The Caitlin Chronicles Boxed Set

by Michael Anderle

  And with that, he was off.

  Abandoned Airship, Silver Creek Forest

  Caitlin awoke to the sound of metal on metal. Birds chirped outside, and she could hear voices.

  What in the name of shit-eating-fudge-nuggets is going on out there?

  She rose sharply from her bed and exited the captain’s quarters. When she emerged into the sunlight, she blinked and raised her hand. In her head, she had images of her followers engaged in a battle against the governor’s men, or worse, a horde of Mad.

  That’s the last thing I need right now, to be playing stabby-stab with the Mad folks.

  But now, she could see from the deck of the ship that at least a dozen former New Leaf folk held swords and weapons, running through drills as Ash called out commands and gave direction. Alice stood not too far away, her own daggers in her hand as she practiced moves with another man who kept eyeing her up and down between rounds, losing his concentration and almost losing his finger.

  “Focus!” she heard Ash call and wondered whether that was more for the man’s benefit or for his own.

  Caitlin strode over and stood beside him.

  “Morning, sunshine,” Ash said, beaming.

  “I said no touching the weapons. What is all this?”

  “Ah, relax. A few of the guys figured they wanted to make the best use of the time we were here and asked me to teach them some stuff. You were asleep. I’ve trained people before. And, before I knew it, the guys were at it and I’m standing here playing grandmaster coach.” Ash scanned back over his pupils and shouted at a pair who were out of breath and sweating. “Back to it, maggots, you can rest when you’re dead.”

  “No need to be so harsh, it’s just practice,” Alice called, sticking out her tongue.

  “You say that now but wait until a ten-foot werebear comes for you. Then you’ll really be wishing you’d paid attention.” Ash held his arms up in the air and imitated a giant bear.

  Several people stopped and laughed.

  “A werebear? That’s not a thing.” Alice scoffed.

  “When’s my lesson, then?” Caitlin asked, drawing her sword and taking her place beside Ash.

  He looked taken aback. He had seen her fight back in New Leaf, of course, and she seemed to recall that he’d looked at her with raw admiration more than once.

  “Are you sure you can handle one of the governor’s guards?” Ash raised a cocky eyebrow.

  “Oh, please. It wasn’t that long ago that you were hogtied and lying on my bedroom floor.”

  Caitlin had him there. Ash burned bright red and turned to those close enough to hear. “It’s not what it sounds like. It’s not!”

  Caitlin turned to Alice and held the back of her hand theatrically to her mouth. She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s okay. He took it like a real bronco. Ain’t that right, Shitallion?”

  The horse whined in response as Caitlin placed one hand over her ass and the other over her mouth.

  Laughter erupted around the clearing. Several folks who were still sleeping poked their heads out from the ship.

  “Okay then, big shot,” Ash said seeing no better option than joining in with the laughs. “Show us what you got.” He turned to address the group. “Hey, who here would like to learn some sword-swinging skills from the Chief Cat?”

  Caitlin’s smile dropped as every single hand shot in the air, including Ash’s. Just over a week ago, she had no real idea about swordsmanship. Now, she had been trained by a vampire and was being looked at by over twenty hungry eyes who all wanted a lesson directly from her.

  Well, fuckety-fuck. How things can change.

  “Okay, bring it on.” Caitlin walked forward, her back to the ship and sword in front, poised and ready for battle.

  Ash grinned and steadied himself. He had been a guard for most of his life, trained and ready for any battle situation.

  The only problem was that he had never really encountered an enemy that knew swordsmanship. Most of his kills had been on Mad, and he had never had a reason to fight with another guard. They would never admit it, but over the years, most of the guards’ sword skills went sloppy.

  Fuck it. Let’s dive in.

  Caitlin took the first swing. Ash brought his sword up to meet hers, grunting as the metal clanged. The swords locked in an “X,” and they looked at each other through the middle.

  Ash shoved her sword away, stepped in, and took a jab which Caitlin blocked, using the momentum and force to bring her sword up and over.

