“Jax!” Tater’s yell startles me so fierce that I nearly drop my shooter. “My dear boy. I have never been so relieved to see anyone in my life.” He does his strange little clap and then smacks Jax on the back so hard he causes him to stumble.
“I must admit I truly did see my life flash before my eyes, but your timely arrival and ensuing heroics have certainly saved the day. Just like one of my tales. As a matter of fact, this will indeed become one of my tales and one of my finest to be sure.”
Don’t know why Tater is gushing on so. I had everything under control. We hadn’t needed no saving by Jax. And what the hell is he doing here anyways? Last I seen of him, he couldn’t wait to be rid of us. Why had he followed us? I ignore Tater’s withering comment of, “Hmph. Stupid empty ruins indeed. Famous last words.” I want to know why Jax is here. But before I can ask anything, Finn’s tortured question of, “Cat?” draws my attention.
“She’s okay, Finn. No need to fuss. Got herself caught in a little trap is all.” The boy’s face sags with relief at hearing his beast is in no immediate danger.
“We need to go get her, but we’re gonna all have to stick together. I don’t trust those creatures, not one little bit. Finn, Tater, follow me with the nags. I ain’t leavin’ them behind for the taking. Jax, since you’re here, you can make yourself useful and bring up the rear, watch our backs. I got a feelin’ we ain’t seen the last of those crazies.”
Cat is just as I left her. Seeing her lying there, hurt, Finn runs to her and wraps his arms ‘round her furry neck. She rubs her head against the boy, mewling a little but don’t resist none when I go to work on prying the teeth of the trap open with my knife. I release it enough so as Finn can pull her paw out. The steel teeth had broken the skin some, and her fur is matted with blood. Gingerly, I probe her paw a bit, but I can tell there ain’t no bones broken.
Her injuries can easily be treated with some maloe leaves, I think. Lucky for her, the trap had been meant for a much smaller animal. She gets to her feet and takes a few test steps. She limps some, but at least it looks like she’s still able to walk. She hobbles to Finn and starts licking his face, and the boy’s laughter is tinged with relief.
“Enough with the reunion, people. We have to move. It’s going to be dark soon, and I don’t want to be in crazy territory when the sun goes down.”
Jax is right. We’d best move, get through the city as quick as we can. My questions at Jax’s presence are going to have to wait.
The city is still as quiet and calm as when we first entered it, but I know now that there are indeed eyes watching our progress, and it ain’t no ghosts. We walk single file, me at point, Finn and Tater following with Winnie and the horses, and Jax bringing up the rear. We cain’t see them, but occasionally Cat catches a scent and raises her head to snarl at the darkened building husks. They’re there all right, following us, just waiting for their chance. I keep my shooter in my hand, ready and waiting for the slightest movement.
Sometimes we walk for a bit, and Cat don’t seem to sense them no more, and I think they’ve finally given up. But then I hear the faint laughter coming out of the dark ruins or a low, singsong “lovely ducky,” and I know they are torturing us. It’s like some game to them, and I cain’t help but wonder how many other poor souls had been stalked through this place of death, frightened and terrified. I grip my shooter tighter and keep walking, trying to see into the ever growing shadows. I don’t want to think about what will happen if we’re trapped in here after dark. Those crazy bastards know this city like the back of their hand, I reckon. They will truly have the advantage over us in the darkness.
We walk ‘til the sun is nuthin’ but a red glow settling over the city, but still we ain’t through it. My worst fears are coming true; we’re going to be in here after nightfall. I peer ahead, trying to see if there is any end to this stretch of road, but all I see is a seemingly endless line of iron skeletons. Hiding places for our pursuers. I stop walking, and Finn brings up short behind me. He’s quickly joined by Tater and Jax. Jax don’t take his ever-searching eyes off of the ruins ‘round us, but his question is directed at me.
“Why are you stopping? What’s wrong?”
“We ain’t gonna make it through before dark,” I say. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to be travelin’ this road after nightfall. We’re too exposed. Maybe we should take shelter in one of the ruins. You know, get some walls ‘round us, so they cain’t jump us unawares.”
