Was that goddamn Ben Raines some sort of mystic?
Ashley sighed in frustration. How could that damned fool with the rifle have missed Ben Raines? An easy shot like that. Incredible.
The only good thing to have come out of the whole affair was that Big Louie was dead. At least that much to the good had been accomplished.
But had it been worth it?
Ashley still hadn’t made up his mind about that.
He wasn’t even certain that to continue fighting was worth the effort. For Ashley knew, deep in his heart, that eventually Ben Raines was going to win.
The only bright spot in the whole ugly mess was that Ashley’s troops were holding the Rebels outside of the areas claimed when Ashley ordered the pull-back. Of course, that wasn’t necessarily due to their bravery. One of his listening posts had intercepted a transmission that brought it all home to Ashley and his men: Ben Raines was going to push them back into Kansas City.
That was Raines’s plan. And that bit of news had been quite enough to drive some steel into the backbone of his men. Nothing like a little directed fear to turn cowards into fighting heroes.
Again, Ashley sighed, wishing there was some way he could get out of all of this and still save face. But he couldn’t come up with anything.
He leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. No one really knew exactly what Kansas City was like. Or really, what it was like from Fort Smith all the way up to Kansas City. That narrow corridor had taken both germ and so-called clean nuclear hits during the Great War. And that zone had been declared hot by the government.
Back when there was a government, that is. Back before the rats and fleas and deadly germs had threatened to wipe out civilization entirely.
For a time, Little Rock had been ruled unsafe; but that had proved to be false information. And a dozen areas between Fort Smith and Kansas City had also proved out to be safe.
But Kansas City proper, and for about thirty to forty miles in any direction extending out from it, and the dozens of tiny towns along a two hundred and fifty miles strip running north to south — No one really know. And damn few had the courage to even venture into those areas. And fewer still ever came out.
But reports that had filtered back from those areas all held one bit of like information: There were some strange creatures roaming about, both animal and human. Or sub-animal and subhuman would be more like it, probably. Ashley didn’t know for sure; he’d never been into those areas.
But he had seen some of the creatures that had been shot and carried back out. They were not pleasant to look at.
Those writers, directors, actors, and makeup people who had put together the science fiction movies had pretty well pegged it right with their descriptions of what might follow after a nuclear war. God-awful-looking men and women and young people, some with no hair, others with chalk-white eyes; some with hideous burns on their bodies, others grotesquely misshapen. But they all shared this in common, for whatever reason: They hid from the light and came out only at night, to scavenge for food.
All in all, those areas contained some hideous forms of life, and if Ben Raines thought he was going to drive Ashley and his troops into those areas — the man had best rethink his plan. For to a person, male or female, Ashley’s people had said, loudly and clearly, that they would rather die than be driven or pushed back into those unknown fear-producing areas.
Even though no one among them actually knew much about the people who lived there.
But they did know that Ben Raines’s Rebels were not in the habit of taking prisoners.
So what choice did that leave any of Ashley’s people?
None. None at all. Stand or die. That’s all that Raines had left any of them.
All right, then. So be it.
With a sigh of resignation, Ashley stood up, put on his helmet, picked up his M-16, and walked outside. He motioned for an aide to come to him.
“Yes, sir?”
“Where is the force of Rebels commanded directly by Ben Raines?”
“At the junction of Highway Seventy-five and Interstate Thirty-five, sir. Colonel West’s troops are looking them square in the face. And I’m glad it’s West and not me,” he added.
Ashley’s smile was thin. But he knew what the man meant: Colonel West and his men were the best Ashley had. His own people were not even in the same ballpark.
And he also know that Colonel West did not particularly care for him. What the hell was the matter with these professional soldiers, anyway?
Damn high and mighty bunch of moralistic assholes.
But he knew, with a sinking feeling, that if West and his bunch could not contain Raines, it would all be over very quickly, for his own people would fold up like a house of cards.
Ashley said, “The dividing line is Highway Seventy-five?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And in the other areas, our people are holding?”
