The Ruins Book 3 Read online

  Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  Dedication

  CREDITS

  PREFACE

  Background To The Ruins and Book 1 and 2 Recap

  Chapter 1 - Bray

  Chapter 2 - Bray

  Chapter 3 - Cullen

  Chapter 4 - Bray

  Chapter 5 - Bray

  Chapter 6 - Bray

  Chapter 7 - William

  Chapter 8 - Kirby

  Chapter 9 - Kirby

  Chapter 10 - Rudyard

  Chapter 11 - Kirby

  Chapter 12 - Kirby

  Chapter 13 - Bray

  Chapter 14 - The Clicker

  Chapter 15 - Bray

  Chapter 16 - Bray

  Chapter 17 - The Clicker

  Chapter 18 - Bray

  Chapter 19 - William

  Chapter 20 - Bray

  Chapter 21 - Kirby

  Chapter 22 - Bray

  Chapter 23 - Bray

  Chapter 24 - Bray

  Chapter 25 - Cullen

  Chapter 26 - Bray

  Chapter 27 - William

  Chapter 28 - Bray

  Chapter 29 - Bray

  Chapter 30 - William

  Chapter 31 - Bray

  Chapter 32 - William

  Chapter 33 - William

  Chapter 34 - Drew

  Chapter 35 - Kirby

  Chapter 36 - William

  Chapter 37 - William

  Chapter 38 - Kirby

  Chapter 39 - Bray

  Chapter 40 - William

  Chapter 41 - Bray

  Chapter 42 - Cullen

  Chapter 43 - Kirby

  Chapter 44 - Kirby

  Chapter 45 - Bray

  Chapter 46 - William

  Chapter 47 - Bray

  Chapter 48 - Kirby

  Chapter 49 - William

  Chapter 50 - Amelia

  Chapter 51 - William

  Chapter 52 - Kirby

  Chapter 53 - Bray

  Chapter 54 - William

  Chapter 55 - Amelia

  Chapter 56 - William

  Chapter 57 - Bray

  Chapter 58 - Kirby

  Chapter 59 - William

  Chapter 60 - Amelia

  Chapter 61 - William

  Chapter 62 - Bray

  Chapter 63 - William

  Afterword

  Email & Facebook

  Other Things To Read

  Copyright Info

  The Ruins 3

  A Dystopian Society in a Post-Apocalyptic World

  Book 3 of The Ruins Series

  By

  T.W. Piperbrook

  Find him at

  T.W. Piperbrook

  www.twpiperbrook.com

  www.facebook.com/twpiperbrook

  ©2017 Post Script Publishing

  Special thanks to my father, Charles,

  for the help and inspiration.

  Cover Design and Layout

  Alex Saskalidis, a.k.a. 187designz

  Editing & Proofreading

  Cathy Moeschet

  Technical Consultants

  John Cummings

  Charles A.

  Preface

  Welcome to Book 3 of THE RUINS.

  Perhaps one of the unexpected byproducts of spending nine books with a set of characters is how attached you can become to them. Bray, Kirby, and William have started to feel like old friends, and I feel like a companion walking next to them.

  During the creation of these chapters, I was right there next to Bray, sipping from a flask of snowberry as we talked about the dangers of the twisted men. I sat on a moss-covered log next to Kirby, checking my ammunition as she explained the secrets of Tech Magic. I sympathized with William as he coped with his own personal demons, and mourned the people he's lost. Some of these chapters stuck with me, long after I shut off my computer.

  I hope you feel a similar affection.

  Expect many twists and surprises as the characters in THE RUINS get into some of the most dangerous—and emotional—challenges they have seen.

  Because of the immersive nature of the world, this final story arc in the series—originally intended as a trilogy—will be told over two books. As I got into the storyline, I realized another book was needed to do the story justice. Hopefully that is a good surprise to most of you. Don't worry, I won't leave you dangling over the edge of a bridge at the end of Book 3, but I look forward to spending some extra time with Bray, Kirby, and William (if they survive). I hope you do, too.

