Vigo's Lament: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 3) (12 page)

“Let him go. He’s not coming back. We’ve got business to do here.” He examined the doctor’s hand. It was spurting blood as he grabbed it with the other. “Damn it, now we can’t operate!” He marched over to Charlotte’s dead body and knelt down. “Because of you, now we have to find another doctor. I hope you’re happy.”

He stood up and patted the doctor’s back. “You’ll be fine. You won’t be performing surgeries any time soon, but you’ll live.” He clapped his hands together. “Well, I guess this project is postponed.” He pointed to Charlotte. “Clean up this mess. Lock these three up in the cell room. And make sure the power is on this time, damn it!”

EIGHTEEN

RUPERT AND ELLA sat at the dinner table, joined by Charlotte’s friend, Trevor. They munched on a hearty vegetable stew, prepared by Rupert himself. Ella stared at the table, pushing her food around the edge of her bowl.

Rupert glanced at her. “Is something on your mind?”

She did not respond and continued to play with her food.

“Ella?”

She flinched and looked up to see who called her name. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Is something on your mind? You seem distracted.”

“It’s just a feeling I have. Something is wrong. I don’t know why, but I feel like Alan and the others are in trouble.”

“Of course they’re in trouble,” Trevor said, shoveling stew down his throat. “They charged into a place full of people that hate them. What did they expect?”

“So why didn’t you stop them from leaving?” Ella asked, frustrated. “Charlotte’s your friend, isn’t she?”

“Yes, a good friend, but she can think for herself. It was their decision to go back. Who am I to say if it was the right or wrong decision? They had their reasons to leave, and we had ours to stay.”

“But you knew their lives were in danger. It’s your responsibility to stop them, or at least try.” She looked to Rupert for help, but he only shrugged.

“Hey,” Trevor said, scraping the bottom of his bowl. “I’m safe and sound in this village. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters.” He eyed her bowl. “Are you going to finish that?”

She shoved her bowl off the table and shot up from her seat. “You’re such a pig, Trevor. Quit eating for one second and think about someone other than yourself.”

Trevor raised his hands in the air. “I’m not selfish. I’m just being honest. There is no way we would have convinced them to stay. They already made up their minds. At least Charlotte did. I’ve worked with her for a few decades. I know how she thinks. The City is her home, no matter how dangerous. I, on the other hand, want home to be safe. Apparently, you do too. Otherwise, you would have gone with them. We’re not being selfish, just reasonable.”

Ella glared with wide eyes and sat down again. She hated to admit it, but he was right. They had all made their own decisions. Now she was questioning hers. Maybe she should have gone back with them. To her, home was where your family was. Whatever dangers they faced, they would face it as a family, but instead, they split up. Ella sat comfortably in Snow Peak, but her comfort was hindered by a feeling of regret. She could see it in Rupert’s face as well.

“Let’s go back,” she said. “Let’s find them and help.”

Trevor shook his head. “I’m not going.”

She ignored Trevor. “Rupert, let’s go help them.”

Rupert considered her words and then nodded. “If we can help our friends, we should at least try.”

A long smile stretched across her face.

Trevor eyed the bowl of stew that Ella had pushed to the ground. Some was still in the bowl and had not touched the floor. “How are you going to get there?”

“Shoot,” she said. “That’s right, they took the boat.”

“The evacuation pods,” Rupert said. “You came here in one. We can take one back.”

Trevor shook his head. “Those things aren’t designed for long distance. We had enough trouble getting them as far as we did. There’s no way you’ll make it back in one.”

Ella lowered her head. “Without a motorized boat, we can’t get back. We could go on a raft, but that would take weeks. Maybe even months.”

“And we can’t fit more than a week’s worth of supplies on a raft,” Rupert said.

“So what do we do?” She asked, looking back at Rupert and Trevor. She knew the answer, but she asked anyway, hoping they would have a miraculous solution.

“I’m afraid there isn’t much we
can
do,” Rupert said.

She lowered her head and stared at the table. Their friends were in danger. She could feel it in her gut, but there was nothing they could do.

