“I’d like to talk to the guy in charge,” I said, as the guards stepped into our path.
“You’ll have to leave your weapons here,” one of the guards said.
I leaned my rifle against the post I was standing beside and drew my pistol, handing it butt first to the guard. Then the second one, followed by the two blades.
He looked at Jimmy, who just stood there.
“Check ‘em, Jay.”
One of the other guards leaned his rifle against the glass and patted us down. First Jimmy, then me.
“Nothing, Sir,” he said.
“Go on in,” the leader said with a smirk.
He followed as we stepped inside the mirrored glass doors. There were six guys on the inside who could see out quite clearly. They were well armed, just as the other three outside.
“Looks like you didn’t leave the Navy base empty handed,” I said.
The guy behind us chuckled.
“Head left and through the double doors to the right.”
I walked down the large hall to turn into the open doors. It was dim, but there were some lights that flickered a bit from the randomness of the power they got from a generator. That had been the same sort of lighting I’d seen in the Mint when I met the Corporate Heads. If anyone had power, it was from generators. At least for now.
There were old slot machines inside the Casino, and several of the tables held roulette wheels. Some of the dice tables remained, as well as several tables for cards. Most of what filled the room were men and women with automatic weapons.
“Looks like a party,” I said.
The guy behind me chuckled again.
Near the center of the room I saw a short, stocky man with a suit that looked like it had been tailored for him.
“Nice suit,” I said as we stopped about ten feet from him.
“I know,” he said. “Diana does a wonderful job. Found her in a fashion shop on King Street.”
“Maybe she’d like some more work,” I said.
“She is working,” he said, “most nights. She’s a hard worker.”
He laughed, and the people around him followed suit a short moment after he did.
I sighed. “It figures.”
He smiled.
“My name is Pratt,” I said. “I’m here to—”
“I know why you’re here,” he said. “I know what you have in the wagons, and I also know we have as many men and guns as you do. My boys say you took out my guys at the Port. I’m a little upset about that. I sent three of my own personal guard out there. I expected better of them.”
“So I’m guessing you’re going to say you’re not interested in trading?”
“No, Mister Pratt, I’m not interested in trading with you shitheels. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll take every one of those wagons of yours, and I saw some ravishing beauties out there as you rolled in. That shouldn’t be hidden under those farm rags. I think they’ll be left outside tied to the lampposts for my boys to play with.”
“Frankly, I’m kind of glad you said that,” I responded. “I really wasn’t too awfully interested in trade with you anyway. I think maybe…well, I think maybe it’s better this way. Although I hate to damage that suit. Tell everyone to lay down their arms, and no one needs to get hurt.”
“Take them out and shoot—”
His voice cut off as his head spun almost completely around when my right hand connected with his jaw. I’d covered the ten feet separating us before the men to either side of me could grab my arms, as they were in motion to do. The world had slowed to a crawl, and I thanked Jimmy for the training in the focus exercises. The better the focus, the faster I could move, and I would need every ounce of speed I possessed to do what I’d already set in motion.
I’d killed seven men and three women before the first shot rang out in the room. Jimmy was halfway across the room, moving fast enough I couldn’t keep up with him and still focus on what I was doing, so I left my focus on the figures around me who were finally drawing weapons. The shot that had fired had been aimed at where I was seconds ago, and I could be a pretty good distance away in a few seconds.
They couldn’t fire the way they wanted to because the room was packed full of people who’d wanted to see the spectacle Galloway had intended them to see. He’d been arrogant and foolish to let me inside the building. Doubly so for letting Jimmy come in with me. It was pretty obvious he hadn’t believed any of the reports he’d gotten from the guys at the asphalt place. Or had he gotten a report at all?
I snatched the rifle from the next soldier’s hands and paused long enough to empty a full magazine into the crowd around me. Jimmy was off to the left, and I had a target rich environment. The gunfire was loud as hell inside the room, and my ears rang, but the ringing subsided much faster than it should have. I guess the nanites were busy. When the mag was empty, I threw the gun toward one of the men who had been raising his to fire. It slammed into the guy’s arms, and he screamed as bones broke. I felt a tug at my side and knew I’d been still too long, so I bolted forward into a woman who was raising her rifle. My shoulder impacted with her, and she tumbled backward, dropping the rifle. I caught it by the barrel and swung it in an arc that caught two men as they tried to reach me. The first was struck just above the vest he wore, and his head slammed sideways into the next one. I left the rifle butt buried in the first one’s neck and moved forward.
I was facing the way we’d come in when the wall exploded inward, and Billy was charging through the crowd. He was moving in slow motion to my senses, but still faster than Galloway’s men. Behind him came Eddie and Yvonne. Both stepped to the side of the hole and began firing into the mob. Alice shot past them, using all fours to run more like a beast than a human. Then she hit them on the same side of the room as Jimmy. Blood sprayed as she clawed her way through.
Farmer’s Guards led by Drake followed the Genos into the breached wall and opened fire.
