“He would have told you otherwise. That I was a cruel dominatrix for doing this to him. I was only following his dream…” She looked to the floor in sudden tears. Jane stared at her appalled.
“Anyway, how it worked was that the parasites began to feed off of his trapped sewage. It took him a week but he died of septic blood from the fecal matter that was spread all over his horsefly bite sores. His baby-soft skin started to turn putrid. I loved him, though. Enough to kill him before I had my ways with him so he wouldn’t be offended by my touch. I couldn’t bear to lose him so soon. So me and my girls we pulled him from the tires and washed the blood and nasty off. Then we wrapped him in sheets and hit him in my grandfather’s old tool shed. I had to find a way to save him from rotting. They wanted to bury him, so I buried them with my grandmother’s tulips. You know, they’ve never been found?” Leona spun on her heel like a ballerina, laughing and snapping her fingers at her own cleverness. Jane nodded.
“So, you figured out the way to salvage your beau with like jelly and jam?” Jane held her breath to keep from screaming. She felt her hands balling into fists, wanting to rip this psychopath’s teeth out and shove them down her throat!
“I had my mother teach me how to make jam preserves. She used to enter state fair contests with them. They won every time. Beautiful. Well, I’d been reading about Herod Antipas before I tried it on my beloved. Herod was a great king. He had his dead wife preserved with honey so that he could gaze upon her beauty for the rest of his days. I thought that I could find a balance with my mother’s jam recipes to do that. Eventually, I found a way to crystalize it together like rock candy where his skin got stuck in the jelly and wouldn’t peel off. It’s tasty. I’d let you try a piece of my man-candy, but it’s all for me.” She reached shaking hands out and began to fondle the dead man’s sculpted body.
Jane could bear no more. She took a running leap for the window, rolling on the gravestones outside, cracking her chin on the ground.
Kiara scooped her up from behind.
“He… She… Her boyfriend!” Jane was in tears. Kiara swallowed.
“She showed him to you? Oh, Jane, I’m so sorry.” Kiara stroked Jane’s hair away from her face.
“Did you know? I mean, that they were doing it to him…” Jane clutched her aching belly. Would she end like that? If Leona had supposedly loved that wretched man, then what would become of her, a person she hated with all of her capacity to do so?
“I’m sure you’re aware of all her little sadistic protocols and stuff. I’ve been on a campaign to stop her ever since I learned what they were doing to Kevin… But they found out what I was doing and began to turn me into a monster. I take hope in the knowledge that I survived. That maybe there is hope for you. You could go with Kingsley. You could both escape and I could stay behind. Tell her that I took it. She won’t kill me or at least not in a way that won’t take decades. She thinks of me as a tool.” Kiara was about to go into a lengthy plan she’d concocted for saving young Jane’s life. The girl shook her head.
“Even the thought tells me all I need to know about you as a person. But you can’t. See, she’ll know it was me in the morning because we talked in there. You’d only die harder for lying to her. Then, when she’d had her little tantrum, it would be time to come for me. Nobody is going to die on count of me. It’s why I’m here now. Why I came up with such a ridiculous plan to sell to the President…” Jane looked up as Kingsley came stumbling over the hill rise, hair standing on end. He’d found a small boat along the fence where all the Queen’s men hung out to dry.
“You take this now, Lucien. Remember me, okay?” Jane pulled the chain over her neck and pressed it into Lucien’s hand.
“Jane, come with us. I’ve found a boat that could hold a small navy. Well, that’s a lie, but you don’t have to do this…” Kingsley coughed up blood and looked at her pleadingly.
Jane looked back over her shoulder. She could hear the Captain screaming from this far away as his guards tried to move him to a different cell. Fire shot out of the tower. Jane turned back with tears in her eyes.
“No, don’t you get it? I’m in Hell, Lucien. I’ve died and gone to Hell. This is forever. Just, whatever you do, you’d better live to make it out. Don’t let anything happen to Dexter and those girls! Swear to me on my dying breath that you won’t let them get hurt.” Jane stumbled forward and grappled his shirt.
