by James, Daz
The sun was setting on an exhilarating day. Aunt Pat was hunched over a small pot, stirring the content. She was humming to herself. Her crooning was the only sound in the air.
Her car was parked by the edge of the road, poking out from the front of it, were the legs of a man. He was still. Unmoving.
It took her long enough to bring down the drifter. The smelly vagrant had dared to ask her for a lift. He didn’t expect her to run him down for being so offensive.
She stirred her pot, an eye ball suddenly bobbing to the surface. She cackled at her own amusement. Those upstarts shouldn’t have messed with Aunt Pat. She was coming for them when they least expected it.
It was on dusk when Sam came into the café, he looked rested and the pain in his side had subsided. He had found a shirt in one of the wardrobes of the little girl’s house.
He had woken to find the house empty, “Has anyone seen Santanna?”
Flip piped up, “They’re up on a hill not far from town. There is a stranger with them. I didn’t detect him before…how strange.”
Marlin scowled, “How long have you known that?”
“Since I heard the bus drive away.”
Marlin jumped to his feet, “Are they safe?”
“They are now…not so sure about the stranger.”
Santanna sat in Winter’s chair slowly burning the end of a stick in the coals of a small fire. She was pondering the collection of photographs before her.
The two girls sat together, waiting to see what the adults would do.
The woman used her limited knowledge about Marlin to cross check what might be the common factor with these people.
Santanna turned to face their bound captive, “I take it these people are all homosexual…am I right?”
The man remained silent, unwilling to divulge his plans to a woman. She was his enemy.
“You know, fuck-face, you might save yourself some discomfort by telling me the fuckin truth.”
Santanna removed the stick from the coals, blowing gently on the red hot tip, watching it flare with life, “I’m not the nice girl I once was. I’ve learnt to be a bitch which is what I’ll become to get some answers.”
The little girls realized she wasn’t interested in a sing-along.
Titch grabbed her arm, pleading, “No…don’t do it, Santanna. That’s wicked.”
“Give it to him! He deserves it after trying to kiss you. That’s so disgusting,” grumbled Meg.
Santanna ignored them, turning on Winter, who was bracing for any assault upon his body.
Before he knew it, the woman had buried the tip of the stick into his bare chest. He cried out in agony, as his flesh began to burn.
She removed the branch, “So…why are you interested in these people? You don’t look like a faggot.”
“That’s…my…business…hag.”
Santanna again, poked his body with the branch causing him to convulse with pain.
She smelt the stench of burning flesh and singed body hair. The woman felt a rushed of power envelope her. She became giddy with delight.
Titch nudged her arm, “No…stop it. There are other ways.”
She relented, not wanting to be a murderer, “What do you mean?”
“Flip will know.”
“How?”
“He just does…please.”
“Okay! Fuckin kids! They always mess up my fun,” scowled the woman, tossing the stick into the fire. “Well you had better go get him.”
“I’ll do it. I am faster on my own,” spoke Meg, hurrying away.
Titch went over to the man. He snarled at her. She ignored him, examining his burns.
There was a small satchel attached to her belt, she removed some noxious mixture from a container, “This will ease the stinging…it is plant extracts. You know Aloe Vera. It’s good for burns.”
Winter sat up, suspiciously, as the little girl applied the cream. He felt the burning begin to ease. He glanced across at Santanna, murderous intent on his face.
Marlin and Sam stood on the verandah of the café, with the children clustered around them, holding candle-lit lanterns to illuminate the darkened streets.
“We’ve waited long enough. We need to get up that hill,” called out Marlin. “Do you have any transport at all?”
Flip stepped forward, “I’ve made arrangements. The vehicle should be arriving soon.”
One of the children spotted a speck of light approaching along the road, “Look! Someone is coming.”
“It’s Meg. She is being useful for once,” scowled Flip, glancing at Marlin. “I know I am meant to be changing but that doesn’t mean it will happen instantly.”
At that moment, Rusty drove a Ute around the corner. It was chugging like an old steam train. He pulled up beside them, “I’m surprised this old fossil could still run.”
Meg arrived telling them what had happened.
It was soon after that, Flip got in the passenger seat. Marlin and Sam were relegated to the back of the Ute.
Rusty pressed his foot down on the peddle going beyond the original speed limit.
Marlin hung on for dear life, unexpectedly, thrown against Sam. He felt the young Enforcer’s strong grip, their faces so close they could almost touch.
Sam winced as the jolting of the vehicle aggravated his wound.
Marlin lifted his shirt, tentatively checking the dressing. There were specks of red on the bandage; his wound had begun to bleed again.
“How is it?”
“I’ll grin and bear it.”
“You’re braver than me. I’d be squealing like a pig.”
A sudden bump in the road threw them together once more but this time no one moved. Everything seemed to slow down, to stop, as Marlin lent in toward the young Enforcer. Their lips touched, melting together.
Suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt. Both men were thrown backward onto the tray of the Ute.
