Fiction: Afterlife Volume 3 (Chapter 25)

If you’ve never read Afterlife before, click here to go to the first chapter.

Afterlife is a sci fi/western action serial published every other week. Join us in a post-apocalyptic journey through a future where life has become little more than a struggle for survival. However, where there’s life, there’s always hope.

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Read the previous chapter here:

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 24

Where:

Razor confronts Phillip Brevington again and kills him.
Eileen Traymont and her men are found in the desert by the resistance.
Abby and Shelly find one another.

Find the Volume 3 Table of Contents page here.

View the Map here.

Check out Afterlife on Goodreads and don’t forget to rate it.

 

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 25

“You look like you’ve been through hell,” Abby said.  Shelly didn’t say anything, but she noticed a change in Abby, also.  She looked older and more world weary, but more confident at the same time.  There were the obvious changes, such as the fact that Abby’s black hair was way shorter at just an inch or two long.  She was wearing well-worn jeans and a green coat, rather than the white one Shelly was used to seeing her in.  There was something in her eyes, too.  They were the same piercing eyes, but Shelly thought she sensed some wisdom there now.  She couldn’t quite put her finger on the change, but it was there, and it seemed significant.

She smiled.  “Yeah.  I’m so happy to see you Abby.  I mean, things have been really rough.”  Abby felt like family to her.  She was a connection to both Horseman and Bobby.

“Where’s Bobby?” Abby asked.

Shelly frowned.  “He’s dead, Abby.  Warrick Baines killed him.”  She could see the anguish in Abby’s face and she put her hand on her shoulder.  “He killed Nat, too.  And the IAO killed Sera.  What about everyone else?  Why are you alone?”

“I left with Della, Ace, and Annabelle,” Abby said.  She still seemed to be in shock.  “Annabelle’s dead, and I got separated from the others.  I’m sorry, Shelly.  I’m sorry about Bobby.”

Shelly nodded.  “Yeah.  Me too.”

Abby frowned.  “The men always die.  They burn bright and die, and we’re always left to sweep up the ashes afterwards.”

“He tried to take out Baines on his own,” Shelly said.  “After Baines killed Nat.  He wanted revenge.”

“Bobby?” Abby asked.  “Against Warrick Baines.”  She frowned.  “I can’t believe it.  I can’t believe he’s dead.”  She wiped a tear off her cheek.  “He wouldn’t let you go with him?”

Shelly shook her head.  “He didn’t want there to be a chance that I’d lose the…   Oh, Abby.  I’m pregnant.”

Abby hugged her again and started crying as the two of them embraced.  Shelly realized there were tears dripping down her own cheek also.  They stood like that for a long time.  Abby shook her head as they let go of one another.  “It seems like almost everyone I cared about is dead now,” Abby said.

“Yeah,” Shelly said.  “Me, too.  And Warrick Baines is at the heart of a lot of it.  That’s why I’m going to Drummond to kill him.”  The anger had subsided when she’d seen Abby.  But it was quickly coming back full force.

Abby wiped the tears off her cheeks.  “I’m heading to Drummond, too.  But I’m not going there to kill Warrick Baines.”

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Shelly said.  “I’ll take care of it.”

Abby nodded.  “For revenge.  I understand.  You have to be careful, though.”

“I will be,” Shelly said.  “I can take care of myself.”  She put her hands on the hilts of her swords.

“That’s not what I meant,” Abby said.  She looked at Shelly with concern.  “Revenge can take you over and destroy you.  I know because I let it happen to myself for a while.  Everything in my life was about Warrick Baines.  Killing Warrick Baines.  I didn’t realize how much it was destroying me, but it was.  Until I just let go of it.”

“Let go of it?” Shelly asked as she paced back and forth.  “He killed your family.  He killed Bobby and Nat.”

“It’s like a cancer,” Abby said, looking Shelly in the eye.  “A disease.  You can’t let it control you.  When you kill someone, someone’s gonna want revenge against you.  And it goes on and on from there.  Killing only leads to more killing.”

“So you think I should just let Baines go, then?” Shelly asked.  She sopped pacing and put her hands on her hips.  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned,” Abby said, “It’s that killing leads to an endless cycle of vengeance and death.”

