Dead Reckoning_HZA, Vol. 3

by Marty Brockschmidt

  The woman left, returning shortly, carrying a tray. “Some refreshments while you wait.” She set down a pitcher of water and a tray of smoked meats and fresh vegetables. The woman went around the table, setting down glasses and plates in front of each of the men. Then picked up the pitcher and went back and filled their glasses. Bending over Willies shoulder to fill his glass, Willie snuck a hand up under her skirt to grope the woman.

  “Not the time Willie.” Diabolus admonished.

  The woman exited the room quickly. Diabolus picked up his glass and stared at it. “Mother Fuckers got ice. How the fuck does he get ice?”

  Jess shrugged, nibbling on the smoked ham. “He's just showin off.”

  Diabolus shook his head. “I don't think so. Son of a bitch got his shit together, fo sure.”

  Under Lilith's tutelage Sammael worked to make himself the king of this hell on earth. He was a natural leader and used to squeezing people, but this deal was completely different. The past few months was a lot of work to bring his territory under the heel. At the same time he was transforming himself to generate an appearance in line with the king of hell.

  The parlor of the mansion was converted into a gym and he had added a few pounds of muscle to his already athletic build. His hair grown out, twisted into dreadlocks and pulled back. The biggest change, made him the physical embodiment of the demon Sammael. They had found a tattoo artist and the past few weeks she worked on a full body tattoo on Sammael. The image was that of a serpent, the tail wrapping down over his buttocks and around his left leg. The torso running up Sammael's back, the six pair of wings, inscribed with the names of his six princes. Lilith's name was on the top pair of wings. The tips of the wings came past his sides across his abdomen, extending to his groin.

  Lilith came in as the artist was wrapping up the finishing touch. The head of the serpent coming over Sammael's right shoulder and centered on his chest. Lilith had made more modest changes to her appearance. Her hair, grown a bit longer, died a jet black, braided and draped over her right shoulder. Her penchant for revealing clothes completely unrestrained. She was dressed in a form fitting halter dress. The back scooped low and the front plunging down. The dress was slit, thigh high on each side, showing the small pistol strapped to her right thigh and the knife strapped to her left.

  Sammael was laying naked on a tattoo table, a sheet barely covering his groin. With a wave of her hand Lilith indicated to the tattoo artist that she should leave. Sammael turned his head to watch Lilith walk in. Even after all these months together, the sight of her excited him, the rise of the sheet proving his desire. Lilith smiled playfully. “We have guests, my king.”

  Sammael sat up, keeping the sheet covering his lap, his legs dangling over the edge of the table. “Problem?”

  Lilith walked in between his parted knees, looking up into his face, her eyes sparkling lustfully. “No. Diabolus has requested on audience.”

  Sammael breathed in deep, drinking in the smell of her perfume, his hands sliding over her butt, pulling her hips forward. Lilith kissed the snake head on his chest, one hand reaching behind her to untie the top of the dress. “They are being made comfortable, we don't need to hurry.”

  Sammael slid the dress down past her hips, letting it drop to the floor. He kissed her hard, their tongues twisting together. He stepped off the table, the sheet joining her dress on the floor. Moving behind her, his hands fondled her breasts, as he kissed and licked her shoulders and back of neck. Unable to hold back any longer, he put his hand on the back of her neck and bent her over the table. He took just a moment, to enjoy the view, before taking her from behind.

  The snack platter was empty and the water pitcher drained. Diabolus was becoming irritated, cooling his heels. “Where the hell, that Mother Fucker be?”

  Almost on cue a door opened next to the dais. Warchild and Face entered, each dressed in a tailored black suit and carrying a tactical shotgun. “Lord Sammael and lady Lilith.” Warchild announced in his deep gravelly voice.

  The four men remained seated, as Sammael entered, now dressed in loose fitting white pants, a white suit coat, a shoulder holster strapped to his bare torso. As he stepped on the dais he extended a hand to help Lilith, who had redressed in the red halter. “Show some respect. Get off your asses.” Warchild barked.

