The Road North

by Phillip D Granath

  “Wait! Stop, I’ll fucking shoot!”

  “Don’t shoot me pale-face, I was only testing you,” Coal shouted back.

  “What the fuck Coal?”

  “I just wanted to check in on you, how is Miles doing?” Coal replied as he gave the wire one final twist in the darkness.

  “Better, I guess. I gave him some water, he’s still unconscious, but at least he seems to be breathing easier.”

  “That’s good, I’m going to have me a look around now. Whatever happens, whatever you hear, I want you two to stay put. I got a, ahhhh… a noisemaker, of sorts, set up out here. Kind of like an alarm set up on the doorway.”

  “A noisemaker? Like what, a bunch of tin cans or something?”

  “Or something, yeah. You just stay put, and I’ll be back once I find our friend.”

  “Okay Coal, but be careful.”

  Moving back into the darkness of the bay Coal paused and as he waited for his eyes to adjust he slipped off his jacket and quietly as he could, he drew his saber. With the weapon in hand, Coal moved to find the wall again and then cautiously began to creep along it. He hadn’t gone very far, perhaps a hundred feet or so when he began to be able to distinguish a large rectangular object in the darkness. He moved passed it, and as he did so he realized it was a 40-foot shipping container, resting on a flatbed trailer, it was backed into the bay as if still waiting to be unloaded. Just past the first, he found another, parked in front of the adjoining door. As he crept silently past the second container, Coal realized there was some kind of faint light coming from somewhere ahead of him. In truth, Coal only noticed it because it outlined an opening in a wall ahead of him, a wall that Coal didn’t even know was there. It was some kind of divider he realized, something used to isolate the different sections of the cavernous bay. Perhaps it was intended to reduce noise or something?

  Intrigued Coal moved towards the opening, which was nearly ten feet across and seemed to run all the way to the ceiling. The bounty hunter took a breath and then darted through the opening. He intended to quickly step clear of the gap, but what awaited him beyond the wall caused him to freeze in place. The space ahead of him was filled with a pale light emanating from the ceiling high above and projecting an odd series of shadows on the objects below. From here Coal could see a few empty crates, what looked like a pallet jack and four concrete pillars rising into the darkness. The bounty hunter shook his head in disbelief and stepped forward into the center of the light. Above him, through a perfectly cut circle in the roof, he could see the moon.

  “Fuck my life.”

  Coal shook his head, then from the corner of his eye, he spotted an all too familiar shape. The bounty hunter took a few paces forward and there, embedded to the back side of the closest concrete pillar was what looked like a three-legged starfish made of some kind of dark steel. It was the spitting image of the one Kyle had discovered six months ago, in a cave in the Arizona desert. As Coal stared at the strange alien thing, it suddenly flared to life, bathing the bay with bright blue light, before going out again a few seconds later.

  “Of course, of course,” Coal grumbled, “and this time I’m guessing we didn’t bring along any glow sticks.”

  Coal turned, ready to go collect his friends and beat a hasty retreat when a voice came out of the darkness.

  “What is it?”

  Coal froze, his saber was still in hand but hanging down at his side. The stranger, whoever he was, was deadly accurate with a spear, that he had already proven. And standing here in the center of the circle of moonlight Coal couldn’t have made himself an easier target. He was fucked he realized. He was completely at the mercy of this man. This is what it must feel like Coal thought, to be the asshole lured unexpectedly into the trap. He couldn’t help but think of Kyle then, and oddly enough, at that moment the bounty hunter wondered, what would Kyle do in this situation? He would probably keep the bastard talking, because if he was busy talking, then he wasn’t busy killing.

  “What do you mean?” Coal replied.

  “I have no patience for games, you’re only breathing now because I allow it. I saw your face when you looked up at that hole and again when you saw that thing on the pillar. You’ve seen them before I can tell. Now tell me what they are, I won’t ask again.”

  Coal raised his arms and slowly began to turn trying to find the stranger in the shadows, but even as he turned, he could hear the man moving as well.

  “That’s far enough,” the voice said, and Coal stopped turning.

  “You’re right, I’ve seen those things before, and I’d be happy to tell you what we know, or at least, what we think we know about them. But honestly, I’m a little surprised, isn’t this you’re backyard? Shouldn’t you already know what goes on around here?”

  “I’m not part of the Protectorate if that’s what you’re asking. Oddly enough, those that sent me thought the same about you, but from the beginning, I knew better.”

  “Well, if you ain't one of these Protectorate assholes then just who in the hell are you?”

  “They call me The Seeker and I work for The Masters.”

  Coal let out a long breath and replied, “Well shit, I guess that explains that.”

  “Now answer my question.”

  At that moment the alien object flashed blue, filling the space with a bright blue light. The flash took Coal by surprise, but just before it went dark again, he caught movement in the corner of his eye that could only be The Seeker. The man was directly to his left and still moving it seemed, Coal was still completely at his mercy, but the flash gave Coal an idea.

  “Its aliens,” Coal said flatly.

  “What?”

  “Fucking aliens. Well, robot aliens to be honest and if you think about it, it kinda makes sense.”

