BARREN: Book 2 - Escape from the Ruins (A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller) Read online

  “Stop. I need to rest.”

  Hado removed her mask and leaned her spear against a tree. She sat down on a flat rock facing west, and Sunji sat next to her.

  “What’s the matter?” Hado asked, having noticed Sunji rubbing at her arm.

  “It’s nothing.”

  Hado grabbed Sunji’s hand, and found it wet and sticky with blood. She turned the woman’s palm over and saw a gash in Sunji’s inner arm.

  “It’s nothing, I said.”

  “It is, Sunji. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it’s nothing.”

  Hado took her canteen and poured some water over Sunji’s arm, the other woman wincing as the liquid hit her open wound. Then Hado tore a strip of fabric from her cloak and wrapped it around Sunji’s arm, tying it into a loose knot. Sunji groaned.

  “This really isn’t necessary,” she said. “You shouldn’t be wasting water.”

  “You could die from a wound such as this. I know you are strong, but infection brings down even the most dominant warriors.”

  Sunji smiled. She took hold of Hado’s hand, squeezing it.

  “We’ll stay here for now,” Hado said.

  “Nonsense,” Sunji said. “It’s a simple arm wound. I can make it back to Erehwon.”

  “I’m not saying you can’t. But we are safe. Los Muertos will not find us here. Daylight will break soon.”

  “As you wish,” Sunji said.

  Hado patted her hand, then stood up. She moved her mask to the side and grabbed her spear.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I am going to find us something to eat.”

  Sunji stood. “I’ll come with you.”

  “No, you won’t. Stay here and keep an eye on the clearing. Whistle if you see Los Muertos coming through.”

  “Okay.” Sunji sighed and sat back down on the rock.

  Hado nodded before heading east through the woods. She kept her feet light on an old deer trail, avoiding leaves that could scare away her prey—or alert an enemy of her presence. She’d moved a couple of hundred yards deeper into the trees when she heard a faint but distinct crack. Hado stepped behind the trunk of a massive oak tree and stood still. She listened for the sound again.

  A creature walking on leaves, clumsy and slow.

  Hado gripped the spear tighter. Sweat dripped from her forehead.

  A twig snapped only yards from where Hado stood.

  She jumped out from behind the tree and raised her spear.

  A creature stood before her, larger than any wolf or fox. And the beast stood on two legs.

  “Don’t,” the woman said, raising her hands.

  “Identify yourself.”

  “It is me, Lanette.”

  “Damn you, woman.”

  What was the old, crunchy crone doing this far out into the woods? She lived just outside the walls of Erehwon and within the clan’s protection—but she rarely came near the settlement. Lanette had come east a long time ago, traveling with a Venganza clan that had originated in the Great Snowcaps near what the old timers called Colorado. Shiva had kept the old woman around, but Hado could not be sure why. Lanette seemed to be full of unrealistic stories that would outlast the hot coals in a campfire.

  The woman looked the same as she always had, draped in filthy rags that hung on her crooked bones. Lanette chewed with her gums because she had nothing in her mouth, and her right eye had been clouded over by a cataract. She stunk like shit and wet moss, speaking as if she had river gravel in her throat.

  “I heard Shiva suspended the raids,” the woman said. “What are you doing out here?”

  Wiley old bag.

  “She has. I am not on a raid if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “I’ll bet you miss staking those little baby boys, doncha?”

  Hado sighed and looked over her shoulder. The first purple tinges of daylight crept up from the east. She thought of Sunji and what they had done a few hours prior, but the woods remained silent, which meant there wasn’t an immediate danger.

  “Why?”

  Hado waited, wondering what was meant by the single-word question.

  “Why do we raid Los Muertos?”

  “I follow the commands issued by The Council and—”

  “No,” Lanette interrupted, driving a gnarled, arthritic finger into Hado’s sternum. “You, Hado. Why do you raid?”

  “For the sake of Venganza and the survival of our species. Don’t play games with me.”

