The Nameless Survivor (Valkyrie)
Page 21
“Well now, sweet thing. What happened to you?” He asked with a quick grin and a peck on her cheek. Mia let out a sweet little giggled before responding.
“Oh it's just a bug bite.” She said jokingly.
“You mean this big ugly bug right here.” He responded with a chuckle as he patted my shoulder. They both broke out into a rolling laugh.
“HA, HA,” I said, “We thought you were dead old man?”
“Nah, nothing can kill me.”
“Where have you been? Where's Bessy?” Mia asked.
“I'll tell ya” He said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “God-damn you were right. Those devils are vicious. Took Ol’ Bessy about a month ago. They came out of nowhere.”
“So they are still out there?” I asked.
“Yeah, and I should have listened to you. After seeing Stratton in shambles, I moved on to Rangeley hoping to find survivors.” He paused. “But, she was empty too. Would have headed right back home but sprained my damn ankle on some roots. So I held up in an abandoned home till it healed properly. By then, winter came, so I reckoned I'd head back in spring. Then when spring came I fell deathly ill.”
“Sick?” Mia asked.
“Yeah, damned flu of some kind. Not too sure, but it lasted weeks and for a while I thought I might have contracted whatever everyone else has.” He took a deep breath, “Then all of sudden the fever broke. But it still took a bit longer to build up my strength to hike back. And here I am.”
“Any particular reason you were walking the river?” I asked with curiosity.
“Yeah, well, we were following the main road, but we kept getting attacked. The last attack took my Bessy. So I figure if the road ain't safe, I'll follow the river up.”
“Well, we are glad your back.” Mia said.
“How bout we head back to camp, fry up some fish for dinner.” I offered.
“Can't say no to that.” He accepted.
Tugger and I headed back up the trail, as Mia lagged behind collecting her clothes while horsing around with Nova. It would be a long hike back, and we had a lot of catching up to do. I was eager to hear his perception of the world, and to see how his magnetism may have altered because of it.
“You're returning at an odd time, old friend.” I said.
“I understand, it appears you two have been busy.” He paused. “It's a bit awkward in all, but I guess she is a woman now.” He said.
“She was a woman a year ago. It's this world, it does funny things to ones psyche.”
“Ain't that the truth?”
“Besides our new blessing, I have decided to leave. Head out and find a survivor’s colony.” I said, looking over into his eyes, looking for acceptance.
“She can't travel in her condition! You'd be walking forever and for nuttin.” He scolded me. “What made you decide such a thing?”
“It was just one thing, I've let down my guard, and we haven't prepared for winter.” I said. “Plus, the pregnancy, I don't know the first thing about delivering a baby.” I paused a moment, “And, something a friend of yours told me.”
“A friend of mine?” He said in puzzlement.
“Yes, Bob has been visiting my dreams, he was even before we met. Mia too.”
“Bob Sprague, aye. Well if that ain't peculiar. But hell, nothing surprises me these days. Have you dreamt of him recently?” He asked.
“Not in weeks.”
“Me either. But that ain't no reason to pack up and leave the safety of your cabin” He responded. “I can help with supplies, and it wouldn't be the first time I've delivered a baby.”
“You?”
“Well it ain't that difficult, she's gonna do most of the work, the rest is just a matter of catching.” He said with a chuckle.
As we reached the old main highway that separated the river from our mountain I stopped and lit a cigarette. It amazes me how deteriorated the pavement had become. Broken and crumbled from the pounding of rain, ice and snow. Dried brown reeds of grass now protruded from the cracks like an onslaught of nature’s fingers reaching up to reclaim the land.
“HEY YOU!” a voice shouted at us.
Startled, we turned towards the call only to find seven or eight men standing around an old rusted and rickety truck. A truck I had never seen before in my life, yet it seemed all too familiar. Tugger quickly became antsy, sliding his shotgun off his shoulder and into both hands before side stepping me to put himself in line for a shot. One of the men instantly walked towards us, a large burly man, wearing overalls, flannel shirt and a baseball cap. The others were dressed in similar fashion, one of them in nothing but a stained wife-beater. They were far from being the respectable sort, they were scavengers, the turkey-vultures of mankind.
