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

  Hado closed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest in thought. Maybe the man had been able to lie even though he had been in extreme pain. It was possible, albeit unlikely.

  “You can believe what you want, but you need to think twice before taking this to the Council, accusing the head of treason. You’d better have more proof than the word of some scum Los Muertos.”

  Sunji walked over to Lopez. He’d rolled onto his back, and had been watching the two women argue. Sunji reached down for his shirt, and the man squirmed.

  “On your feet,” Sunji said. “Time to keep moving.”

  Lanette was withholding information. And now this seemingly outrageous claim from our enemy leveled against our leader.

  Hado shook her head. She wanted Sunji to be right, but something deep down troubled her about this situation.

  Hado watched as Sunji dragged Lopez up onto his feet, the man grimacing in pain with each step. She sighed, looked at Sunji, and then followed her on the trail to Erehwon.

  A northern wind rattled the trees as the trio continued along the trail. It had once been a highway, a place where vehicles from the old world would speed along carrying people in their hurried frenzy. Most of the cars had been burned out or dismantled long ago, and Hado had just a fleeting memory of riding in them. The forest had reclaimed the edges, and a decade or more of dirt and leaves had covered the concrete surface. With the vines connecting one set of roadside branches to the other, the trail felt more like a tunnel than a path.

  Hado and Sunji hadn’t spoken since their last stop for water. They walked on opposite sides of Lopez, their arms hooked through his and dragging him along on his one good leg. Lopez groaned and hopped along, tears running in a constant flow down his face.

  “I can’t go any farther. I have to stop.”

  “You’ll keep moving,” Hado said.

  He cried out, and Hado dug her nails into his arm.

  “Shut up.”

  “I can’t feel my leg below my thigh. I’m getting dizzy. I’ve got to stop, at least for a minute.”

  Sunji looked up at the sky and then to Hado. “Let the piece of shit rest for a minute. I could use a breather, too.”

  Hado did the calculations in her head. They weren’t far from Erehwon now, and she could use an extra few minutes to think about what she was going to do when they arrived with this prisoner.

  “Five minutes.”

  Lopez closed his eyes and leaned back against a tree. “Can I please have some water?”

  “No,” said Sunji.

  Hado looked at Sunji before taking the canteen from her backpack. “I don’t want him dead before I get him in front of the Council.”

  “He’s a piece of trash. Let him die.”

  Hado looked at Lopez. “I’m not untying your hands.”

  “Fine. Just put the canteen to my mouth. Please.”

  Before Sunji could object again, Hado squatted and lifted the canteen to the man’s lips. He took a swig as she tilted the bottle up. And a split second later, he came forward hard and fast, his forehead striking Hado at the bottom of her mask and squarely on her chin. She fell backward, the canteen dropping to the ground so that water came spilling from it.

  Sunji went for the canteen as Lopez pulled himself to his feet and hopped toward the stream cutting through the trees. The water level had risen over the past few days, and if he made it to the edge, the current would pull him downstream—and out of immediate reach of Sunji and Hado.

  Hado sat up, her vision doubled and a cold sickness crept into her stomach. She tried to stand, but stumbled. Instead, she pointed at Lopez. “Don’t let him get to the water.”

  Sunji turned and saw that the man had hobbled half the distance to the stream already. He looked back once, a snarl of defiance on his face.

  “Stop him!”

  Sunji grabbed her spear and cocked it back, taking aim at the running man.

  Hado reached up. “No! We need him alive!”

  Sunji threw the spear. It cut the air with a whistle and landed in the center of his back. Lopez cried out. Collapsing to the ground, he clawed at the leaves and pulled himself closer to the water’s edge.

  Sunji ran as Hado tried again to stand up, her legs wobbly.

  Lopez screamed when Sunji stepped down on his injured thigh. She then placed her other boot in the middle of his back and yanked the spear out. When she rolled him over, Lopez raised his hands.

