Reddened Wasteland (18 page)

“Yeah, sorry. Wish there were another way,” he looped
the chains around the man’s arms, then around one of the bar supports.

“Oh, no need to apologize. I am just happy that I was
able to help THE Alerik Jacobs!” he smiled as he watched Alerik secure the
chains.

“Well, thank you for all of the help. I really
appreciate it,” Alerik hurried over to the radio, and as he lifted it off of
the counter, something fell loose from the bottom. He set the radio down and
picked up the foreign object. It was another component, though he had no idea
what the function was. He shoved both objects into the backpack, next to the
piece that he found on the counter in his apartment before The Union attack. He
hoped nothing would break with all the moving around they were doing. He stared
at them for a minute, trying to figure out how the hell they were going to put
them together.

Saskia sighed, “So are we done here? You yourself said
we need to keep moving.”

“Yeah, sorry. Just trying to figure out how these
pieces go together,”

“Surely there will be a better time to do it,” she
rolled her eyes.

“You know what? You’re right. Thanks, mom,” Alerik
grumbled. He looked at the old man chained to the bar. “In a few hours, someone
will stop in. In the meantime, just sit tight.”

“I didn’t plan on going anywhere,” the man chuckled as
he looked down at the chains.

“Right,” Alerik nodded. He zipped up the backpack,
slung it over his shoulder, and picked up his pickaxe before walking to the
door. He glanced over the bar one last time before slipping back out into the
darkened street.

***

The rest of the trip was interesting, Alerik and his
friends moved from shack to shack with great haste. People caught them outside
their shacks left and right— It was obvious that they weren’t experts of
stealth, after all— but instead of turning the group in, the people would help
them along their way, however they could. He was genuinely surprised by the
support of everyone he encountered. It seemed Alerik had gained quite the
reputation in a short amount of time, the complete opposite of what he
experienced when he was broadcasted as The Union’s hero.

Whenever Union soldiers approached, clicks and whistles
were heard off in the distance alerting the group to their presence. People
were even offering water and Life Bars to them as they passed. It warmed
Alerik’s heart to be loved by his people again, no matter how short-lived it
would be. He had no delusions about his abilities. Sure, he was strong, and
good with a pickaxe, but The Union soldiers were trained for combat for their
entire lives. Plus, they had guns. One pickaxe versus thousands of rifles? The
odds were… not good. If he made it through this ordeal alive, he might start
believing in fate like Cinine and her flock.

Eventually, their group made it to the edge of the
junkyard, miles from the Children of Old. This was the last stop on their map.
Alerik had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach, everything had
just been too easy thus far. Even with the help from the settlers, their task
should’ve been more of a challenge. He wondered if The Union was slipping on
their game. It was obvious they were losing control of the people, nearly every
shack he had passed back in the mining district had symbols from Liberty’s
Hammer etched into the sides. A lot had changed since his last trip there. The
people were angry, uneasy, and out for blood. Anarchy hung heavy in the air. 

Alerik turned to Lucius, “Wait here, and keep a
lookout. If you hear anything, just make a lot of noise.”

“Will do,” Lucius said, staring off into the distance
toward the mining district.

Saskia and Alerik moved quickly through the shadows,
scanning the area for danger as they searched for the spot on the map. After a
short time, they found a small clearing with a large pit in the center, used
for burning materials that cannot be recycled. Alerik and Saskia separated,
moving slowly around the pit, searching for anything that could have been left
by Bragog.

“Anything?” Alerik shouted.

“Not yet,” she called back.

Alerik walked a few more steps before finding the
control box for the pit, where the operator could adjust airflow and manipulate
the temperature of the flames. He ran his hands carefully along the sides until
he felt something out of place, a small panel over the metal siding. He tried
tugging on it to loosen it, but there was a spring holding it in place. He
thought to call Saskia over to use her gun, but didn’t want the bolt to fire
straight through and damage whatever was inside. Running out of patience, he
pulled his pickaxe off of his back and gave it a heavy swing. It smashed into
the side of the control box, knocking the small panel on the side open. The crash
echoed through the junk yard.

“Well Alerik, if they didn’t know we were here before,
they do now,” Saskia said, shaking her head as she walked over, “So what did
you find?”

Alerik held up a tiny piece of wiring, “Another
component of some kind. Lucius will know what to do with it,” he said, placing
the part inside the backpack.

Suddenly, they could hear footsteps approaching from
off in the distance, along with loud whistling. Lucius was warning them. His
eyes darted around, searching for an alternate exit, but there was nothing. He
and Saskia were stuck, surrounded by eight to ten feet of trash in all
directions except the path that the footsteps were coming from.

Four men appeared off in the distance, approaching
quickly. Alerik lit his pipe and just waited. Either they were there to help
them or hurt them, there was no real in-between during these times.

“Alerik Jacobs…” one of the men said from the darkness
just as they came closer into view. They were all Union soldiers, all tall and
well-built, all clad in elite armor. “We have been looking for you for quite
some time,” the man in the front said, he seemed to be leading the pack.

“I’m guessing you are here to take me in?” Alerik blew
a puff of smoke out.

“That would be a correct assessment of the situation,”
the man confirmed as he and his men moved in closer.

With her uninjured arm, Saskia raised her gun and
zeroed in on a man towards the back of the group, “If any of them takes another
step, I’ll put one straight through each of their chests,” she bit out angrily.

“Oh Saskia, how the mighty have fallen. Aldain had you
on the fast track to success, and now look at where you are. Standing with the
garbage of our society. Right where you belong.”

“Wait… I know your voice. Elias?” she asked.

“Correct, so now you know how grave the situation is
for you and your partner,” his smug smirk was visible under the visor of his
helmet.

“You know this guy?” Alerik asked.

