Fireside (14 page)

“Yeah, I think you’re right about that, not much else it could be,” Tyler admitted. “What else did she say?”

Aeric spent a few minutes relating the details of Maria’s vision until he got to the final part about his own death and that the colossus would save a tribe. Tyler interrupted him at that point, “What does that even mean?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. Hell, she doesn’t even know what the word means; it just came out when she started talking.”

“The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” Nicole stated. “What? I liked history in high school. The Colossus was a giant statue that stood over the harbor in the Greek city of Rhodes. It only stood for a few decades before an earthquake knocked it down.”

“So, a giant statue is supposed to save a tribe? Of what, Indians?” Traxx muttered.

“Maybe she meant a group of people or a family,” Nicole offered. “A tribe can be both.”

“So, what, we build a large Trojan horse, put a family inside it and hope the Vultures don’t look inside?” Tyler snickered. “Thanks, for telling us what the word meant, Nicole, but it doesn’t really help.”

“I don’t care if you are sick, Mr. Nordgren. I will kick that big ass of yours if you don’t play nice.”

“You see what I have to deal with?” Tyler pleaded. Aeric chose to remain silent, ignoring the peculiarities of their relationship. They’d lived together as platonic friends for over thirty years and often got into minor squabbles, which helped to keep their friendship strong.

“I can’t help you, buddy,” he replied.

A knock on the door made them all turn towards it. “Expecting company?”

Tyler looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head. Aeric pulled a large knife out of the sheath on his hip and held it against his forearm as he trailed behind Nicole. He felt foolish. Maria’s words had him spooked; they were safe behind the walls.

“What are you doing?” Nicole hissed.

“Taking precautions. The mayor and the two leaders of the Gathering Squad in one location makes for a pretty lucrative target.”

He positioned himself near the door. “Just don’t stab anyone,” Nicole muttered before she opened the door. When she turned the knob, pulling the door inwards, the smile on her face made him relax.

“Hi, Kayla! How are you?” Nicole asked as she leaned forward hug Tyler’s step-daughter. “Oh, good, you brought the baby! She always makes Tyler so happy.”

Aeric slid the knife home, feeling even more foolish when Kayla stepped through the doorway and saw him standing in the shadows. “Hi, Uncle Aeric. What are you doing behind the door?”

“I, uh… I was just stretching my legs. Your dad and I have been talking for a long time.”

She accepted his answer and gave him a brief hug before walking to the living room where Tyler waited. Nicole shook her head at him and he walked slowly back to the room where everyone waited.

“And then, at the warehouse, Greg got into a scuffle with some boy from the Barrio. The police broke it up and took him back home. Can you believe that?”

Kayla, baby Ketchup, was all grown up now. She sat beside Tyler on the couch holding her own daughter, Anna. She gently passed her over to him and he played with her hands while Kayla continued to talk.

“It’s been crazy. People are scared of those demonbrocs that keep getting in. Dad, have you heard about that?”

“Hmm?” Tyler asked with the goofy grin of a proud grandfather plastered across his face. “Demonbrocs? Yeah, Aeric told me about them a week ago. Did you ever figure out where they’re getting in?”

“We, ah, we have a pretty good idea.”

“And?”

Aeric glanced at the three adults in the room, all of them were extremely close to him and he’d give his life for them. However, if the information about the demonbroc breeding for meat got out, then there’d probably be a riot. People would storm the Barrio and demand that the dangerous creatures be put down, which would likely result in their cages—or whatever Huerta had them in—getting opened. He trusted everyone present, but Kayla would tell her husband Greg and there was no telling who he’d pass the information off to.
No
, he thought,
it’s better to keep it to myself
.

“We think they may be coming in from the sewer, so we’re going to explore that further,” he said, which was true. He just hadn’t had the time to deal with Huerta and his illegal operation.

“Hmpf. Makes sense,” Tyler answered while he made a funny face at the baby. “Those sewers deposit out in the wastes, all sorts of things could follow them back up and inside. We should make sure the grates are still in place.”

Aeric smiled at his friend. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ve got it; you just stay here and rest.”

His friend looked up to him and said, “I hate this crap, Aeric. I feel like such a drain on the community.”

