Fall, Rise, Repeat

by Matthew Schneider

  McConnell stepped out from behind James. “We will not let those dirty Knights kill another Outlaw! This is a new beginning! A chance to take what is ours and put those dirty scoundrels in the ground!”

  And from behind McConnell, Thor paced slowly. He stepped in front of James. In his right hand he gripped a rifle. He raised it, then pointed the barrel into the air, and gave a hearty grunt.

  The room filled with energy as people cheered and moved about. Tankards bounced up and down to match the pulsing pattern of Thor’s rifle. Fists shook like rockets and feet stomped like explosions.

  Thor turned to face James. “Thanks for the hand, old pal. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he spoke, and returned to his office. James smiled to himself and looked to McConnell. McConnell had no expression on his face.

  McConnell stared at James for a moment, but a fanatic movement at the side of the room caught his attention. Lynyrd had rushed in, confused by the commotion, and looked almost afraid. McConnell tapped James on the shoulder and pointed to Lynyrd, indicating he was going to talk to him.

  McConnell moved through the ocean of angered men and greeted Lynyrd with a firm handshake.

  “What in th’world is goin’ on here?” Lynyrd chuckled, amused by his previous fear of the chaos.

  “We are going to war, my friend,” McConnell replied, smiling lightly.

  Lynyrd did not smile. His mouth hung open and he furrowed his eyebrows. “Hell nah,” he said, his top teeth sticking out. “We lost too many! Who’s idea was this?”

  McConnell put his mouth to Lynyrd’s ear. “Ace was murdered today. Before that, three others. And prior to all that, your friend Xavier was almost killed. It is time we strike. Thor just announced it.” Lynyrd cowardly stood beneath McConnell.

  Lynyrd shook his head. “This’s just a useless battle to gain power.”

  McConnell cocked his head back and gave a confused look. His moustache twitched. “Either we fight this, or everybody fucking dies. It’s not your decision, anyway. I’m sure even Xavier would fight. How’s that kid doing?”

  Lynyrd clenched his jaw and walked through the doors leading to the operating room. He waved his hand for McConnell to follow him. The hallway was short, with only two rooms: the “operating” room and a janitorial closet.

  Lynyrd swung open the door to the operating room and held it for McConnell. McConnell walked through and stopped in his tracks. He had never seen Zav.

  The two doctors were still in the room, doing God knows what, but stood to greet McConnell. “Pleasure to see you, Rodney,” said one doctor. He wore a light blue surgical mask around his mouth, muffling his words.

  “Yeah, Rodney McConnell. And since a man deserves a little respect around here, you’ll call me McConnell. Anyways, tell me about this kid,” he choked out, and pointed to Zav.

  “Right, sorry. He’s doing fine. Hard to know for sure what might be wrong, since we don’t have any fancy equipment, but he’s not doing too bad. Also, pretty sure he’s asleep, but I don’t know if he’s woken from the noise.” The doctor bent over and placed a hand on Zav’s shoulder, giving him a light tap.

  Zav shifted on the table and moaned. He opened his eyes and looked up. “Hey, Doc,” he whispered, and turned his head towards the open door. “Who’s that man?” he asked, looking at McConnell.

  “McConnell. I’m a superior here, usually in charge of organizing raids. Came by to see how you’re doing.”

  Zav sat up and rested on his elbows. “Raid? Are we raiding somebody?” Zav asked.

  “The Knights. You remember them? You ran over one of their members” McConnell said, his voice flat.

  Zav’s face went blank. His face turned pale and he laid back down. The doctor gave McConnell a dirty look and grabbed a towel from a side-counter. He dunked it into a sink of water and folded it. The doctor placed it on Zav’s forehead and put his hands on his hips.

  “Kid probably has post traumatic stress. Don’t make him go through it again.”

  Zav’s face returned with color and he took a deep breath. “My mind begins to go blank, and then I just think about that burning kid. I still can’t believe I did that,” Zav said quietly, his eyes staring at the ceiling.

  The doctor rolled his eyes and turned away from McConnell. McConnell moved closer to Zav. “Bud, those Knights are murderers. Monsters. Don’t feel bad for it. Besides, they’ve been killing our men. Our friends. He deserved it.”

