Gun Mage 3: Surviving a Post Apocalyptic Magic Earth

by Logan Jacobs

  “This is a rather depressed bunch,” I observed as I sidled up next to Sorcha.

  “We should get them out of here,” she whispered. “Everything about this scene is making them frightened. If we could get them somewhere warm, away from the smell and the smoke, I think we could convince them to fight.”

  “Well, they may not have any choice,” Darwin observed. “If the rest of these things do come back tonight, I don’t think they’re going to hold off on attacking people just because you close the curtains and hide in the dark.”

  “Let’s get them back to the town hall,” Bester suggested. “Chuck can stay and make sure the fire doesn’t spread. He won’t come to the meeting anyway.”

  “You should be the one to get them moving,” I said. “They know you and trust you.”

  Bester took a deep breath, then eased his way through the crowd until he stood just in front of the pyre. He looked over his friends and neighbors, then removed his hat and glanced at the ground. When he looked up again, he had a more determined look in his eyes.

  “I know you’re scared,” he began. “I am, too. But the fact is that we’re in a war now, whether we want to be or not. And yes, it’s easy to blame the strangers and say it’s all their fault. I don’t disagree with that. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we knew this day was coming. We have to fight, because the only other option is to let these things kill us off, one by one, until there’s no one left who can fight them off. Our town will just disappear, and no one will even notice.”

  The crowd stirred, but no one said anything. It was eerily silent as they waited for Bester to continue.

  “These things can be killed,” Bester went on in a fiercer tone. “We know that now. And more importantly, we know how. All it takes is a little courage, and we can be rid of this problem tonight. No more locked doors, no more hiding behind curtains, no more unanswered messages to the Magesterium. We take control, we kill the invaders, and we make damn sure this never happens again.”

  There were a few half-hearted cheers at that, but Bester was more determined than ever now. He turned around and spat on the pyre, then faced the crowd once more.

  “Back to the town hall,” he commanded. “Let’s make our plans and put an end to this once and for all.”

  Bester slapped his hat back onto his head and marched through the crowd. Once he was clear of the group, he continued on toward the collection of buildings without a backward glance. For a moment, I wasn’t sure anyone would follow, but then several of the younger men and women ran after him, and bit by bit, the rest of the townspeople did as well. At the end, it was just me and my companions and one of the locals by the fire.

  “Chuck?” I called out when I saw the rumpled man with the unkempt beard.

  “Ayuh,” Chuck replied as he extinguished a few embers that had drifted away from the pyre.

  “Well, I guess that’s it,” Freya noted. “Shall we see what the big plan is for tonight?”

  I waved to Chuck as we started to walk away and received a grunt in return. I was just glad to be away from the fire, because the smell and the smoke had started to get to me just in the few minutes we’d been out there. One thing was for sure, there was no way the rest of the creatures didn’t know what had happened to the thing that had wandered the streets of the town last night.

  The town hall turned out to be a wooden building in the middle of the town. It was only one-story tall, and though it had been painted at some point, most of the wood was now a bare and weathered gray. A watchtower had been built next to it, though it didn’t look like anyone had used it in ages. Half of the steps were missing, and one of the beams banged against a post. Like the town hall, the wood was gray and rotten in patches, and I wondered why they hadn’t simply torn it down.

  The town hall was just large enough to accomodate the local population. Benches sat in two neat lines along an aisle, and at the back of the building was a raised stage with a podium. A dusty tapestry hung at the back of the stage, though I wasn’t quite sure what it had to do with the town. Men in skirts seemed to be in pursuit of several nearly naked women who looked at the men with wide eyes even as they ran away from them. There were some other humans in the clouds who watched the scene from above, and I realized they were probably supposed to be some sort of gods.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting the tapestry,” Sorcha noted as she looked around.

  “It’s very weird,” Freya added. “Why are they chasing those women?”

  “It could be any number of myths,” Darwin noted. “Though the rape of the Sabine woman springs to mind.”

  “Ewww,” Freya protested. “Why would you want to display something about a rape?”

  “It’s…well, it was an ancient myth,” Darwin tried to explain. “About the ancient city of Rome. They didn’t have enough women, and when the other tribes in the area refused to let their women marry any of the Romans, the Romans… well, kidnapped them.”

  “And they put this on a tapestry?” Freya huffed.

  “There were a lot of great works of art about the rape,” Darwin said quickly. “It was just a myth. No one was really hurt.”

  “Maybe we should save the art history lesson for another time,” I suggested as I spotted Bester and some of the younger citizens near a long table that had been pushed against a wall.

  “Agreed,” Darwin said quickly.

  We made our way through the milling townsfolk and joined Bester at the table. Someone had found a map of the area that showed all the buildings in the town, as well as the entry points between the palisades. Bester and one of the young women were debating which direction the creatures seemed to use most often.

  “Oh, good, you’re here,” Bester said as we joined his group. “We were just about to discuss our best defensive positions.”

  “We also need to get a sense of how many we have and what they can do,” Darwin stated. “Before we lock ourselves into any plans about where to place everyone.”

  Bester nodded, then glanced back at the people who moved around the town hall, all too anxious to sit still for more than a few moments.

