“So someone bombed us with our own weapon. We figured as much.”
Akiko wiped the wound with the gauze. “Not at all. You Americans have many, many enemies, a great many of whom live among you without fear of death.”
Dallas stepped closer, mesmerized by Akiko’s soft voice and hard words. “The Middle East?”
Akiko grinned briefly before beginning the next sutures. “Yes. We’ve never known which country or extremists actually released the virus, but their plan was nearly flawless.”
“Nearly?”
She pushed the needle through Fletcher’s skin, and he swore. “They had no idea what they were unleashing. No idea at all. Their jihad was short-lived, and I am sure they’re all dead or living in fear in a bunker somewhere. Truth is, had they not done so, someone else would have attacked you.” Akiko pulled the thread through once more. “Your nation is viewed as nothing but a bully to the rest of the world. Even your allies hate you. Hated. Of course, the United States is no longer a threat to anyone and has few allies left.”
“Someone...else? Who else would have attacked us?”
Akiko made another knot. “Well, China. The Chinese government became bored with your government’s constant meddling. Your nation got the chance to spread its wings and when it did, it began shitting on everyone else. It was only a matter of time before China came after you.” She shrugged. “The Middle Eastern terrorists got to you first.” She paused as she tied off the sutures. “We need to go. The guards at the barricade might come looking for their friends, though I doubt it. They are cowards.” Akiko rose and wiped her hands on a towel Yuzo held for her. “But you are not, which is why Yuzo and I ask to join you.”
Dallas looked at Zoe, who had not relaxed for a second. “Z? You okay?”
Zoe, pale and sweating, nodded. “We can’t trust them, Dallas. Let’s thank them for sewing him up, but part ways here.”
Dallas considered this as her gaze roamed over to Hunter who, to her surprise, was also nodding. “I appreciate it and all, but I just can’t hang with someone I don’t trust. Sorry, Akiko.”
Akiko handed her needle back to Yuzo. “I completely understand your reticence. I really do. Perhaps you would not mind if we followed you at a safe distance? While we do not need to be a part of your group, it would be nice to know we are not completely alone out here.”
“Safe distance?”
“It is just Yuzo and I now. Perhaps once you see we are no longer part of...” She cocked her head. “Hazmatters?”
Zoe responded. “‘Cause of those weird fuckin’ suits you’re wearing.”
“Ah, yes. Our survival gear. They may look oddly out of place, but they are quite effective against bites and scratches, heat and the elements. Your country is very hot.”
“Aren’t you burning up?”
Akiko shook her head. “They have a coolant that runs through the interior to keep our body temps regulated.”
Zoe shook her head and muttered, “Goddam brainiacs.”
Akiko’s eyebrows furrowed. “You say that with such disdain, such hostility, as if being intelligent was a negative characteristic.”
Zoe shrugged. “Maybe it is.” To Dallas, she said, “We better go back and get the others before Roper sends out a search party.”
Dallas studied Zoe for a moment. She’d seen the young woman’s hostility before but never quite so unwarranted, especially after Akiko had sewed Fletcher up and probably saved his life. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. I just…I don’t think we need ‘em.”
Dallas turned to Akiko. “You’re free to follow at a distance––a very safe distance. Not that I could stop you. Thank you for your help and for sewing up my guy.” Dallas extended her hand. “I’m Dallas.”
Akiko shook her hand. “I know.”
After shaking hands, Dallas loaded Fletcher and everything else up in the SUV and told Zoe to get back to the others.
“I’m not leaving you here alone,” Zoe argued.
“You’re not, but I’m not leaving both bikes out here.”
“Roper will kill me if I pull into camp without you.”
“She won’t get that chance if you don’t get a move on. I’ll be right behind you.”
Zoe reluctantly got into the SUV and started it. “She’ll kill us both. You know that, right?”
“I do. I’ll be right behind you. I swear.”
When Zoe pulled away, Dallas turned her attention to Akiko. “What’s the end game here?”
