by Kuhn, Steve
Hook joked, “Speak for yourself.”
She rolled her eyes at him and headed to the sink with the dishes. The sink wasn’t really a sink anymore. Running water stopped ages ago, so it was more of a wash bin these days. One side was filled with water from what I can only assume was a nearby spring. The other side was kept empty. She hummed to herself as she began washing them while Cutty brought the last of the silverware to her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Murphy drop a scrap of food on the floor for Fart. He bowed his head, wincing slightly, as he once again realized she wasn’t there to gobble it up. I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, letting him know he wasn’t alone in his grief.
Hook’s demeanor changed from his usual joviality to a more concerned and focused vibe. He told us all, “Kylee, here, got us out of a jam not too long ago. She’s good people, as you already know. That means y’all are likely good people—people that might be willing to do us a favor—”
Murphy cut him off, saying, “Enough with the ass-kissing about ‘good people.’ We got just as much blood on our hands as the next. Nobody’s ‘good’ anymore. Some are just worse than others.”
Hook chuckled and told Murphy, “Well, I can’t argue with ya there, bud. But ain’t nobody as bad as Bianca. I imagine y’all can attest to that. After your run-in with her and those bastards she calls her ‘pirates,’ I s’pose I owe y’all an apology.”
JC raised a curious eyebrow and asked, “Apology? For what?”
At this point, Kylee raised a hand and interjected, saying, “Actually, I think I owe them the apology. I think we have a case of mistaken identity here.”
Cutty, approaching us from the sink, had enough by this point and snapped, “’Nuff wit’ all da bullshit. Can we get to da point?” Lilly tried to say something, but Cutty stopped her with, “Not now, baby girl. Grown folk talkin’.” She huffed and pouted, muttering something about ‘not a baby,’ but said nothing further.
Kylee continued, saying, “I spotted Bianca and the others a day or two before I met Alyse and Alex… er … Hook. I tailed them and picked up the few scraps they left behind as they scavenged because it seemed like a good idea. Shit, they made it easy. They’d clear the dead, take whatever, and I’d come in behind them and get the scraps.”
Alyse chimed in, “Easy until they tried to rob us, that is. Good thing Kylee was watching them, or we’d likely be dead right now. I knew going into town was a bad idea, but that wasn’t what we had in mind. My big brother here has always looked out for me, but there wasn’t much we could do against those kinds of numbers.”
Kylee picked up where Alyse left off. “I saw that they were in trouble, so I tried to take a shot from about two hundred yards out. If this Goddamn eye of mine wasn’t worthless, I’d have been able to drop three or four of them easy, but I missed terribly. Regardless, they all took off.”
Alyse said over shoulder, “She saved our lives.”
Kylee dismissed it, saying, “I just did what anyone should’ve done. The problem is, Bianca probably thinks you guys did the shooting. That’s why she was so heavy handed with you. I’m so sorry, Murphy. I didn’t know…”
Murphy took a deep breath as he considered the implications before saying, “Look. What’s done is done. If you didn’t know, you didn’t know, but what’s all this talk about a favor?”
Alyse, having finished with the washing up, returned to the table and sat down. She looked at us all, from one to the other, directly in our eyes, and said, “Revenge.”
JC leaned back on the rear legs of his chair and busted out laughing. “You’re fucking retarded.” He crossed his arms defensively and said, “No way!”
We all flinched as Hook swept his leg underneath the table and kicked JC’s chair. JC flailed his arms to remain upright, but came crashing to the ground, landing flat on his back, scowling miserably. Hook warned him, “Say what you want about me, but show Alyse some respect. I done had about enough o’ you and that mouth.”
JC stood and replaced his chair, slamming it angrily on the floor before sitting once again. Kylee weaved a gesture at him to calm down. We all know JC’s ability to overreact when challenged. I couldn’t help but noticed that this marked the second time that this crazy, one-armed veteran got the drop on two of the baddest motherfuckers I’ve ever known. He may have lacked tact, but he more than made up for it with tactics. I was kind of liking the guy, to be honest.
