Authors: A.R. Wise
“How did they save you?” asked Reagan.
Again, Jim put his finger to his lips and shook his head. “All in due time, Reagan. First, we need to understand each other.” He tapped the screen which caused it to switch from camera feeds to a map of the facility. He tapped two rooms on the map and two camera feeds appeared, revealing the contents of those rooms.
Reagan saw Billy and Hero, each in their own rooms,
stripped nude and strung up by chains tied to their wrists. Jim touched a speaker button on the screen with Billy and the sound of the boy screaming threatened to break the speakers. Jim turned the volume down and then smiled at Reagan.
“Do you want to watch your friends die?”
Reagan was horrified, angry, and confused. “Why are you doing this?”
“We’ll get there in a minute,” said Jim. “First, answer the question. Do you want these two boys dead?”
“No, of course not.”
Jim smiled. “I know. That was always your weakness. You cared too damn much for the cannon fodder.”
He clicked a microphone on the screen and Billy’s screams were quieted. “Dean, are you there?” Jim moved the screen so the camera at the top of the tablet was pointed at his face.
A soldier appeared on the screen. “Yes, sir.”
“Dean, is this the boy with the back injury?”
“Yes, sir,” said Dean.
“What are you doing?” asked Reagan, his anger increasing.
Jim held up his finger and then smirked. “Proving a point.” He looked back to the screen and said, “Dean, see if you can break the boy’s back for me.”
“No!” Reagan leapt from his seat, sending the stool skittering backward across the tile floor until it tipped over.
The soldier on the screen punched Billy in the back, causing the boy to scream in agony as he twisted in his chains.
“Stop it!” Reagan started to move around the counter.
“If you want them to die, then keep coming at me,” said Jim. He waved his hand with the silver band around his wrist. “Go ahead and be the reason they die.”
Reagan stopped, unsure how to handle the situation.
“Get your chair and sit down,” said Jim. “I’m going to tell Dean to keep hitting this little shit in the back until you’re sitting down again.” He clicked the microphone on the screen again. “Dean, give it another shot.”
Reagan saw the soldier punch Billy in the back, and the boy he’d come to love writhed in pain as he dangled from his bindings. Billy’s wrists bled as the cuffs cut into him, the blood streaming down his arms. Reagan went to get his chair. He had no other choice.
“Hurry up, Reagan,” said Jim. “Dean, hit him again.”
“I’m doing like you told me,” said Reagan as he picked the stool back up.
“Faster,” said Jim before he clicked the microphone to speak with Dean. “Again!”
Billy sobbed as the soldier delighted in the torture.
Reagan
slammed the stool down and sat on it, helpless against the impossible situation. “There. Now what are you trying to prove? Why are you doing this?”
“Oh, we’re not done yet.” He clicked the microphone to speak with Dean again. “Dean, go ahead and give the kid a rest. I’ll let you know if we need to kill him.” Jim flicked through the screens on the tablet to bring him back to the map. He found the hallway outside of their room where the two soldiers were standing guard and started to rewind the footage until Reagan was watching himself nearly choking the life out of one of the soldiers.
“This was quiet impressive.” Jim shook his head and laughed as he glanced at Reagan, as if they were sharing in the joke. “Those two were no match for you. Were they?”
“Few are.” Reagan’s jaw was clenched as he seethed his words.
“True, true,” said Jim. “I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get you here safely. There’re a lot of people out there that want you dead. If it weren’t for me, you and your little boy toys would be dead already, along with the rest of your pathetic little group running around out there pretending to be soldiers. Little did you know, I was out there protecting you, hiding evidence that you were still alive. And then you had to go get caught on an Electorate camera feed. You made my job a hell of a lot harder than it needed to be. I’ve been forcing my men to go through that little exercise with the test subject six times a day, every day, for a couple months now, just waiting for you to take the bait.”
“They turned you into a monster. I don’t know how they saved you, or how they brainwashed you, but you’re not the same boy I knew. They turned you into a fucked up psycho.”
“Oh shut up, Reagan,” said Jim. “You’re making yourself sound like a fool. That kid was a failed experiment, just like a hundred others before her. We’re trying to save the world here, and a few cracked eggs here and there are necessary. That’s always been your problem, Reagan. You worry too damn much about people that don’t matter. Just like those two kids you’ve been hauling around with you. They’re useless. You, my friend, were always too concerned with the men serving under you. It was always your downfall, and it’s the reason your family died.”
Reagan shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“I tried to help you, Charles. I loved you like a brother.”
Reagan didn’t understand, and could only utter his boy’s name, “Jim?”
“No, you idiot,” said the man Reagan had thought was his son. “I’m not your God damned son. It’s me, Richard.” He saw Reagan’s confused look and explained further, “Richard Covington.”
* * *
August 24
th
, 20 years after the apocalypse
Laura has escaped the church, thanks to her friends.
The Rollers regrouped with the rest of the caravan far from the town, out where Arthur had first learned that Zack had gone back to find Laura. The caravan had stopped to check on the status of each truck before heading onto the highway when Kayla told Arthur what had happened. He refused to go further without Zack and Laura, even threatening to get out of his truck and walk back if necessary, even
with his broken leg.
Word of the argument spread through the group, which forced a vote. The Rollers were nearly unanimous in the decision to return to the burning town in search of their lost leaders.
“I’m sorry, Laura,” said Kayla. They were stopped beside the highway, again ensuring that everyone was ready before undertaking the journey to Castle Rock. “I never wanted to leave you behind.”
Laura hugged her old friend. “Stop it. If anything, I’m pissed at you for not lying to them all and getting them out of here in the first place. I was the one at fault here. I should’ve never wasted time
with that pilot.”
