The bus rumbled sluggishly to life belching billowing black clouds of noxious fumes and lurched forward. Everyone in the back swayed and most lost their balance and fell against each other. There were jeers and rumbles of complaint as frustrations were taken out on each other in the enclosed space.
There was another bus ahead of them on the road and they followed it slowly down the hill and through the ruins of the city towards what was once Silver Lake Reservoir.
Pushing himself up against the wall Robert tried to find the room to examine his side. Slowly wiping away the dried blood with his thumb he could feel small round holes and lumps under the skin. Some of the buckshot from the shotgun blast had caught him. He winced in pain and left it alone, it ached enough on its own and rubbing dirt into the wounds wouldn’t help.
Trying to focus on looking out of the window he tried to keep track of where they were going and what they passed to see if there was anything that might help them if they were somehow able to make their escape.
The route was lined from what he could see on either side of the road with overturned cars, weeds and debris, plenty of places to hide perhaps but nothing beyond rubble to use as weapons.
He could see something coming up ahead as they approached the Greutungi compound. For about a quarter of mile the houses had all been demolished and cars and wreckage bulldozed into a long high wall of shattered brick and twisted, rusted metal. The wall seemed to encircle the camp going on as far as the eye could see.
He tried to search the crowd that marched triumphantly along next to the bus but in the tangle of men and horses he couldn’t find Lucas, he just had to assure himself that he was still out there, somewhere.
The bus ahead of them blasted a loud horn as it approached an opening in the wall, Robert couldn’t see what was happening but presumably a gate was opening for them.
When they got close enough he tried to get a good look at the wall in case they had to clamber over it in their escape. There were millions of shards of fractured glass glinting dully in the rubble and here and there dead bodies were just left wherever they fell either to serve as reminders of what would happen to potential escapees or simply as more obstacles for them.
It didn’t look good and as they passed through the gate, inside he could see another large flat area of cleared buildings that they would have to cross in order to even get to the wall, a veritable no man’s land with nowhere to hide or take shelter from gunfire or other attack.
It looked hopeless. But he tried not to give in to despair, where there was life there was always hope. If his great grand mother had taught him from books or the fables she told of Anansi there was always a way, even if it meant great sacrifice. Good would always overcome evil and as he looked around the bus if there was ever evil in the world he was traveling into the heart of it and if he gave up, he would be extinguishing the flame of goodness and then there truly would be no hope.
XXI
When the buses finally stopped they were herded off and made to gather outside. One of the men who had been there at their capture started to pick them out of the rabble.
“You two, you, you and… you get out here.” he ordered pointing at them in turn.
Robert looked about again to try and find Lucas in the mob surrounding them but couldn’t. He scanned each face one at a time but it was too hard to pick out details under the dirt but then in the group gathering off of the first bus he saw a face he recognized very well.
Even smudged with dirt and hastily wrapped in rags he recognized Greene right away. He stood out despite his many attempts to blend in and was looking around himself.
“Greene!” Robert yelled between the groups.
The other man’s head snapped around at the sound of his name and seeing who had called him his expression took on a darker cast.
“Shudup!” The overseer picking them out yelled stepping forward to ram the butt of his gun into Robert’s gut.
“Wait! That’s one of my men over there.”
“What!? How the bloody hell did that ‘appen?”
His face crinkled in confusion the burly guard pointed and yelled over at Greene. “That one! Get ‘im over ‘ere NOW!”
One of the guards from the other bus pulled Greene roughly from the mass of people and shoved him towards the others.
“Nice to see you again Greene,” Robert said quietly as waited to be led away.
“Screw you, I was perfectly happy over there.”
“Shut your traps!” the guard yelled.
The six of them marched quietly as they were led away in a different direction to all of the others, towards a two story building nearby.
There were several horses here, the ground was wet and muddy the air thick with the stench of their filth.
There was a scream from behind them and everyone by Greene tried to turn and see what was happening. A woman, one of the scantily clad temple acolytes had been pulled from the rest and was being raped on the ground in front of everyone.
They all tensed as if to run and help the woman but the guards with them outnumbered them two to one and all held guns.
Laughing the overseer stepped in front of Jackson “Get back in line or you’ll get the same treatment.”
His smile slipped when Jackson made a move for him and he brought up the barrel of his shotgun, pushing it to the much bigger man’s chest.
Jackson stopped, glaring down a look that seemed to make the overseer start to buckle under its weight.
“Get back in line, now.” the smaller man managed his voice only slightly uncertain.
With a final glance Jackson grudgingly stepped back into line and with the muffled screams behind them they continued into the building.
Inside there were a dozen men cleaning guns and sharpening bladed weapons, they eyed the prisoners as they were led straight upstairs.
On the second floor walls had been knocked through to make a single larger room, only a few bare wooden posts remained to hold up the ceiling.
