CRYERS (26 page)

Chapter 43

Lawson heard
a woman scream. He turned back towards the town of Rudd and listened some more.
He was standing at the narrow opening between boulders that led into the pit.
His hands were tied behind his back and Lode’s monster hand had a firm grip
around his bicep.

“You hear
that? Sounded like a woman screaming.”

Lode pulled
at him. “There’s lots of screams coming from the pit—fighters, men and women up
in the rocks.” As if on cue another chorus of shouts and cheering sounded from
the other side of the rocks. “You’ve competed here before. Has your old mind
become too feeble to remember what it was like?”

“No, it’s not
that.” Lawson stood his ground and waited for the spectator howls to die down.
His steely grey eyes focused in on the line of dark buildings a mile away. The
heat of the day made them shimmer—the black strip of moat encircling the town
rippled like a writhing snake. “I heard something back that way…a woman
screaming.”

“Maybe you
did, so what? Not all of Rudd’s residents came to the Rites. Perhaps someone’s
being raped, or a husband is teaching his wife a lesson. What do you care?”

“That’s
exactly
why I care.” He tried twisting
his arm free but Lode didn’t shift an inch. “Most of Rudd’s inside this gawdamn
ring of rocks. The town’s been left unguarded—you don’t know what I seen!”

“The
grey-skinned people living under the ground? Shit, Lawman—is that how you’re
going to try and get out of what you got coming? You’re a cheat, but I never
took you for a coward.” He pulled Lawson down the sandy trail. The lawman’s
protests were drowned out by the sound of the crowd clambered inside.

Ugly, leering
faces closed in. Men with rotten teeth bellowed in his face with the stink of
bad liquor on their breath. Woman spat on him, and dirty children kicked at his
ankles and shins. Lawson recognized some of the people; citizens of Burn he’d
once looked over and sworn to protect. None of them offered him any support
now. They spat, slapped, and kicked with all the rest.

Lode leaned
over and yelled in his ear. “We could’ve come sooner—it would’ve been safer to
deliver you here before all these wonderful folks showed up.” A wad of snot
struck Lode’s nose and the giant punched its deliverer in the face. “But I
wanted you to experience the hate of the crowd up close. They don’t like you,
Lawman. They’re going to enjoy seeing your old body crushed in the dirt.”

He saw Trot.
Tears were leaking down the man’s face and his bottom lip was quivering. He
held out his bandaged hands as the lawman was led by. Lawson strained at the
ropes holding him. He couldn’t even shake hands goodbye. Cobe and Willem’s
faces appeared next. They weren’t crying, but they didn’t look at all happy to
be where they were.
My fault they’re
seeing this. I should’ve dragged them back to Burn when they ran away. I
could’ve protected them better.
Cobe nodded his head. The boy would keep
his promise. He would run north with the others. Their chances weren’t good,
but it was a better chance at life than they would receive left in Rudd after
Lawson was dead. The lawman nodded back.

A dead body
was being pulled out of the pit. The victor was still limping around in the
dirt, pumping his fists in the air triumphantly. It took Lawson a moment longer
to recognize him. He was a boy not much older than Cobe called Daevid. His
parents had died from the coughing sickness two years earlier, and no one had
taken the boy in since. He was coated from head to foot in blood. Maybe now the
folks back in Burn would notice him, Lawson thought sadly.

The sound of
the crowd had become deafening. They weren’t yelling for Daevid. They were
screaming and cheering for the main event. Lawson felt the ropes being cut away
behind him. Lode smacked him on the shoulder and shook him. “This is where we
part ways, Lawman.”

“I’ll see you
in hell, Lode.”

Lode smiled.
“I don’t believe in hell. It’s just another silly story from one of those
stupid books people used to read a long time ago.”
 
It was the last smile Lawson would ever see,
all grey-gummed and vicious. Maybe Lode was right. Maybe hell wasn’t a place
recorded on the pages of ancient paper. Maybe it was in a place closer
by—lurking in cold, sorry men’s hearts when their time was near.

A warm hand
touched his arm. Lawson turned and saw Sara. Her fingers went up to his
wrinkled cheeks and held him. “You old fool.”

Lawson took
one of her hands and kissed the back of it. “Take care of our girl.”

He wanted to
hold her one last time. He wanted to say that he loved her and how sorry he
was. Lode tore Lawson away and threw him into the pit.

