BARREN_A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Read online

  “Let’s get a few miles away from Erehwon, and then I will come back for the dog. Okay?”

  Dia nodded, but Hado was not convinced that she was convinced.

  With the barn doors slightly ajar, Ree nudged her nose between them. Hado looked both ways as she and Dia rode out into the sunlight. And, to her left, she saw a familiar face.

  Sunji stood twenty yards off with a small group of Venganza warriors. She’d paused in showing a young warrior how to sharpen a spear when she looked up to see Hado and Dia appear on their horses.

  Her eyes met Hado’s.

  Hado pushed her emotions deep down and slid the mask over her face as she turned away from Sunji. A few weeks ago, Hado would have believed Sunji would understand. But not now. Things were different, and Hado had no way of knowing how far Shiva’s evil influence had spread.

  “Let’s go,” Hado said to Dia. She then whipped the reins and said, “Ya!”

  The two horses took off, speeding out of Erehwon’s western gate.

  Hado and Dia had ridden about a mile beyond Erehwon’s perimeter when Hado pulled the reins on her horse up, bringing her to a stop. Dia did the same, stopping her horse just ahead of Hado’s mount.

  “Are you going back for Decker now?” Dia asked.

  Hado held her finger to her lips, urging Dia to be silent. She closed her eyes, listening intently to her surroundings. Crows cawed. Small animals ran through the surrounding brush. A lonely fall breeze whispered to the trees.

  “Not yet. But I will.” Hado paused, unsure if that was true or not. “I feel like we’re being followed. Let’s give the horses a drink. But we need to keep moving.”

  “From where?” Dia asked.

  “There’s a stream running through the valley just to our west.”

  The girl shook her head and sighed. “But there’s no safe water near there. Believe me, I would know.”

  Hado smiled, realizing how little Dia knew about life outside of Erehwon after she’d been taken into the settlement. “The horses have a greater resistance to whatever is in the water that makes them sick. So far, they seem to be able to graze and drink from any field or water source—even the lake.”

  The explanation only prompted another question from Dia.

  “Where are we going?”

  “West.”

  “Why? What’s west?”

  Hado looked to the sky, and then she met Dia’s eyes.

  “There are rumored to be settlements in the east, but they are not Venganza. The southern route is full of bandits and thieves, all of them knowing that people will migrate south to avoid the coming winter. And, well, going north would mean heading right into weather conditions that could kill us in days. West is really our only option. The old timers talk about Denver in the far west, but probably our most likely destination.”

  Dia nodded, and sat quietly. Hado cocked her head to the side, expecting more of a fight from the girl blossoming into a young teenager.

  “Okay?”

  “You’re making the calls, Hado. Not me. You’ve made that perfectly clear. But I swear that I will throw myself in a river if you don’t go back for Decker. Soon. You promised.”

  The attitude. There it is.

  Heavier shuffling in the brush pulled Hado’s attention away from the conversation with Dia. She drew her spear. Looking over to Dia, she placed her index finger on her lips. Then she dismounted Ree.

  Hado crouched and moved silently toward the sound, approaching a copse of young pine trees on the edge of a ridge. The sound had been loud enough to be a wild boar, or perhaps that of a pack animal, like a wolf.

  The sound came again from beneath the pines, and Hado looked to her left. She gripped her spear, and her mouth went dry. Even with the horses, Hado and Dia could not outrun the Venganza. If word of the abduction or murder had reached Shiva, the head of the Council might have already sent a group of warriors after them.

  I guess this where I make my final stand.

  The low-hanging pine branches moved, and Hado cocked her spear as the brush beneath the trees opened. She tensed, then quickly relaxed when she saw who had been following them.

  “Decker!” Dia jumped off Piva.

  Hado stood back as the dog licked Dia’s face.

  “He’s only going to slow us down,” Hado said.

  Dia looked up, her arm around the dog’s neck. “I’m not leaving him.”

  Hado smiled. “I know. But we must get going. If he found our trail, then I promise you that the Venganza can.”

  They mounted the horses and took off again, the loyal dog sitting behind the girl on Piva’s back.

  Chapter 13

  She angled the lamp toward the paper. Lanette had filled the reservoir with fresh raccoon oil, and as it burned, it helped to mask the smell of her own body odor. Although it was around mid-day outside, she had wanted to write the letter in her hut—away from any Venganza who may have found a spyglass to aim in her direction.