It was the least he could since he’d basically clamped these chains upon her. No matter what she said, he was still responsible for it all.
“I swear it, Jane.”
Jane nodded, letting the tears fall free and wash her face.
“That’s the only thing I needed to hear. Now… I think I’m gonna go cause some more trouble.” She let go and twisted her neck around in the direction of the screaming men. Leona’s rage would know no bounds. She’d already nailed herself so deep into the fence she might as well be burning.
So, what more damage could be done if she decided to go for Matheson and Manson and set them free? If they died from what She-Hitler had done to them, then, at least, they would die in peace. Holding her breath, Jane bolted for the house. She wouldn’t have much time before the sun rose again.
*****
Chapter 12
“Move it! Move it! I’m an old man and I’m already clear. This is embarrassing!” Joseph was waving his friends frantically to the shoreline, holding the fuse to the IED they’d made.
They hadn’t been content to just blow one of the boats. They’d decided to go to Hell with it, since they were so busted anyway when the first one blew. They might as well play dominoes and blow the entire fleet. This might be the clean break that Louisiana would need to get back on their feet after the Hot Rod Onslaught a few weeks ago, as the gang war that wrapped them up in this was being called by the press. Maybe they would die heroes after all.
They doubted it sincerely, but one has to do what one can. In that knowledge, Harrison leaped free of the hold of the center ship with a box of flares in tow. Dexter was on his heels, having stolen a large encrypted briefcase that screamed “important.”
“Speak now, or forever hold your peace.” Dexter shook himself and hoisted the briefcase onto his shoulder.
“Kid, we’re blowing a fleet of speedboats not getting married,” said Joseph.
“Well, I say we just get it over with, huh? Here’s to exes from Hell!” Harrison lit a flare. Seven pirates spun on their heels, attracted to the light like moths to torches.
“Wanna do the honors, Dr. Kingsley?” Harrison grinned.
“Nah, it was your company. You can go ahead.”
“Kid?”
“No way. This was your idea.” Dexter backed up.
“Alright, here’s to being skinned alive.” Harrison lit the fuse.
There was a moment of silence as the fuse slid over the sand and rocks and packages. The pirates froze. They stopped deliberately, eyes understanding what was happening. If they’d had time, the three men might have considered what the pirates had thought to do. Of course, it would be easier to die in the blast than suffer at the hands of Leona Kelley’s wrath.
The light and sound were like a thousand cars on a collapsing river bridge. There was the shriek of brakes, peeling metal, and boiling chemicals. They’d hooked dozens of chemical and oxygen tanks together to produce this explosion in the holds of the roughly 20 speed boats that had brought She-Hitler’s packages.
Dexter felt himself thrown backward and land in the midst of an elaborate sandcastle crushing all the walls. His hands were cut on a broken clam shell. Then he felt the top of his hair singed. A single yellow, blue, red and white beach ball floated like a soap bubble towards his face and withered in midair, turning black and smelling like peeling tires. Dexter covered his face with his hands. The ship shed its skin, Plexiglas walls flew towards him and aluminum frame stuck into the ground like space-invaders javelins.
Dexter shuddered as he watched Harrison rolling l
ike a tumbleweed head over heels toward him and collide with a melting surfboard to break his path to the waves. Joseph flew through the air, hands swimming on wind and smog. He landed on his face, sand packing his teeth closed.
There was a rumbling as the thunderous explosion stopped and started again as many other ships in the marina were burned in the blaze. Dexter thanked the heavens that the marina was a ghost yard at the moment, save for the pirates. Leona’s coup had quarantined Louisiana from the rest of the U.S. and the World. They would be the only casualties of this ridiculous plan, should they be unable to escape.
“Damn. We killed them all!” Joseph sat up.
“No, they killed themselves. They saw what was happening and ran to the flames. If we were smart, we’d have done the same thing. The consequences of this priority delivery’s failure will be like colossal.” Harrison took fistfuls of sand.
“Hey, the briefcase! It’s cracked open!” Dexter crawled to where he’d dropped the encrypted case. The blast had broken the face off of it. It hung open, spilling copies of a radical document.
