That if they banded together, they could seize the Bastion and share all that gold.
Allistor had, of course, heard from the other leaders of Matthew’s efforts. He had let the man be, despite all the attacks, both physical and verbal, wanting to avoid a conflict with Matthew’s Stronghold if at all possible. But his attempts to organize an attack on the Bastion couldn’t be overlooked. With less than a month before the Stabilization was over and the aliens arrived, he couldn’t afford to let it go any longer.
Allistor took Bjurstrom, McCoy, Goodrich, and Campbell with him in one of the Juggernauts to Matthew’s Stronghold. Parking a hundred yards from the gate, he used the loudspeaker feature to call out. “Matthew, this is Allistor. I want to speak with you, peacefully.”
“Screw off!” a voice rang down from the wall. It wasn’t Matthew’s voice. Allistor waited, the guys in the back looking grim and checking their weapons.
“Hey, boss. Not that I’m complaining or anything, but if we’re gonna take on a whole Stronghold, shouldn’t we have brought one or two more guys?” McCoy asked, earning nervous chuckles from the others.
“What? I just brought you guys to guard the vehicle.” Allistor joked with them. “I mean, usually Helen and Fuzzy handle it themselves. So, if you think we need to go back and get them…” There were a couple snorts, and things quieted down as they continued to wait.
After nearly twenty minutes, the gates opened and Matthew emerged, with six armed men behind him.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” Goodrich slapped his knee. “Seven against five? They shoulda brought more guys!”
Allistor opened his door. Stepping out, he said “You guys stay behind cover. There are sure to be snipers up there.”
Bjurstrom shook his head. “You expect us to lay low while you hang your ass out there to be shot full of holes? We should be in front of you. Our job to is take those bullets, keep your royal hoity toityness alive.”
“He’s more highfalutin than hoity toity.” Campbell observed. The other two nodded their agreement.
Bjurstrom rolled his eyes. “Regardless… we can’t just sit here and watch you get killed. Amanda would have our nuts in a jar by nightfall.”
Shaking his head, Allistor said, “Guys, he’s waiting. And this isn’t the most patient man on Earth. Just do what I say. This has to be between Matthew and me. If fighting starts, dozens or even hundreds of people could die. I don’t want that. One of you get behind the wheel, and keep the engine running. If necessary, I’ll pop back here and jump in the side door. Deal?”
Not waiting for them to answer, he began to walk toward Matthew. He did so with his hands up and empty, meant to show that he intended no harm. Matthew didn’t buy it.
“We all know you don’t need a weapon to kill, boy. Why are you here? You have two minutes.”
“I’m here to talk to you, Matthew. To work out whatever issue you have with me, man to man. To stop these threats you’re making against me and my people.” he shouted loud enough for the people on the wall to hear. His best hope was that, if he had to kill this man, his people wouldn’t be inclined to seek vengeance.
“What threats?” Matthew put his arms out wide in a pose of innocence.
“Your attempts to get others to help you attack the Bastion.” Allistor stepped closer. “I’ve tolerated your bullshit, the rumors you try to circulate, the accusations. But I will not tolerate any plans to attack my people. What is your problem with me? I’ve done nothing to harm you. My people and I saved your daughter and returned her to you. What is my crime?”
“You’re trying to take over!” Matthew screamed at him, going from calm to raging in seconds. “You want to take my Stronghold. You turn my people against me! You brainwashed my daughter! She’s constantly ‘Allistor this’ and ‘Allistor that’!”
“I barely met your daughter before we brought her back to you. And I’m not trying to take your Stronghold from you! Have I taken any of the others’? I asked for their friendship, and offered mine in return. It’s that simple.”
“You stole Lars’ Stronghold!” Matthew accused.
“You’re a damn moron. Have you spoken to Lars? He requested to join me and my people. His people unanimously agreed.” Allistor lost his patience. He knew in his gut this man was never going to change his mind.
