by Rohan Healy
“That’s a good feller, now we’re just gonna take the girl, nice and easy now.” Carl and Madison walked slowly toward Miles and Lucy as Clem kept his shotgun aimed squarely at them, smiling lecherously at Miles. Lucy clung tighter to Miles, shaking and whimpered pathetically. Carl bent down before Lucy, holstering his gun.
“You’re comin’ for a ride little missy,” said Carl and he reached out his hands grabbing Lucy by the shoulders and pulling her violently from Miles’ side, his wide grin displaying his many missing teeth. Miles didn’t move, he simply clenched his fists and used every ounce of energy he could muster to supress his urge to fight.
“PAPA!” screamed the terrified Lucy as she was carried away to their beat up station wagon, Miles stared at Clem, ignoring Lucy lest he lose his nerve at the sight of her crying face.
“Papa please!” she screamed in vain, kicking and bashing her fists on Carls back. ‘Keep it together Miles, once I get this bastard alone I’ll think of something,’ he thought to himself, now shaking with rage.
“Don’t be long Clem!” Madison shouted back as they entered their car and sped off, Lucy’s desperate wails slowly faded as the car disappeared into the distance.
“Well well, it’s just you and me now boy. Time for some fun before dinner,” said Clem licking his fat, slug like lips in anticipation. Clem took Miles by the back of his collar and guided him to the front of the pickup truck. He forced Miles down onto the bonnet and pulled his hands behind his back, tying them together with a rope that had previously hung from Clem’s belt. Clem leaned down, placing his lips to Mile’s ear, the heavy breath tickling his neck.
“I’m gonna enjoy this mister, but you ain’t,” he let out a sinister laugh and laid down his shotgun on the dusty ground before beginning to undo his belt. ‘I only get one shot at this, only one shot, I need to make this count, for Lucy…’
Miles then heard a zipper being undone, followed shortly by the sound of Clem’s trousers falling to his feet in a heap. ‘NOW!’ Out of nowhere Miles shot his right foot backward like a bucking donkey with as much force as he could call upon. His shoe made crunching contact with something soft and he heard Clem howl in agony. Miles stood and span to see the pantsless man clutching his crotch in pain, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks.
“You sick son of a…” but before Clem could finish his sentence Miles ran toward him and rammed his forehead into the bridge of Clem’s nose, knocking him onto his back, blood pouring from his nostrils. Clem coughed and spluttered, squirming helplessly on the ground as Miles gave him a number of heavy kicks to the ribs to ensure that he wouldn’t get up any time soon.
Miles lowered his hands and one by one, stepped his feet through the hoop caused by his bound wrists. Now that he could see the rope it didn’t take him long to scratch, pull and wriggle his way out of his binds. Picking up Clem’s shotgun and retrieving his pistol - tucking it back into his trousers - Miles hopped in the truck and hit the gas, leaving Clem with a face full of dust as he lay there still writhing in agony.
‘Please be alive Lucy, please be alive. If they lay a single fucking finger on you I swear I’ll tear them limb from limb.’ Miles barrelled down the pitch black dirt road, cold sweat pouring down his face. The truck’s headlights illuminated the tyre tracks left by the station wagon only minutes before. His face was deadly serious and his hands held the steering wheel as though they were gripping the throats of the men who took Lucy. In the distance a light appeared. It flickered and danced on the horizon. ‘A fire…oh God!’ Miles pushed his foot down harder and the engine roared. ‘Please be okay Lucy, just please be okay…’ he whispered through his clenched teeth. The fire was bigger now, and closer. ‘I’d better slow down, I don’t want to raise their suspicion by speeding in, that’s a sure way to get myself killed,’ Miles thought and he raised his foot off the accelerator slightly, slowing the truck. Carl and Madison were expecting Clem to be driving with Miles safely secured. It would have seemed strange that Clem would arrive so soon, so as the small encampment came into view Miles veered left and drove toward a natural ridge that the three men had set their camp up underneath. Parking the vehicle at the base of the ridge, he killed the engine and quietly exited the vehicle. Making sure his pistol was still tucked into his trousers he started silently up the ridge toward the point where it hung over the bandits’ camp. After travelling a few steps he began to hear the faint sound of shouting.
