by B. Buechter
He had Eva’s other blade pressed against Jake’s throat. Suddenly The Chief felt another at his back. Both of his sons’ gazes were fixated over his shoulder. And then, he recognized a familiar voice. “Your battle is with me. And, as usual, coward, your anger is misplaced.”
Dan McAvoy spun around so fast that his perfectly groomed hair fell out of place. Eva took a step back to dodge her other blade. She glanced at the Jake and Tommy who both had looks of relief on their faces. She nodded at them and turned back to her opponent.
“I knew you would crawl out of the sewers eventually, girl,” he said. “You have seen all the power I now hold and you have the audacity to call me a coward?”
“You have always been a coward,” Eva taunted. They were circling each other in the middle of the room. “You were the loudest of my men, but the laziest. And your hunger for power was only satisfied by mutiny. We both knew you were too weak to face me as Mistress… to strike me down like a warrior.”
“I would have killed you-”
Eva cackled. Her tone matched his. “You really think that your skills are superior to mine? No. You were smarter back then because you knew that you didn’t stand a chance. And still… you have no chance. But you call your own sons weak. Pitting them against each other like animals? How far into insanity have you fallen?”
“Insanity? Ha! You would know all about that, wouldn’t you? I know stories of the Shadow that haunts you. Your episodes of breathlessness.”
“And yet here I stand despite all of that. People praise and fear my name whereas you have nothing to show for your past. Only the Tigers know your name. You will never have my fame.”
She could see the murder in her enemy's eyes. Despite his bubbling rage, he straightened his cloak and cleared his throat.
“We shall see cur. Let us be rid of our enemy. May the best warrior win.”
“Oh, I intend to.”
In a flash, Eva’s opponent lunged towards her, blade outstretched. She parried, pushing her blade against his. He toppled towards one of the shelves of trinkets, knocking them over with an ear-shattering crash. Jake heard the guards outside and quickly locked the door. Tommy ran to the corner of the room and grabbed a chair, wedging it between the doorknob and the floor. Tigers began banging from the hallway, calling to their Chief. The Wanderer wasted no time slashing at his arm, missing by a hair. They traded sides and she was shoved against another bookshelf as the contents toppled onto her head. She shook it off just in time to dodge a punch aimed at her face.
Metal statues crashed to the floor as the two entwined in battle. Neither of them could gain an opening without the other changing their stance or parrying. Every slash was met with a side step. Each stab was met with the clang of blade on blade. McAvoy’s lack of skill and Eva’s exhaustion weakened both combatants. Still, they fought on.
Right outside the front door, they could hear the Tigers clawing at the entrance. Roars of concern rose over the sound of battle. Jake and Tommy remained propped against it, acting as extra weight against the battering ram opposite the door.
“Leave her to me you imbeciles,” he yelled out to them. His hair was falling in his face. Then he turned his eyes to his sons. “I will deal with you two later.”
“You have to get back to your feet and face me first,” Eva reminded. “Also, you have to win. Kill me if you can.”
“With pleasure.” An evil smile curled on his lips as he started racing towards her again but crouched down and knocked her off her feet. She fell backwards onto the table, using her blade to block him. He lifted his weapon overhead and drew it down hard, using his weight against her shaking arms. She could see murder in his eyes. Cold metal almost pressed against her forehead when she kicked him in the stomach and he staggered back. Tigers were still banging at the door, threatening to break it down. Jake and Tommy reinforced their makeshift barricade with more furniture.
Eva jumped back to her feet and sprinted at him, leaning forward and aiming at his waist. With all the strength she could muster, she lifted him in the air and shoved him against the wall. A picture fell from the wall and crashed over their heads, shattering glass everywhere. Eva felt him try to grab a shard. She screamed and forced his arm away. He was able to break free by rolling away.
They were both out of breath, but The Chief managed to let out another laugh. Eva’s eyes widened as she reached down to where her gun was supposed to be holstered. It was no longer there. As she looked up, her heart dropped.