  Jess scoffed, but stood up when Diabolus rose. Sammael guided Lilith to her seat, before seating himself. With a wave of his hand, Sammael indicated his visitors should be seated. “Diabolus, what news do you bring your king, from the infernal regions?” Lilith questioned in a cool voice.

  Diabolus stood back up. “You been doin alright fo yo'self.”

  “We worked for it.” Sammael acknowledged.

  “We been workin to, but ain't put together nothin like this.” Diabolus responded.

  “And why not?” Pressed Lilith.

  Diabolus was becoming irritated, being questioned by Sammael’s bitch, but he needed to keep a cool head, chose to ignore the question. “We been trackin this group and it seems they crossed into your lands. We come to make sure your good with us on your turf.”

  Lilith started to reply, but Sammael quieted her with a raised finger. “What’s your interest in this group?”

  “They been scavengin on my lands. Can’t be lettin that shit slide.” Diabolus replied.

  “They must be taking a lot, for you to go to so much bother.” Sammael stated.

  “It ain’t so much what they got. It’s the disrespect.” Diabolus countered.

  Sammael nodded. “Ah. Can you handle them?”

  Before Diabolus could reply, Ronnie blurted out. “You bet yo ass. They’s mostly women and kids.”

  Lilith laughed. “Now the truth starts to come out. You might as well spill the rest of it.”

  “They killed a couple of my own and they sprung our gunsmith. Don’t much matter what the reason is. I can’t be havin this.” Diabolus said defensively.

  Sammael smiled benevolently. “Of course you can’t. Now be honest, how bad do you need the supplies?”

  “We’re good.” Diabolus said quietly.

  “Man’s bein modest. We just cleaned out a big score from some farmers.” Ronnie stated proudly.

  Lilith rose angrily from her chair and walked over to Ronnie. “Rise.”

  Ronnie stood up to face her. Lilith looked at him coldly. “And how did you leave things with these farmers?”

  “Bitch we killed every last one.” Ronnie replied smugly.

  Lilith buried her knife in Ronnie’s chest. Diabolus moved to defend his man, but Warchild raised his shotgun to warn him off. Lilith retrieved her knife as Ronnie collapsed back into his chair. “Now please tell me the rest of you aren’t too stupid to understand that you gave up fresh crops, for a one time score.”

  “You bitch. You didn’t need to do that.” Diabolus said angrily.

  Lilith gave him a haughty laugh. “I did you a favor.”

  Sammael came and stood by Diabolus. “Lilith has a way of gettin through the bullshit. Your boy was not going to look at doing things another way. Yeah we got a house when we moved in here, but we’re building a kingdom. Besides this place, we got six more outposts. Each of them is keepin tabs on little communities all workin for us.” Sammael put a hand on Diabolus' shoulder. “I want you to be a part of this. We’ll help you get your gunsmith back. You’ll put these people scavengin shit for you. Hold their women and kids safe as long as they hold up their end.”

  Face brought in some workers. They wrapped Ronnie's body in a sheet and carried it out on a stretcher. The woman that had guided Diabolus to the room, came with a mop and a bucket and quickly cleaned the room. Before leaving she turned to Lilith, eyes downcast. “Will there be anything else?”

  Lilith smiled graciously at the woman. “No. Thank you Suzanne.”

  Sammael pulled out a chair for Lilith and directed Diabolus to sit down. “Let's get down to it. I'm guessin you got a place to start looking.”

  Diabolus nod
ded. “They’s goin towards the forest up north. I got men up there now, tryin to catch a glimpse. I just ain't got enough to cover every corner.”

  Sammael considered this momentarily. “How many men can you spare to take this group?”

  “I got ten out now. They’re watching the highways leading into the forest, 60, 76, and 19. I can add Jess and Willie here.” Diabolus replied.

  “If I give you ten more will that help?” Sammael asked.

