Tribulations: A Future Dystopian Survival Series Adventure (Book 9) (The Forever Winter Chronicles)

by KM Fortune

  Matthew looked around. The road had led them into a broad ravine with slopes to both sides. Usually, the flatter the terrain the better for sleeping and no rocks would be preferred. Just as he was about to suggest going a little further down the road and trying to find something not quite so contained, he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look, he was surprised to see the figure of a man. Alarmed, he turned to Blaze and pointed. "I think someone's over there," he said. Blaze looked, and just as he seemed to recognize what Matthew was saying, there was a gunshot. The bullet pinged off of the van, and everybody ducked.

  “What in the heck?” Toby said.

  "Is somebody shooting at us?" Brody asked. Matthew saw Blaze look at Brody like he was crazy.

  "You're kidding, right? What do you think just hit the van? Someone with a slingshot?” Blaze asked. Before Brody could answer, there was another series of shots which skimmed the road near where they were hiding. Matthew dared peek a look and saw multiple men coming out from around the rocks.

  "I think we have a problem," he said. "There are a bunch of them. Can anyone reach our weapons inside?"

  Blaze snorted a laugh. “A lot of good those will do us. One crappy rifle and a bunch of machetes are not gonna work against men with combat weapons.”

  Matthew saw Kaleb look through the windows of the van. “If we can get the passenger side door open I think we can at least get the rifle. Anybody want to give it a try?”

  "I'm closest," Matthew answered. "Somebody keep an eye on their movement and let me know if I have an opening to make a move." Kaleb nodded and slid to the front of the van. He slowly lifted his head, and then Matthew saw his dark skin grow a shade paler.

  “It’s The Duke’s men,” he said with a mixture of fear and fury in his voice. “We’ve been set up. They must’ve followed us today waiting for the perfect opportunity to ambush.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Blaze asked as he moved beside Kaleb and peeked over as well. “Are you sure?”

  Kaleb nodded. “I’m sure. We have a real problem.”

  HECTOR HEARD THE POP-pop over the rumble of the motorcycle’s engine. He was pretty sure it was gunfire and, sitting in cramped style in the sidecar, raised his hand to alert Simon. Simon slowed the engine to a stop. “What is it?” Simon asked, yelling over the idling rumble.

  "I'm pretty sure it's shooting and somewhere nearby," Hector answered. Helen came up beside them. She looked winded but otherwise not too bad considering she had just run at a fast pace for many miles. It was part of the compromise. Hector and Helen took turns riding so that each could take a break every dozen miles. Hector was not thrilled with the arrangement, wanting to have Helen always ride, but she insisted.

  “What is it?” Helen asked.

  “From the sound of it, I’d say someone is having a shootout,” Hector answered. “What do you hear?”

  Helen tilted her head, and when another volley sounded over the ridge, she nodded. "I hear something," Helen said. "But I'm not that familiar with the sound of such weapons. We have almost none in the valley." Hector glanced at Simon, who simply looked perplexed. It was obvious he could hear nothing, but was alarmed by the conversation in general. Hector was pretty sure the man's first instinct was to flee at any sign of danger. A good plan, Hector thought and was about ready to tell Simon to start up again, making sure he stayed away from where the sound was coming from, but Helen had other ideas. “So what should we do?” she asked.

  “How about nothing?” Hector answered but already accepted it would not fly. In fact, he knew whatever Helen was about to say next was not going to be a lot of fun for him.

  “Don’t you think we should go look?” she asked. “What if someone is in trouble?” Hector turned to Simon, actually hoping for once the man could be useful and talk her out it. Simon shrugged. Hector sighed. The one time I actually want him to say something, he thought.

  "Okay," Hector said. "But for all we know, it could be a group of the Patrols, and we will be riding into trouble."

  "Well, that's a risk we need to take," Helen said. "Simon let's go."

