There was a low chuckle as the person on the other side of the fence considered that.
“Can’t rightly say as I have. Hold on.” There was a clink, a clank, and a section of the brick wall swept back on well-oiled bearings to reveal a small man with a graying beard and a rifle slung over his shoulder. His eyes swept over me and my horse as we walked through. He closed the gate and threw the deadbolts which secured it.
“Welcome to Crab Orchard Lake. I’m Jubal. And you are?” the old man asked.
“Joshua Andrews. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the help.” I walked Judy a bit down the road then checked her out from head to tail. I spent a good amount of time on her hooves, since I didn’t want to see any cracks that might become a problem. Jubal watched me with what might have been approval.
“Good to see a man take care of his horse. Tells me a lot about you. You plan on sticking around?” Jubal asked.
“Just passing through. I’m on my way to the Garden of the Gods,” I said.
“Well, you’re headed the right way. Follow this road until you start to see the signs. You can’t miss it.”
“Anything I need to worry about?” I asked.
“You just rode through a city of Trippers and made it out alive. I’d say you’d seen the worst of things around here,” Jubal said.
“Thanks. How’s life around these parts?” I was curious to see how things were in what I considered the more remote parts of the state.
“Pretty much the same as it was before things went south. The only thing we miss around here is utilities, but we’ve adapted. Most homes have windmills and such for power, and water is hand pumped,” Jubal said. “We’ve moved everyone south of Route 13, and it’s been pretty effective. Haven’t had a bad outbreak in a while, and Carbondale is the only no-go zone. Murphysboro has people there, but they’re their own kind, if you get me.”
“Very nice.” I thought for a minute. “Jubal is a name I’ve not heard in a while. Your dad a L’Amour fan by any chance?” I asked.
Jubal smiled broadly beneath his beard. “Yes, he was. Nice to meet a well-read man.” Jubal put out his hand and I gladly shook it.
“Well sir, I appreciate your help. I’ll be on my way,” I said.
Jubal nodded. “If you’re of a mind to settle down around here, you’re more than welcome. Plenty of room for everybody, and I daresay you can earn your keep if you’re out here by yourself.” He looked down at my Colt. “You any good with that?”
In response, I drew my gun in a flash, aiming between him and Judy. His eyes got big, then thoughtful. I put it back in its holster as I nodded. “Probably better than I ought to be, but it’s saved me a time or two.”
Jubal sighed with a slight smirk. “Well, if you’re of a mind, we might find a place for you as a kind of lawman for these parts. We have a gent, but he’s older, and some of the younger crowd have been testing him more than they should. Might be you could apprentice to him for a couple years then take over. If you’re interested.”
Well, there it was. A strange feeling came over me, like someone was standing behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder. I almost believed that if I turned my head, I would see my father standing there. Right then, I knew what I was, and what I was supposed to do. It was also a place I could belong, a place that finally wanted me there.
“Jubal, I have some things to take care of first, and some places I want to see, but yours is the best offer I’ve had. I do have to say I’m only sixteen,” I said, suddenly worrying that he might take the offer back.
Jubal smiled again. “Son, I’d say you’ve been a man since about four years back. You do what you need, and I’ll talk to the people I need to talk to in the meantime. Come to think of it, I’ll let them know you’re headed that way. Wouldn’t want them to cause a fuss. I figure you’ll be back sometime before winter hits us?”
I mounted up on Judy. She was much better and ready to walk at least. “I’ll plan on trying to be here before winter, if not, I’ll for sure be here by next spring.”
Jubal patted Judy then shook my hand. “Sounds good. We’ll be expecting you. Just get yourself to Marion and tell them who you are. The man you’ll be working with is Bennett Adams. Good man, just not able to keep up like he used to.” Jubal chuckled. “Who can?” he asked, referring to himself.
“My thanks, Jubal. Up to now, I was just drifting, not sure where I would end up. But this feels right, if you know what I mean,” I said.
“I do, son. I had a funny feeling when I saw you that you were the right one to make the offer to, and I’m glad I did. See you in a few months.”
“I’ll be here,” I promised. And I meant it like nothing else I had meant before.
Judy and I rode along the road, and I felt like I was practically floating. I had a purpose, and a place that would want me. I considered for a moment not going back to Frankfort, just staying here. But I had some things of my father and mother that I wanted to bring down, and there was Kim. I hoped she would want to come with me, start a life in a place that seemed to still be alive, instead of existing on the edge of extinction.
We reached I-57, and it took me a minute to realize that this was the same I-57 that went all the way up towards my home. I scratched Judy behind the ears.
“Well, Judy, since we’re headed back this way anyway, I guess the Garden of the Gods will have to wait,” I said, patting her on the neck. “We’ll find a place to rest for the day and night, then head up in the morning. Sound good?”
All I got for an answer was a single ear pointed back at me.
I met with some people who as it turned out were waiting for me. We spoke for a good while, and I told them about my father and what he did after the Trippers came. I learned about the area south of 13, and it was an interesting tale. Turns out that the glaciers that once covered the land ended here, and the land they pushed in front of them created the hills that protected the southern end of the state. The hills were essentially a time machine. On the north side, you could see what the land looked like after the glaciers stomped them flat. On the south side, you could see what the land was like before the glaciers. We spoke for a long time, and I felt like I was taking part in a kind of interview.