  Diabolus nodded. “With that we could completely circle the area. We’ve seen a couple of their campsites and they seem to stay a few days in one spot before movin on. We have a good chance at catchin them.”

  “I’ll be joining them, to make sure this group is taken alive.” Lilith announced.

  Sammael raised an eyebrow, causing Lilith to add. “I’ll bring Warchild and Face along. I also want Dawg.”

  “Dawg? That sum bitch ain’t playin with a full deck.” Sammael argued.

  “He’s manageable and he can track.” Lilith countered. “If there is nothing else to discuss, we’ll be ready to move out in two hours.”

  Sammael glared at the three men. “Do not underestimate Lilith. Y’all need to listen to her. And don’t nobody, call her bitch, no more. That shit, I won’t let slide.”

  At the rest stop, the remainder of Tom’s group was anxiously waiting for the okay to leave. Tracey was up by the beginning of the trail, keeping watch. She saw it first.

  “Flare!” She called out.

  “Their in trouble.” Tracey looked at Tom, for a long moment and Tom knew what she was thinking.

  “Okay, stay calm. We don’t know what news that flare is bringing. We’ve planned for this, we circle the wagons and keep frosty.” Tom said.

  Tracey held back, her fear and anger. The only thought in her mind was Inferno, they’d finally caught up with them. “But we can’t sit here either.” Tracey spoke up.

  “That is exactly what we do. Sue, get the kids back to the cars and sit tight.” Tom instructed his wife. “Pete...you, Sheila and Jeff need to have eyes on the surrounding area.”

  “But if it's the Inferno, they won’t have a chance, what they’ll do to them…” Tracey looked at the ground. “...you could never understand.” Her last few words were a painful whisper. Tom knew this was bringing back horrible memories for Tracey, but he had to stand firm, with his decision.

  Tom put his hand on Tracey’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “We hafta trust, that Tim knows what he’s doing. I can’t risk anymore lives, so we sit here and wait.” Tracey wiped a tear rolling down her cheek, before walking up to the trail.

  “Holy shit…” Tim was caught off guard, by three of the dead, outside the barn. He practically walked into them, losing his balance and falling to the ground. The male zed, fell on top of him, teeth gnashing, arms flailing. The other two, a female and a younger male, probably in his teens, came straight for Red. Tim was trying to get a hold on the male, that was aiming to take a chunk out of him, while Red drew a bead on the female, only a few feet from her. Red took the shot, the bullet hitting the female in the face. Before Red could take the second shot, the boy grabbed her arm. She pushed the boy back. Hap, looking to cause a diversion, shot the flare off.

  “What the…” Tim was struggling, with the literal dead weight, on top of him. All of a sudden, the zed was not on top of him anymore. He turned over, to see a big burly man, smashing the zed with a hammer. Red pushed her 45 under the boy’s jaw and fired.

  Tim got to his feet and faced the man, who had just saved him. “I’m a friend!” The man exclaimed, putting his arms up in the air.

  A young boy, ran to the man and hugged him. “Caleb I told you to stay outta sight.” The man held out one hand to the boy, still holding the bloody hammer in the other.

  “You alright?” Red asked. Tim checked his torso and arms, before nodding he was.

  “I guess a thanks is in order.” Tim said.

  “I’m Sampson...Sam, this is my boy Caleb.”

  “Tim, this is Red and Hap.” Caleb, probably no more than six or seven, waved at the trio. “You two alone?” Tim asked the next logical question.

  “Just me and the boy, for a long time now.” Sam answered. Pulling out a rag from his back pocket, he wiped the blood from his hand, then the hammer. “We’ve been here for a few days, these three are the only dead we’ve seen.”

  “Hap, hustle back to the others, bring em on back..” Tim directed. “We’re a small group, some families and some strays, we’ve found on the way.” Tim explained to Sam.

  Tracey obediently stood watch, though every fiber in her body, wanted to run to the aid of her friends. The walkie in her belt crackled and a familiar voice came on faintly.

