Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ADRIAN
Ipulled into Ashford in the early morning.
I wasn’t surprised to see that traffic clogged Main Street in uneven knots. The pharmacy had a line that wrapped around the building—people pushing and shoving to get in.
A grocery store on the corner had its doors locked, windows plastered with a handwritten sign:
OUT OF WATER. OUT OF brEAD. NO TOILET PAPER. CASH ONLY. CARD READERS ARE DOWN.
I passed the large Supercenter on my way in, and the parking lot was full. People were getting short-tempered and desperate, resorting to the smaller, family-owned businesses.
I parked well short of the school and walked the rest of the way, letting the noise sort itself out around me.
Parents clustered in the lot across the street from the school, some shouting, some crying, and some staring at their phones, as if answers might suddenly appear.
A single deputy was dealing with the crowd, sweat darkening his collar and eyes glassy in a way that didn’t bode well for him.
“I’m going in to get my son,” a middle-aged woman wiped her nose on a Kleenex. “You have no right keeping me out.”
“I can’t let you do that,” the deputy said, coughing into his hand.
“Well, you're not doing anything to help them.” She whined in a nasally voice.
“Now, Doris, you know we’re doing all we can. They have to remain quarantined for the time being.” He flashed an official-looking letter. “We received this notification from the CDC, and we have to follow the instructions. But don’t you worry, we’ll have those kids at home in no time.”
“Fuck that.” A large man stepped forward, pushing Doris aside. “It’s been hours, and none of y’all have done shit. I’m tired of waiting around.”
The deputy tried to answer but began coughing so harshly that he couldn’t speak for several minutes. “Dan…I know you’re worried…but it’s just not safe yet.”
“Why the fuck not? Seems like most people are sick,” Dan glowered at the deputy, obviously at the end of his rope. “So why in the hell is the school locked down? My daughter is in there, and I need her home.” His eyes became glassy. “My Anne is in a bad way.”
The crowd all started yelling at once, and it was more than obvious that the deputy was completely out of his league.
I knew Lucas was inside, and there weren't nearly enough students with him to match the number of parents here.
I was deciding how to play this when I saw Ben cutting through the crowd toward me. A helmet tucked under one arm; his dirt bike parked crookedly at the curb. Dust streaked his jeans, and his salt-and-pepper hair was disheveled. Nowhere near the fastidious man I knew him to be.
“I figured you’d show up.” He motioned me away from the crowd for privacy.
“This is a lost cause. These people aren’t getting their kids back.
” His face grew puzzled. “I did some scouting of the building last night. Besides having no explanation for what I saw, the school’s doors are chained from the outside.
” He frowned at me. “Do you know what’s going on? ”
“I have some theories, but nothing concrete. As for the building being chained, I’m sure the authorities in charge are trying to contain the threat. Not that they can.” I motioned toward the building. “Lucas is in there, and I need to get him out.”
“Is he still…Lucas?” He stared at me intently.
I didn’t pretend I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“He was a few hours ago.” I ran a hand through my hair. “He’s barricaded in the teacher’s lounge with a few of his students.”
He mulled that over for a minute. “You’re going to need my help.”
His help would be valuable. Ben possessed a wide range of weapons, which would be crucial for getting Lucas back.
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I could give two shits about your appreciation. I need you to help me retrieve Taryn.” His voice was gruff.
Ben hadn’t changed one bit. I admired his directness.
“She was headed back toward town, but her movements stopped a little while ago.” I ran a hand through my hair.
We both had the same goal: to bring Taryn home no matter the cost.
His eyes turned sharp and assessing. “How do you know that? Are you tracking her?”
“Yes.”
There was no point in lying. Taryn was mine, and Ben knew it. She always had been.
“Why am I not surprised?” He stepped closer, “How?”
“I’ll explain later, but first we need to get Lucas out.”
He glanced around at the chaos. “The authorities—" He rolled his eyes. “—are still playing like this is a normal pandemic.”
“That’s not surprising.”
Behind us, a woman screamed a name into the crowd. Somewhere closer, glass shattered. A siren started and then died halfway through its first wail.
Things were going downhill fast.
