This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 42

Every choice I made up to this point could be my last. The end of the world made me realize that I was awful at making decisions. My actions could cost me my life, as well as the people around me. I've realized that, but that didn't stop me from risking my life once more, especially when my family was involved. 

I didn't know if those soldiers were just here to rescue us, or if they had ulterior motives. All I knew was that they were trying to take my sister and mother away from me. Red flags of danger kept signaling in my head, and I needed to do something to stop them. But what could I do? The only weapon that I had on me was a knife, and that wasn't going to stop people armed with guns. All I could do was yell at them to stop. 

When I did, the soldiers finally noticed me. My family did as well, and when Caitlyn noticed me, she pulled away from the men and ran towards me. She threw her arms around me in an embrace and I hugged her back. The men did nothing to stop her. Perhaps because they had guns, they didn't see us as a threat. If we wanted to keep our lives, then we would be forced to follow them. But I still couldn't tell if they were friend or foe. What did they even want with us to begin with?

"Caitlyn, what's going on?" I asked. Only my family had been taken from the apartment building. No one else joined them, which made me fear for their lives. 

My sister shook her head. "I don't know. These men came here looking for you and Alex, but I don't know why. Not only that, but then they told me and Mom that we needed to come with them. I'm so confused, Aiden. No one has explained anything to us."

"What about everyone else? Are they okay?" I couldn't figure out why these men were here, but everyone's safety was my priority. 

"No one's been seriously injured, but when the soldiers tried picking a fight with Alex, Xavier got involved. He's okay, but he did get hurt. Besides the ones they came for, these men won't let anyone else get involved. They said that there would be consequences if anyone tried to interfere." When Caitlyn pulled away from me, I could see the fear in her eyes. 

This confirmed that these men were enemies, but it still didn't explain why all this was happening. It seemed that I would be getting my answer sooner than I expected. A man wearing a lab coat was approaching me and my sister. He tried giving us a friendly smile, but my guard was up. I pushed my sister behind me as if that would protect her from this man. I didn't trust this fake smile that he gave us. 

He stopped before getting too close to us. I took note of the soldier who stood behind him. Whoever this man was, he was someone important. I looked at his clothes, trying to figure out where this man had come from. He didn't wear any badges or anything that gave him away. All I could tell was that he was probably a scientist, just like my father. 

"It's very nice to make your acquaintance, Caitlyn, Aiden. My name is Dr. Carson. Alistair Carson. I haven't seen you two since you were children," the man, Dr. Carson, said. 

Even though he gave us his name, I still had no idea who this man was. My sister didn't seem to have any recollection of him either. We both said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm not surprised that you don't remember me. After all, it has been years, and I've only met you once. I am a colleague of your father's. He wanted to be the one to come collect you, but some important matters came up, and he wasn't able to attend. But no worries. Me and my men will escort you back to our base," he said, never losing that fake friendly smile of his. 

"How the hell did you find us?" I finally broke my silence. It didn't make any sense how these men were suddenly able to find us. 

"Oh, that was pure luck. We were not searching for you. Instead, we found you because we were tracking a newly turned zombie. It is too much to explain right now. However, I can tell you that my group has been studying these creatures, and the new breeds are quite fascinating. The latest one we were studying just so happens to be one of your friends. She led us straight to you," Dr. Carson explained. 

At the mention of the zombie, I knew that he was talking about Riley. If I was correct, then this was the group that Riley warned me about. They came from Sanctuary, the place that she told me to stay away from. They were a dangerous group who had been searching for my friend. The last night that I saw Riley, they must have been there watching us. Our whereabouts then must have been reported to my dad, but I didn't see why he even cared. If he cared, he never would have left us in the first place. 

Dr. Carson then placed a hand on my shoulder. He gripped it too tightly, which hurt. I saw a wild look in his eyes as he said, "Aiden, you could help us find this zombie. She is your friend. You or Alex could lure her out of hiding for us."

"So you want me to trick my friend for the sake of one of your experiments. Fuck you," I spat out. 

Knowing that these people were after Riley, they only meant her harm. She may not have been the same girl that I grew up with, but a part of her was still in there. As long as she still held onto some of her humanity, then I would never sell her out or trick her. It crossed my mind that perhaps the experiments were meant to change her back into a human, but based on the look in Dr. Carson's eyes, I could tell that he was up to no good. He didn't care if the results were favorable or not. 

After my refusal, the smile on his face faded. He let go of my shoulder and then raised his hand. This was a command for the soldier behind him. The man raised his gun, but it wasn't aimed at me or my sister. I noticed too late that the weapon was pointed at Arin, who had been standing closely behind my sister and me. The soldier fired, the bullet only grazing Arin's right shoulder.

Arin let out a cry and clutched onto the wound. The attack was a warning only meant to harm him a little. This was to prove to us that they would kill if necessary. The gun was still pointed at Arin, ready to fire again if given the order. I quickly got in front of Arin to block him from any other oncoming attacks. They wouldn't hurt me or my sister, but they didn't care about any other casualties. 

Dr. Carson clicked his tongue, now impatient. "That wasn't a request. You no longer have any choice in this matter, but that can be discussed when we return to Sanctuary. After the gunfire, the zombies will show up at any moment. I hoped we could have discussed this civically, but you left me no choice. Now, come with me, or I'll have my men shoot your friend and everyone else inside the building."

His words left me fearful for my friend's lives. As much as I didn't want to go with him, I didn't have an option. It was either to follow him or risk everyone's lives. Though, if the zombies were attracted to the noise, everyone would be in danger anyway. At least going with him meant that they might have a chance of getting out of this alive. 

"Will you have your people take care of Arin's wound?" I asked, glancing back at Arin. The gunshot may only have grazed him, but he was still bleeding. 

Dr. Carson shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not? Now, follow me."

Reluctantly, we followed him. I stayed close to Caitlyn and Arin, not willing to leave their sides. They forced us to get inside one of the trucks, where my mother waited. No one else from our group was there, not even Alex. He would be abandoned, just like everyone else that we were leaving behind in the apartment building. 

"What about the others?" Caitlyn asked worriedly. 

"They are not our concern. Once the zombies get there, they will either die or survive. It'll be interesting to see which one of them makes it out alive." Dr. Carson was indifferent when speaking about my friends. Their lives didn't matter to them, while the thought of them dying made me feel like I was falling apart. 

But I couldn't cry or break down in this situation. I needed to stay strong for my family and Arin, who were still here with me. I needed to have faith in the others and believe that they would make it out of this. 

My faith felt as though it would crumble as we drove away, and I saw the horde of zombies that was running to where we once were. 

The End 

----

Thank you to everyone who somehow stuck through this story. Book one is now finished, and the second one will be coming sometime next year! I'm sorry if the ending seems abrupt and that it leaves off with a cliffhanger. I wanted to end the story once the characters were about to head to Sanctuary. 

Stay tuned for the next book! I'm going to take a short break before starting the next one.

Also, Merry Christmas! Finally finishing this story is my present to you guys! (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