“Who’s gonna care if I kill Baines?” Shelly asked.  “It’s not like he has family or anything.  Or even any friends for that matter.”

“It’s not just him,” Abby said.  “What about the other people you’ve killed.  They have mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers.  I can guarantee you, Shelly.  There’s someone out there who wants you dead.  And it’s not just that.  It’s what all the killing does to you.  To your soul.  It eats away at you until there’s nothing left.  And then, after you kill Baines, what then?  You’ll be a shell.  An empty husk.  And what if Baines kills you?  Is someone gonna seek revenge for you?  When will it all end?”

“For me,” Shelly said, “it ends with Baines’ death.”

Abby shook her head.  “Are you listening to me at all, Shelly?  I can’t let you throw your life away like this.”

“So what, are you gonna try to stop me?” Shelly asked.  “Don’t try to stop me, Abby.”  She could feel the anger seething.  She was breathing heavily.  Abby could probably tell how angry she was.

Abby smiled.  “What are you gonna do if I do try to stop you?  Are you gonna kill me, Shelly?  Believe me, I’ve faced far worse than you in my lifetime.  I’ll survive you just like I’ve survived the rest of them.”  She glared at Shelly with her piercing eyes.  There was no fear there.

Shelly smiled and shook her head.  “Oh, Abby.”  She sat on the side of the dune that rose next to them.  “I wish I were as strong as you.”  The anger had subsided.

Abby sat next to her.  “Strong?” Abby asked.  “I’ve been very weak at times.  I’ve been addicted to pain killers.  That’s about as weak as it gets.”

“You’re not weak,” Shelly said.  “You’ve been through a lot.”

“So have you,” Abby said.

Shelly nodded and looked into Abby’s eyes.  “Abby, just for a second, don’t think about revenge.  Think about it in in these terms.  Baines is out of control.  He’s killed hundreds, maybe thousands.  He’ll kill lots more.  It’s up to us to stop him.  We’ll be saving lives.”

“I promised myself I wouldn’t seek revenge, though,” Abby said.  “I’m never going to kill again.  Vengeance can destroy your life, Shelly.  It really can.  You have to listen to me.  I’ve been through this already.  I’ve been through exactly what you’re going through.  How many times do I need to say it?”

“It can destroy my life?” Shelly asked.  “What life?”  She put her hand over her belly and answered her own question.  “Abby, it wouldn’t be vengeance.  Didn’t you hear what I said?  It’s about saving lives.  Baines has to be stopped.”  Abby nodded and frowned.  “He has to be stopped and if we don’t do it, who will?

“I’m not saying he doesn’t need to be stopped,” Abby said.  “But that isn’t the reason you want to kill him.  Listen to me, Shelly.  What I’m telling you is for your own good.  Like I told you, I’ve been through this.”

“I know you have,” Shelly said.  “And what you said before, about stopping the killing, that applies here.  If we don’t stop Baines, he could kill hundreds, thousands more.  And that will be on our hands.  Especially if we can do something about it.”

She looked into Abby’s eyes again.  It was obvious that she was struggling, torn between a rock and a hard place.  “I don’t know,” Abby said.  “I guess you’re right.”

“So will you help me?” Shelly asked.

“What about the baby?” Abby asked.  “I mean you’re pregnant, Shelly.  You can’t just go trying to fight…”

“I’ve fought before since I’ve been pregnant,” Shelly said.  “I’ll be fine.  The baby will be fine.  Besides, if I don’t kill Baines, my baby and I will never be safe anyway.  You know that.  It’s the same with you, Abby.  If he could, he’d kill you in a heartbeat.”  She looked into Abby’s eyes.  “Will you help me?”

Abby rolled her eyes.  “I’ll help you Shelly, but remember what’s important.  I’ll do it for your child.  I’ll do it for the innocent people he puts at risk.  But I won’t do it for revenge.  You need to think the same way, Shelly.  You need to put revenge out of your mind.  Do it for your baby.  Your baby’s gonna need a mother who’s available, who loves him.  Not a shell of a woman who’s stuck in the past.  You’re baby’s gonna need someone who’s full of love.  Not someone who’s full of anger and hatred.”

Shelly nodded.  “All right.”

“I’ll help you, though,” Abby said.  “I guess I can’t escape it.”

