by Rod Carstens
Finally, they led Blondie to the biggest shack on the bridge. It was in the exact middle and was more than twice the size of the other shacks. Two women stood guard on either side of its door. Both had rifles and wore knives under their belts, and the sides of their heads were shaved, leaving their hair in identical Mohawks. They too had painted a line across their faces.
If Jo were a popular leader, she would not need guards on her door, Blondie thought. When they pushed into her shack, Blondie was astonished at the interior. It was full of real furniture. A stuffed couch was to her right against the wall, a stuffed chair was next to the sofa, and an actual coffee table sat in front of the couch with candles on it. Rugs of different colors lined the floor and the walls. A window frame with no glass in it served as decoration on another. Jo apparently enjoyed her luxuries.
A blanket acted as a door to another room. Jo pushed it aside and came out adjusting her clothes. Behind her a much younger girl came out doing the same. She did not look happy. Blondie didn’t like what she was seeing. This woman, for all her talk, was acting like Bear had. The only difference she could tell so far was that she was a woman.
“How are you feeling?” Jo asked.
“I’d feel a lot better if someone hadn’t tried to take my head off.”
“You were resisting.”
“Of course! You were trying to take my weapons without asking. I knew the deal. I would have given them up if you had just asked.”
“Until you have proven yourself, we can’t let you have your weapons,” Jo said.
“You wanted me, not the other way around. So why do I have to prove myself to you?”
“It is obvious that you were under the influence of the man leading the group. You need time and training to see that you were under his control.” Jo looked at her for a long moment before she continued, “You were a captive before, weren’t you? That brand on your arm isn’t something you would do to yourself. It is a mark some man put on you, isn’t it?”
“Yes, just like I told you. Vin rescued me from a gang that had been holding me captive. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
A guard slapped her across the face. Without thinking Blondie threw a side snap kick, slamming the edge of her boot into the knee of the one who had slapped her. She fell to the floor, clutching her knee. Blondie was raising her foot to stomp her when two others pulled her off.
“Don’t touch me, bitch! I’ll break you in half!” Blondie snarled.
One of the guards pulled a knife and put it under Blondie’s chin.
“Quiet. You don’t talk like that to a Shield Maiden,” Jo said.
“Then don’t let her slap me in the face,” Blondie said.
The woman holding the knife touched it to Blondie’s neck. “Show respect. Jo is our leader and the one who has shown us how to break the bonds that held us back.”
“Untie my hands, and I’ll break your bonds,” Blondie said, staring the woman in the eye.
“Enough. As I thought, this woman is a real Shield Maiden, a warrior. She just has not been shown how strong her spirit is. Now we must show her the way.”
“Look, I volunteered to come,” Blondie said. She decided to try and work her without being obvious. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know, I was a captive for years and maybe I was changed by that. But when you tie me up and have guards on me all the time just the way the gang did, it makes me wonder what your motives really are.”
Jo stared at her for a long moment and then smiled. “Nice try, but you have not been tested then trained, and you are too formidable a warrior to be trusted yet.” Jo turned to her guards and said, “Help Mills off the floor.”
“She broke my knee. I can barely bend it,” Mills groaned.
Blondie smirked and said, “If I had broken it you wouldn’t be able to move it at all. That was only a love tap. I’ve been hit harder in training.”
Jo looked sharpely at Blondie. Shit, Blondie thought, keep your mouth shut. Don’t let them know about you. Don’t be stupid trying to show off, show off by disappearing.
“Take her back holding and feed her. We’ll begin her trials in the morning.”
Two of the guards grabbed her by the arms and led her out of Jo’s shack. This time as they walked her down the bridge, Blondie kept glancing over the side. The river looked deep through here, with a slow, lazy current, and it was only a twenty-foot drop. That was another way out. Jump over the bridge, let the current take her downstream, then come out somewhere and head up to the ATV’s hiding place.
They shoved her into the tiny shack and closed the door. Blondie was satisfied with the meeting except for that one slip of the tongue. She had learned a lot. She wondered what the trials would be. Oh, well. Back to her captive tricks. She lay down and went to sleep.
She had not been asleep long when the door opened, and the girl who had been in Jo’s shack came in with a plate of food. She seemed afraid of Blondie and put it down a few feet away from her.
Blondie looked up at her and said, “Sweetie, I won’t hurt you, and my hands are tied. Couldn’t you feed me?’
The girl looked toward the door as if afraid of what the guards might do, then carefully sat down opposite Blondie and raised the plate. It was full of fish that had been seared over a fire with some sort of greens. It smelled and looked great. At least they were going to feed her well. Tentatively, the girl took a spoonful of the fish and offered it to Blondie. It was wonderful. Blondie groaned with pleasure.
“That is so good. Did you cook it?”
The girl just nodded. She offered another spoonful of the greens, which were just as good.
Between bites Blondie said, “I’m Blondie. What’s your name?”
Again the glance at the door, before she said in a very small voice, “It’s Chris. I’m Chris.”
