by R. B. Tetro
After it had rained bombs the winters had become brutal to the point that any exposure at all to the sub- zero temperatures and the freight-train winds would result in immediate death. The mountain passages leading up to the mighty Over Watch would be impassible for months. The one good thing about the winters’ snow and ice was the fact that the snogs liked to hibernate. Sometimes the winter would drive packs of them underground into the caves for weeks and months on end.
For the first time in a very long time, they took a deep breath and actually relaxed. Poet looked at Angel, struggling with the words that he wanted to say to her and the way that he wanted to say them. He’d always been a whiz at writing things down that stirred the heart and provoked the mind but when it came to saying those things, he was a rank amateur at best.
“I can feel what you’re going to say in your touch,” she whispered.
Poet was surprised, at first, but then remembered who he was talking to. “It still needs to be said.”
She patted his hand, turning her stunning face in his direction. “I’m listening…”
“The old lady was the last friend on this God forsaken planet that I gave a shit about. I’ve got nobody to give a shit about and no one to give a shit about me.”
She started to interrupt, but he stopped her. “Please, let me finish. My face is horribly disfigured. It is hideous on a good day at best. I feel like you should know that… before we go any further…if we go any further…” his voice trailed off.
She reached out and traced the jumbled mess of thick scars on his face, smiling at him. “You’re forgetting that Onyx can see you… therefore, I can see you and have seen you and am seeing you now and I tell you, I have never seen anyone more beautiful.”
Poet almost cried out with relief. She pulled him to her and kissed him deeply. He kissed her back, lifting her easily off her chair, setting her on the edge of the table. He was slowly undressing her when Onyx started to whine and whimper at the door. Poet and Angel looked at him and laughed. After letting Onyx out, Poet turned and stopped, staring open mouthed, his throat thick, his heart hammering.
Angle was naked, standing in front of him with her hands out and a look on her face of frightened determination. “You’re my first,” she said softly; her voice trembling.
He went to her, pulling off his shirt, taking her in his arms. He lay her back gently and kissed her slowly on the lips then the neck and her shoulders and on down her taut stomach to where her womanhood began and then kissed her slowly back up to her open mouth. She reached for him, her nails scraping his shoulders and back.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
When the old lady regained consciousness, she was being dragged through an opening of a large cave, high up on a mountain. She started to scream, partly because she was shot multiple times and slashed and battered, the other part of it was because of the thing that was doing the dragging.
It was the massive rattle cat she’d saved. Instead of leaving her down there to die it had dragged her to the surface and down the ridge line to its lair. It hissed softly at her now, warning her that her screams could get them both killed.
She didn’t know how she understood but she did, so she shut up and gritted her teeth against the mind splitting pain as the huge rattle cat pulled her roughly through the cave entrance and down a short passage that opened up into a much larger cave filled with at least ten rattle cats of all shapes and sizes.
The old lady reached for her long knife, rolling away from her savior stiffly, and getting to her feet. All around her, the rattle cats were hissing and rattling and coiling to strike. The rattle cat that had brought her there stood protectively in front of her striking out at anything that started to move.
The old lady kept her good hand on the handle of her knife and her back against the cave wall. Finally, it seemed as though her savior was able to explain to its clan that she had saved him from a rock demon, therefore she was off limits. The rest of the rattle cats backed off and left her alone.
Satisfied all was well, the rattle cat nudged her gently with his hip, motioning for her to follow him with its rattle snake head. The old woman shivered but had no choice but to follow it through several tunnels and finally to an entrance to a different cave. The rattle cat stopped at the entrance, bobbing its great head up and down at her, before continuing on into the cave.
After taking a deep breath the old lady followed. Inside the cave were five more rattle cats. One of them came toward her rescuer and rubbed its body against his, intertwining their long necks around each other. The old lady realized that she was in the rattle cats’ home and that this was the rattle cat’s mate and the other three smaller rattle cats were his offspring.
Suddenly the biggest of his offspring struck out at the old lady almost ripping her head off. A split second before impact, the father head-butted his strike to the side and hissed and rattled at his son while he explained that she’d saved his life. And that was that. She was left alone to heal and rest.
It took days for the old lady to heal up enough to get back to her people. Unfortunately by that time, they, along with every other living thing in the territory, were snowed in. The old lady was a trapped and unwanted presence in the midst of terrifying creatures who wanted nothing more than to kill her and eat her.
Oh...is that all… and I thought I was really in trouble! the old lady grinned and survived.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
“Gather around the speaking circle my friends and we will learn from one another and make peace with one another.”
In the great hall of Over Watch, the people gathered around for the nightly meeting and took a seat around the stones of the scared speaking circle. Things had been deliciously quiet for over two months. The wounded were healing and the bonds between the Over Watch survivors and all their new allies were growing stronger with each passing day.
“Hello…” said Tinker.
As one the crowd answered him “Hello…”
“Everyone here knows me as Tinker. I am the one that fixes things and fiddles with things, and makes things whir and wobble.”
The crowd chuckled at that.
