As usual, hope didn’t come through. They searched the house and found guns, food, three backpacks, ammo, canteens, clothes, but no shock collar controllers. Milly said, “We need to pack as much extra clothing as we can. Tye, Tester, and Ingo will need some of this stuff. The weather can get harsher up north.” Axe had a room full of gear he’d salvaged over the years, most of which had deteriorated to nothing, but the rubber boots and synthetic fabrics were still usable.
“What of Jerome? What did Axe do with his body?” Robin asked.
Milly sighed. “Axe made me bury him out back. We must tell his family if we ever get back, same as Peter and Vera.”
“Yeah,” Robin said.
As expected, Axe had been well armed. They found several rifles and handguns, and Milly retrieved her family Glock 19 and pocketed thirty-seven 9mm shells. She gingerly slung a rifle over her injured arm onto her shoulder and took two boxes of .22 caliber bullets. Peter’s axe she stuck in her belt and it hung by her side like a sword. Robin took a Colt 45, a rifle, and ammo for both. Remembering a time when they’d had no bullets, both women also selected large hunting knives. They packed away several kitchen knives, a six shot revolver, an older Colt 45, and an antique military rifle that looked like it might not fire. The ammo went into a handbag.
Milly stayed dressed as Axe and Robin slipped on a heavy army jacket. They left the house and were joined by Helga, Salt, and Pepper. The dogs followed several basic commands and Milly had never seen them disobey. “To me,” Milly yelled, and the three dogs fell in beside her. Larry flew through the open door and disappeared over the wall. Milly feared she’d never see the nasty old crow again. Turnip trotted behind, head on a swivel, eyes bright as stars.
Through the maze, down the cracked path, out the gate, over the ash, and into the soldier pines they walked undisturbed. When they reached the armory yard Robin stopped, took the rifle off her shoulder, and jacked a bullet into the chamber.
“Try not to shoot any of them. Stay cool and it should be easier, but shoot if you have to,” Milly said. She held the Glock 19 in one hand and pulled her broken arm in tight to her body.
A crowd of virals awaited them. Milly had seen Axe feed the lost souls, but that was a chore she’d never been asked to do. Judging by the growls and chomping jaws the natives were hungry and getting restless. Milly and Robin jogged across the hardpan, Salt and Pepper clearing the way before them and Turnip and Helga watching their backs. They reached one of the armory’s side entrances that neither of them had used before. Robin had the keys out and ready. They stood huddled next to the building for several long minutes while she found the key, then they passed inside with the dogs.
“Salt, Pepper, and Helga, sit. Stay.” The dogs did as commanded. “If we need them, I’ll call them. Turnip, stay close.” The cat slinked behind them. Milly held her gun out straight with her good arm. Her ribs throbbed, and it felt like her nose had swelled more.
The main hallway ended in a T intersection, and Milly was sure their friends were to the right, where they’d find a series of hallways with doors, that when unlocked would lead to them. She would try the same path, except on the opposite side of the building. It was hard to see in the darkness, and several times they saw virals sleeping on the floor, or on cots. Turnip sniffed them, but stayed close.
Finding the right keys and unlocking the doors in complete darkness without making a sound was hard enough, but the smell made it even more difficult. It was like a bear cave; bones strewn about, rot and decay everywhere. They traversed numerous hallways, opened several doors, but they couldn’t find the courtyard.
“We’re on the outer edge, we need to work inward,” Robin said.
“I’ve lost all sense of direction,” Milly said.
“Dare we risk some light?”
“No.” The sounds of the diseased puffing, dreaming and snoring answered that question. Milly bumped into a door at the end of the passageway. “Wait, we haven’t opened this one.” She fumbled through the keys in the blackness, feeding in each one, then moving on to the next. When the lock turned, she said, “Let this be the lucky one.”
It wasn’t.
Chapter Twenty-three
Year 2075, Pass Christian Armory, Mississippi
Tye’s stomach ached as hunger pains fired every nerve in his body. He hadn’t eaten since Milly and Robin disappeared eight days ago, and he didn’t want to think about what might have happened to them. What still might be happening to them. He soothed himself with the thought that Axe was a crazy asshole, but hadn’t touched Milly. To that the pragmatic voice in his head would remind him that Axe didn’t think Robin was his daughter.
