Pursuit of the Apocalypse (23 page)

The tall one slapped the short one, who yelled, “What did I say?”

Henry looked at Erica. “Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?”

Erica shrugged. “I’ve never seen them before. And I don’t know who the Skinners are.”

Lynn put a hand on Erica’s knee. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We won’t let them take you.”

“Thank you,” Erica said. “Are you sure you don’t have a gun?”

Lynn shook her head and patted her knee. “There’s no need for that. Henry, go and talk to them.”

“Will do,” Henry put the van in park and reached for the door.

“No.” Erica grabbed Henry’s sleeve and pulled him back. “Don’t go out there, Henry.”

He put a gentle hand on hers and pulled it away. “It’s okay, kiddo.”

“No. You can’t,” she dove forward and grabbed for the gearshift. “Just back over them!”

Again, Henry took her hand and moved it away. “No, they’d just do this to someone else. Some boys just need a good talking to. Someone just needs to tell them how it is to set them straight. I might as well be the one to do it.” The old man turned off the car, pushed the button for the hazard lights, and opened his door.

Erica watched as he stepped outside.

Lynn saw her concern and patted her hand. “It will be all right. Henry can take care of himself.”

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Erica said.

Lynn just smiled and nodded to the back window. “Just you watch.”

“Good morning, boys.” Henry stepped to the back of the van and pointed to the tree. “Is this your tree?”

“Give us the girl,” Willie said.

Henry held up his hands in a way that said hold your horses. “We’ll get to the girl in a minute, but first I want to talk about this big ole tree that’s blocking the road. Is that your boys’ doing?”

“Sure it’s our tree,” Coy said. “Give us the girl, and we’ll let you pass.”

“I don’t think you boys understand. My taxes helped pay for this road. You see, it’s a public throughway, so you are, in fact, blocking my road.”

“What the hell are you talking about, old man?” Coy asked.

“This road. It’s not yours to just block whenever you want to. You’ve got to share it. Now I know your generation has come to expect that everything was made just for them, but these roads are for public use.”

The tall one raised his gun a little higher. “Are you fucking crazy with this shit?”

Henry smiled. “I don’t think there’s any reason for language like that, son. And, I may be a little older than you two boys, but that’s no reason to assume I’m crazy. That’s stereotyping. It’s inconsiderate and it’s wrong. Now, I’d like to use my road now if you don’t mind, so please remove your tree.”

The smaller ambusher shook his head while the tall one processed the thought. “The war ended taxes, old man. It’s our road now.”

“You know, son? For someone with such a smart mouth you sure say a lot of stupid things. War or no war, I paid for this road and I’d appreciate it if it would be kept in working order. Now you boys get to work on cleaning up your mess. I’d offer to help you, but I really think it best if you do it yourselves. I think it would help teach you a lesson.”

Lynn smiled. “You tell them, Henry.”

Henry turned to walk back to the car and wait for the road to be cleared.

The two men began to yell things like “stop,” “get back here,” and “can’t you hear me, you senile old bastard.”

The shorter one gave up first. “Maybe he can’t hear us.”

“You don’t think he’s got one of those hearing aids, do you?” the tall one asked.

“I hope not,” the shorter one said. “I don’t want to catch aids.”

“That’s not what those are, you idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot, Willie. You watch.” The shorter of the two men rushed up to Henry and shoved the gun in the old man’s back. “Stop right there and give us—”

Henry stepped right, spun and seized the gun in his hands. He rolled the gun back so the barrel was pointing at his attacker, kicked the younger man in the crotch, and yanked the gun forward.

The taller bandit yelled and raised his weapon to fire as Henry backed away, racked a fresh round into the chamber, and fired twice.

The taller bandit dropped his gun to the pavement with a clatter and fell forward clutching his stomach. The shorter man turned and yelled, “Willie,” as Henry took two steps forward and brought the gun down across his face.

Henry kept the weapon trained on Willie. The other man was out cold.

Lynn shook her head. “Some kids never learn.”