“Yes, sir,” the man said, smiling grimly. “They don’t have much choice in the matter, do they, sir?”
The look Ashley gave the man was sharp, but he did not chastise him. For after all, the aide was correct. They had absolutely no choice in the matter. None at all.
“You ever been in or close to the Hot Zone?” Ashley asked him.
“Close to it, sir. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go in there.”
Ashley nodded his head. “It’s that bad, is it?”
The aide was silent for a moment, his brow furrowed, remembering.
When he spoke, his voice was soft. “It’s awful, sir. Them so-called clean bombs that the Russians used did save the cities; I mean, the buildings and all that, but they sure screwed up any survivors. Really fouled up their minds and bodies. I’ve seen some of them. I don’t never want to see no more of them. Not ever. I guess no one really knew what them bombs was gonna do, huh, sir?”
“I suppose so. But those . . . people, for want of a better word, they can still produce? I’ve heard they can have offspring?”
“Oh, yes, sir. I’ve seen some of the kids. Some of them kids is teenagers, now. They’re some better lookin’ than their parents, some of them, and some of them is worser lookin’. Them real ugly ones have a . . . well, culture that’s set apart from the others.”
“A culture? What exactly do you mean?”
“It’s kinda hard to explain, sir. Since I ain’t really never been that up-close to none of them. And what I know is just secondhand information.”
“Do try,” Ashley urged.
“Well, they get along, sort of, so I’m told. But they don’t live together, none of them, like no family should. As soon as the kids is old enough to get by on their own, the parents drive them off. Kinda like animals, you know?”
“Ummm. How many of these people would you guess live in the Hot Zone?”
“God, sir. I don’t have no idea. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands of them. It’s that way in all the pockets of the country that was declared hot by the government. Ain’t nobody been in them areas in . . . well, since the bombs came. Near’bouts fifteen years ago.”
“I see,” Ashley said. At least this conversation was taking his mind off the immediate and clear danger known as Ben Raines. “Yes. But Kansas City, unlike a few other cites on the continent, is not still dangerous, right?”
The aide thought for a moment. “You mean, sir, like in hot from radiation from the bombs that was fired?”
“Precisely.”
“No, sir. Only a couple of cities here in America took hits from regular atomic bombs. And them areas is gonna be hot forever, I reckon. But these . . . people, I don’t know what to call them. I think they’re called the Night People. Yes, sir. That’s it. The Night People, they don’t bother no one, unless you wander into the areas they’ve claimed for their own. Then they’ll kill you, or use you for slaves, or something a hell of a lot worser than that.”
Ashley thought he knew what was meant by that last bit. He sat down on the steps and motioned the m
an to sit with him. “I’ve heard rumors about this for years; I always dismissed it as claptrap. But, then, it’s true!”
“Oh, yes, sir. It’s sure enough true, all right.”
“Then the rumors, facts, now, I suppose, that used to come out of those areas, that talk about these Night People having some sort of program to breed out the sickness . . . that’s true? And that’s the ‘worser’ that you mentioned?”
“Yes, sir. As far as I know, sir. But there again, no one knows for sure. I doubt if Ben Raines even knows.”
The look the man received from Ashley told him it was time to shut his mouth.
That was further emphasized when Ashley abruptly stood up and walked away without even a second glance.
But Ashley was not angry with the man for throwing Ben Raines’s name at him. He hardly even noticed that. Ashley’s mind was working fast and furious on a plan to keep from being pushed back into the ugly embrace of the Night People.
“They’re holding us, Ben,” Ike radioed to Ben. “And you’re facing the top soldier of the bunch. A Colonel West. I know about him. He’s a good soldier.”
“I just spoke with Dan and Tina; they’re reporting the same thing. Fear seems to be the great motivator, Ike. Ashley’s men must have heard some radio chatter about us driving them back into the hot areas.”
“Orders, Ben?”
“What do you think, Ike?”
