Red Runs the River

by Tony Urban

  The first part of her plan had worked. Now she had to wait and bide her time for part two.

  Saw loved the idea. He'd grown weary of watching the battles from afar, so when Mina suggested he step into the ring, to end the losing streak and help boost morale, he thought it was pretty much the most perfect plan he'd ever heard.

  But, like all things, Saw wasn't content with going into the arena to fight a zombie or two. He needed something more dramatic. More grandiose. Because then his victory would not only show all the wankers how it was done, it would sear his greatness into their minds for the rest of their miserable lives.

  He went to Kwon to find out how many zombies they still had in storage and the man sheepishly told him there were only fourteen. Saw had known the numbers were dwindling and sent Fernando out a few days earlier to gather more, but on short notice fourteen would have to do.

  He was so excited for the fight that he shagged Mina three times leading up to it. Part of it was the adrenaline and testosterone coursing through him, but part was because he wanted to put a baby in that hollow of hers. The bird was pushing forty and he knew the odds might be slim, but the way he figured it, the more pokes the better the odds.

  Since getting off the heroin, Saw had never felt so alive. He loved this place, the people. He relished the rough edges and the sleaziness and the fighting. And above all, he found the power a far more pleasing addiction than opiates. He truly felt like their king and he couldn't fathom a more perfect kingdom. He wanted to live out his days here, and he wanted to create a legacy.

  As evening approached, he found Mitch sitting in the corner at the dry snatch, a half-drained bottle of whiskey his only company.

  "Afternoon, Mitchy," Saw said as he sat down across from him. "I got something special planned for tonight."

  Mitch stared at him the opposite side of the table and Saw found the look in his eyes odd, something foreign on the lad's face. Was it sadness? "You aw right, Mitchy?"

  "I'm fine." Mitch grabbed the bottle and took a long swig.

  "Don't seem it to me."'

  "Whatta you care?"

  The lad was definitely off. Depressed, with a side order of anger. Both were unwelcome in the presence of Saw's good mood and he snatched the bottle out of Mitch's hand.

  "Nope. You've had enough. I need you to have a clear head for tonight."

  Mitch reached for the whiskey. Saw had no tolerance for playing keep-away so he smashed the bottle on the floor. The day's bartender, some old-timer with an egg-shaped head and a mustache long enough to tickle his chin, glanced their way, but when he realized it was Saw who'd created the mess, turned his attention to wiping the bar with a dirty rag.

  "Whathefuck?" Mitch asked, his words slurred.

  "Since when do you get pissed in the middle of the afternoon?"

  "I do what I want."

  "Aye, you do. And I've never stopped you, have I?" Mitch glowered at him and Saw wondered who'd pissed in the lad's cereal. He'd never seen him so sullen. "Listen now. Tonight, we're having a battle."

  "We do every night."

  "No. We, Mitchy. You and me."

  The boy, who really was no longer a boy, stared at him and Saw thought some of the sober Mitch came through.

  "What?"

  "We're going to battle all the zombies. The two of us. There's fourteen left. I figure that's enough to put on a hell of a good show."

  Mitch sat up straighter. He was coming back around.

  "You and me, we're gonna show all these wankers how men fight. How men kill. And after we show em how it's done, I nary a doubt no one around here will ever think about fookin with us. We won't be kings, Mitchy. We'll be goddamn gods!"

  Saw was so excited he smacked his palm on the table and now everyone in the bar looked. He turned to them.

  "Don't no one think about missing tonight’s battle. My boy Mitchy and me got something real special in mind. It's what you might call, a can't miss event."

  He looked at Mitch who now wore a smile that Saw thought didn't look entirely genuine, but he was so excited for the night's events that he didn’t even care.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Mitch paced outside the arena. He felt like puking, but he'd already done that. All the booze he'd soaked up earlier in the day was on the ground behind the Dry Snatch, along with some half-digested eggs. Even though it was empty, his stomach fought him.

