Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
“Asher came over the walkie-talkie,” Merrick said. “There’s been a breach. The others need—”
“Asher’s been taken care of.”
“Oh God. What did you do to him?”
“He wasn’t harmed. He’s just been temporarily restrained,” Leon said.
I pulled in a breath, the air barely trickling down my throat. Asher was the young man who lived in what had been the guardhouse near the gate. He’d been restrained? By who? Who breached the gate? What was happening here?
“Leon, why?” Merrick gasped. “I welcomed you here. I allowed you to bring others.”
“Consider your debt repaid.”
“My God, you’re a snake, Leon. I did owe a debt. To your father who was a good, honorable man. You can choose to be like him. I know you’re afraid, but you don’t have to do this.”
“My father’s dead. He died because he put others before himself, and if that’s honor then what’s the point? I’m not going to make the same mistake. The days of selflessness are gone. Now it’s about survival. Not just for a month or even a few, but for longer than that.
“The others are on their way up the hill. They’ll start from the top and make their way down. They’re taking over the homes, even now. It will go quickly. No one will be hurt as long as they cooperate.”
Oh my God. Leon had let armed men in the gate, and they were taking over these homes? Panic infused my veins causing my limbs to tremble. Other sounds met my ears now. Distant footsteps running. Voices from far away.
“The guards at the gate,” Merrick said, his voice choked. “They let these people in? You said we could trust them. You said we needed them.”
“Obviously you did. You created a government, Merrick, but you forgot that every small country needs an army.”
“But why? You were safe. You were being cared for and fed.”
“I’m creating space, it’s as simple as that. I’m preparing for what comes next.”
Creating space. What did that mean exactly?
Merrick let out a sound that was somewhere between a moan and a cough and Leon turned slightly so that I pulled in a breath and plastered myself more firmly to the wall.
“There are so many weaknesses here,” Leon went on. “And no weapons. If not my people, this place would have been taken over in a few weeks. Sacked by a violent horde who wouldn’t treat anyone with the dignity I will. How the fuck are you going to have a future with a community who will die off in a few short years? Then what, Merrick? All of you are such damn do-gooders. But a plan for the future is important too. Young people, strong people. Do you know how fucked the world is? No one needs to waste food on a bunch of senior citizens who can barely walk, much less defend the community. They do nothing for a world like this except use up resources. They’ll be dust in the ground soon enough and we need those resources now.”
Merrick took a few steps and sank down on a chair, his shoulders rolling forward.
“You’re not such a spring chicken yourself, Leon,” Merrick said, his voice weak.
“I’m a leader, however,” Leon said. “I get shit done. I make the hard calls that no one else is willing to make.”
My head was buzzing, lips quivering. My God, what Merrick had said was true—Leon was a snake. I’d hitched my wagon to a viper. He’d arranged with the guards at the front to let people he’d gathered come inside to take over these homes? Who were they? Desperate people he knew from the show business world who’d been offered a spot in exchange for this? Told they could die outside these gates or take this community over? Given maps and numbers and… Oh my God.
“You said they wouldn’t harm anyone—”
“They won’t,” Leon said. “Not if it’s not necessary. These aren’t bloodthirsty killers. They’re going to gather everyone and those considered…non-essential will be walked out the front gate.”
Merrick’s shoulders sagged further. “It’s as good as killing them, Leon. You know that. And there’s no such thing as a nonessential human being.”
“Unfortunately, Merrick, that’s simply no longer true.”
The front door burst open, the sounds of a group of men entering the home and I startled, letting out a small squeak. My heart pressed against the wall of my chest as my stomach dropped. “Watch him,” Leon said to whomever had entered the house. Oh God. I turned to run, but Leon had heard me and before I could make it to the staircase, he was on my heels. “Stop, Emily.”
I skidded to a stop, looking slowly over my shoulder to see Leon standing there with the gun pointed in my direction. “I do not want to shoot you, but I will if I have to.”
I turned toward him, my mouth dry, heart pounding. “You’re not who I thought you were.”