Brian Steele - 4POCALYPSE - Four Tales of a Dark Future

“This place we’re going,” I said, “If any people are still there, I don’t think they’ll be all that glad to have visitors. I need to know the truth about the source of the virus. I have to go. You don’t.”

“I’ve got nothing better to do,” he replied. His face was calm, but I could see twinges in his muscles that belied his tone. He was looking forward to this, I thought. I realized that even though his father probably paid little attention to him, he was still Kel’s parent. A boy like Kel would strive to gain his father’s attention, his love. I suspected that finding the guys responsible for his father’s death would mean as much to Kel as it did to me. Maybe.

“That’s my concern,” I said. “I can’t afford to go in there with someone who might have second thoughts. If you’ve got something better to do or, worse, you discover something better to do once we’re in —”

“I promise you this, Rock,” he said, standing up a little straighter, his chin a little higher, “If I go in there, I’ll be there for one reason and one reason only: to back you up. This is your deal. I understand that. But, understand this, I don’t make promises I don’t keep. I swear to you, I won’t leave you hanging. That’s not my style.”

I felt something stir deep in my gut, but pushed it aside. It looked like I just might have a partner in this, after all. I turned and walked toward the car. “Don’t fuck it up,” I said over my shoulder. He caught up to me in a second.

“Not gonna happen.”

I wheeled the Ford back onto Highway 70 just as I caught sight of the military Humvee barreling right for us. I hit the gas and saw Kel fall back into his seat, hand gripping the side door.

“We’ve got company,” I said, before he could ask. The Humvee was faster than I expected and caught up to us within a minute. I made a quick decision and jerked up on the handbrake, locking the back wheels as I spun the wheel. Blue smoke flowed from the rear of the Ford as I released the brake and hit the gas again. The car bounced across the median, turning back the way we came. The driver of the Humvee wasn’t able to turn as quickly, but the high clearance vehicle slewed around and he was soon right behind us again.

“There’s only two of them,” I said.

“You sure?” Kel asked, turning to scope out the pursuing vehicle. “I would ask what the hell they want, but who the fuck cares. Drive, girl. Drive!”

“I have a better idea,” I said, eyes glued to the road ahead.

“Say what?”

“We need to get into the White Sands base, right? We could either sneak in, break in or let them take us in.”

“Are you nuts? Let them capture us? That’s your plan? Mind if I throw up an opposing viewpoint?”

“It’s the fastest way in. But we’re going to have to make it look good.”

“Wait,” he said, “How do we even know these guys are from the lab you’re looking for?”

“Seriously? Where the hell else is there around here that would actually have military personnel still alive? I’ve lived around here my entire life and haven’t seen a military vehicle since the pandemic. My best guess is that they’ve been holed up until now.”

“That is a whole hell of a lot of speculation, Rock.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I know.” I just had a feeling and I’d learned a long time ago to trust my gut. I ran the plan by Kel in just a few sentences. He was silent; his eyes wide, but nodded in acceptance. It would be a dangerous game to play. I prepared myself. What choice did we have? No time like the present. “Hang on,” I said, reaching for the handbrake again.

The Ford’s rear tires screamed for mercy when the axle locked up. I whipped the steering wheel to the left and then steered into the slide. The car rocked to a halt and I stepped out, guns drawn, at very nearly the same moment. Kel rolled out and hit the ground on the opposite side of the Ford.

I expected the windows in the Humvee to be bulletproof, but I was mistaken. It only took three shots to take out the passenger. The driver turned the truck around, the side of the vehicle blocking my view of him, giving me no open target. I heard his side door open, and even though I I knew it was coming the burst of automatic gunfire shook me, as I dove for the pavement. Bullets ripped into the Ford behind me and I hoped Kel had kept his position. I was spread-eagle on the road as the soldier shouted at me.

“Stay where you are! Do not fucking move!” I didn’t. I had let my pistols fall a few feet from my hands and made no attempt to retrieve them. It seemed to take forever for the soldier to make it around the Humvee to me. I heard him kick Wilma and Betty away and felt a twinge of loss. Nevertheless, it was my plan. I had no one to blame but myself.

“Why are you after me?” I asked, using the singular to indicate I was alone.

“Where’s the other one?” he asked, pressing his boot against the back of my neck.

“What other one? It’s just me. You started chasing me. Why?”

“Shut up!” He knelt down and I heard him pull something from his pocket or belt. He grabbed my hands and slid a plastic zip tie around them. Pulling back on the tie to latch it, he lifted me from the pavement. I winced in pain as my shoulders were jerked up and back. I was on my knees when I heard him hiss out, “Shit.”

“Drop the weapon, asshole,” Kel ordered.

Even as the soldier dropped his rifle to the ground and raised his hands, Kel rapped him on the head with the barrel of the Beretta and forced the guy to get down on his knees. The blow wasn’t hard enough to knock him out but certainly enough to convince him we meant business. Kel kicked the rifle away before moving beside me.

Covering the soldier, Kel flicked open a knife with a snap of his wrist and squatted to cut the zip ties from my hands. I stretched my arms and shoulders as I stood up, even though I hadn’t been cuffed for very long, being yanked to my feet with my hands tied meant I couldn’t ease the strain, my left shoulder felt bruised.

I didn’t move to retaliate for the rough treatment; frankly, I was surprised the soldier hadn’t just gunned me down when I shot his partner. That was always the risky part of the plan; we had to assume these guys wanted us alive for some reason. I didn’t want to think about what would have happened if I’d guessed wrong.

“Stay put,” Kel said to the soldier, who had a nametag stitched to his jacket that read Harmon. Kel retrieved the rifle and slung it over his shoulder. He looked at me with a grin. “He’s all yours, ma’am.”

“Whatever,” I said noncommittally. Turning my attention to the soldier, I addressed him with a measured tone. “Harmon, is it?” He just stared off into the distance, anger and embarrassment on his face. We had caught him off-guard and he was obviously not happy about it. “Listen. We don’t want to hurt you. We could have killed you. But we don’t want that, do we? I’m sorry about your partner over there.” I indicated the Humvee.

“Fuck him.” Harmon’s tone was empty, as if he really didn’t care. I wondered if it was something I might be able to use to my advantage.

“That’s cold. What, was he an asshole or something?” I asked.

“He was a total prick. Out-ranked me and never let me forget it. Even in this wasteland of a world, where it really doesn’t fucking matter.” He turned tired eyes to me. “What do you want, anyway?”

“Actually, I was going to ask the same of you. You were the one chasing us, remember?”

“Thyssen wants new test subjects. You were the first people we’d seen in months.”

I held my breath. Thyssen. That was the name. That was who I was after. I spared a glance for Kel, my eyes betraying my excitement. “Who’s this Thyssen? And, what the hell does he want test subjects for?” I asked, although I already had a pretty good idea.