Dux Bellorum (Future History of America Book 3) (54 page)

Shit
.

Chapter 55

Fight or Flight

E
RIK
LOWERED
HIS
SHOULDERS
and took a quick assessment of the situation.
 
Three male students ran at him—one slightly to his left, one straight on, and one to his right.
 
Behind him, Tammy shouted a blood-curdling scream.
 

Instinct told him that the largest of the three attackers in front of him was his prime threat.
 
So as the attackers drew within range, he pivoted on his left foot and landed a front kick square on the biggest one’s chest.

The kick stopped him in midair as if he'd run into a brick wall.
 
Erik felt a satisfying impact under his boot.
 
The kid grunted and collapsed.
 

The downside to his strategy was the other two were already on him.
 
He heard more than felt Tammy land on his back from behind—they'd caught him unbalanced on one leg.

Erik knew he was going down, but with the largest of his attackers already out of the fight, he felt he had a decent chance.
 
As the three attackers pulled him over, he caught a glimpse of Brin squaring off against two attackers of her own.
 

A third lay face down in the dirt at Brin’s feet.
 
Her eyes met his and for a second, absolute fear flashed across her face as she saw Erik go down under three assailants.

Erik heard her scream his name before he crashed into the dirt, then the world descended into muffled grunts and curses as his attackers ground his face into the dirt with their feet.

The blows and kicks rained down. While keeping his left arm tucked around his face and neck as best he could, Erik snatched the first foot that came near his chin and pulled with all his might. The foot’s owner kissed the dirt with a grunt.

Out of the corner of his eye, Erik saw the last male fly toward him, one knee extended.
 
This kid's been watching too much wrestling on TV.

He exhaled and turned his midsection into a muscular, hardened wall to block the incoming blow.
 
That didn't stop the pain when the kid crashed into him—Erik saw stars and the world faded from his view for a split second—but he knew nothing had been broken.
 
He counted himself lucky he'd only have a large bruise across his ribs and stomach.
 

The kid had shown initiative by dropping the full weight of his body like that on top of Erik.
 
If he'd caught Erik by surprise, the blow would have been devastating.
 
As it was, Erik was positioned just right to deflect most of the impact into the ground.
 

Erik took full advantage of the kid's proximity and grabbed a fistful of unruly brown hair.
 
Using the student's awkward position on one knee to his advantage, Erik pulled down hard and smashed the kid's face into the ground.
 
Ignoring Tammy, he rolled to his knees and drove his left elbow right into the lower back of the closest male attacker.

The student whimpered and went limp, slapping at the ground with his free hand.
 

Erik got to his feet, breathing hard but still in the fight. He saw Brin not 30 feet away in somewhat of a stalemate with her two attackers.
 
Each one had taken hold of one of her hands and they'd stretched her arms apart.
 
When she saw Erik on his feet, she called his name once more, drawing the attention of both her attackers toward him.

Dumbasses,
Erik thought with a grin.

The ruse worked. Using the tension on her arms as a balance point, Brin connected her left foot with the groin of the man on her right.
 
As he crumpled, she twisted her hips and kicked backward like a horse.
 

She may have missed her target, but the kick had the desired result.
 
In less than two seconds, both her attackers were doubled over sucking wind.
 
She twisted her wrists and slipped her arms free with little effort.
 

As one student tried to stand, sputtering for air, he reached out and grabbed hold of her shoulder.
 
Brin punched him straight in the throat and spun, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as she dropped her upper torso. The kid found himself flat on the ground next to his two comrades.
 

Erik opened his mouth to say something when Tammy landed on his back again, the force of the impact causing him to stagger forward.
 
A hand grasped at his hair and yanked hard, sending a bolt of pain down his spine as his head jerked back.
 

He reached back with his left hand as she found his face.
 
Ignoring the flash of pain and the sound of tearing skin as her fingernails raked his cheek, his fingers found the soft flesh under her jaw and squeezed.

She gurgled a gasp of surprise and relaxed her grip just enough for Erik to fling her off his back.
 
A muffled whimper escaped her lips as she crashed into the unconscious form of one of her partners.

Erik, now on his feet, was left facing one attacker.
 
The biggest one, who had gone down at the onset with a kick, tried to get to his knees.
 
Erik easily blocked the kid's first telegraphed punch and countered with a right uppercut to the gut.
 

As the student doubled over, Erik swung his left fist forward and connected with the side of the thug's head.
 
He wasn't aiming to kill anybody—they were just students after all—but they needed to be taught a lesson.
 

He heard a loud smack behind him and Brin's triumphant shout:
"Kiai!"
 
Her fight was over. Erik let a smile crease his bloodied, stinging face.
 

The last remaining assailant looked at the ground at Erik's feet and took in the unconscious bodies of his friends.
 
"You son of a bitch," he growled.

"What was that?"
 
Erik rasped.
 
He scooped up the pipe and swung it in a whistling arc around his shoulders. "Come over here and say that again."

The student flashed a murderous glance at Erik before he turned and sprinted off toward one of the dorms.
 
Erik followed him with his eyes and spotted a knot students in front of the building, watching and pointing in his direction.

Looks like discretion might be the better part of valor after all…

He turned and crashed straight into Brin.
 
She talked rapidly, asking if the he was okay, trying to assure him she was unhurt.
 
Finally, Erik grabbed her and planted a kiss on her lips.
 
Brin resisted at first, then melted into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck.
 
They stood that way until the moment passed and he gently released her.
 
