by Kara Hart
Bruce looked at me like he questioned all of this. “You guys really think these pills are the answer? In what way?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I shrugged. “But it can’t hurt to look into, right?”
“S’ppose you’re right.” Bruce mumbled. “Things are way too complicated these days. Too many research chemicals, drugs, and weaponry. What happened to the good old days? What happened to just guns and booze?”
“Welcome to the modern world, Bruce.” I said. “Rust, call someone to clean up the body.”
“Ay ay, captain.” he winked.
“Alright, let’s go warn the others. Glen will help us out, I know it.” We grabbed our guns and left the building.
* * *
All the members of Courage and the Hell’s Wheels were warned. We were in full lockdown mode. In a safe house not too far was Glen, the elusive chemist, waiting for his time to head back into isolation. That time was soon, but not quite as soon as he had hoped. There was still work to be done.
I threw the bag of pills on the table and looked at him. “What are these?” He grabbed them and looked at the logo: a pale horse, hollow and dying, with a skeleton rider, complete with scythe and all. “Whoa.” he whispered.
“What?” Rust said. “You know what these are?”
“So the rumors are true.” His face turned morose and filled with dread. “Shit.”
“What the hell are you talkin’ about? What rumors?” Bruce asked, pacing around the room. He was anxious. We all were.
“There were some rumors on the streets that a drug like this was being developed. I had always blown it off, like it wasn’t realistic. But here it is.” He suddenly looked up at us with a huge sense of urgency. “We have to get out of here. Now!” he screamed, slamming his fist against the wooden table in front of him.
“Get out of here? You’re not making any sense. Where would we go to?” I asked him. This was starting to get really weird. I demanded to know more.
“Look, this drug is like a fucking parasite unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It changes the chemical properties of the mind. It turns you evil. It makes you do things you would never do. Whoever gets ahold of this stuff could possibly be the most powerful human in the world. If the Darkhorse gang has got a hold of this, you have to leave!” He stood up and looked toward the door. “I’m leaving, man. I don’t want any part in this.”
Rust stepped in front of him, blocking his only exit. “Like hell you’re leaving.”
“Is he serious? A parasitic drug? This sounds like some bullshit.” Bruce laughed. “Come on. We’re better off without this guy.”
“Wait, Bruce. See what he has to say before we dismiss him.” I was actually pretty worried about all of this. Despite the outlandish claim, it was possible that something like this could exist. A drug that turned you into a full blown war machine? Why not? This was, after all, the modern fucking world. Anything was possible.
“Tell us more.” Rust demanded. “If you do, we’ll guarantee your safety, as well as your freedom.”
Glen shook his head, sweating profusely. “Alright. I’ll tell you what I know. Look, it starts out small. At fist, you do what you’re told. Whoever holds authority in your environment is who you listen to. Whatever rage you subscribe to becomes your dogma. Then, after a few days of taking this stuff, you start to lose muscle mass. But you actually end up becoming stronger. Your mind resists all types of pain.”
“Sounds like some real bunk shit.” Bruce kept laughing and shaking his head. I had to admit, it did sound bizarre. Still, there were new drugs made on a daily basis.
He continued, “I know. I know it sounds crazy. But it’s the truth. It’s not far off in chemical makeup from methamphetamine or speed. So think of it like that if you must. The Darkhorse is known for that kind of shit, right? The thing is, once you start taking it for a couple of days, your body needs it. It’s like food to the user. If he doesn’t get more, he dies a horrible death. Seizures, writhing, heart palpitations, and major strokes. It’s not good, guys. I’m telling you. If the Darkhorse has an army of ultra-speed freaks, you’re done for.”
“But only if they have it right? Only if they have the supply.” Rust said.
“Yes, but they clearly have it! You just proved that to me.”
Rust looked at me in disbelief. I couldn’t tell if he believed him or not. “What do you think, Jackie? You buy this shit?”
I was dumbfounded. I strongly exhaled and rubbed my hands against my forehead. God, what has our world come to?
