Nomad Supreme

by Craig Martelle

  Terry and Kae found Sue lounging and asked if she’d go with them since they were heading out in search of Char.

  “Don’t sweat the load! I’m sure she’s fine. I’m tired and want to sleep,” she whined and turned on her side away from them, hugging Clyde to her.

  Terry saw Shonna and Merrit not far away. He made the same approach to them, and was relieved that they seemed more concerned.

  “I’ll go,” Shonna replied. Merrit tried to stop her, take her place, but she put her foot down. He capitulated. Terry pulled her after him as he picked up Kae and ran for Billy’s dune buggy. The three of them squeezed in. As Terry put his hand on the key, Billy’s face appeared in the window.

  “Whatcha gonna do with my ride?” Billy asked slowly, pointedly.

  Terry turned on the radio and called for Char. He was greeted with static.

  “Char’s missing and I’m going after her,” Terry said, punching the starter. The engine purred to life. The dune buggies were stealth vehicles, with heavily muffled exhausts. They made little noise while idling and barely more at slow speeds.

  “What if I told you that when she left she took her chances? We need you here and I don’t want you to go,” Billy said, reaching for the button to turn the engine off.

  Terry caught the smaller man’s arm in his iron grip. He leaned close to Billy. “You can’t stop me, Billy, so don’t waste your breath. I will never leave anyone behind if there’s any way to save them. Now get your fucking hand off this vehicle so it doesn’t get torn off when I drive away.” Terry shoved Billy harder than he intended.

  The mayor stumbled backward and fell, landing heavily. He was angry, but the only thing hurt was his pride. Felicity was there, standing and watching.

  Terry spun the wheels as he power-slid to point the buggy’s nose to the south. The vehicle climbed onto the interstate and drove away.

  “I hope if anything like that ever happens to us, you’ll do just like TH and fight the world to come after me. In case you were wondering, Billy dear, that’s what true love looks like,” Felicity drawled, then turned and walked away, Marcie cradled lovingly in her arms.

  “Fuck you, Terry Henry Walton,” Billy snarled.

  ***

  Ted expertly maneuvered the small craft into port, pulling the sail at the right time so he slid the boat next to the dock. Timmons grabbed the cleat, stopped the momentum, and jumped to the dock. Ted furled the sail and carefully wrapped the cover over it.

  He handed the cleaned fish to Timmons, who dumped them into a bucket they had staged on the dock for just that reason.

  It looked like a good meal, but wasn’t enough to feed the wolf pack. “I’ll go without,” Ted said without further explanation.

  The young people had done exactly as Timmons suspected, but there wasn’t enough alcohol to knock them out. They’d had their fun and were coming down off their cheap buzzes. They stumbled into the open area, both couples holding hands.

  “Just in time!” Timmons bellowed. He dropped the bucket by the fire pit. “Better get these cooking before the pack digs in.”

  Ted greeted the wolves as they yipped happily and ran to him. He took a few extra moments with the wolf who’d been injured, but the shaggy beast was healed, although he carried an ugly scar.

  A scar was better than the alternative.

  “I’m sorry, my pretties, we caught a lot, but we didn’t bring back enough for all of you.” Ted looked harshly at Timmons. The others missed the exchange.

  James checked the bucket.

  “We’ll share one,” he said. Gerry and Kiwi nodded. “They’ll share one, too.” James pulled two fish from the bucket and put them on cooking sticks. He handed the bucket to Ted, who knew that there were exactly ten fish remaining.

  He handed them out as if he were Santa Claus at Christmas. Each wolf took one and ran a few steps away to consume it, bones and all. Ted seemed extremely pleased with himself.

  Timmons was sullen, feeling like he’d betrayed his own pack. He’d expected Ted to stuff himself on the boat as he had done, but Ted was putting the others before himself, a very human trait.

  Timmons walked away, leaving the others in peace. They’d all sacrificed, if only just a little, and he had not.

  “Ted,” he called. “Tomorrow we search for the steam locomotive. We won’t return until we can bring the Mini Cooper and tankers of fuel back with us. My promise to you.”

