Day Soldiers (Book 3): Topia Read online

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Copyright © 2012 by Brandon Hale

  Cover design by Brandon Hale

  Book design by Brandon Hale

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  To Laura, for laying the foundations upon which Topia was built.

  Chapter 1

  Wasteland

  The hatch opened.

  Ignoring the ladder running up to the hatch, Jesse dropped into the hole just as the sun rose above the broken buildings behind him.

  He dropped for at least twenty feet, landing softly on a cement floor. He looked up to see a corridor full of humans.

  They all had crossbows pointed at his heart.

  Jesse raised his hands, palms out, and said, “Don’t shoot. I was just trying to help.”

  A girl with eyes much older than her face stood in front of the crowd. “Thanks for your help,” she said. To the humans behind her, she said, “Kill him.”

  “You need me, Lily,” Jesse said.

  Lily held up her hand, which apparently told the others to hold their fire.

  “Of course I recognized you,” Jesse said. “You’re probably the most famous human in the world.”

  “That’s nice,” Lily said. “Now, explain why I need help from a bloodsucker like you.”

  “I’m assuming you’ve been locked away in this tomb for over a year,” Jesse said. “It’s not the same world you left. I’ve been everywhere. I know what’s up there. You don’t.”

  Lily smiled and walked toward Jesse. She reached out, grabbed his face, and shoved him against the wall. Her touch was excruciating, but Jesse didn’t fight. He knew if he tried anything, he’d have a dozen crossbow bolts in his heart.

  “So tell me, vampire,” Lily said. “What’s up there?”

  Jesse forced a smile. “Congratulations. You’ve given birth to a vampire apocalypse.”

  “We’ve been facing a vampire apocalypse for a decade,” Lily said.

  “No,” Jesse said. “You’ve been facing a potential apocalypse. An almost-apocalypse. The bombs last year made it a reality.”

  Lily let go of Jesse’s face. “You’re saying the war is over. Really over.”

  Scott stepped up beside Lily. “He’s lying. DC is still in ruins.”

  “Listen kid,” Jesse said. “Just because America is a mess doesn’t mean the war’s still going on. This was a world war. When America was destroyed, everything changed. The war shifted. It took about six months, but the rebellions were stomped out. It’s over. I’m not lying.”

  “Why haven’t they rebuilt DC?” Lily asked.

  “America is a wasteland,” Jesse said. “They decided to leave it that way. It’s a monument to the destructive nature of humanity.”

  Grung stepped from the crowd. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Then why the hell don’t I have vampires with me right now?” Jesse snapped. “I just found what is probably the largest group of surviving Day Soldiers in the world. Why am I sitting here chatting with you instead of calling for reinforcements?”

  “He’s a scout,” Lily said. “He’s probably communicating with them right now, telling them what he’s seeing. Kill him.”

  “Wait!” Jesse said. “I just rescued you! If I was part of some military action, there would be better ways to flush you out of here.”

  I told you they wouldn’t believe you.

  “Shut up, Bao!”

  “Who the hell is he talking to?” Grung asked.

  “Other vampires,” Lily said as she pointed a crossbow at his heart.

  “No!” Jesse yelled. “I’m a little on the bonkers side, that’s all. I keep the ashes of the vampire who made me. I talk to him and sometimes he talks back. That’s it, I promise.”

  Yeah. That’ll really win their trust.

  “Shut up, Bao!”

  “Now he’s doing it on purpose,” Scott said.

  From the crowd, Carl said, “I believe him.”

  Lily, Grung, and Scott turned to face him. “Why?” Lily asked.

  Carl shrugged. “Gut feeling.”

  Lily looked at Scott, then Grung. “Good enough for me,” she said. “You guys up for trusting Carl’s instinct?”

  “Sure,” Grung said. “Why not.”

  Scott looked at Jesse. “Okay, we’ll trust you for now. You’ll be living in a cell, though. I’m assuming you’re cool with that?”

  Jesse smiled. “Oh, definitely. I totally understand.”

  As they walked into the facility, Carl said, “I also have a logical justification for letting him live.”

  “That’s nice,” Lily said.

  “I mean, really,” Carl went on, “there’s no benefit to killing him. Whether he’s a scout or not, we now have an open door and we have to be ready for an attack. So there’s no real consequence to hearing him out.”

  “But in your gut,” Lily said, “you think he’s telling the truth, right?”

  “Yeah,” Carl said. “I think so.”

  “Okay,” Grung said as he slapped Carl on the shoulder. “That’s good enough for us. You could’ve left out all the logic malarkey.”

  “It’s not malarkey,” Carl said. “It’s a reasonable way to look at the situation.”

  “Is he always this annoying?” Jesse asked.

  “You have no idea,” Grung said.

  Lily stopped and looked back toward the hatch. Sunlight was streaming in from the small hole in the ceiling. “Nobody closed the hatch,” she said.

  “Crap,” Scott said. “How did we miss that?”

