Falling Darkness Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - Books 1-3 Read online

  “Aw don’t do that, Max,” Kate said stopping to scratch the dog’s ears. The dog lowered its head and licked her hand through the cage. “You’re such a good boy.”

  “Never seen him do anything like that before,” Ethan said. “Guess he likes you.”

  “I like him too.” Kate smiled at the dog, giving him one last rub on the top of his head before continuing on their mission.

  The east gate was guarded by four heavily armed guards. Kate could tell by how quickly they opened the gate to allow their exit that the guards had been expecting them.

  “Ethan,” the guard wearing sunglasses said as he nodded.

  “Chuck.” Ethan nodded back.

  They all seemed to ignore Kate which suited her just fine considering she’d been with The Way for a year and still didn’t know any of their names. Kate hadn’t bothered to take the time to learn them because she hoped it wouldn’t be long before she left, but she’d thought that days after she arrived. And she’d been with The Way for much longer than she’d had anticipated.

  The gate clunked closed, and Kate’s shoulders relaxed. Anyone else would have been screaming and clawing at the fence to be let back in, but when Kate was outside of the fence, it felt like she could breathe.

  Kate’s eyes scanned the area. Simon had set up his town in the middle of a giant city that was now completely neglected. Some buildings sagged while others were crumbling to the ground, many of them gutted of anything useful long ago.

  The roads were cracked and deteriorating but still intact enough to easily navigate. Much of the area was overgrown with weeds and plants that didn’t want to give up.

  Walls were covered in graffiti with lewd pictures and cuss words, most of which had been there before Kate had joined The Way. The people who’d spray painted a giant decaying dick on the stone wall had probably been turned into one of The Unholy long ago.

  The day Kate had lost everything felt like it was a dream, not something that had actually happened to her. It was like a movie she’d seen but that it hadn’t been her or her life.

  Kate’s life was surviving. Her life was eradicating those that had succumbed to the disease that wiped out most of humanity. It was probably only a matter of time before she became one of the infected. In fact, Kate thought it was a miracle it hadn’t happened already.

  “We go over this one,” Ethan said pressing his shoulder against the wall as he bent his knees and folded his hands together to give her a boost.

  There was a message painted on the wall directly in front of Kate.

  There is only one way!

  THE WAY to Salvation!

  Ethan met her gaze as she placed her foot on his hand pretending she hadn’t noticed the painted words on the dirty wall.

  Kate knew Ethan wasn’t a big fan of Simon. She knew that dislike was mutual, but what she didn’t know was how dedicated to The Way Ethan was. He probably didn’t want out like she did because he knew what kind of life was waiting outside Simon’s fence.

  There wasn’t anything but the diseased wandering around waiting to turn you. To build their flock. In a way, they weren’t much different from Simon. At least within The Way’s fence, there was food and a safe place to lay her head.

  The further Kate and Ethan got from Simon’s town, the quieter their surroundings were. Kate could hear the mosquito that buzzed close to her ear. If one of The Unholy were around, Kate would have heard it. If there were a pack of The Unholy around, she’d definitely have heard them.

  Ethan jumped over a mold-covered wooden board and held out his hand to Kate. She pretended not to notice his stretched-out hand and jumped just as Ethan had.

  “So, Kate,” Ethan said clearing his throat. His voice sounded almost too loud in the silence.

  “Yes?” Kate said much softer hoping he’d follow her example and lower his voice. There was no need to let The Unholy know they were wandering around.

  “What did you do before all this? Before joining The Way?”

  Kate pulled her ponytail over her right shoulder and combed her fingers through the slightly snarled ends. She hadn’t expected his question and felt unprepared… like she was being tested and had forgotten to study.

  “What did you do?” Kate said kicking a pebble.

  Ethan chuckled. “Construction.”

  “Oh.”

  “You sound disappointed.” Ethan’s smile was crooked.

  Kate’s lips turned up slightly. “No, I would have guessed military.”

