The Road North

by Phillip D Granath

  “So, other than giving that lookout a fit, do we have a plan here?”

  “There is, you two just hold on tight.”

  The scavenger pushed the vehicle at full speed across the desert eating up the ground between them and the dry river bed, ground that they had crossed just minutes before. The rover neared the embankment, and just as Miles braced himself for the drop into the gravel river bed, Kyle jerked the wheel hard to the left again. The old man was sent smashing into the side of the buggy and then pressed back into his seat as the vehicle spun a complete 180 degrees before accelerating, again running North.

  “God damn it, Kyle, what are you doing? We are just wasting time, pick a direction and go!” Miles shouted.

  The scavenger ignored the old man’s pleas and peering upward through the dust he could just make out the frantic flashing from the rocky peak. He cursed again and hung a sudden sharp right, this time he accelerated into the turn using all four wheels to launch sand and dust into the air. The buggy had barely straightened out when Kyle jerked the wheel again, this time to the left and leaving rooster tails of dust in his wake.

  “Kyle! What the fuck are you doing?” Miles demanded.

  Ignoring the pleas, the scavenger began cutting a series of sharp turns while continually peering upward at the lookout’s rocky perch. As the vehicle jerked violently one way or another, it was all that Coal could do to not lose his grip on the buggy’s roll bars. The bounty-hunter was about to add his own complaints to Miles’s when Coal looked up and realized that the dust was so thick that he could barely make out the line of peaks above them. Coal suddenly realized the scavenger’s plan, and he opened his mouth to laugh but sucking in a mouth full of dust only managed a fit of coughing instead.

  Miles removed his hand from his mouth just long enough to shout, “This is insane!”

  But if Kyle heard his friend’s words he made no reply, his eyes were upward again looking for the peak, but this time it was completely obscured by the thick cloud of dust. Not wasting a moment Kyle spun the wheel hard again and pushed the buggy’s accelerator all the way to the floor launching the vehicle forward. Miles began to object again, but when the old man realized that they were at least traveling in a straight line again, he quickly went silent. The only problem now was that the wall of dust that Kyle had launched into the air meant that he couldn’t see more than a dozen feet in front of them and Kyle silently prayed that he hadn’t lost track of which direction he was heading. Suddenly the ground beneath them fell away, and the buggy sailed off of the embankment and landed in the gravel of the dry riverbed.

  “No Kyle, you’ve got us completely turned around! We’re going the wrong way!” Miles objected.

  “Shut up Miles!”

  The scavenger turned sharply and raced down the riverbed, following the course of the dry Salt River towards the heart of Phoenix. Kyle glanced over his shoulder, and behind him, the cloud of swirling dust that he had kicked up was quickly dissipating.

  “This is a hell of a plan Tonto!” Coal said grinning.

  “What? What is he talking about?” Miles demanded.

  The old man looked between Kyle and Coal his anger quickly giving way to confusion.

  “Tonto here just kicked up enough dust to blind their lookout, now the trick is to slip away without getting seen,” Coal replied.

  “What?” Miles asked looking at Kyle.

  “It’s not a radio, I mean whatever system of codes that they are using has to be pretty simple right? So first we change directions a bunch of times and make that lookout send a bunch of confusing and contradicting reports and then we fucking disappear.”

  Coal laughed and replied, “That poor bastard on top of the hill, he is going to have them running all over hell looking for us.”

  “That’s the plan,” Kyle replied.

  “Oh man, I would hate to be that guy when this is all over, they are literally going to fucking eat him for this!”

  “Better him than us,” Miles said.

  The old man’s response was so unexpected that it caught both Kyle and Coal off guard and the pair suddenly broke out in a fit of laughter. Coal leaned forward slapping the old man on the shoulder.

  “That’s the spirit! There’s the killer I remember!”

  Ahead of them, the riverbed rounded a gentle curve, and a concrete opening came into view along the North side of the embankment.

  “Quick, turn here!” Miles shouted.

