“Let me tell you about freedom. Let me tell you about New America.” Trooper spoke like a general commanding his troops, pacing as he talked. His boots ground the dirt. “Those delusional philosophies wiped out the world we once had. Reckless people fighting in the name of freedom. They brought the entire world down on their heads. You should thank the Dominion for rising from the heap of ash this world had become and bringing order. Men! Women! Children! They need direction, and they need purpose. The Dominion gives you that!”
Trooper puffed on his cigar. Jack marveled at the man’s words. He felt ten feet tall when the leader spoke. The man’s commanding presence made him feel invincible.
Another man with shaggy brown hair dropped his hands and shouted, “Burn in Hell, Deathrider!”
Without thinking, Jack shot the man in the face. Kablam! His wrist tingled. His body went numb as he watched the man’s eyes roll up in his head as he toppled forward with blood spitting out of his chest. Jack shuffled backward. One woman’s jaws were wide with screams. He didn’t hear them. All he did was look at Trooper. All of his senses had fled.
Trooper was still talking, pointing and puffing smoke.
In a haze, Jack watched the riders round up the children. The men were killed. Some of the women were hauled off into their homes by the hair kicking and screaming. The men were beaten to death or stabbed. The day went on as the dust settled over the blood and misery. Jack finally got his feeling back when he heard his heart pounding in his ears.
Carrying a bucket of fresh water from the creek, Trooper approached Jack and sat beside him on a wooden bench that had been chopped out of a log. “You killed a man today. One of the Resistance.” Trooper handed Jack a metal ladle filled to the brim. Jack drank. “How do you feel?”
Jack wiped his mouth. Confused by all the horror that transpired before his eyes he said without thinking, “I feel like a Deathrider.”
“Yeah, well, this will send a powerful message to the Resistance. You did well today. I knew you had it in you.” He rubbed Jack’s head. “Next time, don’t waste a bullet without my permission. You don’t have many.”
“I wish I had a lot more. Can we get more?”
Trooper drank from the ladle and eyed the ridgeline. “There’s plenty of everything buried out there. You just have to know where to look for it or get it from the Dominion. They have things that will make your eyes pop out.”
Squinting with the setting sun in his face, Jack said, “So freedom is bad?”
“Freedom is for the foolish.”
Dino approached. “We found more of them holed up in a cave less than a mile away. It’s a good hiding spot. What do you want me to do, Trooper?”
“How many?”
“I tracked six sets of prints, best I could tell. They’ve burrowed deep. They probably have days of food stocked in there, like that settlement a couple years ago. What’s the call? Smoke them out or burn them alive in the hole?”
“Tell you what. I’d like to take a look at this myself. The last time, we fried some resources we could have used. I don’t want that to happen again.” Trooper stood. “These settlers always have a few surprises stored up.” He spied Skins harassing tied-up female prisoners. “Search this place high and low for supplies. Then burn it to the ground. Shane, you and Jack come with me. Dino, show me this hole.”
A mile away, there was a hundred-foot-high stone overlook hanging partially over the creek. The cave mouth looked thirty feet high and twenty feet wide. Two Deathriders guarded the hole. They’d stacked up branches and wood.
“Damn, that is a pretty big cave.” Trooper crept deeper into the shadows. “This sucker might go on for miles. It might even clear the ridge. Get some lanterns. We’re going in.”
A bearish growl rumbled. Trooper froze in his tracks. A hairy beast charged right into him. A gunshot cracked off. Trooper screamed. A slavering bear tried to eat Trooper alive.
CHAPTER 65
Trooper thrashed under the bear’s body. Covered in coarse hair, the hulking monster seemed to swallow the man up in its hairy arms. With jaws locked on Trooper’s leg, the silver-maned bear hauled Trooper into the depths of the cave. The Deathrider screamed all the way in.
Shane snatched up the rifle. Giving chase, she hollered, “We have to go after him. Someone, get some light!”
The riders stared into the pitch-black recesses of the cave. Their faces were ashen. A bear three times the size of a man had taken their leader away like a toddler.
“I-uh, I-uh, will fetch some lights.” One of the riders backed out of the cave. He took off running.