  “Should I take that as a compliment?”

  “If you’d like.”

  “Some think the military is still out there.”

  Kate turned to Ethan and tried to examine his expression. She wanted to know if Ethan seemed excited by the idea of being rescued from The Way, but the look on his face was blank.

  “I haven’t heard that,” Kate said, hoping to prompt him for more.

  Ethan shrugged. “That’s just what some say, I suppose it doesn’t make it true. You’d think if they were out there, they’d have come by now. So,” Ethan said, clearing his throat, “you didn’t answer.”

  “Answer?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me.” Ethan grinned. “What did you do before all this?”

  “I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you.” Kate wasn’t sure if she even believed it anymore.

  Ethan bumped his elbow into her arm lightly, his eyes shining with excitement. “Now you have to tell me. Wait, no, should I guess?”

  “Go for it,” Kate said scanning an area off to their left. There were several overgrown trees, and she thought she’d seen movement.

  “Okay, um, you were a… dental hygienist.”

  Kate shook her head before he’d even finished his sentence.

  “Hmm.” Ethan tapped his index finger on his chin. “A doctor?”

  Kate smiled and almost busted out laughing. If only her mother had still been alive to have heard Ethan’s guess.

  “What?” Ethan asked with a big smile on his face. “You’re really smart.”

  “You’re not even close.”

  “Okay, a farmer?”

  Kate covered her mouth to hold in the snort.

  “Fine, I give up,” Ethan said puffing out his lower lip into a pout. “What did you do?”

  “I was a receptionist at the hospital. Scheduled appointments,” Kate said as a flash of her last day there popped into her mind. The disease had spread quickly… she could still see her co-workers as they turned into what Simon called The Unholy.

  Ethan smiled as he patted Kate roughly on the back. “I was close with that whole doctor thing.”

  “Not really,” Kate said shaking her head.

  “I had the setting right.”

  Several doctors had tried to run out of the hospital without a care for anyone inside the building. They had just wanted to save themselves. Kate had tried to help some of her co-workers, but everything happened so fast. The diseased jumping on people, tearing them open as if they were starving, wild animals.

  Kate could still picture the janitor as he jumped on Kate’s friend Molly. He grabbed her shoulders and bit down on the front of her neck, blood spilling all over. Kate could still hear her blood-curdling scream. It hadn’t taken long for the disease to infect Molly. That’s when Kate understood why the doctors had run without warning anyone. And that’s when Kate ran.

  “A receptionist, huh?” Ethan said bringing Kate back to the present.

  “That’s right.”

  Ethan squinted into the distance. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have ever guessed that.”

  “Why not?” Kate asked.

  “I just wouldn’t have,” Ethan said staring into her eyes as if she was suddenly a different person. “Where did you learn how to kill The Unholy so efficiently?”

  Kate chewed on the side of her cheek. “TV? Taught myself I suppose. How much further?”

  Kate was attempting to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about herself because that
would only bring back the memories she’d worked so hard to bury deep down inside of herself.

  “A couple hours,” Ethan said looking up at the sky.

  “Let’s go faster.”

  “Yeah?”

  Kate nodded. She felt like running. Running from the questions… running from The Way. But there was no escaping herself no matter how far she ran.

  4

  They’d been traveling for a while when Ethan stuck out his arm to stop Kate. She looked around unsure of what was going on. They weren’t near the town any longer, and things were rather quiet, but Ethan wore a concerned look.

  “What is it?” Kate whispered as her eyes darted around the area.

  “We’re close,” Ethan said, but there wasn’t a single building in sight.

  Kate’s nerves started to twitch. Was this some kind of trap Simon orchestrated for Ethan to carry out? Was it some kind of trick?

  She swallowed down the hard lump at the back of her throat as she pulled out her knife. Ethan hadn’t seemed to notice.

  Kate could do it. She could take her blade and drive it into Ethan’s brain just as she had with The Unholy. Then Kate could run. She could finally get away from The Way once and for all.

