Page 38 of Dyana (Love in the Apocalypse #3)

Chapter seventeen

Jack

I woke up suddenly. I could tell by the light in the room that daylight was on the verge of breaking.

Something was wrong. I could feel it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

Just a nagging feeling in my gut that there was something I was supposed to be doing.

I got out of bed, where Evan and Bryce were still asleep.

Dyana wasn’t in bed, and it only took me a fraction of a second to see she wasn’t in the tower.

It wasn’t uncommon for her to wake up before us and start the day, but this felt off.

I stumbled to the counter where last night’s tea cups still sat, and the spark of a memory rubbed against the shadows of my mind, just out of reach.

Panic I didn’t understand surged inside of me, and when I spotted a note, I snatched it up desperately, hoping it held the explanation for what I was missing.

I read the note and felt my world tilt off its axis.

Jack, Bryce, Evan:

First, I have to apologize for sedating you.

That wasn’t fair, but I didn’t have a choice.

Harris has been after me from the start of this hellish world, and I’ve let too many people die for me already.

I can’t let him kill you, too. I wouldn’t recover from losing you and would quickly follow you into death.

Please don’t follow me. I know you will want to, but don’t.

Let me go. Don’t let my sacrifice be in vain.

Live your lives and know that I love you more than words can describe.

These last months with you brought me more joy than I ever thought I was worthy of.

You’ve shown me that monsters can be loved, too.

Take care of Cora and her family. Give Johnny and the new baby extra hugs and kisses from their Aunt Dyana.

Be happy. Be safe.

Dyana

“WAKE UP!” I shouted as I tossed the note back onto the counter and rushed to get dressed.

“What’s going on?” Evan asked sleepily.

“Dyana drugged us and gave herself to Harris. We need to go!”

Both men jumped out of bed and dressed.

“Are you sure that’s what happened?” Bryce asked.

“She left a note,” I growled. They read the note as I finished gearing up. I swear, if I found her alive, I would tie her to the bed for a whole week. Oh, God. I stopped and doubled over, bracing my hands on my knees as I fought for air. Doll, please fucking be alive!

Heavy arms wrapped around me and hauled me upright, squeezing me in a bear hug. “We’re going to save her,” Bryce promised, his voice cracking. “I refuse to believe this is the end of our story. Keep the faith, brother. We fought to find her once, we’ll do it again.”

“Bryce is right. We have to stay positive. Let’s go,” Evan said.

We rushed down the hill to the cabin. Just as we reached the yard, Isaac stood from his post by the door. “There you sleepy heads are. I took an extra watch because I figured you guys had slept in. Where’s Dyana?”

“She’s gone. Where the fuck is Derrick?”

“I’m here,” Derrick said, coming around the corner of the chicken coop. “How is she gone?”

I rushed toward him, my rage exploding from me in waves. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing. Where the fuck were you?” I slammed him against the coop, my face inches from his.

“Where was I? Where were you?” Derrick tossed back, struggling against my hold on him. “You took over the second shift. How did she get past you?”

All the fight went out of me when I realized what Dyana did.

I stumbled back, humorless laughter bubbling out of me as I sat on the ground.

“Dyana drugged us, then signaled you when it was time for me to take over the watch. She waited for you to go inside and then walked away without anyone knowing.” I looked up at the sky again.

That was at least six hours ago at the low end.

We needed to move. It might already be too late.

Derrick approached me with sorrow in his eyes. He held his hand out and helped me to my feet. “We’ll get her back,” he promised.

“Remi, Trent, stay here with Cora,” Isaac ordered as he came out of the cabin, already geared up and his arms full of more. “Go to the bunker and stay there until we return.”

“Take them with you,” Cora ordered. “I can protect Johnny from the bunker. You might need them to save Dyana.”

“Princess, there is no way in hell we’re leaving you and Johnny alone, so don’t even bother trying to convince us otherwise,” Isaac replied firmly.

He set the gear down on the table, and Derrick immediately started sorting through it as Isaac turned back to her and cupped her cheeks.

“We will save Dyana, but we will make sure you’re safe too. ”

I could tell Cora wanted to argue, but she didn’t. As important as Dyana was to all of us, Cora was just as important, and Johnny more so. We had just as much responsibility to keep them safe as we had to save Dyana. “Promise me you’ll bring her home and stay safe,” Cora whispered.