Sam dragged his body away from Marlin, hoping to avoid all future bodily contact. It screwed with his head too much.
The two boys climbed out of the car, scanning the horizon, spotting the flames from the fire licking the night sky.
Sam leapt down from the tray at the back of the Ute, hurrying toward the hill to escape the look that Marlin was now giving him. He had to stay away from the man, his hypnotic gaze was bewitching.
Titch was giving Winter some water from the bottle that Santanna had brought with her. She was tending to the man as if he were a baby.
Santanna was scanning through the collection of photographs stopping for a moment on a picture of Technician Cross. Of course, she had no idea who it was. She was a nameless face.
Santanna thought that pig-tails were ridiculous on a grown woman.
Santanna scowled across at the man, “You can save yourself a lot of grief by answering my questions.”
“I’m not answering to a slag,” put in the man.
Santanna chuckled, “Oh my…was that supposed to offend me? I’ve been called worse.”
“I know you, sister. Your insides are the same color as ya skin, black and slowly decaying.”
Santanna glared at him, “You think you’re any different?”
“I know I’m not. I accept that. You still think ya somebody special but ya just black trash like me.”
Santanna whirled around to face him, “Shut the fuck up! I’m nothing like you.”
“Keep believing that…if it stops ya from pulling the trigger.”
Sam appeared over the hill at that point, collapsing upon the ground, in pain. His forehead was on fire.
Titch rushed to his side, feeling his temperature than helped him into a comfortable position on the ground.
Marlin and the two boys brought up the rear. Marlin went to Sam’s side, concerned.
Flip approached Winter, “You’re not meant to be here.”
“Too bad for you, kid.”
Santanna turned to Flip, a little shaky, “Titch says you can get the truth without
the need to torture…I consider it a waste but go right ahead.”
Flip studied the man for a moment, frown lines appearing upon the boy’s forehead, turning on Marlin suddenly, “Are you a homosexual?”
Marlin was stunned by this accusation, “Ahh…yes I am. Does that matter?”
Flip pointed at the man, “He thinks so. He was sent to…take you somewhere…oh I get it now. This guy was sent to apprehend those who have escaped from a conversion camp…there is a lot of you.”
Winter looked on amazed, “You little fuck! Shut up!”
“This guy has been on your trail for some time.”
“I’ll drop-kick you into next week, ya little shit.”
Marlin frowned, “Look! We have got to get Sam back to town. He is burning up.”
Santanna hurried over to them, feeling a pang of concern. She had been through a lot with these boys already; they were beginning to grow on her, unfortunately.
Rusty interrupted her thoughts when he pointed to a spot on the other side of town, in the distance, “Troop carriers approaching fast by the look of them.”
Everyone turned to the town spotting lights coming toward them.
Winter began to laugh, “You’re fucked!”
Santanna leapt at him, grabbing the man by his black shirt, “Then so are you, ass-hole! You’re helping us!”
“Bull shit!”
“Well…maybe not you exactly but ya arsenal of weapons will be,” spoke the woman, indicating the strong box in his tent.
Winter just smirked, cunningly. He just needed to
sit and wait.
He was required to bring the faggot back; there were no special orders that he be alive. He would let the Enforcers do it for him.
Chapter 4
They high tailed it back to town, as if they had rockets attached to their vehicles.
Marlin and Titch put Sam to bed in her house once more. Marlin bathed his head to cool his sky high temperature while Titch mixed a concoction to quench the fever.
Santanna and the children set to work preparing their defenses for an attack. Winter was locked in a back room of the café.
Sam began tossing and turning in the bed, sweat drenching his sheets, muttering incoherent thoughts.
He opened his eyes, glancing up at Marlin, “Sorry…it’s a trap.”
“What is…this town?”
“No…me! I’m the trap.”
Sam kissed him on the lips before falling back down on the bed, unconscious.
Titch stepped forward with a brew, “You need to sit him up. Quickly.”
Marlin lifted the weight of the young Enforcer, resting Sam’s body against his own. Titch was trying to make, Sam, drink the mixture. He coughed and spluttered but eventually consumed it. Marlin laid him back down again.
When the Enforcers finally arrived, they were greeted by a metal cow. The lead troop carrier screeched to a halt first.
The squad piled out of the vehicle while the second carrier pulled up some way back.
The cow exploded sending razor sharp shrapnel in a wide burst around the main street.
The explosion brought down Enforcers, and destroyed the front vehicle when a piece of metal impaled the bonnet, silencing the beast, acrid smoke spewing forth.
The remaining troopers went into defensive mode, crouching low, their weapons primed for use.
Suddenly, the street lights flared into life, dazzling the eyes of the Enforcers.
While they were temporarily blinded, the troopers were pelted with rocks from the roof tops where children fired sling shots.
The second troop carrier backed up along the road turning down a side street, planning on invading from another angle.
The second troop carrier pulled up in a back street, Enforcers leaping from the vehicle, clutching flame throwers. They ignited their weapons and began torching the buildings as per their orders.