“Please don’t, please!” ‘Lucy! She’s alive!’
Miles picked up the pace while still trying to remain quiet enough so as not to be detected. The shouting grew louder and louder as he approached the peak.
“Hold still you little bitch!” These words sent stabs of fear through Miles’ stomach, who dropped to his knees and began to crawl toward the overhang.
“Ow! She fuckin’ bit me!” said the high pitched voice of Madison who howled in pain. Miles now in the prone position pulled himself along the dusty ground like a caterpillar, he knew if he was spotted it was over for him and Lucy. He reached both hands forward and curled his fingers over the edge of the ridge, slowly dragging the rest of his body until his eyes peaked over and down into the encampment below.
He saw Lucy, miraculously still in one piece and fully clothed, Miles breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She was strapped onto a large stone slab with leather restraints at her wrists, ankles and around her neck. She struggled and squirmed but the restraints would not budge. To her left stood Madison who leered hungrily at their soon to be dinner, while to her right Carl sharpened a heavy looking machete on a grind stone that he was operating by foot. Miles looked down to his waist and quickly pulled the pistol from his trousers, he was a pretty good shot by now and was confident that with a bit of luck he could take out both men before they knew what had hit them. He frantically checked his ammunition and raised himself up onto his knees ready to take aim but it was too late.
Lucy screamed in terror as Carl raised the machete high above his head and began to bring it down with all his force toward Lucy’s left shoulder. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Miles raised the sights of his gun to his eye. But he knew that no matter how fast he took the shot, he would not make it in time. ‘No, please…’ The machete made contact with Lucy’s shoulder with an audible crunch, slicing her left arm clean off. Lucy screamed in pain as blood sprayed in all directions. Miles looked on feeling as though he had died there and then, his body went cold, drained of every ounce of strength. He covered his mouth, feeling as though he was going to be sick.
Lucy slumped on the stone slab, passing out from the shock as Carl made his way around her bleeding body to remove the other arm. Miles shakily lifted his pistol to his teary eye and aimed squarely at Carls head. ‘You’re going to die for what you’ve done you evil bastard.’ Miles trained his sights on Carl’s head as he raised the machete to strike again. He began to squeeze the trigger when suddenly Lucy began to glow. She was emitting a bright white light from her eyes, mouth, and even her skin it seemed, as the pitch black night suddenly became as bright as day. Carl backed away from Lucy, stumbling backward into a chair while Miles lowered his weapon again as he watched the inexplicable scene unfold before his eyes. A high pitched ringing sound began to emanate from Lucy. Carl and Madison held their ears, screaming in pain. Miles didn’t feel anything, apparently he was out of range of its effect. The two men’s blood curdling cries intensified until all at once tiny Madison exploded into a cloud of fine red mist, his clothes falling to the ground, empty and soaked with his blood and gore. Madison’s remains fanned out in a perfect circle of gristle and bone about ten metres in diameter, covering everything in its path in a coat of crimson mush. Carl shrieked in agony now covered in Madison’s entrails until he too burst from the inside out with a loud pop, spraying himself across the immediate environment. Miles’ jaw was sitting on the sandy ground, his face pale, almost translucent. He could not believe nor comprehend what he was witnessing.
Lucy began to return to
her normal self, the glowing ceased and the ear piercing noise had disappeared. She simply laid there on the stone slab, unconscious, her left arm sitting motionless on the ground a few meters away. Miles jumped to his feet and began running down the ridge as fast as his legs could carry him. He arrived at the grisly scene panting and puffing. Stepping through puddles of what used to be Madison and Carl, he made his way over to Lucy. Miles undid the restraints on her ankles and wrist, then as he began to remove the restraint around her neck she opened her eyes.
“Papa?” she said in a heartbreakingly weak voice, “is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me Lucy,” said Miles, his voice warbling as he attempted to hold back his tears, “you’re going to be okay Lucy, your papa is going to take you someplace safe now,” Miles said, smiling down at her as best he could.
“Okay papa,” said Lucy smiling back up at Miles, and she closed her eyes, passing out again from pure exhaustion and pain.
Miles picked her up and propped her over his shoulder, her limp body bounced slightly as he jogged back to the truck, he used his free hand to support her head. Miles looked back for a moment at the scene that he had watched unfold only minutes ago. The severed arm, the gore covered camp. ‘What the hell is going on here?’
