The Pure: Book Three of the Oz Chronicles

by R. W. Ridley

  “I bit my bottom lip. I hoped against hope that he didn’t just call my name. Why me? Tank was bigger and closer. Anyone but me. April nudged me. I rolled my eyes and slowly stood.

  “‘Hey... Bashir,” I said.

  “The grunting monster looked almost puzzled by my attempt to communicate with him.

  “‘Let him go.’ I wanted to laugh at my own lack of leverage for Little Bobby’s release. How could I possibly convince this obviously unthinking beast to release Bobby? I might as well have demanded that it recite the Gettysburg Address in pig Latin.

  “‘Bashirs don’t negotiate,’ Carl shouted as he moved to a forward position.

  “‘Yeah, I’m getting that.’ The Bashir shifted its gaze between Carl and me. ‘Any ideas?’

  “‘We kill it,” Carl said.

  “‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Anyway you can do that without hurting Bobby?’

  “‘Probably, if we had time to formulate a plan, but time is something we don’t have.’

  “‘What do you mean?’

  “‘I mean I’ve never heard that bugle cry before. In fact, never heard a Bashir do anything more than grunt and squeak. I got a feeling he just sent a message to his friends somewhere out there.’

  “‘So?’

  “‘So, I’m guessing the message is ‘Look what I found.’

  “I examined how the Bashir was holding Bobby. I could only describe it as carefully. He had no intention of hurting Bobby.

  “‘What’s so special about, Bobby?’ I asked.

  “‘Must’ve heard he does cartwheels,’ Jerry said. This drew a series of chuckles from Carl’s group, which did not please him at all.

  “‘Don’t know what they want with him,’ Carl said. ‘Don’t care. I just want to put an arrow through the thing’s head before he decides to call his friends again.

  “‘You can’t. You might hit Bobby.’

  “‘Not my biggest concern right now,’ Carl said. ‘I just want to keep a herd of these big uglies from knowing our little community’s location.’

  “‘But...’

  “The Bashir raised its head in preparation to let out another bugle call. Carl pulled back on the string of his bow and instructed his soldiers to do the same.

  “‘Wait, wait, wait,’ I said ‘Don’t...’

  “Before I could finish, the Bashir let out a garbled bark. I turned to see it fall face first to the ground. An arrow was sticking out of its ear.

  “On the top of the hill, still standing where she was when we entered the little arena, Madison lowered her bow.

  “‘Ease off, men,’ Carl barked. ‘Nice shot, Maddy.’ He pulled out a large hunting knife and approached the Bashir. ‘That didn’t go as planned,’ he said kneeling down.

  “‘You had a plan?’ I asked.

  “‘Of sorts,’ he said as he jammed the knife in the Bashir’s arrow-free ear making a sickening, slicing sound.

  “‘What was your plan?’

  “‘Maybe they were more like expectations than a plan.’ He pulled the knife out and cleaned the blade on his pant leg.

  “‘Okay,’ I said. ‘What were your expectations?’

  “‘That the Bashir would pound you into raw meat.’

  “I swallowed hard.

  “‘Don’t take it personal,’ he said. ‘That’s the way these things usually go, but for some reason the Bashir took a keen interest in Mr. Cartwheel.’

  “Little Bobby examined the dead Bashir with great interest. He was fascinated by it. More so than I think I had ever seen him.

  “‘Well,’ I said, ‘I once heard that animals go after the weakest in the group.’

  “Carl laughed. ‘Son, to the Bashir we’re all the weakest. And just because this thing isn’t human doesn’t make it an animal. No, sir, there’s something more to it than that. The Bashir wanted Bobby. That sound it made. He was telling all his friends he found something... maybe something they’ve been looking for.’

  “Bobby tapped Carl on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me, Mr. Carl, but can I have the claw?’

  “Carl looked at him perplexed. ‘What claw?’

  “‘The Bashir’s claw. I need it.’

  “Carl shook his head. ‘Bashir’s don’t have claws, Bobby.’ He returned to our conversation. ‘I’m not so sure it was a good idea bringing you all into our camp.’

  “‘Wait a minute,’ I said. ‘We didn’t exactly come here by our own free will.’

