s no deal.”

“This is Frank again.”

“Go ahead.”

“I also need to make an exchange for one of the children, a boy, six years old, goes by Hudson.”

Again the radio went silent, this time for much longer.

The pause was torture for Daryl.

Suddenly it crackled to life with a different voice. “Frank, this is Marty. No deal on the boy.”

Daryl’s anger grew hearing the man say that.

“Understood, we’ll still meet for a drop of another package, okay.”

“Fine, whatcha got for us that’s so good you’re willing to come to us?”

Feeling that the mention of Hudson might have alarmed them, Daryl became concerned that everything was unraveling.

Frank struggled to find an excuse but went with an outlandish story. “We came upon a large group of tween girls this morning after you left. I knew they were your type, Marty.”

“Tween girls, hmm, fine, meet us in Evansville, but no deal on the boy.”

Daryl reached for the radio, but Frank pulled away and keyed the handheld. “We’ll see you in two days outside Evansville.” He turned off the radio and pocketed it.

“Damnit!” Daryl screamed.

“I held my end; you have a location. I never promised to deliver him on a silver platter.”

Daryl leered at Frank, then stormed off; he passed Rivers, who chimed in, “How do you know he’s not lying to you?”

Daryl stopped and asked, “Was Marty the contact for the slavers?”

“Yes.”

“What do you suppose he did, tell them we were coming?” Daryl asked.

“Exactly.”

“And how can you help in this situation beyond your comments?”

“Um, I…” Rivers said as he attempted to find the correct response.

Daryl turned to Devin and ordered, “Get in the vehicle and fire it up. We’re heading home.”

Rivers walked towards the SUV too but Daryl stopped him. “Where are you going?”

“With you?”

Frank’s men jumped back into their vehicles and seconds later sped off back towards Reed.

Alone on the empty highway stood a spiteful Daryl and a fearful Rivers.

“I owe you nothing. You betrayed the trust of the town that elected you years ago by not preparing for this, and then you betrayed them again by forming a band of butchers who you set loose to terrorize the local area, and if that wasn’t enough, you preyed upon those people and used them to sustain yourself. You are a disgusting human who deserves neither mercy nor forgiveness. To allow you to live would place me in a position that I can’t live with, to know you have the ability to continue in this world, to possibly replicate what you did here somewhere else is something I cannot allow,” Daryl said as he pulled out his pistol.

“No, please, just let me go. I won’t, I promise, I won’t do anything like this again.”

“For the sake of other innocents out there, I can’t take that chance,” Daryl said as he leveled the pistol at Rivers’ head and squeezed the trigger.

Denver International Airport

With her head pounding from straining her eyes glaring at sketches and computer screens, Lori was ready for a hot bath. As she walked the lonely hallways of the executive suites, she remarked to herself how odd it was that Horton hadn’t contacted her all day. She fully expected to see him or at least hear from him, but nothing. Maybe, she thought, he no longer needed to court her. How quickly he went from a romantic to almost a husband in his disinterest of her, she mused. Her thoughts then catapulted to David and Eric; with the attacks on the other camps, she was concerned for their well-being. Travis seemed confident they were safe, but she couldn’t help but be concerned. She knew not enough time had gone by since their departure for her to reach out, but she hoped Horton could help in this department. Her plan was to use her feminine charm to get him to check on them and provide information and ensure their safety. Of course, in return she’d be more eager and willing to be his…concubine was the word that popped in her head, prostitute was another. It was hard for her not to have these feelings; sex and intimacy were very personal and emotional things for her. She was not the type of person who could compartmentalize things of that nature, so she had to channel her energy and focus in other places, that being finding a time and place to escape his clutches and reunite with her family.

When she reached the chancellor’s private hallway, the first guard wasn’t alone; he had two others with him. The process of passing through was not changed, but she wondered why the increased security. The number of guards was even greater at the entrance to the residence, four extra men, and none gave her a second look when she entered.

Concern gripped her when she saw this. She wondered to herself if more attacks had occurred, and if they could be under threat at the DIA. Once inside, she heard Horton, but he wasn’t alone. He was with four other men huddled in the living room, and the conversation was loud. She skirted off towards the bedroom unnoticed. By the brief parts she heard of the conversation, she could tell things were urgent; this must have been what prevented him from inquiring about her today. Deep down she had been a bit apprehensive concerning her lunch in the cafeteria, and now she saw that her concerns were minimal compared to what else must be happening.

Keeping the promise to herself, she drew the bath and undressed. The entire time she was prepping for her bath she kept thinking about what must be happening. Unable to control her curiosity, she walked to the bedroom door and cracked it.

The meeting was not only robust, it was getting divisive. The other men appeared to have complaints, and the main crux of what she could hear dealt with Horton.

“Chancellor, I’m sorry but things have gotten out of control. If you’ll pardon my frankness, your mind has been on that pretty little woman.”

“I agree, this is no time to be playing house. We have been planning this for too long to get lost in our private matters,” said a second man.

“I’m not distracted, and I’m not playing house,” Horton challenged them.

“Chancellor, you were given this position of responsibility, but you still have to adhere to the Guidestones and the Code of the Council, you have been implementing and pushing phases that are not in alignment with the other chancellorships,” the third man said.

“I agree, we’re here because of this expedited plan you’ve put into place for Arcadia. It is too early, and before we can move on establishing our new capital, we must ensure we control the territory under our jurisdiction. The complaints coming from the other chancellorships have merit; they are using all available resources to combat the Scraps.”

“I have everything under control. I moved up our schedule for construction because Iwant Arcadia to be the capital city of the capital cities in our Order.”

“That is not what we have discussed. You need to stop this and focus on dealing with the Scraps and controlling the regions,” the first man said.

“I have this under control, and stop complaining about what I’m doing with Mrs. Roberts, which is my personal affair.”

“Chancellor, might I remind you, there are no personal affairs in our plan. The needs of the one do not outweigh the needs of the many.”

“I have to agree with Councilman Smith. This woman is causing you to do things, act differently.”

“Enough about her!” Horton snapped.

“You went ahead and ordered her brought here. You claim that she is your DNA match,that’s fine, but we understand she’s pregnant. What are you planning on doing about that?” the first man asked.

Hearing this, Lori leaned in closer.

“I will take care of that; it’s not your concern. That baby will not be born,” Horton said.

Lori flinched when she heard Horton. Her instincts told her to run, but where would she go? She felt so alone.

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. If she is your DNA match, the only children she must have are yours. You know that’s the law.”

“I’m well aware of the laws; I helped write them.”

“The plan for Arcadia must stop, and you are hereby ordered by the council to proceed with the Cleansing of the Land. The other chancellorships have been underway with this order for a month. They have calculated the numbers, they have identified who remains, but the others must go. We must eradicate the planet of the very scourge that almost destroyed it. The Death completed phase one, phase two is now complete, time to begin phase three, Chancellor. Once that is complete to our satisfaction, you can go back to phase four, building our new home,” the second man ordered.

“I can do both simultaneously. You gave me your confidence before, please let me proceed.”

“Impossible, the others have spoken. Just mothball your plans for Arcadia and begin the Cleansing; you have to get the population down further.”

“Why are we decreasing more? We are well within our stated initial goals of seventy-two million. We have an estimated twenty million less than that. Tell Chancellor Chang he’s the one who needs to get his jurisdiction in order, not me,” Horton said, reminding the men of their previously stated agreements as it pertained to population control.