Within a minute Miles had made it back to the truck. Picking up Clem’s shotgun from the passenger’s seat and throwing it on the dusty ground, he gently laid Lucy on the soft upholstery and covered her with blankets. She was dipping in and out of consciousness and it was as Miles placed a makeshift pillow under her head that he caught a glimpse of Lucy’s wound. There was blood and muscle, and what looked like bone, but there were also wires, cables and other unidentifiable mechanical components poking out from where her arm used to be. ‘She’s…what the hell is she?!’ Miles wondered to himself as he stared down at the open wound in disbelief, afraid his brain would simply overload from the amount and nature of the information he had to process over the past fifteen minutes. Miles shook his head vigorously in order to snap himself out of his confounded day dream, and wrapped the wound tightly with a blanket, securing it with his belt to stop the bleeding.
“I’m sorry papa…I-I shouldn’t have wondered off on my own,” whispered Lucy, her eyes still closed.
Miles felt a sharp pain in his heart, his eyes welling up with tears.
“Don’t be silly,” Miles whispered back croakily as a tear flowed down his cheek and into his moustache, “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m going to take care of you now, I won’t let that happen again, I promise,” and he stroked her hair and held her tight for a moment.
Lucy’s mouth curled into a weak smile and Miles started the truck. There was no time for sleep tonight, he had to get Lucy to Humber Dam and find her a doctor, or a mechanic, or something!
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Chapter 19
The first light of dawn was spreading across the dune filled landscape as Miles sped along the dirt road heading north toward Humber Dam. Every so often he would glance over to Lucy who was still lying unconscious in the passenger’s seat. She was breathing, but barely. The slight, irregular movements of her chest were the only sign that she was still alive at all. Miles gasped and sat up in his seat as what looked like a town came into view. He squinted hard in order to confirm that it was in fact Humber Dam, and not his sleep deprived mind playing tricks on him. A sign post was up ahead. A large silver sheet of corrugated iron was nailed to a steel pole. In garish green letters it read Humber Dam – 2KM. Miles put pedal to the metal and sped toward his destination.
Miles came to a sudden halt outside the Humber Dam gates, creating a large red dust cloud. He hopped out of the vehicle and shouted up at the old man sleeping in the small shack at the top of the gate.
“Hey, open up I have an injured child! She needs a doctor!” The man who must have been in his seventies was utterly discombobulated by the commotion having been suddenly jolted from what looked like a very peaceful sleep.
“Y-yes sir, right away!” he said rubbing his eye with one hand while using the other to pull the lever, opening the gate. Miles hopped back in the truck and sped into the town. He drove swiftly through the, much more civilised looking, streets of Humber Dam, his eyes darting about desperately searching for The Pit Stop that Guppy had mentioned. The buildings of Humber Dam were not like The Dustbowl, instead of Talos shuttles these houses were made from brick and wood. The road was made of bitumen, there were paved sidewalks and gardens with brightly coloured flowers, it was the first grass Miles had seen since stepping foot on Gyaros. Apparently the dust storms were not nearly as bad here as these old, but beautiful wooden structures would simply not survive the intensity of a Dustbowl storm.
Suddenly he spotted it; The Pit Stop. The motel was two stories tall and made of red brick with a white roof. There looked to be about twenty rooms plus a dining area, reception, laundry and a garage in which sat two cars propped up on jacks undergoing repairs. Out front was a parking lot and of course the big neon sign stating the name of the business and the fact that there were vacancies. Miles pulled into an empty parking space with a screech, and taking Lucy in his arms he ran to the reception area.
“Hello? Adara? Anyone? This is an emergency, someone please help!” Miles shouted urgently and within a minute an attractive young lady in her early to mid-twenties appeared from behind the counter, her messy blond hair betraying the fact that she had been fast asleep only a minute ago. She rushed to the door of the reception as she tied up her dark blue dressing gown, a look of confusion and concern in her eyes. She fumbled with the lock and finally opened the door.
“What’s going on? What happened to her?” asked the woman.
“She’s lost an arm, she needs a doctor, now,” panted Miles relieved to be speaking to another human being after spending so long alone on the road with only the injured Lucy and his terrified mind for company.
