by Sam Ryder
I finally released the torrent that had been building from the moment we stepped inside the back room, exhaling from the effort.
She leaned forward again and gave me a tender kiss on the mouth.
“Thanks again for helping us,” she said.
“It was my pleasure.”
Chapter 4
Making Plans
We walked back out to the bar area, taking our places on the other side of the bar once again. Gehn, who seemed to be coming more and more out of her shell by the minute, looked at us with a small smile. “Find what you were looking for back there, Sis?” she asked.
“Wait…what?” I said. Did she say ‘Sis’? Meaning Sister?
Hannah laughed. “Yeah. Next time you should join us.”
The Ender blushed and looked suddenly uncomfortable again.
Hannah shook her head. “Not everyone thinks like those idiot guys,” she said. “Right, Cutter?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said, which was partially true. At the same time, my limited experience with Enders made me unsure what exactly I thought of Enders. Gehn was beautiful and soft spoken and nothing like I expected. Gehn met my eyes, frowning slightly, as if she didn’t believe me. “So you’re sisters…” I said. It explained so much. Why they were traveling together, why Hannah was so protective of Gehn. Et cetera, et cetera.
“Guilty as charged,” Hannah said. “Is that a problem?”
“Of course not.” I had a million questions, ones that would need to be answered later. For now, we needed to discuss business. “You had a dream about me,” I said to Gehn. “Your sister is rather convincing. What do you want me to do to earn my wage?”
Gehn pursed her lips, seeming more comfortable with the change of topics. “I don’t know yet. The situation is fluid. I know we need you with us,” she said, “but I’m not sure what happens beyond that. I have a strong sense that this is meant to be. I don’t know your purpose yet, but you are the one.”
The one, I thought. Whatever that means. Great. I agreed to an open-ended request, and she didn’t even know what I would be doing. Still, the money was incredible. I would attempt to fly for that kind of coin.
Harrison stood there, “cleaning”, with a smirk on his face.
“What if you’re wrong?” I asked. “If I go with you and spend six months wandering around the Ends doing whatever the hell you want...and nothing changes—then what? We just pack it in and head home?”
“That will not happen,” Gehn said. “We’ll figure it out. You are chosen, for some reason. Everything will clear up soon. I can assure you. I know.” Her confidence was mesmerizing.
Shit, I’ve had my share of dreams. During them, they make a weird sort of sense, but after I wake up I realize they were all nonsense.
Gehn stared at me, her eyebrows lowered. “This vision means more to me and to the people of the Ends than you can imagine.”
I still didn’t understand how that was possible. I brought the scotch to my lips. “Sometimes a dream is just a dream,” I said before letting the fire swish around my tongue again.
“You don’t understand,” Hannah said.
I didn’t. Though things weren’t perfect in this post-apocalyptic world, I was content. I liked the Ends the way they were. The jackasses got rubbed out. It was survival of the fittest out here. The old world was full of stupid little social rules everyone had to follow “for the betterment of the community.”
There were things one didn’t say. Things one didn’t do. People couldn’t act a certain way, otherwise society pushed that person to the fringe.
Now? I could say what I wanted and do what I wanted. If I got in trouble, I could defend myself. It was the way things should be.
“The Ends are harsher than they need to be,” Hannah said. “There are victims.”
“Survival of the fittest,” I argued. “If you can’t hang in The Ends, then you deal with it. Either stay out of everyone’s way or pay for it.”
Gehn took a deep breath and shifted on her stool.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean you. You got a raw deal in all this. But I’m not some kind of a prophet.”
“Really? Because I felt rather religious in the back with you,” Hannah said, a smile drawing onto her lips.
Damn. Why did she have to make me lose my train of thought?
“All I’m saying is that what you’re asking is impossible.”
“Maybe,” Hannah said. “But does that mean we shouldn’t try?”
She had me there. I’d always liked an underdog, and taking risks had been a part of my DNA way back when I picked out the steepest, most difficult cliffs to snowboard down back in the day. “I guess not. But I won’t lie: I’m doing this for the money.”
“Right now you are,” Hannah said.
“Right now I am,” I agreed.
On the rest, we would have to agree to disagree.
“Look, I don’t mind ruffling a few feathers,” I said. “But give me a reason to. ‘I had a dream’ is not a reason. Everybody has dreams. What makes yours so different?”
Gehn shook her head—she seemed to have trouble explaining it. She shoved her chair in and left.
“What’d I say?” I asked. I truly hadn’t meant to offend her.
“Do you know any Enders personally, Cutter?” Hannah asked me. I shook my head. “Enders have a certain sensibility about them. They know things that the rest of us don’t. It’s like another sense to them. Some have it stronger than others. Gehn has the strongest sense I’ve ever seen. Don’t disrespect that.”
“And what makes you think this is necessary? Even if her dream is some kind of premonition, what’s on the line here? What do we gain?”
She met my gaze and stared right through the back of my skull. “Life.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Look, Cutter, you seem like a decent guy, but you’re like a turtle.”
“A turtle? Is this the part where you tell me the story about how slow and steady wins the race?”