“You’ve given your entire life over to this city, Ty,” Aeric countered. “You can take a few weeks off until you get better.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Dad, don’t say that!” Kayla exclaimed. “You’re gonna pull through whatever is making you sick. Anna needs her grandpa in her life.”

Tyler’s grim expression softened. “Oh, I’ll be here. Don’t worry, sweetie.”

Anna started to cry and he handed her back to her mother who slipped the baby under her shirt to feed. Aeric stood aside and watched the small family’s interaction with one another. He’d been the one to slight the Vultures, causing them to seek him out. If it wasn’t for him, they probably wouldn’t even know that San Angelo still existed. He needed to do whatever he could to keep his friends and family safe. It was his duty to protect them and put a stop to this whole mess.

He’d made up his mind about what he was going to do, regardless of Veronica’s protests. He’d vowed to himself long ago that he would never allow himself to be hunted down again. Aeric was a hunter; he didn’t cower in the corner, waiting for someone to attack him. He went out and met them on his
own
terms.

His friends and family were the most important things in his life, a close second was the city of San Angelo, and he’d do whatever he could to end this before it even began. He planned to leave for Austin first thing in the morning.

TEN

“The little girl, Anna, that’s
Grandma,
right?” Tanya asked with wide eyes.

Aiden adjusted the pillow under his arm and used his good hand to pull it in closer to his side. “Yes, child. Kayla, was the little girl that Aeric and Tyler rescued when they went to Missouri to find Aeric’s family. She grew up and had Anna, whom I married years later, after the fall of the city.”

“Are you making all of this up, Grandad?”

He chuckled and accidentally swallowed a little bit of saliva, causing him to choke. Tanya backed away, frightened that he was going to be sick. He raised his hand to let her know that he was fine. “I’m okay. I’m okay, just swallowed some spit.”

He gestured weakly and said, “Come back over here. I promise that I’m not making this up. It really happened.”

“What about Kate’s sister, uh…”

“Julie.”

“Yeah. What about Julie, is she in this story too?”

“No, I’m sorry, child. Julie died of the flu or dysentery or one of the other godawful diseases that hit the city after her sister died. So many people died between when Aeric first came to the city and when I was born. It’s a miracle that most of our family survived.”

Tanya’s eyes fell to her lap. Aiden had to strain to hear her tiny voice, “Grandad, why does everyone die?”

“It’s a part of life, sweetheart. Everyone—and everything—dies at some point. There’s nothing we can do about it. The real measure of a life is how you choose to live it.”

“Like you and Aeric?”

“Yes, like all of our ancestors. I’ll die one day—no, not
today
,” he smiled at her expression. “When I do, I want you and your cousins and all of the family to say that I lived an honorable life. That you are proud to be related to me.”

“Of course I am, Grandad,” she said and hugged his neck a little too roughly.

“Then I can die a happy man, and know that I did my duty for our family.”

*****

Aeric waved at the trucks as they headed back towards San Angelo on the old road. He’d gone to Lorelei and asked for a lift to the edge of the renewed patrolling area. He hadn’t wanted to risk going any closer to Austin in the Shooters’ loud, steam-powered trucks, so he figured the town of Eden would be fine. That way, the city’s defenders could make a loop through the outer defensive perimeter and it would save him about thirty miles of riding.

Of course, Lorelei had insisted on coming with him, which he’d refused. Her place was leading the defense of the city and ensuring that all of the residents there were safe. She eventually relented. It didn’t stop her from trying to load him down with more weapons than he could feasibly handle. He’d taken a 30.06 rifle with a high-powered scope and silencer, instead of the 30-30 that he’d had forever, because he needed the stopping power at a distance that the larger caliber would give him. He also had a military style M-4 rifle for close targets, ammo for both weapons, and his fighting knife. Everything else was too unwieldy to balance on a bike for the two hundred and fifty mile round trip.

He watched the twin rooster-tails of dust recede in the distance and then lifted his leg up over the frame of his bicycle. He had about a hundred miles to ride; if he pushed it, he could be on the outskirts of the old Austin city limits within a few days.

“Mind if I tag along?” a familiar voice called out from behind the wreckage of an old car beside the highway.

He turned slowly back to where Joseph emerged pushing a bicycle of his own. He must have been in the second truck and hidden until they were too far away for Aeric to call them back. “What the hell are you doing here, Joe?”

