Erik was definitely in charge of the thinking. “The hell we do.” He pointed to the conscripts. “We’ll make them go.”
Sir Nameless happily kicked the conscripts to their feet and forced them to the window while Carter set a large duffel bag on the bench. He unzipped the bag revealing an assortment of machetes, sledges and axes. Rusted blades and rotted handles were handed out to the conscripts.
Jerry received a hatchet that had seen better days. “Am I supposed to give them tetanus?”
Sir Carter grinned. “What kind of valiant knight would I be, sending you out there unarmed?”
“What about my guns?” Jerry asked.
“There are no guns allowed in the kingdom,” Sir Dom said. “Lead is for the weak. We rule by steel, will and nothing else.”
The nameless knight pointed to Sir Dom. “Law.”
“Right,” Sir Dom nodded. “Steel, will, law and then nothing else.” The knight grinned again. “Now take the hatchet or take nothing.”
Jerry returned the sarcastic smile and moved over to the window facing the drop off.
“Told you he was an idiot.” A conscript without any teeth sat across from Jerry on the cliff-ward side of the coach. The others joined in the laughter as the conscript gummed his theory. “You may be lucky, new guy, but you’re a dumb ass. You go out that side and you’re going to fall.” The conscript laughed again, grabbed the ledge of the roof above him and pulled himself out the coach window.
The cliff hit him hard enough to knock the last tooth from his head and rip his body from the carriage. The tooth landed in the middle of the car. No one was sure where the body ended up.
The remaining conscripts stopped laughing and shuffled to other side of the car and formed a line behind Jerry. One gave him a nervous thumbs-up and a weak smile before wishing him good luck.
Jerry shook his head and pulled himself up onto the ledge of the window. He was only two feet higher than he had been, but the valley floor seemed a mile lower than it had a moment ago. Also, he didn’t remember it spinning.
He expected to feel the fear in his stomach, but it struck elsewhere. He felt it in the back of his knees as they began to wobble. Heights were never an issue for him, but he had never experienced them while hanging from the side of a train topped with cannibals before. He considered for a moment that it was less the heights and more the cannibals that caused his overly cautious movements, but when his foot slipped and he found himself dangling from the side of the carriage, he decided that it was definitely the heights.
Several hands reached for his as he pulled himself up the side of the car. Jerry got his foot back on the window ledge and pushed himself up to the roof. Wind blasted his ears as he rolled on top. He couldn’t hear anything but the roar of motion. The sway of the train threatened to push him over the edge and into the ravine. He stood and shuffled his feet until he found the proper stance for train-top combat before looking for the attackers. They were several cars past him and racing for the royal car.
He moved without hesitation and leapt the gap to the next car. Any boy that ever passed a train on the road had imagined jumping from car to car with little more than a bounce. Too many video game levels had made it impossible to drive alongside a locomotive for any length of time without imagining some scenario where racing along the top would be necessary. What surprised him was how easy it was.
His feet struck the roof of the next car and he rushed on, making short work of the gaps until a sudden lurch in the train caused him to slow.
The engine had begun to brake and the car beneath him shuddered as it caught up to the one in front of it. A series of bangs sounded as the train caught up to its new speed and the cars collided into their couplings. He paused as he waited for the jarring to stop and turned towards the front of the train.
Several of the boarders had made their way to the engine and a struggle had ensued for control of the train. Knights and mountain men collided. The purple and gold uniforms were easy to make out in the scuffle, but the earth tone rags of the raiders blended into the wood and soot of the tinder car making them difficult to spot from such a distance.
Motion on the cliff caught his eyes and Jerry spotted the ropes the invaders had used to board the train. They slapped against the rock face as he followed them up. Several more mountain men were on their way down.
A burst of grey erupted from the smoke stack as the throttle opened once more and the train accelerated. The series of thuds and bangs began again as the engine accelerated and train cars hurried to catch up. The other conscripts had made it to the top of the car and stood crouched low to the roof, afraid to stand.
Shane didn’t hesitate. He rushed to catch up to Jerry, leaping the gaps between cars without thought.
Jerry couldn’t wait. The raiders would reach the prince soon. And though the king hadn’t specified the prince’s safe return as part of their deal, he figured it was a loophole he didn’t want to see come up. He turned back towards the end of the train.
The mountain man swung from the cliff wall and caught Jerry in the chest with both feet.
The air rushed out of his lungs as Jerry tumbled back toward the roof and rolled off the side of the car. A blind and desperate grab was all that stopped him from plummeting to the forest below. The sudden stop pulled at his shoulder as his hand grabbed the lip of the roof. Still struggling to fill his chest with air, he dangled above the drop with his back to the car. He spun, trying to face the train and grabbed for the roof with his free hand. The attempt missed and he felt himself slipping towards the abyss.
The mountain man that had kicked him screamed as he flew from the top of the train and over the cliff. Shane reached over the edge and grabbed Jerry’s hand. “Climb up.”
Jerry spun again. Facing the train, he found a foothold and took a moment to catch his breath.
Shane pulled at his arm. “There are still cannibals up here, you know?”
