by Jason Keizer
James walks in the room with a small bag in his hand. He lifts it up and pulls out one of the bottles of corn whiskey he got from Odessa.
As he places the bag on the table, he says, “I have no clue how this shit survived that blast. The other two bottles made it as well. Drink up, should want to after a day like today.”
Oliver gives give a small shake of his as he smiles and says, “Only you would be able to get a bottle of alcohol to survive a blast like that.”
James sits down and replies, “Are you calling me an alcoholic? Maybe I am just good at packing.” James fills his glass halfway with the whiskey and passes the bottle to Oliver.
Oliver quickly replies, “If only you could have packed the sat phone as well as these.”
James shoots him a quick glare. “Aren’t you the talkative one today? I might like you more when you don’t talk.”
Oliver shrugs his shoulders as he takes a drink. James drinks with him, then looks around the table at everyone and begins his story.
James starts, “The first time I met the Baron was after the Skullniks caught me. They put me in a ring and made me fight. I knocked my opponent out but that wasn't enough. They wanted blood, but I refused. That's when they called for him, the Baron. He walked out to execute my opponent. He put his sword into the guy's neck, but only enough to get past the skin and touch the spine a bit. Then he leaned over, whispered something in the man's ear, and sliced his head off like it was nothing.”
Captain Hammer cuts in and asks, “Do you know what he said to him?”
Before James can say anything, Henry slams a fist down on the table and says, “Yeah, he said welcome to Thunderdome bitch. What you think he said? Seriously, how the hell should James know? He just said that dude told him before he killed them. Does it look like James is dead? No. So how about no more fucking interruptions.”
Captain Hammer looks over to James and says, “I am sorry. Please continue.”
James looks around at everyone again. He takes a large drink of his vodka and says, “It is ok. Maybe I should start at the beginning of his story anyways, that way you can try to understand not just what he is, but how he came to be.”
TWENTY TWO
“Before all this shit happened, the Baron lived outside of L.A. I don’t know what his name was back then, so I will just keep calling him the Baron. He worked as some sort of weapons and fighting consultant for movies and tv shows from what he told me. This is before the shit hit the fan.
“When things started to get out of hand, he grabbed his wife, who was around eight months pregnant at the time, and took shelter inside of his workshop further outside of the city limits. They got there and barricaded the doors, then went to barricade the windows.
“As he was nailing in a board to barricade a window he asked his wife for help since he wasn’t feeling well. Over the last few days, he had caught the virus and was getting sicker. We’ve all seen it.
“That is when the first of the missiles to hit the city struck. The blast sent them flying back, breaking the glass and shooting the shards with them. When the Baron tried to get up to check on his wife, he couldn’t, because a large shard of glass was in his leg.
“So, he crawled over to his wife, who was sitting up against a wall. She had glass all over her. Her face was bloody; her body was bloody. When he got to her, all she could do over her choking on blood was ask if the baby was ok. When he lifted her shirt up, two large shards of glass were stuck in her stomach. He tried to tell her everything was okay, but by that time she was already dead.
“Frantically, he pulled the two shards of glass from her stomach. He didn't know what else to do, so he took one of those pieces, and cut into his wife’s belly. After making a large gash in her, he shoved his hands in a ripped out the baby. Even though he was able to pull his baby out, he wasn't sure if the baby was alive or dead since blood was everywhere.
“He held the baby, a boy, in his arms and bounced it up and down. All it could do was give a small, breathless, cry before it went back silent and into death. He tried to resuscitate it, but couldn’t.
“Once he realized that nothing else could be done, he picked up a cloth and cleaned his baby boy. As he wiped the cold blood from his son’s face and neck, he saw it, a deep cut in the boy’s neck. He finished cleaning it and just sat with him, in shock. For a day he sat there, watching the bombs take out the city, with his dead son in his arms. The blasts blew dirt and debris into his shop and over him, but he never budged from his spot.
“After all the madness stopped in the city, all the death, it found its way to him. A group of Arctics walked by and saw him. As they sprinted towards him, he just sat there, waiting for death to take him and let him rejoin his family. But for some reason, when they approached the window, he jumped up to his feet.
“He dropped his son and ran to one of the back rooms, where he kept the real versions of the movie weapons he made. He grabbed a sword from the wall and started swinging just as they entered the room. When it was all said and done, five Arctics laid at his feet as he stood there in a crazed rage.
“He walked back over to his son, but as he went to pick him up, saw that the Arctics trampled over him. Its legs and body mutilated, it could barely be recognized as human anymore. The Baron grabbed the baby by its head and twisted it off of its body. He dropped the mangled body, with no regards to what it belonged to just a few moments ago, and walked to the forging area of his workshop.
“He waited patiently for the blood from the Arctics to thaw out. When it did, he collected it up and poured it into the cooling tank next to the forge’s heater. He grabbed a couple bricks of steel and iron ore and started his work on the sword you saw. Over and over, he would heat the sword up and then cool it in the Arctic’s blood, until the blade became black. For the sheath and back strap to holster the sword, he skinned one of the Arctics. Or as he put it, “tanned the hide.”
