Jerry spoke softly but did not whisper. He did not want to be misunderstood. “There are five knights in front of that door. Each is armed and ready to kill. Are you two ready for this?”
Kyle nodded his answer. JJ grinned.
“I’ll step out first and take the two on the left and work my way right. JJ start on the right and work your way in.”
The big man’s grin grew even bigger.
“Kyle, you focus on the middle. After that take anything left standing.”
The two men nodded.
“Let’s go.” Jerry stepped away from the building and swung wide, giving the men behind him room to get clear. He dropped the knight on the left before they could respond, targeted the man to his right. He pulled the trigger twice and put him down. The knight in the middle had raised his gun but fell before he could aim. The one next to him had the stock to his shoulder before feeling the impact of two of Jerry’s bullets.
Kyle and JJ came around the corner. JJ screamed a battle cry as Jerry dropped the final knight at the door.
JJ kept screaming and waved the barrel of the shotgun looking for anything to shoot. His war cry turned into profanity when he realized there was nothing left to point his gun at. “Aaaaaaaaahdammmit!”
Kyle looked at the fallen guards. “Damn, you are good at this.”
Jerry said nothing and crossed the lawn to the door of the courthouse. He examined the knights quickly and didn’t recognize any of them. He put his ear to the door and heard nothing. “Are you guys ready?” He turned around and found JJ holding one of the knight’s rifles by the barrel.
“This is a rifle, right?”
“Yes,” Kyle said.
JJ strapped it across his back and picked up another. “And this?”
Jerry nodded. “Also a rifle.”
“Good.” He dropped the shotgun on the ground and started back towards the neighboring buildings.
Kyle ran to stop him. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going back to the creek.”
“But …”
Jerry waved Kyle back over. “Let him go, Kyle. We could use the distraction.”
Kyle shrugged and joined Jerry on the steps of the courthouse. They nodded to one another and stepped inside the door. Once the prince was captured, he could get Erica back.
TWENTY-FIVE
They had heard the train crash and the explosion. The boom bounced off the five peaks and played on for a while. It stopped all of them mid-stride. Even Chewy’s ears perked up.
“What was that?” Erica had stopped running and turned toward the sound.
“They probably blew the mine,” Brae said. “Shane always told me the mine was wired to blow in case there was an uprising. Kings hate uprisings.”
“If it was in the mine, do you think we’d hear it like that?”
“I don’t know. But obviously we did. Come on. We have to keep moving.”
They’d run for miles. Erica wasn’t unaccustomed to it, but the terrain made her legs weak as they dodged trees and ran over hills. They had dashed down the mountain and made their way to the Animas. The trio had followed the river until finding a shallow enough place to cross. Her feet were still numb from the water. Now they ran through the forest like rabbits scurrying from prey.
She could barely catch her breath, but managed a gasping, “Are we almost there?”
Brae slowed and panted for a moment before she could even answer. She gave up and nodded the response. The girl put her hands on her hips and stumbled on.
Erica and Chewy followed her into a clearing where Brae opened her arms, smiled and collapsed to the ground. “This is it,” she managed as she heaved breaths full of cold air.
Erica found a rock that had managed to keep the snow off and sat. She put her hands on her knees and leaned back to breathe. The sun was losing its power over the trees. It would be dark soon.
“Come here, Hannah,” Brae clicked her tongue and called to Chewy.
As the dog answered the call, Erica began to wonder if the dog had learned her alias or would simply go to anyone willing to pet her.
Brae wrapped her arms around the tired animal and gave her a big hug. “You’re such a sweet girl. Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”
Chewy licked at the girl’s face causing her to laugh.
Erica laughed, too. “She really likes you.”
Brae smiled and stood. “I know.” Brae stepped away from the mastiff. “She’s as dumb as you are.”
Chewy began to growl and Erica noticed that Brae had slipped a rope around the dog’s neck during the hug. She started to stand.
“Don’t bother, Erica,” Brae said as she pulled a gun from behind her back.
Erica’s hope sank as she sighed her disappointment at the situation.
Brae smiled and called into the woods, “Dom!”
There was the crunching of snow from somewhere beyond the clearing and one of the knights stepped out from behind a tree.
The man had dark hair and a darker smile. “You got her.”
“Of course I’ve got her. I told you she trusted me.”
“You bitch,” Erica said.
“Don’t be mad at me. It’s not my fault you’re gullible. You bought my story right from the start.”
Erica shook her head. How had she fallen for this? She didn’t trust anyone. But the town and this girl—everything had worked together to get her to let her guard down. “How much of it’s true?”
“Let’s see.” Brae put a finger to her lip and paced around the clearing. “I’ve told you so much, it’s kind of hard to keep track.”
“Did you know Jerry from before?”
“Well, that part is true. Except, I fibbed a little. I dumped him. And he never got over it. If we’d have had more time here, I’m sure he would have dropped you in a week. He could never get enough of me.”
Erica hung her head.
Brae laughed. “See, Dom? I told you she’d believe anything.”
Dom laughed as well.
“I saw your pictures, stupid. Everyone is looking for you.”
