Dragon Warrior

by Shéa MacLeod

  She barely held back a snarl. Much as she might like to, getting all up in Smith’s face again would get her nowhere but locked up. Or worse.

  The Marines hustled into the building and hustled back out with the barrels and crates. In minutes they had everything including themselves loaded onto the Humvees.

  Smith gave Rain and Elan a mocking bow. “The American Marines thank you for your kind donation.”

  “Fuck you.”

  He stepped in so close she could smell a hint of mint on his breath. “Anytime, sweetheart.” Then he was gone along with the Humvees and Sutter’s body.

  “They took everything?” Elan spoke for the first time. His voice was dull, like his expression.

  “Yeah. Just like we planned.”

  It wasn’t unusual for the Marines to raid compounds for food and ammunition. During her tracks with Sutter, Rain had discovered more than one community starved to death because of it. Padre Pedro swore that before the Dragon Wars the Marines had been the good guys. Rain wasn’t sure she believed it. They certainly weren’t good guys now.

  “Do you think they’ll suspect?”

  She shrugged. “Why would they? As far as they know it was just you, me and Sutter in the compound. And Sutter’s dead.” Her voice choked on the last bit. She cleared her throat. “There was enough in there to throw them off the scent. For now.”

  Hopefully Smith and his Marines would never guess that the two barrels of watered-down home brew and the cases of canned food mostly gone off were nothing more than a smokescreen. Their true winter stores were far below ground, as were their true numbers. Elan hadn’t been about to let the Marines decimate their compound like they had so many others.

  “Elan, about Sutter ...”

  He shook his head. “I don’t wish to talk about it. He’s dead. That’s that. We’ll hold vigil for him tonight and then we move on.” He turned and walked back into the compound. Probably to drink himself into a stupor.

  But Rain wasn’t satisfied. Sutter had been her partner, her friend, the closest thing she had to a brother. She wasn’t about to let him go out that way. She’d made him a promise and she was going to keep it.

  Her eyes narrowed as she stared in the direction the Humvees had disappeared. What did the Marines want with Sutter’s body, anyway?

  Five

  THE RUSTED SIGN SWUNG gently in the breeze, each twist making a slight squeaking sound. The letters were nearly gone, worn away by wind and rain, but she could still make out the town name: Fossil.

  Rain frowned. Odd name for a town.

  She hitched her pack up a little higher. At first glance the town looked deserted. The windows of the shops on Main Street were coated in grime. One of the old telephone poles had toppled over and lay across the road, the attached streetlight broken to pieces. Weeds and saplings grew through cracks in the pavement. It looked like no one had come this way in a very long time.

  Rain knew better than to judge things by the way they looked. After all, it had been her idea to have a separate storage area with a bunch of crap food for when the Marines came calling.

  She turned off Main Street, keeping to the shadows, her footsteps soft. No sense advertising her presence. She didn’t have Sutter to watch her back anymore. She pushed that thought out of her mind.

  “You lost?”

  Rain whirled around. “Jesus, you scared me.”

  “Ain’t Jesus. ‘Least not last time I checked anyhow.” The woman was bent nearly double, her face lined with age. To Rain she looked about a hundred. Her gnarled hands gripped the handle of a small battered suitcase, the sides decorated with giant orange flowers. “Well, don’t just stand there gawping, missy. Help an old lady out.”

  Still baffled at having been taken by surprise, Rain let herself be pressed into service. The suitcase was surprisingly heavy. “You need a cart or something.”

  “Oh, pish. Why do I need one of those things when I’ve got a perfectly good suitcase? Waste not, want not, I always say. I’m Albie, by the way. Alberta Buck, it is, but everyone calls me Albie.”

  “Rain Mauri. Nice to meet you.”

  “Rain, huh? That’s an unusual name. Were your parents hippies?”

  Rain frowned. She had no idea what a “hippie” was. In fact, she had no idea who or what her parents had been. “No. I don’t think so.”

  Albie hobbled down the walk, Rain trailing behind her. “How old are you then?”

  “Twenty-eight.”