“It took him a while to recover from the glass that was in his leg. To help him out he made himself a cane until he could walk normally again. Somehow, in the couple days it took him to finish with the sword, he was walking normal once again and no longer needed his cane.
“He became quite fond of it by then and didn't want to let it go. It helped him walk into his new life. So, he decided to make a cane he would always need, always want. He hollowed out the inside of it and made a short blade. When it came time for him to make a hilt for it, he grabbed his son's head. He peeled off the skin and fashioned the skull to the blade.
“He left his shop, leaving his wife and the rest of his son behind, where they lay. Since he was covered in blood and his clothes had tears all over them, he walked to the nearest lake. He ripped off his clothes and washed up in the water. As he cleaned the blood off his head, clumps of hair came out with it. When he finished cleaning, he walked back to the shore, grabbed his cane, and went back into the water. He pulled out the knife from it and cut the rest of his hair off, shaving it down to the skin.
“As he was finishing up, two men approached. They were twins. One of them had on that top hat and trench coat. The other was dressed like someone from the 1800s. He figured they were probably from some sort of play or movie in the city and were trying to escape.
“When they walked up to the water they both started to freak out. At first, they thought he was an Arctic, but soon realized he was much worse. Slowly, he made his way towards them. As they waited for him to get out of the water, they saw his sword. Once the one in the old-timey outfit tried to pick it up, the Baron jumped out from the water. He stabbed the guy in the chest with the blade forged into his son’s skull. He pulled it out and grabbed his sword with his other hand. The other brother came at him with a swinging fist.
“The Baron quickly ducked down, dodging it, and swung his sword up. The blade nearly cut the guy in half. The guy tried to say something, but only blood came out. As he fell to the ground, the Baron grabbed the hat from off his head. He took the clothes from one and t
he shoes from the other. He said that as he washed the blood from the trench coat in the lake, his reflection stared back at him, and its eyes burned as red like as blast that killed his family.
“For the next few months, he traveled. At first, he went north, then headed east. He watched as California crumbled, both its cities and its people. He saw what the summer drought did to the people. As food and water became scarcer, they turned on each other. At first, they just killed each other for the supplies they had. Then they killed people for supplies, turning it into the cannibal coast we now see.
“As he walked further north, he would see groups of people kill and feed off of anyone they could find. I guess not wanting to be eaten, he would destroy anything in his path, animals for nourishment, people for... Well, he said he killed most of them because they weren’t worth the life they had.
“A couple of months after crossing over the mountains, he found a large group. At first, he just sat back and watched them, seeing if he should try to make contact or just kill them all and take what he wanted. For a week he watched them and saw their numbers grow. They had a working system, a way of control. So, he decided to make an entrance and introduce himself. The next day, when the sun was high and bright, he walked into the camp. He bypassed a couple of small traps that they had around the perimeter and stepped to the entrance.
“As he walked into the camp, tents were perched in rows to the left and right of him, except for one. About halfway through the camp sat a large tent with a generator next to it. He figured that was the tent with the person he needed to see. As he walked towards the tent, a couple of people walked up to him to ask him what he was doing. He paid no attention to them and just kept walking. After passing a few more rows, people started to yell out “Intruder.”
“Five men came running and surrounded him. They asked what he was doing, and all he said was that he wanted to see their leader. Slowly they walked towards him getting just outside of arm’s length. Two of them had rifles, the other three only had makeshift weapons. The Baron stopped and just turned his head to look around at the men. As he looked back forward, the main tent opened. From the tent, came out a fat man in a suit. The man took a few steps forward and stopped.
“The Fatman asked if he wanted to join his ranks, but the Baron declined. So, the Fatman told his people to kill him. As one of the men with the rifles lifted his weapon up to take aim, the Baron pulled out his sword and jumped towards him. That sword probably touched the man’s cheek before the rifle did as it went through his skull. The three men without the guns ran in at him.
“In one swing, he crouched down and gutted all three of them. They all fell down to the ground around him, screaming in agony. The other man with the rifle stood there, frozen. As the Baron took one step towards him, he turned around and ran towards the Fatman. As he got close, the Fatman pulled out a pistol from his waistband and shot him in the head.
“After the man’s body had hit the floor, the Fat Man said, “No one under my command will ever run from a fight. We must show America our resolve.” The Baron sheathed his sword and walked towards the Fatman. When he got just a few paces away, he stopped.
“I’m not really sure what happened after that,” James says as he empties the rest of the first bottle of whiskey into his glass.
“Well, I know about after I met him, but not much of in between those two points. I think we can wait a little bit to tell my times with him. I don’t want to be freaking you people out even more.”
Jessica twirls and stares at her almost empty glass. “Are his eyes really red? Cause I understand his hair falling out and what not, due to what is most likely radiation poisoning. Don’t know how he would still be alive through all this time with something like that.”
James shrugs his shoulders and takes a drink. “Yeah, I don’t completely understand it either, but his eyes really are red. Bright red, like hot embers.”
