From the Ashes

by Chris Kennedy

Perhaps we will meet him someday, Childers said. I would love to thank him.

  “Me too.”

  There was a great deal of pain after he turned us over to them, another voice added.

  “All of us felt that, David,” I answered as I pushed open a large double door leading to the facility behind the Atrium. “If I had stepped forward more quickly, we might not have had to live through that.”

  If we had not lived through that, you might never have pulled yourself back together, Mathew, Doctor Amanda Fender said.

  “Don’t hear much from you, Doc,” I said.

  Your profession is very hard for me, Mathew. And the company you keep is dubious, at best.

  “This whole damn world is hard for you, Doc.”

  It is. But I will be there for you when you need me, Mathew.

  Her consciousness faded into the background.

  Death troubles her, Childers said. She is too gentle for a world like this.

  I tapped the side of my head. “Several folks, up here, are too gentle for this place. Luckily there are a few who aren’t.”

  “Very true, Mathew.” I had dropped into a completely different voice as Gaunt spoke.

  “You know I look crazy carrying on one-sided conversations. When I start answering, it goes to a whole new level.”

  I heard Stephen laughing in my head.

  “Laugh it up, Chuckles,” I muttered. “Doc’s probably right. Seems like you guys who are closest to the top are dubious characters.”

  “She must be referring to William,” Stephen said.

  “Not me, I’m sure,” Childers returned.

  “Great,” I mumbled. “Now it’s a three-sided conversation.”

  Do you actually plan to sleep here? David Rasting asked. There are a lot of bad memories in this place.

  “Why not?” I shrugged. “He killed everyone who hurt us back then.”

  He certainly did, Childers said.

  I reached into a pocket and pulled something from it.

  Oh, dear, David said. You’re going to do that here?

  “It’s Tuesday.”

  I’m not sure why you bother, my friend, Childers said.

  “He’s one of us, too.” I shrugged and sat down near a lamp with a good bulb I had found. I plugged the lamp into a battery pack I pulled from another pocket. “This has been one of the handiest things.”

  He is dangerous, Gaunt said.

  “That’s kind of funny, coming from you.”

  Nevertheless.

  “He’s not so bad,” I said and opened the book and started reading aloud.

  I will never quite understand you, Mathew.

  “It’s part of my charm, Stephen.” I shrugged and started reading again. “Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.”

  Something moved around a bit in my head. Something we kept in a cage.

  There are some things that should never be released. Not even in this Fallen World.

  * * *

  Chapter 4

  “Mister Kade,” Wilderman nodded. “How has your stay been?”

  “Fine,” I said. “Relatively peaceful. No one has tried to kill me yet.”

  “Yet?”

  “The day’s still young.”

  He smiled and beckoned to a girl who was standing nearby.

  “This is Melody.”

  “Miss,” I said with a nod.

  “She is packed and ready to go whenever you are,” he said.

  “Grab your pack, and let’s go,” I said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Be careful with my girl,” Wilderman said.

  “No one will touch her, Wilderman.” I gave him the cold, dead stare of someone else. His eye twitched a little.

  Melody picked up her pack and slung it across her back. She raised the hood on her poncho.

  I smiled a little as I turned toward the door.

  “Stay behind me for the first bit,” I said. “When we step out of the zone, move up to my left.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  We walked straight down the street and past the checkpoint into Wilderman’s zone.

  As soon as we were out of hearing distance of the checkpoint, I motioned for her to step up.

  “Did she leave yesterday, or will she be leaving today?”

  The girl was silent for a moment.

  “He said you weren’t stupid,” she said. “She left yesterday with a group of traders that aren’t really traders. We are a decoy.”

  “How did they get you to put your life on the line?”

  “I love her.”

  “Makes sense,” I said. “People do stupid shit for love.”

  “Sir?”

  “I expect we’ll get hit before we get through the first zone. When that happens, do exactly as I say, and you may live through it. No sense dying for love if you don’t have to.”

  She nodded.

  “Always watch your surroundings and always take note of any nearby cover. When the shooting starts, dive for that cover.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “They’ll likely wait until we get out of sight of the checkpoint, so any moment now.”

  Fifth floor, third window.

  “Yeah, I see it.”

  “What?”

  “Just talking to myselves. Get ready to run for that corner on the left.”

  I saw her eyes widen. I’m not sure she really understood what she was getting into when she volunteered to be the decoy.

  “When I say run, run like your life depends on it. Get behind that corner and drop to the ground.”

  Fastest route or safest? Stephen asked.

  I glanced to the left side of the street, “Fastest. Third floor, fourth window on the left.”

  “Run for cover.” I nudged the girl. She sprang forward, and I shot to the right. I reached the wall of the building on the right before she had covered five feet.

  Jumping upward, I caught a ledge and threw myself up to the next one. The guy across the street fired, and the glass in a window below me shattered. I was already twenty feet above it. A gun boomed right above me, but the shot went wide because I was pushing it. Then I was in the room with the gun, and the woman who had fired flew out the window, screaming.

