Badlands Trilogy (Book 2): Beyond the Badlands (24 page)

Max’s shaky arms gave way.

The knife sliced through Max’s eye, plunging into his brain. Blood erupted from the wound as Max’s arms fell away. His body twitched once before going completely limp.

Lying on top of Max, Ryan pushed the knife in deeper. He lay on top of Max’s body until he was sure the man was dead.

Sitting up, Ryan looked down at the dead man. Panting, he reached down and yanked the blade. It slid out of Max’s eye with a slurpy, sucking noise.

He stood, blood covering his face. His muscles burned. His chest heaved, struggling for air.

He turned to face Zach and Jeremy. Tied up, they clung to each other, helpless to do anything but watch the deadly struggle before them.

Ryan’s eyes glazed.

He smiled.

Raising the bloody knife, he took a step toward them.

Calvin slammed his fists down on an old faculty desk. “Who said you could leave the group?” he yelled.

Dave sat on the other side of the desk, heart racing.

“Calvin-” Rand interjected.

“Shut up, Rand.” Calvin turned his attention back to Dave. “What the fuck were you doing wandering around the camp?”

“Reconnaissance,” Dave replied.

“You don’t do recon work on your own,” Calvin said. “You’re lucky that dumbshit Whipple caught you and not one of the other guards.”

“I’m sorry,” Dave replied. “I just thought it would be helpful for your…efforts.”

“Fuck!” Calvin pulled his pistol from its hip holster, cocked the hammer back and shoved the barrel of the gun against Dave’s forehead. “So tell me, genius, what did you find on your little mission? What could you have possibly found that would be worth putting all my plans at risk?”

“Weapons. Lots of them from the look of it.”

Calvin’s brow wrinkled. “What kind of weapons?”

“Rifles, machine guns. Grenades. Not sure what else…I couldn’t see all the boxes. A couple of your dad’s guys were looking them over. We unloaded them yesterday.”

“Who’s we?”

“The guys they have me working with.”

“Do they know what’s in those boxes?”

“No.”

“You better not be lying to me.”

“What reason would I have to lie?” Dave asked.

Calvin removed the pistol from Dave’s head. He turned to Rand. “Did you know about a weapons shipment yesterday?”

Rand shook his head. “Nobody told me about it.”

“Porter, are you sure you saw weapons?”

“I know what an M-16 looks like.”

“That son of a bitch,” Calvin said through clenched teeth. “He’s purposely excluding me. I know how that crazy bastard works.”

“You think Glenn’s on to us?” Rand asked.

Calvin sighed. “I don’t know. But he’s working behind our backs now. We might not have much time left.” He turned his attention back to Dave. “Porter, you just bought yourself a second chance.”

Dave forced a weak smile.

Calvin holstered the pistol. “Looks like I was right about you after all, Porter.”

“Ryan!”

Ignoring Beth, Ryan took another step toward Zach and Jeremy.

“Ryan! Stop!”

He paused. Turned. “Beth?” He stared, eyes wide.

Beth glanced at Max’s body. “Come to me, baby.”

Ryan shook his head. He seemed to look right through her.

“We’ve been through this before, you and me. You remember?”

Ryan slowly nodded.

“Then you know you need to listen to me. Don’t listen to the voices. You don’t have to do what they say.”

“But I do. I have to.”

“No you don’t. You listen to me now. Only to me. He’s dead. You got him.”

Ryan smiled. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Damn right, baby. You got him good. But now I need you to drop that knife and come straight to me.”

He glanced at Max’s body.

“Don’t look at him. Look at me. Keep your eyes on me.”

Ryan nodded slowly. Still clutching the knife, he took a step toward her.

“That’s it, baby. Just keep coming. Trust me. Come to me and I’ll make the voices go away.”

Still nodding, Ryan walked slowly toward her, his eyes still wild and unfocused.

She reached out to him.

The knife shook in his hand as his body trembled.
 

He lifted the knife.

Dropped it.

He sank into her arms, his body relaxing.

“You got him, baby,” Beth said as she stroked his bloody hair. “You got him.”

* * *

“I don’t want to hurt those boys,” Beth said.

