by SD Tanner
Axe was setting up an army to take control of the country. Hatch was defending his airfield from violent attacks. Mackenzie was lost somewhere in hell. Max was dead, but trapped on earth. Benny was a hunter, and no one knew where Lucie went. He agreed with Ip, something was wrong, but he couldn’t work out what it was.
Looking around the table at the expectant faces, he asked, “Is it jus’ me, or is there somethin’ funny goin’ on here?”
Pop looked at him dourly and said, “No, son, the world don’t work the way it did, and I don’t like it either.”
“What exactly is wrong?”
Shaking his head, Pop replied, “All the animals are different. We don’t got horses no more. Bodies disintegrate into the earth within a day of dyin’. There’s that weird freakin’ lake…”
“What’s wrong with the Lake of Life?” Mom asked indignantly. “It heals people.”
Rolling his eyes, Pop said tersely, “I know, but it ain’t the way the world used to work. We didn’t used to have magic lakes.”
“Don’t forget we still have super hunters roaming around, and no one knows what they’re really doing,” Jack said unhappily. “Ted estimated thousands escaped the battle, and we’ve only found and killed thirty two of them.”
Nodding, he said sharply, “Exactly. And why has Mac had a vision of the young Horsemen being killed?”
“What!” Angel exclaimed, looking alarmed. “How do you know that?”
“Max told us, but she doesn’t know how or where it happens, but they’re around five or six years old, so it’s not that far in the future,” TL replied somberly.
“Is that why you came back?” Mom asked.
Nodding at his mother, he replied, “Yeah, Mom, Max communicated with Ip somehow. Now we’ve spoken to her, she says Mac had a vision of the young Horsemen being killed.” Shaking his head, he added, “I wouldn’t worry about it, they’d be reborn anyway, but I promised Max I’d watch over her baby.”
Mom sniffed and said, “Well, I didn’t think you’d come to see me.”
“You know we love ya, Mom, and we’re immortal, so we’re never far away.”
Turning his attention from his foster mother, he said, “I’m not sure what to make of any of this, and I think we need to keep searching for the truth.” Nodding at Ted, he asked, “What are the rumors about Alaska?”
“There’s not much to tell you, Gears. People believe that’s where the super hunters are hiding, but I think they only say that because we don’t know where they are, and no one’s been to Alaska.”
“When did you last kill one?” Pax asked.
Looking at Jack enquiringly, Ted replied, “A week ago, I think.”
Nodding to confirm Ted’s guess, Jack added, “Me and a squad found it in Iowa. I dunno what it was doing there. We found it hiding in a house, and they’re easy enough to kill. They were never good fighters.”
Remembering how quickly the super hunters died without their hunter army, he said with contempt, “Yeah, I’m not worried about even a few thousand of them. Without the hunters, they’re useless.”
There was a problem somewhere and he needed to find it. Although the young Horsemen couldn’t really die, he knew Mom and Pop loved the children as much as they loved him and his brothers. If only for them, he needed to keep the children safe.
Turning to Ted, he said, “We need to move your family somewhere secure.”
Nodding, Ted replied, “I agree. The safest place is the main island where Nelson is.”
“We’re also gonna need weapons and shit,” Pax said. “Whatcha holdin’?”
Breaking into a wide grin, Ted replied, “Anything and everything. We gathered up all the weapons we could find after the battle. Some of them are with Hatch and Wolfie. We sent some back to the bases, and I’ve got a load stored in the basement here to keep ‘em dry and ready to roll.”
“Woah, wait a minute,” Angel interrupted abruptly. “I don’t want to go to some island I’ve never seen.”
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Mom said happily. “It’s a Caribbean paradise. The boys established it when the land was dying and full of hunters. And you’ve met Nelson. You know he’s a kind man, and he’s preaching again now.”
“But there’s nothing wrong,” Angel complained. “Other than these guys showing up again, nothing’s any different today than it was yesterday.”
