by Gavin Zanker
‘You serve drinks here?’
‘Aye, we do.’
‘Get a lot of customers?’
‘Enough to get by,’ Frank said with a frown. ‘Is there something I can get you?’
The newcomer leaned forward, putting a hand on his hip and the other on the bar as he studied the shelves behind Frank. ‘This is a nice place,’ he said. ‘I especially like that tree out back.’
Then, without another word, the man turned and walked back towards the door. Aiden tensed as the man’s coat flared open and revealed a sawn-off shotgun strapped to his hip. The bell jingled again as he left. Frank walked across to one of the windows and peered out through the curtains.
‘Problem?’ Aiden asked, his hand moving away from the pistol at his belt.
‘Hard to say,’ Frank said. ‘Had a few strange characters in here lately.’
‘Causing trouble?’
‘Not really. Just a few eerie types turning up.’ Frank stepped away from the window and shrugged, letting the curtain fall back into place. ‘Well, if he wants to try something, he’s welcome. I’ll sort the bugger out. We didn’t survive on our own out here by being soft.’
‘He’s probably just short a few screws,’ Aiden said, tapping his head. ‘Drank too much irradiated water or something.’
‘If it’s not weirdos coming in, it’s bloody planes flying over.’
‘Planes? There haven’t been any planes in the sky for years, Frank.’
‘Oh you’re wrong there. Shenai have planes, I’m telling you. I heard them a few nights ago, buzzing far off in the east. Those damn foreigners would have marched over here already if it weren’t for those Ravagers parked between us in the Expanse.’
Aiden laughed at the unshakeable xenophobia that was only possible in the older generations. ‘You still offer lodgings?’ he asked.
‘Sure, there’s a room upstairs if you want it. Still four tokens a night. Five if you want breakfast.’
‘Sounds good. It’ll be nice to sleep in a bed after being on the road for a while.’
‘Your daughter staying with you then?’
Aiden thought about correcting him but decided to leave things simple and just nodded.
‘Nice girl that. Sharon’s taken a shine to her. Then again, she goes gooey over any youngsters.’ Frank rolled his eyes. ‘Women, I’ll never understand them.’
‘I’m sure they feel the same way about you, Frank,’ Aiden said with a smirk. ‘Anyway, I’ll pay for any supplies Sharon gives her.’
Frank waved his hand. ‘No need for that. If she gets use out of any of that old junk, she’s welcome to it. Sharon doesn’t paint much these days and I’m tired of tripping over the stuff.’
‘She’s too busy running this place, I imagine.’
‘Aye, always something to be done. The goat tends to keep to itself, but don’t get me started on the chickens and their coop. Just look at it wrong and the bloody thing falls down.’
‘You have chickens? This place must qualify as a fully-fledged farm by now.’
‘Aye, picked up a few on a trip to the city a while back. Awful state they were in. Those townies have no idea how to look after livestock. Once we got them healthy and laying again, they soon started giving us a steady supply of eggs. Plus they give Sharon something to baby.’
‘You know, I’m pretty sure you two live better than anyone within a hundred miles.’
‘You spend thirty years with Sharon and say that to my face.’
Sharon waddled into the room with Leigh in tow. ‘What’s that, Frank? I can feel my ears burning.’
‘Nothing dear,’ Frank said. ‘Just chewing the fat with Aiden.’
Leigh ran up to Aiden, leaning against his shoulder and beaming as she showed him the pad of fresh white paper and pencils. Aiden guessed she had no idea how valuable the supplies were worth in trade. He glanced at Sharon and mouthed a thank you, and the older woman smiled and nodded at him.
‘I got some new shoes too,’ Leigh said. ‘Sharon gave me one of her old pairs. These ones actually fit me.’
‘That’s really not necess-’
‘Nonsense,’ Sharon said interrupting Aiden, ‘and don’t you start. The girl needs some decent shoes if she’s going to be traipsing around with you all the time. That old pair of trainers were just collecting dust in my closet anyway.’
‘At least let me pay for them,’ Aiden said, his voice pained.
‘You know very well what I think to that,’ Sharon said sternly. ‘Well, I think it’s about time for me to turn in. Will you be wanting one of the guest rooms upstairs, Aiden?’
