That was ridiculous, though, he thought and shook his head as he neared the top as well. He waited for a moment, unable to clearly see into the room from where he was, when Nyx suddenly appeared at the hatch again with a finger to her lips, urging him to be quiet.
‘He’s asleep,’ she whispered to him.
Nero smiled and started to climb out of the hatch. He found himself inside the housing for the turbine that used to be in here but had clearly been removed. It looked like the space had been divided into two, with a fabricated wall to his left with a metal door in the centre of it. The inside of the housing had been retrofitted with sheets of metal and various other materials to create a floor and thicken up the walls. He could see fabric and old foam and other bits stuffed into the makeshift cavity walls to give the place some insulation, too. Nyx stood nearby, looking a little nervous, while right in front of him, one of Rex’s guards sat in a chair against the far wall, in a deep sleep, gently snoring.
On the wall above the guard, he could see Nyx’s sword, in pride of place. To his right, a set of steps led up and out of the housing. Nero climbed out of the hatch, being careful to be as quiet as possible, and eventually stood up next to Nyx.
‘What do you think?’ Nyx whispered.
Nero looked at her wide eyed, and then at the guard. She was taking a risk talked in here, he thought.
‘Oh, don’t worry, he sleeps like a rock, as long as we whisper, he won’t wake up,’ she explained.
‘Oh. Is this…?’ Nero started to ask in a low whisper, gesturing at the room.
‘My place. My bedroom’s in there. This has been my home for the past few years. When I was younger I lived down in the complex, but as I… …developed…’ she said, gesturing to her chest, ‘Rex decided he wanted me closer, and to have me to himself…’ she said, clear disgust toward him in her voice and body language.
‘Is Rex nearby?’ Nero asked, thinking it would be a good idea to change the subject slightly.
Nyx nodded and pointed up. ‘He’s above us, playing cards with some of his guards.’
Nero looked up and gulped. He did not fancy alerting Rex to their presence here. Nero looked back at her. ‘Let’s not hang around too much then,’ he said.
Nyx nodded to him and walked over to some furniture and other bits in the corner. She picked up and put on a long old trench coat and clipped a bag to her hip before she walked up to the guard and her sword.
‘Careful,’ Nero said, feeling his heart start to hammer in his chest. This was a dangerous moment. If they woke the guard, he might alert Rex and the others nearby. Nero pulled his dagger and his gun, wanting to be ready in case something went wrong.
He watched Nyx stand as close to the guard as she dared before she reached over him and slowly took her blade in her fingers. She was at a really awkward angle that didn’t give her much leverage, and she was struggling to lift it. Nero gritted his teeth while his brow knitted together in worry as Nyx did her best to get the blade.
She wobbled, and the blade scraped along the nails that had been hammered into the walls to act as pegs that held the blade in place.
Nero looked down at the guard, and so did Nyx. The guard's eyes were open, and he was looking up at Nyx, her chest inches from his face.
Chapter 16
Nero
‘Nyx? What are you doing?’ the guard asked.
Nero sprang forward and swung his dagger at the man’s head. The guard caught the movement, though, and lifted his arm to defend himself and by chance, catching Nero’s arm.
‘What the hell?’ the guard exclaimed.
Nyx lifted her knee and planted it in the guard's chest, forcing him back into his seat as she lifted the sword from the rack.
Nero tried to yank his arm free, but the guard gripped him hard, and as Nyx stepped away, he reached for Nero’s dagger with his other hand and pulled it from him. Nero jumped back with a curse and lifted his gun. He didn’t want to fire it, mainly because it would be so loud, but also because it was a waste of precious ammunition.
There was a flash of metal and Nyx’s blade sang as it cut through the air and through the guard's neck.
Nero had his gun up and pointed at the guard, but he didn’t shoot. Instead, he held his stance and waited a moment while the guard gurgled and held his neck, before tipping to his right and falling off the chair.
Moments later, he was dead and silent on the floor with a growing pool of blood beneath him.
‘Shit,’ Nyx exclaimed.