  “We aren’t done getting rooms and homes ready yet. We’re not even close,” James replied.

  “That can wait. Power first. Wouldn’t it be nice to use a shop vac to clean up some of those rooms?” Timmons asked.

  They all agreed, even though none of them knew what a shop vac was, but they figured it was something that would make a crappy job a little bit easier.

  ***

  “Getting us into an accident isn’t going to help anyone,” Shonna cautioned. Terry was pushing past the area lit by his headlights. He slowed down right away, knowing that she was right. They were belted in, but Kae was wedged in place. If they hit anything, he’d be ejected.

  Get your head out of your ass, he scolded himself. He slowed down further, barely crawling at twenty miles an hour. The drive proceeded agonizingly slowly. Terry fought with himself not to speed up. Kae had fallen asleep. Shonna could have been a crash-test dummy for as active as she was. She watched out the front, barely blinking.

  They were well into the second hour when Shonna stirred. “Not far now.”

  “Thank God,” Terry sighed. He sped to the edge of what he could see and held the speed there. Adrenaline surged into him at the thought of finding Char. “How is she?”

  “Alive, but she’s not moving. She may be asleep. She’s by herself, but there are coyotes closing in,” Shonna offered, eyes unfocused as she searched the etheric.

  “There!” Shonna shouted and Terry leaned heavily on the brake to slow the buggy. It slid the last few feet as the tires locked up. He jumped out and ran. Char had not stirred from within the wrecked vehicle.

  He ducked through the bent window frame and reached to Char’s neck to feel her pulse. He wanted to know for himself that she was alive. Her eyes fluttered at his touch.

  “Hi, honey,” she groaned, barely above a whisper.

  Shonna growled and yelled at the shadowy figures at the edge of the darkness. Kae climbed into the wrecked dune buggy and found his way into Char’s lap. “Mom!” he yelled at her face.

  Char’s eyes popped open, but they twirled in her head before she closed them again. One arm moved slowly to wrap around Kaeden and pull him tight.

  Kae was crying, like a little boy, not a little man of nine.

  Terry was on the verge of tears too, but from frustration more than anything. There was no one to beat the hell out of to make him feel better. He couldn’t move her from the dune buggy as he’d have to twist her around too much. His option was to stand there and do nothing.

  That chapped his ass more than anything in the whole world.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Shonna turned into a Werewolf and ran the coyotes down, killing two of the braver souls before the others fled. They’d turned from predator to prey and didn’t particularly like it.

  Terry stalked back and forth alongside the dune buggy, examining it for want of anything better to do. He saw right away that the mod deuce fifty cal was missing. It only took a few steps to see bits and pieces of it scattered as a trail of wreckage behind the buggy.

  Shonna reached in and punched the starter button. The engine wouldn’t fire. She moved to the back and looked at the engine, but needed more light. She moved the second dune buggy closer and left it running, its headlights pointed at the damaged vehicle.

  “These things were made to roll over, so we should be able to get it running again,” she mumbled to herself. She inspected the wheels and frame. It was probably bent slightly, but nothing that would prevent them from driving slowly. Once the light was on the engine, the problem reve
aled itself. Some of the electrical wiring had been ripped out, having caught on something when the buggy rolled over.

  “I can fix this,” she claimed, using her pocket knife to pry the bundle free and started to strip wires.

  Char took a deep breath and opened her eyes. They were clearer and focused. “Just needed a little nap. How long was I out?”

  “No idea. What happened?” Terry asked.

  “Almost hit something. Rolled over. I flipped it upright, but then I was too tired and sore to move. It wouldn’t start, so here I am.” Her eyes sparkled as she held Kae against her and looked at Terry.

  “The baby?” Terry asked.

  “Okay. Just my head got banged up. Well, my ribs, too, but those are better already.” She flexed to test them and nodded. “Okay. Here, take Kaeden.”

  Terry reached through the window to pull the boy out, and although he mumbled and groaned, he didn’t wake up.

  Char slowly worked her way through the window and then stood on shaky feet. “I probably shouldn’t drive. They’d think I was drunk.”