“Dr. Galand!” said the lady, her eyes widening, “he can help, he stays in room twelve, I’ll take you there, follow me.” Miles followed the young lady up a set of steel steps to the second floor of the motel. ‘Hang in there Lucy, I won’t let you go now, you’re going to be okay, just stay with me,’ thought Miles to himself as they passed door after door before stopping at number twelve. The lady banged hard on the door.
“Doctor Galand, there is an injured girl here, she’s lost an arm. She needs your help!” There was silence for a moment and then the sound of frantic activity from the other side, seconds later the door flew open and an eccentric looking bespectacled, white haired man in beige pants and a brown jumper stood there beckoning them inside.
“Come, come, place her on the table,” said Doctor Galand in a thin, reedy voice and he pushed all of his belongings off the wooden table in the centre of the room, sending them clattering to floor in order to make space for Lucy. Miles placed Lucy softly onto the table and removed the blankets that she was being carried in. Galand was busy washing his hands and getting his tools ready while Miles stroked Lucy’s cold cheek and held her hand comforting her as best he could. Lucy opened her eyes a little and smiled for a moment before grimacing in pain.
“Stand aside please, I need both of you outside until I stabilise the patient.” Miles stood up and began to leave the motel room.
“Don’t worry Lucy, I’ll be just outside, I’m not going anywhere. The Doctor will take care of you now.” Miles smiled as reassuringly as he could and closed the door behind him, the last thing he saw was Doctor Galand wielding a large syringe, presumably a sedative.
Outside on the second floor of the motel Miles slumped to the ground exhausted beyond belief.
“Hi my name is Adara, Adara Woodward,” said the attractive blonde lady reaching out a hand to Miles who grasped it and shook.
“Miles Stanton,” Miles replied without making eye contact.
“What happened to the girl?” asked Adara with a pained expression.
“We were attacked, in the middle of the night, b
y cannibal bandits,” replied Miles.
“Oh my God, that’s horrible!” she covered her mouth, looking genuinely shocked and sickened, “how did you escape?”
“They separated Lucy and me. I managed to beat the guy holding me, but when I found Lucy it was too late, they already cut off her arm. After that I…” Miles stopped suddenly unsure if he should share what happened next, unsure if it even did happen the way he remembered it!
“I…I killed them, there were two, I shot them and escaped with Lucy. We drove through the night to get here, Guppy told me about Humber Dam and about this motel. I…I didn’t think we’d make it…” Miles broke down in tears, the pent up emotional energy from the past few days finally broke the banks and he wailed and cried like a child. Adara sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulder to comfort him.
“Shhhhhh, it’s okay, Doctor Galand is the best there is. He was once the head surgeon of one of the major hospitals in Elissa, he won’t say which one. All the Syndicates wanted him to work for them but he resisted and has been the resident General Practitioner and surgeon of Humber Dam for the past twenty two years. He’s a brilliant man, if anyone can save Lucy it’s him.”
Miles continued to weep uncontrollably. He had not been able to let his guard down since leaving The Dustbowl, and to a certain extent since arriving on Gyaros. Suddenly in the friendly atmosphere of Humber Dam, surrounded by seemingly kind and decent people Miles let go of every tear and sob he’d held back protecting himself and Lucy over the past while. And boy were there a lot of them.
Miles woke up what felt like a few hours later, a pillow under his head and a blanket over his torso, still outside the door of room number twelve. He sat up, bleary eyed and squinting, the midday sun beaming down. He stood, shakily and leaned against the railing, looking down to the parking lot and reception area. Through the large glass windows of the reception he could see that Adara was busy dealing with residents, laughing and smiling her beautiful smile. Miles scanned the environment, the suburban houses reminded him of home. Although the décor and architecture was a hundred years older than what he was used to on Carthage, it still had that same, homely vibration. Children were playing with a hose on the front yard of the house directly opposite the motel. A girl around fourteen years of age was spraying her two shirtless brothers who attempted to shield themselves from the cold water using their hands. Their laughter was a tonic to Miles, it soothed his aching heart, and seeped into his flesh, healing the pain there too. He smiled, watching their childish antics and sighed deeply as though he was letting go of all the tension he’d built up living on Gyaros.