Rage (11 page)

“No. Tell them they’ll have to make do. Can’t pull anyone off any other—”

He looked at Raine.

“—what do you call them? In the military.
Details
?”

“Yeah. Sometimes.”

“Tell them to stay alert. Get them ammoed up. I’ll get them another body or two when I can.”

The messenger turned and ran out of the area.

Halek, who had been talking to a few settlers hunched over people lying on the ground, noticed Raine.

No smiles there, either.

Raine even hesitated asking the question.

“Dan, what … happened?”

“An attack. Like we’ve been expecting. But, God, not this soon. It’s why we had the patrols out. Like you. Had a few out today. The bandits must have seen them leave, been watching.” He shook his head. “Came damn close to taking the whole settlement.”

Raine looked at the people attending the wounded. Then, just to the right of them, other bodies, covered. No one attending them.

“They stormed both gates. Vehicles crashed through. Barely had time to react.” He looked at Raine, perhaps sensing that he hoped he’d understand. What it was like. What it felt like.

“Killed people. Just ordinary people trying to survive here. People trying to get by, out of the city, away from the Authority.”

“How many you lose?”

“Five dead. That we’ve found so far. Good people. And the same number wounded.”

“What can I do? Is there—”

Halek walked up.

“Did you say ‘do’? What can
you
do? Look around this place, stranger. You’ve done enough.”

Raine turned to Halek. He didn’t like the brother’s words. But he forced himself to listen.

“What do you mean?”

“Halek, forget it. What’s done is—”

“They came here for you. They must have found the dead ones by your Ark. They came here for the Ark survivor.” Halek spat at the ground. “This is because of you.”

“Halek, ease the hell up. We don’t know that. Get back to work. You’ve got things to do. Salvage any weapons, any ammo. And I’ve got to go to the Outriggers.”

“You’re leaving?” Halek said. “With all this going on?”

One of those people nursing the wounded came up. “We’re good for medicine for maybe another twenty-four hours, Dan, tops. That’s it. Then we’re going to start losing them.”

“And whose gonna check the gates?” Halek continued, seemingly not even hearing about the medicine. “They listen to you, Dan.”

Raine had seen situations like this before: it was a lot of weight on Dan’s shoulders.

How much weight before he snapped?

“I know,” he sighed. “But we need the medical supplies. I have to go.”

Raine noticed that Halek had his eyes on him. They might have to have a private talk soon.

I may be a guest, but I’m not going to be treated like garbage by that bag of wind.

He turned to Dan, and it was clear to Raine that the leader of this settlement’s stress levels were off the chart.

“What happened to your leg?” Dan said, noticing the bloodied shirt bandaging his leg.

“Just a scratch. Found some bandits. Took them out.”

“Did you try to call us?”

“Yeah. No signal out there.”

Dan nodded. Apparently not an uncommon problem.

“They had a girl captured. I freed her—”

“And killed her, too?” Halek said.

“No. She got away, I mean.”

Another step closer to Raine’s face. “You let a goddamn bandit get away?”

“It was a
girl.
”

“Doesn’t matter—they’re all the same, all scum, as bad as the Authority. Maybe worse.”

Dan held up a hand. “I have to go first thing tomorrow, get these medical supplies. Maybe you can—”

“No.”

Raine’s voice cut through the room. As if bouncing off the metal walls. Did any of the people nursing look up? He couldn’t tell—he just looked at the man who saved his life.

“I’ll go. I made this happen.”

“No, you didn’t. You don’t have to—”

“That’s how I feel. But forget that—it doesn’t matter what I feel.
You’re
needed here. These people need you. If it’s a goddamn supply run, I can do that.”

“To the Outriggers? Not always so simple with them.”

“Is anything simple here?”

For the first time Raine could remember, Halek was quiet.

“I can do it, Dan.”

“Let him go,” Halek finally said. “We need you here, brother.”

Dan hesitated—Raine knew how Halek felt about him, the newcomer. But the truth in his words had penetrated his stressed brain.

