“Fine, squeeze them in before sundown,” Mad Dog barked. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t stir up any shit. Don’t want no riot. Not ’til our Hummers get here.”
Justin’s mouth went dry. He didn’t think his nerves could handle waiting that long. Not with X-strains roaming outside the city’s lame sandbagged walls.
Not with tanks on the way.
Not with Mateo . . .
Luther must have caught on. “Bro,” Luther drawled in his BFF voice. He held up a CombiBar gold card with only two ounces missing. “My last one.” He split it in half. “And it’s all yours—if you get us in the next hour.”
“Who’s to say, we didn’t find this on your double-dead bodies?” the head guy postured.
A nanosecond later, Luther went from BFF buds to gangsta, dropping the head Toll Taker to the ground with a gut punch. He held the Glock to the guy’s head. “Don’t be messin’ with me,” Luther threatened.
“D-d-drop your weapon?” the wimpy Toll Taker stuttered, obviously not ready for action. “We’re supposed to be keeping the peace.”
“Guys, guys,” Justin yelped, looking around, making sure none of Mad Dog’s men suddenly showed up to settle the dispute. “This is a misunderstanding. Don’t you have the power to get us in?” Justin provoked.
“Maybe,” the head guy taunted. “If you call off your junkyard dog.”
Justin gave Luther the look. “Play nice.”
Luther shrugged. “If I must.” He handed the bribe to the Toll Takers.
The men gleamed with greed.
“First, we gotta go do that—thing,” the head guy hinted to his partner. “Meet us at the building with the red door on Zoat Street—in two hours.”
“Don’t forget to leave us a five-star review.” The wimpy Toll Taker pulled out a digital camera. And before Justin could stop him, the jerkweed clicked a picture of him and Luther.
“Dude, that’s so uncool,” Justin started to go off. What if Mad Dog saw that picture?
“Don’t get yo chuddies all in a wad. You my best customer of the day even if you can’t control your bodyguard.” The head guy opened a small brown ledger. “Name?”
Luther broke in with a resounding, “Luther.”
“Luther, party of six.” The head guy scrawled into the ledger. “Don’t be late. Last State’s shutting us down tonight.”
“You guys are freakin’ awesome,” Justin applauded, boosting their egos.
The wimpy dude palmed him six tokens. “Bring the booty and tokens.”
And that was that. The Toll Takers went to the next cits in line. Evidently scamming them of their post-apocalyptic life savings since Mad Dog wasn’t taking more defectors. Justin should warn them. Right? But, he couldn’t risk blowing it.
“These dipshits better not renege,” Luther griped.
Justin’s thoughts exactly.
As they double-timed it back to the campsite, the tokens sweated in the palm of his hand. Still, more people streamed into the city. Soon it would be standing-room only. Until the tanks arrived. When they reached their camp, Ella ran up to him with hopeful eyes. Justin gave them the thumbs-up signal.
“And?” Dean questioned.
“It’s a go. We’ve got two hours to kill,” Luther informed.
Ella went into her happy dance.
“Easy now.” Dean patted Ella’s shoulder while staring down three men eyeing their campsite.
Luther, Justin, and Dean stood their ground. “Nothing to see here,” Luther’s hostile tone warned. The three men talked amongst themselves and then jaunted to the next new group of cits staking out a spot a few yards away.
“That’s the third time they’ve been by,” Dean said with his hands on his hips.
“They’re probably looking for a quick payday,” Justin warned.
“Best we act like we belong. Why not break out the camp stove?” Dean suggested. “It might throw off the thugs. Who knows when we’ll have another chance to eat.”
“Guys,” Justin said, “just act all depressed and homeless.”
“Now that—I can do,” Luther rumbled.
“I’m starving,” Twila’s muffled voice interrupted.
“Shhh.” Scarlett patted the canvas-covered cart Twila had been stuck under. Twila must be going bonkers.
“Do you mind having the rest of the biscuits and gravy?” Scarlett asked. “It will be one less bucket to haul.”
“Y’all hold on.” Luther sniffed. “Smell that? I detect charred meat.”
Dean perked up. “Could be our last opportunity for real food for a while.”
“See those fire pits along the inside of the wall?” Justin pointed. “That’s where the food vendors are. But we don’t have anything to barter with.”