  “‘Well, you’re here now so I can’t let you leave...’

  “‘Yes they do,” Little Bobby said.

  “‘What?’ Carl barked.

  “‘Have a claw.’ Bobby leaned down and picked up the Bashir’s heavy arm. ‘See,’ he grunted. There was a pouch on the underside of the wrist. Bobby pushed the tough fleshy hide beneath the pouch and a razor-sharp claw shot out like a switchblade.

  “‘I’ll be a...’ Carl started as he leaned in to examine the claw. He peered up at Little Bobby. ‘How did you know it was there?’

  “‘That’s where it’s supposed to be,’ Little Bobby answered.

  “‘What does that mean?’ Carl asked.

  “Bobby shrugged his shoulders. ‘Can I have it?’

  “Carl nodded and slit the pouch open with his hunting knife. With some effort, he cut through the Bashir’s arm and removed the claw. He handed it to Little Bobby.

  “‘Thanks,’ Little Bobby said. ‘This will help a lot.’

  “Carl stared at Bobby for several seconds. ‘I don’t like this.’ He turned to the punk I had knocked out earlier and said, Take them back to the pens.’ He walked to the middle of the field. ‘The tests are cancelled for today.’ The crowd groaned with disappointment. ‘See your duty sergeants ASAP for your day’s assignment.’ The crowd immediately began to disburse. ‘Captains!’ Carl barked. ‘The library in five!’ He stormed off without another word.”

  ***

  “They put us in separate pens after the incident at the arena. They truly didn’t know what to do with us, and I guess they thought that keeping us apart was the safest course of action. We could still see each other and carry on conversations, but we couldn’t huddle together and seek comfort in the closeness of each other.

  “Little Bobby curled up in his pen holding onto the Bashir’s claw. He was asleep shortly after they padlocked his pen door. He had a strange smile on his face as he snoozed the late morning away.

  “The rest of us were pensive to say the least. Tank paced stooped over in his pen. April rocked back and forth hugging her knees to her chest. I picked at the ground and tossed scraps of dirt and grass into a little pile in front of me. We didn’t speak to each other for a long time. It may have had something to do with the other captives being so close by, but I think it was more that we were afraid of what we might say.

  “Tank was the first to break the silence. He stopped pacing and propped himself up with his hands on the chain link wall of his pen. ‘You ever catch your old man in a lie, Archie?’

  “I looked at him puzzled. ‘What?’

  “‘My old man was in Vietnam. He used to talk about it all the time. The stuff they did. Not the bad stuff you read about in books and see in movies. The good stuff... acts of bravery, you know?’

  “‘Yeah,’ I said.

  “‘By the time I was ten I thought the only difference between Superman and my dad was that Superman could fly.’ He sat down. ‘Then one day I caught my old man in a lie. I can’t even remember what it was. Something small. Lied to my mom about how much he spent on something, I think. My mom was pretty tight with the dollar. She had the old man on a short leash when it came to the household budget. He was scared to death of her when it came to spending money.’

  “‘People lie,’ I said. ‘Some lies are bigger than others, that’s all.’

  “‘I know,’ he said. ‘I get that. But I started thinking about all his war stories. All those brave things he’d done. What if those were lies, too?’

  “‘Just cause he lied
once doesn’t mean he lied all the time,’ April interjected.

  “Tank shook his head. ‘It was more than once. I started keeping count of the lies he told. He lied a lot.’

  “‘C’mon, I think you’re reading too much into it. I’m sure your dad was a good guy,’ I said.

  “He nodded. ‘He was. I’m just not sure he was the guy I wanted him to be. The guy in those stories he used to tell. I want to be like that guy. If he lied about that, then that means I want to be a lie.’

  “I thought about what he said and finally asked, ‘It doesn’t matter how much your dad lied anymore, does it?’

  “‘Does to me,’ he said.

  “‘Well, it doesn’t to me,’ I said sounding too much like Carl.

  “‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Tank asked.

  “‘It means the world where your old man told lies is dead! It’s over! It’s gone! Along with every stupid little insignificant lie he told. Be your own man, Tank! Stop moaning and crying about the man your dad wasn’t and be the man you want to be! That’s what matters to me and April and Little Bobby. Got it?’