  Kyle hesitated for just a moment and then slowing down he turned into the opening and quickly realized it was the start of a long dry canal. Holding up the map the old man smiled.

  “This will take us right through Phoenix, and it ends somewhere near highway 17 headed north,” he said.

  “Damn Miles, most of your ideas are for shit, but every once in a while you actually stumble across a good one!” Coals said.

  Miles turned to look back at Coal with a look of confusion mingled with irritation when Kyle spoke.

  “Right through the heart of the city? That sounds like about the last place anyone will be looking for us.”

  The scavenger looked down the length of the concrete canal, it ran straight for several miles before turning abruptly but for the most part, it was clear of the rusting cars and other debris they were sure to encounter on the surface streets. A layer of sand covered the bottom of the canal, but the sloped slides were clear. Kyle smiled as he guided the buggy up onto the canal’s sloping edges, the rover handling the angle easily, and Kyle quickly accelerated.

  “This should keep us from being spotted from any lookouts, and as long as we stay off the bottom, we shouldn’t kick up any dust either!” Kyle shouted.

  As the buggy sped down the length of the canal, Kyle allowed himself a faint glimmer of hope. They started the expedition trying to play it safe, and as a result, they found themselves racing through a strange and dangerous city, pursued by an army of cannibals. So the scavenger felt fairly confident in classifying their first full day as a complete disaster. However, one thing that Kyle’s experiences in the wasteland had taught him was that desperate times called for bold moves and as they raced towards the heart of the slave masters’ power, Kyle could think of no move bolder.

  The Heart of the Matter

  I think he knows, but I will not forget my promise.

  “And just what in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Councilman Johnson demanded.

  “I’m not really sure,” Anna replied, staring down at the note again.

  Johnson just shook his head and turned to look at his other council members in confusion. As usual, Nim made no reply and just kept taking notes with her nub of a pencil. Wadsworth buried her face in her hands for a moment before looking up and frowning at Anna.

  “And she was taken away by force you say?”

  “Not exactly by force, but there were two Braves with her, both armed with spears and they didn’t seem to want Little Bird to leave their sight, not even for a moment.”

  “Well there isn’t anything very unusual about that, the Nation always sends riders to escort her back and forth from town,” Johnson pointed out.

  Anna frowned, “Yes I know, but then why would Little Bird feel the need to make up a story to come see me? And why would she have gone to such lengths to conceal this note from her own people?”

  Wadsworth let out a long breath, “I think we have to assume that Little Bird may not be returning to these chambers anytime soon,” she said.

  “No loss there,” Jackson mumbled.

  “I also think,” Wadsworth added, looking pointedly in Jackson’s direction. “That we have to assume that Chief Two-Steps is aware of our water situation.”

  “And what does that mean?” Anna asked.

  “Well, Little Bird seemed to think that if the Nation found out about the pump, that the chief would be inclined to stop sending his traders into town. As she put it, why would her people trade with us when they could just wait a month or two and then pick the bones
of the town clean,” Johnson replied.

  “That is if they even chose to wait and not just ride in and take what they want,” Jackson added.

  “And how would Chief Two-Steps have found out?” Wadsworth demanded.

  “Spies, those savages have had spies slipping in and out of town for years,” Jackson pointed out.

  “Then the Chief isn’t the only one with Spies at work. I just saw yesterday’s numbers from Juan, the boy is proving very handy with the pump and I have to admit, the fact that he can’t speak makes him much easier to deal with than his old man. But according to the figures, it looks like the rations are going out at about the usual rate, but we are also seeing more of the promissory notes that we have issued being exchanged for water,” Johnson said.

  “Well that isn’t really surprising, have you taken a walk through the Hub and talked to the traders recently? Moving the water out to the distribution centers have kicked off all kinds of rumors and conspiracy theories. Murphy is alive and returning for revenge, the Nation is getting ready to ride in and scalp us all, which actually may not be that far from the truth, but most of it is complete and utter nonsense. Hell, I had one man swear to me the other day that the world is being invaded by giant spiders from outer space! I’m telling you it’s all just the usual paranoid nonsense. People get nervous when anything changes with their water situation,” Jackson said.

