16 May
With a sudden realization, I looked back at my watch. It was 0600 hours. That meant that almost twenty four hours had passed since we began the tattooing. Somehow, we had lost an entire day. How long had he been applying ink to my back? What had I gotten myself into? What exactly had happened? Hell, I could still smell the hot metal of the forge in my nostrils.
Snake began to stir as I sat up. He looked as bewildered as I did, glancing around the room like he wasn’t sure where he was at. He reached up and wiped his beard with his left hand, then stood up, blinking rapidly.
“What the hell happened?” he asked, his voice still thick with sleep.
“I’m not sure,” I said, turning to reach for my shirt.
“Holy shit!” he gasped, behind me.
I spun around expecting trouble, only to find that he was staring at me.
“What!” I demanded, my heart racing.
“Your back…,” he said, his eyes wide.
“What about it?” I said, trying to look over my shoulder.
“The art…,” he stammered. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“You drew it,” I said, looking at him in shock.
“I don’t remember it,” he said. “It all became a blur sometime after about the sixth hour. I don’t know how long this took, but it had to have been a long time.”
I headed into the bathroom to look in the large mirror that was above the sink. I turned slightly and angled myself so that I could see. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The artwork was so vivid, it almost looked real. There, in shades of black, grey, and blue was the most magnificent piece of artwork I had ever seen. It covered my entire back from the base of my skull to my hips. It surrounded and encompassed my Volknut on my back, without covering it. If anything, it seemed to make it stand out even more.
The center piece was a large Thor’s Hammer. The detail was striking. It looked like it was made either of crudely forged steel or stone. The designs and knot work inlaid in it was so lifelike, it seemed to lift off of the skin. Behind the hammer was a wolf with glowing eyes. It leaned dangerously low and bared its teeth in a vicious snarl. The detail was incredible.
The entire thing was wreathed in a smoky flame that faded towards my sides. Inside the flames were nine rune stones, each one with a rune for the Nine Noble Virtues of my faith. There was: Uruz for Courage, Kenaz for Truth, Tiwaz for Honor, Ehwaz for Fidelity, Dagaz for Discipline, Othala for Hospitality, Eihwaz for Self-Reliance, Naudic for Industriousness and Jera for Perserverance.[17]
Hiding in the smoke on my shoulders were Odin’s twin ravens, Hugin and Munin. They were banking through the smoke at the edge of the fire on my shoulders. They were both done in magnificent details. You could even make out the individual lines on the feathers. Clutched in their talons were the edges of my Volknut. It was amazing.
I couldn’t believe how vivid the artwork was. It didn’t look like something that could have been drawn with such primitive tools. I’ve seen less impressive artwork drawn by professional artists with months of work invested. This was just incredible. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Snake's hand had to have been guided by the Gods. This was significant and it would take me a long time to fully understand the meaning behind it.
“Well, what do you think?” asked Snake, sticking his head in the door.
“How did you do this?” I asked, awe in my voice. “With a fucking homemade alarm-clock tat gun, no less.”
“I honestly don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve never done anything that good in my life. I don’t even remember doing it.”
“This is amazing,” I said. “I think it has to symbolize something more than just surviving the zombies.”
“It does,” he said. “It symbolizes Ragnarok. We are living through Ragnarok.”
“I’m not sure what to say,” I said, still looking at the image in the mirror.
“Well,” he said, slowly, “I guess this means that we’re building a forge.”
“What!” I exclaimed, turning to him. “How did you know about that?”
“I dreamed about an old man forging weapons,” he said. “He told me that we had to build a forge. I was to help create something called Brjótanir. I have no idea what that is.”
“It’s the name I gave to the hammer I want to make out of the Halligan bar,” I answered. “I haven’t told anyone that.”
“The old man told me in the dream,” he said, looking slightly confused. “What does it mean?”
“It means destroyer in old Norse,” I explained.
“Alright,” he said, smiling, “let’s find a place to build us a forge.”
“Let’s get cleaned up and eat some breakfast, first. I’m starving.”
Snake headed out for his own quarters while I hit the shower in my own. I was shocked that the hot water didn’t hurt when it hit my new tattoo. There was no pain, no irritation, no bleeding. In fact, it didn’t even seem like it was fresh. It looked perfectly healed. It also covered up the scars on my back with the shading. You couldn’t even tell that they were there, unless you looked very closely.
I almost felt bad covering it with a shirt when I got dressed. Karen and the boys met me when I got out of the bathroom and we headed down to the kitchen to eat. I could tell something was bothering her as we walked in silence.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.
“Nothing,” she muttered, not looking at me.
Uh oh. I knew what that meant. I was in trouble.
“Boys,” I said. “Go on ahead and let us talk for a minute.”
The boys headed off without argument and we waited until they were out of earshot before we spoke.
“What is it, babe?” I asked, trying to sound soothing.
“After everything else,” she started, whirling to face me, “your first day back you spent getting a tattoo. What were you thinking?”
