Wasteland Road Knights Trilogy

by Andrew Dobell

  Nero took a step sideways to close the gap between them. The resident looked up at Nero. “Are they going through the tunnel tonight?” Nero asked.

  The small man shook his head. “I wish. Nah, they’re going through tomorrow after they’ve eaten. Sorry, better go get the food for them,” he said and scampered off.

  Nero nodded and watched as the convoy rumbled to a stop on the road that led into the tunnel. There were four vehicles out front. Then the Rig, and then four vehicles at the back. The smaller vehicles were a mix of cars, dune buggies, and trucks, all of them with well-armed people on them. The big-rig itself was armoured and guarded as well.

  The bikers, of which Nero counted around ten, parked up in a couple of groups before dismounting. The convoy’s drivers and guards exited their vehicles and started to make their way around and up towards the mess. Nero watched and felt sure he could pick out the convoy’s leader. He was a big, tough-looking man with ritual scaring all up his arms. He walked with a woman in black leathers, surrounded by other members of the team, but it was clear they all deferred to him.

  Standing there beside Cryptus and with Nyx sparring nearby, Nero found himself reminded of the first time he met Nyx, and how he had stood in a similar part of the Watchtower, looking down on Nyx practising using her sword.

  How times had changed, and yet, stayed the same.

  “What do you think?” Nero asked Cryptus.

  “They’re formidable. I’m glad we didn’t attack them in the desert,” he answered.

  “Me, too. They’re well-armed. Look at those guns.”

  “Pistols, shotguns, rifles, yep, that’s some serious firepower. Even just taking them in the tunnel won’t be easy.”

  “Getting cold feet?” Nero asked him.

  “Just stating a fact,” Cryptus answered.

  “We need a plan,” Nero said.

  “That won’t be easy, we don’t know how this trip through the tunnel is going to go down.”

  “We can make some assumptions, such as I think we’ll be behind them.”

  “Probably,” Cryptus grumbled.

  “We can do this,” Nero assured him, thinking through the plan that was forming in his head. “We’ll be close, right up behind them, and we’ll have the element of surprise. We can do this. We just need to get Nyx and Kat over onto the backmarker cars, or, even better, the rig while we take out those backmarkers. The only issue I can see is that we won’t have much room to move. It’s going to be tight down there, and there will be no getting out of the way if they open fire on us.”

  “Can you and I get side by side down there do you think?” Cryptus asked, peering at the road below.

  “The width isn’t a problem, but the height might mean you can’t get right to either side, but you should be able to pass me just fine. I’ll move around you.”

  “Good plan. Do you think the girls will be up for it?”

  Nero nodded. “Nyx will be. She’s keen to hunt the Whisperer down as quick as possible, so, if this gets us closer to him.” He ended with a shrug.

  “She does seem very focused on it,” Cryptus commented.

  “That Night Lord has been a thorn in our sides since I met you all at the Watchtower, but for Nyx, the Whisperer has been a presence in her life for a long time.”

  “Of course,” Cryptus answered in realisation. “Rex was working for it, wasn’t he.”

  Nero nodded. “I think killing Rex was just the first part of her revenge, and when she saw what the Whisperer was sponsoring with Latrix, she knew she had to take out the source.”

  “Do you think we can do it? Honestly?” Cryptus asked.

  “Nyx’s sword and my gun can kill daemon’s, and the Whisperer is just a daemon. An intelligent one, for sure, but a daemon all the same.”

  Cryptus nodded. “As long as you’re confident.”

  “We are,” Nero said, as he watched the drivers and guards of the convoy gather together below.

  “That one’s the man in charge,” Cryptus suggested, casually pointing out a big man who had exited the rig on the driver’s side.

  Nero watched. He was stocky, well-muscled, and clearly demanded respect from his crew, who seemed to defer to him without question. Nero noted that the ratio of men to women was more even than what he’d seen here in this outpost, and while there might be a man in charge, the women in the group were not being subjugated by the men at all. The lead man approached one of the girls, a woman in black who he pulled in and kissed passionately before they separated and began to walk up the road and around to the mess. The woman he kissed could be seen issuing orders to some of the guards, which they followed without question.

