Cyber Apocalypse (Book 2): As Our World Falls Read online

  “Right. Leave. And you, Sophie?”

  “I will be going with him.”

  “In that case I wondered if you would care to join me tonight, Sophie. I give a talk to the people here. I would love to have you in attendance.”

  “We should probably get some sleep,” Alex said rising from his chair.

  “You won’t join us?”

  “I would love to but it’s been a long day and…”

  “That would be nice,” Sophie added.

  “Uh,” Alex gestured toward the door.

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll see you in the morning, Alex.”

  Alex stood there for a second, his gaze bouncing between Abner and Sophie. He looked for Ryan and Thomas but they’d already left. He raised his eyebrows then walked out.

  His room was on the second floor, two doors down from Ryan. As he was letting himself in, he saw several girls come out of Ryan’s room, go over to Thomas’ and knock. The door opened and they entered. Thomas looked out, grinned at Alex and gave him the thumbs-up before closing the door. So. That’s how it was.

  Inside, Alex slumped down on the bed and lay back. He sat up and looked around. The room was fairly basic. A queen-sized four-poster bed, a bathroom attached and a walk-out balcony. The floors and walls were all made from Douglas fir.

  He couldn’t help but get a sense that he was being watched.

  Though it could have been his paranoia after seeing a show a few months back about cameras found in hotels. Still, it didn’t harm to check. He looked up at the fire alarm and stood on the bed to reach it. He opened it and checked inside.

  Normal.

  He went into the bathroom which used a small solar lamp that was positioned directly below a skylight to provide light.

  No. Nothing was out of the usual. He ran his hand along the counter, looked behind the mirror, checked the outlets. If they were watching him he would have been hard-pressed to know for sure as cameras were becoming smaller and smaller with some no bigger than a screw.

  As he was looking inside a cupboard, there was a knock at the door.

  Startled, he banged his head. Alex rubbed the back of his head as he made his way to the door. When he opened it, Meadow stepped inside. “I brought you a hot tea.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “It’s just a nightcap.”

  She closed the door behind her and set it on a counter.

  “Meadow, look, I appreciate it but I’m really tired. I should turn in.”

  She brought a finger up to her lips and directed him toward the balcony. His brow furrowed as he followed her out, wondering what was going on. As soon as they were outside, she closed the doors behind her. “They’re listening. We have to be careful.”

  “What? Who’s listening?”

  She swallowed hard. “I wanted to say something earlier but she was there and though I’ve tried to speak to her she’s besotted with him.”

  “Star?”

  She nodded. “I uh...” She had a pained expression. “A week ago, I arrived here with my family, my brother and my uncle. Within a day they had vanished and I was told they left without me but I know that’s not true. My brother would never leave me behind. We grew up in Denver. Our building was destroyed in the fires and we lost both of our parents. At some point we came across Star, and she offered us canned food, and said there was more at the ranch, a lot more. At first my uncle didn’t want to go but then…”

  “She eluded the drones.”

  Meadow nodded.

  There was a sound like someone had dropped something. It spooked her and she looked scared. “Look, I don’t know fully what’s happening here but I know my uncle and brother didn’t leave without me. I know they didn’t. And your family aren’t the only ones. There have been others over the last week, every few days. It’s like clockwork. The last time I went out to Denver that was the second time.”

  “What were you told?”

  “To find survivors, offer them food, then offer shelter.”

  “So you weren’t collecting those cans.”

  “No. We gave them out.”

  Alex frowned as he gazed at the lake which was lit up by a crescent moon.

  “So she didn’t run into us.”

  “No, she saw you earlier.” Meadow breathed in deeply. “Look, I don’t want to stay here anymore but they watch me like a hawk. When you leave in the morning. Please, take me with you.”

  He nodded. “Meadow. How is she avoiding the drones?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen all of this property. Some areas are off-limits like the barn at the far side of the lake. No one is allowed there except Abner. Sometimes he takes women out there and they aren’t seen again and anyone that returns is different.”

  “In what way?”

  “Like Star, besotted with him. It’s like they’re afraid.” She shook her head. “I’m meant to go there in a couple of days and… look, please. When you leave tomorrow. Take me with you.”

  He nodded. “You have my word.”

  And like that she went back into the room, picked up the tea, poured the contents into a sink in the bathroom and exited the room but not before giving him a pained smile.

  What the hell was going on here?

  “No way, I don’t believe it,” Liam said, rising from the table and taking his plate over to the sink. He let it slide into the water and stood there looking out, trying to make sense of it.

  “I’m telling you what I saw. Now I don’t know what his angle is but he knew those guys.”

  “You must be mistaken. You said there was a lot of smoke drifting across the town, maybe you mistook them for the same guys.”

  Garcia leaned back in his seat. “Liam, I’ve been a cop long enough to remember a face. My job relies on specifics not generalities. He knew them.”

  “His grandparents were always good to him. Travis wouldn’t do that.”

  “There’s a lot of things people wouldn’t do if society was the way it was. This whole event has changed the nation.”