‘Yeah, if that’s not a problem.’
‘No problem at all, dear. Top of the stairs, second on the right is free. Frank will lock up, so you head up whenever you feel like it. You know you’re always welcome here.’
Everyone said their good-nights and Aiden headed up to the guest room with Leigh and Hitch. The room was filled with antique-looking furniture, all drapes and doilies. An ancient iron-sprung bed sat against the wall underneath a landscape painting of a blue lake.
‘You take the bed, I’ll be all right on the floor,’ Aiden said.
‘The bed is massive,’ Leigh said. ‘We can share it, can’t we? Surely I don’t smell that bad.’
Aiden watched as Leigh and Hitch both flopped down onto the mattress. Leigh looked so tiny, dwarfed by the large bed as she rolled over to bury her face in a pillow.
He dropped his pack by the door and locked it, checked the window was secure, then climbed onto the bed where Leigh was already gently snoring. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the alcohol and the softness of the bed turn his joints to liquid as he sank into a restful sleep.
CHAPTER 10
‘I’M BORED,’ LEIGH said, kicking a stone along the old motorway. It pinged off an old hubcab and Hitch scampered after it excitedly. ‘How long until we get to the city?’
‘We’ll get there quicker if you stop complaining,’ Aiden said as they picked their way between the debris littering the road.
‘Why are we going there anyway?’
‘I already told you, I have a some supplies to buy there.’
‘Yeah, but what kind of supplies?’
‘Some new batteries for one,’ he said. ‘My old ones gave out not long ago.’ Now she was throwing a barrage of questions his way again, he realised how much he had been enjoying the silence.
Leigh skipped over a pile of rubble in the road. ‘Are you getting some more of those round shiny things?’
‘You mean CDs?’
Leigh shrugged. ‘The things that make all different colours shine.’
‘No, they’re for someone else.’
Leigh kicked another pebble in front of her. ‘Are you going to leave me behind again when we get there?’ she asked, her face turned down at the road.
Before Aiden could answer, Hitch growled and caught his attention. He followed the dog’s gaze to see a figure up ahead. He shushed Leigh, pushing her behind a fallen billboard, still displaying fragments of an old advert for some long forgotten skin product. Hitch padded over to them slowly, still focused on whatever lay up ahead.
Peering around the billboard, Aiden saw a woman sat alone in the middle of the road, her shirt torn exposing red, sun-burned skin. There was a chain on her ankle, shackling her to one of the car chassis which lay scattered around the road.
‘She looks hurt,’ Leigh said. ‘Let’s go help her.’
‘Why?’ Aiden asked, glancing back along the road for any sign of movement.
‘Why wouldn’t we?’ Leigh asked.
‘Look again. Tell me what you see.’
Leigh peered through a crack in the billboard. ‘I don’t see anything. Just a woman tied to a car.’
‘Why would someone leave a half-naked woman in the middle of the road?’
‘Why do you think someone left her there?’
‘You think she tied herself up?’
Leigh mouthed an oh sound and peered
over the billboard again and thought for a moment. ‘Maybe they didn’t like her?’
‘Then they’d just kill her, or hurt her. Why leave her tied up in plain view?’
Leigh frowned, her brow creasing. ‘Because they want people to find her. Oh,’ she said, her face lighting up, ‘it’s a trap!’
‘Right. That woman is bait. She’s there to lure people into a spider web. So the question is, where’re the spiders hiding?’
Leigh shuddered as she glanced around. ‘I hate spiders.’
‘There’ll be an ambush hidden up ahead,’ Aiden said as he continued to study the surrounding area. ‘People ready to bash our heads in as soon as we get near her.’
Leigh shuffled uncomfortably. ‘What if she really needs help though?’
‘I doubt it. She’s probably part of the group, just waiting there to rake your eyes out for your food and water. Don’t give her the benefit of the doubt just because she’s a woman.’ Aiden drew his pistol and checked the magazine. ‘Men might be physically stronger, but women make up for it in other ways, believe me.’
‘So what do we do then?’ Leigh asked, her eyes on the gun in Aiden’s hand.