Erica opened the sliding door and stepped out onto the road. She rushed up to Henry’s side as he nudged the taller man with his foot.

The downed gunman groaned and lifted his head.

“That was amazing, Henry. How did you do that?” she asked. “Who are you?”

Lynn appeared next to her on the road. “I told you we wouldn’t let them take you.”

“Yeah,” Henry reared back and kicked the wounded man in the head. “We found you first.”

––––––––

T
HIRTY

Getting off of the campus was easy. A combination of escaped bears and Freedom Enforcement Officers kept the men from Alasis occupied.

Gunshots filled Tolerance as some of the citizens surprisingly found the will to fight back against the group that he could only assume was the Skinners. He had heard of the infamous group from Alasis, but any solid facts were buried so deep in hearsay that he had assumed they weren’t real at all. The tyrants of the city in the north knew better than most the power of a good scary story to keep people in line.

The sun was setting when he emerged from the coliseum, and he was able to stick to the long shadows of the campus buildings as he made his way back to the town.

Skinner vehicles were everywhere. Dozens of nightmare machines destroyed the campus grounds beneath spinning wheels as they terrorized the populace and chased down anyone who dare stand against them.

Anyone unfortunate enough to be run down was left to die impaled on the machines as the drivers selected new targets. The screams of men and women mixed with the sound of exhaust as the citizens died upon the rusted spikes and other wicked implements built into the Skinners’ cars.

An SUV fitted with spiked sweeper bars tore past his hiding place and left an open path before him. Jerry dashed across the grounds towards the front gate. He inched his way along the wall and peered around the corner.

Guy Fawkes One and Two were both very dead, and two of the Skinners had taken up their post. Unlike the Tolerance guards, these two men were focused and cast their attention inside the campus grounds.

They stood silently with keen eyes behind horrific masks and appeared immovable until the squelch of a radio broke their attention. One sentry wore a radio mic on his shoulder and he cocked his ear to the speaker. He listened for a moment before responding with, “Affirmative.”

The second guard didn’t wait for an explanation. “Did they catch him?”

“No. We’ve got the girl. They found her on the highway east of town. They’re sending a couple of cars to escort them now.”

They had the girl. Erica was alive! But she had been captured again, and it was worse than before. Alasis had her now. And every second he waited she was getting farther away.

The second guard gestured to a pair of motorcycles standing in the road. “Should we take the bikes and go with them?”

The first followed his gaze and waved him off. “No. We wait here and shoot anyone that tries to get out.”

When they turned back to the campus, the Librarian was in front of them with his weapon drawn. He fired twice at each guard and dropped them both. Less than a minute later he was on a motorcycle with the radio squatting in his ear.

He sped through the town avoiding the headlights of the Alasis patrol vehicles. They were everywhere, and for a brief moment he was flattered that they would send so many men after him.

Destroying the truck had been a matter of survival. To protect the town of New Hope, destroying the vehicle and the raiders within had been necessary. He never would have guessed the action would haunt him a year later. It had been a matter of life and death to him, but it had meant much more to the men behind it.

It had exposed a weakness, and they were the type of men that relied on a perception of strength to maintain control. Until the day that he and the people of New Hope dared raise up and assault Alasis’s men, no one had been able to stand against the city’s might.

It wasn’t something they would let pass.

He stopped the bike briefly and dismounted. The lights were too much. He took the butt of the pistol to the bike and shattered each of the bulbs that threatened to give him away in the darkening night. But it wasn’t enough.

He wasn’t far from the truck when a pair of escort vehicles spotted him. Their tires squealed as they turned to pursue him.

The bike wasn’t quick, but it was nimble. He played this edge to its fullest by finding narrow streets and blazing his own trails through backyards and alleyways. The radio barked in his ear as his presence was reported and spread to the Skinners throughout the town.

It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was getting to Erica. He cut through a neighborhood park and gained a minute or two on his pursuers.

The light had all but faded, and taking the less beaten path was becoming more and more dangerous as obstacles became all but invisible in the darkness. But, the truck wasn’t far. And he knew it would be safe.

