Nero wanted to find out a little more about the Watchtower, Rex and the Whisperer, but with the two Dogs in the car with them, Nero bit his tongue, knowing that anything they said would get back to Rex and maybe ruin his chances of getting the supplies he needed. So, he kept quiet, and so did Ras, who leant out through the window, enjoying the wind in his hair.
The drive wasn’t far, as Rex had said, and before long, Nero made towards a nearby rise in the landscape to get a lay of the land. He pulled to a stop and climbed out to get a better look. They were close to some salt flats, as Rex had said they would be, and as usual, Rex could make out smoke plumes and dust clouds marking camp locations and the occasional travelling vehicle.
There was a dust cloud not too far away, though, and it was the only one that was close to them. Nero pointed it out to Ras.
‘There, what do you think?’
‘Sure, my man. Looks good. Let’s check it out,’ Ras said.
Nero climbed back into the car.
‘You found em?’ one of the Dogs asked.
Nero paused and looked behind him. ‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘What are your names?’
‘Yeah, can’t go calling you Dog all the time,’ Ras added on.
‘I’m Doz, this is Bazza,’ the one who had been speaking said. Doz was bald and sported some hand applied war paint over his face and naked torso. Bazza, meanwhile, had long hair tied in a top knot and wore some very old military fatigues that should have been thrown out years ago. Both carried guns, with Doz holding a sawn off shotgun while Bazza clutched an assault rifle.
‘Groovy,’ Nero growled, and turned away before flooring it and skidding off down the hill.
They barrelled up another incline, and as the terrain passed by, they could make out a makeshift camp along the side of the road up ahead. It seemed to surround a central trailer that had a heavy-duty cage on top of it, filled with people. Several more people surrounded the cage, whooping and shouting as two guys on top seemed to be dangling someone into the cage.
As they approached the dust cloud that filled the air here, they noticed that there were two people on motorbikes circling the trailer at high speed.
‘That’s them,’ Doz said, racking his shotgun.
The noise these guys were making, and the dust cloud the bikes were kicking up really worked in Nero’s favour as he sped towards them. They went unnoticed for the most part until they were right on top of them.
One of the two bikers saw them first, seconds before Nero hit him. The biker wobbled in surprise, trying desperately to change his course, but he wasn’t quick enough and was way too committed. The bike slammed into the spikes of the battering ram and lodged there as the rider flew off, hit the metal mesh cover in front of the cracked windscreen and flew over the car.
‘Whoo!’ Ras yelled as the body bounced above them, trailing blood behind it.
Nero didn’t have time to celebrate, though, and gave the wheel a turn as he slammed on the brakes, causing the rear end to kick out and crunch into the side of a man who should have been paying more attention. Nero jumped out as the charger came to rest. He stepped over to the groaning man and slammed the butt of his shotgun into his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out.
A yell from behind him made him turn, his gun in hand. Another raider was running right at him. Nero fired, causing him to drop to the floor hard, tense up for a second, and then finally fall silent and still.
Nero looked up at the top of the trailer to the two men who were holding a man by his arms through a hole in the top of the cage.
Now that he was right next to the trailer, he could clearly see that the cage was filled with Zombies, most of them with collars on. The man they were teasing the zombies with had suffered some horrific damage to his feet where the undead had been chewing on his flesh. The man looked delirious as he yelled and sobbed for death. Nero cringed, pulled his pistol and fired at the injured man. Both raiders up there reacted by dropping the man into the cage where he was ripped to shreds while they dropped for cover. Nero fired again and caught one of them in the shoulder, causing him to scream and fall off the side.
Something flashed as the other man threw something at Nero. He dodged, and the knife missed him by inches before clattering to the floor.
Looking up, the thrower was leaping from the top of the cage towards Nero. He moved left, stepping out of the way as the man landed before shoving the raider sideways towards the car where Doz was climbing out. The raider hit the car beside Doz before Nero raised his gun again and put a single round in the man’s head, spraying blood over the roof of the car and Doz’s face.
