Eaters (Book 2): The Resistance (26 page)

The group formed a semi-circle around the slab, continuing to chant as the man was forced to lie down upon the flat rock. Then, like some horrific scene out of an Aztec history book, the tall priest figure held a roughly hewn dagger high above his head. With one silent swoop, he plunged it into the man's chest. Blood ran like dark syrup down his torso as the priest gouged a crude circle in the man's flesh and lifted his beating heart up high for the others to see. He tossed the heart down the hillside then said in a booming voice, "Let us eat of his flesh and drink of his blood."

A chalice filled with the drippings from the body was passed around and all partook.

Cheryl covered her mouth in revulsion and struggled to understand why anyone would resurrect such a barbaric practice. Was it a ritual to appease some new or ancient god? To prove their faith in a cult? To show they had no fear of becoming infected?

A few minutes later, the group began to form a line to hike back down the hill. Instead of hauling their victim with them, they abandoned the corpse. She wondered if they intended to let the vultures and coyotes peck away at the flesh, so they could come back to collect the bones later.

As the last quarter of the group passed them, an idea formed. She turned to Aidan and said, "I know how we're going to get inside Sedona. We're going to join that group."

He looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "What? How?"

"See those two lagging behind?" she pointed to a couple at the very end of the line. I bet we can take them out without anyone noticing."

"You mean kill them?"

"Hopefully not. We'll just try to delay them long enough so you and I can put on their robes."

"Ohhh…" Aidan said, sucking in his breath. "Then what?"

"They're probably on their way back to town. It's our way in…"

"You're serious?" he asked.

Cheryl bit down hard on one of her knuckles, having a serious
be-careful-what-you-wish-for
moment. "Yes," she said, knowing that she'd regret it if she passed on this opportunity to find out what was really going on with the master puppets of the epidemic.

Zach and Diego overheard their conversation. "I'm in," Zach said, and Diego echoed him.

Cheryl gave the Glock to Zach. The next few seconds were tense as he and Diego waited for the right moment to spring from their hiding place to grab the young man and woman who seemed to be purposely drifting behind the group, so they could steal a few kisses.

"An odd venue for a date," Cheryl whispered. She was about to follow that with a second snide comment when Zach and Diego leapt out like a couple of lions and pounced. Before the couple knew what hit them, hands were clamped over their mouths and they were in a chokehold. Once they were pulled out of view of the others, they were warned to keep silent if they wanted to live.

"Take your robes off," Diego commanded.

After exchanging a frightened glance, the couple complied.

Somehow, Cheryl expected that they would have togas on underneath or some other sort of ritual garb. But, these kids, barely in their twenties, wore jeans and t-shirts along with their sandals, and looked just as normal as could be.

"Quick," Cheryl said to Aidan. "Let's put their robes on."

The heavy black cloth smelled like incense, pungent but not unpleasant as she tied the belt around her waist. She demanded the girl's sandal's too, squeezing them onto her feet despite the snug fit.

The young man scowled at them. "Idiots! You think they won't notice when we don't come back? They'll feed you to the Beasts when they discover you."

Aidan smiled at him. "Then we'll have to be careful, won't we?"

"What are your names?" Cheryl asked.

"Ashley," the girl said just before her companion nudged her in the ribs.

"And yours?"

When the young man didn't respond, Zach cocked the trigger and pressed the gun barrel into his cheek.

"Ph…Philip," he stuttered.

"Last names?"

Philip shook his head and scowled. "We don't have last names..."

"Garrett and Downey," Ashley said with pleading,
don't kill me
eyes. "Look…you're all dead if they see your weapon. Only guards can have guns."

"I guess we can't risk taking one then," Aidan said.

Cheryl gasped. "What? You're going to believe them? I'm not going in there unarmed."

"If we have to go through a checkpoint on the way in, we'll be outgunned anyway. We'll never make it through if we don't do it by stealth."

"
Ergghh
…this really seemed like a good idea when I first thought of it. I didn’t expect it to go down like this."

Diego lowered the binoculars. "It was your idea, chica. If you're going to catch up with them, you better hurry. They're going down faster than they came up."

As Cheryl looked at their captives, wondering if there was any last minute information she could squeeze out of them, Philip moved his hand towards one of his pockets.

"Hands up!" Zach said.

They both raised their hands in the air, and Cheryl saw an immediate problem. Both of them had the triangle symbol on their right hand. "Aidan…we're not marked. That's going to give us away."

