For one split second, quiet overtook the room. Secundo grabbed Primo from behind.
“Let the man work,” he said.
Sayers could tell Primo was seething; steam practically poured from his mouth. The doctor was relieved when Primo listened to reason and stepped away from the dining table.
But not before giving Sayers a look that made his blood run ice cold.
Ten minutes later, Sayers dropped the knife onto the floor.
“It’s hopeless,” he mumbled.
Primo leaped across the trailer in two steps and grabbed Sayers by the shirt. “What are you telling me?”
“I can’t stop the bleeding.”
“You have to keep trying!”
Sayers tried to pull away from the man, to no avail. “There’s nothing else I can do for him. I swear!”
“I don’t believe that!” Primo pointed at Quattro lying prostrate on the dining table. “Look at him. He’s awake.”
It was true. Quattro’s eyes were half-open. A soft moan escaped his lips. His face was maybe the only part of his entire body that wasn’t saturated in blood.
Sayers indicated the trampled still in the middle of the room and lowered his voice. “That’s because I used the alcohol to numb him below the waist. At least he won’t be in much pain.”
He felt Primo’s grip on his shirt loosen slightly.
“You should say goodbye to your brother while you still can.”
Primo let Sayers go, and moved toward the dining table. The doctor crumpled to the floor, worn out. Primo leaned over Quattro, whose eyes flickered with sadness at seeing his big brother.
“I can’t feel my legs.”
Primo seemed to reach down deep inside and somewhere found the hint of a smile. “Maybe next time you’ll look before you jump off a moving boat.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
Quattro coughed. Blood seeped from his mouth.
Secundo and Trey came up behind Primo, trying to hide their concern at their youngest sibling’s worsening condition. Quattro clearly saw right through it.
“Bad, right?” He coughed again. More blood came up.
“I’ve seen worse,” said Primo. But Sayers would bet the man would be hard pressed to come up with an example.
Quattro reached up toward Primo. His fingers traced his brother’s mottled cheek. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused . . . .”
The effort cost Quattro dearly. His chest seized up and the most violent coughing fit yet followed. The death rattle was unmistakable.
Primo gently took his brother’s hand and held it.
“Ssshhh. Try and get some rest, Norman.”
Quattro closed his eyes.
Then his chest heaved up even higher. A huge expulsion of breath escaped his lips.
Primo whirled and glared at Sayers.
“He’s gone,” murmured the doctor.
“No.” Primo violently shook his head. “He can’t be.”
Primo threw himself on top of Quattro and began to pound his chest, trying to revive him.
Sayers, his arms drenched in sweat and Quattro’s blood, knew it was pointless to try to dissuade Primo. He watched the man try to breathe life back into his brother.
“No. You don’t die on me. Damn it! Not after all this!”
Primo buried his face in Quattro’s bloodied wounds, shrieking and sobbing. Finally, it was Trey who came over and pulled him away.
“Primo, don’t. There’s nothing to do.”
Primo straightened up. His face covered in his baby brother’s blood, he turned his malevolent eyes on Sayers.
“You. You did this.”
Sayers struggled to his feet. “I did everything I could. He was basically dead when you brought him in here. . . .”
Primo advanced toward him. “You’re dead right now!”
Thunder rumbled inside the trailer.
Primo commanded his brothers with an unholy roar. “Hold him down!”
Secundo and Trey did as ordered.
But it wasn’t necessary. Sayers couldn’t move anyway.
He was rooted to the floor, staring at the dark thundercloud that had materialized directly over Primo’s head.
Joad rode solo. Laura and Fixer were atop the gray mare.
Both horses whinnied at the roll of thunder.
“Easy,” Joad murmured to his horse.
Laura calmed her mare as well. She tossed a glance at Joad. “We’re almost there. Just over the rise.”
Joad spurred on his mount, and cantered to the top of the hill.
He came to a sudden stop at the crest. Laura pulled up beside him, reining the mare so hard that Fixer had to steady himself.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you say it was just over. . . .”