  “As you wish, my Lady,” Simon said with a squeak and Hector held on as the little man hit the gas and they headed down the road toward the sound of the battle. It did not take long to find the action. As they came up a rise, they could look down to see what was happening. Five men beside a piece of garbage minivan were pinned down by another group of men on a nearby ridge. Classic ambush, Hector thought. In Hector's opinion, the men by the vehicle had no chance. He was about to say so when he saw a glint of red hair. Squinting, he realized he knew one of the men. It was the guy he took Raven from.

  “Hey, I know one of those unlucky suckers,” he made the mistake of saying.

  Helen looked at him. "Is he a friend?" she asked. Hector gritted his teeth at his stupidity. Rubbing his eyes with a paw, he tried to stall, but when he did not answer, Helen came closer. "Hector?" she asked. Hector groaned and looked back down at the situation, knowing he was about to go into a fight he was not particularly interested in. Maybe they know where Raven is, he thought.

  “Yeah,” he admitted. “Sort of.”

  THINGS DID NOT LOOK good. Blaze could see no way to get out of the ravine while they were pinned down. The only reason The Duke's men had not overrun them all together was the occasional pot shot Kaleb was taking with their one rifle. "How much ammo do we have left?" Blaze asked, ducking as another volley from the top of the hill came at them.

  Kaleb shook his head. “Not sure, but not much,” he answered. We are so screwed, Blaze thought.

  "Well folks, anybody have an idea?" Blaze asked, not taking his eye off their attackers. Before anyone could answer, he saw movement and was afraid the men on the ridge were finally making their attack. He was about to call out to the others to run for it when he realized the thing on the top of the ravine was not a person necessarily. In fact, after a moment of disbelief, he realized it was a cat mutant. Seeing the tawny fur and muscular frame, Blaze blinked his eyes. You have got to be kidding me, he thought. No way. Even from a distance, Blaze was confident it was the same beast who stole Raven from him. Shaking his head amazed, he watched the cat mutant wreak havoc on The Duke‘s men. Almost immediately a couple of the attackers were sent flying off of the top of the ridge and fell sprawling into the dirt near the van. Without hesitation and seeing they were without rifles, Blaze sprang forward and started to kick the men who were down. A few random shots pinged around him but it was clear the men who had once been pinning them down were now in their own crisis. Matthew, Kaleb, and the twins quickly joined him, and the two men who had been thrown were soon knocked unconscious.

  “What is happening?” Brody asked.

  “What is that thing?” Toby followed.

  “It’s a cat mutant,” Blaze answered. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him once before.”

  “It looks like there’s more than one,” Matthew said. Blaze looked again and saw the man was right. I sure hope those things really are on our side or we are about to have an even bigger problem, Blaze thought. While he was considering if he should tell the group to disperse, the sound of shooting stopped. Everyone looked at each other, waiting to see what would happen next. After a moment of silence, a roar of triumph filled the air.

  CHAPTER 11

  The Creator sat in his quarters and stared at a mural of a serene ocean landscape on the wall. He rarely looked at it anymore, but now seeing it reminded him of long ago and places he knew probably did not exist anymore. Surely the oceans remain beautiful, he thought but was not certain. It’s hard to say what is beyond the boundaries of this colony. He sighed and for the first time in a long time missed the outside world. Even though it had been decades and he was now ancient, the memories of when he was a boy seemed to come to mind more and more often. He knew it had something to do with the little girl, Hannah. Somehow she had reawakened his memories of the time before he became The Creator. The feelings were plea
sant yet at the same time unsettling. They seemed to fly in the face of all that was doctrine now. Regardless, he knew he missed the girl greatly. Almost as if by magic, she lightened his day and, if he was going to admit it to himself, she brought him joy.

  There was a subtle knock at the door, and The Creator reluctantly turned away from the image on the wall and motored his wheelchair back to the center of the room. It would not do to be caught reminiscing. "Enter," he said. The door opened, and a messenger was standing at the threshold. The Creator was happy to see him because he had been sent to fetch Hannah, however, when he realized the messenger was alone his spirits fell. "Where is the girl?" he asked. The messenger visibly trembled and The Creator knew whatever he had to say was not going to be good. "Speak," The Creator demanded.