“Well, thank you, Chris.” Before Chris offered her another bite, Blondie said, “You keep glancing at the door. What are you afraid of? They sent you here to feed me.”
“I…uh. I don’t want…”
Blondie guessed the answer. She whispered, “Are you afraid of Jo and the others?”
Chris could only nod. Blondie knew the body language. She and the other captives had had it around the gang members. Chris was a beautiful girl, about sixteen or seventeen with short dark hair and huge, brown, frightened eyes. She wore none of the war paint Blondie had seen other girls and the guards with. Blondie was suddenly sure she was what Blondie had been to Bear.
“Are you with Jo?”
The girl’s eyes got wide with fear. It was all Blondie needed to know. What was it about the goddamn human race that the people in power were always users, men or women?
“Chris, I was a captive once before. I was ‘with’ the guy who ran the gang. I know what you are going through.”
The girl just looked at Blondie, her eyes filling up with tears.
“I survived and so can you. I will help you.”
The door suddenly slammed open, and one of the guards said, “Aren’t you finished yet? She’s had enough. Jo is calling for you, Chris.”
Chris jumped up and ran out, but not before looking over her shoulder. Blondie decided to go out of her way to kill Jo if she got the chance. She had no idea what she Jo was doing to the girl, but to see that much fear in someone’s eyes was enough for Blondie.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tanner was standing in the lead SUV as the convoy moved through some rolling hills scenic enough to take his mind off leaving Blondie for a few minutes. He had begun to think it was a mistake and that he should organize a rescue party to go back for her. The people on the bridge didn’t seem to have any vehicles, so they could sweep in and take her. But Tanner knew there would be casualties on both sides, and passage through someone’s settlement should not cost lives.
Still, he couldn’t let it go, until he heard the sound of tilt-rotors overhead.
He looked up and saw a tilt-rotor heading the same direction as they we
re. They weren’t military—they looked like private planes. He watched as they continued west, and then he could see them landing up ahead, not far from the interstate. He turned and saw that Cat was watching them too. Their eyes met, and she shrugged as if to say, “I don’t know what to make of them either.”
They continued westward. This was the second day since they left Blondie, and the convoy had made good progress yesterday and so far today. Tanner was acutely aware that the farther they traveled each day the harder it would be for Blondie to catch up to them. He had promised her ninety-six hours, and that was what he was going to give her. It was approaching noon, and there was an overpass up ahead. He would stop the convoy and let Nikki fix a quick lunch. He had done the same yesterday. It was one way to give Blondie the time she needed without simply stopping.
He turned, crossed his arms over his head, and then pointed to the bridge. Cat nodded when she saw the signal and relayed it back to the bus and so on through the convoy.
They stopped under the bridge and set up in a defensive posture. As usual, Tanner sent Johnny ahead to scout out where those tilt-rotors had landed and see if they would cause them any problems. Johnny roared off down the interstate.
After the guards were set, Tanner walked back to the second bus and got at the end of the line for lunch. He got at the end and took his bowl of rabbit stew, found Cat, and sat next to her. She hadn’t been herself since Blondie volunteered to stay behind; Vin knew she was sick with worry.
“She’s as tough as they come. She’ll catch up soon.”
Cat looked at him and said, “That’s the front she puts on in public. I know her when no one else is around. She is still fragile. It’s only been a few months since she was a captive. This is going to be very hard on her.”
“But she knows she has you waiting for her. That’s a big incentive.”
Cat shook her head and went back to eating. Vin was finishing his stew when Johnny roared up, stopped, and jumped off his dirt bike.
“Boss, we got problems ahead.”
Great, Vin thought, when don’t we have problems?
“What’s up?”
“It’s those tilt-rotors. They landed not far off the interstate on top of this big hill. There’s a big compound up there and a lot of people.”
“Okay, what’s the problem?”
“It looks like they’re setting up a roadblock for us.”
“What could they possibly need from us?” Cat asked.
“Good question,” Tanner said. “Let’s round up Matos, Mike, and…” Tanner almost said Blondie. “Johnny, looks like you get to go on this one.”
Johnny grinned and ran back to get his weapons.
“What could they want with us?” Cat repeated as they walked to their gun trucks to get their weapons ready.
“I have no idea. That cabin was built to be off the grid, so this one should be too.”
Vin and Cat were at the first SUV checking their weapons when Matos, Mike, and Johnny came trotting up.
“What’s up, Vin?” Dr. Rule said as he and Julia walked up after seeing the commotion.
“Johnny saw the people from the tilt-rotors building a roadblock.”
“Really, what could they want—” Dr. Rule stopped. He was looking out at the hills. “Maybe that’s the reason.”
He pointed to power lines strung from massive towers above the trees. They headed in the same direction as the interstate.
“What do you mean?” Vin said.
“What if our friends down the road hadn’t prepared themselves for being without power? Maybe their little getaway has all the comforts of home as long as they have power.”
“What would they need from us?” Johnny said.
“Everything,” Tanner replied. “If they weren’t prepared to live without power, those houses you saw are just fancy tents. Nothing works. No water, no food, you name it.”
