by R. B. Tetro
As one, the prisoners able to stand and wield a weapon shouted their support.
“Good! Good, those of you unable to fight, please go with Gary. The rest of you, what are you standing around for? We have a trip into hell to take!”
They all got a good laugh out of that, but not for very long. The Keep was waiting for them. And all the hell that came with it.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY
Angel stood as tall as she could and tried to stop herself from trembling while Magnus towered over her. Although she could not see him she could easily sense his enormous size. He was a giant, even bigger than Chains and Juggernaut, which frightened her more than she could stand. She wished Onyx was with her but, at the same time, she was glad he wasn’t.
She knew if her champion was here he would sacrifice his life for her and the thought of him and the rest of her friends safely going on with their lives without her was the only thing keeping her from completely falling apart.
Magnus was sniffing her and she recoiled at his beastly breath. She retched a little, placing her hand over her mouth, which infuriated him. He slapped her so hard she thought, for a moment, that he’d caved in the side of her head.
“There is something about her…something I think quite dangerous,” Siros’ warning startled Magnus. “What are you talking about, you old fool? She’s mine. For pleasure obviously. I mean, look at her…she’s exquisite.”
Angel could sense something dark and more, vile than anything she’d ever been in contact with and she wanted to run away screaming and she would have if Magnus hadn’t reached out and grabbed her shoulder so hard she was sure her bones would turn to dust.
“Yes, she’s quite spectacular. Perhaps we could share her? You know, in the interest of peace,” but even as Siros suggested it he saw the look in Magnus’ eyes. It was the look of the alpha male claiming his prize.
The old man shrugged. “As you wish. It makes no difference to me. Only- watch this one Magnus… she is powerful in ways you don’t understand.”
Magnus wasn’t listening. He was too busy carrying Angel away to his quarters. He cursed himself for drinking too much and found that he couldn’t stay awake long enough to take her. So he chained her to his bed before he passed out with his boots still on and his sword underneath him.
Angel waited patiently before testing her restraints but it was no use. She was alone in the dark with a madman the size of three men. Angel had been through a lot but in that moment, chained to the bed of the monster of her new master she cried…and cried some more. She wept silently to keep from waking her captor until she couldn’t cry anymore. Then, when she was done crying and praying, she heard a soft whirring noise, then clicking sound and a faint, barely audible whistle.
She felt something with fur brush against her back and then it was closer. It whirred and clicked and whistled and somehow, she knew it was a friend- whatever it was. She leaned into the creature and it leaned into her. Suddenly, Angel felt a jolt of energy flash in the back of her brain and slowly, her vision came alive and she saw that she could see. She almost yelped out-loud in excitement.
She gasped as Candle took a long hard look at himself in the ceiling-high mirror so that she could see that he was an abnormally large rodent. He introduced himself to her and told her that they must hurry. Then he started gnawing at the piece of leather that held the key to the shackles on Magnus’ belt.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE
Constance had spent so much time being consumed by evil, she’d forgotten the one thing that is capable of defeating evil; she’d forgotten the power of love. She and Darius spoke for hours about all sort of things they’d never spoke of before; both of them being blatantly honest and raw, but at the end of their talks they’d felt closer. And each time Constance grew closer to being human again and further away from the darkness she’d been enveloped in.
“I missed you, mom,” Darius said softly. “I’m so glad we have each other, despite things being so bad. It feels like it’ll be almost okay… as long as we have each other.”
Constance let the warmth of his words wash over her icy heart, and she shuddered as the evil festering within her fought against the love that came with his words. “I missed you too son,” she whispered. “And, I love you. Tell you what- I think tonight I will just eat the bread and vegetables with you. No meat…maybe no more meat, ever again,” she added thoughtfully.
Darius managed to sit up and put one of his arms around his mother. For the first time in a very long time, he felt hope again and his heart soared. “That would be so good, Mom! It’s not that bad, you’ll see.”
Constance held her son closer, pressing her ice cold cheek against his fevered brow. “I don’t want to be evil anymore, but I have danced too close to Evil’s fire and it has consumed me. I love you Darius, and will forever regret not being the mother you so deserve.”
Darius wanted to tell his mother that everything was going to be all right but he figured it would probably be better to leave that in God’s hands. Instead he murmured, “All who believe in Him and turn from their sins are forgiven by Him. In that you must believe, or all hope is lost…”
Constance nodded and smiled sadly. “Perhaps it’s time for you to go away from here, my son. You cannot save me but perhaps I could save you. I still have great power and can use it. At the cost of my soul, which I would gladly do in exchange for your escape. It would be my last act of redemption.”
Darius sat straight up and shrugged her off of him, fire blazing in his eyes. “I didn’t stay here looking out for you all this time, just to leave you now!”
There was soft knock on the door, interrupting Constance’s’ answer. It was dinner time. She opened the door and a servant bound in rags bent over at the waist with her head down and her eyes glued to the floor. She wheeled in their dinner cart and bowed, waiting patiently and silently until Constance remembered she was there and bid her leave with a nod.
