by SD Tanner
The sight of Ruler in his newest, and probably more honest form, was enough to convince most he was a being of supernatural powers. It seemed God had never made an appearance, but Ruler was a showman, and he always loved an audience. He explained the Horsemen had defeated him in battle, and Gears would call the Immortal Army if he ever showed himself again. If Gears did that, then tens of thousands of his previous selves would be born from the earth, and they were undefeatable. Despite losing the battle, Ruler described this as a long game and was prepared to fight on, but unable to confront Gears directly, he needed her help to open the gates to hell.
It was her role to win souls to the Devil’s side, so far she’d won no more than ten thousand, and they all lived in her town in Alaska. Between the surviving super hunters and the humans, she had over thirteen thousand people around her. In addition to the super hunters in her town, she had thousands of them scattered across the country acting as a network of spies.
Interrupting her thoughts, Ruler said, “You need to hide the demon super hunters. Send them into the snow for a few days.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re coming.” Looking up at the blue sky, he added, “They’re on their way now.”
Following his gaze, and almost expecting a helicopter to appear, she asked, “Have you seen them?”
Looking back down at her, he said somberly, “Yes, through the eyes of my demons.” Pulling his already warped mouth into a twisted smile, he added delightedly, “And they’re still ugly.”
Cold was seeping deeply into her bones, and enjoying the pain building inside of her, she asked, “Why can’t we just kill them when they get here?”
“Because they’ll come back, but I like the way you think.”
Preening slightly, she asked, “What stops them from killing us?”
Ruler threw back his misshapen head, and roaring with laughter, he said mischievously, “Well, that’s the beauty of this plan.” Leaning in so close to her, she could smell the sewer stench of his breath, he added, “Gears can’t use his Immortal Army of warriors against man. It’s illogical. He can’t kill man to save man.”
“Why’s it illogical?”
Putting his heavy arm around her shoulders, he guided her back to the main building where she lived and said, “The Horsemen judge whether man is worthy of life. If they decide man deserves to live, then they can’t kill him. It doesn’t make sense. If man is so bad they need to be killed, then why would they judge them worthy of life. If Gears uses his Immortal Army against man, then they’ve been judged worthy of death.” With a wink of his black on black eye, he added, “Wouldn’t make sense now, would it?”
Reaching the door to her large bedroom, she asked, “So, how does that help?”
Sighing impatiently, he replied, “It means providing man kills man, and we win their souls to our side, Gears can’t use the Immortal Army to stop them.” Seeing her confused look, he added, “Once we have enough souls, the gates to hell open and Eden is lost.”
She supposed that made sense, but she didn’t really care other than it would please Ruler. Looking at her bed through the open door, she thought, I know much better ways to please us both.
“Yes, you do,” he whispered in her ear. “They’ve gotten delayed by a distraction, and I’m so very bored.”
Grabbing her by the back of the neck, he pulled her roughly into the bedroom, and she shuddered with anticipation of what was to come.
Chapter Ten: TL
Luckily, the town they saved from the Crusaders were able to direct them to a nearby airfield for refueling. Both Gears and Pax were still in shock at the civvies response to being attacked. According to the town leader, Chris, all was forgiven and they planned to release the Crusaders. Chris said the attacks weren’t uncommon, and he always told his people not to run. It struck him as counter intuitive to let people ride shotgun through their town, and for them not to defend themselves. Although he sort of understood their faith in God, he really didn’t think God meant for man to lay down and die at the command of another man. People are very confused, he thought, man isn’t meant to live in paradise.
Reading his mind, Ip said in her musical voice, “They do not know how life flows.”
“No, they don’t,” he agreed, but he wasn’t really sure what he was agreeing to.
He knew God and the Devil existed, but he didn’t really understand how it all fitted together. The Devil wanted souls, but so did God. It was a perpetual tug of war between the two of them, and it really depended on a person’s natural temperament whether they sided with one or the other. What he did know was the Devil never kept his promises, and God couldn’t pay enough attention to each and every soul to rescue everyone.
“Is it jus’ me or were those guys really weird?” Pax asked.
“Stupid, Pax, the word you’re lookin’ for is stupid,” Gears replied contemptuously.
“Why?” He asked. “Why is it stupid to be peaceful?”
“I got no issue with goddamn peace, TL,” Gears replied abruptly. “But I take exception to some dumbass tellin’ his people to turn the other cheek, when some asshole’s shootin’ at ‘em. That guy ain’t qualified to be a leader of anyone.”
“Yeah, it’s dumbass, TL,” Pax agreed.
“Did you notice how many people were runnin’?” Gears asked. “They weren’t convinced by pansy-assed Chris either.”
Shaking his head, he said amiably, “Sometimes I wonder whose side you’re on, Gears? God or the Devil?”
Screwing up his face in disgust, Gears replied, “I’m not with either of ‘em. We’re our own goddamn side.”
