15 Years Later: Wasteland (22 page)

Johnnie paced slowly up beside Zed as they carried on debating his fate.

“Not you as well, can’t a guy get some peace?”

“You did the right thing. That means a lot.”

“Yeah, and it might just get me hung by the neck, brother.”

“Would that be so bad? Jay would have done far worse.”

“Jay did do far worse, and look at me now. I’m still here.”

Johnnie laughed. They were both trying to make light of the situation rather than have to face how grim and depressing it really was.

“Just promise me nothing will happen to Rave or Sasha. It’s not their fault that I am who I am. They didn’t even know.”

“Of course.”

“We’ve come to a decision!” Lannie pleaded.

The two brothers turned to face her and saw the hatred in her face, but it wasn’t just targeted at Zed. There was silence as everyone waited to hear the judgement she would pass on behalf of the townspeople.

“Zed. We are reasonable people, and we all agree that you have done some good since you arrived here. But you also lied and deceived us. Worse still, you fought against us. You killed and maimed many of our friends, and drove fear into the good people of this town and many more like it. I would like to say we could let you go, but we cannot. We cannot let such a dangerous criminal go free, but neither can we keep you here. We have no choice but to do the humane and decent thing. The town of Calico sentences you to death by firing squad.”

“What?” Johnnie shouted, “What the hell are you thinking!”

“Detain him!” Lannie ordered.

Zed didn’t fight it. He unbuckled his sword belt and handed it to Johnnie.

“Jump over the wall and run. Don’t let them do this,” his brother begged, but Zed shook his head.

“Got to deal with the consequences someday,” he replied.

Two of the townspeople rushed onto the battlement and grabbed hold of him to escort him down into the square.

“Do something!” Rave shouted to Johnnie.

But neither of them could think of any way of stopping it.

Seemingly out of nowhere a horn rang out. It was so loud it was like something off a locomotive. Then another burst came from it. It silenced everyone as Johnnie turned slowly in despair to see what he already knew was coming. He peered out over the walls as the horn blasted out a third time, and his eyes widened at the source.

More than thirty cars and trucks raced towards the town across the open plain. Every single one was packed with Braves, and Jay’s cash truck rode at the head of them.

“Jay, Jay is coming!”

“He’s coming for us! Everyone to the walls!”

People scattered like the wind as they rushed to gather their weapons and anything else they could find to defend themselves.

“Bring him down here!” Lannie shouted over to the two men holding Zed.

Johnnie was too busy to notice it even happening.

“Johnnie, your brother!” Rave screamed at him.

He looked back to see Zed being led away, and then to the army that was heading their way.

“I haven’t got time. You sort it!”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Anything, just keep him alive, and give him this,” he said, pushing Zed’s sword into her hands.

She rushed to the edge and jumped down into the camp to try and cut them off. She lost sight of Zed for a moment as she tried to push her way through.

* * *

Johnnie took aim with his rifle on Jay’s vehicle.

“Come on, you bastard, just one good shot, and it’s all over,” he whispered to himself.

His muzzle was resting firmly on the wall for a good shot, and he knew he only had three left. He looked down the sights and rested his finger firmly on the trigger. This was his one chance. But as the vehicle drew nearer he noticed two people lashed to the vehicle on crosses in front of Jay. He recognised them instantly, his son and Frankie. His finger instantly moved from the trigger as he gasped in horror. He had nearly killed his own son. He lifted the gun well out of the way and looked down the line to check no one else was taking a shot.

“Nobody fire at Jay. He has our people!” he shouted in the desperate hope that they would hear and understand.

The cash truck came to a standstill with a few other vehicles, but many others didn’t stop. There would be no negotiation this time. They didn’t come for supplies or people. They came to kill and destroy everything before them.

Two pickups were heading for the wall with a dozen Braves between them, and all carrying grappling hooks. A fire truck followed them, too.

* * *

Rave was still fighting her way through the crowd and came out to find no sign of Zed. She began to panic and ran onwards and took a bend to find one of the townspeople standing before her, the woman who had spoken of her son’s death. She grabbed Rave’s arm and tried to hold her back.

“You can’t stop this. He has to die!”

Rave shook her arm free and pushed her away as she carried on through the crowd. Finally, she saw Zed standing against a wall. Lannie stood beside two men holding crossbows ready for an improvised execution, as if she had planned and made arrangements for it before a decision had even been made. She looked to what was in her hand, Zed’s sword. She drew it out, but stopped, realising she couldn’t harm the two men about to kill Zed. He would never forgive her for it.