There were more guards upstairs around the walls while Skell sat at a place of honor in the middle, he was ripping a piece of greasy looking meat with his teeth, chewing loudly and washing it down with something in a metal chalice.
He stopped when he saw who was being brought up and wiped his hands and face on a dirty nearby rag.
“Well-well, if it isn’t the slayers of my bane.” he said still chewing some of the foul smelling meat. “Did you ever find your man, the one who cut the head off of that pustulous blight?”
“No sir” Robert answered.
“Ahhh, shame I would have shared grog with him.” he said raising his cup in salute and sloppily drinking from it.
“Tell me then, who are you? Which clan claims you?”
“No clan sir, as I tried to explain to Mr. White we do not come from the Helheim.”
“Not from Helheim? Where else is there?”
“Nowhere important, just a small colony far out in the desert, no threat to you.”
“No threat ay? Then what were you doing here when white found you?”
“Nothing, we just came to see if there was anything left of the city that used to be here. We were getting ready to leave when some of his men grabbed us.”
“Did they?”
“Yes sir and I’m very sorry for any trouble we might have caused. With your permission we would gladly leave.”
“Let you go? Oh I don’t think so. I’ve never bought that ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ bull.”
“Not even as a reward for the death of your rival?”
“Nope, For one thing you may have saved me the bother of killing White but you also stole the pleasure of it from me. For another I don’t fully believe that you aren’t Valagoth or Ostragoth spies.”
“Sir, we don’t know anything about any of the clans, we aren’t a part of whatever is going on here.”
“What else would a spy say? I wouldn’t put it past those liars and I’m not stupid enough to loose
the war now by taking stupid chances. Even if you are who you say you are I wouldn’t let you go, what’s in it for me?”
Robert could only stand mute, there was nothing he could bargain with.
“If I might interject a moment?” Greene said greasily “I think there could be something in this for you”
“What are you doing Greene?” Robert asked.
Ignoring him Greene continued to address Skell. “I don’t want to leave here – I want a job – give it to me and I’ll give you resources your enemies don’t have.”
“Greene, what the hell are you doing?”
“Shut him up.” Skell told his men. The overseer stepped forward and knocked the butt of his gun into Robert’s ribs doubling him over, Jackson stepped forward and several guards trained their weapons on him. Turning to face him the overseer pointed his shotgun at Jackson. “You, get on your knees”
They stared at each other for a moment but with several guns trained on him Jackson had to back down and kneeled slowly.
“Go on, I’m listening” Skell said to Greene.
“Food, weapons, vehicles, fuel, slaves all of that and more and I can lead you right to it.”
“Traitor” Tommy spat.
“Screw you ‘Stains’, I will have what is mine, one way or another”
“You have my attention.” Skell said reclining in his seat.
“We have a vehicle parked a few miles form here, give me some men and I will lead them right to it and bring it back here to you. There are supplies, spare weapons and ammunition, a high powered radio -”
“A Radio!?” Skell sat forward excitedly.
“Yes sir, powerful enough to communicate over many miles, even out into the desert where our home was.”
“The Valagoth have the only working radios of all of the clans, this radio of yours could we intercept their communication with it?”
“Definitely.”
Skell started laughing loud and hard, his head thrown back and reclined in his chair again. “You do this for me and you’ll have a building here of your own, you’ll be one of my generals, we’ll give you women, or boys if you prefer?”
“Oh no, Women will be just fine.”
“And I’ll set your friends free.”
“Actually, I’d prefer it if you just killed them.”
“Son of a whore!” Tommy lunged at Greene. Before any of the guards could intervene Greene used his height and greater reach to his advantage, grabbing Tommy’s jacket first and holding him off he timed an over handed punch that broke Tommy’s nose, then another and another. By the time he was done Tommy could barely stand and with a push he sent him crashing to the floor.
“You are all such simpletons,” He said as he stepped over Tommy toward Jackson.
“You just don’t get it. Haven’t you ever read Milton, Howard? Paradise lost? ‘It’s better to reign in Hell then serve in Heaven’”
Patting Jackson’s pockets he found the key for the Humvee.
Skell laughed again, “That’s a good one, I like that!”
He smiled at his new employer. John Greene liked his new job, he liked his new job a lot.
Finishing laughing Skell leaned forward again “You two, go with Mr. Greene here… can you ride a horse Greene?”
“I have never had the pleasure.”
“That’s okay, just ride second with Sveen here and be quick, night is coming fast.”
Greene gave his group one last smug look and descended the stairs with the two men.
“Can I help him up?” Fallon asked indicating Tommy.
Skell smiled, nodding.
She came forward and started to help him to his feet, he had to lean on her for balance.
“You will be okay Tommy.”
Outside they could hear the horses taking off at a gallop away towards the front gate.
