Crashing Down - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Ravaged Land Series Book 3) (5 page)

Without media, reporters, the Internet… it seemed we may never know exactly what had happened or what their plan had been. But, now, what we did know, was that they were trying to gain control of the mess they left behind.

Everything they were saying seemed possible. It would explain why our weatherman at the time predicted the storms but hadn’t known the intensity in which they would hit. No one could have predicted how lethal they’d be because it hadn’t been normal weather, it had been supercharged weather from some HOME created weapon.

They had started out trying to create some kind of secret weapons for the government, but what happened was something unexpected. Even the government probably hadn’t known. If they had they would have been prepared. Or they would have done something to stop them.

“What about those dogs?” I asked as if maybe they had their own speculation about them too. Maybe their secret guy from the top levels of HOME’s hierarchy knew the answer.

Dominick let out a quick laugh. “I hate those freaking things.”

“I believe they were another weapon,” Dezzie said as he shifted his weight. “They were trying to control the dogs… make a dog army that would do whatever they commanded them to do. That way you wouldn’t have to risk as many people. Just send out your dispensable dogs.”

“Did they create the dogs before or after the storms?” I said wondering out-loud. I hadn’t really expected any of them to know.

Dezzie grinned at me as if he thought it was an interesting question, “Not sure.”

“Why do their bites cause the reaction they do?” I said, wondering if they’d seen what happens to someone whose been bitten by one of the dog-beasts. I kept my focus on Dezzie. The less I had to look at Dominick the better, even if he was mostly being civil at the moment.

“Another failed weapon perhaps… instead of a controllable dog army, they have uncontrolled, diseased dogs running amuck.” Dezzie stepped back behind Dominick as if he had gotten a telepathic message to step back. Or maybe it was just all he had to say, or was willing to say.

Dominick stood up, checking to make sure everyone had their eyes on him. He definitely liked being the center of attention. Maybe that’s why he was the leader of this group, it’s not like someone shy and introverted would be leading the resistance. They needed someone aggressive and tough… a leader that wasn’t a pushover.

“I’m not clear on their reasoning, but I think HOME just wants control of the United States… Canada… maybe even the whole world. To be in charge. Have absolute power and control over where things go from here. To fix what they believed was broken,” Dezzie said after he cleared his throat. Dominick turned around and shot him a look. Dezzie’s eyes moved forward to the wall behind us and I could tell he was pretending not to notice the look he’d just been flashed.

“They won’t stop until they’ve wiped out everyone who won’t join them. So we fight. We fight so that we can live our own way. As it should be,” Dominick said, and it was the first thing he’d said that I agreed with.

“I don’t want HOME to take over everything either,” I said not making eye contact with any of them. But if I was being completely honest, I didn’t want the resistance in charge of everything either.

This was the first time I had realized that the world would need someone to lead. If there wasn’t anyone who could fill the role, it would be total chaos. Every man for himself. It would be HOME against the resistance against anyone left until there wasn’t anyone to fight anymore.

HOME was growing. Not just the main base… they were spreading out. First Washington, where would they go next? Every day that went by they were out there recruiting and building their army. And the resistance knew it too.

“We heard through other resistance groups that HOME is expanding. And much quicker than we anticipated,” Dominick said cracking his knuckles one by one.

“We saw a camp in Washington,” I blurted out realizing that maybe I should have kept it to myself. Not that I cared that they knew there was a camp in Washington, but Ryan was there. I didn’t know what the resistance would try to do. What if they would organize some kind of raid or something? It wasn’t like I wanted anything to happen to Ryan. Even if he was truly part of HOME now, I still didn’t want him dead. After all, the reason I was alive was because Ryan had saved me. He had saved Dean and Sienna too.

Dominick nodded as if that confirmed what he had heard from his sources. He paced slowly across the floor, his shoes scraping on the cement as he dragged them.

“Even faster than what we thought. This changes things. Are you aware of any other camps?” Dominick said as if suddenly we were all his closest friends. But I wasn’t fooled. He could easily drop his attitude if he wanted something.