  He couldn't comprehend how terrible the day had gone. Mina's news of Saw's betrayal. Sally Rose's overdose. He had to put a butter knife through her eye to destroy the monster she turned into. And now this battle where he and Saw had to take on fourteen zombies in front of every asshole in Shard End. Part of him thought he should just let one of the zombies get him but Mitch had never been the suicidal type. Besides, even if he let that happen, he had little doubt that Saw would still somehow come out victorious and the bastard wouldn't hesitate to hang him on a stake with the others.

  Saw's braggadocio had worked, and everyone was there to see the battle. Everyone except Saw and Mina who always had to play up their King and Queen roles and make a dramatic entrance. When Mitch saw all heads turn, he knew that was happening.

  When they emerged through the crowd, Mitch saw that Saw had come in shirtless. He'd regained most of the weight he lost when he was in the throes of addiction and for a fleeting moment, Mitch wondered how he'd bulked up so quick if he was still using. The man's hairy chest rippled with coarse muscles. Not the kind built in the gym, the physique of a genuine hardass.

  Mina gave Saw a kiss on the cheek as he climbed into the ring. As Mitch went to join him, Mina grabbed his wrist. Her long, skeletal fingers felt like talons. She leaned in close. "This is your chance, Mitch," she said. "Find a way to end him."

  Mitch stared at her, not sure what to say or how to react. He realized she was right. This was the best, maybe the only chance, he'd have to take Saw out. He only needed to figure out how.

  "Good luck, Mitch," Mina said that loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, then gave him a gentle push toward the ring.

  Mitch joined saw in the arena. The man threw his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in tight. "Can you feel it, Mitchy?"

  "What?"

  "The energy. It's coming off em like shockwaves. I've never seem em so excited."

  Mitch hadn't paid much attention to the crowd, but he took that moment to examine them. Saw was right. These people were almost frantic. And he used their frenzied furor to steel himself for what was to come.

  "Where's that girl of yours?" Saw asked. "Daisy Iris or whatever her name is?"

  Mitch's head snapped toward Saw. How dare the bastard even mention her?

  "She too worried about you to come out and watch you fight?"

  Mitch clenched his teeth to stop himself from going off on Saw right then. "Yeah. I guess."

  Saw laughed. "A shame. She should be here. See what her man's capable of. I tell you Mitchy, nothing gets a girl's snatch wet faster than seeing her man bash a couple skulls in."

  "If you say so."

  Saw laughed again, a deep, throaty chortle. "Good thing you got me around to teach you lessons like this. Someone's gotta be your dad and show you how to be a man."

  At the opposite end of the arena, Kwon and Polo brought in the fourteen zombies. As they began to meander toward them, Mitch leaned in close to Saw.

  "There's something I never told you about my parents," Mitch said.

  "What's that Mitchy?" Saw looked away from the coming zombies and to Mitch'.

  "I killed them."

  Saw's eyes narrowed, and Mitch couldn't hold back a grin. Now, he was ready to fight.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Saw had killed four zombies to Mitch's two. That left eight of the creatures with them in the arena and the crowd was roaring.

  An undead black man was heading Saw's way, but Mitch grabbed him from behind, his fingers sinking into the zombie's dense, kinky hair. He jerked the monster’s head backward and thr
ew the zombie to the ground. The man looked up at him and growled and Mitch's response was a kick to the jaw. Two large, white teeth fell out of its mouth along with a slimy string of black drool.

  The creature started to get up, but Mitch kicked it again, another blow to the head. The creature fell face first into the mud and Mitch stomped its skull again and again until his boot broke through the bone and sunk into the soft tissue inside. When he pulled his foot free, it came loose with a thick, wet shwock.

  Mitch looked over to see Saw bashing a female zombie's head against a car bumper. Most of her face was caved in and she looked like a porcelain doll that some careless child had dropped, but her arms still fought and flailed. Another two hard hits into the metal and she went limp.

  Saw dropped her and grinned at Mitch. His face was spattered with black blood that painted streaks as it ran down his crazed face. "Over half way there, Mitchy."

