by Thomas Hall
“We can’t do that Ma’am. We’ve got orders.”
“I’m sure you do,” she said. She paused and Kade wondered if that was the extent of her plan. He found his fingers tightening on the knife handle. “But I’d like to spend some time with my husband.”
“Of course,” the man said. He reached for the door.
“Private time,” she said.
“Oh,” the man said. He looked away from her as if embarrassed. “Um, of course, don’t let us stop you.”
“I’d rather you weren’t here listening,” she said. “Are you sure you can’t take a short break?”
“We’ve got orders—“
The other man slapped him in the chest and he stopped. “We could do with some coffee. We’ll be back in twenty.”
“Better make it thirty,” Annie said.
The guard smiled and the two of them walked away, leaving the door unguarded.
Kade waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps. All the while watching Annie because he still wasn’t sure this wasn’t a trap. It all felt too easy, but it was also harder than he would have believed to trust her.
“Come on,” he said to Jareth and led him down the corridor to where Annie was waiting.
“Is there anyone else inside?” Kade whispered.
Annie shook her head. “Just you and him.”
Kade nodded.
“Ready?” Annie said.
Kade nodded again.
She reached for the handle and opened the door.
The light was bright enough to hurt his eyes. Kade blinked into the room and waited for his vision to clear. When it did, he saw Travis sitting at a small round table.
He was wearing pyjamas but his hair was combed and the bed was made. He didn’t look as if he’d been asleep, but he looked rested, which was more than Kade could say about himself.
Travis smiled.
“Good evening Kade,” Travis said.
Kade said nothing.
“And who have you got with you? Come in Jareth, no need to be shy.”
Jareth walked into the room and stood beside Kade.
“You too dear, we’re having a party in here and I’d hate for you to miss out.”
Annie walked into the room.
“No leave the door open,” Travis said.
Annie stopped next to Kade. Without turning to look at her he could see that her head was down. Either she was committed to the lie that she had told him, or this was an unexpected turn of events.
“Anyone else?” Travis said.
No one answered.
“Good, well,” he sighed. “Let’s get on with it then.”
Kade held the knife behind his back but didn’t make a move. There was a gun on the table in front of Travis, it would be suicide to think he was that much quicker than the man.
“It took you long enough to get here,” Travis said. “I was expecting you hours ago.”
Of course, he was expecting him, Kade thought.
“Oh don’t worry, no one gave you up. All your little friends kept their word, they aren’t working for me anymore. Although I must say, it was disappointing to lose the Sheriff.”
Annie snorted but didn’t say anything.
Travis turned to her. “You too my dear. I will miss your company, but it was inevitable you would betray me. I was expecting it from the moment I killed your sister.”
“Kill us, if that’s what you’re going to do,” Annie said.
“I’d prefer not to,” Travis said.
“You’re going to get one of your nut jobs to do it for you?” she said.
Travis smiled but there was no pleasure in it. “No. No, if you have to die then I will take care of it myself. But I’m hoping we can avoid it.”
“Avoid it how?” Kade said.
Travis turned towards him. “I’m glad you asked. You know, despite what it might look like, you don’t get to the position I’m in by killing everyone who stands in your way. At heart, I suppose I’m a politician.”
Kade wondered whether Travis was joking.
“It’s much more useful to turn enemies into friends.”
“That’s what you’re going to do?” Annie said.
“That all depends on Kade here.”
“What do you want?” Kade said. He had no intention of giving it to the man, but the longer he kept talking, the greater his chance of escaping.
“You killed my brother Kade,” Travis said. “Do you know that?”
“I do.”
“You can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone who you care about like that. I’ve tried to make you understand, but I don’t think you do.”
Kade said nothing, but he knew exactly what it was like to lose a brother, and a sister, and two parents who loved him.
“His face will haunt me until the day I die.”
Kade said nothing. He knew what Travis said was true.
“But that is beside the point. I want you to take his place.”
“Take his place?” Kade said.
“That’s right. He was a loyal soldier, my right-hand man, so to speak. There’s a position open for someone who knows how to use a gun and follow orders. I’ve seen you fight, I know you’re more than capable of the former.”
“And the latter?” Kade said.
“Well that’s what we’re here to find out,” Travis said.
“Why would I want to work for you?” Kade said.
“Because I won’t kill you,” Travis said. A moment passed and then he started to smile. “Plus you’ll have whatever you want. Women, money, food, it’s all yours. We live like Kings.”
“At the expense of other people,” Kade said.
“Someone has to be at the bottom. They’re fulfilling their position in society, the same as we are.”
“What would I have to do?”
“Prove your loyalty to me.”
“And how do I do that?” Kade said.
Travis smiled and it made Kade shiver. “You can start by taking the knife you’ve got behind your back and slitting my dear wife’s throat.”
Annie gasped.
Kade didn’t move.
Travis watched him for a moment and then picked up the gun that was on the table. He pointed it at Kade. “If you don’t do it, I will,” he said. “After I’ve shot Jareth here.”
Kade nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said, turning towards her and bringing out the knife.
Annie didn’t cry or beg for her life. She looked him in the eyes and he saw Madeline within her. He hadn’t noticed it before but they were so similar, so alike.
