by Roman Shepp
Jane had seen how Saeed had wanted to give up on life, but the way he was fighting now wasn't evidence of that. Saeed was fighting with all his strength, but it wasn't good enough. Saeed's rage, which Jane had seen firsthand, wasn't enough this time. This man, whoever he was, was the greatest threat any of them ever had faced. Saeed's arms were being bent back. He was using both hands to try resisting, but the tall bad man was using only one arm. The other shot out and grabbed Saeed by the throat. Saeed gagged for breath. Jane wasn't going to let him die now, not when he was so close to living again.
All her life, Jane had been aware of her place in the world, and her vulnerabilities. Growing up in a small town, she had been subjected to catcalls and lingering attention from men stronger than herself and knew it only was going to get worse in the city. Being an educated woman, she knew all about the likelihood of getting attacked in a dark alley, and it would have been foolish of her not to learn how to defend herself. No longer did she have her mace on her, but she still had her fists and her feet, and she was not going to let the men carry the brunt of her defense.
Never one to be the damsel in distress, Jane always had seen herself as a capable woman, and never turned her back on a challenge. That was one of the reasons why she was so surprised at herself for having given herself so willingly to Frank, but that was one aberration in a life filled with triumphs. She had overcome stereotypes in her small town to establish a girls’ soccer team. Then made sure she had a future that consisted of more than being a housewife. Even in her role with Frank she continually challenged outdated notions of sexual stereotypes. Whenever someone had made a callous comment Jane called them out on it, which was probably one of the reasons why she had not progressed as far as she would have liked, but it spoke to her stubborn nature.
She hadn't given into Frank when he had attacked her, and he was a man she loved. Being faced with Frank's true nature was the worst thing she ever had had to handle, and if she could make it through that, then she could make it through anything.
Saeed and Tony had saved her from Frank. Now it was time to return the favor. She ran up to the man and kicked at him, landing one in the side of his body. Pain struck back at her as she found packed muscle, but it did enough to loosen the man's grip on Saeed. Saeed managed to break free of the grip around his neck, and staggered backward, clutching at his throat, gasping for breath. The man turned to Jane and glowered at her. The firelight cast him in an orange glow, and he moved menacingly toward Jane.
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” she yelled. The man barely seemed out of breath.
“You killed her. You killed of them. You killed me,” he wheezed.
Jane managed to dodge his blow and kicked again, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. His reach was far longer than hers, though, and he attacked her with everything he had. Jane fared a little better than Tony and Saeed because of her training, but she could tell this man was an extremely competent fighter. He seemed to be distracted, though, at least when he was fighting her, and Jane managed to get in close and kick him in the stomach. Breath was driven out of his lungs and he doubled over.
“That wasn't us!” Tony yelled as he came forward with his bat, wanting to save the day like the hero he wanted to be. The masked man jerked up quickly and tackled Tony to the ground, thrusting a fist in his chest. Tony rolled onto his side, both hands coming up blocking the man’s next attack. Saeed still was gasping for air. Phil was on the ground. Jane and Groot were the only ones left standing.
“You're all responsible!” he bellowed, his voice streaked with madness.
He lunged toward Jane, who braced herself as best she could for the attack, not liking her chances of surviving a blow from this maniac. At the last minute, Groot lunged forward and dug his teeth into the masked man's heel. The man cried out in pain, and his movement faltered. Jane took the advantage and rammed her knee into his groin, making him double over. It was a crude tactic, not a particularly noble one, but it was effective. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, Jane punched him in the face as well, landing a blow straight onto his mask. The mask moved slightly. The man reared back. That blow had been more hurtful to him than anything else, including the knee to the groin. He shook his leg, fending off Groot. His hands flew to his mask, pressing it to his face to ensure that it did not fall off.
Without another word the attack was over. The masked man ran off into the darkness. Jane turned and went to tend to Tara, while Tony disappeared in pursuit of the man, making sure he would not return. Tara had stayed exactly where she had been told to stay. Jane wrapped her arms around Tara and told her what a good girl she had been.
It took a few moments for them to compose themselves. Phil was sitting, looking disconsolate. Saeed had just about recovered, but still was coughing. Tony returned with a look of disbelief on his face.
“I don't know how he did it, but he's disappeared,” Tony said.
“Maybe that's for the best,” Jane said. Tara was quiet, nestled into the crook of Jane's arm.
“Where did he come from?” Saeed said in a raspy voice.
“The convention. His outfit. I recognize it. He must have been there. I don't know what caused him to turn like that, though,” Phil said. “God, I'm sorry, guys. I was no help there at all.”
“Don't worry about it, Phil. It's not like any of us really covered ourselves in glory. He was so strong,” Tony said, fear still etched on his face.
“He'd had some training, good training at that,” Jane said.
“Guess we've figured out the mystery of who killed those other people,” Saeed said.
“But what did he mean about us killing the others?” Tony asked.
“The man is crazy. He's lost his mind,” Phil said, still evidently shaken by what had happened. Jane looked down at the bow, broken and useless. She reached out and threw it on the fire.