Fixer broke off. He stared down below along with Joad and Laura.
“Oh crap.”
Joad indicated the trashed Winnebago in the middle of The Flats.
“That your place?” he asked.
“Yes. Me and my stepdad.” She nodded, catching her breath. “But I’ve never seen that before.”
She was looking at the pirate ship anchored in the sand.
A black storm cloud hovered over it.
“Unfortunately, we have,” said Fixer.
EPISODE 2
6
It began to rain inside the Winnebago.
If Sayers hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought his homemade swill had finally sent him barreling over the edge. The storm cloud he’d seen form above Primo’s head had erupted in a torrential downpour, accompanied by gigantic gusts of wind. As the cloud grew larger, it threatened to swallow Sayers up whole.
The storm’s power was massive, especially in such an enclosed space. Its frightening intensity matched the anger of its creator. The cloud edges were so defined that Sayers could see them pulsing to Primo’s fury; the spurts of rain were so violent that they landed harder than any invective the grieving brother could throw at him.
Sayers stood, frozen, watching with equal awe and horror. A heavy roll of thunder finally snapped him out of it.
The ensuing lightning flash, illuminating the trailer like a night game at Wrigley Field, sent him racing for the door. Primo lunged for the doctor and missed by inches, likely fueling his fury even further as the storm cloud expanded, rumbled, and expelled heavier sheets of rain.
“Stop him!” Primo screamed at his brothers, the dead Quattro’s blood still dripping from his fingertips.
Secundo and Trey rose up like twin towers in front of Sayers, blocking his escape. The rain intensified, making it more difficult for Sayers to get a toehold on the trailer floor.
But the storm also provided an opening.
It was raining so hard that it was impossible to see. As Secundo wiped at his eyes, trying to clear them from the watery assault, Sayers used that precise moment to ram into him. He sent the huge man crashing into Trey, causing both to momentarily lose their footing. Sayers reached out blindly, groped, found the door, and crashed through it.
He tumbled to the ground that was already turning to mud, as the storm raged outside as well. Miraculously able to stay on his feet, Sayers kept running.
“Doc!”
Laura’s scream twisted Sayers around from the direction he was sprinting, but he could barely make out his stepdaughter atop Macy, her gray mare. Both had been soaked by the impromptu storm, caught unaware by the inexplicable outpouring of Primo’s rage. Sayers made a beeline toward Laura as thunder crashed and lightning lit up the ebony sky.
“C’mon, Doc!” she screamed.
As Sayers ran, he noticed a scraggly man clinging to Laura. Sayers had never seen him before and thought it was one swell time to be making a new acquaintance. Not to mention that the man was occupying the one spot that offered a safe haven from Primo and his bestial brothers.
“Who’s this?” Sayers yelled at Laura.
“A friend!”
Bloodcurdling screams pierced the sto
rm. Sayers threw a glance over his shoulder. Primo burst out the Winnebago door, screeching like a banshee, but his primal cry was gobbled up by tumultuous thunder. Lightning bolts descended from the angry heavens, fueled by the black-bearded brother’s fury. Secundo and Trey came out behind him.
Sayers whirled back to the scraggly man sitting behind Laura. “Whoever you are—get off!”
The man looked past Sayers at Primo, his expression one of absolute terror. He clung even harder to the girl’s hips.
“Absolutely not!”
Sayers reached up to grab him, determined to pull the man off the mare. But his attention was diverted by the sound of horse hooves through the sheets of rain.
A horseman emerged from the mist like an angel dropped from above. A lightning flash briefly illuminated the rider, and glistened off his gray coat and weathered face, as he brought his mount to a halt beside Sayers.
“Get on.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Does it matter?” The man was as calm and collected as if he’d been taking a Sunday ride on a horse trail.
Sayers couldn’t move. The past few hours of trauma paralyzed him.
