“Then there’s a chance they could say no?”
“There’s always that risk.”
“But they owe us! We saved their skin with the vaccine.”
“They didn’t ask us to. We chose to. If you choose to make a charitable act, I’m not sure the receiving party owes you anything – it was your choice.”
“But that should still count for something, right?”
“Of course. Let’s just settle down and wait for their decision. It’s theirs to make, not ours.”
“If the tables were turned, we’d take them in.”
“That may or may not be, but it doesn’t have anything to do with what’s right for them. I understand their concerns. They’re a tight-knit group, and they’ve built something special here. It’s going to take a lot for them to risk upsetting that by inviting a big unknown in. So cool your jets and we’ll see what happens.” Duke raised his arm and sniffed his shirt with a look of disgust. “River water didn’t do much for these clothes. Maybe we can talk Glenda into scrubbing them with some real soap? I feel like I rolled in hog slop even after my bath.”
“This is so frustrating after all we’ve done.”
Duke shrugged. “Welcome to the real world. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes life punches you in the face.” He looked over at the dining area through a wide doorway. “Smells like Glenda’s fixing up another feast for us. We could do worse.”
“The food is amazing. I’d almost forgotten what a real meal tastes like.”
Duke’s expression grew more serious and he studied his boots before looking up at Edwin with a sad smile. “Well, enjoy it, youngblood. Nothing in this life lasts longer than a blink.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Chapter 35
Salem, Oregon
Ruby watched the attack on Salem with Peter and twenty-two other survivors from their hidden vantage point in the hills across the river, west of town. They’d found the others by following their trails, which Peter had been surprisingly good at. The group was evenly mixed female to male – most of the survivors had been young and fit and thus able to outrun the Blood Dogs, unlike their older counterparts. There were only five weapons among them all, and precious little ammo, but they’d been able to night fish and live off berries and roots, so while constantly hungry, they hadn’t starved.
“Good God,” Peter exclaimed when the first wave of gunmen overran the Blood Dogs’ positions with the break of dawn. “Who is that?”
They’d been awakened by the boom of mortar rounds exploding and had watched in stunned silence as much of Salem’s historic district was decimated by blasts. Ruby hadn’t dared to hope that the assault might be being carried out by Lucas’s men, but as she watched the methodical tactics and the seemingly endless barrage, she became convinced that he’d arrived with his Seattle force and was taking the gang out to the woodshed.
“Might be a friend of mine. We’ll have to wait until the dust settles to know for sure, but it’s probably him.”
Ruby had told the rest that Lucas was likely en route, partially to build optimism as well as to give them a reason to stay put. There had been forceful discussion by the younger folks about leaving the area and heading out to the coast, which Ruby had quashed with her stories of Lucas and his unbeatable rebel army.
Now it appeared that her tales had been accurate – by afternoon the battle was clearly over, and the only sound was that of occasional shooting as the last of the enemy holdouts fought skirmishes against the conquering force.
“What do we do now?” asked Erica, a plain girl of seventeen.
“We don’t do anything. Stay put. I’ll go into town and see if my suspicions are correct. If it’s Lucas, I’ll return. If it’s someone else…well…all I can say is listen to Peter and don’t do anything rash.”
Peter shook his head. “I’m going with you.”
Ruby scowled at him. “No. You’re needed here, Peter. Somebody has to mind the store while I’m gone.”
“It’s not up for discussion,” he said obstinately.
“You’re right. I’m going down there alone.” Ruby’s tone softened. “Please. Don’t fight me on this. They need you more than I need a well-dressed friend to walk with,” she teased, alluding to his camouflage fatigues.
He regarded her with a hurt expression and then relented. “If it was anybody else…”
Ruby touched his arm in gratitude. “Thank you, Peter. I’ll be fine. And hopefully I’ll be back.” She handed him her rifle. “Watch that for me, will you? It won’t do me any good against that lot if they’re not friendlies.”
“Ruby…”
She spun and made for the game trail that led down to the flatlands and the road into town, never looking back, her thick mop of gray hair floating behind her like a cloud.
Lucas was hunkered down, using an abandoned car for cover, along with fifty of his fighters in the buildings behind him. Their objective was a warehouse that was being used to imprison the surviving Salem locals, if two of their Blood Dog prisoners’ accounts could be believed. Sam was crouched behind another vehicle – a tow truck that was barely more than rust – and they were exchanging fire with an unknown number of gang members holed up in the warehouse.
“What now?” Sam asked.
Lucas and Sam’s fear was that eventually one of the Blood Dogs might figure out that they had a bargaining chip with the survivors, and would inevitably try to use that to their advantage.
“We wait for them to slip up,” Lucas said, echoing the refrain he’d been repeating since they’d gotten there. “Eventually they’ll run out of ammo.”
“They could kill everyone first.”
“Why would they use up their bullets on unarmed civilians when there’s an army out here? Think, Sam. It isn’t logical.”
“They’re ex-cons and murderers. They might not behave logically.”
“They’re cornered rats, but even rats have a survival instinct. We just need to make the right argument.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lucas looked over his shoulder and yelled to his troops, “Hold your fire!”