  He raised his sword above his head, batted the attack away, and stepped back.

  The gathered crowd cheered and clapped. Some laughed, and many offered words of encouragement.

  “Go on, Ash!” Alice cried.

  Ash winked her way as Caitlin cried, “Hey!”

  Alice mouthed an apology. The combatants turned back to each other.

  They took turns stepping forward, their blows singing in the clearing as they slashed, hacked, and twirled. With every hit, their intensity increased until their chests rose and fell with heavy breaths. Out in the sun, fighting was sweaty work.

  “Surrender yet?” Ash asked, wiping sweat with the back of his hand.

  “Never!” Caitlin responded, shouting and leaping forward, driving him back with a series of blows until he was almost at the line of trees.

  Ash roared, swung the sword in loops around his back, and jabbed at Caitlin. The blade caught her hip and cut the cloth. A moment later, it was sticky with blood.

  She drew in a sharp hiss of breath and clutched her side. Her face suddenly grew dark. The crowd behind her quietened.

  In a moment of madness, she lunged forward. Ash, panicking, raised his sword which Caitlin batted away so hard that it fell to the ground.

  “Caitlin? Wait! What are you doing—”

  Someone screamed behind them.

  Ash folded to the floor and held his head.

  Caitlin missed him by inches. He waited, half-expecting the final stab to come while he was on the floor, until he heard the gurgles and growls from behind.

  He turned around and saw then what Caitlin had seen—two Mad. One now lay chopped in half on the floor. The other sprinted straight at Caitlin, his cloak shredded and his eyes red.

  Ash laughed in disbelief. She hadn’t been attacking him.

  She had been saving him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Abandoned Airship, Silver Creek Forest

  Caitlin took the fucker down in seconds, her sword finding its way through those vital body organs that the Mad needed to operate.

  Heart. Brain. That sort of thing.

  But the thing was like the hydra Alice had talked of. The minute she killed one, several more appeared, stumbling into the clearing until their red eyes locked onto the human bodies gathered beneath the ship’s shadow like an all-you-can-eat buffet—then they’d run.

  Despite the imminent danger that the Mad cast on them, Caitlin couldn’t help but enjoy herself. Her blade sang as it whistled through the air, and she was impressed by how many of her people had grabbed their weapons and come to her aid as well.

  Not that she needed any help.

  For every one they took down, Caitlin was on her fifth. She was exhilarated. She was on fire.

  Just like teaching a girl to dance. Only instead of twirling and frolicking to music, I get to save lives and destroy evil.

  Fuckety fuck, this is awesome.

  When a teen girl with a foaming mouth and blistered sores came at her, she lunged at her, grabbing her with both arms. She side-stepped so quickly the zombie fell forward in a daze. She picked herself up quickly, found her again, and took another charge.

  “Oopsy-daisy!”

  Caitlin booted her square in the chest. The girl fell back on her ass.

  “You! Toss me your blade,” she commanded an older gentleman who was being overly cautious considering the fight happening around him.

  He obliged.

  “Thanks. Now, ke
ep an eye on this one for me for a second.” She drove the man’s blade directly between the Mad girl’s shoulder blades, then tossed the knife back to him.

  She caught up with Ash at the edge of the clearing. Alice had joined him, staying close as they worked together for both defense and attack. Occasionally, they’d stand back to back and Ash would cop a feel of Alice’s ass.

  She didn’t seem to mind.

  He drove his sword into the throat of a zombie to his left, withdrew it with a haunting sound of a boot pulled out of a thick slick of mud, then turned and focused on the guy creeping up behind him. With a sweet figure-of-eight maneuver with the sword and a grunt as Ash used all his strength, both the zombie’s arms were gone.

  Note to self. Get Ash to teach me that sweet-ass move before I die.

  Ash noticed Caitlin. “Thanks…for saving me back then. I haven’t had a chance to—”

  “Don’t mention it,” Caitlin said. “Behind you.”