NINETEEN

ALAN’S HEART POUNDED in his chest as he ran down the halls. He no longer minded the awful smell rising from the dead. He was more concerned with not dying himself. He raced down the corridor, flailing his arms and panting.

He turned the corner and stopped to catch his breath. When he peeked back around the corner, there was no one there. Just a hallway full of bodies. He had lost them. Or they let him go. Either way, he was still alive.

He stumbled to the elevator, unable to think straight. His head was spinning with overwhelming confusion. He entered the elevator and pressed Level 1. The moment the doors closed, he bent over and threw up in the corner.

Charlotte was dead. Vince and Izzy were captured. Now he was on his own. What should he do? Run? Hide in the streets and hope they never find him? Go back up to rescue Vince and Izzy? Or return to Snow Peak?

Yes. That was the only reasonable option. Return to Snow Peak. But he refused to leave his friends behind, trapped in a cell. He would return to Snow Peak and plead for Ella and Rupert to help him. He couldn’t do it alone, but with the help of others, he might be able to pull it off.

But how would he get back? He did not know the way to the docks, and their raft was long gone.

Then he remembered what Charlotte said. The Spire had its own dock. It would be on the lowest level, below Level 1. He pressed the cancel button and instead hit Level 0. There he would grab a boat and sail back home. That was the plan. Grab a boat. Get Ella and Rupert. Come back. Rescue Vince and Izzy. What could possibly go wrong?

Of course, he knew
everything
could go wrong. The boats might not start. Ella and Rupert might not come with him. They might be too late. It would probably take him at least two weeks to get there and come back. But that would not stop him from trying.

He wiped the chunks from his mouth and stood tall, ready to run once it the doors opened. He would not waste time. Not a single second. When the doors opened, he would sprint to the dock as fast as he could.

The elevator beeped and the doors slid open. He dashed out, but quickly realized he did not know his way to the docks.

“Crap!” he yelled, and then covered his mouth, remembering that guards might be around. There was an interactive map on the opposite wall. He ran up and tapped the screen furiously. He found Level 0, and then the docks. Down the hall. Two rights and a left. He hit the wall with his fist, and ran down the hall, repeating the turns in his head. Down the hall. Two rights and a left.

No one was around. Level 0 was deserted. That was good news for Alan. No obstacles. No distractions. No one to stop him. He took a sharp right, and the salty scent of sea water entered his nostrils. Another right. The horrific scene was stuck in his head. Charlotte falling over in an explosion of blood. Vince shaking furiously as electricity surged through his body. Izzy lying helplessly on that operating table. These images flashed in his mind and pushed him to move even faster. The tip tap of his feet was overtaken by the sound of waves, crashing into the Spire walls. He took a quick left.

Around the corner was the large dock. It stood even larger than the Western Gate, but he had no time to awe over the vast space. He needed to find a boat, but which one? He hoped for a fast one, but he could only guess. His eyes filtered through each one, studying his options. There were so many, it was impossible to choose.

Instead of wasting more time, he pointed to the one nearby. “That one,” he said. It was as good of a guess as any. He trotted up and hopped in. It was smaller than the others. Not quite as large as the one they arrived in. There was no pantry. No bedroom. No lounge. There was only one floor with one room. The control room. It was all he needed.

He tinkered with the controls. He had watched Charlotte steer before, but this was different. The buttons and levers were jumbled around. He examined the panel, studying each one until he found what he was looking for. He slammed on the button and heard the motor start.

He gripped the lever and carefully pushed forward. A maze of boats stood in his way. He maneuvered through, resisting the urge to push the throttle to the limit. He would not be helpful to anyone trapped in a pile of boat wreckage. He restrained his hand until he made it through the gate, and then pushed it up as high as it would go. The motor growled and the boat jerked forward, moving at a steady pace.

Alan looked down at the water. “Is that all you got?” He pushed more buttons and grabbed more levers. The motor pushed from a growl to a roar and the boat jerked forward with unexpected speed.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” he yelled. “Don’t worry Vince, help is on the way.”

TWENTY

TRISH STARED AT Charlotte’s body as the guards dragged her out. A long streak of blood trailed behind. She then looked at Vince, unconscious on the ground, still shaking from the powerful shock that was sent through his body. Both of them were traitors. Greene trusted them, and they stabbed him in the back. The City was in shambles, and they were to blame.