Skell watched Fallon lecherously. “After you have helped him, why don’t you come and help me up?” he said spreading his legs as he pushed the table out of the way with one foot.
She stopped and glared at him as Tommy tried to find him own balance, resting his hand on Baudoin.
“Now.” he stressed firmly.
Defiant she just stood there. With a flick of two fingers two guards came forward and grabbed her, she fought back and one of the men kicked at the back of her knee forcing her to the ground and then with a hand full of her hair threw her to the floor.
Jackson tensed and so did the guns trained on him.
Fallon slowly got to her hands and knees and looked up at Skell, smoldering fire in her eyes. He smiled to himself and let out a shaky breath. “Easy there bitch.” he said producing a razor sharp knife from beside him “One wrong… move, and I cut your fucking head off.” He beckoned her again. “Easy.”
She moved towards him slowly.
Suddenly there was a thud from downstairs and foot steps coming up the stairs.
“What’s going on down there?” He yelled.
The hooded guard finished coming up the stairs. “There’s a problem, all the guards downstairs are dead.”
“What!? What happened?” Skell asked, furious.
Lucas pulled back his hood. “They got in my way.”
There was a blur of motion and one of the guards next to him collapsed. The other guards in the room tried to take aim at him but he was too fast, every time they fired he was already gone.
Jackson used the distraction to grab the overseer’s gun and holding it at a useless angle punched an uppercut into his groin, the hit send the short fat man two feet up in the air. Before he hit the ground Jackson was on his feet, he grabbed another guards head in one hand and rammed it through the wall.
Still holding onto the overseer’s gun he used it like a bat and hit one of the other guards across the face hard enough to shatter the slid wooden stock.
Robert grabbed Tommy and just tried to make sure they were out of the way as the room turned into chaos.
Fallon lurched forward from her kneeling position and grabbing onto Skell’s wrist leaped over his head bringing his own hand up and across his throat cutting his neck all the way to the spine. There was a rhythmic spray of red that quickly coated his chest all the way to the waist as he chocked and gargled on his own blood.
Baudoin moved quickly, stooping he grabbed the first guards dropped gun, barely aiming he fired at the guard in the furthest corner and made his way around the room shooting any guard who wasn’t already being taken out.
In a matter of seconds every one of the Greutungi were dead or unconscious.
“I’m sorry that took so long, I had to wait for the right opportunity. I could only take on so many at once.”
“That was amazing Lucas, thank you” Robert managed.
“I saw Greene leaving with two guards, where were they taking him?
“They weren’t, he was taking them; to the Humvee.”
“Curse it.” Lucas swore.
“Maybe if we’re quick we can catch up?”
“Maybe, but if we don’t want to draw too much attention we need to ride out of here slowly.”
“Ride?”
“Yes, horses… you can’t ride?”
Robert shook his head.
“Okay, Fallon, Baudoin you ride with Robert and Henry, Tommy you ride with me.”
Tommy slowly nodded an acknowledgement as she held his rapidly swelling face with one hand.
“Come on before anyone comes along and finds this.” Lucas said taking Tommy under one arm to held him down the stairs.
They all grabbed weapons and jackets to cover them and headed for the stairs. On the floor the overseer groaned, he tried to get his knees under him and the groan turned into a wretch and he threw up.
Robert, Baudoin and Fallon had all started down the stairs and turned back to look at the heaving man. Jackson walked back over to him and helped him to his feet. When the overseer saw who had helped him he whimpered and started to throw up again, he slipped from Jackson’s grasp and scrambl
ed away, crawling into a ball in the corner of the room emitting a high pitched wine.
Outside there was enough activity that no one paid any attention to them, they found horses – in the case of Fallon and Jackson they found the largest horse they could – and carefully mounted up and calmly made their way towards the front gate.
XXII
Ira was bored. He looked at the sky and sighed. The others should have been back hours ago, dark was coming – something wasn’t right.
He rummaged through some storage compartments and tried to find something he had seen the bunker men using before. It took several tries he had found ropes, canvas, stakes, candles, food, flash lights and a bunch of spare parts for the engine before he finally found what he was looking for; a pair of binoculars.
He had already explored the area several times, there was nobody around, only empty buildings and useless cars, but he had found an easy way up onto the bridge and had walked around up there, he had a good view for miles.
If he went back up he could keep a watch from there using the binoculars and see them coming. Technically he would still be guarding the Humvee and he could get down in plenty of time when he saw them coming.
Slipping the strap of the binoculars over his neck and one shoulder he ran at one of the ruined cars putting one foot on the crumpled hood and the other on the roof he jumped and caught a piece of re-bar that sticking out of a large separation in the concrete. He hauled himself up and grabbed onto a crack with one hand just like he was he was rock climbing back home and pulled himself up onto the top one hand over the other.
Sitting on the outside of the railing he looked out across the horizon and waited.
Long Live The Dead Page 12