“Sometimes it’s about the lesser of two evils,” Shelly said.  “And there’s not much more evil than letting Warrick Baines run wild and kill who knows how many people.”

“Okay, then,” Abby said.  She sighed and took a deep breath, then smiled at Shelly.  “I have some equipment Bernard Parks left me with.  He was one of the leaders of the Southwest Resistance.  I was with him and his friend Winston Cooper until we were attacked by the IAO.  They’re dead, I’m pretty sure.”

“That’s the overwhelming probability,” Einstein said from her wrist.

“I’m familiar with them,” Shelly said.

“I have a camouflage projector, a force field projector, and a radar jammer.  We can use those to our advantage.  Especially the camo projector.  I need to get some diamonds for the resistance.  That’s the main reason I’m going to Drummond.  The camo projector will help me evade Baines and anyone else.”

Shelly nodded.  “I remember.  Bobby got a bunch of the diamonds for you a while back.”

“I’ll use the camo projector to sneak into the bank,” Abby continued.  “You can distract Warrick and hold him off while I’m in there, and hopefully kill him.  You can use the force field projector.  I also have some concussion bombs.  And once we…”

Shelly shook her head.  “I only need my laser rifle and my swords.  Anything else will just weight me down.”

“Are you sure?” Abby asked.

Shelly nodded.  “Keep the rest of those things for yourself.  You may need them.”  She smiled.  “Sounds like a good plan, though.”

“And when I get out with the diamonds,” Abby said, “I’ll come help you if you need it.”

Shelly grinned.  “I won’t need it.”

“I have some important information,” Einstein said from Abby’s wrist, “just received from IAO sources.  They are saying that they’ve taken Rose City.  They’ve defeated what was left of the resistance army and they’ve executed the leaders.  Essentially, the Southwest Resistance is no more and the IAO now control everything in Numurka and most of the world.”

Shelly frowned and looked at Abby, who appeared to be thinking hard about what Einstein just said.  “They’re bluffing,” Abby said

“Can you be sure?” Shelly asked.  “The IAO are in control of New Atlantis.  They defeated Herman Rennock.  They’re pretty powerful, Abby.”

“I know,” Abby said.  She frowned.  “I have no idea where most of the diamonds are, either.  Alex and his group took most of the diamonds with them, and now, who knows?  Alex is dead and it’s likely everyone with him was also killed.”

Shelly frowned.  “Juanita?”  They’d grown fairly close.  Shelly hoped she was all right.

“I don’t know,” Abby said.  “Anyway, who knows where the diamonds are now?  And Ace, Della, and I had money from our bank robberies, but they’re missing, too, possibly dead.”  She frowned.  “There are still some diamonds out there in two more locations.  One being Drummond.  Einstein will tell me where the others are once I get those.”

“We’re going to Drummond now,” Shelly said.

“But assuming the IAO really did take Rose City,” Abby said, “we may be all that’s left of the resistance.”  She shook her head.  “That doesn’t seem right, though.  The IAO are criminals and liars.  They’re probably trying to scare people away from joining the resistance.”

“Even so,” Shelly said.  “Things are pretty rough right now any way you look at it.”

“Well,” Abby said, “let’s head to Drummond.  We can stop Baines, get the diamonds there, and figure out where to go next.”

“Let’s go, then,” Shelly said.  She stood and turned towards her sand bike.

“Wait,” Abby said.  Shelly turned to face her once again.  “You look like you need some rest.  I definitely do.  I have a camp set up.  You can have some of my food and water, too.  We’ll be better off facing Baines with full stomachs and some rest.”

“I can’t wait that long,” Shelly said.

“Just come with me to my camp,” Abby said as she stood.  “Get some rest.  We’ll leave early in the morning when it’s still dark.”

Shelly shrugged and got on her sand bike.  Abby sat behind her and Shelly drove up towards the top of the dune, where Abby’s sand bike was parked.

