Raine fired his rifle at the handgun bandit, once, twice-both times hitting. The bandit’s wide, wild eyes turned dull.
Then Raine quickly wheeled to the right, seeing the stupefied expression of another bandit trying to take aim at the moving target he had become.
It was no contest, and Raine fired a shot right between the dumb bastard’s eyes.
Now the last bandit tried to take a bead on Raine as he moved through the dirt, rolling, smearing a blood trail on the sand. Until, popping up from one painful roll, he fired his handgun at the last bandit. A shoulder wound.
All his training helped.
That, and maybe the fact that, unlike the bandits, he hadn’t drunk any of what was in the bottle.
That last bandit, wounded, bleeding, looked at the bodies and started scrambling away.
Always a mistake.
Though he was able to put some distance between him and the mayhem, it now gave Raine a chance to really aim. Too easy: a single shot in the back.
And the five were all dead.
Raine kept kneeling there.
Until he heard the voice. “C’mon. You there. Shooter man. Get me out. Now, now!”
He turned to the girl in the wooden cage, remembering why he had started this melee to begin with. She was urgently waving to him, imploring him to free her. “C’mon! Hurry!”
“You’re welcome.”
FOURTEEN
NO GOOD DEED
The girl kept her eyes locked on him. Was it from fear, or just the wild-eyed look that anyone living out here took on as their natural expression? It certainly didn’t look as though she trusted him.
Suddenly, letting her out of the cage didn’t seem like the best of ideas. But Raine checked the rusted lock. One of the bodies around him must have a key.
On the other hand He fired at the lock and it shattered into three pieces.
The girl pushed open the wooden poles that had kept her trapped and then stood there, as if expecting Raine to do something to her.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
“Good. Now, what are you doing here? How’d they capture-”
The girl pointed past him, gesturing over his shoulder. “Look-more of them!”
Raine turned and saw nothing. But he felt the girl touch his back, and in one sleek move she had grabbed his knife. When he turned around, he saw her running away, hugging close to boulders, running as fast as she could, her new prize held tight in her hand.
Could she be going for his buggy?
But she ran in the other direction, farther into the surreal landscape of the Wasteland.
Raine shook his head. If the knife could help her, maybe she should have it.
And then he went around to the dead bandits, relieving them of their weapons and ammo. It was the same grisly job no matter where it was done. No matter what an enemy wore. What they believed. The language they spoke or the color of their skin.
You took what they had.
After all, they were dead. They certainly didn’t need it.
Still, unwrapping fingers frozen to a trigger never got to feel like a normal thing to do.
Driving back, he guessed that the radio was still totally useless.
The weapons-his prizes-rattled in the back of the buggy. He half expected to run into more members of whatever clan he had just killed, but-so far-the road was quiet.
Just the deep, throaty roar of the vehicle. The rattling sound of the chassis. It was starting to sound comforting.
He had wrapped a piece of one of the bandit’s shirts around his wound. It stopped the blood, though it was definitely not sterile.
Raine thought about this world he found himself in.
He’d been here a mere two days, and already there was a new normal. He knew he shouldn’t have been too surprised, though. Even a newbie arriving into an area with firefights, IEDs, and snipers learns very quickly: This is the fucking way it is.
Adaptable.
The species was goddamn adaptable.
Still, nothing told him what he was going to do. Strange to be in the future and not have a clue what your future held. So far it had been all about shooting people. Not that they didn’t deserve it.
Not like they didn’t have it coming.
But if that’s what was ahead, he’d better get his head around that idea.
Too many questions -why this, why the hell that -could screw up reflexes. Play games with your decision-making.
So-a first bit of resolve.
Acceptance. This was the world. Forget the other one. That was long gone.
And then, as if to accentuate just that point, the radio came to life.
“Raine? Raine!”
It was Dan’s voice-barely recognizable over the noise. Raine picked up the handset. “Yeah. Here. Where the hell-”
“Listen, we’ve been hit. Watch yourself coming back.”
“Hit?”
Bits of gritty sand flew into Raine’s face as he drove into a steady wind. He kept blinking to keep his eyes clear.
“The settlement-” Dan’s voice broke up. “Big attack.”
And he’d thought he would be the one to have the news. Five dead bandits. Some weapons.
“Watch it coming back. They’re likely to be-”
Another drop-off.
“Okay. I will. About twenty… twenty-five klicks, shit… I’m about sixteen miles from the settlement.”
Dan didn’t even ask about his recon. Guess it didn’t matter much.
“-careful, Raine.”
“Got it.”
He put the handset down and reached over to touch his rifle, making sure it was one quick grab away. The handgun was stuck awkwardly in a side pocket.
He drove fast, dodging the rubble where he could, scanning left and right, thinking what easy pickings he’d be out here.
He saw nothing.
Not another soul until he saw the settlement, the Hagar compound. Four smoky streams showed where they had been fighting fires, one a dark, sooty black. Raine guessed that maybe some fuel had been hit.