He still don’t look at me, but he shakes his head, disagreeing. “No, we can’t risk it. There isn’t anywhere we can hide that they won’t find us.”
“I don’t think they’re followin’ us no more, Jax,” says Finn. “I ain’t heard ‘em for a while now, and Cat ain’t been growling. I think they gave up. And ‘sides, I think Cat needs to rest. She’s limpin’ real bad.”
“No, we aren’t stopping, Finn. Now, keep moving.” Jax snapping at Finn just reminds me that I’d already done so earlier in the day, and it adds to my agitation.
“That wasn’t called for, Jax. There ain’t no need to yell at the boy. Besides, I agree with him. And who made you leader anyways? Nobody asked for you to follow us and get involved. We were doin’ fine on our own. We didn’t need your help,” I say.
“You didn’t need my help? You didn’t need …?” he breaks off like his surprise is too much to even express. “Well, excuse me for saving your miserable hides back there. If it weren’t for me, you’d all be carved up like roasted hogs right about now,” he says, finally looking at me even if it is just a stone-cold glare.
I shake my head in disbelief at his words. That’s what he thinks? He actually thinks he saved us?
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place.” I growl. “You were the one who dragged us off to your gods-forsaken village and then drove us out to travel unprepared through this awful place.”
“Ahem, actually, Tara, it was you who insisted we go through—”
“Shut up, Tater.” I yell at the half-man, but I don’t bother to look his way. My anger stays focused on Jax.
“And what the hell you doin’ followin’ us, anyways? You wanted us as far away from you and your precious villagers as soon as possible, but then you followed us. You ask me, I think you’re as bat shite crazy as the rest of ‘em here.” I know I’m shouting, and it probably isn’t the smartest thing but I cain’t help myself.
“Er … perhaps this is not the appropriate time for this conversation,” Tater interjects again with a nervous fluttering of his hands, but Jax merely brushes past him, almost knocking him over.
He stares down his nose at me. But he don’t scare me none with his frosty glare. “I followed you because as much as it irks me to admit it, I am in your debt. Since I always repay my debts, I have decided to make sure you make it safely to Littlepass … all of you. Then, I will no longer owe you anything, and what you decide after that is up to you. You can all run off and get yourselves captured by the Army or killed by the Prezedant or whatever, but I at least will have a clear conscience.”
Shizen. I cain’t believe he just said that. He really don’t give a damn what happens to any of us. His only reason for following after us was so he could have a clear conscience? He truly was a mule turd of the worst kind. All the anger and bitterness I’ve been feeling ever since he kicked us out of Gray Valley comes bubbling up.
“We don’t need your help, Jax.” My words are pure ice. “And if there’s any imagined debt you think you owe me, then as of this moment, I release you from it. You don’t owe me nuthin’, so go. We don’t need or want you with us.”
“Tara.” Finn objects to my words, and I can tell I’m scaring him, but I don’t care.
“We don’t need him, Finn. We’re fine on our own. ‘Sides, we ain’t had nuthin’ but trouble ever since we met him,” I say to the boy, but my eyes don’t leave the object of my anger.
“Stop your squabbling, the both of you!” I a
in’t ever heard Tater so angry and to hear that booming voice come out of that little body is real surprising. Whatever Jax is about to say dies on his lips as we both turn to the little man in astonishment.
“What the hell is wrong with you two? Don’t you think we have much more pressing matters than your exasperation with each other? In case you two halfwits haven’t noticed, the sun has gone down. We’re standing in the middle of the road in pitch black, and you two have been making so much noise that a herd of elephants could sneak up on us and we would never hear them. Now, I for one do not wish to be captured again by that foul-smelling, putrid little gang of degenerates, so make a decision. What are we doing? Moving on or making camp but decide at least.”
As much as I’m itchin’ to yell more at the moron standing in front of me, Tater is right. And I ain’t even noticed the sun had finally set. This is not good. We need to make a decision and fast. We ain’t given a chance to decide though before that maniacal laughter starts up again, sending chills down my spine. We had dropped our guard, and no doubt the crazies had taken advantage to sneak up on us. Stupid! Angry at myself for being distracted, I make a call.
