Yesterday's Gone: Season Three (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER)

weapons beneath the kid’s clothes. The light made a slight beep as it went over the kid’s left knee, and the other two men, now standing behind them and watching, immediately put their hands to their guns as if they might need them at any second.
    What the hell is happening?
    Charlie winced, bracing for the worst as the man ran the light over the kid’s knee again. This time it didn’t beep, which seemed to relax the other Guardsmen.
    “OK, he’s clean,” Lennox said, then pointed to Foster. “You go stand with him.”
    Clean? This must be some kinda test to see if we’re infected with that monster shit.
    The boy walked over to Foster and stood beside him, watching as Charlie assumed the position, standing in front of Lennox and spreading his arms.
    Lennox began to run the light over Charlie’s body, stopping when it began to glow bright, beeping while hovering over his chest.
    The Guardsmen grabbed their rifles again, and Charlie swallowed.
    Oh God, don’t say I’m infected.
    Charlie felt a roll in his stomach as Lennox brought the light back up to Charlie’s chest. Again it beeped.
    Oh shit.
    Charlie swallowed.
    Infected? I’m gonna become one of those?
    “He’s infected,” Lennox said.
    “Put him in the van,” Foster said.
    The kid cried, “No, he saved me. Please don’t hurt him.”
    Lennox turned his attention from Charlie and onto the kid to see how the scene played out, as if Foster might change his mind if the kid gave a compelling argument to spare Charlie any harm.
    “We’re not going to hurt him,” Foster reassured, “We’re gonna help him. We’re going to save him. How would you like to join him in the van?”
    The kid stared at Foster, nervous, and probably thinking that maybe Charlie would go Incredible Hulk while in the van.
    “Can’t I ride with you guys?”
    “We’re all going to ride together,” Foster said. “Go ahead.”
    The boy seemed uncertain, but then started toward the van.
    He’d gotten maybe six steps when Foster raised his gun and shot the kid in the head.
    The child fell face first onto the road and Charlie screamed, “No!”
    How can they shoot the kid? He wasn’t even infected. What the hell?!
    “You fuckers!” Charlie screamed, wanting to run at Foster, and smash his face in.
    Lennox put a gun to Charlie’s head, stopped him in his tracks, and shoved him toward the second black van.
    “Time to take a ride,” the man said, marching Charlie forward.
    “Where are we going?” Charlie asked.
    “Black Mountain,” the man said. “And don’t give me an excuse to shoot you in the head.”

    * * * *

CHAPTER 11 — (Other) Luca

    July 2011
    Black Island Research Facility
    Level Seven
    THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT…

    Luca looked down at his hands on the table, not wanting to meet the mirrors.
    They made him uncomfortable. It was like a funhouse without the fun. Mirrors surrounded the room, except for the metal door in the middle. No matter where he turned his head, his eyes stared back. Luca could feel the people behind the mirrors staring back. He could hear some of their thoughts, too.
    Today was the big day, the day everyone had been waiting for. Today was the day of the test. Luca knew it was important, but he didn’t know why. His dad never really said, even when Luca asked. He was sure the test was why they were back in the underground room on Black Island, where he’d come for the surgery to remove his tumor.
    Of all the people on the other side of the mirror, Luca felt his dad most, along with his dad’s colors. His dad was usually the color blue. Sometimes his blue was so light it was almost white. That was because his dad never really seemed like he was afraid of anything. That was probably why he was never mad. Not like Luca’s brother, Boricio.
    Boricio was always nice to Luca. Actually, Boricio was always nice to everyone, but he still wore the color red, almost always and no matter what. At least as long as Luca had been seeing the colors, since he woke up from his surgery.
    Today his dad’s blue was gone and he was somewhere in between yellow and green. Yellow and green were nervous, and that made Luca a little scared.
    Luca didn’t fear many things, but disappointing his dad was definitely one of them. His adopted father had done so much for him, the thought that Luca might let him down was terrible. Scary.
    Luca could feel everyone breathing faster as the steel door opened and the man named Mr. Sullivan came into the