Nestor's head hurt so bad that he couldn't keep his eyes open, but nonetheless, he was awake. He could hear movement. A fire. Panting. The draw of a cigar. He focused on his breathing and tried to sit up, but the pain was so intense that he blacked out.
When he next came to, he managed to get a glimpse of a mutant face over him, a look of concern on it, before the pain shut his eyes again.
"Don't try to sit up again, Nestor. Not yet. Here this will help with the pain."
Nestor felt the nauseating sensation of an injection in his arm. Warmth came from a spot inside his arm, just below the elbow and radiated out until his body seemed a warm and hospitable place. In time he opened his eyes and looked at the mutant who sat beside him. The mutant smiled.
"What did you do to me?"
"My doctor, he took out your camera, Nestor, and the microphones. You're free."
Nestor squinted at the smiling mutant. The mutant's hair was perfect.
"Jacob?"
"Yes, Nestor, it's me," the mutant laughed.
"What's going on?"
"I'm sorry, old friend, but I had to take you out of the equation for awhile. I'm going to have to leave you here. You'll be safe I think, you have your wolf, your guns are here and Utah is safe. You know, the Mormon Church, it instructed its followers to not get The Shot. Your buddy Bragg is a Mormon. Anyway, because of that, there aren't many mutants in Utah. Not much of anything in Utah anymore to be perfectly honest."
"I hate… I…"
"I know. I know how you hate the high desert. But, well, the whole world is uncomfortable, why shouldn't you be?"
"Why? Why here?"
"I need time, Nestor. Time to finish up. I can't do that with you in the picture. It's a long walk from here to L.A. It'll keep you away long enough, but keep you going, keep you mad. It'll be terrible for you, being out here like this. Why is it that you hate the high desert so much? What happened to you out here?"
Nestor didn’t respond.
"Oh fine. Man of mystery till the end. Well, hold on to that anger. Remember who put you here. If you weren't already going to, that will make you come for me. In time, you will arrive in L.A. for me and, in time, that will be what I need."
"What are you doing? What…"
Jacob laughed quietly and puffed on his cigar.
"There won't be any more wars after this, Nestor, you know? They say that every war, but this time… this is it. This is the last time the world will need men like me and you. Our time is passing. My life's work is coming to fruition. This last battle, when I win it, will be the end of all of it. This is the end of war, of their control, of me, of you. All my life and here it is. Despite all I've done to get here, it still makes me sad to see it end. Especially, I'm sad when I see what it means for you. If there was another way, believe me, I would take it, but, you and I both know how this has to end. It always ends one way for men like us."
Jacob finished his cigar and stood up. He smiled down at Nestor.
"Jacob, please, don't leave me out here."
"I have to. I'm sorry."
"I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you."
"Okay. Come kill me. I'll be in L.A. When you get there, just ask for the man in charge."
"This isn't funny, Jacob."
"Not yet, but in time, who knows? Some things that are terrible in the moment are hysterical when you look back, like, take getting an erection at a Jr. High School dance for example, funny now, right? Maybe, this is just like that."
Nestor began slipping out of consciousness as Jacob turned and headed back to his car.
"See you in L.A., Nestor."
Chapter 106
***
"Get out, Jacob."
"Well, that's no way to say hi to an old friend."
"Get out."
Jacob ignored him and sat down in the only other chair in the old cabin. On the screen the images of the war played silently. Jacob poured himself a drink and then refilled Nestor's glass.
"She's dead," Nestor hissed.
Jacob slammed the drink and refilled his glass.
"She stayed?"
"Yeah. I got her a plane ticket. She didn't get on the flight. She called me, just before… she said… she said: "sometimes the best way to prove a point is to die making it." So she just stayed at that damn orphanage and died with all those poor kids."
Jacob smiled and took another sip of whiskey.
"Who was she making the point to? You? Me?"
"I'm not sure really, but, if I had to guess, neither. I don't think she thought of us the way we thought of her, Jacob. Or, even if she did at one time, that was long ago. She was making a point to God I think."
Jacob nodded and the two men drank silently for a few moments.
"Where's my daughter, Nestor?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Men kept coming to kill me. I was worried that one might succeed. So, I trained her to fight, to hide, to disappear… I wanted her to be safe."
"You lost her."
"She became a teenager. I didn't know how to… I lost her, yes."
"So she could have been… she could be…"
"No. She called. She called here. When she couldn't get a hold of her mom, she called here. I told her what happened. Then she hung up. She's gone, but she's alive."
"You were supposed to protect them, Nestor, and you've lost them both."
"Yes… yes we did."
The rest of the night they drank without another word since they both knew what the other was thinking.
She had been growling for a while, but Nestor was tired and kept his eyes shut a few extra moments and just listened. Once he heard the footsteps stop, Nestor finally opened his eyes. His hair, now half way down his back, blocked his vision until he sat up and moved it clear of his face.
The mutant was crouched in front of him, the last flicker of light from the fire giving his face a slight glow. The wolf sat between them, teeth barred. Nestor could feel the gun in his hand and knew that it was instinctively pointed at the mutant. Neither mutant nor wolf nor Nestor moved. The fire popped softly. Nestor breathed heavily, but his hand did not shake. The mutant drooled.