  I turned, raised my rifle, and shot the man staring up at me from the third floor.

  Glancing down, I could see five men running toward the alley where the girl was hidden, and I calmly shot four of them, emptying the rifle’s clip. Then I went through the window, dropped down a story, and caught a ledge with my left hand. It was just a matter of moments before I landed on the ground and threw the rifle.

  It made an odd noise that reminded me of a propeller as it spun. It slammed into the back of the fifth man with enough force to send him hurtling down the alley.

  I heard a squeak from the girl as the dead man flew past her.

  “How long have you been in Wilderman?” I asked as she peeked up at me with wide eyes and a pale face.

  “B-Born t-there.”

  I shook my head. “Only problem with a zone like Wilderman is the lack of danger. If you don’t learn to fight, you’re just another victim in this Fallen World.”

  * * *

  Chapter 5

  I’m pretty sure they expected better results from their hit team, so I figured we would be able to cover a zone or two without any more trouble.

  “Let’s move,” I said. “Walk on my left.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  She fell in beside me, and I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. I could see her hands shaking.

  “Fear is good,” I said. “It will help keep you sharp. Can you use a weapon?”

  She shook her head with a sharp jerk. The girl was terrified.

  “Damn Wilderman,” I muttered.

  I could take her down to the Tees and get the Mardins to let me run her across the zones, but I suspected the real daughter was being escorted through there. Being the decoy meant we needed to stay visible.

>   “What?” she asked.

  “It would have been so much simpler if he had let me escort his real daughter. This bait and switch shit just complicates things. It’s hard to keep someone alive when I can’t use the stealth routes. Decoys are expendable. Sucks for the decoy.”

  “Stealth routes?”

  “Yeah. But they’re not an option for us.”

  My eyes narrowed as a familiar form slipped out of an alley. She stopped at the edge of the street and beckoned to us.

  “Hi, Honey,” I said with a grin. “Fancy meetin’ you here. What the hell have you gotten me into?”

  Teresa Manora gave me a crooked smile. “I planned to catch you before you left Wilderman, but you took off at dawn. Missed you.”

  I followed her into the alley with the girl in tow.

  “Hello, Tamara,” she said. “It was brave of you to volunteer for something like this. Whether her father agrees or not, Melody does not think you are expendable. She wants you to join her. I brought someone else to stroll through the zones with him.”

  She pointed at me. “Traveling with this one is not for the light of heart. I have it on good authority there is a pretty sizable group of people in Jankida’s zone who wish to hurt Thomas by capturing or killing his daughter.”

  “Do tell,” I said in someone else’s voice.

  Tamara looked at me oddly, but Teresa just shook her head. “Stephen, you will probably enjoy what I have in mind.”

  Another form slipped from the back of the alley to join us.

  I chuckled. “Whoever is in Jankida is in for a rude awakening. How the hell are you, Fenris?”

  The small woman shrugged. “Good as can be expected, considering I haven’t slept in two days, trying to get here in time for this.”

  “I guess they’ll be in for an even ruder awakening than I thought.” I laughed. “Fenris is bad. Fenris with a lack of sleep, damn!”

  Judy Fenris grinned. She wore the same poncho as Tamara.

  “I think this just got interesting,” I said.

  Judy Fenris was a full Knight of the Society and a walking disaster for anyone who came after us.

  “The Mardins will escort Melody’s party under the streets while you two take a pleasant stroll.”

  “And you?”

  “I have business with Wilderman. I’ll be along in a few days.”

  “Looking forward to it.” I grinned.

  “I bet, you lecherous old bastard.”

  “I resemble that remark,” I said.

  Fenris snorted.

  I placed a hand on Tamara’s shoulder. “Go with her; she’ll see you safely to your girl.”

  She nodded.

  “She’d be better off going to Stiner and getting a different education,” I muttered as she followed Teresa back into the alley.

  “Both of them,” Fenris said. “Neither has any weapons training.”

  “Wilderman’s a dumbass.”

  “Agreed.” She turned toward the street. “Shall we? I think we have an appointment with a crowd of idiots in Jankida.”

  “That, we do.” I grinned and followed the Knight.

  There is no shortage of idiots in this Fallen World.

  * * *

  Chapter 6

  “Walk alongside,” I said. “We’ll try to stick to the same patterns.”

  “Gotcha,” Fenris answered.

  “What have you been up to for the last few years, Fen?”

  “Trying to set up a Chapter out on the east end.” She kept her head down so no one could see her face. “Hard sell out there. There are some pretty vile zones on the coast.”

  “I was out there about seven years ago, for a few days, but not long enough to get a real feel for the area,” I said.

  “Slavers work on the coast, bringing in new people for the Flesh Peddlers. There’s a whole pipeline of slaves coming in from there. Some end up at the Circus.”

  “One of these days, something has to be done about those bastards,” I said. “But I know my limitations, it’s going to take more than me to get the job done.”

  “When the time comes, the Knights will be with you. You know that.”

