Traveling Merchant (Book 2): Pestilence

by Seymour, William J.

  The lust and anger in his eyes are clear. Kelly bites down on her lip and tries to let her body relax, but the pressure on her busted ankle rolls through her like a tidal wave. His smile grows as she grips the earth, her fingertips sinking deep.

  “Please…” she pleads and tries to pull away.

  “Don’t give me any of that begging shit,” he answers. “We could have played this game later, on better terms, and after you realized everything that I’ve done for you. But you had to go and make it hard on yourself.”

  He leans forward, and the pain rolls her eyes into the back of her skull.

  “P… pu… please,” she chokes and reaches a shaking hand out.

  Barnett follows her arm and pulls back the leg that is grinding into the twisted joint and cracked bones.

  “Oops, I almost forgot,” he chuckles.

  The zipper of his pants grinds as the teeth pull loose. Kelly whimpers but does not try to crawl away.

  “See, isn’t it better to stop all the fighting,” Logan says as he begins to lower his bulk down. The large belly pulling the bottom of his ruined shirt free.

  “Ah!” Kelly screams as she throws a pile of dirt and leaves into his face.

  Barnett is quick enough to turn and let most splatter on the side of his head, but not to prevent her good foot kicking out and catching him in his exposed groin. A heavy gasp and sigh break free of his lips as he rolls backward, tumbling onto the ground.

  Kelly doesn’t hesitate. Spinning onto her knees, she crawls away. This time not down the hill but alongside of it. No more thoughts of hiding, only distance will save her.

  She tries to pick herself up, put one foot under herself, but the grinding of bone sends her back onto her belly. The sound of huffing and cursing quickly follows as she knows Barnett is already after her.

  Clawing and pulling, she tries to keep going. The ground beneath her body hardens and the shadows thin as the morning finally arrives. Trees grow farther apart, and the thunder of Logan’s boots is a tidal wave as he chases after her. This is it. He will not forgive her this time.

  She must keep fighting. Grabbing onto a rock, she wraps her fingers around it and keeps crawling. Beneath her, the ground slopes down. Quickly, she tumbles and begins to slide. The last of the trees open, a hedgerow of bushes splitting to reveal a clearing to an unkept road.

  Empty cars remain scattered like tombstones in the distance. Rusted skeletons, hollow and forgotten in the shadows of the world’s passing.

  Kelly loses her grip and rolls down the embankment. Rocks, leaves, dirt and debris follow her down.

  “Get back here, you stupid cunt!” Barnett barks.

  His bulky figure bursts from the trees and crushes the bushes in front of him. Kelly is barely able to glance at his silhouette before the world spins again and she steamrolls toward the broken pavement.

  More curses follow the thunder that is his body rolling down after her. Coming to a stop, her head aches and her stomach spins, but Kelly tries to regain ground and pulls herself toward the first broken car. Doors missing, the inside has been gutted by fire and weather, the seats inside a shredded mess of springs and torn cloth.

  “You fucking little,” Barnett starts.

  He grabs her pants, yanks her backward against the hardened pavement and rolls her on her back. Screaming, Kelly swings the rock in her hand, a fist full of stone aimed wide and at his cheek.

  Her wrist goes numb as Barnett catches the blow with the back of his arm and the rock spirals out into the air. A fist connects with the side of her jaw. Lights flash and the world goes dark.

  “Stupid bitch,” he barks. “I don’t want to hit a woman, but you are going to drive the monster out of me.”

  His pants are torn and hanging wide from his groin. Pain explodes through Kelly’s face and finding what extra reserves she can she spits at the fat man, a big glob of red phlegm splattering on his shirt.

  “Still going to be feisty, are we?”

  He backhands her again. A tooth in her mouth breaks loose and blood gushes into the back of her throat. She coughs and the warm droplets spray over her face and neck.

  “That’s it. Time to think of what you’ve done,” he says.