My heart sank as it finally dawned on me why the truck, and this man seemed so familiar. Even though I had never laid eyes on him until now, it was unmistakably Big Paul. My heart began to race, and it was obvious that Tugger could see the tension in my face. As he approached with his inbred redneck minions right on his heals I took a deep breath and spoke.
“Good afternoon.” I said, my voice shaking nervously as I took a deep drag off of the cigarette to try and calm my fearful nerves. It was self-evident that our situation would quickly turn into a shit-storm, no matter how we played it. For a second I pondered drawing my gun and unloading, knowing Tugger would not hesitate to follow my lead. The two of us could have overwhelmed them, blasting these fools away right there in the street. If only we had acted, taken them by surprise.
“For a moment I thought you were a gimp.” BP said – Gimp, meaning the dead.
“Nope, there's been no sign of the damned as of late.” I responded as my fear grew and gripped tightly onto my heart. Any moment now Mia would come candidly prancing up onto the road, I did not want her seeing this man again. I had to warn her, or ward them off. Back tracking though, would be too suspicious. I glanced over at Tugger, hoping for an answer, but there was nothing. Only a murderous gaze as he nervously fidgeted with his scatter-gun.
“Hey can I get one them smokes?” One of the other men asked. Nonchalantly I threw him the rest of the pack. My last pack, maybe only five or six left in the beat-up cardboard pouch.
“Keep them, I need to quit anyhow.” I said as I noticed Paul's menacing grin stretched across his face. Like a whip his hand reached out towards me.
“Name's Paul - Paul Andrews, but everyone just calls me Big Paul.” I reached out and shook his hand, never giving my name in return which he immediately noticed as his smile faded. He held my hand tightly for a moment before releasing it and stretching it out towards Tugger.
“You can call me Truman.” Tugger said snatching up the man's hand and attempting to squeeze it with as much pressure as BP, but to no avail, Tugger's bones were too weak and I could see the pain in his eyes. After a moment BP let go with a sly chuckle, and Tugger flex his hand in relief.
“You got a place round here?” he asked, the other men hung back a bit, talking amongst each other and smoking the rest of the pack like children with a bag of candy.
“Nah, just passing through, we’ve been searching for a survivors colony.” I responded.
“Traveling kinda light for such a journey.” He said with thick skepticism.
In my head I could hear the feeble and ghostly voice of Bob Sprague, ‘Take out your gun! Shoot them!’ But I didn't, even though I should have heeded his warnings long ago.
“Well you know, I have so far done well getting by with what the land provides me.” I said.
“That's right, nature always provides.” Tugger tuned in.
“I bet it does.” he paused a moment, turning his head and throwing his friends a scandalous eye-roll. “Although I find it hard to believe the two of you travel these mountains with nuttin more than a bit of fishing gear.” He paused. “Tell me, you a couple of fags?”
“Watch your tongue, mister.” Tugger grumbled as he tilted his gun in Paul's direction. Paul chuckled.
I grew tired of his Neanderthal banter, and my hand slowly slid back towards my pistol. Unfortunately Tugger and I were drastically outnumbered, and Paul’s Minions had turned their attention back on us. Except for Paul, they were all carrying, thankfully though they had yet to ready them. I just hoped that we were fast enough.
“I'm sorry, but we do better on our own.” I said just as Mia unfortunately came tromping out of the woods without a care in the world. Nova followed right behind, she too unaware of the danger ahead.
“On you own, aye?” Big Paul said with a chuckle. Then his smile faded as he gained a better view of Mia. “I know you!” he exclaimed while pointing his fat finger at Mia. Mia immediately began to hyperventilate at the site of him and tears of fear soon followed. Nova darted forward, barking aggressively at him, she now sensed the evil of this man. My hand rested firmly on the hilt of my gun, yet Paul's ego blinded him from it.