  “Freya and I can work with your guards to sort out what weapons are available, and who can do what,” I volunteered. “Darwin and Sorcha can help with the plans.”

  “I can work with that,” a middle-aged man in a leather brigandine said. “I’ll stay here, but I can send young Townsend out to our training field with the rest of this crowd. He’s got a good eye for spotting people’s talents, so he’ll be able to get people situated and send us some numbers pretty quickly.”

  “Thanks, Buck,” Bester said with a nod to the guard.

  And so it was that Freya and I found ourselves on the far side of the town, well away from the still smoldering remains of the creature, with most of the local citizenry. Young Townsend was actually in his mid-forties and had a head as bald and shiny as a winesap apple. He also had a voice that carried easily over the constant chatter, and a pleasant enough disposition that the townsfolk were soon lined up in orderly lines so they could display their prowess with various weapons.

  There were several good archers in the group, both with the longbow and the crossbow, a necessity when living this far away from a mage protected area. Some of the stronger men and women were also good with blades, and we ran them through some simple maneuvers that would provide protection and hopefully give them a chance to swing at the head of one of the creatures.

  I also tried to explain about the horrors the creature had unleashed on my mind, and tried to offer assurances that everyone there would be able to fight through it, now that they knew what to expect. I saw three people sneak away after I described my experience, and a few more looked like they wanted to bolt, too.

  Young Townsend let the three leave without comment, but he managed to rally those who were still there with a pep talk of his own. With Townsend’s words ringing in their ears, the locals returned to their training, and the sound of arrow strikes and clan
ging blades became the music of the day.

  One of the younger guards also brought out a few spears. They weren’t wildly popular in most towns, since they were large and unwieldy, and not nearly as accurate as a good bow. They also required a great deal of upper arm strength as well as strong legs, so women tended to avoid it.

  Nonetheless, we found several men who were willing to give it a try, and a few even had a real talent for it. I still wasn’t convinced that the spear would work that well against the creatures, since hitting them in the head seemed key, but a youngster named Nathan had a dead-eye with the spear, and I had no doubt he could put a few in the skulls of the monsters.

  At some point, food was brought out, and the townspeople paused in their exertions long enough to eat and gulp down water. Darwin, Bester and Buck all appeared soon after that and held a long discussion with Townsend while Freya and I kept an eye on the townspeople.

  I finally called a break to the activity and pointed out that we didn’t want everyone to be exhausted before they even faced the enemy. I assured them they had what it took to challenge these creatures in a fight and promised we would be there to help with the Glock. After all, I pointed out, they had survived all this time outside of a mage-controlled area. They were strong and resilient, and I had no doubt they would survive this as well.

  Freya gave me a smirk as the townspeople trudged back to town with their new weapons in hand. Townsend and the rest of the guards went with them to offer encouraging words and tips on technique.

  “You’ve got them believing they can do this,” Freya noted.

  “I do believe they can do this,” I replied.

  “Well, I hope you’re right,” Freya sighed. “Or this is going to be a very short journey for us.”

  “You’re in a grouchy mood today,” I teased as we started to follow the townspeople.

  “Well, somebody got me out of bed really early this morning, before I even had a chance to get any real sleep,” she huffed, though I saw the twinkle in her eyes.

  “You’re right,” I apologized. “Next time, I’ll try to find a quieter weapon.”

  “Good,” the mutant declared. “Though I sincerely hope there isn’t a next time.”

  “Well, we still have the Magesterium on our tails,” I pointed out.

  “Poo on the mages,” Freya laughed. “This is one bunny tail they won’t catch.”

  She wiggled her butt, and it was hard not to imagine the cotton ball of fur that was hidden beneath her oversized shirt and baggy pants.

  “They don’t know what they’re missing out on,” I replied.

  “You know, Gramps told me once that men used to pay good money to see women dressed in skimpy costumes with bunny tails and bunny ears,” Freya mused. “Maybe I could pretend I was one of those Playboy bunnies and earn some money for our trip.”

  “I think your grandfather would sooner sell his guns,” I laughed.

  “Sadly, I think you’re right,” Freya pouted. “Oh, well, don’t say I didn’t offer.”

  “But you didn’t offer it to me,” I pointed out with a grin. “Just to some strangers who would pay to see it.”

  “Would you pay to see it?” she asked innocently as she fluttered her eyelashes.

  “Absolutely,” I asserted.

  “Hmmm,” she mused. “I’m not sure how gramps would feel about that. I mean, you did help break me out of jail. Seems to me, I should offer at least a peek for free.”

  “Oh, I could go for that,” I agreed enthusiastically.

  “Just a little tease,” Freya continued. “So you could get an idea of what other pleasures might await you.”

  “You’re killing me,” I protested as I shook my head. “And I still haven’t even seen this alleged tail.”

  “Alleged, is it?” Freya sniffed, then grinned. “Well, alleged it shall remain for now. It’s a little too busy out here to offer anything else.”

  I looked up and realized we were back at the palisades. People still hurried from place to place as the buildings were secured, but the large crowds were gone. There was still too much to do, and the sun was sinking lower with every passing minute.