Screams of rage had turned into screams of terror, but they still fought on. I marveled at their bravery and wished I didn’t have to kill them.
Then it was over. I held the last of Galloway’s men by the shirt front.
“Why?” I asked. “Why didn’t they lay down arms?”
He looked at me with terror filled eyes. “We’re dead men, already. The Ursids are free. Galloway’s dead. They’ll kill us all.”
I looked back toward Galloway and heard a massive roar in the distance. Then another, and another.
“Oh Jesus,” my prisoner whined. “They’re coming.”
I turned to Eddie. “Take this guy! We need information, and he can’t give it to us if he’s dead.”
“Yes, Sir!”
I heard crashing from deeper inside the building, and something roared again. I turned back toward the Casino just as the wall exploded behind Jimmy.
Three forms emerged from the dust much faster than they should’ve in my focused state.
“Grizzly bears?” I muttered as I charged forward.
You never know what to expect in this Fallen World.
* * * * *
Chapter 44
The one on the right was bigger than the other two, and I charged straight for it. It swung its massive arm at Jimmy, who dodged left and swayed again to miss the second bear’s swing. The third clipped him and sent him rolling across the floor. He was back on his feet and hit the third bear with a blow that should have killed it, but it had dodged to the side to cause the blow land on a shoulder instead of its chest.
It swung again at him, and the second was right on his six when I altered my course and put my shoulder into it. There was a crunch when I impacted against the bear’s side. I felt ribs give under the muscle. My shoulder ached like I’d run into a truck.
Then I felt something grab me from behind, and I was sailing through the air.
The Farmer’s Guard opened fire, and there was no effect on the Genos. They just soaked up the bullets.
I hit the floor and rolled t
hrough dead bodies, sending blood spraying in all directions. I’d hit them hard. Jumping to my feet, I saw the biggest one was halfway across the room, coming toward me. Suddenly he was slammed sideways as Billy hit him at a full run, but the bear turned and grabbed Billy. He threw him through the wall he’d burst through when he’d entered the room and resumed his charge at me.
“Shit,” I muttered and ran forward again.
I ducked to the left as he swung his huge arm again, and I kicked his left knee with every ounce of strength I could muster. I heard the crunch with satisfaction, but I wasn’t out of his reach when he dropped to his knees. One of his massive hands settled on my shoulder and dragged me back into a crushing embrace. His arms began to crush my chest, and I smelled his fetid breath as he opened his jaws to bite. My arms were outside the crushing grip that was tightening, so I grabbed his upper jaw with my right hand and the lower with my left. I used the technique Jimmy and Joshua Collins had both shown me and triggered what they called the Boost. I felt teeth puncture both hands as the adrenaline flooded my body. There was a sharp pain in my chest as ribs gave to the pressure, but I finished what I was doing before they could give all the way. The lower jaw ripped loose, and I stabbed it through the exposed roof of the bear’s mouth into his brain.
His roars abruptly ended, and the pressure let up on my chest. Then he fell on top of me.
Pain lanced through my left side as I pushed the bear off and assessed. The third bear was down, and Jimmy was running toward the second, which had just plowed through the line of Guardsmen like they weren’t even there. He was right in front of me and swung a clawed hand right into my injured side. I was flung sideways and tumbled through the air just as Jimmy landed on the bear’s shoulders. With a massive heave he snapped the bear’s neck, and it toppled. Then I hit the wall with my face and sank into oblivion.
* * *
Something cool touched my head, and my eyes opened. I was staring into brown eyes.
‘‘Lee?” I muttered. “How did you get here?’’
“I live here, Zebadiah Pratt.”
My head throbbed as I turned it to look around. The room was painted white, with flowery things everywhere. To the right of the bed was a large, open French door that allowed a soft breeze to flow through the room.
“Okay,” I said. “How the hell did I get here, then?”
“Your people brought you in last night, after what I’m guessing was one hell of a fight at the Sugarhouse. They haven’t stopped talking about it since they got here. They said your brother Jimmy was even wounded, and they’d never seen that happen before. After seeing the wounds, I was going to ask how you’d even survived. Then this morning, the stitched cuts were ready to have the stitches removed. Your ribs are moving on their own, and Doc Riley swears you’re some sort of demon.”
“Jimmy? The others?”
“Jimmy’s fine. He told the doctor to see to the others, he’d heal up fine on his own,” she said. “It’s probably not my place to give you updates on your people. I can say the ones who were brought in are out of the woods. Riley says they’ll all recover, in time. There are thirteen of them who weren’t brought in. I don’t know any of the names.”
“Thanks, Lee,” I said as I closed my eyes for a moment.
Thirteen dead, and untold how many wounded.
“I need to get out there,” I said and started to sit up. My chest seized in pain, and her hand landed on my shoulder.
“You,” she said, “are not going anywhere for a little while, Mister. I guess I did say I wanted to get you into my bed. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
I chuckled, and it hurt.
“Be still,” she said. “Let the nanites work. Meanwhile, I brought you something to eat. Your brother said you’d be hungry for the next few days. We have some stew made from some of the supplies you brought us. The dried vegetables are a huge hit with our people.”