  “No, please don’t.”

  Sunji drove the spear through his throat, blood squirting into the air in a rhythmic pulse. She waited for the man to die before pulling her spear out and walking back to Hado.

  “Why did you kill him?”

  Sunji removed her mask. “He was almost to the water.”

  “But you didn’t have to kill him! You could have knocked him out.”

  Sunji reached out to touch Hado’s face, but Hado pushed her hand away.

  “Now what am I to say to the Council?”

  Hado shoved her way past Sunji, using tree trunks to maintain her balance. Her equilibrium returned, but with it came a slow, brooding headache emerging from the base of her skull. She stumbled along the path toward Erehwon, not bothering to wait for Sunji to catch up.

  Chapter 9

  Hado passed the painted stone that marked the outer boundary of Erehwon’s territory, a half-mile from the settlement’s walls. She had regained her balance after Lopez’s well-placed headbutt to her chin, but the headache from it had become so painful that she could barely open her eyes.

  She hadn’t spoken to Sunji since the woman had killed Los Muertos on the banks of the stream, though. The other warrior could be heard traveling several yards behind her, but Hado hadn’t looked back. Sunji knew she was pissed and Hado wasn’t in the mood to fight. She wanted to get back to her cabin, sip some herbal tea, and then close her eyes until her head no longer throbbed.

  But even the sharp blow to the chin couldn’t distract her from her thoughts. Hado didn’t think Lopez had been lying. What good would it have done him? She knew he’d been hurting, and a lie that outrageous would have fallen apart with someone twisting a knife in his leg. And yet, Dia would disappear for days at a time, supposedly with Shiva. What could they be doing? The thoughts rattled in Hado’s mind as she tried to make sense of everything. Most of all, if Shiva had betrayed Venganza by using Dia to help them find water, why? Why would she withhold fresh water sources from Venganza and give them to their enemy?

  Hado turned her attention back to the trail when she noticed something had changed.

  She turned around.

  Sunji was gone.

  She had been following Hado—only several paces behind her, she was sure of it.

  Hado looked around, her eyes scanning the trees for movement. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary or unusual, and yet, Sunji wouldn’t have veered off like this without signaling to her, no matter how at odds with each other they might be.

  She was about to reach for her spear when a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her backward behind a boulder.

  Hado cursed, nearly dropping her spear.

  A hand covered her mouth, and she looked down to see familiar rings on her assailant's fingers.

  Sunji placed her finger over her lips. She then pointed ahead.

  About fifty yards to their west, a band of Los Muertos moved methodically through the woods—at least a dozen of them, headed for Erehwon.

  Sunji took her hand from Hado’s mouth.

  “When did you see them?” Hado whispered.

  “Only a few moments ago.” Sunji peered around the edge of the rock, her eyes locked on Los Muertos. “They’re more than scouts. That looks like an assault squad.”

  Hado nodded as waves of pain crashed inside of her head. “Too many for us. We have to beat them to Erehwon.”

  “Come on,” Sunji said. “This way.”

  Hado and Sunji arrived at Erehwon later in the afternoon. They stood just in f
ront of the gate while life inside the settlement seemed to go on like it was any other day.

  Without a second thought, Sunji issued the besieged command, sending guards scattering in every direction. The warriors moved through the settlement with precision, setting in motion their protocol for invaders at the gate. Although Sunji had the rank to make the call, Hado stood with her hands on her hips, slightly stunned by the fact that she’d done so immediately upon their arrival at the gate.

  “Come on. We have to warn the Council.” Hado stepped forward to do so even as, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sunji walking in the other direction.

  “Where are you going?”

  Sunji turned around. “To the barracks on the north side. We need to make sure they’re prepared for the attack.”

  “But we must see the Council first. I need you there with me to—”

  “You can go to the Council. I’m going to deal with the real threat to Erehwon.”

  Sunji turned and jogged away, heading along the edge of the wall toward the cabins where most of the warriors slept.

