A Betrayal and an Uneasy Alliance (Part 2)

Posted on Fri Jan 31st, 2025 @ 6:36pm by Survivor John ("Dodger") Smith & Survivor Amythyst

2,432 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Settling In
Location: Amethyst's Hotel, Manhattan
Timeline: September 11, 2010 - 11:30 a.m.

Dodger listened intensely to Dante's instructions. "Right, will do. Hopefully she'll agree to come along. In any event I'll see you guys soon," Dodger said and an instant later he was gone, in search of Amy.

Dodger slipped between the shadows, all the while keeping an eye peeled for anyone following him which made catching up to Amy even harder. However, he was determined to reach the girl and warn her.

Amy was only a short distance away, she was listening around a corner to make sure the coast was clear.

Dodger continued to more stealthily as he followed in the direction Amy had gone. He knew he had to be close to her but hadn't come across her yet, so he kept searching for her and making sure he wasn't followed.

As he rounded a corner she was there waving him back against the wall.

Survival was wired into his core, so Dodger instantly followed Amy's hand waving and backed against the wall and waited for what had triggered her warning to pass. Once it did, then he could deliver Dante's warning to her.

She stood still, and they both heard the shuffling sound that normally heralded the dead that roamed. But it was moving away from them, slowly. It had not heard Dodger's arrival. Amy slowly relaxed but she didn't move until there was no more sound.

Dodger heard the slow, shuffling walk of one on the undead. He didn't move as he remained plastered against the wall. It seemed like an eternity before the footsteps receded and then were gone. Still, he didn't move wanting to make the undead was gone. He did release the breath he had been holding.

She looked at Dodger and moved so she was right beside him. "Why are you following me?" Amy asked her voice barely above a whisper.

"Dante sent me to warn you." Dodger replied in a whisper of his own. "The Infernals have been followed. Chances are you have been as well. "We're moving, you may want to come with us at least temporarily."

"My place is a block away. Food and such there." Amy said softly. "But I will go to where you are heading for now. Then I will backtrack."

"Alright." Dodger replied. "I think that is a good, smart idea. Follow me. We'll stick to the shadows as we make our way back to Dante and the rest of the Infernals." He replied sticking to his whisper.

Amy nodded and waved for him to lead the way. More chatter was just a waste.

Dodger with Amy following stuck to the shadows and made their way back to where he had left Dante and George. It took slightly longer than normal but Dodger wanted to make sure they weren't followed.

Upon reaching the tunnel entrance, he hopped down and turned to Amy. "Come on, we'll meet them inside. They are already moving to a new location."

[Meanwhile, In the Tunnel]

After Dodger moved off to warn Amythyst, George fell into step with Dante. He wanted to ask him a dozen questions, but, followed his instructions to keep quiet. So, carefully, he stepped wherever Dante stepped, as he picked their way through the dark subway tunnel.

Dante led him a ways down the tunnel and stopped at a maintenance door which was locked. Nodding in satisfaction, Dante found the key, hidden nearby, and opened the door. Gesturing for George to come inside with him. Once in, he lit a battery-operated lantern sitting on a crate inside the door and unhooked a heavy curtain that fell across the door, blocking the light from seeping out. The room was relatively small but had a cot set against one wall and wooden crates fitted together, sitting on their shorter ends, and filled to overflowing with things.

"We should be safe here," Dante said. "Just keep your voice down and if someone shows up that means us harm, we can lock the door from the inside. Believe me, it will hold. Has before." He turned to George as he sat down on one end of the cot with a tired sigh. "You look like someone with things to say," he said after a moment.

He did indeed. The issue he was having, was figuring out what to ask first. Finally, he just started. "Why would she do it? Auntie? We were helping her and her old friends!" George hated the feeling of betrayal. It made him feel unsafe.

Dante stared at the ground between his feet for a moment, pulling together his thoughts, and then looked up at George. "They're scared," he said at last, "and they can't imagine trusting their safety to a bunch of kids. And that's what we are to them." He shook his head with a tired sigh. "The hotel, the food we collected, that's a big lure for the gangs. Definitely something the Old Auntie could trade for a promise of safety." He grunted, a sound that almost sounded like a growl, or would once he'd reached adulthood. "She's probably telling herself that she's protected the Irregulars too. I suspect it doesn't sit well with her how we all stick together."

George looked over, a question on his face. "What do you mean? How are we, as a group, any different from her and her old person group? We all hang together with our contemporaries."

"To them," Dante said, "the Infernals are children and therefore unable to make decisions for ourselves. This is old person logic at its worst. Making decisions on the behalf of children, according to whatever craziness is rattling around in their brains, isn't even a question. It's what they do. Old Auntie and her friends want us to behave like they believe children should behave. That we don't, that the Infernals listen to me ... well, that's a problem for them."

George nodded, understanding what Dante was saying. "Well, they just ensured that they lost any help from us going forward." He frowned and shook his head. "You were right, Dante. No adults allowed." Then he paused, his features changing to a bit more worried. "But...if that is the rule....what happens to us, when we turn eighteen?"

His expression turned serious, somewhat sad, as he studied George for a moment. "I'm sixteen going on forty," he said at last. "I always figured that when I turn eighteen, I'll go. Wouldn't be fair otherwise."

Dodger and Amy made their way to where Dante and George were waiting. "Amy came with me Dante, you can fill her in more on the situation we're all facing."

She waved him to lead the way. She was not going to let anyone behind her, despite the slight trust that she had.

