Pythagoras Falls

by S A Ison

  “Keep your eyes closed Travis.” Blake said softly, lowering his weapon.

  “What’s going on? What happened?” He asked, looking at the man on the ground.

  “Young man thought he could take my weapon.” Kena grinned, her AR15 slung around her shoulders, and she laughed. “Brought a knife to a gunfight.” The knife in question was actually a vicious looking machete, and though rusted, the weapon had been honed to a sharp and shiny edge. Blake saw that the man had been shot in the chest and then in the forehead.

  “Nice shooting.” Blake smiled at Kena, and that caused the woman to laugh harder.

  “I didn’t shoot him, your wife did.” She grinned.

  Blake looked at Alice, stunned. Her normally soft eyes held steel in their depths. Alice walked over and peeled Travis off his back and held the boy tightly in her arms.

  “Why don’t you drive that trash away, and then join us for tea.” Kena grinned and she and Alice walked on. Blake stood in the dirt road by the body and shook his head. Alice had changed in the two months they had been there. Grunting, Blake walked back to the cabin to get the truck.

  ELEVEN

  Seattle, WA

  Monica curled into a tight ball, her arm throbbing and on fire. Mike was driving the Chinese medical van pell mell, hitting and bumping over god knew what. Monica groaned. She and Mike had worked closely over the years, and though he was twenty years her senior, she knew he cared about her deeply. He had tried to protect and shelter her. They were all prisoners now, working for the invading forces, that had taken over Seattle just over three weeks before.

  Thousands of Chinese and Russian troops were in the city and had been welcomed at first, bringing much needed aid and food, along with power. There were several centers set up in Seattle and like a beacon, the centers had drawn people in. Then their real agenda had become clear, they had invaded the United States. Weeks before, leaflets had been dropped and had stated that an American weapon had been seized and used against the United States. The axis of China and Russia had come to claim their prize, and to settle millions of their people. Seattle was just one of many major cities to be colonized.

  Part of that settlement had been made brutally clear, the men who came were single and wanted wives. American wives, to incorporate themselves within the fabric of the new country. There weren’t many women left, nor men, after the devastation of losing power. Thousands upon thousands had perished over the harsh winter, either by starvation or murder and rampant diseases.

  She and Mike had managed to survive, barely, but when the invading forces came and offered food and aid, people began to creep out from hiding. The people of Seattle were all a ragged lot and desperate. Then the cold and hard reality of the invading force’s power hit, the young women were rounded up and were forced to either marry one of the men from the invading forces or suffer mutilation and a life of sexual slavery, servicing the single men.

  The medical van jerked and Monica bit down on her arm to stop the scream. Hot tears ran and pooled in the corner of her eyes. Monica had refused to marry a Chinese major and she was taken into custody and her right hand had been cut off. The major had wanted to cut the hand off himself, but Mike had intervened and begged to be allowed to cut her hand off, using drugs and anesthesia, promising he’d be the major’s personal physician, which Mike assured the arrogant man, would be a very high status for the major.

  The major had then taken a seventeen-year-old, blonde woman to wife. Monica was to become available to the men once she healed. The major had been magnanimous about that. The surgery had been performed that morning, and Mike was risking his life by sneaking her out of the city. He had a pass, as the major’s personal physician. Mike had the run of the city.

  “Come with me Mike, don’t stay, they’ll kill you.” Monica had begged him when he’d shoved her into a small box, and stacked other boxes on top.

  “I have to stay; I have to help others.” Was all he said when he had closed the box. Monica felt the vehicle slow down and then stop. She held her breath, but could hear nothing. The van’s driver’s door slammed and the van door slide open. Monica could hear the boxes around her being moved. Then she felt her box move and open. It was dark and she could barely see Mike.

  “Hurry, I’ll be missed soon. Here is a bag, it has sterile bandages, ointments and antibiotics. You need to keep your arm clean; you get an infection and you’ll be dead. There is also pain meds for you. I’ve packed food in there as well.” Mike said, helping Monica out of the van. They were surrounded by forests.

