by B. Buechter
At first, the three in quarrel thought the loud boom was either coming from the sky or their imagination. Screams and bloodied Nomads running from down the street seized them into battle. Too late. The Gang was already upon them, pulling people off their feet, binding their hands and legs, and slinging them into a wooden cart. Women were being ripped from the arms of their children. Those who did not cooperate were executed. Many of the Nomads fled in the darkness, but some fought back.
Jake found himself wrestling with a large man. He was trying to rip the axe out of his grasp and grabbed the blade by mistake. Jake pulled hard and severed the man’s fingers from his palm. His opponent yelped in pain and grabbed his wrist. When he was able to free himself, he noticed the patch on the man’s jacket, a Tiger baring its teeth. Once again, he was on top of Jake, trying to hold him down with his bleeding hands, calling out for someone to help him.
“Not today,” Jake yelled and freed one arm. He yanked his weapon above him and buried the blade deep into the man’s stomach. When he removed his weapon, the Tiger’s steaming entrails dropped into his lap, still pulsing and twitching. He watched as the man tried to pull his intestines back into his body in desperation. Jake leapt to his feet and turned to the tents. Tommy.
He rushed over to where his brother lay and ripped back the leathers blocking the door. Nothing. A sudden pain seared in his head as he fell to the ground. His vision narrowed into darkness. Just before he fell into complete unconsciousness, he heard the sound of struggling behind him. Right in front of his eyes, his brother was being tossed into the Tiger’s cart.
Chapter 9
The Tigers must have forgotten about him or left him to die. He would never know which. Jake felt like he was dying, at least, until he was able to move his arms and legs. He reached up to check the back of his head. There was no open wound where the butt of the gun had struck him. He felt only a knot, accompanied by a splitting headache and dizziness. How long he had been unconscious, he did not know. It was daytime, but not yet noon. Focus. What was the last thing he remembered? The image was still fuzzy. Slowly, it cleared. Tommy.
Jake crawled over to the tent where his brother had been sleeping a few hours before. He was not sure what he expected to find, but pulled back the curtain anyway. It was empty. The Nomads were gone. Those who had been struck down while defending themselves were lying with white eyes staring in all directions. The grass was saturated from the blood of battle, damp to the touch and springy. The elder brother did not know what to do or where to go. For the first time in his life, he was completely alone.
Eva. No. He refused to think that she would help. She promised to kill him if he went looking for her. But she was the only one he knew who could infiltrate a compound. And she knew the region better than anyone else. But now that Jake knew her whole story, he was more terrified of her than ever before.
She is the only one who can help, he reasoned. Maybe she will refuse to do anything for me, but Tommy is a different story. Yidi and Masha said that she had changed. Maybe.
The voice of reason spoke up. She threatened to kill you. If she sees you, you’re dead.
“Dammit,” he whispered to himself as he snatched his weapon off the ground. He started the journey out of the city and towards the Eastern Rover colony. “I have to try. For my brother.”
Jake decided that he would wait for Eva to return from scavenging before pleading for his life. Tommy was never at fault for not knowing that Michael was not their father. Besides, she always had a soft spot for his little brother. If she killed Jake, so be it. But perhaps she would still save Tommy.
In the couple of hours it took to reach the Rover colony, Jake spent arguing whether or not he should turn and run. Leaves rustled at his feet, crunching under his heavy boots. The smell of autumn air soothed him slightly. When he lived in the Vault, he spent some of his free time researching weather in different parts of the world. Books from the Old Times became his obsession as a child, especially those about the weather. The greenery all around was changing to reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Being able to comprehend the feeling, the sights, and the smells of the seasons changing first-hand was euphoria. Survival made him fearful, but being outside of the Vault was indescribably freeing.
He nearly knocked over a Rover woman farming in her garden. She had to slam her shovel into his shin to pull him from his reverie. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” He apologized profusely while wincing and hopping on one leg. When asked where Eva was, she recognized him.
