Zoe fumbled with her arrow and Tracy loosed an arrow between her and Rec just before the agg grabbed Rec. Rec shot Tracy a pointed look and then glanced at Zoe's troubled expression. She shook herself and readied another arrow.
"Hall's clear." Rec said quietly. "Watch your footing, they're everywhere."
The group moved forward quickly and at the doors we pulled the bodies aside to clear the doorway. Rec laid on the floor and took a snipers stance, ready to shoot from the ground. Zoe kneeled next to him, to take the mid-vantage. Tracy stood over her, ready to take the heat at eye level.
Dom, Abe, and Brandon stood behind us ready to charge in as a second line of defense. I gave a three count with my fingers and opened the door enough for Tracy to fit his bow through. When the three of them started firing I stepped away and pulled out my hatchet.
There were shouts and return fire from outside, but they quickly dwindled. Tracy jumped over Zoe once the lull started and she tried to grab him. Rec cursed and fired rapidly to cover him. Zoe groaned and did the same.
"Seven out of twelve down!" Cer yelled from the other end of the hall, relaying information from where Len watched the monitors.
Rec fired three quick shots, followed by two from Zoe. A bullet whizzed past Zoe grazing her cheek and she ducked to readjust. Rec raised up to his knees so she could fire from behind him.
Tracy was now completely out of sight and the noise had mostly died down. Brandon edged around behind Zoe, trying to see outside. I gripped my hatchet and shifted, ready to bolt out the door.
"Alright, twelve down, but we can't tell you what's in the blind spots. Greenhouse is clear." Cer called out.
"We've got it from here, head back down." I told him.
"No way. I'll be right here." He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his chin.
The others filed out the doors, leaving no time to argue with him. I sighed and followed, bringing up the rear. We exited the hall and stayed close to the buildings. Rec moved ahead of the group, checking windows and clearing the buildings. Once we'd made a full circle we shuffled around, not sure what to do.
"They had to of sent more than twelve people." Dom said looking to the roofs.
"I spot twenty plus to the west." Rec said, looking through his rifle scope.
"We tagged twelve. Leaves them at sixty-four." Brandon said, fanning his face with his hat.
"Sixty-five." Tracy corrected again. "Fuckin' Dexter."
"Twenty-seven west. Final count." Rec said.
"The rest probably stayed in the mountains." Tracy said as he wiped sweat from his brow.
"Twenty-six north." Zoe said shaking her head. She lowered her binoculars and re-joined the group. "Why are they using so much light?"
"Always have." Tracy answered. "They're the only real predators out here."
"I guess now is as good a time as any to load up and roll out." Dom said.
"Probably won't get another chance." Brandon agreed.
"Oh, you won't get this one." The voice from the walkie earlier floated from behind us.
A short curvy woman with warrior braided red hair walked towards us from the water tower. Her green eyes glowed with a maniacal gleam. She smiled with bright white filed teeth. A crude patch covered one eye and tattoos seemed to cover everything but her face, the ink a stark contrast to her alabaster skin.
"Phyn, you cow." Tracy stepped to the front of the group. "What are you doing here?"
Rec and Zoe had their weapons on her. Dom reached out to lower Rec's rifle, nodding to the station roof. Three men had guns trained on us. I turned enough to see two more on the store roof behind us.
They both slightly lowered their weapons and glanced around. Phyn smiled bigger and stepped up to Tracy.
"Oh Peter Rabbit. We've come to bring you home." She canted her head and brushed a finger over his cheek. Quick as lightning she drew back and back-handed him. "That's for Tank!"
"Come now Phyn, you wanted him dead." Tracy wiped blood from his lip and spit at her feet.
"He was mine to kill. You knew better." She hissed through her sharp teeth.
"I didn't kill him, Phyn. He was my friend."
"I killed him." Rec stepped closer to her, the guns from above training on him. "Stabbed him in the chest without hesitation."
"You'll die slow." She pointed at him with a shaking hand, her fury bubbling to the surface.
There was a short yell behind us and I turned to see Abe had thrown his blade into the back of a man trying to enter the sun hall. Someone up top fired a shot at Abe's feet and he looked up at the man without flinching. Rec spun in a blur and shot the man between the eyes.