‘We stick to the plan. Until we can’t.’ Aiden scratched his nose. ‘We’re heading south and avoiding trouble, remember? Well that woman is flashing a huge neon sign that screams trouble. So we leave the road here and-’
‘She needs rescuing,’ Leigh said firmly.
Aiden sighed. ‘Did you hear any of what I just said? The world isn’t as black and white as you think. She doesn’t need rescuing, and even if she did, it’s not my job to do it.’
‘Fine then, I’ll do it.’ Leigh picked herself up and headed towards the woman. ‘You stick to your precious plan and ignore her.’
‘What are you doing?’ Aiden said, his voice rising. ‘I already saved your life twice, I’m not risking my neck a third time just because you’re being a stubborn idiot.’
Leigh ignored him and kept walking. Aiden shook his head in disbelief.
‘Hello!’ the woman said, jumping up and waving as she caught sight of Leigh. ‘Hello, little girl! Please help me!’
Aiden swore and looked down at Hitch. ‘She’s a moron. Why should I risk myself for her again is she’s so determined to get herself killed?’
Hitch tilted his head as he stared up at Aiden.
‘It’s just a bad investment,’ Aiden continued. ‘I’m not going after her again. She can learn her lessons the hard way.’
Hitch whined softly and rested a paw on Aiden’s leg, causing him to sigh in frustration. ‘You know, I’m starting to think you like her more than me.’ He picked himself up. ‘Well come on then, if I’m doing this you’re bloody well coming too.’
Aiden rounded the billboard, moving quickly with Hitch trailing him as he studied the nearby cover for any signs of the coming ambush. As he neared Leigh, who was now fiddling with the woman’s chain, three figures emerged from behind an overturned trailer. The shackled woman grabbed Leigh in a bear hug, cackling manically.
Aiden swore, racked the slide back on his gun to load a round, and broke into a run.
Hitch’s barking drew the ambusher’s attention causing them to spread out and face Aiden. ‘Well now, what’s this?’ the tallest man said with a grin as he twirled a length of thick chain around his arm. ‘Dinner as well as dessert.’ The other two sniggered as they hefted clubs made of wood with vicious looking nails hammered through the end.
Aiden stopped a safe distance from the ambushers and gestured towards Leigh. ‘Let the girl go,’ he said to the woman, his tone cold as he flexed his fingers around the hilt of his pistol.
The sun-burned woman looked to the largest man for direction who shook his head. ‘It’s so easy to kill in a wasteland, isn’t it?’ he said, taking a step towards Aiden. ‘You just let the bodies lay where they fall. Who’s to say you’ve killed anyone when there’s just bleached bones left in the sand?’
‘Last time I’m going to say this,’ Aiden said, his gaze locked with the leader. ‘So let me make it clear enough for you. Let the girl go. Now.’
‘Why would we do that?’ the man said, his lip curling back to show blackened gums. ‘The way I see it, you’re outnumbered four to one.’
Without hesitating, Aiden raised his pistol and shot one of the other men in the kneecap causing him to drop his club and clutch his leg as he fell to the asphalt screaming in pain.
‘Three to one,’ Aiden said. ‘Let her go, or I’ll keep evening the odds.’
The leader paused as he saw his friend flailing around in agony. He nodded to the woman who pouted angrily before shoving Leigh away. Leigh turned around and kicked dirt at the woman before moving over to Aiden.
‘Now step aside,’ Aiden said. ‘No one else needs to get hurt.’
‘No problem,’ the leader said, taking a step back and eyeing Hitch who was still growling dangerously. ‘We had to try, you understand.’
Aiden moved ahead with Leigh. As they passed the chained woman, he caught sight of deep, purple bruising on her upper arms. She glared at him, hatred blazing from her bloodshot eyes. She snarled and lunged towards Leigh who gasped in surprise. Aiden stepped forward, pistol whipping the woman across the temple. She folded to the ground instantly, falling on top of Leigh.
Hitch followed suit, leaping towards one of the men, savaging his arm and causing him to drop the club he carried. The leader ignored his friend and charged at Aiden, swinging the chain above his head. Before Aiden could level his weapon, the chain connected with his wrist. Pain surged up through his arm and he lost his grip on his pistol.