He recognized an abandoned car that he had noted to mark the street and twisted the throttle. The bike sped to the house where he had left the truck. He pulled into the driveway and leapt from the seat, letting the bike roll into a hedge where the machine imbedded itself in the bushes and stalled out.

He grabbed the handle on the garage door and threw it open.

The mass of brown fur struck him in the chest and forced him to the ground.

Chewy’s nose dug into his neck seconds before her tongue lashed out in a thousand places.

“Get off, girl.” He pushed the dog back and stood up.

She buried her head in his hip and demanded a pet.

He patted her once and pushed his way through to the garage. “I know where she is, girl.”

Chewy barked as if she understood.

Jerry opened the door to the truck and the giant dog jumped past him to the passenger seat where she began to bark.

“I’m sorry, Chewy.” He reached behind the seat and pulled out a pair of jumper cables. “I know you like the truck. But it’s not going to be fast enough.”

# # #

T
he scream of seven hundred horses shook the garage as the massive Hellcat engine blared. The Librarian smiled. His dog was not amused. The giant dog was cramped in the backseat and barked at the noise of the engine.

“Oh, get over it.” Jerry dropped the car into first gear and shot from the garage. He left half the tires at the end of the driveway as he acclimated to the vehicle’s throttle. The car’s rear end swung wide as he cranked the wheel to put the Challenger on the street.

Chewy stumbled as the force pulled her across the seat. Once she found her footing she barked another disapproving woof.

Jerry straightened the car out and reached for the radio on his shoulder. He had been listening to the chatter on the radio for twenty minutes and risked an impersonation.

“Report in,” he ordered, doing his best impression of a man talking through a mask.

An orderly stream of men and women responded with their locations and status. The one he was looking for was in the middle.

“Northbound, 77. En route to rendezvous.”

The streets were too short for fifth gear, but he used all four eating up the residential streets and small-town roads making his way to the state highway. He was almost there when the Skinners caught up to him.

Two cars fell in behind him. Another two appeared ahead. Driving side-by-side they formed a rolling barricade of metal lances and tell plows that blocked the whole street.

Jerry cut right and heard Chewy scrambling to keep her balance in the backseat. He watched the mirror and saw the vehicles turn to follow as the radio burst to life giving away his position to everyone who’d listen.

Drivers replied with confirmations and more exuberance than he expected. Behind him, more cars joined the chase.

Jerry turned left onto a broad open street and mashed the accelerator. Sixty came and went in a blink, and he hit the top of fourth gear once more before an oncoming pickup forced him into a shopping mall’s parking lot.

He let the ridiculous engine loose and sped through the empty lot, leaving the Skinners behind. There wasn’t a car in their fleet that could touch the Challenger if it was given the room to run.

The radio continued to update the small army on his whereabouts, and over time as he left a pair of headlights in the distance, more vehicles joined the chase ahead of him.

They converged on the mall from all directions. As they came, they did their best to intercept his car with their own. They charged at full throttle looking to spear the Dodge and disable the driver. Quick brake work and the responsive gas pedal were the only things keeping him out of their path as they crisscrossed the open lot.

An old Corolla with a skull-shaped battering ram on the front end came out of nowhere and nearly clipped the front of the car. The Librarian veered left into a skid and the Toyota followed. The Hellcat’s back end broke out and sent the car spinning. The Toyota flipped and rolled across the parking lot while Jerry worked the gas to keep the wheels from spinning free.

Chewy whimpered from the backseat as the car came to a stop in the middle of the parking lot. What was behind them, now lay ahead. More than a dozen deadly hot rods roared toward them.

Jerry traced the silver SRT on the steering wheel in front of him. He reached into the backseat and opened a duffel bag he had pulled from the truck. Chewy stuck her head under his hand, and he scratched behind her ears. “That’s a good girl. Don’t you worry. We’re going to get her back.”

He pulled a short-barreled automatic rifle out of the duffel bag and rolled down the windows. “Now grow some thumbs and hold on.”