In and Out: Book 2 Afterwards Trilogy

By Jack Crux

Search further for the answers to so many questions: Who survives the raid on the bio engineering laboratories? What is life really like inside the Domain? Will Gabriel Quintin ever return? And what are the secrets of Eve and her valley behind Focheden?
In and Out will take you further into the imaginary world originally revealed in the first book of the series Before and After. It introduces new, engaging characters as well as continuing the stories of Conn, Gabriel and the other favorites of the first book.
Expect shocking revelations and brutal betrayals as the plot twists and turns as Conn battles through personal tragedy and triumph, finds love and death, and struggles with the dwindling resistance to fight against the overwhelming superiority of the brutal Valid Police forces.
Will the secrets of Focheden ever be revealed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780244081157

Book preview

In and Out: Book 2 Afterwards Trilogy

In and Out: Afterwards Trilogy

Book 2

PRINTING HISTORY

First publication in Great Britain by Lulu Publishing

Lulu edition published 2017

Copyright Jack Crux

All the characters in this book are fictitious,

And any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

is purely coincidental

ISBN 978-0-244-08115-7

"I am in blood stepp’d so far

that should I wade no more.

Returning were as tedious as to go o’er"

William Shakespeare

For Craig

PROLOGUE

CULLEN

Cullen stopped to catch his breath. It had been hard, hot work lugging the plastic coffin up from where they had been forced to leave the troop carrier, when the scree got too unstable to risk its weight. They huffed and puffed their way across the uneven stony ground, slithering and sliding as minute fountains of loose stones moved beneath their feet to form showers of shale, spilling down the hillside. Each of them had fallen at least once before they made it to the entrance. At least there, the ground beneath their feet had been more forgiving as they made their way through the deserted system of cave corridors, to finally arrive at their destination.

They stood now in the airlock, the dull groan of the air filters playing a bleak accompaniment to their work. Cullen glanced down at the pretty girl in the coffin, face serene, eyes closed, skin pale, completely oblivious. Not for the first time, he wondered who she was, what was her story and why they were bringing her here? They called their burden a coffin, but it wasn't really, just a container to hold her, the shallow rhythmic rise and fall of her chest proving she was still alive, in a state of suspended awareness, waiting for the plastic pod to be popped.

She was attractive.

Cullen couldn't stop staring at her inanimate beauty like a perfectly crafted doll. To fill the time, he wondered what colour her eyes were. Of the four men that had accompanied her all the way, Breem had remarked on her allure first in his normal uncivilised lecherous fashion, expressing the desire to open the tank and fuck her until the bitch woke up.

It was all talk of course. None of them could open the box, none of them had the security level necessary.

Cullen remembered the mission briefing given to them by that fat bastard, Commander Shakespear, who judging from the size of the girth busting out of his police uniform, had no difficulty in finding sugar in these times of scarcity. It had been a weird briefing for several reasons.

First, Cullen had been surprised to see the men who had been chosen for this extraordinary duty; Jinx, Cardno, Breem and himself, none of whom had exactly covered themselves in glory during the sugar riots, or after the bombs had landed, so why had they been chosen? Then Shakespear had given them a full-on, both barrels, pep talk about how they were doing something wonderful and should be very proud of their contribution - they would be remembered in history. The uneasy itch had grown in Cullen when Shakespear had said nothing to them about the actual substance of their mission, but instead had passed them each a small vid screen, and left the room as they read their instructions.

They had clambered into the anti-rad suits with a lot of cursing and joshing around, connecting various hoses and pipes, all locker room stuff with an undercurrent of brutality, and were soon tracking through the remains of the city towards their destination. It was only weeks since the bombs had dropped, thankfully none that landed here had been of the nuclear variety, but more traditional intercontinental missiles still killed and destroyed indiscriminately.

The city was a complete mess; fires still burned in random buildings, stale smoke drifted on the air, corpses lined the gutters, unmourned and unburied, and cars in various states of decay were abandoned on the roads. Luckily most people had already been interned for their own safety, in camps the other side of the city where the plan was to rebuild. However, some wastrels and looters, kids mainly taking advantage, still roamed freely causing trouble, so their troop carrier got an armoured escort until they were well clear of the city.

