Badlands Trilogy (Book 3): Out of the Badlands (18 page)

Then Barnes had her sent to the room in which she now sat. He planned to roll out the following morning, taking with them the remaining truck and one of the vans. Alice knew the route like the back of her hand; she’d been instrumental in choosing it. John was a pushover, agreeing to everything she demanded. She kind of missed the poor bastard. At least he could follow instructions.

Womack would stay behind, Barnes had told her. More proof that he acted as second in command. Alice couldn’t have been happier with that decision. Womack was a psychopath, plain and simple, somebody she didn’t necessarily want to have to tussle with. With Womack out of the way and her behind the wheel, she’d have Barnes under control before long. Only a handful of his men would be coming along and none of them posed the threat to her that Womack did.

And once Ed Brady was dead, Steven Barnes would be next.

The room didn’t have a bed, but they’d provided her with a blanket and a flimsy pillow. It would be good enough for the night. She lay down on the floor, folding the blanket over herself before blowing out the candle. Darkness filled the room completely as she lay with her eyes open, listening to the muffled sound of screams from Womack’s killing room. She hoped he’d turn in soon because the screaming was keeping her awake.

After all, tomorrow would be a big day and she really needed her sleep.

“Don’t move asshole,” Sue said, pointing the M16 at the owner of the boot.

The man stopped in place.

“Hands in the air,” Sue ordered.

The man complied, lifting both hands skyward. He held a small pistol in his left hand.

Sue motioned with the rifle, rising slowly. “You too, there behind him.”

Jasper rose, his rifle trained on the man in the lead. He hadn’t even seen the second man.

“Jasper, get his gun.”

“Hey!” the man in the lead cried. Long curly hair spilled down over a tattered flannel shirt.

“Shut up,” Sue snapped. “Jasper, do it.”

Jasper stepped toward the men, debris crunching under his shoes.

“Come on, man,” Curly Hair argued.

“I told you to shut your hole,” Sue said. “Or else I’ll shut it permanently.”

“You won’t shoot us,” the second man said. Jet black hair covered his thick, meaty head.

“You wanna fucking bet?” Sue replied. “You got no idea of what I’ll do.”

Jasper took the pistol from Curly Hair. He placed it in his back pocket, pointing his rifle at the two men.

“Now,” Sue continued, “any more of you skulkin’ around in here?”

The men shook their heads.

“You ain’t lying to me, are you?”

“No,” Meathead replied.

“Jasper,” Sue said, “check the rest of the store.”

Jasper walked the aisles, but stopped at the back of the store. “Too dark back there,” he called out. “Can’t see a damn thing.”

“Come on back then,” Sue said. She eyed the two men before her. “Anybody comes busting outta the back of that store, I shoot you two first. You got that?”

“We got it,” Curly Hair replied.

Jasper returned to the two men. They stood with their hands up as Sue continued questioning them. “What are the two of you doing in here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Meathead said.

“But you ain’t asking me. I got the gun.”

“Fair enough,” Curly Hair said. “We’re looking for food and supplies. If you didn’t notice, a virus destroyed the world, so the delivery trucks seem to be a couple of years late. We’re just making do until they arrive.”

“You think you’re funny,” Sue said, glaring. “You ain’t.”

“I’d disagree, but I’ve learned to never argue matters of taste. What are you planning on doing with us now? If you’re going to kill us, you might as well get it over with.”

“Depends on whether or not you give me a reason,” Sue said.

“What if I gave you a reason not to?”

“I’m listening.”

“We can give you things. My partner and I here have a good-sized stockpile. Canned foods, cigarettes, booze. Harder stuff if you want it. You like whiskey?”

“I’m asking the questions here,” Sue barked.

“Fine. Point is, we got a bunch of stuff and we’ll share. Consider it protection money. We give you what you can carry and you let us go.”

“And just how do I know you don’t have an army there, just waiting for us when we show up?” Sue asked.

“How do I know that once I let you leave with your backpacks full that you won’t show up with your own army and take everything we’ve stockpiled? Goes both ways, you know.”

Sue paused, considering.

“Just let them go,” Jasper said. “We don’t need to steal their stuff. That’s not scavenging.”

“Listen to the kid,” Curly Hair said. “He’s making sense.”

