To Cross a Wasteland

by Phillip D Granath

  Coal led them down an alley between the burned out husk of a warehouse and a rusting heavy equipment yard. The Indian stopped at the street and Kyle came to a stop next to him.

  “The museum is just a block over,” Kyle prompted.

  “I know where it is, kinda hard to miss a building that big. I just figure you should ride up front, wouldn’t want him to see me and get the wrong idea. That’s assuming your Partner won’t be gunning for you,” Coal said smugly.

  “He won’t be, besides we're going to take a shortcut,” Kyle replied and with a click of his tongue prompted his horse into motion.

  “Sound good, because those always work out,” Coal replied.

  Ignoring Coal, Kyle pushed across the street and into the shadows of a rusting paint factory. The sprawling complex covered several blocks and sat just next to Mile’s Museum. Kyle had cut through it before, it was a maze of heavy piping, overhead walkways and huge tanks all of which provided easy cover.

  “What do you think is in these things?” Coal asked as they rode beneath an overhead walkway next to a particularly large tank.

  “Don’t know, most of them are empty, some starting to rust through,” Kyle said and then added. “But those aren’t the ones I’m guessing we need to worry about.”

  “Which ones do we need to worry about?” Coal asked.

  “The ones that aren’t rusting, the ones that have such nasty shit in them that they made the tanks out of stainless,” Kyle said pointing to a series of smaller tanks.

  “Shit I…a…ckka…a” Coal started to speak, but his words trailed off into a gurgle.

  Kyle turned to look back at the half-breed in confusion, just in time to see Coal’s kicking feet above the mare’s back. A steel cable was looped around the Indian’s neck, and he was being pulled upward into the shadows of the walkway. At the same moment, a large bundle of cinder blocks wrapped in fencing crashed to the ground at Kyle’s right a heavy steel cable ran back up to the walkway and pair of men slid down it.

  “Fuck!” Kyle gasped as he fumbled for the revolver in its shoulder holster.

  Without warning a huge weight slammed into the Scavenger’s, and he toppled from the horse’s back. At first, he thought he had been crushed by another falling pile of rubble until he felt the arm slide around his neck. A man had jumped from the walkway and now was on his back trying to get a clear line at Kyle’s throat. The Scavenger sensed the knife more than saw it in the dark and rolled to his side dragging his attacker with him. Kyle could now see the two remaining men approaching cautiously, one carried a heavy pipe the other a blade, waiting for their friend to finish the Scavenger off. Overhead in the shadows, Coal continued to gurgle helplessly fighting for breath and for life.

  Realizing he was on his own Kyle threw a vicious elbow back at his attacker, striking him above the right eye and stunning him for a few precious moments. He then rolled the other way, breaking free from the grasp and stumbling up to his feet. The man with the club charged and this time Kyle was able to clear leather. He raised the magnum as his new attacker pulled back to swing.

  “No…” Kyle whispered a heartbeat before the magnum bucked in his hand with a roar of noise and light. Then the man with the club was falling backward.

  The second man screamed with rage and launched himself across the space at Kyle his knife thrust out before him like a spear. Just then a shadow swooped from the darkness above, Coal hanging by one hand swung down and with sickening crack landed a kick perfectly to the attacker’s temple. The man dropped like a stone and Coal swung back up into the darkness. Then a moment later swung back out again, suspended helplessly.

  Still laying on the ground, Kyle’s first attacker made a terrible sound, something between a scream and a howl and tried to rise. Kyle was too startled to even think, he spun the magnum around and hit the man cleanly on the head, knocking him cold.

  “Fuckin…kill um..Kyl..,” Coal’s raspy voice croaked out.

  Kyle turned and could see that the Indian had stopped swinging. He now hung, one arm pointed directly above him, his hand still caught by the wire noose that had nearly strangled him. His feet hung about two feet off the ground, but his other hand held his knife, ready to defend himself even though all he could do was dangle. At any other time, Kyle would have found the scene hilarious.

  “Killum Kyllll…” Coal croaked again painfully.

