“Run!” Char yelled and took off at Werewolf speed. The smell hit Terry a millisecond later.
Clyde had found a skunk.
CHAPTER NINE
Mark, James, and Blackbeard stood to the side of the enclosure, watching the bear cub play with the tub that was supposed to contain his water. It was currently upside down with Hank underneath, wallowing in the small mud pit he’d just created.
“Werewolf? Vampire? An aircraft that doesn’t look like an aircraft? The Queen Bitch? What the fuck is all this? We’ve been killing ourselves riding through the wastelands and they have an aircraft. That’s some serious bullshit right there,” Mark complained.
“What’s up your ass?” James asked accusingly, turning to face Mark with his fists clenched.
“He throws all this shit on us, then runs us into the ground afterwards? We’re just a bunch of toys to him. Let me correct that, to him and his woman,” Mark snarled.
James couldn’t take any more. He jabbed, catching Mark with his hands down. His punch connected with Mark’s jaw, snapping the man’s head backwards. James followed with a haymaker to the gut, which doubled Mark over. He slowly sagged to the ground.
James jumped on him and wailed on Mark’s face, swinging punch after punch until Blackie drug him off.
“You fucking ingrate!” James yelled, spitting at Mark as he curled on the ground, continuing to cover his head with his hands. “You have no idea. You haven’t gone out there to see how bad it is, but how good the colonel and major treat us and all the survivors we find. He trusts you! He trusts you to keep New Boulder safe. He didn’t give that job to anyone else, only you. And you backstab him for it. I ought to fucking kill you!”
“Why didn’t he tell us?” Mark asked, sitting up and massaging his damaged face.
“He did. He told me, Gerry, Lacy, and Devlin when we were being chased by Marcus, but he swore us to secrecy, and I, for one, won’t betray his trust. Don’t you remember what we were before him?:
James, his voice hissing, his eyes radiating anger continued, “I won’t ever forget. Every God damn day I’m thankful for what I have now, all because of Colonel Walton.”
Eyeing James, playing with his jaw, Mark asked, “Why was he afraid of Marcus?”
“You didn’t reason that one out yourself? You must be dumb as a box of rocks. The major is a Werewolf and her former mate comes after her. That’s right. That big bastard was a Werewolf, too, and he was a fucking monster! He killed Devlin. He tried to kill me and Lacy. He did his God damned best to kill the major and the colonel, too. Didn’t you see that scar on her face? We barely survived, but the colonel used his whip, of all the fucking weapons we have, it was only him and his god-damn fucking whip choking that fucker until the major could bite his throat out. Those two people fought like Hell’s demons. I’ll never forget what they’ve done for me,” He pointed at Mark, “and you shouldn’t either.”
James shook Blackie off and stormed away.
“He’s right, you know,” Blackbeard said as he helped Mark to unsteady feet. “If you want to not die in your sleep, you should probably not say anything against the colonel or the major, ever again.” Blackie let the man go and vaulted the fence to enter the pen with the grizzly cub.
“Come on, Hank, let’s get you cleaned up and some fresh water. What’s with you, boy? Always spilling your water. You’ll never grow up to be a big strong bear like that!” The cub ran at the young man and he dodged, then tackled the bear cub, which probably weighed almost as much as he did.
“Why didn’t they tell me?” Mark mumbled. “All they had to do was tell me.”
***
“That dog is not coming in this house!” Felicity yelled from the upstairs window. “I can smell him from here!”
Terry winced as he leaned down to look Clyde in the eye. Clyde’s tail was between his legs. He was one unhappy mutt. Billy maintained a small horse trough out back by the shed, just in case horses were held up while their riders visited, though mainly, he kept it for Terry and Char who were the most frequent horse-riding visitors.
Terry led the dog out back and with a quick movement, grabbed Clyde around his big chest and hauled him into the horse tank. Clyde kicked, splashed, and started braying. “Bring some soap!” Terry called.
