Music City Macabre: The Low Lying Lands Saga: Vol. 1 (20 page)

Aside from the copious amounts of broken glass, a number of the lobby couches had been brutally rendered unusable. I went straight past go, didn’t collect two hundred dollars, but I did pull a Glock 9mm and get ready to start shooting. Lexi growled and hustled three steps in front of me. Her head was on a swivel and her nose was working like a ten year old at Sunday brunch. We continued down the long hallway and I started to pick up on a few things. Finally, I stopped. A thought occurred to me. This wasn’t Freak damage. Yeah, a nice bunch of glass and furniture was destroyed but not too much other stuff. I put my gun away and told Lexi to simmer down. I was fairly sure this mess belonged to Cole.

When we finally came around the corner, Cole and Shields had long since produced their own cooking set-up and were waiting for water to boil and eggs to cook on a mini skillet. I said, “Hey guys! Whatcha cookin’?” in a surprisingly loud voice, which scared the shit out of both of them.

“Jesus Christ, Prescott,” said Shields, who’d seemingly lost her command vocabulary. “What the hell was that?”

“That there is called foxhole humor. Right Cole?”

“Fuck you, Prescott,” said Cole, oddly enough, with a smile on his face. “We thought you left. I’m not gonna lie, I’m happy to see you.”

I crossed the room and extended my hand to Cole. He had extended an olive branch and I took it. We were getting down to the wick on this candle and it was time to blow out the flame or light another one.

“I see you worked out your issues with Malcolm on the lobby furniture.” I said.

Cole smirked and said, “Well, the students sure as hell don’t need it anymore. Plus I feel a lot better now, so.” He held his arms out and flashed a grin like, “what are you gonna do?”

“Well you certainly are in better spirits, and that’s a good thing. Shields? How are you?”

“I’ve been better. And I will be fine. Cole is right. We
are
both glad to see you. We’ve done a good deal of soul searching together in your absence. We’re ready to join you, Prescott. I have stepped down as leader of this ragtag outfit and I name you commander for the remainder of this mission. If we survive, we can re-evaluate. Something tells me you won’t stick around.”

I was hoping they’d come around but I never in a million years expected this. “What brought this about? What did you two talk about?” I asked.

“Prescott. Cole and myself are ready to follow you into the fire. Leave it at that. Do you have a plan?”

“Yes. Let’s talk. My plan is already in play. Well, the only sane part, anyway.”

Exactly twenty-seven minutes later Cole stood up and said, “You’re fuckin nuts, Prescott! It’s official. You have lost your fucking mind. Shields? We’re putting our lives in his hands on a straight up gamble!”

“Yes, we are. It’s so reckless and utterly stupid it just might work. When do we leave?”

“I think we should eat a good meal. I mean...put all the eggs in one basket. If we make it out, I feel pretty confident we can find food. We rest for a bit, then we go. I think a night surprise is exactly what we need.”

“OK. Cole and I have your back. We eat and we rest.”

“And we pray!” said Cole.

THE END BEGINS

The sun was slowly climbing down from the sky as Kade and Ortiz walked down what used to be Broadway Avenue, and discussed what was going to happen in the next couple of hours. They were heading to The Stage to check in with the prisoners. Kade enjoyed these types of get-togethers because the Regulars, and they were always Regulars, tended to beg for their lives. The problem for them was that they had nothing to bargain with, and, even if he accepted their offer, he killed them anyway. And he liked doing it. No Regular was going to come into his territory, either of their own accord, or having been captured, and leave! It just wasn’t going to happen.

Kade and Ortiz walked through the front door, which finally, and laughably, came off the hinges when Kade pulled it, and walked in. It was tough to see but for minimal lighting that still worked thanks mostly to Ortiz. There was a massive bar to the left of the entrance that had been long since raped of all its joy and the several large mirrors that had hung behind the bar had been smashed. While Kade loved to enjoy his beautiful face, most Freaks did not appreciate their reflections. They always saw one of two things in a mirror. A hideous face or self-loathing, and neither was a welcome sight.