Angel had been held prisoner for months, and was earmarked to be possessed by Ruler before Ted rescued her. Knowing he needed her agreement to take the children to the island, he asked gently, “Do you remember Ruler, Angel?”
Angel’s face fell, and looking down at the table, she said in a soft whisper, “Yes.”
“Then you know we can’t mess around when it comes to the Devil. He destroyed the Ranch more than once, and if he’s back, then I gotta know ya’ll somewhere safe.”
Hatch radioed for another bird to come to the Ranch, and they spent the morning loading ammunition, grenades and anti-tank weapons onto the one they planned to take on their trip north. Without any clear direction to look for trouble, he decided they might as well check if there was anything in Alaska. If they couldn’t find any airfields on the way, fuel might prove to be a problem, but Hatch was prepared to risk it anyway. As he told them, they’d always found something, and even if they didn’t, he could retrieve the bird later.
Using the long-range Black Hawks, they made it to the Marine supply base, and just as Hatch said, the site was still manned. In their minds they’d only been away a matter of weeks, but landing on the helipad, he realized a lot changed over the five years they’d really been away. The containers they used to house and feed everyone were still there, but now empty, dirty and abandoned. Once they landed, Cutter, who’d been Ted’s second-in-command of the bases, met them as they walked through the rows of containers.
While he shook their hands, Cutter asked, “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”
“It don’t feel like we’ve been away,” Pax replied dourly.
“Well, you were,” Cutter said somberly. “I went to your funeral.”
Pulling a disgusted face, Pax said, “We had a funeral? That’s jus’ stupid. We weren’t even dead.”
Nodding and sounding impressed, Cutter replied, “Clearly not.”
Suspecting he might need the base again, he asked, “What kinda supplies have we got left?”
“Pretty much everything. There’s plenty of food these days. People wanted different things after the hunters died. You know, building materials, books, electrical goods, all the stuff we never scavenged. It meant a lot of our supplies have been left untouched. I’ve still got MRE’s, uniforms, tents, batteries, heavy weapons, ammo, pretty much all the gear we used to collect.”
That was good news. If he needed to rebuild an army, he still had bases, air support and even weapons. He wasn’t sure why he thought he might need his troops again, but something wasn’t right, and being a soldier and the Horseman of War, he only knew how to fight.
After they toured the base, he and Pax made a mental inventory of what they had, then Hatch flew them to the main island. The only difference he could see was the entire world had become greener. Their bases on the mainland, once surrounded by dusty buildings and roads, were now in the middle of a forest, and only remnants of civilization remained. Cutter tried to keep roads in and out of the base clear, but without a concerted effort, it was a losing proposition. They left Axe with Cutter, and he planned to keep him secured in a container until they returned from their mission.
Flying over their main island, he could see that Nelson was maintaining the roads, houses and farmland. The forest spread to the edges of the beaches, and the island was trimmed with a band of pristine white sand. The main town looked in better condition than when he first saw it, and there were seafaring boats moored in the Marina.
“Nelson’s got himself a nice slice of Eden,” TL remarked.
Smiling warmly at the memory of Nelson, he replied, “Yeah, he does
.”
Gerry wasn’t able to radio Nelson from Hatch’s base, so he figured he’d be surprised to see them. He had no doubt Nelson would happily provide safe refuge for his parents, Angel and the children. Mom was concerned Nelson wouldn’t have medical facilities for Angel, and brought half a dozen large bottles of water from the Lake of Life. He still couldn’t get his around the idea of a magic elixir, but he and TL also carried several large bottles for their mission to the Alaska. It defied his sense of logic, but if it worked, he wasn’t going to argue.
Landing on a helipad near the main buildings of the small town, they helped one another out. Hatch turned the engine off, and he could hear the distinct whumping sound as the rotors slowly spun to a stop. The people walking the wide streets of the town looked at them curiously, but none appeared to be armed or concerned by their sudden arrival.
