Resurrection (25 page)

Seal the wound, how do you do that?” Ethan said.

The doctor reached into the fire and pulled out a red hot poker. “Hold him down boys this will hurt like hell. Sorry about this son but this is very necessary to avoid further complications and it’s the only option available.”

Belchazer grabbed Andrews’s wrists. “Let me he’s my brother,” Aaron said.

“Bite on this,” the Doctor said putting a piece of wood between Andrew’s teeth.

He then took the poker and placed the side hard against the bite, the flesh sizzled and the stench of burning flesh was nauseating and Andrew screamed in agony and gnawed fiercely on the wood and then passed out.

…

“We are the only humans left as far as I know at least for hundreds of miles and until now we have been able to avoid detection by remaining strictly within the boundaries set by the Elder. But now we are on the brink of being discovered, the Giant Ones have been seen within several miles of our enclave.

“Our demise was foreseen by the Red Angel and we were sent to bring you and your army to help us rid ourselves of this threat.” Ethan said.

“By the ‘Giant Ones’ I suppose you mean the Lazerines?”

“Yes Senor it has to be the Lazerines as the Lazerites do not venture that for south.”

“Hmm they are very dangerous,” Peter said with a look of concern on his face. “They are the southern arm of the Lazarus so called because they are the descendants of those who did not die from the Resurrection Virus and who moved into the cities which burned with radiation. They broke away from the Lazarus and although they are a very large group they never formed a single unit and are divided into between seven to ten independent groups all speaking the same language and sharing the same culture but not always cooperating with one another.

“Radioactive fallout combined with the virus caused grotesque and deadly mutations in some cases in others it caused the successive generations to become giants and these mutations occurred very quickly aided by the virus and the fallout. These mutated half human beasts found humans easy prey and so added them to their diet which consists of pretty much any meat source they can kill; they became cannibals. But I believe the word cannibal is not fitting because they are not true humans but rather a new species.

The Lazarines are the largest and most violent group and inhabit what is known as Lazaria. They have been expanding their territory which now encompasses hundreds of square miles.” Peter said.

“We had an encounter with the Lazarites back in the Wastelands and I was able to use some trickery of the mind and we were able to escape.” Warlock said.

“Well it will take more than a bit of trickery to rid the land of the Lazarines; the group is twice as large and twice as ferocious as the Lazarites with a far superior intellect. I have never encountered them and hoped never to but the Angel compels me and I must go. I will have Belchazer rally the men and we will leave in two days,” Peter said.

Chapter 58

Andrew was still not well enough to travel and stayed behind with the promise that his brothers would return for him. He watched them as they and the others rode out of the gates of the city. They rode for several days on the seemingly unending flat plain and then the great valley spread out before them once again.

“Well Señores once again we come to the Valley of the Dead, we should be careful as I have only one other weapon in my ‘bag of tricks,’ Warlock said.

“We cannot afford to lose any men to these creatures,” Belchazer said. “I know of a way around this valley but it will add at least two days to our journey; at least two.”

“If my opinion is worth anything I say we go around, I for one don’t wish to encounter those things again,” Aaron said.

Peter gazed out over the valley floor. “Alright Belchazer, show us.”

The valley was so immense that it seemed to have no end but by the end of the second day it had started to narrow and the other side was less than a mile away but then Belchazer who was riding ahead pointed and yelled out.

They rode up to meet him and he pointed toward the distance.

“There it is,” he said.

A small paved road ran up to the valley and then a bridge spanned the gap.

“This will get us across.” Belchazer said.

They made their way onto the bridge and soon all of the men and horses were on it. The bridge ran a little over a mile across the narrowest end of the valley before the canyon began to widen once more. Belchazer had gone ahead to make certain that it was in good shape and able to handle their weight.

Peter motioned for the column to move forward and when they were half the way across Peter raised his hand and the column stopped. They heard the sound of hoof beats on the bridge and then saw Belchazer approaching fast.