  “Hello, hello ..y’all hear me?” Tracey was beyond relieved, hearing Hap’s voice over the walkie.

  “Hap you okay?” Tracey asked.

  “Right as rain. We was just out of walkie range, but I’m almost there. Got us a jim dandy of a hidey hole too.” Hap responded, in his south Georgian accent.

  Minutes later, Hap pulled in, picked up Tracey and pulled back to the rest. Before Hap could get out Lizzie came at a run. “Happy!” She called out, hugging the old man.

  “Glad you’re back.” Tom said, shaking Hap’s hand.

  “Y’all get ready to go, Tim and Red is waitin. We found some new friends to boot.” Hap announced, as he quickly explained how the flare got fired.

  Red went to the loft of the barn to watch for the others, with Caleb tagging along. Caleb stood watching her for quite some time, before shyly voicing a question. “There’s kids with you?”

  Red nodded. “Five.” Caleb couldn’t help, but smile. “Ah, here they come.” Red called for Tim, then climbed down, followed by Caleb. As the caravan approached, Tim opened the barn doors and directed them to park inside.

  “Good find buddy.” Tom said, as the group exited the barn. Sam and Caleb stood off to the side, watching the interactions between the group members. Tim directed a hand towards the father and son. “This is Sam and his son Caleb.” Sam nodded a hello, while Caleb shyly, hid behind his Dad’s legs.

  Tom went up to shake Sam's hand. “Thank you.”

  Sam shrugged, humbly rejecting any praise. “Just glad I could help.”

  Tom smiled, warming quickly to this unassuming man. “We don't have a big plan, but we are trying to get farther north, hoping the harder winters, take a toll on the zeds. We could use a man..” Tom glanced down at Caleb. “...or two that are glad to help.”

  Caleb tugged on his fathers pant leg and looked up, eagerly nodding his head. Sam breathed in deep and slowly exhaled, giving himself a moment to think. “We tried trusting others early on, it wasn't a life for us.”

  “Excuse me, the other kids are wondering, if Caleb would like to join then in a game?” Sheila asked.

  Sam patted Caleb on the shoulder. “Go ahead, it’s ok.”

  As Caleb ran off, Sam commented. “Smart lady, gives you and me a chance to talk.”

  Tom chuckled. “I'm not sure that much thought went into it, Sheila just loves kids. But we should talk. First though, have you checked out the house yet?”

  Sam shook his head. “No that is too tricky with Caleb. He's been a good lookout, but going into a building, where things can get dicey in a hurry, I only do that as a last choice.”

  Tom called out. “Tim check the house.”

  Tim took Red and Tracey with him, reviewing his house assault tactic with Red. as they went. Tom and Sam leaned back against the fence, watching the kids. “My offer to have you join up with us is genuine, nobody should be alone.”

  Sam closed his eyes, forcing a painful memory. “My Ella was a teacher, kindergarten. I am just a construction worker, didn't even finish high school. The outbreak was just stories, when it happened. A child wandered onto the playground. It had died and was drawn to the screams and laughter, of the children playing. It would have slaughtered those children, if it weren't for my Ell
a. The police had been tracking it, but didn't get there in time, to save my wife.”

  Tom squeezed Sam's arm. “You don't need to.”

  Sam shook his head. “I do. Ella been bit, the school called me and I took her to the hospital. Them... they turned me away, said they didn't have a bed. You probably don't know that look, but I did. I knew if I was some rich white dude, they woulda found a bed. They did clean up Ella's wound and bandaged it, before sending us on our way.”

  Sam paused, watching Caleb having fun with the other children. “We headed on back to the house. When we was pulling away from the hospital, I saw Ronnie, somebody I knew from back in the day. Turns out he was an orderly, from the hospital and was helping some gang friends of his, make off with some pills, from the hospital. I helped them load up, and he gave me some stuff, to help Ella. Ronnie, gave me an address and said to look him up, when I got tired of gettin shit on.”