A white crow screeched as it circled the courtyard. Dark clouds rolled overhead, the sky fat with moisture.
Tye and his companions were used to the luxuries of their captivity, and without food their prison had taken on a harsher tone. What would Milly and Robin do if they killed Axe but didn’t have the keys to get to them? At what point would they leave them behind? Tye cracked his neck, remembering the night he’d spent on the lido deck of the Oceanic Eco as the world ended. Who had that young man been? Where had he gone?
His knees and back hurt with every one of his sixty-eight years. The thought of continuing on upset his stomach, but the thought of staying made bile creep up his throat. They’d all broken down over the last six years, all except Ingo, who looked exactly the same as the day they’d met him in Zee’s.
Tester lay on the ground beside Tye, and Ingo sat cross-legged before them, meditating. He still claimed to see the penultimate vision of them standing before the giant turtle. With a smile that was strangely warm he would insist everything would be fine, and Milly not coming back and Robin being taken hadn’t shaken his resolve.
Ingo’s eyes snapped open, and he smiled.
“What?” Tye said. “What did you see?”
“Our salvation,” Ingo said.
“Could you be more specific?” Tester said. He’d rolled onto his side and rested his head on his arm.
“I saw Milly and Robin hugging. Celebrating,” Ingo said.
“Where? When?” Tye said.
“Here,” Ingo said.
“Do—”
Tester cut him off as he got up. “Did you hear that?”
A faint breeze whistled through the courtyard. The crow shrieked again. Then Tye heard it. Gunshots. Several in fast succession. Yelling and cries of agony erupted from inside the armory. Tester walked the perimeter of the courtyard trying to determine what direction the sounds were coming from. There were several more gunshots, then silence.
“Over here,” Tester said. His gaunt frame leaned against the eastern door and he had his ear pressed to the wood.
“Move,” Tye said. He hit the door and yelled as loud as he could. “Milly! Robin!” Ingo and Tester yelled also, and the three men kicked and pounded the door.
The door swung inward and Tye, Tester, and Ingo were thrown backward onto the ground. Milly, Robin, and a large cat burst through the door and they slammed it closed. Milly leaned on the door as Robin inserted a key and locked it. They stood in stunned silence for a few seconds, grabbing for breath, and then Milly rushed to Tye, and Robin to Tester. Milly slapped Ingo on the back. Milly and Robin were panting and trying to catch their breath.
“Are you all right?” Tye said.
“They attacked, and we were overrun. Then we heard your voices and ran to them,” Robin said.
“Are you guys OK?” Milly said.
“Hungry and weak, but eager to get the hell out of here,” Tester said. Robin handed him a Colt, and he racked the slide.
The cat watched them, its tail curled and whipping back-and-forth.
“That Turnip?” Tye said.
Milly nodded.
Tester said, “Can we save the kitty talk for later? Let’s go.”
“We need to wait here. The virals’ mental capacity is greatly diminished. They’ll forget about us and move on,” Milly sa
id. “You guys need to eat something. Don’t worry, we’re safe here.”
“We still need to get out of here,” Tye said.
“We’ll wait for nightfall and sneak out,” Milly said.
“What about the dogs?” Robin said.
“They’ll wait if they can. If they can’t, they won’t,” Milly said.
“But what if…”
“Robin, they’ll be there or they won’t. There’s nothing I can do about it,” Milly said.
A crow sat atop of the courtyard wall squawking, its cries shrill and annoying.
“Larry?” Tye said.
“Yup,” said Milly.
“The one-eyed bird you’ve told us all about?” Tester said.
“The very same,” Milly said.
“And Axe?” Tye said.
Milly told her story as they ate a fast meal of dried venison and stale bread. Robin interjected with her parts as she handed out the clothes and weapons they’d brought. Each man got a kitchen knife, Tye the six-shooter and Tester already had the Colt. Ingo flung the old rifle over his shoulder, but appeared to have no use for it.