Luther flashed-open his tactical vest to reveal several gold and silver watches pinned to the lining. “My Rolex habit.”
“Klepto,” Justin ragged.
“Say, see if you can find something vegetarian,” Dean added before Twila complained.
“Will do. Back in a few.” Luther strode off, determined.
Scarlett held out her hands, questioning. “So, no biscuits and gravy?”
“Go ahead, knock yourself out. That way it doesn’t look like we’re just waiting for our ticket out of here,” Dean pointed out. “Meanwhile, everyone stay sharp.”
Mindy walked up to Justin and Dean. “I really need to feed Starla before she starts crying.”
Dean started arranging the carts in a circle. “That reminds me, let’s start calling the,” he whispered, “gals by their first initial. M and E sit inside the circle and do what you need to do.”
Justin and Dean stood outside the circle on full alert and pretended to hang out while a masculine-looking Scarlett prepared the freeze-dried biscuits and gravy. He didn’t see how he could eat. Not until they made it out of Last State. Of all the smuggler tunnels, why did it have to be Mad Dog’s? Knowing him, he had claimed it with extreme force.
Luther strode back into camp with a blue milk cart. “Got us barbecue chicken kabobs and veggie kabobs. Two each, although I’ll swap my veggie for Twila’s beef.”
“T,” Dean said. “Going by initials.”
“Got it.” Luther handed out the kabobs. “Hmm-mm, and biscuits and gravy.”
They sat around watching and eating and waiting. They still had forty minutes to kill. They couldn’t get there too early. Still, he didn’t want to be on Mad Dog’s turf a second longer than they had to. Justin decided not to tell them Mad Dog operated the tunnel. It would only increase the tension. And, he didn’t want Luther to go maniacal with rage.
Apparently, Luther hadn’t recognized Mad Dog’s voice. Otherwise, his friend would be fuming. Luther had sworn to kill Mad Dog if he ever saw the bastard again. From what Justin had discerned, Mad Dog had herded an X-strain horde through Last Chance to increase the horde size for a super-fat payday. And Sheena, Luther’s girlfriend, hadn’t survived as a result.
It was more heinous than that. Apparently, Sheena had taken off with Ella minutes before the horde attack, only to abandon Ella in the desert in order to claim baby Miguel—to buy her way into Last State. Using my son!
Justin had stumbled upon the zombie version of Sheena wandering the desert somewhere between Last Chance and Boom Town. Sometimes he got this hinky feeling Sheena had changed her mind and had gone back for Ella. Meh, so what if she had? His son had turned Z because of her.
Although from what Scarlett had said, Miguel had been on his deathbed. Justin had been put in the most horrific position ever. De-activating his own son. I’ll never know the hows and whys this world went cray-cray. He didn’t think he could handle the honest truth.
“I can’t hold it any longer,” Twila whined.
Justin mumbled under his breath.
Dean turned to Scarlett. “Let’s you and I take your cart to the portable toilets down the way.” Dean gestured. “Matter of fact, we should all take advantage of the facilities before we sta
rt out.”
“I’ll break down the stove,” Luther said.
Justin’s tweaking nerves had him chewing his nails to the quick. He tried not to watch Scarlett and Dean as they managed to get Twila into a portable toilet without anyone noticing.
“Stop biting,” Ella chided.
She was handling the waiting way better than him, but she didn’t know what he did. He gave his nails a rest and fondled the tunnel tokens in his pocket. Curious, he pulled one out. “Look, Chuck E. Cheese.”
Ella giggled when he showed her. Finally, he caught his breath when Scarlett and Dean hurried back with Twila in the cart.
Ella went over to Mindy. “Do you mind if I put some things in your cart?”
Mindy smiled. “I’ll make room.”
Justin was about to help Ella when four Enforcers strolled into view. They must be looking for someone, and he hoped it wasn’t him. He kept his head down.
“What do you suppose they want?” Dean asked.
Justin shrugged. “Probably gathering intel for project CLEAN UP.” They had removed their CitChips last night. Enforcers would have to take them to Headquarters to find out Justin and Ella’s true identities. Unless, their scanners were updated with facial recognition. But since practically everyone in Tent City was a dissident, he wasn’t too concerned.
