“Shay let you come after me?” Eda said. “After an ambassador? I doubt that very much.”
“Yeah,” Lex said. “Shay wasn’t happy but guess what? I pulled rank and she knows she can’t afford to lose the warriors. Like you said, she’s smart. Not long after that, we hit the road and we were right behind you Eda. We followed you all the way to this godforsaken swamp. We waited too long, should have hit you before you disappeared in here. What the hell were you thinking about walking into this place?”
“I knew someone was following me,” Eda said. “Right from the start, I knew.”
“Yep.”
Eda’s fingers curled around the hilt of the short sword. The grip was unwelcoming and she knew in no uncertain terms that she couldn’t beat Lex. Taking out the old man with an unfamiliar weapon was one thing. Lex was another thing entirely.
But what choice did she have?
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Lex said, pointing at Eda’s hand on the hilt. “Although I admire your spirit.”
“What do you mean?” Eda said.
“I want to take you back to New York alive,” Lex said. “And in return for coming back, I’m willing to give you a swift, albeit public execution.”
Eda glanced towards the clearing. The fighting raged on, as fierce as ever.
“You want the warriors to see me die,” she said. “Right? You need them to see it. Is that the B-team down there today? Is the A-team waiting in New York for you to bring me back? For the big revenge ceremony?”
Lex wagged a finger back and forth.
“You should be more grateful,” she said. “I saved your life back there at the crater. That would have been a horrible way to go.”
“You saved my life so you can kill me.”
“I can give you so much better.”
“The East River?” Eda asked. “Is that where you’re going to put me?”
“You always were a smart girl,” Lex said, grinning. “Sure. That’s where you’ll go when it’s over.”
Lex took another look around, as if expecting someone else to turn up.
“But before any of that,” she said. “I really want to find that dog of yours. I want you to see what I’m going to do to it.”
Eda pointed the tip of her short sword at Lex. Her arms trembled under the weight of the weapon.
“This conversation’s over.”
Lex looked at the weapon with robotic contempt. “You want to fight me?” she asked. She opened her arms out wide. It was an invitation to violence.
Eda didn’t say anything. She took another subtle step back, opening up a little space in between them.
“Well why not?” Lex said, bouncing on her feet like a boxer. There was a cold, half-smile on her lips. “I think it’s fair to say I’m not at my best right now. I’m cut. I’m still beat up from New York. You’re a good fighter Eda, much better than I thought. There’s fresh blood on that sword of yours, I can smell it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll finish me off this time.”
A bird squawked overhead and it sounded like mad laughter.
“No,” Eda said in a quiet voice. “I don’t want to fight…”
She glanced upwards at the warrior. Slowly, her eyes moved beyond Lex; it was a subtle maneuver but Eda did it in a way that Lex couldn’t fail to miss.
She stared over Lex’s shoulders, looking at nothing but swamp. In her mind however, she saw Frankie Boy creeping up on all fours. He was coming to the rescue yet again.
Eda smiled, imagining it so vividly that it had to show up on her face.
Lex’s body stiffened. Eda knew what she had to be thinking in that moment. That Eda was trying to play her, that Frankie Boy was at that moment, just inches away. And for all the warrior’s bravado, she had to be at least a little bit afraid. She should have been terrified of Frankie Boy after what he’d done to her in New York. It couldn’t just be the wounds on Lex’s face and hands that were still fresh – the dog had almost killed her.
Eda looked at Lex. Then over her shoulder again, towards the imaginary beast coming up from behind.
Lex spun around and drew the katana from her scabbard. “C’mon you fucking dog,” she yelled. Ready for war, all she got was empty space.
Eda charged past while Lex’s back was turned.
“Bitch!” she heard Lex call after her.
Eda didn’t look back. She raced over the mud and grass, trying her best to make sure that she didn’t take one wrong step. If she slipped now it was over. But she had to throw caution to the wind, abandoning everything else for the sake of speed.
