Calico Descending Read online

  Calico Descending

  Keri Lake

  CALICO DESCENDING

  Published by KERI LAKE

  www.KeriLake.com

  * * *

  Copyright © 2019 Keri Lake

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, locations, or any other element is entirely coincidental.

  Cover art by Okay Creations

  Editing: Julie Belfield

  Warning: This book contains explicit sexual content, and violent scenes that some readers may find disturbing. Please be advised that this is a post-apocalyptic world where women are scarce due to gendercide, and as such, makes for an unconventional romance with situations that may be uncomfortable to read.

  Contents

  VIP Email List

  Other Books By Keri Lake

  Playlist

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  KINGS OF CARRION Pre-Order

  Other Books By Keri Lake

  About the Author

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  Other Books By Keri Lake

  VIGILANTES SERIES

  RICOCHET

  BACKFIRE

  INTREPID

  BALLISTIC

  * * *

  JUNIPER UNRAVELING SERIES

  JUNIPER UNRAVELING

  CALICO DESCENDING

  KINGS OF CARRION

  * * *

  SONS OF WRATH SERIES

  SOUL AVENGED

  SOUL RESURRECTED

  SOUL ENSLAVED

  SOUL REDEEMED

  THE FALLEN (A SONS OF WRATH SPINOFF)

  * * *

  THE SANDMAN DUET

  NOCTURNES & NIGHTMARES

  REQUIEM & REVERIE

  * * *

  STANDALONES

  RIPPLE EFFECT

  * * *

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  Playlist

  This book would not have been possible without the talented musicians who provided inspiration along the way. Please check out the Spotify playlist to help set the tone and mood as you read.

  * * *

  “I Run To You” – MISSIO

  “When the Night is Over” – Lord Huron

  “Lover, Please Stay” – Nothing But Thieves

  “Don’t Fear The Reaper” – Denmark + Winter

  “Knocking on Heavens Door” – RAIGN

  “Only Love (Acoustic)” – PVRIS

  “When We Wake” – Blood Red Shoes

  “Wait By The River” – Lord Huron

  “Freak of Nature” – Broods, Tove Lo

  “The Night We Met” – Lord Huron

  “Survivalism” – Nine Inch Nails

  “We Must Be Killers” – Mikky Ekko

  “Moondust” – Jaymes Young

  “Us vs. Them (The City Will End Tonight) – Denmark + Winter

  “Silent Running – Epic Trailer Version” – Hidden Citizens

  “Find You” – Ruelle

  “Immortalized” – Hidden Citizens

  “Viderunt omnes … (2 part organum) - Leonin, Tonus Peregrinus, Antony Pitts

  “Animal” – Badflower

  “Carry Me” – Eurielle

  “Breathe” – Fleurie

  “American Money” –BØRNS

  Chapter 1

  Four years ago

  * * *

  “Do you hear the monsters, Calithea?”

  At my nod, my mother strokes her fingers down my temple, as I lie tucked against the wall beside my younger sister, desperate to keep quiet.

  “I can save them,” she continues. “The Lord, Jesus, has given me protection against them. He has sent me to heal them.”

  Zaps of terror shoot down my spine. The madness settling over her confirms my worst fear: the bite she sustained two days ago, one we thought to be nothing more than a scratch, not deep enough to infect, has begun to transform her.

  Even at fourteen, I’ve learned to identify the early stages of the Dredge—the disease that ravaged the world before I was born, and turned it into an arena of survival against the violently infected.

  “Momma, please be quiet,” I whisper, to keep from waking my sister.

  We need this rest. For two days, we’ve walked in scorching desert heat, with little to no water, or food. Somehow, we managed to stay ahead of the horde that raided our hive, but they’ve caught up to us now, and none of us have the energy to run.

  “I won’t perish. For Jesus does not will it so.” Momma raises her chin toward the window beside us, her content smile that glows in the flicker of flames unfitting for the sounds of destruction outside.

  We set fire to the buildings across from where we’ve taken shelter, in hopes of distracting the infected, and so far, it’s worked. The steel door at the opposite side of what Momma said was once a restaurant is the only barrier against the mob outside. Fortunately for us, the door leads out to the side of the building, hidden away from the Ragers, or I suspect they’d have already found their way in.

  I tug at her arm more forceful than I intend. “Stay here, Momma. Stay with us.”

