The Razor's Edge: A Postapocalytic Novel (The New World Book 6)

by G. Michael Hopf

  “Yes, a gauntlet, what an amazing idea. General, line up the men in two rows,” Pablo said, excited by the prospect of witnessing such a spectacle. He turned to the two privates and said, “The gauntlet is your punishment. I wish you the best, and if you survive, I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson.”

  ***

  Gonzalez and Rolando hurried through the first third, but the punches and blows to their faces and bodies were too much to weather. By the time they had reached the middle, they were battered, bleeding and crawling.

  Like a cheerleader, Pablo barked at them to continue on.

  Many of the men in the army wanted to show restraint and mercy, but with Pablo watching, they hit harder to prove they agreed with their emperor.

  Rolando and Gonzalez passed out just a short distance past halfway.

  Pablo looked at the two men and ordered, “Bury them….properly.”

  Luis stepped forward and said, “But, sir, I think they’re alive.”

  Pablo smiled and said, “They won’t be for long.”

  Old United States Post Office, Geneva, Idaho, Republic of Cascadia

  Cruz honored his word and provided Gordon and Samantha a helicopter to fly them back to McCall. The first priority for Gordon was to retrieve John’s body.

  “Poor John,” Samantha said as the helicopter lowered onto the road thirty feet from the destroyed Humvee.

  Gordon didn’t wait for the helicopter to touch down before he jumped out and ran towards his old vehicle. The windshield was shattered and the blackened hood was cracked and warped. The front axle was sheared off the chassis and lay forward of the engine compartment. There was no salvaging the Hummer, it was a total loss.

  The driver’s door and rear hatch lay open. Gordon ran to the driver’s side and looked in, fully expecting to see John’s body but instead found an empty seat. He looked in the back and circled around the vehicle.

  Samantha exited the helicopter and came to see. “Is he not there?”

  “No.”

  “He must be alive,” Samantha said.

  Gordon ran back to the helicopter and ordered, “I need you to contact this frequency.”

  The pilot did as he asked.

  While he waited for a response, Gordon went back to see if he could find any signs of life or maybe John’s body somewhere.

  “President Van Zandt, I have someone on the radio.”

  Gordon ran back and took the headset. “This is Van Zandt. Who is this?”

  “Well, what do you know. Goddamn, Van Zandt, where the hell are you?” Gunny blurted out.

  “Gunny, I can’t tell you how good it is to hear your voice,” Gordon said.

  “I’m used to strippers telling me that,” Gunny joked; then his tone turned serious. “Listen, your wife—”

  “Samantha is with me; we’re safe. I do need some support though. John Steele, he’s missing and might be hurt. We need to send out a search and rescue team.”

  “No need for that. He showed up at the south checkpoint this morning. He’s now at the hospital downing Motrin with a handle of tequila. He’s a bit beaten up, but he’ll live. He told us you were gone, taken. Anyway, between you and Samantha, the drama meter has been pegged at a hundred around here.”

  “Thank God,” Gordon said and gave Samantha a thumbs-up.

  “Where are you? We’ll come and pick you up.”

  “No need, we’ve got a ride. Expect us back in McCall in two hours.”

  “Hey, Van Zandt, Steele told us what you did. You and I need a come-to-Jesus meeting when you get back. Enough of your cloak-and-dagger meetings, you need to keep your inner circle in the loop from now on.”

  “Spread the word to the council, we’re having a meeting tomorrow morning. I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

  Sandy, Utah

  Pablo returned to the house, ready for a bath and a hearty meal. He laughed at how tiring it was just sitting around.

  On the porch he heard laughter coming from the kitchen. The sound made him feel better knowing his guests were at least happy.

  He walked into the house and the laughter abruptly stopped. Before the troubles began, he would find smiling faces and the occasional hug; now he was greeted with suspicious eyes and murmuring behind his back.

  He nodded and walked past Samuel, Annaliese, and Sariah, Annaliese’s mother. What disturbed him the most was Annaliese. Not since she first discovered who he was had she been this distant. Just before he stepped into his room, he heard them start talking again, but quietly. He opened the door to his room and froze when he saw his broken cane lying on his bed. He turned and looked up the hallway and saw Samuel standing there.

  Samuel winked and went back into the kitchen.

  Pablo’s temper flared. He grabbed the pieces of his cane and hobbled back to the kitchen and tossed them on the table. “How dare you!” he exclaimed.

  Annaliese jumped and cringed in fear at Pablo’s unexpected outburst.

  Samuel stepped in front of the women and held out his arms in a defensive posture. “Take your things and leave this house.”

  “Do you know who I am, do you?”

  “We do, now leave.”

  “I am the Emperor Pablo!” he blared.

  “You’re nobody. Now leave or I’ll toss you out!” Samuel barked and pointed to the door.

  Pablo looked at Annaliese, who began to cry. His heart broke, but he was tired of pretending. He walked to the door, but stopped and turned to face Samuel. “You don’t know who you’ve insulted.”

  “Leave and tell your army to leave, now!”

  Pablo left the house and slammed the door; he stepped off the porch and got behind the wheel of his Ranger.