  With a yank he pulls her closer to him, towering over her with his bulk. Searing fire rips through the skin of her back as the pavement tears her shirt and the flesh beneath. More blood fills her mouth and she tries to turn, but he crunches the bottom of his boot onto the inside of her elbow.

  “I don’t care if I have to kill you out here. Not what I had in mind for you, but you are getting awfully close to forcing my hand, little lady.”

  Any response she has is cut off by the roar of a mechanical monster. An engine rattles the ground beneath her, the tiny pieces of shale bouncing and chattering as the stampeding metal creation clears the crest of a far hill. Lights, burning in yellow glory, glare as they bounce.

  A vehicle approaches. Fast and almost seemingly out of control. The grin on Barnett’s face grows wide.

  “Looks like I didn’t even have to bother radioing my men. They are already on their way,” he mocks.

  Every hope. Every dream Kelly ever had dies. This is it. Her last chance at freedom and there is nowhere to go. Swallowing hard, she lets the last fires of her soul fade into the darkness that is to come.

  The hunger is crazy. All-consuming and with a mind of its own. Everything that moves is potential food. Small creatures. Large ones that walk on two feet. She can smell the blood in their hearts, hear the beating even if she can barely see them. Her stomach growls even though she knows it is full. Pus and blood leak from her wounds. They hurt and fester, but that does not stop her.

  Red glances back at the man who now follows her. He is big. She can already taste his flesh beneath her teeth.

  He looks at her. Those eyes. So clear and with no fear. She wants to rip them out and taste the sweet nectar within them.

  He nods at the direction they are going. She hisses and turns away.

  She will have him. She has to. The hunger is killing her. The muscles in her body weaken. It is gnawing away at her from the inside.

  Red takes another bite of the meat stick the dark man has given her. A cooling sensation runs through her belly. She likes it. Wants more, but he will only give her a couple at a time.

  She hisses at him again.

  The trees around them do not care. She does not care about them either. They cannot help her hunger. She cannot bite into them. They do not bleed.

  “We need to head back to the road,” the man named Merchant says.

  Yes, that is his name. The cooling of the fire within her begins to clear her mind. She can feel it pull away like a shower curtain. Steam and fog still obscure the finer lines, but figures and thoughts are there for her taking.

  “More of them will be that way,” she answers. “I can’t fight this much longer. If we run into them, I’m not sure what I will do.”

  He grunts.

  She knows he is coming up with a plan. He always does and just as quickly as the curtain was pulled away, she can feel the haze clouding her mind.

  A squirrel runs from the bush in front of her and bolts up the tree. Saliva and blood fill her mouth as she spins to watch it scurry with its little claws up the bark and into the shadows.

  “Here, eat a little more of this. We need to make for the road,” the dark man says.

  He thrusts a stick in front of her and she almost bites his hand as her teeth clench down on the stick. The cooling is instant, and the haze recedes like the darkness in the sky.

  Morning is almost here. Merchant veers away from their path and begins to follow a small trail between trees that lead downhill. Quickly, she follows in step. On his back, the bag he carries bounces back and forth and she can hear the different objects inside.

  Metal on metal. Some even sound like glass and plastic. Is there food in there? Her mouth waters at the idea of that entire sack being filled with those glorious beef stic
ks.

  Shaking, her hand reaches out for the loose buckles that bounce with every step.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warns. “Try to remember what happened last time you did that.”

  Her mind does not want to go into the past. Memories of darkness and pain. Closing her eyes for a second, she tries to shake away the clouds and remembers snow. Lots of white powder and the cold that hurt her bones. There was blood. Lots of it. Most of it hers and then there was him. Towering over her, darkness and death wrapped into a monster covered in gore and she feels the fear that ruined her body.

  Recoiling, she lets a small distance grow between them. The need to eat becomes a distant memory. He is not her prey. He is the hunter. Everything about him tells her to stay away.

  “Keep with me, Red,” Merchant says. “We don’t have a lot of time left. For you or anyone in that village.”

  Red does not answer. She keeps instep with him but does not get any closer. Ahead the trees begin to open. Voices carry in the distance. Men’s voices. Lazy and without any urgency.