“Okay. All right, you can leave at first light. Could still be dangerous out there—no, it
will
be dangerous out there.” He
shook his head, realizing it didn’t matter. Taking another deep breath, he stood a little straighter. “Halek will get together a list of what we need from them. We’ll have to offer something to barter. God … not sure what that will be. We’ll think of something. You should be back here before noon.”

“Sounds good.”

“Now get some sleep. You’re no good out there exhausted.”

“If they come back—”

For the first time that day Dan grinned. “Don’t worry. If they come back, you can be sure I’ll wake you up. But do me a favor—get that leg checked out, will you?” He walked away, his brother behind him.

Raine got his wound cleaned out and a fresh bandage put on, then went to his small space at the back of Halek’s. In minutes he fell dead asleep.

S
omeone kicked the wooden bench that Raine slept on. The dull vibration shook him awake.

To a totally dark room.

The person standing in front of him wore a headlamp, conveniently pointed right at him, rendering it impossible for him to see.

“Let’s go, stranger. Time to get ready.”

Raine recognized the voice. The young woman who met him on his return. Someone else who didn’t like having him around.

“I thought … first light?”

“Give it ten minutes and the sun will be up.”

The woman turned and pointed with the light at some type of bread and a drink.

“I put water in your buggy. Also fiddled with the engine a bit. Not my area, but I could see that your engine was lugging.”

Raine sat up.

“Thanks. And—who are you?”

“Loosum Hagar. I do a lot of different things around here. Which apparently also includes getting your butt moving.”

“You’re doing a good job of that. Tell me—is everyone in this settlement named Hagar?”

“What’s the matter? Don’t like the name?”

“No. Fine name—just seems—”

“C’mon. You have five minutes less than you did when I woke you. Eat, drink, move, go. There are people hurting here.”

Raine swung his legs to the side. His feet touched the ground and he felt his guns.

Funny, that’s how he came to think of them.

My guns.

“Also got some extra ammo for you. Should be a clean trip. The bandits like to hit and run. Today will be a running day for the bastards.”

“Thanks again.”

“Don’t worry—I’m not doing any of this for you. We need those medical supplies. You go, and my dad can stay here.”

Raine walked over and bit into the bread. None too tasty, and the whitish liquid in the glass was a poor imitation of milk. He didn’t even bother asking what it was.

Loosum handed him a sealed pouch. “And this—this is the deal Halek put together for the supplies. Just give it to Rikter. He’s their boss.”

“Says what you will do for them?”

“Right. Yeah. Okay, breakfast over. Let’s go.”

Light had started to color the clear night sky.

Now Raine could see Loosum. She was young—and with
the headgear and bulky outfit gone, was probably fairly attractive.

Too bad our chemistry is so off, he thought.

“There’s a map in that compartment there.”

“The glove compartment.”

“The what? Gloves?”

“Forget it. Was already archaic when—”

“Like I said … should be quiet out there. If not, drive like crazy and shoot even crazier. If you’re not back by nightfall with supplies, we’ll know what happened.”

Raine looked up.

Every minute, the deep purple of the sky shifted to a lighter shade, the sun still only looming. Time to go.

“Okay. And—I won’t say, you know, thanks again.”

He got in. Started the engine. The roar did sound cleaner, a deeper, tighter rumble. More than just tuned.

“Nice,” he said.

Loosum came close, clicking off her headlamp now that it was no longer needed.

“Look, we deal with the Outriggers on occasion, but the Outriggers deal with everyone, including the Authority. Just be careful around them. They’re not to be trusted.”

“And the Hagars are?”

“I will forget you said that,
Ark man.
Just a warning. Take it—or don’t.”

Loosum backed away.

“Now get moving.”

A hint of yellow on the horizon, the beginning of another day in the Wasteland. Was he keeping track of the days? Should he keep track?

It certainly didn’t seem to matter.

He pulled away from Loosum and went past the guards to
the road and open expanse of the great desert that surrounded the settlement.