Jake.
Chapter 19
“Why the change of face, Eva?” Dan McAvoy had taken her gun in the scuffle. The barrel was now pressed against the head of his eldest son who was kneeling between them. Tommy was being held against the door by the edge of the Chief’s blade. McAvoy’s hair hung over his face and his eyes were wild with rage. “I remember when you spoke to the Serpents about playing this game of survival. And you always claimed that you were the best. But it seems as though you’ve lost your touch. In my opinion, you lost it when you started caring for someone aside from yourself. And now. I have double the leverage.”
“You care so little for your own sons that you would use them against me?” she tried to hide the panic from her face. “How disgusting.”
Eva was screaming internally. She knew how unpredictable Dan McAvoy could be. There was no remorse in his face. His hunger for power and fame would make him pull that trigger and murder his eldest son. But that wasn’t his only objective. To achieve his ultimate goal, he must slay the only person who could give him ultimate power and fame, The Wanderer. If he was the one who paraded her head on a stake, his name would be known throughout the region. And finally, his dream was within his grasp.
“It is you who is on the wrong side of a gun this time,” he smirked. “And you would stand there and question me?”
“And as I told you,” Eva took two steps towards them but stopped when he pushed the barrel further into Jake’s head. He did not notice that he had loosened his grip on Eva’s blade at Tommy’s throat. “I am the one you want. Not Jake and not Tommy. Let. Them. Go.”
“This is not the circumstance to be making demands,” he laughed. “You are no longer my Mistress. And you no longer have the upper hand.”
“Chief!” Someone called from outside the door. “We can hear you in there. Please let us in.”
“Shut up!” he yelled. “I have everything under control.”
Everyone in the room stood in uncomfortable silence, waiting for what Chief McAvoy would do next. Eva brandished her blade, ready to strike. She noticed that when his Tigers called for him, he would get distracted for a moment. Each time, he would turn his head towards the door for a fraction of a second. That was her only chance, a shot in the dark. She would have to grab his gun with one hand and try to knock her blade from the other. If he pulled the trigger in the scuffle, Jake would be hit. But if he was disarmed, Eva had a clear shot to his torso. Jake was watching her very closely. He could tell by the look on her face that she had come up with a plan to save them.
Please let this work.
“Chief!”
Dan McAvoy turned towards the door. Now. Eva pounced. A shot rang off. It hit the ceiling, missing Eva’s face by inches. When he dropped the blade, Tommy snatched it off the tile floor. The Wanderer and the brothers took action. Jake pinned his father's legs and right arm to the ground. Eva drove her knee onto the other limb hard, feeling his bone crack and keeping the gun pinned to the floor. Flashes of red appeared in her field of vision as she raised her blade above her head, two hands grasping the hilt firmly. As she drove it downwards, the feeling of tearing flesh, muscle, and bone triggered something in her mind. Images and scenes from her days as a Mistress were starting to surface. Countless victims at the end of her gun and hundreds falling to her blades. She felt imaginary droplets of blood spatter across her face. Finally, the image of who she knew under the false identity of Dan Avery. The Chief looked up at her in horror. It was ultimately when th
e Tigers burst through the door that she was she able to snap out of her reverie.
Dan McAvoy frantically grasped the hole in his upper ribcage. Her aim was not true enough for a fatal blow, but he would be dead in minutes. She wanted him to suffer. Now, Eva, Jake, and Tommy had to focus on the horde of armed guards flooding into the room. She yanked the blade from her enemy’s chest and grabbed the other from Tommy. The Wanderer pushed Jake away from the doorway. Her blades were going to be useless in the gun battle. She was able to take down three guards when she heard another, much louder gunshot. Tommy screamed her name.
“Eva!” he bawled over the commotion. “It’s Jake. It’s Jake. He’s shot. Dad shot him in the arm. He’s hurt. Come on! We gotta go.”
