by SD Tanner
Tiredly rubbing the back of his neck, TL asked, “Don’t you believe that where there’s life, there’s hope? Maybe if they live a little longer, something will change.”
Shaking his head firmly, Gears replied, “I did believe that, TL. For two years I’ve been tryin’ to change the dynamic, but it jus’ keeps gettin’ worse, and I’ve concluded the only way to get drastic change is to take drastic action. With the land dyin’ and the dead haunting the earth, the time has come to take that action. I don’t see how we win either, but I trust myself and I trust Mac’s visions, so I’m gonna go with that.”
If he was honest with himself, he agreed with Gears, but he’d fought hard for the lives of their people. He wasn’t willing to let Ruler kill them without trying everything he could think of to stop him. Staring intently at Gears, he thought, every battle needs a good General and he’d proven to be a worthy one. While he studied his gorilla-shaped brother, he began to wonder about Hull. Hull was Ruler’s General, and he’d sworn to kill the man for abusing BD. In his mind, he’d imagined meeting Hull on the battlefield and killing him man-to-man, but now he wondered if there wasn’t a better way to kill him.
Narrowing his eyes at Gears, he asked, “What if we stack the odds more in our favor?”
Gears looked back at him with interest. “Whatcha got in mind?”
“Hull. He’s Ruler’s General. I’m gonna kill him tomorrow one way or another, but if we kill him tonight that’s gotta do us some good tomorrow. Why don’t we move up his death on the agenda?”
Still looking interested, Gears replied, “You do realize you’re proposin’ to break into the enemy camp, and go well behind the lines into demon-controlled territory.”
He hadn’t thought about it that way. “We’ve got Ip and she can give us a hunter guard, plus we’ll get intel on their set up.”
Giving him a skeptical look, TL said bluntly, “We could also get killed, and who’s gonna lead the troops into battle if that happens? I don’t think the baby versions of us are up to the job just yet.”
Chuckling at TL’s comment, he said, “Yeah, well, we’re gonna lose anyway, so I don’t think it matters who leads who into what tomorrow.”
“True story,” Gears said energetically. Wearing a wicked grin, he added, “Pax is right. We should kill Hull tonight.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Hell interrupted (Gears)
Ruler’s camp was thirty miles from the Ranch, and without any working vehicles, they decided to ride Pop’s horses there. Throwing the saddle over the horse’s back, buckling the straps, and breathing in the rich smell of leather brought back all the memories of being raised at the Ranch. The odd squeaking noises of the leather on leather, and the feel of the horse beneath him was so familiar, the decades seemed to peel away and he felt like a teenager again. Admiring the grace of the horses, he wondered how Pop found them when the land seemed so lifeless. Ip couldn’t ride and she sat tucked into his lap, sharing the saddle with him. He figured they would probably need to ride the horses hard to escape Ruler’s camp, and they rode slowly through the night not wanting to tire them. Ahead of them he could see a dull red glow that looked like the lights of a small city.
Also noticing the odd hue, TL asked, “What the hell is that?”
Sniffing the air deeply, he detected the ashy smell of fire, and something else he couldn’t describe. “Bonfires and somethin’ else, but I dunno what it is.”
Ip speaks: It is Death that you smell. The Devil is feeding his demons well.
He didn’t know what she meant, but for once he didn’t want to, and pulling her tightly too him, he said nothing and continued to ride quietly through the night. The closer they got to Ruler’s camp, the brighter the sky became, and there were the sounds of hunters growling and men hooting loudly in the distance. It sounded like they were having a wild party, but he doubted anyone living would be enjoying the festivities. They were surrounded by tens of thousands of hunters, and their lean, naked bodies stood out against the darkness like shuffling shadows. They seemed directionless and unfocussed, offering no resistance, and almost unaware of their presence. Ip’s hunter guard formed a wedge of bodies ahead of them, and they were pushing hunters from their path, but none approached them or fought with her guard.
Confused by their lack of aggression, he asked, “Why ain’t they fightin’ with your guard?”