“You must’ve really infuriated her,” she said sternly. Word must have traveled fast. “No wonder why she told us that you died. And you have the nerve to crawl back here begging for her mercy after risking her life for your own selfish reasons?”
She told everyone that we died?
She prodded him with her finger hard in the chest and ignored any further questions. Jake tried asking some of the other disheveled men and women around the town. They refused as soon as they recognized him. No one was of help. Not even the children.
“Fine,” Jake spat at one of the Elders. “I will just wait for her to return.”
The Elder woman scoffed. “And your head will roll down the street.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat and walked over to the shack that Eva had made her home. While she was out scavenging, she would leave the latch undone and the door. Closing one eye, he squinted through the opening and saw no movement. He could feel the gaze of the Rovers on him as he snuck in and closed the door. After finding a seat, he began his long wait for Eva’s return. Each passing hour increased his anxiety.
If she kills me, I hope it’s a quick death, he thought.
Eva was, indeed, hunting and foraging. Rovers in the colony had run out of fresh meat as they turned their focus on harvesting crops before the first frost of winter. She happily took the responsibility to bring back as much game as she could hunt. Early that morning, a wooden cart was waiting for her outside. The city, she believed, would be a good place to start. Many of the animals would begin preparations for hibernation and they typically utilized the ruins as their dens.
On the pavement, the cart rattled loudly. It looked like one of the wheels was smaller than the other and had been worn in places, making it unstable. The misshapen wheel made it exhausting to drag the cart down the road. It was also very loud. She skidded to the right and hauled it to the grass. Wiping the sweat from her forehead and chest, loud voices echoed in her ears from down the street. Quickly pulling the cart from sight, Eva crouched behind a rusted dumpster at the mouth of a nearby alleyway and waited.
Throwing her hood over her head to mask herself in the darkness, she spotted two men and a woman carrying large guns, clad in thick leathers and short cowled robes. They were all hiding the mark of their Gang, but Eva knew from the condition of their firearms that they belonged to one. Joking loudly and making no attempt to be stealthy, they marched down the road. They unknowingly passed The Wanderer and a name caught Eva’s attention.
“McAvoy, at least, works hard,” said the woman. “Never told us his first name, but he works like no other.”
“True,” the man said. “Been here for ages. But you would never know lookin’ at him. He came from that Vault the Serpents raided a while back. Although, he did say that he came before then. I dunno, eight years ago? No callouses on his hands or deep wrinkles on his face, like he never worked a day in his life.”
“Wonder how we got ‘em?” the woman wondered.
Eva’s heart was racing. Memories and events flooded back into her mind along with the demons. Shit, no. She tried to repress them again, to no avail. With ease, the feeling of dread and claustrophobia infected her. Luckily, she was able to stay silent long enough for the Gang members to turn out of earshot. Choking on the rapidly thickening air, she opened her eyes to the shadow that had taunted her before. It was cackling and urging her to end her life.
“I told you I would be back,” he chanted. “I am with you
forever Eva. Until you take your final breath, I will be here.”
She could not relax enough to open her airway. With fists clenched, she gathered as much focus as she could muster and took a deep breath. A voice yelled loudly in her mind. That voice she recognized instantly as Jake McAvoy.
You have a choice Eva, he said. Me or an eternity fighting with this anxiety. The guilt of leaving me is eating away at the darkness of your past. If we find my father, then maybe this will go away.
She fought back. I can’t. You lied to me. It was not the first time that I’ve been betrayed. But I cannot help you.
Then you cannot help yourself. Jake’s voice chimed in again. If you do not help me and Tommy, then the good in you will fade.
All of a sudden, Eva heard a small voice in the depths of her mind. It was quiet, a whisper, almost like a child’s voice. It said I choose Jake in sternly. Then again, louder and the hooded man disappeared. She gasped in a full breath. After catching her breath and looking around to make sure she had not been discovered, she walked over to the cart and slowly began her journey back to the colony. Her head was swimming, but at least her hunt was successful. Two deer and a dozen rabbits covered the length of the carriage. However, her mind became preoccupied with the name McAvoy and the mysterious Gang she had encountered.