They spanned out like insects in their black uniforms, using their weapons like mandibles to consume the town.
On the main street, Santanna aimed her shot gun from a high vantage point, focusing her attention on the vehicle.
Their idea was to cause as much destruction as possible to unnerve the Enforcers, leave them feeling bewildered and confused before the final attack.
She checked her target one more time to make sure it would do the most damage, and then squeezed the trigger. The shot whistled through the air, plunging into the guts of the vehicle.
The troop carrier exploded on impact, fragments demolish walls, took out troops and knock everyone off their feet.
The shell of the troop carrier belched toxic flames, projected thick, black smoke into the air.
The street lights over loaded, finally exploding one after the other until main street was blanketed by darkness once more. The only light came from the burning troop carrier.
The war cry of children erupted into the air, as they emerged from buildings all over the street. They clutched shovels, rakes and whatever other tools they could find to defend themselves.
They descended on the remaining troopers with an animalistic savagery.
In the back street, the second wave of troops had set fire to a number of buildings.
From somewhere above them, a shadowy figure watched on, Winter wanted no part of this conflict. He just wanted the fag. That guy was his prize. Yet to get to Marlin, he had to go through this wave of Enforcers.
He clutched a couple of grenades, removed the pin and tossed them toward the troop carrier.
The grenades exploded on impact, tearing the vehicle apart, ejected a rush of super-heated flames into the air.
The explosion shook houses and flattened the Enforcers.
Winter smirked, watching those jumped up morons scuttle about the ground for their fallen weapons.
He ran across a roof top to the edge of the building and slipped over the side, using a drain pipe to scale down toward the ground.
He rushed across open road toward the house where Marlin had taken the young Enforcer.
Two of the Enforcers spotted Winter moving across the street in the direction of a particular house.
They both had a special assignment that was theirs to perform in this operation; retrieve Samuel Parry at all costs.
They both had buzz-cut hair styles, were of African heritage, rippling with muscles. The only difference was their gender and height. Wanda was shorter than her man.
Wanda and Manny had been partners for years, now able to act without so much as a word being spoken, knowing exactly which way to move.
On hearing the explosions, Marlin ran down the staircase. He burst through the front door, confronted by a town that was burning.
He ducked down behind the front fence gazing at the troops. Some of them were slowly getting to their feet again.
Suddenly, Marlin felt a presence behind him. He, slowly, rose to his feet preparing to turn around to confront his premonition.
Before he could do that, strong arms grabbed him from behind. He began to struggle in the powerful embrace.
Marlin felt the blade of a knife against his throat, “There, there, enough struggling…I’m not going without you this time, freak. I have a reward to collect.” He began to run the tip of the knife down Marlin’s body, ever so slow and gentle. “You’re pretty fit for a faggot. You’ve got some spunk. I like that.” His knife came to rest at Marlin’s side, right next to a kidney. “I didn’t say I was exclusive.”
Marlin was confused by this man’s intentions until he felt Winter’s other hand begin to caress his chest. “I like a bit of action…makes the job beneficial.”
He began to unbutton Marlin’s vest, slipping a hand inside, squeezing his nipples. “You like that!”
Marlin did find the whole situation rather exciting but he was not into any rough sex games, certainly not bound and gagged.
“It sounds like you need some conversion therapy yourself,” spoke Marlin, feeling the man’s hardening groin behind him.
“That sounds pretty gay to me.”
Winter smacked him across the back of the head. Marlin felt dazed by the blow.
“Shut the fuck up, smart-ass!”
“Have you ever thought you may be sexually frustrated, which is why you seem so angry?”
“Well, we’ll soon see as I shoved my fat black cock up your tight white ass.”
Marlin didn’t get to find out as Titch came up behind Winter whacking him across the head with a frying pan. The bounty hunter crumbled to the ground. Marlin’s virtue was still intact.
The Enforcers began to retreat realizing they were outnumbered, their vehicles lost but the town was still on fire. That was the best they could do.
The black jump-suited figures began to scramble away.
A trooper removed a radio from his hip, ordering a pick up.
The children cried out with joy as the troops back off.
They hugged and cheered their victory. Santanna watched on, unable to prevent a smile.
A whistle sliced through the noise. They all turned to face, Flip, who stood on a verandah of a building, “Cut it out! We’ve still got a town on fire. Get the pumps going! Now!”
Santanna scowled, “You have water!”
“Yeah…doesn’t everyone?”
Santanna contemplated this for a moment, wondering what was so special about this town.
Marlin dragged Winter inside the house. Titch found some hand cuffs, and they secured the bounty hunter to a beam of the staircase. He wouldn’t be able to get free unless he took the whole staircase with him.
Marlin raced up the stairs to get Sam. They needed to evacuate the house.
When he burst into the room, Marlin found the bed empty and the window smashed in. He ran to window ledge, peering out into the darkened streets behind the house. He couldn’t see anyone.