  Erehwon had been abuzz since Shiva had stomped through the settlement looking for Hado, who’d left nothing but a stiff corpse and an empty stable in her wake. Somehow, the warrior had managed to take Dia and her dog out of the western gate without anyone noticing. The Council had convened in response, and now their resources had been split in two. Half of the warriors had been tasked with keeping an eye on Los Muertos while the other half would be joining an expedition to bring Hado and Dia back. If they could find them.

  “I gotta believe they went west,” she said, smoothing the paper out and waiting for the ink to dry. “Guessing Denver if I had to.”

  She’d given much thought to how. That was always the biggest challenge, wasn’t it? Ideas came and went but executing them required more creative thinking. Lanette had considered a bird messenger but they were too unreliable. And any messenger of the two-legged variety would no doubt catch Shiva’s attention. No, she would have to take the greatest risk but also the one with the most potential to pay off. The old woman would use Shiva’s own pride against her, knowing the head of the Council would send someone to pursue Hado and the girl. The Council, with Shiva’s leadership, had prepared to sacrifice the future of the entire settlement for their own survival which seemed to Lanette to be an unscrupulous betrayal of everything they’d fought for through the years. Lanette would use whatever political capital she had left to send her warning with that warrior and foil Shiva’s plans.

  A fourth draft of the letter was worth the extra time and paper it took to get it right. She slid her reading spectacles up and read it silently again.

  Keep moving. Whatever you do, keep going. I don’t know who is coming for you or if they’ll ever find you, but know that Shiva won’t stop until she has Dia. None of the women in the settlement can feel the water the way that that girl can.

  Shiva may have told you that the Denver Venganza have a secure and thriving settlement. Don’t believe the lies. I trekked east from there many years ago and have kept a few lines of communication open. I don’t hear from them often, but when I do, it sounds as though they’re facing the same challenges there as we are here. And if that bitch is still in charge (you’ll know who I mean), you won’t be able to trust her.

  So keep going. It's a considerable distance to the great Pacific. Weeks of travel through high mountain passes from Denver. If you can get through the big mountains before the brunt of winter, you’ll have two choices—the ruins of San Francisco or further north to what remains of a place called Seattle. There ain’t nothing but wasteland where the City of Angels used to be. Don’t bother going south of the San Francisco ruins. But, what little we know about those Venganza clans in NOCAL and Old Washington give me more hope than what’s happening in the east or in Denver.

  There’s something else. Letters from the northern California region talk about a new clan there, one that formed from the old world. Not sure what that means, as all clans have formed from the “old world.” But they say this one is trying to save technology instead of util
izing water whisperers. Rumor is that they’re working on a way to filter any water, turning it from foul to fresh. I guess I don’t have to explain to you how important that could be and what it could mean for those living in the ruins—Venganza and Los Muertos alike.

  I know we’ve talked before about the clans and what’s happening in other places. There’s no way to know for sure, and some of the settlements could be nothing but ash by the time the letters reach me. So, don’t be surprised if you arrive at a charred memory. The Venganza association is still good, as best as I can tell. Any clan wearing the mask should welcome you as one of their own. You may have to tithe or make a hunting quota to earn your keep, but I suspect that the girl could really help with that—although I wouldn’t let the others know of her abilities. But you probably have figured that part out, yourself.

  It’s likely that you’ll never read this. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Shiva’s warriors intercepts this message and then comes back for me with a spear or greased stake. That’s okay. I’ve been around for too long. Seen too much. It’s probably about time for me to shuffle off and turn to dust like the rest of my world did.

  Try not to die, and protect that girl.

  To the West upon hooved feet. Ride.

  Yours,

  Lanette

  P.S. The dog smells. I hope you can force it to swim across a stream.

  She folded the paper and sealed it with a dripping of wax from a candle she lit off the lamp.

  Yes, this version would work. It was what Hado needed to hear. She would never be able to best Shiva in a physical confrontation, not at her age or in her condition. But the old crone’s mind had remained as sharp as the tip of the spear. She would need it to bring down her old nemesis, the one who’d cast her from Erehwon all those years ago and forced her to live in the wilderness like an ascetic.

  Lanette had to get the message to Hado and prevent Shiva from capturing the girl, and that would be enough satisfaction for her to finally settle her personal vendetta.

  For the first time in years, she pined for her old phone with text messaging.

  Chapter 14

  Hado glanced at the sky, her spear firmly in hand.