Nestor had been walking for Seventy-two days. He had no idea how long he had been immobile, feverish and recovering, but if he had to guess it had been a hundred days since Jacob had left him in the wastes of Utah. During all that time he hadn't seen another living creature other than the wolf. He felt weak and tired, but as the realization of a threat settled into his blood, he felt a growing energy. The mutant spoke, but having not heard words other than his own for so long, Nestor could only stare back.
Again the mutant spoke, this time Nestor was able to make out the words.
"Are you Nestor Bravo?"
"Yes."
"I thought you were dead."
Nestor moved to a crouch, resting his gun on his knee, still pointed at the mutant.
"Close to it. What now?"
"I don't know. I am hungry. You are food."
"I don't have any particular desire to kill you, mutant. You can live if you want. If you leave I won't kill you. If you don't leave I will. She hasn't had a good meal in awhile."
"Why is that, Nestor Bravo? Why would you kill me?"
"Because I'm scared you'll kill me. If I fall asleep you'll kill me."
"Do you feel like sleeping?"
"No, as a matter of fact I don't anymore."
"Then you won't kill me? Not till you are sleepy?"
"I don't know. I might. You could still try and kill me."
"I could try. Could I succeed? They say Nestor Bravo is a great warrior."
"Maybe you could. I’m sick. I'm beaten and weary. I think I still have a little left, but I don't know."
"There is no need to kill me."
Nestor thought about this, he lowered himself out of his crouch and relaxed.
"Why do you want to stay?"
The mutant scratched his head
while looking at Nestor. His nails made a terrible sound.
"I was a man once. I was not a bad man. Now I am… not a man. But, I am not bad still. I’m not human, but I am not bad. I remember being a man. I do not think I have forgotten how to be in the presence of a human. I do not think that I have forgotten what it is to be lonely."
"You are alone? No tribe or band?"
"No. I am alone. Like you."
"Yeah, there isn’t much alive out here I guess."
"I would enjoy to not be alone."
"Okay."
Nestor slowly lowered the gun and leaned back against the rock behind him. The mutant sat down cross-legged on the other side of the fire.
"Coffee?"
"No."
Nestor poured himself a cup and drank.
"Do you remember pet rabbits, Nestor Bravo?"
"Yes."
"This is much the same I think."
"What is?"
"You and me. Food and predator, not acting on our urges."
"I don't remember wanting to kill a rabbit."
“But, you ate one?”
“I did. Not a pet rabbit though.”
"You were never so hungry as to have to, but had you been starving, that pet would have quickly begun to look like food I expect.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I am very hungry. But, I can choose. For a time."
"For a time?"
"It would be nice if it could be this way forever. Yes?"
"Yes it would. It would be nice."
Nestor pulled out a cigarette and started to smoke.
"Why are you out here in the outer sprawl of Los Angeles, Nestor Bravo?"
"I've walked a long way to kill some guys I know," he shrugged, and then coughed until he spat in the fire. "Figured I'd finish it."
"You smoke, though it makes you sick?"
"My lungs are destroyed from the radioactive soot I inhaled, among other things. The smoke numbs the hairs in my lungs, makes me stop coughing for a moment. After that moment, the cough comes back and I am closer to death. I find it comforting, I guess."
"Survival often kills you."
"Yes it does."
"The Shot was the same. It was to survive and now, I'm gone. Not dead, but my life as a human is over. We don't know how long we can live, or if it's terminal, the condition. That fear, you understand, is always with us. To not know."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Nestor Bravo. But, thank you. I remember what it was to be human. To be normal and not a monster."
"Do you miss it?"
"Yes. Do you?"
Nestor smiled and looked away, his lungful of smoke dissipating into the sky.
The two talked for a while longer and the mutant got hungrier as Nestor grew more tired. In the morning the wolf had finished eating the body and they walked towards Los Angeles.
Chapter 107
***
Nestor came to the sign for Los Angeles city limits in the night and didn't pause. In the morning he found an old abandoned taco shop to sleep in. He woke up a few hours later, checked his guns and moved into the sunlight. The skeleton of downtown Los Angeles was on the distant horizon. Nestor squatted and looked at the city. He spat on the ground. He watched the spit slowly dry in the sunlight's heat. He then put his attention back onto the city and started walking.
Chapter 108
***
Nestor saw the shape of the man from a distance, but it was the wolf that first reacted. Her nose lifted into the air and her ears twitched with excitement. Nestor went down to a knee and took hold of his rifle, waiting on the wolf for her next move. She barked once and then moved off towards the figure. Nestor watched, finger on the trigger as the wolf continued her run across the last of the distance and leaped onto the man and brought him to the ground. Nestor lit up a cigarette and smiled as he followed.
The wolf was still nuzzling Caleb when Nestor arrived.
"Nestor…" Caleb said with awe.
"Hello, Caleb."
Caleb stood up and stared at Nestor. His eyes welled with tears and he turned his face away. Nestor looked at his feet and waited. When Caleb had gathered himself he turned back, and smiled at Nestor.