  With a hard swallow, the messenger bowed. “She is unwilling to come,” he said in almost a whisper.

  “What do you mean?” The Creator asked. “How can a six-year-old child resist your demands?”

  “No one dares lay hands on her,” the messenger said. The Creator was confused.

  “Why?” he asked. The messenger was quiet for a moment and looked away. “I asked you why,” The Creator demanded.

  "She bites," he said. The Creator actually laughed. It was raspy and hollow, and the messenger looked up alarmed. The Creator waved for him to relax. She bites, he thought. The Creator could understand this. Although some would say the child was willful, he knew it went deeper. What people might be mistaking as a temper tantrum was, in fact, a high resolve to protect herself. The girl had lost her last contact with her past life, and The Creator realized that after thinking of his own past, there was a certain sadness in it. It was not much unlike his childhood, where he was ripped from the world he knew and brought to the colony. Everyone and everything he loved was gone in a moment. Only his mother remained.

  Turning from the messenger, he looked at the mural again. Hannah does not deserve this, he thought. In a flash, he realized what he had to do. Even though he had not left his quarters or the Gathering Chamber where he gave his sermons in for many years, The Creator knew he would have to go to her. I will be able to explain everything, he thought. She deserved to know the truth.

  IT WAS HELEN WHO KEPT them from coming to blows. When she, Hector, and Simon wandered down to where the van sat with the men grouped around it, Hector saw the redheaded man coming straight for him. He immediately was up in Hector's face. "You're kidding me," Hector said before the redhead could say a word. "Right? We just saved your butts, and now you are going to come after me?"

  The redhead’s face was furious. “You sucker punched me,” he said. “And took Raven.”

  Hector shrugged. “Well you were an easy target,” he said. “All teary-eyed—”

  “Why you son of —,” the young man started and raised his fists. Hector flipped out his claws and was more than happy to accommodate whatever the redhead wanted to bring his way. That was when Helen stepped between them and held up her paws to stop their forward progress.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” she said. “I can see there’s some history here that I don’t know about., but it sounds like we’re on the same side.”

  “Hardly,” Hector said.

  “Yeah, hardly,” the redhead said. Helen took in a deep breath, showing a rare hint of frustration.

  “You mentioned Raven,” Helen said looking at the human. “I’m going to have to assume it’s the same one we know. Since we both have something to do with her, I think we need to have a conversation which does not require insults.”

  “I agree,” said another man Hector did not know. “I think we have a similar agenda. Blaze, please stand down.” The redhead, who Hector now knew was named Blaze, gave the other man an angry look. Hector could not miss the dislike between them, but Blaze did back up a couple steps. Hector reciprocated by putting away his claws.

  “Okay, that’s better,” Helen said. “Now someone please explain the situation here.”

  STANDING WITH HIS GROUP near the large cat mutants, Blaze watched the strange little man in the funny hat and goggles pace in a circle with Matthew beside him. They were holding a device and looking up and down between it and the sky. “Anybody have any idea what the heck they’re doing?” Hector asked. Blaze shook his head. It was more nonsense he was pretty sure.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d guess they are trying to use a compass to figure out our exact location by triangulating it with landmarks,” Kalen offered. Blaze and Hector both looked at the man simultaneously.

  “Triangulating?” the two said at the same time. They paused to glare at each other for a second and then turned away with a huff. Well, that's just great, Blaze thought with a shake of his head. I’m on the same wavelength as a giant furball.

  As Blaze watched, Matthew and Simon walked back over to the van and looked again at a pile of maps. They included both what Kaleb was using from Reno as well as some which came from a satchel Simon had on his motorcycle. "I am delighted to report we have met some manner of a favorable outcome," Simon said as he leaned over a map. "Using my ever dependable compass who infallibly shows the direction of magnetic north and thus allows bearings from it, whereby ascertaining a true northern indicator, and by interpreting what is undoubtedly, as marked on my map, as the Sierra Nevada mountains, I have thus deduced, with the help of the scientific mind of my new friend Matthew—”

  “Oh for crying out loud,” Hector snapped. “Just get to the point.”

