Dawn of Destruction

by Ronald Williams

  Ben thrashed about even harder to try and create as much noise as possible.

  “I said keep him quiet!” Ojo hissed.

  “We could just knock him out,” Jonah blurted out without whispering.

  “SSSSHHHHH!” Ojo hissed again through clenched teeth.

  Jonah immediately shut his mouth.

  Ojo then turned back to Roy, still asleep in the bunk bed. Ben tried as hard and as hard as he could to warn Roy, but nothing was working. The restraints were too tight and Spider wasn’t letting any words or sounds leave his mouth.

  “You thought it was over? You thought I would let Nero break my blood oath to avenge my brother?” Ojo’s harsh whispers carried across the few feet between him and Ben. “Dominic was all that mattered in my life. I have nothing left to lose. Nothing. But you, Benny Boy, you will witness vengeance. I will gut Roy, filet him like a fish, and you get to watch. You’ll watch, and then, you’ll get to pay for not protecting Dominic. Nero is going to think you killed Roy in some weak attempt to win my favor because you’re afraid of me. You are, aren’t you? All that crying and screaming and begging you’re good at. It kept you alive for a while, but now, your words can’t save you. You won’t get the chance to beg for mercy from Nero because Spider rushed in here when he heard Roy’s dying screams and killed you on the spot. Shot you in the head, in fact. Sadly, it was too late for Roy, though.”

  Spider looked up, startled, his hand slipping down just an inch. “Uhhh . . . That wasn’t part of the plan, Ojo. I don’t want Nero mad at me.”

  “You’ll do what I tell you to do,” Ojo snarled.

  He pulled his knife away from Roy’s throat, trailing it down from his throat to his chest and ending at his navel. He lifted the knife high up, the sharp point of the blade glistening in the moonlight. Ben’s eyes widened in horror. He shifted his head to the side and let out a long, high scream. Roy startled awake, fighting to sit up but held in place by his restraints. Spider quickly clamped his hand tightly over Ben’s mouth again, but it was too late. Thudding footsteps sounded close to the door. The handle turned.

  Ojo quickly shifted his knife, turning it sideways and jamming it into Spider’s throat!

  Spider’s hands came up, grasping and clutching, as blood gushed out from the wound. Red streaks pulsing out like unfurling ribbon with each heartbeat. Ojo thrust the infirmary keys into Spider’s pocket just before his voice began keening loudly. Jonah stepped back into a corner of the cabin.

  “Help! Help!!! Help!!” Ojo’s face took on a distorted and pained expression, a look of horror and disbelief sliding over his features.

  Nero and Grizzly rushed through the door, followed and flanked by five militia men armed with pistols and assault rifles.

  Ojo fell to his knees.

  “Spider and Jonah were missing! I was worried they would do something stupid. They are so loyal to me, and I had to talk them down. I’d made them promise not to kill Roy, but when I woke, and our tent was empty, I knew they’d come here.”

  A sob escaped him.

  “I had to kill him . . . kill my sworn brother. Please, don’t kill Jonah. He’s the only brother I have left. Please.”

  Grizzly strode across the cabin, grabbed Jonah by the neck, and squeezed so hard that a resounding crack echoed through the small space of the infirmary. The sound ricocheted and echoed off the walls, even as Grizzly dropped Jonah’s limp and lifeless body. The corpse slid down the wall and landed quietly in a seated position, Jonah’s neck grotesque and swollen. Ojo’s eyes shot a warning glance at Ben.

  “Well, it looks like you truly are alone now, Ojo,” Nero looked slightly amused. “It will be interesting to see how this plays out. As much as you think your little ruse has worked, you must realize that your small brain and bad acting can only get you so far. I can be merciful, though. To atone for this betrayal, you will go out on the next scavenging mission with Josie, and you will find her daughter. Grizzly will lead the expedition and make sure your little hands and small mind don’t get you into any more trouble. And Ojo . . . if you come back without Josie and Roy’s sweet daughter alive and unharmed, I will have Grizzly rip you apart, one piece at a time, in the town square for all to see. Now, clean up this mess. This is your second chance, and you know I won’t give a third.”