‘We need to leave, now,’ Nero said, picking up his dagger. Nyx looked up at him and nodded. She looked quite scared. They both ran to the hatch and looked down, but saw movement down there and could start to hear the calls of the guards below.
They would have found the body at the bottom of the stairs if they were climbing up, Nero realised, which was why the alarm had been raised.
‘Can’t go that way,’ Nero said. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Sure, follow me,’ Nyx answered and ran across the room, her long coat flowing as she started climbing up the steps.
‘Up there? But isn’t Rex…’ Nero began to protest.
‘Trust me,’ Nyx called back.
Nero followed and jumped up the steps behind her, taking two or more at a time until he was up on the platform on top of the housing. The wind whipped past him up here as he looked around. They were at one end of the turbine housing, next to a curious winch and pulley system. Nyx stepped up to it and started to untie some ropes. Nero wondered what she was doing until he spotted the lift platform just beyond her, and guessed how they would make their escape.
‘Hey? Nyx? What the…’ yelled a voice from behind him.
Nero turned to see a surprisingly large and makeshift complex built atop the housing of the turbine. Sheets of metal, scaffolding and girders had been hammered, bolted and welded together to create a small house up here. It was impressive to see up close. He’d seen it from below, of course, but it was something else to see it up close. Out front of the structure, on some kind of open-air seating area, he spotted Rex, Pitbull and three others that had been sitting around a table playing card games.
As he looked, he noticed that Rex wasn’t wearing his mask and had stood up behind the table. As he focused on him, Nero suddenly realised he knew him. This was the same guy who had killed Holt and doomed his mother to a painful death out in the wastes just over twenty years ago. This was the raider who stole their truck and left Nero the car that would become his charger.
Nero stood there in shock as everything came flooding back and a new, deeper hatred for Rex swept over him. Nero registered that the guards were moving forward, including one very keen female captain of the guards who was sprinting for him, brandishing her gun.
‘No guns,’ shouted Rex. ‘Don’t hurt Nyx.’
Nero ignored him, but pointed at him and yelled in a deep voice. ‘You!’
Nero watched Rex smile. He didn’t like that look and realised that Rex already knew who he was. He probably knew the moment he drove into the courtyard as he probably recognised his car, even as modified as it now was.
Suddenly, the woman leapt up in front of him. Nero switched his focus to concentrate on the immediate danger and stepped sideways, using the woman's momentum against her and tripped her up. She hit the floor hard with a yelp as Nero stepped back.
The woman was up quicker than he expected, and pulled her gun.
‘No,’ yelled Rex from nearby, and caused the woman to falter. Nero kicked out and smashed the gun from her hand.
‘Fucker,’ the girl said.
Nero ran at her and used his greater bulk to throw her backwards. She hit the railing behind her, and tipped straight over it, falling out into mid-air and dropping like a rock with a scream that cut short suddenly.
Nero drew his shotgun and faced the four men advancing on him. Rex was at the back, with Pitbull before him and the two other captains of the guard leading the way.
‘No guns,’ Rex shout
ed again.
‘Nero,’ Nyx said from just behind him, her voice low, focused on him. ‘Come on, we need to go,’ she hissed.
Nero focused on Rex, though, and scowled at him. ‘You killed my mum.’
‘Now, now, I did not kill your mother,’ Rex said. ‘I might have killed your father, though.’
‘He wasn’t my father, but he was a good man doing his best to defend us,’ Nero explained.
‘Well, he wasn’t very good at his job, was he?’ Rex answered.
‘You cocksucker,’ Nero spat. ‘You didn’t have to kill him.’
‘I think I did, if memory serves. He tried to kill me first, right?’
‘Only after he was shot by one of your men,’ Nero countered.
Rex sighed. ‘You want to argue who shot who, you little fucker?’
‘Why don’t I shoot you and we call it quits?’ Nero smiled.
‘Nero, come on,’ Nyx said behind him. He could hear the tone of her voice. It sounded less desperate and more serious, and it gave him pause for a moment. What was he doing, he thought? Why was he arguing with this man? What was he going to achieve by standing here and shouting at him? Ultimately, nothing. Even if he did hurt or even kill Rex, the guards would tear him apart, and Nyx would be back in their custody.