The shooting stopped, leaving him with ringing ears and a throbbing headache. Lucas cupped his hands and called out to the warehouse, “You’ve lost the fight. You’re the last of the Blood Dogs here. Now you have two choices. Surrender, in which case we’ll treat you fairly, or keep fighting, in which case the grenade launchers are next, and nobody will walk out of there alive.”
Sam grabbed Lucas’s arm. “What the hell are you doing? They’ll kill them!”
Lucas shrugged off Sam’s grip. “Cut this out and use your brain, Sam, or you’re of no use to anyone, yourself included.”
Sixty seconds went by, and then a voice called from one of the broken windows, “We’ve got two hundred hostages in here. We’ll kill them all if you don’t let us walk.”
Lucas waited a moment and then called out again, “Go ahead. You’ll be joining them in hell within minutes.”
Sam’s expression was pained. “Lucas!”
“Shut up, Sam,” Lucas hissed.
The voice yelled again. “We mean it. They’re all dead unless you let us go.”
Lucas’s laugh was loud. “Go where? You’re surrounded, and we’re about to nuke you and your hostages. Either you surrender or die. What you do with your hostages doesn’t matter to me – I’ll kill them if you don’t. So you want to die or live? I’m getting impatient. Choose one.”
Realization washed over Sam’s face. “If they think you don’t care, they have no value…”
“You get the gold star,” said Lucas.
“What if they kill them anyway?”
“They won’t. No reason to now.”
Sam glared at him and then looked away. “I sure hope you’re right. You’re playing fast and loose with our loved ones. People’s families.”
“And Ruby. If you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”
The
voice called out from the warehouse, “How do we know you won’t gun us down?”
Lucas yelled back, “Got no reason to. If I want to kill you now, I’ll just blow the place up. What’s it going to be? Live to see tomorrow, or meet your maker today? All the same to me. I’m out of patience. Make the call.”
Less than thirty seconds later, the front doors opened and a stream of gang members exited with their hands in the air.
“Stand over by the wall until the place is empty,” Lucas instructed. The men complied, and when no more came out, Lucas’s men emerged from their cover and began binding the men’s wrists. Lucas and Sam entered the warehouse, leading with their weapons, and found what remained of Salem’s townspeople caged like animals in holding areas, the women sobbing in relief, the few men silent and impassive.
“That’s everyone?” Sam demanded.
One of the caged men spoke up. “They butchered most of us when they took over. We’re it. They used us for slave labor…and the women…as…”
“Has anyone seen an older woman named Ruby? Is she in here?” Lucas asked.
“No.”
Lucas’s shoulders slumped at the news, and then he took a deep breath and squared them. “All right. We’ve taken Salem back. You’re free. Sam here will unlock the pens, and you can return to your homes.”
“I want to kill them,” the prisoner snarled.
“We’ll set up a tribunal where you can say your piece. Any of the gang who abused you, you can accuse, and we’ll mete out justice. Nobody’s going to get away with anything. You have my word.”
“I can save you a lot of time. Kill them all.”
“Maybe. But we’ll do things my way. Name’s Lucas, by the way. We drove the Portland bikers out of town for you, and now these scum. I won’t break my word, but I won’t allow a lynching, either.”
Lucas strode from the warehouse, lost in thought, and made for the area near the courthouse and jail that Art was setting up shop as headquarters, with the prisoners behind bars and under heavy guard. When he arrived, a voice called out from behind him.
“Lucas!”
Lucas spun to find Ruby running toward him. He swept her up in his arms and hugged her tight, and then released her. She looked up into his eyes, hers brimming.
“I see you finally decided to make it,” she said.
He gave a half shrug. “Ran out of things to do in Seattle.”
“Took your time, didn’t you?”
“Got here fast as I could.” He paused. “You all right? Where were you?”
“I’ve been better, but yes. I’m fine. I was with a handful of folks who escaped, hiding up in the hills. I’ll go back and bring them down.”
“Might want to wait a few more hours till we’ve cleaned up downtown. Could be more of the gang hiding out.”
“Okay. I’m in no rush. Still got plenty of light. Although I could use a horse.”
“You can probably go find your own. The gang kept all the animals in a stable they set up over by Waldo Park. You know where that is?”
“Of course. I’ve been here for weeks.”
“Good. That area’s already been cleared by Art’s troops. It’s safe to head over there.”
“Art’s with you?”
“He’s around here somewhere.”
Ruby blinked twice and cleared her throat. “What are you going to do?”
Rifle shots from west of them echoed like fireworks, and Lucas exhaled heavily. “Sounds like there are still a few things to tidy up.”
“I’ll let you get to it, then.”
Lucas hesitated. “Good to see you again, Ruby. I knew you wouldn’t let them get you.”
“It takes more than an invasion by a tide of human filth to keep me down.”
He studied her face and smiled. “I never doubted it.”
Ruby went in search of a horse, and Art approached him. “Got an interesting tidbit of how the gang made it this far north.”