The Enforcers stopped at the portable toilets. “When you gotta go—you gotta go,” Justin joked, worried Last State was preparing for the takeover.
The Enforcers must be making Ella nervous. She went into one of her OCD fits, meticulously rearranging her cart for the second time since they’d been there. It was one of her quirks. She used to Marie Kondo their T-zone apartment when she was stressed. He liked to keep things simple with two piles for clothes. Clean and dirty.
When everyone had finished their porta potty business, they had twenty minutes to get to the rally point. His heartbeat went into turbo. “Guys, let’s go,” Justin urged under his breath.
“Where we headed?” Dean asked.
“Zoat Street—it backs up to Zoat. Twenty minutes tops,” Justin promised. All they had to do was head for the northwest border.
“Phew.” Luther grimaced and strapped on his duffle. “I’ll never get used to the smell.” He had offered to haul the tent in his cart along with the stove since he was the strongest.
“Ella?” Justin gently prodded, hoping not to set her off. She could be at it for another hour.
Ella shrugged. “I’m ready.”
“Mijo?” Justin questioned.
“Sleeping in the cart.”
He reached to pull back the tarp to check on him.
She smacked his wrist. “Don’t wake him!” Ella snapped.
Yikes, she’s touchy. He didn’t ask why Mateo wasn’t in the baby sling. They didn’t have time for one of her neurotic, mind-changing moods.
“Guys, keep up.” Justin led the way with Luther holding up the rear as usual. If they were going to get ambushed, now was the time. Zhetts trolled for the easy marks. He knew all too well after he had been robbed his first day in Tent City. Good thing they had Luther. He was menacing—when he wanted to be.
Justin tried his hardest not to walk too fast. They finally made it to Zoat Street. Shit! Ella’s cart hit him in the butt when he suddenly stopped mid-step. A team of Enforcers rushed about setting up a roadblock.
Dean caught up to him. “Alrighty then, we need a workaround.”
Justin scanned his eidetic memory for an alternate route to the building with the red door. He vaguely recalled walking by it before. Yes! An alley highlighted in his mind. “This way.”
They backtracked until he found the alley, the slums of Zhetto where druggies tripped-out probably hoping to OD.
“Son, you sure this is the way?” The uncertainty in Dean’s voice had him questioning himself.
“Ye-ah, between those two brick buildings,” he said with more confidence than he felt. He shoved his cart down the next alley and practically ran when he recognized the old Blockbuster building. That had to be it. The laughing skull and crossbones graffitied on the red door sneered back at him. Mad Dog’s insignia.
The two heavies playing cards outside the front door glowered at them. Justin didn’t recognize the men from his Mad Dog days. But there was no sign of the Toll Takers.
“Got tokens?” the brawny black guy in an African do-rag questioned.
Holy shit! A team of Enforcers patrolled by. The heavies didn’t look twice. Justin jerked his head toward the Enforcers.
“It’s bidness as usual. ’Til the tanks stroll in,” the white guy said.
“Long as they get a hefty cut,” the black guy said as he slapped down the Ace of Spades onto the pile of cards on the table.
Ye-ah, okay. It’s cool. Still, Justin struggled to ignore his angst. “Luther, party of six.” Justin flashed the tokens in the palm of his hand.
“Pay the man inside.” The white heavy opened the door for him. “Alone.”
Justin turned back to his friends. Afraid to go in—afraid of not going in. Afraid of coming face-to-face with Mad Dog!
“Best go on,” Dean encouraged.
Justin offered Ella a smirky I-love-you smile as Luther handed him the gold. Sucking it up, he went inside with the bag of pharmaceuticals.
“You the one with Elite Gold—you be late. The price just went up,” a familiar voice berated.
Justin turned around slowly. Holy shit! Would Buzz Saw recognize him? Justin’s nerves iced over. His vocal cords froze. He tried to remove the permanent smirk he had been born with by forcing a frown. But he thought his face might crack, that’s how uptight he was.
Buzz Saw stared him down. Probably waiting for Justin to say—something. How could he? Surely, Buzz Saw would recognize his voice. After all, Buzz Saw had been his mentor: How to be a smuggler. What a joke that had been. All the jerkweed had done was sit on his lazy ass while Justin had done all the grunt work.