“Just the one,” Penn answered and Dominick eyed him, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. I knew that he was, so it was interesting to watch Dominick as he tried to decide for himself. Unless of course Penn had some secret HOME knowledge he hadn’t shared with us. Which I guess technically was possible. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time, but I didn’t want to think about that. I wanted to think that Penn was now one hundred percent with us and no longer hiding anything. And until it was proven otherwise, that was what I was choosing to believe.

“Of course there are more. Many more in fact. I’d bet my camp’s food that there are at least fifty HOME camps scattered about,” Dominick said as he stopped in the middle of the group and squatted down. He forced a smile, “I really hope you’ll stay with us,” Dominick said pressing his palms together, “I’m going to need an answer. Will you stay with us and help us stop HOME?”

I
looked at Penn
, Dean and Sienna but their expressions were unreadable. They were all mulling it over. My grumbling stomach was trying to make the decision for me. What did we have out there? In here we’d have shelter, food and water. And would they even let us go if we told them we didn’t want to be part of the resistance?

“How many others are here?” I asked as if that somehow mattered in my decision making process.

“Back at the camp?” Dominick said looking as if he wasn’t sure what I was referring to.

“We aren’t at your camp?”

“We are not. My group is a little over one hundred. And with you all that’s plus four. Assuming you’ll stay,” he said raising an eyebrow at me.

They had a bigger group than I had imagined. And they had more groups. How big was the resistance?

I couldn’t help but wonder how they were managing to feed everyone. Where were all of the others and why were we down in this dank basement? How safe would we be at Dominick’s camp? If a hundred or so other people were there, and surviving, then we’d probably be safe there too.

Penn locked eyes with me, but I couldn’t tell at all what he was thinking. If he was trying to send me a message, I wasn’t getting it. Maybe he was thinking that we’d be safer hiding with the resistance than out there trying to hide on our own. We could try to blend in. And maybe HOME would keep their distance from the resistance. At least for now.

Although I was fairly certain that HOME was fully aware that the resistance groups existed. What felt like a long time ago, Penn had even hinted at the fact that HOME might have had people who were working against them.

“Can we get a minute to talk it over?” I asked looking at Dominick. I hoped he’d like the fact that I was asking for his permission.

“Oh! Sure of course, take all the time you need,” he said sitting down in his chair and crossing one leg over the other.

I just stared at him wondering if he was trying to be funny, or if he was just being a jerk. But if I had to guess, he was probably being both.

“Oh! Did you mean alone?” he said with a smirk.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” he said snapping his fingers at Dezzie and Mack. They all walked single-file towards the door. I waited until they closed the door behind them before I dared to open my mouth. But for all I knew they had a way to listen in anyway.

“So… should we stay?” Sienna said quickly as if she was afraid they’d come back in after only a few seconds. She rubbed at her wrists where they had been tied together.

Penn lowered his head as if in thought and Dean shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t seem as though any of us knew what we should do. It was as if we were waiting for some kind of sign, but that sign didn’t come and Dominick would be back soon demanding we give him our answer.

“There’s supposedly food and water here… probably a shelter of some kind, right?” I said pressing my lips together tightly. The words had felt strange on my lips, almost sour. If everyone back at the resistance camp was like Dominick, I would instantly regret what I had just said.

“We can always leave if we need to down the road,” Penn added.

“Are you sure about that?” Dean said raising his eyebrow at Penn. I was pretty sure when we were at HOME they had told us the same thing. That we could leave any time we wanted to, and that hadn’t been true. Maybe the resistance wouldn’t let people leave either. After all, they wouldn’t want people leaving their camp and going back to HOME with information that could get them all killed.

“We could get out of here one way or another… we got out of HOME,” Penn said sounding confident. Knowing his skill-set, he probably could get us out if he had to, but that wouldn’t be an ideal situation. And it would probably be too risky. One of us could get hurt. Just like Slade when we escaped from HOME.

I wondered if that’s why Penn hadn’t tried to make a move to get us away from the resistance. Maybe he was afraid of what could happen to one of us. Then again, if he thought we were in any imminent danger I’m positive he would have acted. I wasn’t sure if he could choose not to act if it was necessary.