Their troop carrier was old and fucked, only getting to third gear with a mind-numbing shriek and refusing to go any faster. Again, Cullen wondered what sort of an important mission got such crap equipment? So, it had taken the rest of the day to drive to their destination.

At the start, the ridge of mountains seemed just an insignificant bump on the horizon, but rose majestic and arrogant towards the sky, as they neared. Once the GP system said they were there, they spent some time trying to find the concealed entrance to the cave system, and it was dusk by the time they made it back to the carrier. They found the anti-grav rotas on the casket were broken, which meant they were going to have to carry the goddamn thing, this discovery causing a further bout of swearing and argument, but eventually they shouldered it, and made their way into the caves.

Cullen shuddered, fear inching along his spine as he wondered what could be outside, waiting for them to return. His uneasy itch was fast graduating to fully fledged paranoia as his flight mode kicked in - he had never been very hot on the fight response; flight, and running, in particular, had served him well in the past. Memories of a different world; High School, where he had been positively lauded for his fleet feet, flashed into his mind. Oh yes, Cullen had always been a runner.

Hey, Stink! Breem's brutish voice, made even less human by the static undertone of the suit speakers, cut through Cullen’s reverie. How much longer? I'm sweating my balls off in this fucking suit!

Cullen glanced at the dials. Couple of minutes, he responded dully. He hated Breem, hated having to interact with the brute of a man. Why was it that seemingly stupid bullies had a knack for thinking of witty, but brutal nicknames for people?

Cullen was a village on the north-east coast of Scotland, from where Cullen's family had emigrated years before. It was famous for its fish soup - Cullen Skink. It was only a small step for a bullying brain to get from Skink to Stink, and Breem had gleefully made the move with no difficulty. The name had stuck and Cullen was now known by everyone in his unit as Stink. It was with an ironic nod to the vagaries of fate, he accepted, that unfortunately, due to the confines of the rad suit, his nickname couldn't be more apt at this present time; all he could smell and all he could taste was recycled Cullen.

Fucking hurry up, Breem continued. I'm on a promise with the Princess here, once we get her ensconced.

And how the fuck are you gonna do that through a rad suit? Cullen knew he shouldn't allow himself to be drawn in by the mountain of muscled annoyance, but sometimes, when he was feeling tired and his alarm bells were ringing, he just couldn't avoid it.

Breem snorted, face red and sweaty through the suit helmet. Cullen hoped his waste filters had packed up, hoped he would suffocate in his own shit. We won't need the suit in there, will we? Dip shit! Breem spat, all testosterone-charged arrogance.

Cardno smirked. You really gonna do it, big boy?

I am!

Mission instructions say rad suits must be worn at all times. That was Jinx. A whining stickler for the rules that got him into trouble countless times, particularly when events called for a creative approach; for example, when some strung out officer called to open fire on a mob of rioting, but un-armed civilians. Officers don't like it when juniors start reading the regulations out to them in such circumstances.

So, there you have it - Breem the bastard bully, Cardno, his sycophantic sidekick, Jinx the inflexible rule follower, and Cullen? What was Cullen's claim to disrepute? Easy one. He was a complete coward, scared stiff most of the time and when he couldn’t run, had been found hiding and cowering during a battle, on more than one occasion. They really were the dream team, which made Cullen, who was far from stupid, even more suspicious about what was going down.

The air filter lights pinged green and the doors to the wondrous garden beyond glided open. Cullen hesitated, all senses suddenly re-awakened - eyes bombarded by the beauty of the place before him. The twitter of birdsong echoed through his helmet, and was that the heady whiff of pollen overriding the stench of recycled Cullen, through his air filters? Probably not, but it was a nice thought. It may have only been a few short weeks since the devastation of the bombs brought the rest of the world to a colourless wasteland, but the sheer power of life in this small enclave was breath-taking. A shameful and deep sense of loss at what they had done, ripped through him.

Come on, Jinx said. We need to get finished and get back.

They manoeuvred the casket through the space the opening of the doors revealed, and placed it, as carefully as four grunts could manage, in the centre of the clearing.

Cullen shivered. He felt like someone was watching him. He turned swiftly toward the wide Perspex windows of the viewing gallery on the cave side of the air lock. There was nobody there.

What do we do now? Cardno asked.

We wait, Breem growled. I'm not leaving until I get some pussy!