Guards by the entrance. He could see one with field glasses. The sun was behind them, nearly down, and they were shadowy figures.
Hope they can see me, he thought. Recognize me.
Friendly fire. It happened. Even here, he imagined.
Especially here.
He picked up the radio.
“Dan, almost there. Can you tell your guards… not to shoot?”
A female voice. Young. “They got you, stranger. Just slow it down a bit. No racing in. And watch your butt coming in. People are hurt here, shit.”
“Thanks.”
The last yellowish cusp of the sun slid behind a hill. Only minutes more of daylight. Torches had already appeared on top of the razor ribbon that served as a wall around the settlement.
He slowed down.
And then something he felt in his gut, that he had indeed felt before, told him the attack here had been real bad.
Abreast of the two guards, one waved him in.
The smell of smoke and gunfire filled the air.
Then… slower still, past the gate, he heard the sound of moans, shouts.
Which was when someone-a woman-walked in front of his buggy, a hand up, stopping him. Raine hit the brakes, pulling himself out of the buggy. He looked around and was shocked to see what had happened.
FIFTEEN
MASSACRE
The woman’s voice-clipped, to the point, an order-didn’t offer any discussion.
“You have to leave this buggy here. Too much debris still in the streets. We’re still looking for anyone missing.”
“What happened?”
She hesitated. “You best ask my father about that. After all-he’s the one who brought you here.”
The disdain in her voice felt like a physical kick. This was Dan’s daughter?
“Okay. Where is he?”
“We’ve set up an infirmary right over-Hey, Tomas! Keep
your goddamn eyes peeled out there,” she yelled at one of the guards who had been watching them. “Christ. They’re tired and so am I. But we can’t afford any more screwups.”
“You were attacked?”
“How observant. You Ark guys are really, really smart.”
“Okay.” He wanted more information, but clearly she wasn’t in the mood. “Dan. Where is he?”
“There’s a garage area behind Halek’s shop. Got the living and the dead in there.”
“Thanks.”
Which brought no reply.
He headed off in that direction.
Walking down the street as dusk took over, he saw signs of the battle.
Expended shells, bits of metal where something explosive ripped off a chunk from a nearby building. Even guns broken into pieces.
Some of Hagar’s people fought a fire still streaming out of a metal shed, handing buckets of water through a line. A rubber smell in the air-tires, probably. The smoke was noxious, and the people were using the water carefully.
A rare commodity here.
He walked past Halek’s shop to an alleyway leading in back, to see Dan, nodding as an elderly woman gestured at him, anxious. He spotted Raine. His face grim.
Raine walked up to him.
“They will die without it, Dan,” she was saying. “We just don’t have enough medicine.” The woman’s voice was surprisingly strong.
“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”
Raine stood by.
A voice came from behind. “Dan, the guards down by the gas tanks want some backup. Can’t afford to lose-”
Raine watched Dan take a breath. As if inhaling that much air could somehow fortify him for all the hard shit still to come.
“No. Tell them they’ll have to make do. Can’t pull anyone off any other-”
He looked at Raine.
“-what do you call them? In the military. Details?”
“Yeah. Sometimes.”
“Tell them to stay alert. Get them ammoed up. I’ll get them another body or two when I can.”
The messenger turned and ran out of the area.
Halek, who had been talking to a few settlers hunched over people lying on the ground, noticed Raine.
No smiles there, either.
Raine even hesitated asking the question.
“Dan, what… happened?”
“An attack. Like we’ve been expecting. But, God, not this soon. It’s why we had the patrols out. Like you. Had a few out today. The bandits must have seen them leave, been watching.” He shook his head. “Came damn close to taking the whole settlement.”
Raine looked at the people attending the wounded. Then, just to the right of them, other bodies, covered. No one attending them.
“They stormed both gates. Vehicles crashed through. Barely had time to react.” He looked at Raine, perhaps sensing that he hoped he’d understand. What it was like. What it felt like.
“Killed people. Just ordinary people trying to survive here. People trying to get by, out of the city, away from the Authority.”
“How many you lose?”
“Five dead. That we’ve found so far. Good people. And the same number wounded.”
“What can I do? Is there-”
Halek walked up.
“Did you say ‘do’? What can you do? Look around this place, stranger. You’ve done enough.”
Raine turned to Halek. He didn’t like the brother’s words. But he forced himself to listen.
“What do you mean?”
“Halek, forget it. What’s done is-”
“They came here for you. They must have found the dead ones by your Ark. They came here for the Ark survivor.” Halek spat at the ground. “This is because of you.”
“Halek, ease the hell up. We don’t know that. Get back to work. You’ve got things to do. Salvage any weapons, any ammo. And I’ve got to go to the Outriggers.”
“You’re leaving?” Halek said. “With all this going on?”
One of those people nursing the wounded came up. “We’re good for medicine for maybe another twenty-four hours, Dan, tops. That’s it. Then we’re going to start losing them.”