Doz looked up at Nero with a look of surprise. Nero just nodded before he stalked off and made his way around the trailer. He could hear further gun shots and yells over the background noise of the groaning zombies. He could also still hear the sounds of the second motorbike, speeding about the place.
Stepping around the first corner of the trailer, the biker suddenly appeared around the far side of the vehicle, heading past Nero while firing in the direction he’d come from.
Nero sprang to his left towards the biker, and used the butt of his shotgun as a battering ram, driving it into the man’s head. The raider dropped from his bike and crunched to the floor, turning end over end several times while his bike sped on until it tipped too far and started flipping through the air before slamming into the gravel.
The raider twitched on the ground close by, still alive but badly injured. Nero walked over to him and fired a single shot from his pistol at him, whereupon he fell silent.
Looking up, Nero realised he couldn’t hear any further gunshots or sounds of fighting, only the rumble of his idling car and the throaty hissing of the undead in the cage. The dust settled and Nero, along with the rest of his team, were the only ones left alive.
‘Holy shit, man, that was awesome,’ Doz said from close by. ‘I barely got to do anything.’
Nero looked back at the Watchtower Dog before shrugging. He’d need to be quicker on the draw if he wanted to get involved in things like this.
‘Told ya he was good,’ Ras offered.
‘No shit,’ Doz answered.
Nero wasn’t listening anymore, though, and instead, looked up at the large cage of zombies on top of the trailer. The things were facing towards him and the others, reaching for them, moaning and hissing as they gnashed their teeth. They’d eat him if they got the chance, but Nero wasn’t about to give them the opportunity.
He could stand outside the cage and shoot or stab each one, but that would take time or resources, neither of which he wanted to waste here. An explosive, however, would be perfect.
He could jury rig something up, but only if he needed to. He’d prefer something a bit quicker.
‘Hey,’ Nero called to Doz, the nearest of the two Dogs. ‘Any explosives?’
Doz looked over to him and smiled. ‘You betcha,’ he said, before rummaging through his bag. ‘I have something in here I’m sure, hold on, yes, here we go,’ he said and pulled out three sticks of dynamite.
‘Perfect,’ Nero nodded, walking over to him. Doz offered him one of the sticks and gave the other to Bazza. Meanwhile, Ras picked up a burning stick from the camp fire the raiders had created a short distance away and walked over.
‘You’ll have maybe ten seconds or so from when the fuse is lit before it blows,’ Doz said.
Nero nodded. Seconds later, the fuses were lit, and with little trouble, they were able to slide the sticks into the bottom of the cage and moved well away behind Nero’s car before three explosions rocked the valley in quick succession.
Satisfied that there would be no further detonations, Nero looked over the hood of the car and surveyed the destruction on the other side.
The twisted remains of the cage reached up into the air like the rotted hand of one of these undead creatures. Blackened blood and gore was everywhere, and apart from the odd twitching or groaning remains here and there, the zombies were dead.
Nero stood up and walked around the debris field, moving from one twitching corpse to another, slamming his dagger into them one at a time, ending their existence.
After a few more minutes, he felt satisfied that he had finished everything off and walked back to his car where the other three waited.
‘Was that worth it, boy scout?’ Bazza asked.
Nero ignored him. Leaving zombie’s alive was not something he felt happy about doing, and it was only the work of maybe five minutes to finish the job. Nero climbed into the car, waited for the last of the others to climb in before he gunned the engine and set off back the way they’d come, back to the Watchtower.
Now, came the tricky part. He’d upheld his side of the deal, would Rex uphold his?
Chapter 7
*
‘Man, you should have seen him. He was cutting through the raiders like they were nothing; it was awesome to watch,’ Ras raved to Rex, who stood facing them. They were in the open balcony area again, but there was a large table set up in there now, and the smell of food made Nero’s stomach grumble.
