by Perrin Briar
The guards from the barracks marched out and stood beside him. Quinn was among them. Now the villagers stood facing their own guards in a standoff. Many of the guards were their own sons and daughters. Siren could Sense the resolve of the villagers weakening. They would never harm their own children.
Siren stood stock still and worked to give the people courage, to stand up for what they believed in. There were too many for her to affect all at once. She would need to turn them one by one. She got to work doing just that. Turn enough of them, and the tide would shift, causing them to attack. But she would need to be quick. That possibility would only be there for as long as their anger held out.
Neither should she influence one person too far, causing them to attack prematurely. Doing so would show how aggressive the guards were, and instill fear in the people of Second Chance that the same could happen to them.
If only there was another way, Siren thought. And then, one came to her. She caught Quinn’s eye and nodded. Quinn became very still, focusing as hard as he could. He would be calling to them, bringing the Undead upon them. His hands made claws at his side. If he could wave his arms in an effort to increase the potency of his ability, he would have. But right then, he was in the middle of a Mexican standoff.
“Stand down!” Hamilton said. “We are the Controller’s men, and we are here to protect you. Stand down!”
But the people did not stand down. They were standing up.
Time was of the essence. If they were going to stand against the guards it needed to happen soon.
Then, deep from the pit of their despair, they heard the groans. Murmurings amongst the congregation.
“They’re coming!” a local said. “The Undead! They’re here!”
The locals screamed and scrambled. The guards stood their ground as the Undead spilled into the village square. You couldn’t call it a flood, but there had to be two or three dozen of them, each with torn and weary expressions.
The argument had been forgotten.
“Villagers!” Palek said, rushing forward and seizing the opportunity. “Bear arms and defend yourselves!”
The villagers picked up iron rods and wrenches, lumps of wood and cooking knives.
“Today, we defend ourselves!” Palek said, rushing forward.
The villagers bellowed, in his wake. Their fighting style was not smooth, was not efficient, but they got the jub done. It was over in just a few minutes.
“Do you see?” Palek said in a booming voice and wiping the sweat from his brow. “The Controller does not protect us. He cannot protect us whether we make the offering or not. We must protect ourselves, must provide for ourselves. We cannot afford to pay for protection we do not receive.”
Hamilton glared at Palek, then turned and marched toward his horse.
“You have made a very grave mistake today, the town of Second Chance,” Hamilton said.
He turned his horse around and took off in the direction back to Arthur’s Port. The people shared nervous glances and then smiled at one another, proud they had stood up for themselves.
Would it all end in tragedy? Siren didn’t know. But she hoped their gamble would pay off and these people wouldn’t have to pay for it with their lives.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Well done,” Siren said to Quinn after the crowds entered the kitchen for a celebratory meal.
“Don’t thank me,” Quinn said. “Thank the Controller.”
“Why should we thank him?” Siren said.
“Because he no longer offers the arm of protection over the town,” Quinn said. “I feel no resistance against the Undead when I’m Compelling them. They follow me with ease. Still, I can Sense the Controller out there in Arthur’s Port. He’s still very powerful. I can feel him out there.”
The days ticked by, and as they did, the cold certainty of the truth bit down hard. There had been no sign yet of how the Controller was going to react to this village’s stalwart show of independence. Would he react with violence? Vengeance? Or would he be calm and diplomatic? That had yet to be seen. Still, they were prepared.
If a large army headed toward Second Chance to destroy it, Quinn was ready to hit back with an army of Undead he was building. They might not survive, but they would give the villagers time to escape. But that wasn’t what Quinn expected to happen. That hadn’t been how the Controller had destroyed Hope.
The villagers were about ready to flee, many packing up their things to move onto pastures new. Some had already left, the battle with the Undead having spooked them, giving them a taster of what was to come. They had experienced living out in the wild before. Others still were heading to one of the larger villages—one with actual protection. Palek didn’t even attempt to convince them to stay. If they wanted to leave, let them.
Then one day a single man on a large black horse left Arthur’s Port.
“That’s him,” Quinn said.
Siren peered up the street, but saw no one.
“Leaving Arthur’s Port now,” Quinn said. “He’s coming.”
“Alone?” Siren said.
“I’m not sure,” Quinn said. “But I can’t see any Undead surrounding the town yet.”
“What do you think that means?” Siren said.
“That he wants to meet me,” Quinn said.
“Are you sure?” Siren said.
“I’d put my life on it,” Quinn said.
“You do realize, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing if you meet him?” Siren said. “What if he attacks you?”
“We only want to meet him,” Quinn said.
“Who knows what he might want,” Siren said. “You can’t trust him.”
“I don’t,” Quinn said.
“You do realize, that if we fail, these people will die too?” Siren said. “Innocent people.”
“Then we have to make sure we don’t fail,” Quinn said. “And it’s best if I don’t meet him here. I’ll meet him in Hope.”
