Rage

NINETEEN

Raine rode back to Hagar, rifle in hand, waiting for either bandits to swoop down from nearby hills or Outriggers to come roaring from behind. Could they have found the two dead guards?

Chances were such things like killing guards and escaping didn’t go down too well here.

He looked at the radio. Not that he was tempted to use it.

No, he figured a surprise return was in order.

Were there other options?

He could just head out, on his own. Find some other settlements, town, a city. But where? What direction? There was only one place he knew, and that was the Hagar Settlement.

And he wanted to look Dan in the eye when he confronted him.

A plan? Get some supplies. Get them to give him some idea of where to go, what to do. Because he knew that the Hagar Settlement couldn’t be safe. Not when the Outriggers discovered he was gone. Not when the Authority discovered they’d lost their prize.

And why the hell do they want me so much? Raine wondered. Just because he was a survivor?

None of it made too much sense.

Like the rest of this world.

I’ve gone down the rabbit hole, he thought.

Was there any way out?

The settlement took shape in the shimmering waves of the sun blazing down, half blurry illusion, half real. He kept driving toward it, wondering if the guards had been told not to expect his return.

But they lowered their weapons as he came close, and backed away, permitting him to enter.

Raine slowed his buggy, gave them a nod.

Just back from a little drive, gents.

Already he saw that much of the debris and destruction from the other day had been cleared. Life returning to normal.

He turned left, around to the makeshift infirmary, past Halek’s weapons workshop.

And every few feet-much as he didn’t want it too-he felt his anger growing.

He walked in. The wounded in the back, the dead bodies removed.

One of those attending the wounded looked up.

“Yeah, can we-”

“Where’s Dan?”

“He’s-I dunno-with his brother, I guess.”

The person went back to looking at an IV drip. No meters hooked up to the wounded. This was medicine circa 1912. They probably had it better in the trenches. But this was the stuff his life had been traded for. If anything, that made him angrier.

He turned, walking past his buggy and heading toward where he hoped he’d find Dan.

He pushed open the door, a rattling piece of metal hanging lopsided off its hinges. The push was hard enough so that Dan, standing at a table, looked up, startled.

Nearly went for his gun, Raine thought.

Raine held his at a nice forty-five-degree angle, fingers wrapped around the trigger.

“Raine? You’re here?” Dan stood up, noticing the gun. “Alive?”

“Funny, isn’t it? Yeah. Guess your deal didn’t take. Though I see that you got your medical supplies.”

“They told Halek that… you had been wounded. Killed.”

Raine took some steps forward. Clanking sounds from the back. He was experienced enough to be aware that Halek was back there with all his gun stocks and barrels.

“They said-wrong.”

Now Raine released his gun and took a swing at Dan, fast and hard. A good old-fashioned crash to his lower jaw. And Dan Hagar went flying down to the ground. Raine leveled his gun…

And then put it down on the table.

This was how he saw it: he still-in some way-needed these bastards. So a bit of payback-and punching someone in the face always felt good-and then he’d get their help. If not, then someone would really get hurt.

Dan rubbed his chin.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“C’mon, Dan. Get the hell up.” Raine held his hands open. “See, gun down, no weapons. Stand-the fuck-up.”

Dan did.

And Raine threw a left this time. But Dan-now aware-moved fast. He deflected that blow with his right forearm, while he threw a punch at Raine’s head, a punch that fell short by a mere inch.

“What are you doing?” Dan yelled. “I saved your goddamn-”

Raine reached out and grabbed Dan by his jacket, pulling him close as he brought his head forward and smashed his forehead right into Dan’s face.

Dan staggered back, blood now coming from his nose.

“You’re crazy,” he said.

“You dealt me to Outriggers! For medical supplies, remember? Is that what you were planning to do the whole time? Hold onto me until the opportunity was too good to pass up?”

Then he saw Dan freeze.

He turned, rubbing his bloody nose, and looked to the back-toward Halek. Dan didn’t face him now, expecting the next punch.

When he turned back, he held his hand up. “Wait a second. We can keep doing this. As much as you want. But wait. You said… I dealt you?”

“Rikter told me. They got me, you got your supplies.”

But Dan was shaking his head.

“No. No fucking way. Not even close, friend. Not even a chance.”

Again a look back. A rattling of metal. Then steps.

Halek started moving. A back door opened, and Raine could see Halek about to flee into the darkness.

But Dan-blood still streaming from his nose-ran to his brother and grabbed him.

Dan’s grip was so strong, the pull so hard, that he lifted Halek off his feet, yanking him backward and letting him fall to the ground.

Interesting, Raine thought. What was this about?

“Stand up, Halek,” Dan said.

His brother’s eyes looked terrified.

“Stand up, Halek! Or I will pull you up. By your fat neck.”

The troll started to get up, getting to his knees, and-even before standing-started shaking his head.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Dan. I mean, you gotta-”

Dan shot a hand out and covered Halek’s mouth. Then he turned to Raine.

“As I said, just a minute, Raine. Rikter told you we offered a deal? You for the supplies?”

“Yeah. It was in the pouch you sent.”

Dan nodded.

He took his hand off Halek’s mouth.

“Speak.”

“Look, Dan-we needed those supplies bad. The wounded and all. And other stuff. We always need things from them. A prize like that, like him”-he pointed at Raine-“how often does something like that fall into our laps?”

Dan paused, then he did something that was worse than any punch-more humiliating, more disrespectful: he smashed the back of his hand into Halek’s grizzly face in a viscious slap. Halek collapsed to the floor.

Then he turned back to Raine.

“Okay. I-guess you can see-I didn’t know. Had nothing to do with it.” He took a step toward Raine. “I would never have anything to do with that. Might as well be a bandit. Damn Outriggers, for all their fuel and buildings, pretty much are just that-bandits. You got out?”

Raine explained his rescue.

Dan laughed. “That is one hell of a bandit girl.”

“They’re not all bad.”

“Bad? No, they have a code. Some do, at least. Still, let’s just say you got lucky.” Dan dabbed at his nose. “Shit.”

“Hey, sorry.” Then, with a head tilt to Halek, “Do you mind?”

“Be my guest.”

And Raine sent a surprise fist into Halek’s gut. The sound of wind being expelled was like the pop of an explosive.

When he went to the ground this time, no one cared whether he got up.

“I’ll have to watch my brother.”

“You know why I came back?”

“To work me over? Good punches, by the way.”

“No.” Raine looked around. “Not sure you get this… but this, here, your settlement. It’s all I know. Where the hell would I go? What would I do? Can’t go back to the Outriggers, that’s for sure.”

“Well, you’re welcome. As long as you want.”

Which is when Dan’s daughter ran in, and in mere moments… Dan had to rescind his offer.

Loosum had news.