by Christa Lynn
“Jesus,” I whisper.
“Some of my mates jumped right in, but I couldn’t. Myself and a handful of others got out, climbing the iron fence around the compound and ran for our lives, and I’m the only one that made it without a bullet in my back.” He begins to cry, his chest heaving. “We didn’t get far before shots rang out from the rooftops, peppering bullets into our backs. All we could do was run, and my buddies all fell to my side as we ran. I had to leave them behind.” He sobs as he leans back against the wall, before curling up in the fetal position, his arms wrapped around his sides in pain.
I look over at Abe and we nod at each other, knowing that going to Brampton is the right thing to do. It’s time to end this torture and start the healing process. We both know that it’s going to be one hell of a fight, and we might; no, we will lose some good men along the way, and those good men could include ourselves.
“As soon as we’re back at the compound, we train and then get word out to the other Mercs, that our next step is to raid Brampton,” I say. Abe and the others nod. The room falls silent as the rest of us eat before allowing sleep to take us over. We’ve been having the fight of our lives, and now we face the battle that could either make us, or break us.
Jo
I wake suddenly, the sun shining through the windows and the old hardback book resting on my chest. Emma is asleep next to me, curled up and whimpering. I rest my hand on her shoulder and she calms, but I can tell she’s restless. Both of our dreams are filled with fear and violence, though I’ve gone a few nights without a nightmare. Emma still has them every night, and after blowing Luke’s head off, a nightmare for her is not surprising. It’ll take a little time, but I think killing that man will help make her stronger, to help her understand she is strong, she just might not feel it yet.
I climb out of bed and head downstairs, Dale is in the kitchen sitting at the table with his head hung low. “What’s wrong?” I ask as I enter the kitchen.
“We lost two horses in the storm yesterday. The barn was demolished.”
“Damn, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to breed Lady and Corndog when they get back, see if we can get some strong foals.”
“Corndog?”
“Yeah, Kane’s horse,” he says as I laugh at the name. He looks up and smirks. “He named him after his favorite food from the fair.” He laughs out loud this time, his eyes softening.
“Well, whatever works,” I giggle as I sit down.
“Where’s Emma?”
“Still sleeping. She tossed and turned all night, probably freaked out over killing Luke.”
“Yeah, Kane’s gonna have a fit over that.”
“Well, I’m proud of her.”
“Me too, but your first kill can be traumatic.”
“I know,” I say, remembering gashing that man’s neck with the glass.
“You know?” he asks, looking up at me.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I find it hard to believe that you’ve killed someone.”
“Dale, this is war … and in Brampton, we were trained to kill. We were supposed to become Heretics after our days of having babies were over, but I decided I wasn’t having it, so they turned me out. Not realizing that they took my fear from me and that I’d take down one of their own men.”
“You killed a Heretic?”
“With my bare hands,” I say holding up my hand, my knuckles still slightly bruised from the struggle.
“Does Kane know?”
“Of course he does, he’s the one that told me who I had killed,” I say, remembering the day I ran from him, then flashing to the other night before he left, wondering how so much can change in just a few days.
“They may come after you,” he says. “They don’t take lightly to those who kill their men. Though, it’s okay for them to kill us.
“Yeah, Kane expects it. That’s why he left me here. He’s supposed to take me with him next time, to go see if anything still remains of my home.”
“Your home?”
“Yeah, Arrow’s Crossing.” He nods, but doesn’t say anything. We chat a little longer before Emma walks in, looking tired and distraught.
“Emma, what’s wrong?” I ask, standing up and walking to her.
“Nothing, just another nightmare,” she says, “I’ll get over it.”
“I had them too, if it’s any consolation,” I tell her.
“I know, you cried in your sleep last night.”
“I did?”
She nods, but walks on past me to the sink and splashes water on her face. I don’t remember having any dreams last night, and that’s a good thing. I need to keep focused.
“Can we give that woman a proper burial today?” I ask Dale.
“Yeah.” He stands up. “I’ll go dig a hole near the riverbed and come get you guys when I’m done.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“It’s the least I can do, since I didn’t protect her any better than I did you yesterday.” The guilt filters through his eyes.
“You didn’t know, and I didn’t actually announce that I was going for a walk, either. Kane will be more pissed at me than you,” I say as he opens the back door.
“He put me in charge of your safety, and I failed him. I expect to get my ass kicked when he gets back.”
“I won’t let that happen, Dale. I’ll take full responsibility for Luke’s death,” I say as Emma turns to me.
“I’m the one that shot him in the head, Jo,” she says, shaking.
“You finished him off, Emma,” I say to her, “and you saved my life.”
“He was going to kill you.”
“Yeah, and you killed him first. You got past your insecurities and thought about me over anyone else, that’s the first step to your freedom, Emma. Embrace it, be proud of it. You took a piece of scum and helped him meet his maker. You did good.”