He felt Ip’s shoulders shrug against his chest. “Their demon masters are busy now, they have no interest in their obedient cows.”
If the demon super hunters were too occupied to pay attention to their hunters, he assumed the camp was unguarded. It meant they could probably walk right into the middle of the camp undetected, but it seemed ridiculous to him on the eve of a major battle they were doing nothing to prepare themselves.
Feeling a slight spark of hope, he said, “Maybe they’ll be too hungover to fight well tomorrow.”
He felt Ip’s head move across his chest as she shook it vigorously. “They do not tire, this night time fun will only fuel their fire.”
“Can’t cut a break,” Pax remarked dourly. “These assholes ain’t like any enemy we’ve ever been trained to deal with.”
Listening to the heavy and regular thuds of the horse’s feet against the dry ground, he recalled their combat days before the virus. Until his car accident, they’d always been in the front lines somewhere in the world, but after twenty-five years in the Army, he didn’t see his enemies as anything other than men he had to fight. The reasons he fought never changed and it wasn’t because he was ordered to. He believed you got what you fought for, and if he wanted to live his life as a free man, he needed to be ready to fight for that right every day of his life. Over the years, he and his brothers fought in many foreign countries against different enemies with varying capabilities, but he didn’t think he’d ever fought an enemy where he didn’t believe he had the upper hand. Before the outbreak, he’d always had the might of the USA behind him, and no enemy could match them in resources, skills and manpower. Today they weren’t outnumbered by Ruler’s demons, but thanks to the hunters, they were effectively outgunned. Even if he could remove the hunters, the demons still had armaments and he had none. Now feeling at such a disadvantage, he hadn’t realized how much confidence he’d drawn from having a large and powerful country behind him. Looking across at his brothers, he thought, there’s the four of us against hell and it doesn’t seem fair. Sighing, he wondered if the universe knew what it was doing. If their role was to rule, then the universe owed them something more than nothing to fight with. Although he fully understood and agreed with Pax’s worry, he genuinely didn’t see any other option than to fight now or die slowly later.
The closer they got to the glow in the night, the louder the shrieking became, only now he could hear the high-pitched howls of pain blending with the hooting of the demons. The air became thick with smoke, and the unclear odor he’d smelt earlier became the stench of roasting flesh. He remembered the blackened fire pit and the body parts they’d found at the Ranch after Ruler and his demon super hunters occupied it. He knew tonight people were dying the same slow and terrible death, and he briefly pondered whether they should call their troops to end this night now.
Clearly guessing his thoughts, Pax warned, “Don’t even think about it, Gears. We ain’t in any position to mount an attack and our troops need to rest. They marched twenty-five miles today and they ain’t ready to fight tonight.”
He knew Pax was right. “Can you hear what’s going down here? Can you smell it?”
“And that’s why we’re doin’ what we’re doin’. And you’re right, Gears, we gotta call it. I’m sorry for ridin’ ya.”
The one thing they rarely did as brothers was apologize to one another. “It ain’t like you to admit you’re wrong. Are you feelin’ alright?”
“Shaddup, Gears. And take your apology like a man.”
Ignoring their squabbling, TL asked amiably, “When you two girls have finished bitch slappi
ng one another, do you think we could work out how we’re gonna do this?”
It was a large camp and he had no idea where Hull was. “Any ideas where we’d find this asshole?”
“Where would you be?” TL asked.
Thinking back to his combat days, he said dourly, “I wouldn’t be ridin’ around on a horse breakin’ into the enemy camp. I’d be with my squad, deep inside my own camp, making sure we’re ready to go.”
“Then that’s where he is,” TL replied.
Pax snorted. “Gears is a good soldier and Hull’s an ass, so why would you assume he’d be doin’ what Gears would do?”
“Hull’s a soldier too,” TL replied pragmatically. “Being an ass and being a good soldier are not mutually exclusive. You of all people should know that.”
He chuckled. “True story.”
