Vanguard | Post-Apocalyptic YA

Part 12: The Man in Charge

The first thing that catches my eye is an empty bed, but looking around the small room, I see Ellen sitting cross-legged on a chair with a book in her hand. She obviously wasn't expecting anything exciting to happen because she takes her time looking up. When she does, she immediately throws the book to the ground and flies out of the chair toward me.

"Oh my God, Will. I'm so happy to see you!" She clings to me as I try to maintain the aim of the gun on Freddy.

A wave of relief floods over me as I note that her bandages are completely gone and she appears well. I return her hug, but she's reluctant to let go, instead burying her head in my chest. While I'd love to take my time to catch up, I'm also cognizant of the fact that the governor knows that I'm here and he's expecting me. If we don't go now, he'll send more men up and things could turn ugly.

"Are you okay, El? Did they treat you well?" I ask, taking the opportunity to push her away with my free hand and look her over properly. As promised, she's healed and the only sign that she was ever out in the sunlight is a slight bronze glow to her still flawless skin.

"Apart from being locked up in this hole, I'm peachy." She glances past me at Freddy to give weight to her discontent. Looking back at me, she punches me in the shoulder. "You're late, as usual."

"Yeah, you know me." I grin in return before turning to Freddy and handing him back his weapon. "Lead the way. I think it's time to see Governor Bradford."

"What the hell are you doing?" Ellen objects. "You should have tied him up and we could've made a run for it."

"I don't think the sniper on the roof likes me much, and I really don't want to test him on it." I grab her hand and pull her along.

With our captor showing us the way, we take the stairs and slowly descend a total of five levels. Even then, I'm surprised to see that we still hadn't reached the bottom. Exiting through a metal door, we enter another series of hallways lined with doors. Unlike on the ground level, most of these doors are open and there are people inside. As we pass them, I peek in and throw a casual greeting to the surprised occupants.

"Hey there. How ya' doing? I'm Will from Vanguard. This is Ellen, my sister. Will and Ellen here from Vanguard. What's up? We're from Vanguard." I combine various forms of my prepared spiel, even shaking a couple of hands of those we pass in the hall.

"What the hell are you doing?" Freddy pokes me in the back with the gun, clearly getting tired of my antics.

"Being friendly. It wouldn't hurt you to act a little more cordial, but perhaps you've forgotten your manners up here." Luckily, the insult shuts him up.

We turn right and left and right again until I have no idea which way we'd come, finally arriving at the end of the corridor. Entering another plain looking door, we find ourselves in a carpeted room with a desk on one side and a sitting area on the other. There's even a fake potted plant in the corner, its leaves covered in a fine layer of dust. Directly across from the door we just stepped through, is a set of much fancier, wooden double doors.

"The governor's expecting you, go right in," the man at the desk – casually dressed and fingering a handgun – instructs Freddy without prompting.

We find Bradford with two others. Seeing us, he quickly gets up from behind his own massive desk and we all meet in the middle of the room. Tall and lean with his gray hair in a buzz cut, he looks like a typical military man. Right now, I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Dealing with someone used to discipline and order could be advantageous in certain situations requiring negotiation. But a scattershot leader running things on fear would probably be easier to take down. I guess we'll have to wait and see.