  Enjoy Book 3.

  Tyler Piperbrook

  September 2017

  THE RUINS Background: Pertinent Recap of The Last Survivors

  Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, living in the ruins of the ancient cities in nearly-medieval conditions. Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. Wind-borne spores disfigure men unlucky enough to be infected, twisting their minds and turning them into creatures to be feared. The survivors have different names for these creatures, but some call them the demons, or twisted men.

  After accidentally killing the mother of an infected boy, a Warden named Bray—a hunter of demons—vows to keep the motherless boy safe. He loses track of the boy, William, in the Ancient City, only to watch as the boy takes up with a band of demons, succumbing to the spore's madness. Before Bray can rescue William, a violent army captures the boy.

  While tracking William, Bray encounters a woman named Kirby from a strange settlement, who carries several pieces of Tech Magic he's never seen—guns.

  Telling some clever lies, Bray gets Kirby to join him, under the guise that William is his son.

  They track the army to Brighton.

  After surviving a bloody battle, in which Bray is shot and wounded, Kirby reveals to Bray that she is also infected. She also reveals that she has figured out some of Bray's lies, but she respects his bravery and his allegiance to William.

  Eventually, they rescue an emotionally battered William, who has taken revenge on the worst of his abductors by commanding a pack of demons to kill them.

  William swears off his demon brothers, and the three make a pact to leave Brighton for good, in the hopes of discovering what lies in the ruins.

  THE RUINS Book 1 Recap

  Bray, Kirby, and William return to Kirby's settlement, New Hope, in hopes of securing the rest of Kirby's stash of guns, only to find the settlement raided. After an altercation with two men with strange markings, Kirby rescues a survivor named Flora, who is from a settlement she has never seen. Flora explains that the pillaging men are from an enemy tribe called Halifax. She does not tell them that she was supposed to bring back the scalp of a Halifax man to her people, in order to be considered for marriage.

  After William takes ill, Flora lures them back to her settlement—a pair of islands in a wide river, accessed by a single, sloping road leading down from the bridge—in the hopes that she can exchange the guns, and information about William's power, to make up for her failed quest.

  Bray, Kirby, and William are welcomed into The Arches, where Jonathan and Bartholomew, the bridge commanders, set them up with a place to rest. Bartholomew and Jonathan say they will introduce them to the islands' ruler, Deacon, when he returns from a hunt.

  Bray meets a neighbor named Jaydra, who makes him suspicious about the islands. She explains that the oldest islanders—The Important Ones—are protected on the second island. She also mentions that everyone is expected to work and provide for the community.

  Bray, Kirby, and William meet Deacon.

  On the surface, Deacon appears helpful, though he is obviously interested in their guns. Deacon devises a plan to watch over Kir
by, Bray, and William so he can decide how to access Kirby's guns, and William's power over the demons. He discusses the possibility of an impending war with Halifax with a man named Jonas, one of his closest advisors. Jonas, a man with an affinity for ancient devices, and an even greater affinity for creating devices of torture, uses these devices on several Halifax men he and Deacon have captured.

  Flora, hoping to make up for her failed quest and preserve her life, offers Bray's scalp to Deacon, if Deacon deems him a hindrance to the use of the god weapons, and accessing William's power. She also agrees to keep a close watch on Bray, Kirby, and William.

  Bray decides to go hunting with several of the islanders, to earn his keep and provide food for Kirby and a sick William. While on the hunt, he proves his worth as a hunter and fighter, but fails to kill a deer, which Wardens believe is bad luck, but which angers the island hunters.

  Back on the island, William grows sicker while Kirby worries. Flora and Jaydra talk to Bartholomew, who agrees to house William on the second island. While riding to the island, Kirby and William are surprised by a group of soldiers.

