Hold Me Down (Peterick) ➳ Book 3

Twenty

"What do you mean they're dead? What the hell happened?" Frank asked as he cautiously looked around the abandoned room.

Neither he nor Gerard had expected Patrick or his captor to still be there, but they hoped there would be some clue.

In the middle of their search Pete had called them rather than sent a message, and both Gerard and Frank knew something was seriously wrong.

"Josh killed Tyler. And then he killed himself. I'm still trying to figure out what happened. Jet—Ray, I mean—should be sending something your way soon."

Frank groaned in frustration. Where the fuck was Patrick?

"Is there any live footage?" Frank wondered.

"Nothing," Pete replied in a sullen tone.

"He's not dead," Gerard muttered. "They would've made a show about it."

"They?" Pete asked.

"I don't think it's a one person job. All of this is connected. How. . . ."

A look a realization made its way onto Gerard's face slowly. Frank watched him curiously as he paced the room, talking to himself.

"What's going on?"

"I think Gee's cracked the code," Frank said.

"That's it!" Gerard exclaimed. "Tyler was Blurryface. He managed to override our programming the first time we attacked you. You and Ryan went along with it even though you didn't know what was going on; Ryan forgot to look into it when he got back. Tyler was trying to kill Patrick by orders of someone else. What if they were trying to prevent Pete from becoming king? Or having a heir? Someone would've known Patrick was promised to Pete and went about trying to stop it."

"Great, but what does that leave us with?"

"Power," Gerard replied with a smile.

"What kind of power?"

"Not here. Not on a line that can be compromised. I need you to call back Jet and get who you can. People you can trust, especially that doctor."

*

Another child wasn't what the group needed, but when Kellin laid eyes on the pretty toddler with wide eyes, all hope was lost. Older than Milo, the girl appeared to be nearing three, but there was no indication of her age or her origin. All that she carried with her was a stuffed doll and the name Copeland.

Mikey and Vic had discovered her on a run, and had decided it was an act of mercy to keep her around just like it was an act of mercy to keep most of the people they found. Their small group had grown, causing major adjustments to be made. The bunker was more crowded, more lively, but soon people were going to be sleeping on top of each other.

That had lead several of the leaders to scout out the area in hopes of finding a larger shelter or a way to expand. That is what had lead them to find Copeland, and with her came hushed concerns over the dinner table long after the sun had vanished.

"It's not safe here," Austin pointed out. "Now that someone knows about us. They wouldn't have just left her."

"But what if they're dead?" Gabe asked. "They knew we'd find her and wanted us to take her in because we have the means to do so."

"As much as we all want to believe that, Gabe, I don't think it's the reason."

They had never discussed what they were to do if someone were to knock on the door, but when it happened, rendering all of them silent, Mikey was the one to start giving orders.

"Taylor, Kellin, Alan, Alex, get the kids and some supplies and go to the very last room down the left hallway. Lock yourselves in there and do not come out unless they know her name. The rest of you arm yourselves. I'll get the door."

The next knock left every heart pounding, echoing the sound and reverberating in their chests. The children didn't wake as they were carried from their beds to the cold, dark room at the end of the bunker. The door was closed and locked, creating the final barrier between them and the people trying to take them.

Everyone spaced themselves around the bunker in hopes of forming a suitable defense, but how could you prepare yourselves for something you knew nothing about.

Mikey stood in front of the door, waiting. He'd let the people behind the door get anxious, let them wonder, and then he'd open it. Hopefully it would catch them off guard. Maybe it would buy them just enough time.

*

In another room in the heart of the palace, Gerard was standing at the head of the room with all eyes on him. Little did he know the situation his brother was currently in. Maybe he too would've felt braver with someone by his side. But he didn't know about that, all he knew was what he had figured out and what Ray had confirmed.

"Now that we're all on the same page, there are some other things I've come to discover. Tyler was working under someone, and I have good reason to believe that it is the group of "humans" that took in Brendon, Dallon, Patrick, Joe, Andy, Gabe, and Taylor. They're known as Kraylors.

"So far we've been their only targets. Which means they haven't found the others yet, a good thing. But sooner or later our forces are going to break. Arkkarredians have been wiped out in droves. A war is happening. But we have something they don't know about."

"Would you stop being so poetic and get on with it?" Frank muttered with a hint of a smile.

"This is where Doctor Beckett comes in," Gerard said with a smile. "We need to make everyone forget about her."

"Her?" Ray asked.

"You mean—?"

"Don't say it!" Brendon exclaimed, pressing a hand over Dallon's mouth.

"Okay," Dallon replied, moving Brendon's hand. "But why?"

"She's the one thing they don't know about, and the less that do the better off we will be."

When no one objected, William stood up. "I'll have it ready by this evening," he promised.

Everyone nodded and watched him go.

Frank cleared his throat. "Now, back to Patrick. I think I've got something of use."