The Colonel’s eyebrows rose so high this time, they looked like they were going to leave his face. “Is that right?”
“Would Adam have sent me to you otherwise?”
“You might have forced the information out of him. You might have taken it from his corpse.”
“Excuse me, Colonel,” interrupted Grace. “But do you know a Greg Muller?”
The Colonel looked at Grace sharply. “You mean Captain Muller? He was under my command at Fort Irwin. What’s he to you?”
“He’s my uncle,” said Grace. “I came to Los Angeles to find him and my aunty, Linda.”
“And you said you’re name was Grace? I think he mentioned you once or twice. You’re his niece?”
Grace nodded.
The Colonel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Can you vouch for this boy here?”
Grace nodded. “He saved my life at least twice. I trust him completely. Don’t let his appearance fool you. He really can help you.”
“And the other one?” he asked, meaning Joshua.
Grace nodded again.
The Colonel frowned, clearly undecided. “Let me think on this for a while. I’ll get someone to bring you something to eat, and you and I,” he said, indicating Sam, “will have another chat shortly.” He turned and started walking away.
“Colonel!” shouted Grace at his departing back.
He glanced backwards. “Yes?”
“What about my uncle and aunty, Colonel? What’s happened to them?”
The Colonel looked at her for a moment and his face softened. “I’m sorry, Grace. They’re dead.”
Grace burst into tears and threw herself into Sam’s arms. He held her as she sobbed. Long after she stopped crying, he continued to hold her, rocking her gently. It was the closest human contact he’d had in a long, long time.
Another few hours passed. There seemed to be more activity going on in the warehouse. The roller door went up and down a few more times. Vehicles left, vehicles arrived. A solider brought them some food. It wasn’t much but there was a generous helping of it and all three attacked it greedily.
Later still, four armed guards came to the cell and unlocked it. They separated Sam from the others. One of the guards led Joshua and Grace away while the other three escorted Sam to what had once been the administrative office of the cash and carry. Colonel Sumner was sitting behind a desk. He offered Sam a seat in front of him and dismissed the soldiers.
“Is that wise, Sir?” asked one of them.
The Colonel waved him off. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern, soldier.”
He looked at Sam, his face betraying absolutely no emotion. “Tell me everything.”
Sam did. He left out almost nothing. He told him of his upbringing and his heritage. He talked of Hikari and Aimi, the words almost choking him. He told of his training and his survival after the Rapture. He told the Colonel of his journey to Hell and the reason for it. Lastly, he told him about the mission that he had been entrusted with many years earlier.
The Colonel sat still the whole time. Occasionally his eyes went wide or he would nod fractionally. When Sam had finished, he stood and looked at the boy carefully.
“I saw how you comforted your friend,” he said. “In my experience, that sort of thing can’t be faked.” He paused for breath. “If what you say is true — wait,” he said, forestalling Sam’s response, “and I am inclined to believe you, God help me — then it would seem that we’re on the same side. First, I think, you need to understand a few things about what’s been happening around here. The Antichrist has got a choke hold on the Western seaboard. I don’t really know what’s going on in the rest of the country — or the world for that matter — I only know what’s been happening around here. We still have contact with some resistance groups but we’ve lost some recently. Losing Adam really hurt. We served together. He was a good man.”
Sam didn’t know what to say. Losing Adam had indeed been a blow.
“When the Rapture happened, I was stationed at Fort Irwin. There was confusion at first, lots of it. Confused reports from all over the States and around the world. Then the Tribulation started and the base got hit hard by the earthquakes and fires. Then the demons came.” The Colonel sighed heavily. “We were heavily armed of course, not that it made a difference. Our bullets and shells bounced off most of them and we were overrun within minutes. I escaped with as many men and supplies as I could and we came here.”
He smiled. “I’d been setting up this business with a view to my retirement. Turns out it’s a good place to start a resistance movement. There are lots of businesses around here. Many were chock full of food and other stuff we could use. We soon learnt about the demons’ sensitivity to iron and used it to our full advantage. We hunt them out at night, and during the day we gather what people and supplies we can.”
“And what about the Antichrist?” asked Sam.
“I’m coming to that. Patience. We’d been here a few weeks when we started seeing changes. We heard things. Most of the demons disappeared off the streets at night and stopped taking people. It seemed to become more organized out there, like someone had taken charge. Then we learnt about the mark of the beast. That was almost our undoing at first — some of them posing as free citizens came close to discovering our base. We soon got wise. I don’t know if you’d noticed, but this city still functions because of that mark. It may only come alive at night but it’s the mark that drives it. If you have got the mark, you are free to carry on your usual activities. Many shops and businesses are still open at night. Those that run them are all marked. I’ve heard the same system operates in other places.”
Sam nodded, thinking about Las Vegas.
“Those that don’t, get taken. Some come back but all bear the mark when they return. Now, we’re fighting a battle against two enemies. We’ve got the demons, who we usually attack in the churches. We’ve managed to destroy a few already. Then we’ve got the humans who have joined the cause of this false ‘messiah’ as they’re calling him. We have to be careful of them during the day. The Antichrist keeps a close watch on the city and has patrols out. And then there’s the matter of his headquarters.”
Sam sat forward suddenly. This was the information he needed. The location of the Antichrist.
“Yes, I can see you’re interested in this bit,” said the Colonel. “It’s actually quite timely that you turned up when you did. The Antichrist is holed up in the Cathedral of the Lady of our Angels. Ironic that. That’s where he probably is right now.”
The Colonel smiled savagely. “And that’s where we’re gonna hit him in two days time.”
According to one of the soldiers Sam spoke to, it had been early Tuesday morning when his meeting with the Colonel had taken place. For a long time, Sam had paid absolutely no attention to the date so it was with some surprise that he found that it was October. It had been almost two months since the Rapture.
The attack on the Antichrist’s headquarters was scheduled for Thursday, midday. Sam spent much of the next day preparing. He was given his swords back which he took pains to sharpen. He hadn’t slept at all, finding a few hours of meditation more than sufficient for his needs. His wound from the Hellhound disappeared.
He was largely ignored by the other soldiers and the few civilians present. Word had clearly gotten out about what he was and when someone did look at him, it was with suspicion. Sam sighed. Some things never changed.
Joshua and Grace had all but recovered from their injuries. When Sam had re-joined them after his meeting with the Colonel, both were sporting fresh bandages on their heads. Joshua had even had his wrist wrapped again. All three had been supplied with a cot in a curtained off area of the warehouse that served as sleeping quarters.
Grace seemed distant, obviously badly affected by the news of her uncle and aunt’s death. They had been, Sam knew, her last remaining relatives left on earth. Now she had no-one. He knew how that felt and gave her what sympathy and comfort her could offer. She seemed to channel her grief, using it to fuel her anger. There was no way, she insisted, that she was going to miss out on the coming attack. The demons would pay for what they had done to her family.