The Bleed: Book 2: RAPTURE David Moody (the red fox clan txt) 📖

rot, the animal life, the portal, all of it.” A dim wattage light bulb flickered in a dark recess of her mind, and she nearly let her thoughts pass on by without a second glance. “There might be something there,” she thought out loud. Then she turned to the two others. “If it was the Bleed, it was much more manageable than what we’ve been dealing with on Earth.”

“Manageable? Juan was killed by it.” Sam was aghast.

“I know the loss, Sam, I was there. And I don’t mean to make less of his death and everyone else’s, it’s…” Maddie was looking for the right words, given what they were talking about was burdensome. “I was in Australia, too. What happened there was a worldwide cataclysm, and there was nothing that could be done. It killed billions, and they had tech and weaponry to fight back. We were up here using pointy objects and most of us got away.” She didn’t add, “for now,” because they all knew that the clock was ticking. “Your dad was a good man, Juan was a good kid. They didn’t deserve to die that way, but what we need to do now is focus on not letting it happen to anyone else.”

Sam let the anger that had been building, dissipate. Juan’s death had nothing to do with Maddie, and she was smart enough to realize that she was mistakenly placing blame where it didn’t belong. “Could it be the lack of atmosphere?” Sam posed.

“Possibly.” Maddie couldn’t be sure.

“Lack of life, perhaps. Your moon sounds nearly devoid of it. The bleed thrives on the destruction of life, without it, it cannot bloom,” Thistle said.

“Oh, that’s great. So we can beat our enemy by starving it of all life. Seems counterproductive.” Maddie was masking her fear with sarcasm. It was likely, she felt, that this did have something to do with the Bleed’s lack of manifestation on the moon, but there was more, she was certain of it. There had to be. Without some other means, they were merely marking time for the end of all things.

The three women said nothing for many moments. Sam had gone to the monitors and was looking out over the people below. They seemed to her to be a disorganized mass.

“Maddie, where are we?” she asked, placing her hand on the screen. She wasn’t entirely sure, but underneath the vegetation, it all looked somehow familiar.

“It would appear we are on the moon,” Maddie told her.

Sam turned, she was astonished. “Our moon? The future? How?”

“I don’t think I can answer any of those questions definitively. It’s our moon, in a sense, but not our future. It would appear to be a different timeline, maybe parallel to ours?” Maddie looked to Thistle to see if she had any input; she shrugged her shoulders.

“Alternate reality? It sounds like something Derrick would read about. What do we do now?” Sam asked.

Maddie wanted to shrug her shoulders, too. She didn’t have the foggiest notion. She’d applied for the moon project to get away from people. She’d never liked crowds of any size, and at no time had she ever desired to be in a leadership role. And now it would appear she was being confronted with both of those things. To what purpose, she couldn’t resolve. There were over a hundred thousand people down there. Most weren’t going to give her a listen; people generally did what they wanted to, and what was she supposed to do about it? All of these people were under massive amounts of stress, had perhaps lost all or most of everything dear to them…what could Maddie possibly offer that would help to calm them or begin the process of rebuilding their lives? She had no idea if the ecosystem they found themselves in could support this massive influx of life, or if they were basically just hiding out in an understocked bunker and would soon find themselves out of the basic necessities for survival.

As if the other had been reading Maddie’s thoughts, Thistle said, shrewdly, “They are going to be at each other’s throats soon. I’ve seen what blind panic can do to good people. We need to restore order.”

Sam picked up the thread. “She’s right. Give them a common goal.”

“That’s great and everything, but what is that common goal?” Maddie asked. “Shelter? Because there’s not so much as an axe down there to do any building with. Hunt for food? Same problem. I’d even say train to fight for when the enemy comes, but fists aren’t going to work.”

“I’ve got an idea.” Thistle was looking at the god-tech rings.

“I’m listening…maybe,” Maddie replied.

“We’ve all come from somewhere different, even some time different. You and Jenny took these people away from Earth. Why can’t we use the god-tech to supply food, tools, we could get everything we need.”

“This machine isn’t some giant celestial superstore. And you saw what happened when we opened it up. That killing virus out there can sense when it’s being used. We risk the chance of being discovered.”

“I get that, Maddie,” Sam said. “But you’ve already listed the reason why we can’t stay like this. Just hiding, I mean. What’s the point? I don’t want to wait around to die.”

“But forcing the issue might not be the best choice, Sam. You didn’t see what I saw; I’m not so sure those poor bastards actually died. I get the sad impression that they are imprisoned within that aberration, unable to do anything about it but bear witness to countless atrocities. A death borne by inaction might be preferable.”

“No.” Thistle had stood tall. “We fight. My mother fought, my father fought at the end, and I’m sure Arridon is fighting, wherever he is.” She had to take a moment to make sure she didn’t break down, thinking about her sibling. “We have to do the same.”

Maddie wanted to tell Thistle, yeah but look what fighting got them, dead and with nothing accomplished, but that was hurtful and mean spirited.