Milly flinched as she bent over, and Tye said, “You don’t look so good. You think it’s a good idea to hit the road right now?”
“I’m fine.” She shook her head and said, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap at you. My nose is throbbing, it feels like someone’s using a cheese grater on my ribs, and my arm is a useless lump, but I’ll live.”
Tye did something then he’d never done before. He put his arm around Milly’s shoulders and pulled her tight the way his father had comforted him when he was a young boy. “That’s what I’m saying,” he said. “Maybe we should lie low in the house for a while. What’s a few more days?”
“Everything. We need to be at the guidestone by fall equinox on September 22nd. Nothing has changed,” Milly said. “I’m not waiting another six months. We’ve waited far too long already.”
Tye shook his head. Their captivity hadn’t lessened her drive to follow the turtle. If anything, she seemed more resolved. He’d worried everyone would want to go back to Respite, but nobody even brought it up. They’d come too far, been through too much, to turn back now and he sensed everyone knew it.
“I’m never going near that house again,” Milly said.
They tested the keys and found they could open two other courtyard doors, and there was a brief dispute as to which door they should take, and whether they should split up. “We need to get to an outer door and then we’ll shoot our way out. We’re staying together,” Tye said.
“How are we getting over the outer wall,” Milly said. “It’s twelve feet high.”
“We’ll climb that wall when we come to it,” Tye said. “We’ll take the west door.” It was opposite the one Milly, Robin and the cat Turnip had come through, and thus was the furthest away from the last known viral location.
Robin unlocked the west door and Turnip padded into the darkness ahead of them. Milly entered the hall, followed by Tester, Ingo, and Robin. Tye trailed behind, his six-shooter at the ready. The faint sound of dogs whining echoed through the armory and Milly said, “Turnip, find Helga, Salt and Pepper.”
They didn’t see any virals, so Milly lit a torch. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and dust clouds rose from the floor. Turnip stopped at an intersection, sniffed each passageway, then continued on straight. The dogs cried louder, and Tye picked up his pace, pushing his friends forward. They reached a locked door and waited for several minutes as Robin searched for a key, and they were forced to backtrack because she couldn’t get the door open and didn’t want to draw attention by breaking it down.
They fumbled around in the dark as Turnip led them to another door, and this time it was clear the dogs were close, their wails loud and constant. Again they had no key, and Tye said, “Milly, can I borrow Peter’s axe?”
She handed it over.
Tye chopped at the door, being careful not to hit the metal supports. He flipped the axe over and used the dull side to pound out the lock, and it broke away after several strikes. Tye and Tester pushed the cracked door open, and the party slipped through. They ran down a wide hall, made a left, three rights, and found the dogs. They bounced and cried, licking Milly and Robin’s faces as they knelt.
The sounds of the lost coming for them echoed through the armory, and Tye led the group out into the night and locked the door behind him.
An arrow struck Salt in the head and the huskie tipped over dead as blood splattered the dog’s white hair. A wave of virals rushed toward them, and Tye, Tester, and Milly opened fire, the air filling with dust, gun smoke, bullets, and blood. Milly screamed with fury, her Glock 19 jerking in her hand as she emptied the clip. Tye was picking his targets carefully. He shot the closest virals as he ran, carving out a path across the yard one patient shot at a time.
“Make for the main gate,” Tye yelled.
Helga and Pepper stood over Salt, and it was Turnip who forced the dogs forward with a snarl. The virals tore Salt apart and ate the warm flesh. The scent of blood distracted them, and Tye and crew ran across the hardpan to the main entrance where steel gates stretched across a brick archway built into the outer wall. Four virals stood guard armed with swords and clubs, but four strategically placed bullets left the gates unmanned.
Tye screamed as he arrived at the exit. “Shiiiitttttt. The gate’s locked with a combination lock.”
Salt was bones, and the lost were gathering around the company. The virals hooted and hollered, jumping up and down and pounding their chests. Dirt, blood and fat was caked on their hands, faces and teeth. Red eyes burned like cinders, and Tye felt cold in their presence.