Eva spun around to the spot she had last seen her adversary. He was still lying there. The firearm in his grasp was still smoking. His only movement came from his heaving chest. Near the door, Jake and Tommy were motioning for her as more Tigers rushed in. Eva fired a few shots in the air with a gun nearby as a distraction. It was so chaotic that the guards were shooting at one another and did not notice the boys flattened against the wall. Their carelessness alone caused massive casualties. Without a moment to spare, Eva grabbed the boys and fought their way out of the room.
They rounded the hallway and sprinted down the stairs. Eva huffed, “To the second floor. A Doxie told me that where we entered has not been patched up yet. We get out. We find a place to hide and patch Jake up. Then we head South towards the city.”
“But they’ll follow us,” Jake panted. He was compressing his arm so tightly, a trickle of blood found its way between his fingers and down his forearm. “We can’t go back to the city. It won’t be safe.”
“You’re right.” Eva called back as they threw open the door to the main floor. Doxies and Bondsmen were filing in and out from the yard as the group shoved them aside. Some of them crashed against the wall, others fell to the floor, cursing at them as they ran past. Eva turned back to see a small group of Tigers approaching front doors. They looked right at her and barreled through the crowd at them. Slaves pressed themselves against the sides of the corridor or were trampled.
“The Rovers and the Nomads can’t fight an army.” Tommy squeaked over the yelling and gunfire. “Where do we go?”
Eva felt like a failure. Jake was injured, the entire Tiger Gang was after them, and they had nowhere to go that was safe. “We just keep going south.” That was the only thing she could say. They could sense the defeat in her voice.
At least Dan McAvoy is dead, she thought. And his sons are safe. Jake could have been hurt much worse. It isn’t all bad, I guess.
Something did not sit well with her. She did not get the satisfaction of watching her enemy take his final breath. A seed of doubt grew in her mind. No. She shook her head as they continued to race down the corridors. I killed him. It’s over. He’s done. I have my revenge.
Jake pointed to a closet on the second floor with his good arm. They were almost free. As bullets whizzed past their heads, the three crowded inside the small room. Eva told them that she would go through the opening last. She slammed the door as Tommy crawled through the muddy opening to freedom. While Jake stepped up on the wooden box to lift himself up, The Wanderer sheathed her other blade and threw a metal shelf in front of the door as a barricade.
The Tigers continued shooting through walls. One of the Tigers used the butt of his gun to smash the doorknob in an attempt to break through. Jake was almost through the exit as Eva forced his feet out as swiftly as she could. Her makeshift blockade was groaning as it bended. She threw her arms up and hoisted her body through the cavity of crumbled brick. The leather in her armor acted as a buffer, keeping her stomach and legs from being torn to shreds. Jake and Tommy were already sprinting towards No Man’s Land as she rose to her feet. Looking behind her one last time, she heard the Tigers break through as she disappeared around The Castle.
Eva caught up to the brothers as they bolted into a subdivision. Breathing in the fresh air for the first time in days felt refreshing but short-lived. Any minute, the Tigers would catch up to them. Even if they did not catch her, they would nominate a new Chief and he or she would send out a militia to hunt them. It may be years before the pursuit ended, if it ended at all. Jake’s wound was not life-threatening, but it needed to be wrapped until they were safe. They hurried into the closest building and she got to work.
“We have no clothes or weapons for this journey,” Jake was trying to catch his breath. His lungs felt like they were going to explode.
Eva motioned to Tommy as she bound his brother’s arm. “Go see if there are any clothes that will keep you two from getting sick. I have a few spare knives you can have for the time being. Because of your father, I no longer have my gun.”
“We had no idea the monster he became.” Jake sighed. Tommy had left the room in search of warmer attire. “I had no clue. He was never like this from what I can remember. I’m so sorry Eva.”
“Please don’t beat yourself up about this whole thing, Jake.” Eva tightened the knot on his wrapping and rested a hand on his shoulder. “None of us could have predicted this. We need better medical attention for your arm. We are all alive. And there will be someplace safe for us.”