  “Mike, please come with me. You know they’ll kill you.” Monica pleaded once more. She tried to use her right hand to wipe the tears before she realized she didn’t have a hand, only a stump.

  “Look, no one knows I’m gone, but that won’t last. Please go. You’ll die here if you don’t. There was already a woman who came in, they’d cut both of her hands off and hadn’t waited to rape her. She died. Please, go.” Mike said, taking off his coat. He handed it to her and she could feel the warmth within. She shivered, she had on scrubs and Mike had given her boots and socks. He had tied them for her. He helped her on with the coat and then the backpack. He pulled a gun from his waistband. It was his .38 and he tucked it into her coat pocket. He pulled out a box of shells.

  “I’m sorry, that’s all I could find. Go as far away as you can and stay hidden. Tell everyone you see to fight these bastards if they can. Don’t believe their bullshit.” Mike pulled her in for a quick hug and shoved her down the road. He jumped back into the van and pulled away, making a U-turn. Monica stood in the middle of the road, her heart beating heavily in her chest. Tears slid down her face and she felt the chill of them when the wind picked up. There was a moon out and she turned, listening to the night sounds. She felt so alone and terrified, but she was free of the nightmare. She would do as Mike instructed and she would walk and she would warn everyone she found, if they didn’t kill her first.

  Ω

  Calkins, MT

  Yuma rode the horse with ease. The Tisk family had been generous and had shared their horses with the group at Jael’s home. Jennifer was constantly at the house, bringing at least one horse, so the others could learn to ride the beasts. It had been a healing process for Yuma, the feel of the massive beast beneath him. He had been intimidated at first, but little by little, he had developed a bond with the horse, he now rode. Golden Girl was a ten-year-old and was gentle and seemed to understand Yuma and his pain. He leaned over, panting, and patted Golden Girl’s thick neck. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jennifer and Julian coming up behind him.

  “You’re getting really good at that Yuma. You’ve become a regular cowboy.” Jennifer grinned. Yuma grinned and dipped his cowboy hat to her.

  “You guys want to stop and let the horses relax?” Julian asked, lifting up and flexing his legs. Yuma grinned, Julian wasn’t as comfortable riding, Yuma thought perhaps he fought the horse instead of letting his body go with the horse.

  “Sure, it’s pretty here, isn’t it?” Jennifer said, dismounting and holding the reins lightly. Julian and Yuma looked around, there were tall conifers that surrounded the natural meadow. Yuma closed his eyes and tilted his face to the sun. He flexed his hands and heard the bones pop. He wore modified gloves; Jael had kindly mended a pair of leather gloves for him. His hand no longer pained him and the missing fingers didn’t slow him down a bit.

  There were birds singing within the trees, Yuma could smell spring coming soon. There was still snow on the ground, but each day, it melted just a little. His heart twisted, Phoenix and Lydia would be leaving soon. They were plotting and planning with Jael and Miles, on the best route and strategies to get to Seattle safely. It was only a matter of days now. He had come to care about his friends and it was painful to think of never seeing them again. He couldn’t and wouldn’t go with them however. Here was where he belonged. Here in this wildness.

  He turned and saw that Jennifer and Julian were walking hand in
hand. Yuma was a sort of chaperone, the couple was planning to marry, but Jennifer wanted to wait until her wedding night. Yuma was sure that Julian would rather he not accompany them, but everyone agreed, two was good, three people even better, when leaving the properties. Miles and Phoenix had run into some rough men, while they’d been out hunting. It hadn’t amounted to any kind of confrontation, since the two men had remained hidden.

  Yuma had practiced for hours drawing his weapon and then target practice. He had become a deadly shot and was proud of it. He was sure that his family would be surprised at his transformation over the last months. He was not the man that had survived the crash, he was something new and reborn. Like his home country, from the Yayoi period, to the Shogun, to the Samurai and after many wars, the Japanese people had remade themselves. Yuma had remade himself.