  Liam slammed his fist against the counter. “It’s been seven days. I hardly think Travis would attempt to kill his grandfather or kill the police. The next thing you’ll say is that he was responsible for his grandmother’s carjacking and death.”

  Garcia shrugged.

  “You are joking?”

  “All I’m telling you is what I saw. I’m not saying for you to call him out or believe it. But we need to be careful. Think about this for a second. Usually when a home gets broken into on a remote stretch of road like this, other homes are also affected. I stopped by six of the homes along this street on the way back tonight and spoke with some of the residents. No one has had a break-in. No one saw any gang members. So ask yourself. Who else knew about your grandfather’s cabin? Who knew about all the gear he had inside?”

  There was a pause.

  “But he said that Theo gave it to Harry.”

  “Did he? Did Harry speak to Theo?”

  Liam leaned against the counter with a confused expression.

  “No. No, I know what you’re trying to do here.”

  “What?”

  “Turn me against him.”

  Garcia looked at Andre and Elisha. “What reason would I have to do that?”

  “Think about it, Liam. Has he lied to us yet?” Elisha asked.

  Liam balled his fists. Travis had been his closest friend growing up. Everything Garcia had told him went against the grain of who he was. Travis loved his grandparents. He would have done anything for them. If he wanted Harry dead, why wouldn’t he do it himself? Or why not open the store when his grandfather was asleep? Something about this didn’t ring true.

  The very notion that Travis would break into Theo’s cabin and take his supplies, then lie, only angered him. He didn’t need this hassle. Not now.

  Liam scooped up the keys to the cruiser.

  He stood by the door, gripping the handle, ready to leave.

  �
��I’ll speak with him but you’re wrong, Garcia.”

  “I hope so for your sake,” he replied.

  15

  He was going to die. There was no doubt about it. After locating the Reid residence and finding a sign in the front yard with a message from Elisha to her parents, Ramiro now had the general location of where they were. Whether Garcia was with them or had simply given them a ride, that didn’t matter.

  He'd expected to be shot in the head and left in a puddle of his blood outside her home but instead they took him back to his house.

  Of course.

  He probably wanted to kill Colleen in front of him before snuffing his light out.

  That’s how these gang members got off.

  Pushed toward the front door, Ken noticed it was ajar.

  Stumbling into the house, his eyes widened at the sight of four dead bodies.

  “No. No!” Ramiro yelled. He hurried outside and looked around the darkened streets. “Leo!” he bellowed, raising his gun and firing a round. He had this look of death in his eyes. There was no mercy. He wasn’t a man that could be reasoned with. Ken knew this was his only chance to escape. In the commotion, as Ramiro yelled at his men to search the streets, he was distracted, overwhelmed, no longer focused on Ken.

  The one and only guy standing by the door had his back turned.

  Ken took a few steps back, casting a glance over his shoulder.

  If he could reach the kitchen, there was a possibility he could duck out the rear and escape through his neighbor’s yard. There was coverage. Even if they saw him. He could zigzag, weave his way around trees, scale over fences and hole up inside someone’s home if a door was open.

  His heart slammed in his chest as he took one last look to make sure the coast was clear. He took off, his mind focused on that rear door. It was already wide open.

  Had Colleen opened it? Had she escaped? Where was Leo?

  He pushed the thoughts from his mind as he leaped into action, bursting out of the house, still hearing Ramiro shouting at his men.

  He glanced back momentarily to see if anyone was following.

  They weren’t.

  Perfect. He had a head start.

  His lungs felt like they were on fire as he inhaled deeply.

  Just as he was scaling over the fence into his neighbor’s yard, he heard his name.

  “The mayor. Fischer. Where is he?”

  His heartbeat faster as his knees pumped like pistons. He sprinted down the side of one house, scaled over another fence. All the while he was thinking that at any moment a bullet would strike him in the back.

  He could hear the sound of blood rushing in his ears as he darted through the back of a home that was empty and out the front door. Sweat streamed down his back, his cheeks flushed as he put everything he had into escaping. He hadn’t run like this since he was a kid. Colleen had bought a treadmill a few years back, trying to get him to use it, but the idea of walking on the spot seemed worse than death.

  Stumbling forward, Ken tripped a few times.

  His knees drove into the dirt, his hands gripped weeds.

  Each time his mind raced with thoughts of death or worse, being stomped.

  He’d managed to make it two streets over, to Valley Oak Court, when it happened.

  Ken had looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was coming when a meaty paw grabbed his collar and dragged him back into a house. He would have cried for help but a hand was clamped over his mouth.

  The door slammed and he turned to find Leo glaring at him.

  “Whoa, whoa, please don’t shoot.”

  “Where are the others?” Leo asked.

  “They’re... back at the house. I escaped out the back.”

  “Did anyone see?”

  “No. At least I don’t think so.”

  The guy forced him up the stairs and into a cramped bedroom.

  “Oh God you’re not going to…”

  “Just take a seat and shut up.”

  “You’re Leo, right? The one they’re after.”

  He gave a nod as he pulled back a curtain and looked out.

  “Where’s my wife. Colleen? What have you done with her?”