  Vacant eyes scan over me, to my sister, Bryani, who breathes hard and hoarse in her sleep. “Your sister will come with me. I will return. You’ll see.” Setting a hand to my cheek, she strokes her thumb over my skin, and the glimmer of false hope in her eyes brings me to tears. “And when I do, the rot of the earth will be cleansed, and all will be made new again.”

  Second by second, the illness ravages the strong and clever mother I’ve known my whole life. One who defended us against the Ragers that infiltrated our hive like insects, killing off entire families within minutes. Soon, my mother will be one of them, but I’m not ready for that yet.

  I set my hand against the back of her palm that still holds my face and blink away the tears. “Please stay with us, Momma. Please.”

  “Shhhh. Quiet now.” She pushes up onto her knees and reaches across me for Bryani.

  Plagued by exhaustion, Bryani doesn’t even wake, when my mother manages to lodge her arms beneath my sister, and drags her closer. I
f not for her coarse breaths, I’d think her dead.

  At ten years old, Bryani is too big for my mother’s weakened state, but her determination to sacrifice my sister alongside her is enough to make me grip tight to my sister’s midsection and yank her back to me. I hold her against me, while my mother attempts to pry her from my arms, her lips pressed to a flat line.

  The warmth of her eyes sharpens with sudden irritation. “She is a believer, and therefore, God will save her. He will protect her. You, Calithea, will perish with all the other nonbelievers. Your souls will be sent to the lake of fire to burn.”

  A sob tugs at the back of my throat, as I try to ignore my mother’s words. My muscles are weak and fatigued, trembling, and, still, I refuse to let go of my sister. “I love you, Momma.” The words wobble in my throat, and the struggle eases, as she stares back at me in what I pray is a moment of clarity.

  Her gaze dips to Bryani, who blinks her eyes open and squints.

  “Momma?” My sister rubs at her eyes.

  A trembling hand touches my sister’s cheek, then mine, and my mother’s eyes shine with tears. “Wait for me, my loves. Wait for me here. I will return. You’ll see.”

  As she pushes to a stand, Bryani shoots out of my arms, sitting upright. “No, Momma!”

  She shouts it too loud, and I slap a hand over her mouth, watching my mother pad slowly toward the door of the abandoned building. Light slices over the darkness of our makeshift bed we made of a few old blankets from our old hive. Just as quickly as it arrived, the light fades with her exit of the building, as the door recloses.

  Behind my palm, Bryani screams, and I feel trickles of warm tears gather at my fingers. Against the tug in my chest, I try not to let my fear take over. I stay quiet and listen, but at the heightened growls from outside, a silent sob pulses against my ribs, and my mother’s first screams have me tucking my face into Bryani’s hair, eyes tightly closed.

  The sound that rips from her lungs is one straight out of a nightmare. “Save me, Father!” she screams, as I imagine the Ragers tearing into her flesh, ripping her skin from the bone. “Oh, God!”

  I want to slap my hands over my ears, like my sister, but as Bryani’s scream vibrates against my skin, I know I can’t. I have no choice but to listen to the sounds of cracking and shredding, while they mutilate my mother.

  “Calithea! Calithea!” she screams, and with more tears, I shake my head, allowing the smallest wail to leak past my lips.

  Minutes pass. My mother goes silent. The growls die down.

  And I wait for the monsters to find us, too.

  Chapter 2

  Present Day

  * * *

  I’m eighteen years old today.

  Up until this point, birthdays have been virtually meaningless, nothing more than another year in this place. Perhaps Hell, but one would have to believe in Heaven, and I stopped believing in God and the idea of paradise long ago.

  This birthday is different, however. Today, I will meet my Champion.

  Dishes rattle with the trembling of my arms, as I hold the tray of food--a gift for our first meeting. The savory scent of meat with a fig jam sauce would, under normal circumstances, have my mouth watering, but right now it’s bone dry, and I have to clamp my lips together to keep from vomiting all over the food I’ve been tasked to offer. Even my reflection, in the silvery shine of the elevator walls, looks pale and frightened.

  As I should be.

  Stories often trickle down through the pipes. Horrific stories of other female subjects who were assigned Champions.

  Beatings. Rape. Torture.

  Death.

  For the last four years, I’ve been poked and prodded. Primed for this moment, when I’ll be fully equipped to perform my duties. For the greater good, as I’ve been told—so many times, I wish I could scrape the words right out of my head. And yet, I still don’t know my purpose in all of this.

  The elevator opens onto a long dark corridor in the bottommost level of the research wing. In all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen, nor ventured, down here, since doing so would be automatic grounds for punishment, or death. This is the experimental floor of S-Block, and the only thing I know for certain about it is that the boys who are sent down here never come back to the main floors.