  Lily started to walk back toward the opening. “Been an eventful morning.”

  Scott turned to Grung. “Can you make sure our guest gets a nice room?”

  “Sure,” Grung said. “I’ll also report to Abbie. I’m sure she’ll want to meet him.”

  “Thanks,” Scott said. “I have a feeling Lily’s about to take a stroll in the morning sun, which isn’t something she should be doing alone.”

  “That’s not fair,” Carl said.

  “File a complaint,” Scott said as he followed Lily back to the hatch.

  “Asshole,” Carl mumbled.

  “Werewolf hearing here!” Scott yelled as he trotted away.

  Lily climbed the ladder to the hatch. Without hesitation, she climbed through the opening and stepped onto the rubble that used to be a motel. She climbed over the debris surrounding the hatch and made her way to the street.

  She made sure to keep her eyes on the ground. For now, she had no desire to look at the destruction around her. Lily wanted to experience one thing, and the sight of a destroyed America would detract from that experience.

  Once on the road, she walked until there were no shadows from the half-destroyed buildings. Completely enveloped by the warm morning sun, Lily placed her crossbow on the ground, then lay on the road and closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Scott’s voice interrupted her moment in the sun.

  “You really shouldn’t be up here,” Scott said.

  Lily opened her eyes and looked up at her friend. “I don’t know why not.”

  “One,” Scott said, “we haven’t gotten clearance to leave. That order can only come from Abbie or Reagan.”

  “Not caring so much about your first point.”

  “And two,” Scott went on, “it’s kind of a jerk thing to do. None of the other soldiers were allowed to come up here and feel the sun for the first time in a year.”

  “They’ll get their turn,” Lily said. “A week from now, every person in Bunker City will have felt the sun. I doubt anybody will give a crap that I went first.”

  “And three,” Scott began, but fell silent.

  Lily gave him a few seconds, then said, “And three?”

  “Okay,” Scott said, “I can’t think of a third point.”

  Lily chuckled and closed her eyes again. “One and two were pretty damn weak, so leave me alone. I want to work on my tan.”

  “Wait,” Scott said. “I found a third reason.”

  “It had better be good,” Lily said, “because I’m really enjoying the sun here.”

  “Oh, it’s good,” Scott said.

  Lily opened her eyes again. “So what is it?”

  “Not what,” Scott said. “Who.”

  “Huh?”

  “Someone’s coming.”

  Lily sprang to her feet. “Shit.”

  In the distance, she saw two men walking toward her and Scott. The men wore what looked like the ragged remnants of police uniforms. They had bandanas pulled
over their faces.

  “Should we go inside?” she offered.

  “No way,” Scott said. “We don’t know who they are or how many are with them. We don’t want to lead them to Bunker City.”

  “Good point,” Lily said. “So I guess we meet the neighbors.”

  “I guess,” Scott said. “Maybe you should pick up your crossbow?”

  “Nah,” Lily said. “I don’t want them to think I’m their enemy. Besides, I have a much better weapon.”

  “What’s that?”

  Lily looked at him and winked. “A werewolf.”

  The two men approached cautiously. They held rifles, but the weapons looked old. Maybe even homemade.

  “Human?” Lily said to Scott.

  “Yeah,” Scott said. “Particularly stinky humans.”

  “Don’t judge,” Lily said. “Not everybody got to live in an underground city for the past year.”

  “Wasn’t a judgment,” Scott argued. “Just an observation.”

  As soon as the men were in earshot, Lily waved and yelled, “Mornin, officers!”

  When the men were close enough to see them in detail, Lily suddenly felt guilty for the easy life she’d had for the past year. The men were extremely thin. Lily couldn’t see their faces because of the bandanas, but in their eyes, she saw sadness and exhaustion.

  “I told you I saw someone coming this way,” one of the men said to his partner.

  “Okay, okay,” the second man said. When he saw Scott’s and Lily’s uniforms, his eyes widened. “Jenkins,” he said, “we got ourselves some Day Soldiers.”

  “Holy shit, Paul,” the first man – Jenkins – said. “Look at em. They’re… pristine.”

  “We’re not Day Soldiers,” Scott said quickly. “We found us a good bunker down in Virginia a few months back. It was an abandoned Day Soldiers hideout or something. Fully stocked with food, clothes, water. We lived well for a while, but ran out of food last week. Been working our way north since then.”

  “Why north?” the man apparently named Paul asked.

  “We were hoping to find some sort of government here,” Scott said. “We were disappointed.”

  “Yeah,” Paul said. “I’m pretty sure you’re lying. You’re both under arrest.”

  “Huh?” Lily said. “What makes you think we’re lying? And why are we under arrest?”

  Paul pointed toward Lily’s belt. “You’re not just wearing clothes. You’re wearing a utility belt, fully equipped with fancy stuff. And your clothes fit too perfectly. And I can tell by the way you carry yourselves. You’re Day Soldiers.”

