Unbeaten Read online

  Unbeaten

  Dawn of Deception, Book 3

  A. R. Shaw

  Apocalyptic Ventures, LLC

  Copyright © 2019 by A. R. Shaw

  All rights reserved.

  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.

  For those of you, unbeaten.

  Contents

  Introduction

  1. Davis

  2. Sloane

  3. Davis

  4. Sloane

  5. Davis

  6. Kent

  7. Davis

  8. Sloane

  9. Wren

  10. Kent

  11. Davis

  12. Jason

  13. Sloane

  14. Wren

  15. Kent

  16. Davis

  17. Jason

  18. Sloane

  19. Wren

  20. Kent

  21. Davis

  22. Jason

  23. Sloane

  24. Wren

  25. Kent

  26. Davis

  27. Jason

  28. Sloane

  29. Wren

  30. Kent

  31. Davis

  32. Jason

  33. Sloane

  34. Kent

  35. Davis

  36. Jason

  37. Sloane

  38. Davis

  39. Jason

  40. Sloane

  41. Davis

  42. Jason

  43. Sloane

  44. Davis

  45. Jason

  46. Sloane

  47. Davis

  48. Ivan

  49. Sloane

  50. Jason

  51. Sloane

  52. Davis

  53. Ivan

  54. Jason

  55. Sloane

  56. Davis

  57. Ivan

  58. Jason

  59. Sloane

  60. Davis

  61. Ivan

  62. Jason

  63. Sloane

  64. Davis

  65. Jason

  66. Ivan

  67. Sloane

  68. Davis

  69. Jason

  70. Kent

  71. Sloane

  72. Davis

  73. Ivan

  74. Jason

  75. Sloane

  76. Davis

  77. Kent

  78. Sloane

  79. Davis

  80. Kent

  81. Sloane

  82. Davis

  83. Sloane

  84. Davis

  85. Sloane

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by A. R. Shaw

  In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

  Sun Tzu

  Introduction

  Astoria, Oregon

  * * *

  “You are my sunshine…”

  “Baby, look at Mommy.” She gently laid her hand on the side of her son’s face and pulled it into her side. Her younger boy already held his eyes tightly shut. Desperately, she tried to shield them from what was about to unfold.

  The warehouse, devoid of any equipment, was crowded with people pushing and shoving, their voices echoing in the void above them. The cold didn’t mask the putrid air of so many bodies in one place. They should be used to the funk smell of man by now but that wouldn’t matter much longer, she reminded herself.

  “…my only sunshine.”

  On a stage in the front, Tale spoke. She’d heard the speech many times before. But he repeated it nonetheless. “The rules are simple. Only I make the rules. Anyone in violation of the rules will no longer exist. The rules are as follows: 1) No dependents without representation. 2) Three generations of punishment for crimes committed. 3) Do what you’re told in the time allowed. 4) Meetings are mandatory. 5) No one discusses my business.”

  “…you make me happy, when skies are gray.”

  Olivia felt the humming from her son’s throat against her thigh. Her younger son pulled his finger from his mouth and buried his head into her leg as well, picking up the familiar tune. It was something she’d unconsciously taught them to do when violence erupted around them. She also began to sing the song under her breath, patting their heads and swaying as they clung to her.

  “…you’ll never know, dear, how much I love you…”

  “These people behind me are in violation of one or more of the rules,” Tale continued.

  The back of his dark, bald head was all she saw. She could not help her fleeting glances to the right and the left exits, where the armed guards stood. There was no way out. She knew that without looking. Her friend and her two boys were doing the same thing, but a sense of peace and resignation came over her. Quietly the other mother sobbed and clenched her hands tight with her arms around her crying sons. They stood together with several other doomed residents of Astoria they’d somehow met along the way. She’d never been on the stage before, always the observer of the madness from the other side.

  “…please don’t take…my sunshine away.”

  1

  Davis

  A gate hung in the distance. Not just any gate. This wasn’t a wire fencing contraption. It would be absurd to think one could slide this thing away on little rusty rollers to the side at some warehouse compound. It wasn’t a prison gate topped with wire razor, either. No one would describe this gateway as flimsy. It wasn’t even something you’d find at a military base, Fort Knox, or a royal palace. No…this damn thing was summoned out of the dark medieval past and brought to the present era for an exact purpose. Strength, intimidation, we kick ass here: that’s what it said. By the looks of it, the gray metal overlapped with spiked riveting protruding in nearly aligned intervals. Rust highlighted the crevices. At over sixteen feet tall, the gateway to the oceanside town of Cannon Beach, Oregon, connected to an equally intimidating barrier along either side.