When she returned to the colony with her catch, she was still deep in thought. She made her way back home before the evening meal. She was in such a daze that her closed door and Jake’s presence didn't faze her for the first few moments. He had a tight grip around his brandished axe, just in case she decided to attack. When she finally noticed him, she screamed and jumped backwards. Because of her incident a few hours before, she was not entirely sure that he was real.
A mix of anger, relief, happiness, and betrayal bubbled up to the surface. “Jake? Is that you?” She wanted to throw her arms around him, but also considered removing his head from his shoulders. And by the look on his face, he must have seen her hand rise to the hilt of one of her blades.
“Yes, it’s me. And I know you are still upset with us,” he pleaded. “With me. And I should have said something. I would never intentionally put your life in danger. I had no clue it was Michael and not my dad until I saw him for the first time.”
“You expect me to respond to that.” She lowered her hand and pointed at him. “To you just showing up here? How do I respond Jake?”
His eyes were burning with tears. “They took Tommy. Eva. The Tigers took Tommy. Please.”
Eva trudged over and dropped onto her bed. She ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed the back of her neck with a loud exhale. Keeping her eyes locked on the door rather than Jake, she changed her tone.
“How did this happen?” she asked. “You were with the Western Rovers when I left.”
Jake sat down next to her and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. “Yeah. But we came back East. To the Nomads. Tommy wanted to protect them, or something. He felt guilty from the last attack, I think. It was a stupid idea. I should have never let him come. This is all my fault. Why is everything always my fault?”
“Oh shut up Jake,” she scolded. “Stop blaming yourself for everything. You will not get an ounce of pity from me… Or anyone for that matter.”
“I came here to ask for your help to get my brother back,” he said. “I know where he’s being held. He was only taken last night. He can’t die, Eva. I’m supposed to protect him and ever since we got out of that vault, he’s been doing everything right. I’m just a huge disappointment.”
“I am not responding to that, Jake. Grow up. Stop focusing on being the victim and be the hero for shit sake.”
“Can you help me? Just this last time? For Tommy. Then I will leave you alone for good.”
Eva paused. Jake did not like the silence at all. It made him nervous. She would be infiltrating a Gang for a second time, risking her life for the lives of these brothers. Again. But you help people. A comment that Jake had made months ago fluttered past her thoughts, as did Tommy’s innocent face. She could not allow him to suffer like she had all those years ago.
“To be perfectly clear. If I do help, I’m not doing this for you. I am doing this for him. Also, I am breaking my number one rule again. So I need you to focus. I need someone at my back. No hesitating to kill anyone. Got it?”
Jake nodded as they caught each other’s gaze. He had disemboweled a Tiger at the Nomad camp, but did not feel comfortable telling her yet. Admittedly, Eva was relieved to be back with Jake, though she would never admit it. She stood up and walked over to the door, tossing her blade sheath over her shoulders. As she reached for the front door, she put her hand up and turned to him.
“Wait.” Jake’s heart was pounding. “If we are going to do this. I have to be completely sure where Tommy is. We are going to do this my way.”
Jake lingered at the look on her face, not completely sure what she meant. Her tone was unsettling. “Um… Alright…”
“That means,” she said sternly, inches from his face. “No arguing with me. No questioning my methods. No whining. No complaining. Do as I say. Just trust me and be ready for anything. If you mess up, you’d better hope the Gang kills you before I do.”
Jake nodded again. Eva mimicked his nod, then spun around and made her way through the doorway towards the Tiger’s compound. She already knew exactly how she was going to get through those walls. Darkness descended upon them swiftly as they reached No Man’s Land. Houses in varying stages of wreckage lined the cracked pavement with Old Time vehicles in front of nearly every building, relics of another time, with all but the ghosts of their former owners behind the wheel. It was silent between the two adventurers until that point.