  “It’s somewhere around here,” Ethan said grabbing Kate’s arm as if he suddenly expected her to take off running. “Watch my back.”

  Ethan kept his eyes focused on the ground as they walked. Kate scanned the area. There were trees, tall grasses, and shrubs everywhere and she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched.

  “What are you looking for?” Kate whispered, slightly jerking her arm to see if she could get free.

  “Sorry,” Ethan said and let go. “It’s underground. There’s a hatch somewhere around here.”

  Kate rubbed her arm where Ethan had been holding her. It wasn’t that he’d hurt her, she just wasn’t used to being touched. She avoided it as much as possible since the disease started.

  “Ah, here we go,” Ethan said kneeling down and pushing away the rust-colored branches that were used to disguise the metal door. He held out his palm and stared up at Kate. She shook her head. “Key?”

  “I’ve been tasked with guarding this with my life,” Kate said lowering herself to one knee. She inserted the key and popped the padlock open.

  Ethan pulled open the door and gestured for Kate to climb down. Kate shook her head.

  “Scared?” Ethan asked, smirking.

  “Some might call it scared, but I call it smart,” Kate said raising an eyebrow.

  “Suit yourself,” Ethan said lowering himself down the ladder without another glance in her direction.

  Kate looked around the area as if she half expected to see a gang of The Unholy sneaking up behind her. She shivered and lowered herself down the ladder behind Ethan.

  When she stepped off of the ladder, she turned around and was unable to stop her jaw from dropping open. There were copious amounts of shelving units filling the space, each of them fully stocked. The underground area was so large she couldn’t believe it was real.

  “What was this place?” Kate asked.

  “No idea, but this is what it is now.”

  “Simon did this?” Kate sounded surprised.

  Ethan shook his head. “Nah, someone found it and Simon had them start bringing everything here. I’m not sure Simon has ever left his precious town.”

  Kate wished she could just come out and ask Ethan exactly how he really felt about Simon. What if he felt the same way? Maybe he didn’t want to be stuck living with The Way either, but she couldn’t risk it.

  There was always the chance that Ethan was one of the people Simon had referred to as his eyes and ears. Maybe he was testing her on this mission to see just how trustworthy she was. For all Kate knew, Simon was already suspicious, and this was all just a big plot to see if Kate was someone he could trust.

  Kate looked around at the seemingly endless rows of supplies. And it wasn’t just food, they had everything imaginable stocked up. It was like an underground supermarket.

  “I’m supposed to check out a log,” Kate said mostly to herself. Ethan was busy studying a box of granola bars, and it hadn’t seemed as though he’d heard her.

  There was a desk pressed tightly against the wall to her right, a chair had been pulled out and was swiveled, so the seat was facing her almost as if it was calling to her. She looked down the aisles as she made her way over to the desk, her feet tapping on the tiled floor.

  “Find something?” Ethan asked. Kate could tell by the sound of his voice that he hadn’t moved away from the shelf.

  “Maybe,” Kate said crossing her arms as she looked down at the clipboard on the desk. She flipped through the pages and pages of documented food supplies that had been dropped off or that been withdrawn. There was no way anyone was keeping an accurate count of inventory. Simon would have had to keep someone in the basement all day, possibly more than one person.

  Kate found the most recent entries spotting the one for the boxes of noodles Simon had approved. There were several lines after that of food being dropped off, and three lines Kate found suspicious.

  “This is weird,” she said quickly glancing over her shoulder when something crunched behind her.

  Ethan was standing there chewing something. In his hand was an opened granola bar with half of it missing.

  “I have to document that,” Kate said, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “I don’t think he’ll mind considering.”

  Kate looked back at the log. “Have you met him?”

  Ethan chuckled. “Can’t it be our little secret?”

  “Maybe,” Kate said tapping the paper. “It seems Simon has been taking out food, but it’s weird, he didn’t mention that.”

  “Oh?” Ethan asked waiting for more.