  Kyle looked down at his unconscious attacker, he rolled the man over with his foot. His knife lay under him, and Kyle scooped up the blade. He couldn’t see the man’s face in the darkness, and for that he was thankful. These bastards had nearly killed him and Coal, they had forced him to fire a shot, perhaps bringing Murphy’s Rangers closer with every heartbeat. This man and his friends had nearly cost Kyle everything. His friend, his life, even Anna’s.

  “Do it,” Coal prodded still suspended above the ground.

  “I’m Sorry. We just got no time for loose ends, we’re just too close,” Kyle said weakly and kneeling down held the blade up to the unconscious man’s throat.

  At that moment the world was bathed in soft light, and Kyle looked up from where he knelt. The light was coming from a small lantern edging around the side of the massive tank. Coal whipped his head around to try and see and with a curse began to slowly spin in a circle on the end of the cable.

  “Kyle? Is that you?” Came a familiar voice.

  “It is Miles we…” Kyle began, and then he glanced down at the man below him and stopped.

  It wasn’t a man it was a boy, 16 maybe younger. The boy had reddish-brown hair and dark brown eyes. For a moment Kyle thought he was looking at a younger version of himself. The boy was about the same age he had been when the world had ended. But the eyes were different, the brown, they were Anna’s eyes. This is what their son could look like one day. Kyle stood and staggered back, he looked down at the knife in his hand and then flung it into the dark.

  “Shit, there he goes getting soft again,” Coal mocked his voice painful to even hear.

  The boy rolled over and crawled out into the darkness, Kyle watched him go still not sure if he had seen a ghost or himself in boy’s face.

  “Kyle? Are you okay?” Miles had slowly crutched his way over to stand next to the Scavenger.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, they jumped us,” Kyle replied slowly.

  “What can I do to help?” Mile’s asked cautiously.

  “Do you have a ladder?” Coal asked still spinning in a slow circle a few feet off of the ground.

  Thirty minutes later, with Coal cut down and the horses rounded up, the three men stood around the Mile’s wagon. The old man had decided to leave it in the old wooden shed where he had first shown it to Kyle. He thought bringing it into the museum, especially with the chance that Brooklyn or any of Murphy’s other goons may drop in unannounced was just too much of a risk. Also, the fact that it was too damn heavy to move without real horsepower may have influenced his decision Miles admitted.

  Kyle had to admit he was impressed; Miles had accomplished a lot with what time he had. Though he could already tell, Coal had his reservations. The half-breed had remained quiet since he had been cut down. Kyle wasn’t exactly sure if that was a good thing or a bad, but at least for the moment, he wasn’t stabbing anyone.

  “So, as you can tell, I got a plywood floor put in her and side walls, which I overlaid with sheet metal,” Miles explained as he walked them around the wagon.

  “Sheet metal ain't going to stop no bullet,” Coal pointed out.

  “It’s not intended to, but it should stop or at least turn an arrow,” Miles replied and then added, “But the tailgate, now that’s a different matter.”

  “The tailgate?” Coal asked.

  “Yeah, the tailgate,” Miles said walking around to the back of the wagon.

  “I reinforced the tailgate with a layer of 2x4s and then bolted on ¼” steel plate,” the engineer proudly pointed out.

  “I figured whoever is shooting real bullets
at us we’ll be running away from, so armoring the tailgate made the most sense,” Mile explained.

  “It’s called a fucking board, trucks have tailgates, the back of a wagon is called a board,” Coal pointed out, frustration clear in his voice.

  “Listen, son, I was never an expert on this kind of thing, rail, pre-industrial machinery then I’m your man. So I don’t give a shit what it’s called. I just care that it stops bullets,” Miles replied smartly.

  “Why not just armor the whole thing?’ Kyle asked, trying to defuse the rising tensions.

  “Weight,” both Miles and Coal replied in unison and then exchanged glances. Kyle nodded his head.

  “What’s this bullshit?” Coal asked pointing to a small gun rack just inside of the wagon next to the board.

  “That’s where I’ll keep my pipe rifles,” Miles explained.

  “Pipe rifles?” Coal asked skeptically.

  “Miles makes his own guns, shotguns really, his own powder too,” Kyle explained.