JC scoffed, “Not bad, Alex…” His words dripped with sarcasm in an effort to show his displeasure with the embarrassing act of busting his ass. “But it ain’t gonna happen. I’m out.”
Kylee tried to reason with him. “They have medicine. They have weapons and ammo. They have food. They’ve made threats on Lilly, and they killed Fart. They robbed both you and these two. Dext heard Bianca say they weren’t leaving the business park until sometime tomorrow. I bet if we got there right around sun-up we could get drop on them before they hit the road. Now, we didn’t have the numbers before, but with all of us in a concerted effort, we can not only set ourselves to hold out for a long time, but we could also dish out some justice.”
Cutty gave a doubtful look and questioned her with, “Justice? Ain’t no justice anymo’. It’s mo’ like just us, ya feel me?”
She looked at Murphy. He stared at her thoughtfully before saying, “Fuck it. She killed the last of my true family. Then she threatened what’s left of my new family. See, I came to the conclusion right there in that parking lot that I was a dead man, and I’m at peace with that… so… I’m in. I came this far. I may as well take a few assholes out with me on the way.”
Alyse clapped happily and cheered, “Yes! Thank you!”
Then Kylee looked at me. “What about it, Dext? You ready to do this thing?”
Now, I had my concerns. Don’t get me wrong. The Haven should have been the first clue that it wasn’t that great of an idea, but two things had me thinkin’. The first was that, back at the Haven, we didn’t have JC or Murphy, much less Hook, who had proven he could handle himself better than most. The second thing was pointed out by Lilly before I could even offer an answer.
“What about Dana?”
Dammit, Lilly…
“They’re gonna go hurt Dana, and Cotton, and Mr. Harris. He was really nice to me. You and Cutty should protect them.”
I looked at the others like, ‘Who am I to argue with that?’ They took care of us, and even if the matter was complicated by Kylee’s bite, we owe them a debt of gratitude. They certainly don’t deserve to be ambushed because I gave them up.
Lilly added, “And I want my damn dinosaur back!”
Cutty rolled his eyes at her cursing and offered a silent apology to Alyse and Hook. Hook simply chuckled and encouraged her, saying, “That’s the spirit, youngin’!”
So that left Cutty. Kylee looked at him sincerely and said quietly, “Please? For Cotton? For Lilly?”
Cutty sucked his teeth and did what Cutty does. “Lemme sleep on it.”
Surprisingly, that was enough for the others. JC snorted and asked, “And what, pray tell, are you going to do this with, hmm? News flash, people: You have no weapons!”
Hook smirked and offered, “Well… that’s not exactly accurate.” He gestured for JC to follow him, so the rest of us went along. We went to the center of the living room, where Hook rolled back a rug made of some sort of animal skin, revealing a trapdoor with a metal ring for opening and closing. He winked at Alyse as he threw it open.
Murphy, echoing his own sentiments from the weed patch, said again, “Mother of God…”
Inside were no less than four handguns, Kylee’s sniper rifle, and two assault rifles that looked like JC’s bear (but slightly less cool). There was a pile of loose ammo and these green boxes that looked full as well. JC turned white as a ghost before regaining his pallor and smiling greedily.
Kylee said, “That’s not all.” She stalked across the room to her own pack and reached inside before returning to the group. “We have t
hese.” She held Trey and Rebecca’s two remaining pipe bombs, one in each hand. “Remember?”
The eight of us stood there like statues, all with our arms crossed, devious thoughts of raining down pain and suffering on some truly evil people.
JC, now obviously bolstered by the latest revelation, said, “Fine. Let’s do it. I’m in.” I was shocked, to be perfectly honest.
We only have until tomorrow to catch them before they leave for the community. There’s a lot of planning to do if this thing is going to happen without us all getting hurt, or worse. So, it’s probably a good idea that I stop scribbling in this fucking book and pay attention to what the others are saying. I haven’t heard a single word since they started, and I expect Kylee to go upside my head any second now. In a way, I kind of welcome it. My teeth haven’t clicked in quite some time.