  “How does that make any sense?”

  “Who else could have put on a global light show and then at the stroke of midnight send the whole world back to the fucking stone-age? My buddy Miles is the real expert on this shit, he used to teach a class and everything.”

  “Aliens?”

  “Robot aliens. They’re steel bodied, long-legged, death ray shooting sons of bitches I tell you,” Coal said and then craning his neck upward added, “and they have a thing for cutting holes into perfectly good roofs.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “I don’t care if you believe me or not, but I’ll ask you this, when is that last time you seen a working light like that one?”

  “Outside of the Protectorate, never?”

  “Wait, you mean the Protectorate has working lights?” Coal asked in disbelief.

  “What about the thing on the wall?” The Seeker continued.

  The man’s voice seemed to come from directly behind Coal now, but it was still moving, and the bounty-hunter’s only hope was to keep pressing for time.

  “Oh, you mean that real shitty nightlight?”

  As if summoned to life by Coal’s words the thing on the column flashed again, filling the space with bright blue light. Prepared this time, Coal risked a quick glance over his shoulder and found The Seeker still behind him and just beyond the circle of moonlight. The man had continued his slow circuit and was closer to Coal’s right side, but still not close enough. Coal quickly faced forward again as the light went out and the darkness returned.

  “The light, it’s starting to flash more frequently, isn’t it?”

  “Is it? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “I have a thing for tempo. Why does it flash like that?”

  “The why is a mystery, but the what that follows, that is the part you need to be concerned with,” Coal replied.

  “Let me guess, robot aliens?”

  “Yeah and the bastards don’t come alone either, they tend to come in packs, usually three or four deep. Tough bastards, hard to kill for most people, being made out of metal and all. It takes a particularly tough kind of hombre, to take down even one of those things.”

  Coal heard a slight ch
uckle come out of the darkness behind him, now even further to his right and then The Seeker replied. “You mean tough like you?”

  Sensing their conversation drawing to its inevitable conclusion, Coal squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation.

  “Since you bring it up. Yeah, I’ve killed my fair share and my partner, Kyle, too. And believe it or not, that broken old man we hauled in here ain’t too bad in a scrap either. What can I say? We all have to do our part to represent this world, we’re stronger together and all that, am I right Seeker?”

  The Seeker chuckled again in the darkness Coal heard the man take a step, planting his foot. He could picture him shifting his weight, preparing to make the fatal throw.

  “Fool,” he replied. “That world is gone and dead. Welcome to the new world.”

  Just then, through Coal’s clenched eyelids the world flashed blue again, and the bounty hunter exploded into motion. He dropped down rolling to his right and slightly behind him, directly towards The Seeker. The darkness returned then, and Coal’s eyes flashed open. He was still half blind, but for the moment at least he knew he had to be able to see more than The Seeker. The man moved then, taking a hesitant step backward and Coal could see that his arm was still raised and ready to strike. He knew the bounty hunter had moved, but he wasn’t sure exactly where.

  Coming out of his role, but still on his knees, the half-breed lunged out with his saber at The Seeker’s midsection. The man registered the movement at the last possible moment, and his arm whipped forward aiming a quick jab with the spear at Coal’s head. The half-breed was forced to whip his blade up and to the right, narrowly turning the thrust. In the same motion Coal’s left hand yanked the hunting knife from his belt and sent a reversed slash for The Seeker’s right leg, but to Coal’s surprise, the blade cut only air. The mystery of the missing leg was solved a split second later as The Seekers boot came down and connected squarely with Coal’s face. The bounty hunter heard the distinctive sound of his nose breaking as the blow sent him tumbling backward, his saber flying from his hand. Even as Coal rolled, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the move. There was no way the Seeker could have seen the attack coming, the man had simply anticipated it.

  As Coal’s shoulder struck the concrete, he threw his weight to the left, anticipating a move of his own and The Seeker didn’t disappoint. A split second later the man’s steel spear, gouged a chunk of concrete from the floor and then went skidding into the darkness. Coal leaped to his feet, still gripping the hunting knife in his hand he slashed out at his attacker. But instead of biting into flesh the blade rang off of steel as The Seeker’s Kukri came up to parry the blow. Coal’s entire arm was vibrating from the force of the blow, and he leaped back, trying to buy a moment for the feeling to return to his limb. The Seeker took a step back as well, apparently with the same thought and the two men began to slowly circle one another in the pool of moonlight.

  “I have to admit, you’ve got some skill,” Coal said.

  A small grin crossed The Seekers’ face, “What’s this? A little small talk while you wait for the feeling to return to your hand?”

  “Let me guess, you’re more of the strong silent type?”

  “You could say that, and I can tell you’re more of the vicious, unpredictable type.”

  “What can I say?” replied Coal, “A man tends to stick with what he knows, what he’s good at.”

  The Seeker nodded, “That’s true. Unfortunately for you, killing isn’t the only art I’ve mastered.”

  “Well pardon me for saying so, but right now it’s probably the only one I really care about.”

