Rage

FIFTEEN

The woman’s voice-clipped, to the point, an order-didn’t offer any discussion.

“You have to leave this buggy here. Too much debris still in the streets. We’re still looking for anyone missing.”

“What happened?”

She hesitated. “You best ask my father about that. After all-he’s the one who brought you here.”

The disdain in her voice felt like a physical kick. This was Dan’s daughter?

“Okay. Where is he?”

“We’ve set up an infirmary right over-Hey, Tomas! Keep your goddamn eyes peeled out there,” she yelled at one of the guards who had been watching them. “Christ. They’re tired and so am I. But we can’t afford any more screwups.”

“You were attacked?”

“How observant. You Ark guys are really, really smart.”

“Okay.” He wanted more information, but clearly she wasn’t in the mood. “Dan. Where is he?”

“There’s a garage area behind Halek’s shop. Got the living and the dead in there.”

“Thanks.”

Which brought no reply.

He headed off in that direction.

Walking down the street as dusk took over, he saw signs of the battle.

Expended shells, bits of metal where something explosive ripped off a chunk from a nearby building. Even guns broken into pieces.

Some of Hagar’s people fought a fire still streaming out of a metal shed, handing buckets of water through a line. A rubber smell in the air-tires, probably. The smoke was noxious, and the people were using the water carefully.

A rare commodity here.

He walked past Halek’s shop to an alleyway leading in back, to see Dan, nodding as an elderly woman gestured at him, anxious. He spotted Raine. His face grim.

Raine walked up to him.

“They will die without it, Dan,” she was saying. “We just don’t have enough medicine.” The woman’s voice was surprisingly strong.

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

Raine stood by.

A voice came from behind. “Dan, the guards down by the gas tanks want some backup. Can’t afford to lose-”

Raine watched Dan take a breath. As if inhaling that much air could somehow fortify him for all the hard shit still to come.

“No. Tell them they’ll have to make do. Can’t pull anyone off any other-”

He looked at Raine.

“-what do you call them? In the military. Details?”

“Yeah. Sometimes.”

“Tell them to stay alert. Get them ammoed up. I’ll get them another body or two when I can.”

The messenger turned and ran out of the area.

Halek, who had been talking to a few settlers hunched over people lying on the ground, noticed Raine.

No smiles there, either.

Raine even hesitated asking the question.

“Dan, what… happened?”

“An attack. Like we’ve been expecting. But, God, not this soon. It’s why we had the patrols out. Like you. Had a few out today. The bandits must have seen them leave, been watching.” He shook his head. “Came damn close to taking the whole settlement.”

Raine looked at the people attending the wounded. Then, just to the right of them, other bodies, covered. No one attending them.

“They stormed both gates. Vehicles crashed through. Barely had time to react.” He looked at Raine, perhaps sensing that he hoped he’d understand. What it was like. What it felt like.

“Killed people. Just ordinary people trying to survive here. People trying to get by, out of the city, away from the Authority.”

“How many you lose?”

“Five dead. That we’ve found so far. Good people. And the same number wounded.”

“What can I do? Is there-”

Halek walked up.

“Did you say ‘do’? What can you do? Look around this place, stranger. You’ve done enough.”

Raine turned to Halek. He didn’t like the brother’s words. But he forced himself to listen.

“What do you mean?”

“Halek, forget it. What’s done is-”

“They came here for you. They must have found the dead ones by your Ark. They came here for the Ark survivor.” Halek spat at the ground. “This is because of you.”

“Halek, ease the hell up. We don’t know that. Get back to work. You’ve got things to do. Salvage any weapons, any ammo. And I’ve got to go to the Outriggers.”

“You’re leaving?” Halek said. “With all this going on?”

One of those people nursing the wounded came up. “We’re good for medicine for maybe another twenty-four hours, Dan, tops. That’s it. Then we’re going to start losing them.”

“And whose gonna check the gates?” Halek continued, seemingly not even hearing about the medicine. “They listen to you, Dan.”

Raine had seen situations like this before: it was a lot of weight on Dan’s shoulders.

How much weight before he snapped?

“I know,” he sighed. “But we need the medical supplies. I have to go.”

Raine noticed that Halek had his eyes on him. They might have to have a private talk soon.

I may be a guest, but I’m not going to be treated like garbage by that bag of wind.

He turned to Dan, and it was clear to Raine that the leader of this settlement’s stress levels were off the chart.

“What happened to your leg?” Dan said, noticing the bloodied shirt bandaging his leg.

“Just a scratch. Found some bandits. Took them out.”

“Did you try to call us?”

“Yeah. No signal out there.”

Dan nodded. Apparently not an uncommon problem.

“They had a girl captured. I freed her-”

“And killed her, too?” Halek said.

“No. She got away, I mean.”

Another step closer to Raine’s face. “You let a goddamn bandit get away?”

“It was a girl. ”

“Doesn’t matter-they’re all the same, all scum, as bad as the Authority. Maybe worse.”

Dan held up a hand. “I have to go first thing tomorrow, get these medical supplies. Maybe you can-”

“No.”

Raine’s voice cut through the room. As if bouncing off the metal walls. Did any of the people nursing look up? He couldn’t tell-he just looked at the man who saved his life.

“I’ll go. I made this happen.”

“No, you didn’t. You don’t have to-”

“That’s how I feel. But forget that-it doesn’t matter what I feel. You’re needed here. These people need you. If it’s a goddamn supply run, I can do that.”

“To the Outriggers? Not always so simple with them.”

“Is anything simple here?”

For the first time Raine could remember, Halek was quiet.

“I can do it, Dan.”

“Let him go,” Halek finally said. “We need you here, brother.”

Dan hesitated-Raine knew how Halek felt about him, the newcomer. But the truth in his words had penetrated his stressed brain.

“Okay. All right, you can leave at first light. Could still be dangerous out there-no, it will be dangerous out there.” He shook his head, realizing it didn’t matter. Taking another deep breath, he stood a little straighter. “Halek will get together a list of what we need from them. We’ll have to offer something to barter. God… not sure what that will be. We’ll think of something. You should be back here before noon.”

“Sounds good.”

“Now get some sleep. You’re no good out there exhausted.”

“If they come back-”

For the first time that day Dan grinned. “Don’t worry. If they come back, you can be sure I’ll wake you up. But do me a favor-get that leg checked out, will you?” He walked away, his brother behind him.

Raine got his wound cleaned out and a fresh bandage put on, then went to his small space at the back of Halek’s. In minutes he fell dead asleep.