Damn, it’s good to see her again…
Entry 112
I was awakened last night to the sounds of JC in a poor attempt to sneak into the living room where the rest of us were sleeping as soundly as possible. Through crusty eyes, I could make out Hook standing in the hallway with his arms crossed impatiently and Alyse’s door propped open slightly. Haha… He got busted. He’s lucky Hook didn’t kick his ass. I expected more awkwardness when the sun came up, but it appears a warning was enough for now. Besides, we had more pressing matters at hand, which I’ll get to shortly. I’m actually shocked at the way everyone performed today.
It was magical.
We geared up with ammo and weapons and prepared to make the walk to a clearing where Kylee stashed the jeep and covered it with brush and sticks to further conceal it, but not before saying our good-byes to Lilly and Alyse. It was clear that Lilly wasn’t going to be along with us on this “mission,” as Kylee called it, and someone was going to have to stay behind with her. It took Hook all of about one second to choose Alyse to play babysitter. He handed her a rifle, a box of rounds, and said calmly, “Two knocks, pause, one knock, pause, two knocks. Anything besides that is a problem.”
She nodded her understanding and hugged him tightly, saying, “Bring your ass back in one piece this time, Alex.”
I hugged Lilly, as did the rest, and made for the door. She tugged on JC’s shirt to get his attention, and he raised an eyebrow for her to speak her mind. She told him, “Don’t forget my dinosaur!”
JC chuckled and ruffled her hair, telling her, “No sweat, kiddo.”
She smiled as the door swung open and the light of the morning filled the room. “One more thing…”
We turned around, looking like a fake-ass Delta Force, to face her and Alyse as Lilly’s little voice told us all, “Love you!”
If that doesn’t motivate you to avoid fuck-ups at all costs, nothing will. We returned the sentiment and told them to “Be smart. Be safe.”
We reached the jeep and packed inside uncomfortably before heading back to the main road, where we stopped to review some details. Murphy pointed to the sky about a mile away and said, “There.”
The birds were circling high above the trees in the distance as Hook scoffed skeptically. I pointed my new pistol in the air and popped one round.
We waited.
Hook exclaimed after a short time, “I’ll be damned!” The birds grew slowly, but surely in our line of vision as the herd approached.
Murphy told him, “That’ll cut off their pursuit once Kylee and Cutty make contact and flee.”
Kylee frowned and told him, “I still don’t see why I can’t be on the ground with you guys.”
Rolling his eyes, Murphy repeated himself, “For the last time, Cutty can’t shoot, and frankly, neither can you—not anymore anyway. Besides, you know the woods better than all of us, save for Hook. Don’t fuck with me on this, Kylee.”
She kicked the ground, defeated, but nodded at him.
She wasn’t happy about it, but it makes sense. She’s going to have to just accept the fact that she isn’t what she used to be with her eye being all jacked up. It sucks, but it is what it is.
Hook lit the stub of a cigar he held in his mouth and slipped a couple of rounds in his sawed-off. I still don’t know how the hell he manages to wield and reload that thing with his prosthetic, but he makes it look cool as hell.
Cutty told Hook, “People gon’ die today. Let’s hope it ain’t any of us, ya heard? Rememba, act like dey dead and aim fo’ da head.”
Chuckling to myself, I once again reveled in Cutty’s ability to rhyme with style even when speaking casually in all of his black awesomeness.
Hook charged his shotty and smirked, “Shit, I’ma aim for whatever I can hit. This little beauty here’ll stop just about anyone in their tracks.”
Our faces went a little solemn as we realized that Hook didn’t know. He picked up on our change in demeanor and asked, “What? If they’re dead, they’re dead—headshot or otherwise.”
JC told him before I got the chance. “You don’t know? Shit, man. If you kill ’em, they’re gonna turn. They might not shoot back once that happens, but dead just ain’t good enough anymore.”
Hook scoffed and spouted, “Bullshit! If they ain’t bit, they ain’t shit.”
Cutty briefly recounted the story of Hope and how she turned in his arms after Kate beat her to death. She wasn’t bitten.
Hook could only muster a, “Christ almighty.”
Bottom line is, that’s big news for him, but it’s something we’ve been dealing with for far too long. We didn’t have time for that shit. Cutty simply said, “It’s da troof. Just shoot ’em in da head—period.”