<>

Even though it was dark out, the noise of construction still filled the large square where the New Atlantis Black Market had been set up.  Averil Jones was positioning several items on a metal table in front of her, including a personal camouflage projector that looked like a small box with a red button, a network facilitator with two small antennae, an antimatter drill that could create holes through any substance in a matter of milliseconds, and an environmental control field generator that was attached to a belt.  There were several other items on the table, one of the newest being a system that detected unnatural disturbances in magnetic fields and was small enough for someone to wear on their wrist like a watch.  Basically, the system could sense any system that was used to hide objects or jam radar.  There was also a brand new cloaking system Averil had invented which detected nearly any type of energy, dissipated it, and reproduced a copy, fooling any known detection systems into thinking there was only empty space in the range of effect.  Worn as a belt, it was the most advanced cloaking system available.  The IOA army would be using such systems in their attack on Rose City, but Averil was hoping to sell some of these items to the public to make some good money.  Since joining the IAO, she’d gotten rich quickly, but there was a cost.  While the IAO had been able to take down Rennock like Averil had hoped, they were proving to be a little too chaotic and immoral for her tastes.  After all, she had values.

She watched as four men in black suits approached her.  One of them smiled and reached out his hand, which she shook.  He was tall and thin, with emotionless eyes like a shark’s.  “Alvin Carter,” he said.  “So you know the rules, right?  We need one thousand dollars up front for protection provided by Little Nicky, and then The Duke and Long John each get five percent of any profits you make.  Think of it as sales tax.  Every sale needs to be entered into our satellite system.  We’ll be keeping an eye on you, and we have other ways of keeping track of what’s sold here.  Don’t try to hide anything.  Follow the rules, and you can make a lot of money.”

Averil nodded.  “I understand.”  She understood it was a protection racket and an extortion scheme.  He handed her a chip and she placed it in her wristwatch computer, making the withdrawal.  When it was done, she handed the chip back to him.

“Very well, then,” he said with a phony smile.  “Good day to you.”  With that, he and his stooges walked away.

The square was full of tables much like Averil’s.  Beyond them, the buildings of New Atlantis rose, spotted with construction cranes.  The glow of the city lights hid most of the stars in the night sky from view.  It was too hot in New Atlantis during the day for such an open air market, but the creatures came out at night in full force.  Many of the dealers at the tables were selling weapons beneath the dim lights.  Some were selling drugs.  Others were selling electronics and various other shady goods that had obviously been stolen.  There were probably some scavengers mixed in, too, but the majority of the dealers were thieves and murderers.  Many were selling services that would have been illegal in any other age.  To Averil, the yellow glow illuminating most of the tables reminded her of gold.  The people at the tables all looked like unsavory types.  Some were bandits in leather and metal armor while some wore cheap suits.  They were almost all criminals, though.  Some people would have considered Averil a criminal, also.  Depended on the laws.  One person’s criminal was another person’s entrepreneur.  That’s what Averil kept telling herself as she looked around at the den of thieves and killers.

Averil noticed two large men standing over a blonde who was bending over a table.  One of them lifted up her skirt and started thrusting into her from behind.  Averil turned away, sick to her stomach as a line formed behind the man.  Soon, the woman was shouting as things got out of hand.  Apparently men who hadn’t paid were trying to take turns.  Several of the black-suited goons approached.  “She ain’t paid the protection price,” one of them said and they got in line, waiting for their own turns.

Averil noticed a man and a woman having sex near another table and she sat in the chair behind her own table, trying her best to ignore what was happening around her, nervous that someone would be inspired by the sexual openness displayed and approach her.  She swallowed as a bearded man wearing jeans and a black leather vest came to her table with a smile.  “What ya got?” he asked.

“Electronics,” she said.  “And I can also code for you if you need it.  I can get you into any system for the right price.”

He nodded.  “I ain’t thinkin’ about what you can get into.  I’m thinkin’ about how much it’ll cost for me to get into you.”  He winked.

She drew a small laser pistol from her hip and pointed it at him.  “Walk away now or I’ll blast a hole through your empty head.”

He raised his hands and backed away.  “Hey, now.  No reason to get upset.”  He turned and walked away and Averil sat down and frowned.  A laser pistol could keep one man away, but if more came, and if any of them were armed, she’d have to figure something else out.  At least she had plenty of useful gadgets with her.