Lex tore after her. It sounded like an angry winged goddess on her tail. Supernatural speed. Feet like thunder plowing through the dirt.
“Get back here! I’ll kill you.”
The threats were getting closer.
Eda knew she couldn’t outrun Lex. After everything that happened, her body screamed for mercy. The engine was exhausted and slowing against her will.
Thrown into a state of intense, trance-like focus, Eda rediscovered the markings on the trees. Circles. Then triangles. They went past in a blur. She wondered if the warriors had made the connection yet. Had they triggered one of the traps?
Had they lost someone like Eda had?
She groaned, in between gasping for breath. It was her only chance of giving Lex the slip. It was also very likely a suicide mission. In order to lead Lex through the booby-trapped trees, Eda knew the price she’d have to pay. She’d have to lead the way.
Victory and failure, it was in the lap of gods. Eda would either end up like Becky or she’d sentence Lex to the same grisly fate. But what if it was Eda’s leg caught in the steel trap? What would Lex do to her if she couldn’t open the trap? Would she hack off the limb and drag Eda, bleeding and deformed, out of the swamp and back east to New York to face a public revenge?
Lex was gaining on Eda. She had to be close enough now that she’d follow Eda through the marked trees. Not close enough however, that she could reach out and grab Eda before triggering the trap.
Eda saw the shapes carved onto the two trunks. Triangles.
This was it.
She gritted her teeth and with a final burst of acceleration, charged through the hunting trail. Eda hurdled over a little mound of earth piled up in the center of the pathway. She landed with a jarring thud but stayed upright.
She was through.
Lex’s feet crashed over the soft ground behind her. She was so close that Eda thought the warrior had already escaped the trap. Any second now, Lex’s hot breath would touch Eda on the back of the neck. Then the hand would reach out and…
There was a thick snapping sound. It wasn’t the ordinary sound of twigs snapping underfoot in the Meadows.
Lex roared in horror.
Eda turned around. At the same time her feet kept moving, survival instinct pulling her backwards. She caught sight of a thick branch to Lex’s left. This branch hauled up a large net of rope concealed under the swamp floor, smothered in leaves, dirt and fine sticks. The net ascended quickly, wrapping itself around Lex and lifting her about ten feet above the ground.
The katana fell out of her hands on the way up.
“NO!”
Lex hung in midair, peering through the bars of her rope cage. With all her strength, Lex tore at the net but it was too sturdy to give way. She didn’t stop there – she thrust an arm through the net, clawing at Eda from above. A deep growling noise spilled out of the woman, perhaps involuntarily. It sounded like a wild bear caught in the trap.
“Eda. Get me out of this and we’ll talk, I swear.”
Her fingers wrapped themselves around the rope and she tried once again to tear it apart like it was paper.
Eda walked tentatively closer.
She bent down and picked up Lex’s sword and looked at it. It was much lighter than the short sword. It would make a fine weapon.
“Leave it!” Lex snarled, extending her arm through the net, crooked fingers yearning for the blade.
“Don’t you touch that. Don’t you dare take my sword!”
Eda stared at the wriggling figure caught in the rope net. Despite feeling dizzy and sick to the stomach, she allowed herself a smile.
“You should have stayed in New York,” she said.
12
Eda left Lex hanging in the trap without a second thought.
Still carrying both swords, she ran about a hundred meters in a direction she hoped was north. Lex’s angry insults faded into the background. When she arrived at a small clearing, Eda dropped the short sword onto the dirt. She took a long look around and when she was certain that she was alone, she fell onto her knees and buried the weapon under a mound of shallow earth.
She stood up again, a little too quickly. Dancing on wobbly legs, Eda took several deep breaths and waited until the dizziness passed. How long had she been on the move now? How much had happened? Looking at her hands, Eda saw they were black with dirt. Her clothes smelled foul. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt dry.