Though the buggy sounded and ran better, its suspension, or lack of one, still sent Raine flying out of his seat when it hit each rock and crevice.

The sun sat a full ten degrees above the horizon now, not quite in his eyes. Pair of sunglasses would be useful. He did have a hat that he found in the back of the buggy. Not much of a brim, but it might help a bit.

He opened … the compartment.

Gloves … as if!

He pulled out the map. Hand drawn, and rough; it had scribbled mounds indicating hills and mountains, arrows for passageways.

A jumble of lines crisscrossing was labeled “Outriggers.”

He looked at the ball compass in his buggy. His course looked fine.

All he needed was some music.

Instead he was left with his thoughts, like maybe if he brought back the supplies, people would accept him. Let him just be.

But then again, maybe not. Because there was that catch.

I’m not a Hagar.

He stuffed the map back. If he stayed in this direction, he should be fine. Nothing but clear open space between here and the Outriggers’ settlement.

He began to relax.

Which, if you had asked him, was always when things seemed to go … wrong.

•  •  •

It was the slightest of sounds.

Competing with the wind—that steady whistle near his ears—the shooting spray of rock and rubble, and the still-loud engine.

Another noise.

He turned his head left and right as if he could aim his ears.

The sound … he slowly, finally, identified it.

Another engine. Then, more clear, two engines.

Behind him.

He looked at his compass. The open space ahead. And only then did he risk a look back.

To see the two vehicles racing toward him.

They had taken flanking positions behind him, one on either side. Still too far away for a good shot. From his glance back—and the rate they were gaining on him—Raine guessed that their vehicles were faster than his.

One had a classic jeep front. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like a machine gun mounted on the hood.

So, maybe two bandits in there.

And then, on the other side, a Camaro from hell. The engine exposed, tinkered with so it couldn’t even fit under any normal car hood, and a rear end raised up that gave the whole thing the look of a projectile.

Least it didn’t have a gun mounted on its front.

And both were gaining on him.

How many seconds until they opened fire?

Raine looked ahead. Wide-open space to maneuver. Seemed to be their advantage, not his.

A crack. The first sound of gunfire.

No opportunity for a long debate.

He hit the brakes of the buggy hard.

The vehicle nearly went end over end with the force of the sudden stop.

Raine didn’t waste any time. He picked up his rifle.

Another crack, and the ping of a shot that hit the roll bar ran over the buggy’s seats.

He saw the bandits on the left—the ones in the jeep—edging closer to him. One of them was standing, aiming the mounted gun …

Raine watched a line of bullets begin racing across the sand, strafing its way toward his vehicle.

Shit.

But they were going so fast, and with their target no longer moving, the bandit at the mounted gun was turning the gun fast as well to try to compensate, his aim all over the place.

Not so for Raine. He was stopped.

And he’d had sniper training. Maybe the most useful thing he’d ever learned—at least at the moment. He fired and the bandit at the mounted gun kicked backward, right out of the car.

Raine turned hard to the other vehicle, the metal torpedo about to pass him. No front-mounted machine gun, but he still saw a passenger bandit taking aim with a rifle.

Raine noticed that his wound from yesterday didn’t scream out in agony with his sudden turn. Sure, it had been cleaned out, but this was something different … almost like it was completely healed.

Almost like he had never taken a bullet there at all.

Nanotrites. Not sure he knew how they worked or even what they even were. But he was mighty glad to have them coursing through his system.

A shot from the killer Camaro brought him out of his reverie, and he ducked as the vehicle on the right flew past.

He slid back down, knowing that both vehicles would now turn, showing him their broadsides.

Time to gun it.

He sat up and hit the accelerator. Whatever Loosum had done made his underpowered buggy
leap
forward as if it had been kicked in the rear.

He didn’t even bother holding the steering wheel. He let the car wobble left and right as he took aim at the two vehicles in front of him.

Where the hell are their gas tanks?

Finding it on the Camaro-type thing should be easy. He took his shot, just to the rear of the driver, and low.