  “There are at least thirty Clowns who are Corporate Agents. Knights are bad asses, but Agents are on a whole other level. Knights can match or beat the other Clowns, but that core group is going to take Agents. We don’t have the manpower to take ‘em out yet. I’m good for several, but I can’t take out thirty at once.”

  “Jesus, Kade,” she said. “They’re Agents?”

  “Yep.” I nodded. “And you don’t have to call me Jesus when we’re alone.”

  “She told me I would probably stab you before we’re done. I didn’t believe her. I’m starting to see her point.”

  “You wouldn’t stab little, old me, would you? After calling me Jesus and everything?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why I always get to work with the crazy ones is beyond me,” I muttered.

  “No one else will work with you.”

  “You might have a point.” I shrugged. “Hasn’t worked out all that well for the last few. Poe got shot, and Michael and Lindsey had some bones broken.”

  “Poe wanted to come out for this one, but he wouldn’t fit in the cloak.”

  “It would take ten of them to cover the big bastard. Besides, we might have to run, and he hates running.”

  She chuckled. “I wasn’t planning on running.”

  “Might need to, to keep our cover. The longer they think you are Melody Wilderman, the better. We’ll probably end up running all the way to Kathrop.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Expect the worst, so you’re never disappointed.”

  “I’ll hope for the best and live with my disappointment, thank you,” she said. “It builds character.”

  “I have plenty of characters,” I said. “Don’t need to build any more.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “Just trying to see what she sees in you.”

  “I keep telling people. It’s my charming personalities.”

  “I heard something about a huge bathtub.”

  “It could be that too,” I said as we reached the boundary of Zemmich, the zone in which we had been hit.

  “I think that first hit was just to feel us out,” I said. “I’m not sure if they’re really aware of what they’re dealing with.”

  “They have a little better idea now,” she said.

  “Not really,” I replied. “They saw a little of what I can do, but you are still a wild card.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Christ, you’ve never played poker?”

  “No. And you don’t have to call me Christ when we’re alone.”

  “Touché.” I grinned. “Poker is a game of chance played with a deck of cards.”

  “What are the rules?”

  I sighed. “Never mind. I’ll show you next time we’re both in Stiner.”

  She shrugged. “I hear that’s where the bathtub is.”

  “Nobody cares about anything except the damn bathtub,” I muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “So, what’s the play when we get to Jankida?”

  “I reckon we’ll kill a bunch of folks that need killing.”

  “That’s a given,” she said. “Do you want me to keep my cover?”

  “As long as you can.”

  She sighed. “Defenseless girl.”

  “Cheer up.” I smiled. “They’ll probably send a couple hundred seasoned killers. You’ll have to fight through the majority, because I’ll get shot right at the beginning.”

  She sighed and shook her head.

  “What?” I shrugged. “Low expectations lead to pleasant surprises.”

  “That’s just another way of saying the same thing, Kade.”

  “Damn Wilderman stole my other line.”

  Fenris shook her head. “Sometimes it’s ok to feel good about things.”


  “Nope. As soon as that happens, everything goes down the crapper.”

  “Those fellows up ahead look like they’re up to no good.”

  “You were starting to feel good about things,” I said.

  “Oh, shut up!”

  “Right down the crapper. Probably get blood on my new coat.”

  “Maybe they’re waiting for someone else. They don’t look like much of a hit squad.”

  “Just your average idiots,” I muttered.

  “Give us the girl,” the leader of the pack of ten men said when we got close enough. “Give us the girl, and you can walk away.”

  “I wish we didn’t have to keep this stupid cover,” I muttered. “I could just give you to them.”

  She chuckled.

  “I guess you’ll have to run for cover when this starts.”

  “I think I’ll keep her,” I said. “But I’m going to warn you. If I get blood on my coat, I’m gonna be pissed.”

  All but one rushed forward. He drew his pistol and fired it at me. I wasn’t where he was aiming when the bullet passed through, but I did feel a tug at the very bottom of my coat.

  “Son of a bitch!” My hand blurred as I pulled a throwing knife from its sheathe and buried it in his throat.

  “That’s just as bad as getting blood on it! I already have one at home with a damn bullet hole in it!”

  I continued throwing blades as the group got closer and smaller. A single person reached me. I slapped the blade from his hand.

  “Gack!” was all he managed as I gripped his throat and lifted him off the ground.

  “Do you see this?” I said, pointing toward the tear in the bottom of my coat.

  “Gurk!”

  “A man of few words. It seems you have a lesson to learn, which means I can’t kill you, or you won’t learn it. Just know, this is going to hurt me just as much as it hurts you. Well, actually, it’s going to hurt you a lot worse.”

  I dragged him over to one of his partners.

  “This looks good.” I picked up a piece of old, galvanized pipe the guy had used as a club.

  Sometimes learning is painful in this Fallen World.

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  “Did you have to leave him hanging there?”

  “No,” I answered. “Could have killed him.”

  “I thought that spike through the shoulder bit was reserved for Warlords who piss you off.”