“Make it quick!” The rifle shook in Shane’s trembling hands.
Jack noticed Trooper’s lighter on the ground. He picked it up. He shook so much he couldn’t light it. Finally, the flint caught flame.
Inside the cave’s mouth, holding a long knife, Skins said, “He’s a goner. I say we get out of this black hole and move on. What do you say, Dino?”
“Don’t be a fool! He ain’t dead until we see him dead. We go after him. That’s the code. If a Deathrider dies, we bury the bones. Period.”
“Looks like they are already buried to me.” Skins prowled forward with his shoulders low. “But the code it is then. I think we’re wasting time. You saw that thing. It could eat all of us. What if there are more?”
“There will be more.” Emerging from the cave’s bowels, a black-eyed woman in grubby knit cotton robes ambled forward. Her stringy hair hung down to her waist. Her feet were bare. The leathery woman carried a shovel she used for a cane. She spoke in a pleasant tone. “This is the grizzlies’ den. We control them. I am the Bear Queen.”
“I don’t care. We want our friend back, witch.” Shane inched toward the woman. “Dead or alive.”
“You invaded the home of our friends. They came here for protection, and you make demands,” Bear Queen said. “You are the murdering brood of the Dominion. Your enemies are growing among man and mutant. You should move on before I change my mind.”
“Lady, I’m about to pop a hole in you that will leak for days. Bring back Trooper.”
The lanky old woman closed her eyes. A low savage growl came from beyond. With her eyes still shut, the woman said, “You are testing my patience. Our bears are hungry. They need food to store for the coming winter. It can be you, or it can be something else. The hungrier they get, the harder they are to control.”
“The angrier I get, the harder I am to control.” Shane pointed the rifle at the woman’s head. “I’ll give you five seconds to take me to my friends, or I’m gonna give you a third eye hole.”
The old woman rolled her eyes. “Come with me then. Your friend isn’t far.” She took them deeper into the cave. More tunnels were dug out on the sides. There were many natural alcoves where anyone or anything could hide. Glowing bugs crawled the cave walls and gave the weird cave illumination. She pointed. “There he is.”
The bear lay on top of Trooper’s body like a dog that had fetched a bone. Saliva dripped from its teeth. Trooper’s eyes were glassy in the dimness. He wasn’t moving, but a trail of his blood led up to him.
Jack saw movement in the other smaller cave. Glaring yellow eyes were locked on the riders. Bears. More of them, ready to shred them to pieces with a single word. With his fingers getting hot, he closed the lighter with a distinctive snap. A bear lurched forward.
The old woman held out her hand. It skulked back. “You can drag your man out of here, but I need your word that you will leave in peace and never return. Perhaps you can learn from this and shift your minds from the poisoned ways of the Dominion.”
Dino came forward .“We can’t do that without our leader’s consent, unless all of the riders present agree upon it.” He lifted his hand. “I agree. What say the rest of you?” Shane, Skins, and the other riders followed suit. “We have a majority.”
“If you break your vow,” the Bear Queen said, “there will be swift vengeance. Don’t abuse this moment of grace. Chang
e your lives today.” She wavered her hand at the bear that hovered over Trooper. The monstrous brute sauntered to another burrow. “Go, quickly. I might not change my mind, but the bears possibly will.”
Dino and Skins hustled over to Trooper. The man groaned when they picked him up and carried him away. No one looked back when they left except Jack. The woman floated a wave at him. Her eyelids winked like a bug’s. Skin crawling, he sped out of the cave.
They took Trooper down to the creek and put him in the water. Blood from his leg ran with the stream.
At his side, Shane held the man’s face. “Trooper, can you hear me?”
Limbs sagging, he said, “Yes. I heard everything. The thing didn’t bite deep. It’s a well-trained or controlled beast. Gah!” He sat up in the water.
Shane cut away his pant leg. The blood made it look worse than it was. “We can stitch it all up, but you’re gonna limp for a while.”
“No, I’m gonna ride,” Trooper said. “Dino, tell me you dropped it.”
“I hesitated, but I did.” Dino handed him a square plastic trigger with a blinking red light. “So her speech didn’t melt your heart. You won’t change your ways? We promised to leave in peace.”
