Conspiracy at World's End

by James, Daz

  He felt a heavy heart, still feeling the intoxicating by the love that was now a crushing pain in his chest.

  Santanna and Max watched as Francis and Bettina packed the last of their gear into the back of the Kombi van.

  Francis was giving orders as usual while Bettina obeyed without question.

  Santanna lent across to Max, “And they really think dressing a guy as a she-hulk will convince anyone?”

  “They live in their own fantasy world,” spoke Max. “It’s best not to think about it too much, you may get a headache.”

  Francis came toward them, jovial, “Oh Max, we shall miss you terribly. It has been quite a hoot. I know Bettina is most upset which is why she cannot speak right now.”

  “Thank you again for the ride,” spoke the little man.

  “I trust we shall cross paths once again as we all motor along the open road,” spoke the woman, before pecking him on the cheek.

  Francis skipped back to her car. She climbed into the driver’s seat pulling away from the spot.

  Santanna and Max watched their van pass by, venturing along the street.

  While they were distracted, a hobbling figure slipped inside an open door to the under carriage beneath the bus, concealing herself for the journey.

  Boofhead appeared at the top of the stairs to the bar, looking a little down.

  Santanna ran over to him, kissing his cheek, “Fuck! I will miss you most of all scarecrow.”

  He blushed, looking across at his boss with a mischievous glint; he had gotten a kiss where Joh hadn’t. It made the hulk feel important.

  Joh snarled with contempt, the woman wasn’t that great. If she didn’t see how hot he was than the bitch would miss out. He would find someone else just as worthy.

  Santanna gave him the finger before boarding the bus. He glared after her, feeling a swelling in his pants. She did excite him.

  The bus pulled out of town taking with it an assortment of passenger. Max sat up the front with Santanna. Sam sunk back to the rear where Marlin huddled on a seat. He was going over plans in his head, trying to forget the pain.

  Sam needed to confess one last secret but wasn’t sure how Marlin would react.

  Sam slipped into the seat in front of him, “Thanks, for letting me come with you. I want to put things right between us.”

  “It’ll take more than words,” spat Marlin, staring out the window.

  Sam placed a hand upon his arm which was instantly withdrawn by Marlin, “There is one other thing you should know…” Marlin closed his eyes for the next dagger to his heart. “I don’t have a brother.”

  It wasn’t a surprise admission; he hadn’t trusted anything about the guy ever since finding out, though it still stung like a bitch.

  “So you let me build a funeral pyre for a stranger? Well, give the man an Academy Award! He’s pulled off the performance of a life time,” cried the man. “I must have looked like such a fool. Did you laugh at my expense?”

  “No…I thought it was sweet.”

  “I really don’t know you at all,” commented Marlin. “So, is that it?”

  Sam bowed his head, “Yes.”

  Marlin launched to his feet, “Stop the bus!”

  Santanna hit the brakes, instantly sending everyone flying down the aisle.

  Marlin jumped to his feet. He grabbed Sam by the back of his T-shirt, hauling him toward the front of the bus.

  “I thought I could handle it…but I can’t,” spat Marlin. “I want you out of here.”

  Sam begged for him to stop, struggling to stand his ground. Marlin was like a wild man, his grip like a vice.

  Santanna stood in their path, “For fuck sake, stop it! We need every able body person to help us. We can’t do this without him.”

  “Well we are going to have to because I can’t stay on the bus with him,” spat the enraged man. “Get out of my way!”

  Santanna backed down for the first time, seeing the pure anger inside him. The kid wouldn’t suffer; they weren’t that far from the town.

  The woman opened the doors letting the two men pass by.

  They both struggled, for dominance, until Marlin pushed him down the stairs and off the bus. The young man fell onto the road, with a thud.

  “Don’t leave me!”

  Marlin turned away from his pleading face going to the back of the bus.

  Santanna felt guilty for leaving the kid. He did seem sorry about his deception. Yet Santanna wasn’t in love with him.

  She closed the door, regretfully, going back into the driver’s seat putting the bus into gear and moving away from him.

  “I didn’t realize there was in-flight entertainment,” uttered Max, enjoying the pandemonium.

  Santanna told him to fuck up and return her concentration to the road.

  Marlin looked out the back window, watching Sam’s devastated figure rocking back and forth.

  He still loved the bastard yet he couldn’t focus on the job with him nearby. His mind would be constantly on the betrayal.

  Chapter 9

  Boofhead went to put in an order with Lenny. Joh wanted to drink his libido into oblivion so he wouldn’t have to think about that woman.

  Boofhead called out for the sly grog trader, searching the back yard until he found his body.

  The hulk’s face turned white, blood draining away.

  He stopped, spotting something familiar on the ground, it was a flowery apron covered with blood.

  He took the item with him. The boss may want to see this; he would know what to do. The boss always did.

  He turned away from the sight, running from the yard, calling out for his boss.

  He found Joh in the bar, flicking through the tattered remains of a pornographic magazine that he had found in one of the abandoned buildings. He had to get-off somehow in this bleak land.

  Boofhead struggled to catch his breath, muttering incoherently.