"I think I can help with that," Diego said.

Zach scoffed. "You carry tattoo equipment on you, amigo?"

"See the raised flesh? It's not a tattoo; it's a brand." Diego fumbled in the pocket on his vest and pulled out a lighter. "It'll hurt like a
mother
, but I can do it."

Cheryl winced. She hadn't envisioned anything this drastic when she'd suggested infiltrating the O.N.E. stronghold. Now, she was in it deep. "Okay," she nodded to him. "Do it quick."

While Zach and Aidan watched the captives, Diego held the edge of a key with a bandana then flicked his lighter and heated the tip until it glowed red hot.

Cheryl picked a fat stick up from the ground and put it between her teeth. Then, she sucked in her breath and bit down.

"Sure you want to do this?"

She gave a quick nod, knowing their opportunity to catch up with the cloaked group was slipping away.

It took four excruciating lines to make the symbol, and the pain was made worse by the acrid scent of her burning flesh.

Then, it was Aidan's turn. "It's a bitch, isn't it?"

She shrugged, keenly feeling the blistering heat on her palm. "Yeah. But, it's probably less pain than if we get caught and fed to the Eaters."

After he admirably endured his branding, Cheryl asked, "What about your patch?"

"Oh," he said, taking it off and stuffing it in a pocket.

She looked away from his empty eye socket as he pulled his hair down to cover it.

"You should lose that too." He pointed to the silver and turquoise cross around her neck.

She lifted it up and looked at it. She hadn't given it much thought since Hannah gave it to her, but realized now that it felt like a talisman that had protected her. The thought of taking it off made her uneasy.

"It's just a piece of jewelry," he said, seeing her hesitation. "A piece of metal that could get you killed in there."

"It saved my life once."

"I have a feeling these people worship themselves, so I don't think it's a good idea to have that on you."

She lifted the necklace over her head and handed it to Zach. "Will you give this to Mark."

"Of course," he said. "You'd better go…"

Aidan gave him and Diego a pat on the shoulder. "I don't know how long we're going to be gone. What are you going to do if we don't come back?"

Diego thought for a moment then said, "Head back to Sabre, I guess. We'll beg Jeremiah to let us stay."

Cheryl and Aidan took off down the path, jogging as quietly as they could with their hoods covering most of their faces.

A couple of minutes later, a stern voice rumbled in her head.
I'd tell you not to do anything stupid, but it's too late for that.

Catching sight of the tail end of the cloaked group disappearing around a boulder, they picked up their speed, so they could close the distance.

Shutup, Mark. I can't turn back now.

Chapter 19

At first, no one seemed to notice them as they scrambled through the brush and joined the group. Then, there was a giggle from the cloaked figure in front of them.

"You two are so naughty," the impish voice said. "All the blood get you hot?"

They kept their heads low and didn’t reply. Thankfully, the girl didn't interrogate them further about their disappearance.

Ashley.
Cheryl reminded herself of her new name. That's what they were doing, right? Taking on someone else's identity, so they could infiltrate the core of this mysterious group.
Philip
—she hoped Aidan would remember the name. Then, she remembered that he'd initially given a false name to the people at Fort San Manuel. She never knew him before the epidemic. Maybe, he was at ease with wearing different identities, because of some run-ins he'd had with the law. That gave her a bit of unease, but then…she was sure he would never do anything to betray her.

The hike down to the lower elevation was much easier physically than it had been scrambling up to catch up with the group, but it was tougher mentally. Instead of excitement and curiosity, the first rumblings of fear began to creep in.
Where were they going? Were they going to be able to slip inside the city in this group without being pinned as outsiders?
She knew this was going to either be a wild adventure or a march to her death. Either way, it meant
change
. She was so sick of running and hiding, so sick of what the world had become. Now, at least she felt like she was doing something active to affect the status quo, even if it ultimately was her undoing.

After the long march towards Sedona, they reached what appeared to be a guard station on the outskirts. Like the others they'd seen through the binoculars, this one had men armed with automatic rifles and Eaters in nearby pens, fitted with the small black boxes, ready to be unleashed.

Aidan gave her a glance of apprehension as their first test was about to commence.

They kept their heads low, faces mostly hidden by their hoods as the group filed past the guards. To her relief, they didn't have to show their brands, but she realized that each said something to a guard at the entrance. A password? A specific greeting?

She just caught a whisper of the greeting from the girl in front of her and hoped she had heard it correctly. When she reached the guard, she repeated, "Hail, the Omega."

