Threat Ascendant

by Brian M. Switzer

  Magnus turned and faced the boy, holding his empty hands open at his sides. "Because that's not how I work. Leading an army or having hundreds of followers does not interest me. Me and a small group of guys I trust is how I roll. The morning all this bullshit kicked off, when we grabbed you in the woods- it was me and five of my guys. We didn't bring an army over to grab you up."

  Coy’s face showed no emotion. "Turn around. Keep walking."

  They plodded in silence for about five minutes before the kid instructed him to turn left again. When he did, he saw a faint but unmistakable light in the distance. He whistled in admiration. "I'll give you this, kid, you know your way around these mine shafts."

  The light grew bigger and brighter as they got closer; when they were within 100 yards, he could make out the outline of the exit.

  "Your moment of truth is at hand, Magnus. What will it be- cut you free and send you on your way, or put two in the back of your head?"

  Magnus shrugged his shoulders. "Kid, if you think you are the first guy to put a gun on me and give me an ultimatum, you are mistaken. I've never begged for my life and I won't do it now. I told you the truth. Everybody is trying to survive this fucked up world. Attaching myself to Kayla seemed like the best way to for me to survive, so that's what I did." They were about twenty-five yards from the exit. He sensed movement behind him and readied to dive, roll, and run. Before he could move, though, the cold steel of a gun barrel press into the base of his skull.

  Coy’s tone was stony. "You talk a good game. But friends of mine are dead back there, asshole, and they wouldn’t be if not for your actions."

  Magnus’ pulse pounded in his ears and he fought to control his own anger. "A couple of your friends are dead?” he spat. “Oh, boo-hoo. Just about everybody I know, including three extraordinary men who had been with me since the start of this thing, is dead, ya fuck!

  "One more time- this little misadventure was Kayla's idea, and I tried to change her mind. I'm not saying that again, so get that god damned gun off of me or pull the fucking trigger."

  Coy pushed the barrel harder into Magnus’ neck, then pulled it away. He grasped the older man’s bicep. "Hold still.” He cut through the tie and it fell free.

  Magnus turned and gazed at Coy and gave him a slight nod. "I appreciate that. Assuming you didn't free me in order to shoot me."

  "No." He waved toward the exit. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

  61

  * * *

  They exited the tunnel and Magnus recoiled. Coy had fucked him and led him back to the pit. He spun around, looking for a weapon and what remained of his men, but blinked upon seeing nothing but concrete and limestone. He made another circle, slower this time, and gawked at his surroundings. It took him a moment to realize the kid has led him to a different, smaller, quarry. He fixed the kid with a quizzical expression. "Where the fuck are we?"

  Coy looked up in surprise. He was going through the pouches on his vest and putting items in a pile at his feet. "This is a secondary quarry, a smaller operation across the road from the main dig. Kayla didn't tell you about this?"

  He gave a bitter laugh. "Shit, no." This location was a miniaturized version of the one they attacked. The entrances to the tunnels were the same size, but there were fewer of them- four, as opposed to the ten or so at the bigger pit. The bluff walls were not as high, only extending about twenty feet above the tunnel entrances. He gaped at Coy. "Do these tunnels go back as far as the other ones? Do they have the same supporting columns? Are they the same size on the inside?"

  Coy answered without looking at him. "Yes to all. Think about it a minute- you went in over there and came out here. The tunnel never changed. They are the same shafts with different entrance points. They are all inter-connected."

  Magnus felt as if he'd been bumped by a small car- not hard enough to cause injury, but enough to knock him off kilter and discombobulate him. "So you folks could have stayed over here, and Kayla's people over there, and everybody could have lived happily ever after."

  Coy looked up and met his gaze. "No. It would never work. If your little assault had succeeded, you guys would have learned pretty fast that there isn’t enough game nearby to feed a community of your size. That's why we are working so hard to grow crops and raise livestock, so we can bring more people in."

