In Death's Grip

In Death's Grip: Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"People of Charleston! The war is over!" Felix shouts to the huge crowd of citizens.

They've all come to see. The ones who stayed behind and all the ones who fought in the battle. Even most of the people from the three other sectors have come.

My father stands on a large platform with the entire crowd all around him in the surrounding streets. It's the afternoon after the fight.

The eternal night of rain has finally ended and the sun is shining on the first day of Spring. A barely visible rainbow streaks across the clear and cloudless sky.

Felix is standing next to Tony on the big stage. The leaders of the three other sections, Amelia, Ford, and Daniel, are stood on the stairs leading up to the platform.

I'm mixed in with the crowd. Cho, Nathan, and Haven are here with me. Zach and Taylor are resting because of their injuries. My mother, Julie, and Amy stayed behind at the house to watch them. I'm not sure where Zach's new friend, Harvy, has run off to.

I turn my attention back to my father's victory speech.

"Last night, we attacked Nikolai's compound from three different sides. We outnumbered his army three to one. His forces suffered heavy losses and any survivors scattered and retreated. Nikolai perished in the battle."

The mob cheers and claps so loud that it feels like the ground is shaking. They won't be too happy about his next statement. I see Felix look down at the ground in sadness.

"Sadly, we suffered a huge loss as well. In the fight, I was supposed to protect our leader," He starts to tear up to fool the crowd, "But Hank ran ahead. He was surrounded and before I or anyone else could get to him, those bastards killed him!"

A hush falls over the city. They can feel Tony's rage. It's just an act though. I'm the one who put down their psychotic leader.

Felix speaks up, "Now we all face a hard decision. Who will lead us in Hank's absence? Who can bring us from the darkness and back to the light?"

The crowd answers for him in a thunderous roar.

"Tony! Tony! Tony!" They cry out. They have chosen who will lead them.

"It's settled then!" Felix says, a bit disappointed that he won't be able to take his mentor's place, "Tony will now be in charge of the four sectors of Charleston! We will come back from this dark age with his lead!"

The crowd cheers even louder. I grab Cho's hand and we make our way through the mass of people. Haven and Nathan follow behind us.

We manage to get to our car that we used to get to the center of town. I climb into the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. Cho gets in the seat beside me while the others take a seat in the back.

I begin to drive toward out two story house where so many people have packed into it to reside. My friends, my family, the woman I love. We've gained so much but lost even more on the way.

After a few minute I reach my home. We all pile out of the car and go inside. I sit down on the couch in the living room. The others sit down as well.

Zach, on crutches, limps slowly into the open room. It's dark and musty around us because the blinds are closed. He falls into a large armchair.

Taylor, still blind without his glasses, makes his way toward us by feeling the wall. He chooses to lean on it rather than to sit down anywhere.

Nathan breaks the silence, "Keaton. Cho. We have something to tell you. You probably won't believe us but I hope you will. Staying in Charleston isn't the plan."

I'm confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Haven continues, "There's a voice in Nathan's head. It's hard to believe but I promise you it's true."

"Bullshit," Cho says in disbelief.

"Our true goal is Egypt. That's where we'll be able to stop the infection. We can't leave until we're healed though," Zach explains further.

I have no clue what to say. Have my friends gone crazy?

"Prove it," Cho orders.

From the side of the room, Taylor says, "Cho, think about it. How did we all end up at Charleston just a few miles down the road from the man who destroyed our home? It was the voice. He led us here. There's no other way it could have happened this way."

It's true. They're right. Something did lead us here. I don't know if Nathan is crazy or it truly is a voice inside his mind. I choose to believe my friend. I choose Egypt. I choose saving the world.

"Nathan, I believe you."

"So do I," Cho says.

The look of joy on Nathan's face almost brings tears to my eyes. It must be hard to seem crazy when you're not. I don't know how he feels but I'll follow him anywhere.

"Like I said before, Nathan," Taylor says, "I will follow you to the edge and back. I'll fight like hell to get where we need to go and I won't stop until it's over. That's a promise."

"I'll follow you too," Haven says.

"I think we all will," I tell him, "Now that we're all together, we can't split up. We go anywhere and we do anything to finish this mission. Are we all in agreement?"

"Agreed," they answer.