Deciding neither of his brothers were worth talking to today, he stared out of the doors at the passing scenery below. Gears convinced Chris to hold onto the armaments they found in the trucks, and he assumed his brother had yet another crazy plan. As usual, this plan would involve scavenging weapons and getting the bases working. He didn’t really care, but he wasn’t sure who Gears and Pax thought they were going to be fighting. Skirmishes amongst the settlements was bound to happen, and he didn’t see what it had to do with them. Everywhere Ruler went everything died, but now the country was overwhelmed with animal and plant life in a way he’d never seen before. Judging by the spectacular landscape, Ruler wasn’t on earth for them to fight.
Despite the flourishing forests under them, and bright blue sky above, he was starting to feel cold. Fetching his parka from a crumpled pile of coats on the floor of the bird, he pulled it on. Next he found hard knuckle assault gloves, and although they offered little warmth, they were better than nothing. Seeing his actions, Gears and Pax copied him. BD, Ip and Benny were all infected with a version of the hunter virus, and largely impervious to pain and the weather. They were flying over British Columbia, and the forest ahead ended in a rigid line, after that everything was white.
Pointing into the distance, he asked, “What’s that?”
Gears and Pax looked out the door and said in unison, “Dunno.”
“Snow,” Hatch said through their headsets. “The temperature’s plummeting. Whatdaya wanna do?”
“Whatdaya mean?” Pax asked, sounding perplexed.
“We didn’t bring cold weather gear,” Gears replied. “If we run outta fuel up here, we’ll die.”
“We can’t die, Gears,” Pax said bluntly.
“Maybe not,” he replied. “But time makes no sense when we’re sleeping. We might not come back for a hundred years, and we’re needed now.”
“Are we needed, TL?” Gears asked dourly.
“We just saved a bunch of people back there.”
“No, we didn’t. As far as they were concerned, we got in the way of God’s will.”
“They were wrong, Gears. God helps those who help themselves, and they’re idiots.” Pausing, he added thoughtfully, “Lazy idiots at that.”
Hatch was now flying over the divide between the green and the white, and he asked, “Would ya mind givin’ me some orders b
ack there?”
“Fly on,” Gears replied. “We’ve come too far to go home and get our coats.”
Beneath them was nothing, but endless blinding white snow. There were no distinguishing landmarks, and he wondered what they were supposed to be looking for. Ted and Jack said it was only a rumor that there might be a settlement in Alaska, and that didn’t mean there was one. How far should they fly to find anything?
On the assumption that any civvies would need an infrastructure, Gears had told Hatch to head for Anchorage. As it turned out, they found the settlement well before they made it to the city. It looked like it was once a good size town, and there were a cluster of buildings along a main street, barely visible in the deep snow. Surrounding the center were rows of suburban houses, and further out were large homesteads. There were few trees or useable land, but around the homesteads and town, there was no snow, and the brown earth showed starkly against the white background. From the air, they could see people were moving around the various homes and on the streets of the town. Surprisingly, there were few signs of smoke, and he wondered how they heated their houses.
Hatch landed the bird on the edge of the town, and he, Pax and Gears climbed down holding their weapons ready. Alaska was always known to be well armed, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if someone took a shot at them just for stepping on their land. The people walking by had stopped in the street, and were watching them with interest.
When nobody made a move towards them, Pax asked, “What now?”
Gears began to walk towards the center of the small town, and he and Pax followed with Ip, Benny and BD in tow.
Reaching a small and low slab of concrete, Gears walked onto it and called, “Hello! I wanna to talk to the guy in charge!”
No one spoke, and a tall, attractive woman with long brown hair and a full figure sashayed towards them. Wearing a long green dress, topped by bodice, so tightly laced, her breasts practically spilled out, she smiled almost slyly at them. Despite her beauty, something about her made him sneer slightly, and he wondered why.
When she finally stood next to the low platform, she looked up at Gears and asked flirtatiously, “And who might you be?”
Stepping down from the platform, Gears met the woman’s challenging look with a smirk and said, “You can call me Gears.”
Running her hand down Gears bulky arm, and smiling back at him, the woman said, “And you can call me Faith.”
Elbowing his way past Pax, he said, “I’m TL.” Flicking his head at Pax, he added, “That’s Pax.”
Looking him up and down, her eyes seemed to linger a little too long. With a warmth that didn’t seem to reach her eyes, she said silkily, “You should come inside, TL. You look cold.”
The main building in front of the town square was once a visitors’ center, but the open area on the ground floor was now furnished with long comfortable sofas and plush looking chairs. A fire crackled merrily against the wall, and he wondered why they hadn’t seen smoke. Puzzled, he walked up to the fire, and realized it wasn’t giving off any heat. It was only gas designed to give the welcoming appearance of an open fire. The room wasn’t cold anyway, and he assumed there were heaters somewhere. Shrugging off his coat, he walked back to where Gears and the others were sitting on sofas, watching Faith curiously.
She was ordering people to bring warm drinks and food, and when she was done, Gears asked amiably, “Why the hell do you live in such an inhospitable place?”
Sitting down on the sofa opposite Gears, and rearranging her long flowing skirt until it hung gracefully, Faith said seductively, “It depends on what you consider hospitable. Pleasure comes in many forms.”
“That’s a strange answer,” Gears replied steadily.