  Hado narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. How could Sunji not see that Los Muertos band outside the wall was not nearly as dangerous as the betrayal they faced from within?

  Nothing to do be done about her. I must warn the Council. With or without Sunji.

  Hado entered Erehwon.

  Inside the settlement, Venganza now raced in every direction. Many clutched weapons and others moved carts through the chaos. The older women of the clan held the hands of children, leading them into cabins and then barring the doors. Apparently, Sunji’s alert had ripped through the clan like lightning.

  “Hado.”

  She turned toward the sound of the familiar voice slicing through the madness.

  Dia.

  The young girl ran to her and they embraced. Decker barked, and Hado reached down and patted the dog on the head.

  “Where have you been?”

  Hado shook her head. “It doesn’t matter right now. There will be time to explain later. There’s a band of Los Muertos half a mile away. Sunji initiated the defense maneuvers and now I’ve got to go warn the Council.”

  But of what? Can the girl sense that I know?

  “I need to speak with Shiva. Have you seen her?”

  “She doesn’t want to be bothered right now. She’s busy working on a plan to take out Los Muertos.”

  Hado’s huffed. “Shiva is more politician than warrior these days.”

  “No one could find you.”

  “Well, I have to talk to her now. It’s important.”

  Hado walked away, but Dia stepped in front of her.

  “What are you doing, Dia? I need to speak to her about an important matter.”

  “I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go see Shiva right now. She really didn’t want to be bothered.” The young girl’s face turned red, and her eyes wandered, looking everywhere but into Hado’s.

  “Are you hiding something?”

  “What? Of course not. Things are hectic, and I think we need to let Shiva keep us safe.”

  Sunji was wrong. Los Muertos they’d killed at the river’s edge had been telling the truth. Shiva had been using Dia to find water for the Venganza’s enemy. It didn’t make any sense, and yet the inevitable conclusion bounced around inside of her skull. Why keep Los Muertos nourished and healthy while they prowled Erehwon’s perimeter?

  Whatever Shiva was trading for Dia’s water whispering had to be extremely valuable—and hidden from the entire clan.

  Hado stared into Dia’s eyes. “Whether it’s now or later, I’m going to talk to Shiva. Is there something you’d like to tell me before that happens?”

  Decker whined, and Dia dropped down to scratch his ears. She seemed happy to be distracted by the dog.

  “No.”

  Hado nodded. “Fine. Now, I want you to go to your hiding spot. Find Kareena and have her stand guard. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “You and I will talk later, my young friend. Count on it.”

  Hado turned and stomped toward Shiva’s cabin. Los Muertos ambush or not, the head of the Council was going to answer some questions.

  Chapter 10

  Hado stopped at the door to Shiva’s cabin as the sun dropped beneath the still water of the lake. Although the attack on Erehwon had felt imminent, it had not come and there were no Venganza warriors standing guard. Whatever the Council had been told about Los Muertos in the woods, Shiva didn’t think it important enough to personally prepare for an attack. Why not? And Hado sensed a conflict in Dia, an internal struggle that the girl couldn’t talk about. Yet.

  She curled her fingers into a fist, getting ready to knock on the door when Shiva opened it. She stood before Hado in her warrior’s cloak, knife on her hip, and her mask sitting atop her gray-streaked hair. The woman had bags under her eyes, and she gave Hado a weak smile before stepping aside and motioning her to come in.

  Shiva sat at the mahogany desk they had salvaged from one of the old high-rises in the ruins. The woman had told Hado that the offices had belonged to JK Publishing, a group of people who used to assemble and sell books. She remembered thinking that the entire endeavor sounded like a waste of time. Reading? At one time, Hado believed it was important to read as much as she could, to retain as much of those printed memories as possible. But now, the world had seemed to devolve into a confusing and strange place with no value on knowledge other than that which you needed to stay alive.