  “Hmm. You remember the Before?”

  That was what some people called the time before the Dragon Wars: The Before. “No, not really.” Rain remembered some things. She remembered riding in a car. She remembered a big yellow bird on TV. She remembered sticking her head in the freezer in a grocery store. The cold air made her skin tingle. But her memories of the Before were just little snap shots, more like dreams than anything.

  “Maybe it’s for the best,” Albie said with a slight nod of her head. “I remember. I remember clear as day. Sometimes I wished I could forget. Horrible things, I seen. Horrible. Here we are.”

  They stopped in front of what looked like an old corner store. Paint was peeling from the cement walls and the cracked windows had been boarded up. It sure didn’t look like anyone was home.

  Albie gave a sharp rap on the door. After a moment Rain heard a slight shuffling sound inside then someone called out. “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me, Hank. Brought us a visitor.”

  There were some more shuffling noises, a slight thunk, and then the door swung open. Inside it was dark and Rain’s eyes were used to the bright sunlight. She hesitated. She hadn’t survived this long by being stupid. No matter how nice Albie seemed, it could be a trap.

  Rain hefted the suitcase with her left hand. Nice and heavy. Good weapon if it came down to it. Just in case, she slid her handgun out from where it nestled at the base of her spine. It was a small gun, but deadly. At least for humans.

  “You first,” she told Albie.

  The old woman gave her a smile as if she knew exactly what Rain was thinking, then stepped through the doorway with Rain hot on her heels. The door slammed shut behind them.

  “Hank, put that damn thing down before you shoot yourself in the foot,” Albie snapped.

  The man called Hank looked just about as old as Albie. Rain doubted he could even pull the trigger on the rusted-out shotgun in his hands. And if he did, he’d probably blow himself up.

  He slowly lowered the weapon and Rain breathed a sigh of relief. She’d have hated to shoot the old man.

  “Rain, honey, I’d like you to meet my fool nephew Hank. Hank, this here’s Rain Mauri. She’s new in town. Be nice.”

  “Nephew?”

  “My brother, Hank’s daddy, was a good twenty years older than me. Here, you can put the suitcase up on the counter.” Albie waved Rain over to what must have once been the shop’s checkout counter. It appeared to have been converted into a bar. Shelves on the wall behind the counter were lined with neatly-stacked glasses and bottles in various colors and sizes, each one with its own handwritten label.

  The stock shelves that once sat in the middle of the floor had been shoved against the walls and crammed with old books and board games. In the center of the room, mix matched tables and chairs filled the small area. Each table held an unlit hurricane lantern. The only light came from the lantern on the bar.

  “Nice place,” Rain said as she heaved the suitcase onto the counter. She meant it. The bar had a homey vibe like the pictures she’d seen of pubs from the Before.

  “We like it.” Hank stepped behind the counter and began lifting Mason jars full of brownish liquid out of the suitcase.

  “Come, take a seat. Sit a spell.” Albie waved her to a nearby table. “Bring us a drink, Hank.”

  “I take it you’re the brew master?” Rain asked with a glance at the Mason jars.

  “Sure am. Even Before. People used to laugh at the crazy lady who made her own home brew. Guess
who’s laughing now.” She let out a cackle.

  Hank brought two glasses full of the brownish liquid then returned to stocking the bar. “How long have you and Hank been running this place?”

  “Oh, this was all Hank’s idea. When the first big war started, we needed some place safe for people to hide. Just in case. This old store belonged to Hank’s daddy, but it had been empty for years, so he turned it into a shelter. After,” she shrugged, “it seemed as good a place as any to gather, have a drink. Share a laugh. Especially after the Marines.” Her expression turned grim.

  “Yeah, I know about the Marines. They’ve come to Sanctuary, my compound, more than once. Last time was a few days ago. They took things.” She didn’t mention Sutter’s body. That was private.

  “That’s right.” Albie nodded. “They take who and what they want. Never no mind about how the rest of us are gonna live. So, we did our best to make sure they never knew we were here.”

  “But you’re just a few miles from their base.”