“Ah, shit,” she said.

She rushed forwards towards Lannie who only noticed her at the last second. Rave smacked her in the face with the knuckle bow of the sword. As she stumbled, she got behind her, locked one arm, and placed the blade up against her throat.

“Rave! What are you doing? This has to happen. The decision has been made!”

“Fuck that, Zed! I don’t care what this bitch said, you ain’t dying today. I didn’t come all this way to see you put down like some wild animal.”

“He is a wild animal,” Lannie snarled.

“Maybe, but don’t begin to tell me you are any better.”

Sasha rushed to the scene and stopped in shock at what she was seeing.

“Lannie? What are you doing?”

“Trying to carry out the decision this town made.”

“Let her get it done,” said Zed.

“Shut up. I don’t care who said what. We need you. You are about to kill the man who saved my life. The man who is our best hope of getting us through all this.”

She strode up to Lannie and slapped her hard in the face. Rave let go of her and lowered the sword. It was clear to everyone that she was already realising what a mistake she had made, and she looked sheepish for it. Sasha stood tall and firm, and shouted at her as if she had taken over the reins.

“Either get up and fight, or get out of my sight,” she snapped.

Lannie skulked off without another word. She picked up a crossbow and carried on towards the defences alone. Rave sheathed the sword, strove forward, and slammed it into Zed before letting go.

“Stop being a pussy and get up there.”

He looked to Sasha, and she nodded in agreement.

“Go!” Sasha shouted as she pulled a hunting bow off her back and rushed on to the walls herself. Zed buckled his sword belt on and headed to where he had last seen his brother. He rushed up one of the ramps. Johnnie was cutting down at one of the grappling hook ropes with his own sword. He slashed one and then another before a crossbow bolt hit him in the inside left shoulder. He screamed out in pain as he dropped back down inside the wall.

“Johnnie!” Zed shouted.

He ran towards his brother, but as he did, a Brave reached the top of the wall and tried to clamber over. He leapt forwards and shoved the Brave as he balanced atop the wall, ready to pounce in. He was thrown down and landed back first on the windshield of one of the trucks, causing it to collapse in on the driver.

Zed was relieved to see his brother crawling back for better cover and rushed to his side.

“About time you got in on this,” said Johnnie.

“Blame your wife. She seems to want me dead.”

“Seems like there is a lot of that going round.”

Zed lifted Jay’s arm to check the wound.

“It’s okay, armour took the worst of it. He grabbed the shaft of the bolt and yanked it out. He looked at Zed with a smile as if he was pleased with himself. But an inch and a half of the bolt was covered in blood. It had gone in farther than he was making out.

“I’ve had worse,” he added.

A grappling hook was thrown over the wall and missed Zed’s head by just a few inches before latching on. He took his brother’s sword out of his hand and got up. With one heavy slash, he cut the line. The Brave crashed down into the sand below. He ducked back down and gave the sword back before spotting his Springfield he had left propped there before his makeshift trial. He ran along the wall and picked it up. He instantly felt better.

It was then he realised that along with everything else he had lost in Jaytown was his ammunition bandolier. All he had was the single stripper clip in the weapon. He sighed, now realising how far that would get him.

“Better than nothing, I guess.”

He rose up and took aim at Jay’s truck and instantly came to the same realisation as Johnnie had.

“Ah, Christ!” he screamed as he saw who was being used as human shields.

“Kill Jay and we might end this. I don’t see any other way,” said Johnnie.

“Yeah? Cut off the head of the snake, and it’s all okay? Then why didn’t you kill me?”

“I tried. Trust me.”

“That’s reassuring.”

He smiled; now understanding the bond between him and his brother was back. No matter what they had been through, once again they stood together against a common enemy. He had never felt better since arriving in this new life.

“You got much ammo for that?” he asked, pointing to the M14 lying against the wall.

“Three.”

“Shit, that’s it?”

He nodded and winced in pain as he tried to get control back in his left arm. Zed got back up and looked down the wall. Their people were fencing off the Braves at the wall, but this was just the beginning. The horn of the fire truck rang out as if announcing its arrival before jamming on the brakes as it drew near. The ladder sprung forward and had been widened out into a much larger assault ramp, for exactly the purpose it was being used for now.

The ramp struck down onto the wall, and Zed knew there was little they could do to shift it. He drew out his sword.

“Come on, Johnnie, time to earn your wages,” he joked.

“Like we get paid for this shit,” he said, as he got up and followed Zed to the ramp.