  Mitch knew the man was a sociopath, but he still struggled to believe Saw could put on such a friendly, unaffected act after the way he'd betrayed him. Did he think Mitch was so stupid that he wouldn't catch on, or did he not even care?

  "Behind you. Three o'clock," Saw said.

  Mitch turned and found a teenage boy, a head shorter than him and even skinnier, approaching. The boy's face had been gnawed on and most of the left side was gone, just an oozing, black pit. Mitch thought he'd be doing the kid a favor to finish him off.

  He'd noticed earlier that a straight section of metal was hanging loose by a Jeep's windshield and now he grabbed it and jerked it free. He felt the steel cut into his palms, but he had so much adrenaline that he didn't care. He spun back to the boy, stabbing the metal into what was left of its face and they were down to five.

  The zombies were on three sides of them and the border of cars was at their backs. Mitch was certain they could take them out together, but he knew that this was going to be his best chance. Saw was partially in front of him, his back turned. Mitch still clutched the two-foot-long chunk of metal and all he needed to do was slash Saw in the knee or ankle during the fight. Put him to the ground where he'd be at the zombies' mercy. If he did it at the right moment, in the midst of the chaos, no one would even realize what had happened. The zombies were closing it and Mitch knew he had to make his move soon or he might lose the chance altogether.

  A middle-aged dead woman came in at Mitch's side. Her iron-gray hair swayed with every awkward, lurching step and obscured her face. He tried to make out details, to see who she was, and didn't realize another zombie was almost on him. It was not until he heard its raspy growl that he became alerted to its presence, and by then it was close enough to grab him.

  And it did just that. The zombie had hold of his upper arm, its fingers sinking into his flesh. He could smell the decay and death spilling from its open mouth. He could feel it on his neck.

  Holy fuck, he thought as it fell into him. I'm going to die.

  Mitch couldn't believe he'd been so careless. He'd escaped thousands of these fuckers in the Greenbriar's bunker, but now he was inches away from getting chomped.

  He jerked, trying to pull his arm free and, in the process, dropped the strip of metal. The gray-haired zombie was at his other side and she took hold of his shirt. Mitch felt like the bologna in a zombie sandwich. The female zombie leaned in to take a bite, but Mitch caught her gray hair with his free arm and barely held her at bay. She was so close he could see hunks of decayed flesh caught in her teeth.

  And then her right eye burst out of its socket and hit Mitch in the face. The thick, orbital slime as it slithered down his face would have revolted him if he wasn't so shocked. The gray-haired zombie still stood in front of him, but she no longer fought to attack. She was limp and a second later her body collapsed to the ground.

  Saw had used the metal to stab through the back of her head and, when she fell, it came free. Mitch watched as Saw wasted no time and stabbed past him. Mitch couldn't see what happened, but he heard the crunch as the bar broke through the face of the zombie who'd had hold of Mitch's arm.

  The two zombies were dead, and Mitch was free. He spun around, searching for the other three who should still be waiting to attack, but realized that somehow Saw had killed them too. He tried to think, to make sense of it, but struggled to clear his head over the thunderous roar of the crowd.

  Then, Saw embraced him. "Good brawling, Mitchy!" He shouted into Mitch's ear.

  Mitch realized he was on the verge of crying. He was so relieved to be alive, but still so confused over Mina's accusations. "Thank you," was all he could get out.

  Saw pulled back, grinning and bemused. "You don't gotta thank me. I'd never let nothing bad happen to you. You're like my son, Mitchy. I love you, you little bastard."

  It seemed so sincere that Mitch couldn't help but believe him. He realized everything Mina had told him was a lie. That she must have been the one who killed Sally Rose. He looked to where she'd stood outside the arena, and realized she was gone.

  Mitch leaned in close to Saw, locking eyes with him. "There's something you need to know."

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Oooh, Birdie, you done fucked up real good. Thought you could outsmart a coupla men. Thought I taught you better than that, but you never did listen to your daddy."