“Go back; go back the Wasters are coming!” He yelled.

“Retreat!” Peter yelled.

The men quickly turned their mounts around and began running back the other direction. Then a call went up from the front that the Wasters were coming from the other end of the bridge as well.

“We’re trapped,” Ethan shouted.

Wasters were pouring onto the bridge from both ends, the men dismounted and drew their bows and began firing into the horde. The creatures began falling in great numbers but that did not stop them.

Peter climbed up onto the trusses of the bridge and the other men soon followed. The horses left alone panicked and ran headlong through the line of Wasters trampling some of them into the bridge deck. But the monsters still kept coming from both ends of the span and then the two masses crashed into one another in the middle of the bridge. The creatures fell into disarray upon realizing that their prey was no longer there but they soon discovered where they had gone.

The Wasters were not able to climb up and were only able to make feeble attempts to jump and try and reach the men but they did not give up and leave the bridge leaving the men with nowhere to go.

“So what do we do now the sun will be down soon?” Aaron said.

“Señores you may wish to cover your eyes and ears, I think I may have a solution; hopefully this works.” Warlock said.

He pulled from his satchel a glass bottle with a plunger on top and containing what looked like water. Warlock pushed the plunger in and then dropped the bottle into the crowd of Wasters waiting below. Suddenly there was a blinding white flash followed by an earsplitting explosion and thick cloud of acrid white smoke rose up from the bridge deck and burnt the men’s eyes and throats. The bodies of the Wasters lay scatted in pieces across the asphalt. The men climbed down from atop the bridge and walked through the Waster’s remains.

Peter let loose an arrow from his crossbow into the head of one that was still moving. “It’s best we get across this bridge and get as far from this valley as possible tonight,” he said.

They rounded up their horses and set off across the wasteland and after several more days of travel they began to once again see signs of life as deserted and arid land gave way to trees and grass.

“Well it won’t be long now, maybe another days ride and we’ll be at the edge of the forest,” Ethan said.

“We are in Lazeria now and must be extra cautious that we not be seen,” Peter said observing the area with his scope.

By the end of the next day they had reached the forest’s edge and ahead of them was an ever thickening canopy of trees. Suddenly a look came over Peter’s face, a look of concern.

”What is it Peter? What is happening?” Ethan said.

“The Lazarines have found your home; the battle begins now!” Peter yelled. “Pull the wagon forward and arm yourselves.”

They pulled the wagon up and the men surrounded it, Belchazer unlocked the wooden compartment on top and opened it revealing hundreds of weapons.

“You have guns,” Ethan said surprised. “Let me have one!”

“Now listen to me,” Peter said. “We are fighting now a deadly enemy one like we have not seen in previous battles but one we must fight and vanquish because if we do not they will only get stronger and then, one day we will fight them again. God is with us my friends and we will prevail.”

They rode as fast as possible through the ever thickening forest and upon reaching a clearing atop a small hill they saw in the distance smoke rising from the canopy.

“There, the village is on fire,” Aaron yelled.

They rode until they were but a few hundred yards from the village wall, fires raged from within the walls and screams could be heard. The Lazarines rode roughshod through the streets capturing or killing whoever got in their way,

Massive mutated dogs ran ahead of them pulling people down allowing the giants to easily capture them. The survivors were being thrown into huge cages on wheels and pulled by gigantic black steeds. The breath exhaled from the giant creatures filled the air forming a fog in the dense morning atmosphere.

“Belchazer,” Peter said. Move your men in a circular fashion around the walls and set up position over there and I will do the same on the right. We will partially surround them and then began firing your bows, we’ll move into the village when I give the order.”

The men separated and each unit followed their leader and once they were in position they began firing single arrows at individual targets. Lazarine warriors began to fall silently from their horses, and before long there were very few in sight. They killed the dogs as well which made for a fairly easy entry into the village.