She nods and turns back to the sink, leaning over it like she’s going to vomit. But she tamps it down and I walk up behind her, Dale standing with the door open watching us. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her back against me. “It’s okay, Emma. In this world, killing is the norm. We don’t like it, but it’s a necessary evil if we are to survive. And I plan to survive no matter how many men I have to kill to do so. It’s time to let go of your fear and take you back, Emma.” She turns and buries her face into my shoulder, the tears getting my shirt wet. I run my fingers through her hair and let her cry it out.
“You good?” I ask, hold her face and brushing her tears away. She nods. “Good, let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” she asks as I take her hand and tug her out the door.
“To shoot,” I say. “I have a feeling the shit is about to hit the fan, and you will be prepared. And from what I saw yesterday, you’ve got good aim. Now, we make it better.”
“I had the gun to his head, Jo, I didn’t actually have to aim.” She snickers, her body relaxing a little.
“Well, now you’ll learn to aim. And when the guys get back, we’ll show them how strong you really are.”
We walk through the yard and Dale is by the side of the river, digging. We both stare at his muscles a bit, but keep it quiet. We walk into the arms building, and I hand Emma a regular shotgun. “Let’s start easy.” I say, putting the makeshift headphones on her ears and grabbing some for myself. “I’ll show you.”
I aim the gun and rest the stock against my shoulder before pulling the trigger and hitting the old target dead center. “Didn’t they train you in Brampton?” I ask.
“No, they had … other plans for me, I guess,” she says, her expression blank. I’m not sure what she means by that, but I let it go. For now, because we need to focus on getting her comfortable with a weapon. I take a few more shots, empty the clip, and reload it.
“Here, your turn,” I say as I hand her the gun, then stand behind her and help her get into the correct position. Once I’m comfortable with that, I step aside. “Go,” I tel
l her. She fires off a shot, her small body jerking backward from the kick, but misses the target entirely. “Aim, Emma. Hold the gun up and close one eye, look down the barrel, and line it up to the red circle.”
She does, but her hands are shaking, so I once again go up behind her, her body relaxing into mine. I put my hand on hers and guide her finger to the trigger. After I get her lined up, I press against her finger and shoot, the bullet grazing the side of the target. “Got it?” I ask, and step back.
She takes a few more shots, and on the fourth one, hits the target dead on. “Good, now take a few more,” I tell her, the gunshots echoing through the tin building. I watch her get more comfortable with the weapon before handing her an AK, quickly showing her how to use it.
“How do you know all of this?” she asks.
“Well, I grew up on a farm, but they taught me how to shoot in Brampton. That’s why I asked why you didn’t know how.”
“I guess they had different plans for different women. Vic hardly let me out of his sight,” she says quietly.
“I suppose that’s what happens when the leader wants you for himself. But you’re here now, so we’re going to forget about Brampton for now,” I say as I hand her the AK. “Now, pretend that target is Vic and let him have it.”
It takes her a few tries, but in the end, the target is nothing but scrap paper. “Good girl,” I say and kiss her on the head. “You totally turned Vic into dog meat,” I tell her, taking the gun from her and putting it back on the rack. “You wanna try the UZI?”
She shakes her head. “No. I think I’ve had enough for today, my hands are shaking.” She laughs, holding her hands out, and, sure enough, they’re shaking. I realize then that we’ve been in here for hours and Dale is probably wondering where we are, even though he saw us walk up here. As we step outside, I realize the sun is already setting and that we’ve been in there most of the day.
We walk together back toward the house and Dale has finished digging the woman’s grave and constructed a makeshift cross with sticks and twine. “You ladies ready?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Okay, stay put. I’ll go get the girl.” He ducks off in the direction of where we were last night. We stand and watch the water rushing downstream, the white tops of the small waves moving and fading, kind of like our world. Personally, I don’t think we can last much longer like this—this world is no place to live and this war has gone on long enough.
Dale comes back a few minutes later, empty-handed and a confused look on his face.
“Where’s the girl?” I ask.
“She’s gone,” Dale responds, Emma stiffening.
“What do you mean, ‘she’s gone’?” I ask.
“I mean just that, she’s not there,” Dale says as he rubs his hand through the scruff on his face.
“What about Luke?” Emma asks, her voice trembling.
“What’s left of him is still there, pretty picked through, though. The vultures had a field day on him.”
“Where could she have gone?” I ask, getting a little spooked myself. The woman was surely dead, as the vultures had snacked on her already too.
“I dunno, but until we figure it out, you ladies stay inside,” he says as he presses his hand against my back, coaxing me toward the house.
We walk back inside and Dale closes the door behind us, looking outside like we’re being stalked. “You guys stay here, I’m going to go round up my men and start asking questions. Here’s my gun, shoot first and ask questions later. Just don’t shoot me.” He laughs as he leaves the house, the door slamming shut behind him.
“I hope the guys get home soon,” I say, sitting down at the table.
“There must be another traitor here,” Emma says, the fear in her eyes returning.
“Relax, Emma. Dale is on it, and Kane and Abe will be home soon, hopefully with more men.”
“Let’s just hope they’re good men, Jo. We don’t need any more shit going on.”
“I know, we’re safe in here. Dale will figure out what’s going on.”
