by R. B. Tetro
Give them the same respect you would give me… as they are my flaming sword of freedom!”
Reverend looked over to his right. He could see the privileged members of the corrupt council looking nervously at each other. He nudged Chains and pointed at them.
Chains stared at them with open contempt on his face.
“Now fellow rebels, here comes the best part. My second order of business is to serve notice to all you greedy members of the council who think your shit don’t stink and that you won’t ever be held accountable for selling us out to Magnus.
That’s right friends. The council members have made a deal with the devil and it’s only a matter of time before he comes knocking on your door to collect what’s due!”
The crowded cavern erupted in pandemonium. Several members of the cavern guard stepped forward, forming a protective ring around the council.
“Listen up you freedom fighting survivors. Take back the cavern! Take back our freedom! Arise and fight! Arise and fight!” Red Robin shouted.
The crowd went bananas. They started to shout as some of the ones in the front row started to climb down from the seats to the floor. The cavern guard stepped forward to meet them. There was pushing and shoving between the two factions. Several fights broke out. The council huddled together as the rear guard of the cavern escorted them out.
“Fight my people! Fight for what is rightfully yours! Fight for freedom!” Red Robin shouted.
A.C.D.C’s, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” started playing, and any semblance of organized protest broke down completely. The crowd roared and rushed the cavern guard. There was a loud whistle and more guard members poured in from several different locations.
The three brothers looked at Reverend, licking their lips in anticipation. He smiled and nodded. Basher war whooped and spun Fury around, unlocking his powerful wrist. The cavern noise was deafening as the people and the corrupt cavern guard clashed.
“Shall we?” Chains said, extending his hand to let Reverend go first.
“Don’t see why not”, Reverend said, leading them down to the canyon floor and into a group of about fifty cavern guard members. The brothers were violence personified as they broke and busted their way through the unlucky group of soldiers.
Reverend took out his share as well and the citizens of the cavern started to rally around them. They fought their way over and engaged the council’s personal guard. The cavern was alive with revolt.
Reverend backhanded a guard member, sending him reeling before shooting him in the head. He pointed toward the door the council escaped through. “This way!” he shouted. All around the brothers were bodies of the guard, each shattered and broken. They’d almost made it to the door when several sharp cracks reverberated off the cavern walls. Many of the cavern citizens along with Fury went down.
“Their shooting at us from up there…!” Chains yelled. He and Basher grabbed Fury and drug him toward the door. Reverend opened the door, turned and fired up at the guards shooting down at them. The brothers had almost made it through the safety of the doorway when another volley of shots rang out, riddling Fury’s body with more bullets.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Juggernaut and Lucky made good time and stood at the entrance to the stairway in the cliffs ahead of schedule. Lucky was wearing three gun belts, bristling with hollow point .45’s. Juggernaut carried his usual twin, sawed- off ten gauges in two long leather scabbards, one running down each tree trunk-like leg. In his belt were two ash handled five pound hammers. He was an impressive figure to say the least.
Lucky lit him a smoke and put it in his mouth for him while they waited for Scout. It didn’t take long. Scout appeared out of nowhere; like he always did, laughing and punching them both in the shoulder while dancing around. He was happy to see them. They were happy to see him as well, hugging his slight frame carefully in turn.
Pops and Daniel struggled out of the tight opening next, followed by Jessie and Lucas. Scout was so excited he couldn’t introduce them to each other. Daniel stepped forward and shook hands with Lucky and Juggernaut. Pops went next and then came the rest of the weary party.
“We need to be ready to move out soon,” said Lucky.
Scout appeared out of thin air, between Pops and Daniel. Each of them jerked back and pulled their weapons before realizing it was Scout, up to his old tricks again.
“I have to leave, please don’t cry, but for now we must say goodbye,” Scout said sadly.
“What are you talking about, soldier? You’re going to the Cavern of the Light aren’t you?” Daniel asked.
“For now, I must go and ask for help from some others, I will see you at the cavern later, my new friends and brothers,” rhymed Scout.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Jessie asked Lucky.
Lucky looked at Scout as he danced around in a sad, awkward ballet. “Scout said you guys needed someone to guide you to the Cavern of the Light. He said he has to go and get more fighters, said you would pay,” Lucky finished.
Pops and Daniel looked at each other. They had planned to follow Scout to the
campground and on to the Cavern of the Light.
“Can we trust them?” Daniel asked Scout.
Scout smiled and nodded and patted his heart with his hand and did a slow careful handstand.
“We need to go, if you people are going,” said Lucky.
Pops and Daniel looked at each other and both of them nodded. “We go,” Pops announced. He nodded to Scout and fell in behind Juggernaut and Lucky with the rest of their party behind them. Daniel stayed behind. He and Scout watched the others disappear into the canyon.
Scout rummaged hurriedly through his back pack, pulling out his last swallow of brandy, handing it to Daniel. Daniel accepted graciously and took a measured sip. Scout took the bottle and gulped down the last precious drop. He jumped high in the air and spun around like a cat. “Be careful, brave Captain, the cavern is not what you think, the people who run it have started to stink. Go to Over Watch, there you will meet friends you can trust, I don’t want to leave you Captain, I’m sorry but I must.”
