“The Black Knight’s had worse,” Timmons quipped. Sue stifled a laugh before elbowing her mate in the ribs.
Cory had no idea what they meant and was miffed at the horseplay. Char was too hell-bent on getting answers, but she expected that she’d find it funny later, when TH was safe. All of that passed through her mind in a millisecond. She returned to the business at hand, grabbing the Forsaken by his shirt, hauling him to his feet, and slamming him against the tree.
“I think the lady asked you a question, brother,” Joseph said softly. The Forsaken snapped his head to the side to glare at his fellow Forsaken.
“How could you?” the Forsaken grunted.
“Winners.” Joseph waved his open hand at everyone who wasn’t bleeding, and then he pointed at the armless Forsaken. “Losers.”
The Forsaken lunged at Joseph, but Char caught him and slammed him back into the tree. “You know where he is. Terry Henry Walton and the scum who took him. Tell me,” she demanded.
Akio caressed the creature’s face with his katana, then let it hover in front of its throat. He started to saw with only the slightest pressure. The razor sharp blade sliced neatly into the skin.
“If you cut my throat, I won’t be able to tell you where he is…” Before the Forsaken finished speaking, Akio thrust forward and drew the blade backwards, pressing toward the tree and cleanly removing the creature’s head from its body.
Char looked furiously at Akio, clenching and unclenching her hands compulsively. Joseph put a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around to face him.
“We need to go,” Joseph said. “They’re holding him in Mammoth Cave.”
“Run like the wind!” Char yelled, turned, and ran. Clovis was barking furiously at the dead body, watching it shrivel as its nanocytes died.
“Come on, you dumb dog,” Cory said, swatting his hindquarters and getting him to run with her. The others were already on their way out of the clearing, fleeing toward their respective pods. Joseph joined Adams and Merrit as they headed for pod three.
Cory ran for all she was worth, but Char was outdistancing her. Aaron was up ahead but slowed to let her catch up. Together, they pounded through the grassy underbrush of a gently rolling hill. When they came upon the pod, Char was waving at them impatiently. As soon as their feet and paws hit the ramp, it started to close.
Mammoth Cave
Kirkus looked at his minions, still angry that Terry Henry had killed so many of his best foot soldiers. Those that remained were not the cream of the crop, so he was stuck adding the human slaves to the mix. He expected that the humans would die in the attack, but they would distract whoever was left long enough for his Forsaken minions to do their work, capture Walton’s children and bring them back.
Kirkus didn’t care if they recovered any of the humans or not. Once Kirkus was the power, people would flock to him. They would be easy to manipulate and he’d have an army in no time. General Gilbert Kirkus, master of the world.
He liked it, but back to the business at hand.
The humans he was sending were eager, having been properly brainwashed, but he’d always intended them to be food.
“Your mission is to wreak havoc among anyone who is not the child or grandchild of Terry Henry and Charumati Walton,” he informed them.
One brave human raised his hand. “How do we know them?” he asked.
Kirkus rolled his eyes. “Because they’ll tell you.” He pointed at the Forsaken looking down on the human minions.
The man nodded happily.
Twelve humans and four Forsaken stood in the gaping maw that was the entrance to Mammoth Cave. An earthquake sometime around the fall had widened the opening and made it possible for the Forsaken to move a stolen pod in.
Under the cover of darkness, he’d flown it from the hangar in rural Virginia throughout the eastern seaboard and the Appalachians, looking for the perfect place to hide and start building an empire.
When he came across Mammoth Cave, he knew he had found the right spot.
Kirkus had established security, buttoned the pod up tightly, and gone to sleep. For decades he slept, rising thirty years after the WWDE. That was when he started to build. He became the denizen of the night, scouring everything that remained to find the technology he needed to access the satellites he knew were still in orbit.
Satellites that the Queen Bitch had used to command. He had no doubt he could get into them. He had a pod, the technology that it contained, and his own immense intellect. He refused to consider that he wouldn’t be able to do it.
He knew about the satellites because he’d once been close enough to find out, learn what there was to know about the Kurtherians and the technology they’d left on Earth. Mr. Smith had recognized his potential and helped him to expand his mind in the short time they had together.
It was enough.
Once Kirkus had tapped into the satellites, he had to build his database from scratch, learn how the world had changed since the world’s worst day ever.
In time, he started making short forays into the populated areas, taking the pod and landing silently in the dark of night. He learned of the FDG and the colonel who ran it with his purple-eyed partner, a beautiful woman with a silver streak of hair running down one side of her face.
Kirkus knew that they were enhanced. He didn’t know to what degree, only that they were different, more like him than normal humans.
The Forsaken learned how different when he took the pod on a well-planned raid to capture Terry Henry Walton and his partner.
Kirkus reached out and grabbed one of the other Forsaken. “How did he kill eight of you?” he demanded. It wasn’t the first time he’d asked that question.
“He was faster, deadlier. His eyes glowed red, but he’s not like us. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The Forsaken cowered before Kirkus.