He’d made a promise to Pheen to help Nyx, to get her out of here and look after her, and if he could speak to his mother now, he was fairly sure he knew what she would want him to do.
He looked back at Nyx and locked eyes with her. She was silently pleading with him, desperate for him to come with her now and get her out of here. He could see her mouth moving, quietly asking him to follow her.
Nero looked back at Rex and raised his shotgun, only for Pitbull and the guards to move and stand in his way. Movement on the left side ahead of him alerted him to the arrival of the guards who had been climbing the tower.
‘Last chance,’ Nyx said behind him.
Nero gritted his teeth. ‘Shit,’ he hissed but started to back up towards the suspended platform.
‘Running away, are we?’ Rex asked.
Nero ignored him and glanced down at Nyx. ‘Sorry about that,’ he said, as he finally let go of the anger he’d been holding onto for these last twenty years. Ultimately, it was all about what was most important to him, and although he hated Rex for what he did, twenty years is a long time, and he’d come to terms with his mother's death a long time ago. Had he stayed, both he and Nyx would have almost certainly been killed, so there was only ever really one choice.
‘Forget it. Now, hold on,’ she said, and suddenly the lift fell. The top of the watchtower shot upwards while the body of the tower slid past in a blur. Nero grabbed the handrail as Nyx applied the brakes hard. The lift hit the ground with a bang, but they had slowed down just enough and were unharmed.
‘Whoa,’ Nero exclaimed. That was a wild ride, he thought. He wondered how many times Nyx had practised that move.
‘Come on, we better get out of here,’ Nyx said and jumped off the platform. As they did, another of Rex’s Dogs ran in carrying a crowbar. Nearby, the body of the female captain that Nero had thrown off the top of the tower lay broken and bloodied. The guard looked at the body and then up at Nyx and Nero.
‘Nyx?’ he asked.
‘Sorry,’ Nyx answered him and whipped her sword up and across the man’s body. He screamed and fell backwards onto the floor, where he started to paw at his body, bellowing in pain as he tried to keep his insides from falling out of him.
Nyx paused to look down at the fallen guard. Nero could only guess as to the thoughts that were passing through her mind, but he guessed she was feeling very conflicted. Needless to say, pausing to think things through was not really a luxury they had right now.
‘Come on, we’ve gotta go,’ Nero urged. Nyx nodded and led the way into the fortress. They could hear movement and shouts from all around the Watchtower as the guards started to realise that something was wrong. Nero did his best to ignore them and followed Nyx through the corridors towards the garage. From out of nowhere, a guard smashed into Nero and threw him up against the wall while attempting to throw a punch at him, too.
The blow hit Nero on the side of the head, but didn’t really do much as its momentum was never really there. The man then rammed his forearm into Nero’s neck and went for a gut punch instead.
The strike into his midriff knocked some of the wind out of him, so Nero brought a knee up with a jerking motion and caught the attacker in the stomach.
The pause in the hits gave Nero half a second, so he reached to his side and withdrew his gun. The guard didn’t seem to notice until Nero jammed it into his stomach. The man looked down, and then back up with fear in his eyes.
Nero pulled the trigger. The noise of the gunshot was muffled by the man's body and clothes, but it was still loud enough to announce their presence to the rest of the tower.
The man fell back and doubled over, dropping to his knees where he groaned in pain.
Nyx had stopped and was moving back up with her sword ready.
‘Let’s go, he’s dead anyway,’ Nero said and led the way through the last few hallways and out into the garage where they ran for his car. It had moved slightly, and the engine was running with Ras sat in the driver’s seat, but he jumped out on seeing Nero and Nyx run around the corner.
‘Get in, get in, we gotta go,’ Nyx yelled.
‘We’re all fuelled up,’ Ras said as he climbed in the back with Nyx.
Nero nodded once to him and jumped in. ‘Ready?’ he called.