  Joh leapt to his feet, slapping his old friend across the face to settle him down.

  Boofhead was shocked into silence; the boss hadn’t hit him like that before. His feelings felt hurt.

  “Boss, why’d ya hit me”

  “You were babbling man!”

  “But you hit me!”

  “I’ll smack you again if ya don’t tell me what is wrong.”

  Boofhead rubbed his cheek, “It hurts.”

  He waved the apron before him; Joh had an instant recognition to the night at Aunt Pat’s. She was wearing the same apron.

  Boofhead told him about Lenny.

  That old woman was somewhere nearby. The biker felt a chill in his spine.

  The mood in the bus was morbid; no one spoke in case something insensitive was said.

  Santanna had elbowed the scientist into submission a couple of times when he began to ask questions about Marlin and Sam’s relationship.

  Santanna suddenly found a distraction that would lighten the mood, slowing down the vehicle for a better look.

  There was an in-land watering hole where once land formed. The deluge of water during the early years of the catastrophe had created new water ways. This was one of them.

  She stopped the bus, smiling, it had been ages since she’d had a proper wash. The woman opened the door bounding down the steps.

  The two men jumped to their feet, wondering what the big deal was until they too looked out of the window.

  They ran after her, eager to dive into the water. The heat of the day was making the bus feel like a furnace.

  Santanna stripped down to her underwear, racing toward the water. She wadded into the depths, submersing her body into the cool, fresh water.

  The two men undressed down to their boxer briefs, and then followed her into the lake.

  They began frolicking about in the water, splashing each other. Their laughter was the only sound that could be heard across the landscape.

  In the undergrowth, a predator watched on, softly growling, cat shaped eyes taking in every movement of the pray tha
t played before it.

  The creature was calculating in its bestial mind the best possible moment to attack.

  Joh and Boofhead had searched the town for signs of the old woman. They found no trace.

  They were about to return to the bar, but stopped, spotting Sam walking toward them, arms clutched about himself for comfort, his head bowed.

  Boofhead ran toward him, his confused mind unable to work out how he could he here when he should be on the bus, “Hey, Mr Sam, whatya doing back here?”

  Sam looked up, eyes red raw from crying, “I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

  “Well, you come with me I’ll get ya a mug of grog and we’ll find ya a nice place to camp.”

  Boofhead ushered the man toward the bar.

  Joh watched on, indifferent. He had no concerns for this kid. He was just a fag anyway, not someone he wanted for company.

  Sam found a place to huddle in a corner of the bar, away from sunlight, sulking in the dark.

  Boofhead fetched a jam jar of alcohol, placing it before the man, “You rest up, sir. I’m sure they’ll be back for you…that Marlin took a real shine to ya.”

  Sam closed his eyes shutting out the world. The hulk left the kid alone going outside.

  Suddenly, Marlin felt the strangest sensation that they were in trouble. There was danger here. He looked about the bank, his eyes searching for possible cause of this overwhelming dread.

  “Hey…I don’t like this.”

  Santanna frowned, “What the fuck are ya on about?”

  “This place doesn’t feel right. We should just keep going.”

  “It looks perfectly safe to me.”

  “Come on, let’s get out while we can.”

  “Fuck off! I’m doing my Esther Williams routine.”

  Marlin couldn’t rid himself of the gnawing in his guts, it was getting worse.

  He wadded out of the water, standing there in his underwear, soaking wet, outline of his cock, visible. He began to shiver.

  He scanned the ground for his clothes, noticing that they had disappeared.

  He turned to the others, “Our clothes have gone!”

  The weakling was shivering, vulnerable to an attack. The creature sat back on it hunches ready to pounce.

  He waited, watched, his leg muscles preparing to release like a spring that would catapult the beast toward the intended pray.

  The man had ventured further from the water. This was good; the creature didn’t like being wet.

  Suddenly, a flash of black and orange stripes flew toward Marlin at an alarming rate.

  Max turned around in the water just in time to warn him, “Tiger! Run!”

  Marlin did just that, as the tiger hit the side of the bus where the man once stood.

  The big cat shook off the effects, reassessing the new direction of the scent.

  He rounded the bus just as Marlin shut the door.

  He roared with frustration, attacking the bus door than realizing it wasn’t going to give him access to the food source, easily.

  Santanna and Max watched on, unable to leave the water for fear of being attacked by the animal.

  “Where the fuck did that come from?”

  “Many animals escaped the Dubbo Zoo, perhaps this is one of them.”

  The big cat traversed the bus looking for a way to get at the meal, jumping at the window when he saw the pray moving about inside.

  Santanna and Max watched on with astonishment as the tiger primed its body and sprang up onto the roof, carefully checking for an opening, clawing at the black solar panels hoping to get access to the potential kill.

  Marlin closed his eyes, catching his breath, waiting for his heart to settle down. He frowned, hearing a sound behind him at the back of the bus.

  He swung around, suddenly crying out as Aunt Pat advanced toward him, “There, there, my pet, when Aunt Pat catches a scent of a meal she never backs down,” spoke the old woman, brandishing the knife before her. “I feel like a nice slice of tongue with an onion sauce. It’d soon stop your prattling.”

