Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year Book 1) (25 page)

I listen to you, for you are my MasterBossLord.

“I will have your back.”

And I will have yours.

“Together.”

Together.
Bad Dog licked the man’s cheek.

Cavalo stood and pushed open the door.

It was dark. The moon was hidden behind the clouds. Snow fell heavily, but it was quiet, almost silent. Cavalo was reminded of that snow globe from so very long ago, broken in that hidden, haunted place. It was as if the world around him had been shaken, and now the snow swirled down and sideways. He expected the ground beneath his feet to tilt with the first step. Maybe spin upside down. Everything else was, so it wouldn’t surprise him….

Fat flakes fell into his hair. Bad Dog let out his puppy only briefly, taking in a mouthful of snow before falling into step with his MasterBossLord. Cavalo knew the dog was aware of the seriousness of the situation, even if Bad Dog’s voice was only in his head. They’d been together for a long time. Even if the dog’s voice was just part of Cavalo’s breaking mind, they could read each other well.

They reached the edge of the cellblock. Cavalo made a fist at his side, tucking his thumb inside his curled fingers. Bad Dog stopped immediately, pressing against the back of Cavalo’s legs.

Through the snow, Cavalo could hear a voice: “—so you might as well come out now! If you choose to keep this up, I can promise you that fire like you can’t even
imagine
will rain down upon you. Send him out!”

Cavalo crouched down low. He gripped the corner of the barracks and leaned over.

In the middle of the courtyard stood the man seen on the robot’s video, six yards away. His heavy coat opened up to the UFSA uniform underneath. His chest looked distorted and bulky. SIRS was right: they had armor underneath the uniforms. Wilkinson, Blond, and Black had not.

His breath billowed out around him. His rifle was strapped to his back. His gloved hands were empty. He’d had his gun drawn before. At some point, he’d put it away. Cavalo didn’t know how to interpret this. The man’s words were hostile, so it wasn’t as if it was a sign of peace.

Another man stood behind him, his face obscured by a white cloth wrapped around his mouth to protect him from the elements. Cavalo heard him speak but couldn’t make out the words. The apparent leader said something in return, and Cavalo could only make out
trip
and
sight
and what sounded like
father
.

Father?

“SIRS,” he said quietly.

“Yes, Cavalo.” A slight crackle in the connection.

“Perimeter?”

“Eighteen minutes. Maybe twenty.”

“Connection?”

“Slight interference but clear.”

“You have them sighted?”

“Yes, and I caught a glimpse of you. Two in the courtyard. One in building two, the other in three.”

Two was behind the men in front of Cavalo. Three was a crumbling building fifteen yards to the east.

“Cavalo, you should know our friend in here seems quite agitated.”

“Isn’t he always?”

“Maybe a little more than usual.”

“Let him be.”

“You need to get them outside the prison. Even just a foot. I can handle the rest.”

“I know.”

“You don’t need to show yourself.”

“Cavalo!” The voice came as a shout from the courtyard.

“That’s not good,” Cavalo muttered.

Bad Dog whined quietly.

“What?” SIRS asked.

“He knows my name.”

“That’s… not good.”

“Yeah.”

“Cavalo!” the leader cried again. “We know you’re here! Come out now! Bring us the boy!”

“Our friend is certainly popular,” SIRS murmured.

Cavalo waited.

“I’ll make this simple!” the man shouted. “Easy as pie for someone like you!”

Pie is never easy
, Bad Dog said.

The leader looked around the darkened courtyard. “You come out now or we return to Cottonwood… and burn it to the ground. You don’t know me but know this: I am a man of my word. Your call, Cavalo.”

The bees roared in Cavalo’s head. His hand tightened on the handle of the gun hidden away.

“It doesn’t have to happen this way. Give us what we came for, and this all goes away!”

“Cavalo.” SIRS, in his ear. Through the bees. “Fifteen minutes. Don’t do this. Let them leave. We can warn the town. Just get them outside the prison. Let me handle the rest.”

“They were real protective of you down there,” the leader called out. “No one wanted to tell us a thing! A few even went so far as to threaten us.” He laughed. A harsh sound. “Hank? Aubrey? Deke? He seemed real sorry you’d been shot. A scrawny thing, isn’t he? More boy than man. Some of us like them that way.”

