The Hive (Rasper Book 2) Read online

  The Hive

  Rasper Series Book 2

  Kathleen Groger

  Leaf & Thorn Press, LLC

  Copyright © 2020 by Kathleen Groger

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Leaf & Thorn Press, LLC

  Cover Design: Deranged Doctor Design

  Editing: Peter Senftleben and Lisa Gilliam

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ebook ISBN: 978-1-945040-08-5

  print ISBN: 978-1-945040-09-2

  For my family. I love you.

  Also by Kathleen Groger

  Rasper Series

  The Colony

  The Hive

  Seam Stalker Series

  The Shattered Seam

  Silencing The Seam

  Secrets Of The Seam

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Kathleen Groger

  1

  The stench of burnt flesh and electrical wires hung heavy in the dense air. Black smoke billowed up from the wreckage. Pieces, parts, and people lay scattered along the charred grass. In the distance, a helicopter blade stood straight up out of the ground like a javelin tossed into the dirt to claim victory. But no one won here. They never had a chance.

  The bodies would be removed. The Raspers always took the dead.

  A taste like rotten eggs clung to the inside of my mouth as I searched through the carnage. It couldn’t be hers. It couldn’t be the one she was on. The first two bodies I reached were both unrecognizable. The only telling feature was the ripped and shredded bloody shrouds they both wore, which I knew a few hours earlier had been pristine white lab coats.

  I had to move faster. The Raspers would be here soon.

  It only took about a minute more to find a twisted hunk of fabric and metal that used to be a row of passenger seats. The good news, no one was in them. The bad news, no one was in them. Maybe this wasn’t the right helicopter.

  A black object on the ground caught my attention. My breath quickened. I reached down and picked up the beanie hat. A few stray blonde hairs hugged the inside. Pulling the hat closer, I inhaled. The fire and smoke tainted the smell, but the scent of lemons and vanilla still lingered. A tear trailed down my cheek, but when I tried to wipe it away, it slid down my neck. I stuffed the hat in my back pocket and turned.

  Red mountains surrounded the crash site, and scrubby green trees grew all around. It reminded me of somewhere out west. A couple of Raspers wearing cowboy hats that made their yellow skin more sallow came from the far side of the crash site. I ducked behind one of the nearby larger trees. The taller Rasper picked up one of the lab-coated bodies and tossed it over his shoulder. The other one walked toward the split-open cockpit and removed what was left of the pilot.

  I should try to stop the Raspers. But it wouldn’t change anything. These people were already dead.

  Gunfire erupted on my right. Before I could duck down, someone yanked me backward.

  The mountains turned foggy, fuzzy, and everything went black. I couldn’t see. The roar of my heartbeat was all I heard. The sensation of falling shifted my equilibrium, and I slipped into nothingness.

  The blackness cleared, and my hip smacked the carpeted floor of a room.

  “Val, did you find something?” Adam poked his head around the doorjamb. “Are you okay?” He walked over and helped me up.

  “She wasn’t there.”

  Adam grabbed me by the wrists. “Your skin is on fire. What happened?”

  I shook off his grip. “I saw the helicopter Megan was in. It crashed. Everyone died. But her body wasn’t there. Only the hat she was wearing. It was real. I was there.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep or maybe trip and hit your head?” He spoke in an even voice that told me he didn’t believe me. “I know I’m exhausted.”

  “No,” I said a little more forcefully than I had intended.

  “Don’t worry, she’s not dead. She can’t be dead. It’s okay. We’ll find her.” His tone changed to one my father used when I was younger to get me to calm down. He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I promise.”

  It hadn’t been a dream. It was so vivid. I saw the wreckage. Smelled the aftermath. Held the hat. I instinctively reached for the back pockets of my cargo pants and came up empty.

  What the hell was going on?

  It had been a day. No. No, it hadn’t. It had been hours. Hours since Megan had been taken from us. Hours since I pushed Adam out of a helicopter. Hours since I jumped from the same chopper. Hours since I had commanded the Raspers to leave. And they’d obeyed.

  The Raspers had listened to me. To me. Rage, anger, and sheer terror clawed at my insides, threatening to rip me into tiny pieces that I knew would never fit back together. Making the Raspers do what I wanted could have been from the Bug sting or the damn tainted vaccination I’d received as a kid. Yet Adam had gotten the same vaccination, the same sting, and he couldn’t tell them what to do. If I had to, could I control the alien mutants again?

  “Come on. I haven’t found any supplies.” Adam shook his head. “We have to meet Rollins in a few minutes.”

  Rollins. The bad guy turned good just because of what he had seen me do. I rubbed my right forearm where my rules used to mark my skin. Trust no one. Rule number one. Trusting Rollins was a work in progress that churned my stomach.