“It’s okay, Doc! Do as he says!” Laura yelled.
His stepdaughter’s plea got Sayers going again. The doctor reached up and grabbed the gray rider’s extended hand. Sayers let himself be pulled up onto the horse. The rider spurred his mount just as lightning flashed and Primo lunged at them through the driving rain.
The rider yanked his horse to the left and kicked out with his right foot in perfect concert. His boot landed squarely on Primo’s jaw, sending the bearded man splashing into the mud. The rider yelped urgently to his horse as Sayers hung on for dear life, and they were propelled into the storm.
The doctor heard Laura scream and turned to see Secundo and Trey descend upon her. She frantically kicked her horse and the animal darted forward, momentarily derailing the two brothers.
The gray rider maneuvered his horse towards the girl. Secundo and Trey were cut off from Laura as the rider pulled hard on the reins, causing the horse to rear up on its hind legs. Sayers barely managed to hang on as the two brothers scurried in opposite directions to avoid being crushed by the two-ton animal when it crashed back down on all fours.
“Go, go, go!” the rider yelled at Laura.
The girl didn’t need to be told twice. She spurred the mare on and galloped into the deluge.
“Hold on!” the rider told Sayers.
Seeing the three brothers regain their footing and head back toward them, the doctor was happy to comply. He threw his hands around the gray-clad rider’s hips, gripped the horse tight with his thighs, and off they went. The rider swerved abruptly, executing a nifty maneuver to avoid smashing into a huge immoveable object.
Only after they had passed it did Sayers register it as a gigantic pirate ship anchored in the sand. He thought he was hallucinating. How could this possibly be? They were over a thousand miles from the nearest ocean. Then he realized it belonged to a man who could change the weather at will. He simply shook his head.
The two horses and their quartet of riders pushed on as Primo’s voice echoed above the storm.
“All of you are dead! All of you!”
Sayers heard the cries in his head long after they were swallowed up by the gathering mist.
As they emerged into the sunshine, Sayers couldn’t remember a more welcome sight.
He’d hoped that Primo had calmed down enough for the storm to have dissipated. But looking across The Flats, spotting the dark clustered clouds in the distance, the doctor feared this was merely wishful thinking.
The four of them had dismounted to let Macy and Joad’s mounts drink from a small river. Men, woman, and beasts were finally starting to dry off after Primo’s storm, but the memory of the unholy dousing would surely stick with them long after they had wrung themselves out.
As they sat on the riverbank, Laura introduced her stepfather to the two men and explained how Joad had kept Macy from running off. Sayers didn’t quite understand what Fixer had to do with anything except running afoul of the brothers the previous day. The doctor was only interested in putting as much distance as physically possible between himself and Primo. He got to his feet and told Joad as much.
“Good idea,” agreed Joad.
“I appreciate you lookin’ after Laura. Once the horses are done, we can split back up.”
That didn’t sit well with Laura, who leapt to her feet. “Why can’t we stay with Joad and Fixer?”
“We don’t know these men, Laura. Plus, we have no idea where they’re going. I think we’ve been enough of a burden on them.”
“But we can’t go back! Those men want you dead. They want all of us dead. You heard him!”
“We’ll go somewhere and let things die down. Once they do, we can circle back, pick up what we need, and find a new place to settle. It won’t be the first time. Or the last, I expect.”
“I don’t think that plan will work,” Fixer said.
Sayers looked at the man, annoyed. “I’ll let you know if I want your opinion.”
“Just saying.” Fixer pointed across The Flats. “I’m not sure you’re going to have anything to go back to.”
Sayers noticed smoke billowing below the storm clouds.
“Maybe I’m wrong, but those brothers seem like the rape-pillage-and-burn type,” said Fixer.
The doctor turned to Joad, hoping the gray rider would tell him Fixer was wrong, but Joad’s solemn nod said otherwise.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Laura asked, her lip quivering.
“Get moving,” Joad said.
He nodded again across The Flats.