She moved her eyes to Izzy, who was motionless on the table. The girl was back in the City, and she was alive. Trish looked back to Vince with curious confusion. She had thought he was working with Simon, but for reason’s she could not explain, he attacked him. He drained his energy and ended his life. From the rage she saw in his eyes, it was obvious he hated the man.

And then Charlotte saved Izzy. The girl was Greene’s flesh and blood, but the woman who led Greene to his death also saved Izzy from hers. She sacrificed her own life to save her enemy’s daughter.

They were people she believed to be traitors. They were responsible for the death of her friends, but now they were helping for reasons she could not explain. Thinking about it made her head spin.

Jonah snapped his fingers and pointed to Izzy. “Get the girl off the table and lock her up with the rest of them. We can’t do the surgery anymore. Not until we find another doctor.” He approached the doctor, who was grasping his bloody wrist. “You are free to go.”

The doctor was trembling, his face soaked in tears. “I need medical attention. Get someone to help me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the resources. Consider it lucky I’m letting you live in the first place. If it were up to Simon, you would already be dead. But I’m a nice guy. I’m letting you go. You’ll be fine. You’re a doctor. You’ll figure it out.”

“I can’t treat myself,” he pleaded. “I need someone to stitch me up. It hurts so much. I can’t even hold still.” He held out his hand, and it shook beyond his control.

Jonah shook his head. “Sorry doc. It’s not my problem. I’ve already paid you for nothing. You didn’t complete your job, but I’m letting you go anyway. You’re stretching it. Get out of my face before I change my mind. And to make sure my money doesn’t completely go to waste, head upstairs and switch on the power in the cell room. I got to make you work at least a little. Otherwise, I’m just throwing money down the drain.”

The doctor glanced at him for a moment longer and shambled out of the room with a lowered head.

Jonah looked to Trish, who averted her eyes. “Why so nervous, honey? I’m not going to hurt you if you cooperate. We know everything we need to about that girl so far, but if the time comes and we need your help, I expect you to answer our questions honestly. Do that, and you have nothing to worry about. You’re the only one alive who knew about Greene’s daughter. It would be a shame if that were no longer the case.”

Trish continued to avoid eye contact. Instead, she focused her eyes on Izzy. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

“Of course she doesn’t deserve this, but sometimes life is unfair. Trust me, a lot of good will come from this. Her death will lead to great things.”

She continued staring at the girl, considering what to say next.

“If you don’t cooperate,” Jonah said, “I’m afraid there’s no reason for me to keep you alive.”

“You could just let me go, like the doctor.”

He shook his head. “That doctor was willing to help. He was just put in an unfortunate circumstance. You, on the other hand, have not helped me or hurt me. You have yet to make a decision. If you choose to help me, then you’re an asset. I will take care of you. But if you choose not to help me, I can only assume you intend to hurt me. That is something I can’t ignore. I can’t let someone like that go free. You’ll just come back later and bite me in the ass.” He looked at his hand and noticed a splotch of blood that had splattered onto his palm. He wiped it away with the tip of his thumb. “So, what will it be? Help me, or hurt me?”

She took her eyes from Izzy and moved them to Jonah. “Help you,” she whispered.

Jonah leaned in. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I will help you. Ask whatever you’d like about the girl and I will answer. However, I will not harm the girl in any way. I will only provide information.”

Jonah smiled. “Fair enough.” He looked up at his guards. “Why are you taking so long? You don’t need to clean every last inch. Just leave her body there. She’s not going anywhere. She’s got a hole in her face for Christ’s sake. She’s out of the room. That’s good enough. Now get back in here and lock up our prisoners before they wake up.”

The guards dropped Charlotte and moseyed back in. One lifted Izzy in his arms. Another walked up to Trish and spun her around.

“Please,” she said, “you don’t need to cuff me. I’m not going to run.”

The guard glanced at Jonah, who nodded. He shrugged back and joined the third to help carry Vince. Jonah grabbed his turtle mug off the desk, before following the others out. He walked beside Trish, taking careful sips of tea.