“For me and Yuzo?”
“No. For this Asian Nations that sent you. Are we talking a complete obliteration of the United States or just the homosexual population?”
Akiko watched a bird fly overhead. “Your allies have abandoned you. Your enemies have danced on your grave. I hate to be the one to say this to you, Dallas, but your country has already been obliterated. We’ve come to pick up the pieces, to clean the wound, and to save it from you.”
“And do what, exactly?”
“Start over.”
“Start over?”
She nodded. “As the United Nations of Asia.”
“You’re not serious.”
“But I am. Every Asian nation that sent its gays here will share in the redistribution of your land, your wealth, and your businesses, with China, Japan, and Korea receiving the largest shares.”
“And you say the rest of the world is okay with this?” Dallas felt sick to her stomach.
“Not just okay, Dallas--elated. The Asian civilizations existed long before America came to be and will be here long after it’s gone. It’s evolutionary in scale. Survival of the fittest, as it were.”
Nodding slowly, Dallas waited for the punchline.
“No one cries when the schoolyard bully is finally beaten up, Dallas. No one.”
“So there’s no one left to cry for us?”
Akiko looked down at the ground as she delivered the answer Dallas already knew. “England has a toe in the water, but the truth is that your land, your resources, and everything else are up for grabs to the people brave enough and smart enough to find a way to clean it.”
“The Asian Nation.”
Akiko nodded. “Exactly.”
Roper’s Journal
No one was more pissed off about the two Asian girls than me. I don’t know what Dallas could be thinking--letting them trail a mile or so behind us? Einstein feels as I do and hasn’t once taken his eyes off the binoculars pointed behind the Fuchs.
They’re dangerous.
I don’t give a shit if they’re good shots. They are the enemy. The worst kind of enemy, too. Gays killing gays for the spoils of what used to be the United States? Collectors of men.
Nazis.
Oh Hell no.
I am dumbfounded as to why she didn’t send them away on foot.
Normally, Butcher would have been up in arms––and possibly in Dallas’s face as well––but she has her hands full. Every time I look at Luke, I can’t help but wonder if we aren’t making the biggest mistake of our lives together.
Then I ask myself, what if that were Dallas? How quick would I be to put her down?
I wouldn’t.
I wouldn’t do it until she opened her eyelids to reveal dead eyes.
But at what cost? How dangerous is this wait-and-see game? What risks were we taking in not leaving him some place until we know for sure?
He looks ghastly––ashen. Loss of blood, shock—it will do that to you.
So will turning.
I had to ask myself if he were going to turn, wouldn’t he have by now?
Then I remembered Peanut.
Her bite had completely scarred over when she finally turned. Made me wonder what it was that pulled the trigger. What set the virus in motion for her?
Pull the trigger.
I hope like hell it never comes to that––hope like mad that Luke rises above this. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for Butcher, knowing he could jus
t be a ticking time bomb or a very loud clock.
Only time will tell, I guess.
Time.
It feels like we are running out of it.
Night was falling when they finally made their way to Route 395. Because it would require some clearing to get all of the vehicles through, Dallas decided to set camp for the night.
Once everyone had their various assignments, they sat around the camp visiting and hearing Omar tell stories until, one-by-one, everyone slowly found their way to Sleep Land.
“I’m gonna check the periphery,” Zoe said, rising and dusting off her ass. “I need some fresh air and my aching body gets stiff if I sit in one position too long.”
Dallas glanced up from a whispered conversation she’d been having with Roper. “Take someone with you.”
Einstein leapt to his feet. “I’ll go. I really need to stretch my legs.”
“You stay tight to Z, then.”
Saluting, he grabbed his machete and started after Zoe.
“Where you really going?” he asked softly when he finally caught up to her.
“To check on the hazmatters.” Drawing her crossbow, Zoe kept it at the ready. “I don’t like having them so close. I don’t know what the hell she was thinking, but I think it’s a mistake to trust anyone wearing one of those suits.”