  Shonna put her knife back into a pocket and walked to the driver’s side. She touched the starter button and the dune buggy came to life. She smiled, pleased with herself.

  Terry nodded to the beat up dune buggy, “Shonna, you drive that one, we’ll follow.” she didn’t complain. Shona relished the opportunity to get behind the wheel. She climbed in, placed her foot on the brake, put it in gear, and slowly drove around the other dune buggy.

  Char climbed in with Terry’s help, Kae next, and then he took the driver’s seat. The camp was less than two hours away. He knew Billy would want his vehicle back. He thought about apologizing, but decided not to. Leave no one behind. That was Terry’s mantra. It was what the Knights of the Roundtable would do, and more importantly, it was what any husband would do for his wife.

  It was what Terry would always do, especially when the one lost in the wilderness was Charumati.

  ***

  The fourth horse’s hoof had not healed sufficiently to take out yet. The decision to leave her behind was tough and Gerry was distraught, which meant that Kiwi was distraught.

  Timmons rolled his eyes. It was dawn and they were ready to go, but not moving.

  “How about Lacy and I stay behind. We’ll take care of the horse, defend this place and keep working on cleaning out those rooms. If we’re not ready when the others arrive, the colonel will have our asses. Have you ever been on the receiving end of one of his beat-downs?” James asked, not expecting Timmons to answer.

  “Oddly enough, I have, and I understand. That sucked a whole lot and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” Timmons said matter-of-factly.

  “Take three horses. We’ll stay here, fish in the harbor, hunt close by. We’ll be fine.”

  Gerry shook James’ hand vigorously. “Thank you,” he mumbled and mounted his horse. Kiwi climbed in front of him, while Ted and Timmons took the other two. Without further delay, they headed out the front gate.

  Timmons stopped them, then turned his horse to ride back to talk with James and Lacy. The wolf pack was running behind them, but stopped as well, confused.

  “I thought you’d be going with us, so hadn’t shared that we sensed a Werebear when we were up north. Look for a person who seems too healthy, and big. This guy will be big. They are usually loners, and if he senses you, he may avoid this area altogether. But if he doesn’t, be careful around him. He’s not a big teddy bear. He’s a killer, orders of magnitude stronger than a Werewolf,” Timmons cautioned.

  He rejoined the others and they headed for the tracks. They would continue to follow lines until they found what they were looking for.

  James and Lacy watched them go, having no idea how long they’d be gone.

  ***

  Terry pulled in behind Shonna as she parked next to the buses. Billy was nowhere to be seen. No one was up besides the members of the Force tasked with protecting the town’s people.

  Shonna waved and stumbled away. Terry helped Char and Kae to the spot they’d selected earlier and wrapped up for what remained of the night.

  It seemed like mere seconds later when people where hustling around the camp, cleaning up and getting ready to go. Billy loomed over them.

  “What do you want?” Terry asked gruffly. Char blinked sleep from her eyes and looked at the mayor. Kae rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

  “I just wanted to say that I’m glad you’re okay, Char,” Billy said, looking at the beautiful woman sporting a full head of pillow hair. When he made eye contact with Terry, he gave him the finger and stomped off.

  Char looked at Terry questioningly.

  “He wasn’t a fan of me borrowing his dune buggy. I may have said some things that he took the wrong way.” Terry smiled. “How’s your bruised brain?”

  “Getting better by the minute. I could really use another day’s worth of sleep,” she whispered, rubbing her temples. “And it looks like Kae would like to join me.”

  The youngster wasn’t going to be allowed to continue sleeping. Char pulled him to his feet as she stood. Terry shook out the blanket and rolled it up. He took their packs and threw them in the back of the dune buggy while she washed up.

  His poor dune buggy was bent and scratched. The impact with the ground at highway speed had not done the fifty cal any favors. The cocking handle had been torn off and the barrel bent, so he left it behind.