  Sometimes, at night, screams echo through the ventilation shafts, which are rumored to be when most of the experiments are carried out by the doctors here. At the moment, the only sound I hear is the incessant pounding of blood in my ears and the dishes still rattling in my grasp.

  Closing my eyes, I draw in a long, shaky breath, which is quickly expelled by a harsh shove from behind. I turn to see the female guard, a stocky, pestilent woman with the build of a man, who’s acted as the bane of my existence since the day I arrived.

  With a cautious glare, I step out of the elevator onto cold concrete. It’s never warm in this place, but the frigid air on this floor is the kind that seeps beneath the skin and wraps itself around the bones.

  This meeting is designed to determine whether, or not, we’re compatible, and Medusa, as I like to call her, is here to report back to the lead doctor and scientists. If it fails, I’m merely assigned to a new Champion. I know nothing of mine, other than he is one of three most feared Alphas in this facility, so reassignment wouldn’t exactly break my heart. Their lips are rumored to be sewn shut, though, so I’m not exactly sure how they determine compatibility, or how they expect him to eat this food, for that matter.

  A hard thumping sound startles my muscles, and nearly dropping the tray, I snap my head to the right, to see dust falling from the ceiling in front of one of the many thick, iron doors that line each side of the corridor. A second thump from the left swings my attention to another door across from the first.

  “W-What is that?” I ask, curling my fingers tight around the tray handles.

  “Alphas.” Medusa’s flat and cold voice only adds to the fear snaking through my bones. “They smell you. Keep moving.”

  Yet another shove from behind kicks me forward, and I swear, if I don’t drop these dishes before I get there, it’ll be the only miracle I’ve witnessed in this place.

  Each door we pass thumps and rattles, as if whatever is on the other side might plow through it, all the way until we reach one of three doors on the end.

  Medusa steps between me and a keypad on the wall, and above that, the outline of a hand. “Don’t make eye contact. Don’t talk too much. Don’t cry. Don’t laugh. Don’t make any loud noises. If he approaches you, don’t move. Attempt to fight, or engage him, and you’ll die. Down here, he’s known as Valdys, but don’t call him by name. Ever.” She draws a breath and exhales through her nose, her eyes more stern than ever. “And under no circumstances should you touch him.”

  Mouth gaping, I stand dumbfounded by her instruction. How the hell do they determine compatibility?

  She punches in a code and sets her hand against the outline above it. Not even two seconds later, a click echoes through the corridor, and the door slides to the left on a cold rush of air, opening on a shadowy cell inside.

  From the doorway, all I can make out is a bed. My heart beats so wildly in my chest, I’m certain it’s about to slam through my ribcage to save itself.

  A third shove sends me stumbling into the room, and I catch myself before every dish shatters to the floor. The thunk of the door has me spinning around to find Medusa has left me alone in the room.

  “Hey!” I call out to her, stepping toward the door. A small patch of iron in the center of it slides to the side, and I’m greeted by the dark eyes of that wretched woman. “You’re leaving me in here with him?”

  Her eyes squint, but I can’t see her lips when she says, “I’d keep my voice down, if I were you.”

  Eyes wide, I turn toward the dark cell again, remembering that a killer, a beast designed by this place, lies waiting for me somewhere in the shadows.

  Breath flutters in and out of my lungs, and I close my eyes,
willing myself to calm down.

  Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I reopen my eyes and find he still hasn’t emerged from his hiding. Not that he has to hide from me. The females in here are given slightly more than the males, but certainly not as much food as what makes up the weight of this tray.

  I’m not exactly a threat, physically.

  “Hello?” I cringe at the wobbly tone in my voice, which makes me sound like a scared little girl. I’m one of few females who’ve lasted four years here, one of only a handful who’ve survived their experiments, which is probably why I’ve been assigned to this one. In some ways, I’m the female version of him. “I’ve brought you some food. A gift.”

  No movement. No sound.

  Over my shoulder, I look back over to where Medusa continues to watch and shrug. “Are you sure he’s even in here?”

  Something cold prickles the back of my neck, sending goosebumps across my flesh, and I slowly turn back around to find the shadows have moved. A monstrous figure stands before me, perhaps six and a half feet in height, with long cords of muscle and thick biceps that I imagine have crushed a number of skulls. His naked chest bears the markings of fights and poorly stitched wounds that stretch in disfigured ways. A fighter, to the death. And his build is unnatural for this place that starves its prisoners.