“Yeah?”
“Railroad.”
Lucas’s eyebrows rose. “You’re kidding. How?”
“An old steam locomotive. They had one in Sacramento, but the thing crapped out hauling men to ambush us.”
“Lucky for us.”
“The luckiest part is that the engineer is one of the men we captured. He was hiding in the coal bin.”
“Smart. He all ganged up?”
“Doesn’t look like it. He claims he was forced into duty. From what we’ve seen of how the gangs play, that sounds feasible.”
“But the train’s dead now?”
“That’s the most interesting part. He says he was doing more repairs on it, and that he can get it running again. Maybe not a hundred percent, but good enough to be serviceable.”
Lucas looked thoughtful. “That could come in handy transporting troops. Lot faster than a horse.”
“I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if there’s a railroad map anywhere in town.”
“Could cut our time to Shangri-La by weeks, depending on how fast it’ll go.” Lucas rubbed the scruff on his face. “I want to talk to this guy.”
“I figured you might. We separated him from the rest. He’s the only one who isn’t covered in prison tats.” Art smiled. “Glad to see Ruby made it.”
“Definitely a relief.”
“I told you she’s tough.”
“She’s definitely been through a lot. Let’s go see the engineer.”
Chapter 36
Salem, Oregon
Lucas, Ruby, and Peter stood by the shortwave transmitter as Lucas’s operator listened through headphones on the channel Shangri-La monitored. They’d rigged an antenna to a water tower, which the operator had assured them would work, but after forty-five minutes of trying, they’d been rewarded with nothing for their efforts but silence.
“Maybe they’re busy,” Peter said.
“Elliot always has someone at the radio,” Ruby said. “Always.”
“Could be a hardware problem.”
Ruby shook her head. “No. They must already be on the trail and aren’t monitoring anymore. He said they were packing up last I talked to him.”
Upon her return, Ruby had informed Lucas that Shangri-La was relocating to Provo, and she thought they were en route. Lucas had insisted they try communicating anyway – there was always the possibility that they were using the radio while on the road as well, given that they had solar.
“Crap. I really wanted to talk to Sierra,” Lucas said.
“Looks like a minor destination change,” Ruby said.
“The good news is that it’s not as far as Colorado, I suppose,” Lucas allowed. He looked away. “I wonder if there are any railroad tracks to Utah from here?”
“What?” Peter asked.
“Nothing. Just thinking out loud.”
Lucas left them and went to where Clark was being held captive. He entered the cell and sat across from the man. “You told Art the engine’s busted, but you’re repairing it. How long would it take to finish the repairs?”
“Maybe another day or two. Why?”
“How dependable would it be?”
“Depends on how much weight it’s carrying and how fast it has to go. A bunch of factors. There’s no easy answer until I see how they hold.”
“Let’s say you kept it to a steady twenty miles per hour. But over mountains.”
“That gets complicated. Obviously gravity increases the strain on the engine, so you can’t haul as much.”
“I figured.”
Clark’s eyes narrowed. “What mountains are we talking about?”
“How well do you know the rail system between here and Salt Lake?”
Clark whistled softly. “Pretty well. It used to be my hobby. That’s a hell of a grade between here and Reno.”
“That’s why I’m asking. Is there rail all the way?”
“Sure. We might have to switch some tracks a few times, but it’s doable.”
“So back to my question. How m
any cars could you reliably pull without blowing the engine up?”
“Depends on how well the repairs hold. I was rushed by the gang on the last ones. If I really take my time, I don’t know, maybe seven or eight fully loaded?”
“So if we had one with the horses and equipment, we could carry how many men?”
“Comfortably?”
“Not necessarily. How many from a weight perspective?”
“Maybe…six or seven hundred. Eight might be pushing it.”
“How confident are you that it would hold up for the trip?”
“Like I said – depends on how much time I have to make sure the welds are perfect. The shaft shouldn’t be a problem. It held up under double that much weight. It’s the boiler that’s the issue. But I’m thinking if I can find some steel plates and weld those on the inside rather than patching the holes from the outside, that would hold better. Hell, you may even be able to get ten cars on it with no problem if I’m right.”
“Why didn’t you do that before?”
“They were in a hurry.”
“We are too. But not so big a one that we want it jury-rigged. Better to get it done right the first time.” Lucas stood and held Clark’s stare. “I’ll pay you four ounces of gold and release you as a free man once we’re in Utah if you’ll do this – provided nobody comes forward and accuses you of murder or rape. So my question to you is, are you clean, or do you have something to hide?”
“I’m not one of them, if that’s what you’re asking. I told you – they held a gun to my head.”
“Then you’re in the clear. How many days you figure you need?”
“Depends. If I can find something I can cut apart with my torch and use for patch material, the actual welding shouldn’t take more than a day. Although I want to patch all the holes, not just the ones that gave.”
“Fine. I’ll assign two men to help you with whatever you need.”
“Then I’m free to go?”
“Unless you want to stay in this hole.”
“And you’re serious about the gold?”
The Day After Never - Legion (Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller - Book 8) Page 19