“And you got knocked up!” he laughed, “So which one of you spoiled my little tulip?” He said looking back at Tugger and I. “Let me guess, you tag-team her? Or does this old fart get the mutt?” He burst out in a deep rolling laugh. With those words my hesitation faded and I yanked the gun from its holster and pointed it out at Big Paul's ugly face. Tugger followed suit, raising the shot-gun just high enough to ensure the spread would hit most everyone. The others stepped forward as Paul's hand jolted into the air and he took a step back.
“Now mister, we don't want any trouble.” He said.
“RUN!” I shouted, and Mia did, darting across the highway and through the trees, heading for the old tote-road that unfortunately led straight to our cabin. Nova stayed behind, continuing to bark and growl at that piece of shit, doing her best to distract this beast so that her girl could get away.
“She is none of your concern!” I exclaimed, “You and your child-raping friends best head back in the other direction and there won’t be any trouble.” My threat was just fuel being thrown onto an already out-of-control fire. Paul showed no fear as he let out a loud and gut-wrenching belly-laugh.
“You see here, I don't like when my property is taken from Me.” he said as two of his men drew their pistols.
“Do you even know her name?” I asked, taking a half-step closer while pulling the hammer back and steadying the barrel straight between his eyes. I'm not sure why I even asked, it was all too obvious that he cared little about her name, and the question seemed to only enrage him further. But it was what I wanted, for him to lash out just before a buried lead into his skull.
“I’ll make you a deal. Call that lil' bitch back and I'll let ya watch as I beat that cur-child out of her tainted womb. Then I'm gonna show her tight ass who her real daddy is, just before we cut you and your faggots head off!” He spat in my face and without hesitation I pulled the trigger.
It was if time slowed to a surreal crawl in an instant, the bullet skimmed the side of his head and sprayed blood and flesh onto the man next to him before tunneling through another’s head. Nova reacted, leaping out and toppling another man before tearing a chunk of flesh from his arm. Tugger in turn yanked the trigger of his cannon, but only slightly peppering the shoulder of another. It was apparent the adrenaline pumping through our veins had slightly thrown of our game.
Straight away, Tugger and I bolted across the road and into the woods as Paul shouted out at us. But his voice was quickly muffled by a barrage of gun-fire. We never looked back, instead we dashed through the trees as splinters exploded all around us from the incoming rounds. Nova soon ran past us, on a mission to find her girl. It was a miracle that we escaped the onslaught without a single scratch.
The men did not seem follow at first and as I made my way up the mountain their shouts and gunfire became fainter and fainter until we could hear them no more. Darkness fell, but we continued to march towards the cabin, desperately trying to beat the fading light. It was then that I decided, we leave tonight, we had to. BP and his men would in all likelihood scour my mountain for us. He was not about to give her up that easily, not this time.
The Appalachians, we will follow her trails south and scout crossroads for possible help, yet remain cautious. If BP and his posse were still alive then there had to be others, I just pray there is still some good out there. I hoped that Tugger would chose to join us, he is family now, and family should stick together. But this was not the time to suggest it to him, we had more pressing matters before us.
continuance;
When we reached the cabin we found no sign of Mia, nor Nova. The yard was empty, and only a faint smoke drifted up from the chimney. Aside from our heavy breathing, there were no other noises. No birds, no nothing. The area was desolate, fearfully empty, and my heart sank. Pessimism grew and the only thoughts were that I would soon find my love had fallen to the hostility of that brute.
“MIA!” I called out, but there was no response. Quickly I gathered our packs together inside the cabin, and made sure to gather a few more guns and plenty of ammo. Aside from an M4 and the forty-five I packed the rest in a large duffel-bag, then handed Tugger a three-fifty-seven revolver, and a few extra rounds for his shotgun.
“We gonna make a stand?” He asked.
“We have to find Mia!” I exclaimed before storming out the front-door. “MIA!” I called out again, “Where are you?” I listened intently from the doorway for a few moments before I heard her, trampling out of the woods from the south, Nova right behind her. We ran towards each other and I grabbed hold, squeezing her tightly and kissing repeatedly on her forehead.