  She smiled. “Oh, yes. And more clever by half. They think this is a ghost town. And we like it that way.”

  Rain shook her head, amazed. For twenty-five years these people had been hiding on the Marines’ very doorstep. She took a sip of home brew and nearly spit it back out again. It was so strong it burned her throat and made her eyes water.

  “This is, ah, good stuff, Albie.”

  “Why, thank you dear.” Albie gave her a contented smile.

  “So, is it just you and Hank, then?”

  “Oh, no. There are thirty of us left here. The rest will be by later. What about you? You said the Marines came to your compound.”

  Rain knew she’d have to give a little if she was going to get, but she still wasn’t sure she could trust these people. So she altered the truth, a little. “Yes. I’m from Sanctuary. It’s to the east of here about ten miles, I’d say.” The compound was to the south, not the east. And it was more like fifteen miles. “There are forty-three of us living there. I’ve lived there most of my life.”

  “It’s good to know there are other survivors,” Hank spoke up. “Sometimes we forget we’re not alone.”

  Albie nodded. “True. Very true. It’s too bad we can’t band together. But big settlements ...” her voice trailed off, but Rain knew what she meant. Big settlements drew the dragons. The more people there were, the harder it was to hide, to survive.

  “Do you see the Marines often?”

  “Not so much anymore. They came a few times in the beginning, didn’t they Hank?”

  Hank nodded. “Yep. That was back when most of the town was still here. We told people to hide, but they wouldn’t listen. The Marines would show up, raid supplies, drag off a few people.” He shook his head. “Military ain’t supposed to act that way.”

  “True enough,” Albie agreed. “True enough. Military’s supposed to protect people. That’s their job.”

  Rain frowned. It sure wasn’t their job any more. Granted, they killed drags, but they were just as likely to kill people. Or steal from them.

  “Why did they take people?” She wasn’t ready to mention Sutter’s body. Not just yet.

  Hank shrugged as he stowed away the last of the Mason jars. “Who knows? The women, that was obvious. But they took men, too. Maybe there were some gay Marines?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Hank. They didn’t take them for sex. They took them for experiments.” Albie took a swallow of her brew. Rain noticed Albie’s eyes didn’t water. Must be acclimated.

  “Them’s just rumors, Albie. Silly ones at that.” Hank poured himself a drink and joined them at the table. “Nobody could ever prove there were any experiments.”

  “Experiments?” Rain remembered what the dying man had told her and Sutter.

  Albie leaned forward conspiratorially. “There were rumors back then that the Marines had scientists working on ways to enhance them so they could fight the dragons better. They needed extra people to experiment on.”

  “You mean like super soldiers?” Rain remembered Padre Pedro had once said they needed super soldiers to fight the dragons. Rain hadn’t known what super soldiers were, so Padre Pedro had to explain. She still thought it was a bit strange. How could anyone create superpowers in a person? It was completely crazy.

  Albie leaned back in her chair. “Super soldiers, yeah. That’s right. They were trying to create super soldiers. Of course, like I said, it was rumor. Nobody could prove anything. They couldn’t even create a super soldier Before, how could they possibly create one now?”

  Rain sipped her drink carefully. Albie had a point. The people Before had all kinds of miraculous things: Machines, medicines, music. How could they possibly make anything like that now?

  “Of course there’s the Dragon Warriors.”

  Rain blinked. “The Dragon Warriors? What have they got to do with anything?”

  Albie leaned forward, peering intently into Rain’s eyes. “Not exactly normal, are they? Men strong enough to wield a diamond-edged blade and take down a dragon single-handed. Sounds like a super solider if you ask me.”

  Rain hadn’t thought of the Warriors being super soldiers. The Marines had always insisted the Dragon Warriors were specially trained to fight the drags and that the reason there weren’t many of them was the rarity of diamonds for their blades, not the rarity of trained men. Though the super soldier angle would explain things. Then again, what did any of that have to do with the Marines taking dead bodies?

  She decided to bite the bullet. “What about bodies?”

  The two elders exchanged a look. “Bodies?”

  “Yeah. Did the Marines ever take dead bodies?”