She waited for an hour, but no one seemed interested in any of her products.  Maybe she needed better signs stating what her items did.  Not everyone was familiar with such high end electronics.  She tried to ignore the nearby sex noises as she waited for any interested customers.  She noticed a man in a black suit standing nearby.  He smiled at her and nodded.  Averil wondered if he actually would have stopped the pervert from trying anything if she hadn’t stopped him herself.  Eventually a man showed up and bought a camouflage projector for twenty thousand dollars.  She entered it into the system on her wrist computer.  After the IAO cuts were taken out, she’d be left with eighteen thousand.  Still not a bad haul.  Another man came to her table and scheduled an appointment for her to hack into a medical records database for him.  That would be very lucrative, and he paid her two thousand upfront.  She entered it into the system.

After sitting for several hours, Averil learned to block out the unsavory sounds of the New Atlantis Black Market.  Public sex and orgies had become a part of life since the IAO had taken over, along with the drugs and drunkenness, the public executions, and the knowledge that you were on your own when it came to defending yourself against criminals.  Averil had reluctantly learned to navigate the new landscape, but she felt sorry for the poor schmucks who hadn’t.  Just before Averil was ready to leave, a woman approached her and ended up buying an MFDS, or magnetic field detection system, for one hundred thousand dollars.  Finally the sale Averil was waiting for.  After she took the woman’s payment, she entered the sale into the system and punched out.  As she closed up shop, loading her hand cart and preparing for the walk back to her condo, Alvin Carter approached her once more with his suited goons and his fake smile.  “That’ll be twelve thousand two hundred.”  She nodded and held out her wrist with her computer’s slot facing him.  He inserted his chip and waited.  When the withdrawal was finished, the chip slid back out from her slot and he took it back.  “A pleasure doing business with you,” he said.

“Sure,” she said with a forced smile as he and his goons walked away.

As Averil cleaned up her shop, she realized that the antimatter drill was missing.  That was worth fifty thousand.  She started panicking as she checked again.  It was definitely gone.  She thought hard about who could have taken it, when she remembered one of the goons had been standing near her table while Alvin performed the transaction.  She noticed a man in a black suit standing nearby.  “Hey!” she shouted.

He turned to face her.  “Yeah?”

“I want to report a theft,” she said.

He smiled.  “Oh, ya do?  Well take it up with Long John.  Send ‘im a message.”

Averil nodded, knowing Alvin and his goons worked for Long John.  She was out fifty thousand and there was no way to get it back.  She shook her head and frowned as she finished packing up and made her way through the crowd as quickly as she could, keeping a close eye on the cart while she kept one hand on her pistol, ready to repel any more unwanted attention.

<>

Ayman sat in a chair between Ava and Belle the Beauty.  They were at a restaurant in the center of town celebrating Ava’s release from the hospital and also having one more night out on the town before the big battle the next day.  Scouts had found IAO encampments surrounding Rose City and resistance leadership was planning an attack early in the morning under the cover of darkness.  “So you managed to get out of this one,” Billy, who was sitting across from Ayman, said to Ava with a grin.

Ava shook her head.  “I’d love to join you all tomorrow.  I’m afraid you’ll get yourselves killed without me.”

Ayman smiled.  “I’ll be there to take care of them.”

The rest of the members of the Wild Joe Rodeo Show were with them at the table.  Mary was sitting next to Billy constantly snuggling up against him and holding his hand.  Big Bob and Jimmy were sitting just past Belle, and Joe was across from them with the Chief on one side and Billy on the other.  The restaurant’s specialty was steaks, and there were hunks of meat the size of bricks sitting on the huge plates in front of everyone, along with generous helpings of western fries, glasses of water, and huge mugs of beer for those who drank.  The waitresses walking around were all decked out in sexy, tight jean skirts, halter tops, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats.  Wild Joe smiled at Ava.  “While you’re the best shot I’ve ever seen, I think we’ll do all right without ya.  I’ve seen my share of battles through the years.  You just rest up.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a gun,” the Chief said, smiling at Ava, “but I’ve seen some fighting, too, back in my day.  I’ll be ready.  We all will.”  Ayman was starting to pick up on an ever-so-slight accent that was Indian rather than Native American.  This probably explained the Chief’s shyness around people who weren’t familiar with his true origins.

“You just take care of yourself and get better,” Joe said to Ava.  “There’ll be other battles to fight.  You can be sure of that.”

“We hope,” Ava said.

“One way or the other,” Mary said as she cut her steak, “there will definitely be other battles.”

