Chapter 14 #3
We fill him in about Otto’s death and our rushed escape from High Hope.
“Lyla stayed back to kill the king and appoint Remy instead of him,” River says. “She’s a diplomat.”
“Well, damn.”
We turn at the sound of Buck, and I instinctively take a step back. The man is massive, standing over six ten, all bulging muscles. His dark beard is as thick as his eyebrows, and his arms and neck are covered in scales.
“He really did bring you to life,” Buck says to River. “Last time I saw you… never mind. Glad you made it.”
“Thank you for saving my Josh. I’m glad I didn’t kill you.”
Buck twitches his lips. “Will there be more of you coming?”
“Not at the moment,” Timothy says.
Buck looks down at him. “Frankie would have a blast talking to you.”
“If Frankie is polite, I would be happy to talk to him as well.”
“I wouldn’t quite call him polite, but he makes up for it in other ways. Josh, best take them to the mayor’s house.”
“Can you join us later to tell them what you told me?”
“I’ll do that.”
We begin to walk when Buck puts his hand on my shoulder. “I never forget a face. You were with Derek and his brother’s gang, right? A few years back.”
My stomach tightens. “I was with them for a while. When I could, I escaped.”
“And Derek?”
“Dead. I don’t know what happened to Clint.”
“Clint was the worst of them.”
I taste bile, memories resurfacing. “He was, but Derek was bad enough.”
Buck asks Josh, “You trust him?”
“With my life.”
He moves his hand from my shoulder. “Okay, then.”
We walk deeper into town until we reach the mayor’s house. It’s an impressive two-story structure that seems to have been painted white recently. The front porch is bigger than my whole apartment back in Unity.
“When did you get here?” I ask Josh as we enter the house.
“Two days ago. I think we were about a day from reaching Denver when Buck showed up.”
“Did he know you were taken by the Raiders?” River asks.
“No, he was just hunting around the area to keep Raiders from finding this town. When he tracked down the group that kidnapped us, Caden recognized him and shouted that he should follow my buggy. Then the two buggies separated, and we couldn’t find the one that had Caden.”
We follow him into the spacious living room. He crouches to start the fireplace while the rest of us sit on a long couch.
“Are you okay, Josh?” Timothy asks.
He remains with his back to us, moving logs and waiting for the flames to engulf the wood.
“It was rough,” he says. “When Buck caught up with my buggy, the Raiders surrendered. He interrogated them, but all they knew was that Hector had sent them to fetch someone from High Hope to Denver, and they were supposed to get help from the king’s personal guard.
When Buck finished interrogating, he let me choose how to handle the three Raiders.
I shot each one in their arms and legs to give them a slow death, then we left them by the side of the road.
” He grows quiet as the flames dance in the fireplace.
“They deserved it,” River says.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not how I was raised to handle things. I’m not looking to turn into one of them.”
“Never,” I say firmly. “You’ll never turn into one of them. We all know that. Do you think that Caden is in Denver by now?”
Josh stands up and wipes his palms on his pants. “They should have gotten there yesterday.” He takes a chair and sits close to River, reaching for his hand. “I couldn’t remember Unity’s frequency, so I haven’t contacted Dino yet.”
“We spoke with him,” I say, appreciating the warmth coming from the fireplace. “He doesn’t want us to do anything rushed, and I agree with him. We can’t take down Denver without a well-thought-out plan, and being reckless will put Caden in more danger.”
Josh nods. “Our key is Hector—finding out who he is and what he has planned. Buck knows something that can maybe help us.”
Before I can ask for more information, the front door opens and Buck walks in, holding a tray with food. He puts it on the table and asks, “Anybody want beer? We make it here.”
“I’ll take the light one,” Josh says. “River will prefer the strong one. Finn?”
I know I’ll hate the taste, but I still say, “The light one, please.”
Buck goes to bring the beers, and I reach for a piece of meat from the tray.
“Can we speak freely with him?” Timothy asks quietly.
Josh nods. “He was going to leave Colorado after we escaped Vegas, but he heard about this town and decided to give it a try. They asked him to be their leader once he took out the Raiders who were making their lives difficult.”
“We should speak with Unity tomorrow morning,” I say. “Dino needs to know that you’re okay, Josh.”
He nods. “First thing tomorrow.”