Five Braves were already running up it, and more were piling on at the back of the truck to join them. Two of the townspeople with crossbows fired. One struck a Brave square in the chest, and he dropped dead off the side, but the other was hit in the arm. He sprung back slightly as the bolt pierced his right arm, but he quickly recovered and rushed onwards like a fanatic.

As the wounded one reached the end of the ramp, Zed swung his sword with a strong horizontal slash over the wall at their elevated attackers. The sabre connected with the man at his right ankle and severed his foot. He crashed down onto the ramp and collapsed over the side bleeding out. The next jumped at Zed, and he thrust his blade forward and impaled the man as he landed. He turned and threw him off the blade and down inside the town. Three of the people there jumped on him with hand weapons like a pack of wolves.

He looked back to see a Brave leaping towards him with a spiked club. But Johnnie’s blade swung towards him and cut at both the arms wielding it. The heavy cuts beat them down, allowing Zed to cut down and split his head open. Another two crossbow bolts finished off the last two of the initial wave.

“We can’t keep this up forever!” Johnnie shouted breathlessly.

Zed looked over the edge at the fire truck. It was a hulking monster that seemed immoveable.

“Just hold here. I’ve got this.”

“Wait!” Johnnie called out.

But it was too late. Zed jumped up over the barricade, onto the ramp, and rushed on down it at high speed. Only two more Braves had made it onto the ramp ahead, and in the chaos of battle, nobody else had noticed him. He ducked under a swing with an iron bar from one and shoved him off the edge, spinning around and hacking at the other in the flank.

It was a vicious wound, but not enough to completely incapacitate the man. He still lifted his arm to cut down with a tomahawk. Zed grabbed his hand and prised his sabre out before headbutting the Brave and tossing him off the side. He rushed to the bottom of the ramp and onto the roof of the truck. He leapt to the front and lay down to look over the edge in through the driver’s door. To his amazement the door was open, and a single Brave was sitting inside watching the show. He noticed Zed too late, who thrust his sabre in through his ear and killed him instantly. He swung in through the door and tossed the body out. He quickly slammed the door shut, pushed the lock down, and started the truck. The big old engine roared to life. He slipped it into reverse and floored it.

The vehicle rocked and raced backwards. He smiled as four Braves fell off the front of the ramp and dropped all the way to the ground. They landed hard and were at least incapacitated if not dead. He spun the wheel around and brought the truck about, slamming the brakes on as Jay and his army came into view.

“Let’s see if we can’t even the odds,” he said to himself, putting it into drive and his foot to the floor.

Jay was shouting orders to those around him, but made no attempt to move, and Zed knew why. None of them would risk hurting Wyatt and Frankie. Lannie already wanted him dead, and she’d really do it if he were the reason any harm came to Wyatt.

Zed aimed the truck right for one of the pickups packed with Braves, part of the next wave of attack. He could see the vehicle rock slightly as the driver tried to turn the engine over, but it wouldn’t start. He was gaining pace quickly now, and the Braves began to leap off the back in every direction. He banked to the left at the last minute and clipped the front of the truck rather than take it head on.

The hood was ripped off, and the motor smashed within as the truck was shunted out of the way. The driver was trapped. He hit two Braves as they ran, and he heard the crunch when they went under the wheels and hit the undercarriage. It was a sickening sound, but he had no sympathy for them.

He turned the wheel sharply and brought the truck around to do as much damage as he could. The police cruiser lay ahead, and he aimed right for it, but it soon pulled out of way. Suddenly, a Brave flew in through the open window of the passenger side door. He drew out a knife and came right at Zed. He parried the first thrust off, but he couldn’t get a hold. The Brave drew the knife back across his face and slashed him just below the eye.

Zed back fisted him to the face, grabbed his long hair, and hauled him in close. But somehow he still had his blade in hand and drove it into Zed’s arm. He was in confined spaces and tightly compressed against Zed, so he could only slowly push it forward. Zed couldn’t reach the knife, so instead he smashed the man’s head down on the steering wheel repeatedly until he was dead. He tossed him back and drew out the blade. It had gone in less than an inch, but it still hurt like hell.

He got back to driving but noticed most of the vehicles were darting out of his way, and in the hulking fire truck he couldn’t stop them. He raced up to Jay’s truck. He was the only one not moving. He drove right for it as if he intended to ram it, but Jay defiantly stood calmly and watched. At the last minute Zed turned, and Jay smiled. He wasn’t surprised at all. Zed turned the wheel hard and drove around Jay in circles.