  Her mouth does not water like has, but her hands begin to shake, and she balls them into fists. Merchant steps to the side and lets the shadows take him in without crossing into the open.

  “Not much of a chance you could distract them like you did last time?” he asks.

  She looks down to the road at the bottom of the hill. Part gravel and broken asphalt, the path is blocked with tipped barrels, a burned-out car, and several pulled trees rotted enough that the middle sections have already caved in. Behind everything sits another vehicle, its large tires reaching the men’s waists and, on the back, sits a large gun, a string of bullets hanging down to boxes at one of the men’s feet.

  “I could try,” she says and smiles back at Merchant. His eyes narrow as she lets her tongue poke out between the missing teeth. “I’m not so sure about this blood though.”

  He looks her up and down. She’s covered all the way down to her waist and it smells of glorious iron and food. Licking her lips, she regards the half-dozen men waiting, watching for anyone to approach.

  “What are we going to do, Merchant,” she asks.

  He does not answer. Birds sing into the morning sky and several take flight over the open space before them. Dark figures in the brightening sky.

  Her stomach growls, and she places a hand over the emptiness. Pushing, the flesh beneath her fingers folds with no sustenance.

  “I’m going to double back. Wait for my approach. When the fight starts, do what you can to help,” he orders her. She nods her head in agreement, but the words are a raft floating aimlessly in a hurricane. “Listen to me, Red. You have to hold on. That truck still works. If we can get it, I’ll have you back to the way you were in no time. Just keep it together for a little bit more.”

  He grabs her chin and turns it to him. His large eyes bore into her. Searching. Demanding. There is nothing else that she can say but a slurry yes.

  Without adding anything, she watches him fade into the darkness still finding its home within the forest. Like a ghost, he is gone. His bulk and weight substance less in its passing.

  Time passes slow. An endless motion of nothing but light as the sky turns a brighter shade of purple, the peaceful blue a rushing companion frantic to keep up. Then she sees him. A lonesome figure meandering his way down the middle of the road.

  Boots kick at stones and weeds broken through the asphalt are crushed in his passing. The men of the barricade take no notice. Their eyes and attention are for that which approaches their home. They are oblivious to what approaches from behind.

  The thought waters her mouth. Their blood will be spilt. Her hands are wet and the small breeze carrying its way through the forest tickles the sweat running down her spine.

  Merchant is almost to them when one finally turns, hands on belt, he stops as the dark figure does not slow.

  “Hold it!” the man yells.

  In the clear morning, words carry a long way, but even this far she can feel the uselessness. Merchant pays little to the command. Head tilted to the earth, his bulk quickly dwarfs the soldier and the distance between them closes to a few yards at best.

  “I said halt!” the soldier tries again.

  Others have turned now, but the chaos consumes them quickly. Before any reaction can be thought, Merchant is on top of the man, his body lifted clear off the ground.

  Crouching, Red leaves the safety of the forest. Heart pounding with anticipation, she fights the urge to run and shout her way down the hill. They still do not know she is there. The men have their weapons drawn and Merchant keeps the man lifted in front of him.

  “Put him down,” another of the soldiers bark.

  A shot rings out and the one giving the orders drops. The others freeze, hesitation marring their reaction and training as Merchant cracks another shot off and the man on the back of the truck screams as he tumbles, grabbing his knee.

  Blood fountains into the air from the wound as the man rolls on the ground. Glorious red blood and she cannot wait any longer. Screaming, Red charges down the hill. Feet barely keeping up with gravity carrying her to them, the inside of her throat rips as she yells with everything in her lungs.

  They turn her way, rifles leveled. The nearest falls as the side of his head explodes into a spray of mist. The one behind him gets a shot off, a buzzing bee that sizzles as it flies past her ear. Two more shots leave small puffs of dirt before her feet and blood erupts from the man’s neck.

  She cannot run fast enough. Her stomach pulls her. She must feed to keep the cramping at bay. She is hungry.