Char had gone in the front door, reappearing out the back with some of the lye soap that one of the farmers made. Too much was toxic to the skin and it was harsh on hair, but besides that, it was the only soap they had.
Terry scrubbed the miserable dog, holding him firmly by the scruff of his neck. Rinsing and rewashing until Clyde only smelled bad, instead of projecting skunk stench.
Terry was half-soaked, so he took off his shirt. When he let Clyde out of the trough, the dog tried to bolt, but Terry kept him close, using his shirt to dry Clyde as much as he could.
“Look at me!” he told the dog. “Stay away from skunks! Do you understand? Stay away from skunks.” He looked Clyde in his eyes, “Go find yourself a rabbit!” Terry let go and Clyde ran to a patch of dirt, where he rolled around until he was covered.
“Remember,” Char told him, “you love that dog.”
“What a dumbass,” Terry replied watching Clyde. Char wasn’t sure who he was referring to. She let it go, smiling as Clyde shook chunks of dirt and mud from his coat. His tail was up and his tongue out as he headed into some nearby brush.
Terry hung his shirt over a pole to let it dry. The day would be warm, maybe even hot, but not Wastelands hot. The mountains tempered that, kept the whole area cool enough for crops to grow, although they had to tap their reservoirs more than usual this year.
Keeping their heads above water, in one sense, while the actual water levels were lower than ever.
Billy showed them in. Felicity had Marcie balanced on a hip as she stood in the hallway, making a show of ogling Terry Henry Walton.
“Why, TH, have you been working out? My! Whatever you’re doing, it’s working,” she said seductively. Billy rolled his eyes, and Char smiled.
Char angled in close to Felicity, whispering as she passed. “Sex. We are having so much sex, we don’t have time to eat or sleep. Frankly, I’m exhausted!” Char’s purple eyes twinkled at the shorter woman.
Now it was Felicity’s turn to roll her eyes. Terry blushed and stopped so he could stroke the baby’s head. “What a beautiful little girl,” he said, then stepped back and hurried into Billy’s study.
He took his usual chair, spinning it around so he could cross his arms on the backrest and lean forward. Char pulled her chair close, resting her hand easily on Terry’s leg.
Billy sat in his chair and looked at the papers filling the table before him.
“Look what you’ve done to me, TH. I’m a paper-pusher. I’m a fucking bureaucrat. If it weren’t for those two ladies in the hallway, I think I’d have to take a horse and ride away.”
Terry put up a hand, “Hang on there, big fella. I never said anything about paperwork. I was never a fan and can’t imagine how that crap followed me in here!” he countered.
Billy waved a hand over the piles, “I need these to keep everything straight. It was you who made me the master of logistics. And what the hell is that all about? I used to run this town!” he whined. Felicity strolled in and took her seat on the couch, bouncing the baby. Char watched them and smiled.
Terry looked at Char, forgetting about Billy’s tirade.
When Terry looked back, Billy was watching them all. He had improved his ability to study people. He’d grown past his jealousy and despite Felicity’s constant flirting, he knew that no matter what happened, she’d be at his side whenever he needed her. He watched Terry and Char. The change in their relationship was obvious. They always had to be touching each other.
“You called?” Terry said to bring everyone’s attention back to whatever Billy had in mind.
“Right. What the hell was that thing?” He pointed towards the FDG area.
“A Pod,” Terry answered
, not elaborating.
“Thanks for that, jagoff. What the hell is a pod and who was flying that thing?” Billy pressed.
“It’s a special vehicle used to shuttle people and material from orbit to earth and back again. As for who was flying it, I honestly can’t tell you. The pilot never got out.”
“Earth to orbit?” Felicity interjected, leaning forward and almost dropping Marcie. The baby began to cry.
“Take her out of here, woman!” Billy ordered.
“Not one chance in hell of that happening,” Felicity replied with a lip curl. She stood and bounced the baby, who quickly quieted. Felicity walked around the room, bouncing to keep the baby happy as she listened intently.
Billy waved her off. “Someone came to see you from outer space? Out with it, dickhead! I’m not playing twenty fucking questions,” Billy growled.