  “He gave me the same look he’d given me when I punched Little Bobby in his bite wound. ‘You’re a real jerk, you know that, Archie?’

  “I kicked at the pile of dirt and grass I had created. ‘Yeah, I guess I am.’ I could feel myself losing my cool so I turned away from the others and closed my eyes tightly. I wanted this all to be a bad dream. Maybe if I closed my eyes long enough, I would open them and the world wouldn’t be this turned upside down crazy mess that it was.

  “I opened my eyes at the sound of Little Bobby screaming. Two of Carl’s goons had come down from the mansion and were pulling him out of his pen.

  “‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘Leave him alone.’

  “Tank started pulling on the chain link wall of his pen. ‘Hey, get your hands off him!’

  “‘Let go,’ Little Bobby screamed. ‘I don’t want to go! Archie!’

  “‘Hey, hey, fellas,’ I said. ‘C’mon, have a heart.’

  “The goons ignored us.

  “‘Stop them,’ April pleaded with me.

  “‘Take me,’ I said. ‘I’m the leader remember? Take me.’

  “Tank violently jerked on his chain link enclosure. ‘I’m going to rip your head off!’ he barked.

  “The goons chuckled at this threat. One of them said, ‘Carl wants to see him do a couple of cartwheels, that’s all.’

  “They jostled Little Bobby and pushed him past the pens. I slapped the side of my pen. ‘If he gets hurt, I’m holding you responsible.’ Upon hearing that, one of the goons slapped Little Bobby on the back of the head hard enough to make him cry out in pain.

  “They disappeared around the corner. Madison appeared shortly after they had gone.

  “‘Bring him back, Madison,’ I said.

  “‘He’ll be all right,’ she said. ‘Trust me.’

  “Tank laughed sarcastically. ‘Trust you? Sure, okay. You kidnap us and lock us in cages and we’re supposed to trust you.’

  “‘We’re just trying to protect the community,’ Madison said. ‘You want to help him. Tell me everything you know about him.’

  “‘What’s to tell?’ I said. ‘He used to be a jockey. He’s a little slow. I found him in Alabama. Mobile. He’s harmless.’

  “‘Why would the Bashir be so interested in him?’ she asked. “‘I don’t know and neither does Bobby. You’re wasting your time if you’re trying to get any information out of him.’

  “‘It’s the bite!’ April said.

  “‘What?’ Madison said walking over to her pen.

  “‘The skinner dead bite. We were attacked by some skinner dead and one of them bit Bobby. That’s it. The Bashir smelled the bite. That’s all,” April said with such confidence that I was willing to accept it as an explanation.

  “‘Doubtful,’ Madison said. She turned to me. ‘You fought off some skinner dead?’

  “I looked at Tank and April before I answered. ‘We got away.’

  “‘Impressive,’ she said. ‘They’ve taken out more than a few of our own.’

  “I hung my head. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that they would have gotten us all if it weren’t for Lou.

  “Madison leaned in close to me and said quietly, ‘I’ll do what I can to protect Bobby, but you gotta tell me everything you know.’

  “‘I have,’ I said.

  “She sighed deeply. ‘All right. Try not to worry. If the Bashir see a value in Bobby then so does Carl. He’s not going to do anything to jeopardize that.’

  “‘Yeah, well Carl doesn’t exactly strike me as the most rational guy on the planet.’

  “She smiled. ‘Bobby will be okay.’

  “I shook my head. ‘I don’t get it. You’re not like the others. You see through Carl’s crap. I can see it in your eyes. Why are you so loyal to him?’

  “This time she dropped her head. ‘He’s my father.’

  “Shocked by her revelation all I could say was ‘Whoa.’

  “She nodded. ‘Bobby will be fine.’ She turned on her heels and walked back to the house.

  “‘You trust her?’ Tank asked.

  “I looked at him for a long time before I answered. ‘I don’t know if I trust anybody.’

  “He nodded. ‘Me either.’”

  ***

  “It was nightfall before we saw anyone else from the community. Jerry and the two goons who took Little Bobby entered the pen area and unlocked our doors. They didn’t talk. They just stood and waited for us to exit the pens on our own. We did so reluctantly.