Captain Hammer takes a large drink from his glass, finishes it and says, “Well, that is the weirdest shit I have ever heard. Then again, living in a world with frozen people walking around wasn’t something I ever expected from life either. But that would mean he works with or made a deal with the Skullniks. Why would he be attacking them?” He takes another drink from his glass, finishing the last of his whiskey.
James gulps the rest of his drink and stands up. He slams the glass down on the table and almost as if exhausted says, “Beats the shit out of me. Well, I think I am done for the night. I’m gonna try and see if I can get ahold of Serra one last time. Make sure you clean your weapons and recharge your headsets overnight. Might be a bit until we get another chance. I bid you all a goodnight, and we will be up bright and early to get the fuck out of this place, one way or another.”
As James walks to the door, everyone says, “Goodnight.” Oliver and Henry add, “Til tomorrow.”
James steps out the room, lifts his hand up, and softly says, “Til tomorrow.”
Oliver takes a sip of his whiskey and says, “I can see why he wouldn’t want to tell us about this guy. I don’t even care to know about it after hearing it.”
Jessica nods her head and says, “I agree. Definitely could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that thing or hearing that story. Can you imagine, having to watch that happen to your family and doing the things you had to do to try and save that baby?”
Captain Hammer quickly joins in, “What do you mean can you imagine that? Are you saying we should feel sorry for that man out there? Cause I sure as hell don’t.”
Jessica shakes her head. “I’m not saying that. But, what kind of person would you be if you had to do that? It is understandable to see how he became so enraged and vengeful at the world after seeing what happened to his family. And no matter what he is, it is still sad that so many terrible things have happened. Not just to him, but to everyone. To all of us.”
Oliver stands up and waves his right arm, “Well, I think I am going to retire for the night as well. Good night everyone.”
The group all say good night as he walks out of the room.
Captain Hamer gets up and says, “He is right. We should call it a night and get well rested for tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do.”
He walks out of the room, followed by Jessica and Henry.
TWENTY THREE
Inara and Mercy are sitting in Inara’s office across the desk from each other. “Well, do you have any plans for the night?” asks Mercy.
“No. Just gonna cook up a small dinner and then get some rest. I’m going to get up early tomorrow to go for a short run if you care to join. Figured we could run to the bridge and back.”
“Sure. That sounds fun. I always like running over there. The river is lovely and sometimes there are people fishing. You mind if we stop and say hi if there are people there?”
Inara gives a sweet smile and says, “Why do you even ask? Every time we see someone you stop to say hi.” Both Mercy’s and Inara’s cell phone goes off with a few beeps.
They look at their phones. “It’s from Sam,” Inara says.
Inara opens her message. On the screen, it says, “Download this app.”
There is a folder icon at the bottom. Mercy looks at Inara and says, “Well, about time he got the secure network up for us. All you gotta do is download the app, and it will do the rest. Sam likes to make things very user-friendly.”
Inara presses her screen a couple times and says, “No problem. It’s installing right now.” As Mercy sets her phone down, it beeps again.
“Another message?” she asks as she unlocks her phone again.
She looks at Inara, confused, and says, “Run?”
The look on her face quickly turns from confusion to fear. She jumps up from her seat and starts to run to the door. Inara, startled, asks, “What is going on?” Mercy ignores her and opens the door. Standing on the other side of the doorway is General Thompson.
Mercy lets out a small gasp as she takes a couple of steps backward. As sh
e does, the general walks into the office. Behind him are two young men in police uniforms. The two men step forward and take a position on each side of the general.
The blonde haired one on the right grabs the handheld radio attached to the left side of his jacket, just above his badge, “This is Bravo three. Suspect found. Unarmed. Placing into custody.”
The officer on the left of the general pulls out a pair of plastic zip cuffs. Inara jumps up from her seat, and tremulously asks, “What the hell is going on?”
Mercy takes a couple more steps back as the General walks towards her. He says, “Mercy, I am sorry, but you are being placed under arrest for espionage and aiding a fugitive of the law. Place your hands on top of your head and get down on your knees please.”
The officer on the left of the General steps forward, one hand holding a pair of cuffs, the other hovering above the pistol on his belt. Mercy looks to Inara with a vacant stare that quickly turns haunted. She keeps stepping back slowly as she turns to face the officer closing in on her.
Inara yells, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? How dare you accuse her of this? Where is your evidence?” She walks from behind her desk and steps in between Mercy and the officer.
The officer stops and looks back at the general with a slightly confused expression. The General says, “We have a video of her putting a flash drive into one of the communication servers this morning. Then, during lunch, one of our people saw her with a truck driver that has is under suspicion of trading contraband with the Skullniks.”
Before Inara can respond, Mercy steps forward and lightly pushes her to the side. “Dr. Stone knew nothing of the flash drive or of my lunch today. I will go willingly as long as nothing happens to her,” Mercy says as tears start to roll down her reddened cheeks. She drops down to her knees and puts her hands on her head.
Inara grabs her elbow and tries to pull Mercy up. She says, “No. I’m not going to let them take you.” The officer takes a step forward towards the women. “Get back, right now,” Inara yells at him. The officer pays no attention and as he steps around Mercy.