Silo Saga: Failsafe - The Sequel to Silo 7 (Kindle Worlds) Read online

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  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Hugh Howey. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements of Silo Saga remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Hugh Howey, or their affiliates or licensors.

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  Failsafe

  The Sequel to Silo 7

  By

  Daniel Gage

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Part 1

  Part 2

  Part 3

  To The Reader

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  Part 1

  1

  Brandon flexed his fingers, his eye narrowing in on the target.

  In one quick, fluid motion his hand moved, drawing his revolver and firing a single shot from the hip.

  The bullet sped towards his target, hitting just to the right of the center ring.

  “Not bad…” he mumbled to himself.

  He took pleasure in watching himself progress. His new handicap had made things difficult for a brief moment, but perseverance overcame. And even after his deputies were done with their now mandatory practice, Brandon stayed behind, honing his skill.

  It was a skill he prayed he never needed again, but feared he would.

  Especially now that they were living beyond the chemical influence of Silo 1.

  And his mother, Jodi Tran.

  His jaw tensed involuntarily as he holstered his revolver. Some part of him felt he should despise that weapon for what he had done with it. And that he should go into the bottom levels and cast it into the furnace so that the steel could be melted down for something more useful.

  But as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t hate it. It helped bring him and his Silo this far. Farther than he could have imagined. It saved lives, and much like him and his eye patch, it became a symbol of change within the Silo.

  And as long as that change meant he didn’t have to shoot anyone else, he was fine with that.

  He took a deep breath and readied himself before drawing again and again, all of his shots hitting the paper target. Then, once the chambers were empty, he ejected the shells and started to reload the revolver’s wheel.

  “You’re getting pretty good at that,” a familiar voice said behind him. “Expecting trouble?”

  Brandon didn’t have to turn to see who was there.

  “Percy, can’t a day go by without me having to see you?” Brandon asked, grinning.

  “Because you’d miss me. Though I had to wait until you were out of shots. Don’t want to startle the legendary quick-draw Brandon Tran.”

  Brandon scoffed. If anything, his recent experiences steadied his nerves more than they set them on edge. He was worried some of his deputies might develop itchy trigger fingers, so he knew he had to be the example of calm and cool under pressure.

  Provided everything went okay the next few days.

  “What brings you down here, Mr. Mayor?” Brandon poked.

  “Needed a moment of peace, and figured I’d come see how the only person who wouldn’t want something from me is doing,” Percy said.

  Brandon let out a laugh as he holstered his sidearm. “Being mayor not all it’s cracked up to be?”

  “Who knew it’d be so much work?” he asked with a lopsided grin. “The last mayor didn’t do anything. Ever. And I can prove that.”

  “That was before I blew up the chemical air filter. So of course there’s going to be more to do.”

  “And it’s being compounded by our sheriff insisting that he be put on trial,” Percy said, pointing at Brandon. “Do you know how much time that takes out of my day?”

  “Would you rather people think it is okay to rebel and not face consequences?” Brandon said. “No one wants to find me guilty. But the Silo needs to see that I’m willing to accept whatever consequences are sentenced.”

  “I know, I know,” Percy acknowledged with a sigh. “There’s just so much to handle right now. Complaints from almost every level. People asking questions that we don’t have answers to just yet. And I can really use my sheriff back out there.”

  Brandon leaned against the table holding his shooting equipment as he folded his arms. “Something going on I didn’t hear about?”

  Percy looked away, taking a moment before answering. “I’ve been telling the deputies to leave stuff off your desk. But it’s getting bad. We’ve had a couple fights break out in the mids, and the people in the lowers are exhausted. I need you back out there.”

  Brandon’s hand fell to his revolver. It was out of habit now, something to do whenever he started thinking. He never wrapped his hand around its grip; instead he would just push down until he felt the pressure in his belt.

  “The trial should be almost over,” Brandon said. “Only a couple people left to take the stand, and judging from the jury I don’t think it will take long for them to reach a decision.”

  “Good. You’ll be back to work after that? No more time off?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be right back to work, sir,” Brandon said with a smirk.

  Percy dismissed his sarcasm. “Good. Does Carol take the stand tomorrow?”

  Brandon’s heart skipped at hearing her name. The woman he journeyed into Silo 8 with, the woman he thought cared for him. But ever since that day, the day he last pulled his gun on someone… did Carol hate him for shooting Jodi? Jodi was going to die either way, whether it was by his gun, being torn apart by the mob, or sentenced to some terrible fate.

  It was a mercy killing. Surely she could see that.

  It’s what Brandon told himself every night. He wondered how long until he would believe it.

  “She does, yeah.”

  “I take it you two still haven’t talked?”

