The Dead Don't Lie by Anne Russo

Author:Anne Russo [Russo, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2021-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Three months later

Another night, another nightmare; Adam searched, palms outstretched in a bleak, black landscape. A ceaseless void submerging his entire body, drowning him. Panic built as he stumbled onward, hesitant and blind. Aware now of a tiny pinpoint of light opening somewhere in the unknown distance, color formed until blinding white beamed brilliant crimson. The light of an enormous door painted blood red, rose out of the never ending dark.

Adam fell against it, a door with no handle, no lock. The surface was frozen steel under his hands. He leaned against it, his only anchor. Helpless as it grew brighter and brighter, now retreating from his reach, he couldn’t move. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Adam tried again and again until, at last, a name unraveled from his lips. A name he shouted into the abyss. As the blackness weighed heavier, crushing him under the weight of its vast emptiness.

“Ian,” he called. “Ian, help me! Help me, please!”

A thunderous bang! The world exploded, plunging him head first into wakefulness. His heart lodged in his throat as he lurched out of sleep, struggling for air. In the distance, a series of low booms, a passing thunderstorm. The nightmare half-remembered now, retreating as icy dread persisted. His anxiety kept him company as the minutes crept toward dawn. He counted his breaths, listening in the dark as the thunder quieted.

Every morning much the same now, Adam awoke fitful and anxious. During the day, the group kept him busy enough to forget. Adam threw himself into the routine desperate for the distraction it provided, working out for several hours, followed by solitary runs around the grounds. Afterwards, Adam practiced his hand-to-hand training with Kalifa, who Ian assigned to him. The first few days far from ideal as he struggled to decipher her and her ever present companion, Hector.

Hector, more often than not, accompanied her but stood off to the sidelines, watching him. He sometimes conferred with Kalifa in the room’s corner, but never said a word otherwise. Kalifa herself spoke only to correct his form or criticize his technique. Still, she taught him well, further sharpening the skills Ian had started him learning.

Adam also spent more time with Mei. Mei, unlike Ian or Kalifa, made no real effort to push him beyond his comfort zone. She continued being a calm, caring friend first. Thanks to her kindness, he had improved by leaps and bounds. It was Mei who helped guide through his revulsion at handling firearms. At first, reluctant to be near a gun again, let alone hold one, fire one, and possibly kill someone with one again. A sobering decision, but one Adam had no choice but to make. If he wanted to survive, he needed to learn to pull the trigger and fire, so he didn’t miss his target.

Because of his burgeoning closeness with Mei, he grew friendlier with Regan and Vince as a result. Regan sometimes accompanied him on his runs. Gentle and intuitive, she followed his moods.

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