  Tapestries and deer skins hung on the walls of the cabin, a single window framing a sky pitched in hues of orange and red, the sunset’s colors a result of the beautifully toxic chemicals still lingering from the age of industry they’d been trying so hard to escape. The place smelled of smoked leaf and ointment—the kind the old crones used to ease their swollen joints.

  “I know why you’re here.”

  “Do you?”

  Shiva took a sip of nettle leaf tea and then offered the cup to Hado.

  “We need to talk about Dia. And Los Muertos.” Hado stared into her eyes. “You don’t seem too concerned that they’ll attack, even I’ve seen them in the woods.”

  She took the chair across from Shiva. The shot to the chin had left Hado’s knees a bit weak.

  “Go on. You want to ask me something. I can see it in your face.”

  “Are you dealing with Los Muertos?”

  Shiva smiled, setting her cup of tea down on the desk. She stared into Hado’s eyes for a moment before waving a hand in the air. “Why do you ask that?”

  Hado took the canteen from underneath her cloak and slammed it down on Shiva’s desk.

  “A canteen?”

  “Filled with water,” Hado said, unscrewing the cap. “Clean, fresh water.”

  “Say it. Say what you mean.”

  “Are you using Dia to show Los Muertos where the clean water can be found? Are you dealing with them?”

  “Oh, Hado. You think you have it all worked out, don’t you? Your world is so black and white. What a luxury to have morals without thinking.” Shiva took the canteen from Hado, screwed the cap back on, and thrust it into her face. “You might want to keep that.”

  “So, you are?”

  “Am what?”

  “Using Dia. Dealing with Los Muertos. Our enemy.”

  “I’m doing what I need to do to save the Venganza. To keep our women alive.”

  Hado sighed and leaned back in her chair. The headache which had begun to fade flared up again.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “No, you don’t. It is not your job to understand my motives.”

  “Dia is my responsibility. I need to know what she is doing out there in the ruins, without me.”

  “Our responsibility,” Shiva said, her voice rising and filling the cramped cabin. “How dare you make this about you?”

  She shifted in her seat, the pain behind her eyes threatening to push them from their sock
ets.

  “The raids. Do you know why I called them off?”

  Hado felt Shiva shielding the truth, deflecting the conversation. Ever a politician.

  “No.”

  “Do you know why we’ve been doing them in the first place?”

  “The men,” Hado began, her own words feeling tired and rehearsed in her ears. “They ruined this world, and we won’t let that happen again. We’re saving the few we need, and they’ll serve so that we can build a new way without the same war and—”

  “You’ve gotten that so ingrained in you that you speak without emotion.”

  Hado waited, unsure what Shiva meant. Her head pounded, and she pulled the canteen back out to take a swig of water.

  “I think it’s time you know the truth behind the raids, the reason I started them in the first place.”

  Shiva sat back and folded her arms across her chest. She exhaled and smiled at Hado before continuing.

  “What you said? That is true. To a point. It is why the raids began. But principles wither and die, just like people without water and nourishment. Early on, we realized something else.”

  Hado leaned in, her eyes locked on Shiva’s.

  “Girls. Women. We have a sharper sense of smell. We are better equipped—by nature, God, or whatever divine force you choose to believe in—to detect the pollutants and toxins with our noses. Women are born with the ability to water whisper. All of us. Some, like Dia, are better at it than others. She’s the best we’ve ever seen, and that is why she had been placed under your protection since we disposed of the lady of the lake.”

  Hado winced at Shiva's nickname for her birth mother, Katy. “The raids were not designed to kill the boys...”

  “As much as to capture the girls. Do you understand, Hado? Your actions have been noble, and you have saved the Venganza with your brave and heroic deeds. This truth does not change what you’ve done, nor does it tarnish what you will be remembered for. Yes, the men have ruined our world, and I have no faith that they could ever repair it. But that was not the sole purpose of the raids. Times are too desperate for ideologies. We did what we did to survive.”