Gun Mage 2: Surviving a Post Apocalyptic Magic Earth
Page 26
“They did rather well last night, running along in the dark at full gallop,” Sorcha commented as she scratched behind the ear of the bay with a white blaze down his face.
“They did great,” I agreed, “once they decided they didn’t hate us.”
Sorcha laughed, then ducked beneath my arm to grab the tack that the stableboys had left nearby. We started to ready our mounts while Darwin loaded the last of the gear onto the ATV and Freya added more oil. We were ready to roll on when I saw one of the stableboys suddenly stop what he was doing, then grab his friend and push him back inside the stable. He slammed the barn doors shut and threw the wood bar into the handles.
“What the hell?” Darwin demanded as the stable went dark.
“Somethings happening at the festival,” the stable boy replied in a panicked voice. “I can hear people screaming and such.”
I looked at Darwin, and then we moved to the small side door. Darwin opened it a few inches, then pushed it open the rest of the way when nothing happened. He and I stepped outside and waited for a moment.
And then I heard it as well. People were indeed screaming, but I could also smell something burning. A moment later, I saw smoke curl up toward the sky as the bell started to toll in the fire tower, and then it abruptly stopped.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Is it mages?”
“Not their style,” Darwin replied. “They usually don’t attack until they’ve got their enemy in their sights.”
“I’ll bet it’s the berserkers,” the shorter stable boy added from the door. He couldn’t have been much older than twelve, with a thick thatch of black curly hair and two soft brown eyes.
“What the hell are berserkers?” Darwin asked. “I know what they are in Norse myth, but I didn’t realize we had any running around New Jersey.”
The boy stared at Darwin in confusion, and I could tell Darwin’s statement had raised so many questions that the boy had forgotten what Darwin had even asked.
“What are berserkers?” I pressed.
“They live in the valley between the hills,” the boy finally replied. “They’re like mutants, but they claim they’re better than mutants because they were made by scientists in the old days, before the meteorite.”
“And why would they attack?” I asked as flames suddenly shot into the air and the screams became louder.
“They go around and try to steal food after the harvests,” the boy replied. “Usually they sneak in at night, but the last couple of years, they started attacking the towns during the day and taking whatever they could carry. Last year, they hit Cedarville and took almost all the grain, and some of the kids. Everyone chipped in and sent what they could spare, but a lot of the people had to leave the town or starve.”
Another explosion rumbled down the street, and Darwin and I exchanged glances.
“It wouldn’t take us that long,” I suggested. “We could still be gone before Chief Parker gets here.”
Darwin nodded and retreated back inside the barn where Freya already had the tarp off the back of the ATV. The old trooper pulled out his own Glock and Winchester rifle, then looked at Freya. She held up the Glock I had created for Sorcha and gave a quick nod in response. I added the Ruger twenty-two and my Colt to the mix, which seemed like a lot of firepower to unleash on such a small town, but the screams had become more frantic and desperate, and I had a feeling that we would need every bullet with the berserkers.
“Do you want the revolver?” I offered Sorcha as she pulled the bow and quiver from the ATV.
“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I think I need a weapon I feel comfortable with.”
I nodded, and then the four of us turned toward the door. The stableboys stood nearby, mouths open and eyes wide.
“You’re… going to attack them?” the one with black hair asked.
“We are,” I assured him.
“Are those… guns?” the smaller one with sandy blonde hair nearly whispered.
“They are,” Freya told him. “But you can’t tell anybody.”
“We won’t,” both boys said at the same time.
Freya nodded to the two kids, and then we slipped back outside. The back door opened into an alley that ran along the back of the businesses. It was littered with old crates, broken bottles, and more than one stray cat. It also led to the small green where the festival was to take place, so we ran along its length as fast as we dared until we reached the point where it merged with the main cross street.
I peered over Darwin’s shoulder once we reached the edge of the last building, and I felt a wave of anger as I took in the destruction. Tables were shattered and bodies were strewn around the green while flames crept up the walls of nearby buildings. It wasn’t hard to find the source of all the trouble either. The local deputies and the town mage were locked in combat with a group of people all dressed in the same black pants and shirts. While one black-clad group of invaders fought with the deputies, a second group carried sacks of grain from the town mill while a third group raided the cold storage facility.
The stableboy had been right. If these marauders succeeded, there wouldn’t be enough food left to sustain the town through the winter. And the deputies and mage were clearly outmanned. The invaders were swift and could move from spot to spot in the blink of an eye while the deputies were still lifting their swords. The town mage fought with every spell he knew, but the fact was that he was primarily a land mage, and most of what he knew was of little help against this brand of evil.
“I’ll head over to that wagon,” I said to Darwin as I stepped out from the alley.
“Right, I’ll cover you,” he replied as he lifted the Winchester.
I dodged across the street to a small greengrocer whose storefront was just starting to burn. A wagon had been left in front and decorated with paper cutouts of various fruits and vegetables. A pile of pumpkins were stacked in the back, all painted with a smiling face for some reason.