  Anna nearly choked when Jackson mentioned aliens, but she quickly covered her mouth faking a cough.

  Wadsworth closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples again, “I hope you’re right and it is just the usual grumblings, we can’t afford to have a panic on our hands here.”

  “Yes and if the people are too busy making up their own conspiracies theories, perhaps no one will find out about the real one we have cooked up,” Johnson mumbled under his breath.

  The councilwoman paused and took a moment. First, she looked around the room at her fellow council members before her eyes settled upon Anna.

  “I don’t think I have to say again how important it is for us to keep this situation a secret. Even if Miles’s plan works and he can fix the pump in time, I doubt the town would be very happy with the way we have deceived them these last few days,” Wadsworth pointed out.

  The members of the city council all nodded solemnly in agreement, but Anna found it hard to suppress her smile. Here the town was on the verge of losing their only supply of water and under the very real threat of Indian attack, and yet their politicians were still worrying about reelection.

  “Anna,” Councilman Johnson asked suddenly, “What was the second part of the message from Little Bird referring to? Something about a promise?”

  Anna frowned and looked down at the note again, Johnson’s confusion mirroring her own.

  “I’m not really sure,” Anna replied honestly and after a moment added. “Well, she did promise Kyle that she would look after the baby and me while he was gone.”

  “She did and I seem to remember her being quite adamant about it as well,” Wadsworth said nodding.

  “As a rule, Indians can be awfully funny when it comes to their promises and oaths and all that,” Jackson pointed out.

  Johnson laughed out loud, “Well damn, it looks like Kyle’s got himself a guardian angel, but instead of on a pair of wings, she just wears all her feathers in her hair!”

  Whipping blood from his eyes, Kyle stared ahead and screamed, “Here comes another one!”

  As the buggy raced down the canal, another footbridge came into view, and this time nearly a dozen men were crowded along it.

  “Brace yourself!”

  As the rover neared the narrow bridge at breakneck speed the Master’s chosen attacked, launching a wave of crude spears, stones and broken bottles at them. Nearly all of their random implements of death fell short or bounced harmlessly off of the buggy’s body, but a few had found their mark. Blood still ran from a cut just above Kyle’s right eye, the result of a lucky hit from a broken bottle while Miles' hand was wrapped in a bloody rag. Though remarkably, perched on the back of the speeding buggy Coal remained untouched, his constant barrage of curses and threats appearing to provide all of the protection that the bounty-hunter needed. However the trio had learned quickly that this first barrage was simply a ploy to make them slow down, the real attack followed, and it was proving far more effective.

  “Here we go!” Kyle shouted.

  “Round three, fight!” Coal screamed.

  The buggy sped beneath the bridge, and above them, eight men leaped into the air. If it was devotion to their masters or simply blind rage, Kyle couldn’t tell, but the results were terrifying. Half of the jumpers missed the vehicle completely falling nearly 20 feet to the concrete, most landing badly. A another man landed oddly upon the hood of the rover and held on for the briefest of moments before rolling off and getting pulled under one of the rear wheels. Kyle didn’t even have time to swear as the buggy bounced suddenly marking the man’s passing. Miles shouted something unintelligible and glancing to his right Kyle found a shirtless slaver hanging from the passenger side door. The man had one meaty hand around Miles’s throat and was desperately trying to leverage himself up into the vehicle with the other.

  “Miles!”