Yaven was
standing there with him when he got back to his feet.

“People!” His
arms were in the air, his hands pulling down the air to quiet the hundreds
gathered. The shouting and swearing died away to a low rumble. “People…
This
is why we have come here on this
day.
This
is what the Rites are all
about. This man has been chosen to be the ultimate representative of his town.
This lying, cheating, murdering individual is Burn’s
best
.”

Total
silence.

“And now…I
give you the representative of Rudd.”

A big man
strode into the pit. He was shorter than Lawson but much heavier. His thick
arms and wide chest were laden with heavy muscle. The lawman looked up from the
powerful build, past his black beard and into his eyes. He
knew
the man.

Yaven
introduced him. “I give you Jakob. A new resident of our town, and an eager
volunteer.”

Lawson saw
from the look Jakob gave Yaven that he hadn’t volunteered for this. The man and
his family had simply been looking for a place to live. They had come from some
shit-hole out west to be with Jakob’s sister. Poor bastard, Lawson thought.
What a way to find a new home. He saw the man’s wife and daughter standing a
ways behind him in the first line of spectators. Anna looked withdrawn and
dead. Angel—the precious girl they had been trying to marry off—still looked
ugly.

Yaven started
up again. “Your Rites, people…For Rudd or for Burn…For Burn or for Rudd.” Six
hundred voices chanted the words back. Yaven left the pit.

Lawson and
Jakob approached one another.

“Doesn’t look
like you found much out west,” the younger man said.

“Yer new
start in Rudd don’t look much better.”

Jakob
shrugged. “It would’ve been better if we arrived a week or two later. I didn’t
want no part in this.”

“Me neither.”

The men
started circling. The crowd roared. Lawson saw Willem from the corner of his
eye turn his face into his brother’s chest. Cobe held him close.

Jakob yelled
to be heard. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to kill you, but I will. I
have family.” The man knew Lawson was hurting and busted up inside. It wasn’t
hard to tell.

“I know.” The
lawman saw that look in Jakob’s face—the twitch all things made just before
pouncing. Lawson held up his palms in a stopping gesture. “Don’t do it…I quit.”

Chapter 44

Cobe couldn’t
believe his eyes. The lawman was surrendering. Was that even allowed in the
Rites? Willem looked up at him questioningly and then turned in his brother’s
arms to see Lawson’s raised up in the air.

The lawman
yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. “As is my right, I hereby forfeit in
the name of Burn…I forfeit for my town…I forfeit for its residents…and I
forfeit as its chosen final representative.”

Cobe couldn’t
imagine the crowd any quieter. Not a single curse was uttered. No one said a
word. No one moved.

Finally Trot
whispered. “This can’t be happening. The lawman ain’t no coward…is he?”

Cobe put a
finger to his lips to silence him as Yaven walked back out towards the two men.
The old man stared at Lawson with contempt. “It has never been done. No one has
ever forfeited the Rites.”

“But it’s in
the rules.”

“It is in the
rules,” Yaven confirmed. “And the rules also state any man that forfeits must
still pay with his life.” Rudd’s town leader produced a knife from his belt and
held it out to the lawman. “By his own hand.”

Lawson took
the knife and threw it in the dirt. “It don’t have to be like this…There’s
another way.”

Yaven slapped
him across the face. “You fucking
coward
.
You’ve forfeited!”

“I have… Or
I’ll still fight this man standing before me…under one condition.”

“You aren’t
in any position to make demands. Either kill yourself or fight. Which is it?”

Lawson leaned
down into the small man’s face and whispered. “I won’t fight unless you agree
to my terms. The people here don’t understand what the fuck’s goin’ on. They
want to see a show. How they gonna feel about the Rites—how they gonna look at
you
when they go home empty-handed?”

Yaven choked
back his rage. “What
one
condition?”

“I have
friends…and family here in Rudd.” Lode was coming towards them. “Seventy-two
hours of safety. I want the five of them given a three day head start out of
Rudd. Agree to that and I’ll give you a gawdamn Rites the folks here ain’t
likely to forget.”

Lode pushed
between the two. “I heard that. There is no fucking way I’m going to allow the
others to leave this town. Those boys are freaks—their parents were sinners.
They’ll swing back in Burn, or I’ll cut them down right here.”