“I hope so,” Emma says, playing with her long fingers. We sit in silence for a while before Dale barrels in the door, slamming it behind him.
“What happened?” I ask, standing up. Emma looks up and worry lines crease her face.
“I found him, fucker came back with me a few trips ago. He was a worthless piece of shit, and I took care of him.”
“Who was it?”
“Just some dude that couldn’t look me in the eye when I started questioning him. He got angry and stormed off into one of the bedrooms and locked the door, not realizing it’s my house. I kicked the door in and found the girl, in pieces on his floor.”
“Good God,” I say.
“Yeah, but he won’t be a problem anymore. He’s hanging out with Luke up in the woods, turns out they were in this together, but this guy was stupid and got caught.”
“Where’s the woman now?”
“I brought what was left of her and buried her in the grave, let’s go give her that proper burial,” he says as he exits the kitchen, into the darkness of the backyard. Emma and I follow and stand over the grave, Emma whispering a quiet prayer and putting the cross in the mound of dirt.
“Goodbye, lady, your pain is gone and you’re free to fly,” Emma finishes, then we solemnly head back into the house, Emma walking up the stairs alone.
Kane
“Let’s go, guys, I’m ready to get back to the compound,” I holler, waking up the other men. We share the last of the bread and pack up, thankful that our night was uneventful. We get the horses ready and make our way to the roadway to cross.
“It’s clear,” I say as I wave the guys to the edge of the road. “Cross quickly; the horse’s hooves will make noise, and we need to get them across safely. The Heretics are just down the road at the bridge and they may be on the move. We know they’re not far as they were just at the farm, but hopefully they headed the other direction.
We cross and suddenly hear a click behind us. I turn quickly and raise my gun. “Fuck me,” I say, walking closer to the man that stands before me—my fucking father. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the old man,” I growl. He looks the same as he did all those years ago before he left us, with the exception of his silver thinning hair.
“Kane, I see you’ve grown up into a nice young man,” he says, his fingers twitching on the trigger of his gun.
“And I see you’re still an asshole,” I say, nudging my chin at his gun. “What are you doing here? I figured you were dead and hanging out with the devil in Hell,” I say.
“Oh, no. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he says. “You can have your men stand down.”
“Not on your fucking life,” I say, stepping toward him once again. From behind him comes a handful of other men, all armed and aiming their weapons at us. We’re outnumbered, and I have injured men, but I will not back down. Especially not from him. “You might as well go ahead and shoot me, because I won’t back down.”
“You’re just like your mother was, stubborn and weak,” he says as he aims his gun right at my head.
“You’d shoot your own son?” I ask.
“You’d shoot your own father?”
“You bet your damned life on it, I have no problems taking you out.”
“Well, that won’t be necessary,” he says, lowering his gun. “You have something I want, so I need you alive; for now,” he says. He nods at his men to back off, and they lower their guns.
“What in the world would I have that you would want?” I ask, though I have not lowered my gun.
“The girl, I want the girl,” he growls, making my blood boil.
“What girl?”
“The brunette, the one that killed my man back in OKC. I want her, and you’re going to lead me to her.”
“I don’t think so, fucker.” He stalks toward me and gets in my face.
“You don’t disrespect your father, Kane. You always had a mouth on you,
and I know I trained you better than that,” he says, spit flying from his mouth.
“You lost my respect when Mom was hurt by your hand, but now I’m bigger and younger than you, I’ll take you down,” I say.
“Tsk, tsk. You never learn do you, boy?” he growls as his fist connects with my chin. “I’ll beat the shit out of you like I did fourteen years ago, you’re still a pussy, and you’ll never take me.”
“Watch me, fucker,” I say as I pull the trigger, the bullet going straight through his chest. His men open fire and bullets are flying everywhere. The horses startle and they take off, with Lance on one and Walt on the other, the both try to stop the horses, but they continue to run off.
Abe opens fire with his AK and plows down man after man, Joel knocking off a few too, while I stand and stare at my father, lying on the ground and dying, a pool of blood dripping from his mouth. At this point, I don’t even care if I get shot, as my life is complete now that my father lies at my feet. Bullets whiz by my head, my hair ruffling in their wake.
“You happy now, son?” he asks, blood gurgling from his throat. “You always were a coward and liked to take the easy road, you should be real proud of yourself.”
“Oh, I am, Father, very proud,” I say as I wrap my fingers around his bloody neck. “I told you years ago that you’d get yours, and I’m only too proud to be the one to give it to you,” I say before popping one more round in him and finishing him off, his eyes freeze open and blood splatters on my shirt. The weapons that his men had were nothing compared to what we have, so the ones that aren’t lying dead have run off, and Lance comes back on Corndog.
“What in the hell just happened?” Lance asks as he comes to a stop, Corndog still a bit agitated.
“That was my father,” I say as I kick his lifeless body. “Where’s Lady and Henry?” I ask, searching the woods for any sign of them. “We need to get back to the compound and prepare to bug out. His men will be out for blood, and they already want Jo. So we need to get prepared and start our march to Brampton,” I say as Henry returns with Lady, pulling on her reins.