  Lynyrd stepped in front of McConnell and puffed up his chest. “Get out!” he ordered, but McConnell crossed his arms and stepped around Lynyrd, standing next to the table.

  “Hey, kid, why don’t you come with us tomorrow on the raid. Use some of your built up rage to take out those Knights,” McConnell suggested, smirking.

  “No!” Lynyrd and the doctor said at the same time, the doctor ushering around the table, standing before McConnell and pointing to the door. “Out!”

  McConnell stepped back, not intimidated, but bored. “Kid, think about it. Think about those monsters. Think about mowing them down with a machine gun. We got that – a machine gun – your call.” McConnell pushed past Lynyrd and strided out of the room and down the corridor.

  The doctor looked at Lynyrd. Lynyrd looked at Zav. Zav said nothing. His face was expressionless. “He’s got a point,” Zav then said, speaking slowly.

  “You are not well enough to fight, sorry,” said the second doctor.

  Zav rolled his eyes and sat up. “I started this, if you think about it. I should end it.”

  “You must be high from the pain. Lay down, Zav, get some rest,” the first doctor ordered, removing his surgical mask.

  Zav swung his legs around to the side of the table, but Lynyrd was standing in front of him in an instant. “Lyn, you’ve been a great friend, but I want to help. Look guys, I’m healthy enough!” Zav said as he stood up. His knees wobbled, and he gripped the side of the bed tightly.

  “Get’he hell off y’ur high horse, Zav. You’ll kill y’urself out there. Sit down and let them doctors care for you,” Lynyrd demanded. His voice was becoming shaky, riddled with anger and distraught. “Fuckin’ McConnell to mess things up!”

  Zav looked Lynyrd in the eyes and held his trance. “Let me through.”

  Lynyrd shook his head.

  Zav raised his hands and placed them on Lynyrd’s shoulder blades, his fingers digging in. “Get out of the way, Lynyrd.”

  Lynyrd stared blankly and moved aside, not believing what he was witnessing. Zav licked his lips and breathed heavily. Color was disappearing from his face, but he continued walking. He stepped out of the operating room, turned the corner, and put one foot in front of the other until he was at the end of the short corridor, and gave the door a hard shove. It swung open.

  An orchestra of a thousand random noises hit him at once, and he stood awestruck. His arms rested at his side, and he teetered forward. The metal door swung back and hit his feet, bringing him back into reality. He shook his head and and stepped into the lounge.

  An Outlaw with a tankard full of a bronze liquid came up to Zav. “You want a drink or something, kid?”

  Zav shook his head. He kept shaking his head for an unreasonable amount of time afterward until he felt the Outlaw had gotten the point. “Who’s in charge around here?”

  “Aye, that’d be Thor. His office is on that side of the room, you see?” the Outlaw chuckled.

  Zav nodded his head, and the Outlaw turned away and lifted his drink into the air. Zav continued to nod his head until he felt he had made his point, although nobody was watching. He teeter-tottered to Thor’s office door and kicked it open.

  Thor was sitting at his desk, his eyes closed. They opened wide when he saw Zav standing awkwardly in the doorway, swinging his arms like a child.

  “Come in,” Thor said, blinking profusely.

  “Thanks,” Zav said, but didn’t walk into the room. Thor sniffed and itched his nose.

  “Come in, I said,” Thor repeated.

  “
I am,” Zav replied, blinking and looking down. He realized he hadn’t walked into the room yet.

  “The doctors let you out? You don’t seem too good,” Thor asked, walking to Zav to help him to a seat. Zav sat down and looked at Thor.

  “You’re in charge? Good. I’m going with you to kill the Knights.”

  Thor choked on his saliva and laughed. “You’re kidding, correct?”

  Zav nodded his head. “I’m just kidding,” he smiled. “When do we head out?”

  Thor stared at Zav. He looked down at his desk and rubbed his head. “Uh...tomorrow morning.”

  “I’ll be there, sir. Yes sir, I will. McConnell told me I get to man the machine gun,” Zav chirped.

