“Hold still and we can try to take it out.” Robert tried to comfort Jackson.
“No” Lucas said stepping over and stooping him. “Often times here the arrows are crude and barbed, they do more damage coming out then going in. It will have to be cut out, but not now. Not here.” He looked around nervously. “There may be more lone huntsmen and the Greutungi could still find us.”
“What do we do then? We can’t leave it in there.”
“Stand back,” Lucas said straightening up and drawing his sword. “This is going to hurt.”
“Wha-” Jackson started to ask as he turned.
Before he could finish Lucas shifted and there was a glimmer of steel, the arrows simple shaft and fletching fell to the ground leaving only three inches sticking out of the back of Jackson’s right shoulder.
He gasped in pain and clutched at himself, the arrow itself was out of reach but even just holding his trapezius seemed to do something even if it was just mental.
“We have to move. Now.” He said quickly slipping away the sword and helping along with the others to get Jackson to his feet.
They walked as fast as they could back towards the Humvee leaving the horses behind un-tethered so that eventually they would be able to wander free.
As they drew closer they studied the gruesome scene, the one guard hanging, swaying gently in the breeze, the other laying unconscious and tied up next to the truck and in the driver’s seat sitting looking like the boyfriend from some 50’s B-movie, his one arm outstretched just waiting for his best girl to come snuggle.
His other hand gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles practically glowed white in the dim shade of the underpass.
Ira hopped down from his perch and ran to them. Baudoin, Fallon and Lucas all hugged him in turn. While they hugged Lucas said “I am very proud of you. You did as you were told and you did a good job.”
The boy looked happy at first but it his joy was diluted with sadness and his chin slowly fell to his chest. “I broke my vow.”
His voice was low and quiet, high pitched with youth but raspy with disuse.
Lucas grabbed him firmly by the back of the neck and looked him straight in the eye. “A vow of silence isn’t simply about not speaking, it is about using that quiet and learning something. I think that you learned something very important today Ira, that the lives and safety of others far outweighs your own desires.”
“Will I ever become a Monk now?”
“I think that you still have a way to go… but perhaps one day.”
The boy’s face beamed. Looking around the faces of the others his smile slipped again. “Ramirez?”
“He didn’t make it.” Robert said simply.
Ira nodded with an understanding no boy his age should have had.
“And we might not either, if we don’t move soon.” Lucas said looking around again. He turned his attention to Greene sitting in the front seat of the Hummer.
“Baudoin, give me a hand with him please?”
Lucas walked around to the driver’s side and Baudoin the passenger’s. They worked together wordlessly and together they had Greene’s wrists and ankles tied together and had him laid on the floor of the rear compartment in a matter of seconds.
Robert took over the driver’s seat and Fallon rode next to him, in the second row they put Jackson behind Robert so that any bumps they had would only knock his left shoulder and Tommy sat across from him. Lucas, Ira and Baudoin stayed in the back with Greene, their feet firmly planted on his back keeping him from doing anything but lay there still.
Robert’s stomach clenched in fear, they had all received driver training and had driven the colossal vehicle slowly around the machine shop, but he had never been comfortable behind the wheel. What if the engine didn’t start? What if he crashed them into an immovable object?
He turned the key and the engine roared to life.
Backing the Hummer up slowly making sure to completely clear the bridge and to have plenty of room before he tried to turn the behemoth. Jackson leaned forward and quietly offered suggestions and encouragement despite his obvious pain.
They took the road out pretty much the same way they had come in, only the ride was a lot slower and more jarring as they brushed against rocks and a few vehicles squeezing through narrow gaps on the freeway.
Night had fallen now and they drove with the headlights on high and the rack of four flood lights on the roof shining bright to light their treacherous path, once they got back onto more solid ground and away from the collapsed overpasses they could dim most of the lights and take a much needed break.
They were all felling exhaustion though some showed it more than others, they hadn’t eaten in hours and their bodies slumped after a continuous burn of adrenaline.
The truck would need re-fueling at some point soon too, a warm meal and a few brief hours sleep would do them all good and then at dawn they could make it back safely to the village. It would be impossible to drive there safely now, with limited light ahead of them and only the stars to guide themselves by.
They made it to the massive interchange at the edge of the mountains where the road split and they had to head north on the Antelope valley freeway. By day they had been able to pick out a path through the rubble but now, in the dark the area that had once been a major convergence of interstate traffic looked more like a rock quarry and crossing it would be impossible.
Finding a good place to stop where they could light a small fire and be hidden from the worst of the wind and any of the slow shambling desert walkers they set up camp.
Fallon helped Tommy start the fire and sort through their rations, his eyes were still so swollen he had to shine a flashlight on the packets and turn his head to the side to try and read what they were in the periphery of his vision.
While they did that Jackson helped Robert and Baudoin refuel the Humvee and Lucas scouted around to make sure the area was clear.
As they topped up the tank they could feel the truck start to shake as Greene thrashed against his restraints inside to no avail.