"Your men may give warnings. We don't." Dom said, raising his aim to her chest.
"Stop shooting!" She snapped at her men. "Peter this is simple. You and that idiot come back with us, and your new friends will be left unharmed."
"Not happening." Tracy raised his bow. "And I think we're a little more willing to die."
"You're not that stupid." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Where's Antrim, Phyn?"
She looked worried for a moment before she could hide it. Tracy gave her an expression of mock sympathy and tskd. She gave a tight shake of her head.
"You’ve tripped up, Phyn. He doesn't know you're here does he?"
"He's convinced you'll come back on your own. He's even more delusional now than he was before." Her shoulders slumped slightly.
There was more movement behind us and Phyn stepped back. I turned again to see Ria and Glitch step out of the hall with guns of their own. Phyn narrowed her eyes on Tracy again and with a flash she side kicked his bow out of his hands.
Shots rang out from above and below and everyone dashed for cover. There was no order to the yelling and gunfire, through what little light there was, I could see someone else come out of the sun hall. The headlights of Tracy's jeep came on and it peeled away throwing dirt and rock.
"She got Tracy!" Brandon yelled. He fired wildly, catching the back tires. The jeep fishtailed and slowed.
Instinct took over and I jumped up, sprinting after them. I heard voices calling my name over the gunfire, but I kept going, gaining on the slowing vehicle. As I got closer the jeep jerked left and I heard a struggle inside.
I opened the driver side door and Phyn and Tracy fell out, throwing punches. The jeep rolled a few feet until I jumped in and pulled the E brake. Tracy and Phyn rolled around in the dirt kicking and punching. I heard something behind me, but before I turned I heard Neffery in front of me, running from the bunker.
"Joe! Look out Joe!" He was waving his arms wildly and as I started towards him a four-wheeler blew past me.
The driver reached out and grabbed Neffery by the waist, he took a sharp turn and disappeared into the night, going north. Tracy got the upper hand on Phyn and pushed her face into the dirt. He looked after the four-wheeler and turned back to her, grabbing her throat.
"Call him back!" He screamed in her face.
"Can't." She choked out.
"Call him back now!" He punched her in the face.
"He wasn't with me!" She screamed back.
Brandon scoffed as he got into the back of the jeep and pulled out a jack. He bent to position it and then went about changing the tires, pulling spares from the top of the jeep. I helped him roll them to the sides of the jeep.
Dom and Abe had grabbed Len and tackled him to the ground before he could tear into the dark after Nef. Zoe and Rec were pulling bodies into a pile. Ria walked over to us with Glitch close behind, eyes on the dark.
"How many bodies should we look for?" Ria glared down at Phyn.
"Eleven." She spat.
"We got 'em all if she's telling the truth." Glitch said over Ria's shoulder.
"Sounds right." Tracy said, standing and pulling Phyn up by her collar. He shifted his grip to her hair and drug her towards the truck left by the men earlier in the day. "You're going for a ride Phyn."
She renewed her strug
gles and he kicked the back of her knee. Brandon stepped over and helped Tracy drag her to the passenger side. Glitch moved to take over changing the tires. Len was still wrestling to get to Nef and Cer was trying to help talk him down.
"Dom, Abe, Cer, get Lenny downstairs! Zoe and Rec you get down there too, Nep is alone down there if they try to get in again!" They snapped to attention and pulled Lenny down the hall. I walked over to the truck.
Tracy and Brandon had gotten Phyn into the passenger seat of the truck at gunpoint with Brandon sitting behind her, 'World Gone Mad' by Bastille, creeping from his headphones. Tracy started the truck up and pulled a U-turn to face it north. He got out and walked back over to Phyn's side.
Before anyone knew what he was doing he pulled an arrow from his quiver and stuck it into her abdomen under her ribs. She gasped and I flinched. She grabbed his wrist trying to keep him from pushing it deeper.
"Peter...don't." She said through gritted teeth.
"Welcome to the Briar Patch, bitch." He ground out, plunging the arrow up and into her heart, connecting with the seat behind her.
"You psycho." Brandon scrambled back and crawled over and out of the driver’s side.
"One for one." Tracy snipped. "If we don't get that boy back, and soon, he's dead."