“You need help. You can’t do this on your own.”

“I
don’t
need your help. I’m not planning on staying long; just gonna snoop around, see what they’re up to and then get out.”

“Don’t lie to me, Traxx. If that were the case, you probably wouldn’t have taken a sniper rifle as well as an assault rifle. I think you want to take out the leader of the gang and you hope it will be enough to end this.”

Aeric set his jaw. That was exactly what he planned to do. The only person he’d told that to was Veronica, though. How had Joseph learned of it? “Who told you that ridiculous story?”

“Call it a hunch,” Joe replied. “Look, you can’t make it there in one day, so you’ll need someone to share guard shifts with at night and I can be a spotter for you when you’re using that big rifle.”

Dammit!
He had a good point about sharing responsibility during the night. Travelers who fell asleep unguarded tended to end up dead—or worse. He absently rubbed at the chain scars across his hand; there were much worse things than death to contend with in this world.

“Fine, you can come with me.” Aeric held up a finger in warning, “If you get in my way, we’re done. If I see a target, man or woman, that I think is a threat to San Angelo, then I’m taking the shot. Understand?”

Joseph smiled, “Of course, sir. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let’s go see what these Vultures are made of.”

Aeric ducked his chin in approval and hopped on the bike. He had to readjust the big sniper rifle across his back and then adjusted the Velcro straps on the handlebar so he could secure the M-4 rifle. Once all of that was done, they began the first leg of their journey towards Austin.

They made it less than a mile out of the remaining one hundred and fifty before Joseph saw movement in the old prison that caused them to veer sharply off the road. A man with a horribly disfigured leg that angled outwards limped rapidly across the yard.

Aeric pulled the strap holding his rifle to the bike and pulled the weapon up against his shoulder in a practiced motion. He fired one shot along the man’s line of escape, kicking dirt up into the air. The man stopped and raised both hands over his head.

“Grab him!” Aeric ordered, causing the old man to begin running again.

Joseph weaseled his way through a cut in the chain link fence while Aeric kept his rifle sites in the small of the man’s back. The chase was over before it began; the disfigurement to his leg made him an easy target for the physically fit Shooter. He picked up the older man like he weighed nothing and carried him back towards the road. After a little maneuvering, the Shooter was able to get him out of the prison’s fence and into the street where Aeric stood waiting.

Besides the wretched leg, the old man was as thin as a pole and absolutely filthy. His clothing must have been an orange prison jumpsuit at one time, now it was a dull, muted brown with splatters of what must have been either paint or blood. Aeric looked him up and down, noting the rags on both of his hands, one of them clearly missing at least two fingers.

“What are you doing out here?” Aeric asked.

“Old Judd lives here! This is my home!” the man replied.

“Shut up, don’t tell them
anything
!” he said in a different voice.

“It’s better to tell them the truth. Maybe they’ll let you live.”

Aeric held up his hands and shouted, “Stop! What the hell is going on?”

The man, whom Aeric realized was probably insane, got a sly grin on his face and in a completely different voice, he said, “Don’t tell them about the Vultures. Let the fools stumble into the master’s trap.”

“Darn it, you fool! Stop thinking about it, they can hear your thoughts.” The old man collapsed to the ground and held his hands against his ears as he writhed on his side.

Aeric’s eyes met Joseph’s. “What the hell is wrong with this guy?” the Shooter asked.

“He’s crazy. Normally, I’d say we should just bypass him except that he mentioned us getting trapped by the Vultures,” Aeric replied. “So that means he knows something… We’ve just gotta figure out how to get it out of him.”

He looked back down to the pathetic creature on the ground trying to “hide” his thoughts from the newcomers. “Alright, you…uh, Judd? Hey, stop that. We can’t read your thoughts.”

“Even if we could, why would we?” Joe snorted. “He keeps telling us what he’s thinking.”

The watcher stopped and looked up at Joseph. “What did you say?”

He crouched and got at eye level with Judd. “I said that you keep talking out loud and telling us what you’re thinking.”

“Dammit, Jake!” he shouted, causing Joseph to jump back involuntarily. “I told you to stay inside your room!”