“Dallas is getting soft,” Einstein groused as they made their way through the darkness. “What happened to if you’re not with us, you’re against us?”
Zoe stopped abruptly. “I’m right there with you, buddy, but we’ve never second-guessed her before. We sure as shit aren’t going to now.”
“But you see it, too, don’t you? You see her making weird, almost irrational decisions. She’s not at the top of her game and we both know why.”
“Don’t say it.”
Einstein pushed his black rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and peered through the darkness. “It’s Luke. He’s a threat and she can’t see beyond who he is and what he means to Butcher. Having a potential zombie in our midst has distracted her and––”
Zoe stopped and Einstein ran into her. “Look, kid, we’re making up the rules as we go al––”
Suddenly, a hand clamped across her mouth. Another founds its way to Einstein’s and both found themselves with Katana swords pressed against their throats.
“You two could raise the dead,” Akiko said in Zoe’s ear. “Shh. Those marauders followed you here. They don’t know exactly where, but they were about two miles behind us when we turned off the main road. Now, I’m going to remove my hand. If you make a sound, we’ll gut you both like fish. Nod if you understand that we are on the same side.”
Zoe hesitated, then nodded. Her heart banged heavily against her chest as Akiko released her from her grip. Yuzo released Einstein at the same time.
“Where?” Zoe whispered.
Akiko turned Zoe in the direction of the marauders and said quietly, “We gave them a detour off road until we could make our way back to you, but they’ve caught up. They are right over that hill line and moving toward your camp.”
“How the hell did you make it back to us in the dark?”
“The helmets,” Einstein answered for her. “You tracked the helmets we have.”
Akiko nodded. “Yes. You’d have to know how and we do. Luckily for you.”
“How many?”
“Fifteen, maybe twenty men. High-powered weapons. They’ve come for your vehicles…probably more…but they’re getting closer.”
Zoe nodded. “Wouldn’t be the first wanting the Fuchs. Won’t be the last.” She hesitated, squinting through the moonlit night at Einstein who was nodding. “You sure?”
“They could have cut our heads off, Z. Trust them, for God’s sake. I do.”
Heaving a sigh, Zoe turned in the direction of camp. “Come on, then. We need to warn the others.”
She started off when Akiko grabbed her and pulled her back. “There is no time. It is best to let them think they have the element of surprise. We’ll need to take them out quietly, one-by-one. Right now.”
Zoe thought for a moment. “How good are you both with those things?” She nodded with her chin to the Katanas.
Akiko shrugged. “As good as we are with the rifles. There are a great many skills we bring to your group. Yuzo is a master of martial arts. I am a trained doctor, helicopter pilot, and I can cook like a New York Chef. We believe in multi-faceted citizens.”
“I guess so.” Zoe smiled. “Then let’s get a move on and put some of those skills to good use.”
Dallas
One Week Ago
Roper leaned against Dallas’s legs as Dallas ran her fingers through her short brown hair. “I’ve been waiting to tell you, but we aren’t heading straight for Alcatraz, baby.”
Roper half turned. “Oh?”
Dallas traced Roper’s eyebrow with her fingertip as a warm air danced across the space between them. “I made you a promise a long time ago. Do you rem––”
Roper turned so suddenly in Dallas’s arms she nearly knocked her over. “My horses.”
Dallas smiled and nodded. “I promised you over a year ago if we could come back for them, we would. And here we are. Going back.”
Roper laced her arms around Dallas’s neck and kissed her deeply, letting her tongue linger inside her lover’s warm mouth. “Oh, love. You have no idea what that means to me.”
“Do you think you can still find them?” I mean––”
Before she could finish, a flaming arrow landed just outside the circle they sat in.
Dallas and Roper were on their feet in an instant.
“Butcher, get Luke and Egypt to the Fuchs! Everyone else take cover!”
As everyone scrambled, shots rang out. The sound of bullets entering flesh told Dallas they’d moved too late.