“That it wasn’t going to take nearly as long as it did,” I said, carefully. “Babe, there’s more going on here than I can easily explain.”
I took her by the hand and led her back inside our room. Once the door was shut, I removed my shirt and turned so she could see the back piece.
“That guy you call Snake did this!” she said, shaking her head.
“He doesn’t remember doing it,” I explained. “He says he blacked out. We both did. We also had the same dream. The old man who saved me told us both that we had to build a forge.”
She didn’t answer me. She just stared at the tattoo. Soon, I felt her fingers tracking some of the patterns. The runes, the hammer, even the ravens.
“Wylie,” she said, after a moment, “this is so unbelievable. I mean, are you sure that this means what you think it means?”
“I don’t know, babe,” I admitted. “But one thing is for certain. There’s no logical way to explain this. It just doesn’t make sense any other way. It’s a message from the All-father. Our path is being set before us.”
“What path?” she asked, almost in a whisper.
“I don’t know where it’s going to lead,” I said, shaking my head. “All I know for sure is that my work is only beginning. Ragnarok is just starting.”
We walked back out and into the kitchen. There was already a large crowd there, busily eating their morning meal. The boys had grabbed a table for us and saved us seats. We grabbed plates of food and joined them. Elliott didn’t look any worse for wear and seemed in remarkably good spirits. He didn’t even seem to have any residual effects from his dislocated shoulder.
Spec-4, Southard and Gunny came over and joined us at our table. They slid into their own seats without a word and joined in like they belonged there. Well, they did belong there. I had shed blood with each of them. They were family to me. I think even Karen felt that way, too. She was even starting to accept Spec-4 as part of our extended family. There was tension there, but there was gratitude, too. Spec-4 had saved my l
ife on more than one occasion.
Soon, we were all chatting and laughing. The camaraderie was contagious and it felt good to be a part of it. It was good to see them all laughing, despite the dangers we’d been through and would face before it was through. Together, we’d face it and come through it. Gunny was the adopted grandfather my boys looked up to. Southard was like a brother to me. Spec-4 was…well…it’s complicated. More than a sister, but not a lover.
Around us, I could see that the new arrivals had been welcomed into the group with open arms. Even Snake was sitting with a group. There were his two ladies from the boat and a group of the people that came in from the Underground. He was regaling them all with a story that had them laughing. When he glanced my way, he met my gaze and gave me a slight nod. It was odd, but I could sense that somehow our destinies were connected.
After we ate, I headed back to my quarters to gather my gear. They had already begun securing the perimeter before I made it back. I wanted to see how much they had done and what we needed to work on. Karen helped me put on my armor and made sure that my gear was all in place before kissing me.
I wondered what role she had to play in all of this, before Ragnarok was through. I knew that whatever my role was, she would be at my side through it all. I also knew that Ragnarok would take time. There would be several different stages. If this was only the beginning, then we really had our work cut out for us.
I headed out the main door with a group of our people. We had warriors and we had other people with other skills. Everything from equipment operators to mechanics. We would need them all and more before this was finished. Our job now was to make certain we had the defenses in place for us to survive. We needed to make this place safe if we were going to grow crops and make a life.
They had already sealed off the bridges and began clearing obstacles for the placement of a fence around the core area of the park. The river made a great natural boundary, but the Stalkers had already proven that the water wouldn’t stop them. We needed something better. Something solid that they couldn’t get through. The problem was that they could also climb. So whatever we made was going to have to be strong and hard for them to scale.
We had plenty of rocks and earth, but no heavy equipment to move it with. Without a backhoe or a bulldozer, the task of building a solid wall was going to take a long time. I know the old expression was that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the faster we secured our perimeter, the faster we could begin living a more normal life. We could move out of the bunker and into the housing that was already in the park.
We had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it. There was a forge to build, the perimeter fence to construct and a community to establish. With our little group having swelled to almost a hundred survivors, there was plenty of hands to share in the work. If we had a chance of pulling this off, it was going to take all of us working together.
In the tool shed, we found a wide assortment of landscaping and hand tools. There was even a small concrete mixer. We had everything we needed to start building our new home and fortifying it. Well, everything except heavy equipment and construction materials. Those were going to take a little more work on our part. It would probably mean a supply run into the surrounding areas.
We already had crews working on getting the vehicles inside the bunker up and running. Another crew was clearing the way for the fence construction to begin. We had plenty of food, for the moment. It would probably get us through the winter, but after that we'd have to start looking for other sources. I wanted to be ready to grow our own food, long before then.
More out of reflex than anything else, I kept my weapon in my hand the entire time I was outside. The Beowulf never left my hand, unless I had to use both of them for something. Otherwise, I was ready to shoot at a moment's notice. The Stalkers might be nocturnal, but the rest of the damned things weren't. If we let our guard down, people would die. That was unacceptable.