"I'm guessing you're not a hugger?" Caleb laughed.
Nestor raised his eyes and stared.
"Okay, okay. Man, it's good to see you. I thought… I thought you were dead."
"Soon."
"Yeah, you don't look well. You… how sick are you?"
"What're you doing here, Caleb?"
"I kind of live here I guess, here in the sprawl."
"Why not in the city?"
"Well, I just like it out here better. More space. I'm free to do whatever I want," Caleb said, pulling his hand back from playfully snapping jaws. Nestor took a moment to scan the near city and then returned his gaze to Caleb with a knowing grin.
"You got kicked out?"
"Yeah," Caleb shrugged. "That too. They sort of, think I'll try and kill the President."
"Why do they think that?"
"Because I keep trying to kill the President."
"What did October do to you?"
"October Carnegie is dead, Nestor. Jacob is the man in charge now."
Nestor laughed quick and short and nodded his head.
"That change your plans, Nestor?"
Nestor looked at the towering buildings in the distance and scratched the scar on his face.
"No, it doesn't change anything. Can you get me to him?"
"No one can really. The city belongs to the people. His Vice President, Vice President Walker runs it along with Bragg's boys and they do a damn good job really. Jacob runs The Island with his Shadow Army like some sort of twisted playground. He spends his time slowly killing off the last of the rich and powerful, reading from this book of philosophy and theory that he's writing and blowing stuff up. He does it all on a satellite feed, so we can watch, of course."
"So what, they're at war? The Shadow Army and Bragg's boys?"
"No. Bragg's people just want to keep the peace. That's all. For now. The Shadow Army respects it, for now. Vice President Walker goes between… it works. How long it will last, I couldn't tell you."
"How does the Vice President go between?"
"There are boats that go between, but not without official approval."
"Can you get me to one of the boats?"
"Yeah, but you won't get across."
"Can Bragg?"
"No," Caleb said, his mood visibly darkened. "Bragg can't help you."
Nestor could tell Caleb didn't want to say more so he let the issue lay. Caleb turned and led Nestor and the wolf towards the city. For a while they walked in silence.
"Where are the mutants?"
Caleb turned and looked at Nestor. He scratched the back of his neck and looked over at the city that was darkening with the evening.
"They're gone."
"Dead?"
"Cured. They say cured."
"How?"
"Jacob. He found a cure."
Nestor nodded his head, thinking. He studied the sky which, here by downtown Los Angeles, was the clearest he'd seen in years.
"Jacob killed October?"
"Apparently he's pretty good with a knife."
Nestor laughed and nodded, touching the scar on the side of his face.
They came to the city at dusk. The edge of the city was a series of un-passable barriers made by blown up buildings. The only way in was guarded by a group of young men, all blonde and smiling in the light of gas torches that hung from the large open gates. As Caleb and Nestor approached the guards lifted their guns casually, but didn't take aim. They waited until Caleb had stepped into the light, Nestor and the Wolf still in the shadows a few feet behind, before the biggest of the guards moved into the pathway, his large frame blocking the way.
"Caleb, what are you doing? You know it's not safe for you in here. Be patient, my friend, the Vice Pres…"
"My friend needs to talk to the President."
"Yeah? So do a lot of people, no one gets to. You know that. Look Caleb, it ain't that we don't like you, or even that we don't agree with what you did. Heck, you know we appreciated it, but Jacob's got Shadow Army all over the place and they'll kill you on sight. Mary's word only goes so far in here and we don't need people getting killed on the streets. Especially for no good reason. Peace takes sacrifice and forgiveness… from all of us, even you."
"I'm taking my friend to the docks."
"Your friend is welcome. You stay, Caleb. I can't spare the men to give you a security detail and without one, they'll kill you."
Nestor sighed and moved into the light, the wolf a step behind. He looked up through the long strands of his hair that dangled in his face as he heard the gasps of the surrounding men.
The big man looked at Nestor for a long while before smiling.
"You're supposed to be dead."
"Yeah."
"In that case… I can spare the security detail for Nestor Bravo."
"I don't need one. You gonna step aside, son?"
"Yes, sir," the man said moving out of Nestor's way. Nestor paused and studied the man's face.
"Do I know you?"
"You knew my uncle."
"Who was he?"
"His name was Bragg."
They moved through the torch-lit streets. Faces peeked out at them as word spread. For a while they kept their distance. It was a child who first stepped in front of them, making them weave around his open mouthed stare. The boy's friend was the first to call out Nestor's name. Soon they were being followed and surrounded. Nestor kept his eyes straight forward, the wolf clearing the path before him with a low and continuous growl. Caleb strolled beside him, smoking a joint, pointing out spots and people he thought Nestor might be interested in. Nestor didn't pay attention and instead focused on the tension that had gathered in his solar plexus.
"You okay, Nestor? You don't look great."
"I'm dying, I think. Caleb, who killed Bragg?"
This stopped Caleb, who tossed the joint on the ground and stamped it out.
Monsters of the Apocalypse Page 24