“Don’t be an idiot. All I’m saying is that you’ve had your head in your shell for too long. This town is an enigma, one of the few that doesn’t see what’s happening out there, what the Rising is doing to the Enders.”
“So tell me. What am I not seeing?”
“The Rising is massacring Enders, even those, like my sister, who act more human than they do. They killed our mother.”
“Why? What did she do to deserve that?” I asked.
“See? That’s the problem. You assume when something happens it was deserved. She did nothing but exist. The Rising kills Enders all the time for no reason. That’s what nobody talks about. When someone kills an Ender, they make up some bullshit excuse. But it’s fake news. Yes, some Enders, like the males, might deserve it because they are not themselves anymore and they’ll murder for sport. But people like my mother and Gehn are just trying to live their lives when somebody comes by and destroys everything they have.”
“How did you—how did both of you escape?” I asked. This was an important question to me. If they had been the target of the Rising, it was a small miracle they were here talking to me.
Hannah didn’t answer right away, and I could tell that her teeth were grinding together behind her beautiful lips. “I was too late to save my mother,” she said. “But I wasn’t too late to avenge her. The world is two Rising members fewer now.”
I whistled, impressed. Taking out one, much less two, members of the Rising was an amazing feat. They were well-armed, well-funded, and only accepted capable members.
On that note, Gehn walked back into the bar and took her seat at the counter. “I’m sorry, I needed to clear my head.”
“No problem,” I said. “But what comes next? Where do we go? What do we do? All you have is an image in your mind. If we are, in fact, supposed to make that reality, how would we do that?”
“I don’t know,” Gehn admitted. “But we will learn. There has to be a way.”
Hanna
h said, “Now that we have Cutter, we can figure out what comes next. He enables us to move freely. Let’s use that protection and go figure out what it means.”
“There’s a guy in Rome who interprets dreams all the time,” Harrison muttered. I’d forgotten about the barkeep, who was still cleaning the same stained glasses over and over again, like a nervous tick.
I met his gaze. Those might have been the most words Harrison had ever said to me in one sitting. But working at the bar afforded him the chance to hear a lot of different people talk about where they came from and what they did. I hadn’t heard anyone talk about Rome in a long time.
Rome. What a fitting name.
Rome was the new city the people had built. It was home to the Rising. Most of the Rising population clustered throughout the city, shielding themselves from the “horrors” of the Enders.
“If you want to go to Rome, fine,” I said. “Let’s get this dream interpreted before we do anything drastic. But we have to make a couple detours first.”
Hannah shot an annoyed glance at me. I raised my palm to placate her. “Relax,” I said. “I’m not talking about fun stuff. Hell, walking to Rome sure ain’t fun either. We need to swing by my place so I can grab a few things. Then, we’ll stop in Geneva on the way.”
Geneva lived up to its name. It was a neutral city, not run by Enders or the Rising. I’d been there twice before, and the public kept each other in line. It was safe, at least for the Ends. With Geneva, we could rest and catch our breath without fear that somebody would kill us.
“My place, Geneva, Rome,” I counted out loud. Both women nodded. I let out a deep sigh. This was a hell of an interruption to my routine.
“Is there a problem, Cutter?” Hannah asked.
No problems here.
“I’m good,” I said. “Traveling isn’t my favorite thing in the world. But I have a feeling you won’t leave me alone unless I go with you.”
Both women nodded.
“And remember, you’re getting paid,” Hannah reminded me.
She was right. And $3 a week was phenomenal pay.
I ordered one more scotch. Harrison gave me the glass he had been “cleaning”. It disgusted me, but I didn’t want to waste the scotch, so I just threw it back as quickly as possible.
I dropped another quarter onto the bar for Harrison, for both the scotch and information. The man grabbed it eagerly. Gehn finished her drink, too, and Hannah wasn’t having anything.
Gehn rose to her feet and the three of us stepped out into the hot afternoon sun.
“First, my place,” I said to the both of them. “Then we’ll stop at Geneva for one night, and full-speed for Rome after that.”
Gehn pulled her hat down a little tighter around her forehead. She cowered behind me.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’ve been on the road a lot over the last couple years. My people suffer out there if one misstep is made. Concealing my identity is necessary for survival. I don’t want to fight.”
“Well, you won’t have to,” I said, matter-of-factly. “That’s why I’m here. Nobody will mess with you as long as I’m with you.”
I was only in it for the money, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t take my job seriously. My entire world for the next few months would boil down to protecting these two women—Ender or not.
She stared back and me and finally let her body relax. She was a big ball of stress, but I hoped I could ease some of it.
“Hannah told me about your family,” I continued. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Gehn nodded with a meek smile, then quickly turned away. I wasn’t sure how much of it was true. Maybe Hannah made it all up just to get me to come along. It didn’t matter.
“My place isn’t far from here, so let’s hit the road,” I said to the both of them.
We walked through the outpost and headed to my house. There was one thing in particular I would bring, regardless of whether they wanted me to or not. I was heading out on quite a journey, and I needed to prepare accordingly.
I just hoped they wouldn’t mind a little more company as we traveled to Rome.
