“Good point,” he replied grimly. “I’ll get everything moving.”
“I’ll start spreading the word, too,” I said. “Once everyone is on task, I need to rig a side holster for my rifle on the bike. If you need me, that’s where I’ll be.”
“Got it,” he said, turning to head off.
I headed for the nearest group of people and gave them instructions to round up everyone and spread the word. I wanted everyone working on loading the trucks. There were enough of us that it shouldn’t take too long to accomplish. Once I had set everyone in motion, I headed out to the bikes to try to figure out the best way to rig the rifle to the bike.
I rigged a makeshift holster out of a plastic case and zip tied it to the forks. I hoped it would hold up to the punishment that I was likely to put it through on the highway. That was where I would put my Beowulf, but the M-4 was going to have to stay on me. I was going to have to ride with it slung across my chest. Although that would ordinarily seem like a good option, it did leave me with a possible obstacle when I had to turn or maneuver sharply. I just hoped that it wouldn’t get in the way.
I did manage to secure most of my extra gear in the large saddlebags on the bike. I put everything but my weapons in those. That lightened my load considerably and left me better able to move in a fight. Every advantage was going to be needed before we reached the secure perimeter of the POMCUS cache.
“Grant!” I heard a loud voice call from near the back of the field.
Turning, I could see Butcher and two of his men were heading my way, moving quickly and not looking very happy about something. I could only hope that whatever it was, it wasn’t too bad. The way my luck usually runs, it probably was.
“What’s wrong?” I called, heading towards them.
“You might want to get over to the back gate,” said Butcher. “There’s someone there who is demanding to speak with you.”
“Oh fuck,” I muttered. “Who is it?”
“It’s the big bitch with the swords from the other night,” he replied, shaking his head.
“Did she come alone?” I asked.
“Not even close,” he replied darkly. “Looks like she brought enough of the dead to level this place.”
“Aw shit,” I said, and headed towards the back gate.
“They aren’t attacking,” he added. “That’s the weird part. She’s just demanding to see you.”
“Is the other big guy with her?” I asked, as he fell into step beside me.
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “Looks like it’s just her and a fuck-load of the dead.”
“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “I’ll try to keep her busy as long as possible. Get everyone loaded into the vehicles as fast as possible. Get them lined up behind the Bison and be ready to go if they attack. We can’t hold this place, so why try?”
“Got it,” he said, and peeled off taking his two men with him.
I finished my run across the field and headed back behind the bleachers, moving down the causeway towards the back gate. Through the fencing I could see hundreds of the dead had gathered near the back of the stadium. I was glad that we had not planned on using that gate. If we had to make a break for it, I wasn’t sure that even the Bison could smash its way through that crowd.
I could see the big Amazon woman waiting for me at the gate. She stood just on the other side and could be seen easily through the bars. She stood with her arms folded impatiently and her swords in easy reach on her hips. She no longer had her hair in the small braids. It was bound in one single braid as thick as a large rope, lying over her right shoulder and hanging to her waist. It was bound in leather and I noticed that something was gleaming at the end. As I got closer, I could see that it was a blade.
Her armor had been repaired and the wounds had all faded into nothing. In the light of day, her features were less harsh and more proud than I had previously noted. I wouldn’t consider her attractive, but she had a cold beauty about her. Her eyes were what truly stood out. They were a dark blue, like the deep ocean. They were so deeply blue that you couldn’t easily tell where the pupils began. They seemed to take in everything around her, and gathered light like tiny black holes.
“Something on your mind,” I said casually as I reached the gate.
I stopped just outside arm’s reach of the bars, just in case she was going to try something sneaky. I doubted that she would, but then again they seemed to have an odd sense of the word honor. I couldn’t afford to take anything for granted. She could be here to deliver a message, or to trick me into getting close enough to stab with a poisoned dagger. I was hoping for the former, since the latter sucked.
“I have a message for you, Einherjar,” she said.
Good, it was the former. I noticed that she no longer said the word Einherjar like it was distasteful to her. There was a measure of respect in her tone that wasn’t there before. Well, at least I thought it was respect. For all I knew, it could be a healthy dose of fear after watching me decapitate one of her men that kept her tone civil. Either way, I could handle this attitude much better than the one she had the other night.
“What’s the message?” I asked, guardedly.
“Grimnir instructed me to give you this invitation,” she said, unfolding her arms and placing her hands on her hips.
Although it looked like a relaxed position, it put her hands right next to the hilts of her swords. I would have thought it was a prelude to an attack had it not been for the positioning of her feet. If she had been tensing for an attack, she would have shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet. She stood flat-footed and still, her weight in a neutral position. From that stance, it would be difficult to launch an attack.
“We are aware that you are planning to leave this place,” she said, gesturing at the stadium around us. “We are also aware that you are nearly ready to do it. We have a proposition for you, if you are interested.”
“I’m listening,” I said, cautiously.