“I think so, Rust. I mean, what else is it? Glen’s the most skilled chemist in the region. If anyone would know, it would be him.”
“Fuck!” Rust screamed out of hopelessness. “So what do we do?”
Bruce stepped forward, leaning against the table. “We find Dan.” He said confidently. “We find Don.”
Rust
When shit hits the fan…
Shit had hit the fucking fan. Our world was thrown into a state of fear. Oh, fear? What did that emotion give us anyway? It was simply the precursor to chaos. Absolute chaos. That was the only thing I saw coming for us. We had to stop it. We had to. And yet, you can't stop a tidal wave that's been building and building for years on end. It all has to come to culmination, crashing down on our whole world.
“It don't mean I won't go down without a fight.” I declared.
“You're out of your mind, Rust.” Jackie told me. If I had a dollar for every time a woman told me that, I'd be rich as hell.
“Crazy? For wanting to fight? Fine, I'll let you call me that. Hell, maybe I am crazy. But what's at stake is too important. This is my entire life, Jackie. I know it's yours too. You're just gonna back down? What about your father’s legacy? Doesn't that mean anything to you?” I asked her sincerely, running my hands across her body. This could be the last time I saw her and I wanted to feel her as much as I could. I needed to know how eternal our love went. Shit, was I really saying this? Eternal love? Well, I guess I was. And if that made me weak to the rest of the gang, then I was weak. I didn't care anymore. This was everything to me. Everything.
“They're jacked up on drugs! You won't be able to fight them off. Besides, what about what we said? I thought this was a new era.”
“It is. And I'm in this with you. Forever. I promise you that. But things are different now and our people need an immediate response. This isn't a full on declaration of war that I'm talking about. This is a stealth operation. I'll find Don and force him to tell me where they're getting these drugs manufactured. That's it. No killing, okay?”
She started to tear up. It always hurt to see her sad like this. It was like the damn world was crumblin’ around me. I felt powerless. How was a man supposed to fight against these trying emotions? I vowed to break Don and the Darkhorse, and eradicate them forever. Once and for all.
She wiped her tears from her eyes and said, “But what if they kill you, Rust? What then?”
I grabbed her shoulders gently and looked into her eyes. “I'm not going anywhere, you hear me? Nowhere. I’m with you in this life. Always. We’re going to grow old together. We’re going to have a house and two kids, a nice porch we can sit on and drink whisky together, while we stare at the setting sun. I promise you. Once this is all over, we’ll find peace.”
She trembled against me and breathed in the air around us. “I believe you, baby. I do. I'm just…”
I ran my hands through her hair and cradled the back of her head. “You're just overwhelmed. I know. I am too. That feelin’ ain't going away anytime soon, unfortunately. But all we fight for won't be for nothin’. I promise you that. I swear on my parents’ grave.” I kissed her. I kissed her deeply, as if I had never kissed her before in my life. She was beautiful, she was everything, and she was my wife. No. She was my family now and we were one, together. Our lips unlatched and pulled away. I came back and kissed her cheek. These were the remnants of love. Pure and simple. Perfect in every damn way.
“You better get ready.” she sighed. “Bruce is going to wonder if you backed out of the plan or not.” I felt the pressure build up inside me. Shit. It was all too much, even for a guy like me.
“I guess you're right.” I said, grabbing my phone. “I better call him and tell him everything is set to go.”
I called Bruce up. “I'm good to go.” I lied. Sure, I had my things in order. My guns, grenades, three sticks of dynamite, and a whole case of ammo. But my heart ached to no end. No one could be ready for something like this when you were so in love with the person you were leavin’ behind. Damn this world. Damn it all to Hell.
“Is this it?” she asked as I hung up the phone.
“It’s just the beginning.” I said, holding her in my arms. One last kiss before I go. Just one last kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I smiled.
We kissed and separated, like all couples do. Only this was different. This was much different.