She held onto his neck for a second longer before stepping back.

"Are you okay?" asked Erik, his choked voice sounding like sandpaper on gravel.

"God, your voice—Erik, your face looks pretty bad…" she said, her voice full of concern he hadn't heard since Orlando.
 
Her hand gingerly reached up to his face, but he turned away.

"Is it bad? 'Cause it hurts," he croaked.

Brin peered at him and shifted her head in the overcast light.
 
"It looks bad—there's a lot of blood.
 
But you sound worse.
 
We need to get you checked out.
 
Did they try to hang you?" she asked, kicking at the rope.

Erik sighed and put his hands on his hips.
 
"Tried, yeah."

Brin suddenly became serious.
 
"Where's Teddy?"

Erik looked at her.
 
"What do you mean, 'where's Teddy?'" he asked, rubbing his throat.
 
"Last I saw him, he was back there with you and Lindsay."
 
He coughed.
 

"No, I was changing the dressing on Lindsay's leg when he left the room to get me some more of that honey medicine from Lucy.
 
I heard them go downstairs, but I never heard any doors open.
 
When I was done with Lindsay, Teddy was gone."

"You think he went to find Ted?" asked Erik.
 
He sidestepped the bodies of his attackers and snatched up his pack.

"No—Ted said he was going out to look for a car.
 
He asked me to make sure Teddy stayed behind."

"How long ago was this?" croaked Erik, checking his watch.

"It took me like 15 minutes to get Lindsay sorted out—another five to get here, then these morons jumped me…"

"Only three?" Erik chuckled.
 
"They didn't know you very well…"

Brin laughed and looked at him as they jogged.
 
"Oh my God, your throat looks a worse!
 
We need to get you back so Lucy can check you out."

Erik shook his head as they raced toward the visitor's center.
 
"No way—she's one of them.
 
I'm not letting these crazy fuckers near me anymore.
 
I haven't fully trusted them yet—and I sure as hell won't now."

Brin wouldn't give up, however.
 
"I don't think that's fair, Erik.
 
She's not like them.
 
I can tell.
 
Lucy's
different
.
 
She seems to go out of her way to spend as much time as possible with us."

"She sure does.
 
She spends a lot of time with you.
 
Did she disappear with Teddy?"

It was Brin's turn to shake her head.
 
"What are you implying?
 
Forget it—no—Teddy wouldn't leave Lindsay's side."

Erik and Brin ran the rest of the way to the visitor's center in silence, encountering no one on the deserted campus grounds.
 
They swung south of the library and steered clear of the dorms.
 
Erik figured they only had a few minutes before word of the failed attacks reached the Professor and the next wave was launched.
 

"Pick up the pace," said Brin as she pulled ahead.
 
"I got a bad feeling about this.
 
We need to get back."

"We need to find Ted!" wheezed Erik as he ran behind his wife.
 
She had the benefit of less injuries and wasn't carrying a 5 pound pipe and a 30 pound pack on her back either.
 
It was getting harder for him to maintain his pace—he couldn't get enough air.

As it came to pass, by the time they reached the visitor's center they had no need of finding Ted.
 
Erik spotted him jogging along the library.

"Ted!" he wheezed.
 
He coughed and tried again but his throat constricted and he doubled over, trying to stay on his feet as his vision blurred.

"You have Teddy?"
 
Brin called out.

Ted switched from jogging to sprinting.
 
"No!
 
What're you talking about?" he called as he approached.
 
"Jesus—what happened to you two?"

By the time Erik brought himself back to vertical, Ted shuddered to a stop in front of them.
 
"What the hell's going on?
 
Where's Teddy?
 
Where's Lindsay?"
 
he demanded, urgency rising in his voice as he spoke.

The door to the visitor's center opened behind them.
 
"Lindsay's inside—hurry, get in here!"
 
Lucy called from the doorway.

The three of them rushed into the building and Ted immediately charged Lucy, one finger stabbing out at her like a sword.
 
"Where the hell are my children?
 
If you hurt them, so help me God—”

Lucy squeaked and backpedaled away as Ted approached her.
 
"Lindsay's fine!" she said, arms in front of her chest to ward off the marine.
 
"She's upstairs!
 
I just finished giving her the next dose of antibiotics and some water.
 
Her fever broke!"

Ted froze.
 
"It's down?"

Lindsay nodded.
 
"Yes—I've been giving her a double dose of the antibiotics—”

"I thought Doc said that was dangerous?" asked Brin suspiciously.

A mischievous smile spread across Lucy's face.
 
"Not really—this is honey, remember?
 
The only danger is in using up our supplies quicker than we want to."
 
She turned to look at Ted.
 

"Look, the infection hasn't spread to Lindsay's bloodstream—it's superficial, restricted to her skin.
 
We found out a long time ago the double dose is a lot closer to modern antibiotics and works better than the long treatment plan at a lower rate of dosage."

"Then why the hell didn't you do that from the beginning?"

"It's…" Lucy's face fell as she fumbled at the strings on her blood-stained 'Kiss the cook' apron.
 
She glanced at Brin and tucked a lock of hair over her ear.
 
"It's complicated."
 
She blushed.

Ted got right up in her face and glared at her, the muscles of his back and shoulders coiled and thick.
 
"Then why don't you
simplify
things for me," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

Chapter 56

Showdown

"W
HERE
'
S
MY
SON
?" T
ED
shouted.

“He hasn’t been hurt,” offered Lucy in a mouse-like voice.