“We will not block your exit nor will be interfere with you in any way,” she said, pausing dramatically, “if you agree to meet us in battle near the Arch.”
“I’m not going to take this entire group out to an indefensible area so you can surround us with the dead and take us apart,” I said, shaking my head.
“Not your group, Grant,” she said, frowning. “Just you. Grimnir wants to finish this between you and us, alone.”
“He’s no longer interested in the others?” I asked, surprised.
“No,” she said, frowning. “Not even the traitor, Bergelmir. The other Einherjar are free to go, as well. Come alone and meet us in battle near the big monument. If you do not agree, we will surround this place with enough of the dead to make it impossible for you to escape.”
I could tell that she wasn’t happy about the idea, but she was obediently delivering the message. I couldn’t help but wonder what had changed since our battle. They were adamant about killing us all, just a few nights ago. Now, they only wanted me. Either it was a trick, or I had pissed them off bad enough that they were willing to let the others go to get to me. I guess that made sense. I do have that effect on people, occasionally.
“Why me?” I asked, more thinking out loud than really questioning her. “Why the change?”
“Because you did something that no one believed possible,” she explained, shaking her head. “You have killed two of our men and managed to convince a third to change sides. There is more danger to our cause in letting you live, than in all of the others combined. You are our biggest threat, now.”
“Is that how you feel, as well?” I asked, suddenly reluctant to hear the answer.
“No,” she said. “Our command was to slay you all, yet you prove more difficult to kill than we were led to believe. I think you are a worthy foe, but not worth letting the others escape. That is Grimnir’s idea, not mine.”
“Then why not just send the dead to overwhelm us?” I mused darkly. “There are way too many of the
m for us to stop them all.”
“Because that would not bring me any satisfaction,” she explained. “I want to see you beaten by my blades, not torn apart by the dead.”
“So you prefer to face me one on one, not with Grimnir,” I said, smiling.
“I would prefer to test you in other ways,” she said, smiling darkly. “I would send you to the next world with a smile on your face. I would capture you and take you to my bed. When I was finished with you, I would remove your head and bathe in your blood.”
I’m not sure how having my head cut off would send me to the next world with a smile, but I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the concept of being taken to her bed. I had the strange feeling that she had little distinction between pleasure and pain. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or scared that she wanted to drag me away and have her way with me.
It struck me that she would be aroused by powerful warriors. She seemed to have attached herself to Grimnir, since he was obviously the strongest of the Hrimthurssar. If I killed Grimnir, I wondered what her reaction would be. Would she still try to kill me or would she try to ingratiate herself to me and remain “loyal” to me only until someone beat me in battle. The mindset was difficult for me to grasp.
“Well, if I am going to face you in battle alone,” I said, frowning, “I would at least like to know your name.”
She stared at me with a perplexed look on her face, cocking her head from side to side like she was trying to figure me out. She seemed reluctant to tell me her name, as if it would give me some sort power over her. Who knows, maybe it would. Maybe no one else had ever bothered to ask her name. It seemed to perplex her as much as it did when I asked Bergelmir. When she finally came to a decision, something about her eyes seemed to soften.
“My name is Vigdis,” she said softly.
“Vigdis,” I repeated, nodding. “You can call me Wylie.”
“Wylie?” she said, frowning. “Why do you care what I call you?”
“No reason,” I said, shrugging. “When do you want me to come to the Arch?”
That seemed to snap her back to the reason she was here. Instantly, the ice fell back over her gaze and she regained her cold demeanor. Her stance shifted and she seemed almost ready to run away, but held on due to an iron resolve to see this through to the end. In that respect, we were very much alike. Neither of us was willing to quit until the task was complete.
“One hour,” she said, frowning. “Be there on time or we will send all of our might against this place.”
“I’ll be there,” I said, shaking my head. “If I lose, will you let the others go?”
“Those are the terms, yes,” she said, nodding. “Do you not trust us?”
“Not really,” I said, shrugging. “You don’t exactly have the best record. Our last meeting wasn’t exactly what you would call a fair fight.”
“We underestimated you, Grant,” she said, sternly. “It cost us dearly.”
“Wylie,” I said, smiling.
I doubted that it would do anything other than confuse her, but even that confusion at a critical moment might turn the tide of the battle. If I could make her hesitate when we fought, it might buy me enough time to deal enough of a blow to swing the odds in my favor. Anything I could do to give me the edge was an advantage I couldn’t afford to throw away.
“Wy...,” she began, clearly confused.
Then her eyes darkened and she frowned.
“Whatever,” she snapped. “Be there in an hour or your people will pay the price.”
“I’ll be there,” I replied.
“See that you are,” she said, and turned to stalk away.
I watched her go, not willing to turn my back on her until she was well out of range. She was unpredictable and only a fool would expose himself to a knife in the back. The dead parted for her like a wave around the prow of a ship, and just as quickly began to close in around her. Just before I lost sight of her, I saw her turn her head and glance back at me with an odd expression on her face. Yeah, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her; and that made her dangerous.