KILL HIM!
the bees roared.
BREAK HIM!

“And Alma! Man, is she sure a
spitfire
. A whole lot of woman there. You know, while Cottonwood burns, we may just take that sweet piece of ass and see how long she can get fucked before her heart gives out.”

“Cavalo,” SIRS said urgently. “Don’t. He’s
baiting
you. You know this!”

Cavalo did. And if he’d been threatened such as this before he’d stumbled upon the Dead Rabbit, he didn’t think it would have hit him as hard. He would have told himself it wasn’t his problem. They weren’t his people to worry about. But something had changed. Something had awakened. He hated it. It burned, and it roiled, and he
hated
it, but he could not stop it. It rose through him. That unending fury. That righteous anger. That feeling of
no
, of
mine
, of the need to
protect
those who could not protect themselves. Oh, Cavalo had no doubt that Alma would fuck them up before they even got close enough to lay a finger on her, but it didn’t stop the rage. It wasn’t even close.

Cavalo rose from his crouch, even as the robot begged him in his ear, even as Bad Dog pulled gently on his pant leg. His hand squeezed the grip of the gun. This was a new feeling for Cavalo, or rather, it was a feeling long thought gone, never to return. It burned, and he almost gagged on it, a sour taste in the back of his throat.

Here
was the snow globe, as he stepped around the corner of the building.

Here
was the snow globe, as the earth shook beneath his feet.

As the snow flurried around him.

It had not shattered in that haunted fort. It had not fallen to DEFCON 1, because he was
in
it. He was
here
inside it, and the snow was
red
, it was all so
red
.

The only reason the leader of the small group who had infiltrated the prison did not die right then is because the second man raised his rifle at Cavalo’s approach.

“
Stop
!” he barked, his voice a whip crack of warning.

Cavalo stopped. Barely.

Bad Dog growled at his side.
Put down your boomstick, you fucking bad guy! I am Bad Dog and I will tear you to shreds. Put down the boomstick and fight me fair!

“This isn’t going to end well,” the robot sighed in his ear.

“Hands!” the man with the rifle snapped. “Show me your fucking hands!”

I’ll show you my teeth in your neck!
Bad Dog barked.

“Stay,” Cavalo ground out. He meant as much for himself as he did for the dog. It was getting harder to see through the red. His hand itched to pull out the gun and shoot each man through the head. The bees felt like they were crawling just under his skin. They wanted to feel blood on his hands, warm and wet. They wanted to tear these men to little pieces.

“Last chance,” the man with the rifle barked. “Your hands!
Now
.”

Cavalo raised his hands.

The man with the rifle stepped forward as the two others stepped out of the barracks. The leader watched Cavalo with cool, calculating eyes. Rough hands searched Cavalo, pressing against his sides, stomach, chest. He did not wince even at the flare of pain as fingers pressed against the bullet wound. Cavalo thought about breaking his neck, but there were two other guns trained on him now. He didn’t think he’d be quick enough.

The pistol was found and handed to the leader. He turned it over in his hands, a small smile on his face. “Haven’t seen one of these in years,” he said. He sounded bemused. “Glock 9mm.” He ejected the clip. Put it in his pocket. Cleared the chamber. “Maintained well for such an old thing.” He looked up at Cavalo. “They used these, you know. Before. Standard issue. Police. Security.” He looked past Cavalo at the barracks behind him. “Prisons.”

Cavalo said nothing.

“You find this here?”

“Fourteen minutes,” SIRS said in his ear. “And the Dead Rabbit isn’t too thrilled with me at the moment.”

Cavalo thought it would only take one move for him to reach out. Grab the leader. Spin him around. Arm around his neck. Hold him until the others dropped their rifles. Snap his neck. Unhook the rifle from his back. Fire three head shots. It would have to be quick if it would work at all. Most likely he’d be shot at least three times before he could reach the leader. Bad Dog would follow and be shot as well. They would probably die. He’d have to take the chance. He’d have to do it
now
, and he steeled himself for it
now
and his legs coiled and the blood roared in his ears and he thought
now now now—

The leader took a step back, away from Cavalo. Handed Cavalo’s pistol to the man closest to him. The man took it, never taking his eyes off Cavalo, the barrel of the rifle pointed at his face. These men were trained, and trained well.