Yaven craned
his head back to make eye contact with the giant. “You’re the biggest bastard
I’ve ever seen, but if you try and hurt anyone gathered here, I’ll see you
hacked down to size quickly enough. The Lawman has twisted the rules but he
hasn’t broken them. He has his seventy-hours.”

Lode
enveloped the man completely in his shadow. His fists—each the size of Yaven’s
head—clenched at his sides. Yaven didn’t back down. Lawson understood how this
tiny man could’ve been a Rites champion at one time.

“One day.
Twenty-four hours,” Lode said.

Yaven
compromised. “Forty-eight hours.”

Lawson almost
grinned. A Rites champion and a politician. He was the perfect town leader.
“What’ll it be, Lode? You agree to the two days, or am I gonna have to spill my
own guts?”

The giant
sighed and his great shoulders slumped. “I’ll remain in Rudd for two days. Your
friends had better run fast and far, Lawman. I won’t rest until they’re
all
dead.” He thumped back out of the
pit and took his place amongst the restless audience.

Yaven
explained things to the crowd and they cheered. None of them cared about the
details—they were here to see a fight to the death. Jakob called out to the
elder leader as he started away. “Wait! I have a condition as well!”

Yaven looked
to the sky and prayed a lightning bolt would strike him dead. “What?”

Jakob pointed
to his family. “I’ll only fight if you promise to marry my daughter off.”

The old man
frowned when he caught sight of Angel. “Men have died for me over the years…but
there are
some
things I can’t expect
them to do.” Yaven exited the pit leaving Jakob and Lawson squaring off once
again.

“Fuck him,”
Jakob spat.

“Better than
yer daughter,” the lawman replied. He didn’t want to insult the man’s kin, but
Lawson had to goad him into recklessness. He needed to get him riled up enough
to swing with his fists instead of thinking with his brains. It worked. Jakob
charged face first like an enraged roller, and Lawson stepped to the side. He
put all of his strength into a punch that found the man’s bearded jaw. It was a
thick jaw, but Lawson felt it break anyway along with two or three of his
knuckles. Jakob slid into the dirt and the lawman drove his knee into the small
of the heavier man’s back. Jakob grunted and rolled, throwing Lawson off
balance.

They were
face to face again moments later. Jakob was still furious, but he’d learned his
lesson. There would be no more mindless charges. Lawson had done more damage to
his hand than he first thought. The index and middle fingers were broken on his
left hand and already growing numb. He tried shaking some life back into them,
and Jakob swung in on the lawman’s right side. Lawson stepped back, but his
opponent’s elbow re-broke his nose on the follow through. His eyes immediately
watered and Jakob’s fist pounded the shattered bridge even further back into
his face.

Another punch
to his stomach doubled the lawman over. He wretched and all that came out were
teeth and blood. Jakob two-armed him over the back and Lawson collapsed into
the dirt. Fingers took hold in his hair and Jakob slammed his face against the
ground. He lifted his head back up and Lawson thought he caught a glimpse of
Sara. His face met the earth again. Jakob pounded it into the blood-soaked soil
over and over. The lawman couldn’t breathe.

Hell of a way to go. Choking on mud and blood.

Jakob pulled
his head back further. He was going to give Lawson’s face one final, three-foot
drive into the dirt. It gave the lawman just enough time to do two things;
first—his jaw dropped open allowing him to take a deep breath. Second—he worked
his right arm free. He reached back, hoping to nail Jakob’s eyeball with his
thumb. It found the man’s beard instead.

Good enough.

He took hold
and yanked. Jakob squealed and tried to pull away. Lawson kept his grip and
moved back with him. He was no longer pinned to the ground. The lawman gasped
for more air and rolled away, trying to put some distance between him and those
powerful arms.

Jakob was
back on his feet first. It took what felt like an eternity for Lawson to do the
same thing.
Distance
, the lawman
thought.
He’s younger and stronger than
me
.
He’s faster and none of his bones
are busted. Distance is all I got left.

Jakob stepped
in and swung. Lawson swayed away from his fist. He had the height to avoid most
of the shorter man’s blows, and he had the reach with his remaining good arm to
still do some damage. He lashed out and hit him square in the forehead. Jakob appeared
momentarily stunned and Lawson struck again, fracturing the other side of his
jaw. He jabbed again, and the lawman felt his nose break with grim
satisfaction. Jakob staggered forward and Lawson kicked him in the testicles.