I walked out of the door, never looking back. I couldn’t. When you do that, you regret too many of your own choices and you start to doubt yourself. It sure as hell wasn’t the time for any doubt. I hopped on my bike and rode against the wind, against time, and most important, I rode against myself. In the distance was one of the Darkhorse houses. If Don was anywhere, it was there.
I rode and rode, winding through the streets of my mind. Was this really all there was for me? A life of crime, anger, and revenge? Or was there more waiting, outside on the edges? Those were the questions that penetrated my thoughts. I couldn’t let go of them.
My whole life was a static image, reflected in the dusty desert. I had no family. Not a real one, at least. All I had was Jackie. Of course, she had transformed me forever. But all of the choices I had made before I met her had sucked the life out of me. They had dragged me into an endless loop of danger and self-hatred. Drugs, women, fun. It wasn’t fun at all. It was just a way to run away from the pain. This could be the end of me. This whole thing could kill me. And then what? I’d be without her and she’d be alone. God damn. What had I done?
When I finally reached the house, all was dark and empty. It seemed as if no one was even in it. Yet, there was one solitary candle, flickering through the glass of the window on the second floor. At one point in time, this had been Bobby Farole’s home, the toughest criminal around. But Courage ended his legacy with only a few bullets. Now it serves as a reminder, a means to channel their anger.
I got off my bike and crossed my arms. “Don!” I yelled against the silence. “It’s Rust! Come on out and talk to me!”
Silence. Up above, I could see a faint shadow next to the light of the flame. And then it moved closer to the glass. Closer. Closer. Closer. The window opened and the barrel of a rifle pointed right at me.
“Speak your truth.” A voice said.
“I aim to. But I want you to face me and look me in the eye. This has gone too far, too fast. I don’t want any more of our men dying.”
The voice broke out into an eerie laughter. “Our men?” he said. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I have no men. I serve only myself. No one bows before me. I come and go as I please.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Don? Get down here!” I was getting frustrated. Enough of the riddles. It was time to stop all the nonsense.
And then the man bent his face outside the window and looked at me. It wasn’t Don, nor was it any member of Darkhorse that I knew of. It wasn’t anyone I had ever seen before. He said, “Come up. If you want to know more about your fate, you’ll come to me.”
“Who else is in there?” I called out. I wasn’t about to walk into some kind of ambush. That wasn’t part of the plan.
“It’s just me. You want to know more? Then you talk to me. If you don’t, then you’ll turn around and go home at once. Those are your current options. Well, that and all out war. But I don’t think you want that. Do you, Rust?”
“How the hell do you know my name? Who are you?” I asked.
“Upstairs. Now.”
I took a giant deep breath and mentally prepared myself. I had to do what he asked. There was no other choice, other than to go back empty handed. And I wasn’t about to do that.
I kicked open the door, gripping my pistol and aiming at each corner. No one was around. The house was completely empty. “I told you no one was here.” the man said. I quickly turned around and aimed my gun at him.
“You. Who are you? Tell me, god dammit.” My palms were sweating. My eyes were twitching. This whole thing was nerve-wracking.
“Put the gun away and sit down, you fool.” he said. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
Rust
I set my gun down and kicked it away from both of us. “Who are you?” I asked again.
“You’ve always demanded answers, haven’t you? The question is, when will you learn that you can’t know everything?” he asked, walking down the stairs.
“Stop. Just stop. Enough of the talking in circles. This is going nowhere.”
“I knew you’d come here, you know. I have been waiting for days, looking out that window, listening attentively for any sign of your bike coming down that road. I have so much to tell you, boy.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?” I asked, starting to feel like I had better get out of here quick. This house gave me the creeps. Sure, I had been in firefights, drug deals, and even bank heists, but this kind of shit scared the crap out of me.
“Like who killed your parents.” A short smile broke out onto his face.
“What’re you sayin’? Bobby Farole killed my parents. Everyone knows that.”