  Adam was right, we needed to get moving. We had come to Camp David in search of dry clothes, food, more weapons, but the clothes didn’t matter anymore. Mine were just damp, and the black soldier-type uniforms Megan had found for us at Site R were comfortable enough. I still had my dad’s Glock, but I wanted more firepower. And everything we did to survive wouldn’t matter one bit if we didn’t come up with something to eat.

  As if on cue, my stomach growled. “Someone or something must have cleared out this place. Let’s check the next building.”

  We stepped out of the lodge-like building that was more residential than military. The citrus scent of rain slapped me in the face, and I shrunk back into the doorframe. “It’s going to storm.” When I said the word storm, the sky opened and rain poured down.

  “Perfect. Just when I was about dry.” Adam tried to be humorous in his tone, but I knew he felt the same way I did. Rain sucked.

  The sky turned a charcoal gray, and the rain fell faster and harder, soaking us through. We sprinted inside a more promising building. The lack of windows made it hard to see. The feeling of being watched raised the hair on my arms. So far, Camp David had appeared empty. Just deserted buildings.
No survivors. No Raspers. Nothing. But something was making me want to jump out of my skin.

  “Do you see anything?” Adam whispered.

  It took a second for my vision to improve. The building appeared to be a storage facility. Cloths draped over furniture and boxes. Wooden crates lined the walls. “Probably nothing useful.”

  I couldn’t shake the sensation of being tracked.

  “We need to get out of here,” I whispered and motioned back toward the door. “Something’s not—”

  A loud crash from behind us echoed throughout the space. I spun around, gun raised, ready to fire. But I wasn’t able to find a target.

  “I don’t see anyone.” Adam glanced around like he was searching more for a second exit than the source of the crash. “Wait, look, that crate there. It must have fallen.” He pointed to a wooden box smashed on the cement floor. Floral patio furniture cushions were scattered across the floor.

  Part of me wanted to see what was in the other crates. The other part screamed it was a trap and to get the hell out now. I took a step forward. Something lurched out from behind a pile of boxes straight at me. My heart slammed into my throat, and I aimed the gun but could only use it as an extension of my arm to bat the thing down.

  A snarl and a whimper broke the tension. A tabby cat missing its left eye hissed at me. I backed up. The animal’s fur was matted and missing in large patches. The poor creature resembled zombiesque roadkill ten days past its death.

  I leveled the Glock in case the cat decided to spring at me again. Killing it would be painful, but I could do it if it attacked.

  “Scram,” Adam yelled, and the pitiful thing ran behind more crates.

  I shook my head. A damn cat shouldn’t be able to scare me. I had to get myself together. The helicopter crash image had me spooked more than I wanted to admit.

  We dashed back outside. The rainstorm had morphed into a thunderstorm. Bolts of lightning zipped across the sky and lit up a shadowy figure in front of the next building over. I tightened my grip on the Glock. I couldn’t tell if it was a human or a Rasper. We were totally exposed, so I ran to the left side and ducked behind a tree. Adam raced behind me. I peeked around the trunk, but the pouring rain made it impossible to see the figure.

  Even though I was already wet, the rivulets of water that slipped down the back of my shirt made me shiver. Or maybe it was the creepy sensation that had hijacked my nerves in the other building. Another flash of lightning. I checked around the tree. The figure was gone.

  All of a sudden the wind picked up. My hair came loose from its ponytail, whipping across my face. The rain turned to pellets of ice that pummeled my skin. We darted to the covered entrance of a different building. A long metal spike resembling part of a flagpole slammed into the tree where we had just been.

  My heart beat double time.

  “That was close.” Adam pushed his ice-tipped hair out of his face.

  More debris flew across the grounds in an almost tornado-like fashion. I hated storms. They made no sense anymore. They popped out of nowhere and could last for seconds or days. I prayed this one would end soon. Or we would have to stay here, and that wasn’t a good idea. The Raspers had to know we were here. They would be coming back. In larger numbers. And I didn’t know if I could make them leave again.

  Adam kicked at the door. It didn’t move. “The door’s locked. What do you want to do?”

  I turned to see if it was worth trying to break in, and my senses went on high alert. Something touched me on my right shoulder and I whirled around, jabbing the gun into the stomach of the guy behind me.

  “Stop, it’s me.” Rollins threw his arms up and took a step back. His short dark hair and clothes were equally soaked but he didn’t look bothered at all. His years of military training must have made him used to harsh conditions.

  “Don’t make me blow apart your ass by sneaking up on me.” I sighed and shoved the weapon in the side pocket of my pants. It fit so perfectly that I was sure the pants were designed to hold guns. We should have heard him approach. Maybe it was just the storm, because I didn’t want to consider if it meant I wasn’t as vigilant or Rollins had improved his stealth skills.