The men asked me to demonstrate my skills with gun and bow, and were suitably impressed with both. I learned there were a lot of bow hunters in these parts, so they took those skills seriously.
At the end of things, I was offered the apprenticeship officially, and I gratefully accepted. Bennett Adams was there to shake my hand, and he seemed genuinely pleased to be getting me as a trainee.
After a couple of days resting up for the journey ahead, Judy and I took to the trail one more time.
We walked up the ramp to the road, and from there, I got a good look at Marion. I could see quite a few lines of smoke from cook fires, and I lost count of the number of windmills that were sticking up like iron wheat over the city. A man in a watchtower raised a hand to me, and I tipped my hat in return. I guess Jubal made his call.
“See you soon,” I said, smiling to myself.
Chapter 35
We traveled for a few hours that first day, then I spotted a farm to try and spend the night in. It looked unoccupied, and I didn’t see any evidence that anyone had lived there for a while. There was no garden, no windmill, and no trampled grass from livestock or people. It was just a lonely home in the middle of a lonely stretch of land. There was a small pond situated near the home, and I could see a small slide on a platform floating in the middle of it. It was kind of sad to think that once upon a time that pond was a place kids played and enjoyed their summers.
Getting to the farm was pretty easy; we just left the highway and walked down a hill. I had found that the highway had a fence running along for most of the way, but the fences dropped away around bridges and overpasses. There were a lot of corpses along the fences, Trippers that got themselves stuck and eventually the elements did them in. God knows how long that took, given what wa
s needed to kill them in the first place. In my imagination, I saw hundreds of Trippers stuck in the fence, then lightning struck, scrambling whatever circuit they had left in their brains permanently.
The house was in decent shape. It looked like it had been abandoned somewhat recently, although I wasn’t much of a judge of such things. The interior was a little dusty, but there wasn’t any sign of struggle. I wondered if this family had moved south to be with the communities I had found.
I put Judy up in the large outbuilding behind the house. It wasn’t a barn, technically, but it was large enough for a few horses. I managed to pull in some grass for her and fill a small bucket with water from the pond.
For the remainder of the day, I just cleaned my guns, sharpened my knife, and tended to my bow and arrows. From the porch of the house, I could see for miles in any direction, and didn’t see any threats. I went to sleep in a small bedroom overlooking the farm’s yard.
I awoke with a start, staring into a leering face.
“Morning, sunshine!” The face pulled back to be replaced with a fist headed towards my nose.
I jerked my head to the side, and within the same movement, I drew my knife from its sheath, slashing the intruder across the chest with the blade. The knife was sharp enough to cut deep, and I was pretty sure I felt the knife scrape the bone of a couple ribs.
The man drew back with a scream, staring down at the blood pouring out of the huge cut across his chest. He fell to his knees as I scrambled out of bed, looking for more threats. The man grasped his chest and tried to pull a gun out of his belt, but I moved faster. I literally slapped him across the throat with my knife, opening him up a second time. The man gurgled as blood poured into his lungs, choking him. He fell over and died as the life drained out of him all over the floor.
I flipped my gun belt around my hips and grabbed up my rifle. I went to the windows and looked outside. Four more men were out there, mounted and waiting. I cursed when I recognized one of the men. It was Mort Piker.
I stayed back in the house to avoid being seen, but there was no way to get downstairs safely. If they decided to burn the place, I was in serious trouble. I had to get out and get out now.
I went to the back of the house and looked out the windows. The porch roof was under the windows here, so that would have to do. I slipped out the window, moved lightly across the roof, then dropped to the ground. I stepped away from the house backwards to be able to see both sides, but no one heard me and no one was coming.
So far, so good. I had a thousand questions running through my head. Why in hell was Mort Piker here, of all places? It made no sense that he might have trailed me down here. Was he looking for revenge? I would have thought he’d have learned his lesson and let well enough alone when I got away from him the last time.
I wasn’t looking for a fight right now; I actually had something to live for and look forward to. The thought of Mort Piker being here started a small seed of anger that sprouted into a full-blown rage the longer I thought about it.
I slipped into the tall weeds that surrounded the house and kept going back, making sure the house screened my movements. I could hear some shouting and then there was a long pause. I didn’t hear anything else as I moved around, staying low to the ground. I was trying to circle around them, and try and take them from the rear, as surprise usually won the day.
As I moved, I cursed myself for sleeping so soundly, or for thinking I was safe anywhere. I should have bunked out in the outbuilding with Judy; she would have alerted me to anyone coming near.
As soon as I thought about Judy, I suddenly got worried. I wouldn’t put it past Mort to kill my horse in revenge for me killing his man. I moved faster, staying low and hoping that I judged the distance right.
I heard more shouting now; this time, it was angry and demanding.
“Andrews! I know you’re in there! I don’t know what you did with my man, but you’d better get out here before I set fire to the building where your horse is! You want her to burn? Show yourself!” Mort shouted.