  “Really? You think that is why Shiva sends you into the woods to capture the girls and stick the boys on poles?”

  Hado hesitated. The woman was always more of an annoyance than a threat, and this conversation was no different. But it didn’t explain why she was this far from Erehwon—at this time.

  “That is what I think. But I’m sure you will enlighten me, old one.”

  “Oh,” Lanette said with a cackle that deteriorated into a cough, forcing Hado to check to make sure the woods were still empty. “I will, my warrior queen. I will.”

  Hado thought about Sunji and the other responsibilities back in the settlement.

  “We are on our way back to Erehwon.”

  “The palace of lies.”

  Hado exhaled and shook her head. “I don’t have time for your subversive games. I’m hungry. And tired.”

  “When you do have time, I will be here. The truth is like the moon on the lake. The reflection may waver, but it is always visible.”

  “Save it for the children’s campfire stories. I don’t want to hear any of your parables.”

  “What is your dream?”

  The question hit Hado upside the head with the force of a right hook. “I don’t understand.”

  “Yes, you do, Hado. What is your dream? What do you want to see in this broken world before you shuffle off like an old crone?”

  Hado put her hands on her hips and smiled, believing for a second that maybe the woman had discovered a way to read her thoughts. She couldn’t remember ever being asked that question. But, she thought of the silver charm that belonged to her mother and answered with a half-formed thought on her tongue.

  “Silver. I want to see where silver comes from.”

  “Ah, yes. All that glitters is not gold, eh? I gazed upon those places one time when my eyesight was a bit better and me tits didn’t flop around at my waist.”

  Hado laughed and shook her head, amused and grossed out at the same time.

  “Where?”

  “West. Beyond the Denver Venganza, the largest and most prosperous settlement left. Yes, beyond that is a place once known as Lake Tahoe near the lands of Nevada. Silver is mined. Removed from the ground, one shovel at a time.”

  “I would very much like to see Tahoe and gaze upon the mines of silver.”

  “Someday, child. Someday.”

  The smile fell from Hado’s face, the sound of birds reminding Hado of daybreak, and of Sunji, waiting for her to return to Erehwon. The old woman had been an annoyance—an unexpected distraction.

  “I will see you in Erehwon.”

  “No, but maybe near it,” Lanette said, her toothless grin splitting a filthy face. “We will talk again, great warrior.”

  Hado waited until the woman disappeared into the trees before turning around and heading back to where Sunji waited. On the way back, she snared a curious, early-morning squirrel and slung it over her shoulder.

  When she reached her friend, she found that Sunji had been waiting for her, standing next to the rock.

  “You were gone that long, and that’s all you brought me?”

  Hado could hear the sarcasm in Sunji’s voice, and she smiled. “It’ll be the best squirrel you’ve ever eaten.”

  Sunji returned the grin. “I’m sure it will be. But I was seriously beginning to get worried. I couldn’t hear you, and it never takes you that long to hunt. I thought you’d run into Los Muertos.”

  Hado pictured Lanette, thinking back to her conversation with the
woman. She wanted to mention her to Sunji, but decided that the ramblings of the old hag weren’t worth the breath.

  “No sign of Los Muertos. I’m here now, with you. Let’s stop talking and cook this thing before we head for Erehwon.”

  Chapter 7

  As they walked toward Erehwon in the morning’s mist, Hado thought back to her conversation with Lanette. The woman knew something, no doubt. But in her cryptic, annoying manner, she would not tell Hado outright. Lanette had asked her about the rationale behind the raids, and yet every member of Venganza knew it. Every single woman in the tribe.

  Hado made a mental note to discuss it with Shiva. If anyone understood the old bag and knew how best to deal with her, it was the head of The Council.

  They came down a slope and into a raised valley, now being only a mile or two from the settlement. Sunji reached out and put out her arm in front of Hado’s chest, her finger over her lips.

  Then Hado heard it.