“They’re coming.”
Sure enough, the storm cloud was heading in their direction. It left a tower of smoke in its wake. Flames could be seen darting up the billowing column. Angry shades of bright orange reflected off gleaming chunks of metal hurtling through the air—the remnants of the Winnebago the doctor and Laura had called home. Sayers gritted his teeth, realizing it would be a long time between drinks, fresh clothes, and nights spent on mattresses.
He turned back to Joad. “I guess there’s strength in numbers. Can we stay with you a while?”
Joad nodded. “Till we get you somewhere safe.”
“Any idea where the hell that might be?”
“Somewhere that ship can’t go.”
Joad glanced at the majestic purple mountains that rose up until they disappeared in the mist.
Laura followed Joad’s gaze and repressed a shiver. “The Fields?”
“That’s where I’m heading.”
The doctor and his stepdaughter took one last look back. The flames had given way to pitch-black smoke, indicating that the Winnebago was no more. But Primo’s storm cloud continued to steadily advance across The Flats.
Minutes later, the four of them remounted and were headed toward The Fields, filled more with trepidation than hope.
7
The ground crunched under their feet.
It had taken awhile for Fixer and Sayers to find proper wood to build a fire, but they hit the kindling jackpot when they came across the pine tree grove. Needles glistened in the setting sun, the emerald green color more vibrant in the gloaming. Untouched by human hands and saved the ignominy of being cut down, placed in a living room, and strung up with lights, the trees were overladen with pinecones. As a result, they had dropped half their trove on the forest floor, with the two men stomping on twice as many as they bent to pick up.
Fixer had taken off his overshirt and used it as a satchel to carry the pinecones. Showing Sayers, who was constantly dropping them, he advised, “You might want trying to bundling ’em up.”
“I’ve had enough of your help, thank you very much,” grumbled Sayers.
“You ain’t showing much gratitude for us saving your life.”
“It shouldn’t have been necessary.”
“What the hell
is that supposed to mean?”
Sayers waved his free arm around, indicating the majesty of the forest. “We’re only up here because of you two. I should be back in my trailer, minding my own business.”
“Is that so?”
“If Joad hadn’t shot that boy, those brothers never would’ve come looking for me.”
“They were going to snap my neck,” said Fixer.
“That’s no concern of mine.”
“I thought you guys took a Humanitarian Oath or something.”
Sayers ignored this. But when he stripped off his jacket and used it to scoop up the pinecones, Fixer couldn’t hide a smile of satisfaction.
“Don’t say a word,” warned Sayers.
They gathered up the kindling until both garments were past full, and began the long trudge back to meet up with Joad and Laura. Fixer could only stand the silence so long before he had to hear the sound of a human voice—even if it was one he wasn’t particularly fond of.
“What kind of doctor are you?”
“A retired one.”
“Okay, I get that. It’s not like you have many patients left. But what kind were you before The Seventh Day?”
Sayers answered in spite of himself. He didn’t seem so fond of the dead quiet in The Fields either.
“I was a pediatrician.”
“Never would’ve guessed that.”
“Why not?”
“The way you are with Laura. You don’t seem like the type who loves being around lots of kids.”
“We’re talking about patients. I was looking after children. They weren’t mine. And neither for that matter is Laura.”
Sayers stopped walking. He traded looks with a dubious Fixer.
“That didn’t come out the way I meant.”
“She’s your stepdaughter.”
“Not for that long,” explained the doctor. “Well, not for long before The Seventh Day. I’d only been married to her mother for a few months.”
Fixer did a quick calculation. “So, she would’ve been how old? Six?”
“Five.”
Sayers resumed walking as if moving forward could prevent him from looking too far back. But the door was already wide open. “I had no qualms about marrying her mother even though she had a young child, if that’s what you’re thinking. Allie and I had even started to talk about me legally adopting Laura. It just never occurred to me I’d be raising her all alone.”
The Seventh Day Page 5