Benji stood on the hole’s edge, staring at the dead below. He counted at least ten bodies. The illness had already taken ten people who were alive this morning. He knew how small the population on the island was, so the fact that they had already lost ten people was alarming.

  “Benji?”

  Benji looked up and saw Deputy Cash with a shovel and another bag of lime.

  “What are you doing out here?” Cash asked. “You should go back to the cabin.”

  The shock of the bodies was slowly wearing off, and Benji cleared his throat. “Did my father say you could bury these people out here?”

  Cash was sweaty and tired. He had already taken off his shirt uniform, wearing a white tank top underneath with a giant sweat stain on his chest. “This isn’t on your father’s property,” Cash said sternly. “I checked.”

  Benji didn’t have exact measurements of the property line, but he didn’t think the deputy would lie to him or risk his father’s wrath when he returned.

  “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Benji asked.

  Cash planted the shovel in the dirt and leaned on it like a cane. He didn’t say anything at first but then nodded. “Ten dead so far. And another thirty have gotten sick.”

  That was almost a quarter of the population infected, meaning that statistically, they had a full-blown outbreak.

  “How are people handling it?” Benji asked.

  “Not great,” Cash answered. “People are upset about what we’re doing with the bodies. We need to burn them.”

  Benji nodded. “It makes sense, but I understand how that could be hard for people.” He glanced back down to the dead, knowing they were brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters to people on this island.

  “We’re a close-knit group here, Benji,” Cash said. “I’m sure you’ve seen it. But between the EMP, the fighting, and now this?” He shook his head, worried. “I’m not sure we’re going to survive this.”

  Benji wasn’t sure if the deputy meant to survive in the physical or metaphorical sense, but considering the gravity of the situation, it could have been both. “You should wear a mask,” Benji said. “Just as a precaution. I can give you one if you don’t have it.”

  Cash nodded. “I’d appreciate that, Benji; thank you.”

  Benji returned to the cabin, where Harry sat with Maggie at the table, watching her eat the cereal he had prepared. The dog looked longingly up at Maggie, begging for some scraps.

  Harry and Benji exchanged glances, but neither said a word as Benji grabbed another mask and some water for Cash.

  When Benji returned and handed both to the deputy, he again thanked him.

  “You doing all right?” Cash asked, almost as an afterthought, before Benji walked away.

  “Yes, we’re okay,” Benji answered.

  “Right,” Cash said.

  The duo lingered awkwardly before Benji waved goodbye and returned to the cabin, leaving Cash to finish burying the dead.

  When Benji returned to the cabin, he removed his mask, walked back into his room, and shut the door. He stared at the device on the floor, sprawled out in the different parts and components he had managed to separate from the device to better understand its functions and schematics.

  When Benji was just a little boy, shortly after his parents had tested his IQ and discovered his intelligence, his mother took him out for ice cream. She even took him to his favorite place: a small ice cream truck parked along the shoreline. It was the best ice cream in the city.

  The old man who owned the truck had an old crank churner, and everything was homemade. His favorite flavor was chocolate peanut butter, which had big globs of actual peanut butter that were also homemade. Even thinking about it now, he could still taste it on his tongue.

  Benji and his mom sat on the edge of the seawall, legs dangling over the side, eating their ice cream together. She got a mint chocolate chip, which was her favorite.

  But before they finished their ice cream, which they had been eating in silence, his mother turned to him, grabbed his cup of ice cream out of his hands, and set it down.

  “Benji,” she said. “I’m going to talk to you like I’m talking to an adult. Because, well, I think you can handle it.”

  Benji remembered feeling strange, but he nodded and understood exactly what his mother meant. “Okay.”

  “You might be among the smartest people in this country,” she said. “Maybe even the world. And all your brain power will open doors normally locked for other people their entire lives. And you’re going to walk through those doors at a young age. I don’t think that’s what your father and I wanted for you, but I’m also not certain we’ll be able to stop it.” She looked at him, staring into his eyes, and she was sad. “You’re not going to have a normal life. But I want you to have a good life. But I’m afraid you’ll lose yourself in something too big for even your mind to comprehend. So, I want you to remember something for me, okay?”

  Benji remembered feeling frightened at his mother’s voice, but only because she sounded afraid, but he nodded.

  “Remember what happens to people who don’t think beyond their ambitions,” she said. “Remember that a life of solitude disconnects you from the world. And no matter how much you understand the world, no matter how much knowledge you possess, or how much you learn, never forget that everything you have up here is powered from down here.” She tapped his head, then placed her finger on his chest over his heart. “You need both to help people. To understand people. Because the mind you have could be a great asset for the world or lead to its unraveling.”

  Benji sat there, staring up at his mother, not entirely sure he understood her, but he trusted her judgment and wisdom. Because even Benji recognized that all the knowledge in the world couldn’t teach him what time could teach someone older than him.

  “I promise,” Benji said.

  His mother smiled, kissed his head, and told him how much she loved him and how proud he was. And then she handed him back his ice cream, and they finished both.