“I promise,” Isaac replied, kissing her softly.

“That goes for all of you,” Cora said louder. “All of you better come home safe.”

“We will,” Evan assured her.

We took the assault rifles but left the rest of our guns with Trent, Remi, and Cora. The hike to town took far less time than usual, and the sun had risen by the time we arrived at the police station. I planned to march over there and kick the door in, but Isaac grabbed me before I could.

“Slow down. We need a plan, and you three need to prepare yourselves for what we might be walking into.”

I nodded and shrugged him off. I didn’t want to think about what we might find inside the station.

“Did you have a plan in mind?” Bryce asked.

“His car is still here, so that’s a good sign.

You three go through the front, and Derrick and I will take the back.

Clear each room together before moving into the next.

Don’t separate and don’t underestimate that kid.

I know Dyana was worried about her, but I don’t trust her.

I was watching her last night, and she was far too relaxed in Harris’s arms.”

“Sounds good,” Evan replied.

“Count to ten so we can get into position and then move in,” Derrick said.

Isaac and Derrick trotted across the street and disappeared behind the building as we approached the front door.

One, two, three, four, five. Please fucking still be alive, Dyana.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. I looked at Bryce and nodded.

My former linebacker lined up with the door and kicked it open.

We rushed into the lobby, rifles raised, and were met with an empty room.

Together, we moved to the hallway and saw Derrick and Isaac on the other end.

We traded confused looks when no one reacted to our intrusion.

It was like the place was empty. What if he had another vehicle and they were already gone? How would we find Dyana?

I opened the first door on the left, and as a body came into view, my heart fell out of my body.

It took me a few seconds to realize the body didn’t have red hair.

“It isn’t her,” I whispered, hoping to save the others from the shock.

The room was empty, and I was about to follow the others out to the next room when I heard a sound come from the closet.

“Hold up, something moved in the closet.”

We approached the closet, guns drawn, and at a nod from Bryce and Evan, I reached out and yanked the closet door open.

A screaming flash of red exploded from the closet, and I had to drop my rifle to hang by my side to keep the attacker at bay.

Instantly, I knew it was Dyana, but I had never seen her like this.

I hissed as she cut my arm as I struggled to get control of her.

I started to question everything when she leaned down and bit me. It couldn’t be true...

“What the fuck, Dyana?” I yelled, tightening my grip on her. She stopped struggling, and I looked at Bryce. “Tell me she isn’t a zombie.”

He brushed the hair out of her face, and I saw his relief before he spoke. “She’s alive, for now. Right now, I want to strangle her.”

“Bryce? Evan? Jack?” Dyana asked. She sounded confused, like she was coming out of a haze.

I understood the feeling; that was how I felt this morning after she drugged us.

I made sure Dyana was steady on her feet, and as soon as I released her, Bryce and Evan moved in to hug her while I assessed my injuries.

The cut wasn’t as deep as I thought it was, though it was still bleeding a decent amount.

She had bitten me hard enough that her teeth imprints already showed bruising.

“All clear, nobody is here,” Derrick said as he entered the room with Isaac right behind him. “Dyana! Thank fuck you’re ok.” His eyes moved to me and widened when he saw the blood. “What the hell happened to you?”

“She did,” I replied, pointing at Dyana.

She turned to see what he was talking about, and the blood drained from her face when she saw my arm. “Oh my God, Jack! Are you ok? I am so fucking sorry.”

“It’s fine. It looks worse than it is,” I assured her. Isaac pulled a bandana from his pocket and handed it to me.

“Wait,” Dyana said, turning back to Derrick. “Did you say the building is clear? As in, Harris is gone?”

“Yeah. But his car is still outside, so he’s probably nearby,” Derrick replied.

“It’s a trap. Cora! He knew you’d come after me. He wants to make me watch everyone I love die. He’s going after Cora! We need to get home!” Dyana chattered as she rushed from the room.

“What do you mean it’s a trap?” Isaac demanded as we rushed after her.

“If he isn’t here, he has to be at the house. You didn’t see how delighted he was when he made Amber kill herself. Hurting me physically wasn’t going to be enough for him anymore.” As soon as she got outside, she started jogging toward the bridge.