Ortiz led the way through the main bar room and up a short staircase that led to a room with pool tables and a second, smaller stage. The pool tables were long gone, maybe a bonfire or some shit, Kade couldn’t recall, but what remained was the stage and a crudely constructed steel cell that encompassed it.

As far as they knew, David Haberman and Brian Hellwig were the last remaining survivors of the Murfreesboro Safe Zone. They had no idea whether Shields and Cole had located Prescott, as Malcolm had advised them, or not, but they feared the worst. They had discussed several topics while in captivity: the tragedy of the MSZ massacre; Lou Bixby’s betrayal; and even the unknown fate of Malcolm. None of the topics they spoke of in any way involved hope. Or even a shred of optimism. Malcolm had told them of the brutal, and horrifying, ways Kendrick Kade had made a show out of executing Regulars in his custody. There was no hope of escape, nor hope in any form for these two men.

“Good afternoon, prisoners,” said Kade. “I hope you are finding your accommodations acceptable?”

“Actually,” said Haberman, “They are atrocious.”

“Oh, my….Ortiz! What ever are you doing to these poor prisoners? Are you feeding them properly? Are they getting restroom visits?”

“Sure enough, Boss! I brought their meals with us.” He reached into a knapsack and pulled out two feet that had been severed at about mid-shin, and tossed them into the cell. “Eat up, fellas! We got big plans tonight and y’all have to be ready.”

“My God, man!” yelled Hellwig. “We are not going to eat human flesh! We are not savages! And we are most certainly NOT Freaks like you! We’ll starve to death first!”

“Well, shit. Chaos will most assuredly not be pleased by this.” Kade turned and walked a few steps away, feigning irritation, before turning around and walking back to the cell.

“All right. Look here, fellas. I wasn’t going to tell you this but...one of you is actually getting out of this mess. Yeah. True story. So, who wants out?”

“My name is Brian Hellwig. I am of The Three, and I am one of four possible surviving members of the Murfreesboro Safe Zone. I will never betray the trust of my fallen comrades by giving you the satisfaction of an…” Kade drew his sidearm and shot Hellwig center mass, right between the eyes. He was dead before he hit the ground.

“Ortiz, your blade.” Ortiz drew a fourteen inch hunting knife that would essentially penetrate a rhinoceros and tossed it into the cell. “You have just about an hour to cut out his heart and eat it, or I, or someone very close to me, will make you. We have
plans
for tonight.” Suddenly an enormous explosion rocked the foundation of the jail
.
Everyone in the room was showered in dust and grime.

“What the fuck was that?” screamed Kade

SHOWTIME

The Drive to Nashville from Murfreesboro was again a very short three hours. I’ll never understand how the Post-Descent entities in the middle of the state of Tennessee were able to clear the highways and the majority of well-travelled roads of all the detritus. They really must have an amazing Department of Transportation, or there were organized “Clear the Road” days where Freaks and Regulars put aside their differences for the sake of safe and cost effective transportation. I didn’t have nearly enough time to back out of this utterly stupid plan. I can’t even begin to think what Emily would say if she knew what I was about to do.

“Just the two of us? Huh-Uh. Not with that plan. You’re on you’re own, little brother.” I have to smile. It feels like I haven’t smiled in decades. If things don’t go sideways tonight, I could get used to smiling.

We got off Interstate Twenty-four at Briley Parkway, drove a short couple of miles, and connected with the Murfreesboro road. Guy must’ve been important, I can’t escape him. We followed Murfreesboro until it turned into Lafayette. Then we went around a roundabout thingy, and hooked up with Broadway. And that is where we wanted to be. I know I’ve said this before, that street names really don’t mean anything anymore, but us Regulars still try to use them, when possible, to keep at least a semblance of humanity. Who knows, we might actually need them again one day.

At Eighth Avenue and Broadway, Cole, Shields, Lexi, and I sat in the Comanche and didn’t say a word for a several minutes. I finally spoke up. “If anyone wants to jump ship, right now is the only shot you have. I will not hold a grudge...hell I probably won’t be alive
to
hold a grudge, so just walk away.” More silence. Then Cole. “We have your back, Prescott. Let’s do it.”