  Brandon shook his head. “No. She still won’t see me.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m surprised too. We talked quite a bit in those holding cells. She was really happy to see that you lived.”

  “No point in worrying about it,” Brandon said with a shrug. “I should get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”

  As the pair turned to leave, Percy stopped the new sheriff with a hand on the shoulder. “Hey, if you ever want to talk, I’m here. We’ve been through more than anyone else in the Silo. And I’m still your friend, even if I am your boss too.”

  Brandon let out a brief laugh. “Thanks, Percy. I appreciate it.”

  2

  “As far as I’m concerned, your honor, Sheriff Brandon acted in self-defense,” a large, burly man said from the witness stand. “And I had a front row seat. Heard everything Jodi said. She said she killed the mayor and the old sheriff. Since Brandon was the sheriff’s deputy, he probably thought she meant to kill him too.”

  “Thank you,” the judge said. “Any further questions?”

  “No, your honor,” Brandon’s attorney said, shaking his head.

  The prosecutor declined to question.


  “Next witness?” the judge asked.

  Brandon’s lawyer stood. “We would like to call Carol Greer to the stand.”

  Brandon felt his body tense. He had been both anticipating and dreading this moment, and now that it was finally here he wasn’t sure how to act. His hand fell to his revolver, or where it should have been; he surrendered it and his badge to his new deputy whenever the court session started for the day.

  He was the man on trial. It didn’t seem appropriate for him to keep his symbols of office while he was being accused of murder.

  Carol came forward from the onlookers to the witness stand. She held her head high with her back straight, and already Brandon could tell she was going to be different than the rest of the witnesses that had testified.

  She took her seat, and Brandon’s attorney stood.

  “Ms. Greer, please state how you came to become a witness to this situation.”

  “After going to another Silo to help our visitor, I returned home with necessary medications to cure our people. But when I got back I was arrested and accused of treason against this Silo by Jodi Tran, and Percy and myself were put on trial.”

  The attorney nodded as she spoke. Everyone knew about this already, and Brandon wanted her to get to the point. He was dying for some sort of morsel as to why she refused to talk to him, even if he needed to get it while she was testifying at his trial.

  “During Percy’s testimony I was back in the holding cells. I couldn’t see what was going on, but I could hear perfectly.”

  The attorney’s brow creased. “What did you hear?”

  “I heard Brandon had arrived. And probably not a moment too soon; it seemed like Jodi was close to handing a verdict and sentence all at once. I heard him challenge her. I heard her confess her crimes and intentions. The mob started to become unruly. Then the shot silenced them all.”

  “So it was at that point you knew Brandon shot Jodi?”

  “Yes,” Carol nodded. “I know the sound of his gun anywhere.”

  “And how do you know the sound of his firearm?” the attorney asked, pacing.

  “He used it to save our lives on more than one occasion in Silo 8.”

  “So do you feel Brandon acted within his right to shoot Jodi Tran?”

  She paused before answering. And when she spoke, Brandon never heard so much resolution in her voice.

  “No.”

  A loud gasp followed by a low murmur was heard throughout the crowd. Brandon’s jaw fell open, and it was all he could do to keep breathing.

  Off in the distance Brandon was aware that the judge was pounding his gavel, calling for order within the courtroom. But that didn’t matter.

  Carol thought he was a cold blooded murderer. Was that it? Was that why she wouldn’t speak to him? It would make sense. His killing of Jodi was still murder, no matter how he looked at it. Even if he tried telling himself it was a mercy killing, to spare her the pain of whatever the angry citizens of the Silo wanted to extract from her.

  But… she gave everything for him. She confessed to everything she did wrong, and in that moment she validated his uprising. She made him the hero of the Silo, for fighting against the tyranny of the head of IT.

  He owed her a death without suffering. She deserved that.

  She had been his mother, after all.

  “Ms. Greer, why do you say that?” the attorney continued once things had calmed down. His once calm and confident demeanor had been shattered, and even the jury looked stunned. Carol had been the first to speak any ill of Brandon, and suddenly everyone wanted to know why.

  “Jodi Tran aimed to make an example of Percy and me. She wanted to drive home that no one should act against her or the will of this mysterious Silo she reports to. She was prepared to kill us for trying to save lives, and do the right thing.”

  She took a deep breath and set her shoulders back before continuing.

  “Brandon shouldn’t have killed her because it wasn’t his right. Everyone in this Silo deserved to tear her apart. She deserved to suffer. What he did was an act of kindness against someone who wanted everyone to remain a mindless slave.”

  It was so quiet Brandon could hear a pin drop in the room. No one dared to breathe.

  Carol was considered a hero, just like Brandon and Percy. So for her to get up there and say this stunned the entire room.

  Especially Brandon.