“A Dissertation on the Necessity of Commedia Reform” Dexter read aloud and turned to face the men.
“The Purpose of ‘Dantism’: Salvaging Worthless Humanity” Harrison read another pamphlet aloud and twisted his brows together.
“The Cup of Youth: How the Great Pharmakia is the Answer to the Human Condition.” Joseph caught another pamphlet as it blew to his face in the wind and read it carefully aloud.
“Oh, my God! She really is She-Hitler. This is like some kind of government philosophy!” Dexter bit his lip. He’d most likely just stolen the crowned jewel of the entire expo.
“We can’t be caught dead with these things. Quick, burn them.” Joseph grabbed up the pages and started shoving them in the flames.
“Wait! Why? They might be a very important part of our whole suicide reconnaissance. If we could get them back to the White House. I could send you guys out and…” Harrison realized the futility of what he was saying. Joseph spun to look at him and grabbed his shoulders.
“You don’t get it, do you, son? They were meant for particular eyes or they wouldn’t be on the ship. Now, why there are probably copies of them somewhere, we can’t see them or have them. If we don’t know what was on those pamphlets the intended recipient— probably some kind of bought-off publishing house within the New Orleans city limits— won’t be able to torture it out of us!” Joseph proceeded to shred the documents into tiny threads and force them into the spreading fire that crept across the debris and oil-soaked sand.
The older man turned to face his young friends, jawline setting.
“Okay, so these ladies were inspired to commit seppuku, but that’s not the American way. We’re not dead yet, boys. Let’s make tracks.” He stood up slowly and dusted the ashes off his jeans.
“Leave and go where? They’ll cut half of Shreveport down to get to us. I have family there, man.” Dexter swallowed.
“Into New Orleans. It’s her hometown and clearly her headquarters, right? I mean, they brought me here to be euthanized, all of this crap was being shipped directly to New Orleans. If we isolate her rage to her City, we might kill some of her cohorts in the crossfire. The ones that don’t deserve to die. We’ll weed the civilians out. Send them packing for upstate.” Harrison nodded, satisfied with this answer.
“Whatever we do, we’d better do it soon. Looks like the beach is littered with a lot of abandoned cars. I guess no one can get back here after her hostile takeover. Well, I guess it’s okay to borrow an abandoned car. Come on, guys.” Joseph started heading for the beach. He held his breath. He was old and didn’t have much longer to live by nature. What about these kids? He cringed at the thought of their dying.
Not on his watch. He had the wherewithal. Somehow he would keep them alive. He swore it on the name of Jane Lewis, who’d not been so fortunate as to escape Leona’s sword.
*****
Chapter 13
Just hours before Joseph’s oath, Jane was frantically trying to speak with another of Leona’s many victims.
“Derek! Derek, it’s me…” Jane felt her voice cracking. She cupped the soldier’s face in her palm. He looked up eyes bloodshot, teeth pricking with electric current that his own body was conducting.
“Jane?” He began to vibrate as his heart sent another course of electricity through his entire body. His hair that was beginning to grow back out from his standard issue buzz cut fell over one side of his head like it had been combed that way. When Jane ran her fingers over it, it stood up in stalactite spikes and stung her fingers like an adder’s bite. She cringed. He was on fire from the inside out, literally. His lips had parched and were smoking with electric fire.
“Jane, thank God you’re here.” He reached a hand out to her and then drew it away from her when he saw blue shoots of electricity prickle from his index fingers and thumbs.
“Please… my guards. After they hooked me up in here, they left a blowtorch on the operation table. I need you to get it and…” He whimpered as another round of electricity crawled up his spine.
“Jane, please, you’ve gotta kill me. Please, I know what I’m asking you is horrible. I think the torch is the only way it will work. If I’m ashes you know, then she can’t put me back together, right? I saw them lock up a couple of plastic jugs of gas in the cabinet over there.” He tossed his head as she pressed her fingers to his smoking lips.
