Read Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6) for Free Online

’d been having with a white-haired man wearing long underwear and knee-high rain boots.
    “See, I told you they were aliens!” the man was saying agitatedly as he gestured to the head of a Hunter that no longer had a body attached to it.  “Mutant, alien dogs that were trying to overrun the world!” he ignored her interruption and continued.
    The old man was half-right, but she did not want to egg him on.  More pressing matters were at hand.
    “Jack,” she said in a louder voice.
    Jack patted the man’s arm and said, “All right, Ed.  Settle down.  We got all the mutant dogs.  We’re okay now.  Everything’s okay.”
    He turned to face Amber and she was about to ask him why he’d lied to the old man, why he’d told him everything was going to be okay when everything was far from okay, but stopped when Jack trained his razor-sharp gaze on her.  “Isn’t that right, Amber?” he said tightly. 
    S he shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his stare then reluctantly nodded in agreement. 
    “Did you need me for something?” Jack asked her.
    “Yes,” she said and looked to Ed then added, “May we speak privately for a moment.”
    Whatever reasons Jack had for keeping Ed in the dark about their circumstances were his own.  She was not about to rile the old man further with apocalyptic discussions in front of him. 
    “Ed, I need to go talk to Amber for a minute, okay,” he said to Ed as if the man were a child.  “You go on inside.  There’s a pot of coffee brewing.  Have yourself a nice big cup of it and I’ll be right in to help you plan how we’re going to clean this mess up, okay?”
    The old man’s red and rumpled f eatures relaxed a bit and he offered Jack a half-smile before he lumbered off toward the main house.  Jack turned and faced Amber.  His face was no longer composed as it had been when he’d spoken to Ed.  His mouth was pressed to a hard line and the muscles around his jaw flexed continually.
    “What’s going on?  Any word about Melissa or Gabriel?” he asked concernedly.
    “No, not yet,” she regretted answering, for his brow furrowed deeply, his worry became plain.
    “Dammit!” he said and kicked a tall tuft of weeds in front of him.
    “They’re gone, Jack,” she said softly and hated that she was the one who had to force him to think realistically.  “You saw the Hunters.  You saw what they did to the men they caught.  Melissa was probably dead before Gabriel even left this place.”
    “You shut your damn mouth!” Jack surprised her by growling.  He stabbed at the air before her with his index finger, punctuating his point with every poke.  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “But I do, Jack.  Don’t you remember?  I was an officer in Terzini’s ranks.  I do know,” she tried gently and knew she was treading in dangerous waters.  But allowing Jack any optimism at this point would only set him up for greater disappointment in the future, if there were a future.  “And there are thousands more in his army in Taft right now.  Gabriel was headed for the heart of Taft.  If members have not caught him by now, they will soon.  They will not let him live, Jack.”
    “Stop it, all right!  Enough!  Just stop!” Jack said with less conviction than he had a moment ago.  He turned his head away from her and wiped his face with the back of his hand.  He cared for Gabriel and Melissa.  Everyone did.  But unfortunately, caring for them did not improve their chances of survival.  They all needed to let go of Gabriel and Melissa.
    Jack faced her again.  He inhaled through his nose, sniffing deeply until his chest rose visibly then asked, “If you don’t have word about Gabriel or Melissa than what did you want to talk to me about?”
    “I need a car,” she decided not to offer a longer explanation or attempt buttering him up.  “I don’t want something big or sluggish, and a trailer is out of the question.  I need a