  Leaves and twigs crunched underfoot of something, or someone, nearby.

  Hado scanned the tree line, her eyes stopping on a figure off to the right. He was creeping through the woods, and trying not to make too much noise, but failing. He had short black hair and wore a leather vest that was all too familiar.

  Los Muertos.

  The man stopped, sensing that he was being watched. He looked over and locked eyes with Hado.

  They stared at each other for a few seconds.

  Then he ran.

  Hado took off after him. Behind her, Sunji called out for her to stop, but she ignored her. Hado moved through the trees like a lethal mountain lion, leaping over logs and any other objects that blocked her path. She kept her eyes locked on the man. He appeared to be alone, and she was going to get to him before he made it back to any of the others.

  She cut across at an angle, feeling the slope of the land toward the valley. The man looked over his left shoulder as Hado approached from his right. He spun his head around, realizing he’d lost sight of her, and that was when a tree root tripped him up.

  Hado sprinted directly at the man, determined to catch him before he could get up.

  When she got to him, he was clutching his leg. Hado could see he was bleeding. She used her spear to move his hand away from his wound. The man cried out in response, and she saw where the sharp rock had cut through his denim and into the fleshy part of his thigh.

  “Please, don’t kill me.”

  As Sunji arrived, Hado kneeled next to the injured man, checking him for weapons. She found a knife on his waist, pulled it out, and tossed it aside. She found another hidden in his boot and discarded it, as well.

  “Do you have any other weapons on you?”

  “No.”

  Hado pointed the spear at his throat. The man shook, his eyes wide. He raised his hands.

  Hado said, “If you’re lying to me, I will kill you.”

  “I’m not. I swear.”

  Sunji stepped in and bent over the man. She yanked the canteen from his shoulder, breaking the strap. Removing the cap, she sniffed it. “Smells fresh.”

  Hado returned her attention to the man, edging the tip of her spear into his throat. He screamed as a trickle of blood emerged at its tip.

  “Where did you get this water?”

  “We found it at a nearby stream.”

  Hado pulled her spear away and grabbed the man’s leg, squeezing her fingers into his thigh wound. The man screamed.

  “Don’t lie to me. You were headed back to your camp. We found it last night, and I know that water is not potable.”

  “I swear, we got it close to here. Not at that stream, but close.”

  “How?” Sunji asked. “We’ve checked all water sources within miles of here.”

  He shook his head. “You haven’t checked everywhere.”

  Hado pressed her spear against his throat again. “Where?”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t seen the place, myself. But your water whisperer…” His voice trailed off, and his eyes went wide.

  “What?” Hado asked. Hado dropped her spear and used both hands to grab him by the collar of his shirt and lift him up, bringing her face within inches of his. The human hair from her mask fell upon his cheek.

  “You know something, and you’re going to tell me.” She looked at a small patch on the right side of his vest, the name Lopez embroidered on it. “Tell me what you know, Lopez.”

  Lopez shook his head. “I don’t know anything, I swear it.”

  Hado let go of his collar, and his head hit the ground with a thump. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. Hado stood tall and turned to Sunji.

  “Cover his mouth.”

  Lopez’s eyes went wide as he looked back and forth between Hado and Sunji. “What? What are you doing?”

  Sunji covered Lopez’s mouth with both hands. She sat on his chest to hold him down.

  The sun reflected off Lopez’s knife sitting on the ground a few feet away. Hado picked it up. She held it in front of her face, then looked down to see Lopez’s wide eyes looking back at her.

  “You should have told me.”

  Hado sat on his shins and inserted the tip of the knife into the wound in the man’s thigh. Lopez let out a muffled scream and squirmed, but the weight of the two Venganza women didn’t allow him to move. Hado twirled the blade in the open wound and Lopez screamed harder, tears rolling down his face.

  “Make sure you have a good hold on him,” Hado said. “I haven’t really started yet.”