“Whatever the reason, the fact is he's out there, and as much as I don't want to admit this is a possibility, I don't think he'll be done with us until we're dead. We have to prepare for the fact that he's going to be stalking us,” Jane said.
“Then we should go after him now, while he's weak,” Saeed said.
“Weak? Jane punched his mask. The only reason he left was because she managed to dislodge it. Without that we had absolutely no hope,” Tony said. “I hate to admit it, but I think we're outclassed. We can't go running after him now, not without a proper plan. He's one man, but he knows these woods, and he's a hunter.”
“I'm not going to be his prey,” Saeed said dryly. He had retrieved his dagger as soon as he could. He held it out in front of him, the blade reflecting the amber light of the fire. “We should abandon our plans to find this bunker. It's not safe to be walking through this forest when a man like him is on the loose.”
“So, what? We go back to the city? Because that's such a safe place” Jane said, incredulously.
“There are more places to hide in the city,” Saeed said quietly. His eyes met Jane's for a moment, and then they fell toward Tara. Jane found that her arm tightened around the little girl, and Jane understood what Saeed meant. He'd already lost his own daughter, he didn't need to be putting Tara in danger.
“The bunker is our best bet for safety. If we can find that, we can be safe from him. As tough as he was to fight, he is just a man, and we need to remember that. He's been through the end of this world just like the rest of us, and he's evidently been affected by it. Who knows what trauma he's suffered,” Tony said.
“You think we should feel sorry for him?” Jane gasped.
“No, just that we should remember he's a man, not a monster. He's not anything more than a man,” Tony said.
“He's not a man anymore. He's been stripped of everything that makes him human. I saw it in his eyes, when he was holding me. I looked into his eyes and it was as though I was looking into the eyes of death itself. There was no emotion there. I don't think he even enjoyed it. He just did it because
...because he wanted to. Because he could. Whatever that mask hides, it is not human,” Saeed said.
“Well, I don't much like sitting here, but I don't want to walk through the forest this late at night,” Jane said.
“This time when we set up watch we should keep two of us awake, just in case. It's not safe otherwise. We'll move at first light and keep moving. Maybe we have a chance to escape him while he's licking his wounds,” Phil suggested. Jane nodded.
“That sounds as good a plan as any,” Tony said. “I don't want us to be vulnerable, but we can't go back to the city. We know there's no future there. We can't let one madman distract us from our goal. I just wish there was a way for us to warn others. We can't be the only ones out here. There are more people in danger. Think of how many people he can sneak up on?”
The question lingered in the air and cast a heavy gloom over the camp. The adrenaline still was rushing through their blood and none of them wanted to go to sleep. Jane found it difficult to quell the worries in her mind. Her skin crawled as she imagined those eyes looking at her from all around. She'd glimpsed the same thing as Saeed, the cold, inhuman abyss that lay beyond that mask. She'd seen something else too, when the mask had slipped. The flesh was mottled and burned. Thinking back to the charred building they had passed, the one that had caved in on itself, she wondered who he had lost, and how much pain he had endured. Maybe his humanity had been burned away. ‘Was it that easy to become a maniac?’ she thought. That question stayed with her while she settled down for the night, and to her dismay she could not find any answer that satisfied her.
“Tony, what do we do if we don't find the bunker?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“We'll find it,” Tony said.
“But what if we don't? We can't walk around the forest forever,” she said, but she never got an answer, not until much later, when a familiar voice came to her.
“You'll never find it. You'll be wandering around in circles just like you have been all your life, thinking you're accomplishing something just because you made it out of the cesspool you call home. All you've done in your life is tie yourself to a man and rode on the coattails of his success. You'd be nothing without me,” Frank growled. Jane got up eyes wide, seeing him standing there.
“No, no I did everything myself. It was just a mistake.”
“Yes, you were. You were useless. I kept you around because you were a good lay, but I showed grave misjudgment. You were my worst mistake.”
“You should have told me the truth.”
“You knew the truth from the first day we were together. You knew I was married, and you knew I had kids. You built up this image of me and you deluded yourself that it was real.”
“No... you misled me.”
“You let yourself be misled. You like to think of yourself as a pioneer, but you've done nothing of worth, nothing of consequence. Your name won't go down in history. Nobody even will remember you. It's not like anyone is going to have a family with a hot mess like you. You're nothing, and the world won't be changed because of you.”
“No,” she gasped.
“Yes. You're worthless, Jane. You never were anything but a toy to me. A nice, fun distraction from my wife and kids. I mean, look at your career. You never knew how to play the game. You weren't smart enough. You thought you could come in with your quick wit and sharp tongue and change the way the game was played. That might have worked in your hick town, but it never was going to cut it in the big leagues. You really think you made a difference when you stood up to men? We all had a good laugh behind your back, and I told them what a good lay you were. Kind of undercuts your point about being a strong, successful woman when the only impact you've made is by being a fun time.”
“You're lying Frank. You're lying!” she said in a shrill voice, and her eyes shot open.