Thank you for delivering my bride, gentlemen!

He came striding out of the woods, arrogant and handsome, a godlike vision, golden, gleaming in the bright, sharp light; someone who commanded obedience. Cullen instantly hated him, from the cool blue glint of his eyes, the wavy blonde hair expertly styled so it bounced with carefree precision as he walked, to his lean, exquisitely proportioned body, and the expensive silky clothes that covered it. He looked like he was walking off the set of a fashion shoot, like all the shit that had just been dumped on every other survivor in the world, hadn't touched him.

Hell, this dude hadn't even smelt the gut-wrenching stench of disaster.

Who the fuck are you? Breem rumbled.

The man’s thousand-dollar smile was as conceited as his attitude, a row of regular white teeth gleaming in perfect order, his eyes distant, superior. I am Adam, he said. Welcome to my Eden!

As he approached, and as if by some unseen signal, the top of the plastic coffin popped open. His masterful smile widened even further. And here is my Eve, he said, confidence laced with possessive pride.

Breem stepped forward. Like fuck. I took me a liking to this girlie on the journey. I say we share her and this place.

Adam snorted, his lip curling into a sneer of complete disgust. You grossly overestimate your part here, you smelly man, he snarled dismissively. You are lucky that I let you walk out of here, but go you must.

Like fuck! Breem began to work at the fastenings of his rad suit.

Are you really so stupid? Adam spat, with cool, venomous disdain. Why the hell do you think you went through an airlock, and carried her in an airtight compartment, while you are wearing airtight suits? Must I spell it out?

Breem stopped. What do you mean?

Adam sighed and addressed his imaginary audience. It seems I must, so be it. He took a step towards Breem, annoyance smouldering. I am different from you. She is different from you. Apart from it being blindingly obvious that I am civilised and you are some sort of throwback Neanderthal brute, we breathe different air. If you continue in your ridiculous quest to remove that suit, you will die. Is that simple enough for you?

Are you fucking kidding me? Breem looked around at the others. Is he?

Cullen shrugged, trying not to show the priceless enjoyment of seeing his own tormenter being out-bullied by a far superior model.

Jinx put in, The instructions were very clear....

Fuck the instructions! Breem snorted, but his voice, even through his suit microphone, sounded somewhat crestfallen. Cullen bit back the strong urge to laugh.

Now, gentleman, Adam continued acidly, It really is time you all should leave. He nodded toward the door.

The four men exchanged glances, still unsure, Breem growling indecisively. Finally, Jinx turned and walked back to the airlock. Cullen shrugged and followed and soon after, the other two did likewise.

As they waited for the filters to do their work again, Breem was suddenly livid once more. He was fucking kidding, right? Damn! I should have smashed his face in. Arrogant bastard!

He raged on, all bluster and bravado now the opportunity was long gone, but Cullen blocked it out, instead focusing his attention on what was happening the other side of the airlock.

He watched Adam bend down and gently take the still form of Eve into his arms. He lifted her from the coffin, her silky hair trailing behind her as her head rocked gently back. It was like a scene from an old-fashioned fairy tale. Adam bent and kissed her long and hard and Cullen saw the life rush back into her, the translucent porcelain of her skin flushing pink as she shuddered back to life.

The air lock filter lights pinged green. Breem still bellyaching, and Cardno, moved back into the caves. Cullen lingered, still watching as Adam lowered her reawakening body onto the smooth grass carpet, his lips moving as he spoke to her.

Come on, Stink, Jinx said from the doorway.

As Cullen watched, she shook her head as if to clear it, her beautiful features etched with puzzlement, and he saw a flash of her eyes......green, he fancied they were green, like the beautiful canopy of trees that surrounded her in this secret idyll they had brought her to.

Stink! Jinx shouted impatiently.

All right! Cullen shot back. After one last, lingering look at the two people intimately entwined beyond the stark plastic, he turned and pushed past Jinx. My name is Cullen, not fucking Stink!

They made their way through the deserted corridors faster than when they had come in. Cullen, his hand never far away from the butt of his gun, jumped at every noise, peered impotently into the shadowy places where smaller corridors led off from the main lighted thoroughfare, then glanced worriedly behind, his feet always ready to sprint.

You fucking pussy! Breem taunted him and confirmed, that save for