“Did you learn anything from him?” asked Kayla.
“No, he was having seizures when I got to him. He died shortly after. I found a transmitter in his clothes, which is probably how Jerald was able to track us down.”
Kayla looked out at the battered group of Rollers that were wandering around the side of the road, speaking in hushed tones about their uncertain future. “Everyone here feels your pain, Laura. We all loved Kim.”
“I know, Kayla.” Laura put her hand on her friend’s shoulder and squeezed as she looked up at the storm that was crossing the plains.
“And we all love you too. I just about had a riot on my hands when they found out you got left behind.”
Laura laughed and shook her head. “I know how that goes. This isn’t the easiest group to keep a handle on.”
“No,” said Kayla. “You’
re damn right about that.” She took Laura’s hand and squeezed it. “But they’ll follow you. Do you understand, Laura? This pack of bastards would do anything for you. You’ve earned it. You’re our captain.”
Laura looked up at the storm in the distance and wondered where it was headed. The wind spun around them, threatening to carry the storm in any number of directions at a moment’s notice.
“We’re going to war, Kayla,” said Laura, almost in apology.
“I figured as much,” said Kayla.
“We need time to heal up. We’ll find this rehab center that Arthur knows about, take however long we need to get back to fighting shape, and then we’ll figure out how to split up The Rollers. I’ll send Arthur out to meet with Jules, and we’ll see if we can get The Department’s backing.”
“This is what we always promised would never happen,” said Kayla. “We were supposed to stay together.
Billy, Hero, and Reagan were always adamant about that.”
“That’s a promise we can’t keep anymore,” said Laura. “I don’t want anyone to be dragged into a war they can’t win, but some of us won’t ever be willing to let it go, myself included.”
“War won’t bring Kim back,” said Kayla.
“I know that,” said Laura. “I’m past the point of reason on this one, Kayla. I’m numb.” She looked at her hands and chuckled, although she couldn’t have explained what she found funny. “It’s like all I’ve got left is hate.”
“That’s got to be the worst reason to go to war that I’ve ever heard.”
“I agree,” said Laura. “But it’s the truth. I knew it the moment I saw Annie on top of that steeple, guardi
ng all of us. When she heals up, the first thing she’s going to want to do is find Jerald. And if marching into hell first gives her another minute to live, then I’ll happily run in.”
Kayla winced as a drop of rain struck her cheek. “That sounds like the reason mankind
has never been able to give up on war. Every dead body leaves behind another broken, vengeful heart. I think you told me that once, Laura.”
“Yeah, and that was before it was my kid that was lying dead in the street.”
“Is there any way I can talk you out of this?” asked Kayla.
“It’s not worth trying. You’re better off letting the group split apart and going with the
half that wants to leave all this behind.”
“I’m not leaving you, Laura,” said Kayla. “I’m sorry I gave you that impression. I’ll fight, if that’s the way we’re headed.”
“I don’t see any other way to go. We’re not retreating from this,” said Laura as lighting streaked across the sky in the distance. A few moments later the thunder clapped and The Rollers started to head back to their trucks.
“We’re going to be smart about this, right?” asked Kayla as Laura walked away from her.
“What do you mean?” asked Laura. The rain started to fall faster as the storm caught up with them.
“We’re not going to go rushing in, guns blazing, are we?”
“We’re going to do whatever we have to,” said Laura.
The trees shuddered as the wind gusted. Kayla was left behind, and finally returned to her truck. The horizon looked bleak, a swathe of smoke and thunderclouds.
Two years after the apocalypse
Reagan is facing the man he thought was his son.
“Are you ready to shut up and listen now?” asked Covington. The tall, svelte black man couldn’t stop from smirking, seeming to enjoy the torture evident in Reagan’s expression.
“You stole my boy’s body?” asked Reagan.
“No,” said Covington. “I’ll explain, but first let me make sure you understand my little demonstration here.” He lifted the tablet to show Reagan the video feed from the security cameras. “I’m trying to hide you and your friends from the people that want you dead. I disabled the cameras in this lab, and had to use a different camera system in the cells where your friends are. I even had to pretend that we had a power surge that interrupted some of the camera feeds in the halls as my men brought you here. Like I told you, I’m going to a lot of trouble to save your ass, Reagan.” He switched back to a view of Hero and Billy, hanging from the ceiling of their torture rooms by chains. “Of course, I’m not protecting your friends because I like them. Instead, I’m protecting them to keep you in line. The last time we met, you shoved a piece of glass through my throat and left me for dead. This time I’ve got your two friends locked up to make sure you play nice. If you attack me, my friends will know it.” He shook his wrist and the silver bracelet rattled. “Then they’ll start pulling your friends’ fingernails out with a pair of pliers. We’ll stick hot needles in their eyes. And maybe we’ll even…”
“I get the point,” said Reagan.
“Good,” said Covington. “Maybe this time we can finish our conversation.” He pulled up a stool across the lab table from Reagan and sat down. “I’ve been looking forward to this since they caught you on video murdering those soldiers out in Estes.”
“What did you do to my son,” said Reagan. “How are you sitting there in his body?”
“This isn’t Jim’s body,” said Charles. “This is a clone, one of five made of this same specimen. Back when we first started to put together the plans for the virus, we also funded a eugenics plan. It started as a way to ensure that future generations would be as healthy as possible. We were hoping to end genetic disorders, but then we learned about something called Whole Brain Emulation. That’s where one person’s memories can be transferred to someone else. It’s fascinating stuff, Charles.”
“I’m sure,” said Reagan, unenthused.