“Scavenging don’t have rules,” Sue said. “You take what you can get, when you can get it.”

“I’m not shooting these guys, not unprovoked, at least.”

“Stop talking,” Sue commanded. “Let me handle this.”

Frustrated, Jasper stopped talking. The situation was getting out of control very quickly.

“This stockpile,” Sue continued, “you’re going to take us to it.”

“Just let them go,” Jasper said.

“Shut up,” Sue said, glaring. She motioned with the pistol toward the door. “Hands on your head. Get your asses moving.”

“Your wish is my command,” Curly Hair replied. “Allow me to lead the way.”

Sue grunted in reply as the men turned and walked toward the door. Sue followed, pistol pointed at the men’s backs while Jasper reluctantly took up the rear. He didn’t like where this was going, not at all. It smelled bad, but Sue wasn’t listening to reason.

Bright sunlight met them at the door, forcing Jasper to shield his eyes. He stepped through and into the glare, squinting to see.

Outside, at least twenty-five men waited for them, all holding automatic rifles. Masks with human features covered their faces, giving them the appearance of corpses.

Sue raised the pistol, pointing it at the back of Curly Hair’s head. “I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “Unless you want a hole in your head.” He turned to face her, reaching out his hand.

Sue paused, considering.

Curly Hair cocked his head to the side. “Come on. Make the right decision and you might live to recognize it.”

Sue gritted her teeth and scowled. She slowly lowered the pistol and handed it to him.

“Good girl,” Curly Hair said. “My name is Roman, but you can call me your worst nightmare.”

Dario brought the prisoners into the warehouse’s main office. “We found these three civilians snooping around outside,” he said. Positioned behind a man and two teens, Dario stood with his head held high, or as high as a man of his stature would allow. Reggie stood beside them, covering them with the rifle.

“This isn’t the army,” Ed said, brow furrowed. “We’re all civilians here.”
 

Dario frowned. “We got the guns, don’t we?”

“I’ll take them,” Terry said. “You two go back outside and keep watch.”

“But…they’re our prisoners,” Dario argued.

Terry raised his eyebrows, his face dour.

“Fine,” Dario huffed. “Come on, Reggie.” The older black man rolled his eyes before reluctantly following Dario out of the room.

With Dario and Reggie gone, Terry closed the door. He stood in front of it, keeping his M16 aimed toward the trio’s general direction, the barrel pointing toward the concrete floor.

“Who are you?” Ed asked.

“My name is Lester Delaney. With me are Sam and Chloe.”

Ed stared at the three for a long time, gauging their reactions. The boy’s eyes revealed fear. They darted around the room, taking inventory and assessing threat. Sweat beads formed on his forehead. The girl appeared cooler, but her eyes showed concern more than fear. She was a little older than the boy, but not by much. The man who’d addressed himself as Lester though; his eyes showed no sign of fear.

“Separate them,” Ed said.

“No,” Chloe argued.

“We’re not going to kill you,” Ed said. “Not unless you give us a reason to.”

“They’re going to interview us separately,” Lester said. “See if our stories check out.”

“Get Herb and Reggie to help you,” Ed said, ignoring Lester.

“What about Dario?” Terry asked.

“What about him?”

Terry grinned wide. He leaned out the door and called for Herb and Reggie. A few moments later they appeared, M16s at the ready. Terry communicated Ed’s wishes to the men who took Chloe and Sam away. Terry took Lester away, closing the door behind him.

Ed stood in the quiet office, pale sunlight streaming in from the window behind him. Dust motes floated through the air and Ed watched them as he considered what he’d do when he talked to these new people they’d found. If their stories matched then he’d probably invite them along. It was the right thing to do. If they didn’t check out then he’d send them on their way.

He opened the door and stepped out of the office.

That’s when he heard the first gunshot.

Jasper sat in a folding chair, bound by a combination of rope and bungee cords. His entire face sang with pain from the beating he’d received from a beast of a man who called himself “Monkey”. Roman stood behind Monkey, arms crossed, watching with dissatisfaction as his trained animal focused his attention on Sue.

“Stop lying to me, bitch,” Roman said. “It’s only going to get worse from here.”

