This Fallen World, page 19
part #1 of Fallen World Series
* * * * *
Chapter 10
“See this knife, Gee?”
Gary nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“This knife will be yours.” I handed the combat knife to the boy. “The fact that you have it doesn’t do you any good until you can use it.”
I pulled a pipe with a leather wrapped hilt from the bag at my feet.
“You’ll practice with this two hours per day, every day.”
“Yes, sir.”
Steering him to the mannequin I had set up, I pointed to the red circle on the ribcage.
“If you stab a person in that circle, at this angle,” I said, placing the point of the pipe at the angle I wanted, “It goes right into the heart.”
“The carotid artery is right here.” I pointed at another marked spot. “Slash across here.”
His face was a little pale, but he paid close attention.
“Femoral artery,” I said and pointed. “Again, slash.”
We moved around the back of the mannequin.
“This is where the kidneys are,” I said. “This doesn’t kill them outright but no one is interested in fighting anymore after they have a blade through one of their kidneys. These are your assignment. When I test you, I expect you to be able to hit these spots from anywhere you’re positioned around this target.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your first test will be in five days,” I said. “I want you to imagine every way you can possibly reach those spots and practice doing it. When the test is done, I’ll show you some more. You’re pretty good with the rifle, but some day we’re going to run out of bullets. At the rate we’re going, it’ll be sooner than later.”
“This is important, Gee. Make sure you do the work. Fighting is part knowledge and a whole lot of muscle memory. You train the body, and it’ll be there when you need it.”
“I will, Zee.”
I nodded and left the boy making stabbing motions at the mannequin.
“I almost asked you if that was necessary,” Neave said as she walked over to join me. “But I know it is.”
“You need to be practicing those same skills,” I said.
“I do need to,” she said. “But I have some other skills I need to work on as well. Something I have to learn from momma.”
“Yes?”
“I missed my period.”
I was two steps further along the path before what she said registered. I came to a complete stop with what I’m sure looked like a dazed expression.
“I think I’ve seen everything, now.” She laughed. “The ferocious Zebadiah Pratt is speechless.”
And I was speechless. How could I express the feelings I had. The amazement that I may get to be a father and the horror that this world would be the one this innocent would be brought into.
I did the only thing I could think of; I swept her into my arms and held her close. There really were no words to describe what was going on inside my head.
* * *
“We have all of the supplies from Destil,” Grady said as he stepped from the truck. “They were hoarding a basement full of canned goods, weapons, ammo, and even some medical supplies. This is the last of it.”
“Metal?”
“Got the majority of what we could move,” he said. “Might be able to drag some of the vehicles but I don’t think we have the fuel for it.”
“We may go back for more later,” I said. “Did you burn the abattoir?”
“We did. And the Justice Center.”
“Good.” I looked toward the east. “That place needed to be destroyed. It’ll help them to get past what happened there.”
“Chaney was the last person to walk out of Destil,” he said. “He lit the fires, himself.”
“Good,” I said. “He has a lot he needs to put behind him, and that’s a good start.”
“I don’t know if it will ever be enough,” he said. “He made deals with those bastards.”
“Look at the world we grew up in,” I said. “Would you ever have thought people could turn into what those raiders were?”
“I’ve seen some of the dark side of people,” he said, “and I still wouldn’t think they’d turn so fast.”
“Imagine what the city is like.”
“Pure hell.”
“I suspect so.”
“Probably makes what happened in Destil look like a walk in the park.”
“We need more scouts between here and there,” he said.
“Yep,” I replied. “I’m heading out this evening to run the east patrol.”
“You taking anyone else with you this time?”
“Ray, Kyle, and Sadie.”
“Good team. Sadie is probably the best shot in the farms.”
“Ray and Kyle are both good but she’s in another league.”
“She took to guns a lot better than most of our people.”
“Played vid games most of her life. Small step to graduate to real guns. She had the hand-eye coordination pretty well handled.”
“She’s never shot a real person, though,” he said. “Keep an eye on her. That’s a whole new experience. I’m sure you remember your first.”
“I’ll never forget it,” I said. “Never thought I would get rid of that hollow pit in my gut. Took some time.”
“It should never be easy.”
“When it’s easy, you’ve already lost more of yourself than anyone should.”
“You’re not taking Jimmy?”
“No, he’s staying with Pop for a while. Pop’s worried about him.”
“We all are,” he said. “That boy was a handful when he was a kid. Practical joker. Now… well…”
“I know,” I said. “He’s Jimmy but he’s not Jimmy. They really did a number on my brother. Obsidian can burn in hell for that.”
“From what Sam said, they’re doing just that. Their headquarters were hit by one of the strikes. He was just outside the city when the bombs dropped. The south is a wasteland. No one knows how far south it goes. You can’t get near it, much less get through it to see what’s on the other side. Same for the areas to our west.”
“When we get ourselves in a position to do it, I had thought about going north and west to see if anything remains out west.”