  He turned, his eyes widening as he stepped in to take down a zombie about to chomp into Alice’s back. “Watch your six, girl!” he admonished Alice, rolling his eyes.

  “Sure!” she replied, sticking her butt out at him. “The minute you stop watching it.”

  “Just focus, will you?” Caitlin said, though the smile on her face was enough for him to know she wasn’t totally serious. “I’m not ready to lose you guys yet.”

  “Aw, is Cat getting sentimental?” Alice chirped. “I haven’t seen that side of her.”

  “It’ll disappear just as quick if you’re not careful.”

  Eventually, the Mad stopped coming from the trees.

  Caitlin looked at her people and saw that there were now only three Mad remaining—and they were certainly in the losing camp. For each Mad left, there was now four of her own group hacking and slashing and working together to bring them down. Their blade-work might not have been that sophisticated—in fact, they almost reminded Caitlin of cavemen with clubs—but dammit, it was a sight to see.

  “You need a name for them,” Ash said, wrapping his blood-slicked arm around Alice’s shoulder. “Something badass we can use when we tell this story in years to come.”

  Caitlin considered this. She liked the idea of finding a name for what she was creating. The pride in her stomach grew as two Mad remained.

  Then one.

  “How about the Kitty Cat club?” Alice smirked, looking up at Caitlin.

  If Caitlin could have made her eyes glow red with rage, that would have been the moment. She kind of envied Mary-Anne in that way.

  “Nah, not badass enough,” Ash said. “How about ‘The Catastrophics?’”

  “Catastrophics make us sound like a bunch of clumsy killers!” Alice replied, smacking Ash in the arm. “And you thought my idea was dumb.”

  “At least my idea doesn’t make us sound like a petting zoo. The Kitty Cat club? Sounds like something I’d take my kids to, if I had any.”

  Ash and Alice went on bickering as Caitlin watched the last zombie get taken down by her collective team now gathered together and working as one. The zombie screeched once more then went silent as sword and dagger tore the thing apart. A nasty business, really, but in a kill or be killed world, what other choice did they have?

  Caitlin knew then, smiling like a mother watching her children play together for the first time, that they were on to something huge. Something different. Something that would take the survivors of the world out of hiding and towards something greater.

  “The Revolutionaries,” Caitlin said.

  Alice and Ash stopped arguing

  “The Revolutionaries?” Ash rubbed his chin, leaving a red smudge there.

  Alice watched the folks now heading back towards them with smiles on their faces. They stopped as they noticed the zombie Caitlin had left spiked to the ground wriggle and thrash to try and tear itself free.

  A couple of them looked up at Caitlin as if for permission. She nodded. They drove their swords into the zombie’s body until they were sure it was dead.

  “The Revolutionaries.” She pondered the idea a little more. “Yeah. I like the sound of that.”

  New Leaf, Silver Creek Forest

  They had walked for so long that Hank had begun to think they were now lost. His patience was shrinking, and he wanted nothing more than to settle the score and destroy the girl who had caused him so many problems.

  The message that she had given to Tyrell to deliver to the governor played round and round in his head. If he played his cards right, it was most certainly a message that would never be delivered. He could envision himself popping off her head, shitting on her body, and setting the damn thing on fire.

  Just the thought of it made him smile.

  When the village came into sight, his heart began to thump excitedly in his chest. It had been years since he had journeyed so far from his town, and much had changed. There were new houses, the borders of the barbed wire fence had grown wider…

  And there were body parts all over the place.

  Holy fucksticks.

  “What the hell happened here?” one of his men whispered from behind.

  “Draw swords, gentlemen,” Hank said, drawing his own. “We don’t know what we’re facing here.”

  Hendrick stepped closer to Hank’s side. “You think it’s her, sir? You think it’s the ranger master’s sister?”

  “What do you think?” Hank scoffed openly, not bothering to even try to hide his disdain.