“And whose gonna check the gates?” Halek continued, seemingly not even hearing about the medicine. “They listen to you, Dan.”
Raine had seen situations like this before: it was a lot of weight on Dan’s shoulders.
How much weight before he snapped?
“I know,” he sighed. “But we need the medical supplies. I have to go.”
Raine noticed that Halek had his eyes on him. They might have to have a private talk soon.
I may be a guest, but I’m not going to be treated like garbage by that bag of wind.
He turned to Dan, and it was clear to Raine that the leader of this settlement’s stress levels were off the chart.
“What happened to your leg?” Dan said, noticing the bloodied shirt bandaging his leg.
“Just a scratch. Found some bandits. Took them out.”
“Did you try to call us?”
“Yeah. No signal out there.”
Dan nodded. Apparently not an uncommon problem.
“They had a girl captured. I freed her-”
“And killed her, too?” Halek said.
“No. She got away, I mean.”
Another step closer to Raine’s face. “You let a goddamn bandit get away?”
“It was a girl. ”
“Doesn’t matter-they’re all the same, all scum, as bad as the Authority. Maybe worse.”
Dan held up a hand. “I have to go first thing tomorrow, get these medical supplies. Maybe you can-”
“No.”
Raine’s voice cut through the room. As if bouncing off the metal walls. Did any of the people nursing look up? He couldn’t tell-he just looked at the man who saved his life.
“I’ll go. I made this happen.”
“No, you didn’t. You don’t have to-”
“That’s how I feel. But forget that-it doesn’t matter what I feel. You’re needed here. These people need you. If it’s a goddamn supply run, I can do that.”
“To the Outriggers? Not always so simple with them.”
“Is anything simple here?”
For the first time Raine could remember, Halek was quiet.
“I can do it, Dan.”
“Let him go,” Halek finally said. “We need you here, brother.”
Dan hesitated-Raine knew how Halek felt about him, the newcomer. But the truth in his words had penetrated his stressed brain.
“Okay. All right, you can leave at first light. Could still be dangerous out there-no, it will be dangerous out there.” He shook his head, realizing it didn’t matter. Taking another deep breath, he stood a little straighter. “Halek will get together a list of what we need from them. We’ll have to offer something to barter. God… not sure what that will be. We’ll think of something. You should be back here before noon.”
“Sounds good.”
“Now get some sleep. You’re no good out there exhausted.”
“If they come back-”
For the first time that day Dan grinned. “Don’t worry. If they come back, you can be sure I’ll wake you up. But do me a favor-get that leg checked out, will you?” He walked away, his brother behind him.
Raine got his wound cleaned out and a fresh bandage put on, then went to his small space at the back of Halek’s. In minutes he fell dead asleep.
SIXTEEN
JOURNEY TO THE OUTRIGGERS
Someone kicked the wooden bench that Raine slept on. The dull vibration shook him awake.
To a totally dark room.
The person standing in front of him wore a headlamp, conveniently pointed right at him, rendering it impossible for him to see.
“Let’s go, stranger. Time to get ready.”
Raine recognized the voice. The young woman who met him on his return. Someone else who didn’t like having him around.
“I thought…
first light?”
“Give it ten minutes and the sun will be up.”
The woman turned and pointed with the light at some type of bread and a drink.
“I put water in your buggy. Also fiddled with the engine a bit. Not my area, but I could see that your engine was lugging.”
Raine sat up.
“Thanks. And-who are you?”
“Loosum Hagar. I do a lot of different things around here. Which apparently also includes getting your butt moving.”
“You’re doing a good job of that. Tell me-is everyone in this settlement named Hagar?”
“What’s the matter? Don’t like the name?”
“No. Fine name-just seems-”
“C’mon. You have five minutes less than you did when I woke you. Eat, drink, move, go. There are people hurting here.”
Raine swung his legs to the side. His feet touched the ground and he felt his guns.
Funny, that’s how he came to think of them.
My guns.
“Also got some extra ammo for you. Should be a clean trip. The bandits like to hit and run. Today will be a running day for the bastards.”
“Thanks again.”
“Don’t worry-I’m not doing any of this for you. We need those medical supplies. You go, and my dad can stay here.”
Raine walked over and bit into the bread. None too tasty, and the whitish liquid in the glass was a poor imitation of milk. He didn’t even bother asking what it was.
Loosum handed him a sealed pouch. “And this-this is the deal Halek put together for the supplies. Just give it to Rikter. He’s their boss.”
“Says what you will do for them?”
“Right. Yeah. Okay, breakfast over. Let’s go.”
Light had started to color the clear night sky.
Now Raine could see Loosum. She was young-and with the headgear and bulky outfit gone, was probably fairly attractive.
Too bad our chemistry is so off, he thought.
“There’s a map in that compartment there.”
“The glove compartment.”
“The what? Gloves?”
“Forget it. Was already archaic when-”
“Like I said… should be quiet out there. If not, drive like crazy and shoot even crazier. If you’re not back by nightfall with supplies, we’ll know what happened.”
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