Glitch came over and helped Tracy rig the truck up to drive north and the rest of us stepped back as they dropped a large rock on the gas pedal and shut the door. The headlights bounced lightly and the truck tore into the night.
"Sure they won't kill him for that?" Glitch said with a glare at Tracy.
"Antrim knew that was coming. He sent that scout for her. The scout knew he couldn't get her from me so he grabbed the next person he could." Tracy looked over at me. "He grabbed the only one of you I'd be willing to die for."
Chapter 10
Give 'Em Hell
NEVADA JUNE 13TH 2029
The silence in the mess hall as we all walked back down was staggering. Len was shaking and clearly trying to keep himself in control. Tracy walked over and grabbed him by the shoulders, bending to meet his eyes.
"We go get him then, yeah?"
Len was quiet for a moment and then sat straighter and nodded. "Yeah."
"Good. Girls? You're coming too. Joe?" He turned to me.
"Absolutely."
"I'm going too." Rec said stepping forward.
"No." Before he could argue, Tracy explained. "We need to go in quiet and you need to be here to protect these people."
"Alright fine." He looked worriedly at Zoe and sat back down.
"Dakota comes with me." Ria inserted.
"He's useless for the task, but fine. Dom, we don't know what kind of shape Nef will be in. We need you too."
Dom walked over to the buffet table to replace his gun with a machete and nodded. "I'm in."
"Alright. Everyone else sit tight. We've got to move fast." He grabbed some of Zoe's spare arrows and went back up the steps.
"Jeep's set." Brandon came down the steps wiping his hands on a rag. "I'm staying here. Quiet isn't my thing and you'll need the seat for the kid." He tossed the rag aside and went to sit on a table.
"Let's go guys." Zoe grabbed up her bow and went upstairs, the rest of us following behind.
We piled quietly into the jeep and Tracy drove expertly in the dark, not using his headlights. Zoe and Dom sat in the attached rear facing seats watching the perimeter. Ria and Glitch sat with Len in the backseat, all of them looking ready for war.
"We're going straight to the main camp." Tracy broke the silence, veering to the east.
"What, why?" Ria sat up looking concerned.
"That's where Antrim is. He'll have the boy." He explained simply. "He'll be in his tent at the center of camp. We go in from the sides. Keep everyone contained in the middle. They don't train for being surrounded."
"How easily you talk about them as if you weren't a part of them yesterday." Glitch remarked.
"I was never a part of them. I did what I had to survive. If you've never done something you aren't proud of, I'll gladly take one of my own arrows to the balls." With that, Glitch stayed silent.
"Joe and I will walk straight through the center to Antrim's tent. They'll think it's just me being me. The rest of you will go through quiet on the sides, taking out anyone you see or hear." He went on. "We work fast. We work together." He seemed to struggle saying the last part.
After a stretch of silence we approached the camp, stopping about a half a mile away. We crept silently to the camp and Tracy motioned the others to flank the sides. Dom Zoe and Len going left, Glitch and Ria to the right.
I checked the first tent we passed finding it empty. Same for the second. And third.
Tracy stepped out of the shadows and assumed his arrogant stance. "I wake up every evening!" He yelled. "With a big smile on my face!" He knocked an arrow. "And...It...never...feels out of place!"
The first light in the camp came on. Grumbling sounded from the tents and people started to move. Humming, Tracy aimed his bow at the shadow in the tent with the light on and loosed it. The shadow silently fell.
"And you're still probably working that nine to nine pace!" He sang louder.
"Shut up!" Someone yelled from another tent.
"I wonder how Phyn Rian tastes!" He chuckled.
"Can't say you don't have flair kid." I muttered as I followed behind.
More lights came on and someone shouted on the far side of the camp. Tracy knifed someone coming out of their tent and continued to move silently down the center of the. I followed behind keeping an eye out for movement.
Gasps and short yells could be heard all across the camp as more people came out to investigate the disturbance. Red light from blood splattered lamps flickered over the camp, casting an ominous death hue.
"WHEN YOU SEE MY FACE HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL!" The laughter breaking out between words was eerie and unsettling. He was like an apocalyptic orchestra with his off-key voice.