“Are you even really a whore?” Erica smiled back and saw the flash of anger she was hoping for.
“Oh, that part’s true,” Dominic said and began to laugh even harder.
Brae turned and screamed at the knight but kept the gun leveled at Erica. “Shut up, you pig!”
In two giant steps, Sir Dominic crossed the clearing and backhanded Brae into the snow.
Erica tried to leap, but Dom covered her instantly with his own gun. He shook his head at his prisoner but spoke to the girl on the ground. “Don’t let your tongue get you into any more trouble, whore. This is your big chance. You don’t want to screw it up now.”
Brae wanted to sob. Erica could see it on her face. But she’d spent too many years pretending to be tough to let that happen. She rose from the ground and found a seat. She kept the gun leveled at Erica.
Chewy strained at the rope until it began to choke her. The mighty dog reluctantly sat and growled with less intensity.
“So, what’s next? You just wait for the boys to show up and jump Jerry? It won’t work.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Brae cooed and looked at Dom. “The boys are dead. Nobody is coming.”
Erica looked at the knight. “What is she talking about?”
Brae didn’t let him answer. “The Dog killed the princess and left Shane and Jerry in a town full of crazed cannibals between two armies that would be trying to kill them.” She shook her head. “They’re not coming back.”
Erica tilted her head. Now was the perfect time to stop believing this whore.
Brae insisted, “It’s true.”
“So what’s all of this about? Without Jerry, they’ll never pay.”
Brae shrugged. “Half is better than none.”
“What happened to this girls stick together shit?”
“Oh, we’ll stick together, E. All the way back east.”
“Don’t expect me
to do your hair.”
“You’re so funny, E. I always liked that about you.”
Erica would normally sit in silence, but the smug look on Brae’s face drove her to talk.
“I don’t believe you.”
Brae gasped and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no. What will I do?”
“If Shane was dead, you’d be in tears. Unless you’re just a cold heartless bitch.”
Brae chuckled. “You were thinking I was the hooker with a heart of gold?”
“If Jerry was dead, you wouldn’t be sitting around here waiting to spring a trap.”
Brae beamed a smile Erica wanted to put a fist through. “We’re not waiting to spring a trap.”
Dominic sat on another rock well away from the snarling dog. “We’re waiting for someone.”
TWENTY-SIX
Blood mixed with purple tunics in heaps on the floor. There had been enough knights waiting inside the courthouse to empty the rifle magazines three times and enough left over that Kyle had to start shooting as well.
Jerry dropped the empty rifle and drew a .45 from inside his coat. He pulled the hammer back and stepped around the corner towards the great hall. The doors to the chamber were open. There was no guard at the entrance.
“Do you think he ran?” Kyle asked.
He didn’t think so. The gunfire outside was getting closer and closer to the building and it couldn’t all be JJ. The prince could have fled within the building. But he couldn’t picture the kid giving up the throne that easily. “We’re just going to have to look and see.”
“You should totally do that,” Kyle agreed and waved a hand toward the door.
“You’re not coming?”
“Oh, I’ll come, but you should go first.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure. You should.”
“Because it’s usually the second guy in the door that gets shot,” Jerry explained.
“Really? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Really. It happens all the time. Are you sure you don’t want to go first?”
Kyle looked down the hall at the open doors and back to Jerry. “No, it’s fine. He’s … he’s probably not even in there, right?”
“No. I think he’s in there. And I’m pretty sure he’s got his Dog with him.”
“What kind of dog?”
“No, the Dog is a man. He’s the prince’s Dog. That’s what they call him.”
“Why? Did he piss on the prince’s rug?” Kyle asked with a smile.
“That’s not funny, Kyle.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m just saying that there are probably no less than two men in there waiting to shoot anything that comes through that door. And I just want you to make sure you want me to go first.”
“I …”
“I wasn’t done yet,” Jerry said.
“Sorry.”
“Knowing full well that it’s usually the second person through the door that gets shot at. Because I’m not going to feel guilty.”
“I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“And you still want me to go first?” Jerry asked slowly.
“Yes. I think …,” Kyle thought some more, “… I think I do. Yes.”
“You don’t sound too sure.”
“I’m sure.”
Jerry looked into his eyes. There was the sharpness that he couldn’t find in JJ’s earlier. Kyle was bright enough to think things through. He had thought this through and figured Jerry was wrong. There would be no convincing him, so he nodded and turned towards the door.
He began to pick up speed. He wasn’t lying. It was almost always the second guy through the door that drew the gunfire. Almost always. Jerry sprinted to the doorway at an angle and slid across the polished marble floor, only it wasn’t that polished and he didn’t actually slide. He skidded to a stop in the middle of the doorway and looked into the throne room. The prince sat on the throne. The Dog stood before it with two revolvers drawn.
The Dog laughed and raised the weapons to fire.
Jerry said, “Shit,” and tried to kick his way to cover.
Kyle screamed as he came around the corner.
The Dog fired twice and knocked Kyle to the ground.