“You know that’s a long trip without cars.”
“Yes,” I replied. “But that may have to remain just a thought.”
“Why is that?”
“A father needs to be with his family.”
It took him a moment to realize what I was saying. “Neave’s pregnant?”
“Just found out.”
He strode forward and embraced me. “Congratulations!”
As he stepped back, he was still grinning. “It’s one of the greatest joys a man can have, to become a father.”
“I worry about the world we’re bringing a child into.”
“All parents throughout history have worried about that.”
“After seeing Destil, it’s a little more than a worry.”
“Then it’s going to be our job to make something better out of this Fallen World.”
* * * * *
Chapter 11
The sky looked dark to the north.
“Gonna be getting wet,” I muttered as I patted Dagger’s neck.
He snorted.
I smiled as I reached into the saddlebags to pull out a long poncho they had brought back from Destil. I had a long duster back at the farm that Gail Turnby was giving a treatment with bees wax. The poncho would do until the coat was finished. They’d found a lot of supplies in the basement when they’d searched the Justice Center. Why they’d hoarded things they didn’t need was just another part of their mindset I couldn’t stand. There were four hundred coats from several stores piled in the corner.
We had hoarded grain, corn, and beans. The abundance of those initial crops were paying off now that we had grown our population by a hundred and forty-three people. The second growth of corn was in the process of being harvested. The extra hands would make that a great deal easier, since the fuel was gone.
The first fat drop of rain hit my head just as the poncho slipped on. I was glad the weather came from the north. I was worried about anything being carried from the west. So far there had been no radiation from it but it could ruin everything if it happened.
Dagger snorted again as a fat drop splattered his ear.
“Sorry, boy. This poncho’s not big enough to cover your head.”
I had spread it along the back to cover most of the horse’s rump.
“Maybe we can find a good tree…”
The sky lit up to the south as a red flare went straight into the sky.
“Shit.” I pointed Dagger toward the emergency flare. “Go, boy!”
I jammed my heels into his sides, and he launched southward.
Thunder rolled to my north and gunfire to the south.
Slipping my hand inside the poncho, I drew the .45 with my right hand and kept the left on the reins.
The gunfire was closer, and I held myself low on Dagger’s back. We burst into a clearing with a rock hill in the center. I recognized the form on the hill as Sadie Billings. She was firing to the south, and I had come in on the north. Two others were behind the rocks with her, neither familiar. But both were firing to the south. I saw Sadie’s pale face as I thundered past on the big black horse. Rounding the rocks, I saw a group of ten or so men trying to work their way toward the three in the middle and another guy on a horse. He shot in my direction and I heard the bullet whiz past me. This guy was good. But he didn’t have the one thing I did. A crazy sixteen-hand warhorse. Dagger charged right through the men, sending several tumbling. I fired into some of the others. Dagger slammed his shoulder into the smaller horse and I dove right into the other rider.
We hit the ground with my shoulder impacting his chest. I could hear the crack as my two hundred and sixty pounds of muscle and bone crushed his chest. Rolling forward, I slung off the poncho and drew my other pistol. With both guns spitting lead and fire, I walked right into the group of men. There was a tug at my leg but I was pumped with adrenaline and barely felt it. My guns ran out, and I dropped the left to replace a mag in the right. Another shot grazed my cheek and I began shooting into the four remaining men. Two went down from my shots, and I could see one of the others drawing a bead on me. He jerked to the side as a bullet from the rocks hit him.
Another hit the last living raider.
Dagger walked up behind me and nudged me with his head.
“Yeah, I know you’re a badass, buddy.”
Sadie walked from the rocks with her rifle in shaky hands. She was followed by two men I hadn’t met before.
“B-Boss,” she stammered. Then she took a deep breath. “These men were being chased by the others. I ran into them, and they want to come join us. I think they may be very useful. This is Kal Spriggs and Trevor Gaines.
“You’re wearing Obsidian fatigues,” I said. The clothes were worse for wear but they were still military issue.
“Yes, sir,” the shorter of the two said. “Obsidian Corps of Engineers.”
“Engineer, huh?” I asked with a grin. A grin that set my cheek to burning where the bullet grazed me. “Shit.”
“You need to have that looked at, sir,” Spriggs said. “Trevor is a medic.”
“Both are skills we need,” I said. “First, why were they chasing you?”
“I hate to argue, sir, but I can tell you our story while Trevor looks at that leg and that nasty cut on your face.”
“Alright, but it better be quick.” I gestured over my shoulder to the north. “That’ll be here soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sadie raised her hand and fired the yellow flare straight into the sky.
“Really?”
Yellow meant call for a vehicle to transport wounded.
She shrugged.
Her face was still pale after shooting someone for the first time but she was doing a good job of holding her shit together.
* * *
“You ever think the way you fight might be detrimental to your health, boy?” Pop said as he sat down in the other rocker on the front porch. “I’ll not argue that it isn’t effective, but you’re giving me grey hair.”