Jerry nodded and grabbed the roof with his other hand. Shane helped him over the edge and safely to the middle of the car.
He put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Thanks for that.”
Shane smiled. “Like I told you back at the castle, man, I’ve got you.”
“Holy crap, you almost died,” the first conscript shouted as he arrived.
The others were close behind and most had commentary on the near fatal fall. Some just whistled. Others laughed and smashed their hands together while making a splat sound.
Jerry ignored their comments and turned to see the progress of the raiders. They hadn’t slowed and were almost to the rear of the train. The prince’s stupid flags flapped in the wind as the private car slammed up to speed with the train. Several of the mountain men had turned to hold off the conscripts a few cars down the line. Jerry took off in a sprint and pulled the hatchet from his belt.
He leapt two more cars and caught up with the first pair of boarders.
They didn’t hesitate to attack.
The one on the left held a baseball bat wrapped in rusted barbed wire. He wound up for a swing that would have taken Jerry’s head off if he hadn’t slid under the blow. He swept the swinger’s legs out from underneath him and sent him crashing to the roof. Jerry freed his foot from the tangle of legs and kicked the invader in the face as he tried to stand.
He rolled to the side as the second mountain man swung at him with a tire iron. The tool left a dent in the metal roof and the man pulled it back to strike again.
Jerry scrambled to his feet and backed towards the edge of the train.
His attacker smiled and brought the iron down at Jerry’s head.
Jerry dove forward into the man’s knees and stood. The swing and the lift tumbled him over the edge of the car into the former National Forest below.
Jerry turned as the first attacker got to his feet and retrieved his bat. His back was to Shane when the tall man landed on the car and checked the attacker from the roof. He flew a few feet in the air and collided with
the cliff face.
Judging by the sounds that followed, Jerry couldn’t decide which side of the train would be worse to fall off. He shook off the thought and ran on. There were two empty cars between him and the next assailant. The man stood waiting for him with a hewing ax. The blade was as broad and fast as the mountain man’s smile. “Mine’s bigger than yours.”
Jerry leapt, landed on the car and threw the hatchet.
The man screamed as the blade buried itself in his shoulder. He grabbed at the handle to pull it free but pulled his hand back as every touch made it hurt more. “That’s not fair!”
Jerry ran on and grabbed the hewing axe’s handle. He spun the man around and dumped him over the edge towards the rock face. He hoped the man would fare better than the one Shane had crosschecked into the cliff, but he refused to listen for the sound. He reached the end of the car and looked down. Several flatbeds were now between him and the prince’s car. The mountain men had already made their way across.
The prince’s private car was easy to spot. A dozen flags snapped against the wind and banners fluttered gold and purple from every easement announcing to everyone that there was a very important prick inside.
Several raiders were at the door, ready to rush inside while another two took turns swinging a sledge against the hinges. One more stood between Jerry and the car flailing a length of chain. The man was massive and growled with every swing of the chain. There was no way into the fight without catching a mouthful of iron.
Shane arrived next to Jerry and looked at the man on the flatbed. “Nice axe. You get this one.”
Jerry turned and looked for the other conscripts. They were several cars behind and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to help. Hesitant to stand, they crawled in a line along the center of the roof. Some sat and scooted along on their asses. Jerry looked beyond them. The train was finally heading out of the High Line. The engine had disappeared behind the trees and the edge of the cliff wasn’t far from where he now stood. Jerry handed the ax to Shane and ran towards the front of the train.
“Hey,” Shane yelled after him. “I said you get this one.”
Every step he took was stupid. He knew this but continued on. He veered towards the cliff and leapt from the car. His hands found the descent rope and he locked his grip as he kicked off the wall and swung back over the train. He found himself over the abyss again and let the rope slide through his hands. It felt like he was falling. He let his stomach twist for half a second more before tightening his grip on the rope.
The rope pulled taut and swung him back towards the train as the final passenger car passed and the flatbeds began to roll under him.
The man with the chain dropped his guard. His mouth dropped open as Jerry swung low underneath him and wrapped the rope around his ankle.
The train steamed past the rope’s anchor point and the rope snapped tight, lifting the raider into the air and spinning him into the chasm below. There was some screaming.
Shane dropped to the flatbed. “Fine. You win the trophy, okay?”
Jerry yelled at the remaining men. “Step away from the door!”
The hammering stopped as the group of five turned to find their backup gone.
“Back away!” Jerry yelled again.
Two men rushed across the flatbed drawing knives.
“Why did you do that?” Shane asked.
Jerry rushed forward and collided with one before he could fully draw a knife. The man was bigger than him and landed on top. Jerry felt the crush of weight against his chest and tried to roll from under his attacker. He couldn’t get free.
The raider struck him in the face and the blow turned his head. In the brief moment before the next strike, he saw Shane pinned beneath the other attacker struggling to keep a knife out of his face.
There was a crash as the door to the prince’s car swung open. Reports filled the air as the man in black fired from twin revolvers into the group of men that stood near the door. There was no time for the group to react or run. All they could do was stand there and soak up bullets.