  During his travels, Nero had encountered all kinds of cruelty towards his fellow man, or woman. He’d visited camps that were entirely female or entirely male, but most fell somewhere in the middle, and many did not employ any kind of slavery. Things were slanted differently when the Night Lords started sponsoring the camps, though. That’s when things changed.

  Some camps were worse than others, including a few he’d barely escaped with his life from, but it was undoubtedly worse when these daemons got involved.

  He was looking forward to leaving this misogynistic camp behind, that was for sure. The girls, probably even more so.

  Nero watched the convoy crew move around and start to approach the camp. They walked past Nyx and Kat, who were still sword fighting and watched them as they walked. Nero could see them commenting and pointing at the girls, who just ignored whatever was being said.

  Nero took a couple of steps towards the resident guy he’d spoke to before, who was next to the food table now. “Hey, who’s who in this lot?”

  “What? These guys? The leader, that bald guy with the ritual scaring, that’s Diesel, he always leads the convoy. The woman beside him is Sable;his girlfriend, I guess. They’re always passing through here with their trucks.”

  “Diesel and Sable, alright, thanks,” Nero said and returned to Cryptus’ side, where he shared the new information.

  “Good to know, thanks,” Cryptus answered as he too watched the new group approach.

  Diesel led the crew up into the mess where they proceeded to commandeer several tables, pushing a few others off theirs, while others moved before they were forced off.

  They were laughing and joking and being generally boisterous as food was served to them where they sat, and drinks were shared liberally around. Nero noticed the camp leader, Thunder Boi, wander over from the nearby building, flanked by guards of his own. Diesel’s crew let them through, and there seemed to be mutual respect between the two contingents.

  “Good to see you again, my man,” Thunder Boi said as he stepped up to Diesel, grabbing his hand and pulling him in.

  “And you, TB, how’s things?”

  “Steady, my friend, steady. You have another shipment heading south?”

  “Yep, might be the last one for a while, though.”

  “Oh? Has the rig dried up?” Thunder Boi asked.

  “Nah, mate, it’s the damn Trinity again; they attacked. We got out of there while we still could with whatever we could bring with us.”

  “Those fuckers again, huh? Well, Latrix will be on it soon enough, we’ll get the rig back.”

  “I doubt it. Latrix is gone,” Diesel explained.

  “What?”

  “We came through Midway to pay them a visit, but her place is trashed. Looks like it’s been that way for days.”

  “Fuck,” Thunder Boi exclaimed. “Any idea who did it?”

  “Nah, mate, no idea. We got out of there quick like. Some of her daemon dogs were running around the place.”

  “Well, you know who needs to know about this,” Thunder Boi suggested.

  “I know, we’ll report back to them.”

  Thunder nodded. “Well, eat and drink whatever you want.”

  “Will do,” Diesel answered.

  “I’m going to check on our defences.”

  “Good
idea,” Diesel commented.

  Nero listened to the exchange and couldn’t help feeling a little smug. If only they knew that the killer of Latrix was here, in the compound with them.

  Thunder Boi walked off with his guards and made his way down towards the front gate. Diesel watched him go and then turned his attention to Nyx and Kat who were still training.

  “You know, Dox,” he said to one of the men standing beside him. “I could watch that all day.”

  “I know what you mean,” Dox answered, a leer on his face.

  Nero felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see it was Cryptus. He looked up to see Cryptus looking at him in warning. Nero understood. Cryptus was worried that he would take offence to Diesel and his crew ogling Nyx.

  “It’s okay,” Nero mouthed back at him, reassuring him that he wasn’t about to start a fight. Cryptus nodded slightly.

  Turning back to the convoy crew, Nero watched Diesel wander back into the mess and find a seat not too far from him, where he began to talk idly with his crew about trivial matters. Nero listened in and decided he wanted to speak with this Diesel and get more of a feel for the leader he was planning to attack.

