Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) (7 page)

“I’ll give you props for creative problem
solving. You get your dungeon and your silver and gold.”

“You’d be surprised how much they left down
there when they closed this place. If you dig deep enough.”

“Sounds delightful.”

Elias waved his hands. “There’s no need for
you to find out. I want to give you a job.”

“Why me?”

The king smiled. “Well, it was nine men.”

“Could have been ten. You’ve got an army of
knights. Why do you need me?”

“My men are loyal, brave and capable. But
there are things even they can’t do. My kingdom unexpectedly has business in a
neighboring realm. It’s a kingdom we are peaceful with. But it is an uneasy
peace. If my men were found there it would be a violation of the truce. I can’t
risk a war. But, you’re not one of my knights. You could go. You’re not even a
citizen here.”

“I think the technical term is prisoner.”

“You came here looking for an auto part,
yes?”

“That’s right.”

“But you have no gold.”

“Nothing with your face on it.”

“Macroeconomics were never my thing, but my
advisors tell me it’s time to rein in the currency that’s in circulation. We
don’t want inflation getting out of hand.”

“Well, see, that’s what I figured.”

“If you do this for me, I will give you
enough gold to buy any car you want.”

“A king’s ransom?”

Elias smiled again. “Not quite.”

“I don’t know, Your Highness. You seem like a
pretty fair guy and my wife and I were just defending
ourselves
against some common thugs. I might want to throw myself on your mercy.”

Elias bit his lip. “No, I don’t think you’d
want to do that.” The king turned and climbed painfully back to his throne.
“The world is not as big as it was yesterday, you know.” Elias turned and sat
back on the uncomfortable throne. “It had grown for a while. Nobody talked. But
things are getting better. Communication is picking back up and we rulers of
men are in better contact than you might think. We may not like each other, but
we talk.”

Jerry’s stomach sank. The king didn’t have a
suspicion. He knew exactly who he was.

“I know who you are, Librarian. And I know
what you’re worth. Even I consider it a lot. And I’ve got my own face on my
money.”

“You seem to be as confused as the men in the
market. I’m not …”

“You should just be thankful that your
skills, if your reputation is to be believed, are worth more to me than some
bounty from back east. Or the political capital I could score with Alasis. Do
this and you and Erica and,” the king chuckled, “Chewy go free. With my
blessing and my gold.”

Options played through his head. Most of them
ended with his head in a bag bound for the east or with him stuck in a mine
surrounded by a town full of lunatics. And what would happen to Erica?

“I can see you’re conflicted. So, to show you
how generous I am, I’ll offer you something more than gold. Something you can’t
get anywhere else.”

“One of those bitchin’ robes?”

The king ignored the remark. “I’m sending a
group of men that are unaffiliated with my rule into the country. You go with
them and ensure their success and I will welcome you as a citizen of my kingdom
under any name you choose. The running can end, Jerry. You can be Michael and
Jennifer or whatever you want. You’ll have the word of my kingdom to anyone who
asks.”

The chance to start over was tempting and
didn’t end up with his head and body being too far apart.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but
I’m no assassin.”

“Of course not. You’re one of the good guys.
And that’s what I need right now. I need a white knight to ride to the rescue.”

“You need me to slay a dragon? Where’s his
cave?”

“No,” Elias leaned forward awkwardly. “I need
you to rescue a princess. And I know exactly where she is.”

SEVEN

Erica stood on the
street waiting for Jerry to emerge from the town hall. Her arms were folded
against the cold and Chewy lay on the ground next to her with her paws crossed.
She took in a relieved breath as Jerry emerged from the building unrestrained and
unescorted. Chewy stumbled to her feet and ran to meet him. He crossed over to
her and kissed her on the head.

“Well?” Erica asked.
“They let us go and told us to wait here. So what did you agree to do this
time?”

Jerry mumbled,
“Rescue a princess.”

Erica spoke mumble.
“Are you serious?”

Jerry nodded and
pointed down the street. They started to walk towards the center of town.

“A princess?” Erica
asked. “What kind of twisted fairy tale did we step into?”

“It seems a little
less silly if you think of it as a good old-fashioned kidnapping.”

“Except it’s a
princess,” Erica said.

“The girl was taken
last night. They’re not even sure how it happened.”

“I’m going to say it
again. You have to go rescue a princess.”

“You’re right. It
still sounds silly. But, it will get us what we need.”

“One princess for a
fuel pump? Sounds like a normal everyday trade. Then we get to leave?”

“Then we get to
stay,” Jerry said.

Erica stopped. “Why
the hell would we want to stay?”

“If I rescue the prin
… missing girl, we will be granted citizenship.”

“But I forgot my
ten-sided dice back in—” Erica pointed over her shoulder, “high school.”

Jerry took her hands
in his. They were warm and comforting. He looked deep into her eyes. She hated
when he did that for effect. He spoke softly which meant he wanted her to
listen. “We can finally be Mike and Jennifer Parker. We can stop running.”

“And you get to
rescue a princess.”