The man on top of him turned toward the sound. The momentary distraction was enough for Jerry to work a knee under the man and push him into the air.
The attacker landed in the space between the flatbeds and fell to the rails beneath. The train rolled on without the slightest bump.
Jerry rolled over and looked at Shane. The blade was inches from his throat. Jerry yelled to the man in black, “Shoot him!”
The prince’s Dog lowered the guns.
“Shoot him!”
The man in black turned and walked back into the car. The door closed.
Jerry got to his feet and stumbled across the flatbed in a desperate attempt to stop the knife. There wasn’t enough time and the knife started to cut. He dove for the man as Shane began to scream. Jerry collided with the man and knocked him aside.
The mountain man stood and raised the knife.
Jerry rolled over on his back as the raider dove for him. He caught the man with his feet and pushed him away. He was trying to hold him back but it was enough force for the man to lose his balance. He teetered over the edge of the car and grabbed Jerry’s boot to prevent the fall. Jerry tried to pull him back onto the car but the cliff got him first.
The thud was sickening and the splatter was enough to change Jerry’s opinion on trains.
Shane helped him up. Blood ran from his friend’s throat where the knife had cut. It was a trickle. The wound wasn’t deep. Shane nodded that he was okay. “Thanks for the save. I was hoping you’d owe me for longer than that.”
Jerry turned and stormed to the prince’s car. Despite the beating it had taken from the sledgehammers, the door was barely scratched. Jerry pounded on the door until a slot opened.
The dark eyes of the man in black peered out.
“What the hell’s your problem?”
Jerry pointed to Shane. “He almost died! You could have saved him.”
The man in black grunted. “That man is not worth a bullet.”
Jerry kicked the door. “You son of a bitch!”
The eyes behind the slot showed no emotion. They looked him up and down. “You might be though.”
The slot closed.
TEN
The post-apocalyptic world was quiet. It wasn’t the lack of people or traffic. It was the abundance of secrets that had to be kept. A source of clean water. A store of food. All survivors had secrets. It’s how they survived. And, if they didn’t, they pretended they did so they could fit in. A walk through any town was filled with the silence of secrets. Commerce was done. Information was traded. But little was said that didn’t have to be said. A wrong word would give a possible enemy the advantage. A slip of the tongue could lead bandits to one’s home. There were no idle words.
That was not the case in the mountain kingdom.
The Kingdom of the Five Peaks had an odd way of dealing with panic. The news of the princess’s abduction spread quickly after the meeting in the town’s square. The women gasped, the children cried and then everyone collectively shrugged and went about their day.
Erica strolled the town with Chewy at her side. If this was where they were going to stay, she felt she should explore a little. Her wanderings exposed her to whispers of gossip first uttered in amazement and soon dismissed with a wave of the hand.
The princess was sweet, the whispers said with a reluctant acceptance. But Erica could hear envy in every compliment and fewer and fewer tears being forced as the day went on. The whispers turned to how the princess never really belonged, how she never really was one of them. Within an hour they had written the young woman off and the talk turned to who would be the next princess and how hot the prince looked. They secretly hoped they would be the next Mrs. Your Highness.
By noon, they were talking about everything but the kidnapping.
The calm demeanor reminded Erica of New Hope, her home before the assassins started showing up. There had always been dangers in th
e Texas town, but there had been neighbors and friends. They worked and laughed together. The town was filled with people they could trust. But, staying there put everyone in danger. So they left.
Ever since that day, she had looked over her shoulder. She never let herself be distracted from her surroundings. Jerry or Chewy were always at her side.
It must have been the mountain air, because, after only a short while, Erica didn’t care about the princess either. Within an hour she found herself lost in the architecture and staring into the shop windows as if the end of the world had never happened. She was a tourist once again. She even let Chewy explore on her own, though the dog never let Erica out of her sight.
Even when Brae snuck up on her at a store window, Erica didn’t jump, scream or reflexively cripple the girl.
“Hey, girlfriend!” Brae was all smiles. She was always all smiles. “Whatcha looking at?”
Erica smiled back. She had no idea who this girl was or how she knew Jerry, but it was good to have a friend again. “Nothing,” she said. “And it’s wonderful. This place is so peaceful.”
“I absolutely love it here. And you should see it in the spring. Or the summer. The summer is gorgeous.”
“No one seems worried about anything.”
Brae giggled and took Erica’s hand. She led her down the street. “What’s there to worry about? There’s plenty of food. Plenty of big strong men to keep us safe. If you don’t think about it too much, it’s like the Crappening never happened.”
They passed a group of women that were laughing together. Brae waved with a smile. The women grew quiet and turned their eyes away.
“What was that about?” Erica asked.
“See? Women can be just as bitchy here as they were before the bombs dropped. Isn’t it great? It’s the happiest I’ve been since we left back east.”
“Where did you come from back east?” Erica asked.
“Knoxville. Or what was Knoxville. Have you been?”
Erica shook her head. “No. What’s in Knoxville?”
“Oh my God. What’s not there? They’ve got everything. Music, theater, dance, art … it’s amazing. They’ve still got the lights on.”
Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) Page 9