HOOD: A Post Apocalyptic Novel (American Rebirth Series Book 1) (23 page)

Hood sank to his knees.
What the fuck?

Hood choked on a sob, holding the back of his head in his hands, still grasping tightly onto his .38.

“They were waiting for you.” Ian said, moving towards the rows of red-cushioned seats in the east wing. “Waiting for you to come home.”

Hood looked up, blinking away his tears. “What are you talking about? What is this?”

“Does it matter?” He said calmly, standing next to Hood as he stared up at them. “They’re dead.”

Hood’s mouth fell open. “What the fuck do you mean, asking me if it matters? Of course it matters! What’s wrong with you?!”?

“The old world is gone, Rob. We can't go back. We can never go back.”

Ian shrugged. Then he smirked, a morose, condescending smile. “You're still holding on to the way things were.”

How the fuck can you act like this?
Suddenly he knew.
“You
did this?”

Ian pulled the rifle off his back, placing it on the bench of a pew. He gnawed his upper lip, looking up at the bodies, his expression calm. A look of grave acceptance. “I had to, Robbie.”

No, this isn't real. This isn't you. This is a lie.
Hood rose to his feet, glaring at Ian, his eyes demanding the truth. Ian sighed, putting his hands on his hips.

“You don't know what I've been through, Rob. It was only days after the world went to shit. A pack of escaped criminals came into my house in the middle of the night. They beat me within an inch of my life, left me to watch as they raped and killed Jennifer. Her eyes begged me to do something. But I couldn’t stop them.

“They left me to die. Left me with my shame, my utter destruction of self. I waited for death, but it did not come. Something inside me snapped. Painstakingly, I tracked them down for weeks. Slaughtered them like animals in their sleep, reveled in their blood. I still dream about it sometimes. I dream that I kill them first. I dream that she's still alive.” Ian ran his hand over his head.

“Afterwards, all I wanted was death. For days, I blamed the people who’d destroyed the country, I blamed those who had survived, I blamed death for not taking me, I blamed the entire world. . . My mind pulled apart a thousand whys until a realization came to me: this
is
our world, we created it.” Ian hung his head. He nearly grimaced, like this great idea was the source of his guilt. Not anything else he had done.

“Who are you?” Rage burned behind Hood's eyes. “You're not my brother.”

Ian inhaled laboriously, ready to continue. He seemed to accept Hood's rage, his disbelief, expecting it.“My whole life, I've been clinging to something. My parents died when I was young, and I turned to your family for meaning. As I got older, I fell in love with Jennifer, and I was obsessed with starting my own family. I couldn't see anything past it. We all entrench ourselves in our own little lives–while humanity free-falls with its eyes closed, unable to see the ground rushing up to meet it.”

Ian met Hood's stare, his face plain, expressionless. “We finally hit the ground. But some of us are still here. It's up to us to change things.”

Hood could taste the tinge of blood in his mouth he was grinding his teeth so hard.

Taylor was right. Of course they came back home. That was the only place they had hope of finding us. Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry.

“Do you understand?” Ian asked. As if what he’d done was within comprehension.

Ian's eyes were flat, depthless, a deep abyss. Like someone had drained the life from the brother he'd grown up with. He wanted to put a bullet in the head of the man that was supposed to be his family. The man he'd loved so much growing up.
Just a few minutes ago in the bar he was the brother I remember. Pretending not to be this madman.

“Where is Taylor?” Hood said, his jaw set as he looked upon the countenance of someone he loved, someone he hated.

Ian sighed.

“I need you to really listen to me. I need you to see the truth. We need to rise up, Rob. We need to kill our instincts. We're something greater than animals. We kill others, or at least don't care if they die so long as our own children survive. But what happens when the whole world acts this way?”

Ian held out his arms, a gesture to encompass everything. “This. We get this world. This is not a tragedy. It's not an accident. It's not a statistical outlier. It's an
inevitability.
This is history's legacy. That's why we have to start anew. We have to kill off the idea of family, and replace it with the idea of humanity.”

He was insane. Ian was absolutely out of his mind . . . and to him, it was the truth. To him, it was clarity. The thought scared the hell out of Hood.
That's what you believe? That's why you did this?

“Where. . . is. . . Taylor?” Hood repeated with venom, his low voice resounding in the empty church.

Ian exhaled forcefully, scratching the back of his head as he looked down at the floor. “Fine. I know you're worried about her. She's not here.”

“She's alive?”

“Yes, she's alive.”

“Where?”

Ian bit his lip. “Don't you think you’re getting ahead of yourself?”

Hood stepped into Ian's personal space, grabbing him by his shirt. “What the
fuck
is wrong with you? You took Taylor away from our town, and you’re clearly working for the Kaiser. I come here and find you spouting this fucking nonsense.
Wake up,
Ian!!”

Ian started laughing. It echoed throughout the church.

Hood let him go, taking a step back.
I don't know how you let yourself become this.

“I'm sorry what happened to you. What happened to Jen. But this. . . This isn't you.”

“You still haven't figured it out?” His foster-brother smiled. “You're emotional. I get it. I know I'm going against my own ethos, bringing you here and giving you special treatment. But we aren't family, technically. You know me. You're smart. You're clearly very capable, and you have great vision. On top of it all, I love you, Rob. We grew up together. I want you to join me.”

“You're wrong. This. . . these sick ideas, they're wrong. You can love your family and care for them while still caring for others. Fuck the Kaiser. Help me free Taylor!” Hood tightened his grip on the .38 at his side.

Ian shook his head, wearing a thin smile. “I
am
the Kaiser, dummy.”