“Of course you’ve never seen anything like him. No one has seen anything like that, you moron!” Kirkus sent the minion sprawling. The lesser Forsaken hurried to get up and brush himself off, glaring at the humans, but they were looking down. They knew not to incur Kirkus’s wrath.
“Go, you fucking toads, and bring me back those kids!” Kirkus screamed maniacally before storming away.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Mammoth Cave had been a massive national park back in the day. Now, it was heavily overgrown, and the entrance wasn’t as obvious as Char had hoped. The whole world looked different, but the interstates and main roads still held much of the vegetation at bay.
Akio had found the old interstate and followed it. They missed the turn off for the park and had to circle back. The second and third pods took up a position in the general area and hovered while Akio searched.
The minutes stretched as the pod slowed to a crawl, looking for a winding road that was no longer there.
Eve’s voice projected through the pod’s sound system. “A pod has just appeared and is now flying north. I’ve input the coordinates from where it came. You can be there in moments. Would you like me to send the other pods after this new one?”
Char’s mind raced, and her decision was quick.
“Send the pod number two after them at best possible speed. Get close enough so our people can sense who is on board. The rest of us are going spelunking.”
Akio issued the orders, and two pods raced for the spot from where the other pod had appeared.
“Put me on speaker with pod two, please,” she asked Akio.
He nodded to her. “Timmons! Take charge and hunt those bastards down, wherever they are going. Keep us informed,” she said loudly, looking out the window as the pod descended toward a massive cave mouth.
“Will do, Char,” Timmons replied. He had nothing else to say. Everyone in the second pod was pressed heavily into the seats as the pod continued its acceleration in an attempt to overtake the intruder.
“And if possible, take that pod away from them. We could use a new piece of gear. Do us proud, Sergeant Allison,” Cha
r told them.
“Always,” the sergeant replied.
***
“What do you mean they were right there?” Kirkus bellowed toward the communications station.
A voice crackled through the speaker. “When we emerged from the cave mouth, three pods were scattered across the area. We headed north, and one pod is following. I lost the other two. I think they stayed there. I’m sorry, but they had to see where we came from.”
Kirkus fumed. He picked up a cup and threw it, shattering it on the far wall of the cave.
He was left with nearly no manpower, only the weakest of servants, a Weretiger, and his wits.
Kirkus had never been one to count on winging it. He had built booby traps into the cave and knew it was time to activate them. The Forsaken walked through in his mind how the events would unfold. Terry’s people would land and enter the cave, they’d be worn down by traps of various types, and then Kirkus would kill them one by one.
No one could stand up to him.
“Carry out your mission. When the other pod lands, kill everyone on it and take it. We could use another one of those,” Kirkus replied calmly and then put the microphone back in its cradle.
He looked up for a moment and then ran for the cave mouth. There was much work to do.
Flying in the Pod
Timmons and the others hung on as the pod executed a series of high-speed maneuvers. According to the screen, the other pod was headed straight for Chicago, by which Timmons assumed that it was headed for North Chicago. They’d taken all the comm devices. He had no way to warn them.
“We need to fix that,” Timmons said.
Sergeant Allison glanced his way.
“Comm. We need more comm devices,” Timmons explained. Sue squeezed his leg as the adrenaline started to course through her body.
The pod leapt forward. “Forsaken,” Sue said loudly. “Four and twelve humans.”
Allison looked at her. “Four Forsaken and twelve humans?” he asked.
The Werewolves nodded in unison. Shonna and Ted had sensed them, too.
“Listen up!” the sergeant belted out. “There are twelve humans on that pod. They are our business. We cannot let them gain a foothold in North Chicago. No matter where they land, we will put ourselves between them and the community. This time, we’re not looking to take any prisoners. There are four others on that pod. Forsaken. Our friends here will take care of them, but if you get a shot, you all have silver-tipped bullets. Use them wisely.”
Allison looked from one to the next, insisting on the thumbs up sign to show that they understood.
The pod dipped and jerked as they flew between some of the tall buildings still standing in old Chicago.
“Why are we doing this, Eve? Can’t we just fly above it all?” Timmons asked the ceiling.
Eve’s disembodied voice replied, “Of course.” And the ship headed upward, greatly smoothing the ride as they kept the other pod in sight. Eve took the pod higher.
Soon the other pod exited the winding confines of the remnants of Chicago’s skyscrapers and launched itself due north. Timmons followed its line of travel on the projected map.
“We’re going home, people. Try not to shoot any of our own,” he cautioned, gritting his teeth.
The sanctuary of North Chicago was about to be invaded for the second time that day. And he couldn’t have that. “NO MERCY!” he yelled.
Sue jumped at the outburst.
A chorus of oorahs filled the inside of the pod. The FDG warriors performed one final check of their weapons, that their helmet chinstraps were tight, and that their flak vests were closed. With one hand on their rifles and the second hand on their restraints, they prepared to disembark.
Their pod followed the other in.
Mammoth Cave Entrance
Akio hovered the pod outside the entrance, hesitant to enter. “It is too confined within,” he said in a tone that wasn’t open for discussion. “We need to find a place to land and then enter the cave on foot.”