“I’m a moron? I’m a moron!?” Matthew nearly foamed at the mouth. “That’s the best you can do? That’s how you plan to undermine me in front of my people?”
“I have offered friendship. I’ve offered assistance. If you didn’t have such a stick up your ass, your people would be better off than they are now. Our year is almost over! The aliens will be landing before we know it! We humans need to stick together! Not plot against each other, kill each other off, because one of us can’t stop being a dick!”
He stopped talking as Matthew turned and grabbed a weapon from one of the men behind him. Allistor held up a hand. “Matthew, stop! If you attack me, I’ll be forced to kill you! Despite all your bullshit, I still mean you no harm! Just stop attacking my people, and the others here in Denver. That’s all I need from you!”
Matthew’s face was bright red as he struggled with the shotgun he’d grabbed. He apparently wasn’t familiar with it. Allistor cast Barrier in front of himself, then prepared to cast Dimensional Step.
“The rest of you! Stand back! I don’t want to hurt anyone, but if he points that thing at me, he’s dead. Move back!”
All but one of the men behind Matthew did just that. They all took several steps back. The only one that didn’t move back was the man he’d grabbed the gun from. Instead, he stepped forward to help his boss with the weapon, pointing out the safety.
Matthew stepped forward, raising the gun to point it at Allistor. His target disappeared just as he was pulling the trigger, and the buckshot ricocheted off the vehicle behind where Allistor had been. A second later, blinding pain ripped through his brain as Allistor cast Mind Spike from right behind him.
Drawing his knife from his belt, he stepped forward and wrapped his left arm around, grabbing Matthew’s forehead and pulling his head back while putting the knife in his right hand to the man’s throat. He spun them both around to face the men behind them, and those on the wall.
“Matthew is a dead man! You all heard me! I’ve given him every chance to back off, and he just tried to kill me! For no damn reason!” He paused, looking at the men nearby, then the folks on the wall, and those gathered in the open gateway.
“The question is, how many of you are willing to die with him?” He stood there, holding the knife as the spell wore off and Matthew began to shout.
“Kill him! Shoot him! What are you waiting for? Shoot him!” Spittle flew from the man’s mouth.
The men who’d walked out with Matthew lowered their weapons. One of those who’d stepped back said, “We don’t want any trouble. You’re right, he’s obsessed. He came out here, planning to kill you.”
“Please, don’t kill him.” a woman’s voice called from the direction of the open gate. Allistor turned himself and Matthew to face her. He didn’t recognize her initially, but as she walked closer and continued to speak, her identity became clear. “My father doesn’t deserve to die like this. He… he just can’t face what happened to my mother. It broke his mind. Somewhere in there he knows it wasn’t you, but he can’t punish Paul now that he’s dead, and it was you who brought me back without her, so his mind makes the only association it can. Please.”
Allistor spoke the words, even though his mind already told him it would make no difference. “I didn’t kill your mother. Paul did. From what I understand, it happened long before I even came to Denver.”
The man who’d answered before spoke again. “We know. Matthew and a few of us here had been going out hunting Paul’s people whenever possible. We captured one and questioned him. He told us that Paul raped and then killed Matthew’s wife.” The man paused, lowering his eyes and shuffling his feet. “He… t
ook great pleasure in giving Matthew all the details. And Matthew couldn’t help but listen. It pushed him over the edge. The way he killed that man…”
Again, the man paused. When he’d composed himself, he raised his head and looked Allistor in the eye. “Look, I know he just tried to kill you. And you’re right about his lying and plotting. All of it. But please don’t kill him. He was a good man. He personally saved the lives of many of us here. And the rest owe him a debt for taking us in and providing a safe place when we were dying off like flies. You don’t know me, and you don’t owe me a thing. But from what I’ve seen and heard, you’re a good man who values human life. So I’m asking you, on behalf of all of us here, spare his life. We’ll make sure he can do you no harm.”