  Marlin looked about for protection but noticed that the old woman was between him and a weapon. The gun lay under a seat, hidden away.

  He could hear the tiger prowling above. He was trapped.

  Sam woke up with a start, feeling that his lover was in trouble. He began to shake, anxiously.

  He turned over, spotting the jam jar full of sly grog. He picked it up; downing the content in one long skull until it was all gone, taking with it the bad impression in his mind.

  He sat up, resting his back against the wall, wondering what he should do now.

  He looked about the room, his eyes spotting the apron in a heap upon the floor.

  He rose to his feet, a little dizzy from the grog. He placed a hand upon the wall to steady himself, getting his balance. The man moved toward the item upon the ground.

  He bent down to pick it up, frowning as he noticed what looked like dark stains, “Boofhead! Where are you? Boofhead, get in here!”

  The hulk bounded into the room, “What’s up,

  Mr?

  “Where did you get this?”

  “We found it at Lenny’s place. He was slit from ear to ear by that old woman.”

  “You mean Aunt Pat did this?”

  “Yeah, but ya don’t have to worry none. She aint here no more,” spoke the man. “That old woman doesn’t want us.”

  “No, but she does want someone…especially the man who tried to kill her,” spoke Sam, realizing his concerns for Marlin were right. “I need to borrow your bike. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  Sam raced out of the bar followed by Boofhead.

  The hulk was confused, his mind unable to absorb the situation.

  If he had bothered to learn at school, he’d be more useful to Sam now than just some dumb lump.

  He felt dejected. He was useless, like they all said.

  Marlin ducked and weaved from the blade of her knife. He had to get to the weapon.

  He threw his arms up before his face, charging at the woman, feeling the blade cut his skin. He gave her a hearty shove sending her down the aisle.

  He leapt on a bus seat next to him than hurdled over them passed the old woman’s fallen figure.

  Aunt Pat got up, grabbing for her knife, before turning to locate her target. He was crouched down under the seat searching for something.

  The woman ran at him just as Marlin turned

  toward her aiming the shot gun. He let off a quick shot that missed the woman blowing a hole in the window causing shards of glass to rain down on them.

  The tiger jumped back, roaring in defiance at the

  sudden noise. The pray was toying with his hunger. He

  wanted to get inside to feast of that bloody flesh.

  Aunt Pat deflected his aim upward, as they struggled for control of the weapon, letting off another shot through the roof that clipped the tiger.

  The beast growled in pain as it toppled from the roof.

  Santanna grabbed the scientist hauling him to shore, this was their chance to get passed that beast to the safety of the bus.

  Max didn’t want to move, it was safer in the water. He didn’t want to get involved in the skirmish. Yet the woman would hear none of his excuses.

  Boofhead brought around his bike which Sam immediately jumped into the seat, familiarizing himself with the vehicle before roaring away.

  He was an Enforcer after all; they were well equipped to handle any situation.

  Boofhead watched him go, “Shouldn’t we help them?”

  Joh watched on from his perch on the verandah where he was sunny himself, shirt off exposed to the elements, “Nah, leave them to it. We don’t owe those bastards.”

  “But, boss, they’re our mates.”

  “No. I’m your mate. They’re just outsiders.”

  Boofhead turned to see the bike get further and further away. The guy was riding like the wind, he wasn’t letting up. His lover was in dange
r. He would stop at nothing to save him.

  Santanna crept ever so quietly toward the bus, with a hand clamped over Max’s mouth to stop him from bleating. The tiger was lying by the bus, licking its wounds.

  They were both sodding wet and beginning to shake. They just couldn’t stop the trembling of their bodies.

  Max grabbed her hand, whispering, “You know, we could huddle together to stop from shivering.”

  “I would rather the cold,” scowled the woman, even at this time of peril that little twerp had time to think of sex. “If you speak again I’ll rip ya fuckin tongue out. Got it!”

  They moved ever cautiously passed the tiger suddenly a crack split the air as Max stepped on a branch.

  The tiger jumped to his feet, roaring at them, exposing sharp, razor teeth.

  Inside the bus, the old woman was trying to wrestle the gun from Marlin’s grasp. She managed to get him down on the ground, raising her knife above him.

  Marlin flash backed to that night with Winter, feeling helpless. This time it would be different; he was not going to let himself be dominated again.

  He kicked out with pent up anger sending the old woman backwards down the aisle. She hit the deck with a thump. The old woman groaned, disorientated.

  Santanna and Max ran to the doors of the bus, hammering on them to be let inside.

  The tiger leapt back onto the roof, peering down at them. The animal tensed ready to pounce. The kill was imminent.

  Suddenly, the bus doors opened, and the two humans scrambled inside just as the big cat descended from above.

  The creature roared and scratched at the now closed door, angered that again the kill had evaded it.

  Once the big cat has ceased the attack upon the bus, Marlin and Santanna hauled the unconscious old woman into a seat while Max aimed the shot gun at her.

  They wanted to keep the old bitch where she could do the least damage.

  Marlin suddenly noticed the trickling of blood coursing down his arms. Santanna found an old shirt that she tore in half to make improvised bandages.