  He felt at peace in this new home, and though he missed Chizu, he was healing from that loss. Soon, the world around him would transform from harsh winter into spring. They were already growing seedlings in the large greenhouse. He had been amazed at the potatoes that were still in the ground and fresh when they dug them up, as were the carrots. The greenhouse protected the root vegetables. There were still cabbages and pumpkins, and his stomach rumbled at the thought of the pumpkin bread they had for breakfast this morning. He did miss his miso soup, but this American breakfast was something special.

  “Lookie, lookie, what we have here. Don’t move or I’ll blow your fucking head off.” A man, twenty feet away stood in the tree line. Yuma froze, his heart jumping into his throat. The man had a Glock, the sun shining off it dully. Yuma could hear rather than see, Jennifer moving closer to Julian, they were five feet behind him.

  “What do you want?” Julian said, and Yuma was impressed that Julian sounded casual.

  “Your horses for one thing, and hell, we’ll take the girl.” The man grinned nastily. Even from twenty feet, Yuma could see the scum that coated the man’s gray teeth and a shiver ran through him. Just nasty, as Lydia would say.

  “Hey guys, come look what I found.” The man called out over his shoulder, the Glock still trained on Yuma and his friends. Loud bells went off in Yuma’s head. There were others, and they wouldn’t stand a chance. Before that thought was complete, Yuma’s hand flew to the 1911, like the thousand times before, he drew the weapon that hung on his hip and shot the man before for the interloper could realize he was dead. The report echoed around the trees that surrounded the meadow and birds took off from the surrounding trees.

  The man jerked and his Glock flew from his nerveless hand and he staggered back a step, then, one leg gave way and crumpled and Yuma sent another bullet his way and shot him in the eye. Yuma turned and looked at Julian’s pale face, shock in his eyes.

  “Run!” Yuma barked and went to Golden Girl, grabbing her reins. She was dancing around, startled from the shots. Julian snapped out of it, and grabbed his horse. Jennifer did likewise, but before they could mount, they heard shouting from behind them.

  “Get to the woods.” Julian cried, bringing his AR15 down from around his shoulder, pulling it in front of him. They had barely made it to the tree line and fell behind a large downed spruce. There was an eruption of bullets around them as Yuma and his friends wedged themselves into the damp earth. The horses wisely left, running through the woods. Yuma heard their muffled retreat. The bark splintered by his head and he pushed himself down lower. He could make out four men, coming through the trees. One man knelt and looked at the body. Yuma took careful aim and shot the kneeling man in the chest. The man crumpled backwards and his friends scattered into the trees.

  “Holy cow pies, Yuma, shit man, that’s some good shooting!” Julian crowed. Yuma looked over and grinned, exhilaration thrumming through his veins, it was good not to have that crushing fear and helplessness that he had felt before. His eyes found Jennifer and he could see the panic and fear in her eyes. There were more shots that hit the large trunk of the tree.

  “We need to pick them off, there is only three left.” Julian said. Yuma grunted in agreement, his eyes searching for his next target. He heard Jennifer’s weapon and then Julian fired a shot. Yuma didn’t see anyone. He could feel the cold of the ground seeping into his thighs. More bullets hit the tree trunk and the dirt in front.

  “Can you see any of them?” Yuma asked, frustrated that he could see none.

  “No, just hoping I hit someone.” Julian panted.

  “Save your bullets.” Jennifer said. Yuma thought that was wise. He had several magazines and took the time to eject and replace the used one. He wanted a full mag loaded. His breath had slowed and his heart rate had come down, and he waited. He could smell the damp earth beneath him and his strained his ears for any sound of movement. Then he saw a man’s head, peaking around a large tree. Julian’s AR barked and the man’s head rocked back as a fine crimson spray jetted into the air.

  “Good shot.” Yuma laughed and he heard Julian grunt with glee. Two more, unless there were others in the woods. Yuma hoped not. They were far from home and it was going to be a long walk if they couldn’t find the horses. There was a barrage of shots and all three pushed themselves into the dirt. Bark splintered around them. Yuma took off his Stetson and laid it by his side. He didn’t want it getting damaged. The trio waited until the shooting stopped.