‘Is that right?’ Rex asked, glancing at Doz.
‘He was impressive to watch, yes. He did most of the work. The raiders are dead, and so are their pet zombies,’ Doz said.
‘Baz?’ Rex asked.
‘He was alright,’ Bazza answered.
‘Alright? Wow. Getting any kind of compliment out of Baz here is not easy, so it looks like you did okay,’ Rex said. ‘Thank you,’ he finished before offering his hand.
Nero took it and gripped the man’s hand in his. ‘Pleasure,’ Nero said. ‘Deals a deal; I did my bit.’
‘You did, and I’m grateful for that. I will, of course, uphold mine as well, but first, I must insist that you join us for our feast,’ he said.
Nero glanced sideways at the table a short distance away from him. It was made up of a variety of wooden and metal panels on legs or platforms, surrounded by chairs and benches of all kinds. It was the most civilised thing Nero had seen in years. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually sat at a table with others to eat like this.
Nero nodded. ‘Sure,’ he said. He wasn’t in any kind of rush to get anywhere, and his rumbling tummy wasn’t about to let him just walk away from that mouth-watering smell.
‘Excellent. Once you’re done here, take your pick from Madam Privay’s girls, I’ve instructed her to tend to your every need. In the morning, you can take your pick of the supplies and anything else you want. You’re free to leave whenever you choose,’ Rex said before walking away with a smile.
Nero watched him go as people started to take some of the seats at the table. Although he seemed honourable, there was something about Rex that Nero couldn’t quite put his finger on, but knew he didn’t like him. He reminded Nero of a snake or an oily business man. Someone who puts on a good show, but who was also rotten to the core.
‘I hear you did well out there,’ Cryptus said, appearing beside him from out of nowhere.
‘I guess,’ Nero answered.
‘Well, Rex is pleased, so that’s a win in my book. Would you like to join me at the table?’ he asked, indicating two of the nearby chairs.
‘Why not,’ Nero said. He didn’t really mind where he sat, he just wanted to eat something. Walking to the table, he noticed Nyx walk into the room to be greeted by Rex. It wasn’t a very friendly meeting between them. Instead, it looked like Rex was telling her something, maybe issuing her some orders while Nyx stood there, her eyes downcast, nodding along as he spoke. As he finished talking to her, he gave her a playful slap on her bum and continued talking to his men.
The relationship between these two was not an equal one at all. Rex might call her his wife, but really, it looked more like she was his slave rather than anything else.
Nyx walked to join another group, consisting mainly of women, but also a few men in there, too, who were putting the food onto plates of all shapes and sizes, made from wood or metal. Nero shook his head. This whole thing seemed a little surreal to him. He’d been living in the wastes for years, using his knife and fingers to eat, and here he was, about to have his meal served to him on a plate by a waitress.
‘This is absurd,’ Nero commented quietly to Cryptus.
‘It’s very contrived, I agree. The veneer of civility that Rex is putting over all this is… Well, it’s typical of his kind.’
Nero nodded as he took his seat. Moments later, a shiver ran down his spine and some movement to his left caught his eye. A single chair on the far wall that rested atop a raised dais had sat empty, but now as he watched, shadows played over it, and living tendrils or darkness reached up before collapsing into the shape of the Whisperer. It sat there, relaxing into the seat, and watched the gathering below.
Everyone was sitting down now, talking among themselves as the servants started to bring the food over. Nero couldn’t quite bring himself to think of these people as waiters because these really didn’t seem to fit the bill. They hadn’t applied for the job; they weren’t doing this out of choice. They had been ordered to serve this food and wait on the people here.
Nero sat back and waited for his food, and sensed the approach of someone behind him. He looked to see Nyx walking over to him. She looked up, saw him, and hesitated for some reason, stopping in her tracks. The girl behind her apparently didn’t see her stop until the last moment, and ended up shoulder barging into Nyx as she tried to duck around her. Nyx stumbled forward and dropped the large cut of meat from the plate onto the floor.
