Riders of the Apocalypse (Book 1): Ride For Tomorrow

by Westmore, Alex

  “And then?”

  “Then empty your rifles into the truck a la Bonnie and Clyde. Don’t stop shooting until that truck comes to a halt.”

  “Now you’re talkin’!” Butcher said, hefting her rifle. “Everyone be safe. Dallas, we’ll meet you at the Hummer once it’s secure.”

  After Butcher, Safety, and Einstein took off, Dallas glanced over at Roper. “I wish there was another way.”

  “There isn’t. You know how people started looting after Katrina hit? There will always be those people who will use human suffering to their advantage. There will always be those who couldn’t care less about society. Those assholes fit the bill. If you think for one second he wouldn’t have shot the kid, you’re a fool.”

  Dallas stopped Morgana just as they came to a deer trail that headed right for the freeway. “I do know that. I just...don’t want to lose my own humanity.”

  “Your humanity won’t do you any good if you’re dead.” Roper scanned the area in front of them. “Here’s what I think we oughtta do. You bring Morgana up behind the Hummer on that path. Merlin and I are going to make a kick ass entrance over there by jumping the guard rail and landing smack dab in front of the Hummer and nearly on top of Cue-Ball. That oughtta get his attention.”

  Dallas nodded. “Don’t kill him until we find out where Peanut is.”

  “Roger that.” Turning her horse on a dime, Roper rode hard and fast toward the Hummer. As she got closer, she leaned into the large horse and whispered, “One last ride for old times, dear friend.” Up and over the guard rail they went, gliding on air, sweat glistening in the late afternoon sun. The horse was magic in motion as he landed with as much grace as his take off, and in five, long strides, Roper towered over Cue-Ball.

  “Oh my God! Thank God, thank God!” Cue-Ball exclaimed, holding his head in his hands. “Please! Help me. You have to help me.”

  Roper ignored him and aimed her rifle at the Hummer. What she saw turned her skin inside out. “What. The. Fuck?”

  “She turned! Right there in the Hummer! One second, she was sleeping under a blanket, the next she was all over Castleman, biting his neck and shoulders. When he turned to fight her off, I shoved the door open and jumped out just as she lunged for me. She would have…would have attacked me, too!”

  Lowering her rifle, Roper watched with a churning stomach as Peanut ripped large chunks of meat from Castleman’s body and stuffed them in her small mouth like some starving person. Delray, whom she had apparently bitten as well and had already turned, joined her in the consumption.

  “Jesus...” Roper pushed the bile back down her throat. Waving Dallas to come, Roper leveled her rifle at Cue. “You’re the cause of this, you sorry ass motherfucker.”

  “Look...I know it must seem like—”

  “Shut the fuck up. I don’t want to hear it. Save it for someone who gives a shit about you, because I sure as shit don’t.”

  As Dallas’s horse clipped by the Hummer, she had her rifle aimed just as Roper had, only when she saw the activity going on inside, she leaned over the side of Morgana and vomited.

  “Where’s the truck?” Roper asked Cue.

  “Went for gas. There’s a mini-mart off the road back there, and they went for a gas can and gas.”

  When she was done vomiting, Dallas rode over to them

  “They went back to that mini-mart for gas and a gas can since Safety had taken ours with him,” Roper explained to her.

  Dallas nodded. “Let’s release the horses and hide behind the Hummer. If they get this far, we should be able to easily pick them off or, at the very least, incapacitate the truck.”

  “What about him?” Roper jabbed her rifle toward Cue.

  “We’ll deal with him later. Get behind the Hummer.”

  Both women dismounted, and Roper sent them toward a small hill.

  Cue did not move. “I...I can’t go near that. What if the door accidentally opens?”

  “Then you’ll get what’s coming to you. Now get behind the goddamned Hummer.” Roper slammed him between the shoulder blades, pushing him forward.

  When they came around the back, Peanut whirled around and started beating on the back window, leaving fresh, bloody handprints all over the glass as she snarled at him.

  That was when Zeus saw her.