"And truth be told I kiiiilled herrrr!" Tracy crooned. "Truth be told I killed Phyn Rian!" He spread his arms and shook his head with glee. "Come out, come out, Antrim! We've got something for you boyo!"
The camp was silent except for our deep breaths. According to plan Ria, Glitch, Len, Zoe and Dom stayed on the perimeter with only Tracy and I moving into the main camp area. Once we were only a few feet away, the light in the main tent finally came on. Tracy tensed and planted his feet, aiming his bow at the opening.
"We've an exchange then?" Antrim's thick Irish accent seeped with malice.
He stepped out of the tent and I nearly fell over. Dressed in a wine red suit, he looked like Lucifer himself. Weak with a face covered in blood, Neffery was being held up by his hair. His eyes were wild and confusion was plain on his face.
"Seems this calf wandered too far from the heard." Antrim gave him a yank and Tracy took a step forward.
"Ah-ah." Antrim pulled out a blade and pressed it to Neffrey's chest. "You'll be staying back or he'll get his heart pierced, like for like."
"You're dead either way, Antrim. Let him go and I'll make it quick." Tracy spoke calmly, but his muscles were tense.
I scanned the area trying to see where Len was. We couldn't afford to go too far from plan. They were all still in the shadows and silent. I was hoping they were keeping their eyes open and not focusing on this exchange.
"Oh, I won't be letting him go. You took from me, Tracy. Now I'll be taking from you." Antrim sneered.
"Well, whether I took from you is debatable. Technically I gave Phyn back. That kid has nothing to do with me. You'd have better luck taking Brandon." Tracy relaxed a fraction and continued the banter.
"Never our own, Tracy. You shouldn't have done that." Antrim's voice broke with his anger.
"MANKIND IS OUR OWN!" Tracy screamed, punctuating his words, his calm finally breaking. "You and your whole damn following are a blight to this planet!" He yelled with his bow trained on Antrim.
&n
bsp; Neffery seemed to collect himself for a moment and took in Tracy and me. He stood a little straighter and looked at the knife pressed to his chest. His gaze calculating.
"Tracy, you truly are repugnant. Know when you've lost." Antrim raised the knife to strike.
Neffery latched onto the arm holding him and sank his teeth in. Antrim bellowed and plunged the knife into Neffery's heart. Tracy's arrow was a moment too late, gliding into Antrim's throat as Nef's eyes went lifeless.
Len yelled from the side of the camp and his footfalls thundered, breaking through the quiet. He barreled past me to get to Nef, stumbling as he fell to his knees at his side. One less person on the perimeter.
"Everyone HOLD!" I called out.
I heard someone else skid to a stop and curse. Len was bent over Neffery's still body. Antrim was choking on his blood and squirming. I turned in place watching for movement.
"Where the hell is everyone?" I whispered.
Tracy shook his head slowly. The air was thick with unease and Len's silent sobs were enraging the others. I heard someone approaching my left and turned to find Ria with a furrowed brow.
"The rest of the tents are empty. Dakota and I did rounds twice. They aren't here. We only tagged twelve here."
"I don't understand. Where could they have gone?" I said.
"And why leave Antrim unprotected?" She asked gravely.
Tracy nodded his head and approached Antrim, yanking him up by his hair. Antrim wheezed and spit out blood. His eyes were unfocused and blinking slowly. Tracy grabbed the shaft of the arrow and twisted it.
"Where are they?" Tracy hissed.
"Lady bug, lady bug." Antrim gurgled through bared teeth.
Glitch, Zoe and Dom joined us at the center of the camp.
"What do we do now?" Dom asked.
"Oh my god." Ria gasped. "We have to get back. We have to get back now!" She yelled grabbing Glitch and heading for the jeep.
Antrim smiled through crimson teeth and gurgled again. "Fly...away...home."
After leaving Antrim to die and loading Neffery's tiny body into the jeep, we tore across the desert at full speed. Len was still hysterical and Zoe and Ria did their best to comfort him while Dom and Glitch watched the rear. Tracy's eyes were stark and his jaw clenched as he squeezed the steering wheel.
Apocalypse Chronicles (Book 1): SunDown, Part 1 Page 11