I heard footsteps behind me as I ran, and glanced over my shoulder. Sorcha was right behind me, her first arrow already on the string. I gave her a quick smile, but the sound of the Winchester firing brought my attention back to the street. One of the berserkers must have seen us sprint from the alley and two of them had slipped past the guards and started after us.
The whip crack sound of Darwin’s rifle froze everyone else in place for a moment as one of the black clad figures twisted sideways, then collapsed to the ground in a spray of blood. While the berserkers and the locals looked around, Sorcha and I made it to the wagon. I peered around the edge of the wagon just as the second berserker looked up from the body of his companion, then let out a blood curdling yell. It wasn’t a word, just a harsh sound that made my blood run cold. The berserker started forward again, and then it was my turn to open fire.
I lined up the Ruger, and when the berserker started to leap into the air, I pulled the trigger. The less dramatic sound of the Ruger snapped through the cold air, and before the berserker could change his course, the bullet found its mark on his face. The berserker tumbled to the ground, like an acrobat that made a misstep. There was blood splattered across his face and his tongue hung from his mouth. I thought there was froth at first, and then I realized the white I could see were the remains of his teeth.
“Cover me,” I told Sorcha as I ducked behind the wagon. “I’m going to try and get closer.”
Sorcha merely nodded, then crept to the other edge of the wagon. She spotted two more of the berserkers who had started to move toward the bodies of their comrades. She launched her first arrow, then quickly sent a second one on its way as well. When I looked around the wagon for another assessment, two more bodies laid on the green, these with arrows sticking out of their chests.
“Good shooting,” I remarked with a grin just as the boom of Darwin’s Winchester filled the air again.
With that, I ran from behind the wagon toward the scene of the battle. I raised the rifle as I ran, an easy thing to do with
the twenty-two, and pulled the trigger as soon as I had a bead on a black-clad figure. The Winchester boomed again as well and two more berserkers fell to the ground.
The locals seemed to realize that they suddenly had help, and some of the guards managed to cheer. But there were still too many strangers in black and the sound of metal clanging against metal soon filled the air again. The berserkers, for their part, had quickly spotted both me and Darwin, and we both faced a handful of angry raiders charging toward us.
I stopped paying attention to the sound of the Winchester and focused on my incoming horde. I took down the first two quickly as they led the charge toward me. They dropped within seconds of each other and left a large pool of blood in the dirt and grass, but the others scattered and tried to approach me from as many different directions as they could.
An arrow whipped through the air then and caught a third berserker in the side of the head. I saw him manage two more steps before he sank to the ground, but that was all I had time to see. The berserkers were moving far faster than a normal human, and now that they knew where the shots were coming from, they zigged and zagged and tried to make it difficult for me to get off a good shot.
My next bullet only clipped a berserker in the side, and she fell to her knees as she grabbed at her wound. Blood flowed between her fingers and she let out one of those odd, chilling screams that was soon taken up by the rest of the berserkers. I tried not to shiver as I focused on my next target, but it was a sound that would have sent most sensible men looking for a good hiding spot.
Instead, I picked out a large man with purple hair who seemed to hop from place to place like an oversized frog. It was hard to get a good shot at him, and my first bullet cracked into the trunk of a tree as he bounded away from my sights.
Frustrated, I had to fire at another berserker who had closed in quickly on my spot. It was a woman with a short braid and two long blades, and she was nearly on top of me before I was able to shift the rifle and find my target. In fact, she was so close, I could almost see the bullet dig through her forehead and into her skull. A black hole formed in the center, and blood began to trickle from the wound. She looked at me for a moment, then slowly fell sideways.
The alarm bells started to sound and I knew I only had one more shot left in the Ruger. I scanned the area and tried to find the frog man again. I spotted him as several quick popping sounds joined the noise in the streets, and I realized that Freya had used a Glock. The frog man turned toward the new sound, and he was finally still long enough that I could lock onto my target and fire a good shot.
I felt the bullet clear the barrel, and then the Ruger twenty-two vanished from my hand. But the frog man keeled over like a ship listing to one side, and I saw a small puddle of blood start to seep through his shirt and dribble to the ground. I felt a small moment of triumph, and then I pulled the Colt from my jacket just as another pair of arrows whistled into a pack of berserkers.
Someone in the gang of raiders must have decided that it was too much trouble to continue the attack because the berserkers started to pull back. They didn’t run, but they started to move quickly back toward the bridge. A few still carried food supplies while others grabbed whatever loot they could.
One slender woman with a pair of red braids had a girl of about six tossed over her shoulder. The girl cried and squirmed, but she couldn’t break free from the woman’s grasp. An arrow embedded itself in a post near the woman’s head, but she ignored it and kept moving toward the bridge.
I glanced back and saw that Sorcha had lined up another arrow, but I could tell by the Irishwoman’s frown that she was concerned about hitting the girl by accident. I darted from my spot so I could follow the retreating band of berserkers and made sure that I kept an eye on the woman with the braids. When I finally had a clean shot, I fired the Colt at her back.