  Kyle watched as the old man tried to fight off his attacker, throwing a half a dozen jabs at the man’s already bloody face. But as the slaver’s grip on his throat took its toll, Miles’s face turned from red to purple to blue as Kyle watched, and Miles’ punches lost what little effect they had. Realizing the old man wouldn’t last much longer, Kyle reached over desperately trying to break the slaver’s hold while also trying to keep control of the speeding vehicle. But the slaver’s hands wouldn’t budge, and there was nothing Kyle could do without stopping the buggy and playing right into the slaver’s hands. Recognizing Kyle’s dilemma the blood faced man laughed loudly and began to try and pull the old man out of the buggy, trying to tempt Kyle to stop, but Kyle decided he had seen enough. The scavenger pulled the magnum from his shoulder holster pointing it squarely at the slaver’s head, and Kyle got to enjoy the startled look that suddenly spread across the man’s face.

  “Fuck off,” Kyle shouted and then fired.

  The slavers’ head blew apart, and the man’s body toppled out of the buggy. Miles suddenly gasped as if startled back to consciousness by the gunshot. The old man looked around wildly for a moment gasping loudly.

  Kyle grabbed the old man by the shoulder, “Miles, are you alright?” he shouted.

  In reply the engineer pushed his hand away, he was gesturing wildly at Kyle and trying to speak but could only manage a raspy choking sound.

  “What’s wrong?” Kyle shouted.

  The more Kyle reached for his friend, the more Miles seemed to grow agitated and pushing his hands back while continuing to make a series of choking sounds. Finally, the old man seemed to have had enough and lunging forward he grasped the wheel and jerked it hard to the right. The buggy lurched violently in response, the vehicle’s thick wheels cutting into the canal’s sandy bottom and threatening to tip.

  “Miles, what the fu…?”

  Suddenly, just ahead of them the burning wreckage of a car was shoved over the edge of the canal and came careening down the concrete slope towards them. Kyle grabbed ahold of the wheel now turning with Miles instead of against him and punched the accelerator to the floor. The hard plastic wheels squealed against the concrete as the rover was forced up the opposite wall of the canal and just managed to clear the burning wreck. As Kyle shouted with joy movement from the corner of his eye caused him to turn, and he watched as another slaver tumbled from the back of the buggy.

  “Coal, how are you doing back there?”

  Miles was still holding his throat, but his wits were quickly returning, he looked back and found the half-breed locked in a desperate struggle. Coal was on his back, with a slaver on top of him. The bounty-hunter had one hand up trying desperately to keep the man from plunging a blade into hi
s throat, while Coal’s other hand was driving his own hunting knife into the slaver’s side again and again. The slaver let out a terrible cry and blood was now streaming from his mouth, the man knew he was going to die and was now desperate to take Coal with him. Staring at the blood-crazed slaver Miles froze for a moment, it wasn’t fear but sudden recognition that startled the old man. The dying slaver had a wild look in his eyes that Miles had seen only once before, it was the look that Coal wore when he killed.

  “Little…h…help,” Coal choked out between gritted teeth.

  His friend’s plea snapped Miles back into motion, and the old man quickly glanced around looking for a weapon. The slaver edged the blade closer to Coal’s throat, even as the bounty-hunter could feel the man’s lifeblood flowing out of him to cover both of them. To the make his position even more precarious the dying man’s blood was making the back of the buggy incredibly slick, and each bump now threatened to send both men tumbling off of the speeding rover.

  “We can die together, you will be my slave in hell forever,” the slaver screamed.

  “Fuck …you…I’ve already been married,” Coal choked out.

  The slaver let out a bloody laugh in response, just before drawing back his blade and stabbing down at Coal’s right eye with all the strength the man could muster, but the blow never landed. Instead, the end of Miles’s crutch smashed into the slaver’s face. For a split-second, the man was stunned and seeing his chance Coal reached down and grabbing ahold of his hunting knife with both hands he used it as a lever to roll the stunned slaver to his left. The dying man made one last effort slashing out at Coal and just catching his left shoulder before the man slipped off of the edge of the buggy and disappeared into the cloud of dust. Coal held up his bloody knife and gave a shout of victory that was cut short when he began to slip off of the buggy. Miles lunged forward, and the bounty-hunter was just able to grab ahold of his outstretched crutch and pull himself back up to grab ahold of the roll bars again.