“OK, here goes everything,” I said. I’m pretty sure my voice cracked. I hoped they didn’t hear it.

I turned over the ignition, left the lights off, and we slowly drove the three blocks down to where Fifth Avenue crossed Broadway. We weren’t naive; we knew spotters were watching us. When the Jeep finally came to a stop at a large barricade made of crushed vehicles and other random construction materials, we collectively took what could possibly be our last free breaths.

This was not like the driving up to the Normal Safe Zone. These were not regimented soldiers watching the gate. These were Freaks. Freaks can’t follow directions with too much detail. At least they shouldn’t be able to. Right away, I knew I was dealing with the new breed of Freak. These were the
trained
Freaks. The ones that were
broken
in every physical sense of the term. But they were not the savage half-breeds that were first taken by BH-2014. I had to say it. Chaos was involved. Which meant he was either here or he could be summoned. Thank Go...well...thank the powers that be for small favors. A favor, you ask? As crazy as it sounds, so far with one foot over the starting line, this was a big plus. Now I just had to hope Kade didn’t have an itchy trigger finger.

I didn’t notice any form of walkie-talkie or anything on the guards that were posted on the gate. I suppose they weren’t really used to someone just randomly pulling up. What else we didn’t see, which again was working for us, was anyone run off to announce a visitor. I think they were all too intrigued. My guess is, as far as inter-commune communication went, these idiots just wandered around waiting for stimulation or direction. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a different kind of Freak, but they’re still Freaks.

In the Jeep I said, “Cole, you ready?”

“Check!”

“Shields, are you a go?”

“Yes.”

“Lexi. Stay here and stay low.”

I flicked on the fog lights and doused them with a whole lotta bright. Cole climbed over the back passenger seat and into the rear. As Shields and I simultaneously opened our doors and stepped out of the Jeep, Cole slipped out the back and scooted under the vehicle and lay flat. Shields and I took up our position behind the reinforced front doors and enacted the plan.

My hands weren’t straight up in the air but then again, they sort of were. “Hey guys and gals! Don’t want to forget the ladies. My name is Prescott, and this here is my friend Shields! You guys killed all of her friends yesterday, so forgive her if she’s not immediately cozy. Anyway, Shields here is really just eye candy for you psychos. I’m here for Kade’s, oh what time is it…8:23 pm appointment. So, could one of you dipshits go let him know I’m here, or do you have to wait for him to tell you to chew and spit?”

“Kade sees no one!” retched one of the Freak brigade.

“Hmm. Ok, do you mind if I go ahead and ask him myself?

I dove back into the Comanche, hit the preset button for the rocket launcher, and fired a big ass rocket right at a place called the
Big River Bar and Grill
, reducing half of the structure to rubble.

“Get out here! Get out in front of the car!” screamed the lead Freak.

“OK, OK!” I said. “Just be cool and let’s wait. Your boss should be here any minute.”

Just as the words left my mouth, all six Freaks on the front barricade post went down. Clean headshots from my buddy Cole, and the three of us took up a comfortable resting posture on the front of the Comanche and waited for Kade. So far, so good.

I had to admit that one little rocket was pretty sweet.
Thanks, Jay.
My cohorts and I were really enjoying the destruction when a crazy looking man with long black hair and an equally black Fu-Manchu mustache—and his friends—came running up, guns drawn.

“Freeze!” screamed Fu-Manchu.

I frowned, but raised my hands all the same. I nodded at Cole and Shields to do the same. “‘Freeze’? I have to admit...Kade, right? Yeah I’m a little disappointed with ‘freeze’. You do realize you’re the arch villain of the story, right? And I suppose, although I’m not super excited about the title of Hero, but for lack of a better term, that’s me. We are meeting face to face for the first time, I just blew up some of your shit, and you brought ‘freeze’ to the table.” Kade shot Shields in the shoulder and she went down.