Daniel started to speak but Scout had vanished as quickly as he’d appeared. “Damn, he’s fast,” said Daniel.
He’d only taken a few steps when he heard screaming, followed by gunfire. His first thoughts were of Chloe and he started to run.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
By the time Reverend and the brothers made it back to Over Watch, Fury was more dead than alive. Chains and Basher carried him; neither saying anything nor showing any emotion. It was as if they’d always known that he would be the first of them to die.
When they reached the border of safety they were met by an elite Over Watch guard. Reverend breathed a sigh of relief as they followed them into the safety of the fortified walls.
“Do you think they’ll attack us soon…?” Chains asked.
“I think after tonight… nothing would surprise me. They had this planned. They knew they were about to be removed from office and they took the first swing,” Reverend answered.
Basher laid his dying brother down and sat down beside him, looking down at his face; as if he were watching him sleep. For a brief moment, Fury’s eyes opened and he became alert. He pulled Basher’s head down to him and whispered in his ear. “I told you this place was worth dying for,” he managed before he was gone.
Basher groaned and held his dead brother’s head in his lap. “I… want all of their blood and bones!”
Chains put his hand on Basher’s shoulder and looked down at his dead brother for a moment before turning to Daniel. “Just get me close to the council. We’ll take care of the rest.”
Reverend nodded and lit a smoke. “Glad to have the help…there’s plenty to kill.” He took a couple of drags while Chains and Basher covered their brother. They looked like they wanted to cry but had forgotten how.
A few minutes went by before a guard returned with two full bottles of whisky. The
brothers thanked him and nodded at Reverend before opening the bottles.
“To my brother….” Basher toasted, raising the whisky and taking a long drink.
“To our brother,’’ Chains said, lifting his bottle as well. He took a long pull and handed it to Reverend. He nodded and took his own drink from the bottle before handing it back.
All three of them had a pretty good buzz going by the time Blake got there. He sat down at the table wearily. He and Reverend exchanged glances. Reverend handed him the last swallow of one of the bottles.
Blake took it gladly, gulping it down before sitting back and letting it work its way
through him.
“How bad is it?” Reverend asked.
Blake shook his head and tugged at the blood-soaked bandage around his upper left arm. “We lost thirty in the Cavern. We have over forty wounded and the cavern guard has already started taking up fighting positions outside of most our gates.
Reverend nodded. He’d expected that.
Blake looked at him and sighed.
“I’m afraid there is more,” he said.
“Go on with it,” said Reverend.
“They captured Jack… tortured him till he died.”
Reverend felt like he’d been slapped hard across the face. He and Jack had been friends since the world went black. “Is that all?” he asked quietly.
“I’m afraid not. They captured Tom and his boys and some members of our guard.”
Reverend stood up and walked around. He took a deep breath and let it out. “Is Tom dead?”
Blake dropped his head, unable to look at him. “They tortured and killed him and his sons as well as our guard members. Looks like they had a rock demon down there. It was… messy,” his voice trailed off.
Reverend shouted and grabbed the long heavy table, picking it up over his head while the rest of them scrambled to get out of the way. He threw the table against the wall. It exploded into pieces.
The brother’s nodded at each other, appreciating the strength that it took to do that. Blake kept his head down, looking at the floor were the table had been. Basher handed him the other bottle and after studying it for a moment, Blake took a long drink before handing it back.
Reverend drew one of his pistols and checked the load, spinning the cylinder around with it up to his ear. They could all see the tears dripping out from underneath his mirrored glasses but no one said anything about it. He moved toward the gate.
“It’s not safe out there,” Blake warned him, without looking up.
Reverend stopped and turned toward Blake. “Not safe for them,” he growled.
Blake flinched a little when he saw the rage on Reverend’s face. “They’re waiting for you out there…”
“They damned well better be,” Reverend replied. He motioned for the guard to raise the gate. “You’re in charge while I’m gone.” He walked through the gate with the brothers close behind him.
Blake rose and walked over to the gate. He could barely see the three men walking away into the darkness. “I don’t understand…where are you going?”
“I’m going to get us some leverage!” Reverend shouted back over his shoulder, before vanishing into the rocks.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
After catching up to the others, Daniel realized that it wasn’t them in danger. The sounds were coming from further up the trail. Lucky and Juggernaut looked at each other and motioned for the others to follow them in another direction. None of them moved to follow them.
“We have to go now!” Lucky shouted.
“We have to help whoever that is!” Pops shouted back.
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea. We don’t even know what they’re up against. They could be dead by the time you get there,” Lucky argued.
“They’re still shooting… they’re still alive!” Daniel shouted. He kissed Chloe on the cheek, winking at her before turning and jogging off toward the commotion.