  The pair had never spoken of that conversation again, but it had resonated with Benji, remembering it in detail even today. And he supposed that was what his mother had intended.

  Benji stared down at the device that had consumed him from the moment Tanner had shown it to him, and then he glanced at the closed door behind him, which separated him from Harry and Maggie.

  The pair were frightened, scared, and alone, without any family. Benji was in the same boat in many aspects, albeit his family was still alive but scattered. But even now, with this project to whet his appetite for knowledge, Benji didn’t feel connected to those children in the kitchen area and feared he was turning into the person his mother had warned him about.

  It was harder than Benji thought, leaving the project behind, even if only for a little bit, but he forced himself to open the door and then joined Harry and Maggie at the table. They stared at him for a minute, unsure what he was doing.

  “Why don’t we take a break?” Benji asked. “You guys want to play a game?”

  Maggie immediately jumped up with excitement, and it made Harry smile. And while Benji still wanted to go back into his room and lock himself away to focus on his work, he felt a piece of himself thaw inside. It had been frozen for a while since the EMP, and he realized it was the connection his mother had told him about.

  Benji didn’t want to lose that part of himself. He had seen what it had done to Tanner. And he didn’t want to be like him.

  13

  “How much farther?” Tanner asked.

  Charlie and Tanner hiked through the woods, keeping closer to the roads than he would have liked, but it was the fastest way to navigate them to the coordinates they had found at the radio station.

  “Less than a mile,” Charlie answered. “That’s if my calculations haven’t gotten rusty.”

  “When was the last time you tracked anything like this?” Tanner asked.

  “I found you, didn’t I?” Charlie asked.

  “That’s not the same,” Tanner answered. “I let you find me.”

  “Well, considering we were given coordinates to another location, I think whoever left them for me wants me to find them, too,” Charlie said, though he wasn’t sure what awaited him when he arrived.

  Charlie had racked his brain the entire trip to figure out who might be behind this, but it could be several individuals. Charlie had killed the entire platoon, but it could be a friend or a family member who wanted to seek retribution for what he’d done. But something like this, the clues, the radio signal, the pictures, it suggested someone who had been close to the action. He doubted a random brother, sister, or spouse would have been able to pull this off without some aspect of formal training.

  With that thought in mind, Charlie wondered if Sir had leaked his name to people after he’d left the Bunker. He could have used Charlie as a scapegoat to ensure he didn’t receive any further blowback from the rest of the intelligence agencies.

  “Did you hear any chatter about me from your sources at the other agencies?” Charlie asked.

  “No,” Tanner answered. “You had a clean break. No one knew who you were.”

  Charlie stopped walking and then turned to look at Tanner, who was a few paces behind him. “You’re sure?”

  Tanner shrugged. “I don’t know.” He sounded exasperated. “There was no way for me to know everything, Charlie. I had my ear to the ground, but that kind of all-knowingness you’re talking about is exactly what Sir tried to accomplish. So, is it possible he peddled your information and name to the other agencies after you were gone? Yes, it’s possible. But I don’t think he did it because it would have exposed him or, at the very least, connected him to what you did.”

  “Sometimes I wonder how many scenarios you can play out in your head,” Charlie said, looking at Tanner. “And the number I have is frighteningly high.”

  “Yeah, well, whatever it is, you can probably double it,” Tanner said. “And that frightens me more than you could imagine.” Tanner adjusted the straps on his pack. “Can we keep going? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can stop walking and sweating like a pig.”

  The sun had returned, and despite the cool temperatures they had experienced just a week ago, the weather had turned unseasonably warm. But over the past decade, the weather had become much more extreme. Even with the advantages of current weather data, it was hard to predict, but all of those instruments were useless, making the weather a potentially dangerous anomaly again.

  But besides the heat, it was a nice day, not that Charlie could enjoy it. He was consumed by what was happening beyond him and to his family.

  “You told me you were glad you never had any children or a family,” Charlie said. “I’m beginning to understand why. Having children and people you love is like having your heart outside your body. It could be crushed and destroyed in the blink of an eye. And having people come after my family for things I’ve done… It’s hard a pill to swallow.”

  “You can’t continue to blame yourself for all of this, Charlie,” Tanner said. “You did what you had to do. And I doubt the people you killed were saints. They were in the same business as you. You were just better at it than they were.”

  Charlie winced. “Not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

  “It’s the truth,” Tanner said. “You’re a fighter, Charlie. You always have been and always will be. But you get to choose what you fight for, and I can’t think of anything more important than fighting to protect your family.”

  “And what happens when the people I’m fighting are simply trying to do that, too?” Charlie asked.

  “That’s not what this person is doing,” Tanner answered. “This is revenge. I don’t remember you targeting innocent civilians. This is something far more malicious.”

  Charlie wasn’t sure if Tanner was trying to make him feel better, but it was confirmed that he never went after anyone’s family. He followed orders. But he still couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that had followed him since the day he left the Bunker for good. And judging by the fact that someone had potentially sent a deadly virus to the island where his family was living, he expected that other people hadn’t forgiven him, either.