  He couldn’t believe it. She didn’t hate him because he was a murderer. She hated him because he was too kind to his mother. She hated him because she didn’t get a chance to rip into Jodi herself.

  All this time, Brandon thought Carol saw him as a monster.

  But in reality, Carol had become a monster in her own right. And she wasn’t afraid to hide it.

  “Do you… feel Brandon Tran should be found guilty for murder?” his attorney asked tentatively. He realized things were going south, and if he wanted to maintain Brandon’s reputation in the eyes of the people, he needed to recover Carol’s good graces.

  “No,” Carol said without hesitation. “Brandon Tran is a hero, and he saved us all. I believe he thought he was acting in everyone’s best interests, and he may have been. But he denied us our chance at vengeance. That’s what he’s guilty of.”

  Wide-eyed, Brandon’s attorney turned to the judge. “No more questions, your honor.”

  The prosecution opted to not question the witness.

  3

  The next morning Brandon Tran was found not guilty by his peers. He expected as much, but there was still much celebration and pats on the back.

  He knew when he insisted on the trial that there was a strong chance he wouldn’t be found guilty. But it was a relief to have it finished.

  So when he went into his office to begin working, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Percy waiting for him.

  “Sheriff Tran,” Percy said. He made it a point to address him by his title when others were around, such as Brandon’s deputy sitting at his desk. The deputy was a young man named Randall Sharp from the mids, and was one of the first to throw his name in to become part of Brandon’s new deputies.

  Brandon admired his eagerness, and acknowledged it may be something that would be needed as the Silo adapted to its new atmosphere.

  “Mayor Cooper,” Brandon replied. “What can I do for you?”

  “The new head of IT has been requesting a meeting with both of us, but I told her she needed to wait until the trial was finished,” Percy said. “She’s rather insistent, as I’m sure you know. Is now a good time to travel down and meet with her?”

  Brandon’s lip twitched in a smile. Shannon had determinedly taken over the IT department immediately following Jodi’s death. Jodi had been grooming the young woman as her shadow, so the transition wasn’t difficult. But Shannon was nothing like his mother; she had already promised to share any and all information she found.

  And if she was so insistent, she must have found something good.

  Brandon turned to Randall. “How are things today, deputy?”

  “Nothing that needs our immediate attention, sheriff. If something comes up I can send a message or a porter.”

  “Thank you,” Brandon replied before turning back to Percy. “Shall we?”

  ****

  When Percy stopped outside the doors to the infirmary, Brandon knew he had been duped.

  “Why are we here?” he whispered as they approached the doors.

  “I got a message saying medical visits have been up, and that Carol needed to speak to me about it,” Percy said. “No other details. I want you here in case it’s something serious, and we have to take action sooner rather than later.”

  “You could have at least warned me!” Brandon said, trying to keep his voice down.

  “Could I?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow. “I think your deputy may have found a meeting on your schedule if I did.”

  “Are we even meeting with Shannon?”

  “Yes,” Percy said as he rolled
his eyes. “I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you all the stops we were going to make.”

  Brandon grunted through a clenched jaw.

  He let Percy take the lead as he stayed a step behind. And the moment he saw Carol’s cold demeanor, he wished he could turn around and run.

  A small laugh escaped his throat but died before it reached his lips. He had gone into the decaying Silo 8 to save a stranger and his Silo, fought people who went insane, and marched from the bottom of the Silo to the top to rebel against the stranglehold his mother held over the Silo.

  But now… now he was afraid to face a woman he had been interested in. A woman who scorned him for killing his mother, not because it was wrong, but because she had wanted to share in the vengeance.

  The whole situation reminded him of a Greek myth, but he couldn’t think of which one.

  “Mayor Cooper. Sheriff Tran,” Carol said. The formal greeting wasn’t lost on Brandon, especially since they never reached an agreement like he did with Percy.

  “Carol, glad to see you’re doing well,” Percy said. “You called for me, but weren’t very specific. I asked the sheriff here in case there was another incident with the plague.”

  “No, nothing like that,” she said, shaking her head. “You could have come alone.”

  Brandon’s stomach tied itself in knots. “I could leave, if you prefer.”

  He attempted to sound sincere, but was fairly certain it came off as bitter more than anything else.

  But if it did, Carol didn’t let it faze her.

  “No need, I can speak to you both,” Carol said. “Mayor, we’ve been getting lots of patients… asking questions. About the lottery.”

  Percy’s mouth fell open, and for a moment was silent. And when he did speak, all he managed to say was, “Oh.”

  “I think it’s a side effect of these chemicals being in the air so long,” she continued. “We’ve spent generations not questioning or even whispering about the Pact, and now that everyone is suddenly waking up they’re starting to wonder why things are the way they are.”