  Blaze chuckled. Yep, on the same wavelength, he thought. It was precisely what he was about to say. "Does he always talk like that?" Blaze asked leaning toward Hector.

  “Unfortunately,” Hector replied. “Just don’t ever ask him a question. Unless you have a good fifteen minutes to waste.”

  "Alright you two," Helen interjected. "Be nice and let's see what they found out." The group moved closer to the hood of the van and looked down at the many lines and arrows Simon had drawn on Kaleb's original map. A small X marked a spot near what was the center of the great circle.

  “Hey, look at that,” Brody chimed in.

  “No kidding, it was dang near where we thought it was,” Toby said. The two men gave each other a high-five.

  “May I continue?” Simon asked.

  “Yes, you may,” Helen replied.

  "As I was saying," Simon said with a satisfied glance toward Hector and Blaze. "I have determined the most logical location of Area 51." Simon smiled broadly and rocked back on his heels. "And I have 99.8% confidence that I will be able to lead you to it post haste."

  CHAPTER 12

  Raven found herself putting on a beautiful dress. She was to accompany The Duke to his favorite of all entertainment, Fight Night. Raven had no idea who was doing the fighting, but thankfully her friends were out of harm's way for the moment. Or at least I hope as much, she thought. She was putting her trust in The Duke's word. The man had been absent much of the day, only joining her for meals. His excuse was “he had a business to run,” which made Raven curious, but she could get no additional information out of him. Now he was back at the penthouse suite, having a cocktail, waiting on her. It was all so strangely normal at times, she found it unsettling.

  And now we are going out on a date, she thought with a shake of her head. It was crazy. Not to mention Raven had no interest in watching two men bludgeon each other with their fists. Still, she was already tired of being cooped up in the penthouse, and when she had broached the subject of getting out to look around the city, The Duke had made it crystal clear she could not leave the hotel without him as a companion. "It's for your safety," The Duke explained. Raven had considered arguing the subject, but after one look at The Duke's face, Raven decided against it.

  Now Raven stood examining herself in a full-length mirror. The dress fit well enough even though it was obviously for a woman of slightly shorter stature. At least the shoes fit, she thought. There was a sudden knock at the door to her room. Before she could even respond, it
cracked open, and The Duke popped his head inside. "How are we doing in here?" he asked. "Are you about ready?" Raven raised her eyebrows at him as she walked in his direction.

  “You’re going to need to learn not to barge in on me,” she said with a small smile to lessen the impact of her words. “It’s not polite.” The Duke grinned back.

  “I’ll work on that,” he said and stepped into the room. “But let me tell you, you look ravishing.”

  “Thank you,” Raven said. “This is some dress.”

  The Duke laughed. “Well you look significantly better in it than the last person,” he said. Raven felt a sense of unease run through her.

  “The last person?” she asked. The Duke actually looked embarrassed for a moment, obviously regretting what he said. Then he laughed.

  “Probably something I should’ve kept to myself,” he said. Raven paused and considered the tall, handsome cowboy. She knew she could make things difficult for The Duke, but then decided to let it go. Now is not the time, she thought. Not yet.

  “Shall we go?” Raven finally asked.

  “Absolutely,” said The Duke and he put out his arm so she could link her’s through it. Together they went on their way.

  KIT FOLLOWED THE CROWD down the street to the fighting venue. Once again, she was amazed by the number of people who came out of the woodwork once the sun went down. The last twenty-four hours have been interesting and although she had not uncovered why precisely the city felt so dangerous, it still gave her an uneasy feeling. It was something she knew better than to ignore. Kit had learned to rely on her instincts, and they kept her alive. At least her exploration had helped her understand more about the residents of the city. For the most part, they were a rough bunch and some form of martial law ruled, where the man who was quickest with a gun or held the sharpest knife won the argument.