Page 40 of Redemption (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #4)

The urge to leave only got worse when, after a few months here, I realized exactly what David and his loyalists do within the sanctity of his carefully selected company.

The filthy depravity that called for an adjustment to the routine checks and tests we perform on a daily basis upon welcoming a new person into the “community.”

I’m sure anyone witnessing my predicament would ask why I didn’t stop them. Why not offer an alternative to what David proposed we started doing to each and every one of those lost individuals seeking refuge?

Believe me, I tried.

I tried stopping them. Tried teaching them new ways to get the same results they sought from the people they harbored. Even tried to intervene physically, protecting my patients with violence when all of my pleas were falling on deaf ears.

All it got me was a week in the Narrows, held in the dark as I nursed myself back to health after almost meeting my own death at the hands of those who are now in charge of the very testing methods I, myself, refused to be a part of.

They left me beaten, battered, and broken.

Concussed and temporarily deformed. Barely alive with the lingering threat that if I ever intervened with their newly amended protocol again, I’d find myself right back here or worse.

They’d go after her .

My reason for still breathing in this putrid little fucked-up town.

I met her here a few weeks after being welcomed by David, himself.

Beautiful beyond measure, both body and soul.

She captivated me in an instant, and I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

She was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, who then turned into being the one thing they can hold against me.

It’s been months since I saw her last, taken not even a week after David changed his ways and started preaching about a new calling to combat the effects of the plague. To defeat the destruction caused by the contagion. To turn the tides and create a new world under his righteous guidance.

But it was nothing like anyone could’ve ever imagined.

The things they do...

The things they’ve tried to make me do...

If it was just me, I would have let them kill me, let them drag me down and end it all. The thought of what happens in the dark recesses of the township sickens me to the point I can hardly eat nowadays without wanting to vomit everything right back up.

But I do what I must...

Bending what little rules I’m able...

For her.... Refusing to make her more vulnerable than she already is at the hands of a tyrannical psychopath who has turned this town into a living embodiment of Hell.

Thankfully, I have others to look out for her in my place.

My eyes and ears that are allowed to be where she is when I’ve not passed the tests to be able to do so.

Unbeknownst to David and his assembly, they’ve become her protectors in the unending darkness.

They keep her humanity so that I may keep my sanity.

Until the day we’re able to be free again.

Fortunately, we might have a new option to help us do just that.

A strong individual, of both body and mind, who may also find himself in the same predicament.

Who also has allies he can count on. Who just might be up to fight for a worthy cause.

He only needs to see this place as I do.

And from what I can tell, he already does.

I shuffle around the papers in his file until I come to the results I finished earlier, turning the paper around so David can also take a look.

“Results show he’s passed all his testing, except one.

” I lift a finger and point to the last note on the page.

The one that causes David’s eyebrows to furrow with frustration.

Besides the immunity testing, this is the one the leader of Phoenix Rising is most concerned with.

The one that grinds the gears for the true underbelly of his operation.

Fertility: Negative

“Such a waste.” He tosses the paper back at me, unsatisfied with the results. “But I will not put good stock out to pasture. Do you think him capable of work?”

I scan the document again. “I don’t see any reason not to think so, sir.

He showed aggression during transport and upon arrival, but he seems to have calmed down since then.

And apart from the dislocated shoulder that still needs time to heal, he should be able to be put onto light duty.

Maybe in the fields? There are always weeds to be pulled and crops to be planted. ”

And it’ll keep him out of trouble until it comes time for me to make use of him.

David hums to himself as he turns over my suggestion with narrowed eyes.

“That man killed three of our guys. Pacified or not, the truth of the matter remains.” He looks down the hallway to the room Mr. Rhodes is being kept in.

“I have a better idea. Have Forge take him to the Narrows to recuperate. It’ll free up the bed for those who need it and get him out of your hair.

If you think he’s capable of being put to good use, I’m not going to allow him to fester in a medical ward when there are more pressing duties to be done.

As to your earlier suggestion, we have enough men in the crop fields.

Too many, if you ask me. I’ll send a message and have him added to the lineman roster.

Tank will officially take over his assimilation once he’s taken him into custody.

If our newest recruit gives any pushback at all on the matter, I’m sure Tank will be more than happy to take care of him for us.

I trust him to uphold the ideology that we have no place within the community for disorder or mutinous rationalities.

This new addition will keep his mouth shut and work as he is designated to, or he will die.

Simple enough, even a brainless deadhead can understand the concept. ”

Lineman duty.

That’s pretty much the lowest you can go here. It’s practically a jail sentence and barely a breath away from death, and all because he didn’t pass one measly test. I instantly feel sorry for the guy. And myself, to be honest, as my barely conceived plan goes up in flames.

“What about the other?” David moves on, unconcerned that he just signed a guy’s life away.

With a barely restrained huff, I clench my jaw and turn to the growing pile on my left, lifting the document I completed just this morning.

“Patient is currently being held in the Narrows,”— against my explicit instructions to deliver him here but since overruled by the recommendation of field leaders who hold a higher rank than me— “exhibiting hostile and aggressive behavior upon arrival, according to those currently in charge of his care. Toxicology reports show that the tranquilizers are still being administered to sedate the patient in order to collect test data and maintain compliance. Urinalysis shows a small amount of blood, indicating possible kidney damage. Immunology reports show the patient is immune as well. Fertility testing indicates the patient has passed and may be a prime candidate for Ascension.”

David grunts, pleased with the results as he rubs his palm across his jaw. “A prime candidate... However, also aggressive.”

The assessment gained my attention, as well. And my interest.

I could use aggressive...

I give a noncommittal, “Hmm,” in return before asking, “With the results I’ve gathered, I’d like to transfer him into my care, rather than remain in the Narrows.

I believe he might benefit from a more delicate approach.

Not to mention, if he is set for Ascension, he’ll need wound care and a chance to recover. ”

The Narrows. It’s a fancy name David conjured for the manacled interrogation rooms hidden in the basement of the building next door.

Many have been down there, but rarely do any of them ever come back out alive.

Fortunately, if the tests were accurate, this man, like me, would be valuable in David’s eyes.

The last thing he’d want is for another precious commodity to be ruined at the hands of his degenerate thugs.

David seems to agree as he nods in return, tapping his fingers twice on the paperwork before me. “See that it’s done. I’m trusting you to fix him up, Stitch. Mind and body. Get him ready. For if we wish to ascend , we will need every able body and strong back to do so.”