“The Nomads told me everything about you Eva. The whole story.” He was not sure how she would react, but he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Knowing about her past made him cautious to be traveling with her, alone.
He was almost a block away from her when he noticed she had stopped. Without further explanation, she knew exactly what he meant. She looked at him, daring him to say more. Because she felt attacked, she defended herself.
“This place,” she said, pointing at the ground. “This life. It changes everyone. I will admit one thing to you, though. In the compound, as a Chief, the Serpent’s Mistress, I wanted for nothing. Bloodlust was easily satiated, as they say. Food - more than someone could ever eat. Supplies - My men had to expand the walls multiple times to fit everything for myself and them. I was given the nicest bed, the best weapons, the most filling foods. I was blind to what I was doing to the slaves, but survival is not always about other people, Jake.”
Jake crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one leg. He had enough. “Then why did you leave?” They were yelling at the each other from the edges of the block. “I mean, you really don’t give a shit about other people in the end. You had everything. Why leave?”
Her voice did not waver. No emotion of guilt passed through her lips. “Honestly, I had no choice.”
“What are you talking about?” Jake rolled his shoulders. “The Nomads -.”
“They do not know the whole story Jake,” she interrupted. “I was betrayed by one of my followers. He staged a mutiny.”
“Really?”
“This man… I know nothing other than his face. He was a whelp. A New Blood, as we called them. One day, I got word from one of my men that he was murdering my servants under the cover of the night. I decided to poke around his living space.
“I found a notebook filled with obsessive things about overthrowing me. Things like, “How could a woman rule with such cruelty?” and “Imagine what a man like me could do.” He wanted to be me. But his skills were… lacking. He was nowhere near my ability. Knowing this, he got my men to distrust me. Staged a coup. Said something about me being soft with the servants and sympathizing with the Rovers and Nomads, and I’m pretty sure he killed a few of my men in No Man’s Land and pinned it on me. I’m not even sure how it all ha
ppened, but there was no way I could fight every single one of my men. So, I left.”
“So you never really changed. You just chose to kill the Gangs instead of lead one.”
“Well.. yeah. And the Rovers and the Nomads welcomed me with open arms. They held no grudge against me. I grew to care for them. For people like you. I figured, if I can’t rule with an iron fist, then no one should be able to.”
“Sounds selfish.”
“So what, Jake? Like you care anyway. But, guess what? I do care now. I still care about you, if that means anything. A lot. And Tommy.”
It felt like she ripped her heart open for Jake. She was not entirely sure why, but she decided to follow the little voice in her heart. Everything was on the table now and the vulnerability was terrifying. This time, it was her heartbeat that rose uncomfortably. Jake said nothing, just walked towards her. Part of him was still processing what she had said. Truly, he cared for her. Loved her even. But the sheer darkness of her past changed things. Trust seemed impossible for her. But then, Eva realized how Jake had felt when she rejected him. And it hurt.
“Well,” she coughed. “Now you know.”
He had stopped halfway down the block and turned his back to her. “Yeah. I do.”
Eva walked a few steps past Jake and pointed to a familiar sight. It was the Post where they had taken shelter their first night together. The same place where Gangs would trade goods without fear of being ambushed. But this time, an ambush awaited them.
“What are we doing here?” The two stepped into the darkness. Rats and Wolves must have come back for their fallen comrades because the people Eva had slaughtered were nowhere to be found. Only dark brown stains remained behind as a warning of The Wanderer’s presence.
“We are going to wait.” She plopped down on a nearby chair. A plume of dust formed over her and settled on the floors around them. “The Tigers and Serpents trade here more often than the Eastern dens. Serpents will always need weapons. Tigers will always need Bondsmen and Doxies. It is only a matter of time before they come here to do business. That is when we pounce.”