  Hado pushed the knife deeper. She moved it around, listening to the sound of the cold steel cutting through muscle. She could smell the bitter tang of blood in the air as the warm, sticky liquid oozed over her hands.

  Lopez cried out, screaming into Sunji’s palm.

  Hado counted slowly to fifteen before pulling the knife out. She shifted to where she could see his face.

  “Are you ready to talk now?”

  Tears streamed down his face as he nodded. He said something, but Hado couldn’t understand the words with Sunji covering his mouth.

  Sunji said, “If I take my hands off your mouth and you scream, she will do it again. For longer. Do you understand?”

  Lopez nodded.

  Sunji and Hado shared a glance, and Hado gestured for Sunji to let the man speak. Sunji pulled away.

  Lopez gasped for air. He sniffled, snot running from his nose and tears still rolling down his cheeks. “Please, don’t do that again.”

  “Then you better tell us what you know.”

  Lopez lay his head flat and looked up at the sky. He mumbled something to himself in Spanish, then looked at Hado again.

  “It’s true that we have found water. Your water whisperer has been helping us.”

  “That’s impossible,” Hado said. “Dia is safe within Erehwon and is never left unattended in the ruins. You lie.”

  Lopez shook his head. “No, I’m not. Shiva has an agreement with us.”

  Hado’s lips parted. A hot, tingling sensation ran up her spine.

  “We get to use the water whisperer in exchange for valuables scavenged from the ruins.”

  Sunji looked at Hado and then back at Lopez.

  “What valuables?” Hado asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “He’s lying,” Sunji said. “Kill him.”

  “No, wait! There’s more.”

  Hado spun the bloody knife in her right hand, nodding at Lopez. “Go on.”

  “Our guy. He’s going to double-cross Shiva and take the girl permanently. Los Muertos is planning a siege of your settlement—attacking when you’re out of fresh water and food, when you’re at your weakest.”

  Sunji and Hado shared a look, but still said nothing to each other.

  “Now, please,” Lopez said, crying again. “Please, don’t kill me.”

  Hado remained silent, thinking about what he had told her.

  “We aren’t going to kill you.”

  “Gracias a Dios.” He looke
d to the sky, clasping his hands.

  “At least not yet.” Hado looked at Sunji. “Wrap up his leg, and tie his hands. He’s coming back to Erehwon with us.”

  Chapter 8

  They were almost to Erehwon when Hado dropped Lopez to the ground. He landed on his face and groaned, a hand going to the gash in his leg.

  “Why are we stopping?” he asked.

  “Shut up,” Hado said.

  She held the canteen Sunji had ripped from his shoulder, feeling that it was about half full. She removed the cap and sniffed the opening. No pollutants or toxins Hado could detect. The water they’d been drinking had had a sulfuric smell to it, and this had no odor at all other than the metal aftertaste from the canteen. Hado took a sip, then two gulps, before handing the canteen to Sunji. The stream cutting through the valley had reappeared only a few hundred yards to the east, its rushing water like a cruel, menacing taunt.

  So much water, and yet it was polluted and undrinkable.

  Without a word, Sunji grabbed the canteen and took a swig of the water. She swallowed and then sighed, using the back of her hand to wipe her mouth.

  “We shouldn’t drink it all right now, Sunji. Not only to conserve it, but we need to present this to the Council.”

  Sunji took Hado by the hand and guided her away from Lopez.

  “What?” Hado asked.

  “How can we possibly trust him?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, it doesn’t make any sense for Shiva to be dealing with the very enemy she commands us to hunt. I think the man is lying.”

  “I know the face of a liar.”

  “Do you?”

  Hado narrowed her eyes. “You doubt me?”

  “I’m not saying that, but—”

  “Do not question me on this.” Hado had raised her voice, and looked past Sunji to see Lopez’s eyes on them both. “All men break. We know this. He passed out from the pain. There’s no way he’s lying.”

  “Shiva, Hado. It doesn’t make any sense. She’s double-crossing her own tribe?”