  Nero nodded to the guards, indicating they stay behind, and he and Grizzly promptly turned and swept out of the little infirmary. Ojo scrambled over to Spider’s body, dragging him by the heels out of the infirmary door, before returning for Jonah. He passed Ben and Roy and briefly made eye contact, a madness brewing behind his eyes. Ben and Roy looked at one another with a newfound terror in their eyes.

  Would Josie be safe?

  Chapter 40

  Josie and Laura woke early the next morning. Nero had allowed Josie to bunk with Laura in the big saloon in the center of town. The town was bigger than Laura had originally guessed. Some thirty or forty houses were spread out along the main road, and the saloon had apartments above. The room contained one rustic, wooden side table and chair and two simple, single-sized beds.

  Josie had slept fitfully. She still couldn’t figure out why she and Roy were so valuable to Nero. Her thoughts still grasped for something just out of reach, unable to rap around his true intentions. Her restless sleep was filled with question upon unanswered question. She had closed her eyes tightly and pretended to sleep when she heard Grizzly come in late the previous night to wake Laura.

  “The next mission starts tomorrow. Ojo’s coming with. Have her ready. Oh, and neither of you will have side pieces. Nero really wants to test her out.” Grizzly let out a low chuckle. The moonlight seemed to shrink. The room seemed colder than when he first entered.

  “I’m not being tested. Why don’t I get a gun?” Laura asked.

  “You’re her mentor. She dies, you die. Don’t fail Nero or me. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at dawn.” Grizzly’s gruff voice was harsh in the quiet room.

  He turned and walked briskly to the doorway but paused to face Josie’s bed.

  “You better get some rest, mother dear. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” With that, he left the room.

  Josie shuddered at his remark. Worse yet, her sleep didn’t improve at all as the night progressed into early morning. By the time Laura had woken up and stepped across the room to rouse her, Josie had already been lying awake for a full hour.

  They silently dressed. New camo combat gear in Josie’s size had been laid out on the small table. She donned the clothes and sat on the edge of the bed to lace up black leather boots that were a half-size too big.

  “You’ll want to wear the hat. Your blonde hair will stick out and make you a target.” Laura offered the advice with a tight smile.

  Laura handed her the canvas ball cap, hunter green to match her army ensemble. They shuffled out of the apartment, silently descending the old stairs, the ancient wooden floor boards creaking beneath the strain of new use. Out in the courtyard, Nero stood, proud and tall, surveying the surroundings. Josie was caught off-guard by him, his ebony curls askew in the wind. Her eyes met his, the blue sky matching the hue of his eyes. He was breathtakingly beautiful and all the more dangerous for it.

  She broke contact and walked over to the truck that was being loaded by the expedition crew. Laura stood just apart, overseeing the men who loaded the munitions into the gun lockers in the back of the truck.

  “Laura,” Josie said quietly, edging closer to her. “Is there any way I can see Roy before I go? Just in case I don’t come back?”

  Laura gave a warning glance. Her eyes flicked quickly over to Nero, who was striding towards them. Josie took time to study his face. He was always composed. His expression never slipped, never betrayed the contemplation underneath, but behind his eyes, he was always scheming, several steps ahead of everyone else in the game.

  “Laura, it would be cruel of me to prevent our new members from saying goodbye before the mission. I can be a gracious leader. Please esc
ort Josie to the infirmary.”

  Laura grabbed Josie’s arm to lead her off to the cabin, but Nero stopped them, briefly taking Josie’s hands in his own and positioning himself directly in front of her. He was so close that his breath was warm on her face as he spoke.

  “Dear Josie, it might be hard for you to hear this, but Ojo and his hounds crept into the infirmary last night intent on torturing and killing your beloved husband and the kid you saved. We caught them just in time, though. Ojo is the only one who remains, and just for safekeeping, he’ll be accompanying you with the sole purpose of saving your dear daughter. He brings her back alive and unharmed or he dies. You see, I will help set things right for your family.” He patted her hands before moving aside and letting them pass.

  Josie walked on with Laura, shivering from those intimate moments shared with Nero. He was sinister and wicked. She understood that now more than ever. She looked up to realize they were standing at the infirmary door. She rushed through, bustling past an irate nurse and sliding down onto the bed where Roy lay. Her hands trailed his face, gently touching the newly forming scars.