“I’m a Deathrider to the end, and I was under duress at the time. Heh.” Trooper regarded the cave entrance. “Dumbass bear hugger. If she had a lick of sense, she’d kill me.”
“What is that?” Jack handed Trooper back his lighter.
Trooper handed the small, army-green trigger box to Jack. “It’s called a claymore mine. Just pull the trigger and listen for the boom.”
***
The Bear Queen picked up a strange green box dropped in the dirt. The gamma bears had gathered around her. So had the settlers she’d protected. “See, this is what happens when you leave in a hurry.” Her bony fingers dusted off the debris. The effort revealed a little flashing red light. “What a pretty present. Let’s see what’s inside.”
KABOOOOM!
CHAPTER 66
Alone, Gabe was back in the den cleaning the cages. His elbows and back ached. He’d been scrubbing hard, trying to keep his mind off of things, but little was helping. There was nothing but pressure. For the past two days, the gamers had been practicing on different shifts. Apparently, there were four sets of dragons that trained at different times in different teams. During the games, they’d break down into a winners’ bracket and a losers’ bracket. In the end, the worst of the worst dragons would be slaughtered.
I just want to get this over with.
At least he was alone now. All practice sessions had ended for the day, but Gabe was allowed to stick around this time. He’d been gone since before the break of dawn, and many hours had passed. He was certain Rann would be fuming, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Plus, she wasn’t talking to him very much. When they ate together, she’d eat quietly and not say much of anything. Gabe tried to fill her in about his day, but it wasn’t helping. She was unresponsive. She was hurt because he spent time with Mandy.
He’d scraped out another bucketful of dragon filth. He wiped the sweat from his nose on his forearm. He opened the lid of the waste bin and dumped the bucket. There was a piece of paper attached to the bottom of the lid.
“Not again.” Gabe sighed. He stared at the note for the longest time like it was some sort of ghostly apparition. He closed the lid, hoping that when he opened it again, the thing would be gone. Perhaps, it would fall into the excrement. Maybe he wouldn’t see it again. Perhaps, he hadn’t seen it at all. He reopened the lid, just a crack, and peeked inside. The note still hung like a possum. Grinding his teeth, he took the note and opened it up.
Squawk let out a little rattle from his neck. The dragon lounged on one of the workbenches. He’d been pushing tools around with his nose until they fell on the floor.
Gabe opened the note. It read, “Things are moving. Be ready. Remember the exits. Escape the Dominion.” The handwriting was more scratch than penmanship. Gabe could barely write himself, but he could have done worse. The strokes seemed shaky, and he thought perhaps it came from Mabel. There was no way of knowing for sure. That last notes had come from Malak or Sage, he believed. He crushed the note in his hand and tossed it into the waste barrel.
He shook his head. The vague note infuriated him. He needed to focus on the Dragon Games. Squawk’s practices had gone better, and Mandy had been pleased. Gabe kind of liked it. His thoughts turned to winning. He hated Fletcher and wanted to defeat him. Gabe was getting focused, and now another vague note that wouldn’t make any sense until some bizarre circumstance hit him in the face.
Clang!
The jarring sound from Gunther’s den snapped Gabe out of his dreary thoughts. He spied the ventilation ducts above him. That would be one way to escape. The other way was through the tunnels Stewart had showed him. Aside from the exits and the compound’s front gate, he wasn’t sure what else to do. Too many things held him back. Rann was the main thing. If she were safe, he wouldn’t be so worried. She needed to be with him if anything happened. He wouldn’t leave without her. As much as he’d like to, he couldn’t count on Mabel. She said they’d take care of Rann, but he wasn’t so sure. They saw a bigger picture than he did. There would be casualties. He was young, but he understood that there was a war going on. People died because of it. Freedom had a price. Blood.
The wheel on Gunther’s den door turned. The metal door swung open. The hulking man entered. He wasn’t armed this time. There was no club in hand or rag hanging from his belt. He had a magazine tucked up under his arm. “Tomorrow will be an exciting day. Hours of unrivaled entertainment. Even the stoic members of the Dominion are looking forward to it. The Dragon Games are one of those rare times when the Dominion and the citizens cheer as one.”