“Head for that buildin’ on the right. If we can get—”
Thunk. At first, I cain’t tell where the noise has come from, and I spin ‘round in a circle. What was that? Then I see Jax’s wide-eyed look of stunned confusion as blood starts seeping from the side of his head. He raises his hand and touches his temple where the rock had hit him, wobbles a bit, and then falls hard to his knees. He loses his grip on his shooter as he needs both hands to hold himself up from sprawling in the dirt. A whizzing sound past my right ear warns me that I’m pretty close to meeting Jax’s fate, so I duck. They are attacking us with rocks? What the hell?
“Finn, Tater, get behind that wall now.” I yell, heading for Jax, who by now has lost his battle with consciousness, and is out cold on the ground. Grabbing his arms, I start dragging him but don’t get no more than two paces when I hear Finn’s panicked cry of, “Let me go!”
My heart leaps into my throat as I see the boy kicking and struggling against Beanie, who has him pulled tight to his chest with one arm, trying to drag him off. Cat makes a run for the boy, her growling louder than the boy’s screaming, but from out of nowhere two more of the creatures appear holding long, wickedly sharp spears. She tries to get past them, but they’re too quick, and one of them manages to jab her in her side. She howls in pain but don’t give up. She goes after the boy again, but they block her at every turn.
“Sorry, Jax,” I mutter as I drop him back in the dirt, abandoning him for now. I pull my shooter as I run, knowing it’s the only hope of saving Finn. But by now, the horses and mule are panicked and running in front of me, blocking my view. Where are they? I can still hear his screaming, but I cain’t see him. I dodge between the animals just in time to see the Beanie creature dragging him into one of the ruins. My panic is almost overwhelming. I have to get to him ‘cause I somehow know if Beanie manages to get him deep into that maze of ruins, I won’t stand a chance in hell of finding him again.
I run, so intent on getting to them I don’t even see the Talbert creature tackling me from the side. He rams into me with the force of a rock slide, taking me completely off my feet before we come crashing down into the unforgiving, hard ground. I land on my back, my breath knocked clean out of me, the weight of the creature pressing down on my chest. His hate-filled face hovers above mine, and I can smell the rotted meat stench of his breath causing the bile to rise in the back of my throat.
My clawed hands reach for his eyes, ready to tear his festering skin from its bones, but he is stronger than I think, and he quickly pins both my hands above my head.
“Did ya really think ya wuz gonna beat me at my own game now, ducky? Wot? Ya think ya’s smarter than ol’ Talbert? Ducky none and Talbert one. Tra la la la la.”
His black lips stretch wide in a smiling grimace, and I realize at that moment I am staring into the face of true madness.
“Aarrgh!” The scream that bursts out of me is just pure frustration. I need to get to Finn. I need to get this crazy bastard off of me. I lift my head, smacking it hard into his face, causing a ringing to reverberate in my ears. Blood spurts from his damaged nose, but he don’t loosen his grip on me. He don’t even stop smiling. That grinning skull above me … Finn’s cries for help … It infuriates me. Almost with relief, I feel the hot fire starting to flow through my veins and the buzzing starting in my ears. It’s happening! The Chi enhances my anger, increasing my strength. I pull my arms out of Talbert’s grasp with ease and shove my hands against his chest. He flies off of me, and the look of pure astonishment on his face is almost funny. I don’t recall getting to my feet, but I find myself looming over the now crouching creature, shooter aimed straight for his temple. The anger is replaced by the dead calm, and I know what I should do now. Just squeeze that trigger, take care of the problem. But then his words somehow make it past the buzzing noise in my head, and I hesitate. I realize he’s pleading with me. But it ain’t just the pleading. The words he’s saying stop me from scattering his brains all over the road.
“Forgive me, mistress of light. Forgive me. I did not know wot you was. ‘Ave mercy, mistress New Blood!”