And how is it that happened?
the bees asked gleefully.
How is it that a government has risen and
no one
knew about it?

“Cottonwood seems real fond of you,” the leader said, looking back at Cavalo, “for the most part. Some people there don’t know what to make of you. Others are scared of you.” He chuckled. “It was almost like they were speaking about a ghost. Something revered. And dreaded.”

The snow fell around them. Cavalo had to remind himself that he was not in a globe. Bad Dog felt tense beside him, waiting for any signal from his MasterBossLord.

“Is that what you are?” the leader asked him. “A ghost? A legend?”

“No,” Cavalo said. “I’m real.”

The three men behind the leader shifted uncomfortably, as if they hadn’t expected him to speak. The leader never looked away. “Good to know,” he said. “Question for you.”

Cavalo waited.

“Do you know who we are?”

“Government.”

The leader nodded. “That’s right. Government. Bright and shiny and new.”

“Twelve minutes,” SIRS said.

Think. Think.
“How new?” he asked.

The leader reached up with a big hand and wiped the snow that had started to accumulate on his beard. He turned his face toward the sky and stuck out his tongue. Snow fell into his mouth. His throat worked. He looked back at Cavalo with narrowed eyes. “New enough to still be learning from our mistakes. Old enough to know when we’re being fucked with. Who are you?”

“I am Cavalo.”

“So it’s been said. Where do you hail from?”

“The south.”

“How far?”

“Nevada.”

“Been here long?”

“Didn’t they tell you?”

“Cottonwood? Oh, sure. But I want to hear it from you.”

“A long time.”

“How long is that?”

Cavalo shrugged. “Years. Eight or nine.”

“Who else is here with you?”

“No one. It’s me and the dog. I prefer it that way.”

“Oh bullshit,” SIRS growled in his ear. “I am as much a part of this dysfunction as the two of you.”

The leader smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. It was cold. Calculating. He was dangerous, this one. He knew that Cavalo knew. His eyes drifted down briefly. “No one else, huh? How’s the chest?”

“Fine.”

“You’re walking a bit stiff.”

“I’m getting old.”

The leader laughed. “That’ll do it. Or being shot. You were able to patch yourself up?”

Cavalo shrugged. “He just clipped me on the shoulder. Kid has always been a lousy aim.”

“Is he?”

“Yes.”

“You have to know how this will end.”

“Ten minutes,” the robot said. “I think.”

“How will this end?” Cavalo asked.

The leader stepped forward until they were only inches apart. He had inches on Cavalo, and mass. To keep eye contact, Cavalo was forced to look up, just like he knew the man wanted him to. Undoubtedly he intimidated many people.

Cavalo was not one of them.

Bad Dog growled, but no one paid him any mind.

“This will end with you giving me what I want,” the man said. Cavalo could smell the man’s road sweat, the harshness of his breath. “You will tell me where the boy is. There are questions that need answered.”

“The Dead Rabbit?”

“Yes. The Dead Rabbit.”

“Don’t know. I brought him to Cottonwood. That’s the last thing I remember.”

“That so?”

“Yes.”

“Bullshit.”

“Sure,” Cavalo said, and he saw the first flash of anger in the stranger’s eyes.

He looked over his shoulder, back at his men. Cavalo almost reached up and snapped his neck. “Carter,” the leader said. “Jacobs. Find him.” He turned back to Cavalo as the two that’d been searching the barracks previously nodded and began to move away, back toward the remaining buildings behind them. The mess hall. The barracks where they slept.

The cellblock.

“Uh, Cavalo?” SIRS said. “We have a slight problem.”

“We’ll find him,” the leader said to Cavalo. “You can be sure about that.”

“It appears our new friend likes to break his thumbs,” SIRS said. “Did you know he can slip out of handcuffs? That is quite the talent. The level of pain must be extraordinary.”

“Is that so?” Cavalo asked the robot and the stranger.

“Yes,” SIRS said.

“Yes,” the leader said.

“And what are you going to do?” he asked them both.

“What I can,” SIRS said. “He’s gone. You need to watch your back. Or they need to watch theirs. I’m still not clear on who he is trying to kill.”