He nodded to her and let her pass. Then, it was Aidan's turn.

Slowing her step, she took a quick look back. She cringed when she saw that the guard had detained him.

"Your brand?" the guard asked.

With obvious reluctance, Aidan held out his right hand and displayed his freshly charred palm. "I'm new," he chuckled. "Just arrived yesterday."

The guard stared down at Aidan's hand then snickered. "You're a newbie, all right. Don't know how they even let you attend an execution. And they must have a new guy in the branding center, because that's a sloppy job." He stared into Aidan's eye, studying him. "I bet he squirted numbing gel all over the floor with his shaky hand."

Aidan belted out a forced laugh as he shook his head. "Shit, man. Dude didn't use a drop. I felt every second of it."

The guard's mouth became a thin, firm line. "Good to know. Because, they never numb you. The pain is part of your rebirthing process. Have a good night, sir." He nodded and motioned for Aidan to go inside with the others.

When Aidan caught up with her, she dared a look back and saw the guard speaking into his handheld radio. "You think he bought it?"

"I don't know. But, we're in. Let's just keep going."

They followed the others to a brick building that looked like it had just been built yesterday.
And maybe it had
. Cheryl remembered how quickly Jake said the Eaters were building the pyramid—a smaller building would be as easy as pie for a tireless workforce.

Once inside the building, they walked down a dimly lit hallway, illuminated by two rows of blue LED lights on the floor. It opened into a large, empty room that was more brightly lit. Benches lined the walls, and a conveyer belt on one side led into a square opening. There were no other furnishings other than the familiar O.N.E. symbol carved into one wall and a set of heavy steel doors on the far side of the room.

Thankfully, instead of turning around to talk to them, the girl who had spoken during the hike moved to chat with some of the people who'd grouped on the far side of the room. Cheryl and Aidan tried to mingle with the others, trying to act nonchalant. If anyone noticed they weren't the original couple that had left with them, they gave no indication as they continued their conversations. They eavesdropped on the talk around them.

"Awesome, wasn't it?"

"…such a weasel…he deserved it…"

"…okay…bonfire better…burn them slowly."

"…tore her apart right there…"

Then, a loud, deep voice boomed around them. "Disrobe."

Cheryl hoped no one had seen her flinch as she glanced around the room, looking for a loudspeaker. She saw the others around her begin to take off their cloaks and toss them on the conveyer belt. She and Aidan did the same.

Before they could wonder what would happen next, the people around them started taking off their clothing too. T-shirts, jeans, and shorts, flew off, followed by undergarments. Everything was placed on the conveyer, including shoes. Then, standing naked, they continued conversing as they had before, seeming unabashed about their nudity.

Aidan gave her a nod, urging her not to panic as her heart leapt up into her throat. He undid the buckle on his belt and whipped it off. Unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, he gave her a wide-eyed glare that didn’t need a translation. She realized that at this moment, modesty would be a death sentence. After a deep exhale, she followed suit, pulling her shirt over her head. They both hurried out of the rest of their clothing, trying not to draw attention by being the last ones still clothed.

Once they were completely undressed, it took a lot of restraint for her to avoid the natural instinct to cover herself, or at least scrunch her body together and try to become invisible. She and Aidan avoided ogling each other's body by looking down at the floor.

The heavy doors opened with the hiss of an airlock being released and one by one, the people filed through them. They walked down a narrow hallway. Towards the far end, there was a sign overhead lit up in red letters: REPORT ANY SYMPTOMS OF RASH, FEVER OR ABNORMAL HUNGER. FAILURE TO REPORT WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE TERMINATION.

Cheryl assumed that complying with reporting also meant immediate termination.
Damned if you do…damned if you don't.

The next sign was in black letters on an opaque glass door. DECONTAMINATION SHOWERS.

She had another palpitation. Surely, everyone in this O.N.E.-controlled city had been given the vaccine. If that was the case, why were they still paranoid about infection? It seemed like they weren't comfortable about their ability to protect themselves from unknown sources tracking it in.

Trying to shut off her ruminating brain, she focused her attention on following the lead of the others as they lined up underneath shower heads, men and women side by side. She and Aidan raised their arms like the rest as almost unbearably hot water that stank like chemical disinfectant sprayed down on them. Afterwards, like cattle, they followed into another room where giant blowers dried their skin.

Through the entire process, Aidan kept a respectful distance from her, and she suspected that he was as frightened as she was.