With a self-motivating, primal grunt, Eda set off with the katana in hand. The memory of Lex swinging in the net had at least renewed her spirits, which had been flagging after the loss of Becky. The Children and the warriors were preoccupied with each other.
She had a chance.
If only she knew where the hell she was going.
Eda’s eyes roamed the vast expanse of wetlands. As well as looking for a way out, she was still searching for Frankie Boy who’d gone missing again. But the dog, wherever he was, was in no rush to be found. He’d made himself at home in the Meadows and why not? Eda had noticed a spring in the German Shepherd’s step ever since they’d left the urban world behind. The thought occurred to her that Frankie Boy wouldn’t want to leave all this green stuff when the time came. If it came to a choice between Eda and staying in the swamp, what would he do?
A surge of loneliness swept over Eda, so powerful that it almost knocked her off her feet.
“Frankie?”
The air was damp and rotten and it had the effect of making Eda feel like she was still trapped underwater. Still drowning.
She looked over to her right and saw a flicker of movement behind the trees. A face. Then it disappeared behind the green barrier.
“Who’s there?” Eda said.
Was she imagining things again?
She stood frozen, her feet trapped in the spongy surface underneath. Eda stared towards the trees, not blinking, gripping the handle of the samurai sword with both hands.
Was it Lex? Could it be?
No. There was no way Lex could have escaped from the net so quickly. Not unless one of the other warriors had found her and released her. But that would have been a miracle in itself – surely all the warriors were dead by now.
There was a loud rustling noise.
“Come out!” Eda yelled. Her eyes jumped back and forth, trying to cover all sides. “I know you’re there. I see you.”
There was short pause. A meek voice called out from afar:
“Don’t hurt me.”
Light footsteps on the swamp floor.
A young man stepped out with his hands up. He was no more than a boy really, about sixteen or seventeen at most, dressed in tattered camouflage clothing. His scruffy red hair was soaked with sweat and his cheeks were ablaze with a hot, flustered pink.
“You won’t hurt me?” he said.
“That depends,” Eda said. “You can put your hands down.”
He lowered his hands.
“So what are you doing…?”
As Eda spoke, she heard something to her left. Rustling. The crackling of the ground as it betrayed whoever was trying to move unnoticed. At first, Eda thought it was an ambush – that the boy had others of his kind lurking in wait, waiting to pounce on her.
Eda’s knuckles turned white as she squeezed the katana hilt. Adrenaline coursed through her veins.
“Come out you bastards…”
She groaned with relief when the big German Shepherd crept out of the bushes. It looked like a wild animal slithering out of the belly of the swamp. He didn’t look at Eda. Frankie Boy was all business, stalking the boy, moving forward in a low crouch, so low that his underside brushed off the dirt. Half-lizard, half dog.
The boy whimpered at the sight of the black beast.
“No! No! No! Please. Don’t let it hurt me.”
His hands were up over his head again. Two large, frightened eyes darted back and forth between Eda and Frankie Boy.
“Call it off,” he begged.
Eda did nothing at first. Opportunity had distracted her.
Now she stepped forward, all set to play the role of the white knight, albeit one dressed in a sacrificial black suit.
“Frankie!” she said. Eda’s tone was firm. She made a loud clapping noise, once then twice.
“Frankie Boy. Stop it. Come over here.”
She had no idea if the dog would listen to her. Why should he? There was no ownership in the relationship between them. It didn’t matter how many times people referred to Frankie Boy as ‘her dog’, he was a free spirit, one that did as he pleased.
But Frankie was listening to Eda. His ears pricked up at the sound of her voice, his brown eyes mellowed and he raised himself back to a standing position. His looked back and forth between Eda and the teenage boy. Then he sat down, like a bodyguard looming in the background.
The boy exhaled with relief. With a trembling hand, he wiped the sweat off his pink face.
“Who are you?” Eda said. She pointed the tip of the katana in his direction, making sure he didn’t get too comfortable.
