The Ruins Book 4 Read online

  Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  CREDITS

  PREFACE

  Background To The Ruins and Recap of Book 1, 2, and 3

  Chapter 1 - Bray

  Chapter 2 - Bray

  Chapter 3 - William

  Chapter 4 - Kirby

  Chapter 5 - William

  Chapter 6 - Bray

  Chapter 7 - William

  Chapter 8 - Kirby

  Chapter 9 - Kirby

  Chapter 10 - Tolstoy

  Chapter 11 - Kirby

  Chapter 12 - Kirby

  Chapter 13 - Kirby

  Chapter 14 - William

  Chapter 15 - Kirby

  Chapter 16 - Kirby

  Chapter 17 - Bray

  Chapter 18 - Kirby

  Chapter 19 - William

  Chapter 20 - Kirby

  Chapter 21 - William

  Chapter 22 - Bray

  Chapter 23 - William

  Chapter 24 - William

  Chapter 25 - Bray

  Chapter 26 - William

  Chapter 27 - Bray

  Chapter 28 - William

  Chapter 29 - Kirby

  Chapter 30 - William

  Chapter 31 - William

  Chapter 32 - Kirby

  Chapter 33 - Kirby

  Chapter 34 - Bray

  Chapter 35 - Kirby

  Chapter 36 - Bray

  Chapter 37 - Bray

  Chapter 38 - Kirby

  Chapter 39 - Kirby

  Chapter 40 - Bray

  Chapter 41 - William

  Chapter 42 - William

  Chapter 43 - Kirby

  Chapter 44 - William

  Chapter 45 - Esmeralda

  Chapter 46 - William

  Chapter 47 - William

  Chapter 48 - Bray

  Chapter 49 - Bray

  Chapter 50 - Kirby

  Chapter 51 - William

  Chapter 52 - Kirby

  Chapter 53 - Kirby

  Chapter 54 - William

  Chapter 55 - Kirby

  Chapter 56 - Bray

  Chapter 57 - Kirby

  Chapter 58 - Kirby

  Chapter 59 - William

  Chapter 60 - William

  Chapter 61 - Tolstoy

  Chapter 62 - Kirby

  Chapter 63 - Kirby

  Chapter 64 - Bray

  Chapter 65 - William

  Chapter 66 - Kirby

  Chapter 67 - Bray

  Chapter 68 - William

  Chapter 69 - Kirby

  Chapter 70 - Kirby

  Chapter 71 - Bray

  Chapter 72 - Kirby

  Chapter 73 - William

  Chapter 74 - Kirby

  Chapter 75 - William

  Chapter 76 - Kirby

  Chapter 77 - William

  Chapter 78 - William

  Chapter 79 - William

  Chapter 80 - William

  Chapter 81 - Kirby

  Chapter 82 - William

  Chapter 83 - William

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Email & Facebook

  Other Things To Read

  Copyright Info

  The Ruins 4

  A Dystopian Society in a Post-Apocalyptic World

  Book 4 of The Ruins Series

  By

  T.W. Piperbrook

  Find him at

  T.W. Piperbrook

  www.twpiperbrook.com

  www.facebook.com/twpiperbrook

  ©2018 Post Script Publishing

  Cover Design and Layout

  Alex Saskalidis, a.k.a. 187designz

  Editing & Proofreading

  Cathy Moeschet

  Technical Consultants

  John Cummings

  Charles A.

  Preface

  Welcome to the last installment of THE RUINS.

  You've reached the end—the culmination of 300,000 words, and four books that are some of the most enjoyable I've written. Thank you so much for sticking with the series.

  Watching Bray, Kirby, and William grow and bond has been just as fun as creating new worlds for them to explore.

  Bray has come a long way from the lone, demon-slaying Warden outside of Brighton. Kirby has pulled us neck-deep into her struggle between past and future, and William has grown from a young, scared boy in Brighton into an endearing, capable individual.

  Sometimes the best meetings come from chance. Although these three characters met by "accident" in THE LAST SURVIVORS, I am happy they did, if only so they could bring us along for the ride.

  As I mention in the Afterword, I have several projects I'm excited to write next. Hopefully, you will consider joining me.

  But first: the final book of THE RUINS.

  Trapped in a tower under the oppressive rule of The Gifted, William fears for his friends' lives. Bray and Kirby cope with the loss of Cullen, amidst the uncaring fists of the guards.

  What is the price of freedom? And will anyone get out of New City alive?

