by James, Daz
Cross arrived in the main street of Narra, exhausted, on the brink of dehydration. It had been years since she had stood in this spot. She gazed at the burnt out shells that were once her home. It was so quiet and desolate. It almost broke her heart.
Cross moved toward the charred verandah of the café, which was still capable of providing shade. She instantly began to cool down, resting her tired body.
She grabbed a water bottle from her backpack, shaking it to register the amount of water inside. There was probably a mouthful which wouldn’t get her far.
Her best chance was to find shelter with her mother while the heat died down from her escape, then she would push on to find Patty.
There was one other matter that brought her back to Narra.
In order to plan and scheme, the woman had to put aside the one person that would distract her the most.
Cross drank the last of her water, her dusty, dry throat being quenched.
Suddenly, she heard a voice call out to her, “Mummy!”
Cross slowly turned to face the child, the sound caused a tear to fall down her cheek. It was a word, she thought, would never be said again.
Titch stared at the woman as if she were a ghost, unable to believe her own eyes.
“Titch!”
Cross jumped to her feet running toward the little
girl, picking up her daughter, embracing the child in a hug.
The woman’s cries becoming laughter. Cross was the happiest she had been, in some time, making it worth crawling through shit to get here.
Dusk was beginning to fall as Sam approached the bus; he spotted the tiger prowling the outside of the vehicle. This bike was the ex-Enforcers only weapon, so prepared to use it for good effect.
The man sped faster taking the bike beyond safety limits, aiming the nose of the bike, directly at the big cat.
The creature stopped, turning to confront the irritating noise. He roared a challenge, preparing to attack.
Just before machine and animal hit, the rider threw himself off the bike, tucking himself into a ball and tumbling across the road.
He groaned, as something popped in his shoulder.
The spectators in the bus were amazed as both beasts collided, the bike spun off across the bonnet of the vehicle landing in the water while the tiger was flung far across the opposite side of the road, out of sight.
Marlin turned to Max, “Stay here! Don’t take your eyes off her.”
Santanna and Marlin raced out of the bus to check on Sam. He was groaning on the ground, the pain in his shoulder was excruciating.
Santanna and Marlin lifted him up from under his arms, supporting his body weight as they helped the man toward the bus.
As soon as they were back aboard, Marlin implored the woman to drive as fast as she could.
The old woman cackled, “I’ve never appreciated a wild beast until now.”
“I’m happy for you, Grandma, because you’re getting a closer look,” spat Santanna, angrily, grabbing the woman by the scruff of the neck. “I’ve had enough of your shit.”
Santanna hauled her up out of the seat, jostling the old bitch to the front before tossing the woman out of bus, closing the door seconds later.
A roar erupted in the growing night air as the woman pleaded to be let inside.
Santanna turned on the bus and drove away, thankful that Lenny had fixed her ride.
The woman cried out after them, aware of the dark closing in and a wild beast circling beyond her sight.
Santanna watched in the rear view mirror as the woman raced off into the under growth followed by the tiger. Suddenly, a horrific cry of terror ripped through the night.
For a moment, Santanna regretted her actions yet couldn’t help wondering if this was justice for all those people that woman had butchered. The old bitch would know how it felt to be dinner for someone else.
Sam lay on the back seat in agony, his shoulder dislocated.
Max finished examining it, “We need to pop his shoulder back in.”
“Ok. Let’s do it,” spoke Marlin, worried for Sam.
Max lent down toward him, “This is going to hurt like a bitch but afterwards you’ll be fine. Now, you hold Sam still while I pop it back in.”
Marlin held down his lover while Max took his arm giving it a quick wrench. Sam cried out in agony, his shoulder now back in place.
Marlin leaned over him, taking the man in his arms, “It’s over! You’ll be fine now. Just rest.”
Max left them alone going to the front of the bus.
Sam felt the pain begin to ease, looking up into the eyes of his lover.
Marlin looked worried. He lent down kissing him
on the lips, longing for his taste one more time.
Marlin felt a growing hard-on in his pants, backing away before his lust for Sam washed over him, “Why did you come back?”
“When I found out Aunt Pat had turned up, I just thought of you,” spoke Sam.
“You could have killed yourself.”
“I don’t care! I just wanted you safe.”
Sam noticed the blood stained rag about Marlin’s arm, “You’re hurt!”
“It was nothing, just a flesh wound. It’ll heal.”
Sam reached up with his good arm, pulling the man down toward him. He tried to resist but the ex-Enforcer was determined to have him again. Their lips touched, tongues exploring, love for each other taking over.
Boofhead was sulking in a corner away from his boss. Joh noticed his absence, the man never stop talking. He was always in his ear about something. He was far too quiet.
He went over to his side-kick, handing him a metal pan containing some stew he’d made. The hulk took it from him, putting it aside. Shit, something was wrong, the big idiot never knocked back a meal.
“Ok! What is it?”
“I want to help my friends.”