  Samuel came outside and yelled, “Leave it, that’s ours.”

  Pablo leered at him and said, “No one talks to me like you have. You will pay, you hear me.”

  “You have the power to destroy us, you do, and if God intends that, then so be it, but I can’t in good conscience have a man like you living under my roof.”

  Pablo climbed out of the Ranger and began the long trek to the gate.

  The voice of his father began to echo in his ears.

  He put his hands over his ears and said, “Get out of my head! You’re dead, you’re not here. Stop torturing me.”

  He walked through the cold night a battered and beaten man. He had lost a place he thought would be home. With nowhere to go, he went to the one place he could be himself without apologies.

  The guards at the gate saw him coming. They unlocked and opened it for him.

  He slid past them.

  “Get out of here. You’re not welcome,” one of the guards said under his breath.

  Pablo heard him, stopped and turned. “You all will pay.” He spun back around and said, “You were right, Father.”

  DECEMBER 30, 2015

  “In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.” – Lao Tzu

  Sandy, Utah

  Annaliese found it difficult to sleep; she couldn’t believe that Hector, the man who she had saved and nurtured to health, was Pablo, the butcher of Sacramento. She lay in bed, staring at the setting moon, and wondered if Hector was awake regretting what had happened the night before.

  After the altercation with Samuel she was tempted to contact Hector and see if he was okay, but she couldn’t shake the fear from Hector’s outburst. Was he still a bad person? She believed in redemption and knew God gave everyone the free will to make choices so they could put themselves on a new path.

  It was times like this that she wished Sebastian were still here. She missed him dearly, she missed his touch, his warmth, his guidance, strength and courage. It wasn’t that Hector could possibly fill that, it was that Hector came along when she had fallen into despair and a darkness of the spirit. Helping Hector live had given her hope.
Helping him walk again inspired her to do more.

  On her nightstand sat the radio she often used to communicate with Hector, and if Hector did have a chance at redemption, he needed to be shown that he had a place to call home. By casting him out, he was assured of going down the wrong path. How could he find God’s grace if the only people who accepted him were the ones who would show him death and evil?

  She grabbed the radio and turned it on. She stared at the green light on top and began to question if taking this step was wise.

  Uncle Samuel was a hard man. He often judged people harshly and had even prejudged Sebastian, for which he had asked forgiveness. Samuel explained that he did so out of a sense of protecting his family.

  Was Samuel wrong here? Had Hector become a new man and only by association been tied to the tragic situation? There was little doubt for her the army had killed those soldiers, but what if Hector had told the truth and knew nothing about it? Was he a casualty of coincidence?

  She pressed the key and the radio clicked, but she paused before speaking as her mind again questioned it all.

  What if Hector was innocent and she believed him? Samuel would never let him back. What was she prepared to do? She was frustrated and hated these situations. She removed her thumb from the button and set the radio back on the nightstand.

  Get a good night’s sleep, she told herself.

  She closed her eyes but woke when the radio crackled.

  She snatched it and held it tight.

  Silence.

  Was that him? she thought.

  Seconds turned to minutes.

  Unsure if that was him or just static from another radio with a similar frequency, she put the radio back and rolled onto her side.

  Thoughts came of Sebastian and his big beautiful blue eyes. If he was here, he’d know what to do, she thought. What would Sebastian do? That led to other thoughts of her late husband and how he would be dealing with this.

  ***

  Miles away, Pablo sat, a glass of wine in his hand and the radio in his other. He heard the distinct sound of it being keyed but by who? He wondered if it was Annaliese. After what had happened at the house, he couldn’t imagine she’d be calling. He let that thought go and tossed the radio back on the table.

  When he’d showed up at the main camp, he took Luis’ command tent for himself. This would now be his home until he decided on where his army should go.

  With thoughts of living a simple life destroyed, he needed to take his next step and that was towards revenge. He still had many men out trying to find where President Conner had gone, and he felt confident he’d find him.

  The tent went dark without notice.

  He looked to the propane lantern and laughed. He opened his mouth to call a guard to come in and fill it, but he liked the darkness.

  He put the glass to his lips and drank.

  His mind wandered. From Annaliese to Samuel then to Conner it went round and round. The more he thought about Conner, the more he kept seeing Samuel. He hated him and wanted nothing more than to torture him until he died.

  His thirst for revenge was overflowing. He needed to vent again, but tonight he’d be able to properly satiate his deviant desires.

  “Guard!” Pablo called.

  A guard instantly stepped into the darkened tent. “Yes, Emperor.”

  “Where are the sex slaves?”

  “Sir, I’m not aware—”

  “Shut up and go bring two, now!” he ordered.

  “Yes, sir,” the guard said and exited.

  ***

  “No, this is the way, no, you’re wrong. This is the way it has to go. You were wrong before and I’ll prove you wrong again,” Pablo blurted out.

  The guard returned and stuck his head in the tent. “Sir, I have the two women you requested. Is it a good time, or should I wait until your other guest leaves?” the guard said, unsure of where to direct his voice, as he couldn’t see Pablo.

  “I’m alone. Bring them in,” Pablo said.

  “Yes, sir,” the guard said, swearing he'd heard Pablo talking to someone.