  “Smooth bore, shoots lead shot I make from tire weights, not much range but nasty up close,” Miles added. “Of course, they take forever and a day to reload, that’s why I keep more than a few on hand.”

  Coal was nodding, the old engineer earning a grudging degree of respect. “Show me the rest,” the half-breed said.

  “We’ll we have fold-down benches on each side of the bed here,” Miles pointed out.

  “Box,” Coal corrected.

  “Box then, if you like. Just old army cots, I figured they would give folks a place to sit, give them a break from walking once and awhile or a place to lay the sick or wounded,” Miles explained, and Coal just nodded.

  “I bent some Steel conduit piping over the top to make a frame as you can see, rigged it so we can cover the whole bed…or box…with a tarp or tie it up high enough so we can see out. I have other tarps secured along the bottom on both sides also. Figured when we stop we could stretch those out and give folks that were walking a place to lay in the shade,” Miles pointed out, and Kyle nodded.

  “Well ain't that sweet, now show me something I give a shit about grandpa, like the wheels and the suspension,” Coal cut in.

  To Mile’s credit, the old man just took a deep breath and then slowly and painfully lowered himself down to the ground to crawl under the wagon. Coal and Kyle did the same.

  “I cut out a lot of the heavier suspension stuff, remember this thing was designed to haul railroad ties, a lot of them. What was left I oiled and greased. The wheels are wood of course with steel bands, I checked them over real good and didn’t see any signs of dry rot, but we have two spares just in case,” Miles said.

  “We’ll need to bring along pry bar and a heavy wooden mallet if we have to change one out,” Coal pointed out.

  “Will do,” Miles replied, and the men crawled back out from under the wagon.

  “Harness and Tack?” Coal asked.

  “We got a pair of collars, they weren't in bad shape, so I oiled them down. The reins, or tack I guess, was all rotted out, so I replaced it with nylon straps to secure them to the tongue, don’t have nothing to replace the reigns with yet though,” Miles admitted.

  “Don't bother, these horses have never even seen a wagon. Once we hitch them, which won’t be easy, I’ll have to ride one of them to get them to move at all,” Coal explained.

  “Oh I see so you two will be riding while I get to walk the whole time, just great,” Kyle pointed out.

  Coal and Miles exchanged glances, and then Coal spoke “Sorry boss the only ones riding will be those absolutely necessary and those… hindered,” Coal said glancing at Miles crutch.

  “Juan rides to,” Miles added.

  “Who in the fuck is Juan?” Coal asked.

  “My boy, he’s 8 or 10, I think,” Miles replied

  “Well unless Juan inherited your gimp ass leg then he walks along with everybody else,” Coal said.

  “No, he rides with me, where I can keep an eye on him,” Miles objected. “Besides if we get into some trouble, I want him close, he knows how to reload my rifles.”

  Both men turned and looked at Kyle expectantly. It took the Scavenger a moment to realize they were waiting for him to settle the matter. Like it or not Kyle had become the boss of the operation, he knew he would be making a lot of decision, some of them easier than others in the days and weeks ahead. Thankfully, this one seemed pretty easy to him.

  “Juan rides, at least for the first few days. I want him ready to help Miles with his guns. After that, we should know for sure if we’re being chased or not. When the danger passes, and we are far enough out, then he walks along with everyone else,” Kyle decided.

  Coal just shook his head and turned away, Miles gave him a brief nod.

  “What about the water?” Coal asked changing the subject.

  “I figured we would load the barrels at the clinic just before we left. I have a small hand pump and some garden hose to help load Kyle’s cache when we get out to it. It should also make things easier to hand out water each day along the trail,” Miles replied.

  “Whoever we are bringing along, if they are walking, then they are carrying their own water for the day. At night we’ll refill everyone’s canteen or bottle or whatever. That’ll help us ration it, they carry their own baggage as well, one pack per person,” Coal said.

  “Damn Coal, it would be nothing to run some lines along the outside of the box and tie the packs to…,” Miles began, but Coal cut him off.

