Chapter 7 #2
I get up and walk back to Timothy, trying to keep my blood from boiling.
Bad luck my ass. I would have been dead and buried if it weren’t for him, and so would many others.
Caden frowns at me, asking silently if I’m okay.
I manage a stiff nod, not wanting to make a big deal out of this.
He tilts his head at Otto and makes a slicing gesture across his throat, as if asking if he should kill him. I shake my head.
Maybe later.
I use the downtime to go for a walk, wishing to clear my head before we continue our journey. I don’t get far before I hear footsteps coming from behind. I turn around, my hand on the holster of my gun.
Caden raises his hands. “Easy there, sharpshooter.” He comes over. “What got you riled up?”
Before I can stop myself, I blurt, “You shouldn’t let anyone say you’re bad luck.”
“Well, since I can’t control what others think or say, I try not to let that bother me.”
I see his point, and I shouldn’t get upset on his behalf. “Fine.”
“Good. And next time Otto says something that upsets you, I will slice his throat.”
He turns to leave, but I move faster and hug him. He wraps his arms around me, resting his chin on my head.
“Does talking about slicing someone’s throat make you all mushy?”
“Maybe.” Or maybe I’m just tired of sneaking glances at him all day.
He slides his hands down my back, stopping above my waistband. “May I?”
“Shouldn’t we be heading back?”
“We should. May I?”
“Yes.”
He slides his hands down my pants and underwear, each one cupping a butt cheek. He squeezes, making me harden against him. “Damn you, Finn. Stop hiding your best assets.”
“My brain is my best asset.”
“I’d say it’s a close second, or maybe a third if we consider each butt cheek separately. I think I prefer the right one a bit more.” He squeezes each one. “Hmm, maybe the left one.”
I’d better stop this before I leave a stain in my underwear. “We need to get to Rifle before it’s dark.”
He pulls his hands out and kisses me. “Fine.”
We hit the road shortly after and keep a steady pace throughout the day.
Close to dusk, we finally spot structures in the distance.
Rifle is surrounded by mountains and canyons, looking peaceful with the sprawling river behind it.
The wall they set up for protection is eight feet tall, enough to make an attack challenging but not impossible.
Caden and Trey ride ahead to speak with the two guards by the gate. There’s a watchtower close by with another guard on duty.
“Finn,” Timothy says quietly from his pony, “I sense about two hundred people inside the town.”
“Okay. Why do you sound worried?”
“Didn’t you say there were three hundred people living here?”
I did. “I may have gotten the number wrong. Do you sense anything else?”
Before he can answer, Caden calls for us to come over.
The others ride ahead, and Timothy says, “I prefer to hide for the time being.”
He’s making me worried, but I trust his instincts. “Best do it fast.”
“Do you think we’ll be searched when we enter?”
“We’re from Unity. It will be an insult if they try.” And very telling.
Timothy slides down from his pony and climbs into the empty bag on the side of my horse. He can make himself smaller by wrapping his eight legs around his body, but my horse huffs in anger due to the added weight. I stroke her neck and nudge her forward until we join the others at the gate.
Caden watches the pony next to me, now without Timothy riding him. He glances at the bag next to my legs in confusion, but he doesn’t ask for an explanation with the guards close by.
We enter through the gate, and the town is noticeably quiet, although some people do stand around and watch us. I remember more hustle and bustle the last time I visited, though that was in the morning. I search for the mayor’s familiar face but can’t find him.
“Welcome!” The man who walks toward us has messy dark hair and seems to be in his fifties. His teeth are more gray than white. “It’s an honor to have Hivers from Unity in our little town.”
“Where’s Ralph?” Caden asks.
“I’m afraid he lost the last election and decided to leave town. I’m doing my best to fill in his shoes.”
“A lie,” Timothy whispers from the bag.
I don’t need Timothy to tell me that, because this man’s crap is easy to smell. I try to catch Caden’s attention, but he’s sitting with his back to me. I watch the townsfolk until I notice a woman who tilts her head at the gate, as if signaling me to leave.
“Congratulations on your win,” Caden says.
“Thank you! Democracy is a beautiful thing. Now, I’m assuming you’d like a place to stay for the night. We have—”
“No need,” Caden says. “We just stopped by to say hello to Ralph, but since he’s not here, we’ll be moving on.”
“It’s almost dark, friend. Not another town for miles.”
“We don’t need a roof to sleep under.”
“Excuse me, Captain, but we certainly do!” Otto nudges his horse forward. “Sorry for the misunderstanding, Mayor. Yes, we would be delighted to spend the night.”
I could strangle the fool. Caden turns to look at me, warning me with his eyes that we need to get out of here. The other Defenders glance around, all on high alert. Unlike Otto, they have enough sense to understand that Caden’s refusal to stay means something.
“Wonderful!” The mayor claps his hands. “You can leave your horses with us.”
“No,” Caden says firmly as Otto begins to dismount. “We’ll be leaving.”
“Captain, I’m afraid I have to insist.”
“I’m aiming a gun at your head, Mayor. Is this where you die?”
The mayor looks down. I can’t see the gun Caden’s holding, but I imagine it’s resting on his thigh. I hold my breath, gripping my reins tighter and hoping we can ride out of here before things escalate.
The mayor’s smugness quickly fades. He raises his hands. “No need for that. We’ve been nothing but hospitable.”
“Then tell the armed Raiders you have hiding between the civilians to drop their weapons. I can blow your head off faster than they can shoot.”
“My people aim their weapons because these are dangerous times, my friend.”
I see them now, moving among the crowd. There are at least ten of them, with more on the nearby roofs.
