Chapter 4
The next morning we both rose as
early as made sense, and after donning our snow gear, we left my apartment. I
carried my sledgehammer, and Melody a crowbar I’d given her.
Snow had fallen in massive heaps,
suffocating everything under a huge blanket of snow and ice. The city was
almost silent, sounds muffled by the snowfall under the indigo-grey sky. In the
long distance, a wolf howled, the sound ricocheting off the skyscrapers of
downtown like a phantom’s cry. Cars were spun here and there, some of them
demolished, others seemingly unharmed. Bodies were in many of them, frozen
lumps welded to the wheel of their vehicle with the cold. Melody gritted her
teeth and shuddered when we passed too closely. Here and there fresher bodies
lay in the street, some appeared half-eaten, some more unnaturally damaged,
with long gashes to the face and neck, or a skull crushed in. Anarchy was
beginning its long rule, I knew.
We reached Hancock’s Sporting Shop
within a couple hours of walking. It was dark, and appeared oddly unmolested.
The windows were in place, the doors seemed intact. We walked closer.
Inside, a flashlight suddenly played
across one of the front windows.
“Someone’s inside.” I told Melody.
“They could be dangerous, we need to
be careful.”
“Follow my lead.” I walked through
the alley at the side of the store to the service door at the back, and swung
my sledge like a battering ram, smashing the catch. The door sagged open, and I
pulled my guard flashlight from my belt, shining it into the dark room. Nothing
dangerous caught my eye, and I entered.
The backrooms were quite expansive
in the store, and it was obvious whoever was in there had not heard our entry.
Melody crept next to me, taking everything in.
I stepped into the sales floor of
the store, and the figure noticed us.
“Ha!” He shouted, turning. A raised
gun pointed at us. “Trying to sneak up on me, eh?”
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“Who are you?” He snapped back.
“I’m Simon Mensa. I’ve come for
supplies with my friend, Melody Wright. I am claiming this store, and you will
be allowed to take your pick of things when we’ve finished.”
The stranger obviously seemed
confused that I was giving ultimatums when he had the pistol trained on us, and
the strangeness of it seemed to discomfit him.
“Or,” I continued, “You can join us
for companionship, food, shelter, and assistance. We need all the help we can
get.”
“How many of you are there?” All I
could see was a silhouette in the dim light, but he seemed to be less hostile.
“Just us two, but I have plans to
find more survivors and begin to rebuild what has been lost.”
The figure lowered the gun. “I would
like that. I really would.” He stepped forward, and I saw it was a young black
man, wearing a knit cap and a ski jacket. “I’m Darius Seeley.” He gestured with
the flashlight at the pile behind him. “I work—used to—work here. I’ve been
gathering some stuff.”
“Well, the first thing you need to
know is that that gun isn’t going to work.”
“What?”
“Try it.”
He pointed it at the front windows
and pulled the trigger. There was a solid pop, and the shell dropped from the
barrel. The casing ejected with a jingle.
“What the-“
“Something must have changed when
the world did.” Melody said. “Guns don’t work anymore.”
“So I was threatening you…”
Melody laughed. “You could have
threatened us with a hamburger patty for all the good it would have done you.”
Darius broke into a sheepish smile.
“I guess I feel like a proper idiot.”
“One of the first things we need are
weapons. There are a lot of looters and thugs still going around, and we’re
going to need some means of protecting ourselves. Did you sell crossbows?”
“Over here.” Darius walked to a
corner of the store, and Melody and I followed. She was smiling broadly at him,
and he kept glancing at her. Briefly, I felt a flash of something. Jealousy?
Anger? I crushed the thoughts down and tried not to think about them.
Hancock’s had eight crossbows in
stock, as well as three or four recurve bows and ten or so compound bows. I
took down all the recurve bows, and four of the crossbows.
“We never know when we’re going to
need food or protection, and how many other survivors we’re going to come
across.” I told Melody and Darius. “We should try to get as many supplies as
possible in this one run.”
“How are we going to carry them
all?” Darius asked. Melody grinned suddenly.
“I have an idea.” She ran behind the
sales counter and got up on the countertop. Behind the counter were the kayaks,
and she pulled one down. Losing control, she almost fell off the counter, and
then dropped it. She grinned at us as it dropped down, and then awkwardly
pulled the other one off as well.
