Forged From Ash (35 page)

Gary was quick to shake his head, and the big woman next to him was almost as quick to swat him on the shoulder. “You were too distracted by the explosion,” she said. “That and you’re halfway to being blind without your glasses.”

“That thing did blow up pretty good, now that I think about it,” Gary said. “One of those wolves carried the bomb away from the rest of the pack and exploded like a sack of meat….and explosives.”

Turning so Gary was taking up less of his field of vision, Rico concentrated on the woman and said, “I’m Rico. Who are you?”

“Linda.”

“Nice to meet you, Linda. How about I talk to you for a while?”

“Smart man.”

“So did one of those things change or not?” Rico asked.

She nodded uncomfortably. “It was one of the dogs that hung back farther than the rest. It squirmed around so much I thought it got tangled up in one of the barbed wire snares we set up in the fields outside the fence. Wailed and clawed at the ground like it was in pain. When it was through, it looked more like a man but…not.”

“What do you mean?”

Although the word “squeamish” couldn’t really apply to a woman who looked like she could punch through a refrigerator door, Linda obviously didn’t like the image that had drifted into her mind. “That whole pack…they looked like all the others that’ve been coming around.”

“Screwed up,” Gary said. “That’s what they look like.”

Both Rico and Linda acted as though the skinny guy hadn’t even said anything, so Gary just walked away to join some of the others near the fence.

“What’s screwed up?” Haley asked as she walked over to her car.

“That was quick,” Rico said. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah. Here’s the key back.”

Linda took the key / wrench combo with an upward nod as a quick acknowledgment and stuffed it into one of the leg pockets of her cargo pants. “So we first thought that pack was like the rest,” she continued. “I didn’t really notice a difference until about the third or fourth time they came sniffing around to dig at the fence. The leader was a little smaller than the others. Its legs were longer and thicker. Its head was rounder. Somehow the thing just looked less like a dog than the rest of them.”

“Did it have long claws and flaps on the side of its neck?” Rico asked.

“Nope.”

“What about a real long tail and softer fur? Maybe something else that made it look more like a cat?”

Linda quickly shook her head. “Nothing like that.”

Still thinking that she may have spotted some breed of Mongrel, Rico sifted through what he knew about them to pick one that could have been mistaken for a Half Breed. He hit a brick wall when he tried to come up with one that would actually be accepted in a Half Breed pack. The only creatures other than Half Breeds that ran with a pack were Full Bloods, and there was no mistaking one of them for something else.

“So what happened when this one changed?” he asked.

“I’ve never seen one of those things change before,” Linda told him as she became visibly more nervous. “But…I suppose they all have to change sometimes, right?”

“The biggest change for one of those things is the first time it’s turned. When a human is infected, they’ve got a short amount of time before they shift. When they shift, every bone in their body is broken, and they’re twisted into one of those animals. Organs shift. Some are ripped open, I think.”

Linda wasn’t the only one who listened to him. Although Haley had seemed to be in a better mood after coming back from the ladies’ room, that faded along with a good amount of color from her face. “Wouldn’t that kill them?” she asked.

Looking over at her and then to Linda, Rico said, “It does. The human that used to be in that body is pulverized, and the animal is all that’s left. The only shifting they do after that is when they sleep, which isn’t that often. Their muscles relax. Their fur gets sucked partly back in. Their skin gets saggy. They actually look more like road kill than normal if you can believe that.”

Linda shook her head. “That’s not what this one did. This one flopped around for a while and…screamed. Good lord,” she whispered. “I wish I never heard that scream. Sticks with you.” Shaking her head while trying to look as if she’d recovered, the big woman continued, “It tried to stand up. Made it up to two legs, but only for a second or so. Couldn’t really hold it for long before it dropped down to one knee with a hand on the ground.”

“Like a football player?” Haley asked.

“Yeah,” Linda said with a smile. “Like that.”

“What then?” Rico asked.

When she looked back to the Skinner, Linda’s expression darkened once again. He was used to that. “Then, it…he…it was a he…he pointed to a spot at the fence line,” Linda continued, “which was where the pack would keep hitting every night from then on.”