  Magnus wore an incredulous expression. "We could've worked out the food situation. We store enough food at the church to feed our community for three months. And Kayla wouldn't have limited hunting to the area around here. She’d send people out all over town-."

  "It still wouldn't work," Coy interrupted. "The type of people she attracts- they’d come over and steal from us, and it would be a matter of time before her people start messing with our women. There would've been countless excursions into our territory and turf battles between us. It had to be one or the other… sharing wouldn’t have been possible."

  "That's a pissy way to view human nature."

  "No, that's the correct way to view the type people you allowed in your community." He waved Magnus away, indicating the discussion was over. He walked to a nearby boulder with a flat surface and piled the items he'd gathered on top of it. He plucked a key off a Dallas Cowboy key chain and handed it to Magnus. A row of older, rough looking cars and trucks on the other side of the pit and He pointed to it. "That starts that green Ranger, the first truck in that row."

  Magnus took the key, eyeballed the truck, and grimaced. "How long has that turd been sitting there?"

  "A couple of months. I put it there in case I ever need to make a quick getaway. The fluids are topped off and everything works. I drive it once a week to make sure it's in running shape."

  Magnus pointed a finger at the kid's chest. "I told everybody you are smart. You keep proving me right, kid."

  "Whatever." He tossed Magnus a baggie stuffed with black strips of meat. "That's enough jerky to last four days if you don't munch on it all day long."

  Magnus opened the bag and sniffed deeply, drawing in scents of pepper, garlic, and molasses. "What kind of jerky?"

  "What do you care? It's the only food in your possession."

  "I don't like to eat anything nasty, like goat or possum or shit like that."

  "Oh, too bad. That's my own special mix of badger and tufted field mouse."

  Magnus shot him a black look. "I don't remember you being this much of an asshole."

  "I was on my best behavior so you guys didn’t kill me." He gave Magnus his gun and knives and waited a moment while he situated his weapons. Then he gave him a small rectangular box made of tin. "Inside are two replacement bandages and some ointment for your wound." He took a quick pull on his canteen and stepped to the side of the boulder. "Come over here so I can take a gander at you."

  Magnus tilted his head and peered at him. "What do you mean? What do you need to see?"

  "Hush and get over here." Coy motioned at him impatiently.

  Magnus let out a slow breath and shook his head with apprehension, but stepped over and stood in front of him.

  Coy grasped the older man’s head in both hands and tilted it back, then pulled the skin under his eyelids down and examined his eyes. "Your peepers look good. You’re a little pale, but I that’s no doubt the blood loss. Here, let me feel you." He didn't give Magnus a chance to respond; instead, he squeezed the older man's wrists, forearms, and biceps. "Not clammy or sweaty." Coy reached up and laid his palm on Magnus’ forehead and both his cheeks, then held two fingers to his jugular. He kept them there for a fifteen count and nodded. "No fever and your pulse is strong. Turn around and let me see the wound again."

  Magnus turned, and the kid pulled back the bandage he had applied earlier. He poked and prodded the skin around the wound; Magnus gasped and let out a string of curses in response.

  "Hush, you pussy," he intoned without taking his eyes off the old pirate's leg. He reapplied the ban
dage and rose to his feet. "Good news- if you do what I say, I believe you'll live."

  "I'm listening."

  Coy pointed at the road above them. "That's Civil War Road, the one you traveled to get here. Do you remember the Burger King about a mile north?"

  Magnus nodded.

  "That's Central Avenue. If you turn right, or west, on to Central, you’ll pass a MacDonald's, a barbecue joint, and a tire store. Do you remember seeing those on your way here?"

  "I remember the McDonald's and maybe the barbecue place."

  Coy nodded. “At the end of that block, back off the road, there’s a grocery store- a Super Saver, I think. The store has a pharmacy inside that didn't suffer very much looting. I couldn't tell you why, but there are still a lot of meds in it. You need to get some big square gauze pads and medical tape. More of those big square bandages, and get a couple more tubes of antibiotic ointment like Neosporin if any are left. Most important, dig around behind the counter and find some prescription antibiotics. Something strong like doxycycline, azithromycin, or cephalexin. Do you want me to write down those names for you?"