“Besides me, you haven’t got any.”
It finally dawned on Joh, the hulk was worried about those others. They were just interlopers. He couldn’t have them stir up any shit between Boofhead and him.
This way, the hulk knew his place; he wasn’t
getting any ideas above his station in life.
“You mean those tossers! You don’t wanna get messed up with them,” spoke Joh. “They’ll only cause trouble.”
“I wanna help them. They were kind to me.”
“Do you remember what happened to Lenny? You wanna end up like him.”
Boofhead looked up at him, disgruntled, “You don’t have to come…I’ll go on my own.”
“What on, you just gave that faggot ya bike.”
Boofhead jumped to his feet, his muscles tense, ready to hit out at him, “Don’t call him that! He’s a mate!”
Joh backed away well aware how painful one of those mighty fists could be when the hulk was agitated, “Look! I didn’t mean anything by it. I am just watching out for you.”
“Then don’t say it.”
“Okay…I’m sorry,” spoke Joh.
“Look, boss, I don’t want us falling out over this. If you don’t wanna help, I am going on my own,” replied the hulk, marching toward the exit.
Joh raced after him, trying once more to change his limited mind.
The two men were getting involved in situations they should stay out of; anyone with them would come under the attention of the Enforcers. That wasn’t a good thing for their independent ways.
On the outskirts of Dubbo, Santanna saw the lights first; the entrance had been cordoned off by Enforcer vehicles. Troopers were in position, armed with guns. Commander Roth stood in front of them, a smirk across her face.
Santanna brought the bus to a stop; the others joined her at the wheel. They looked at their welcome to the town, deciding not to accept their salutations.
“Hit the accelerated! We’re going through.”
“She’s a tough old bird but not that tough.”
“Come on, Santanna, this bus was build when
they made vehicles to last.”
The boys had an encouraging gleam upon their faces that was dispelling any reservations that the woman felt.
It would be nice to wipe that smug grin off that ugly bitch’s face.
“Come what may, let’s go out fighting,” spoke Marlin, determined.
Santanna revved up the bus, putting as much power into the engine, “Hang on to ya asses, bitches, this is going to be a bumpy ride.”
The woman released the break and the bus took off. The boys went flying down the aisle. The bus hurtled toward the blockade.
No one moved at first until the vehicle failed to stop.
Roth stood, frozen to the spot, daring them to go through her. She gave the command to open fire. Bullets whizzed about the sides of the bus, a shot shattering the front window, showering everyone in glass.
Santanna dodged the bullets by ducking down as far as she could.
The bus came at them, unrelenting.
Commander Roth swallowed hard for a moment, realizing they were going through her unless she got out of the way.
She raised her hand gun prepared to take out the driver.
Santanna closed her eyes, praying to whatever higher being would listen to her pleas. The bus was within seconds of plowing through the blockade.
Chapter 10
Suddenly, Commander Roth redirected her aim, firing a shot at one of the front tyres.
Santanna felt the pull of the wheel as the tyre blew; she tried to control the erratic bus as it swerved all over the road, out of control but they were still heading toward the blockade.
The passengers in the back tried to hang on for dear life as they were thrown about the interior.
The bus clipped the side of a troop carrier flipped over. The vehicle skidded, on its side, across the ground, sparks flying out from underneath as metal mixed with hard ground. The bus hit a mound of dirt, abruptly halting.
The Enforcers descended on the vehicle, like a colony of black ants, busting the remaining intact windows to retrieve the passengers.
They pulled each one out of the interior, alive but out of it, except for one small little man. He had fallen between two seats, wedged their forgotten, unconscious. He was easily missed.
Cross sat before a fire at the refugee camp that the children had set up for themselves. Titch was cradled in her arms, succumbing to sleep after the emotional reunion.
The kids clustered around her, eager to know of their own parents.
Flip brought her a cup of coffee placing it in her hands then joined the other children.
They watched her every movement as the woman drank her coffee. She was a true parent, one of their own. They were curious about her.
Flip finally spoke, representing his gang, “So…are the other parents coming back too?”
“I don’t know,” spoke Cross, sensitively, aware of what she had seen in command HQ deciding to avoid any direct answers. “The Enforcer bases are spread out across the country. Your parents could be on any of those command posts.”
“What happened…the day you were all taken?”
Cross remembered that morning; Patty had left to find herself, leaving the woman to raise a small child on her own.
She was depressed and lonely, trying to find a way out of the darkness that had invaded her mind. She no longer took the supplements, saving them for her child.
Then, she heard the rumbling of troop carriers rolling down her street, and minutes later, the splintering of her front door, as Enforcers burst in like a plague, converging on all rooms of the house looking for their target.
They found Cross, forcibly removing her from the house. She could hear her daughter crying out for her, scared by the noise. Cross tried to fight them but was too weak.
She was thrown in the back of a troop carrier, at gun point, and carted away.