“There’s a red rag to a bull if I ever saw one,” Siren said. “I’ll come with you.”
“No,” Quinn said. “There’s nothing you can do. Stay here.”
“You think I’d sit by while you went to meet him by yourself?” Siren said. “He can’t Sense me. So long as I hide, he won’t know I’m there.”
Quinn reached out with his power, in the direction of the horseman to ensure he followed him. He came to a dilapidated old barn, long since abandoned. All the farming equipment had been harvested by the neighboring villages.
The Controller was getting close. When he finally emerged at the top of Main Street, he waited a moment to eye Quinn. Quinn calmly entered the barn and waited.
Quinn couldn’t deny he was scared. The horse stopped before Quinn and snorted. The Controller was wearing a cloak and hood that hid his features.
“So,” the Controller said to Quinn. “You’re the pebble in my shoe. I guess you wanted this meeting. What can I do for you?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Siren kept watch outside the barn. She disliked being on the sidelines. She thought back to her brother Wyvern, who she had allowed to deal with the Raiders by himself that cold, wet night. It felt like so long ago. He’d ended up dead. She couldn’t just idly sit by and watch the same thing happen to Quinn.
She sensed him inside the barn, but he might as well has have been talking to the invisible man for all she could pick up about his conversation partner.
Then she saw something. In the distance, approaching fast. Siren got up and ran for the barn.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“In a few days, all the major leaders of the largest communities in the country will come here,” Quinn said. “You will have a meeting to discuss ideas, the future, trade. Despite your ability, I’m not sure if you realize the potential of using the Undead as our own unlimited slave labor force. Each community would need just one overlord to control the Undead, more if possible, to work the fields and do all other work we need doing.”
The Controller pursed his lips.
“Your concept has occurred to me before,” he said. “But I do not think they would listen. The current leaders have all the power. So long as there are Undead out there for people to fear, they will always maintain it. Why would they want to give so much of their power away to someone else? Someone who could tear them apart and destroy them at a moment’s notice?”
“Which is why it’s important to have the right system in place,” Quinn said. “The overlord will be a key member in society. Everyone will know and respect him. He will not need to hide in the shadows any longer. He can be free. And, he will have access to the best medicine we have, to help prolong his life.”
“None of which would prevent him from not simply taking it for himself whenever he saw fit,” the Controller said. “Let me tell you a little story. My story, to be exact. You see, we each of us had a job in the old world. Mine was as a door-to-door salesman. Advanced vacuum cleaning devices. I hated it. I couldn’t stop thinking about the past, about all the mistakes I’d made in my early school years, to explain why I had ended up here of all places. I could have been anything. I could have done anything I wanted. I came close to ending my life several times.
“And then, the light. The Incident happened. I was chased by these bizarre and terrifying creatures that used to be men, and one of them bit me, right before I found safety. I thought I was going to turn into one of them. That’s what all the radios were saying—before they went dead, at least. And so I waited, once again pondering whether or not to use my knife and open my veins… But I didn’t. I suppose I was too afraid.
“Then, the second light. When my eyes opened and I was reborn again. Only this time, with all the benefits. I did not have to struggle in a poor family. I didn’t have to watch as other children went to better schools so they could rub shoulders with the next generation of CEOs and politicians. I was top dog. I had everything. I could control the Undead creatures. They were mine.
“As you can imagine, someone who can control the Undead, to get them to do their bidding, to keep them away, is a formidable gift. And now you’re asking me to lower myself before the leaders of the other communities, to get them to find their own overlords, to partner with them. To become equals. But you see, we’re not equals. We’re superior, you and I. There are few of us out there. But we are here. And we will take our corner of the world for ourselves, as it was refused to us before.”
“We are here to rule over them. Not cuddle up with them. And now, you come with a suggestion to take all that away? I am sorry, my friend. But I cannot.”
He placed a hand on Quinn’s shoulder.
“I admire what you did here, at this village,” he said. “I would have done the same thing if I was coming from the outside. But I would not have done it for the same reasons as you. Normal people would never accept the overlords as one of them. They would never trust them. That is the weakness of your argument. Humanity. It will forever fear what it does not understand.
“But there is something I do not understand. How did you manage to convince the villagers to stand against me? I do not believe a few Undead could have such an effect.”
“Perhaps the people are more volatile than you thought,” Quinn said.
“Perhaps,” the Controller said. “But I think not. You could not do this on your own. You would have needed someone else, someone capable of affecting the thoughts of the living…”
He smiled, the cloud lifting off his brow.
“That’s impossible,” he said. “The girl…? Now it makes sense. The look on her face, the distraction you caused… She expected me to be human. She would be a most powerful ally…”
“She might work for you,” Quinn said. “If we can come to a deal about discussing the idea of using overlords to control our labor workforce.”
The Controller straightened up, considering. Quinn almost squinted, the Controller’s power was so strong, like a shining beacon of light.
“If I let you work for me, what assurance do I have that you won’t turn against me?” he said.