“Let’s hope we’re around to fight them,” Ayman said.  He cut a piece off his steak and chewed it.  He liked his steak well done, but there were others at the table whose plates were drenched with blood.  Joe’s steak was practically raw.

“Hey, Ayman,” Billy said.  “I hope you don’t take the things I said to ya the other day personally.  It was the heat of battle, you know?  I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”

Ayman remembered the comments he’d made about handing him over to the Holy Warriors.  “Don’t worry,” Ayman said with a smile.  “People have said far worse things to me through the years.”

“Well I didn’t mean nothin’ by it,” he repeated.

Ayman nodded and smiled at him.  “It’s fine.”  It really wasn’t.  Ayman knew people’s true colors came out when they were in distress.  Billy had showed his prejudices and Ayman wouldn’t forget it.

“This steak’s almost as good as the steaks I cook,” Belle said.  She swigged her beer.  Ayman had noticed earlier that her beard was completely gone and she was sporting shorter hair now, a bob that went down to her chin.  She was actually very pretty, though the knowledge that she had once been a man altered Ayman’s perception of her a bit.  He knew his religion frowned on such things.  Still, it was refreshing to see her beard gone, at least.  She must have wanted to fit in with the other soldiers better.  Ayman wondered if there would still be a place for her in Wild Joe’s show after all of the fighting was over now that her beard was gone.

“What do you all plan on doing when the fighting’s done?” he asked, looking around the table and settling on Joe.  “Will you go back to being a traveling show?”

Joe shrugged.  “Let’s take things one step at a time.  I’ll find somethin’ for us all to do, assumin’ y’all wanna stay with me.  I may continue the travellin’ show, or maybe we could settle down and start somethin’ more permanent.  Maybe here in Rose City.  Who knows?”  He cut a bloody hunk of steak and shoved it into his mouth with his fork.

“I for one prefer travelin’,” Mary said.  “I guess I got wanderlust or somethin’.”

“You gettin’ tired of travelin’, Joe?” Billy asked.  “Gettin’ tired in your old age?”

Joe frowned at him.  “We’ll see how tired I am when I whup you all around town and hang your hide out to dry overnight.”

Mary laughed.  “Calm down, Joe.  Billy was only playin’.”

“And so was I, of course,” Joe said with a wink.  “But he knows I could do it if I wanted to.”

Billy smiled.  “We all know better than to get on your bad side, Joe.”

“Then stop callin’ me a tired old man, whippersnapper,” Joe said.  “The only old man here’s the Chief.”

“I’m proud to be old,” the Chief said with a grin.  “I’ve forgotten more than any of you will ever learn.”

Ava laughed.  “As long as you remember something.”

The Chief smiled at her.  “You just take care of yourself while we’re gone, great granddaughter.”  Even though they weren’t really related, Ayman had heard him use that term of endearment with her before.  He knew Ava saw him as sort of a mentor and father figure.  “Don’t go getting yourself into any trouble.”

“I’m not the one going off to fight in a battle,” Ava said.

“We’ll be all right,” Big Bob said with a smile.  His booming voice caught the attention of some patrons at nearby tables.

“You’ve got me to look out for you,” Jimmy Thumb said to Big Bob with a grin.

Big Bob nodded.  “Heaven help the poor soldier unfortunate enough to come up against you, little buddy.”

Ayman chuckled.  “You two seem to know one another well.”

Jimmy nodded.  “We worked together in a circus before Joe found us.  They didn’t treat us well there.”

“They treated us like freaks,” Big Bob said.

“We are freaks,” Jimmy said.

Big Bob frowned.  “Doesn’t mean we need to be treated like freaks.”

Jimmy looked at Joe.  “Joe always treated all of us like people.”

“Joe doesn’t treat anyone like people,” Billy joked.  “He thinks we’re all his playthings here for his amusement.”

“Then you better start amusin’ me,” Joe said, glaring at him.  “Or you’ll have to find another commandin’ officer.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Billy said with a grin.  “Maybe I’d actually have a chance at survival.”  The talking and joking went on as everyone enjoyed the rest of their dinners.  Country rock from the old world played from the restaurant’s sound system as Ayman lost himself in the merriment.  He periodically looked over at Ava, who he was finding more beautiful the more he got to know her.  Her exotic brown eyes had a way of drawing him in, beyond the makeup and into her true self.  He could see the pain and sorrow, but he could also see the happiness she had with her new family.  As Ayman looked around at the faces at the table, he began to wonder if they could one day become his family, also.