“Take them to the campground. We’ll be okay,” Pop’s said, before running off to catch up with Daniel. Lucky and Juggernaut looked at each other and laughed as they watched Daniel, Pops, Jessie and Lucas run toward the sounds of dying. They motioned for the remaining people to follow them and led them to a small cave close by. “Stay here and hide. We’re going to help them,” said Lucky.
He and Juggernaut ran full speed until catching up to Daniel and the rest of the rescuers. They were getting closer to the sounds of screaming and screeching, peppered with gunfire and somebody hollering out orders. Daniel crouched down and he and Pops crept up and looked over the edge of the trail. There was a small group of people huddle defensively in a cluster of rocks.
They were shooting pistols and bows and fighting hand to hand against a large tribe of Blood-eyes.
Pops looked through his binoculars and spotted his oldest son, Junior. He was the one shouting out orders. He could also see his close friends, Poet and the old lady fighting back to back. “It’s my son,” he hollered and broke into a dead run toward the fighting.
Lucas and Jessie passed him as they ran to join their brother. The six of them smashed into the largest group of Blood-eyes, each killing their fair share with Juggernaut killing twice as many. Junior and Pops saw each other and smiled, but there was no time to talk as they each had their hands full.
It was almost half an hour before the Blood- eyes realized that if they continued there would be no one left and ran off screaming.
The reunited survivors treated their wounded. Junior and his brothers embraced, each of them laughing as the three of them ganged up on Pops and hugged him. Daniel watched them with a peculiar look on his face. “Thanks for kicking in,” he said to Lucky and Juggernaut.
“Get tired of doing the smart thing all the time,” Lucky joked.
“Haven’t killed any Blood- eyes for almost a month”, Juggernaut mumbled, smiling at Daniel.
Daniel nodded. He’d seen the carnage Juggernaut could bring. Daniel was a man who knew all about killing and Juggernaut was a natural born, badass killing machine. “You certainly made up for lost time,” he joked, smiling back at Juggernaut.
After everybody caught their breath, the small band of gritty survivors gathered the rest of their party and began the trek to the Cavern of the Light.
With all of them reunited for the first time, they felt like they were safe. That’s when the first boulder came down on top of them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
When Blake told Tinker what the Cavern guards had done to Tom… he didn’t react the way that he thought he would. In fact, the news barely seemed to register. Tinker was up to his elbows in parts and he peered through his coke-bottle thick glasses at Blake, like he was interrupting something much more important. What Blake didn’t see, was what Tinker did after he left him alone.
Tinker lost his ever-loving mind. He threw things and broke things and shouted and screamed at the top of his lungs. After that, he slumped wearily to the floor and broke the seal on a bottle of bourbon he’d been saving to give to Tom on his birthday.
Now, there would be no more birthdays for his cherished friend… ever again.
He swallowed and belched his way halfway through the bottle, before getting up and resuming his work. There was a strange glint in his eye and he worked with a new found energy, all through the night.
Blake came and checked on him early the next day and told him they were going to have a ceremony for Jack and Tom and his sons.
Tinker smiled politely and thanked him kindly for the update. He had no intentions of going and crying over his best friend. He had too many things to do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The first boulder landed directly on Junior and two of the fortress soldiers.
Pops was standing just a few feet away. He saw the massive rock pulverize his son and then, just like that, he was gone. There was blood and guts on everyone. The boulder hit with such force that it popped Junior and the other men like crimson filled balloons.
“Everybody… move! Right now!” shouted Daniel. As one the group sprang into action. All around them giant boulders were crashing down from the tops of the cliffs high above them. They scrunched tightly up against the cliff walls, trying to find shelter as the rocks rained down like falling Buicks.
“Single file… keep tight to the cliffs… follow me!” Daniel shouted.
Pops stood motionless by the boulder that smashed Junior. Jessie and Lucas grabbed him, trying to drag him away. Pops looked at them like he’d never seen them before. “I have to stay here!” he yelled, shrugging them off of him.
“No! We can’t get even… if we all die here!” Jessie shouted. A monstrous boulder landed close by, shaking the ground.
Pops looked up at the towering cliffs rising above them. He was not surprised to see a rock demon on the craggy ridgeline. What did surprise him and make him move was the fact there were over twenty of them. Rock demons were spawned by Siros to serve him and Magnus. Since they were born out of graves, they preferred to tunnel under ground, which made it even harder to predict where they could be hiding.
Their preferred method of killing was to rip the arms or legs off their victims and drag them down into the ground with them, where the flesh of their prey would rot around them, nourishing their decaying bones. They were eight- feet- tall and skinny, but powerful and fierce beyond measure, with long arms and legs, and razor sharp claws.
Pops broke in to a sprint with his boys close on his heels. The group made it to the end of the canyon and into a cave.
Outside the ground shook as the barrage of boulders continued.
“Rock demons… a lot of them!’’ Pops shouted at Daniel.
“Treat the wounded and check your weapons. We move out as soon as the rocks quit falling,” ordered Daniel.
No one questioned his leadership.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Poet found the old lady in the back of the cramped cave.