  There was a long pause.

  “Well, now,” Hank said at last, “Dave Dugan once claimed he’d seen a man killed by a dragon. He said the Marines showed up and bundled the man’s body into a truck. Took off with it.”

  “Dave Dugan is a drunk and a liar,” Albie said.

  “True,” Hank agreed. “But that’s a pretty crazy thing to make up.”

  “They took the body of my friend,” Rain said quietly. “He died in a dragon attack and the Marines took him.”

  The two stared at her for a minute. “Maybe Dave Dugan wasn’t lying,” Albie finally admitted.

  “I need to find out what they’re doing over there at that base. I won’t have them experimenting on Sutter’s body.”

  “Well, now, I don’t know how you’re going to do that.” Hank shook his head. “The base is full of Marines, heavily guarded. No way they’re gonna let you waltz in there.”

  “There’s got to be a way ...” Rain was interrupted by a loud pounding on the door.

  Hank hurried to open it and a teenage boy spilled into the room, eyes wide with panic. “Hurry,” he gasped, “you gotta hide. The Marines are coming.”

  Six

  THERE WAS A FLURRY of activity as Hank quickly locked and barred the door. The boy blew out the light on the bar then ducked behind it.

  “Now keep real still,” Albie whispered. “Don’t make a sound.”

  Rain heard the familiar rumbling outside on the street. Marine unit Humvees. Like the ones that had taken Sutter’s body from the compound.

  Her fists clenched and she had to consciously relax them. She wanted so badly to go after them. To beat the truth out of them, if necessary, but getting caught now wouldn’t do anybody any good. Least of all Sutter.

  The rumbling of the Humvees continued. Sounded like at least four of them, maybe more. Not a usual patrol then. Something big.

  Finally, the engine noise faded. Rain heard what sounded like a rooster crow. She hadn’t heard a rooster since she was a kid.

  “That’s the all clear.” Hank spoke up from where he crouched with the boy behind the bar.

  One of the lanterns flared to life sending eerie shadows dancing across Albie’s face. “Good riddance, if you ask me. Damn Marines.”

  “Wasn’t always that way, Albie. These ain’t real Marines. No
t like the old days.” Hank poured himself a glass of moonshine. To Rain, his hand looked a little shaky.

  “Don’t I know it. Pour me some of that, too.” Albie sank back into the chair next to Rain. “So you see that’s how we survive. We make sure the town looks deserted and we hide right in their shadow. They pass through and never even know we’re here, just inches away.”

  Rain shook her head. She couldn’t imagine living that way, always fearing discovery. Bad enough hiding from the drags. But if the Marines really were taking people and using them for experiments, she could understand hiding from them.

  The boy brought glasses for everyone before gulping his own drink down in one shot. He looked hardly more than fourteen.

  “You old enough to be drinking?” El would never allow someone so young to imbibe.

  “We figure if he’s old enough to stand watch, he’s old enough to drink. The old ways are long gone. No sense in them anymore.” Hank tossed back his own beer and poured another.

  Rain shrugged. “Fair enough. Now about the Marine base.”

  “You goin’ to the base?” It was the first the boy had spoken since his dramatic entrance.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Well, now would be a good time. Looked like half the Marines cleared out in that convoy. Got to be low on guards. They even took their Warrior with them.”

  Her eyes widened. “They have a Dragon Warrior?” She’d never seen one with any of the envoys that had visited Sanctuary.

  “Just one. Seen him sometimes.” The boy slurped at his drink. “He only goes out when they hunt drags.”

  Rain supposed the Marines wouldn’t waste a Warrior on a compound raid, super soldier or not. It was too bad, in a way. She’d have loved to have seen one up close.

  “Guess that’s my cue to get moving. Thanks for everything.” She stood up.

  Hank eyed her over the rim of his glass. “You sure you want to do this now?”

  “Got no choice. They took my partner.” His dead body. But that was beside the point.

  “We can’t help you once you leave this town, you understand that?” Albie’s face was half hidden in shadow, but her voice held apology. “Our duty is to our people.”