“Remember the reception we got the first time we came here?” TL asked.
He certainly did. They’d lost forty-seven combat shooters that day, and buried them at the top of a low hill overlooking the sea. It was on this island they dug up the dead baby that came to life and became known as baby Ip. Good and bad memories, he thought, it was here I finally accepted I am the Horseman of War.
Walking up to a building he knew was once the island’s only hotel, he saw Nelson standing at the top of the steps, smiling warmly at them. Suddenly Nelson jogged down the stairs, and grabbing him in a fierce hug, he said, “I’ve missed you good men.”
Pulling away from Nelson’s embrace, he said unhappily, “It seems we’re needed again.”
Nodding, Nelson replied in his rich baritone voice, “I guessed that the moment I saw you.” Glancing over his shoulder, he added, “I take it you want the children to stay here.”
Turning to look at the entourage of Mom, Pop, Angel, his brothers, Ip, Ted, Benny, Axe, Hatch and the children, he sighed and said, “Kinda need you to keep ‘em safe for a while.”
“Of course.” With open arms, he walked over to where Mom and Pop stood watching him, and said warmly, “My home is your home. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” Pointing up at the hotel, he added, “You can stay here until you decide where you’d like to live on the island. Food is plentiful, the weather is perfect, and there’s not much to do other than be happy.”
Looking worried, Angel asked, “Do have you have any medical staff here?”
“Yes, of course we do. You remember Terry. Well, he’s set up his barefoot doctors, and they travel the islands by boat taking care of any problems.” Grinning, he added, “Not that we have many in paradise.”
Pulling a bottle from her backpack, Mom said, “I brought water from the Lake of Life.”
Taking the bottle from her, Nelson replied, “We have some here for injuries and illnesses, but extra supplies won’t go to waste.”
They all stayed in the hotel for the night, and he briefed Nelson on the strange events since they returned. Nelson’s surprised him when he said he didn’t think man was ready for Eden, and that perhaps God had been optimistic with such a generous gift. When he asked why, Nelson said he believed man did his best work when challenged, and in the absence of any trouble, man would always make some.
He hoped Nelson was wrong, but if he were honest, he also believed man was at his best when there was a battle to be won.
Chapter Eight: Pax
It was early morning when they left with Hatch to explore the northern areas of the country, and ultimately make their way to Alaska. They’d left the second bird on the island for Ted, and he was travelling back to mainland to work with Cutter. He’d asked Ted to take an inventory of the warehouses, and start getting the bases ready for use again. Gears thought they might need an army and he didn’t disagree. Something about Eden irritated him, but he couldn’t explain what. He was happy to be with BD again, but in his mind they hadn’t been apart for long. That’s wasn’t quite how BD saw it, and to her, being with him again was a long awaited reunion. Smiling cheekily, he winked at her knowing she was well aware why.
They were flying over South Dakota and he’d grown bored looking out of the doors. Everywhere was lush, green and fertile, with clusters of towns and small herds of animals. The sky was blue, the temperature perfect, and the air smelt fresh in a way he’d never known before. Boring, he thought dismally, what the hell am I going to do with my time?
BD’s real name was never known, and since being reborn into the body of someone infected with the counter virus, she would never have another name. Admiring his Blonde Distraction, he thought, I hate to admit it, but there’s only so much sex I need, and it doesn’t fill a whole of every day. Eyeing him suspiciously, BD seemed to know what he was thinking, and she pointedly looked away, making it clear she was ignoring him.
With her blue on blue eyes, it was hard to read Ip’s expression, but in his mind he heard her say, Bored again while trouble brews, so you make a hell only for you.
“What?”
TL punched his arm and said dourly, “She’s telling you not to a start a fight with BD just because you’re bored.”
Annoyed he was so easily read, he asked indignantly, “How do you know I’m bored?”
Harrumphing loudly, TL replied bluntly, “You and Gears are both bored. Neither of you are built for a life in paradise.”