“I’ve seen it before.” Gabe hooked the scrap bucket on a post peg.
“No, you haven’t seen anything like this.” Gunther’s smile seemed to split his face open. The mutant man was ugly, but he carried himself with swagger and charisma. “You haven’t seen anything like this either.” He made his way over to the workbench and set down the magazine. He rested his hairy, herculean forearms on the table. There were shiny cars painted with vibrant colors on the cover. Big letters at the top read, “Hot Rod.” The tires on the cars smoked.
“You’re right, I haven’t seen that.” Squawk started to climb up Gabe’s back. “No, you are too big to climb on me.” He took the dragon in his arms like a baby. “They don’t know how big they are.”
“Oh, yes they do. You will see.” Gunther flipped through the pages. “When I was a child, they’d line my cage with magazines like this. Believe it or not, that’s how I learned to read. They never thought an ugly animal like me would be able to do that, but I did. I like the cars. Look at this one.” His eyes were wide like an excited child’s. There was an ad with a fire-engine-red car on it. “Dodge Demon. A hellish motor from the old world. I would love to drive such a fiery chariot. They say it sounds like thunder. I bet there is one out there somewhere. Look at this.” He flipped back to the front cover and pointed to the corner. “See this, that’s a date. I can read it. It says July two thousand and seventeen. That’s even before the Great Burning. It must have been a fantastic world.”
“It would have to be better than this,” Gabe said, taking interest in Gunther’s words. “Why are you showing me this?”
Gunther gave a little shrug. “I don’t socialize. It’s just me and the animals most of the time. All the time, really. You are a fair-minded young man—a bit too curious for your own good, but at least you have spirit. I find it refreshing. The Dominion regards me as an animal, but they have some respect for me. These games would be nothing without me.” He leafed through more pages. “But I am grateful and loyal. If not for them, I’d still be living in a cage or hunted down like a wild animal.”
Gabe couldn’t help wondering if Gunther might be on the side of the Resistance. Perhaps the trainer was dropping hints. “Hav
e you ever wanted to leave the Burg?”
“I’ve never been out of it, so no. As I understand it, it’s a wasteland out there. The citizens speak of places that are lofty, free, and fair, but I don’t believe them. They are fools and dreamers. They is nothing better than here and now. Besides, I’d never leave my animals.” He rolled up his magazine and shifted it up in his arm like a country gentlemen. He patted Squawk on the top of his head. “Oh, and don’t take it so hard when you lose tomorrow. Hoss always wins. It would be chaos if he didn’t. Try not to die in the slaughter either. Though, the odds are stacked against you. See you in the arena.”
CHAPTER 67
Tim took Gabe back to the flats shortly after Gunther left him in the den. Tim limped along, grunting from time to time, trying to avoid putting too much weight on his hurt leg. He used his bat, on and off, as a cane.
“Are you looking forward to the Dragon Games?” Gabe asked. He figured a little polite conversation would soften Tim’s disposition.
Tim glared down at him. “Pfft! You saw that throng of fools out there, singing and hollering about dragons and mutants. No, I could not care less. It’s just more work and less sleep for me. Not to mention that I have enough to deal with already, babysitting you. I thought this would be a break. Instead, it’s broke me.”
“Sorry, Tim. Maybe you can get Williams to do it. He seems to like it.”
“Shut up.” Tim slid open the gate into the flats. The metal wheels rattled over the pavement. The chain link shook like metal leaves.
Gabe eased inside. “Hey, do you have my food?”
Closing the gate, Tim said, “No, I ate it.”
Gabe slumped.
“Here.” Tim shuffled to the guard shed, reached inside, and produced a brown bag. He flung it to Gabe. “Now get out of here. I need some rest.”
Stomach growling, Gabe hurried into the rows. He ate the oat bar that clung to his fingers. Filling up a bit, he headed to Rann’s cove. Anyone could go to the games, but once the coliseum hit capacity, it was standing room only. He wanted to tell her that she should at least watch and make the best of it. He knocked on her door. No one answered.
Flight from the Dominion (The Gamma Earth Cycle Book 2) Page 20