They were now so close to the camp, the sharp crackling of fires and the pervasive odor of cooking flesh was growing stronger. The land was mostly flat with slight rises and falls, the few trees stood stark and leafless against the night sky, and the hunters were a sea of pale and never-ending movement. The camp was directly ahead of them. The bright fires were burning high into the night sky and smaller puddles of flickering red flames surrounded them. Against the backdrop of the red light, bodies were moving in frantic motion, and screams continued to cut through the air. From a distance, the heat and the noise seemed slightly muted and he was happy to feel like an outsider. There were more hunters than he expected. If they left the horses to sneak into the camp, the hunters would kill them. They would have to ride in, but he didn’t know how they could do that and still remain hidden. The closer they got to the core of the camp, the denser the hunters were becoming, and he worried they might be spotted by a demon.
Squeezing Ip around the waist, he whispered, “Can you start a fight, honey? I mean a really big, kick ass fight to distract ‘em.”
She caught him around the neck, and pulling his face closer to hers, she kissed him deeply. Swinging her leg over the horse’s neck, she slid to the ground. As soon as she landed, she sprinted towards the middle of glowing red light and all the hunters, who were growling and grumbling around them, suddenly ran after her.
“Let’s go!” He kicked his horse with his heels, it broke into a gallop, and he chased after Ip and her hunters.
Ip continued to sprint through the outskirts of the camp and more hunters joined her pack. Soon tens of thousands of hunters were converging on Ruler’s camp. The sound of their feet heavily stamping on the dry earth became a roar, and he and his brothers kept pace. His steed snorted angrily, and if he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought it knew it was riding into hell. The hunters didn’t fight one another, but the more that joined, the bigger the force they became. They rode past the first of the large fires, and the hunters, oblivious to pain, ran through the flames and caught fire. These brightly burning hunters ran into more of them and they too caught fire. Soon all he could see around him were burning shapes that looked like men, but they didn’t stop sprinting. So many hunters ran through the fires they extinguished them, and slowly, fire by fire, darkness reclaimed the night. He thought it was a brilliant tactic, and with his mind he said, keep putting the fires out, honey. Ip didn’t reply, but he knew she understood, and the large burning pyres continued to disappear the deeper they went into the camp. Around them was nothing, but chaos. The hooting stopped, but he could still hear the cries of the dying. The hunters were now so agitated, their heads were vibrating manically, and they were attacking one another in their excitement. Interspersed amongst the hunters, he saw glimpses of men in ACUs, but they seemed confused, and weren’t running in any single direction. Eventually he saw the hulking shadowy shape of a house ahead of them, and he guessed they were in the heart of the enemy camp.
Without speaking, Pax came to the same conclusion. “I reckon he’s in there.”
“Yep. TL, stay outside. Watch out for Ip. Me and Pax’ll sort this asshole.”
“Roger that.”
As they drew close to the front door of the house, more hunters gathered around them, and he assumed Ip was nearby providing them with a guard. Swinging his leg over his horse, he stepped to the ground and handed TL the reins. Both he and Pax crouched to the height of the hunters and climbed the few steps onto the wooden porch. They hadn’t brought their M4A1s, but even though he doubted it would work, he still had his Beretta M9 strapped to his thigh. Taking a machete from his belt, he gripped it firmly, and was ready to cut down anything that came near him. Not expecting the door to be locked, he stood with Pax outside it. Giving him a brusque nod, Pax flung the door open. A crowd of hunters immediately ran through it and he again silently thanked Ip for knowing what to do. Following the hunters, they entered the gloomy room and there were only a few dim lamps lighting it. The hunters were restlessly prowling the room, but he couldn’t see anyone else in there. There were several doors leading from the large ransacked lounge, and he and Pax silently moved towards the door they guessed was most likely to lead to the bedrooms. Pax opened the door and he peered down the dark corridor, but couldn’t see anything.
Quietly, he asked, “Whatdaya think?”
“I think he needs to come to us.”
“Let’s burn the place down.”