  We will find out.

  -Tyler Piperbrook

  January 2018

  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 Kirby, 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.

  THE RUINS Book 3 Recap

  After months of travel, Bray, Kirby, and William arrive in a hot southern region. Since leaving The Arches, William's warts have spread to the side of his head, making Bray and Kirby suspect—or at least hope—that he might be like one of the smart demons they encountered near Brighton: Jingo. Meanwhile, Bray and Kirby have developed a physical and emotional relationship.

  Reaching a new ruined city, Bray, Kirby, and William discover a lone, dirty man named Cullen, hiding in some underground tunnels that Kirby explains are called subways. Together, they escape a pack of savage men they call The Clickers, but not before Bray is wounded by an arrow. Cullen tells them that The Clickers killed his brothers and left him alone and hiding.

  Heading for safety, the group arrives at a strange, fascinating place with windmills and a large tower, situated at the forefront of a city with walls coming out from the building's sides, surrounding the city. Rows of rich crops lie in front of it. As the group gets close, demons surround them. Several strange, robed men appear on a balcony on the building, removing their hoods and revealing that they are smart demons, like Jingo. They are fascinated by William's similar appearance. Thinking of a clever lie to go along with the smart demons' inquiries, Bray says he and his friends are emissaries coming to trade. The smart demons—who call themselves The Gifted—invite Bray, Kirby, William, and Cullen in.

  The Clickers continue tracking Bray and his friends.

  Bray, Kirby, William, and Cullen meet a Gifted man named Rudyard, who instructs them to leave their weapons at the door. Rudyard takes them upstairs and introduces them to The Gifted's leader—a man named Tolstoy—as well as a woman named Amelia, and seven other robed men. The Gifted not only have rudimentary electricity, but also other devices of Tech Magic, as well as incredible knowledge. The Gifted tell the story of "The Collapse" three hundred years earlier, caused by a mutated spore. Most of the infected became demons, but a rare few turn into people like The Gifted, who are smarter, and cannot die from age. The Gifted believe William might be one of them. Gesturing out the window, Tolstoy shows Bray, Kirby, William, and Cullen a city filled with uninfected humans—a place they call New City.

  While staying in the tower, Kirby and Bray wake up one morning to discover The Clickers outside the tower window, engaging in a trade with Rudyard for a tattered man. Kirby makes the astute guess that the people in New City are human slaves. Before they can escape, The Gifted see through Bray's earlier lie, enslave Bray, Kirby, and Cullen, and force William into the tower as their protégé.

  Bray, Kirby, and Cullen are beaten and thrown into cells by Head Guards—uninfected humans who help control the city, led by two guards named Ollie and Avery. A man named Drew, a slave in N
ew City who is from Kirby's former settlement of New Hope, speaks to her through the cell wall. He tells her that he and some others are planning an escape.

  Meanwhile, William decides to play along with The Gifted, in hopes that he can save his friends. The female Gifted—Amelia—starts teaching him to read and write.

  After being released, Bray, Kirby, and Cullen are put to work as Field Hands and assigned houses. Bray meets his roommate Teddy, while Kirby meets Esmeralda and her daughter Fiona. They learn that Rudyard and the Head Guards control the demon army, which are fed in a Feeding Pen inside New City. They also learn that The Gifteds' machines produce items for trade, and sustain the population. Cullen struggles to perform his duties, while the brutish guard named Ollie targets Kirby.

  In the tower, Tolstoy and Amelia meet to ensure William is cooperating. Acting out a plan, William steals a hairpin from Amelia, giving him access to the tower. He sneaks out at night, down to a floor he knows is empty—the third floor—watching the demons and the city from a balcony. Unable to concoct an immediate way to help his friends, he returns to his room.

  While lining up with the other Field Hands in the cornfields, Cullen sees The Clickers trading with Rudyard. Traumatized and mentally unstable, he makes the unwise decision to flee. Bray tries to pull him back into line, but guards catch them. Bray and Cullen are assigned to clean the Feeding Pen as a punishment.

  In the tower, Amelia shows William an ancient relic—an old, empty gun called an 1860 Model Colt Army—that William thinks might be a warning. Soon after, he receives a surprise visit in his room from Amelia, who takes him to the third-floor balcony, where Tolstoy and the rest of The Gifted wait. They force him to watch the guards beat Bray and Cullen in the Feeding Pen in the city. The guards drag Bray out into the courtyard, but Cullen is left inside the pen, where he is consumed by demons.