  “With no verbal communication at all, Jerry and the other two directed us to the front yard of the house. The entire community had gathered around a huge bonfire. The crowd parted as we entered. Carl and the rest of his captains stood near the flames. We approached tentatively. I scanned the area for Bobby, but he was nowhere to be found.

  “‘We sent out a scout team after your test today,’ Carl said.

  “‘Where’s Bobby?’ I asked.

  “‘I’ve trained my people well,’ he said ignoring my question.

  “‘Congratulations. Where’s Bobby?’

  “‘The scout team is made up of some of my best.’

  “‘I don’t care about your scout team,’ I said. ‘Where’s Bobby?’

  “‘I sent them looking for any signs of Bashir.’

  “‘Terrific! Where is Bobby?’

  “‘They didn’t find any Bashir, but they did find this.’ He stepped back, and somebody was shoved forward. It was a girl. Her disheveled chestnut hair covered her face. She brushed it back and I saw Lou’s bruised face looking back at me.

  “I stepped forward, but Jerry grabbed my arm. I tried to work myself free of his grip, but I was grabbed by another one of Carl’s goons.

  “‘A friend of yours?’ Carl asked.

  “‘We’ve met,’ I said.

  “‘She doesn’t talk much.’ Carl grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back.

  “‘Take it easy,’ I said. ‘She’s just a kid.’

  “‘Kid?’ Carl laughed. ‘Charlie, Randy, Melissa, front and center.’ Three battered and beaten members of Carl’s community stepped forward. ‘Meet my scout team.’

  “I held back a smile. ‘She’s still just a kid,’ I said.

  “Carl shoved her forward and let go of her hair. Lou stumbled and landed at my feet. I helped her up.

  “‘You okay?’ I asked.

  “She winked.

  “‘This has gone too far now,’ I said. ‘You should let us go. We’ll take Bobby and get out of here.’

  “‘Lou!’ A voice cried. I turned to see Madison escorting Bobby from the front porch of the house. ‘It’s Lou. It’s Lou. She saved me from the dead people.’

  “Carl scratched the back of his neck. ‘It’s true you people have proven to be quite the liability.’

  “‘Then let us go,’ April pleaded.


  “‘Can’t,’ Carl said. ‘You know where we are.’

  “‘Hey, genius,’ Tank said. ‘If you’re so worried about keeping this place a secret, why do you have a bonfire shooting flames twenty feet into the air?’

  “Carl admired the fire. ‘Beautiful, isn’t it? But it’s not for show. It’s for protection.’

  “‘Protection?’ April asked.

  “‘The lung locusts are coming tonight.’

  “‘Lung locusts?’ I said looking at Lou to see if she knew what he was talking about. She turned away. Not a good sign.

  “‘We call them that, but to be honest we don’t know what they really are. They come by the billions. They fill the sky. Black out the night. And they come every sixty-three days. There’s so many of them that you can’t help but breathe them in. They fill your lungs, and you drown in locusts.’

  “‘Gee, that sounds fun,’ Tank said. ‘Why don’t you just go in the house?’

  “‘They get in the house. This is the safest place. We only lost five people last time, but they were the draws.’

  “‘The draws?’ I asked.

  “‘The locusts are drawn to blood. We post five people on the farthest points of the property to draw most of the locusts away from us. The fire protects us from the rest.’

  “I did the math in my head. With Lou, our group was now five members strong. ‘Five, huh?’ I said.

  “Carl smiles. ‘You catch on quick. Takes care of two problems for us. What to do with you and who we’re going to sacrifice as draws.’

  “‘Wait a minute,’ Tank barked. ‘No... you can just forget it. I’m not standing out there waiting... to be swarmed by...’

  “Carl laughed. ‘You didn’t really think we were going to ask you to volunteer. I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter.’

  “‘You think I’m just going to stand out there and let those things...’ Tank started.

  “‘Again,’ Carl said. ‘You underestimate us. Your accommodations have been arranged.’

  “‘Accommodations?’ Tank said.

  “April shrieked. We all turned to see her frantically raking her hands through her hair, and hopping around like she had suddenly gone insane. ‘Get it off! Get it off!’