Darius sat up eagerly eyeing the bountiful food tray. “Oh not yet, my son. Tonight’s meal is special and you must first wash before we eat this meal of promise.”
Darius nodded and sat up, painfully dropping his feet over the far side of the bed, and washed his face and hands in the copper bowel full of clean water on the nightstand. While his back was turned to her, Constance did what she felt she had to do. She’d known that when she’d suggested Darius leaving her behind and escaping, he would never go for it so she poured a potion in his water so that he would sleep while she sent his soul to heaven and surrendered her soul to hell.
After the wonderful meal, Constance waited for the potion to take effect before slipping her pearl-handled dagger out from under her gown and holding its point to her sleeping son’s unprotected throat.
She was crying, her hands trembling and her breath coming in short gasps. “I have to do this my son,” she wept. “There is no other way!” She sat still for a moment, undecided, and just at the moment she was poised to strike, the door to her chambers flew open and Angel stopped her with a loud shout.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO
Two hours before sunset, Daniel and his group ran into Reverend and his comrades on their way to help rescue Angel. There were no words to express the feelings that the sight of their friends in such an unfriendly environment brought to their hearts.
It had taken Daniel and his fighters nearly two days of non-stop marching to get from the front of the Keep to the back and they were bone tired. After a lot of arguing it had been decided that Standing Wolf and his warriors would blow the gate and attack, hopefully creating a diversion so that Daniel and the rest of his friends could gain access to the backside of the Keep and accomplish their mission.
It was a long shot and they all knew that the chances of them actual surviving were not even in existence but still, it was the only plan that made sense. When they heard the blast from Tinker’s thumper, it would signal the beginning of their attack. Some of the freed prisoners fed the
m and tended to their wounds as best as they could before standing watch over them for a few precious hours, so they could try and get some desperately needed rest.
Everyone except for Daniel, who sat tall and rigid on a rock while one of the doctors from the prisoner camp sewed a gash in his back as wide as two fingers and washed it in whisky. Not once did he flinch or even grunt.
Beside him sat Pops.
“Once inside, we stay together. We keep moving-guerilla style fighting until we find Angel and my family. Once we have our people, I’m counting on you to get them to safety while I finish all of this.”
Pops didn’t like that and he said, “I ain’t no nurse maid. I came here to kick ass. Why not let the prisoners help them?”
Daniel looked at his friend with patient smile. “I know you came here to fight and you’ve done a fine job of that but to tell you the truth, there’s only one or two people that I trust with my family and you’re one of them. I’d consider it a personal favor. Besides, you have two sons who are waiting for you.”
Pops wasn’t done arguing but he honored his promise to Daniel and he kept his mouth shut as Reverend and the rest of them came up and joined them. “I was just telling Pops what the plan is…” Daniel laid out his plan for them and they all nodded in agreement but still, he couldn’t help but feel they were hesitating to tell him something.
“I had a vision, a dream really about what we should do once were in there. I mean, I know where to go,” Poet tried to explain.
The old lady confessed to having the same dream and, one by one, they shared their dreams and pondered the meaning of their dreams until, at last, they had a better plan and direction. After that, they sat huddled silently, waiting for the Red Robin’s broadcast. Some of them tried to pray, others tried to sleep but most of them looked up at the forbidding place they were about to enter, and wandered what the next day would bring.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE
“This is the Red Robin,”
Wasteland warriors, can you hear me? Am I coming through loud and clear? Listen up!
I have some good news and not so good news and since none of you are here to tell me which one you want to hear first I’m going to open up with the good news. Here it is... Some of the survivors have made it to the Star Towers and are safe from harm.
Now that’s good news, am I right? But, this is the post bomb world. The world we all try and survive every day and what would some good news like that mean to anyone unless it came along with some bad news? That’s the way of things, isn’t it fellow patriots? A little good with the bad…so here it is.
The bad news is, there’s a small force of rebels trying to take it directly to Magnus and his ugly old uncle and right now, as we speak, they could use some help. Because, my fellow freedom fighters, if they don’t get help and get help fast we’re all going to need help.
My heart and prayers go out to the heavy hitters, the bravest of the brave. One thing is for certain above all things, and that is that we owe them every bit of our gratitude and prayers.
And so tonight, as the battle of good and evil rages on, I ask for you, my friends and families of the airwaves, to join in prayer and join in well wishes for the few and the valiant who dare to come directly at the demon himself and spit in his face!
We salute you and wish you God Speed. Until then, remember; Freedom fighters, its only rock and roll, but I like it!
This is the Red Robin, bob bob bobbing along and leaving you with this song. Goodnight my lunatic friends…hold on, stay strong and fight on and on until their all gone and then, come home!”