“Sure. He was the one who walked into your home and shot them. But he wasn’t the killer. No. Someone else called the shots that day. Someone else made that call.” I looked him dead in the eyes. Or at least, I think I did. He was wearing large circular sunglasses, completely black in the center, and he walked with a cane. It took me a bit to figure this out, but he was clearly blind. Still, he seemed like he could see me. God, I have to get out of here, I thought to myself.
“Spit it out.” I said. “I’m tired of these games.”
“Since your parents’ death, I’ve watched you grow into the biker you’ve always dreamt of being. Addicted to women, drinking, and all the vices that we proudly wear on our sleeves. Just like your father.”
“You don’t know me.” I said.
He ignored my words. “You were hell bent on revenge. And eventually, you found the woman that was gonna set you free. Isn’t that right?” Jackie, I thought. She did set me free. “And now you have a way to get your revenge. A war with the Darkhorse. A takeover of all enemy territory. Now’s your chance to make your father proud.”
I looked at my gun and then back at him. What was going on here? Was he setting me up? Still, I had to learn more. What did he know about my parents?
“Don’t look to your gun for safety.” he said. “It won’t save you.”
“What else do you know? About my parents. Tell me who made that call.” I said, leaning forward.
“More important is where you come from, Rust. How you were made.” He looked upward, as if some kind of revelation had come to him. But as soon as he grabbed at it, it went away.
“Made?” I asked him. “What the…”
“You haven’t seen it by now?” he asked me, and suddenly the mood changed to melancholic.
“No! I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about!” I yelled, getting angry. “Whatever it is you’re hiding, you’d better spit it out. Or, so help me God, I’ll force you to.”
And then he uttered the words that would change my life forever. “I’m your father.” he whispered. A single tear ran from his eye, down to his cheek.
“What? How? You can’t be.” I said, stunned by what he had just said. And yet, it was impossible. I had watched my father get killed. How could this be him? Not to mention, this man was much older than what my dad would have been.
“I met a woman. Decades
ago. This was back when Courage and Darkhorse were united as a team of bandits. Those were the golden years. You may have heard of them.” I nodded, eyes wide. “Things happened. We fell in love. She was the daughter of a captain in Courage. I was a low-level drug runner, loyal to the Darkhorse gang. But the captain found out. He doused his daughter with a bucket of acid. Burned her skin right off. It didn’t even kill her. The ironic thing was, I still loved her. I didn’t give a damn about her looks. I just wanted her for who she was. But, as I slowly realized, that had been taken from her as well. She slowly faded into oblivion, living a life as a recluse. Forever alone.”
“Cute story,” I said, wiping my eyes, “but what does this have to do with me. You ain’t my god damn father.”
“That woman bore a child. And that child was you, Rust.”
“No!” I screamed. “You bastard. Stop tellin’ me these lies!” Tears formed in my eyes. I wanted to destroy this man, to pound him into a million little pieces. But there was something holding me back. I felt weak.
“It’s true, son. All of it. When the rest of the captains of Courage found out, a rift began to form between the two crews. Deals went sour, men mysteriously disappeared, and my bosses suddenly felt like they were targets. Courage not only forced her to give up our child. They forced a bullet into her head. They killed her, those bastards. Meanwhile, I was ordered by my own bosses to never see you again. After a few years, Bobby Farole got paranoid. Too much speed can do that to a man. So he went to the top boss at the time. Told him about me and the baby. That’s when Bobby was told to kill your parents, Rust.”
“You son of a bitch.” I whispered. “You ruined my whole life!”
“I tried my best, god dammit. After they killed your parents, they decided I wasn’t to be trusted. They burned my eyes out with a torch lighter. Those heartless fucks took everything from me. They left me naked and shivering in the desert. I barely survived. They betrayed me, taking all that was good from this world. Well, not long after that, I took to hiding. Now I was the one who lived the life of a recluse. Every so often, I would find people to give me updates on you. I wanted to make sure you didn’t end up like me. But it seems like you’re going down the same exact path. The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree in that regard.”