‘What now then?’ the ambusher growled as the weapon skittered across the asphalt. ‘What are you going to do without your fancy boom-stick?’
Aiden remained silent, pulling his knife out and dropping into a low crouch. The leader smirked in response, showing more of his black gums and lack of teeth. ‘At last, a proper fight,’ he said.
‘I doubt it,’ Aiden said nodding towards the man still desperately trying to fend off the snapping jaws of Hitch. He managed to get his feet under him and sprint away from the snarling dog. Aiden whistled Hitch back before he chased the man down.
‘Should’ve stepped aside,’ Aiden said as Hitch stalked up alongside him, his muzzle stained with red.
Fear played across the leader’s face as he realised he was now alone. He backed away slowly. ‘You can pass, that’s fine. It’s not personal, you know? We’re just trying to survive out here.’
‘Yeah, we all are,’ Aiden said. ‘It’s how you go about it that matters.’
The leader dropped his chain and fled in the same direction as his friend. Hitch tensed, ready to bound after the fleeing man.
‘Let him go, boy,’ Aiden said, patting Hitch. ‘He’s not worth the trouble.’
Leigh struggled underneath the unconscious woman, finally wriggling free. She climbed to her feet, her face pale as she rubbed the dust from her ripped jeans.
‘You believe me now?’ Aiden said as he strolled over and picked up his fallen pistol, checking it for any damage. A scuff mark along the handle, but otherwise fine. ‘You try to pull something like that again, and I will leave you behind.’
Leigh ignored him and walked stiffly over to the man with the shattered kneecap still rolling around on the floor. ‘Do you have the key for those chains,’ she asked.
The man reached a bloody hand into his pocket, and passed it to her, his whole arm shaking with the effort. ‘Please don’t kill me,’ he gasped.
Leigh moved back to the unconscious woman. She knelt down and released the lock on the chain.
‘She would kill you for the clothes on your back,’ Aiden said. ‘You do know that right?’
‘I know,’ Leigh said quietly as she looked down at the woman.
‘So why help her?’
‘How can you expect anyone to act like a human if you don’t treat them like one?’ Leigh dropped the key and walked away, her shoul
ders squared as she continued south along the dusty road.
Aiden watched her. She was naive, but he had to admit her words had a certain logic to them. He made to follow her, then stopped and headed back to the wounded man. The man recoiled as Aiden reached into his jacket.
‘Find yourself some new friends,’ Aiden said as he pulled out a bandage and dropped it on the man’s chest. Then whistling Hitch, he left the ambush site behind and followed Leigh along the road to the Rim.
CHAPTER 11
AS THE SURFACE of the canyon city came into view, a group of lumbering oxen approached pulling a convoy of carts and cars north along the road. Aiden stepped aside to share the road, and Leigh and Hitch followed suit. Tasting acrid smoke on the air, he noticed the skies to the south were cast in a dark pall.
‘Why is the sky grey over there?’ Leigh asked.
‘I don’t know, but it’s too far away to be the city,’ Aiden said. ‘Maybe forest fires in the south.’
‘I’ve never been this far south before, what’s past the city?’
A woman in the convoy cackled as she overheard Leigh’s question. ‘Oh you don’t want to go down to the sinking dust, kiddo,’ she said, hopping down from a trundling cart, causing Hitch to approach and sniff around her sandalled feet. ‘Even if you manage to make it past the radiation, the beasties, and the mutated outlanders, you’ll find the dirt turns to sand under your feet. And then the sand turns to glass. You make it far enough and you’ll maybe even see the city of Old Antousa, fire still raging through it from the Event.’
‘Are you part of the circus?’ Aiden asked, nodding towards the large domed tent in the distance.
‘Just a simple caravan runner,’ she said, turning and hopping back up onto the convoy as it rolled north. ‘Good luck to you if you’re heading into that city of villains. Oh, and keep an eye on your tokens,’ she shouted, ‘there are outlanders in with those circus folk, and they have fast hands. Ain’t that right, Duke?’ Aiden heard a grumbling from the man driving the cart, causing another bout of high-pitched cackling to come from the woman.
‘I like her,’ Leigh said with a smile as the cart retreated out of sight.