“Yes, he was in training with me from the very start.
We were both top of our class, always neck and neck. This guy is dangerous,
Alerik,” she said in a hushed voice.

“Well, seems we have a standoff,” Elias said as he
pulled out two pistols, aiming one at Alerik and the other at Saskia.

“I don’t suppose you’d take a bribe of booze?” Alerik
chuckled as he inwardly prepared his next move.

“Not a chance,” the man said before firing his
weapons.

Alerik and Saskia rolled to opposite sides, bolts
whizzing by them as they moved. Saskia jumped behind the control panel and
returned fire as Alerik tucked himself away behind some old metal junk.

“Saskia, are you okay?!” Alerik shouted.

“Yeah, he didn’t hit me!” she shouted as she peeked
around the control panel and squeezed off a few more shots, “They have us
pinned and their reinforcements will arrive soon. We have to get out of here.”

Alerik weighed out his options and decided he had to
make a move, a big one if they wanted to get out of this alive. The Union
guards were focused on avoiding Saskia’s gunfire, so Alerik decided to try to
sneak up on them. He crept against the barrier of garbage, moving closer to
Elias. He glanced back to check on the spot where Saskia was crouched, and it
was taking heavy fire. Sparks were raining down all around her.

“I can do this all night; how much time do you think
you two have?” Elias cackled as he continued his onslaught on Saskia.

He knew that the control panel wouldn’t hold much
longer, the thing was taking a real beating. He had to act, and fast. He was
now within a stone’s throw of Elias. He started to lunge for the man, but a
loud cracking sound stopped him in his tracks. He looked out from behind the
garbage to see that Lucius had managed to smash two of the men’s heads
together. Elias and the remaining soldier turned and began firing into Lucius.

Saskia, seeing her opening, fired a bolt clean through
the head of the soldier next to Elias, then leveled her gun at Elias’s back.

Alerik ran over to Lucius and kneeled down beside him,
checking his injuries. He had several holes through his torso, and part of his
face had been ripped off.

“You’ve seen better days,” Alerik laughed to mask his
worry.

“There is enough junk here to fix me, I just won’t be
as pretty as I used to be,” Lucius’s smile was odd with only half of it there.      

Alerik smiled, “Wait here, I have to take care of
something.” He stood up, pulled his pickaxe off of his back, and started
walking towards Elias.

“Alerik, be careful! He is not a joke!” Saskia yelled.

“Neither am I,” Alerik said under his breath as he
reached Elias.

Elias had his hands in the air, still holding his guns
over his head. Alerik swung his pickaxe at Elias’ head, and Elias dodged to the
right with inhuman grace.

“That’s one free shot. You only get two more,” Elias
said with a smirk.

“Okay, smart ass,” Alerik said as he threw down his
pickaxe, “Thing was slowing me down anyway,” he threw a right hook towards
Elias’ jaw.

Elias ducked under the punch and giggled like a child,
“That’s it?”

Alerik stumbled forward after missing the punch, then
quickly regained his balance. With his anger from the taunts building inside of
him, Alerik pulled his arm back as far as he could.

Before he could complete his swing, Saskia fired
through Elias’ kneecap, causing blood to spray out onto the ground. Alerik
frowned down at the blood flowing from Elias’s knee, and when he looked up, a
fist was flying towards his face.

The punch sent him sailing backwards, he landed on the
ground with a loud thud. Lights flashed before his eyes and sounds were
distorted as he attempted to sit up.

“Sit still, Alerik,” Saskia’s voice was soothing as
she held her hand on his chest, keeping him in place. He frowned. How had she
made it to his side so quickly? Did he lose time?

“What happened?” Alerik asked as Saskia came into
focus.

“Well, you got your ass kicked. Pretty quickly.
Knocked out, cold. Oh, and Elias got away,” she rolled her eyes, “Should have just
let me shoot him,” she laughed.

“That guy is quick, what the fuck?” Alerik climbed to
his feet with Saskia’s help.

“I told you to be careful. Don’t feel bad though, he
is just about as good as me,” she said with a smile.

“Just about?” Alerik said in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you next time,” she
giggled.

“Oh, fuck off. I could have taken him. You distracted
me!” Alerik said defensively.

“Sure, Alerik. Sure,” she said, taunting him.

“Shut up and help me with these bodies,” Alerik said
in a huff as he began walking over to the men lying around.

“I thought you were very brave,” from off in the
distance, Lucius chimed in. He appeared to be in the midst of repairing himself
with scrap metal, welding bits and pieces to his frame.

“You, too?!” he couldn’t believe even the android was
giving him shit, “Neither one of you talk to me for the rest of the trip back,”
he said in an annoyed tone. Lucius and Saskia just snickered.

They moved the bodies into the pit and Lucius finished
up his repairs. They started the incinerator before they left the junkyard. The
sun was rising over the settlement, they needed to get back to the cover of The
Den before they were spotted. They had the pieces now, all that was left was
putting it together. That, and getting to the tower at the top of The Union
building in order to use it. Piece of cake.

***

Back at the hatch, they were greeted by Cinine and
Valek, along with the entire Children of Old army. They were all wearing their
pieced-together combat armor, and looked ready for battle.

“Cinine, what is going on?” Alerik asked warily.

“Alerik, today we strike fear into the hearts of every
member in The Union. Today, we make our stand and end this once and for all. We
have word that Liberty’s Hammer is moving as well. While they distract our
enemy, we will get you as close to the radio tower as possible,” she said, mace
and shield in hand.

Alerik honestly didn’t think Cinine would be joining
in the fight, herself. She was so… old. He didn’t like that she was counting on
a pack of fanatical murderers like Liberty’s Hammer, but he could see the
appeal of using the assault to their advantage. Still, it wouldn’t stop him
from killing any of those murderers he saw along the way.