“Well, Ben, Big Louie is dead. All the Indian reservations have been returned to the tribes. If we push on, we’ll win, no doubt about that, but a lot of innocent people are going to get killed in the process before we get to Ashley. You wanna try to talk with him, Ben?”
“I can try. Dan? Tina? Are you monitoring this?”
They were.
“Suggestions?” Ben asked.
“I think we need to get to Base Camp One, general,” Dan said. “We’re going to be confronted with two-bit warlords like Ashley forever, it seems, but Khamsin needs to be dealt with right now.”
“All right,” Ben said to his field commanders. “We’ve seized enough weapons from Ashley’s people to rearm the citizens. All we can do is hope that they’ll keep their freedom this time. Hold your positions and cease all actions immediately. I’ll try to make contact with Ashley.”
Ben didn’t tell any of them of the plan he’d been mulling over.
He wasn’t sure Ashley would go for it.
“Misfits,” Billy Bob said, disgust in his voice as he spoke to his company of Rebels. “That’s what Jake called us just before he pulled out. You people feel like misfits?”
“Misfits!” a woman yelled. “Hell, no. Jake took all the misfits with him.”
The company growled their displeasure at being called misfits.
“I know that I’m sure as hell no misfit,” Billy Bob said. “I feel better than I have in years. I feel like I finally got some purpose, some direction in my life. But I tell y’all what. Let’s just keep the name of misfit. By God, we’ll wear it proudly. Let’s be the best damn bunch of fighters in all of Ben Raines’s Rebel army. How about it?”
“Ben Raines’s Misfits!” a man called. “That sounds damn good to me. That’s us, then. The Misfits!”
The company roared their approval over their new name.
Billy Bob stood back and laughed with them.
The Misfits had been formed.
Billy Bob looked over at Cecil and Lieutenant Mackey and winked.
“It’s working, sir,” Lieutenant Mackey said to Cecil. “They’re beginning to take some pride in themselves. You give me two months and I’ll have the best damn unit in the Rebels.”
“I’ll give you a week,” Cecil replied. “And that is going to be stretching it, lieutenant.”
Mackey looked at the general as if he’d lost his mind. “A week!”
“Five working days, lieutenant. Then you and your company go on the line. Khamsin is not going to fall for our ruse much longer. He’ll put it all together. Believe it. Think you can do it, lieutenant?”
She sighed and shook her head. She caught Billy Bob’s eye and motioned him over.
“Yes, ma’am?”
She informed him of Cecil’s orders.
Billy Bob almost swallowed his chew of tobacco.
Cecil smiled at the man’s antics.
“Good God Amighty!” Billy Bob blurted.
“What can we accomplish in five days, Sergeant Manning?” Mackey asked.
Billy moved his chaw over to another spot in his mouth and said, “Well, we ain’t gonna have no spit and polish parade ground types by then. But I figure they’ll be pretty much of a unit. Y’all are forgettin’ this: They all got combat experience of one sort or another. It’s just that they ain’t never had it in no regular outfit. But we can work it out. Can I make a suggestion, general?”
“Certainly, sergeant.”
“Them that take to the M-16 let ’em have it. But them that would rather have their .3030 or .308 or what-have-you, let ’em be. That’s the weapon they’re familiar with and that’s the one they’ll perform best with. We got good reloading equipment here, and we’ve been doing it for a long time. How about it, general?”
Cecil thought about that for a moment. It would certainly be a strangely armed unit, but what the hell, it was a strange bunch to begin with.
No doubt about that. None at all.
“I like it,” Mackey said.
“All right, Sergeant Manning,” Cecil said. “We can provide .223 and .308 ammo. A lot of our people prefer the M-14. But the .33 and .243 and .270 ammo is another story. That’s going to be up to you people. And it’s going to take a lot of ammunition; I don’t want anyone to be caught short and endanger the life of someone else. What do you say . . . can you do it?”
Billy Bob grinned. “We can do it, sir. You just watch us go.”