By the time Lucas came back a stew was simmering over the fire and filled the air with the scent of warm spices and the promise of full stomachs.
They moved Greene out next to the fire and with only a minimum of effort they were able to re-tie him so that his hands went in front of him, between his knees and tied to his feet. At least that way he could sit up on his own and be fed more easily.
Tommy spooned bowls of the stew out then Fallon and Baudoin helped distribute them.
With his back to the fire Jackson drew in sharp little breaths as Lucas carefully tried to cut away some of the fabric from around the remnant of wood still sticking out. He grabbed a flashlight to supplement the glow from the fire and tried to inspect the wound.
“You know, if you let me loose I could get him all fixed up lickedy-split,” Greene offered smugly.
“Shut it Greene.” Robert said swallowing his mouthful of stew.
“Well, you can’t say I didn’t offer.”
“It’s a little late for playing nice. We’re gonna take you home and you can answer to the council”
“Yeah.” Tommy added. “I’m sure we can find a closet to keep you in. The first official prisoner we’ve ever had.”
“How’s your face Stains? Looks painful.”
“I said shut your mouth Greene.” Robert said calmly setting down his food bowl. He got up, grabbed a food bowl and sat next to the prisoner.
“Open up.”
Greene opened his mouth a little, eyeing Robert as he spoon fed him the chunky stew.
Robert looked round the fire and his eyes fell on Fallon as she sat half towards the fire, barely eating her food and staring off into the dark.
Greene watched him study her and keeping his voice low but still loud enough for everyone to hear, he leaned forward. “You aren’t actually thinking about trying to fuck her are you?”
Robert glared at Greene and shove
d another spoonful of stew roughly into his mouth.
Swallowing the broth and pushing the chunks into his cheek he smiled. “She’s a Neanderthal Robert, a damned cave woman.”
“So are we Greene. Our cave is just man-made.”
“Oh there is more of a difference then that, we have higher standards… well some of us do.”
Swallowing Greene opened his mouth wide this time like a hungry chick before its mother, a smug look on his face and waited.
Robert paused before spooning more food in. When he had Greene chewed a little and swallowed some, picking his words before he spoke again.
“Still, having lower standards maybe you do have a shot. And if not with her,” he motioned with his head over towards Fallon. “Then maybe with that Tow-headed Cunt back at camp.”
“That’s it.” Robert announced getting to his feet. He threw the rest of the stew out into the darkness and dropped the bowl near the fire. “I hope you enjoyed your diner ‘cuz that’s it – you’re getting gagged.”
“Now wait just a second!” Greene protested but Robert never gave him a chance to finish, he grabbed a rag and wrapped it around Greene’s head forcing his mouth open and tying it tight enough so that he wouldn’t be able to work it aside.
“Baudoin, can you give me a hand please?” He asked and the two men carried Greene back inside the Hummer wriggling and cursing them through the gag the whole time.
As he walked back to the fire to finish his meal he held his aching ribs. Nobody spoke then they just sat and ate quietly, taking seconds on the rich stew until there was none left.
Robert sat and stared deep into the fire, he was burning out his night vision but he wouldn’t need it, Lucas, Baudoin and Fallon were going to wait up and keep watch to let the wounded rest for the night.
Across the fire Fallon studied him silently.
XXIV
The morning came too soon, bringing with it aches, pains and stiffness along with a wave of cold air. Slipping his head out of the sleeping bag Robert stretched and when he gasped in pain his breath fogged in front of his face.
His head pounded with brain freeze from his sudden intake of chilled air, moaning he rubbed his temple. Opening an eye he saw Tommy sitting stoking the fire, smiling.
“I’ll trade heads with you.” Tommy said smiling a crooked grin with cracked, swollen lips.
“No thanks, have you looked in a mirror lately?”
They both laughed and winced at the pain of it and then laughed some more.
They ate breakfast quickly before the sun was fully up, not bothering to include Greene, then they packed up and started the job of traversing the rubble of the dozen ruined roads.
Before long they broke off of the freeway and drove across the scrub and into the mountains.
In the sky to the east a scattering of cumulus clouds was backlit by an ominous red glow, Robert glanced at the crimson vista and muttered to himself.
"’Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field…’"
“What?” Fallon asked from the passenger seat.
“It’s a quote from a writer called William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis. It’s saying that a red sky in the morning means that a storm is coming, is that true?”
“Yes, sometimes.” She replied staring off into the distance.
“You’ve been very quiet the last couple of days. Are you okay?”
“I am fine.”
“There you go again, running off at the mouth. And so many syllables too. You would suck at ‘Scrabble’”
She turned towards him her face blank. “You talk too much.”
He smiled. “I’ve heard that. You know, there is such a thing as not talking enough.”
She studied him for a moment before turning back and looking out the window, she stayed silent for so long that Robert didn’t think that she was going to speak.
“I don’t like that place. Bad memories.”
“And we just added some more to them, I’m sorry.”
“Mmm. At least this time I was old enough to fight. That felt good.”