“Take cover!” Roper yelled, pulling her rifle to her shoulder and shooting off several rounds.
“Don’t waste the ammo,” Dallas ordered, scooping dirt onto the arrow. “Get down!”
Roper laid down more cover fire as she dove next to Dallas.
Lying on her belly next to Roper, Dallas breathed rapidly. “I have to get to the Fuch’s turret. We can take them out with that.”
Roper shook her head. “Uh-uh. They’re expecting that.”
The gunfire ceased.
It was a game of Chicken now.
“They’re coming closer.”
“Stay here,” Dallas whispered.
Before Dallas could go anywhere, Roper grabbed her wrist. “No, you don’t. I told you. They are expecting that. What’s the last thing they’d expect us to do?”
Dallas slowly unsheathed her machete. “Run at ‘em like two fucking crazy lesbians?”
Roper grinned “Bingo. Gold star to the hot chick. Ready?”
“Meet you on the other side?”
“You better. I’m not doing this without you.”
“On three. One. Two––”
THWUP.
THWUP.
THWUP.
Dallas looked around for her shooter and realized the arrows were coming from behind the men moving toward their campsite. The men then turned to fire shots off at the bowman, giving Dallas and Roper the opening they needed.
“Zoe.”
“Must be. Come on!”
When the men who were still standing turned around to shoot at the newest threat, Dallas and Roper leapt to their feet, machetes over their heads, and charged them, metal slicing through the air as they lopped off heads, arms, legs, anything their blades could reach.
More arrows hit flesh as Hunter joined in the fight, taking out any man still standing. With Dallas and Roper’s arms churning like deadly pinwheels, they took out a dozen men before, at last, none of the marauders were left standing. When it was all said and done, twenty-six marauders lay dead around the camp.
“Uh, baby?”
Dallas and Roper stood side-by-side, chests heaving, arms and faces covered in blood,
staring at Akiko and Yuzo, who looked like their mirror images––arms and hazmat suits covered in blood, Katana swords dripping with death.
“You.”
Zoe trotted over, pulling a bolt out of a man’s eye socket as she slowed down. “They pretty much just saved our asses. Again.”
Dallas knelt down to wipe her machete off on the pant leg of a dead man before rising and sheathing it.
“Apparently once wasn’t enough to show you that we mean you no harm, Dallas.”
“I …we can’t thank you enough.”
Akiko bowed. “You needn’t thank us. All we wish for is a place to belong. We will never cut down others like us or herd them like chattel to be used in the mines, but we are foreigners here and all we want is a group to travel with who aren’t trying to kill or eat others.”
Roper held her hand up. “Mines?”
Akiko delicately wiped her Katana off before sheathing the sharp blade. “Oh yes. Why do you think the Asian Nation allows your prisoners to live? Your gays will work all those jobs no one wishes to...mining, factory work, oil refineries.”
Dallas and Roper stared at each other.
“And you honestly think the rest of the world would allow that?” Roper asked.
“Prior to the virus, the world only saw a fraction of what went on within China’s borders,” Einstein answered as he joined the group. “When you control the information going out, you can actually create whatever perception you wish others to have. I’m guessing these two know plenty more about what is really going on in China and what they have in store for our people.”
Akiko nodded. “You think that photo of the lone student in front of the tank wasn’t approved by Chinese government? Of course it was. See, while Westerners ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ at a solitary, albeit suicidal act by a lone person, the Asian world took notice of the strength and number of the tanks. Westerners romanticize everything. Asians fall on the side of logic.” She shrugged. “The world will see China as the savior of this land first. Weeks of unending cleanup, of rebuilding the infrastructure will loop over and over like a subtle attempt at brainwashing the world. Look at us! Look at all we are doing for the nation and the world! And while the rest of the U.N. eats it up with a spoon, the Chinese government will continue its policy of human rights violations…starting with the lesbians and gays who have survived this mess.”
Pedal to the Metal (Riders of the Apocalypse Book 4) Page 13