  “Wait for them.” Jennifer whispered. Yuma’s eyes darted around. He saw movement once more, but couldn’t get a bead on the culprit. Though it was a bright day, the drab colors of clothing the men wore allowed them to blend into the woodland. It was only their movement that gave them away. It was a waiting game, to see who would move first. Yuma thought that one might try to flank them and voiced his concerns.

  “Do you think they come from behind?” He whispered.

  “You watch our behinds and I’ll watch in front.” Julian said softly, looking over. Yuma grinned, Julian’s eyes were bright and the man positively vibrated with excitement. So, he wasn’t the only one who felt alive. Carefully laying on his side, Yuma watched the forest behind them and around the sides. The sound of snapping branches echoed, but Yuma couldn’t tell where it was coming from. The two men in the forest were moving, but Yuma had yet to see them. He opened his mouth slightly, hoping that would help with his hearing. His ears rung with all the shooting.

  He caught movement and shifted his body; someone was trying to come up from behind. He shimmied his body and Julian moved. Yuma pointed over to where he’d seen something and then to himself. Julian nodded, turning back toward the front. Yuma slowly belly crawled along the leaf litter and snow. He kept his head down and his chin rested on the cold ground. Then he saw the movement again, this time closer. He aimed the 1911, waiting. Then he saw the man, he was crouched over and had a rifle. Letting his breath out slowly, Yuma took aim. It seemed like time had stopped and he could hear the slow rhythm of his heart and felt it in his lips and hands.

  His finger caressed the trigger and Yuma double tapped the man, who had tried to dart between trees. The man fell to the ground and Yuma heard his grunt as he hit the ground. There was another volley of shots and Yuma heard Jennifer’s gun, three consecutive shots and then all was quiet.

  “Got him.” Jennifer crowed. Yuma looked over his shoulder and grinned at her. Her cheeks were pink and she had a wide grin on her face.

  “Do you think we got them all?” Julian asked, his head still down.

  “I think so, I counted four men, besides the one Yuma first shot. How many did you see?” Jennifer asked.

  “I saw four.” Yuma confirmed.

  “Same here. When we stand, let’s just keep this tree between us and them, just in case.” Julian said, getting up from the ground.

  Yuma stood cautiously, his weapon and eyes scanning the forest. They all waited and after a minute, with no shots heading their way, Yuma let out a breath.

  “Let’s get their weapons and get out of here. Just in case they have friends.” Julian suggested. Yuma grunted in agreement and ran ove
r to the man he’d just killed. He grabbed the rifle and patted the man down. He found no extra ammo. He saw Jennifer go to the man she’d shot and picked up the man’s handgun. She was also looking through his coat and pulled out two magazines. She shoved all into her pockets. Julian came out of the woods with three rifles, his AR still moving, ready to shoot any threat. Yuma walked over to the first man and retrieved his Glock. He patted around and pulled out four extra magazines. He put them into his coat pocket and shoved the Glock into his waistband. The metal was cold against his skin and he shivered.

  Around them, the forest was quiet, and the trio moved to the edge of the meadow. Their boots crunched on the ground and twigs and snow crunched beneath. As they moved deeper into the trees, they began to move more quickly.

  “Do you think the horses are still here?” Julian asked looking back over his shoulder.

  “They might be. Or they could have headed home. Let’s just keep going. I’m hoping that they found something to eat when they got far enough away from the shooting.” Jennifer panted, and Yuma saw that she too kept looking over her shoulder. For twenty minutes, they walked quickly, checking periodically over their shoulders.

  “There they are.” Jennifer sighed happily and Yuma smiled, seeing Golden Girl, a shaft of light on her large rump, causing her golden color to blaze, like a beacon. Julian handed out the extra rifles, so each could share the load.

  “I guess we shouldn’t leave the area anymore.” Julian said glumly.

  “Yeah, not for a while at least. Christ, Yuma, that was amazing.” Jennifer chirped, a wide smile on her face.

  “Dude, that was some wild west shit you did.” Julian laughed, shaking his blond head.