Jasper glanced at Sue, recoiling at the sight of her face. Both eyes had swollen shut and her nose was clearly broken. Several of her teeth were missing. Blood covered her face, running down her neck and saturating her shirt. Jasper absently wondered how bad he must look.

“Fuck you,” Sue croaked.

Roman nodded at Monkey, who landed another right hook against Sue’s cheek. Jasper heard something crunch as her head snapped back. She’d have toppled backward if not for the nails holding the chair to the floor.

“Stop it,” Jasper said, feeling how empty the words sounded once they left his mouth.

Monkey slapped him quickly. Pain roared throughout his entire face. He thought he heard himself groan, but things had gone fuzzy.

“Where are they?” Roman repeated.

Sue didn’t reply.

“She sleepin’,” Monkey said. He sounded like an overgrown child.

“Wake her up then,” Roman said. Monkey tossed a bucket of water in Sue’s face. Bloody water pooled on the floor below her chair. She groaned, slowly lifting her head.

“Where are they?” Roman repeated.

“Ain’t nobody else,” Sue said.

“Bullshit. Nobody travels alone these days, especially not with brand new rifles. You’ve been outfitted and I want to know who did it.”

Sue nodded. “Okay,” she said. She mumbled something incoherent.

“Speak up,” Roman said.

Sue continued to mumble.

“Who outfitted you?” Roman said.

Monkey leaned in as Sue repeated what she’d said. He turned to Roman. “Your mom. That what she say, boss.”

Roman growled. He stepped in drew back a fist. He let fly, crushing Sue’s eye socket. He followed with another, her head lolling to one side as he shook the pain out of his fist. He screamed at Monkey. “Hit that bitch!”

Monkey leaned in and delivered a massive blow, smashing Sue’s nose.

“Again!”

Monkey’s face screwed up as he reared back and landed the hardest punch yet. A loud snap resounded as he connected.

“Where are they!” Roman screamed. “Fucking tell me, right now!”

No response from Sue.

“Wake this bitch up again!” Roman yelled.

Another bucket of water splashed over Sue’s head, but she didn’t move.

“Wake up!” Roman bellowed.

Still no movement from Sue.

Monkey gripped Sue by her bloody face, shaking her head from side to side. “Monkey think she dead.”

“Fuck!” Roman snapped. He turned his attention toward Jasper. “Looks like it’s up to you now, kid.”

The chatter of gunfire erupted from inside the machine shop. Ed ran from the office and down the hall toward the main room of the shop, toward the source of the sounds. He unslung the M16 from his back as he ran. He opened the door to the shop, the sound of the shots echoing throughout the large room. He saw Terry, Herb, Dario and Reggie hiding behind the truck, stepping out to fire at someone out of sight.

Ed ran to where they were, listening to the sound of bullets whizzing through the air. He checked the back of the truck and found Zach and Jeremy there. Trish sat between them, rifle in hand.

“You okay?” Ed asked.

“Yeah,” Trish replied.

Ed left them and slipped in between Reggie and Terry. “What happened?”

“Somebody got inside,” Terry replied. “About five or six guys with handguns and rifles. We killed a few of them, but there’s at least three more still shooting. We need to get the fuck out of here.”

“Night’s coming,” Ed replied. “There might also be more of them out there waiting for us.”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take,” Terry said. “We stay here and we might get overrun with these guys’ backup.”

Four more shots echoed throughout the building.

“Jasper’s not back yet,” Ed said.

“Sorry, my friend, but we can’t wait on him. We gotta go now. We’ll worry about your friend later.”

Ed considered his options. If they fled now they might outrun whatever possible threat a backup party held. But evening was upon them and night would swiftly follow, bringing with it the white carriers. And leaving meant giving up on Jasper, the man who’d saved Ed’s life.

“We need to go,” Herb echoed.

“Okay,” Ed said.

“You three take care of the door,” Terry said, motioning toward Dario, Herb and Reggie. They left their positions and ran toward the door.

Ed looked to Terry. “Is everybody loaded up?”

Terry nodded. He leaned out from behind the truck and fired off a half dozen shots at the men hiding on the other side of the large room. 

Ed opened the truck’s passenger side door and climbed through, jamming the key into the ignition and turning it. The engine roared to life as Terry climbed in the passenger seat and rolled down the window. Ed heard the sound of the large bay door opening as waning sunlight poured in.