  Roper and Dallas watched as the dog stood on the bumper with his front paws and whined. Peanut didn’t give the dog a second glance, but growled like a trapped animal at Cue-Ball.

  “She hates you almost as much as we do,” Roper said, pulling Zeus back down. “Down, boy. She’s not who you think she is.”

  Suddenly, two shots rang out, followed by a cacophony of gunfire.

  “That’s Butcher. They’re returning fire.” Roper looked down her sights and waited for the truck to come barreling down the road right toward them.

  Roper sent her first shot into the windshield, causing the driver to veer away from the Hummer and onto the cement center divider, catapulting the man in the bed of the truck over the cab and into the oleander bushes lining the freeway.

  Roper, Dallas, and Zeus surrounded the truck. The driver was slumped over the wheel, blood running down the side of his face.

  “Get out of the truck!” Roper ordered the passenger, who raised his hands in the air in surrender.

  “Don’t shoot! Please!”

  “Get out and shut up.”

  When the passenger got out, Dallas opened the driver’s door and pulled him to the ground. Moaning came from the side of the road; the ejected passenger was slowly coming back to life. Reaching in, Dallas took the keys.

  “What...what happened? Where’s Castleman?”

  “Dead. In the Hummer.”

  “You killed him?”

  Dallas shook her head. “No. We didn’t. Now, step away from the truck.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Well, we are going to get in our Hummer and get the hell out of here. What you assholes do is none of our concern.”

  “You’re not gonna just leave us here!”

  “Actually, we are. Get in the back of the truck.”

  The guy looked over at his friend, who was trying to get to his feet without realizing his leg, from the knee down, was shattered and bloody.

  “Get your buddy, then get in the bed of the truck. Move from there and that woman on the horse will put you down. Understand?”

  He nodded as he leapt over the divider to help his friend to the truck.

  Just as Butcher rode up on one side, Safety and Einstein rode up on the other.

  Roper reached for Einstein as he leapt from the horse. “Where’s Peanut?” he asked, looking around.

  Putting her arm around his shoulders, Roper walked away from the group with him. “There’s no easy way to say this, kid. Peanut turned.”

  He managed a stoic countenance for a split second before wrapping his arms around her and sobbing. “No, no, no. Not her. Not her.”

  “I know,” she soothed. “I know.” Tears sprang to Roper’s eyes as she stood there holding him.

  Stepping away, Einstein wiped his eyes and drew himself taller. “Where is she?”

  “Still in the Hummer.”

  “I want to see.”

  “No, buddy. That’s a bad idea.”

  He started for the Hummer. Roper let him go.

  “Butcher,” Dallas said, “if these assholes move, kill them both.”

  “Roger that.”

  “You shouldn’t have let him go,” Dallas said softly.

  “We can’t treat him like a child, Dallas. He made up his mind. He’ll have to live with the consequences.”

  “So, what are we gonna do with her?”

  “We’re going to send the rest back down the road on horseback. Then we’re going to open the door and—” Roper looked down. “And kill her.”

  Dallas swallowed more bile. “Yes. And kill her.”

  “You want me to do it?”

  A thick, sad silence hun
g between them. “Would you?”

  “I reckon I’ve killed far more farm animals than you ever have. Sometimes, you just have to put a thing out of its misery. If I look at it like that, it’s not so bad.”

  Dallas’s eyes welled with tears as she held Roper’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “You get everyone out of here. I’ll take care of Peanut and Delray. It’ll be gross in the Hummer until we can clean it out, though. Come back after you hear the shots.”

  “I’m staying with you,” Butcher said.

  Roper nodded. “As long as you’re far enough away when I open the door.”

  “I’ve got your back, Rope. What about these dickheads?”

  Roper sent a disparaging glance at them. “Fuck ‘em.”

  This made Butcher grin. “Good answer.”

  “Wh-what about me?” Cue asked.

  Roper cut her eyes over at Dallas and shook her head. “You screwed us, Cue-Ball, but you also inadvertently saved our lives. There’s a bizarre irony in that.”

  “Please take me back, take me with you, I swear I can do this I didn’t mean what––” His pleas tumbled out without pause and on deaf ears.