“Only my word,” Quinn said. “I’m not interested in power.”
“Aren’t you?” the Controller said. “But isn’t that what your plan is all about? Gathering power?”
“I’m not as strong as you,” Quinn said. “I couldn’t overpower you.”
“Strength isn’t everything,” the Controller said. “There are ways to become stronger. Cunning is everything. I’m afraid I can’t take the risk and let you live. You have managed to meet with me, against my wishes. If a man is capable of arranging that, he’s capable of doing anything.”
It was then that the realization began to steal over Quinn. He felt cold.
“You were never going to listen to what I suggested, were you?” he said.
“No,” the Controller said. “Although, I must say you have a far more ambitious plan than what others have come to me with.”
“There have been others?” Quinn said.
“Oh yes,” the Controller said. “Though none have successfully drawn me out of my own keep before.”
A voice shouted something outside, coming closer. Quinn recognized it as Siren’s voice immediately. Quinn ran to the back of the barn to peer through the slats.
“I’m afraid you’re too late,” the Controller said. “My friends are already here.”
Quin spied Siren pointing in the distance. Her words, muffled by the barn walls were unclear, but he could recognize them by their cadence. Quinn followed her gesture and froze.
Heading toward them were the Undead. A massive army of them.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It took Quinn a moment to realize how they had managed to sneak up on him without him Sensing them.
“You came to me, close enough where you could overpower my Sense with your brute strength,” Quinn said. “Effectively blinding me.”
The Controller gave a small nod.
“Working others’ perceived strengths against them is one of my talents,” he said. “I used your own plan against you. Didn’t you think it strange I would come here to meet you without an army at my back?”
“I thought you wanted to hear what we had to say,” Quinn said.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth,” the Controller said. “You have nothing to offer me. Nothing to exchange for your ideas. Now, I will tell you what shall happen here. First, I will deal with you and your… friend. Then I shall turn my attention to Second Chance. We cannot have word of their uprising spreading to the other villages. They must be punished.”
“Like how you punished Hope?” Quinn said.
“Yes,” the Controller said. “They were reaching beyond themselves and what they deserved.”
“Freedom,” Quinn said.
“Making decisions they had no authority to make,” the Controller said. “You’re not the first overlord I’ve killed, and you shan’t be the last.”
The big black horse outside neighed and stomped with its front leg as Siren ran into the barn.
“We have to get out of here!” Siren said.
“Ah,” the Controller said. “So nice to see you again. Perhaps we might finish our little drink later this evening.”
“You need to Push the Undead away,” Siren said to Quinn. “Otherwise they’re going to kill us. And destroy the village.”
Quinn felt at the intense strength of the Controller standing just feet from him. He ran his mind over the giant wall that enveloped him. It was no good. There was no way he was going to overpower him. It was thick and impenetrable.
“I can’t,” Quinn said. “He’s too strong.”
“Pity all your plans have come to naught,” the Controller said.
“We have to get out of here,” Siren said.
“We can’t,” Quinn said. “Not alive, anyway.”
Siren caught the spark in his eye. She gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, but Quinn blew past it.
“I’m afr
aid it must fall to you to protect yourself,” Quinn said, eyes flicking to the large-handled scythe leaning against the wall.
If she’d blinked, she’d have missed it. She opened her mouth to speak, then recognized the strong sense of confidence Quinn had on his face. It contained a thick seam of fear.
The barn doors burst open. The Undead streamed inside, surrounding Quinn and Siren. They knocked Siren aside and seized Quinn. The real threat.
“A shame,” the Controller said. “You could have been something.”
He nodded. The Undead bit into Quinn. His blood burst, blossoming across his clothes. He screamed in agony. The Undead outside groaned loudly with hunger, banging with fervor on the walls. The flicker of light that Siren associated with the life burning inside Quinn began to flicker like a fragile frame in a strong wind.
“No!” Siren screamed.
She grabbed the scythe and swung it at the Undead. She hacked and flayed until the Undead around the mutilated figure on the floor had left him alone. Their remains twitched and flickered with life, gazing up at her with their dead eyes. Then she swung at the Controller, who calmly leaned back to avoid the blow. Siren struck at him again and again. Each time, he dodged out of the way.
“Fight me!” Siren said.
She struck again, but he was too fast, and avoided it with ease.
“Fight me you coward!” she bellowed.
This time, the Controller dodged to the left and then struck at her with a slap across the face.
Siren, shocked, stumbled back.
“Why don’t you kill me?” she said.
“Because I’ve never seen someone with a skill like yours,” the Controller said. “You do not toss away a pearl, even if you currently have no need of it.”
Siren swung at the Controller again, this time rushing forward before swiping. The Controller, taken by surprise, rolled. When he stood up, Siren found he was bleeding from a cut across his chest. He touched at his blood. His makeup was smudged, revealing his Undead features underneath. His skin was grey and lifeless as leather, hair thinning beneath the wig perched on his head.