Ryan sat naked in a stream as Beth knelt beside him, scrubbing away the blood.

“What do you care about them?” he asked. “Just another couple of mouths to feed.”

“Together they probably won’t eat no more than Danny did.”

“Maybe.”

Beth gingerly wiped away the blood from Ryan’s battered face. “Oh baby, your eye.”

“I’m fine.”

Beth paused, moving on to Ryan’s back. She scrubbed the dirt away with a rag. “You know…when I was a little girl I had a brother,” she began. It was almost true. She did once have a stepbrother, but after her mother divorced she hadn’t heard from him in years.

“You never told me about him before.”

“He was sick a lot. Real sick. By the time he died he was blind and in a wheelchair.”

“That sucks, babe, but I don’t get what that has to do with those kids.”

“They just got me thinking of him, is all.” She wrung dirty water from the rag. “And how it’s kinda nice that they got each other, you know?”

“I suppose. What the hell do you wanna do with ’em then? Turn ’em loose?”

“Yeah, but let’s wait ’til we get to KC.”

“What about their mom?”

Beth smiled. “Honey, we get to keep her.”

A grin appeared on Ryan’s face. “Baby, I like the way you think.”

* * *

Trish nearly broke down when she saw the boys safe and sound, but she maintained her composure for fear she’d set Ryan off.

After regrouping they headed toward Kansas City, leaving Max’s body where it lay, to rot alongside the railroad track.

She felt a twinge of pity for him, though she couldn’t shake the fact that he’d sacrificed her life to save his own. And then he’d simply walked away, taking two boys with him who were not his own. She supposed in time she could forgive him, but for now she couldn’t help but think he’d gotten what he deserved.

Ryan didn’t allow her to speak with the boys. So she smiled to them instead, trying to let them know she was okay. He kept them all bound as they walked, strung together like a chain gang in manacles.

They walked. The hours passed and the miles accumulated.

That night, she knew Ryan would come for her. He’d approach her in the night, cover her mouth with his hand and rape her right there. And if she screamed he’d kill the children. She dreaded the night as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
 

But that night he didn’t come. She’d been allowed to sleep with Zach and Jeremy, even. She stayed awake as long as she could, holding them close as the night slowly passed.

The next morning she woke and within an hour she found herself back on the road again, tied off to the children.

The day dragged on, but by late afternoon the skyline of the city appeared on the horizon.

For the first time since her talk with Beth, Trish thought they might make it to the city alive. And if they did, she took consolation in knowing that Ryan would find a group of people there who didn’t appreciate men like him. Men who tied up women and children. Men who committed murder.

They walked, pushing harder as the day passed. Ryan seemed agitated, jumpy. When Zach tripped and fell, Ryan yelled at him.

Trish wondered how much Beth had to do with her and the boys still being alive. She thought it was quite a lot. If so, that could be the only thing that would keep her alive once the guard got ahold of her and her boyfriend.
 

As the sun began to set, the city loomed larger than ever ahead of them. Ryan’s plans for making it there before dark seemed ill-fated, but he continued to push them hard.

Walking at nearly a run, they rounded a curve in the track. Then from the trees, a man stepped into their path only yards away. He pointed a rifle at them. “Don’t move. Stay right where you are.”

“Fuck off.” Ryan pointed Zach’s pistol at the man. “I ain’t stopping for nobody.”

Behind them two more men appeared, both carrying military rifles. Four more appeared from the woods beside them.

The man before them grinned. “I think you’re gonna want to stop for us.”

Having left Pastor Dan behind a day earlier, Jefferson City loomed. Railway signs of their impending arrival to the city sprouted from posts as Jasper whizzed past along the tracks.

Ed’s shoulder ached. The backpack seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. But he knew that Jefferson City meant they were getting close now. Closer than ever to seeing his family again. And for that Ed could ignore the pain.

The bike quickly chewed up the distance between them and the city. Less than a mile now. Jasper ramped up the engine. Cool air blew through Ed’s hair as they picked up speed.

Moments later they launched out of the forest and into the open. Now Ed could see Jefferson City ahead, more of a small town than a full-blown city. Jasper hunkered down, leaning into the wind. Ed held tighter, unsure what might have prompted Jasper’s sudden need for speed.

