Read The Dying of the Light (Book 3): Beginning for Free Online Page B
Authors: Jason Kristopher
Tags: Zombies
asshole when he was in charge, but that was almost seven years ago now, and this… Well, Logan wouldn’t even treat a pet this way.
And that’s what Malcolm Dagger had become to Davies, a pet. Dagger had made a name for himself in the AEGIS command structure, his intelligence and ruthless ambition moving him up the chain of command. The ambition and ruthlessness behind this success had allowed him to take control of this bunker soon after Z-Day. Not just that, but it had given Dagger the means to carry out his more grandiose plans.
Not that any of that mattered now. The former commander was nothing now. If he could remember his own name, Logan would be surprised.
Logan shook his head and slid the metal tray through the slot in the bottom of the door. The prisoner snatched the moldy bread and stale beans, eating fast. His daily meal was simple. Unless he’d been a bad “dog,” in which case he got nothing but beatings to remind him of his place.
Logan had never been a military man, but most of the guys he worked with now were, or at least they used to be. He knew this wasn’t how the military treated their prisoners, and it was just one more sign that Davies and his ilk were way off the rails.
And that Dagger, should he ever somehow get out and be semi-human, would be even worse. To think the guy had held the fate of the world in his hands once. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
At least Davies seemed to have little to no interest in Dagger’s “pets” down on Level Thirty-Nine. Logan counted that as a minor miracle. It was bad enough that there was a whole bunker full of them out there, but if the ones in this bunker were let loose? Logan shuddered at the thought.
“Got a bit of a soft spot for our favorite guest, Logan?” Rickman asked, the taunt clear in his voice. “Does widdle Logan feel bad for him? Hmmm?”
Logan gritted his teeth, refusing to let the dumbass younger man bait him into another argument. He couldn’t afford any more demerits on his record this month. He was going to get docked enough anyway. Ignoring the insult, he closed the slot in the door and moved back to the duty desk, noting the time in the logbook.
“Hey, I’m talking to you, man,” Rickman continued. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, asshole.”
Logan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and put down the pen. Don’t kill him , he thought. Even if he was an insufferable little prick. Don’t kill him . Once he’d calmed down a bit, he looked over at Rickman. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to know why you’ve got such a thing for your boyfriend in there,” Rickman said with a sneer.
“I don’t have a ‘thing’ for him, you asshat. I wouldn’t treat any human like that, like he’s a pet or a plaything.”
Rickman snorted. “He’s just lucky the boss didn’t kill him.”
“Lucky? You call that lucky? The man wears a collar now. Davies made him crawl around on all fours. He fed him scraps—for all intents and purposes turned him into a dog.” Logan shook his head. “No, he’d have been better off if the boss had killed him.” He looked over at the cell with a worried expression. “Maybe we all would have been.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know the things he did when he was still in charge?”
“I heard rumors, but nothing solid. I wasn’t part of the team back then.”
Logan sat back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk. “Well, then, sit back and listen, man. ‘Cause what he did will give you nightmares.”
What remained of Malcolm Dagger sat silent in the corner of the filthy, stinking cell that had become his home. A meager fluorescent bulb cast a dim light through the stained and broken plastic cover of its housing. What it revealed left him wishing yet again that it was just dark. The cell was several hundred feet underground, so there were no windows to speak of. Though his chains were long gone, he still moved as though tied to a central spot in
And that’s what Malcolm Dagger had become to Davies, a pet. Dagger had made a name for himself in the AEGIS command structure, his intelligence and ruthless ambition moving him up the chain of command. The ambition and ruthlessness behind this success had allowed him to take control of this bunker soon after Z-Day. Not just that, but it had given Dagger the means to carry out his more grandiose plans.
Not that any of that mattered now. The former commander was nothing now. If he could remember his own name, Logan would be surprised.
Logan shook his head and slid the metal tray through the slot in the bottom of the door. The prisoner snatched the moldy bread and stale beans, eating fast. His daily meal was simple. Unless he’d been a bad “dog,” in which case he got nothing but beatings to remind him of his place.
Logan had never been a military man, but most of the guys he worked with now were, or at least they used to be. He knew this wasn’t how the military treated their prisoners, and it was just one more sign that Davies and his ilk were way off the rails.
And that Dagger, should he ever somehow get out and be semi-human, would be even worse. To think the guy had held the fate of the world in his hands once. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
At least Davies seemed to have little to no interest in Dagger’s “pets” down on Level Thirty-Nine. Logan counted that as a minor miracle. It was bad enough that there was a whole bunker full of them out there, but if the ones in this bunker were let loose? Logan shuddered at the thought.
“Got a bit of a soft spot for our favorite guest, Logan?” Rickman asked, the taunt clear in his voice. “Does widdle Logan feel bad for him? Hmmm?”
Logan gritted his teeth, refusing to let the dumbass younger man bait him into another argument. He couldn’t afford any more demerits on his record this month. He was going to get docked enough anyway. Ignoring the insult, he closed the slot in the door and moved back to the duty desk, noting the time in the logbook.
“Hey, I’m talking to you, man,” Rickman continued. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, asshole.”
Logan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and put down the pen. Don’t kill him , he thought. Even if he was an insufferable little prick. Don’t kill him . Once he’d calmed down a bit, he looked over at Rickman. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to know why you’ve got such a thing for your boyfriend in there,” Rickman said with a sneer.
“I don’t have a ‘thing’ for him, you asshat. I wouldn’t treat any human like that, like he’s a pet or a plaything.”
Rickman snorted. “He’s just lucky the boss didn’t kill him.”
“Lucky? You call that lucky? The man wears a collar now. Davies made him crawl around on all fours. He fed him scraps—for all intents and purposes turned him into a dog.” Logan shook his head. “No, he’d have been better off if the boss had killed him.” He looked over at the cell with a worried expression. “Maybe we all would have been.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know the things he did when he was still in charge?”
“I heard rumors, but nothing solid. I wasn’t part of the team back then.”
Logan sat back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk. “Well, then, sit back and listen, man. ‘Cause what he did will give you nightmares.”
What remained of Malcolm Dagger sat silent in the corner of the filthy, stinking cell that had become his home. A meager fluorescent bulb cast a dim light through the stained and broken plastic cover of its housing. What it revealed left him wishing yet again that it was just dark. The cell was several hundred feet underground, so there were no windows to speak of. Though his chains were long gone, he still moved as though tied to a central spot in