<>

Shelly held her rifle as she walked towards the town of Drummond, doing her best to hide herself in the dunes.  It was still dark out, but Warrick had artificial eyes, so he could most likely see in the dark far better than your average person.  Abby was sneaking into town using her camouflage projector so she could get into the bank undetected.  It was up to Shelly to find Warrick and distract him, and hopefully kill him.

The town was a mess from what Shelly could see.  Some houses were burning; others were blackened husks.  The fires provided faint orange light.  Enough to see the bloodshed.  Bodies scattered the streets and others were hanging from lampposts, some burnt, others bloody and missing appendages and heads.  Shelly was used to carnage.  This was just adding fuel to her fire, her hatred of Warrick Baines.  When she felt she was close enough to town, she got down low on one of the dunes and aimed her rifle into the town, looking for anything moving.

There was a chance Warrick was in one of the buildings, though not many were still standing.  Shelly decided that first, she’d wait to see if he showed himself.  There was a glint of light behind one crumbled wall and Shelly saw a shiny metal head.  She aimed and fired and the head disappeared.  “Damnit!”  He knew she was there, now.  How could she have missed?  She had him right in her sights.

She ran between dunes towards the town, heading for the wall where she’d seen Warrick.  She had the feeling she was playing into his hands, but she didn’t care.  It was time to end this once and for all.  She ran up the side of a rocky hill that led to the sandy plateau Drummond had been built on and ducked behind a building, looking all around her.  She was breathing heavily.  She was nervous.  Shelly had fought soldiers and gladiators.  She’d killed dozens of people and no one had truly been a match for her, but this was different.  Warrick was a legend, just like Nat had been.  There was something more to him than just his being a great fighter.  Still, he was a man, and every man could be killed.  She peeked around the side of the building and before she knew it, a laser blasted her rifle and she dropped it to the ground where it sparked and caught fire.  Another laser grazed her face on the right side.  She pulled back quickly and hid behind the building once again.  Just what she needed, another scar.

Shelly snuck around to the other side of the building and found the crumbled wall, where she ducked and drew her two swords.  She heard a noise on the other side of the five-foot wall, so she quickly leapt over it, flipping and landing on the other side where she saw the cyborg standing with a laser rifle.  She sliced with both of her swords and Warrick stumbled backwards several steps.  The razor sharp Atlantium gladiator swords Shelly was using had sliced Warrick’s double barreled laser rifle in two, so he dropped what was left of it to the ground and leapt backwards.  He was standing about twenty feet away from her now, facing her as she stood in the sandy street.  A breeze blew a burning flag across the ground between them.  From what Shelly could tell, it had once been an American flag, the red, white, and blue stars and stripes.

Warrick was mostly metal now.  There was very little skin or bone showing, and electricity was sparking all over him.  He had several laser holes in him, including a few in his head.  Shelly wondered if one had been her shot.  Maybe she hadn’t missed after all.  His black pants were tattered rags, and he had one red eye, a camera shining at her.  Shelly faced him, glaring at him with her own one remaining eye.  “You’ve killed far too many people, Warrick.  It’s gonna end now.”  He didn’t speak.  He stood quietly, a permanent grin on his skeletal metal face.  “Fine,” she said.  “Don’t talk.  You’re still gonna have to answer for your sins.  Bobby.  Nat.  Abby’s family.  All of them.  All of the people in Dead Man’s Bluff.”  He was still silent, grinning and glaring at her with his red eye.  “You should have killed me while you had the chance,” she said.  “Instead of just leaving me with some scars. I’m putting an end to you tonight. That’s all that matters now.”  Two blades slid out from Warrick’s wrists as the two of them stood facing once another.

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lpw3yMCWro]

 

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Continue on to the next chapter:

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 26
Where:
Shelly fights for her life against Warrick Baines.
The IAO attack Rose City.
General Rodriguez and Foxtrot are forced to improvise.

Find the Volume 3 Table of Contents page here.

View the Map here.

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