“Did he communicate with the rest of the creatures?”

“Must have, because when he pointed they ran.”

“I mean did he talk to them,” Rico said. “Did he just wave his hand? Did he lock eyes with them?”

“Yeah!” Linda quickly replied. “The eyes thing. He stared at them. Sort of moved his head back and forth to look at each one. He made some noises, but they didn’t sound like words. I wasn’t close enough to hear too well, so maybe they could have been words. I don’t really see those dog things understanding much by way of a language, though.”

“Strange.”

Gary had been talking to some of the others closer to the fence, pointing over to Rico as the others nodded. In the open air and beneath the large metal roof covering the pumps, every sound tended to echo. Rico could hear Gary’s crunching footsteps as he walked over to them once more. “Big Linn here telling you all about that messed up wolf man?”

“Yeah,” Rico chuckled. “She is.”

“I bet we can take that thing down with a box or two of them Snappers you promised.”

“A box?”

“Yeah!” Gary said. “Or two. Depends on how much gas you want.”

“And food,” Haley added. “We could also use some food.”

Gary nodded and grinned as he mentally added more to the bill in his head. “And water, I imagine. We got some nice flavored stuff in the fridge. Even some soda.”

“Vanilla Coke?” Haley asked.

“They stopped putting that crap out before the packs started runnin’! What’s wrong with you?”

She shrugged. “Worth a try.”

“Before you two start tacking more onto the tab,” Rico said, “I should warn you I wasn’t thinking about handing over that many Snappers.”

“How many were you thinking?” Gary asked through an ugly scowl.

“Maybe ten rounds. I could bump it up to a baker’s dozen if you toss in some lunch.”

“TWELVE rounds?” Gary hollered.

Linda put her hands on her hips and said, “That’s thirteen, dumb-ass.”

“Make it fourteen and that still ain’t enough. Hell, we should just take what we need. It ain’t like you’re goin’ anywhere unless we say so anyways.”

Rico’s scowl was even uglier than Gary’s when he said, “You’d better be ready to back that up. Talking out of your ass can get you killed in some real nasty ways.”

Gary tried to maintain his posturing, if only for the sake of looking good in front of everyone watching him. Since Rico wasn’t out to knock the guy down in front of his friends, he let him posture.

“We hold the keys to that gate,” Gary said with a lot less fire in his tone than before. “And we hold more guns than you. Besides, you promised us some Snappers.”

“That’s the only reason you let us in?” Haley asked. “Because of what we can give you?”

“What other reason is there?”

“How about helping someone when they need it? How about doing your part because you can, dick head!”

Gary and a few of the other guys behind him started to laugh. When Haley got ready to renew her attack, she was stopped by a warning glare from Rico.

“He’s right,” the Skinner said. “I promised something to trade, and I should deliver. That’s how things work now.”

“You hear that?” Gary said as he puffed out his chest. “I’m right!” Looking around at the others near him, he found several that clearly were on the same page and a few that were holding their tongues. Even though he had his supporters, Gary ran a hand over the top of his head and let out a short sigh. “You’re right too, though, sweet thang. I was bein’ a dick head. Sorry about that.”

“I’ve got a name, dude,” she said. “Use it, or I knee you below the belt.”

That got an even bigger round of laughs from Gary’s audience. Linda laughed especially hard and knocked against him as she walked by to get to the pump. “You had that one coming,” she said. “I’ll top off the tank.”

“Hold up, Linn,” Gary said. “We still gotta settle payment. I’d like to do the charitable thing, but I gotta get something out of this. Anyone finds out that I gave you free gas, and there’ll be more coming along to take advantage.”

“He’s a Skinner,” Haley said. “He should—”

“I’ll pay my way,” Rico cut in. Shaking his head, he grumbled, “Damn, this is a lot of trouble to go through for a few drops o’ gas and some fucking Coke.”

“Diet Coke, actually,” Gary said.

“Diet? Shit.”

“Make it a full box of Snappers and we’ll send you on your way with a full tank and full bellies,” Linda said. “Sound good?”