  Bray returns from the hunt to find a strange ceremony occurring on the bridge in the middle of a fog. Deacon presides over an excited crowd as a woman is thrown to her death off the bridge—a woman that Bray fears is Kirby.

  THE RUINS Book 2 Recap

  Suspecting Kirby has been thrown from the bridge at The Arches, Bray causes a small scene. The hunters calm him, assuring him that Kirby and William are all right. Bray hunts for his friends on the first island. While searching, he is attacked by a group of guards, led by Bartholomew and Jonathan, and left for dead in the river. Bartholomew sends Flora to bring Bray's scalp back to Deacon.

  On the second island, Kirby looks after a sick William. She encounters the strange man named Jonas, who uses a ploy to separate her from William. Deacon kidnaps William while Kirby is distracted. Deacon, Jonas, and some guards confront Kirby, demanding more guns in exchange for William's life. Kirby tells them there may be more weapons in her settlement. Deacon forces her to return to New Hope with a small party consisting of Jonas, Ruben, and Heinrich, with the intention of meeting with a larger group, in order to obtain guns and exchange them for William's life.

  At the Halifax settlement, the Halifax people gain experience with firearms.

  Bray climbs from the river, beaten and bruised. He fears Kirby and William are dead. Before he can make a decision to rescue them, Flora tracks him down and attacks. A bloody battle ensues as she tries to get his scalp. The altercation ends when Halifax soldiers surround them with guns, forcing them to march back to Halifax.

  While traveling to New Hope, Kirby, Jonas, Ruben, and Heinrich discover the larger party of islanders with whom they were supposed to meet, dead at the hands of Halifax soldiers. A survivor of that massacre reaches The Arches, warning Deacon of the escalating violence. Fearing war, Deacon sends scouts to Halifax to find out what is going on.

  William, trapped on the second island, tries to escape his squalid prison.

  Bray meets Enoch, the leader of Halifax, who shares a mutual hatred for the people of The Arches. According to Enoch, the people of The Arches stole their land and have practiced cruelty for generations. The Halifax people interrogate Flora without success. Convincing Enoch to let him speak with her, Bray makes some headway, discovering Flora's anger toward Deacon due to the death of her father. He convinces Flora to work with them, and tries convincing Enoch they can work together to defeat the islanders. Enoch is not certain.

  In the wild, more Halifax soldiers attack Kirby, Jonas, Heinrich, and Ruben. They kill Heinrich and Ruben, and severely wound Jonas. Kirby and Jonas hole up in a small building, staving off the Halifax men with Kirby's grenades.

  Back in Halifax, Enoch and Bray receive word of a strange, trapped woman with incredible weapons. They march out to discover Kirby. Bray and Kirby reunite, returning to Halifax with Enoch. They finally convince Enoch to go to battle, after Enoch hears tales from Jonas about the torture he has committed against the people of Halifax. In a bloody ceremony, the Halifax people take retribution on Jonas.

  Deacon's scouts, hiding close to Halifax, hear the ceremony and make the educated guess that war is coming. They inform Deacon so he can prepare.

  Bray, Kirby, Flora, and three hundred Halifax soldiers return to The Arches, engaging in a savage battle. By the battle's end, Flora, Deacon, and Enoch are killed, while the remaining Halifax people—under the direction of the Halifax soldier Samron—reclaim the islands. William escapes his prison and reunites with Bray and Kirby.

  Bray, Kirby, and William ride south on their horses, on the slim hope they will find a place where the Ancient's Tech Magic has been preserved, a place where they will be safe.

  Chapter 1: Bray

  "Another ruined city," Bray said cautiously, as he looked from his perch on the horse down the long, grassy, tree-covered slope, toward the tall, crumbled spires in the distance. "I don't know whether to be relieved or worried."

  "If this city is as dead as it looks, we probably won't find much more than rats," Kirby said from the back of his steed, which they shared.

  "And demons, of course," William added.