  We found Sorcha and Darwin at the inn, tucked away in a corner of the dining room with a pot of tea. Sorcha waved us over with a smile, and the kitchen boy appeared before our butts were even in the seats.

  “I could use a beer,” I noted as the kitchen boy stared at me expectantly.

  “The cider’s better today,” the kid replied.

  I glanced at Darwin’s mug, and the ex-trooper nodded.

  “The cider’s really good,” the ex-trooper offered.

  “Cider, then,” I agreed.

  “Same here,” Freya added.

  “So, what do you think?” Sorcha asked when the kid disappeared.

  “They have a chance,” I said with a shrug.

  “But they definitely need our firepower,” Darwin concluded. “No offense, but I’m just not sure swords and arrows will do anything. Those first guardsmen who encountered these things apparently put up a fight and couldn’t take them down.”

  “Still, they have confidence again,” I pointed out. “They’ll need that once the creatures are gone.”

  “Especially if they want to stay mage free, which appears to be the preferred status,” Sorcha commented. “They only sent those requests to the Magesterium as a last resort, and the fact that the Magesterium didn’t send anyone has only put them off mages even more.”

  “Lucky for us,” I mused.

  The kitchen boy was back and deposited our drinks on the table along with a basket of crispy crackers. He winked at Freya, smiled at Sorcha, then darted back toward the kitchen.

  “So what are the four of us doing during the attack?” Freya asked as she smiled at the boy’s retreating back.

  “We’ll be the snipers,” Darwin replied. “We’ve got positions on the tallest buildings, so hopefully we’ll be able to take out most of these things before they make it too far into the town. That means rifles for the three of us, and Sorcha will have the longbow.”

  “Darwin caved and gave Bester some ammunition as well,” Sorcha added. “He’ll be on the second-floor balcony of the old saloon. Darwin tried to show him how to shoot the Gra--Garand, so hopefully he’ll manage to get off a good shot or two.”

  “As I see it, our biggest problem is going to be this ability these things have to conjure up all these horrifying images,” I said. “I think the Glock worked because it was so fast and so easy to use. People who have to get close and swing a sword or throw a spear may find themselves trapped in the horror and unable to protect themselves or anyone else.”

  “I agree,” Darwin sighed. “But Sorcha thinks she might be able to help with that.”

  “Can you counter their magic?” I asked.

  “I don’t know that I can completely shut it down,” she replied, “especially if there’s quite a few of them. But I think I can make the images feel less threatening. They might still be scary, but not so much that people will freeze up.”

  “So now all we have to do is wait,” Freya sighed. “I hate waiting.”

  “We should rest up,” Darwin suggested. “Sleep while we can. We need to be in our positions before nightfall, and there’s no telling how long we’ll have to wait up there.”

  We finished our drinks, then made our way back to our rooms. I looked through the door into my room and saw that someone had boarded over the broken window, and the black ooze was gone, though a faint hint of rotten eggs and spoiled cabbage still lingered. Sorcha looked at me sympathetically, then held the door open to her room in invitation.

  “We’re supposed to be resting,” I murmured as I slipped inside.

  “And that’s what I intend to do,” Sorcha replied as she dropped onto the bed with all her clothes still on.

  “We could have a little fun,” I suggested. “It could be our last night, after all.”

  “Don’t you ever get tired of that line?” she
laughed.

  “Only if it doesn’t work,” I replied.

  “Well, it won’t work today,” she sighed. “As much as I’d love to celebrate our last night on Earth, I need to be ready to counter this magic.”

  “That makes sense.” I plopped onto the bed next to the Irishwoman, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. I did manage to pull her in closer, but she soon drifted off to sleep, and I was left awake to listen to the town. I could still hear shutters and boards being nailed over windows, and people calling to each other in the streets. Horses trotted by, and a heavy wagon moved slowly down the middle of the street. I didn’t think I could sleep, but at some point, I finally drifted off.

  I woke up when Sorcha gently shook me. I glanced up at her, then out the top of the window where some of the glass hadn’t been covered, and saw that the sun was about to duck below the horizon.

  “The owner’s instructed the cook to give us baskets of food to take with us,” Sorcha said as I sat up and stretched. “We can eat while we wait.”

  “Just what I like to do while I dine,” I mused. “Keep an eye out for evil beings.”

  “Well, you and I will be sharing the same rooftop, so we can at least enjoy some conversation while we’re up there,” she replied with a smile.

  “But still no to any other forms of fun,” I guessed.

  “Do you really want one of those things catching you in the middle of your release?” she asked.

  “Erm, no,” I snickered. “Not right in the middle. I’d have to ask them to kindly wait until we both finish coming.”

  “You are incorrigible,” she laughed.

  “Can you blame me? Making love to you feels amazing.”

  “It does,” the blonde woman agreed as her cheeks flushed a bit.

  There was a knock on the door then, and I glanced at Sorcha.

  “Come in,” Sorcha called out.

  Freya opened the door and stuck her head around the edge.

  “Gramps says we should get ready to go up soon,” the rabbit woman stated. “You guys know where you’re supposed to be?”