Alternating between looking at her and Gary, Rico said, “What I’d like is a hot meal, a full tank of gas and some basic supplies. I also got two gas cans in the trunk. I want those filled.”

“People in hell want ice water,” Gary replied.

Judging by the stern looks on the faces closing in around Rico and Haley, that sentiment was a good reflection of the entire group.

“What I said before still goes,” Rico told him. “I’m willin’ to pay for what I get.”

“You’d better be,” Gary snapped. “Because it sure ain’t free.”

“Just let him talk!” Linda scolded.

Rico hooked his thumbs over his belt in a way that opened his leather jacket more than enough to display the hardware holstered under his arm. The varnished wooden knuckles hung there as well, verifying to anyone who could see them that he truly was something more than just a guy with scars on his hands. “The number of Snappers stays the same. That’s all I can part with. But,” he added before anyone could squawk, “I’m willing to stick around for a while and check on this pack that’s been giving you so much trouble.”

“You won’t have to wait long to see ‘em,” Linda said. “What happens after you get a look?”

“Once I see what you’re dealing with, I solve your problem and leave you nice people with some fresh skulls to display on your fence posts. How’s that grab ya?”

Gary was already smiling when he turned around to look at the others clustered around him. By the time he faced Rico again, he was beaming. “That grabs me real good, buddy!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

T
he fence bordering the truck stop enclosed the main building, two smaller buildings, and the gas pumps. A portion of road that was also enclosed led to the highway and back to a strip of other businesses that were now destroyed. Haley leaned against one of the tall metal fence posts at a spot that was as far away from the truck stop as she could get without breaking the perimeter. One sneakered foot was propped against the fence behind her. One hand was stuffed into the pocket of her jeans and the other brought a Slim Jim to her mouth. Her black hair hung in a fairly well-maintained bob on one side. A portion of her scalp on the other side was shaved clean and covered by a thinner layer of hair that was swept across in a punk version of a comb-over. Rico hadn’t noticed all those details before because he simply hadn’t looked. When he thought they wouldn’t be together for very long, it didn’t make sense to pay such close attention. Now, however, he was studying her much closer.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Why? You wanna get busy?”

“Huh?”

“You know.” Keeping the Slim Jim between her teeth, she made fists and pumped them back and forth at waist level. Somehow, the little smirk she wore while biting her stick of meat was more appealing than the intentionally lewd gesture.

“Oh yeah,” Rico said. “Guess it’s been a while since I thought along those lines.”

Haley took the Slim Jim from her mouth and chewed as she asked, “Really? Because, normally when a guy asks how old I am, it’s right before he wants to ask about the other thing.”

“Just making conversation. Didn’t know it would be such a big deal.”

She looked down at the Skinner who sat with his back against the fence, one leg stretched out straight and the other bent so his boot touched his knee. The wooden knuckles were wrapped around his left fist, and he used his right hand to apply a coat of putrid smelling varnish with an old rag. Since he’d been doing the same thing for at least an hour, she lost interest and glanced around at the rest of the truck stop.

Things had settled down in the three hours or so since they’d arrived. Gary and some of the others took their spots near the gate so they could watch the interstate. She’d counted ten people at the truck stop, including Gary and Big Linn. Since everyone else there didn’t use Linda’s real name, Haley had already started thinking of her that way as well. The sun was on its way down, but there was at least another hour or so before darkness set in. Compared to West Virginia, Missouri air was thicker, and the winds were stronger. Loose chains hanging from the fence rattled. A few doors knocked against their frames in the breeze. Other than that, the only other sounds to be heard were the distant chatter of the truck stop people and the grind of battered leather shifting back and forth as Rico’s upper body continued to move in a steady rhythm.

“Twenty-three,” she said.

“What?”

“You asked how old I am. I’m twenty-three.”

Rico looked up at her for all of two seconds, which also made a sound as he shifted within his biker jacket. “You look younger than that.”

“I know, but I’m twenty-three. Honest.”

He nodded and got back to what he’d been doing.

“What about you?” she asked.

“Should I be thinking you want to get busy with an old man?”