“Follow me back to the house. This is going to call for a few of my toys.” He narrowed his eyes. “While we’re gathering shit, you can tell me what you’ve seen on your way here.”
I followed Ben into the house and down into the prep room. Comforted by familiar scents, gun oil, tobacco, and the slight coconut undertone of Taryn's lotion, I relaxed for the first time in days.
Ben set his pack down on the table and flipped the light switch.
“Start from the beginning,” he demanded. “Don’t leave anything out.”
I kept it factual.
“Traffic failures,” I counted off on my fingers. “The breakdown of authority, hospitals overrun.”
Ben nodded, opening cabinets, inventorying by habit.
“Stores stripped,” I continued. “A shortage of water, bread, and toilet paper, for some insane reason. Most people still think it’s some kind of pandemic.”
“That doesn’t surprise me," Ben nodded.
Ben paused. “Have you seen them?”
I knew what he was referring to. “Up close and personal.”
Ben turned slowly, giving me his full attention. “What I saw at the school last night scared me.” He cleared his throat. “And you know I don’t scare easily.”
I waited.
“I’d heard a man at the hardware store talking about screams and whatnot coming from the campus. There were some officers who entered, but they never came back out." He shook his head, lost in thought. “I figured I should check it out.”
BEN
THE NIGHT BEFORE ADRIAN’S ARRIVAL
I lay flat on top of the press box, my breaths slow and measured. The school building was a black shape against the night, too quiet.
I brought the binoculars up first.
Three patrol cars sat crooked in the lot. Doors opened, but the light bars were dark. No movement.
That alone told me that shit had gone fubar.
I switched to the thermal monocular; the screen bloomed to life in washed-out whites and dull grays. Residual heat clung to the concrete where engines had cooled. A faint smear along the side of one cruiser—someone leaning there too long.
Then I saw them.
Heat signatures clustered near the east entrance. Not running, but not exactly still, either. They were drifting like animals that hadn’t decided whether to flee or feed.
Movement flared suddenly.
One officer stumbled into view, his heat signature bright and sharp, breathing hard. He turned as if he’d heard something behind him.
That’s when I saw a shape surge out of the cluster.
It slammed into him with enough force to knock them both sideways. They went down hard. The officer screamed once, short, shocked, and tried to push the thing off him.
I saw the moment it bit him.
The heat spiked where its head dipped to his shoulder, then pulsed violently as the officer convulsed beneath it. The scream cut off mid-sound. His arms flailed once, then slowed.
Too fast.
Another shape closed in. Then another. Heat signatures piled together until I couldn’t tell where one body ended and the next began.
I lowered the optic, my jaw clenched so tight it ached.
“Did they just—eat him?” I mumbled in disbelief.
Those other officers were dead. I didn’t have to see it to know it. They’d gone in expecting a disturbance, sick kids, something they could control.
I eased up on my feet, keeping low, already adjusting the plan in my head.
My new objective was to get to Taryn. My girl was more than capable, but I’d never trained her for this scenario. How could I? I didn’t even know what the fuck this was.
I got on my bike and headed home. I had to start preparing; I knew Adrian would be coming this way. That boy wouldn’t let anything stand in his way of getting Taryn back.
I was counting on it.
ADRIAN
“How fast did he turn?” I asked.
“He didn’t,” Ben shook his head. “The students fed on him, like hogs at a trough.” He knocked his fist on the table. “I got the fuck out of there. And that’s why I know this flu crap is bullshit.”
“Before I left work,” I held his stare, “the data from the meteor event didn’t reconcile. Fragment size, particulate spread, and atmospheric burn. None of it triggered any alarms. And it should have.”
“So?” Ben looked confused.
“So, nothing was flagged.” I raised one brow. “Which means whatever came down wasn’t considered dangerous, or it didn’t behave like anything we knew to look for.”
“I need to get to Taryn.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve prepared her for every eventuality I could have imagined. But not this. How could I have possibly known to prepare her for this?”
He looked lost.
Ben was a hard man. I knew Taryn resented his treatment of her and didn’t think her father loved her. But she was wrong. Taryn wouldn’t be who she was today if he hadn’t pushed her. He loved her the only way he knew how…ensuring she could survive anything.