“Well, get going then, sergeant. Time’s a-wasting!”
Jake had taken his rejects and culls and left the area. But not under his own power. The man had been so thoroughly beaten by Cecil that he was unable to walk. His followers had placed the big man in the bed of a pickup truck after lining the bed with old mattresses for his comfort. And the fleas.
Cecil had seen him off amid threats and much profanity from Jake.
Cecil’s Rebels and the new Misfits had stood by, listening to Jake.
“You ain’t done with me yet, coon,” Jake told Cecil. “You gonna regret the day you come into my territory and started shootin’ off your big fat mouth. It ain’t over. I promise you that.”
Cecil stood a few feet from the truck and let Jake vent his rage.
“You can have all them pussies and candy-asses you picked, nigger,” Jake verbally boiled. “I’m glad to be rid of them. And I’ll tell you this: The next time we meet, you bush-ape, I’m gonna spit on your grave.”
“Yes, I saw that movie a long time ago, Jake.”
“Haw?”
“Never mind. Are you all through, Jake? Running that ignorant mouth?”
“Ifn I wasn’t all busted up inside, you burr-head,” Jake blustered, “I’d git up outta this truck and kick your ass!”
“You just won’t learn, will you, Jake?” Cecil said.
“I got learnin’! And you ain’t got no right to call me ignorant.”
“Whatever ‘learnin’ you have, Jake, it was wasted on you.”
“Haw?”
“You’re a fool, Jake. Ben Raines is right and that deputy sheriff was right. People of your ilk will never change. You’re ignorant and you’re proud of it. I’ve offered you a chance to do something decent for once in your life. You refused it. To hell with you, Jake.”
Jake lay on the mattresses and glowered at Cecil through eyes that were swollen almost shut. The man’s mouth was puffy and his jaw swollen. “Why should I change, nigger? I’ve done pretty well the way I is.”
“And you really believe that, Jake?”
“Hale, yes, I do!”
Shaking his head in disgust, Cec
il stepped away from the truck and faced the company of men and women who had chosen the name of Misfits. “Any of you people want to go with Jake?” he questioned.
No one moved from the ranks. Not one person even changed expression. Only Billy Bob Manning smiled.
Jake painfully raised himself up on one elbow to glare at the rows of men and women. “You’re be sorry,” he said. “And that’s what you is . . . Sorry! Cowards and trash. I’m plumb ashamed I ever called any of you friend. But they’ll come a day when ever’ one of you will regret what you’ve done. No one turns his ass to Big Jake lak y’all done and gits away with it. You’ll see. I promise you that.”
Cecil again faced Jake. “Hear me now, Jake. And pay close attention to me. Against the judgement of a lot of people, I’m letting you leave. But I have this bit of advice for you: Find you a little piece of ground and plant a garden. Live very quietly and peacefully. Maintain a very low profile. Give up your plans of ever setting up another warlord state. And do everything that I’ve told you many many miles from here. For I warn you now: If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you, Jake.”
Under the bruises of his face, Jake flushed. “Big talk, coon. But I don’t think you got the balls to kill me.”
Cecil laughed at him. “That makes you a bigger fool than I first thought, Jake. You think I’m joking. Believe me, I am not. I don’t have much of a sense of humor when it comes to rednecks and white trash, or people of my own color who think like you do. I have offered you a chance to join us. To fight with us, and not against us. You’ve all chosen to turn down my offer. All right. So be it. Now get out!”
There was something in Cecil’s voice that caused Jake to remain silent. Cecil’s eyes were flat and cold, hard looking. But Jake’s eyes burned with a wild hate that would never fade.
And Cecil knew in his heart that someday, perhaps very soon, he would have to kill Jake.
Jake waved his hand, and the driver tried to crank the pickup. It would not start. The driver ground the battery down to nothing. Jake lay in the back and cussed.
“Get a mule,” Cecil ordered. “Get it in harness and pull this wreck out of here.”
Smoke from the Ashes Page 16