  “You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.” She couldn’t stop saying the words. Her resolve strengthening with the repetition. She knew it was time to save Alex now that Roy was safe.

  “I’m okay, Josie. My body will be fine, but I don’t know how my will is going to survive if I have to stay here. There are some things I’m incapable of, and serving him is one of those. I’m a simple, honest man. I won’t last a day once I’m recovered. I can’t go against my conscience.” Roy spoke in low, soothing tones, even though his words were ominous.

  “We will figure out a way, Roy. It doesn’t matter right now. I’m going to save Alex, and then, you, me, Ben, Jon, and Alex, we will figure something out. I love you,” her voice caught as she leaned down to kiss him tenderly.

  Laura’s words broke their embrace.

  “It’s time, Josie. We have to go. It’s getting lighter and lighter outside.”

  Josie stood and turned to give Ben a brief hug. She walked solemnly by Laura’s side.

  “Stop.” Josie held her hand out in front of Laura. Both women stopped and faced one another.

  “You know you’re a prisoner here, right Laura?” Josie continued when Laura didn’t answer. “Nero is just using you. He doesn’t care about anyone in his new ‘society.’ I’ve seen this before and so have you. It’s in all of the history books. He’s a dictator. He will sacrifice anyone . . . EVERYONE . . . for power, for control and greed. No one will stand up to him because they are scared, because he’s done such a good job of brainwashing and intimidating. You know who else was good at that? Hitler. Look how that turned out. We could all have a real chance of survival on our own terms, in a democracy where everyone has a voice. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to have the freedom of choosing where you go, on what missions, with what hardware to protect yourself?”

  Josie finished breathlessly. Her fervor and passion, however, fell on deaf ears.

  “You’ll come around, Josie,” Laura replied. “Nero may seem to have unorthodox methods, but he keeps us safe. He keeps us working together. Sometimes, that takes a heavy hand, discipline, and cruelty. But you just saw today, he let you see Roy and Ben. He can be kind. You just need to follow the rules. I am here because I want to be, because I believe in Nero. I believe in his methods.”

  Laura’s eyes narrowed, her voice became fierce.

  “And be warned. I will protect Nero until my dying breath. Don’t think that you can convince me, or I will betray him for you. If it comes down to you or him. I will pick Nero every time, even if it means I have to kill you.”

  Laura pivoted hard, and marched toward the center of town. Josie walked slowly behind, tears slipping down her cheeks. She truly felt a stark loneliness and fear as she thought of the mission ahead.

  By the time they returned, everything was loaded and ready to go. Laura, Josie, Ojo, and Grizzly all packed into the loaded truck. Behind them, four more of Nero’s militia followed them in an old Jeep. The trucks rumbled down the road back towards the city and, Josie prayed, back towards Alex and Jon.

  Chapter 41

  The scouting party rounded the bend and came upon the mangled SUV. Both groups parked their trucks along the side of the road. The wreckage brought vivid memories back to Josie. Her hands grabbing Alex and handing her over to Jon. Watching Jon and Alex as they disappeared into the woods behind them. The feeling of loss and doom as she watched Nero’s men pull her, Ben, and Roy from the battered vehicle. She shook her head to clear her focus.

  “Laura, stay with your new friend. Ojo with me. Everyone else, grab a partner and let’s go. We spread out in pairs and start about twelve feet apart. The goal is not the little girl. The goal is to get into town through the woods and scout out any survivors, period. You see something, you yell. DO NOT PURSUE on your own. Got it?” Grizzly eyed each member of the team.

  They all nodded in response before taking up their positions and starting their walk. They had scattered themselves out in the woods just beyond the beat up car. Josie and Laura walked deeper into the woods, on alert. Without weapons, they both felt exposed. Each pair had a walkie-talkie to communicate. Every twenty minutes, they checked in.

  “Grizzly. Checkin’ in. Sound off.” He always started.

  “Randy, here.”

  “Laura, here.”

  “Char, here.”

  The party continued this way for an hour. They were almost on the outskirts of town, heading through the thickest part of the woods and underbrush.

  “Grizzly. Sound off.”

  “Randy, here.”

  “Laura, here.”