  “Nothing but weight you mean! You two need to understand something right now. The first 48 hours of this, it’s going to be a fucking foot race. We need to get the hell out of Dodge and put as much distance between Murphy and us as is humanly fucking possible. Now if our plan with the Nation works out and Murphy is spooked and playing it safe, keeping his men close to town, then we got a shot. But if he sends them after us right away and they catch us, it’s not going to be a fight, it’s going to be a fucking bloodbath,” Coal looked back and forth between the two men, letting them absorb that, then spoke again.

  “You want to keep that from happening, you want to keep your little Juan and your precious Anna alive? Then you keep the horses fresh, they get lots of water, and we keep their load as light as we can, so we can run them if we need to. That means your people carry their own shit. Also, I’m assuming my rifle, your pistol, and his fucking pipe things are all the weapons we are going to have?” Coal asked.

  “Dante will be carrying your old shotgun as well,” Kyle replied.

  “Okay, but most of your folks are going to be unarmed I’m guessing?”

  “Yeah,” Kyle nodded.

  “We need to get together some spears then, say 6 to 8 feet long, best thing to have against mounted attackers. Easy to make and in a pinch and any idiot can figure out how to use one.”

  “Imagine that, the Indian is an expert with a spear,” Miles commented.

  “I’m pretty damn good with anything that can be used to kill a man, yeah,” Coal replied, an edge to his words.

  “We’ll hand them out to whoever is walking; they can be used as walking sticks for your people, that helps on long desert walks, trust me,” Coal finished.

  “Miles? Kyle asked.

  “I got some conduit pipe left over still, I can get some spears worked up I imagine,” Miles admitted reluctantly. “But just how many will we be needing?”

  Coal and Miles now both looked pointedly at Kyle. “I don’t know,” the Scavenger replied honestly.

  “Well we need to figure that out and fast,” Coal said, and Kyle simply nodded. “I guess I don’t have to point out that fewer would be better,” the half-breed added.

  “Well for sure, us three, Anna, Juan, Dante, and Pauli,” Kyle began.

  “Pauli? Who’s he?” Miles asked.

  “Pauli is a she,” Coal corrected him.

  “Don’t worry about Pauli, you’ll get a chance to meet her,” Kyle added.

  “So seven, for sure then?” Coal
prompted.

  “Yeah right now, but once we announce it to the group, maybe 30, if they all want to go,” Kyle guessed.

  “Shit,” Coal said shaking his head.

  “When will we know for sure?” Miles asked.

  “Well, I figure we need to give our people some time to decide if they are going with us and to prepare for the trip. Coal, what’ll you need? Half a day to ride out and tell the Nation when to come into town?” Kyle asked looking up at the Indian.

  “About that, without you along to slow me down this time,” Coal replied smiling.

  “Okay then, I’ll break the news to our people tomorrow night after dinner. Straight after that Coal, you ride out and tell Chief Red Bear we are on for noon the next day. When they ride in, we ride out,” Kyle said.

  “I’d rather be leaving in the dark,” Coal pointed out.

  “I know so would I, but it wouldn’t make any sense for us to schedule the Chief’s little parade after dark. Even if he weren’t suspicious you know, Two-Steps would be. And if we wait until after, well Murphy may have recovered from our little surprise by then,” Kyle explained.

  Coal nodded in agreement and then said. “I was thinking. I’m going to tell the City Council that the Chief is coming, the Black Jackets too. I’m going to tell them about the deal we made for them.”

  “If you’re sure they won’t tip off Murphy,” Kyle consented.

  “They won’t, they’re further up shit creek then we are, but if we all die out in the desert, well at least we’ll be leaving the City Council in a better position to be a pain in Murphy’s ass,” Coal explained.

  “Now that’s the fucking spirit,” Miles grumbled.

  Hunted

  Coal and Kyle had secured the horses in an empty cattle car inside of Mile’s museum. The Indian hadn’t objected to leaving them, so the Scavenger guessed Coal must have decided Miles could be trusted after all. The two men made their way back across town just as the sun was starting to color the Eastern sky. They stuck to side streets and narrow alleys, choosing to risk the dangers posed there rather than running the risk of crossing paths with Murphy’s Rangers on the open streets. They carried their guns openly and crossed town without incident.