She wasn’t smiling but there was something warm in her voice, he sat and listened to the silence and waited to see if she would continue.
“When… I was a girl we lived in a village near the foothills, away from Helheim but we could see the smoke and fires there,” she stared vacantly out the window but didn’t see the scenery, her mind somewhere else – long ago.
“I was perhaps as young as Ira. Back then the only ones there in Helheim were the Valagoth, they ruled everything from the tower of fire and they stayed far away. But one day people came to our village. They were slaves who escaped the Valagoth. Only they had been followed. The next night many men came, they stank of cider and smoke and blood. They destroyed my village, killed many people, took many prisoners.”
He watched her a few seconds at a time as he flicked his head back and forth to watch their path.
“A few people escaped into the mountains. My mother saved me, she woke me from my sleep and held my hand as we ran through the darkness.”
“Sounds terrible.”
She shrugged. “I did not know what was happening. My mother shielded me from the worst of it, when I tried to turn and look back I saw the men, burning the village, beating my father. She pulled me away and… we ran so fast then that I could look back no more.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It is the past. What is done is done. Talking about it changes nothing.”
“Sure it does. It changes you. When you face your past, you stare it in the face - you take away its power.”
“Some things… are too powerful, memories can be like the ghouls. They live a long time and if you let them they can overpower you. They will eat you.”
When he turned to look at her again she was looking at him and her eyes looked wet. There were no tears but this was the weakest he had ever seen her. She turned away to stare out of the window again and silence filled the air.
After a while trying to change the subject he said. “Did I meet your mother, in the mountain village?”
“No, she is dead.” she said calmly.
“I am so sorry, what happened?”
“I killed her.” she answered.
Robert slowed the Humvee to a crawl before he lost control and looked at her again.
“I’m sorry, did you just say what I think you said?”
“Yes.” she replied her face placid.
“Well if there isn’t a story to go with a statement like that…”
She sighed with resignation and gathered her thoughts to finish. “We could not see, as we ran through the darkness. We ran as hard and as fast as we could until we could not run any more. We got lost in the darkness, we did not know where we were. We stumbled blindly into one of the Walkers. I could barely see him the dark, but he made such terrible sounds, I was terrified, I could not move.”
Her voice had fallen so quiet he had to concentrate to listen.
“My mother fought him off and we got away. But then in the light of morning I saw that in the struggle she had been bitten. She cried quietly as she talked to me, told me what I must do. She told me that she loved me. She was shaking with fever and a little while later…”
Tears welled up in her eyes then and finally escaped down her cheeks.
“I’m sor–”
“How does the memory of ramming a sharpened stick through my mother’s eye weaken when spoken aloud? It loses no power.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t.” he admitted quietly.
They drove on in silence, Robert was afraid to speak again for fear of upsetting her any more then he already had. Maybe she was right, he though, maybe I do talk too much.
Fallon muttered a course correction a short while later and he silently adjusted the Hummer to follow her lead. He pulled into the small canyon at the foot of the mountain and parked where they had before.
He left the engine runn
ing and turned to the others.
"Well, we're here. I think that it might be best if we just drop you off here and start to head for home. We'll take you back to the sanctuary first Lucas of course."
"I do not know if that is wise, the arrow in your friends shoulder is very serious." Lucas said sitting forward.
"I know, I just thought it would be better to get him back to the bunker were we have doctors and full medical facilities."
"Perhaps, but by then infection will have set in. If you will allow me I can take the arrow out and pack the wound with a poultice - it will stop any infection and you can travel home safely."
Robert looked at Jackson, he was sweating and could barely keep his eyes open, he hadn't slept and all of the jostling of the Humvee while they drove and jarred his injured shoulder several times.
"Alright, what do you want to do?"
"The hike up to village will be too much, Ira can stay and help me, Fallon and Baudoin should go up and tell the father what has happened. When we are done we can go on as you say."
Shutting of the engine Robert nodded "Okay, let's do it. What do you need?"
They all started to climb out, Fallon walked away without saying a word and Baudoin jogged to catch up.
"Any medical supplies you have. A small fire, some water. Ira you know what herbs I need."
The Boy nodded and jogged off to find them.
Carefully they helped Jackson out of the Hummer, he set his foot down straight onto the ground where everyone else had to use the running boards as a step and stood up swaying slightly.
Tommy grabbed a sleeping bag and laid it out on the ground and slowly they helped Jackson to down on it.
Lucas gathered a few rocks some dry weeds and built a small contained fire with practiced ease and set a metal bowl with water in it to boil.
"I'm sorry that we lost your bag," Robert offered quietly as he brought over a medical bag from one of the storage hatches.
"It is of no matter, these will do fine."
He watched quietly for a second as the Monk laid out the contents of the kit and set about removing the tip of the arrow. He had never had a stomach for such things and had seen enough blood recently to last him a good long time, to distract himself from the grisly task he turned to Tommy.
Long Live The Dead Page 14