He falls at my feet, cowering like a child. I can still hear the others tangling with Cat and Finn’s cries getting fainter and fainter.
“Call them off,” I demand urgently, my shooter still at his temple. “Tell him to bring the boy back.”
“Stop! Stop in the name of the light!” His voice rings out loud and clear, and just like that, all sounds of battle cease. “Beanie, bring back the boy. The mistress of light ‘as decreed it so.”
I cain’t understand why he’s talking like that, but I watch in relief as Beanie comes back into view. At seeing Talbert on the other end of my shooter, he releases the boy. Finn turns and aims a hard kick at Beanie’s shin before running to my side and leaving his captor howling in pain. I do a quick scan. Tater is helping a woozy Jax to his feet, and Cat comes slinking to Finn, blood oozing out of a couple of nicks on her side, but nuthin’ too major don’t look like. But it’s the diseased creatures that hold my attention. There are more now than before, all creeping out of the darkness ‘round us.
I hadn’t realized there were so many of them. Even through the gloom, I can see all their pale faces, feel their eyes silently staring.
“Get up,” I say to the one kneeling at my feet. Talbert does as I ask, but I hold my shooter on him, still not trusting him. The look of hatred I’d seen on his face earlier when he had been on top of me, it’s gone now, replaced by … well, I ain’t sure what. An overhead break in the clouds provides a bit of moonlight, and I can see a peculiar shine to the creature’s eyes. It takes a moment for it to register, but I suddenly realize it’s tears. He’s crying?
“By all that is ‘oly, I’d never thought I’d live to see the day when the light would shine again. It’s a miracle; that’s wot it is! A miracle.”
“Stop talkin’ like that,” I say, his words irritating me. Having all their eyes on me, staring like that, it’s making me a might touchy. Beanie walks up to me slowly and reaches out to me. I flinch, ready to defend myself, but he merely touches my hair. I had somehow lost my wrapper in the tussle with Talbert, and my hair is now hanging in tangles ‘round my shoulders.
“Did ya see it, Beanie? ‘Tis the light, no doubt. A true New Blood. Someone run an’ tell the others the light ‘as come.”
Talbert still stares in awe, but his words set the others all to murmuring. It quickly turns into an echoing chant.
“The light. The light.”
It spooks me something fierce. I wave my shooter at Talbert.
“Tell ‘em to shut up.”
“You ‘eard the mistress. Shut yer traps,” and just like that they fall silent.
What the hell new kinda craziness is this? Tater and Jax finally reach my side, but Jax is still holding onto the lit
tle man like he’s going to topple over any second.
“You all right?” I ask. As much as I hate to admit it, the flow of blood down his face has me worried some. He nods at me, but his attention, like mine, is on the creatures in front of us. They’re all standing motionless. Still. Like they’re awaiting some command. Why are they acting so strangely? It ain’t like they’re scared or nuthin’. Awed is the only thing that comes to mind. Jax looks at me with glazed, questioning eyes, but I can only shrug. I ain’t got no idea what’s going on.
“You,” I say to Talbert, and he steps forward eagerly. I pull my shooter up, expecting another attack, but he just smiles his ugly, black smile at me. “What’s happenin’? Why ain’t they attackin’ no more?” I say.
“Attackin’? No no, beggin’ forgiveness fer that, mistress. Wuz a misunderstandin’ that wuz. We saw yer shooters an’ thought ya’s to be Army. We woulda never ‘armed an ‘air on yer ‘ead if we ‘ad known,” he says.
“Known what?” I ask, but I already know the answer. I just don’t understand why it’s so important to them.
“That ya were a New Blood! Yer a mistress of the light. We ain’t seen one of yer kind fer years now. We ‘ad lost faith,” he says, still smiling that horrible smile.
“Faith? Faith in what?” I say, rubbing my forehead. It’s throbbin’ something fierce from smashing it into Talbert’s face earlier, and his confusing words right now ain’t making it any better.
Talbert looks at me like he cain’t even believe I’m asking such a thing. “Why, the prophecy of course. Ain’t ya ‘eard of the prophecy?”
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