As the dead began to shuffle off after her, I turned and headed back into the field. Waiting for me at the top of the ramp was Marko. I knew that he couldn’t have been close enough to overhear our conversation, but the look on his face seemed to indicate he sensed what was going on. He didn’t look happy.
“What was that all about?” he asked as I walked up.
“About what you’d expect, I would imagine,” I said, shaking my head.
“Threatening death and dismemberment if we don’t do something they want?” he said, folding his arms across his chest.
“Something like that,” I replied. “They said that they will let you all go, if I agree to fight them alone.”
“And you told them to fuck off, right?” he said, looking at me bewilderedly.
“I did think about it,” I said, frowning, “but good sense got the better of me. If I can buy you guys clear passage out of the city, then you have a fighting chance to get to our base. If I don’t they can surround this place with more than enough of the dead that it might be impossible for us to get away.”
“I don’t like it,” he said, angrily. “How do we know that they will keep their word?”
“We don’t,” I said, shrugging. “I just don’t see any other alternative. If they’re lying, I want you to already be on the move when I go to meet them. Once the Bison gets some momentum behind it, it will punch a hole through a hell of a lot of zombies.”
“Then why don’t you just go with us and not bother to go meet them?” he asked.
“Because if I do, you can guarantee that they will throw every zombie in the state at us to stop us,” I explained. “I am pretty sure that there will be more than enough of them to bring our little convoy to a screeching halt.”
‘Fuck!” he snapped. “I don’t like this. We know we can’t trust them, but they have us over a barrel.”
“Precisely,” I said, nodding. “We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”
“Then take the big blue guy with you,” he offered, smiling.
“They said come alone,” I said, shaking my head. “I’d love to, but I can’t. Besides, I want him driving the Bison. If he still has any control over the dead, it might be enough to get you through. If I can keep the other two’s attention focused on me, then maybe he can keep the dead at bay.”
“Isn’t that suicide for you?” he asked, scratching his chin.
“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not. I’ve faced worse odds and lived to tell the tale. If I can take the big one down first, the woman might not want to fight anymore. She’s the unknown variable in this. The big warrior I understand, but she confuses me.”
“Of course she does,” he said, grinning. “She’s a woman. Like any of us can figure them out.”
We both chuckled at that and turned to head back to where the others were busily loading the trucks. I had to admit, I was impressed. They had accomplished a lot in a very short amount of time. They had organized into groups and were loading the vehicles quickly. The motorcycle riders were all armed to the teeth and preparing to ride. The women and kids were loading into the big tour bus, while Butcher and Bergelmir checked over the Bison. They were nearly ready.
“Looking good,” I said as I approached.
Bergelmir looked up and frowned.
“What did Vigdis want?” he asked without preamble.
Direct and to the point, as always.
“They offered to let the group go free,” I said.
“In exchange for what?” he asked, warily.
“Grimnir wants his revenge against me,” I explained, “for all the damage that we did to him. He’s fixated on getting me. If I meet them alone, they’ll let the others go.”
“Sounds like a trap to me,” he rumbled.
“Of course it’s a trap,” I said, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“Then you s
hould not go alone,” he added. “I will accompany you.”
“No can do, kemosabe,” I replied. “If I don’t come alone, they’ll surround this place with the dead and seal us in.”
“Hmm,” he grumbled. “Yes, they would. I doubt that I am strong enough to overpower them both. Assuming I can still control the dead. I may have lost that ability when I joined you.”
“I’d bet that you did,” I said, nodding. “That’s why I want you driving the Bison. You can drive, can’t you?”
“Of course,” he replied, frowning. “Why would I not?”
“Just a question,” I added. “I’ve never seen you in a vehicle.”
“How do you think I was able to stay on your track so quickly?” he asked, folding his massive arms.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” I said. “Besides, it wasn’t like I was moving all that fast.”
“The river carried you faster than you think,” he said, shaking his head. “I was hard pressed to keep up. I used one of the vehicles from the Army base.”
“Makes sense, I suppose,” I said. “I guess I just didn’t put much thought into it. It didn’t seem to matter how you kept up with me, just that I had to fight you.”
“When do you have to meet them?” asked Butcher.
“Less than an hour,” I replied, checking my watch. “Over near the Arch.”
“Are you going to do it?” asked Butcher.
“I don’t see that I have any other choice,” I said. “If I don’t they’ll block our escape and seal us in here. At least if you get out on the road, you have a shot at punching through and getting clear.”
“A slim chance is still better than no chance,” said Butcher. “I say go kill them both and then catch up with us as fast as you can.”
“That was my plan,” I said, smiling. “If I haven’t caught up to you in an hour, then it’s safe to assume I lost.”
“I do not like it,” rumbled Bergelmir. “I should be battling them alongside you.”
“Under any other circumstances,” I said, shaking my head, “I’d gladly accept. But I have to do this alone or the deal is off.”
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