“We can make a sled to carry the
things we need back to your house, Simon.” The
idea was excellent. Darius and I roped the kayaks together as Melody found
three pallets in the back that we could put on the flat tops. Using bungee
cords, we began tying the pallets down onto the kayaks, creating a sort of
rough sled. Together we piled the bows, crossbows, and survival gear onto the
sled: fishing poles, rope, an anchor, tents, sleeping bags, flint and tinder
lighters, jackets, axes. While Darius and Melody did this, I picked up a long
machete from the hiking section, and an eighteen inch survival knife from
behind the counter. It was going to get worse before it got better: there was
no sense in being unprepared.
As we were about to go, there was a
suddenly rhythmic sound, and I glanced out the large front windows. Five men on
horseback trotted toward the store from down the deserted street. They stopped
in front of the door and dismounted. One of them, a giant of a man, stepped
toward the door after pulling a fire axe from the saddle. With a sudden motion
he smashed the front door open.
Melody shrieked, and Darius stepped
in front of her. Like me, he had a machete, and he stood shoulder to shoulder
with me, watching the men approach.
The giant spoke first as the other
men stepped through the ruined entrance.
“Well, hello there.” His voice was
smooth as oil, but a note of danger rode the edge. “I hadn’t realized this was
someone else’s territory.”
“We were gathering some supplies we
needed to survive.” I told them. “We’ve finished, you are welcome to whatever
is left.”
“Or, we’re welcome to whatever is in
the store.” The man said smoothly. “On your pathetic sled or not.”
“This is ours, and we need it.” I
said. Darius shifted beside me. “I don’t want to resort to violence. There is
plenty to go around.”
The leader stepped forward as his
men stood behind him, pulling out weapons of their own. “I don’t think I’ve
made myself clear. My name is Jack Fortenbleu, but you will refer to me as Axe.
In the advent of the fall of any semblance of government, I have graciously
agreed to lead these fledgling societies to achieve greatness and rebuild to
our former glory.” He stepped forward and smiled, stretching out a gloved hand.
“So, will you follow me, or will you go your own way, starveling wretches
huddled in the snow?”
I thought about it for a second. I
didn’t trust the man as far as I could throw a dishwasher, but what he had said
made sense. As soon as I considered that, a thought dawned in my head,
incoherent at first, but rapidly gaining traction. This man was obviously after
his own gain, using a powerful idea to secure his own power. But if there was
another society that could offer some hope, help in these dark times then maybe
mankind would have something to live for, and not be forced to survive under a
petty tyrant.
“Your offer is most kind,” I said.
“but I feel that I would be more comfortable striking out on my own and being my
own man. I cannot speak for my companions.”
“I’ll stay with Simon.” Melody said.
The speed of her answer surprised and flattered me.
“How many of you are there, Axe?”
Darius asked.
“We have gathered fifteen
survivors.” Axe said. “And we will continue to grow in numbers and power.”
“I think I will stay with Simon as
well, then.” Darius said.
Axe took a deep breath, not smiling
anymore. “Very well then. But know this: I will bring this entire city, this
entire continent, under my control. And your little faction will be enemies to
me, because you will be taking my provisions,
my territory, and sapping my authority. If we meet again, we shall
meet as enemies, and not as potential allies.”
He seemed deadly serious, and from
the look of him, he could easily follow up on his promise. But a chance of
living alone and unmolested, able to gather those around me that wanted to
rebuild, as opposed to living under someone who wanted to gather others under
him, and build his own wealth and power made for an easy choice.
“I understand.” I told him. He
signaled his followers, and they stepped out the door. Axe faced us.
“You have now heard of us, the
Iceborn. Do not forget that name.” With that, the giant man stepped out the
ruined door, mounted his horse, and trotted off, followed by his soldiers.
“Where did they get the horses?” I
asked.
“Elysia Mounted Police.” Melody
said. “I saw the crest on their saddles.”
“Well, that means one or two of them
might be in the mounted police.”
Darius said. “They had to get into the stables, and they’re attached to the
prison.”
“Whoever they were, they’re
dangerous. We can’t afford to let them track us.”
“That won’t be a problem.” Melody
said wryly, pointing outside. Snow had begun to fall in fat gobs, covering the
already frosted ground with a thick layer of snow. The buildings farther away
were soon obscured from view.
“We’re going to have to go back to
your apartment.” Melody said. “It’ll be pretty dangerous in the snow.”
“It’s too small to accommodate three
of us comfortably.” I said. “The Emerson hotel downtown will be a good place to
camp out.”
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