“Shhh… I’m sorry, but I want you to live to see another day.” She tried to smile, despite the fact that his eyes began to twist shut with despair. He had hoped she could end his torment. For Captain Matheson, continuing to live made Hell seem like a vacation resort. He twisted in the iron birdcage he’d been locked up in and looked over at Leaf, who was suspended from the ground in the other one.
Leaf had eased himself up onto his haunches. His chin-length hair had caught fire and burned close to his head and half of his face was burned off by the fire inside him, keeping him alive despite the fact that he should be dead and decaying at the moment.
“Derek, who’s she? Did she come to make it stop?” He smiled, showing his charred teeth. Jane swallowed the bitter smell of electrical fire and evaporating sweat making her stomach churn. The Captain hung his head.
“I think she’s springing us from here…” He looked at his feet. Leaf looked crestfallen.
“Oh. Well, I don’t know how you would end me anyway. I guess fire won’t work. It’s okay, miss. Maybe you should just go. If they catch you here…”
“Oh, believe me, Leaf. I’m screwed already. For way bigger things on her priority list than saving you guys. See, you don’t have to die and you don’t have to go on this way either. I know a guy. When I was like this, like you, he saved me. He has the goods to get it done. You have to get out and get to Dr. Joseph Kingsley. He can reverse this.” Jane smiled, feigning hope. The soldiers exchanged a glance.
“It isn’t right for you to take the fall for the likes of us, little sister.” Leaf clenched his teeth.
Jane let her breath and smiled at them.
“Guys, I’ve already fallen. If you stay here, you’ll only be staying to watch me burn.” Her eyes filled with tears.
She helped them to steal clothes from the slave chambers. They had to change everything they were wearing as their fatigues had dry rotted from exposure and that which remained had burned to their skin until it was the papery brown texture of a potato skin.
She quickly helped wash and sanitize their burn wounds and wrapped them tightly with analgesic-treated bandages. The wrappings almost instantly caught fire. They smiled, but tears were beginning to blur their vision. It was the thought that counted.
“Kingsley escaped with a boat. She has a whole fleet of personal boats, I think. When I jumped from her window I could see the beach. If you head south from here, you should find it.” She extended a shaking finger.
The Captain nodded slowly and saluted her.
“You
’ve made your country proud, Andromeda.” He’d heard all the rumors about her from the guards.
She saluted him back.
“Remember me, Captain.”
“Like I could ever forget.” He turned to Leaf, who saluted silently.
Jane watched them shuffle away, headed for the three remaining boats. A wind ghosted over her golden hair, brushing the tears away from her cheeks. The morning sun had begun to slowly rise again over the ocean. The end was near. She counted the beats of her heart.
If she was steady and walked through the middle of it, she would have the strength. She had to believe that she could do this.
She-Hitler screamed enough to shake the walls of the house. Jane held her breath. It would be alright. It would all be over soon.
*****
Chapter 14
Kendra Reagan sat at her desk, smoking a cigarette. She’d given up the habit for the most part. After the severe criticism of the last few days that she’d been grilled with for allowing Dr. Kingsley and the young nurse-practitioner Dexter Owens to escape, she’d fallen back into the vice.
She let the plumes frame her face and rolled her eyes backward in her head. The room was dim and echoed with the sounds of different office machinery. It was just before dawn. Lindsey Kryder and Ivy Owens were asleep in the break lounge of Hot News Channel 16.
She was thinking of mixing a nightcap when her blood froze. There was the sound of shattering glass. She leaped to her feet, the cigarette rolling down her legs.
There were people in the office. She felt the bile rising in her throat. There would be no way to defend herself, other than a cup of pencils on the desk.
She reached for an ink pen and held her breath. There was the sound of stamping feet. Not the heavy feet of men like she instinctively expected. It was the trump of high-heels.
“Well, the Boss-Lady said that you had to live in order to receive your just reward.” The woman was slapping a chain against her palm. Kendra caught her breath. The woman’s skin was burned and her hair had been shaved off being replaced with a series of tattoos that seemed to glow ominously in the dim light.
The Good Death Box Set: A Hard SciFi Science Fiction Series Page 18