He glanced over at Aeric and adopted an apologetic countenance. “I’m sorry, sir. My friends sometimes shout things from their cells.” Then he put his hand up beside his mouth, hiding what he said from the prison, whispering, “They’re kinda crazy sometimes. They’re locked in their room, but boy, they like to shout like a bunch of monkeys at the zoo!”

Aeric didn’t know what to make of Judd. Clearly, he was insane; his eyes spoke volumes in that regard. What he didn’t know was whether the old man was truly alone or if there were more people inside. And he sure as hell hadn’t expected to get sidetracked before he even left the drop-off point.

“So, your
friends
are locked inside? Do you have any who come outside with you?”

“Of course he does! I’m here,” Judd muttered. “I’m always being dragged places I don’t want to go.”

“Lawrence, I thought you liked the fresh air. Don’t be like this,” Judd accused himself.

“No,
I
like the fresh air,” he countered. Aeric sensed that whoever was talking now was at least the third personality inside the old man’s mind.

“Look, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Traxx stated. “How many people do you feed?”

“Hmm?” Judd asked, clearly confused. “Feed? Like who eats in the prison?”

“Yeah. How many people eat your food supply?”

“I, uh…” His face screwed up in thought for a moment and then he replied, “I guess just me. Nobody else ever asks for any food. But I don’t have enough for you to take any! We’ll die if you take our food.”

“Okay, that’s what I thought.” Aeric motioned to Judd and told Joseph, “It’s just him. We can probably relax a little bit.”

He nodded in agreement and then picked Judd back up, pulling him into the shade of the watch tower that he’d observed them from originally. “Okay, old man,” Joe said as he slid his hands out from underneath Judd and then wiped them on his pant legs. “What did you mean about a trap set by the Vultures?”

Judd recoiled as if he’d been slapped. “I… I didn’t say anything about a trap.”

“Don’t tell them anything!” he said immediately after the word “trap” was out of his mouth.

“Alright, I’ve had just about enough of this crap. I want to talk to Judd,” Aeric demanded.

“I’m right here talking to you. No need to shout at me,” Judd moaned.

“What trap are the Vultures setting?”

“I don’t know! I promise. They gave me a radio—a real-live, working radio!—and told me to call them when the soldiers from Salmon-Jello came back. So I called them.”

“Shut up you fool,” Judd’s second—or third—personality said.

Aeric ignored Number Two and asked, “Did they tell you what they were going to do?”

“No! The master wouldn’t trust poor old Judd with that. Think about it, dummy. I’m here, all alone…since
my friends are hiding!
” he shouted. “If they told me what they were going to do, people like you would find out.”

Aeric clenched and unclenched his jaw. The old man had a radio to contact Austin? Maybe he could call them and find out what their plan was. “Okay, get up,” he ordered. “Where’s this radio of yours at?”

“It’s upstairs, in the warden’s office.”

“Let’s go, then,” Aeric said. “I want to see your radio.”

Judd looked back and forth between Aeric’s stern, fatherly appearance and Joseph’s overtly hostile demeanor and apparently decided to do what the men ordered. He pushed himself up painfully, “The master will be very mad at us.”

“Shut up. You’ve already told them about the radio. There’s nothing I could do to keep your mouth shut.”

“Okay, stop it!” Aeric thundered. “I only want Judd to talk. The next
person
to say anything, whether it’s Lawrence, Fred or goddamned Michael Jackson, I will beat the shit out of you guys. Understand?”

The old man nodded his head forlornly. “Sorry, sir. They can’t help themselves sometimes. We do love Michael Jackson though. Do you have any of his music?”

Judd started bobbing his head to some imagined tune and Aeric sighed, “No, Judd. Nothing electric works anymore.”

“Ha! You’re wrong!” he said, hopping on his good leg while he held his bandaged hand in the air. “I have a working radio. It doesn’t play music, though. A woman talks to me on it.”

“Well, then let’s go see this radio of yours.”

He stopped dancing and pulled his hands in close to his body while he hunched himself up. “You’re not going to try to take my radio are you?”

“You can’t take our radio! The pretty lady—”

The other personality was cut off by a quick punch to the side of the head from Joseph. “Traxx said only Judd could talk.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Judd said rubbing his head and then pulling away a scab there. “The master will be very mad at you for hitting me. Only he’s allowed to hit me.”