Sitting on the sofa next to Gears and facing Faith, he said, “There’s rumors the super hunters are living here.”
Laughing softly, she asked, “Do you see any super hunters?”
He hadn’t seen any as they walked to the center of the town, and there certainly weren’t any in the room with them now. Around them, people were standing and studying them quietly, but they didn’t have the trademark blue on blue eyes of the super hunters.
With a wave of her hand at Ip, BD and Benny, Faith said, “It looks to me like you’re the ones with the infected.”
Frowning slightly, Gears said, “They’re not the same.” Pulling a slightly threatening expression, he added, “And they’re with us.”
With a small shrug, Faith said, “Then don’t take my word for it. Feel free to look around.”
Still eyeing her sternly, Gears replied, “I plan to.”
He didn’t understand why Gears was being so aggressive, but his brother never did have any manners. Wanting to diffuse the growing tension, he suggested amiably, “Why don’t you and Pax do that, Gears? I’ll stay and talk to Faith.”
While Gears, Pax, Benny and BD left to tour the town, he continued to sit opposite Faith, studying her curiously. Ip was clearly also puzzled by the woman, and she stood by the fake fire watching her intently. Faith gave off a weird vibe he didn’t understand. Her obvious sensuality intrigued him, but her body language, tone of voice and the look in her eye, never quite seemed to align. In some ways, he found her alluring, and at the same time, he felt she was deeply damaged.
Smiling at him, she asked softly, “Would you like to inspect me?”
Startled by her forwardness, he asked, “Excuse me?”
Without taking her eyes off him, she said, “Would you like to see where I live?”
“You live here, don’t you?”
“No, I live upstairs. This is a common area.”
Quickly glancing at Ip, he saw her smirk and thought, yeah, I’m not sure what she’s offering me either. Standing up, and with her skirt rustling softly, Faith held out her hand to him. He wasn’t sure he should take it, but never one to pass up a challenge, he did anyway. She led him up a wide staircase to the second floor. On this floor, there was a doorway at one end, and when she opened it, there was a large room with an over-sized bed in the middle. Still holding his hand, she led him to the edge of the bed. Turning to face him, she began to undo the tie at the top of her bodice and slowly unlace it.
“What are you doing?”
Tilting her head, she replied cheekily, “Really, TL? You don’t know?”
Leaning his M4A1 against the side of the bed, he replied with a grin, “Yeah, I know, but why?”
Moving sensually, so the bodice slipped down her torso, the weight of the dress pulled it to the floor. Standing naked in front of him, she asked, “Why not?” Stepping out of the puddle the dress made, she asked bluntly, “You want me, don’t you?”
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about her, but he didn’t think this was a good idea. Admiring her full figure, he noticed a web of disorganized scars across her entire torso, and asked, “What happened to you?”
Looking down as if ashamed, and suddenly seeming fragile, she replied, “I was hurt by a bad man.”
No one would have survived such endless cuts if they were done at one time, and the scars spoke of old injuries done more than once. In his mind, he imagined she was held prisoner for a long time, and repeatedly hurt. Feeling compassion wash through him, he reached out and gathered her into his arms. Her body seemed to yield to his, and he knew he wouldn’t say no.
Chapter Eleven: Gears
He didn’t like the woman, it was as simple as that, but TL insisted on bringing her with them. He said some guy, most likely a demon, had left scars all over her body and she was hiding in Alaska. When he asked TL how the hell he knew what was all over her body, he’d simply shrugged. He didn’t begrudge his brother finding a woman. Since Lydia died, he thought the man deserved some fun in his life, but why this woman? Both he and Pax agreed she had a reptilian quality to her, and that wasn’t a good thing in a person, much less in a woman you were being familiar with. That said, they both saw the woman had a strange appeal, and could understand why
TL went there.
They’d landed at Lake Lanier at Wolfie’s base. He’d met Wolfie in Atlanta, Georgia when they were clearing a mall of a super hunter. Immediately seeing eye to eye, they helped Wolfie set up his base in Lake Lanier, and had been firm allies ever since. Wolfie was a man he could trust, and his people did their fair share of the fighting during the final battle. Today he felt ill at ease, and it wasn’t anything to do with Wolfie. Stomping into the open area in the reception building that Wolfie used as a cafeteria, he walked across into the meeting room at the back, and kicked the door shut.
“Gears! Don’t walk through my base and wreck it with your oversized feet,” Wolfie complained loudly.
Waving his hand dismissively, he dumped himself into the chair at the head of the table, and said, “Your digs ain’t ever been fancy. You’re a bunch of bikers.”
“Maybe so, but we aim to keep our doors on their hinges.”
“Why the hell are ya bein’ so crabby?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, ‘cos I’m happy to see ya’ll again, but what are you doin’ here? I mean, we buried ya. It was a sad day, women cried and men drank. I thought you were dead.”
Grunting, Pax said, “We’re immortal and apparently death ain’t an option.” Giving Ip a hopeful look, he added, “Unless Ip kills us.”
According to Ip, if she ever killed them, then they would stay dead. Huffing dismissively at Pax, Ip picked up her cookie and left the room.
Snorting, Pax added, “Guess not then.”