As the Red Robin’s voice faded away the hard guitar lick of, No Sleep till Brooklyn, by the Beastie Boys filled the airwaves and fueled the fire for revenge in the belly of the rebels. They’d come a long way and killed a lot of their enemies and they still had a long way to go, but as the song got them all banging their heads and shaking their fists, they dared to feel something not one of them had felt for a very long time.
They dared to feel hope, and sometimes hope is all you need.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR
An hour before the attack was to begin, Onyx and his pack showed up with over one hundred very pissed off and hungry looking wolves. Not long after that, Butcher and his gang showed up on foot, giving them all even more hope. For these new allies to reach them in the short amount of time that they did, Daniel knew they had to have pushed themselves beyond their limit but still, they looked ready to fight.
Chains and Butcher spent time off by themselves for a few minutes and Chains told Butcher about losing Basher and Fury. There wasn’t time to grieve, so Butcher swallowed his sorrow and let it turn his stomach sour with the need for revenge. Then he and the rest of them made ready for war.
It was decided since there was not enough time for them to make it to the front of the Keep to help Standing Wolf, they would go in with Daniel. The rest of the morning they waited, and waited some more, until the sun was at its highest eastern peak. Just as Daniel and the rest of them were beginning to wonder why the explosion hadn’t gone off yet, it did.
It felt like the entire mountain shifted, giving some of them an unwelcome flashback to the Over Watch explosions that left so many of their friends dead and buried under tons of the mountain that they used to call home. Now, as the shuddering subsided and the rumblings calmed they made their way into the Keep, single file.
Silently they shuffled, head down and stooped over, eyes straining to see the person in front of them, ears straining to hear the faintest sound. The first thing that struck Daniel was the feel of the place. It was so dismal and dark that his soul craved sunshine and his skin yearned for fresh air. Behind him each of them were experiencing the same feelings.
Scout was muttering to himself. Daniel wasn’t sure he wanted to know what he was saying so he followed him without comment, barely able to contain himself from rushing forward blindly and hollering out to his wife and son.
Then they stopped. They were scrunched together and cramping up from being stooped over for so long. They waited with bated breath and watched as Scout opened the latch that gave way into another passageway.
After drawing his long knives he looked at Daniel and smiled. “We might die today, I say. Just wanted to tell you before we go, I love you like a father. Just thought you should know.”
Before Daniel could answer or comment Scout opened the passageway door.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE
The main gate of the Keep had not been opened for years. Standing Wolf had that in mind as he let the raging sun come all the way up behind them, until flipping the switch to start the party. Wherever Tinker’s spirit was, he had to be resoundingly joyous at the carnage that his thumper had caused. One of the gates was blown completely off of its massive hinges while the other had been folded in two and hung precariously, creaking in the wind.
Standing Wolf led the charge into the Keep with what remained of his brave warriors behind him. At first, because of the confusion and the fact that there had been quite a few Blood- eyes milling about around the gate when it exploded, they made serious headway before hundreds more Blood-eyes came to the rescue.
For a while the two sides took turns dying. Towards the end of the encounter it was down to just Standing Wolf and about fifty of his warriors surrounded by countless, ravenous enemies. Standing Wolf saw him first, high above them, looking over a high stone railing down at the action below; a man that looked like he’d just stepped out of his grave. The man was laughing and pointing down at them to a giant, crimson-haired man who stood beside him.
“Up there! It’s Siros and Magnus. Follow me…” was all Standing Wolf had time to shout before the entire floor caved in underneath them. Everyone, including hundreds of Blood-eyes tumbled down and down some more, some screaming, others moaning and still others, locked in mortal combat.
At last, all that was left was a thick curtain of choking dust and debris and a huge
hole where Standing Wolf and his fighters had been.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX
The first thing that Daniel and rest of them realized after funneling single file into the poorly lit passageway was that they were not alone. There was something coming toward them, something small and glowing. Daniel almost killed the oversized rat when it got close enough for them to see it but Scout stopped him. “Do not kill him. He is a friend of the friend that helped us out in the end.”
The rat seemed to remember Scout and was obviously elated to see him. For a moment, the two of them conversed in low, soft clicks and whirs until Scout told Daniel the best news he’d heard since the world burned. “He says your son is still alive-barely. He is with Angel and another woman who he says is his mother. He says we must follow him quickly. There is no time to lose.”
Daniel took the lead, full of hope and dread, fear and excitement as the glowing rat led their small army through the bowels of the Keep. It seemed to take forever but finally, they came to a door just like all the rest of the great wooden doors in the Keep; only this door he stopped at and clicked and whirred, until Scout nodded and took out his lock-pick and went to work.
A few seconds later, the lock opened. Scout stepped out of the way and let Daniel go in first with he and Poet directly behind while the rest of them waited anxiously in the passageway. The door creaked open, ever so slowly. On a huge bed in the far corner sat Angel with her arms around a young man who was crying over some sort of creature who was lying on the bed.
Poet rushed past Daniel and ran into Angel’s open arms leaving Scout to examine the room while Daniel and his long separated son stood and stared at each other.