  Thor hit his head against his desk. “Damnit McConnell!” he grunted. He looked up and smiled to Zav. “I’ll tell you what. You can come with us, and...uh...I’ll let you ride with me. And you can shoot as many Knights as you want.”

  “Good. I hate them with a passion. They’re monsters. I’m glad we cleared that up. My head hurts, so I’m going to take a nap. Right here. I’ll talk to you later, For.”

  “It’s Thor,” Thor said, and watched Zav close his eyes and drift into a slouched sleep. Thor sat back in his chair. He exhaled and watched the clock.

  Chapter 5

  Zav opened his eyes slowly. He was laying on the cold ground of Thor’s office. He rolled from his side and stared up at the ceiling. His memory of yesterday was almost nonexistent, like it was a dream. Maybe it was a dream.

  Zav straightened up and sat with his legs crossed. His head was throbbing, but he felt more relaxed than he had previously. His flesh wounds were bandaged and healing. He stood up and made for the door, stopped by a voice.

  “Kiddo, how are you feeling?” Thor asked, and Zav turned around to see him sitting at his desk. Lynyrd was standing next to the desk with his arms crossed.

  “I’m ready to head out, sir. I think I remember the doctors telling me the injuries aren’t as bad as they first thought they were,” Zav said quietly, smiling. He felt his jaw with his hand and rubbed his chin.

  “Lynyrd here negotiated with me. We decided that we’re going to let you lead the raid on the Knights. How does that sound?”

  Zav opened his eyes wide and gasped. “That sounds like a bad idea! I just wanted to fight…”

  Lynyrd spoke. “Zav, you had a lot of conf’r’dence yesterday, where did all ‘dat go?”

  “Uh, I don’t know. You should know more than anyone that I wasn’t myself yesterday,” Zav responded, sitting down in the chair behind him.

  “Well, past behind us, we know you can do it. You’ll give the motivation the others need. We’ll give you a weapon, you can yell a whole bunch, and then we’re going to execute the Knights. Okay? You don’t even have to kill,” Thor explained.

  Zav’s lip quivered and his eyes pierced Thor. “We’re going to execute them?”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean that. Just put them under our rule and the rulebreakers will see a better life.” Thor rubbed the back of his head with his palm, not making eye contact with Zav.

  “But are all of the Knights actually bad people? I don’t want us to kill people just to kill. I’ve lost someone who was close to me and I don’t think it makes sense to just take life away when there’s so little left.” Zav’s eyes filled with tears and and he sat back. He clenched his jaw and covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes glanced towards Thor.

  “Listen, kid. I’ve lost someone close to me too. And...then some other things happened. But we’re not talking about killing the innocent. We’re at war. These people are monsters. I mean, you’re getting so upset but you started all this chaos by killing someone! Now we must finish it.”

  Zav shook his head. “That was an accident! I just don’t see how we can kill people and pretend to be decent people!”

  “That’s war, Zav. Sure, we can sit around with our thumbs up our asses and wait for them to murder us, or we can fight a righteous war and end those fuckers from terrorizing anybody else. Nobody is going to stop them otherwise, or us,” Thor said. He licked his lips and leaned forward. “Trust us, Zav.”

  Zav wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “I guess I get it. I don’t want to kill. I’ll go and be the hero you want me to be. But taking a life doesn’t seem the same after what happened to Ivan.”

  Lynyrd walked to Zav and put his arm around his shoulder. “Let’s go. The men are waiting.”

  Zav and Lynyrd walked through the lounge doors and were greeted by the hoard. There was some minor cheering, and Zav smiled and waved to where he thought the noise was coming from.

  Thor followed the two. He was holding the same rifle in his right hand and he raised it into the air as though it was a symbol of their tribe. “Go! Roll out! Pack into vehicles and take Interstate 74 down to Highway 9 and right into Shelbyville,” barked Thor.

  The men in the room dispersed as they went out the front doors of the junkyard building. Zav stuck close to Thor as he followed him outside. They jogged around the back of the building where a surplus of vehicles were located. There was one truck in particular that caught his attention: a rusty, red pickup truck.

  “That’s Lynyrd’s truck. We should take it,” suggested Zav, and pointed to it, hoping Thor would see.