“It works.”
“It gets you out of harvesting corn, if that’s what you’re talking about.”
“They had Sadie pinned down, Pop,” I said. “Weren’t many options.”
“That’s the conclusion I came to after everyone gave me a report. One of the new guys said you looked like some fire-breathing demon when you blew past them. Spriggs said he would give everything he owned for that horse. Of course, his house in Colorado ain’t worth much nowadays.”
“True enough,” I said. “Wouldn’t trade that bastard for a house, anyway.”
“Nope,” Pop said. “Besides, that horse is half of this reputation you’re building.”
“Not building anything like that.”
“No, you’re just doing your thing, and it’s building on its own.” He pointed at the bandage on my thigh. “I served eight years and never took a bullet. How many times did you get shot during the war? Ten? Just kept charging in. Now you been shot three times in the last four months.”
“Some folks just don’t seem to like me, Pop.”
He snorted. “You’re a damn lead magnet. I should have sent Jimmy with you.”
“He needs to have more than just killing around him, Pop. He needs to see us at peace, too.”
“I know it, boy.” He shook his head. “But he’s worth a hundred of me or you in a fight.”
“Probably more.”
“What are your thoughts on the two new guys?” he asked. “I just got after action reports on what happened when you got there. Sadie said they told you where they were from.”
“The guy who was riding the horse was their captain,” I said.
“Deserters?” Pop’s eyes narrowed.
“Not until the captain had gone completely off the rails. Their company fought their way out of the city. Then the captain set up shop on the outskirts. When he started capturing refugees as they fled the city, Spriggs and Gaines wanted no part in that. Captain put them in a cell. Two others broke them out, and they stole what supplies they could and hauled ass. Both of the others died in pitched battles with the ones the captain sent after them and Sadie ran into them on her patrol. You know the rest.”
“May not be as bad as I thought, then,” he said. “Got little use for deserters.”
“Sounds like they were in the right on that decision. But I’ll have to go scout them if we want to make sure.”
“Already sent Grady out to look them over. You’d go shoot them. I just want to know what sort of men they are. I understand Spriggs is an engineer? I have something in mind that he may be able to help us with. Right now, you just recuperate. When Grady gets back we’ll talk some more about it.”
“That’s just mean, Pop,” I said. “Dropping hints and nothing more.”
“That’s what you get for getting shot. You manage not to get shot next time, and I’ll consider letting you in on the fun stuff.”
“Asshole.”
“Yep. I raised one just like me.”
“Don’t pick on Jimmy like that.”
He laughed and stood up. He looked at my leg again and shook his head. Then he walked into the house.
I grinned at him as he walked by. If you can’t take a moment to just laugh, what’s the point surviving in this Fallen World?
* * * * *
Chapter 12
“Looks like Spriggs and Gaines didn’t lie about the crew they escaped from,” Pop said. “Now it’s time to talk to that engineer.”
“He’s trying to rig some solar cells up on the equipment shed,” I said. “He seems to think he can get enough power to charge some of the batteries in the cars to give us some mobility in emergencies.”
“That bodes well for what I have in mind,” he said. “Let’s go see the boy.”
“You’re still not going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Try not to get shot so much, and I’ll trust you with the big things.”
“What’s getting shot have to do with it?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why is that a prerequisite?”
“Because I don’t like when my boys get shot.”
I sighed and followed Pop to the shed.
“Spriggs!”
Spriggs still hadn’t lost that immediate reaction from serving in the military. He was around the corner and facing Pop, standing at attention.
“Sir!”
“Got a job for you if you’re interested,” Pop said with a grin. “And you don’t have to stand at attention. This ain’t the army.”
“That may be true,” Spriggs said. “But you’re building one here, and it doesn’t hurt to treat it like one.” He pointed toward the east. “With that ugly piece of Hell right over there, you need that discipline.”
“You’re probably right,” Pop said. “Probably need an official name and everything.”
“The Farmers Guard would be my first thought.”
“Might be a good idea.”
“What sort of job do you have in mind, sir?’
“About forty miles north of here is where the old hydro-electric plant used to be. Used to supply the area with electricity until the nuclear plants went online. I want you to go with Zee, here, and give it a look.”
“Yes, sir!” I could see the excitement all over his face. “I’d love some electricity, sir.”
“I’d love some electricity, too. This Stone Age bullshit is pissing me off. I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“You could have told me this earlier,” I said.
“I told you,” he said. “Quit getting shot, and I’ll tell you a couple of my secrets.”
“I’m not saying anything,” Spriggs said. “He got shot saving my ass, and I can’t say I wish he didn’t do it. They were closing in on us.”
“The key,” Pop said, “is to shoot them before they shoot you. Not after. Now, if you’re trying to get out of harvesting corn, I guess the other way around works but there’s ways to do that without all the bleeding.”