  “There’s nothing here. We need to move on.” Rollins turned as the hail came down faster. “Damn weather.”

  “Why are there no vehicles? How can a place like Camp David not have any emergency cars and gas?” Adam pushed his wet hair out of his eyes.

  “The place was probably cleaned out by survivors.” Rollins shrugged. “I did see some bicycles though.”

  “Guess that’s better than nothing. We can bike to the next town and see what we can find.” I wasn’t looking forward to pedaling anywhere in the storm. “Which way should we go?”

  “I had a thought about that,” Rollins said softly, like he thought I might freak out or something.

  “Where?” Adam and I said at the same time.

  “Fort Detrick is about fifteen miles from here. It would be our best chance for weapons and vehicles.” Rollins nodded like he was trying to convince himself it was the best plan. “Then we can find Megan.”

  “A military base? No way.” That would be the best place to possibly find weapons and a vehicle, but it might be crawling with people who wanted to lock me up, or Raspers who wanted me dead.

  But I had to think about Megan. I promised her I would find her.

  Rollins shook his head. “We checked Fort Detrick for survivors after everything went to hell. Anyone we found we took back to Site R. The base is deserted.”

  Adam tilted his head and bit his lip. “I don’t know if we have a better option.”

  I clenched my teeth. They were right. Yet the idea felt so wrong. Everything had been so much simpler when I was on my own.

  Adam squeezed my hand. “It’ll be okay.”

  “Or it will get worse.” I gave Adam a weak smile.

  The vision of the crash and the thought of going to a military base gave my fear wings. I couldn’t shake the feeling we were heading straight into an ambush.

  2

  The storm stopped just as quickly as it started. We grabbed the black mountain-style bicycles out of a storage garage and pedaled. It brought back memories of my last trip to the abandoned Walmart. The months of not seeing another human. Not knowing if I was the only living soul left on earth. Not knowing what happened. That was all before Adam crashed into my hideout. So much had changed in the short time. As if he was an avid biker, Rollins started to pull away from us a little like he was leading lambs to slaughter. I refused to be a lamb. I wanted to go another way. Any other way to keep me in charge, yet somewhere hidden deep in my shredded heart, I knew I couldn’t do it all alone.

  “Hey, you know, I’m likely sitting where who knows how many presidents sat.” Adam shifted his butt back and forth on the seat as if he was nine again taking a ride to the local candy store. Rollin looked back and laughed as he slowed his pace.

  Adam seemed like he was in too good of a mood. It was like me shoving him out of a flying helicopter or us almost being attacked by a horde of Raspers had never happened. Something felt off with him. Was this a defensive mechanism I hadn’t seen before, or was it something else? Either way, I couldn’t ask him in front of Rollins. I kind of hoped Adam had a slight concussion instead of a weird side effect from the Bug sting.

  We biked past more of the same landscape. Abandoned cars on the road. Trucks jackknifed across entire sections. Glass everywhere. Buildings that defied gravity by remaining standing even though they were missing entire sections. The trees and bushes all looked like someone had plucked off all their leaves, scattering them on the ground below. There were no small animals running about. No birds sitting on tree limbs. No insects in the air. It was like we were riding through a painting. The only sound was the shucking noise of our legs working the pedals.

  At a small stream, we stopped for a break. Adam declared he had to take a leak and disappeared behind some bushes.

  Rol
lins reached in his pocket and took out a candy bar. “I have one left. Want half?” He broke the bar into two.

  I took his peace offering, downing it in two bites. Then felt guilty for not giving some to Adam.

  “I know having me here is hard for you. I’m not the enemy.” Rollins crumpled the wrapper and slid it in his pocket rather than tossing it on the ground. “You remind me a lot of my little sister. She was in her second semester of college…” He shook his head.

  I gave him a small smile, but before I could tell him I was sorry she had died, Adam joined us.

  “Ready to go?”

  We rode in silence for the next hour. Everyone lost in their own thoughts. My mind wandered between counting the rotations of my legs and worrying about Adam. About Megan. About the world in general.

  Finally, we stopped at a large broken gate and busted signage that announced we had arrived at Fort Detrick. Before the Great Discovery, there would have been armed soldiers standing here demanding to check our credentials. However, the tall weeds growing through the cracked cement told me this place had been abandoned for a long time. I swerved the bike around a large white sign, which once stood proud declaring what ID you needed to enter the base. We cleared the small glass guard shack, whose metal roof leaned to the left like a huge truck had smashed it.

  The base looked as if several tornadoes had ripped through it. Most of the buildings were damaged in one way or another, from totally destroyed to only broken windows. I didn’t see or sense any Raspers. At least something was going in our favor.