Everyone answered affirmatively, so Nero floored it. The charger’s engine roared and the wheels spun into life as Nero aimed the car towards the garage door, which had been closed but was now wide open. He assumed either Ras or Cryptus, who as in the front passenger seat, had done that.
The car shot out of the base of the Watchtower and sped into the darkness. Nero thought he saw movement in the garage as he left it behind, but he couldn’t be sure. For now, he just concentrated on the road ahead, lit up by his headlights.
‘Where we headed?’ Ras asked.
‘Anywhere,’ Nero answered him.
‘As long as it’s far away from the Watchtower,’ Nyx agreed.
The car made it down the slope and out into a wide flatter area, so Nero aimed slightly left and kept going.
‘Anyone following?’ Nero asked, peering into his side mirror.
He watched as Ras and Nyx in the back seats peered out behind them through their own dust cloud, trying to make out lights from any pursuit vehicles.
‘Aaah, shit,’ Ras said. ‘Yeah, they’re on our tail.’
‘Where?’ Nyx asked.
‘Here. Come here and look there, you see them?’ Ras said. ‘They have their lights off.’
‘Nyx?’ Nero asked, hoping that Ras was mistaken.
‘He’s right, they’re coming,’ Nyx said and slumped back into her seat. ‘Shit.’
‘What are you going to do now?’ Cryptus asked, his voice calm and curious.
‘Well they’re not getting me without a fight,’ Nero said and pushed the accelerator down a little harder to squeeze a little more juice out of it.
Chapter 17
Nero
As the landscape grew a little more rocky and uneven, the first of Rex’s pursuit team caught up with them. There was no mistaking the loud roar of motorbike engines, and as Nero peered through his mirrors, he saw them turn their lights on as they started weaving about behind him as they grew closer.
The rougher terrain forced Nero to slow slightly as he guided his charger around the rocks, while the bikes kept catching him.
‘They’re right on us,’ Ras said, checking his gun.
‘Dammit, I keep losing them behind the rocks,’ Nyx said.
‘They’re close,’ Nero said. From the looks of things, the two riders had gone out wide on either side of them. Nero guessed they would be angling back in to make a pass on them with whatever weapons they we
re carrying. ‘Don’t waste your ammo,’ Nero said to Ras.
‘I won’t,’ Ras said as he kept looking out for the attackers.
With a roar of its engine, one of the bikes shot off the top of a nearby rocky outcropping and jumped the car. Nero swerved. He hadn’t seen anything, but he didn’t like the idea that the bike was above him. If he did that, it would be to drop a bomb.
As Nero swerved left, towards the side the biker had come from, the road where they had been exploded with fire and debris. The shockwave wobbled the car, but little else as the biker dropped to the ground and veered around a rock.
‘Right side,’ Nyx shouted. Nero glanced right and saw the second bike, this one with a sidecar carrying a passenger wielding a gun, barrelling in and swerving up beside them. Gunfire erupted from the biker’s passenger, slamming into the side of the car.
‘Ugh,’ Nyx muttered.
Nero did his best to duck down as well like everyone else, hoping he didn’t crash into anything as his view of the road was obscured.
As the first bout of gunfire abated, Nero slid back up in time to see the lone biker swerve across in front of them. Nero watched her look back, the biker’s long hair flying in the wind and then drop something that bounced on the ground between them. Nero swerved right, this time towards the bike and sidecar when the second IED exploded way too close for comfort. With a crunch, the charger slammed into the side of the bike and sidecar. causing them to veer off and away. Looking left, Nero swung the wheel and moved towards the biker girl and lifted the shotgun from his lap where he’d placed it for ease of access.
He poked the gun through the window as he closed the gap on the biker. As he neared her, she looked back at him and seemed shocked that he was so close. He spotted another IED in her hand and a few more on her bike. Nero winked once and squeezed the trigger.
Blood flew, her bike pitched over, and she tumbled to the ground. Two seconds later, Nero watched a huge explosion engulf the area she’d landed in as the bombs went off.
Wasteland Road Knights Trilogy Page 13