“I’m not bored,” Gears declared through his headset. Waving his hand, indicating they should come to his door, he pointed at the ground and asked, “Whatdaya think’s goin’ on down there?”
While all three of them peered out, he could see people running frantically through the streets of a small town. Typical of its size, this town consisted of a wide, long road lined by a small cluster of low buildings. The streets leading from the single road were dotted with houses, and further out from those, were vegetable patches and fruit trees. The town looked like it was probably able to house three to four thousand people, and there didn’t seem to be any defenses, and not many vehicles either. He thought the settlement had an Amish feel to it, but right now people were running away from the main road, and he could see why.
At one end of the town, a line of five trucks was driving down towards the center. Following the vehicles were twenty men on beasts like the ones they’d ridden. Each truck was flying a large flag, but not the one he would have expected. He didn’t recognize this flag. It was black with a red crest emblazoned in the middle of it.
“Who are those guys?” He asked.
Sounding disgusted, Gears replied, “You know what I know, dumbass.”
Whoever they were, the people were frightened of them, and he could see some were riding their own beasts away from the town. Wanting to see more, he called through his headset, “Hatch! Take us closer.”
“Not too close, Hatch,” Gears warned. “You don’t ride into town lookin’ that confident unless you’re well-armed.”
Hatch hovered over the main road, giving them a clear view of the convoy slowly making their way into the town. The trucks came to a stop in the middle of the street outside what looked like a small official building. The riders were wearing black outfits with a splash of red on their chest, which he assumed was the same as the logo on the flags. As the convoy came to a halt, they split away from the trucks and began to ride down the side streets.
Men, women and children were still running down the side roads leading away from the town, and he didn’t think they could defend themselves. Picking a rider in the lead, he followed the man’s progression down a leafy street. The rider kept disappearing under a canopy of trees, and he couldn’t quite understand what he was doing. Further along the road, he saw people fall to the ground, and he assumed they were dead. The sound of the rotors drowned out any noise from the ground, but he knew the easiest way to bring a person down so abruptly was with a gun.
Moving to position himself behind the M240, he said angrily, “They’re killin’ ‘em.”
Gears had clearly drawn the same conclusion, and while bracing himself against th
e door of the bird, he was pulling his M4A1 into a firing position. Without comment, both he and Gears began firing on the riders, trying to avoid the civilians running through the streets and gardens surrounding the houses. Behind him, he could hear the other M240 firing, and assumed either Benny or TL was manning the weapon.
The riders were stopping and shooting at the bird. It was unlikely they had any surface-to-air weapons, but under enough gunfire, even a Black Hawk could be critically damaged by a lucky bullet. In this new world, technology was becoming scarce, and he wasn’t willing to damage even one bird.
“We gotta get down there, Gears,” He shouted tersely.
“Yeah, I know, but I wanna thin the herd first. Let’s take out some of the trucks.”
“We ain’t got no Hellfires loaded,” Hatch complained.
It the old problem of distance versus firepower. Hatch had the long-range fuel tanks on, which meant he had his Hellfires and Hydra Rockets stored on the bird. They could fully load the bird if they needed to, but that took more time than they had right now. It didn’t take much to disable a truck, and they were neatly lined up on the main road, parked closely together. If they did a fast and low flyover, they could probably take out the trucks with the M240.
“Hatch, low and slow enough to gimme time to take ‘em out,” he shouted.
“I got the enemy on foot,” Gears said steadily.
Gears, TL and Benny fired on anyone wearing black with what he now saw was red crest in the shape of a Celtic cross. Although the men on the ground were firing back at the bird, they unleashed heavy fire with the machine guns and M4A1s. One of the trucks burst into flames, and men were falling to the ground. A man on fire emerged from the burning truck, and ran down the street until he finally fell and began to roll and writhe. The enemy shooters quickly lost heart, and began to run from the bird. Having dealt with the trucks, he continued to fire on anyone that was dressed in black.