  Silence. They all waited an extra beat before Grizzly’s gruff voice cut through the static.

  “On alert. To me, everyone. No more names. Radio silence.”

  Laura and Josie looked at one another, eyes unsure. They stood still for five minutes, ears straining to hear any unnatural movements. Laura motioned for them to move on.

  They walked softly to the east, towards the direction Grizzly had started in. The sunlight streamed through cracks in the forest canopy, but some areas of the forest remained dark despite the sun overhead.

  Laura pointed, and Josie looked in her direction to see Ojo, Grizzly, and the other two remaining soldiers standing in a huddle. They inched their way closer, afraid of interrupting the silence.

  “Char and Terrance are gone. I’m sure of it. They would have responded or made it back to us by now.” Grizzly’s voice was barely audible.

  “I’m handing you guns. We aren’t sure where they are or who they are.” He grabbed his AR-15 and handed it to Laura. Randy pulled an extra 9mm handgun from her holster and pushed it into Josie’s hands. Her partner did the same for Ojo.

  “Randy and Blue, you stay behind us. Cover north. Josie and Laura, you’ve got east and west. Ojo, you and I have south.”

  They progressed in formation only a few meters before a monstrous flash erupted behind them, blasting Randy and Blue’s flailing bodies into the thick trunks of nearby trees. Their screams died out as they landed with a hard crash into the unforgiving ground. Smoke filled the air, some of the trees ignited with fast flames spreading from branch to branch, and the rest of the group scattered out into the woods.

  Josie ran further into the thickness of the trees before slowing down and turning to see behind her. At that moment, hands clutched her from behind, tightening around her mouth and body to stifle her scream. She felt hot breath on her ear before she relaxed as the words registered in her terrified brain.

  “It’s Jon. It’s me, Jon. Sshhhh.”

  Once he could feel Josie’s body relax, John let go of her and spun her around to give her a quick, awkward hug. He held up his hand and motioned to the side. Josie saw another silhouette in the woods about 20 feet away. Jon tapped her and motioned forward. Josie fell into step beside him. Her gun in her hands, ready to aim and fire. Ahead
, she could make out two of the scouting party. They had regrouped and had their guns trained on the woods around them.

  Jon signaled to the man in the shadows and immediately, two shots sounded. Josie watched Laura and Grizzly go down. Her heart leaped in her chest, and hot tears sprung to her eyes. Laura had watched out for her at the camp. She had wanted to believe that she could change Laura’s mind. Jon and his friend pushed forward, but Josie was lost in her grief. She didn’t notice that they were leaving her behind until she heard a feral scream rip through the air around her.

  Ojo was on her before she could turn and lift her weapon.

  He knocked the gun from her hand and trained his own on her.

  “Roy thought he was free from me. I had a better plan. Take everything he loves from him. Take it all. Make you suffer. Get up! Get up!” he screamed.

  Jon and his friend ran towards them.

  “I’ll kill her. I’ll kill this bitch right now if you don’t back off,” he waved the gun at Josie, menacingly.

  “Put your guns down. Put them DOWN!!! Josie, get up, walk towards me slowly.”

  The men put their guns down on the ground. Josie desperately searched for a way out as she came closer and closer to the crazed man. He grabbed her, his arm snaked around her neck, and she felt the cold metal of the muzzle pressed against her temple.

  “Ojo did good. You hear me, Dominic. Ojo did good. We’ll get them. We’ll make them pay.” Ojo rattled on and on. His arm was tight about her neck. His other hand gripping the gun tightly.

  “Okay, mommy. Let’s go find your little girl. He dragged her backwards and out of Jon’s sight.”

  “Please. Please. Don’t do this. Take me, but don’t hurt Alex. Please.” Josie started whimpering and whining, attempting to distract him.

  “Shut up. Shut up!!!” He whirled her around to face him, bringing the gun up to her forehead.

  Josie took her chance. She ducked out of the way, grabbed his hand, and kicked hard between his legs. Ojo collapsed, his one free hand grasping at his groin, but his iron grip wouldn’t release the gun. Josie grabbed his gun hand and bit hard until she could feel blood dripping from the fleshy palm. She grabbed the gun just as Ojo’s grip loosened and he rose up, backhanding her and bearing down upon her.