“You worthless cowards! Somebody, shoot him!” Matthew roared. His enraged strength was still not enough to overcome Allistor’s. With the buff from Lilly’s armor, his Strength attribute was a seven.
“I don’t want to kill him. I came here to talk to him. And, frankly, I could have killed him a dozen times since we’ve been standing here. But I also can’t just let him go. If word gets out that I forgave an attempt on my life, the details of the situation won’t matter. It’ll be open season on me.”
The man nodded his understanding. Matthew’s daughter spoke up. “I don’t know if you even remember me. My name is Linda.”
Allistor nodded. “I remember you, Linda. From the day I brought you back here.”
“I love my father. He was a wonderful dad, and has been like a father to many of the folks here. If you’d met him before Paul took my mom, I’m sure you’d have been friends.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she spoke. She reached out a hand as if to touch her father, then hesitated before lowering it again. “But I know that he’s not that man anymore. I’ve spent all the months since you brought me back trying to get through to him. I can’t make him understand. He’s lost in the pain, and I don’t know if he’ll ever come back to me.” She paused, looking at the people up on the walls and gathered nearby. “I’ll swear an oath. You know, like the one some of the others swore to you that day you freed us. I’ll have every person here swear it as well. We’ll join you, and we’ll keep my father under control. Even if that means locking him up.”
Allistor was surprised by the offer. More than surprised. Shocked. He’d come here hoping that, best case, he could convince Matthew to stop the campaign against him. He didn’t expect to gain a thousand or more followers in the process. He still didn’t like the idea of letting the man live, but it was suddenly worth considering.
“You can deliver on that promise? All your people will swear the oath?” Allistor asked, his tone of voice revealing his doubt.
She simply looked at the men surrounding them. Each one of them nodded his head. The one who’d been pleading for Matthew’s life said, “All of us. Even if we hadn’t heard good things about you, we’d do it to save Matthew. We’ll swear the oath.”
“The hell you will!” Matthew shouted. With a sudden surge of strength, he slammed his head backward into Allistor’s face, crushing his nose and causing blood to pour out. Surprised and stunned, Allistor loosened his grip and Matthew broke free. He reached down and pulled a hunting knife from his boot and slammed it into Allistor’s gut up to the hilt. Still stunned from the blow to the face, Allistor was too slow to defend himself. He doubled over in pain, the knife blade inside him causing even more damage as he did so. When Matthew ripped the blade free, Allistor fell to his knees, placing both hands over the wound, instinctively trying to stop the bleeding and hold his guts inside.
“Noooo!” Linda shouted, reaching for her father even as two of the other man stepped forward to grab him.
Matthew kicked Allistor in the face, knocking him backward off his knees to sprawl on the ground, still trying to stop the bleeding. Allistor’s mind was screaming at him to heal himself, but he couldn’t quite manage it. It was as if the spell was hanging there in front of him, just out of reach.
“I did it! I killed the bastard!” Matthew was shouting even as he raised a foot and stomped on Allistor’s head. His health bar dropped to below fifty percent, then ticked a bit lower from the bleed effect caused by the knife wound. When the blow didn’t finish him, Matthew raised the foot again.
A single shot rang out, and the boot came down. But it landed without much force, and hit the pavement next to Allistor instead of his head. He felt a heal land on him, then another, and his head cleared enough to see Matthew lying on the street next to him, most of his own head blown away.
Allistor tried to sit up, but his stomach rebelled and he barely managed to turn his head before he vomited up his breakfast along with a considerable amount of blood. Another heal washed over him, but he just lay back down. He could hear people talking above him, but his head was still fuzzy, and the words didn’t make a lot of sense.
He could tell that Bjurstrom and the others had joined him, and all had weapons raised.
“I’m sorry.” Bjurstrom said. “He was killing Allistor. I had no choice.”
“I know.” Linda said, on her knees next to her father’s body. “You did what you had to. I think… I think maybe he wanted it this way.” The men from her Stronghold gathered behind her, lowering their weapons and bowing their heads.