“They're coming,” she whispered in my ear. I looked down at her glassy green eyes, “More than before.” Reassuringly I squeezed her tight just as I heard a voice deep in the forest.
“They went this way!”
Frantically I carried her back into the cabin, Nova following just behind us. A hide-out I had built years ago in-case of a horde of dead swarmed the area lay just below the loose floor boards. I had to hide her, I had to fight them off. If we ran now they would continue their hunt, and in Mia’s condition they would most surely catch up to us.
“Get in.” I whispered as she looked up at me with hesitation and fear. “Tugger and I have to make a stand, just get in and be quiet!” I commanded.
Still unsure, she climbed down into the small hole and laid down onto her back. Nova jumped in too, laying almost on top of her. I replaced the floor boards and grabbed the M4, throwing Tugger a deeply concerned look.
“I'm going to head up to the west side, get a bird’s eye view.” I said.
“I'll stay here and take them out from the windows.” He responded. I nodded and reached out to shake his hand. “Good luck.” He grabbed hold tight.
“Ain't no need for luck, nuttin can kill me, remember?” He said with a smirk. I turned and bolted out the door, unsure if I would ever see him again.
Hopelessly I clambered atop a large boulder that overlooked the area which was now shaded by the night sky. A full moon slowly crept up over the mountain which cast a faint blue light down upon cabin. It was getting cold and with each breath a wisp of vapor rose into the air like ghosts escaping my lungs. Quietly I lay there on the cold hard stone with the butt of the M4 poised against my shoulder. Intently I listened for any sound, but there was nothing, just a dead eerie silence. Even the Owls, who appear about that time every night, were keeping their beaks sealed. It was too quiet.
Mia had mentioned there were many more, and for BP to get reinforcements only meant they were held up not too far from this area. Too close for us to have not encountered each other previously. How many could there actually be? All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a moving shadow. I looked down towards the south and adjusted my aim. A small figure inched closer to the cabin with one small step at a time. A rifle held firmly in his hand. S
oon, as my eyes focused to the faint light, I was able to make out the approach of the others.
They were further out beyond the tree line but stealthily drawing closer. They were coming from both the east and the south like a platoon flanking their target. Thus far I could only identify five of them, all too small of stature to be Paul. If there was more, then they we holding back out of sight while the others made the initial charge.
“Let's go,” I whispered and aimed at the head of the first shadow and slowly squeezed the trigger. A splatter of blackness sprayed onto the trees and the shadow joined the mass of darkness on the ground.
The forest instantly lit up with blasts of gunpowder just beyond the tree-line. The echoes enhanced the barrage, changing this quiet little mountain into a full scale war-zone. A hail of bullets peppered the sides of the cabin as glass and splinters rained down about the yard. From their random shots I was able to count a total of eight assailants, thankfully that was all.
They had no idea where I was, shooting blindly into the night, so I promptly took advantage of the situation. However my night hunting skills seemed to need work as shot after shot missed its intended target. Tugger too began to return fire with quick blasts from his double-barrel, before ducking down to reload. It didn’t take long before BP's men had their sites on me and their bullets blasted into the side of the boulder like artillery. Shards of stone sprayed into my face with stinging agony. Instantly I slid down the backside and darted out further into the woods and back under the cover of darkness.
As they advanced their assault I swiftly and quietly made my way around towards the east of the property, straight into enemy lines. Luckily these years of extreme survival had taught me the art of not being heard, even when the gunfire subsided I was as quiet as a mouse. Quieter. Closing in on the eastern line, I could still make out a few of the shadows, crouched down behind trees as they flashed hand signals to each other. Sneaking forward my attention drew towards lone figure only few yards away. Silently I slid my knife out of its sheath and raised it towards him. When I approached, close enough to hear his heavy breathing I threw my arm over his shoulder and laid the blade firmly across his neck.