“Lower the ramp,” Char growled, looking through narrowed eyes at the video projection of the cave’s entrance. “I’ll jump down.”
Akio hesitated. He zoomed out to find a landing spot only a hundred yards away, but it was only big enough for one pod at a time.
“New plan, Char-san,” Akio said as he fingered one of the two pistols at his side. “We will descend close to the mouth. We will jump into the entrance and then the pod will land. The others will disembark and move here. Our pod will return to hover over the entrance. The number three pod will then land and disembark. We will have three groups. Not optimal, but it will suffice. I can only sense one Forsaken within the cave and nothing else. There is too much rock. We will know more once we are inside.”
Char nodded tersely as she stood and walked to the ramp. She relayed the plan to the pod three, ordering the jeep to remain in the clearing with the pods to protect them. She’d seen that there was no way they could get inside the cave. People would be hard-pressed to get through the entrance, but it was perfectly suited for a craft like a pod.
Akio wouldn’t risk taking a pod inside. It was the enemy’s stronghold, and this was shaping up to be the final battle.
Terry’s Prison
Yanmei hurried down the corridor. Terry heard her coming, which was out of the norm. She had foregone stealth for speed.
That meant something was happening.
She entered Terry’s prison and shut the door behind her. She leaned her back against the wall beside it and waited.
“That’s different,” Terry said conversationally. He watched to see what else her body language would give away. She didn’t reply to his statement, so he took a more direct route.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“I am to watch you, and if necessary, I am to kill you.” She talked without changing her facial expression. The rest of her body was stiff, as if made of wood.
At least she hadn’t changed into her Were form.
“So there is something happening. Why didn’t Kirkus come? Isn’t he all about domination and control?” Terry probed.
She blinked, but made no move to answer. Yanmei leaned over and put an ear to the door, then shrugged almost imperceptibly and resumed her position against the wall.
“Did you bring your chess board?” Terry wondered, knowing that she hadn’t.
She held out two empty hands.
“I’m sorry, too. I won’t make the same mistake I made in the last game,” he promised with a smile. “Since it looks like we’re going to be here for some uncertain amount of time, do you mind if I tell you a story?”
Yanmei looked at him, blinking slowly, expression unchanged.
“Cory was five years old, and everything in North Chicago was going great. Everyone had enough to eat. The power was on, and we were expanding the operational grid. Even as far out as the Weathers’ ranch, we had electric lights. We decided it was time for a little camping trip. Just me, Char, and our daughter Cory. We also adopted two kids that we found wandering the Wastelands, Kim and Kae. We took four horses and headed north toward Canada. We spent two weeks getting there because we weren’t in a hurry. It was an opportunity for Char and me to teach them some life skills, living off the land, that kind of stuff. We had a good life in North Chicago, and things were coming pretty easy. The kids went to school, and the adults went to work. Everyone ate in Claire’s Diner.”
Terry shifted his feet and rolled his shoulders as much as he could. He needed to let his arms hang at his sides, at least long enough to let the blood flow back into his fingers. He flexed his hands and tried to encourage the nanocytes to stretch their legs. His stomach started to feel better.
Yanmei watched him emotionlessly.
“You know what we found in Canada?”
Terry waited, but there was no answer.
“Peace. We found peace. A small cabin on a lake where the fish were always biting. Game that wasn’t afraid of humans. We stayed
there for a week, then two weeks. It was like our own paradise. Char and I talked about staying. The FDG had competent leadership, so they didn’t need me.”
Terry hopped from one foot to the other as he encouraged blood flow. He expected that he’d take a beating soon and needed his body to be ready.
“But then we got a call from Akio. Do you know who he is? He’s one of the Queen’s Bitches, left behind when she went to space. She’s out there somewhere, protecting the world that tried to kill itself. Ain’t that some shit?” Terry looked at a spot on the wall and shook his head. Someone like the Queen risking their life for a belief that humanity deserved to be saved.
And humanity turned the world into a shithole. Terry had a hard time reconciling himself with what they found in the Wasteland. Humanity had tried to kill the planet, and Mother Earth was still reeling from the body blows. But she’d survived. Humanity had survived. Maybe the Queen’s faith wasn’t misplaced.
At least it wasn’t when it came to her faith in TH and Akio.
“Akio is here to help us save what’s left and rebuild. Anyway, he had a mission that only the great Terry Henry Walton could perform. Terry Henry and his partner, the Werewolf Charumati,” Terry said, tossing his head and smirking at the sound of his name coming from his own lips.
“You wouldn’t believe how much I love her. It physically hurts me to be apart from her. We’ve been together for something like twenty-nine years. Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly at your service, Shakespeare said in The Tempest. There were no truer words written. Or maybe, Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid blind. Although she’s really something to look at, too. I’m pretty sure that I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman, no disrespect intended toward you. I see her looking over her shoulder at me, purple eyes glowing, and mischief in her face. CHAR!” Terry yelled all of a sudden, grimacing.
His body convulsed as he flexed his muscles, enraged at still being chained to the wall.
Nomad Omnibus 02: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus) Page 67