  Bray looked over at William, who sat alone on the horse next to them, which they'd decided to call Spirit, after the courageous battle at The Arches all those months ago. They'd kept the name Blackthorn for the other steed. It seemed as if those events had happened in another lifetime. Many miles of traveling south had worn down their hopes that they might find anything like the city of which Kirby had heard in the stories, a city where the Ancient's Tech Magic was preserved, a place where they could be safe. A handful of times since leaving The Arches, they'd seen small bands of barbarian tribes in the forest, whom they'd avoided, but they hadn't seen any significant number of people.

  They saw plenty of twisted men, though.

  The demons were everywhere, hunting and lurking. For the most part, they avoided them. Occasionally, the twisted men surprised them, and William yelled some words to drive them away. Bray appreciated the boy's power. He just wished it hadn't come at the price of pain.

  Ever since leaving The Arches, William's condition had worsened. Each night, when they bedded down in a crumbled building in some destroyed city, or in the forest, William scratched at his knees and elbows, as if he might claw the infection away. Every time they stopped at a body of water, William gazed at his reflection, as if he might see something different than the warts that had appeared on either side of his forehead. William's appearance was growing closer and closer to a demon's. He insisted on wearing his hooded jacket, even though they hadn't felt the sting of the cold in many months. Sometimes, Bray wondered if finding the miraculous city from the stories was the only thing driving William on.

  Several days ago, William had asked to ride Spirit by himself. The request didn't sit well with Bray or Kirby, but they'd allowed it. Bray pitied the boy.

  Reaching up, instinctively pulling his hood tighter around the row of calcified, bumpy warts on the side of his head, William said, "You're probably right about the rats being the only things we find. I don't hear any demon cries."

  "Maybe we'll find some animals we can hunt," Kirby said hopefully.

  "Or a stash of snowberry," Bray said with a wry smile. "I'm beginning to forget what it tastes like."

  He glanced over at Kirby. In the months they traveled, other things had changed, as well. As he and Kirby spent more time together, sharing blankets, protecting each other, and dividing up game, they had developed a deep affection for one another. Neither of them spoke about the times their hands and bodies met in the night, amidst the distant shriek of demons, in between their watches. Neither spoke about the looks they shared while consuming their meals. For a while after leaving The Arches, Bray's advances had become a routine, and Kirby had deftly avoided his passes, but each routine contained a truth that neither could deny.

  Eventually, they stopped denying
it.

  They didn't profess their feelings the way someone might in a fairy-tale story, but Bray's emotions for Kirby surprised him. She was hardened, jaded by war, but she had a resilience he had never encountered in another woman.

  He felt for her the way he had felt for William's mother. He still missed Ella, but his bond with Kirby felt stronger, because of the length of time they'd spent together.

  William, for his part, accepted their closeness. Or perhaps he was too preoccupied with his condition to notice.

  In any case, Bray couldn't picture Kirby leaving in another direction.

  Spurring his steed, Bray rode his horse next to William's down the hill. Lush, overgrown grass swayed with the wind, caressing the horses' flanks. The sun shone brightly through the tops of the foliage. William adjusted on Spirit's saddle, pointing out a group of tall, stalky trees with long, straight stems. "More of those strange trees with leaves only at the top," he said.

  "They seem to be unique to this southern region," Kirby said.

  "And some of those strange fruits we've been eating," William said, gesturing toward another tree on the hill. "It looks like the demons took most of the fruits from the lowest branches."

  "If we don't see any danger, we'll come back and pick some," Bray promised, wiping sweat from his brow.

  From her perch behind Bray, Kirby said, "The temperature will get even hotter, the farther south we ride."

  "You've said that before, and I certainly don't miss the cold temperatures," Bray said. "But how can you know?"

  "It is the same way in the land I came from," she answered. "The sun shines brighter on this portion of the earth. I am not sure why."

  Bray had long ago accepted that Kirby had knowledge outside of what he'd learned in Brighton. Although some of her stories seemed extraordinary, he saw evidence of her knowledge all around. He trusted her.