  No one was visible along the top, no one aiming at them as their vehicles rumbled to a stop before it. The weirdest thing of all, the gate just stood there. As massive as it was, they saw within the city walls because the damn thing was left open a few feet.

  “What the hell is that?”

  Davis clenched his jaw slowly as he chewed the stale gum in his mouth, not wasting time answering the driver’s question.

  The engines idled a little louder than they should. Davis remained in thought. Tale wasn’t going to like this. Their purpose was to get in there and teach these poor fools a lesson. He now had the sneaking suspicion they were the lesson learners today, though that thought slipped his mind quickly.

  Davis’s eyes remained on the unexpected entryway as he said, “Tell Marvin that ethanol’s running a little high. Engine’s going to throw a rod.”

  “WIL-CO,” Jerry said with a little stutter. Jerry was always a little nervous. That was his normal mode. That’s why Davis turned a blind eye anytime he snorted something up his nose, drank too much, or otherwise took anything to calm the hell down.

  Lifting his arm up and out the window, he gave the signal and the other two vehicles behind them cut their engines. Davis sat in place a while longer, taking in the sounds. The ocean waves came in off to the right. They couldn’t see the beach over the dunes. The wind blew through their opened windows. Jerry began to open the truck door, causing a clinking. “Wait,” David said. “Just wait a minute.”

  “Why would they build something that well and leave it open like that?” Jerry said.

  Another rhetorical question.

  “Maybe they left and didn’t bother shutting it? They had to know we were coming for them. Why didn’t they just le
ave? The smart ones vanish.”

  Jerry let out a huff. “None of this was here the last time we came to pick up a load. They took down Hyde, destroyed the complex, and now this? Who are these people?”

  Davis listened as Jerry thought out loud. It’s what they did. Jerry basically talked to himself as Davis listened. Sometimes...only sometimes, there was a bit of logic that had eluded Davis’ thoughts in the past, and those little nuggets were worth gleaning from his young junkie friend.

  “Only one way to find out what’s going on,” Davis said as he exited the truck. Slamming his door caused a nearby bird to dart from a wave-torn rhododendron bush.

  The small caravan consisted of three vehicles. Jerry motioned for the others to get ready. Ten other men joined them. They walked slowly, transfixed by the monstrosity before them.

  One of the men, their engineer, came up and eagerly said, “What do you make of that thing?” Marvin pointed with his eyes wide. “Hasn’t been up very long. It’s only just begun to rust. Made of scraps. Some good welders put that together quick.”

  “That’s not the point. Why’s it open?” Davis said. “That’s what I want to know.”

  Marvin shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s meant to keep people out. If it were locked, we’d have a hell of a time getting through there. Look at the locking mechanism.”

  “That’s what I mean. It’s not really a gate then, is it?”

  “Maybe the darn kids ran off and left it open,” Jerry said.

  “No…it’s a message,” Davis said. After spitting out his stale gum he motioned for them to follow.

  It was time.

  “Let’s get in there and give them a message of our own.”

  2

  Sloane

  Two weeks before.

  * * *

  They all looked at her expectantly. The wind blew off the beach, careening little sharp grains of stinging sand into the side of her face. The sun sat just beyond Haystack Rock, though the flame torches surrounding them kept them in the glowing light of dusk.

  “We’ve worked very hard to prepare for this. I’m thankful we’ve finally come to share a meal together. It’s long overdue. Everyone brought a little something from your personal stores and that means a lot now in this time of scarcity. It means we’ve bonded. We trust one another. And now we have the opportunity to get to know ourselves as a group a little more.”

  By the flame, she looked at their faces as they sat around the picnic tables before her. Everyone bundled in extra layers to keep warm from the evening’s harsh coastal wind. A few of them always held back on the periphery. She noted Boyd’s face back there, his sad eyes reflecting the fire flames. She once hated him but now she only held pity for the young man. His sister was lost to them for now. Nicole, too. She was unreachable most of the time, refusing to speak. Only Mae could keep her engaged, though in silence.

  Mae held Nicole close to her for warmth, constantly making sure she knew she was loved and needed, never letting her out of her sight. It was an endless effort. Then there were Chuck, Kent, and the old man, they and several others constantly scanning the outer realm, a habit they wouldn’t soon forget.