Jerry got his feet under him enough to dive in the courtroom’s audience seating. Blue fabric and white foam exploded all around him as the Dog turned the guns on him.
Kyle moaned and got to his feet long enough to collapse behind what little cover the chairs offered. He left a trail of blood behind him as he dragged his way towards the wall. He bumped a chair and the chirp it made drew a moment’s gunfire from the Dog.
Jerry jumped to his feet and began to fire back.
The Dog dropped to the ground and slid behind the partition that separated the audience and the court.
Jerry fired at the wooden panel trying to guess where the Dog would be. Wood splintered and cracked and he blasted several holes along its length.
The prince hadn’t moved. He sat laughing in his throne.
Jerry kept an eye on the young man, but he made no move for a weapon. He didn’t move at all. He kept his hands on the arms of the throne and a smile on his face.
The Dog’s voice was ragged but it carried fine in the courtroom. “I must admit I’m a little surprised to see you again. I can’t even begin to imagine how you made it back here.”
“I caught the 10:20 from Durango,” Jerry said and loaded a fresh magazine into the Colt.
“I’m sorry to say I don’t remember your name.”
He didn’t? He had to be lying. He had to know who he was.
“I do remember telling you, you might be worth a bullet.”
“I’m touched.”
“I’m thinking I was wrong.” The Dog’s hand appeared around the corner of the partition briefly as he slid an object down the center aisle of the courtroom.
It came to a stop a few feet from Jerry. The sword wasn’t ornate. It wasn’t designed to hang on the wall of a study or man cave. The scabbard was built to be functional. Jerry suspected the blade was built to kill.
“I think I’d rather kill you up close where I can see you.”
“I see. You must be out of ammo.”
Another volley of gunfire tore up the chairs around him and Jerry dropped flat to the floor. Once the firing stopped, he heard the empty casing dropped to the floor. “Nope. I’ve got plenty of bullets. I just want to remember this.”
Jerry looked over to Kyle. The man wasn’t moving. If the Dog or prince tried something while he was unarmed, Jerry would be on his own. He looked at the sword and the gun in his hand. He sighed. He had to end this quickly.
“All right,” Jerry said. “I’ll kill you up close.”
The Dog laughed. It was a terrifying laugh—full of humor but devoid of life.
Jerry crawled to the sword and pulled it to him. He rose slowly.
The Dog stood from behind the partition with his guns at his side. The man was a beast and the sword on his back could reach him from halfway across the room. Jerry didn’t stand a chance.
The two men held out their guns, barrels to the wall and dropped them at the same time.
The Dog walked to the base of the throne and pulled the massive broadsword from his back. Swinging it around his head, the thrum of the blade caught the acoustics of the room and boomed. The Dog brought the blade back over his shoulder and waved for his opponent to approach.
Jerry pulled the scabbard from the sword and threw it into the row of chairs. He tested the weight of the sword in his hand. It wasn’t for show. It was for killing and nothing else. Jerry set the sword in his left hand and flourished the blade. He then stepped towards the Dog, drew the other .45 and put two bullets in the brute’s chest.
The man was still standing when Jerry reached him, but all the fight and most of the life was gone out of him. The man in black dropped the broadsword as Jerry arrived at the base of the thron
e.
“I figured I’d just go ahead and waste the bullet.” He fired once more, pushed the man to the ground and pointed the gun at the prince.
The prince jumped and tried to stand but he put his head through the ceiling tile. His crown fell from the throne while he tried to get out of the ceiling. He sat back down and quickly scooted a few steps down the throne. Once free of the roof, he stood and shouted, “Don’t shoot.”
Jerry shot him in the right shoulder.
The impact and the prince’s flinch threw him over the arm of the throne and brought him crashing to the ground. He stood on shaky legs and tried to get his bearings.
“Where is she?” Jerry shouted.
The prince oriented himself and turned to face Jerry with a stunned look on his face. “Who?” he asked.
Jerry fired again. It was the right arm again. The bone would be ruined. He would never shake hands properly again. “Stop shooting me!”
“Where is she?” Jerry screamed. “Where is Erica?
The prince moved to his right and began to whine. “I don’t know who Erica is! Please stop shooting me.”
Jerry put another bullet in the left arm. “Where’s Jennifer?”
The prince fell back against the wall but stayed on his feet. He was now in tears. “Why are you looking for all these women?” The prince drifted to his right, leaving a trail of blood on the wood panels.
“Where’s my wife?!”
“I don’t know who you are!” the prince cried and rounded the corner. “You’re the miner from the train. I don’t know your family tree!” He slid along the wall until he was standing in front of the tapestry.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Shaking his head violently, the prince took half a step back.
“How can you not know?” Jerry asked.
Prince Robert’s face twisted in pain as his chest puffed out. He tried to grab at his heart but his arms were useless. A silver blade shot a foot through his ribs. The prince’s face went slack and he collapsed to the ground. The sword stuck through his back pulled the tapestry with him, revealing the doorway.
“Because I never told him.” Elias’s large frame filled the doorway. A knight stood on each side of him with a rifle leveled at Jerry’s chest.
Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) Page 20