Chapter 5
Preparations
A heavy breeze blew through the air as we walked up to a small residential building. Dust kicked up off the ground, forcing us to squint to keep it from getting into our eyes.
I led the women around the house to the back entrance. Heavy barks sounded through the door.
“He smells me,” I said as I opened the door.
My golden retriever bounded out of the house. He nearly leapt up into my arms, putting his front paws on my chest and wagging his tail wildly.
“Hey, boy,” I said, stroking his chin. “We’re going on a trip today.”
The dog hopped down and circled the three of us excitedly.
“This is Chuck,” I told them. They both nodded and reached out their hands to pet Chuck, but the dog couldn’t stand still long enough for that to happen.
“He’ll calm down, don’t worry,” I assured them. “He’s coming with us.”
I stepped through the back entrance while the girls and Chuck followed. The sun shone through the lone window on one wall, illuminating my meager digs.
My home was one room tacked onto the back of somebody else’s house. My landlord built it as an addition. It was a room to protect from the elements. Not much more than that.
He had built no fireplace, but I had found an old cast iron stove and installed it with his permission. It threw off plenty of heat for me, and at least I could be reasonably comfortable here on a cold winter night.
The two women stayed near the door with disgusted looks on their faces. I wasn’t exactly a “neat freak”. I left dirty clothes all over the place, old food sat on the floor. Chuck took care of the leftovers. My bed, shoved into the corner of this single room, had a lone sheet on it.
Home sweet home.
“Just have to grab a few things. Then we can hit the road,” I told them.
“How do you find anything in here?” Hannah said. “This place is a dump.”
“Don’t judge,” I said. “I’m the Chosen One, remember?” It was a bad joke and not fair to Gehn, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Funny,” was Hannah’s only response. Gehn scowled at me. Instead, I opened a small white cabinet next to the stove, pulling out a few packs of energy gel. I figured five or six would be plenty of fuel to keep me going on this little sojourn, but I only had four, my supply dwindling as my paltry stock of coins had been on the decline as of late.
“This had better be enough,” I muttered under my breath.
Next, I pulled a knife out of a cabinet next to my bed, along with a holster. I strapped the brown leather holster to my right thigh so it was secure. I slid the knife into the holster and wiggled my leg around for a second, just to make sure that it would stay in place, and wouldn’t stab me.
Finally, I reloaded my ammo belt for Alpha and Beta. Gotta take care of my girls.
I pulled my shirt off over my head and tossed it onto a pile of dirty clothes. A quick glance at the women told me they weren’t prepared for the visual. My muscled chest and back and even portions of my arms were a tapestry of scars that told stories about my life. Some were from the old world, the result of my daredevil ways. Others were from the last ten years, especially those first few, when I was still figuring out how to survive in this new, no-holds-barred world. There was one other, as well, from a time even longer ago. That one was earned in Afghanistan.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I asked. It wasn’t like Hannah hadn’t already gotten an eyeful of me.
“Are you going to change right here in front of us?” Gehn asked.
“Relax,” I said. “Just have to change my shirt. Been wearing this one a few days and it’s starting to get rank. If I’m hitting the road, I want a clean one. You’ll thank me later.”
As I riffled through the pile of clothes for a different shirt, the metal dog ta
gs hanging around my neck clinked against each other. I found a clean white t-shirt and pulled it on.
“Were you a soldier?” Hannah asked. “Before the blast, I mean? You’re wearing tags.”
I looked down at my dog tags. “Oh, these? Yeah, but these aren’t mine. I’m not a soldier anymore, so I don’t wear mine.”
Hannah looked puzzled. “Whose are they, then?”
I wasn’t exactly an open book. My business was my business. I liked to keep it that way. But if we were going to be spending the next few days together, I might as well explain myself a little.
I held up the dog tags with my thumb. “These tags belonged to my buddy, Silas. He was a fellow soldier.”
“How did you...” Hannah trailed off. She knew. I had his dog tags. That meant he wasn’t around to wear them himself.
“In the blast,” I said, looking out the window. “Si was in military communications. He intercepted messages and warnings from other countries, stuff like that. Silas was one of the first people to identify the incoming nuke. He had a front row seat for the Blast.”
The Blast was the result of a MT-115 nuclear warhead. It was a vicious Russian-developed device that was never tested until it was used by the North Koreans, who had bought a baker’s dozen for a billion bucks. The resulting Blast had decimated a large portion of the U.S. So they’d shot another, then another. We’d responded in kind, starting a nuclear war that had spilled over into other countries.
The series of attacks now known as the Blast was the worst attack ever perpetrated in the history of humanity.
That was ten years ago. Those who survived sifted through charred corpses, rebuilt what was left of the bombed-out remains of our land, and haven’t seen evidence of life outside of the wasteland.
Some of us survivors thought we could find a spot on the planet where the bombs had no effect—a place that had survived outside of the Ends. Maybe the rest of the world was fine and just the United States was fucked.
But with no method of communication, no grid to tap into anymore, nothing to connect us to any other part of the world, we had to assume that everybody else was in at least the condition we were.