Terry sighed. “His name is Akio and he’s one of the Queen Bitch’s inner circle,” he started to explain, using terms that he thought Billy would best understand. “He didn’t say where he’s been or if TQB is back, but he told us we were doing the right thing, building the Force de Guerre, expanding New Boulder. He suggested that the north side of Chicago might be more accommodating with industry, infrastructure, and the fresh water that we’ll need for all of it.”
Akio hadn’t said all of that, but if he knew what Terry was thinking, then that would have been it.
“I think we’re going to have to move New Boulder,” Terry said.
“Shit!” Billy erupted. “We need to take down the generator for some work that the engineer and the mechanic need to do to keep it running. I’ve been holding them off, but they are growing insistent. We’ll need Lacy and your technical people in the plant today to go through what needs done. Then tomorrow night, we shut things down.”
Terry wondered how the topic had changed so suddenly, but asked Char to find Clemson and send him to the barracks to order the whole platoon to report to the power plant for duty. Terry recognized that there wasn’t anything more important in New Boulder than making sure the power plant remained functioning.
Clemson had been sitting outside the front door, playing with Clyde. He’d run off as soon as he heard the message. Clyde wanted in, but Char wouldn’t let him because he still smelled, and probably would for days. He started howling and leaned against the front door, wishing for it to open.
“Let me tell you a story, Billy,” Terry started, settling in to come clean with the mayor. “We were in Antarctica and things were looking up before they started looking down. Some renegades flying alien fighters came up against the U.S. Navy. Those ships would have been destroyed if Bethany Anne herself hadn’t shown up in her new warship.” Terry took the pitcher of water that was on the table and poured himself a drink.
Billy waited patiently. Felicity was zeroed in on every word that Terry said. Char absently stroked Terry’s leg, listening intently. She hadn’t heard the story before either.
“Bethany Anne, also known as The Queen Bitch, made short work of those people, but it was Antarctica and we didn’t know that she’d come or that she’d won. We’d found a secret base and were trying to keep it hidden from the United States Navy, while at the same time avoiding a conflict with a Marine unit embarked on the USS Wasp. I wouldn’t fight Marines, no matter what. I’d been one earlier in my life, you see. But that’s neither here nor there.”
Terry took another drink, looking down at the table.
“So we hid the entrance to the base and headed out into the Antarctic tundra. Holy shit, it was cold. The snow had kicked up and we didn’t know where the hell we were going. We lost a couple people who rode their snowmobiles into a fissure. We left a couple of Bethany Anne’s own behind with those in the base, and they were the best off, because she won the battle and called off the Navy before they came after us.”
Terry’s eyes glistened as he relived that day. “She found us. I was using my body to shield Melissa, the woman who would later be my wife, the mother to my child. But that only happened because Bethany Anne revived me, because Akio had told her I was one of the good ones. When she saw me sacrifice my life to save the life of another, she agreed. With resources at her command, and I don’t know exactly what those were, she brought me back from the edge of death. She told me that I had nanocytes running through my blood, little machines that would repair damage to my body, make me better at everything.”
He looked at them before he pulled his knife and slashed deep into his arm. Billy and Felicity watched as the wound healed before their eyes. Terry put the knife away.
“I’m sixty-five years old,” he added, snickering at the look of shock on Felicity’s face. “Melissa and I were married, kind of settled down into a normal life, had a baby, and then the world fell apart. I couldn’t fucking save them. I was condemned to live a long time, to remember it all, relive it again and again. But here we are, and Akio has returned to tell me that he has faith in me, in us, in what we are doing. I have a purpose again, a reason to exist, to continue to do TQB’s bidding, and I will do that, to my very last breath.”
Billy acted like he wanted to speak, but Terry held up a hand to stop him. “When Char came into my life, I knew that I had been forgiven, me, the Nomad had been found. Char is enhanced, too, just in a little bit different way, but none of that matters. We aim to be married, and I don’t know what we need to do to make that happen.”
