As the two men walked off, Jason said to Jeanette. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To have a talk with Sasha. Maybe she can fill us in more about what’s going on.”
“You don’t need me for that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Sasha will be more open with you if I’m not around.” When Jason protested, Jeanette placed a finger on his lips to silence him and then clasped his hands. “I know you had feelings for her.”
“That’s not why I want to talk Sasha.”
“I trust you. But this is something you have to do by yourself.” Jeanette kissed him, holding her lips against his a little longer than usual. “Good luck.”
***
Jason found Sasha standing guard two hundred feet from the rear wall of the garage. As he drew near, she placed a hand on the hilt of her saber and spun around. On seeing it was him, she relaxed. “What are you doing up? I thought you’d be getting some rest.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“You don’t trust us, and you’re here to pump me for information.”
“That’s not true.”
“Do you really think you can keep anything from me?” chastised Sasha. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you. Under the circumstances, I’d be suspicious.”
In the soft glow of the moon, Jason could barely make out her eyes. He saw the love and understanding in them, the same emotions that had comforted him so many times before. Jason did not realize until now how much he had missed Sasha.
“What do you want to ask me?”
“What happened?”
“You mean in Paris?”
“No. Antoine told me how you di . . . what happened at Notre Dame. I mean afterwards.”
“Father Belsario covered that. He wanted to put together a force to help you battle the Hell Spawn and came to Purgatory seeking recruits.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. Why did you wind up in Purgatory?”
A touch of sadness tinged Sasha’s eyes. “Despite what you think of me, I’m not perfect.
After I fell off the bell tower, I woke up in Purgatory. No one ever explained why I was there. Why does anybody? Lack of faith? Failure to renounce your sins? An unwillingness to accept God? Maybe nobody goes to Hell anymore since it’s no longer a one-way trip. I don’t know.”
“What’s Purgatory like?”
“You exist.”
“You lost me.”
Sasha contemplated how best to describe it. “Do you know that mood you get in when you’re depressed, when you have no feelings and are only going through the motions?”
“Yes.”
“It’s like that, except it lasts for hundreds of years until you’ve fulfilled your penance and are allowed into Heaven. It’s total nothingness.”
“No pain of suffering?”
Sasha shook her head.
Jason paused, not certain if he wanted to hear the answer to the next question. “So why did you agree to come back?”
“I came back because of you.”
“For me?” Jason asked with more excitement in his tone than he had intended.
“Because of you. What you’re doing is the most selfless and heroic thing I’ve seen in my life. No one else is trying to save mankind. I wanted to be part of that. I want to complete what we started in Paris and restore order to the world. And . . . ”
When Sasha didn’t finish, Jason prodded her. “And what?”
“I wanted to make amends, to say I’m sorry for not treating you right when I was alive.”
Sasha’s answer took Jason aback. “You never mistreated me.”
“I didn’t treat you the way you deserved. You loved me, and I knew that. And I lo . . . I cared for you, but I always kept you at arms’ length because of the differences in our age. By the time I realized how foolish I was, you had already found Jeanette.”
“So, you came back to steal me from Jeanette?”
Sasha’s eyes became even sadder. “I wouldn’t do that to you. You two are perfect for each other. I came back to make sure that all those who lost their lives in Paris didn’t die in vain. I also figured if I showed up with the Purgatoriati you might be more inclined to believe that they’re here to help.”
“You succeeded in that,” Jason chuckled. “The reason we trust the Purgatoriati at all is because you’re one of them.”
“I’m hoping you’ll learn to trust them. Father Belsario is dedicated to helping you succeed, as are the other members.”
“It’ll take time for us to trust them completely, but we’ll try.”
“Thank you.” Sasha took Jason’s right hand and squeezed gently. “You won’t regret it.”
I hope not, Jason thought. Instead, he said, “I better get back to camp and make sure everyone is settled.”
Jason walked away, pausing when a few yards distant. “Thanks again for coming back. It means a lot to have you with us for this fight.”
“Thank you for accepting us. We won’t let you down.”
“I know. Good night.”
***
By the time Jason reached the campfire, most of his team was asleep. He found Jeanette and unfolded his sleeping bag beside her. As he settled in, she rolled over and met his gaze.
“Did you talk with Sasha?” she whispered.
“I did.”
“And?”
“I feel more comfortable with the Purgatoriati.”
“Good.”
As Jason lied down, Jeanette unzipped her sleeping bag and pulled the flap aside. With her free hand, she waved for him to join her.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Jeanette. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
Crawling over to Jeanette, Jason slid inside the sleeping bag with her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The first full day with the Purgatoriati had been uneventful. Even though Jason’s team had slept through the night, few of them felt rested in the morning, their sleep having been fitful because they were nervous about allowing the newcomers to stand watch. Making it through the night without incident had helped assuage some of their fears. Jason had tried to reassure his people by having Father Belsario join him and Haneef at the head of the column. That night, the group had camped a few miles east of Rakaw Pakay, less than twenty miles from downtown Minsk. Once again, the Purgatoriati had kept watch. This time, Jason’s team felt more comfortable with them, so everyone got a better sleep. They set out an hour after dawn and continued east.