“I am not used to talking in front of such a large group of people, but I feel I must say what’s on my mind… while there is still a little time left… before things, unfortunately, go back to normal.” Tinker’s voice was quiet, but the caverns acoustics were so that he was easily heard without raising his voice. “My name… is Henry Tolbert.”
“Hello Henry…” the crowd replied as one.”
“Before the lights went out and the bombs fell, I was a golf-pro. I come from Christiansburg Virginia. Lived there all my life, never been anywhere or done anything anybody would ever want to write about.
I was married and had two children, both boys, and both liked to fix things… just like me. In the evenings, and on the rare weekends that I was home, we would fix things together... at home… in our garage.” Tinker paused with his face tilted up at the cavern ceiling.
“Like I said, my life wasn’t anything other than very ordinary but Millie and I, that’s my wife, we were happy and I had everything that a man should have.” Again he paused, taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly. “That was home for me. That was my life.
The day the bombs fell, I was bent over the deep freezer pulling out a chuck roast when the first blast hit. My sons were fixing the neighbor kids’ dirt bike behind me, and my wife was standing in the doorway leading into the house, waiting on me to hand her the roast.”
Tinker took another deep breath and blew it out slower, and longer. His thoughtful, dark eyes were glistening behind his ridiculously thick, homemade glasses. All the people were respectfully silent as they waited to hear the fate of his family; each of them with their own story of that fateful day, when the bombs changed the face of the world forever.
“We were fighting that day…something silly…don’t even remember what it was about, but I was short with her for interrupt
ing me and I’ve wished to God I hadn’t been every damn day since.
I hurt her feelings and I could see it in her eyes and right before the blast hit I wanted to say that I was sorry and that I loved her but I was too damn stubborn. Then the blast went off and she turned to dust along with my sons. I was knocked into the freezer. When I climbed out, the world was burning and millions of people were dead and dying.”
For a while, Tinker was silent, each of the survivors that were old enough to remember were remembering that day.
“I remember not being able to hear anything. I remember sweeping the dust from my sons and my wife with a short-handled broom and a dust pan into an old coffee can and standing there looking at nothing but desolation for as far as I could see in every direction.” Tinker paused, taking his glasses off and wiping the tears away from his face while he cleared his throat.
“For a long time, I stood in the remains of the garage, unsure what I should do, or where I should go, until finally my neighbor and dearest friend, Tom, came and got me. He dressed me in some sort of radioactive suit and we drove until we couldn’t drive anymore and then we walked until we couldn’t walk anymore.
Soon after, we were captured and taking to the Keep. There we were tortured and almost killed and then, we met our dear friend, Scout.”
Scout jumped up and whirled around, clapping his hands and smiling so big that everybody laughed and it helped ease the pain of all the memories.
“With the help of a very brave and special friend,” Tinker said, while looking at
Daniel. “We were able to escape. For a long while we lived wild in the mountains, until Reverend found us and brought us here. For some of you, Over Watch is the only home you have ever had. For some of you, like me, Over Watch is the only home you’ve had for a very long time. That is why it is with a very heavy heart I say… we must leave it behind.”
The crowd was loud in an instant, everyone clamoring to be heard at once. Tinker and Daniel nodded at each other. Reverend came forward and calmed the crowd down with his hands outstretched. After the cavern was silent once again, he motioned for Tinker to continue.
“When the snow melts in the passage, we will have to leave here in search of safer ground. Over Watch was not meant to be defended against such staggering numbers. It’ll eventually fall and we along with it. When the snow melts, two groups will leave here, one to travel across the griddle to the Star Towers, the other to go to the Keep and try and end all of this.
The people of Over Watch argued and complained and begged to stay at Over Watch and fight, but most of the arguments were half -hearted and lacked gusto. Everyone in the cave knew if they didn’t leave soon after the snow in the passes melted, they would be dead and eaten before summer.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
For a while, time stood still and the good people of Over Watch and all of their new friends and allies held on to and savored each and every second of every hour of each and every day. At night, they gathered around the speaking circle to listen to the radio and take turns sharing their life stories with one another.
This night was no different, except for the bothersome fact that it hadn’t snowed nearly as much that day and the wind had died down considerably, reminding everyone within their fortified walls that it would soon be time for them to fight for their lives once again.
“Gather around the circle and listen to my brother. He will tell you of places that no sane person would even think about visiting!” shouted Basher.
Reverend and Daniel cut a sharp look at him, both shaking their heads no. Basher ducked his head like a scolded child and leaned on his newest brother, Juggernaut. The crowd of Over Watch sat and settled, and Reverend began.
“Hello, friends.”
“Hello,” the crowd replied as one.
“Thank you… for all your hard work. It is with heavy hearts that we leave our home, but leave we must, and soon. The purpose of this meeting is to let you know where you’re heading and how much we’ll have to go through before we get there. The time we’ve had here and the place and society that Tom and Tinker created for us here will forever be in our hearts, but the time for going is fast approaching. I will ask Daniel to speak first, and then Chains will speak.”