After they were dry, they toddled like penguins into the next area where the conveyer belt picked up again, and their clothes and shoes rolled out of a square opening in the wall. Through a clear curtain, the blue ultraviolet light tube was visible that they had passed through to disinfect them.

Like weary passengers waiting for their luggage, Cheryl and Aidan stood next to the rolling belt, arms folded, and eyes looking everywhere but at each other's exposed flesh.

"First time?"

"Yeah," Cheryl said, trying to avert her gaze away from the woman's pendulous breasts and sagging thighs.

"Well, congratulations. You're not a virgin anymore" she said, smiling. "It'll make things easier."

"How so?" she dared to ask.

"Now you have firsthand experience of one of the punishments for dissenters. Can you imagine the terror that asshole felt being led up that hillside? And that was nothing compared to the torture he endured before that. Anyone who wanted to had a go at him. Then, after that lovely sacrifice ritual, we drank his life's essence like it was nothing more than a sip of fruit juice. Personally, if I was stupid enough to try to thwart the new society, I'd rather be thrown to the Beasts—it's a quicker death.

"Beasts?" Cheryl said under her breath.

"Slaves, zombies—whatever you call them. You really are new, aren't you? Been living under a rock? I bet you haven't even seen one of the games yet."

She bit her lower lip and shook her head, hoping the look of innocence would prompt the woman to divulge more information.

"Ohh…you're in for a treat when you see one. Unfortunately, there won't be another one for a while. You can place bets, you know. It's just like an old-fashioned gladiator competition, only there aren't any lions and tigers," the woman said with a chuckle. "I always put my dollar on the thinnest, fastest male. Fatties never last long because they're slow."

It took a major effort for Cheryl to force a laugh. "Wow. Sounds like an event!"

"'Tis," the woman said before walking to the conveyer to pick up a long skirt and blouse, and a pair of sandals.

Aidan was half dressed when Cheryl gave a quick look his way out of the corner of her eyes. He'd already pulled her clothes off the conveyer for her. She put them on as fast as she could. When they were fully clothed, they followed the others towards an outer door, hoping to escape from the group, so they could find a place to embed themselves without feeling like they were under a microscope.

A very tall man, with cropped hair and gold-rimmed glasses manned the exit. Cheryl was sure he was the man who'd acted as the high priest during the execution ritual. Uncloaked and smiling, he looked so friendly and benign, it was hard to believe that a short time ago, he'd been cruel enough to rip a man's beating heart from his chest.

He held a flyer out to them as they approached. "Well, folks…I hope you enjoyed tonight's execution." He stared at Aidan, pausing with the flyer still in his hand. "Oh…you're a donor? I didn't notice you before. Well, be sure to come for next week's event. Donors get priority in the queue."

"Thanks," Aidan said, taking the flyer from him.

Cheryl took one too as they stepped into the warm night air. "What was that about?" she asked him after they were a few feet down a sidewalk and out of earshot from the others who were departing.

"I don't know," he said. "But, I think it has something to do with my eye."

Most of the people passing them were chittering like anxious squirrels as they looked at their flyers. Still trying to look like the other citizens, they paused under a street lamp and looked at theirs.

Witness a new method of enemy execution when the MEDIEVAL RACK makes a comeback. Some lucky attendees will get a chance to participate!

"That's just sick," Cheryl said. "How can they be so coldhearted?"

"They seem to enjoy taking vengeance against anyone who tries to thwart the master plan. Maybe, it's part of the group think—adapting to whatever keeps you alive. Eventually, what you once abhorred becomes a part of you.

"This place makes me think of Nazi Germany," she said with a shudder.

"Yeah," he replied. "Had enough? We could try to find a way back out."

She shook her head. "Not yet. If it's true that the enemy you know is better than the one you don’t, I think we have some more reconnaissance to do. We don't know enough about what's going on here."

Aidan agreed and seemed glad that she wasn't ready to bail just yet.

As the last stragglers filed out of the building, they decided to move further away before someone tried to engage them in conversation. They stood in the shadows underneath an orange tree, covered in sweetly scented blossoms and looked into the blackness before them, a city dotted with orange and blue lights that looked like torches, but were likely to be more of the LED lights that the ones they'd seen in the building. Loud growls and moans rumbled from somewhere near the city center where the pyramid was being built. They were punctuated by the occasional blood-curdling shriek that raised the hair on the back of her neck and caused a ripple of adrenaline to tickle through her veins.

"Where do we go now?" he asked.

"Anywhere but towards that sound."