  “He said the last thing he approved was for some noodles for Rosalie but look at this.” Kate showed Ethan the page. “The noodles were taken but so were all these other things all on different days.”

  “Some of those are drop-offs,” Ethan offered.

  Kate nodded. “But some of them are things that have been taken, and it says Simon took them. Why wouldn’t he have mentioned that? He would have known I’d see this.”

  “So, what are you thinking?” Ethan cocked his head to the side.

  “I’m thinking Rosalie took them and wrote down Simon’s name.”

  “That would be stupid,” Ethan snorted.

  “Maybe. But maybe she knows Simon doesn’t come here. Anyone else would see his name, they wouldn’t question it.”

  Ethan shrugged. “Maybe he just didn’t tell you about his withdrawals.”

  “Possibly, but I won’t know for sure until we report back. I think Simon’s sources were telling the truth.”

  “I guess all we can do now is to go back outside and wait. See if someone shows up.”

  “Guess so,” Kate said wondering if she should take the last page of the log with her. She chewed her lip for a second before deciding against it. If someone noticed the page missing they’d be suspicious. “Let’s go.”

  “Should I take some more for the road?” Ethan asked.

  Kate shook her head, but it moved down her neck and turned into a shrug. “Up to you.”

  “We can just blame it on Rosalie,” Ethan said raising an eyebrow.

  “Maybe. If no one shows up everything could check out depending on whether or not Simon checked out food without mentioning it to me.”

  Ethan grinned. “Then I guess I’ll just have to take the blame because I’m hungry. Doing Simon’s bidding is hard work.”

  “Perhaps he’ll be understanding,” Kate said trying her hardest not to crack a smile.

  Ethan laughed. “Perhaps. Or perhaps he’ll rip my stomach out of my body with his bare hand to teach me a lesson.”

  Kate and Ethan shared a laugh. Ethan’s eyes moved down to the box, and after a brief hesitation, he walked back over to the shelf.

 
; “Shit,” he said. “I think I’ll put them back. Seems I lost my appetite anyway.”

  “I never have much of one,” Kate mumbled as she turned and climbed the ladder. It was true that she rarely felt hungry inside Simon’s town. Kate felt as though she was only eating to survive. She couldn’t remember the last thing she’d eaten that she actually enjoyed, but then again Simon’s cooks served a lot of bland food.

  Once they were back outside, Ethan worked on a spot near a couple trees to make sure they’d be well hidden from view. He worked on it from all angles so no matter which way someone approached it would be unlikely they’d be seen unless of course, they were only a few feet away.

  “This will have to do unless you want to climb a tree and sit up there for God knows how long,” Ethan said.

  “I think this is great,” Kate said.

  “So,” Ethan said gesturing at the spot on the ground he’d cleared for them to sit, “what should we do while we wait?”

  Kate looked at Ethan with wide eyes. She would have preferred a long, but comfortable silence but she was afraid that wasn’t going to happen, and she wasn’t exactly sure how to bring it up without potentially hurting Ethan’s feelings.

  “We should probably keep quiet,” Ethan said leaning back against the tree trunk. “Wouldn’t want anyone to hear us, especially a stray Unholy.”

  Kate blinked several times before nodding. She flashed him a tight-lipped smile as she pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out into the opposite direction Ethan was facing.

  When Ethan wasn’t scanning the horizon, he was picking grasses out of the ground one at a time, not that Kate was watching for any reason. It was just that she could see him out of the corner of her eye, and she couldn’t help but notice how calm he was.

  Kate probably appeared calm too, but on the inside, she was a mess. She didn’t want anyone, including Ethan, to know just how badly she wanted to run and leave everything behind no matter what the consequences. Everyone who knew her back in Simon’s town thought she was unapproachable because she was tough. The truth was she was unapproachable because she was filled with fear, and she didn’t want anyone to notice.

  Hours ticked by and the sun moved across the sky. Kate heard Ethan’s stomach growl, and he placed his hand on his stomach.