In Death's Grip

In Death's Grip: Chapter 14

Chapter 14

We lay Alex to rest on a bright Sunday afternoon. I know that it's Sunday because Haven has been keeping track of the days ever since time seemed to stop with the end of the world.

We've wrapped his cold and lifeless body in a quilt that I found in the hall closet of the house. Before we did that, Amy cleaned the hole in his head to make him look more peaceful as we buried him in the backyard.

I don't shed a tear as my friend is lowered beneath the earth. In this world, strength is needed. I can't be weak. I can't be weak no matter how much I want to be. I manage to hold back my tears. Julie doesn't.

Julie was the closest friend that Alex had. They had known each other since before the dead bad begun rising. She's going to need time to recover. We all need time.

"Son, come with me," My dad orders. I follow without question.

He leads me down into the basement. It's the same place where Zach slept and plotted while he was at Charleston. It feels eerie being down here. His maps of Nikolai's compound and tons of notes are still scattered all over the room.

Nathan, Haven, Cho, Taylor, and Jonny are stood around the main table where Zach's map of the compound is spread out. Tony goes and stands at the front of the table. Anger still lingers on his face.

"Hank will pay for what he's done."

"And how, my friend, do you plan on making him pay?" Jonny asks, skeptical.

"This morning, I was called to a meeting. Hank plans to attack Nikolai's compound. Everyone is going to be split into three main groups and we're all going to strike and certain times during the night. He's picked a night when the rain will be pouring down. He plans to use it as cover.

The first group will be led by Amelia and Ford. They'll lead the main assault on Nikolai's army. A secondary force will be led by Felix and Daniel to distract everyone else from the third group. Hank will be leading it himself. He wants to keep me close so I'll be going with him. That was a big mistake on his part. He told me to pick a team to go with me. I've chosen you. I trust all of you more than anyone else. Hank is going after Nikolai while the two other groups act as diversions. While the fighting is happening, we outnumber Hank. Trust me, it'll take all of us to take down someone that powerful."

"What if he brings along some of his own people?" Nathan questions.

"If that happens, we have to eliminate them too. No one will find out what we're going to do. After we finish with Hank, we find Zach and then get the hell out of there. Any more questions?"

"What about Felix?" I ask.

"What about him?" Haven says.

"When we kill Hank, he might be suspicious. Hank is his leader and he's loyal to him. He's a good man but he might not be if he finds out who killed his mentor," I respond.

"He won't find out," Tony answers, "I'll make sure he doesn't."

"Alright then, the plan seems solid. What now?" Jonny asks Tony.

"Now we just have to wait until the Spring Equinox. That's when Hank plans to strike. That's the day we avenge Alex."