“Eva?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve wanted to say something for a while. And if we don’t make it...”
Jake reached up and wiped away a tear from Eva’s face. She pulled him into an embrace and kissed him. He ran his fingers through her hair and danced his lips across hers.
“I cannot imagine what life would be like without you,” he said. “I love you Eva Calloway.”
She laid her forehead against his and whispered, “Me neither Jake. I love you too.”
Tommy returned to the home with thick blankets and clothing. Eva let them dress as she scoured the desolate street for any sign of the Tigers. It wasn’t long before she picked up the distant sounds of voices. Something dark moved out of the corner of her eye. When she turned, her eyes widened when she saw the figure. It was her demon. Until now, the face of it had been her own. This time, it had stolen the face of Dan McAvoy. At first, Eva thought he had caught up to them, but remembered that she had driven a blade through his ribs. Her jump backwards was enough to alert Jake and Tommy.
“Are you okay?” Jake asked as he finished tying the laces to shoes that were far too large for him. His eyes slowly turned to the empty space where Eva had been staring.
“Fine.” She lied. “We have to go. I can hear the Tigers coming up from the valley.”
Eva handed them each a large knife and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. They set off towards the south. As long as they continued moving, they would make it through the city into unknown territory within two days. Unfamiliar lands frightened The Wanderer. Not once had she ventured so far past the Southern city limits. Even from the tops of the skyscrapers, she saw nothing but ruined buildings from the Old Times. There had been no reason to venture that far from her colony before, so she had never given it a second thought.
“You have no idea what’s out there?” Jake asked.
“No.” Eva replied. “But we’ll find out.”
Distant voices started closing in on them. Starlight was sparkling across the sky as the three escapees rushed out of the street towards the glowing lights of the Rover colony. Their route would take them past the town that Eva had lived and protected for years, only to be exiled. When they entered the labyrinth of streets in the city, they could put some distance between the hunters and the hunted. And after they left the skyscrapers behind, they would continue to travel South until they found somewhere safe.
Jake was injured. Tommy and Eva were exhausted and hungry. Every time they slowed their pace, they would hear the distant war cries of the Tigers gaining on them. They believed they would be running forever and started to accept the possibility of starvation.
When the sounds of voices trailed off, they realiz
ed where they were. By the time the old roads turned into a long stretch of ancient highway, their field of vision started to shorten. A thick haze was forming from warmer air mixing with the winter chill. They realized that their journey had taken them miles closer to the Rover colony.
It was late morning when the city started coming into their view, just over the horizon. The fog was starting to clear, but absorbed the noises all around them. Tigers could be closing in on them and they would never know. Eva couldn’t hear anything, but she did not feel like they were alone either. Someone was watching them. They started moving faster until they finally reached the northern outskirts of the city by the end of the first day.
“How’s your arm?” Eva had not said anything to Jake for the entire day. Tommy had not made a sound.
“It’s okay.” He winced in pain when she touched it. “Okay… it hurts. But I’ll be okay for a while. You wrapped it up really well. Hunger is the thing I’m more worried about.”
“We should make it to the other side of the city by the end of the night,” said Eva. “What’s beyond there… if we find a civilization… I promise we will beg for food if we have to.”
“Thanks Eva.” Jake nodded. “But I’m sure that won’t be necessary.”
Eva smiled. “You never know.”
Despite everything that happened the night before, they were in good spirits. They were together again. Although they were not safe yet, at least they were free. Eva had disposed of an old enemy. And while it may have been Jake and Tommy’s father, they had been able to witness his true personality before she ended his life.
The thin outline of the crumbling skyline started appearing through the mist. Eva took the lead, winding between blocks, alleyways, and through buildings. Tigers could be tracking them, but only the Nomads knew the specific trail they journeyed. She escorted them into the center of the city. Most Gang members would try taking the streets or alleyways to follow them, but the roads here had become impassable from the destruction long ago.