Page 58 of Redemption
After a few satisfying moments of afterglow, I pry my eyelids open, searching for the source of the voice, only to see all three members of my family crouched down in front of me, fully clothed, as if nothing even happened just now.
What?
“We’re coming, Hawk,” Aly says, her soft voice a balm to my confused state. But then...
Pain erupts like a lightning strike, sudden and merciless. My mouth falls open on a silent cry. The sharp jolts shooting through my body are intense enough to send me back to reality and out of the dream I so wanted to be real. Aly, Cole, and Jax each reach out a hand, placing them on top of my stilltrembling form, now huddled in a ball on the floor. Their touches, soft and gentle. So gentle.
Then... as one... they say, “We’re coming.”
I close my eyes as the room darkens, as Aly, Cole, and Jax turn into nothing more than shadowy silhouettes too far from me to reach. Pain fills my body once again, but the words they spoke continue to reverberate within the darkness taking over my mind.
“We’re coming.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Stitch
My neck makes a satisfying crack as I tilt it to the right. Stress and an overwhelming sense of defeat seemed to be piling up over the last few months.
But not anymore.
There’s potential in the wind.
I became part of Phoenix Rising a little less than a year ago. They took me in, offered me safety, shelter, food, practically everything I could think of.
And then he offered me more.
Too much more, in my opinion.
To the passive onlooker, Phoenix Rising is paradise, offering everything a person could need or ask for. Especially as we’re all simply trying to survive an apocalypse. We’re lured in by thePromised Landappeal. Miracles lying in wait. Heaven on Earth. When in reality, the demons of a darker, more sinister place rule here.
The door to the Infirmary opens with a tiny squeak, barely audible unless you’re already aware of it. David, the self-proclaimed leader of Phoenix Rising, looks at the door’s hinges as if they personally insulted him, curling his lip at the rustingmetal before he heads my way to the reception desk in the middle of the foyer.
The tiny sound reminds me I have yet another thing to fix before it turns into an even bigger problem, because that’s whatIdo here at Phoenix Rising. I fix things. Formerly a med-surg nurse at a local hospital, I can resolve all kinds of problems: abrasions, lacerations, breaks, strains... even a torn stitch on your boss’ favorite pair of trousers. David lifts his clenched fist over the desk, handing me a pair as he reaches me.
“Mornin’ Stitch! And how are you faring on this fine day?” His thick southern accent—reminiscent of old Georgia—scratches at my ears, and not in a pleasant way. It grates on my nerves, the way he can be so calm, cool, and collected when he knows I know what he and his loyalists do on a daily basis.
A ritual, formed at the black heart of this entire community.
“Going about as well as one might expect, sir,” I reply, stashing the pair of pants in a bag on the floor to take back home and mend later. He lifts a scrutinizing eyebrow when I do so, fully expecting to be placed before any of my other duties, but I already have a full roster. New people entering the community means more work for me, and we’ve just recently received a few new additions.
Every citizen within the confines of the community has a file that I and the others in the Infirmary maintain and keep. In them, you’d find medical testing results, job history, hobbies, where they’re being housed, and current job status/ title, amongst various other data points. But one of the most important bits of information is viral immunity. No one is allowed to stay within the boundaries if they aren’t immune to the zombie contagion.
That is, unless you’re a female.
Females are too rich a commodity nowadays to be dismissed so frivolously, according to David. Instead, they’re kept under lock and key, safe from the virus as well as any intruders or harm.
At least from outside of the community, that is.
“And how goes the processing of our newest initiates?”
I glance down at the document I was just filling in when David arrived and recite the notes on a man named Jackson Rhodes. It took a bit to get his full name, but after a few hours he finally complied. “Patient in room two exhibits normal behavior after abduction. Confused and agitated, but willing to comply with directives. Health seems to be in order, although he was a bit banged up when he first arrived. Subluxation of the left shoulder, various abrasions and contusions found across his entire body, as well as a handful of lacerations. Upon later examination, the patient also exhibited signs indicating a concussion: temporary amnesia, dizziness, lethargy, and irritability. Patient’s testing did show elevated levels of sedative in his system, much higher than is normally used in such cases, which explains why it took him so long to regain consciousness, but the blood tests also verified he was immune to the virus, so he should be a welcome addition to the community, sir.”
David rises to his full height, his hands meeting together in a victorious clap. “Wonderful!” His head turns to glance down the hallway to where Jackson is still being kept under twenty-four-hour surveillance by the two guards stationed just outside his door. “Gentlemen. How do?”
They dip their chins in recognition and reply together.
“Fine, sir.”