  “So why are you arresting us?” Scott asked.

  “For being Day Soldiers,” Jenkins said.

  Paul pointed his makeshift rifle at Lily. “Jenkins, cuff em.”

  Lily looked at Scott. “What do you think?” She knew they were in no real danger from these two men, and she knew that any other action might draw more survivors to their bunker.

  “I’m kinda curious,” Scott said. “I mean, when did being a Day Soldier become a crime?”

  Jenkins stepped behind Lily. “Why are you discussing this like you have a choice?”

  Lily chuckled. “Oh, we have a choice, there, Barney. The only way you and Andy are arresting us is if we decide to let you.”

  “You underestimate us, soldier,” Paul said as Jenkins snapped a pair of handcuffs on Lily’s wrists. “We’ve been surviving out here for a long time. You two look like you’ve been living in a nice little bunker somewhere.”

  Jenkins stepped behind Scott and cuffed him.

  “Aren’t you going to read us our Miranda rights?” Scott asked.

  Jenkins looked at Paul. “Who’s Miranda?”

  Paul shrugged. “Who knows. Let’s get em to the car.”

  The two men led Lily and Scott through several blocks of the ruins that used to be DC. Eventually, they came to an old police car.

  Lily took one look at the car and wondered how it could possibly run. The car had no hood and no doors. The lights on the roof were broken. The windshield was spider-webbed with cracks. Lily turned to Jenkins and said, “So who steers and who pushes?”

  “Shut up and get inside,” Paul said.

  Lily and Scott climbed into the back seat. Jenkins slid into the front passenger seat. Paul sat in the driver’s seat and cranked the car. After several tries and a massive amount of smoke, the car cranked.

  They rode through the remnants of DC for several minutes, eventually making it to a highway. Once on the highway, Scott said, “So where are you taking us? Looks like we’re leaving DC.”

  “The township is a few miles away,” Jenkins said.

  “You don’t have to answer their questions,” Paul chastised.

  After about thirty minutes on the highway, Paul took an exit and entered what appeared to be suburbs.

  Lily looked at the houses as they rode down the street. Several people were standing on porches, watching them go by.

  “This place doesn’t look so bad,” she said. “Most of the houses look intact. Could use some gardeners, though.” While the houses looked more or less normal, the yards were just fields of brown dirt.

  “Guess they managed to avoid the brunt of the attack,” Scott mused.

  Paul pulled into the driveway of one of the houses. “We’re there.”

  The house looked normal enough. White, two stories, a large front porch. The only unusual thing about the house (besides the dirt yard) was the sign above the door that read: “Courthouse.” The sign was a board nailed to the wall with the words on it obviously hand-painted.

  “Come on,” Paul said. “Time for your day in court.”

  They walked up the porch and stepped inside. The living room of the house had been converted to a small courtroom. An older woman with dark skin sat behind a large desk facing the room. Like Paul and Jenkins, she looked terribly thin. Judging from her robe, Lily guessed she was the judge.

  The judge’s desk faced two other desks. Currently a man stood behind one of the desks and a woman stood behind the other. Several rows of empty chairs filled the rest of the room.

  “Take a seat,” Paul whispered. Lily and Scott sat in the nearest chairs and watched as the judge spoke to the man behind the first desk.

  “Kenny,” she said, “I’m afraid I’m gonna have to rule in Henrietta’s favor on this one.”

  “That’s not fair, Judge!” Kenny said. “I lived in that house for four months.”

  “When you got lost in the wasteland,” the judge said, “we could only assume you were killed by the floaters.”

  Lily looked at Scott and mouthed, “Floaters?”

  Scott shrugged and whispered, “No idea.”

  “Henrietta took the house fair and square,” the judge continued. “She put in an official request and waited the required forty-eight hours. You’ll have to find another house.”

  “That’s horseshit,” Kenny said. “I spent a full week repairing that house before I moved in. It’s not my fault my damn car broke down on a food run! I’m telling you, Henrietta sabotaged it!”

  “There’s no evidence of that,” the judge said.

  “Because my car’s still in the damn wasteland,” Kenny argued.

  “It stinks,” the judge admitted, “but you know the law. Fix up a new house, Kenny. Case closed.”

  As the man and woman left the courtroom, the woman said, “If you miss the house, you can come over and work on my kitchen sink. It has a leak.”

  “Shut up, bitch,” the man said as they walked outside.

  Lily nudged Scott with her shoulder and said, “This place is awesome.”

  The judge looked at Lily and said, “What have you brought me, Paul?”

  “Come on,” Paul said.

  Lily and Scott walked to one of the desks facing the judge. Paul stood on one side of them and Jenkins stood on the other.

  “Day Soldiers, judge,” Paul said. “We picked em up in DC. They said they came from the south, but I still think there’s a bunker somewhere under all that rubble. They were too clean to have been travelling. I request permission to take some men back and do a full search of the area.”