“Kill her!” Travis said. He cocked the revolver but Kade didn’t turn to see who he was pointing it at.
He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. It was never easy to take a life, less easy still to take one that wasn’t threatening your own.
He raised the knife and the world seemed to fall still. There was no noise, no movement, just two lives floating in the darkness.
Kade swung the blade.
He could hear it cutting through the air before it found its target in Travis’ heart.
Travis gasped in shock and pain. He squeezed the trigger of his gun and the light fitting above them exploded. Tiny fragments of glass and fire rained down but the bullet missed them completely.
Kade turned to look at Travis as the last gasp of life went out of him. He fell backwards, slumped in his chair and was no more.
A layer of glass covered the carpet, but the fire was his biggest concern. The fire was catching quickly and the room was full of enough soft furnishings that he knew it would spread.
Kade put the knife away and pulled out his gun. The weight of it was reassuring. He could hear men running towards them. They didn’t only have to worry about burning to death. They also had to worry about the men who were about to catch them red handed with the body of their dead boss.
“We have to go,” he said.
Annie nodded. “This way,” she said.
She led th
em out of the room and the fire followed.
Kade turned right and saw dark shapes coming towards them. They turned left and he waited to hear gunshots.
They ran back the way they had come, down the servant’s stairs and along the corridor.
“Through the kitchen!” Annie shouted and they followed her.
The smoke was getting thicker and it was becoming difficult to breath. They ran to the door at the back of the kitchen and fell out of the house as the first pieces of wood and stone began to fall.
Kade picked himself up and dragged Annie and Jareth with him.
When he thought they were a safe distance away he turned back.
The house was aflame and there was no sign of anyone coming out. He couldn’t help but wonder how many people were going to die in the smoke and fire. There was nothing he could do to save any of them. He would have to settle for having saved Swift Creek from a monster.
CHAPTER 16
“WERE YOU TEMPTED?” JARETH SAID.
KADE RUBBED HIS jaw and looked at the man. It was a bright morning and news of Travis’ death had spread quickly through Swift Creek. Less than a day later, it felt like a different place. “I wasn’t tempted,” Kade said.
Heck was loaded with everything that he would need to survive a month in the desert. Although Kade expected it to take less than a week to reach the next township. Things were further apart in the North, but there were still pockets of survivors.
“You could always stay,” Annie said.
Kade turned to look at her. “I’m not the settling down type.” Although he was no longer sure whether that was true.
“Where will you go?” she said.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s lots of places left to see. Somewhere quieter.”
Annie and Jareth smiled.
He mounted Heck and turned to face the desert. It looked endless, but he knew that everything had an end.
“Here,” Annie said.
He turned back to look at her and saw that she was holding up a box wrapped in dirty brown paper. “What is it?”
“It’s Madeline’s,” she said. “For you.”
He took the box. They were both watching him. He opened the lid and looked inside.
“It was hers, she was going to give it to you herself. For luck.”
Kade took out the tiny piece of metal and held it between his thumb and forefinger. On the back, there was a clasp so that he could fix it to his shirt.
“It melted when our house burned down.”
“It doesn’t sound very lucky,” he said.
Annie smiled. “Madeline was caught in the fire, that’s how she got the scars. She had the badge with her and that’s what they saw. If she hadn’t had it, then she would have died that night.”
Kade squeezed the badge firmly. If it hadn’t existed, then she would have died before he’d arrived in Swift Creek. The few moments of happiness that he’d experienced with her wouldn’t have happened.
He felt tears in his eyes and wiped them away.
“Thank you,” he said. He fixed the badge to his shirt and felt as if he would be taking a piece of her away with him.
Kade reached up to adjust his hat so that the brim covered his neck. The sun beat down on him and he sweltered in the saddle. Heck shifted beneath him.
The ground was like sand. It covered everything, but if you knew where to look then it was still possible to see the shape of what had been there before. A small bump might be what was once called a car, a bigger bump might be one of their houses. It wasn’t sand, but it was easier to think of it that way.
He raised his head and looked into the distance. He could see the twisted metal structures of an old city. The light reflected in the glass and almost seemed to be a second sun. At least there was no wind: on windy days, the ghosts in the ancient cities seemed to sing.
They were alone in the desert and no one was waiting for them at the other end. For a while there was silence and he wondered whether he had been right to leave Swift Creek.
They could have stayed there a while and been content, but the only true happiness that he knew was in the saddle. The people of Swift Creek would have been happy to have him. If he ever changed his mind there would be a life there waiting for him, but he knew himself. If he ever did return to Swift Creek it would be years from now, when he could be sure they had forgotten him. Until then, there were other places to go and the horizon was always out of reach.
Kade reached for the badge on his chest and stroked it. It was more than he had taken from any other town he’d visited. When he felt it beneath his fingers he thought of her and drew strength from it. He was no longer as alone as he had once been.
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About the Author
Thomas Hall is really James Loscombe in disguise.
It is an open pen name used for publishing post-apocalyptic fiction.
Thomas / James is based in the UK, which might explain a thing or two about why he finds end of the world scenarios so fascinating.