  At a suitable gap in the conversation, Nero spoke up.

  “Impressive collection of vehicles you have down there,” Nero complimented him.

  Diesel looked up and gave Nero a once-over with his eyes as if seeing him for the first time.

  “Thanks, man,” he answered.

  “You heading through the tunnel, right?”

  Diesel nodded. “In the morning.”

  “Us, too,” Nero added.

  “You keep behind us, alright?”

  Nero nodded. “That’s scary news about the queen,” Nero said, watching the man to gauge his reaction. Diesel’s attention, which had been shifting away from Nero, snapped back to him.

  “What do you know about it?”

  “Nothing. Only that we’ve been living up here for a while, travelling around and were aware of the queen. If she’s gone, it’s going to leave a power vacuum.”

  “I guess,” Diesel answered, still very obviously curious. “You’re heading south, then?”

  Nero nodded. “Not been down that way before, so, yeah, thought we’d check it out.”

  Diesel nodded.

  Nero wasn’t sure if he’d done the right thing by talking to him. Maybe he’d just peaked his interest in him a little too much? He figured it would be best to stop there and leave Diesel and his crew to themselves.

  “Well, see you tomorrow,” Nero said with a shrug and moved away from Diesel.

  “Was that a good idea?” Cryptus asked.

  “Don’t know. We’ll see,” Nero said. He didn’t feel any the wiser for the little interaction, that was for sure.

  Nero and Cryptus stood a good distance away from the crew now, just outside the mess area, and stayed there until Nyx wandered over to them. Kat had disappeared, so he guessed she’d gone to bed.

  “You two alright?” she asked.

  “We’re fine,” Nero answered and flicked his eyes right, towards the convoy crew.

  Nyx nodded slightly. “Well, it’s late, and we have a busy day ahead, let’s get to bed,” she suggested.

  “Good idea,” Nero agreed.

  “Agreed, I’ll go check on Runt,” Cryptus added.

  Nero walked with Nyx and left the mess area and the noisy convoy crew behind to head into the warehouse. Nero was aware of several of the crew watching them, and a few catcalls directed at Nyx, but they both ignored them.

  “Learn anything new?” Nyx asked.

  “A bit. News of Latrix’s demise is spreading,” Nero answered her.

  “The convoy guys told Thunder Boi, right?”

  Nero nodded. “Yep. The convoy’s leader is Diesel, and he confirmed that they’d run from the rig when the Trinity forces attacked it. They passed through Midway on their way here and found Latrix’s over-run compound. My guess is they’re going to report back to the Whisperer.”

  “Excellent,” Nyx said under her breath. “We’re still taking them in the tunnel?”

  “I think that’s best, yes. It’ll be tight down there, but there’s just too many other benefits to doing it.”

  “No zombies or mutants interfering in it for a start,” Nyx said.

  Nero nodded. “You think you can get from the car to the truck while we’re down there?”

  “You try and stop me. I’m getting good at that kind of thing.”

  Nero smiled as they approached their shack. As they drew near, Nyx brought Nero to a stop just outside and held his hands as she turned to face him. “Now, I have a surprise for you,” she said with a grin.

  “A surprise?”

  Nyx nodded. “Look, just… it’s best if you come in and have a look.”

  Nero shrugged. “Alright, sure,” he answered.

  Nyx smiled at him. Nero wasn’t sure what was going on, but Nyx looked quite giddy at the thought of whatever this surprise might be. Nero’s mind had been on tomorrow and thinking through their plans and all the possible ways this could go right or wrong.

  But Nyx saying she had a surprise for him had peaked his attention, and he wondered what she could have gotten for him here in this camp, or before.

  Holding his hand, she led him to the door of their shack and was about to enter it when she turned and looked at him.

  “Close your eyes,” she said.

  “Really?” he answered, his tone questioning if this was really necessary.

  “Yes, just close them, please.”