  When Charlie and Tanner neared the coordinates they had found at the radio station, Charlie was sure the area was familiar to him. And when they emerged from the edge of the woods, he realized why this place felt so friendly.

  “What is it?” Tanner asked.

  “I’ve been in that cabin before,” Charlie answered. “It’s where I killed those FBI agents during my last mission for the Bunker. That’s what Sir wanted me to do to earn my freedom.”

  Tanner studied the building, which was old, run-down, and looked as though it had been unused for a very long time. But just because it didn’t look like anyone was there didn’t mean the place was abandoned entirely.

  “You’re sure?” Tanner asked.

  “I wouldn’t forget it,” Charlie answered.

  Charlie remained standoffish near the edge of the woods, sticking to the good parts for cover. He was brought here for a reason.

  “We need to check for traps,” Charlie said. “First, the pictures at the station, and now this place?” He shook his head. “There’s a reason I was brought here, and I’m not sure what might be waiting for me inside.”

  “Stay here,” Tanner said, stepping to the side. “I’ll do a perimeter check.”

  Charlie waited in the woods, alone, staring at the cabin, the night in question replaying in his mind. The agents sent to die here by Charlie’s hand had waited here in the woods, just like him.

  They had believed they were luring Charlie into a trap, but it was the reverse. He had taken them by surprise, and he couldn’t help but wonder if a similar trick was about to be played.

  Tanner returned from his perimeter check, shaking his head. “I didn’t find anything.”

  Charlie studied the cabin through the scope of his rifle, looking for any sign of what might be waiting for him inside.

  “What are you thinking?” Tanner asked.

  Charlie lowered his rifle. “We can sit out here all night, but if I want answers, I have to go inside.”

  “It might be rigged to blow,” Tanner said.

  “Well, if that happens, then make sure you get back to my family and get them off the island,” Charlie said, looking at his old partner. “I’m trusting you to take care of them for me.”

  Tanner looked hesitant. “Maybe I should go—”

  “This was my mess,” Charlie said. “I need to be the one who fixes it. Not you.”

  Tanner nodded, but he still looked worried, which was an alarming sight in itself.

  Charlie studied the cabin. “The longer we wait out here, the less time we have to figure out what is happening.” He stood, revealing himself from the cover, and aimed his rifle at the cabin. “Cover me.”

  Tanner remained in the tree line while Charlie approached the cabin. He kept up his guard, knowing Tanner would keep him safe from any threat he couldn’t see.

  When Charlie reached the door, he braced himself for a trap. He thought back to his time here on this planet. He thought of everything he loved and cared for and fought to protect. Charlie thought back to the night he had killed all of those men here. He remembered the confidence in their expressions, so sure that they would be walking away back home to their loved ones, back to their lives.

  But their lives had ended that night by Charlie’s hand. He had gunned them down, leaving their families only a body to mourn. He hoped his fate would be different from those he killed that night.

  It was only now that Charlie realized he couldn’t remember if he had told his family how much he loved them before he left. If he made it back, he would need to do that more. He would always tell them when they woke up and whenever he departed from the island. He would make more effort to say it to them when he returned.

  And the more he circled that thought, the more confident he was that he wouldn’t die here because he needed to return to them. He needed to tell his family how much he loved them.

  Charlie reached for the door handle, and then, in one swift motion, he was inside, clearing the room like he’d done hundreds of times before when he was out in the field. It was dark inside. But it was empty.

  When Charlie reached the end of the building, he stopped and turned around, flicking on the light. There wasn’t anything inside, not even furniture. Little light filtered through the dirty glass, but only two windows existed.

  The minimal light was why Charlie hadn’t noticed the pictures on the wall before. But now that he had his flashlight on and the adrenaline of the moment had worn off, he saw them clearly. It was a shock at first. Charlie lowered his weapon as he walked to the wall, where they had been stapled to the old logs. They hung from the corners at angles, but he understood what they were.

  Surveillance photos, the kind that were taken from a long way off with a zoom lens. It was before the EMP, before the world had turned to garbage. But Charlie wasn’t among the photographs; his family was.

  There were pictures of Benji and Kayla at school. Photos of Shelly at work coming in and out of the station of her precinct. There were dozens of images, some taken at the house, through the windows.

  Whoever had taken these had been watching Charlie’s family for a long time.

  Tanner appeared at the door, gun up, but lowered it when he saw Charlie standing near the wall and looking at the pictures. He walked over and stood next to him.

  “My God,” Tanner said, and then he glanced down at the floor and reached for something Charlie hadn’t noticed. “It’s a tape recorder.”

  Charlie glanced at the small device in his hands and slowly took it from him. He hovered his thumb over the play button, afraid of what he might hear, but he pressed it anyway.

  Static played through the tiny speaker, and at first, Charlie wondered if the tape was blank, but then a voice sounded.

 

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