It was a
dirty, mean trick the lawman had used just the day before, but the crowd didn’t
seem to mind. They were chanting his name.
Lawson!
Lawson! Lawson!
Even the folks of Rudd had taken a liking to him and his
too stubborn or too stupid to die persistence. Jakob was on his back writhing
with both hands clamped over his swelling balls. The lawman sat on top of him
and went to work on his face some more. He kept punching until the big man
underneath him stopped squirming altogether. Lawson leaned down to see if he
was unconscious or dead. A bit of blood bubbled from one nostril. Jakob was
still breathing.

Lawson
climbed off of him and faced the crowd where Yaven was standing. “He’s had
enough. It’s done.”

“It’s done
when one of you is dead,” the town leader yelled.

“He has a
wife and daughter. He came here to begin a new life. What right do I got to
take it all away from him?”

“We made a
deal, Lawman.”

Lawson tried
wiping some of Jakob’s blood away on his shirt but couldn’t find a clean enough
spot to begin. He finally gave up on the idea. “That we did. You give my people
two days away from this place and I’ll fight someone else—someone nobody gives
two shits about. Give me a man with no family and no need for livin’.”

Sara tried
running out to him, but Lode pushed her back into the crowd. “I told you! The
lawman’s a gawdamn cheater!” He picked Lawson up by the front of his shirt
until the toes of his boots no longer touched the ground and shook him. “You
want to fight someone nobody gives a fuck about?—Then fight
me
.”

Yaven
appeared intrigued. “What are you suggesting?”

Lode dropped
Lawson into the dirt. He spun around and addressed everyone in the pit. “I will
fight for Rudd! I will become a citizen of your town and fight for you every
year! I will be your champion!”

The people
didn’t know what to make of his proposal. Some clapped and wailed for it to
happen, others conferred whether such a thing could be done.

“Gawdamn
traitor!” Trot yelled. Cobe poked him in the side and told him to keep his dumb
mouth shut.

Yaven decided
for them all. “Works for me… From this day forward you are a citizen of Rudd.
Now kill that asshole so we can all go home.”

Lode picked
the three-hundred pound Jakob up from the ground as if he weighed no more than
a half-sack of potatoes and deposited him in front of his distraught wife.
“Thank you, lawman. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better resolution to our
differences if I’d tried.” He stomped back towards Lawson still sitting in the
mud.

Willem tore
free of Cobe’s arms and ran into the pit. He kicked at Lode’s shins. “Big,
gawdamn, mutant fu—” Lode struck the boy down before he could finish. Cobe
jumped over his brother’s unconscious form and sunk his teeth into the giant’s
thigh.

Lode laughed
and pulled him away. “Send them all in. Bring me the stupid Trot and the
lawman’s woman. I’ll throttle the life from all of them!” He forced Cobe to the
dirt and placed a heel into his throat.

“Lode.”

He turned his
head and the lawman was standing before him. Lawson threw a handful of sand
into his eyes, and Lode staggered back. He clawed at his eyes and more dirt was
shoved into his mouth. Lawson drove his fist into Lode’s throat and the man
dropped to one knee. The crowd roared but their cheers were short-lived. Rudd’s
newest citizen took hold of Lawson’s wrist and twisted. Bone started to crack.
Lawson tried one last swing with his other arm and Lode caught it. He forced
the lawman down to his knees and continued breaking limbs.

“I’ve proven
what a cheating old bastard you are.” Lode smacked his forehead into Lawson’s
nose. The lawman’s head snapped back but he didn’t feel any pain. Too much had
already been bust in his face. “It’ll be a pleasure catching up to those boys
in two days.” He struck out with his skull again and shattered Lawson’s
cheekbone. “When I’m done with them, I’ll rape your woman.” Something snapped
in the lawman’s jaw as Lode hit him again. The lawman felt no more pain, and he
heard no words. His head drooped down into his chest.

Lode grabbed
his throat and started to squeeze.

Screams broke
out from the west side of the ring. Men and women spilled out from the rocks
and into the pit, desperately trying to flee from something coming in. There
was nowhere for them to go. People climbed over one another, grasping for the
boulders and stones on the east side. A few made it to the top and over—most
fell back into the crush of bodies below.

Cobe dragged
his brother away from them and headed back towards Trot. They discovered him
huddling behind a series of abandoned sitting rocks. He was crying and shaking.

“They’re
here, Cobe,” he blubbered. “The bad people from Big Hole have found us.”