“Maybe not. His car is still here,” Derrick reminded her.

Dyana stopped and turned around. “The car! Oh, please, God, give us this.” She rushed to where it was parked and opened the driver’s door. “Yes! He left the keys in it. Let’s go!”

“I’m driving,” Isaac announced.

“You really think he’s at the house?” Derrick asked.

“I think Dyana thinks he is, and that’s good enough for me. She knows him best.” We piled into the car, and Dyana climbed into my lap as Isaac sped toward the bridge.

“Please, please, please,” she chanted quietly as she rocked anxiously in my lap. “Not Cora. Not Johnny. Don’t do this to me. Don’t take them.”

I tried to comfort her by holding her closer, but Dyana shook me off. “Please don’t touch me,” she said softly before returning to her pleas to God.

The closer we got to home, the thicker the tension in the car grew. We didn’t know what we would be coming home to.

“They’re ok,” Derrick said. “Trent and Remi will protect them. And we know Cora can take care of herself. They’re fine.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than reassure us.

“Stop the car!” Dyana yelled when we were nearing the house. Isaac slammed on the brakes, and I had to wrap my arms around Dyana to keep her from flying forward.

“What the fuck, Dy?” Isaac asked.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. We should go the rest of the way on foot so Harris doesn’t hear the car approaching.”

“Good idea,” Evan said.

As we approached, the smell of something burning sent us running.

Initially, I thought Harris had set the cabin on fire, but that wasn’t the case.

He’d dragged anything that would burn over the metal doors that led to the bunker, set it on fire.

He was trying to smoke them out of the bunker.

He must not have realized there was an indoor entrance.

I was confused about how he’d found the hidden entrance until I saw Trent’s body nearby.

Harris must have caught him as he exited, but not before Remi got the door relocked.

Harris didn’t realize we were there until Derrick was on him, tackling him across the flames.

While Isaac checked on Trent, the rest of us helped Derrick with Harris.

The man was surprisingly scrappy, and it took four of us to restrain him.

“Hold him,” I growled when we’d gotten control.

“This is for Dyana.” I reared back and punched Harris in the face.

Blood spurted from his nose as I broke it.

The sound and sight felt good. I’d make him pay for what he’d done to her and everyone else after her.

“The fire!” Isaac yelled.

I turned to see it working its way toward the house. If we didn’t act fast, the entire cabin would go up in minutes.

“I’ve got him,” Bryce yelled. “Get the fire out!”

The rest of us rushed for the stores of water we had already gathered. Fire was one of the potential attacks we had planned for yesterday. When we got the fire out, I realized that Dyana wasn’t in sight.

“Dyana?”

Slowly, she stepped out of the forest and picked up one of the rifles we had dropped in our haste to capture Harris. Dyana lifted the rifle to her shoulder and pointed it at Harris. “Let him go, Bryce.”

Bryce did as he was told and moved out of the way. Instead of staying on his knees, Harris stood, glaring at Dyana.

“Well, go ahead, shoot me!” he screamed. I expected the shot, and when it didn’t come, we all looked toward Dyana. She was still standing as frozen as a statue.

“Dyana,” Evan said as he moved toward her. “If you can’t do it, if you want one of us to, we will.”

“No,” Dyana said, her voice cold as ice. “His life is mine.” The barrel lowered, and a shot rang out. Harris screamed in pain and grabbed his leg as blood spread across his thigh through his pants.

“Run, Harris. I want you to know what it feels like to be hunted. To have someone breathing down your neck and feel like there is no way out.”

“So you can shoot me in the back? I don’t think so. If you want to kill me, you’ll have to do it like a man.” Harris sneered.

The door to the cabin opened, and Cora stepped out carrying a hunting knife that looked absurdly large in her small hands.

“A big man like you?” Dyana scoffed. “You’ve raped, beaten, and killed countless women and children and you have the stones to call yourself a man?

” “No, I won’t be shooting you,” Dyana replied as she headed toward Cora.

She traded her rifle for the knife Cora held.

“I’ll gut you like the pig you are, now run. ”

Harris still looked cocky, but I could see the shadow of doubt in his eyes as he took off toward the road.