  Magnus pressed his lips together and his eyes narrowed. "I think I can remember the names of three prescriptions."

  "Don't think, be certain. Because if you guess and take something that ends in oxacin the side effects could kill you."

  Magnus wrinkled his forehead and pulled on his earlobe before conceding. "You better give them to me again, just in case." He repeated the name of each medicine three or four times and tell he had a committed to memory.

  "If you can't find those, make do with penicillin or amoxicillin; those are better than nothing. But if you see of an infection you better stop at every pharmacy you come to and try to find stronger medicine. Another thing to keep an eye out for is a prescription ointment, like gentamicin or mupirocin."

  Magnus scratched the back of his head and peered at the kid with respect. "How do you know all this?"

  Coy shrugged. "When I'm not hunting or fishing, I like to work with our doc."

  The older man's eyes widened. "You guys have an M.D.? Kayla never said anything about that."

  "Actually, he's an old country vet. But he knows his stuff and he’s made a huge difference. Helped people. Saved lives."

  There was a long gap in the conversation and the silence grew awkward. Magnus gazed at the ground and kicked at some gravel on the asphalt. "Well, I guess that's it."

  "Yep. What you want, a hug? Get out of here, sissy."

  "Careful, mumble-fuck. Don't forget you gave my gun back."

  They both chuckled, then Coy grew serious. "No shittin' around, though. You understand I saved your life?"

  Magnus eyed him with a blank expression and said nothing.

  "If I hadn't kept my eye on you, you would've wandered around lost in the tunnels until you bled to death or starved. And if anybody else had found you, they would have shot you on the spot or taken you to my old man. He wants to kill you slow for grabbing me and scaring the shit out of him and my Mom."

  Magnus drew in a long breath, held it, and let it out slowly. "What do they call that in court when you don't plead guilty but you admit there's enough evidence to find you guilty? An Alford plea? Let's do that. I'll concede my ass was in a sling until you came along."

  "Fair enough. You know, the Jesuits teach that a man given a second chance at life owes it to himself, his society, and God to make their life as a useful as possible. You should do that, Magnus. Do some good. He pointed at the old pirate's heart. “You've already shown there's a decent guy in there. You don't need to find a supporting cast of convicts to help you rob and extort your way through the apocalypse. Find yourself a community and help it succeed. You have the ability."

  Magnus' eyes were bright and he swallowed hard before he spoke. “I do what I have to do to make it, kiddo. Nothing more and nothing less."

  Coy held his hands out wide. "Absolutely. I'm not telling you how to live, just something the Jesuits believe. No matter what you do, take care of yourself out there."

  "Yeah. Thanks. And good luck with building your operation here. Were you involved with setting up the defense of the place?"

  Coy gave him a rueful smile. "No, that was an ex-bounty hunter, a college professor, and my Dad."

  "Well, they did a hell of a job."

  "It helped that we knew the exact date of the attack."

  Magnus barked a laugh. "That is useful information." He shook his head and rubbed his chin. "That whole thing was a cluster fuck from beginning to end."

  "History won't record it as one of the world’s great offensive battle plans, for sure.

  "Smart ass. Fucking kid." He paused as if lost in thought. When he continued it was with a serious expression. "The people on my side that are still alive in there? They didn't have a choice. There wasn't a sign-up sheet for this little get-together. The men who refused to come along were shot. And there are 500 or 600 women and children back at the church with no menfolk around to watch over them. You could do worse than to throw the survivors a beatin' and send them back."

  Coy nodded. "I'll make sure Dad is aware of that."