Justin sifted through the pharmaceutical bag and handed Buzz Saw a box of Sudafed. The dude had serious sinus problems. “Traffic?” Justin said in a gritty tone.
“Ah, how thoughtful,” Buzz Saw mocked. “Gimme the damn gold!”
Justin kept his mouth shut and handed him the promised bag of pharmaceuticals and Elite gold.
The gold went into his pocket first. Then Buzz Saw rifled through the bag. “So, this is how it plays out. We send two every ten minutes since Enforcers started patrolling the free side of Zoat. Those ones are not on our payroll. So, yo peeps got to haul ass.” Buzz Saw opened the red-painted door a crack. “One mo’ thing. The old man’s gotta go with the high risks. At sundown.” The bitter harshness of his words stung.
No freakin’ way. I’m not leaving without Dean! Careful, don’t show emotion. A sign of weakness. “The old man’s ex-Navy SEAL,” Justin lied. “He’s in better shape than me.”
Buzz Saw’s scathing glare told him that he didn’t give a shit. “I make the rules!”
Fanic seeped through Justin’s veins. “Then forget it. I’ll use the other guy’s tunnel,” Justin retorted, thinking off the cuff. He reached for his bag.
Buzz Saw eyed him and seemed to be rethinking it. “If you mean Spasmo, they shut down his tunnel. Hey, I know you—”
Shit! Shit! Shit! “Ye-ah, I’ve seen you around. And, I’m not going without all my peeps,” Justin threatened, channeling his fear into obstinate anger.
“What’s the hold-up?” a man yelled from the back of the building.
Justin pulled out a huge ruby ring with a thick gold band from his jean pocket. He had pillaged it from the Forbidden Zone, saving it for an emergency. This was it. Pre-pandemic days, it would have gone for thousands of dollars.
Justin flashed the gaudy ring in Buzz Saw’s face. “Dude, I just want to get to the other side before the tanks get here.”
Buzz Saw’s eyes widened when Justin handed him the gaudy ring. “Works for me.”
Justin certainly didn’t trust the jerkw
eed. “Send the Navy SEAL through first.” It was the only way he could be sure Buzz Saw didn’t screw them.
“Hurry it up!” the man in the back yelled.
“You heard the man,” Buzz Saw harassed, slipping the ring on his pinky finger.
With no time to sigh with relief, Justin opened the red door. He pointed to Dean and held up two fingers. Dean ushered Ella and Scarlett. Justin waved his hand no. “You, plus one,” Justin rasped, trying to disguise his voice.
Dean caught on. He grabbed Ella by the arm. She pushed him away. The heavies seemed to notice. Scarlett quickly took Ella’s place, and she and Dean pushed their carts inside.
“Better bust ass with those carts,” Buzz Saw lectured with his signature scowl.
“Hey! You’re holding up the line.” The man in the back must be tired of yelling.
Justin handed Buzz Saw two tokens. Scarlett and Dean exchanged wary glances before running to the back of the building with their carts. Twila was in for a ride. Justin didn’t like the haunting look in Scarlett’s eyes. One of those hinky ESP-like feelings warned they were cutting this close. Selfishly, he wished Ella and Mateo were going first.
Ten minutes until the next two. Justin paced the old Blockbuster and tried guessing the movie titles to the posters peeling off the walls. His dad used to rave about Blockbuster, like it had been the best thing since color T.V. Easy-peasy. Ghost. Men in Black. One of Schwarzenegger’s blockbusters—
“You hear that? Tanks!” Buzz Saw went into a cussing rant, running from window to window. Justin hurried over. The Enforcer patrols had increased exponentially.
Finally, the man at the backdoor yelled, “Next!”
Justin opened the red door a crack and held up two fingers. Luther nudged Mindy and Ella. Double-damn! Ella shook her head adamantly. She probably wanted to go with him. She could be crazy-stubborn. It was one of the things he loved about her. But not today. Losing patience, he motioned them on.
Ella stood there, stamping her foot. Luther hesitated and then followed Mindy inside. Ella and Mateo can’t wait outside—with Enforcers. And muggers.
Only The Dead Don't Die | Book 4 | Finding Home Page 27