  Pablo couldn’t see them, but he heard them whimpering. He stood up and walked towards them slowly, using their voices as guides. When he was inches from them he stopped and reached out.

  His hands touched the chest of one woman.

  She recoiled but couldn’t go far, as the guard was just behind her.

  He touched the other woman; the second was shorter with larger breasts. Pablo cupped them from the outside of her shirt and said, “What’s your name?”

  “Liza,” the woman whimpered. Her entire body was shaking uncontrollably.

  Pablo reached and took the first woman by the throat and squeezed firmly, “And what’s your name?”

  “Cynthia.”

  “Do you know who I am?”

  Both women said, “No.”

  “I’m the emperor. You’ll have the pleasure of giving yourselves to me,” he declared.

  “I have two children. Where are they?” Cynthia moaned.

  “I’m sure we have them somewhere safe,” Pablo said as he drew closer.

  The darkness added to the women’s fear.

  “I want my babies,” Cynthia said.

  Pablo rammed his hand down Cynthia’s pants and grabbed her crotch.

  She bent over and tried to step back but again the guard prevented her.

  Her resistance fueled Pablo’s sickening desires as he grabbed her by the throat again with his left hand, this time harder, and with his right again forced it down into her pants.

  “No, no!” she cried and again backed away.

  His grip on her throat tightened. He drew her up close, pulled out a knife he kept in his pocket and slid it between her upper ribs and into her heart.

  She coughed quietly and fell silent.

  Liza’s whimpers increased in volume and her shaking grew more violent.

  “Guard, refill my lantern and turn it on,” Pablo ordered, his hand wrapped tightly around the now dead Cynthia.

  The guard found the lantern, filled it, and with a match lit the wick.

  At first the light from the lantern was faint until the guard lowered the cover and turned up the wick.

  When the full brightness splashed across the tent, it exposed Pablo’s heinous act.

  Liza looked at a blood-covered Pablo and the dead Cynthia with the knife still sticking out of her chest. She screamed and ran.

  The guard grabbed her and kept her still.

  “Where are you going, Liza?” Pablo asked, letting go of the lifeless Cynthia, her body falling to the ground with a thud. With his sleeve he wiped blood from his mouth.

  “You’re crazy!” Liza wailed.

  “I’m not crazy, Liza. This is the world now; I’m just the new normal,” he said and took her by the hair and threw her on the cot. He jumped on top of her and began to rip off her clothes.

  West of Joseph, Oregon, Republic of Cascadia

  “Carey, no!” Lexi screamed. She sat up quickly with sweat clinging to her face and arms.

  The room was dark save for a glimmer of moonlight that slid between the wooden slats of the blinds.

  She looked around and noticed she was in a bedroom. Panic filled her. She jumped out of bed and saw she was only wearing her panties and a T-shirt.

  “What the fuck?” she mumbled.

  At the foot of the bed a pair of her pants hung on the footboard. She grabbed and slipped them on.

  The bedroom door opened and the beam of a flashlight crossed over her.

  “Lexi?” Nicholas asked.

  “What did you do?” she replied.

  “Nothing.”

  “What am I doing in here?” she asked as she fastened the pants.

  “You weren’t feeling well. You complained about your neck and said your head was hurting badly, so I brought you in here so you could get a good night’s rest,” Nicholas said, defending his actions.

  “You took my clothes off,” Lexi bark
ed.

  “Your clothes had blood and brains all over them. You wouldn’t take them off when we got home, but when you passed out on the chair I thought I…”

  She slipped her boots on and walked up to him rapidly. “You presumed wrong. Don’t you ever, ever do that again.”

  “Chill out,” he barked back.

  “Did you touch me, did you?” Lexi asked.

  “If you mean like, you know, touched your privates, no, of course I wouldn’t.”

  She stormed past him and headed out of the bedroom.

  Nicholas followed her out and down the hall.

  She reached the kitchen and turned up the lantern on the table. “Where are my weapons, my knives?”

  “Over there,” he said and pointed to the counter.

  She picked up one of her folding knives and gripped it tight. She clipped it to her pocket and did the same for the others, with each renewing her confidence more and more.

  “I was only trying to help,” Nicholas said.

  “You don’t know me. Don’t ever think you can do whatever you want with me.”

  “I know you more than you think,” Nicholas fired back.

  “Don’t ever think you know me. You don’t know what I’ve seen; you don’t know what I’ve done,” she said and turned to face him. She pointed her finger at his face and continued, “I’m not some object you can do whatever you want to with.”

  “I got it, I got it, you don’t like to be touched. Christ, woman.” Nicholas sighed and threw up his arms.

  Her lips began to quiver and tears welled in her eyes.

  When he saw her emotion was about to overflow, he stepped closer to her.

  “No, don’t,” she said, her finger still pointed at him.

  “I’m not here to hurt you. You don’t have to worry about me,” he said and took a half step closer.

  “Get back, I’ll fucking cut you,” Lexi snapped.

  He listened to her threat. She had proven she was capable of such a thing.

  “You’re upset. I heard you screaming your sister’s name over and over,” Nicholas said.