  "All right. I'm off like a teenager's prom dress." He turned and walked briskly toward the line of cars and trucks. Halfway there he spun around; walking backward, he gave the kid a jaunty salute. Coy shot him the peace sign and return. Magnus did a 180 and kept walking. He chuckled and shook his head. "That fucking kid."

  62

  * * *

  Becky shot Will and Jiri a disapproving glare when they sauntered into tunnel two later that afternoon. The quarry buzzed with activity- teams rid the bottom of creepers, tended to the wounded and the dead, guarded and interrogated the prisoners, and cataloged the damages. Will and the professor took a break from overseeing that work and more to get a quick bite and something to drink. And here was his wife, giving them the stink eye.

  "Is there a problem, dear?" he asked Becky in a solicitous tone.

  She put her hands on her hips. "Not a problem, but maybe you to ought to tone it down a little."

  Will ran his palm over his forehead. "Not following you, dear."

  She glared at him. "Okay, knock off the dear crap. And while you two walk around this place like you won the big game and got a blow job from the head cheerleader you should keep in mind over 700 people died this afternoon, including some of our own."

  Will's features grew somber. "Point taken. Thank you, and I apologize."

  "Me too," Jiri interjected.

  Becky gave them a gracious smile and pulled two beers out of a cooler. She handed each of them a bottle and stood on her tip-toes to give Will a kiss on the cheek.

  He twisted off the cap, tossed it aside, and drained half its contents in a single, long pull. He wiped the foam off his mustache and belched. "Thanks for the beer, honey. Is there a list of our dead yet, or do we at least know how many we lost?"

  Becky carved four good-sized slices of bread from a day-old loaf from the kitchen and slathered them with honey. She put the sticky fare on a paper plate alongside a soggy chicken breast. She talked while she worked. "If anyone had a list it would be the Doc, and he‘s not sharing. Terrence and Danny went to see what they could find out about fifteen minutes ago, but I don't think Sam in a conversational mood. He's got injured people stacked up like cordwood down there."

  Will washed down half a slice of sticky bread with the rest of his beer. "Does he have help?"

  "Anna Hendrickson and Tess are helping with triage and sorting the injured. Drew Anderson is down there playing traffic cop- keeping nosy people out and making sure the folks that have a reason to get in can do so. But of course, none of them are any help with the doctor stuff."

  Will eyed Jiri. "Best munch that chicken fast, professor. Checking in on the Doc to see what he needs was just added to the list."

  Jiri nodded and tore into his chicken breast. "No rest for the winners."

  Becky nibbled
at the corner of her own slice of bread, without the honey. "What else do you guys have going on?"

  Will wiped his greasy hands on a napkin and sighed. "Still have to ensure Willa has the prisoners squared away, we need to get Terrence and some guys rounding up weapons and inventorying ammunition before shit disappears. Setting up a perimeter to take care of the incoming dead up top. We decided to call on the families of the dead and injured to make sure they are up to date and give our condolences. And that is just off the top of my head- I'm sure there's more."

  Jiri gave him a bright smile. Don't forget visit with the Queen."

  Will rolled his eyes. "That'll be as much fun as laying my nut sack on a belt sander."

  Becky brought over two new beers just as they each finished gnawing the meat off the chicken bones. Will licked the grease off his fingers, grabbed Jiri's plate, and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. He embraced Becky and thanked her for the meal.

  She laid her head on his chest moment, then looked up at him. "What will happen to her? The blond."

  "Do you mean Queen Kayla?"

  "I refuse to call her that, but yes… what will you do with her?"

  He pursed his lips and gave a halfhearted shrug. "Whatever the community wants. It'll be a majority rules situation. I won’t have an answer until we ask around."

  Jiri whistled and caught Becky's attention. He slid his index finger across his throat and made a choking noise.

  Becky patted Will on the chest and bobbed her head. "Good."

  63

  * * *

  Willa had the prisoners huddled in a big, irregular circle in tunnel seven. Her crew had checked them twice for weapons; nevertheless, twelve armed guards stood around the circle and kept a wary eye on them.