At mid-morning, the group arrived at the Minsk Beltway, which circled the city. Jason paused and signaled for the team to stop for a few minutes.
Haneef pulled his horse up on the left. “Where do we go from here?”
“Hang on.” Jason consulted the map. “We’ll head north around the ring road. It’s the quickest way to reach the highway to Moscow, and it bypasses downtown.”
“Do you think traffic congestion will be a problem?” Father Belsario asked.
“Not if that’s any indication.” Jason pointed to the beltway where only a few scores of vehicles were visible. “I’m more concerned about running into Hell Spawn.”
Slava brought his horse up alongside Jason’s other flank. “Are you sensing anything?”
Jason shut his eyes and allowed his sixth sense to wander. He detected nothing in the vicinity. “Not a thing. What about you, Father?”
“The Purgatoriati don’t have the same abilities as you do. If you want my opinion, it would be safer to avoid Minsk altogether.”
“I agree. But to do that, we’d have to backtrack to the next nearest highway, and that would another two days to the trip.”
“Shit,” muttered Haneef.
Slava huffed. “No way.”
“Those are my thoughts,” said Jason. “Minsk isn’t too big, so we should clear the city in a few hours. Slava, tell the rest of the team to move out, and to stay alert in case there’s anything out here.”
The group traveled for several miles until the residential district came to an end along the banks of a lake. A small bridge stretched from one bank to the other. On either side, acres of open land overgrown with grass and weeds stretched into the distance. Lucifer’s ears perked up. He rushed over to the guardrail, his attention focused on something moving through the growth. Lilith joined him. Jason raised his crossbow and kept his eyes focused on where they stared, his concern becoming relief when a family of deer emerged from the meadow and made its way to the water’s edge to drink. Lucifer growled and crouched, ready to give chase. Jason whistled. The werehounds switched their attention between him and the deer before joining their master.
On the other side of the bridge, the Minsk Beltway passed through a heavily wooded area with dense forest on either side. After a few hundred yards, no evidence existed that they were on the border of a large city. Wildlife here was more prevalent, mostly small animals. Jason grinned as he watched Lucifer’s head dart back and forth, wanting to chase after each critter that emerged from the trees or darted across the beltway. He would let them have their fun if he thought—
Jason’s sixth sense spiked. He jerked upright in his saddle and yanked back on the reins, causing his horse to buck. At the same moment, Lilith whined. Her head moved from one side of the beltway to the other. She moved beside her master and nestled against his horse, seeking guidance. Jason did not notice. An overwhelming mass of auras flooded his senses. They were benign, which indicated Nachzehrer. Except there were more than he had ever felt before.
A hand touched Jason’s shoulder. The gesture snapped him back to reality. Slava had brought his horse up alongside. “What’s wrong?”
Haneef stopped his horse a few yards away. He sat in the saddle, his minigun at the ready, scanning the area for any sign of danger. Behind him, the rest of the team were on alert. The Purgatoriati had spread out, forming a circle around the others, their broadswords drawn and raised.
“Jason.” Slava shook him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nachzehrer.” Jason spoke up loud enough for his team to hear. “We’re about to be swarmed.”
Three hundred feet ahead of them and to the left, a rustling cut through the silence. Everyone focused their attention in that direction. Animals broke through the tree line, mostly deer, bear, and wild horses. The stampede hurtled the guardrail and darted onto the beltway. Off to the right, a swarm of birds took flight, forming a black mass that circled the road and headed north. The other animals veered and followed the flock. A moment later, Nachzehrer broke through the tree line on both sides of the beltway, hundreds stretching along either flank in front of and behind the group. The nearest ones spotted the humans and surged forward.
Jason heard his team unsling their weapons. “Stand down. We’re in no immediate danger.”
As if to prove his point, the first row of Nachzehrer reached the guardrail and tumbled over, creating a small pile of undead. Nachzehrer continued to cascade over, pushed by the surging horde behind them. Those on the pavement struggled to get to their feet.
“We could rush ahead,” offered Haneef. “We should be able to push our way through.”
“It’s too risky. If there are more of those things further down the road, we’ll be swarmed.” Jason pointed in the direction the group had come from. “We’ll backtrack and circle around the city.”
Haneef ordered the others to fall back. As they did, Jason remained at the front of the column, keeping a watchful eye on the Nachzehrer. Lucifer and Lilith stayed by him, switching their gaze between Jason and the horde. The Hell Spawn swarmed along the guardrails, and enough Nachzehrer had crossed over that once they regained their footing they would seal off the beltway. Lilith whined once.
“Okay,” said Jason. “Let’s go.”
As Jason retreated, more and more Nachzehrer moved in on both sides. When he reached the bridge spanning the lake, he found the rest of the group paused. Racing to the rear of the column, he moved up alongside Haneef.