Sweat clung to her body and she panted heavily. It was a dream, just a dream, Jane told herself. But the effect Frank had had on her lingered and wasn't easily rectified. Would she ever be free of the hold he had upon her? She sat up and breathed in deeply. Phil and Saeed were on watch. They glanced in her direction but didn't make any comment. She looked toward Tara, who was sleeping soundly. Elsewhere, an owl hooted. The masked man had not returned yet. They still were alive. Jane planned to stay that way for as long as possible.
Looking down at Tara, she was filled with hope for the girl. Hope that the world would be in a better place by the time Tara grew up. Hope that Tara would have the strength and courage to fight the battles that needed to be fought. Hope that Jane would be around long enough to see Tara grow. There were so many threats in the world. Maybe Jane hadn't lived up to her potential when she had reached the city. It was so easy to lose your identity in the city, but Jane knew who she was now. She was a defender, a fighter, a survivor. Nobody was going to take that away from her, and nobody was going to hurt Tara.
Settling down again, Jane closed her eyes, hoping to get in a little more rest before it was her time to take watch once more. Her thoughts were on Frank and the masked man, wondering if she ever would be free of men hunting her, wanting to hurt her. She'd given as good as she had gotten so far, but next time she would have to end it all. Tony was certain about the future, and she wished she shared the conviction of his beliefs. The bunker was out there, it was close, but would they be able to find it before something else got the better of them? There were so many things out there that could kill them, and as Jane slept she had to ignore the fear that crawled around her mind like a spider.
Chapter Eighteen
Tony awoke and took the final watch. Phil and Saeed reported that nothing had happened, and they all were glad. Tara still was sleeping. Jane was supposed to join him, but she looked so peaceful in her slumber that Tony decided to let her rest some more. They all deserved to rest, for none of them knew what was to come. Besides, Tony had Groot, and his baseball bat.
Not that the bat had done him much good when the masked man had attacked. Tony realized how fortunate he had been in the other fights. This one had been against a warrior. A strong man who could not be intimidated. Tony remembered how weak and powerless he felt as he battled with the man, crumbling under the force of his strength. Tony had been sent to the ground. It was Jane and Groot who had won the day. Without them...if the man returned and Tony had to face him alone...he shuddered.
The night seemed to close in on him. The air throbbed with dark energy, as though the woods were filled with horrors just waiting to leap out and drag him away. He sat with his legs apart, his baseball bat in between them, almost wanting something to happen just so he wouldn't have to deal with the weight of anticipation any longer.
How he wished he were a true hero. The characters he idolized never froze when going into a battle. They did their duty, always willing to put themselves on the line, even when they were against a formidable foe. This masked man was one of those who just wanted to watch the world burn. There was no hope of redemption for him. One look at him was enough to see that. He'd lost his mind, probably saw the world in a completely different way. So many people had died by his hand already. Maybe more than Tony knew. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that he actually had started the fire in the convention center.
The man wouldn't stop killing unless he was stopped. Really, he needed punishment, or help, but neither were possibilities in this new world. Institutions for rehabilitation were no longer a viable option for people like him. There was only one way out, and it made Tony sick even to think about it. Another mercy killing. One life was sacred, but contrasted against the safety of innumerable others? The masked man had to be stopped, if they ever faced him again.
Something told Tony they would. The masked man had been watching them like a hunter, of that Tony was sure. He should have listened to his gut feeling, should have paid attention to the way the shadows seemed to speak to him.
Was the masked man already crazy, or had the world turned him into this monster? Tony already had seen
so many people change, but he liked to think that in these circumstances it only brought out people’s true nature. Sadly, if he was right it would mean that most of humanity were scum. This rude awakening had shaken the foundations of his mind and he wasn't sure where to turn for answers. How was he supposed to know right from wrong in a world like this? He could make a decision with good intentions, but it still could be wrong.
Sometimes he envied the dead. Life could be a burden. All the anguish and despair. They had to find the bunker soon. It was the only thing providing them with any hope. Without that, Tony didn't know how they were going to survive. The city was a hazard zone. Tony didn't ever want to step into the metropolis again. Maybe Jane's theory was right, and they were better off finding a small town somewhere, settling down on a farm where they could live self-sufficiently. Not that Tony knew anything about farming, but it was a nice thought, to think that there was a peaceful end to all of this.
Was the rest of the world suffering like America? It was impossible to tell. So many things were impossible. Tony was from a generation where everything was connected with the World Wide Web. Globalization had linked billions of people together, but so quickly the tethers had been snapped, and Tony was drifting alone. So much had been lost, so much that never would be regained.
His hands gripped the handle of the baseball bat. Someone was out there. Was it him again? He thought about waking the others, but they were so peaceful. They needed their rest. Tony would wait. If it was the masked man, he would cry out instantly. Tony wasn't so stupid to think that he could take on the man by himself. He stayed sitting, trying to act aloof and nonchalant, baiting whoever it was to come forward. Really though, Tony's body was primed for action. His sinews were tensed, and his blood ran hot. He already knew in his mind what he planned to do. As soon as he saw the masked man, he would slide forward and ram the end of his bat into the mask man's face, rather than swing. That would give him an advantage.