“Number 64,” he said.
“You don’t have a proper name?” Eda said.
“That is my name,” he said, sounding offended. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Never mind,” Eda said.
She noticed glimmering droplets of water running down one side of his face.
“Is that…?” she asked. “Are you crying?”
Number 64 wiped the back of his hand over his face. Violently. Sweat and tears intermingled, beyond his control. As he rubbed his face dry, a sudden explosion of birdsong erupted above their heads.
“My dad’s dead,” he said.
“What?”
“My dad is dead.”
Eda jerked a lazy thumb over her shoulder.
“Back there?” she asked. “In the fighting?”
Number 64 nodded. “Most of them are dead or dying,” he said. “It was a massacre back there. There were no winners.”
“How’d you get away?” Eda said.
“I ran,” the boy said. He looked irritated by the question and shifted restlessly on his feet. “I’m a coward, okay? I ran away before any of those women could butcher me like they did my dad.”
Eda lowered the sword, very slowly. “Sounds like the smart move to me,” she said. “That’s what I would have done.”
Number 64 stared at her. There was a long silence, like he was waiting for the punch line.
“You mean it?”
“Sure,” Eda said. “It’s kind of stupid dying when you don’t have to. Right?”
Number 64 brushed a clump of sweaty hair off his forehead. In turn, he wiped the damp hand off his camouflage pants.
“Yeah.”
“Where are you going now?” Eda asked.
The boy hesitated. “I don’t want to be here anymore,” he said, lowering his voice. “All of this, living in the Meadows and hiding away from the world – I’m done with it. I’m finished with Uncle Sam and with Baldilocks.”
“You’re done with Uncle Sam?” Eda said. “Is that what you mean? He won’t be too pleased about that, will he?”
“My father worshipped Uncle Sam,” Number 64 said. “I don’t. Where was Uncle Sam today when my old man needed him? Huh? Where was Baldilocks for that matter? To hell with it. I just want to get out of here and start afresh. Uncle Sam won’t miss me.”
Eda pointed the sword north.
“Are you going to the Two Bridges Road?” she asked.
Number 64 nodded. “Yeah. Of course, where else?”
Eda’s heart was racing. As long as she could trust the boy, this was the way out of Great Piece Meadows that she’d been looking for. This was it. She’d earned a break for God’s sake, and here it was.
So why did she feel lousy?
Her thoughts were never far from Becky. That tortured face, the one that would never see the Boston skyline, was a constant companion. Eda knew that she’d have to live with it for the rest of her life. Awake and in dreams. And not just the face, but the knowledge that she’d left Becky to die in that terrible situation. That was a shadow that would follow her through darkness. And it was something she could never fix.
“The other woman,” Eda said, staring hard at Number 64, “the one I ran with.”
“Bank Manager,” Number 64 said.
“Her name was Becky,” Eda snapped. “Don’t call her Bank Manager.
“Sorry.”
“Did you see her back there?”
Number 64 nodded. “I saw her.”
An icy chill ran down Eda’s spine. “And?”
“The warriors got there first,” he said. His matter of fact tone disgusted Eda. “Man, they did some terrible…”
Eda held up a hand. But it was the fierceness of her eyes that told the boy to shut up.
Fortunately he took the hint.
“It’s not right,” Number 64 said, looking at his feet. “What goes on in here. I’ve always known it. A lot of people know it I think but after the war, everyone is so scared of what’s out there that they just take it. Not me, not anymore. I’m leaving.”
“Why don’t the others leave?” Eda said. “If they know it’s wrong.”
Number 64 shrugged lazily. “Baldilocks always says the same thing – this year might be the last year. It’s nearly over and yet it never is. In the meantime, people are safe.”
Eda was only half-listening to the boy.
“I’ll show you how to get to the road,” Number 64 said. “That’s what you want right? As long as you let me go I’ll take you wherever you want. What do you say?”
After the End Trilogy Box Set Page 28