Read Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) Online

Authors: Benjamin Wallace

Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) (24 page)

BOOK: Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2)

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TWENTY-SEVEN

There was the sound of an engine in the woods
and the crunch of rubber tires on snow. It was the first sound she’d heard
since the explosion.

“He’s here.” Dominic stood and cast a glance
towards the noise.

The engine died and a car door opened. It
shut a moment later and there was the lighter sound of boots in the snow. Mr.
Christopher stepped into view a moment later. He stared at Erica for a long
moment and smiled before speaking. “Where’s the other one?”

“Dead,” Sir Dominic answered.

“Dead?” Mr. Christopher walked through the
clearing and took a seat on a fallen tree. “Dead wasn’t the deal.”

Dominic didn’t flinch. “That’s how it played
out.”

Mr. Christopher spoke again to the knight but
never took his eyes off of Erica. “You have the head?”

“He was left for dead,” Dominic explained.
“No one could have made it out of there alive.”

Mr. Christopher smiled. “Then he’s alive.”

“There’s no way …”

“You’ll have to excuse me, Mr. Dominic, for
being so rude to disagree, but Erica here and I know this man much better than
you do. And he’s not dead until his body is buried or burned.” He turned
towards the knight. “And, quite honestly, I’m not even sure that will stop
him.”

“Sir Dominic, if you don’t mind. And I’m
telling you, he’s dead.”

Erica saw Mr. Christopher roll his eyes
before correcting the knight. “And I’m telling you that there is smoke coming
from your castle and gunfire coming from inside the walls. These are his
trademarks of a sort. So you can tell me all day that he’s dead, but I’m not
going to believe it until I have his severed head in my hands.”

Sir Dominic was at a loss for words. He was
trying to speak, but he had nothing but an empty mouth.

“Don’t you agree, Erica?”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll see him again.”

Mr
.
Christopher smiled at her. It was a horrific smile, appearing kind, sweet
and gentle. But she knew there was no humanity behind it. His calm demeanor and
proper diction were the hallmarks of a gentleman, but there was nothing but
monster inside.

“Good,” Brae broke the silence. “That means
we can still get the full reward.”

“The full reward?” Mr
.
Christopher asked. “But you only did half
the work.”

“We brought you the girl,” Dominic said. “If
what you say is true, he’ll come for her.”

“It still seems I’m doing most of the work.”
Mr. Christopher stood and turned to face his accomplices. “I think it would
only be fair if we renegotiated the terms.”

Brae took the gun off of Erica and pointed it
at the man in the white suit. “I think we stick with the original terms.”

Mr. Christopher shook his head. “No guns.”

“Oh, I’m afraid so,” Brae said and pulled the
hammer back on her revolver.

“Do it quietly.” Mr. Christopher turned to
them and smiled at Erica once more.

Chewy had lain quietly, letting out only the
occasional growl whenever Brae or Dom had wandered too close to Erica. Now she
jumped to her feet and began to bark.

Two men dressed in white snowsuits stepped
out from behind the trees and rushed Dominic and Brae before the couple could
react.

Brae died with her skull caved in and her
lifeless eyes open towards Erica.

Dominic turned to fight and took a knife in
the stomach and an axe head to the neck.

Mr. Christopher pulled a leather pouch from
inside his jacket and tossed it to the two men. “You’ve redeemed yourselves,
gentlemen.”

The two men removed the white hoods that had
kept them concealed in the woods. Erica recognized them as men from the mob in
the marketplace. One of them winked at her.

Mr. Christopher moved behind her and bound
her hands with a tie wrap that was too thick to snap.

Chewy struggled at the end of the rope. It
tightened around her neck but she refused to stop pulling. The rope was taut
enough to strike a note.

Mr
.
Christopher lifted Erica to her feet and pushed her towards the car.
“We’re in for a long ride together, Miss Erica. I can’t wait to hear your
life’s story.”

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to get all the
way to the end. It’s going to be a little longer than yours.”

He ignored the remark and reached inside his
coat pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to one of the
men. “Kill the dog. Put this in its collar.”

“No!” Erica screamed and tried to rush
towards Chewy.

The dog was at the edge of its breath trying
to get to her.

“And no noise,” Mr
.
Christopher said. “I’ll be listening. I’m
going to need a head start.”

The two men nodded and drew their knives.

Erica broke free of Christopher’s hold and
dashed towards Chewy. She wasn’t sure what hit her, but she collapsed in the
snow inches from the dog. The last thing she felt was Chewy’s tongue on her
face.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Jerry heard the barking. He heard the
screams. He heard an engine turn over and left the knights behind.

They had led him to the trail and now he only
occasionally glanced at the footprints in the snow as he raced towards the
sound of his true love screaming like he’d never heard.

Branches slapped him in the face and tore at
his arms, but he pressed on, moving so fast that he turned every slip on the
snowy ground into forward progress. There was more barking and more screaming.
This time it came from men. He couldn’t run any faster so he ran harder. Every
footstep crushed through the snow and found the ground beneath.

He entered the clearing to find blood and
bodies everywhere. Brae was dead. Dominic was dead and lying in a pool of his
own blood. Another man’s face was missing and a trail of blood led out the
other side of the clearing.

Chewy lay at the end of a rope in a mound of
red snow. He could see her labored breathing in puffs of mist rising from her
snout.

He dropped to his knees and slid to her side.

The rope that held her to the tree was
cutting into her neck. He pulled a knife from his belt and worked furiously to
cut it free.

“God, let it just be the rope.”

The last few strands snapped from the tension
and he worked the noose from around her neck. Her fur was wet with blood. Her
face was covered in blood so fresh that it was still red and not yet sticky to
the touch. He hugged her and felt her body for any other wounds. She was so wet
from the snow that he couldn’t tell.

Quickly the breath returned to her. The
mastiff stood and turned her nose on him. It was warm beneath the blood.

“Are you okay, girl?”

Chewy barked and hacked. She bounced away a
few feet and turned to make sure Jerry was following her.

He was back on his feet and running after her
as the dog ran out of the clearing. The pair ran out of the woods to a logging
trail. There was no sign of the vehicle but the smell of diesel hung in the
air.

Jerry dropped his head and fell to his knees.
Erica was gone.

Chewy barked quietly and seemed to sense the
defeat. She walked back over to Jerry and sat down next to him. She put her
bloody head in his lap and looked up at him with sad eyes.

He must have sat on the trail for five
minutes before he heard the knights arrive in the clearing. They recognized the
girl and the former Sir Dominic. They didn’t know the third man. Who could
without a face to recognize him by?

He let them gasp in horror. He let them try
to piece together what happened. He sat in the road with his dog’s head in his
lap while they followed the trail of blood into the woods.

He didn’t move until one of the knights
dropped a sheet of paper in his lap and said, “There’s a note for you.”

It was covered in blood but still legible.
The penmanship was neat and precise and easy to read:

Jerry,

I figure it’s time for you to chase me for a while.

See you soon.

Mr.
Christopher

Jerry stood. He looked at the note one last
time and let it fall to the ground. He turned back to the castle and called to
his dog.

She followed.

- THE END -

* * * *

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