  More bullets fly but none get near her. The ground below her feet turns to hard rock, and she catapults herself over the first body and into a man rushing with a knife at the dark man. He does not see her coming.

  Her head cracks something. Light flashes in her eyes and words are screamed she does not understand. Shaking away the pain, she rolls and pounces back onto her prey. His neck exposed, she rips with her teeth.

  Warmth floods her mouth. A euphoric sensation rushes through her body. Muscles tense, the man fights, but she keeps tearing. More fighting continues, but she chomps and chews, even when her teeth hit something hard.

  Bone.

  Must avoid the bone.

  Raw sinewy muscle tears away from the man’s neck. He stops moving, and the world clears to her vision. A tooth falls out of her mouth and new wounds leak from her arms. A gob of red hair soaks itself dark within the gaping wound separating the man’s chin from his chest.

  “Red, get a hold of yourself,” Merchant says.

  Blood is splattered against his chest. A large gash cuts across his dark flesh, and the fire in his eyes is brighter than the sun breaking the surface in the distance.

  “We need to move,” he says and grabs her by the shoulder.

  Pain and blood ooze where his fingers dig in and he lifts her from the ground. Red claws at him and then turns for one last reach for her newest meal.

  “Just one more bite,” she pleads.

  “Get a hold of yourself. Sit yourself down and keep quiet. This is going to get bumpy,” he says.

  She is barely settled on her seat as the vehicle surges forward. Wind whistles past, pulling at loose skin and sending stings and twitches through her muscles and wounds. She grins and bares as the truck jumps and skips its way over the road.

  Yes, he is correct. Not too much further and this will all be over. They can cure her where they are going. They did it once before, they can do it again. Then she won’t be so hungry.

  A rumble tickles her gut. Her bleeding hand presses down on the soft flesh and she’s sure it can go deeper this time.

  Is this her spine she can feel?

  Red pulls her hand away. This isn’t helping. Watching the lights brighten what the sun isn’t clearing, she can barely keep up. The world is a blur and Merchant says nothing. He stares ahead, silent and deadly.

  Red grips the side of the seat, he
r broken nails bending as they press into the worn cloth. Up ahead there is movement. Merchant slows, the engine turning from an open roar to a small purr as the figures ahead become clear.

  A young girl lays against the side of a broken car. Blood trails itself across the pavement and a fat man stands over her. Dirty, disheveled. Her stomach growls again and a snarl curls the corner of her lips.

  She knows exactly who that is…

  25

  A Debt is Paid

  Luck usually has nothing to do with it. Life can be a series of misadventures and miscalculations all tumbling into a mess that looks like a lot of plans gone wrong. In reality, it is nothing more than a huge pile of bad decisions concentrated into a short existence punctuated by one large fuck-up that sees you six feet under or rotting with your tongue out and a hole in your belly.

  All of these seem to be the end of the road at the same time, and as Merchant slows the truck, he lets the engine quiet with the lights shining on the two figures in front of him. A young girl bloodied and looking like she has rolled herself through hell and back. Hair slick with mud and blood, the number of cuts and abrasions on her skin is uncountable even as they get closer.

  The fat man over her is easier to recognize. Logan Barnett. His appearance barely any better than hers, the smile on his face puts him at the level of those already living in Hell and Merchant has no problem with the idea of setting him on his way.

  Memories of being chained down in that basement. The grinding metal cutting into his wrists and the smell of that thing he let down there with them. Coming to a stop, he puts the truck in park but does not turn it off. Logan steps over the young girl, reaches down and grabs a handful of hair and begins to drag her across the road. She screams with the pain and Merchant hits the high beams, illuminating them with a glare that brings out the thousands of colors now staining Barnett’s clothes.

  “Will you idiots turn that shit down? Do you want to blind me?” Logan yells over the sound of the engine.

  Red makes to open the door and attack, but Merchant puts a hand on her shoulder. The muscles twitch and are barely there beneath his touch. She is deteriorating faster than he could imagine.