  Butcher and Roper simultaneously said, “Hell no.”

  “You made your choice,” Roper said. “You get to live with it now.”

  When Dallas, Safety, and Einstein were nearly out of sight, Butcher turned to Roper. “Let’s do this.”

  “Get in the truck bed,” Roper ordered Cue-Ball, who continued to beg as he climbed into the truck. “Stay in the back.” All three men nodded as they stood in the bed of the truck.

  “How you want to do this?” Butcher asked.

  Roper glanced down at Zeus, who had not left the Hummer since he’d seen Peanut inside. “I’ll open the door and run to that oil spot there. She’ll come right at you. When she does, I’ll take her out.”

  Butcher swallowed hard. “If you can’t pull the trigger in the first five steps, I will.”

  “You won’t have to. I know this is for the best.”

  After walking back over the entire plan, Roper stood at the passenger side of the Hummer and waited for the nod from Butcher before yanking open the door and running to an oil spot twenty feet away.

  As soon as Peanut emerged from the Hummer, Zeus began backing away, whimpering. He knew.

  In that instant, Roper put Peanut in her sights, blew out a breath, and said, “Forgive me, Peanut,” before popping her in the side of the head. She crumpled to a heap on the hot pavement.

  Next, Roper ran over to the driver’s side and pulled open that door. Through the Hummer’s open doors, she could see Zeus tentatively approaching his owner.

  “Okay, fellas, easy does it.”

  Pulling out her knife, Roper kept it at the ready in case they were wrong about the genetic component to their blood lust. Carefully and slowly reaching over, she grabbed Castleman’s bloody shirt and pulled him from the vehicle, where he landed at her feet with a loud splat. To be on the safe side, she put a bullet between what was left of his eyes. As she stared down at the mutilated and partially eaten body of a man who’d probably deserved his nickname, Roper felt no remorse.

  In that instant, she understood Dallas’s fear of them becoming as soul-less as the undead. She understood because she felt that way at this very instant. She was glad he was dead—glad he died a horrible, frightening death at the hands of someone he would have tossed away as someone too weak to concern himself about.

  But this truly was about survival of the fittest, and the fit sometimes had to show no mercy. Mercy was a luxury they could no longer afford, and though Dallas had given Cue-Ball and the last two standing a free pass, Roper wasn’t so sure that was the best thing to do.

  “You okay?” Butcher asked, lowering her rifle slightly.

  “Yeah. Just thinking is all.”

  Raising her rifle, she blew off half the passenger’s head before doing the same with Delray. Checking the back, she said, “We’re clear.”

  As Roper and Butcher pulled the body from the Hummer, Zeus lay down by Peanut and whined before laying his massive head on his paws.

  “Want me to get him?” Butcher asked sadly. “Poor guy.”

  Roper shook her head. “Leave him. It’s how it should be.” To the thugs she said, “Do you have a blanket to cover her up?”

  “You want to cover up a fucking dead zombie?”

  Roper walked over to the truck. “That fucking zombie was one of ours. Show some respect.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Before Roper could respond, a shot came from behind her, as a bullet pierced the man’s thigh. “Son of a bitch! She shot me!”

  She nodded before killing both outlaws with a single gunshot to each head. “Assholes.”

  By the time they covered Peanut and cleaned up the Hummer as best they could, it was time for Roper to say goodbye to her horses.

  “I suppose these hills are as good as any,” she said, taking the bridles off the horses and spending a few minutes with each one. She murmured something to each of them, ears twitching as if understanding.

  When she came to Merlin, she broke down and cried.

  “You saved our lives, old buddy,” she whispered, gently caressing his soft muzzle. “As loyal as any dog, you’ve been the very best creature I’ve ever known. Thank you...thank you for everything. Take care of the others. Stick together and enjoy your freedom. If I can ever come back for you, trust that I will. I...I love you.” Slapping his hindquarters, she sent Merlin into the hills with the other three right after him, salty tears stinging here eyes.

  With a face stained with tears, she turned and told everyone to get into the Hummer, including Cue-Ball.

  No one questioned her as he jumped in, begging forgiveness while reminding everyone he probably saved their lives.