Bjurstrom and the others lowered their weapons as well. Campbell took a knee next to Allistor and asked, “You okay, boss?” He slapped Allistor’s cheeks a few times, as if that would bring him around.
“Stop hitting him, genius. The man probably has a concussion from bein’ stomped.” McCoy pushed Campbell away and took his place. He examined the wound in Allistor’s gut, then cast another heal on him. “He’ll live. The gut damage is healing. I don’t know about his brain.”
Allistor managed to sit up this time, though he was still dizzy. McCoy reached out a hand and helped him to his feet, then steadied him when he wobbled. “I’m sorry, Linda.” Allistor’s words came out slightly slurred and slower than normal. He shook his head, instantly regretting it when he became nauseous again. After taking a moment to cast a heal on himself, he continued. “I didn’t want this. And I’m sorry it happened this way. But I can’t apologize for my guys defending me.”
The man who’d been speaking for Matthew stepped forward, his hand out. “We know. My name is Dillon. I know that you were going to spare his life. I saw it in your eyes before he… well, before.”
Allistor shook his head, even that small motion making him feel off balance. He resisted the urge to shake his head again.
“Good to meet you, Dillon. I wish it were under better circumstances. I want you to know that there are no hard feelings on my part.” He rubbed his still-sore gut where the knife wound had closed. He decided to ignore good sense and decorum, and push things a bit. The aliens were coming soon, and the big picture was more important than being sensitive.
“Linda, Dillon, if you and your people are still willing to take the oath, I’ll do my best to look after you the way Matthew did before he changed. I know now may not be the best time to offer this, but our time is short. We have a lot more preparing to do before the aliens arrive.”
Linda didn’t seem to hear him. But Dillon shook his head. “You’re right, this is not the time. We need to burn Matthew’s body and talk things over. If it were up to me, we’d swear the oath right now. But I can’t speak for the others after… this.” He nodded toward Linda and Matthew.
“I understand. We could stay and assist with the funeral if you like.” Allistor offered.
Linda spoke this time. “No, thank you. I think it’d be best for you to go and let us take care of things. Come back tomorrow, and we can talk then.”
Allistor felt horrible. He’d been prepared to kill Matthew himself, and though he would have regretted the need to do so, he could have lived with it. Somehow, the fact that one of his men had to do it for him made it harder to accept. Despite the certain knowledge that had Bjurstrom waited another second or two, Mat
thew would have finished him. He could find no blame for anyone other than Matthew, but his gut still ate at him. And not because of the knife wound.
“Of course. We’ll return tomorrow, around noon? And again, I wish things had gone differently. I truly do.”
He turned and led his men back to the vehicle. They piled in and backed away from the Stronghold a ways before Goodrich turned the Juggernaut around and drove away. Allistor sat in the passenger seat, supporting his head with both hands as he leaned forward.
“You okay, boss? He stomped you pretty hard.” Campbell asked.
“My head is clearing, slowly. Hurts like hell, though. I’m still a little dizzy, and I feel stupid.”
Grinning, Goodrich replied. “Hope it didn’t kill too many brain cells, boss. I mean, let’s face it. You weren’t a genius to start with.” The others chuckled, and he added. “Amanda and Helen would be pissed if we brought you back needing to be fed and diapered from now on.”
“If that happens, Goodrich, I’ll tell Andrea to make sure you’re on permanent diaper duty.” Allistor responded without moving his head. That earned some outright laughter as well as a groan from Goodrich.
The vehicle quieted instantly when Allistor continued, his voice barely audible. “I didn’t want to have to kill him. I’m so tired of killing other people. If this were still the world we grew up in, I’d be labeled some kind of serial killer or terrorist for what I’ve done. But no matter how often I look back at it all, I can’t see any other way things could have gone. At least, not without risking even more lives.”
The others all stared at him, or down at their own hands. Goodrich focused on the road ahead.
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