“Milly, you were around him. Any ideas what the combo might be?”
Milly couldn’t take her eyes off the diseased. They inched closer, chomping and biting the air, their sickly skin cracking. “We didn’t exactly get deep with each other.”
Thirty plus virals wedged them under the archway. They were losing space by the second as the diseased in the back rows pushed forward to see what was going on and driving the growing hoard. Tye raised his gun and fired into the air. It had no effect, and the Uruks crept forward.
“The combo will have something to do with Adaline,” Milly said. “Knowing him it’s… wait. Try 6, 12, 36.”
Tye spun the lock and then turned to her and shook his head.
“Wait. I’m wrong. Try 4, 12, 36. Adaline’s birthday was April 12th, 2036,” Milly said. Turnip stared at her. “He always baked me a cake.”
“Got it,” Tye yelled. He swung open the steel gate, and they all rushed through. Tester helped Tye close the doorway, and he reached through bars and locked the virals within the armory complex walls.
Larry circled above and cried out, spiraling lower each time. Daybreak was a few hours off and Tye decided they should wait until daylight to set out. So they huddled against the wall, all of them together in a ball, the dogs and cat on the outer edge. Tester took the first watch. In the distance, wolves howled and the night symphony made Tye’s ears ring.
They were free, and back on the road chasing the turtle. His old bones were less enthusiastic than they had been when they’d left Respite nine years ago. If the turtle ended up being a trap, or a road to nowhere he hoped he had the strength to lie down the quest and go home, where nobody cared about the old world or the new.
Tye closed his eyes and was asleep in moments.
Chapter Twenty-four
Year 2075 – Respite
Randy was surprised Hazel agreed to join him. It was his night to tend the Fire Wood and feed the livestock, and nobody liked doing that. He figured she wanted something. Tim was sick, and he’d been ready to spend the night alone when Hazel strolled down the center row of the Fire Wood.
“I hate this place, but I still can’t deny how smart it was to create it. We were lucky it survived the storm,” Hazel said.
Making conversation, she must really want something bad, Randy thought.
Hazel was dressed in a palm frond skirt, with an old blue t-shirt that said Bob Dylan on it with a list of cities on the back. As she came within the fire’s glow, he saw her hair was loose and not tied back as it usually was. She was beautiful.
“Our storm was nothing compared to the tsunami. Can you imagine what it must’ve been like seeing everything end,” Randy said. “I don’t know if I’d be able to accept it and carry on.”
“They didn’t have a choice back then. The Day changed everything.”
Randy smiled. He appreciated the reference to the sacred text Alas, Babylon. He was named after Randel Bragg. “Kind of like our fire guard test. Can you believe it’s only six months away?”
“Reminds me of the way the tale of the ring starts and ends in the Shire. Everything seems to come full circle,” Hazel said. “You seem nostalgic and talkative as your life’s goal approaches.”
“I’ve always been talkative, I just never…” He’d gone and stepped in it again.
“You just never talked about this stuff with me,” Hazel said.
Randy went to a pile of wood he’d been splitting, grabbed several logs, and stacked them on the cart. He threw two pieces of noni wood atop his small work fire and it blazed and shot sparks into the blackness. The scent of moisture, earth, and smoke filled the Fire Wood. “They should be good on wood up at the Womb for a while. Will you walk with me?”
She laughed. “My grandpa says leaving the fire unattended to make out is what caused all the trouble with our parents in the first place,” she said.
“I wasn’t suggesting that, though if you want…”
“I don’t,” Hazel said. All humor had fled.
“I was…”
“Trying to put me at ease with humor. I know you, remember? Better than you know yourself.”
“I guess you do,” he said.
They took the east path, which led across the island to Spyglass Station. The jungle thickened, and the stars disappeared behind the forest’s dense canopy. Insects chirped, lizards squawked, and birds rustled and peeped. It had been seven and a half years since the cyclone, and most of the tropical vegetation had fully recovered, and the trees they’d planted had done well.
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