  In her soul, Sloane knew this was possibly the calm before the storm. They would come soon. Some of these faces would fade in battle. Some of them would triumph and some would fail altogether. That time was coming. She could feel it. And they weren’t ready. There were lessons yet to learn and little time to teach them.

  “I’m going to tell you a story,” Sloane said as she stood before them.

  Chuck lifted a spoon to his mouth. He looked as if he wanted to say something then, as she stared into his eyes, he thought better of it.

  As she cut her attention to Wren, leaning against a pole at the side, her daughter rolled her eyes at the mention of a story. And then just behind her daughter to the right was Jason, his protective gaze always upon her daughter, though Wren didn’t know it yet.

  They were all so precious. Each life. So many souls here. So much to lose.

  “Yes, a story.” She cleared her throat. “I’m paraphrasing, of course, but in Sun Tzu’s theory of managing soldiers in The Art of War, King Ho Lu challenged him to display his military prowess. Sun Tzu agreed. Then the king asked him if he could apply the test to women. Sun Tzu agreed. Then the king asked if the test could apply to his 180 concubines. Again, Sun Tzu agreed.

  “He split the group of women in half and then selected the two most prized concubines as officers of each group. He then gave them all spears and taught them simple directions such as: front and back, left hand and right, eyes front, left turn, right turn, and about turn. Simple enough, right?” she said nodding her head with a smile.

  Many of them agreed with full mouths, their eyes upon her still. The story was a lesson and it was working.

  “Then Sun Tzu gave the order along with the sound of battle drums. ‘Right turn.’

  “Nothing but laughter came from the girls. I can imagine them, with their feminine mirth, nearly knocking one another over with the wooden spears they carried. This wasn’t their world. They were concubines, meant for beauty. They were not soldiers meant for battle. But at this moment they were cast as soldiers and they were given the rules, and this was a test. They just didn’t know the game they were playing. That part was never revealed to them…in the beginning.

  “Sun Tzu said, ‘If words of commands are not clear and distinct and orders are not thoroughly understood, then it’s the general’s fault.’ So he went through the process again. He explained the rules of the game and gave a new command at the end. This time he said, ‘Left turn’. Again, the girls bumped into one another and began laughing.

  “Sun Tzu said, ‘If words of commands are not clear and distinct and orders are not understood, the general is to blame. But…if orders are clear and the soldiers disobey, then it is the fault of the officers.’

  “Because of their failures he ordered the beheading of both concubine officers. The king objected and tried to intervene, saying that Sun Tzu’s military prowess had passed the test. They were his most prized concubines, after all. But Sun Tzu said there were certain orders of His Majesty’s that he was unable to accept. And he had the concubine officers beheaded and then selected two more.”

  “God, Mom,” Mae said. “Harsh.”

  Sloane smiled but ignored her younger daughter as she continued. “This time, when given the orders the girls followed through without flaw. Then Sun Tzu sent a message to the king saying that his soldiers were properly drilled and disciplined. ‘Bid them go through fire and water, and they will not disobey.’”

  She ended the story and picked up her own neglected bowl of stew.

  “So you’re saying we should follow orders or you’ll behead us?” Chuck asked.

  “No. I’m saying if you don’t follow orders there’s a price to pay. We are not a well-trained army. I’m not a great general. I don’t expect us to win every battle, but I expect us to communicate and adjust as needed. I expect us to be prepared for what’s coming. I expect us to defend and protect what we have here. I expect us to fight back.”

  Chuck swallowed another spoonful and nodded his head.

  “If we don’t fight back,” she continued, “there are dire consequences.”

  “It won’t be easy,” he said, waving his spoon in the air between bites, making eye contact with her.

  “Nothing worth having is ever easy. Funny how freedom is like that…an ever-living battle…even in the apocalypse.”

  3

  Davis

  A tingle ran up his spine as he slid the barrel of his rifle along the edge of the gate’s rough metal. Through his sights he saw no certain enemy yet as the gate inched forward. In a athletic stance, with his shoulders squared up with the potential target, he stood aiming, ready, and when the gate finally budged opened enough for him to have a clear view of the interior, he stood astonished. The others in his command entered as well and when they had a clear view o
f the enemy’s realm, only an old man stood before them.

  What was odder…the old man ignored their invasion as he continued his work of sweeping the street with his back turned to them.

  Only three blocks in distance away, unless the old man was totally deaf with his back to them, he had to know they were there. “Put your hands up,” Davis yelled, though he didn’t appear armed sans the push broom.

  The old man seemed to not know of their presence.

  “I said, put your hands up and drop the broom,” Davis yelled again.