  “And that’s where you would be wrong. Because unfortunately for you I’m also a music connoisseur.”

  “Music? What in the hell does music have to do with fighting?”

  “Many things. To master music, one must learn to balance grace and power and rhythm, but most importantly…timing.”

  At that moment the alien device flared to life again filling the room with its blue light. The flash caught Coal completely off guard and blinding him for a moment. On reflex and he dropped to the ground and rolling forward. In the next split second, Coal’s experience fighting with a blade was the only thing that saved him. Coming out of the role he raised his knife to protect his face and neck, just catching the edge of The Seeker’s Kukri. The blades ground against one another, Coal had managed to stop the blade, but The Seeker was on his feet and in the position of strength. The bounty hunter gave the blade one desperate shove and then rolled to the side, already gritting his teeth for what would follow. A split second later he felt a burning line suddenly sear across his right shoulder as The Seeker’s backslash connected. Coal rolled back on to his feet and spun to meet another attack, but instead, he found The Seeker circling once again.

  “What? Getting tired?” Coal asked.

  As they circled, the bounty hunter switched his hunting knife from one hand to the other, rolling his shoulder. Coal hoped the move looked like bravado or an attempt at intimidation, but the truth was he was trying to gauge the extent of his injury. He could already feel warm blood dripping down his back.

  The Seeker just shook his dismissively, “Come now.”

  Coal was nodding slowly, both of them knew that The Seeker’s blade had connected, but neither was sure just how badly the bounty hunter was cut. Coal knew that The Seeker was playing for time, circling and conserving his energy as every beat of the bounty hunter’s heart tapped a bit more of Coal’s strength. It was a smart move, a safe move and perhaps one that even Coal would have made if he wasn’t the one that was bleeding. But safe and smart were two words that people rarely used to describe Coal. How had The Seeker put it just a moment ago? Vicious and unpredictable?

  Without a word Coal dropped his head and charged The Seeker, trying to accomplish with brute force where finesse had failed him. Coal closed the distance between them in a heartbeat and then at the last moment ducked low, but keeping his blade up. The Seeker tried to sidestep the attack and lashed out at the bounty hunter as he turned. Once again their blades locked and once again The Seeker held the upper hand, but this time Coal simply let go of his hunting knife. The blade went spinning free from his hand causing The Seeker to overextend and forcing him to unexpectedly take half a step forward. Coal laughed and stepping up into the man he threw his arms around The Seeker’s midsection, intent on driving him to the ground and letting his fists finish the fight. However, The Seeker had other ideas.

  The man let his own blade go free, slipping his forearm into Coal’s armpit and turning with Coal’s charge. Before the bounty hunter’s arms could even lock around his waist, The Seeker snapped his hips and using Coal’s own momentum threw the man in the most basic of hips throws. Coal had just enough time to process what happened as he tumbled head over heels and landed on the hard concrete in nearly a perfect sitting position. The impact sent a wave of pain racing up his spine, and for a moment Coal feared that he had broken his back. Then a fresh wave of pain struck him as the landing tore open his wounded shoulder even further. Coal fought through the pain and tried to roll away again, but just then The Seeker slipped some kind of rubber strap around his throat from behind and began to pull it tight.

  “These games grow tedious, let’s wrap them up, shall we?”

  Coal tried to choke out a response, but at that moment the black strap at his neck was drawn tight as The Seeker pressed his knee into Coal’s back. The bounty hunters windpipe collapsed and in desperation Coal grabbed at the strap, trying to pull it from the man’s grasp. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t pull the rubbery strap free, and then he realized that The Seeker wasn’t holding it, but that it was wrapped entirely around his forearm. The edges of Coal’s vision were begging to get fade now, and he changed tactics. Instead, he tried reaching back over his head, to scratch and gouge at The Seeker’s face. His hands found only air and Coal suddenly had the distinct impression that this wasn’t the first time the man had strangle
d someone to death. The bounty hunter's field of vision was all but gone now and what he was left with was like watching an old black and white television through a narrow tube of some kind. He had one last thought, and those he realized were starting to come much slower now. Using his legs Coal attempted to scoot himself forward, trying to separate The Seeker’s knee from his back, but as he started to move the man just leaned forward, thrust the knee in deeper. Coal’s fingers attacked the strap at his throat again, but all his strength was gone, his movements now sluggish and feeble.

  “This is it, your end,” The Seeker whispered, “Tell me. Do you see a bright light?”

  The world flashed blue again as the alien device flared to life. Coal’s hands dropped away from his throat, and his chest began to shudder.

  “Really? Is the remorseless killer actually crying?” The Seeker asked.

  Then in the glow of the blue light, the man caught a glimpse of Coal’s face. His mouth wore a wide grin, and The Seeker realized the man wasn’t crying, but laughing instead. Then glancing up, The Seeker saw what Coal was laughing about. Kyle stood at the edge of the circle clutching a broken rifle. The man barely had time to register what he was seeing when Kyle fired, and the bullet tore through The Seeker’s tight arm, sending him spinning. Coal collapsed forward onto his face and sucked in a sharp and painful breath immediately began to cough and choke.