Billy finally leaned back and stretched. He’d been focused so completely on TH and his story that he wondered if he’d remembered to breathe. Finally, Billy had a morsel that he understood.
“I don’t know who this Bethany Anne is or this Akio, but if you will do anything for them, then so will I. As for marriage, I have a book here where I write it down and that’s it. Do you want me to do that, because that’s all there is to it. I was never a ceremony kind of guy.”
Terry turned to Char, and she nodded, just enough for him to see. He couldn’t look away from the sparkle in her eyes. “Yes, please. Write it now, if you would, Billy.”
Billy Spires, Mayor of New Boulder, dutifully pulled a small notebook from a bookshelf to the side of the table. He started to make the notations. “Char, what’s your last name?”
“I have none. It’s just Charumati,” she said, smiling at Terry.
“You do now. Congratulations to Terry and Char Walton. The angels are singing and all that happy horseshit,” Billy intoned. Felicity walked the two steps to him and back-handed him across his head.
“Why do you want to mess up something beautiful like that, you Neanderthal?” she cried.
Billy grimaced before looking up. “Do you want me to write our names in here, babe?” he asked.
“Is that your idea of a proposal?” Felicity drawled, shaking her head. “I expect that will be the best I get, so sure, write our names in there, too. Felicity Spires. Hmm. I’m going to have to think on that.”
“What’s there to think about?” Billy wondered.
“Taking the man’s last name is so twentieth century, Billy dear,” Felicity drawled. “Maybe we should change the standard where no one takes anyone else’s name.” She stood next to Billy, tickling his neck with a finger while their daughter giggled.
Billy closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. He used to be somebody, where his word was the law. He let out one big breath. It sounded like a sigh.
“Right, there we are. Did we actually conduct any business today?” Billy asked Terry.
“Power Plant, check. Move to Chicago, tentative. Continue growing the population here in the interim, check. Continue building the Force, check. Two marriages, check. Let’s see what else. Clyde found a skunk and Blackbeard now has a pet grizzly cub. That about wraps it. We need to get going, check out the power plant, and see that our people are in place and ready to give one hundred percent.”
Terry stood to leave. “Hang on, you two,” Billy called. “Maybe we should have some kind of celebration. It’s not every day that people make
the ‘til- death-do-us-part commitment. Tomorrow afternoon, here, we’ll have something and then we’ll shut the plant down and get to work.”
“So let it be written, so let it be done,” Terry quoted.
“Yul Brynner! Good call,” Char stated as they walked out, hand in hand, to an impatiently waiting Clyde. Billy had no idea what they were talking about. That seemed to be most of the time. He’d talk with Felicity about what she took from the crazy story that Terry told. Sixty-five years old? No way.
CHAPTER TEN
“Let’s stop by, see the old place?” Sue asked as the pack worked its way west of the Air Force Academy. They were getting close and with an effort could make it where they were headed in one more day.
“Is there anything we need from there?” Timmons asked.
“We left a fair bit of gunpowder there,” Merrit reminded him.
“I know that, but do we need it?” Timmons replied.
“Come on, man. We can always use gunpowder, just in case we need to blow something up, like a Werewolf alpha for example.” Merrit looked sideways at Timmons before turning toward the old compound. They had blown the chapel up, removing the telltale spires from the skyline. Timmons smiled. That had been a good demolition. It took all of them to figure out the right places to put the charges, then they used paper fuses of different lengths, lighting them in sequence for a simultaneous blast.
The result was most gratifying.
“Yes. Let’s get the gunpowder. If need be, we’ll blow Marcus to kingdom come. Fuck that prick.” Timmons postured, but not for the others. His anger was real, and he was no longer afraid.
The pack, in human form, headed downhill toward their old stomping grounds, walking casually as they considered the place to be their own.
They spread out as they walked onto the upper deck that overlooked the parade ground. Timmons was happy to see that the deer had returned and were grazing peacefully. He smiled and started stripping. The others followed and soon, seven Werewolves were stalking their prey.
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