“If you are sure you can get us out of here, then I vote we stay for now,” Dean said watching me for my reaction.

“I agree,” I said with a small smile. I wasn’t thrilled about being here, but I was worried about what Dominick would do if we declined their offer.

Sienna nodded just as Dominick, Dezzie and Mack walked back into the room. They were laughing about something, but I knew whatever it was they were going to keep it to themselves.

I sighed. For whatever reason I felt a little sick about our decision. It wasn’t that I was afraid to be here, well I was, but it was more that I didn’t want to be anywhere near Dominick. I didn’t want to be under his rule. For whatever reason, he just rubbed me the wrong way. I was fairly certain the others felt the same, but I hadn’t had time to ask them during our brief discussion.

Dominick seemed like he was conceited, heartless, bossy, and considering the burning of flesh, sadistic too. It was insane that he was leader of this particular resistance camp. It truly worried me about the people we’d soon be meeting.

“So what’s it going to be? Will you stay?” Dominick said keeping his expression neutral as if he didn’t care one way or the other. But if we said no, I imagined they’d pull out those guns and kill us on the spot. I looked down at the floor to see if I could find bloodstains from anyone before us who may have chosen not to stay.

“We’ll stay,” Penn said wincing the tiniest amount. I didn’t think Dominick had even noticed the small movement. Maybe the wincing was because Penn was already feeling his flesh burning. But it was probably just that he didn’t like the idea of staying here with a hundred people we didn’t know or trust.

The best part of the resistance camp was that they didn’t like HOME any more than we did. We had common ground. Hopefully, that alone would be enough, because besides that, we didn’t have anything else we would be able to bond over. I had to hope that at least some of the one hundred other people in their camp would be a little more likable.

“Splendid,” Dominick said with no excitement in his voice what-so-ever. “We’ll head to the camp and show you around. I really think you’ll like it here. But you’ll have to earn your keep. We all work together to keep things running smoothly.”

“Of course,” Penn said with a nod. “Now that we are staying with you, would you mind untying me?”

Dominick nodded at Mack and he cut the rope. Penn stretched his arms forward trying to bring the life back into his arms. He reached across his body and rubbed at his shoulders.

“Let’s go,” Dominick said nodding at the door, but he kept his eyes on Penn as if he expected him to do something.

Mack opened the door and gestured for us to follow him. Dean and Penn walked out after him and then Sienna and I followed them side-by-side. Dezzie and Dominick were behind us, mumbling back and forth about something I couldn’t make out. It made me uneasy to have them so close behind.

We walked up the stairs and back outside towards the truck. I took in a huge breath of fresh air. That room felt like it had been filled with a mildewy fog, and now it felt as though I could finally breathe again.

There wasn’t anything around us. No homes. No people. It was just us and empty space. I wondered what had been here before… it could have been a school, or maybe a church. Something that would have had a big basement. But whatever had been there was gone now, and so was the whole town that it had been in.

“Where are your people again?” I said briefly glancing at Dominick. I wondered how far away we were from his camp because there were no buildings for as far as the eye could see.

“It’s not around here.”

“Oh, this is just where you bring people to interrogate them,” I said trying to make it sound like it was a bad thing to do. But in reality with how things were, maybe it was a smart thing to do.

“So what were you doing in Washington?” Dominick asked me as Dean and Penn climbed up into the bed of the truck behind Mack. Penn and Mack both reached out their hands at the same time to help Sienna up. She ignored them both as she flipped her leg up onto the tailgate awkwardly and hoisted herself up.

I thought for a second about what I should tell him. Maybe I should just tell him the truth. Did it even matter? “We had a friend that had been bitten by one of those dog-beasts,” I said stuffing my hands into my pockets.

“Dog-beasts!” he laughed. “I like that. But what does your friend being bitten have to do with a HOME camp in Washington?”

“It’s a long story. We saw the signs directing people to Alaska, and we thought we could find help for him at HOME. When we stopped at their checkpoint they took him and I thought they had killed him. But it turned out what they did instead was cure him. Somehow. But then they put him into their army. So, we went to Washington to try to find him.”