Buck returns with glasses of beer and puts them on the table. They even have ice cubes in them. I take a sip of mine, liking the fruity taste, though I mostly enjoy the coldness of the drink in the warm room.
Buck sits on an armchair that seems to be made for his size. “None of you have ever met Hector, right?”
“We haven’t,” I say, “but we sort of spoke with him through an iguana after we escaped High Hope.”
“You… spoke with an iguana?” Josh asks with a frown.
“Yes, and I had to kill it,” River says. “It was spying on us.”
“Have you ever met Hector?” I ask Buck.
“A few times, but he wasn’t the governor back then.
He had a small gang that was gaining a reputation, and that got him noticed by the ruling houses of the city.
They ended up surprising everyone by appointing him as governor.
Nobody held that position for years. You’d expect at least some bloodshed with how things are usually handled there, but he managed to reach the top peacefully. ”
“I don’t buy it,” I say. “It means he used something scarier than violence.”
“Could be.” Buck downs his drink in a single gulp. “Once he became governor, people got angry at the idea of a single ruler who came out of nowhere. He needed to make them happy.”
“How did he do that?” I ask.
“The arena. Each of the previous ruling houses began training fighters, and it turned into what everybody was talking about. The more violent the game, the better.”
“Did you know Hector was a mutant?” Timothy asks.
“I sensed he was, but I couldn’t tell for sure. As far as I know, it’s close to common knowledge these days in Denver, but he hasn’t officially acknowledged that.”
“And what about humanoid lizards?” I ask.
Buck nods. “Word of them travels fast, but you’re unlikely to meet one and live to tell about it. I’ve heard of many types of mutations out there, but nothing like that. Josh told me you guys think Hector is controlling them, but I don’t know if that’s true.”
“He could be controlling them the way Father controlled his New-Humans,” River says. “By giving them purpose and an enemy.”
Buck nods. “Could be, but I’m not sure how intelligent those creatures are.”
“Do you know what Hector might want from our Caden?” Timothy asks.
“No clue, but there might be a way to find out more. It’s a long shot.”
“What is it?” I ask, already a bit lightheaded from the beer.
“A guy from my old gang said he knew Hector from years before. He claimed that Hector mentioned growing up south of here, in a city called Pueblo. His father used to work in one of the factories there.”
“Going to where he was born feels like a waste of time,” I say.
“The man who told me that was over sixty years old, and he claimed to have met Hector thirty years before that, when they used to be in the same gang. Problem is, the last time I saw Hector was a couple of years ago, and the man didn’t look a day over thirty-five.”
I let that sink in. The math doesn’t add up, unless Buck was lied to, though I can’t think of a reason why. After speaking with Hector through an iguana, I’m not willing to dismiss any crazy piece of information about him.
“We need to go to Pueblo and check,” River says. “Do you have horses for us or a buggy?”
“I’ll get you there myself. I also want to check it out, but fuck if I know where to look.”
“Can we leave tomorrow?” Timothy asks and turns to Josh. “Unless you need more time to regain your strength.”
“I’m fine. Tomorrow’s good.”
“Then you should all catch some rest,” Buck says. “There’s warm water for a shower. Take clean clothes from the closets.”
Since I’m dying for a shower, I say goodnight and walk upstairs to settle in one of the rooms. Under the hot steam, I lose track of time, my stiff muscles slowly untangling.
I hope we’re not about to embark on a wild goose chase and waste precious time, but it’s not like I have an alternative plan to follow.
I finish my shower and get dressed with the clothes I grabbed from the closet. In the bedroom, Timothy is waiting on the bed. “Do you prefer to sleep alone?” he asks.
“No.” I turn off the light, but there’s enough to see from the moonlight shining through the window. I climb into bed and say, “I’ll have nightmares tonight.”
“Then I will calm you down as best as I can. I’m sorry about Caden. I know you hoped we’d find him here.”
“I’m just glad that Josh is okay, but I don’t know if he really is.”
Timothy raises the blanket to tuck me in. “He’s been through a lot, but the man who never gave up on isn’t going to give up on Caden.”
And neither will I. I’m sure that as much as Caden likes to play it tough, he must be terrified, surrounded by the same monsters he fought for years to destroy.
He better know I’m coming for him.
I’m not ready for our story to end.