Fuck it. I’m rambling. You don’t need to hear all this shit.
The action at the business park was swift and violent. Kylee dropped us off about a block away, and we waited for her shots to ring out as they made contact at the entrance. Moments later, the jeep sped past us towards the incoming herd with no less than two trucks behind it full of pirates. Once they were down the road and nearly out of site, we moved in. I silently wished Kylee and Cutty luck.
Some of the men inside the park were scrambling around and tending to one of their own. I can only assume that one of Kylee’s shots hit the mark. Hook took the distraction as an opportunity to light one of our pipe bombs on his cigar and chuck it to where their remaining vehicles sat parked. The explosion was spectacular. The vehicle went up in flames, spraying shrapnel and white-hot debris at anyone within the blast radius. Screams of agony filled the air as men were sent toppling to their deaths from the rooftop above.
JC shouted, “Covering fire!” and began unloading with the others on anyone who poured from the building on the left. “Get D-Prime! Run, Dext! Run!”
I took off to our truck. These cocky fuckers didn’t even move it from where we parked it. The explosion and ensuing chaos had cleared the men from the rooftops, and the length of the trailer shielded me from any incoming fire as I made it to the passenger side of the tractor’s cab. I hopped in that bitch and fired it up. Funny thing was that I wasn’t scared. I know, right? I can’t believe it either. It just felt right. Everyone was in their element. Sure, I had some tunnel vision and an adrenalin rush like a motherfucker… but no fear. Weird, man.
With Murphy in the side-view mirror waving me back, I plugged the exit to the park with D-Prime’s badassery and hopped back out the way I came. It was a slaughter. The pirates were scattering like roaches with the light on, and we kept shootin’. Shit. We even shot men in the back.
No mercy.
Every time I started to feel the cringe of guilt inside me, the sight of Lilly shaking horridly with a gun to her head popped in my mind and I simply reloaded and shot some more. We looked like a firing squad in some third-world country.
As the numbers thinned, the task turned to executing the injured and cracking the skulls of the dead. Murphy didn’t even have his bow on him. I haven’t seen him with a firearm since the first time we met, yet he was popping three-round bursts and reloading like a Goddamn professional.
We sto
pped when the yard was clear and left JC and Hook to clear the office building on the left that Bianca had made her hideout. Murphy picked up Fart’s body from the middle of the chaos and carried her to the trailer. They not only left D-Prime in place, but left our girl to bake in the sun.
No mercy.
It didn’t take long for Hook and JC to emerge from the building. They were clearly pleased with the stash inside, but still looked a little pissed off. I asked what the problem was.
JC spat disgustedly and said, “Bianca. The bitch ain’t here. How much you wanna bet she’s in one of those trucks behind Cutty and Kylee?”
Know what? I kinda didn’t give a shit. I told them both, “Fuck her. No one from our group got shot, and if Kylee and Cutty are all right, then I call this a victory.”
Murphy approached me from behind and said, “Victory? Yer ass! I want that bitch’s head on a pike.”
Hook nodded his agreement with Murphy and held up his prosthetic. “Heh! Got shot after all…”
The sunlight streamed through a perfect hole in his hook as he examined what would have been a painful wound. I could only hope that Kylee and Cutty were having luck like ours.
We loaded the trailer with everything useful we could find and relieved the bodies on the ground of their weapons and any ammo. Murphy wrapped Fart’s corpse in some raggedy blankets, and we promised her a proper burial back at the cabin. After about half an hour with D-Prime running and ready to go, the jeep approached from the direction of the herd. The birds had stalled their approach and could now be seen dipping down to the ground to begin feeding. It was a tense moment because we didn’t know if both of them were in the jeep and if they were in good health. For all we knew, the birds could have been feasting, along with the dead, on both of them.
Luckily all was well as they waved at us, beeping the horn, and giving us a thumbs-up. In minutes, we were stopped at the rendezvous point, safe and sound. We exited the vehicle and celebrated the victory with hugs and high fives, but Murphy remained pissed off. He still managed to smile, though. I think he was just happy to be able to honor his—our dog properly.