Hood stared at him. His brow furrowed.
No, how could. . . that doesn't make any sense.

“Derp.” Ian tapped the side of his head.

“There are a great many survivors out there who share my ideals. I didn't build this empire through brute strength alone. Sure, the low-level guys are pretty mindless, just animals picking the right alpha to follow. But the revolution is real. This is our chance to re-make the world, Rob. I want you to be a part of that.”

Hood's hands shook.
This isn't real. This is a nightmare.
A chill raised the hair on the back of his neck, and the burning pain in his bandaged shoulder started to itch.
You did this? You did all of this? You killed Lucky, Billy, Doug, Tommy, and everyone else; you sent that man to attack our camp only to let him die alone. All of this was you? How many people have died because of you?

Hood’s entire body began to shake. Ian continued on, undaunted.

“I was hoping that putting you through all this might have made you see the truth. I could've just had you killed at Clearwater. But think about all you did to get here. How many people did you kill? For what? To make yourself feel better when you found Taylor? Who says she isn't happy and thriving on her own? Set yourself free, Rob. Help me set us all free.”

Hood raised his .38 to sight on Ian. “Fuck your Kum-ba-yah bullshit. Tell me where Taylor is.”

“She's safe with me. Don't worry.” Ian looked up at Hood's parents. “She isn't hanging from anything.”

Hood squeezed the trigger. Ian dove behind the altar. The shot echoed through the church.

“You're making a mistake, Rob. You're not thinking clearly. I wasn't either after I lost Jen. I thought you might handle it better than I had, though.”

“You're a
lie
.” Hood said, baring his teeth. His blood roiled through his body and his grip on the .38 was sweaty, the sidearm quivering in his shaking hands.

“We don't have to do this, Rob. Just leave. Walk out the door. Come find me later, when you've had time to think. I know you know what I'm saying is true. It's not easy doing the right thing. This isn't about living for yourself or Taylor anymore.”

Hood aimed perfectly down the sight, at a spot over the altar. The only sound was Hood's quickened breathing. The candles in the apse flickered.

“Okay Rob, if this is how you want to do this.”

Something flew up into the air from behind the altar: a grenade. It soared through the air, spinning towards him. Hood cursed, leaping from one row of pews into the row behind it. He flattened himself on the seat. Two shots echoed as Ian fired from behind the altar.

The great roar of the grenade was deafening. The pew he lay on shook from the shrapnel that blasted into it from the other side. Hood looked down at himself, vaguely surprised to see himself unscathed.

He jumped up with pistol raised, leaping backwards as Ian fired. Hood fired back, three times in rapid succession -- one bullet caught Ian in his left trap muscle. He gurgled in pain, clutching it with his free hand. Hood took aim of Ian's head. His finger hesitated before the firing threshold. It was a face he'd associated with nothing but love his entire life.

Ian's eyes were wild with pure survival instinct now. He raised his pistol and fired back. Hood kept his body low behind the pews. He ran crab-like towards the entrance, popping up behind the last pew to open fire. Ian strafed bullets across the western transept.

Pain burst through the edge of his ribcage, and Hood doubled over. He pressed his left hand against the wound, the whole side of his body radiating pain. He moved towards the entrance.
Kerry, I hope to God you're ready.

A grenade clattered to the ground at his feet as he reached the vestibule. A sweeping cold fear gripped him. He flew to the front door, blasting it open with his shoulder as he dove. The world shook around him, and his mind went dim, unaware.

He lay face down on the concrete outside, a pool of warm blood beneath him. He lifted himself to his feet, his side screaming in pain. His blood slowly funneled down the seams in the sidewalk. Nothing made sense. He struggled to remember what was.

This is you. You must move.
He stumbled forward, forcing each step across the street, moving towards the bar. Someone he knew was there. An unfamiliar voice shouted from somewhere. It was down the street. He glanced over towards it. A group of uniformed soldiers in blue helmets moved towards him with rifles raised.

“I just want to find her.” Hood said simply. “That's all,” he slurred. “I'm no bother to you.”

He collapsed onto the sidewalk in front of the bar, closing his eyes.

Chapter 14 – Refuge

The awakening took Hood by surprise. He’d been in a dark and dreamless sleep, and coming to felt like being thrown back into existence. The light fixture in the ceiling had useless dusty bulbs in it. Morning light poured in from curtain-less windows, illuminating the sparse room.
Where the hell am I?

He slowly picked himself up from the stained mattress on the floor, a deep stinging coming from his side and his shoulder. The plain white shirt he wore concealed bandages wrapped against his midsection. He dug for memories of what had happened. He felt a momentary hope that it had been a dream, but he knew it had been real: the fight with Ian, his parents swinging from the rafters. The explosion.

He stared into the buckled crack in the sheetrock underneath the window.
How did I end up here? Wherever here is.

“Hello?” His voice creaked.

Footsteps came quickly from another room. Kerry appeared in the light from the open window, tucking her hair behind her ear. She stared at him. He couldn't tell if it was reflected light or moisture in her eyes.

“I thought you weren't going to wake up.”

He managed a faint grin. “Ta-daaaa.”

She moved to the mattress, kneeling on it to hug him. It took him by surprise. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his nose on her shoulder. She had a distinctly feminine smell.

“Where's Whiskey?”

She broke off the hug, leaning back onto her heels.

“I don't know.”

“Where are we?”

“A refugee camp in Annapolis. It's where the U.N. remnants are stationed.” She rested her hands on her thighs. “What happened in there? In the church?”

Hood stared at her thin fingers, her fingernails frayed and uneven at the ends from where they'd been bitten or peeled short.
The church.