The bullet smashed into the berserker near the kidneys. The savage woman stumbled forward one step, then fell to the ground face first. I saw the girl crawl away from the woman’s body, and I felt a moment of panic when I saw the blood on the girl’s dress. But the girl scrambled to her feet, slipped around the grasping hand of another berserker, and ran into the arms of the nearest guard.
At last, the berserkers were in full retreat and most of them did start to run. They left a trail of dropped food and stolen goods as they high-tailed it toward the far side of the bridge, and arrows whizzed through the air until the last bit of black was gone from our sights.
“That was a risky shot,” Darwin murmured as we stood at the foot of the bridge and scanned for berserkers.
“I know,” I admitted. “But I couldn’t let her take that girl.”
“It’s good you took it,” Darwin sighed. “I’m just glad you hit the right body. You are a hell of a shot, even though you don’t know shit yet.”
“Uhhh… thanks?” I chuckled.
“Once I get some training in you, you’ll be an amazing shot,” he clarified.
“I’m looking forward to learning more from you,” I said.
“And I’m looking forward to teaching you.” Darwin looked back over his shoulder for a moment, then nudged me. “I think we should get going, before it starts to sink in what exactly happened here.”
I nodded and started back toward the destruction that still littered the town. Some of the women now moved among the bodies while other townsfolk had started a water line to fight the flames. Yet another group moved across the green and the road to try and save what they could of the food. Sorcha moved among the bodies and reclaimed what arrows she could while Freya helped bandage some of the townspeople that had been injured. Darwin whistled as the two of us walked back toward the stables, and Freya and Sorcha both looked up. After a few moments, they both picked their way across the green and rejoined us.
“We’re leaving?” Sorcha guessed.
“Seems best,” Darwin replied.
We made it as far as the barn doors to the stables, where the two stableboys watched our approach with eager anticipation. The two boys looked as if they’d just witnessed the greatest showdown ever, and I felt myself start to grin in response. But that reaction was quickly squashed when the town mage and a pair of guards stepped in front of us.
“Let me start by thanking you for saving our town,” the mage said quietly. He was one of the most ordinary men I had ever seen, and everything about him was some shade of brown, from the shoulder-length hair to the color of his eyes and the tint of his skin.
“We were happy to help,” I replied as I tried to remember how many bullets I had fired from the Colt, and prayed that I wouldn’t have to use them.
“But, as a mage, it’s my duty to report anyone who I know is carrying a gun,” the mage continued unhappily.
“So you’re going to arrest us?” Darwin demanded.
One of the guards grunted, and the mage shook his head.
“We’re a bit overwhelmed today, and it’s too easy for someone to slip away,” the mage said with a regretful tone as he looked past us toward the green. “I’ll have to summon some rain to help with the flames, though unfortunately, that may also hide the tracks of anyone leaving the town.”
“That would be unfortunate,” I agreed as I glanced at Sorcha.
“Of course, I would report anything that someone might have overheard about your travel plans,” the mage continued. “For example, if someone heard you say you were traveling toward…?”
It took a few moments for our little group to realize what the mage was offering to do, and even then, no one spoke for a moment.
“Philly,” Darwin offered. “To find a portal mage.”
The mage nodded, then he and the two guards walked past us without saying another word.
“Let’s get the horses and the ATV and get out of here before he has a chance to rethink his offer,” Darwin said.
“We’ll get the horses,” the taller stableboy announced gleefully as he and the other stablehand darted back into the stables.
The stableboys returned with the horses, and after Sorcha and I checked the straps, we both mounted and waited for the ATV to inch its way between the doors. I saw Darwin talk to the stableboys for a moment, and then he pointed away from the green and the crowd, and drove toward the other side of the town at a slow pace. Sorcha nodded and trotted along behind them, and after one last look, I started to follow as well.
The far end of the town had the same spiked barriers, but instead of a bridge and a river to cross, the road turned into a rutted path that climbed along the edge of the mountain. The guards on duty had stuck to their posts, though I wasn’t sure if that was their training or if they simply didn’t realize just how bad things had been at the other end of town. A small group of people had sought shelter from the berserkers with these guards as well, and as our group first approached, I saw eyes open wide in fear.
“The raiders are gone,” Darwin declared as he stopped near the guards, “so we’re going to head out.”
One of the guards looked doubtfully back toward the town, then glanced at the other guard.
“You want to leave even with the berserkers around?” the guard asked.
“They’re on the run,” Darwin explained, “so it seems like a good time to leave, before they can regroup and attack again. We want to get to the next town before they come back.”
The two guards consulted each other in a quiet huddle, and I started to plot out ways we could move the barrier out of the way by ramming it with the ATV. Darwin must have had the same thoughts because he started to inch the ATV forward until Freya tapped him on the arm.
“Hey, that’s them,” someone called out. “That’s the folks who helped fight off the berserkers!”