Jerry smiled and
dropped her hands. “Stop that.”

“But that’s it,
right? We do this and that’s it. No revolution? No great rebellion? You’re not
going to raise an army and march against injustice?”

“I don’t do that that
much.”

“It’s your worst
habit.”

“I want to disappear
as much as you do,” Jerry said. “This makes it happen.”

“You say that, but I
know you. It happens every time. We could just sneak away, but you’re just too
much of a good person.”

“I know. I’m sorry.
I’m working on that.”

“You can’t save
everyone.” She hated herself for saying it. But wasn’t it the way of the world
now? People would always suffer somewhere. He couldn’t save them all. Every
time he did, things only got worse for them. She realized she could always
leave him. They wouldn’t be looking for her if she
wasn’t
with him. She could even go home. She could just walk away. But she wouldn’t.
He was too good of a person.

“Right now I just
want to save us.”

The town’s polish
faded as they moved farther in. Soiled toilers replaced the carefree strollers
near the gates and Erica could see a clear distinction between those who did
the work and those who enjoyed the benefits of the labor.

Men and women hid
their faces between sunken shoulders as they worked in storefronts and in the
streets. Their shoulders sagged like the corners of their mouths and they said
little to anyone. Even their clothes were a stark contrast to that of those she
had seen earlier. Soiled and thread-worn, they were held together with scraps
of patches and different colored threads.

Nowhere was this more
evident than the town square itself. The crowd that had gathered, or possibly
been corralled there, was larger than the one in the marketplace. Filthy men
that stunk of sweat and exhaustion massed at the center of the open area before
an ornate platform. It didn’t have the energy of the marketplace crowd.
Everyone stood silently. They didn’t mill or mingle; they stood facing the
stage, waiting.

Erica looked around
at the crowd and leaned over to Jerry. “What are we doing here?”

Jerry shrugged. “The
king told me to come here and volunteer. He wants it to look like I’m with
everyone else.”

“I don’t like the
look of this. These people look so sad. Well, except her. What the hell is her
problem?”

“Who?”

“The one that’s
staring at you.”

Her looks had
survived the apocalypse without a scratch or scarring or remote disfiguring.
The cold air colored her cheeks red in a way that would make Maybelline envious
and the jet black hair that hung from beneath a wool cap made the color that
much richer. Dark green eyes stared through the crowd at the couple and a full
smile grew across her face. Once the girl saw Jerry looking back, her mouth
dropped open and she pushed her way through the crowd.

“Oh shit,” Erica said
as she turned away. “You made eye contact.”

The woman weaved and
ducked through one last part of the crowd. She rushed toward them squealing.
“Jerry! Is it you!”

With the vast
majority of the world’s population dead or mutated beyond recognition, running
into an acquaintance from before the apocalypse made for an awkward situation.
Family was often embraced at high speed with a running leap that usually ended
poorly for the smaller of the two family members. Once recovered, they would
catch each other up on what had happened since the end of the world. It never
took more than a couple of minutes, because, though events always seemed
harrowing at the time, in the end not much really happened worth sharing.

Enemies, business
rivals, former bullies and shitty neighbors were also embraced, though less
emphatically and rarely with a leap. Almost universally, grudges were
forgotten, transgressions were forgiven and both parties would stand and marvel
at how fast bad blood could be destroyed by a nuclear holocaust. Finding a
familiar face within the fallout was enough to wipe the slate clean. Often,
these rivals ended up becoming the closest of friends since the relationship
was built on an unsteady foundation of mistrust and contempt. And, since
neither party trusted, or genuinely liked, each other, they were sure to keep a
wary eye on one another.
 

Running into old
friends and vague acquaintances, on the other hand, was almost always
dangerous. Though a person’s natural instinct was to embrace the familiar, few
things remained unchanged when the world ended. Friends were hardly the same
people one remembered. There was no telling who they had become to survive the
harsh, new world, but it was rarely the person you had shared a beer or two
with on the patio of a Mexican restaurant. People had always grown apart when
separated by time, distance and circumstance. Now that those distances included
mutants, super smart bears or, occasionally, being forced to eat a loved one, a
friend was nothing more than a dangerous foe cloaked in love and trust. They
had to be approached with caution.

This girl didn’t look
dangerous, but Erica didn’t like her all the same. She spoke to Jerry through
clenched teeth. “Who the hell is this?”

Jerry kept his gaze
on the platform and spoke under his breath. “I have no idea. Maybe if we ignore
her she’ll go away.”

The woman stepped in
front of them and looked Jerry in the eyes. “Oh my God! It is you.”

“I’m sorry.” Jerry
put out his hand. “Have we met?”

“Have we met?” She
laughed and slapped his hand away. “It’s me, Brae!” She threw her arms around
Jerry and giggled.

Erica did her best to
appear as if she was looking at the girl, but her eyes scanned the crowd in
hopes that no one was paying attention to this woman that was now hugging her
husband.

