Inferno Girls

by Aaron Michael Ritchey

Hope that if there were any two men in the entire world who could duck the ARK’s army and find us again, it was Father Pilate and Micaiah Hoyt.

  Hope would be my weapon, and I’d use it to fight my way across the Juniper and find June Mai Angel.

  We’d been trying to fight an army without an army. June Mai Angel had one, along with a great need for media exposure. If she was the kind of woman I suspected her to be, she would jump at the chance to help us. If she wasn’t, she’d murder us and take the chalkdrive out of our cold, dead hands. Another gamble.

  We paused on the south bank of the river, hiding under a bridge. Us Weller sisters in the Marilyn Monroe and Rachel, Dutch, and Marisol in the Audrey Hepburn.

  Wren tapped lightly on the windshield with Tina Machinegun. “Cavvy, you’re not going to try for I-70, are you?”

  “No,” I whispered. I remembered how I’d treated Micaiah the last time we talked on the balcony. And how he’d treated me. I should’ve held him and kissed him, one last time. I should’ve been a better, stronger person for him. I touched my bare wrist where his bracelet had rested against my skin for months.

  I shut my eyes and kept the tears trapped inside. A million memories of Pilate made my heart ache in my chest.

  Sharlotte’s voice came through the communication tube. “Cavvy, you’re thinking of Independence Pass, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I answered, breathless.

  Wren laughed. “Oh, Cavvy, I love you more and more. People think I’m crazy, but compared to you, I’m sane as a judge.”

  And she didn’t even know about my plan to enlist June Mai Angel into our cause.

  “No,” Sharlotte said, “it makes sense. A lot of these old mountain roads have been forgotten. It’s something Mama would’ve done.”

  Mama. Our mother, Abigail Weller. I knew, right then, she was with us.

  From outside, I heard Wren sing in a low, uncertain voice.

  Will the circle be unbroken,

  By and by, Lord, by and by?

  Sharlotte and I sang the answer, in low voices, as quiet as we could, but still filling every word with faith, hope, and love.

  Yes. A better home awaits us

  In the sky, Lord, in the sky.

  Hope hung on our lips. In our hearts clung love.

  And loaded down into the deepest parts of our souls? We had faith.

  Even if God grew quiet, we’d be a voice in the wilderness, crying out to let the world know the ARK had a cure to the Sterility Epidemic.

  We would not be silenced. Not ever.

  Memorare

  My only gun is a lover

  My only bullets are lies

  ’Cause I killed truth

  and death does die

  — LeAnna Wright

  (i)

  REMEMBER ME, O MOST gracious Virgin Mary, remember me.

  And help me, if you’re there. Yes, my heart was full. I’d never felt closer to my sisters: Sharlotte, Wren, and Rachel, all three struggling to change. And we’d not only made it through Glenwood Springs, we’d burned it to the ground. Still, a part of me couldn’t let go of the idea that Micaiah and Pilate might find us before we ran away south, toward Independence Pass.

  “We ready to go?” Sharlotte asked.

  I paused, not wanting to answer. We were lucky that I hesitated. Another convoy came thundering out of the city. This time it wasn’t just motorcycles, but also troop carriers and an Acevedo tank, rumbling over the bridge, going south, toward Aspen and Independence Pass.

  Now my plan didn’t seem so smart. Still, I knew it beat I-70. We’d let the ARK troops drive south, then we’d outmaneuver them, like we’d been doing.

  The lights, the soldiers, the gear, thundered above us, making the bridge moan and creak in the cold. I took a deep lungful of the smell of their exhaust.

  Just when I thought they’d disappear into the storm, the convoy stopped abruptly.

  Voices drifted down to us, shouts rising and falling as the wind blew and snowflakes battered our windshields.

  One voice I recognized: Praetor Gianna Edger. Once again, she was on our trail.

  Above us, there was some kind of scuffle, cries, and orders shouted. Through the storm, I couldn’t make out many of her words, but I heard two names.

  Peter Pilgram.

  Micah Hoyt.

  What did it mean?

  We waited for what seemed like forever but was prolly only about fifteen minutes. Then the lights, soldiers, and vehicles disappeared into the storm, running south. Once we couldn’t hear any of the engines, I moved the Marilyn up the slope of the river bank onto what had been Colorado State Highway 82. Now it was a snowy route into the night, marred by the slushy tracks of the ARK convoy.

  The Audrey Hepburn joined us. I was about to run on south, when Wren called out, “Hold up, Cavvy. Turn around so I can throw open the boiler. I need it to see.”

  I wanted to argue it was dangerous to show any light out in the darkness with the ARK soldiers about, but I trusted Wren. She would have a good reason for taking the chance.

  I maneuvered the Marilyn around. Wren slid down and went around to the back of the Stanley. Light poured out onto the snow.

  But only for a minute. Wren came back into sight, stooped, and grabbed something off the white ground. She slammed the boiler door shut and scurried up the side of our Stanley.

  “What’d you find, Wren?” I asked.

  She didn’t answer. She held up two things. One was the stainless steel coffee mug she’d found for Pilate in Green River. The other? The wire and grass bracelet Micaiah had woven for me during our cattle drive west.