A look of horror crossed her face. She looked up at Nero and then glanced back at Rex before she crouched down and started to gather it back up.
‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,’ she muttered quietly, glancing up at Nero.
Nero twisted in his seat and bent down, helping her pick the food off the floor and return it to the plate. ‘It’s fine, honestly; don’t worry about it.’
‘But it’s dirty. I can get you a new plate…’
‘Don’t be silly, I’ve eaten far worse. This is nothing,’ he explained.
‘Okay. I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. I just… I don’t know. I’m sorry.’
‘Stop saying you’re sorry, it’s a simple mistake; nothing to worry about. You’re doing a great job, okay? We’re only human; we all make mistakes.’
Nyx smiled at him, and Nero smiled back as they looked at each other.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
‘My pleasure. Don’t worry about it.’ Nero felt a warmth spread over him as he looked at her. As they looked into each other’s eyes, they shared a moment and a connection which he’d not felt for a long time. Nero smiled.
Nero watched as she suddenly remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. ‘Sorry, um, I’d better get back to work,’ she said and quickly moved away from him, busying herself once more.
Nero watched her as she walked around the table, serving people and continuing her work. Part way around, she glanced up at him and they locked eyes once more.
She smiled and looked away. Nero felt the beginnings of a grin pull at one side of his mouth and as he admired her lithe form, stirrings elsewhere as well.
‘Making friends, I see,’ Cryptus whispered to him.
The growing grin dropped from his face as he sat back. ‘Just showing her some basic kindness,’ he said.
‘Careful, Rex might not like that,’ Cryptus answered him, in hushed tones.
‘I don’t give a shit what Rex likes or dislikes,’ Nero answered him before he picked up his knife and slammed it into the slab or meat before him. He lifted it up, sat back and took a bite as he surveyed the room. As he watched, he saw Rex summon Nyx over. She walked over to him, and he beckoned her down towards him. She leant forward, coming closer to him before he suddenly reached up, grabbing her by the throat, and then pulling her closer to him.
She grasped his hands, but he didn’t let go and whispered something into her ear. Ner
o could see she wanted to pull away, but she wasn’t really fighting him. Not really. She wanted to, but something, fear perhaps, was stopping her.
Then he shoved her away, allowing her to stand.
‘Upstairs,’ Nero heard him say as she backed away from Rex. She glanced up at Nero, their eyes locking briefly before she lowered them again and moved out through the door at the back of the balcony space.
Nero looked back at Rex, who was staring right back at him with a blank, unreadable expression. Nero didn’t hold the look for long. Instead, he focused back on his food and resumed chewing.
‘Careful which friends you make,’ Cryptus said to him. ‘Some are more trouble than they’re worth.’
‘Did you see that?’ Nero asked.
‘Of course. He wasn’t happy about something, and he gave you a hell of a look, so, I think I can make a bit of an educated guess as to what pissed him off.’
‘He shouldn’t treat her like that,’ Nero said quietly, focusing on his meat.
‘Are you going to tell him that? Because I can guarantee that you will not walk out of here alive if you do. Like I said, some things just aren’t worth it.’
Nero grunted, and risked a glance back up at Rex, but he was already talking to someone else. He had a growing dislike for the Custodiac of this tower, but he really wasn’t sure what he could do. Freeing Nyx from Rex would obviously be the right thing to do, but it would almost certainly mean Rex would chase him down, and it would also mean for the first time in years, he wouldn’t be alone when he got out of here.
If he got out of here, he corrected himself.
Nero took another bite from the steak on his dagger and chewed at it, his mind conjuring images of the girl as he remembered watching her wander around the room.
After a few moments, he shook his head to banish the thought. He was acting like some teenage boy lusting after the school hotty. Shit, what was he thinking? She wouldn’t be interested in him anyway. He was at least ten years older than her, maybe fifteen.
Liberation (Wasteland Road Knights Book 1) Page 6