  Thor ran his tongue along the top of his teeth and huffed. “You wanted a big machine gun, right?”

  “I don’t remember saying that, actually.”

  Thor looked at Zav and squinted. “That’s right, you were all loopy when you said that. Well, I’ve got a truck, a big ol’ armored truck that looks like it’s straight out of Mad Max, and we’re going to take that. I would still like you to arm the gun even if you don’t want to shoot it.”

  Zav nodded his head and followed Thor further through the line of vehicles. Right in the back was a large piece of candy of a vehicle. It was a modified Oshkosh Gurkha with a mounted Browning 1919A4. The truck was a reflective silver, almost like chrome.

  “Damn,” Zav said, his mouth gaping open. “I think they’ll be scared just to see us driving that.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Thor responded, taking out his keys and unlocking the truck. “You can climb in the back and crawl up to the gun. We’ve loaded plenty of ammunition, but I don’t think you’ll need it...or want it.”

  “Shotgun! Hehe!” laughed Lynyrd, who was toting a pump-action shotgun. He walked around the truck and climbed in the passenger seat. Thor was the last one in and started the truck.

  There was a rumble as the vehicles around them came to life and people started pulling out. The Gurkha roared and Zav placed his hand on the gun to feel it shake.

  Thor spun the wheel and turned out the gate. He accelerated down the road and turned onto Interstate 74. The vehicle picked up speed and Zav gasped as the wind filled his mouth. He ducked behind the gun to avoid the wind and took a breath in.

  The Gurkha paced itself down the interstate, and a convoy of other vehicles covered the road like wild dogs chasing down prey.

  The group was reaching its exit ramp. Thor slammed his fist down on the horn to signal their turn. He pushed his foot down on the accelerator and the engine roared like a mighty lion. The vehicle picked up an immense amount of speed and they exited the highway.

  “God dammit boys, get ready for the fight of your lives!” Thor screamed, and Zav ducked behind the gun. He was, to say the least, not prepared for what was to come.

  He could see a flood of white Knights coming out of nearby buildings. They rounded a curve and traveled through a neighborhood.

  “Gonna be a damn battlefield out here,” Lynyrd called up to Zav from the small space between the passenger seat and the gunner’s seat.

  An echo of gunshots rang out from deeper in the town, and trucks sped up around the Gurkha, moving out of their formation and down individual streets.

  There were screams and Zav panicked. His eyes darted around to search for someone in pain, but all he could see was running feet and an angry mob of
townspeople. However, these were not just townspeople. Most of the inhabitants were part of the Knights – identifiable by the white clothing. And they were armed.

  A spray of bullets flew over Zav’s head and he dropped his shoulders. A line of sweat dripped from his brow and he held the grip of the machine gun with ape-like force.

  The Gurkha stopped at a market in the center of the town. Zav spun his seat around to see the action. Outlaws were advancing on the town, taking positions around corners and the Knights moved down the streets from outward in.

  Zav’s head twisted like an owl when he heard an explosion. A fire from a gas canister had engulfed a car. He squinted, his heartbeat increasing dramatically.

  There was a person in that fire. Zav gasped and his mind went to the image of the burning Knight.

  His pulse took off like a jackhammer and he choked. His hands twitched and his finger latched around the trigger of the gun. He positioned himself in the direction of the Knights and lined up the gun.

  His pupils dilated and his mouth hung open. “Monsters.”

  Filled with rage, his finger pulled back on the trigger without him realizing what was happening. A thousand bullets shot out like torpedos searching for their target.

  He did not resist. The first round of bullets pierced the head of a Knight, then tore through his body. They penetrated the man behind him, shattering his knees. Clouds of blood painted the road.

  Zav released his finger from the trigger and inspected his work. Four Knights laid in a pool of their own blood, fingers twitching. His face remained blank as he remembered that he was only killing monsters, not people.

  He aimed the gun at his next targets. Thor laughed and moved the Gurkha towards Harrison street, where Zav got a clear shot of a new round of Knights.

  He let his might out and screamed like he was on the front end of a rollercoaster while he fired the gun. It rattled him inside and out, and his voice wavered from the force of the gun.