  Both meant Pilate and Micaiah had been there, on the south side of the Colorado River. Both meant they’d most likely been taken prisoner by the convoy we’d seen not fifteen minutes earlier.

  Close. We’d been so close to them.

  Wren dropped the mug and the bracelet into the cockpit.

  I shoved both sticks forward, and we took off running.

  We didn’t need to talk.

  We both knew what needed to be done.

  ’Cause deep in our hearts, we weren’t just sisters right then, no. For the first time in our lives, we were one heart, one mind, exactly the same.

  Praetor Gianna Edger and her Cuius Regios had our boys, and we were going to rescue them.

  No matter what.

  To be continued ...

  Cavatica Weller will return in Storm Girls (Book Four of The Juniper Wars series)

  Glossary of Historical Figures, Slang, and Technology

  Angel, June Mai—The most powerful of the Outlaw Warlords and the most organized. Her past is a mystery, but her soldiers are fierce. She controls the Denver area, from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.

  ASI Attachment—A steam engine that can interface with the drivetrains of larger vehicles such as trucks or minivans. Manufactured by the American Steam Ingenuity Company.

  ARK—The American Reproduction Knowledge Initiative—A publicly funded corporation researching the Sterility Epidemic and running insemination clinics across the world.

  AZ3—The next generation of assault rifle manufactured by Armalite Industries. Includes self-correcting laser targeting, tactical readout/ammunition count, and water-cooled barrels.

  Beefsteaks—Cattle.

  Besharam—Shameless (from the Hindi word).

  Besiya—Prostitute (from the Hindi word).

  Burke, Sally Browne—Co-founder of the New Morality movement.

  Chalkdrive—Removable computer storage devices.

  Cargador—A large steam-powered vehicle used in the Juniper for salvaging operations and later as military vehicles.

  Colton, Anna—Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, and a firm supporter of women’s rights outside of religious or domestic roles.

  Corfu, Archbishop Jeremy—An archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the US and highly critical of the ARK and any artificial insemination outside of marriage.

  CTRA
—The Colorado Territory Ranching Association—An organization created by Robert “Dob” Howerter, presumably to ensure high quality beef and ethical ranching practices, but in reality was used to fix prices and drive other ranchers out of business.

  EMAT—Emergency Medication Absorption Tape—A delivery system for medication during combat situations.

  Eterna Batteries—A perfectly clean power source created by General Electric. Named after Chinese food, the most powerful and efficient is the Kung Pao. A weaker version is the Egg Drop.

  Frictionless Automobiles—The next generation in automotive engineering, frictionless cars float thirty centimeters off the ground.

  Gillian—Lesbian (from the Mandarin phrase tong xing lian).

  Girly ’strogen—Excessively feminine (’strogen is short for estrogen).

  Headcount—The number of cattle owned by a ranch.

  Howerter, Robert “Dob”—Founder of the Colorado Territory Ranching Association and the largest cattle baron in the Juniper.

  Hoyt, Tiberius “Tibbs”—President and CEO of the American Reproduction Knowledge Initiative.

  Jankowski, Maggie—Lead engineer on the Eterna battery project funded by General Electric.

  Johnson—A derogatory term for a male.

  Jones, Calvin “Crush”—Founder of the Old Glory Salvage and Renewal Company and the first to become what was later known as the Juniper Millionaires.

  Juniper—1,438,577 square kilometers in the middle of the United States of America comprising what once was Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and sections of surrounding states. Due to the Yellowstone Knockout and the subsequent flood basalt, electrical current does not function in this area.

  Kanton, Jack Anthony—48th President of the United States of America and the second president to hold four terms in office.

  Kutia—Female dog (from the Hindi word).

  MG21—Standard issue assault rifle in the Sino-American War.

  Male Product—The male reproductive cell.

  Masterson-Wayne Act—Signed into law by President Jack Kanton in 2033, this act of Congress relegated the five states affected by the Yellowstone Knockout back to being territories.

  Meetchum, Mavis—Second largest cattle operator in the Colorado territory. Located in Sterling, she has established treaties with the Wind River people and is a strong advocate for Native American rights. She introduced buffalo back into Wyoming in the mid-2030s during a critical time for the Wind River people.

  MRE—Meal, Ready-to-Eat.

  Neofiber—A variant of carbon fiber but stronger and lighter.

  New Morality—A religious movement with socio-political connections that encouraged women to remain chaste, dress appropriately, and behave in a conservative manner.

  New Morality Dress—A dress of a neutral color (usually gray, brown, or cream-colored) that covers as much of a woman’s body as possible to comply with New Morality etiquette.

  Old Growth—A synthetic coal created from wood taken from old-growth forests.

  Parson, Reverend Kip—Co-founder of the New Morality movement.

  RSD—Reality Simulator Displays—Video screens with near-perfect resolution.

  Sapropel—A weak fuel used for heating and lighting in the Juniper. Chemically manufactured by using remnants of oil shale.

  Shakti—Raw female power (from the Hindi word).