The engine whined as Jasper pushed it harder still. Ed’s eyes watered, blurring his vision. He blinked hard and then he saw them.

Dozens of the infected, streaming out of the train station.

They hurtled themselves toward the motorcycle, walking, dragging limbs, crawling.

Jasper pushed the engine harder. It screamed in protest.

Ahead, the carriers scrambled, struggling to close the distance before the motorcycle passed. Beneath the bike, the track whizzed by.

Carriers, closer now.

Come on
, Ed thought.
Come on!

Three runners broke from the pack, closing the distance fast.

Almost to the bike now.

Pushed to its limit, the engine had no more to give.

Arms extended, claw-like fingernails sprouting from grasping hands the infected surged. Mouths agape, locked in a scream, Ed could see their rotten teeth gnashing.

Fingers, only inches away now…

And then the bike was past the pack, hurtling toward the forest.

A minute later Ed and Jasper found themselves back in the trees again, under the cover of the tree canopy. The aroma of the forest returned, earthy and fresh, mixed with the smell of exhaust.

Jasper slowed the bike and held up his hand in a high-five gesture. “Fuck yeah!”

Ed smacked palms.
Fuck yeah, indeed,
he thought.

* * *

That night, they camped with a fire.

They boiled water and heated the Vienna sausages Dan had given them, along with a package of Ramen noodles.

After dinner, Ed lay on his back, watching the stars through a large hole in the forest’s canopy. Their stream water boiled behind him.

Jasper walked over and sat down. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“What do you mean?”

“About Trish and your boys. Like how they could have made it through those deadheads back there.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Sure. Okay.”

The fire crackled as a crow cawed in the distance.

“You already knew those things were there, didn’t you? That’s why you sped up. To outrun them.”

“I suspected,” Jasper said.

Wind whispered through the trees as crickets chirped.

Ed took a deep breath. “They could have made it through though, don’t you think?”

“Sure. Or maybe they went around. You never know.”

“You’d think we’d have caught up to them by now?”

“Not necessarily. They’re all young. Fast movers. They might already be to KC by now.”

“I suppose.”

“Don’t lose hope,” Jasper said. “Not when we’re so close. You need it now more than ever.”

“It’s not so easy.”

“Nothing is.” Jasper paused. “How about I take first watch. You get some sleep. You’ll feel better.”

“Thanks.”

“No biggie.”

“No, really. Thanks for everything.”

“I told you I needed to see how this story ended,” Jasper said. “And I’m expecting it to have a happy ending.”

* * *

The following morning Ed and Jasper rose before dawn. Jasper topped off the tank with the old gasoline he’d siphoned back in Pastor Dan’s town.

By first light the miles were again disappearing behind them.

Two hours later the engine produced a sound neither of them had heard before. It sputtered, knocking loudly as they began to lose momentum.

“Shit!” Jasper yelled over the diminishing sound of the engine. “Something’s wrong.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t know yet. I’ll take a look.”

The engine abruptly died.

Jasper brought the bike to a gentle stop. After jiggling wires and checking plugs, he threw up his hands and sat down beside Ed. “Well, it’s fucked.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“I mean it’s fucked. I think for good.”

“What happened to it?”

“Hell if I know. Maybe the old gas gummed it up. Maybe it just died a natural death. Either way, we’re screwed.”

“You don’t know how to fix it?”

“I wish.”

“I thought you knew about these sorts of things.”

“Man, I just put gas in it. It’s never broken down before.”

“What were you planning on doing if it ever broke down on you?”

“Winging it?”

“For real?”

“Well...yeah.”

The two men sat, silent.

A few moments later, Ed stood. “Let’s get moving.”

“Are you healed up enough for that?”

“I’ll have to be.”

Jasper stood and kicked dirt on the motorcycle. “Piece of crap.”

“It is what it is. Now we have to deal with it.”

“I wonder how long of walk we have?” Jasper asked.

“A couple of days, maybe? Hard to say for sure until we find out exactly where we are.”

The two men gathered up the remaining supplies and packed them into their two backpacks. With the packs hanging from their backs, Jasper glanced at the motorcycle.