“Oh my.
Nice to meet you, Brae.
My name is Mike. This is …”

“His wife, Jennifer,”
Erica finished.

Brae let go of Jerry
and took a step back to study the couple. “Mike? And Jennifer?”

Erica watched the
girl’s reaction. Brae looked deep in his eyes. Brae’s eyes narrowed and Erica
saw realization dawn on her face. To her credit, she didn’t miss a step.

Brae unclasped her
arms and backed away. “Oh, I’m sorry. You looked so much like someone I knew
from before everything went to hell. And you know what that’s like. You just
want to jump all over them. I’m sorry. I am so embarrassed.”

“It’s okay,” Erica
said.
 

The girl stuck out
her hand and shook Erica’s. “It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer. And Mike. I’m
Brae.” The smile grew back to its original size. “What brings you guys to the
castle?”

Erica smiled, “An
armed escort.”

Jerry laughed. “She’s
kidding. We want to be citizens.”

“You’re going on the
quest?” Brae’s smile faded. “But, you just got here.”
 

“Quest? What do you
mean?” Erica asked.

Brae didn’t answer.
Her gaze moved over Erica’s shoulder as a familiar and annoying laugh began.
The couple turned to see Tommy more delighted than ever.

The knight laughed.
“So ewe drew the short straw. Eye was worried the king would jest have ewe
killed. This is much better.”

“The king asked for
my help,” Jerry said.

“Help?” Tommy laughed
again. “Ewe’ve been drafted, dummy.”

“Drafted?” Erica
asked.

“No, wait. Not
drafted. The other one.” Tommy turned to Brae. “Was it called?”

All joy faded from
the girl’s voice and she looked away. “Conscripted.”

Tommy snapped his
fingers and spoke. “Dat’s it.
Ewe’ve
been
conscripted.”

“Conscripted?” Erica
repeated.

“Right. It’s like
being drafted but with more punching and threatening language.” The smile faded
from his lips but the delight stayed in his voice. “But, lucky for ewe, service
is the only way to become a citizen. If
ewe live
.”

Brae cocked her head.
“Tell us how you served again, Tommy.”

The knight’s horrible
accent disappeared. “Sir Thomas to you, Brae. And my service is no one’s
business by mine and the king’s.”

“Right,” she said.
“Sir Tommy, the big tough knight.”

 
Anger flared in Tommy’s eyes for a brief
moment. It faded quickly as his smile grew back into place. “Why don’t you tell
them what you do for the kingdom, Brae?” Pleased with himself, Tommy turned and
left the trio with the question hanging in the air.

“What’s he talking
about?” Jerry asked.

“Never mind. He’s
just a little man trying to act big.” She waved her hand at the platform. “This
is actually a good thing. The chance for citizenship doesn’t come up often.
My husband’s here.
We try every time. It’s the only chance
Shane has to get out of the mines.”

“We heard about the
mines,” Erica said.

“Sure. All of the
peasant men work in the mines. They’re hell. I don’t know how you stayed out of
them, but you’re timing must have been perfect. Any other time and you’d be
digging down there, too. It’s how things work around here. They put you in the
ground and you literally have to dig your way out.”

Erica’s stomach
twisted again and she looked at Jerry. He was thinking something.
Something stupid, no doubt.
He had a certain intolerance for
injustice like that and he was probably thinking of how to set things right.

Brae must have read
the concern in her face because the girl quickly continued. “But you didn’t.
And that’s great. You’ll do your service. Shane will do his service. We’ll all
become citizens and great friends. It will be just like old times.” Brae caught
herself and added, “If there were old times.”

Erica studied Jerry’s
face. How did he know this girl?

“Tell me more about
the mines,” Jerry asked.

There it was. He was
already working on a plan. That plan would lead to a revolution. And that
always led to more angry people hunting them.

Brae shrugged. “If
you’re not a citizen you either work for the king or you leave his kingdom.
That’s really about it.”

Erica breathed a sigh
of relief. If they weren’t slaves, they were fools. Their freedom hadn’t been
taken from them. They had given it willingly. Jerry wouldn’t blow their cover
for fools, she thought. Then she thought again. Jerry probably wouldn’t blow
their cover for fools.

Jerry asked Brae,
“How many people work in the mines?”

A large figure
stepped onto the platform before the girl could answer. What conversation had
built in the crowd died more with every step he took across the stage. The giant
wasn’t dressed like the knights. His tunic was a dark gray and it bore a unique
insignia.
A fierce black bear on the gray field with glowing
red eyes and the blood of a kill on its lips.
There was no purple. The
peak of his hood fell over his face to the bridge of the nose. Only a black
bearded chin and long dark locks left the shadows it created. He dressed head
to toe in matte black leather that reflected nothing. Every inch of him killed
light. The light that was reflected came from the silver hilt of a massive
broadsword slung across his back. It was a weapon for a giant. The blade was a
hand’s width and, though it hung at his shoulder, it nearly scraped the ground
as he walked. The handle extended above his head to such a length that even his
massive hands would not cover it.