I could hear him clearly to my right, which meant I had gotten behind them. I stood slowly, coming up with my rifle raised. Three of the men were on their horses still, while a fourth was doing something over by the outbuilding that housed Judy. I could hear her whinnying, being upset over the voices she was hearing outside.
“Have it your way, Andrews! Light her up!” Piker shouted.
The man over by the building struck a match, and was holding it to a bottle that held some kind of fluid. I aimed at him first and fired.
I didn’t bother to see where I placed my shot, I just saw him go down out of the corner of my eye as I shifted my aim to the men on the horses. They were twisting around and bringing up their guns. I fired rapidly, sending shot after shot into the men who had tracked me, who would kill me and my horse without a second thought.
All three men went down, but not after a couple got shots off. One bullet flew past my face while I felt another tug at my arm, and their horses ran off a few paces. I didn’t know if I had killed anyone or if they had ducked for cover. I went down to one knee and fumbled rounds out of my pocket and into the magazine tube of my rifle. When I had refilled it, I got up again and went forward, keeping my sights on the men on the ground.
I went over to the man by the outbuilding first and one look showed me he was done. The bullet had entered his chest and exited his back, and if the wound hadn’t killed him, then the amount of blood he had lost surely had.
Three men lay on the ground, and only one was moving. I went over to them and saw two were dead, and the third one was one his way. It was Mort Piker, and he was trying to hold closed a wound in his side. Another wound was in his chest, high up.
“God damn you!” Mort cursed quietly. “God damn you!”
I knelt down next to him. I looked over the wound and saw that there was nothing I could do.
“Why? Why did you hunt me? I was far away. None of this was necessary,” I said.
Mort lay back and stared at the sky. “You shamed me, made me look weak in front of my men. You killed my men,” Mort whispered. “Swore to kill you.”
I shook my head. “Stupid reason to get yourself killed,” I said. “I was done with you, never wanting to set foot in your territory again.” It didn’t make sense to me, to track someone so far just for revenge.
Chapter 35
Mort sighed, and I saw he was gone. I left him there as I rounded up the horses. I let Judy out and the five of them got used to each other. I went through their packs and found several things I could use. I put their guns in one pack on one horse and the usable supplies on another. I let another horse carry my supplies, since Judy could use the break.
I rode out with a string of horses behind me. They fell in line pretty well, but the travel was a little slower. I had to stop more often, and as the day went on, I had a bit of a time figuring out what the heck I was going to do with them. Trying to find a place for one horse was tough enough. Finding food and water for five more was a tall order.
I was reluctant to give them up since horses were valuable, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured maybe the best thing to do was to strip them of their tack and set them free.
I got off Judy and began taking the saddles and bags off the horses. I took them one by one to the other side of the fence by the road, where there was plenty of grass and water. I saved one to use as a packhorse, since I seemed to be accumulating more stuff than I could carry on Judy. She was a young horse, maybe two or three years old. She stayed close to Judy even off the rope, so I figured she’d be a good companion. She was light tan color, with a star of white on her forehead. Her mane and tail were a darker brown, and she was a good walker. I decided to call her Missy. Not for any particular reason could I tell you, but that was the first name that popped into my head. She seemed like she would be named that.
We moved on and the horses I had freed followed for a time before drifting off. I didn�
��t worry too much about them. Trippers wouldn’t bother them and anyone finding them would keep them safe.
We kept walking, and worked our way up I-57. It was about as uneventful as I could hope for, at least for the time being. I had looked at my map and knew there were at least two large towns that would present interesting problems. I was a little concerned about how Missy would handle a Tripper. I knew Judy would kick the hell out of them if she didn’t just ignore them, but Missy was a different animal. She wasn’t as old or as wise as Judy, and I wondered if the older girl would teach the younger one how to behave. God knows Judy never listened to me.
We passed Johnston City without incident, but from my vantage point, I could see that the city had been hard hit. There were cars wrecked all over the place and several buildings had scorch marks. By the look of things, the Trippers had had their way with this place and turned it upside down.
“Hello, who’s this?” I asked, speaking to no one in particular. Up the road, a lone man was walking towards us. He shuffled a bit to the side, and by the way Judy’s ears had gone up, I knew it was a Tripper. I reached back to grab my bow when Missy suddenly went a little nuts. She pulled at her lead rope and I had the option to either let her go or get pulled off Judy. I decided to let her go and she ran forward, charging the Tripper.
Missy plowed into the man, knocking him off his feet and propelling him backwards. She jumped towards the fallen Tripper and landed on him with both front hooves. She quite literally pounded him to pulp.
When the Tripper was quite dead, Missy trotted back to us like nothing had happened. I took up her lead rope again and we started forward.
“Good girl,” I said. Judy had nothing to say on the matter. I made sure we walked through some heavy grass to clear her hooves of the Tripper’s blood as we moved past the town.
The day wore on and we kept moving. The next big city in our way was West Frankfort, and I figured we would likely leave the highway and head a little ways around the city to keep out of the way of any Trippers that might still be in the area. I was actually stunned I hadn’t seen more, but I wasn’t about to argue the point.
Born in the Apocalypse 2: State of Ruin Page 13