Dominick looked at me for the first time in a way I didn’t hate. It was a flash of the person who I thought maybe he had been before everything had happened. Before the end of the world had turned him into someone that thought they needed to have a spiked shell around themselves in order to survive.

“He didn’t remember us when we found him,” I said feeling a wave of sadness at being reminded of how we had to leave Ryan behind. I still hadn’t fully processed leaving him, and I really hadn’t dealt with Owen’s death yet either. And maybe I never would.

“That’s how it all works,” Dominick said squinting up towards the sky. He held out his palm as if he was checking to see if it was starting to rain.

For a split second he seemed almost like a tolerable human being and I wasn’t completely put-off by the fact that I was standing next to him. I was actually having a normal conversation with him.

I shook my head, “How what works?”

“The antidote,” Dominick said as he watched everyone sit down in the bed of the truck. They all looked over towards us, watching us, and I could tell Dean was wondering what we were talking about. I raised my hand up to wave, so he’d know that everything was fine.

“Home has an antidote for the bites?” I said turning my body so I could face him. So HOME had helped Ryan, but somehow they had also changed him.

“Indeed. When one of my people gets bitten we have to lock them up. Those who have been bitten are so… unstable. Unpredictable. Outright dangerous. So we have to separate them from the group,” Dominick said nodding at someone on the pickup truck behind me. “I know it must sound cruel but it’s for the safety of the others.”

I twisted my fingers against one another. It felt like there was a rock in my stomach. Dominick must have felt as though that was the right thing to do, but how awful if you were the person who had been bitten. They would know instantly what was going to happen once Dominick found out. And then they would go crazy and die alone. They would know their fate. Not only would they suffer, they’d have to do in a confined space that the resistance allocated for such things. Which made me wonder how often people were getting bitten at his camp.

“What is the antidote?” I asked as if maybe he knew something more than he was saying. But if he knew what it was, then they could make their own. And since he said they had to lock up the bitten, clearly they didn’t have access to a cure themselves or they’d use it.

“Our guy told us when he was at HOME he knew someone that worked in the infirmary,” Dominick said waving again and flashing a dirty look in their direction. He turned back to me, “Sorry about that. When our guy was trying to collect information about what the higher ups were doing, he asked his infirmary friend about the cure. What he told us was that in order to save someone who had been bitten, they’d have to kill them first. Then they’d have seconds to inject them and try to resuscitate them—”

“And you believed that?”

“Yes,” Dominick said quickly as if he had no doubts. “Supposedly it has only like a twenty-five percent success rate. Those who come back are confused and more easily persuaded to believe what they are told. Just like being brainwashed. It’s like they are erased and become a whole new person without a memory or a past. Sounds like that’s what happened to your friend.”

Dominick put his hand lightly on my back and turned me towards the waiting truck. I let his words sink in as I made my way towards the tailgate.

“But I heard a gunshot? Did they have to shoot him to save him?” I said shaking my head.

“No. That’s what they do with the ones that are too far gone to save. They probably strangled your friend until he suffocated,” Dominick said grinning.

Ryan had been one of the few that survived the antidote. Whether or not that was a better fate I didn’t know. He was alive, but he was stuck with HOME.

“Get up,” he said as his smirk resurfaced. “Unless you want to ride up front with me instead of in the truck bed?”

I ignored him and climbed up, hoping to send a clear message as to what my preference was. And what it would always be. Dean, Sienna and Penn were my family and they would always be my choice.

I wanted to tell them what I learned about the dog bite antidote but it would have to wait. Dean looked at me as if he was waiting for me to tell them what Dominick and I had been talking about. But since I couldn’t tell him now, I grabbed his hand and squeezed. Hopefully, he’d get the message and wait until I could share what I had learned.

One of the guys that had been waiting outside during our interrogation started the truck. Mack and Dezzie sat in the back with us while the two men we hadn’t been introduced to sat in the front with Dominick. The truck circled around the lot and then drove off down a barely noticeable dirt road.

Where they were taking us I couldn’t even guess. But we’d find out soon enough.