Peter gave the order to advance and as it was passed down the line and they began to move forward. Bodies lay scattered in the streets, and the stench of burnt flesh filled their nostrils. Peter began dispatch men by twos, and they positioned themselves on rooftops and in corners and doorways.

Peter moved into the center of the village and there he found the remainder of the Lazarine force enjoying the fruits of their pillaging. There in the center of the village were two human bodies hoisted above a fire being grilled for the celebration to come. Peter and the others climbed up on to the tops of rooves and Belchazer’s men did the same. They surrounded the Lazarines and prepared to open fire.

Peter waited until there was a huge congregation of Lazerines in the middle of the street and then gave the signal to open fire. Shots rang out from all around, volley after volley and the giants began to fall like so many dominoes.

Once they realized what was happening they ran for cover through the streets and the men who Peter and Belchazer had positioned throughout the village began taking their toll. Then Lazarines began climbing up on the rooftops and soon the battle became hand to hand.

The Lazarines were large but they were also slow in their movements and Peter and his men took quick advantage. The giants swung their huge battle axes and his men retreated, firing as they went.

Aaron found himself cornered by one of the brutes on the edge of the rooftop and out of ammunition. He pushed the gun into his belt and pulled his sword and slashed at the beast. He took one quick leap and made it to the adjacent rooftop but when the Lazarine tried to follow he missed and slipped.

He hung there for a moment and as he did Aaron sliced him on the side of the neck. Blood spewed from the wound and Aaron pushed him off the roof with the heel of his boot. He quickly ran to the middle of the roof and found a stairway leading down into the building. He carefully made his way to the lower level and found a family huddled in the room below.

“Shhh,” he said putting his finger to his lips.

He walked to a front window and carefully parted she shutters, outside he saw three Lazarines hiding on the front stoop. He stepped back from the window and planned his next move and reloaded the pistol.

He looked once more at the family huddled in the corner and sighed; he knew he couldn’t leave them to fight this out alone. He motioned for the little girl to come to him, she quietly moved forward and he knelt down and talked to her.

“Are you afraid,” he said.

She nodded her head.

“Well that’s good because so am I, it’s good to be afraid sometimes it keeps us on our toes. Now here is what I want you to do, I want you to go to that window there and open the shutters and let them see you, just smile at them and don’t worry because I’m not going to let anything happen to you or your family; you hear me now? I’m going to kill those things and then we are all going to go someplace safe.”

He carefully opened the wooden shutters and peered out, he saw the three Lazarines hiding just outside the front door.

“Go ahead now, and smile big.”

The girl slowly pushed her head out the window and forced a smile onto her face. One of the Lazarines saw her and alerted the others who moved toward her. Once they were all in sight Aaron pulled the girl from the window and opened fire killing all three of them.

Chapter 59

Peter’s men were trapped and almost out of ammunition. They pulled their swords and the fighting between them was severe with the Lazarines exacting the largest toll. Then the Lazarines stopped fighting and stood still and grabbed at their heads and then began falling to their knees.

Peter and his men stood surprised as the massive creatures began to howl as if in agony.

Warlock yelled at Peter from the street below. “You’ve got to go now I can’t keep this up forever.”

Peter turned to Warlock and started to question him but Warlock urged him to move and quickly. The men jumped from the roof and they all ran and found hiding places. Warlock released his hold on the Lazerines.

“You can thank me later,” he said.

The group ran to the opposite side of the village to regroup and on the way they met up with Ethan.

“I’ve got a little good news and some very bad news,” he said.

Peter sighed. “Okay give me the good news first,” he said.

“Well the good news is we’ve got this little band of Lazarines pretty much contained we’re just mopping up now. Now the bad news is another group is approaching quickly and will be upon us soon.”

“How many?” Peter said.

The scouts report at least a thousand, maybe more!”

A man who had climbed up a tower yelled down to Peter who was standing below. “I don’t know what you’re gonna do but you better do something quick because there they are!”