  The ammunition strapped into the back was still in place, giving them two loads of ammo and one machine gun. Terry needed to make sure that there weren’t any more accidents because Terry didn’t want to lose his second mod deuce. That weapon was his heavy hitter, plus he had every intention of killing a buffalo with it, specifically the bull that had rammed his wife.

  Payback, motherfucker! he thought. Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight and don’t bring your bullshit as Terry Henry Walton is looking at you over the barrel of his fifty cal.

  First Sergeant Blevin reported that the remaining vehicles were operational. He wasn’t pleased looking at the dune buggy, but didn’t say anything. He produced a roll of electrician’s tape and tightened up the work that had been done on the wiring pigtail.

  The convoy left Sheridan not long after dawn. They continued past where Terry and Char had taken their group on the previous trip. Those were narrow backroads, while the interstate was mostly free and clear. A nice blue sky and light breeze suggested the day would be a good one.

  And it was. They made it into Montana, then turned east on I-90. The EMP hadn’t hit that part of the country so the dead and abandoned vehicles were few and far between. They convoy cruised at a steady forty-five miles an hour, even though their dune buggy shook at that speed. Terry kept his fingers crossed until they passed the native village across the river. It was still morning, but Terry directed the group to stop and set up camp by the bridge that the wolf pack had been afraid to cross. Terry parked his dune buggy where it blocked the entrance. He couldn’t have any accidents.

  He told the drivers to stay off the bridge and they’d continue on the north side of the river to Billings before crossing, maybe later that day or maybe the next.

  Billy wondered why they were stopping. “More of your bullshit?” he said in front of the drivers. Terry dismissed them to their PMs and turned to Billy in a low and dangerous voice.

  “I’d take it as a kindness if you didn’t do that, Billy, especially since it undermines your authority and not mine. You look petty.”

  “I’ve had about enough of you!” Billy screamed, raising his fists. Char looked at him sideways. Felicity’s eyebrows shot up. She’d told Billy not to challenge the man who’d saved them.

  Terry Henry didn’t hesitate. He slapped Billy’s hand away, spun him around and grabbed him by his collar and the seat of his pants, carrying him out onto the bridge as if he were carrying a bale of hay. Billy flailed helplessly, suddenly afraid.

  “I still need you, fuckface, but not that badly, so her
e it is. Sink or swim.” With one heave, he sent Billy face first over the guardrail, dropping fifty feet into the rapidly flowing water.

  Billy disappeared beneath the surface, coming back up downstream sputtering and slapping his hands helplessly against the water.

  “Terry!” Char yelled.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” Terry called as he took two steps and dove over the railing, executing a swan dive as he raced toward the rapids. He hit the water with his hands cutting the water for his head. He didn’t let himself go deep, hitting and coming back up quickly. When he surfaced, he stroked powerfully as he swam after Billy. He caught up to the small man, grabbed him under his chin, and headed for the nearest shore, where he found a contingent of natives waiting for him. He dragged Billy out of the water opposite the direction of the village under the watchful eyes of the natives. He wondered how they’d gotten there ahead of him.

  Char and Kae had crossed the bridge and were jogging toward the two drowned rats. Felicity walked casually. She thought that Billy deserved it not for his impertinence, but for defying her.

  She wouldn’t let him soon forget the cost of such transgressions.

  At least she could save the kick in the balls she was ready to give him. Felicity wondered what had gotten under his skin to make him so contentious.

  Maybe he’d come clean with her, but she wasn’t holding her breath.

  Terry greeted the group. “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  “Yes, thank you. Have you?” the chief replied with a smile.

  “I have to say that I just swallowed enough water that I’m not really hungry.” He let go of Billy, who continued to cough and hack. Terry shook the chief’s hand. Foxtail turned and walked to Char. She held Kae’s hand as he hid behind her.

  “Who is this?”

  “Say hello to Chief Foxtail, Kaeden,” Char said as she pulled the boy from behind her. The chief shook the small hand and looked deeply into the boy’s eyes. They stayed that way for a while. Billy was angry and opened his mouth to make demands, but Terry caught him in time, putting a finger to his lips for silence. Terry tapped his whip as a sign that Billy was on borrowed time.