“Why did you stop?”
Haneef motioned to the south. Another three hundred Nachzehrer had emerged from the neighborhoods they had passed through and converged on the bridge, blocking their retreat.
“We’re screwed,” said Slava.
“Not yet.” Jason side stepped his horse so everyone could hear. “We’re going to set up on both ends of the bridge so the Nachzehrer can’t outflank us. Neal, take the horses to the center and stay with them. Haneef, set up on the south end and clear a path for us to escape. Slava, Antoine, Jeanette, and Vicky will cover you. The rest of you are with me on the north end. We don’t need to kill them all, only keep them from overrunning us.”
Jason’s team dismounted and made their way to either end of the bridge.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jason took up position where the road joints separated the bridge from the beltway. On either side of the structure, the ground sloped down twenty feet into the river. It was the perfect place to set up their defense. The rest of the team spread across the four lanes of highway. The Purgatoriati withdrew their edged weapons and clutched them against their chests, the blades pointing up. Lucifer and Lilith morphed into their werehound forms. The Nachzehrer were still more than one hundred feet away. His team raised their automatic weapons and aimed. Jason held up his hand. “Hold your fire.”
“Are you nuts, mate?” Ian asked.
Jason ignored him. His team kept their weapons in the high ready position, their eyes shifting to him every few seconds, waiting for the order. Behind them, Haneef opened fire with his minigun.
The horde approached to within fifty feet.
“Jason?” prodded Sasha.
He said nothing. The Nachzehrer approached to within forty feet.
Lilith whimpered.
When the horde had closed to within thirty feet, Jason called out. “Take them down, and make every shot count.”
***
Haneef unhooked the GAU-17A minigun from his leg mount and aimed it at the Nachzehrer. Around him, the others readied their weapons. He waited for them to get closer so he didn’t waste ammunition. Once the horde closed to fifty feet, he squeezed the trigger. The minigun whirred to life. A stream of 7.62mm rounds ripped into the Hell Spawn which, along with the automatic weapons fire from the others, decimating the front row of Nachzehrer.
***
At first, the Nachzehrer continued to surge toward Jason’s team. As expected, though, the concentrated fire took its toll. With each volley, half a dozen Nachzehrer dropped to the pavement. In a matter of seconds, enough bodies littered the beltway to trip up those behind them, creating a squirming barricade of the undead that held back the horde. Each burst of gunfire added more bodies to the pile, further slowing their advance. When someone paused to reload, one of the Purgatoriati would step forward and slash down Nachzehrer with his broadsword, and then fall back to let them member resume firing. Yet Jason knew this would only slow the advance, not stop it. The mass of Nachzehrer pushing from the rear would crumble this barricade within a few minutes. When that happened, the only thing that w
ould save them would be if Haneef had cleared an escape route.
***
Haneef remained calm and fired short bursts from his minigun to inflict the greatest amount of damage on the most number of Nachzehrer. The others concentrated on taking out the Hell Spawn on the far ends of the horde, dropping them with single shots to the head. The onslaught had brought down numerous demons, the piles of bodies slowing the advance of those to the rear. Haneef knew he could not retain this rate of fire too long. Between the chunks of body parts tossed into the air and eddies of blue light drifting skyward, he could not tell how many Nachzehrer remained.
***
The center of the mound of corpses bulged, the weight of the encroaching Nachzehrer too much for the pile to support. When it finally collapsed, a stream of Hell Spawn poured through the breach like water through a failed levee.
Before Jason could react, Father Belsario rushed forward. He swung his broadsword from right to left, severing the heads of two Nachzehrer and slicing a chunk of rotted flesh from the chest of a third. The rest of the Purgatoriati joined the melee, cutting down any that made it through the opening. Sasha stood on top of the mound, slashing away grasping hands with her dagger and driving the blade of her saber into their skulls. Lucifer and Lilith attacked those Hell Spawn trying to get to Sasha. Lucifer charged into the horde, the spikes on his back impaling a pair of Nachzehrer and shoving them back. Other Hell Spawn filled the space he had created, swallowing him up in the mass. Lilith spun around and whipped her scorpion-like tail, slicing open the torso of one demon and decapitating another.
Jason and his team switched their fire onto the mass of Nachzehrer crushed against the mound on either side of the breach. So many demons surged forward that other breaches began to form. When the team concentrated their fire on the Nachzehrer weakening one section, pressure in another began to build. The Hell Spawn were about to tear open seven more breaches that would overwhelm the bridge.
***
Haneef’s minigun clattered as it expended the last of its ten thousand rounds of ammunition. He lifted his finger off the trigger. As the rotating barrel whirred to a stop, his heart sank. More than fifty Nachzehrer had survived the onslaught and continued converging on them, a few only thirty feet away. Slava, Antoine, Jeanette, and Vicky kept up their fire, yet they would not be able to take down the remainder before the Hell Spawn overran them.
Wasteland in Red Square Page 10