  After Safety emptied the gas can into the Hummer, Dallas started it and glanced over to the hills.

  “Roper, look.”

  Trying to hold back the flood of tears, she looked up the hill. Standing shoulder to shoulder were her four beautiful horses looking down at her, tails swishing.

  “If they could salute,” Butcher said quietly, “I’m pretty sure they would.” Wiping her eyes, Roper nodded. “I’m pretty sure they are.”

  The mini-mart was overrun with a number of zombies who seemed unable to move by some invisible force.

  “I’ll pump the gas,” Roper said, opening her door. “Come on, Cue.”

  “What? I’m not going out there.”

  “Look, we need to clean this car out.” Roper shot a quick look to Safety, who also got out.

  “Safety, if you don’t mind grabbing some cleaning supplies and rags. Cue-Ball and I will keep the area clear.”

  Safety struggled to get his big frame out from the back and waited for Cue. “Come on, dude.”

  Slowly getting out, Cue held his hand out for a rifle.

  “You’re kidding me, right? You pull a gun on Einstein and leave us to face a couple dozen dead kids? Uh uh. You pump the gas. I’ll make sure the area is clear.”

  “But there’s no power.”

  Roper shot two man eaters before Safety took off for the mechanic’s bay. “Generator,” he yelled from the garage. “Go for it.”

  Roper shot another. She figured there were at least eight more coming toward them. The moaning grew louder, and Cue fumbled with the gas nozzle.

  “You’ll be fine.” Roper shot three more as Safety came running back with an armful of cleaning products and a bag of rags. “How many?”

  “At least three,” Safety answered. He gave her a knowing glance and got in the Hummer, closing the door. He knew.

  “Step away from the Hummer,” Roper ordered Cue.

  “W-what? Come on, man. This isn’t funny.”

  “No, it’s not. You pulled a weapon on a kid. Our kid. You gave away our Hummer. Our Hummer. You stood by while they set a bunch of kid zombies on us.” She shot two others who got too close. “You threw us
to the wolves, Cue-Ball, but you’re lucky: Dallas has strong ethics and doesn’t believe you should be killed.”

  Roper raised her rifle, then lowered it. The zombies were about twenty yards away and coming straight for him.

  When the gas pump clicked off, Roper shoved the nozzle back in. “You sacrificed all of us, dickweed. I wanted to get rid of you long ago, but Dallas has a softer heart than I do, but you know what? Not any more.”

  He held panic in his eyes. “Wh-what are you doing? Shoot them!” He started for the Hummer, but she pointed her M16 in his face.

  “Away. From. The. Vehicle.” Roper enunciated each word as she put him in her sights.

  He stepped away and shook his head. “Please. Please. I didn’t mean—”

  “Shut up. You left us there. After all we did for you? Fucking ingrate.”

  The Hummer window rolled down slightly. “Come on, Rope, get in,” Butcher’s voice wafted from the two-inch opening.

  Roper ignored her even as the zombies closed in.

  “R-Roper, please. I...I have money. I know people who have yachts on the Gulf. I can—”

  “You can shut the fuck up is what you can do. Now, step away. More.”

  He took two steps back, his eyes frantically scanning back and forth at the two groups of undead making their moaning way toward him.

  “Further away,” Roper ordered, her voice cold and hard, her finger tightening on the trigger.

  “Roper, please. Don’t do this. I made a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake. Don’t do this.” A man eater bumped into her as it limped by, arms outstretched toward Cue-Ball.

  “Do what? Kill you? I told Dallas I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Then what are you going to do...because...” He turned left and right. The zombies were closing in. “Shoot!”

  The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. “I’m going to give you the same chance you gave us.” She shot him in the upper leg, knocking him to the ground, where he raised up on his one good leg, a mask of fear on his face.

  “You shot me!” Cue-Ball cried, holding his bleeding leg. “You fucking shot me!”

  Roper grabbed the door handle and nodded. “But I didn’t kill you.” She smiled grimly. “They may not be so obliging.” She got into the now more spacious Hummer, its occupants sitting in stunned silence.