  “I think so. I saw her work her blade at the manor. Terrifying stuff,” Hendrick said solemnly.

  Hank glared at him. “Was that before or after you got violated by a vampire? Learn when a question is rhetorical, Hendrick.”

  They explored the village together. Hank had brought thirty of his finest men with him for the task in the hopes that they could bring the whole ordeal to a swift conclusion. Hey, maybe even catch the vampire as she slept and drag her back to the town. He didn’t know for sure, but based on what Tyrell had told him—and how weak and ill the vampire had looked back at the manor—he considered it a definite possibility.

  The houses were all empty, except for two. In one house—that he could only really assume was Big Bill’s’ since he’d found the fucker dead as a doornail beneath the bed—he found Petri and Ewan, two of his men, bound and gagged on the floor.

  They were fast asleep at first, their lips cracked and dry. He charged one of his men with the task of bringing them round by splashing water on their faces and cutting their bonds. They each sat on the bed, rubbing their wrists and neck.

  “Soldier, report,” Hank commanded with little compassion. He had been ready for a good killing today, and it looked like he wasn’t going to get it.

  “She’s the devil,” Petri said, clutching the skin of water he had been chugging. “She’s the devil.”

  “Who is she?” Hank asked, already certain he knew but needing that final confirmation.

  Ewan answered. Hank turned his head. “There was three of them. Two human girls and a…and a—”

  “Vampire?” Hank interrupted.

  The soldier nodded. “She fed on us.”

  “Shit,” Hank said, scanning over his men who all looked to be instantly afraid of what they were hearing.

  “Where did they go?” He moved down to his comrades’ level, inches from their faces. “C’mon, soldier. I need to know. Tell me where they went, and I’ll make it worth your while. I can get you the governor’s favor in a heartbeat. I can make your life a dream when we get back to town. Just tell me which way they went.”

  Ewan and Petri looked at each other. “I don’t know. They left us here and took half the village with them.”

  Shit, Hank thought. Well, what the fuck was he supposed to do now with no leads? All he had were two beaten-down soldiers, a flock of men, and a field full of blood.

  He looked at the floor and spotted something which took his interest. A spare rope, frayed and cut, lay askew on the floor.

 
“Whose is that?” Hank said, threatening to explode once more.

  The guards were silent.

  “Whose. Is. That?” Hank bellowed.

  Ewan answered. “It’s Ash’s. They set him free, and he left some time ago. We’ve not seen him come back.”

  “He’s with her?”

  “We don’t know,” Petri said, looking at the floor. “They sent him on his way before they left. Told him to go back to Silver Creek. As far as we know, that’s where he’s heading.”

  Hank looked out the window, imagining the guard running through the trees, sprinting back to join them in the safety of the Creek. He didn’t expect to see the head poking up, staring through the window.

  The man ducked out of the way.

  “Get him!” Hank shouted.

  A second later, several guards returned into the house with the man wriggling between their clutches. They threw him at Hank’s feet. He looked around as if for an escape, but clearly knew it was useless.

  “Enjoying the view?” Hank asked, using the rusted end of his blade to force the man’s chin up. His eyes were slits, red and bloodshot. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t use your body to give this place a fresh coat of paint.”

  “Because I know which way they went!” the rat-man said with a hungry look in his eye, nodding as he spoke. “Please. I can take you to them. I promise. Please don’t kill me.”

  “Excellent,” Hank said, turning sharply and slicing his sword across the necks of Petri and Ewan. Blood poured from their throats and waterfalled down their bodies. They slid down and flopped onto the floor.

  A smile lingered on Hank’s face. If he could use the rat-man to find the rest of the crew, what need did he have for the two guards who had managed to get themselves captured?

  Silver Creek Forest

  Mary-Anne looked back over her shoulder at Kain as they marched through the forest. Truth be told, he was pissing her off. When she had taken refuge at her old manor last night, it had been with the intention of being able to speed back over to Caitlin and the ship the moment darkness fell.