ALIVE: The Aftermath Chronicles (Book 1)

Chapter 11 - THE OUTSIDER

"Noon, tomorra'," Nick voices from the doorway, leaning with arms crossed over and seeming far more relaxed than anyone in the colony should be.

Dalton, at Hannah's side, when she came to wake, felt these past few hours went by too quickly. They are pieces in Russell's game, clearly. If he wanted, he could have come for Hannah by now, thrown her and the rest of them to the zombies, and be done with all this. However, they were no fools. The colony was under distress, under attack from forces within, and Russell was losing control of everyone. It had been what Dalton wanted, their goal here to set in chaos and spy on Ana Maria, but with the lives here at stake, Dalton felt a pang of guilt in his deceptions to Hannah.

"I know, Nick," Dalton replies in irritation, shooting him a look to keep quiet, as Hannah looks between the two of them in confusion, "How are we going to stop all this? All these people are going to get killed when they go to trial, too..."

'And it's our fault,' Dalton added in a passing glare through silence, one Nick heard louder than the spoken words.

"They arrested that nurse that was helpin' ya. Jus' naw. E'ryone's talking' 'bout it. They took in tha soldier, too," Nick replies, knowing damn well who Sophie was since their awkward encounter in the medical center, and having noticed her before with her assistance to Dalton's injuries. She made house calls—no one else seemed to unless directed by her to do just that. If he didn't think her to be rude in their own interactions, he might have actually sought her out to help Hannah. However, his last impression of Sophie was that the last thing she'd want to do is be anywhere near him.

"The soldier?" Dalton asks, trying to place who Nick's talking about.

Hannah pipes in, "Doyle. He's a sniper. Really, the only one with a license to kill in this damn place. Russell's hated him since day one. I'm guessing the feeling is pretty mutual by how he's probably second to me in making snide comments around here..."

"You know him?" Dalton asks.

Hannah replies, "Not really. I've just seen him around a lot, showed him, Sophie, and the doctor around when they first arrived. He's noticeable. A lot of people seem to know him, even though he's not much of a socialite."

Nick wants to roll his eyes with the subtext of what the girl was saying. The soldier was attractive, so she might as well have just said that, rather than trying to make it something more.

Hannah continues, "A lot of people who hate Russell, especially, talk about Doyle. Not sure if you heard the story, but they were in a helicopter that crashed, not too far off. They were from District 1 and the stories on how they got here make the guy seem like he's the Hulk or something...he's a threat to Russell. Been a threat when those stories started. Russell's been lookin' for excuses to take him out. That, I know for a fact. I've heard things from the horse's mouth."

"How is he a threat from stories?" Nick asks, his arms unfolding and he takes a step closer to the pair at the bed.

Hannah shrugs, but the effort is half-assed.

She replies, "He's military. Knows how to shoot. How to fight. And, he doesn't like Russell. He's like..a symbol or something. I think he represents something from the old world that people miss, something that' missing around here. He's not...corrupt...and he doesn't take shit. He's the first that's publicly made criticisms about Russell when he first heard the laws. Started asking questions when people disappeared, made accusations to his face, in front of people. They just don't get along and Doyle's really the only one who can do anything about it, the only one who has had the balls too and can't really just go missing with his clout in the doctor, Elisa. Elisa is of high value to Russell, to District 4. If something were to happen to Doyle, it would affect her, and Russell can't lose her."