“We eat a lot of stew on the Farms,” I said just before she spooned a bit into my mouth. It tasted magnificent. I’d been eating MREs for some time now, so I wouldn’t waste the fresher supplies while the nanites had been changing my body.
“What kind of meat is this? It’s really good.”
“Turtle,” she said. “We catch a lot of turtle while fishing the river.”
“I’ll have to tell them when I get home to look for some.’’
“They’re a pain in the behind to skin, according to Dave. It’s hard work.”
“The best things tend to be the hardest to do in this Fallen World.”
* * * * *
Chapter 45
“Just remember, Zee Pratt,” Lee whispered in my ear as she leaned into the passenger side window of the pickup, “there’re more things to do in my bed besides recover from injuries. After what you told me, I understand your reticence, but I’ll still be here when you return. Or I’ll be down at the towers.”
“I’ll remember, Lee,” I said as she backed away.
“We don’t have to leave yet, Boss,” Phil Clayton said from the driver seat.
“Yeah, we do,” I said, “before I make a mistake.”
“I’m not sure it would be a mistake, Zee. But that’s just me.”
“It would be right now,” I said. “Maybe, in time…”
“I understand,” he said. “Let’s roll, then.”
The truck we were in was one of the new trucks that was left in the lots where they’d been delivered just before the Fall. There had been hundreds of them.
I waved towards Lee as we pulled out of her zone and turned north on I-95. Perhaps my plan would work, and we would find a clear path to the Farms in that small corridor between the cities that had grown together over the years. There was still a gap of about thirty miles between the upper end of Philly and Trenton. Maybe there would be a way through without too much difficulty, while driving twenty-five tanker trucks, fourteen box trailers with our wagons neatly pushed inside, and four stock trailers with our horses.
Each of the tankers held about eight thousand gallons of diesel or gasoline. Most of them held diesel. It took close to a hundred of our Guardsmen to run the convoy out of the city. The others were back at the Sugarhouse. They were holding the waterfront, along with Lee’s people. The guns they’d stockpiled were more than enough to arm her people. There would be a new warlord on the waterfront, one we could trust. At least I hoped we could trust her. We’d just put a lot of power in her hands.
The survivor from Galloway’s men had been happy to spill any information we asked for after he saw me walk out of Lee’s house. He’d witnessed what we’d done to the bears he’d called the Ursids. He wasn’t about to argue with me or hold information back. They’d waited for me to recover some before interrogating the prisoner.
“So the slavers will be back in about three months?” Phil asked as we drove up the interstate. There were vehicles left on the road, but not enough to hold us up too much, and the first truck in the convoy had a guard welded on the front of it to push anything out of the way if needed.
“Yep,” I said.
“Then I’m guessing we’ll be there waiting?”
“Yep.”
“Good. We need to do something about those people genetically tampering with kids.”
We’d found twenty more of the new generation of Genos in rooms at the back of the Sugarhouse. They were being used as prostitutes for the clientele that came through the place. Most of the clientele came from boats that docked along the waterfront to sell slaves, goods, and anything else they’d managed to steal.
“Not just the Genos,” I said. “They had all those kids from South America, too. I guess the world has really gone to hell since the Fall.”
“I thought this place had gotten bad, but it’s not just here.”
“There have to be some decent people out there still,” I said.
I winced as the truck hit one of the potholes.
“You should’ve stayed there a week,” Phil said. “Y
our nanites are completely rebuilding some of your ribs.”
“Ain’t that the damndest thing?”
“Yep. I never saw anything like it before. At least not at the speed they are doing it. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things done by hospital nanites, but they’re always flushed out after the work. Permanent nanites are new to me.”
“I guess we’ll see how the standard type works with Dagger.”
“That’s been something to see as well,” he said. ‘‘He’s put on over a hundred pounds of muscle mass since you injected him with the cylinder. He was close to fifteen hundred pounds before, and over sixteen hundred now.”
“I’m just glad I forgot to take those out of my pack, and even happier that it was the cattle nanite tube that got crushed when he fell.”
“That was a lot of good fortune in one small amount of time,” he said.
“Guess that’s why the Grizzly managed to catch me as he went over,” I said. “I’d already used up all my good luck.”
“Maybe not all of it,” he said. “They haven’t killed you yet. You’re still here.”
“It wasn’t from lack of trying,” I said. “I’m starting to think people don’t like me.”
“Imagine that,” he said.
The radio in the back seat chirped.
“It’s about time,” I said.
I reached for the CB radio. “I hear you,” I said into the microphone.
“Everything’s a go when you’re ready, Boss,” Spriggs said.
“Good to hear.”
“We rejoining you on your way out?” he asked.
“Meet in Destil. We’re on our way.”
“Roger.”
I returned the mic to its cradle. “That’s a relief.”
“Do you think we can really get the power going again?”
“It’s the only thing that might keep the Circus in check. I have to take the next run in after we get home. It’s the Circus run.”
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