I was looking at a covered picnic pavilion with open sides when Snake caught up with me. I had already noticed that it had a central chimney for a fire pit in the middle. It could be used for cooking, even in bad weather. It would also be perfect for use as a forge, with a little work.
"Are you thinking the same thing I am?" asked Snake, gesturing at the pavilion.
"Absolutely," I replied. "All we need to do is convert the fire pit to a fire pot and hearth."
"What are we going to use as a bellows?" he asked, frowning.
"They built them back in the middle ages," I said. "I don't see any reason why we can't build one. We'll improvise."
"What about fuel?" said Snake.
"I'm not sure if we can get it hot enough with wood," I admitted. "We may have to scrounge up some coal."
"I guess we can search old power plants and factories," he said, scratching his beard.
"Probably our best shot, in this area," I agreed. "I know that the power plant on the south side of Springfield has a massive pile of coal. Worst case scenario, we'll make a run into Springfield."
Our planning session was interrupted by Corporal Winston, who came trotting out to us with an excited look on his face.
"What's up, Bill?" I asked, as he came to a stop and tried to catch his breath.
"We've picked up a couple of contacts on the radio," he said, smiling.
They had been busy setting up his Ham Radio set and rigging an antenna. I knew that under the right circumstances, a decent Ham set could reach halfway around the globe.
"Where?" I asked, suddenly smiling.
"The first is a group of survivors on some large boats," he said. "We got them on a good atmospheric bounce. Most days, my radio won’t reach that far.. They've banned together just off of the California coast. One of the boats is a converted Luxury Liner. The rest are Navy, I think."
"Good to know that they're there," I said, smiling. "They're too far away for us to get to. Besides, it sounds like they might be quite a bit better off than we are. Well, unless they run into the Stalkers."
"I warned them," he said.
"Who's the second contact?" asked Snake.
Winston gave him a brief look, but didn't immediately respond. I could tell that Bill didn't particularly like Snake and would have to get used to him before he'd treat him like one of us. Bill glanced at me and I gave him a slight nod. Bill just shrugged and smiled, a bit nervously.
"The second contact wasn't too far from here," said Winston. "It's a small group that's held up in a store in Lebanon."
"That close?" I said. "They're right up the road. Are they alright, for now?"
"They held up in a Mega-Mart," he said, shaking his head. "They're in good shape for the moment."
"How do you seal off glass doors?" asked Snake.
"I asked the same thing," said Winston. "They used forklifts to pile full pallets of potting soil and other heavy stuff in front of the doors. They say it's holding pretty well, for now."
"Why didn't we hear from them before?" I asked.
"They only have a couple of handset radios," he said. "They don't have much range. The only reason we heard them is that I fired up the big radio and boosted the signal with the big antenna I rigged on top of the ridge."
"Good work, Bill," I said, smiling. "We might see if they want to join forces, out here."
"Who would want to live inside a store?" asked Snake.
"That store," I said, smiling, "might just be a treasure trove. If there's anything left, they could have hygiene items, clothing that isn't military issue, fishing gear, and tools. Hel, they might even have medical supplies."
"Good point," said Winston. "Think they'll want to join us?"
"Who knows," I said, shaking my head. "We're not going to force them to. I'd love to have access the what's in that store, but I won't take it from them."
"Would they show us the same courtesy?" asked Snake.
"Maybe," I said. "Maybe not. Either way, I won't be the villain. If they attack us, we'll fight back.
We won't attack them, first."
"Fair enough," said Snake. "The Third Noble Virtue. Honor. I like that about you, Wylie."
"We all need to try to live up to the Nine Virtues," I said. "If we can all do that, the world will be worth rebuilding."
"How many survivors in their group?" asked Snake, turning back to Winston.
"Over twenty," he said, smiling. "They said it's mostly women and kids."
"I doubt that they would have admitted that if they were looking for trouble," I said, knotting my brow.
"Me either," said Winston. "I think they're friendly. They were pretty damned excited to hear from us."
"Did you tell them where we are?" I asked, suddenly concerned.
"No," said Winston, quickly. "I just said that they weren't too far away."
I thought about that for a bit, not speaking. Even if they were friendly, that didn't mean that everyone who heard the conversation was friendly. We'd learned that the hard way with the Freemen. They monitored our radios and hit us when we didn't expect it. I knew Winston wouldn't forget that, either. None of us were likely to.
"Alright," I said. "Did you say you'd be in contact?"
"Yeah," he said, grinning. "We're going to talk again at 1800 hours, after we both had time to let our people know about the contact."
"Good call," I said. "If they ask us to pull them out, we'll see what we can pull off."
Winston nodded and headed back towards the bunker. Snake and I resumed our conversation about the construction of the forge and started making sketches on a small pad of paper. With any luck, we would have most of the defenses built and the forge functioning in a week or two, at the most. Then things would really start taking shape.
Chapter Fourteen
Shapes in the Mist
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well."
- Jack London
Ragnarok Rising: The Crossing (The Ragnarok Rising Saga) Page 22