We’re surrounded, and they would likely rather fight than let us leave knowing they’re here.
Even if the mayor tells his men to drop their weapons, I’m not sure they’ll obey.
Or maybe they will, but only until we’re out of the gate, and then we’ll be sitting ducks for at least a couple of minutes.
“You’re right,” I say, my voice tight. “We’ve been riding all day, and it’s getting cold. We’d appreciate a place to stay for the night.”
“Finn,” Caden growls, but he doesn’t dare to look at me and risk breaking eye contact with the mayor. I don’t think he saw just how many weapons are aimed at us, not to mention the gate is now closed behind us.
“You heard the kid,” the mayor says with an ugly smile. “Best listen to him so we can keep this friendly.”
The Raiders take a few steps forward, closing in on us.
Caden gives the word, and we all slide down from our horses.
Otto seems like he might faint, but at least he keeps his big mouth shut this time.
The mayor tells us to carefully place our weapons on the ground, and I do so with my knife and gun, my heart drumming in my ears.
“If we don’t reach out to Unity, they’ll know that something’s off,” Caden says. “You think you can survive that?”
“Of course not, but we’ll be out of here by then.
This was supposed to be a stop on our way to Denver to see the champion at the arena.
We ended up staying for a couple of weeks, and if you had come here in a couple of days, you would have missed us.
Shitty timing on your part. Now, off to jail you go!
We’re gonna have ourselves a fun night of interrogation. ”
The police station is farther down the main street.
With armed Raiders on both sides, we march in a column as people watch silently from the side of the road.
I think of what they must have been through since this gang took over their town, and about all the missing people that are likely dead.
My stomach churns thinking of Timothy in that bag, still hanging on the side of my horse.
They will surely go through our things. When they find him, will they shoot him on sight?
I taste bile and force myself to focus. If they’re going to interrogate us, it means they won’t kill us straight away.
I glance from side to side, but I can’t spot an escape route.
The mayor walks next to us, whistling a cheerful tune.
Two bodies lie face down by the entrance of the police station, flies circling the bloody corpses.
The stench is sickening. The station’s door lies broken on the ground.
The Raiders must have forced their way through when they took over.
“You’re making a mistake,” Otto says. “Finn and I are important enough to make the assembly very angry about our absence. You do not want to deal with the ramifications.”
I would have slapped him if I could.
The mayor grabs my shirt and pulls me closer, his face filling my vision. “Are you important, boy?”
I keep my mouth shut, which grants me a slap in the face. “I asked you a question.”
“Do I look important?”
The mayor snorts. “No, which means you might just be. See everyone? We’re already making progress with our fun interrogation, and we haven’t even started yet!”
“No information will serve you as a corpse,” Otto hisses.
The mayor chuckles. “Oh, I’m gonna have fun with you, that’s for damn sure. They used to call me the nutcracker back in the day, and it wasn't because I liked eating nuts. I don’t need to get much out of you, just enough to share with Hector and get on his good side.”
At the mention of Hector’s name, I exchange a worried glance with Caden.
Our best chance to overpower these Raiders will be inside the station, before they can lock us up in the holding cells.
We’ll have to take down enough of them before they can shoot us, but I doubt that all of us will make it out alive.
“Boss!” the guard in the watchtower calls.
“What is it?” the mayor calls back.
“I saw something in the trees!”
“There are no trees close by!”
“I didn’t say it was close!”
“A bear maybe? We saw one the other day.”
“It was shiny, so it can’t be an animal. We should send someone to ch—”
Thunder erupts as the Raider’s head explodes, his body falling from the tower.
“Get them inside!” the mayor shouts.
They push and kick us into the station. Otto stumbles, and when a Raider is about to hit him with the butt of his rifle, I pull him back to his feet. There’s enough space for all of us in the reception area, but they keep us clustered together with our hands raised.
“How many did you bring with you?” the mayor asks from the entrance as another gunshot whizzes over the shouts outside.
“Everyone I brought with me is right here,” Caden says, “but now would be the right time to put down your weapons and let us go.”
“Nah, I think I’m gonna end this right now.” He raises his gun, and Caden moves to shield me.
“Someone jumped over the wall!” a Raider shouts from outside.
A second later, a burst of gunfire erupts close by.
We all go down to avoid getting hit by a passing bullet.
Some of the Raiders run out of the station to join the fight, while two remain inside, still aiming their weapons at us.
The mayor stands by the doorway, glancing outside while holding his gun.
He doesn’t dare to step past the doorframe.
Maybe they shouldn’t have broken down the doors.
“Nobody tries anything,” Caden hisses. “Keep low and let it play out.”
“Timothy is out there,” I tell him.
“He’s smart enough to find cover.”
He’d better be.
More gunshots and screams can be heard from the street. I can’t tell how many are taking part in the attack, and I hope the civilians found cover in time. I push back memories of the times when Derek forced me to join raids against peaceful settlements.
The mayor sends his two remaining Raiders out of the station to fight. They seem reluctant, but he waves his gun at them until they dash out. Seconds later, they scream as another burst of gunshots thunders close by.
“Fuck!” The mayor turns to us as we remain on the ground, the gun shaking in his hand. He looks like he’s about to piss himself, but that only makes him more dangerous. “Listen up! We’re gonna negotiate with whoever you brought with you. I’ll let you walk out of here unharmed, but I expect—”
Pale hands appear around the mayor’s head. He has a split second to look confused before a sharp twist snaps his neck. He drops to the ground with a loud thud, his gun sliding away from him.
River wipes dust and blood from his blue raincoat and says, “Hello, Finn! Did you miss me?”