  Nero sighed, and then shrugged before doing as he was told. Nyx took his hand and led him forward, and after a moment, closed the door to the shack behind him and stepped away. He heard some rustling and frantic movement that sounded like clothing being removed.

  Nero was just getting more and more curious and was considering peeking when the movement slowed, and Nyx finally spoke.

  “Alright, open,” she said.

  Nero took a breath and then did as he was told. Before him, Nyx and Kat, both of them more or less naked, sat on the mattress, smiling at him.

  “Oh,” Nero said, as he took in the scene.

  The girls giggled.

  “You were right, I like her, too, and she likes us, so, if you’re okay with it, we can share,” Nyx explained.

  “Wow,” was all Nero could say, but he could also feel his arousal growing. “I mean, are you sure? You’re sure you want to do this?”

  His question was directed more at Kat, but he was asking both of them.

  Both girls nodded. “Yes, we do,” they answered.

  “Come here,” Nyx said, and beckoned him over with her finger. He stepped up to the edge of the mattress, whereupon both girls started pulling at his belt and trousers until they finally fell, releasing him and his growing erection.

  They took him in their hands and began to caress him, kissing and taking him in their mouths, occasionally kissing each other at the same time. It was one of the most arousing things he’d ever seen, and he just couldn’t tear his eyes away. Not that he really wanted to, of course.

  After a while, Nyx told him to get undressed. He stepped back and started to remove his clothes while he watched Nyx and Kat wrap themselves around each other, kissing passionately and caressing each other’s bodies. From where he was, he watched in wonder as the girls touched each other and then pressed their fingers into each other.

  Nero couldn’t get undressed quick enough, and before long, he climbed onto the bed with them and joined in.

  Chapter 10

  Nero

  Nero woke up feeling very aroused and with thoughts of the night before running through his mind. Images of Nyx holding him in her hand and guiding him into Kat, and of laying on his back with both girls on top of him, riding him. It was a night he would not soon forget, and for a moment, he thought it was just those memories that were making him feel so aroused, but, as he rose out of his slumber, he became aware that he
was being touched.

  Opening his eyes, he propped himself up on his elbows to see Kat and Nyx between his legs, holding him and taking him in their mouths.

  Nero moaned in pleasure. “Oh, my God, that’s amazing,” he gasped as they worked on him.

  He was so aroused by what he was seeing that he didn’t last long, and in a fairly short amount of time, exploded inside Nyx’s mouth.

  He lay back and closed his eyes and just basked in the afterglow of the moment, a huge smile on his face as he just enjoyed the feelings that were running through his body. He lay there for a while until he became aware of further moans of pleasure from the girls. Looking up, he found them entwined together with Kat lying on top of Nyx as they gave oral pleasure to each other at the same time.

  Nero was fascinated and just lay there, enjoying the view until both women had worked themselves up into a frenzy and they both climaxed within moments of each other.

  With them both finished and satisfied, they climbed up onto him and just cuddled him.

  Nyx looked up at him. “Sleep well?”

  “I was shattered, so, yes, I slept very well. And what a way to wake up, thank you.”

  Nyx smiled. “It was fun for me, too. I’m pleased you enjoyed it.”

  “It was a lovely surprise.”

  “You two are so cute, you know,” Kat added.

  “You’re not bad yourself,” Nyx said.

  Kat blushed.

  “So, was this Nyx’s idea, or yours?”

  “Nyx’s,” Kat answered.

  “You planted the seed of the idea, though,” Nyx added.

  “Inadvertently,” Kat explained. “This was not my intention. I mean, this is great, but I wasn’t planning on this.”

  “As long as you’re happy and doing this because you want to, then we’re good,” Nero said.

  “Oh, I want to, don’t you worry about that.”

  Nero smiled. “Good.”

  Before long, the trio were dressed and up. They didn’t want to miss the convoy heading into the tunnel. Nero was out of the shack first, and quickly found Cryptus nearby still in his hut, but up and ready to go.

  “Morning,” Nero said, stepping up to Cryptus’ door.

  “Good night?” Cryptus asked.