Once Dodger and Amethyst caught up, Dante said quietly to Amethyst, "you should be able to follow this tunnel to the next station and circle back. Just be careful. Maybe they don't know about you yet but there's a gang moving into this area that's demanding protection from anyone and everyone."

Amy nodded "heard them, they sacrificed a member to a herd of the dead two days ago," she replied.

Dodger had been quiet as Dante and Amy spoke. His thought was there was safety, strength and unity in numbers. No one should be out by themselves and that included Amy.

When Amy said she heard the gang and that they sacrificed a member to the undead that got his attention. "What? They sacrificed one of their own? I can see and understand kicking somebody out but serving them up to the undead? Man, that's evil."

George got silent when he heard what Amy said. Then, in a quiet voice, he responded. "As evil as it is, hopefully, for them, they were completely killed. Otherwise, they'll just come back as one of those things."

"Probably an object lesson to the rest of their group," Dante said, his expression bleak, "and a warning to everyone in the area. If we can do this to one of our 'own', think what we'll do to all of you. That sort of thing."

Amy considered it. "I have an access to my place, its close by. If you want you can all come there for the night. No one knows about it."

Dante considered it and really, his first thought was to turn her down flat. She didn't trust him and that made him uneasy. But then, he thought, he had spent sleepless nights before, this would be no different. He'd watch over the Infernals while they slept and get them all moved into a new place come morning.

"Aright," Dante said at last. "One night. Show me where it is so I can go get everyone."

Amy nodded and led him down a smaller tunnel. It was a water run off tunnel and its hatch opened in the small blocked alley at the bottom of her building.

She led him into the Alley between two large dumpsters. "Both ends are blocked. One by a solid wall, the other by two over turned cars and a padlocked gate. It was like this when I got here, but i strengthened it with more debris." She moved to the ladder that led up the fire escape. "All the way to the top."

The Fire Escape was behind part of the building in the alley. "I will wait for you all at the top," Amy said. "Bring whatever you need."

'We'll be back soon," Dante said as he gestured for George and Dodger. to follow him. They took off, moving quickly but quietly. Avoiding the known hangouts and the places where the dead shuffled listlessly around. Back to the hotel where he hoped the Infernals were safe.

[A While Later]

A couple of tough-eyed adults sat on top of a car, trading stories and drinking beer, but not paying particular attention. Dante led George and Dodger. around back and slipped in through the kitchen door which was, at least for now, unguarded.

"You two," Dante said to George and Dodger, "fill up your backpacks with enough food to make a meal for tonight but not so much that you can't run if we need to. I'm going to get everyone."

"Sure, thing Dante." Dodger got to work filling his backpack with cans of spaghetti and meatballs, packs of crackers, tuna fish, mac and cheese and whatever else would help the Infernals survive until they were in their new home.

Trusting the two of them to gather at least some of the food, Dante made his way to their floor (their so-called 'home'), nodding politely to Old Auntie, who had trouble looking him in the eye, and to the others of her group as he went. He moved quietly from room to room giving the order. Out loud, he said only that they were going on a food run but through hand signals, he gave the more important instructions.

Danger. Time to Go.

There wasn't a kid in the group who didn't understand what that meant and they all kept a go bag, packed and ready to go that could easily inside the backpacks they always carried. Dante did the same though his go bag contained everything he owned in the world. He had never had the luxury of spreading out. Maybe never would.

Fifteen minutes later they were downstairs in the kitchen, asking a watchful Old Auntie if she had any special requests. She made a short list which Dante took and then, they were out the back door and heading away from the hotel.

He took them by the safest routes he knew, away from betrayals and danger, and into the unknown. Wasn't the first time and it surely wouldn't be the last. Even if he only had two more years with this family of his, he would do everything he could until the very last minute.

An hour later, the group came into the alley. "George," Dante said, "go on up the fire escape and make sure its safe. Dodger, you go halfway up so that you can help the little ones if they need it. I'll be last up."

"Alright Dante." Dodger replied. He would wait for George to go up first and make sure the fire escape to make sure it was safe. Then he would go up next.

Amy was waiting at the top. When George appeared she gave him a smile. "Come on up" she said pulling back the heavy grate she had placed across the top of the escape.

[Short While Later]

When everyone was up on the outside area, Amy looked at Dante. "This floor has 5 apartments. On this side there are 3, and on the other side is 2, all empty of people. The Elevator is blockaded as is the fire stairs" She waves a hand. "The two apartments on the far side have 3 and 4 bedrooms, and the ones on either side of this middle apartment are 3 bedroom. The middle is a 2 bedroom. I have claimed one of them. I have a greenhouse here and over there" she pointed "Is where I am keeping the chickens I found. Feel free to take whatever rooms you want, bar mine of course. The other fire-escape on the other side? I pushed it off the building... so no one can get up there." She turned towards the greenhouse "Oh I also put several buckets of water in each of the bathrooms while I waited so .. I can heat water if people want water to bathe.." she was rambling.

Dodger was impressed with what Amy had done. She had done an extraordinary job in setting up a place to live and be safe with no one's help but her own and she had chickens and vegetables as well. "You did good Amy. Real good," giving the girl quite praise for a job well done.

"He's right," Dante said, pausing from the nearly Herculean task of getting the Infernals settled, "you've got a good setup here. And you have my thanks for a night's shelter. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been safe at the hotel past tonight."

There was a debt owed, to old Auntie and her crowd, for what they had stolen, for the betrayal, but then again, that would probably take care of itself. He doubted it would be long before they would all be tossed out so that the gang could have it to themselves and like the locusts they were, use up what had taken the Infernals so long to collect.

 

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