  “She’s safe. Okay? She’s with one of your neighbors.”

  Ken offered back a puzzled look. “You helped her escape?”

  “Couldn’t exactly leave her there. They would have executed her.”

  Ken nodded. His hands were shaking. Sweat was streaming off him. He pulled at his tie to loosen it, then reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. “Damn it.”

  “What?”

  “No cigarettes.”

  “That stuff will kill you.”

  Ken broke into laughter, stress getting the better of him. “Why did you help her?”

  “Because I was as much a captive as you and her were,” he said, squinting and looking out. “I don’t think they’ll find us but we should probably get moving. Knowing Ramiro he’ll go house to house.”

  “No. He won’t,” Ken said confidently. “He has the location for Garcia. Willits. He got it from the Reid residence. Stupid girl left behind a message for her parents.”

  “And you led him over there?”

  “What did you expect me to do? He had a gun pressed into my ribs.” Ken got up to go and Leo raised a hand.

  “I need to get a towel. Is that okay?”

  He nodded and Ken went into an adjoining room and returned wiping his face. “I don’t get it. You arrived with them. Why would you bring this heat down on yourself?”

  “Long story.”

  “Well it doesn’t look like we are going anywhere, so I’m all ears.” He removed his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt which was soaking wet. Leo continued looking out the window.

  “Several years ago I used to run with 18th Street. I was what they classed as a triggerman, one of the top guys. At some point I decided to leave. Had enough. The problem is you don’t just walk away from gang life. You end up in prison, dead or in service to the church.”

  “You? The church?” Ken laughed.

  “Anyway, there is an agreement in place called calmado. It means you can walk away but you never really walk away. You’re no longer under obligation to kill or work for them but if push comes to shove and they need you back, you have to return.”

  “Have to?”

  “Unless you want a bullet in the head.”

  He stabbed a finger at him as he continued to dry himself off. “Got it!”

  “What’s the situation in this town?” Leo asked.

  “Dire. Desperate. Destroyed. Does that answer your question?”

  “You were planning on getting out, weren’t you?”

  “Colleen told you that?”

  “In no uncertain words, yeah.”

  “Do you blame me?”

  “Mayor, I don’t even know you. I don’t care either way. My only goal is to survive this.”

  “If you want to do that you might want to find Garcia. Anyway, why are they after him?”

  Leo ran a hand over his face. “Long story. Gangs united.”

  “So you were made to go with them.”

  “I was meant to kill Garcia.”

  “You?”

  He nodded, rolling his bottom lip into his mouth. “According to Ramiro, word reached us that they needed additional support to deal with a problem. You said this guy was an ex-gang member? A cop?”

  “I know. Strange, isn’t it? That’s what I tried to tell the chief but he wouldn’t listen. Said he could make an impact, keep the gangs at bay and… well… look at the way things turned out. He started a war in our backyard and at the worst time.”

  “You know what he looks like?”

  Ken ran a hand over his pant leg in front of him. “Regrettably, yes. The man was a thorn in my side. No offense but I kind of think that gangs should stay with gangs, and police stay with the police. Mixing the two is a recipe for disaster. Like a chemical reaction. I was right as well. But no one listene
d to me. No, we must have diversity. We must have someone who represents the gang community.” He chuckled shaking his head.

  “Willits. Where is that?”

  “North of here, almost two hours’ drive. In cottage country.”

  Leo nodded then patted him on the leg as he got up. “We’ll obtain a vehicle and I want you to take me there.”

  “Uh. Hold on a second. I’m not going. My wife is here.”

  “You wanted to get out of town, yes?”

  “Yes but…”

  “Then you’ll take me to Willits. After we find Garcia, you can do whatever you want.”

  “I don’t get it. We are facing a collapse of society and you want to find this man? Why? Why not just leave like me?”

  Leo stopped at the door and looked back at him. “A seventeen-year-old boy fled 18th Street back when I was in the gang. He changed his name, moved across the country, even started a family. The gang tracked him down. He now works for the gang earning money to prevent them from killing his kid. You don’t walk away. Whether a nation is in ruins or not, loyalty is the only thing we have and once that’s gone — you’re gone.”

  He stepped out of the room and didn’t need to explain any further.

  16

  Liam waited in the cruiser outside Forest City Surplus, contemplating what Garcia had shared. Before arriving he’d cruised around the streets looking for anyone, or anything that might have looked out of place. Were there gangs here? Had Travis lied to them? It seemed ludicrous. Why would he do that? He’d known him since they were nine years old. They’d stayed over at each other’s house, hung out together. He’d seen the way he was around his grandfather. Harry doted on him, as did his grandmother Arlene. There was nothing he couldn’t have had if he’d asked.

  No, Garcia had this wrong.

  He shut off the engine and made his way to the rear door. He gave it a few hard thumps and stood back waiting for Travis or Harry to appear on the roof but they didn’t. The door opened and Travis smiled at him. “Liam Carter, come on in.”

  “Why did you open the door?”

  He shrugged. “I knew you were coming.”

  “But you didn’t know who was out here.”