Even in the dim light, he saw Pax’s face break into a wide grin. With his mind, he reached out to Ip and thought, send in the burning hunters. Within seconds, three fireballs flew into the house and two streaked down the corridor. The house was filled with old and damaged furniture, which quickly caught fire while the burning hunter ran wildly around the room. With everything being so dry, small fires began to appear everywhere, and the room took on a flickering glow. The smoke outside and now inside was irritating his throat, and he resisted his growing need to cough. If Hull was in the house, he would come running down the corridor, and he didn’t want to warn him of their presence. Pax was also struggling with the acrid smoke, and he had his arm across his face smothering a cough. They didn’t have long to wait and he saw Hull before he heard him. He was only wearing his ACU pants, but he was holding his gun. As he strode out of the doorway, Hull saw him and immediately lifted his gun into firing position. Knowing Pax was behind Hull, he dove to his left and rolled back onto his feet in a crouch. Hull spun with his gun trained on him, and he knew in a matter of seconds, he would fire at point blank range, killing him instantly.
He launched forward with his machete already in full swing aimed at Hull. “Pax!”
Expecting to feel the bite of bullets, he was surprised when none came, and his machete cut deeply into Hull’s exposed and naked chest. Looking at Hull’s face, he was shocked to see he was already dead. Pax still had his muscular forearm wrapped around his throat, and no doubt his blade was buried deep in the man’s worthless heart.
“Shit, Gears. You coulda had my arm off with that thing.”
Giving into his need to cough, he hacked violently and he wrenched his machete from Hull’s open chest. The smoke was making his eyes water, and between his burning eyes and the thickening smoke, he could barely see a thing. Behind him, he vaguely heard Hull’s lifeless body thud to the floor, and he continued to cough while he felt Pax grab his arm and drag him towards the door. Outside, hunters were running wildly around the camp, some were fighting and others were burning, but all were violently excited and their heads were vibrating manically.
Wasting no time to take in the scene, they mounted their horses. “Honey, we gotta go now!”
Once again, digging his heels into his horse, he pulled on the reins to head out the way they’d entered the camp. He figured with the fires out, they would at least have the cover of darkness, but he saw the enemy were making no effort to mount an attack, or even seemed to know they were there. All he saw were tens of thousands of hunters sprinting with them to the edges of the camp, and he assumed Ip was somewhere amongst them.
When they’d cleared the camp by a mile, he called, “Honey, where the hell
are ya?”
Receiving no reply, and with growing concern, he pulled his horse to a stop. “Where the hell is she?”
Laughing happily, Pax said, “You never could control ya puddy tat.”
“Shaddup, Pax. It ain’t funny, she could have been captured.”
He felt a hand on his leg and looked down to see Ip staring up at him quizzically. Reaching down from the saddle, he pulled her up onto his horse. “Don’t play around like that, honey, you got me worried.”
Ip didn’t reply, but she snuggled into his lap, and as she joined her mind with his, he knew she was happy with her evening’s entertainment. Enjoying her good mood, he kicked his heels into his horse and they cantered back towards the Ranch.
Arriving back at the Ranch, Pop was waiting for them outside the stables. “All good?”
Dismounting, he handed Pop the reins and said, “Yeah, all good.”
“Then get indoors. You need to eat and rest up for tomorrow. We’ll sort the horses.”
Figuring Pop sent them straight indoors for a reason, he wasn’t surprised to see Max, BD and Mom sitting on one side of the long wooden kitchen table waiting for them. As they walked in, Mom got up and went into to the kitchen. The table was set with four place settings, and he pulled out a chair in front of one of the settings and prepared to sit down.
“Gears!” Mom cried from the kitchen. “Go and clean yourself up! You’re not eating at my table like that.”
Surprised by her angry tone, he looked down at himself, and his tactical vest and gloves were drenched in drying blood. Pax was standing next to him with a wet, dark stain of Hull’s blood down his chest.
Looking them over, TL snorted. “What did you guys do to him?”
“Nothin’ he didn’t deserve,” Pax replied dourly. Turning to BD, he winked and said, “He won’t be botherin’ anyone again.”