And I knew she would… unless she was sick.
No.
I wouldn’t accept that thought. Taryn was too strong and too beautiful to suffer the fate of the people I’d encountered on the road. I knew that wasn’t logical, but I didn’t really give a shit. I’d keep her well by my will alone if I had to.
“You couldn’t. None of us could.” I reassured him. “Let’s get Lucas out, and then we’ll find her.”
Ben studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. “Let’s get to it then.”
He spread a blueprint of the school across the table.
“Why do you have this?” I tilted my head, looking at him with curiosity.
He glanced up, “Do you think I’d allow my daughter to spend every day in a place without knowing it inside and out?”
It was a shame Taryn couldn’t see how much he loved her. They were more alike than she’d ever admit, both hardheaded as hell.
I didn’t bother replying since the answer to his question was obvious. I blamed my stupidity on a lack of sleep. “Lucas is in the teacher’s lounge.”
He tapped the blueprint, “I think our best option is to observe and then decide.”
“I agree. We can’t finalize a plan until we know all the facts. I’ll try to get a message out to Lucas again.”
We both stared at the print, memorizing the school's layout for several minutes.
“Why don’t you get cleaned up, and I’ll fix you something to eat?” He rolled up the prints. “If we don’t hear from Lucas, we can go back tonight when these things are likely more active and calculate numbers. Then we’ll head in early in the morning.”
I nodded in agreement, then reached into my shoulder bag for my computer, opened it, and glanced at the screen. “Taryn is still in the same location.”
“After we find her, I’m going to need an explanation.” He was staring at me with intent.
“The explanation is simple, she’s mine.” I was just as straightforward as he was.
He narrowed his eyes, “I’ve known this day was coming. You'd better treat her right, or the consequences will be severe.”
“I’d expect nothing less. I’m heading up to shower, then I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” I put the computer back in my bag.
Ben began opening cases and laying out weapons with calm precision, not bothering to acknowledge me further.
A flicker of heat passed through me then—sudden, sharp, and gone before I could pin it down. I ignored it. I’m sure it was stress or adrenaline. I wouldn’t accept anything else.
I shut the door behind me and headed to the bathroom, passing Taryn’s bedroom on the way.
I knew I shouldn’t go in, but I couldn’t help myself.
I only let myself get close enough to catch her scent on special occasions.
Holidays and birthdays. I had to keep my distance.
Otherwise, I’d never have made it until she graduated.
I didn’t always feel this way. It started when I came home a few years ago, intending to see Taryn for her sixteenth birthday.
I saw her with some of her friends and was struck by her beauty.
Instead of the visit I’d planned, I low jacked her.
I know that wasn’t sane behavior, but I didn’t care at the time, and I still don’t.
I pushed open her door and entered the room. I meandered around, going through the things on her dresser, then walked over to her bed and picked up her pillow, bringing it to my face.
The smell of her favorite coconut lotion and shampoo invaded my senses in the best way.
I held it for several long minutes before I replaced it exactly as it was.
I poked around for a little longer, opening her underwear drawer and bringing a silky purple pair to my nose.
I closed my eyes and pretended they were still warm from the heat of her pussy.
Rubbing them across my lips, I felt my dick pulse, and I reached down to squeeze it tightly.
Taking some deep, calming breaths, I slid her panties into my pocket before reluctantly continuing to the bathroom.
Standing under the spray longer than necessary, I let the heat pound down on my shoulders.
Taryn and I had a complicated relationship that others wouldn’t understand. I’d always held her in great affection, but that shifted over the years from that of a brother to a man who needed her just to breathe.
I grabbed her shampoo and body wash and used both, so I was saturated in her scent.
My dick was hard as stone, but I refused to touch it. It, along with everything else I owned, belonged to Taryn, and she was the only one with that privilege.
I had originally intended to wait until she finished high school and college before sharing my plans with her, but that decision had now changed.
As soon as I got Lucas out, I was coming for Taryn, and I wasn’t planning on leaving her side again.
My wait was over.