  SISBI—The Security, Identity, and Special Borders Injunction (SISBI) is a set of laws enacted by a special executive order that requires all US citizens to register eye-scans with the government. It also allows for border fences around the Juniper and military units to secure the perimeter of the territories.

  Skye6—Diacetylmorphinesextus (a synthetic morphine).

  Slate—Tablet computer.

  Sterility Epidemic—First cases discovered in January of 2030. One in ten births are male. Of males born, 90% are sterile.

  Thelium—Theta-helium—Synthetic helium manufactured to give zeppelins greater lift.

  Thor Stunner—Eterna-powered electrical non-lethal weapon.

  Viable—Non-sterile (refers to males).

  Weller, Abigail—Growing up in the family business (The Buckeye Urban Recycling and Reclamation Company), Abigail Weller chose to enter the Juniper to run salvage for Crush Jones. After the Salvage Era, she operated the third largest ranch in the Colorado territory until her death in the winter of 2058. She had three daughters: Sharlotte, Wren, and Cavatica.

  Wind River People—The general term for all Native American tribes living in the Wyoming and Montana territories.

  Yellowstone Knockout—A term used to describe China’s missile attack on the Yellowstone caldera and the subsequent flood basalt.

  Zeppelins—Four classes of airships: Jonesies, Jimmies, Johnnies, and Bobbies. All manufactured by Boeing for use in the Juniper. Jimmies are engineered for maximum speed and Johnnies for maximum cargo hold. Bobbies are a mid-size zeppelin. Lastly, Jonesies are the most customizable. Also known as dirigibles or blimps, the airships have rigid skeletons of Neofiber covered with next-generation lightweight Kevlar. The superstructure contains air-cells filled with thelium.

  Zeus 2 Charge Gun—Eterna-powered electric rifle for short-range lethal combat and area-of-attack demolition.

  Books, Mailing List, and Reviews

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  Looking for more Juniper Wars, and need it right this minute? Check out: Storm Girls. Or keep reading to take a sneak peek.

  Sometimes the monsters are real.

  BY 2058, BOTH THE SINO-American War and the Sterility Epidemic have decimated the male population. Electricity does not function in five western states. Collectively, they are known as the Juniper. It is the most dangerous place on Earth.

  For months, Cavatica and her gunslinging sisters have heard rumors of psychotic monstrosities killing everything in their path. But first the Wellers have more important concerns: Pilate and Micaiah have been captured by the ARK, and it’s up to the sisters to save them.

  Once again, the odds are not in their favor. If they manage to survive the treacherous weather of the Rocky Mountains, Tiberius “Tibbs” Hoyt has created new army of super soldiers known as the Severins to stop them. You need an army to fight an army, and the Weller sisters think the Outlaw Warlord known as June Mai Angel might help them. But she’s tried to kill the sisters twice. Can they convince her to help?

  And while the Wellers think their enemies are outside of their tight family, the ultimate betrayal lies ahead as they battle their way toward the Kansas border.

  Magnificat

  O beautiful for outlaw girls,

  For whiskey morning pains,

  For purple mountains bruising bad

  Above the salvaged plain.

  Oh Juniper! My Juniper! God turned His back on thee!

  For ’Murica loves her ’lectric lights

  Not you, the dark between the seas.

  —Country Mac Sterling

  (i)

  HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF God, you can’t help me with thi
s next part of my story ’cause I don’t believe in you, in Saint Joseph, in Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a mule. When I was in the autumn of my sixteenth year, the silence of God drifted down upon me, and I faltered.

  Micaiah and Pilate, the two men I loved to hate and hated to love, had been stolen from us, or so we thought when we found the coffee mug and the bracelet outside of Glenwood Springs. The city was burning even as zeppelins shined spotlights down, trying to find us. By us, I mean me, my sisters, Sharlotte and Wren, and Rachel Vixx, our one-time enemy but now sister. We also had two new additions to our crew.

  Dutch Malhotra was Wren’s bad ex-boyfriend and even worse current one. He’d supposedly stumbled upon Pilate and Rachel, and yeah, he’d helped us escape Glenwood Springs, but I still didn’t trust him. He was a slippery, handsome man with dark skin and a flashing smile, viable and stupidly arrogant about it. With a last name like Malhotra, he was definitely Hindu and prolly something else besides.

  Little Marisol, a twelve-year-old orphan girl we’d saved from Aces, also joined us. We’d sworn to get her back to her family, but that was before we’d discovered Micaiah and Pilate might have been captured by an ARK convoy going south out of Glenwood Springs.

  The American Reproduction Knowledge Initiative, called the ARK, was the biggest, richest corporation on Earth. It had the cure to the Sterility Epidemic but didn’t want anyone to know. Tiberius “Tibbs” Hoyt was making too much money selling Male Product to women around the world so they could have babies.

  And when he wasn’t doing that, he was brewing up armies in vats to protect his empire. We’d killed three out of the four Vixxes but managed to save Rachel from herself. Micaiah gave her a dose of the serum he used to give himself emotions. It turned out the boy was as bio-engineered as Rachel, maybe even more so. The serum made Rachel human. Without his meds, Micaiah turned into someone I couldn’t love.

  I’d had to break up with him, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t go and save him.