“Do you think it has gotten that far already? It’s only been a few weeks. Danielle said people would leave after the second wave.”
Danielle walked up behind Dr. Rule. “Either way, don’t get near them and don’t let them get near you. We know it’s started, and we have to assume they are infected, no matter what they say.”
“Got it. Okay, everybody. Let’s load up.”
Tanner drove, with Cat riding shotgun Matos, Mike and Johnny crammed in the back. He left Matos in his snipers perch on top of the second bus. He drove slowly until they reached the top of the hill where he could see the house on a large hill to the right and what looked to be a crude roadblock under construction by several men and women.
“Okay, everybody lock and load. When we get out, leave your doors open and stand behind them. I’ll do the talking.”
Vin eased the SUV down the hill. When they came into view, the men and women stopped working on the roadblock and ran to get their weapons. As they got closer, Vin could see they were definitely from the City. The women wore their hair in the very short style he had seen when he rescued Dr. Rule and the others. The men, too, had the smooth, soft-looking faces of the men in the City, and held their rifles as if it were one of the first times they had held them.
Tanner stopped, opened his door, and stood behind it then said, “We’d like to pass through. Why are you blocking the highway?”
“Because we need things from you that you obviously have plenty of and can spare. Besides your Zoners and as such there are no laws to protect you. We have a right as citizens of the City to anything you own and we claim that right.”
Tanner was amazed at the arrogance of these people. They were the one’s in trouble yet they could not let their perceived air of entitlement go. They actually felt they had a right to their supplies.
“What could we possibly have that you don’t have in the compound up there? You just came in on tilt-rotors, so you just left the City.”
“No, we left the City weeks ago. Right after it…we left weeks ago. We’ve run out of food, and we can’t go back into the City.”
“What were you doing flying around in those tilt-rotors then?”
“We were looking for food. We’ve been scavenging communities around here but they’ve either been picked clean, or they won’t let us in. They’re armed and have their communities blocked off so we couldn’t get in. Now here you show up driving right to the doorstep of our compound. Zoners with everything we need. We couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. ”
“So you decided to take what you needed from us, is that it?”
The man talking was tall and wore fashionable clothes someone might wear if he were leaving the city for a day in the country. Vin heard the tilt-rotor’s engines beginning to whine. Someone was preparing to take off.
“They’re going to use the tilt-rotor, Vin!” Cat said.
“Cat, Matos, if they start to buzz us or the convoy, use any of your explosive rounds you have left. Mike, Johnny, we’ll take the people on the roadblock. Johnny does not fire unless I do. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Vin,” Johnny said.
The man at the roadblock glanced up at the tilt-rotor and said, “You see, we have someone in that tilt-rotor with a rifle and scope. If you don’t give us what we want, he will start shooting. It could be you, or it could be people in the convoy. It really doesn’t matter.”
“What do you want?”
“We need your food. Apparently, you can find more. We don’t know how. We’ve never lived like this, so I guess we’re just going to have to take yours. Simple really.”
“Not so simple. We’re not going to give you any.”
The man circled his arm above his head and pointed at Tanner, and the tilt-rotor took off. It came to a hover and slowly approached their position. A shot rang out from the aircraft, but it was widely off target, striking the ground on the other side of the interstate.
“This guy’s never tried to snipe from a moving plane before,” Matos said. “It’s a lot harder than it looks.”
Vin kept his
eyes on the men and women at the barricade. It was only a few large branches and a single log; if they weren’t going to move it, he thought the vehicles would be able to drive over it with no problems. The tilt-rotor was the problem they were going to have to take care of.
Without taking his eyes off the roadblock, Vin said just loud enough for those around him to hear, “Is it in range yet? Don’t raise your weapons until you have a shot.”
“Got it,” Cat said.
“You see,” shouted the man at the roadblock. “We have something you don’t. We have someone in the air who can shoot. The next one will not be a warning shot.”
“That was no warning shot,” Matos growled. “The fuck just can’t shoot.”
The tilt-rotor got closer. Cat would take her lead from Matos. He was their sniper, and he knew ranges better than all of them.
“Now!” Matos said.
Cat and Matos raised their rifles and fired. Vin fired into the roadblock, followed by Johnny and Mike. The men and women behind the barricade dropped their weapons and dove to the ground. Vin heard Cat and Matos firing in disciplined three-round bursts. With the road neutralized he turned to see the tilt-rotor. Three rounds exploded against the pilot’s windshield. Vin saw the Plexiglas explode inward as the rounds found the windshield of he tilt-rotor. It was not armored, as it would have been on a Resource Control or Internal Security aircraft. Other rounds were exploding on the nearest engine to them. With the engine in the vertical position so the tilt rotor could hover, it was an easy target and the rounds were tearing into the engine, blowing pieces off and into the rotors above. The tilt rotor started to smoke, and the plane lurched to the right toward the hill. Another shot rang out from the aircraft, but it was too late. It nose-dived into the hill and exploded in a ball of fire.