  "Rot in hell you bastard. I killed you!" She screamed the words out loud, but her daddy only cackled hysterically in response.

  Mina ran as fast as her skinny legs could carry her. That was not fast enough. She hadn't made it half a mile when the spotlight illuminated her from behind and turned her into a silhouette.

  She ran another few yards, her pace slowing as the light behind her grew in intensity. Then, her pace became a plodding walk.

  "No sense wasting your energy, love," Saw said. "Time for running's over. How 'bout you turn around?"

  Mina did not. She was done taking orders. Done doing what men told her to do. She stood there, facing away from the light, away from Saw, until she felt hands on her shoulders. The grip was firm, but not the strongman's strength she was used to.

  "Why'd you do this, Mina?"

  That was Mitch's voice. That little, ratty bastard had ruined everything. If only he'd have listened to her. Done what she told him. This could all have ended so much better. They could live their lives without being under Saw's thumb. Without his sadistic brutality always lurking on the edge of his personality and ready to strike. Damn that Mitch for being such a chickenshit.

  Mina did turn, but not before she'd worked up a mouthful of spit. When she came face to face with Mitch's ugly, scarred mug, she unleashed it and the glob of it splattered against the bridge of his nose, into his eyes.

  "Because I thought you were a man. Turns out, I was wrong."

  She expected him to hit her, but instead he only wiped at his face with the back of his hand and looked to Saw who stood a couple yards away, holding the floodlight. He stared at her and shook his head but stayed silent.

  That silence, coupled with the flat, emotionless expression on his face, had her on the verge of breaking. She could have handled him screaming at her. Cursing at her. Beating her. But the silence, the disapproval like she was the one who'd done something wrong, that was too much. "What are you gonna do, Saw? Shoot me? Run me through with one of your spears?"

  "I won't do none of that," Saw said and he lowered the light a bit, giving her eyes a small break. "While that island was burning, you came to me and asked if I could keep you safe. I told you I would. And I always did, didn't I?"

  "He got you there, Birdie! You never did know how good you had it!"

  She resisted the urge to answer her daddy's voice. Didn't speak at all.

  "When I told you, I loved you which I told you a lot, I meant it. Weren't nothing I wanted more than to grow old here in Shard End with you beside me. What else did you want from me?"

  Mina had no answer for him because she didn't know. He'd given her a mansion and safety and loyalty. But she hated who he was, that he wasn
’t her true love, Bundy, and nothing could have changed that.

  "Aren't you even going to give me the courtesy of an explanation?"

  Mina considered telling Saw exactly what she thought of him. That he was pure evil. That he was repugnant. That everyone he loved would never love him because, at his core, he was completely rotten. But she decided not to give him the satisfaction of saying words that would allow him to hate her back. She wanted him to spend the rest of his days wondering why. So, she bit her tongue and kept her mouth closed.

  "Have it your way then."

  Saw raised the light back up. She couldn't see him anymore. She could see nothing but the fiery white ball of the halogen flood. It was like looking into the tunnel everyone talked about and seeing the light at the other end, but Mina suspected she wasn't destined to see that light. Not after the things she'd done.

  "Get on with it, Mitchy. But do it careful like we discussed."

  Mina returned her attention to Mitch and realized he had a machete in his hand.

  "I think I loved her," Mitch said and she realized the wetness in his eyes wasn't remnants of her spit, but tears.

  A sliver of her thought about saying something kind. Maybe even apologizing. But being nice never got her anywhere in life. It was a hard world, one that ground up the good people and tossed them into the dirt when it had used up anything worth taking. That was just as true before the plague as it was now. And if she was heading toward the exit, she wasn't going to fake it any more.

  "I doubt she loved you. I doubt anyone could."

  Mitch's gaze switched from melancholy to fury.

  "Yo coming home, Birdie. We gone be together fo'ever!" Her daddy laughed and laughed as Mitch swung the machete.

  The blade hit her low in the neck, barely above her collar bones and as her head tumbled free she saw the man who killed her and the man who'd ordered her death tumbling end for end.