Without further ado, Daniel stepped into the speaking circle. The people of Over Watch immediately sat up and paid attention.
“Hello…”
“Hello,” Over Watch replied.
“It’s been very nice getting to know all of you here. Had I known it was like this, I would have come here long ago. I’m not here to tell you my story. Instead, I will tell you what I intend to do.”
The people of Over-Watch were listening. There was something commanding about Daniel’s presence, something almost presidential.
“I and my brave, misguided friends will not be traveling with you into the griddle.”
Over Watch exploded into a chorus of loud objections. Daniel looked at Reverend, shook his head and smiled, waiting patiently for the crowd to settle. “Instead…we will go to the Keep to destroy Magnus and Siros.”
The crowd went bananas for a while and then a man stepped forward with six kids and a wife behind him. Daniel had seen him on one of the snog patrols and knew that he was a good fighter.
“The Griddle ain’t no playground and the Keep’s a suicide mission. Why not go with us to Star Towers?” he reasoned.
Daniel shook his head while the crowd murmured in agreement. “We can’t keep living like this!” Daniel’s voice cracked like a whip in the great cavern, causing everyone to immediately fall silent. “Those bastards are eating our children, our wives, our family, and our friends. Magnus and his uncle must die…will die!”
The crowd was inspired. More than half of them volunteered to go with Daniel, moving him deeply as he looked at Chloe and smiled and put his hand over his heart.
“It will just be a small handful of us that go to the Keep, the rest of you will stay together, cross the Griddle together, make it to the Star Towers together and live… happily ever after together…maybe,” chuckled Daniel, and the crowd chuckled with him. Most of them didn’t want Daniel to go to the Keep because all of them had begun to care for him and respect him.
“That’s all I have to say from the circle. Thank you for your time.” Daniel walked away and stood beside Reverend, who motioned for Chains to step into the speaking circle. The crowd was riveted to the podium as Chains came and towered over it. Standing well over seven-feet-tall, easily weighing over four hundred pounds with wild, waist length, smoke grey hair and matching beard, his ice blue eyes stared out
from underneath bushy grey eyebrows.
He looked over at his brother and Daniel who nodded at him to go ahead. “Hope you’re all listening. All you civilized Over Watchers. Some of you ain’t even been outside the gates...let alone gone where you’re going when the snows melt.”
Chains had the crowd’s attention. Even the young children stopped fidgeting, sat still and listened.
“The place you’ll all have to cross is called the Griddle. My brother Basher and I know all about it… because that’s where we come from. The Griddle’s hell turned upside down. I’m not much on bullshit… some of you people, especially you soft kind of people, aren’t going to make it. My brother and I are from Hog Trough. It’s a biker town on the other side of the Griddle, with an- I’d rather kill you than piss on you, mentality.” Chains paused and lit a smoke.
The crowd was still and silent. The flames from the torches illuminated Chains shadow, making him look more gigantic and scarier than he already was. “If you people think you’re going on a picnic, think again! They’re all out there, Rattle Cats… half mountain lion- half rattlesnake. If one of them bites you… you swell up like a giant balloon until you pop. Course, it takes a while.”
A couple of the younger kids started to whimper. Reverend frowned at Daniel, taking a step towards Chains to keep him from upsetting the children. Daniel stopped him wit
h an outstretched hand. “They need to hear what they’re going to go through.” Daniel told him before letting go of his arm.
Reverend didn’t like it, but he knew Daniel was right. The people of Over Watch had grown soft, and the only ones that were going to survive, were the ones that had more grit than the others. He nodded at Daniel and stayed put.
“The Griddle’s got two places to get water,” Chains continued. “If you don’t get water at those two places… you’re done for. Dead Stone’s the first place. It’s an Old West town, run by some local outlaws. You gotta bring all the silver bars and everything you can think of to trade for water, but even everything might not be enough.
For those of you that are squeamish about killing other folks, you will not make it. I’m telling you right now… you’re going to have to kill every damn one of them and take their precious water, or you can bet your sweet assed Momma’s favorite pistol… they’re damn sure going to kill you. Remember, when you get there don’t show weakness. They have to see that you’re willing to get just as nuts as they are or they’ll shoot you right away.
If you make it out of Dead Stone alive, congratulations, you now have a long ass, people-dying way to go. Next stop… Hog Trough…if you make it. That’s where we’re from. We’re bounty hunters there. Some people like us, and some want to kill us. Stay close to your weapons, because that place can go either way. If you survive Hog Trough, you’re almost home free,” Chains finished.
For a while, no one said anything, then one of the soldiers stepped forward and raised his hand. Chains scowled at him, but pointed at him to speak.
“I noticed you kept saying you and your a lot, but not we… does that mean you’re not going with us?”
The cavern was eerily silent. Everyone leaned forward, anxiously waiting for Chains answer. Chains looked at Reverend, then Daniel. Both of them looked at each other, then nodded yes to Chains. “My brother and I are going with Daniel,” he finally admitted.