The woman shared her story with the children, carefully deleting any reference to those parents who had fought back. They were bashed into submission while others were shot to death. They were causing too much fuss.
“We were given a choice when we arrived at 6th squad base, join up or die,” spoke the woman. “We chose preservation. We all thought of our kids that needed us. It just took longer to get home than I thought.”
Suddenly, out of the darkness, Manny and Wanda appeared clutching a couple of dead rabbits.
Cross stopped talking, turning her attention to the new arrivals.
Wanda and Manny were usually out for
themselves, no one else mattered. This scene of domesticity was unexpected.
There was no stopping Boofhead as he climbed aboard his boss’s bike.
Joh felt responsible for this idiot, so got on the back of the bike with him. Someone had to look out for the fool; those other bastards wouldn’t give a shit. They didn’t know Boofhead like he did. They weren’t family after all.
The bike roared out of West Wy heading for the troubles that awaited them in Dubbo.
The children had gone to bed under the instruction of their young leader.
Cross was amazed by Flip’s ability to organize all these children. He was destined to be a great leader. Maybe he’d help the world forward into a new positive age.
Cross found herself alone with Manny and Wanda, sitting around the camp fire finishing their coffee.
“They don’t need us…these kids have learnt to live without adults,” spoke Cross, sadly. “I was too late. I’ve never felt less of a parent than I do now.”
“That doesn’t mean they don’t want a mother.”
“But I’m not permanent. I am just passing through on my way to Dubbo. I am searching for my lover once that happens I’ll have all my family back.”
Manny snickered, “Christ, here was I thinking you were a fuckin frigid bitch. All the guys tried to get into your pants but ya just cock blocked them. I even gave it a shot.”
Wanda nudged him in the ribs, stern look on her face, “What were you doing chatting up this woman?”
“We spoke about it…you know…the threesome.”
“Not with her.”
Cross shook her head, “I wasn’t interested in your sex games.”
Wanda was jealous of this woman which made her suspicious of her, “So…where is your lover.”
“I heard that she had joined the Church of Forgotten Souls.”
“Snap!” Wanda smirked, placing out a hand which Manny high fived her. “I knew it! You’re a lezzo.” She felt relieved, Cross was too big a threat to her relationship. “Let me give you a heads up, honey, any one joining those religious freaks are fucked. Forget her.”
“I can’t…I have been through too much to stop now. I want my life back again.” Cross looked into the fire, contemplating her next move. “Though, I am not looking forward to the walk.”
“Why walk? These kids have a Ute.”
“So why haven’t you used it?”
“The kid won’t let the keys out of his sight.”
Cross smirked, perhaps she could persuade him with kindness and not some threat that Manny would use.
Next morning, the sun blazed through the broken windows of the bus teasing the little man awake with the shafts of light.
He winced, his head was throbbing.
He scrambled out of the tight squeeze between two seats, leaping upward to grab at the edge of a broken window, pulling himself up over the edge, his muscles straining.
He collapsed on the outside of the bus, gasping for air. He felt something wet and sticky slide down his face. He touched the source, his fingers coming away coated in blood.
He didn’t remember much after the bus flipped
over, a blanket of darkness had descended around him as he hit something hard with the side of his head.
He looked around, the entrance to Dubbo was now clear. He could see no traces of his travelling companions.
The little man scaled down the side of the bus, that was actually the under carriage, reaching the ground after a
few minutes.
He sat there gathering his bearings. He had to find a safe space to hide out while he thought of a plan to rescue his new friends.
There was still someone in Dubbo who would give him shelter. He just hoped the woman wasn’t still jaded from their bust up.
Once he rested, and patched up his head wound, then he would try to find her address.
It had been years since he last saw Lila Verona. He just hoped the paid hooker was still sharing her bed with the camp administrator.
He needed information to find his friends. They were the ones who would help bring down that blood sucking bitch leading the Enforcers of the 6th squad. That was his only goal.
Cross parted the entrance to Flip’s tent, stopping to admire the scene before her, Rusty had his arms draped around Flip, both sleeping contentedly. They were the hope for a better future. It left the woman feeling relieved.
She shook his arm, gently, waking the boy, “I understand you have a Ute…I need to borrow it for a few days.”
Flip scowled from being woken up so early. He screwed up his eyes to shield them from the light. He was still half asleep, so his mind wasn’t working properly when he gave his permission. He just wanted her to go so he could sleep some more. He removed a set of keys from under his pillow, passing them to the woman.
“Please tell Titch I love her. I am going to get the rest of our family…then I will never leave her again. Ok. You tell her that.”
He nodded his head, groggily. The woman slipped back out of the tent.
Sam lay on a cold, damp floor with a blanket and a bucket to keep him company. He shivered as the chill invaded his bones. The blood had dried up some time ago from the gash on his face. His once dislocated shoulder flared with pain. When he breathed, the man felt his body ache.
The cell door opened, a shaft of light blazed into the room, as Roth walked in.