  “It’ll be dark before long. We need to find food soon.”

  Hado cursed herself for not bringing a bow. Hunting with a spear was more difficult than it had to be, but she’d had little time to ponder their departure from Erehwon, knowing as she had that it was necessary to get Dia out as quickly as possible. Now, Hado wondered if Kareena’s body had been discovered yet, and if so, whether she had been blamed for the woman’s death.

  Dia talked to Decker every now and then, but had otherwise not spoken since their last stop.

  “You wanted to know why we are heading west?” Hado asked, trying to prompt any bit of conversation she could.

  “You said you believe there is hope for us out there.”

  “Yes, but you want to know specifically why?”

  “Is it Denver where you want to go?”

  Hado tilted her head to the side. “What do you know about Denver?”

  Dia shrugged. “Only what Sunji told me.”

  “What did she tell you?”

  “Not much. Only that there are Venganza there. That surprised me. I thought our clan was just in the ruins—not in other parts of the world.”

  Sunji had told her about Denver Venganza? How did she know? That information was controlled by the Council. Sure, old-timers like Lanette would know—she’d come from the west. But who would have told Sunji? And why?

  “Are there no Venganza to the east? Aren’t we closer to the eastern sea than the western lands?”

  Hado nodded. “We are. But there are no Venganza east of Ohio. At least, none that we are aware of. I believe there are other, friendly tribes, but no Venganza. It would be too risky to head east without being sure we would run into more of our own.”

  “Will Venganza trust us? What if word reaches them of what you have done?”

  Hado averted her eyes from Dia’s gaze. She didn’t answer.

  That is why we must get there first.

  They passed over a grassy hill and came to a concrete path. A blue and red sign with white lettering had the number ’90’ on it. Hado looked to the sky, confirming by the sun’s position that they were still heading west.

  “This should be the path the Old Ones referred to as Interstate 90. The blue and red on the sign tell us that this is an interstate, meaning that it should continue to take us west, all the way to the coast.”

  They guided their horses onto the road. Decker walked between them, panting. Hado checked the sky again. They needed to find food, but had yet to come across any game. They had already drunk much of their water, and Hado didn’t want to fall asleep hungry, as well.

  They’d traveled about a mile further down the road when Hado pulled Ree’s reins, bringing her to a stop.

  The sound of rushing water greeted them, and the roadway appeared to stretch outward and into the sky—a bridge. Hado looked at the rusted, twisted metal running along the edges. Two old cars sat locked in a death snarl, their front bumpers twisted and their insides melted from a fire that had burned hot many years ago. Junk trees and vines grew through cracks in the asphalt, and when she listened closely, Hado thought she heard the low, creaking sound of rotted metal twisting in the cold wind.

  “We can’t cross that,” Dia said.

  Hado scanned the area. There was no other clear way to get to the other side, at least not without either backtracking or heading north or south along the river to look for another bridge.

  “We have little choice. Decker has already slowed us down. We don’t have the time to find an alternate route, and we’re going to need to feed the horses soon.”

  “Can’t we stop here for now and try to find another way in the morning?”

  Hado sighed. “I’d like to cross before we stop for the evening. It’ll be easier to block the bridge from anyone following us once we get to the other side.”

  After letting the horses and Decker drink, they approached the edge of the structure. The railing on each side had rusted into a fiery, burnt orange, and large sections of it had fallen away. Fissures in the asphalt top coat revealed crumbling concrete underneath, some of it rotted away and revealing the rushing water twenty feet below.

  “I’m scared,” Dia said.

  “Don’t be. These roads were made by the Old Ones to withstand heavy use. Though they have stood unused for decades, they should hold up.”

  I hope I’m right.

  “I’ll go first. You and Decker follow me.”

  Hado led Ree forward, clopping onto the bridge. She listened as Piva followed. The sound of the water intensified as if it was becoming angry the closer they got to the edge.

  As she passed the first gaping hole, Hado tried to keep from looking down, but couldn’t resist the urge. The current moved swiftly below them. If they fell, the horses would surely be swept away or killed. And there was no guarantee that Hado, Dia, or Decker could survive the fall. Given the Venganza fear of water, neither women could swim. Hado re-focused her attention ahead.

  “Don’t look down,” Hado said. “Keep your head up and concentrate on getting to the other side.”

  The ground below the horse’s feet groaned, but they kept moving forward.

  When Hado reached the other side, she let out a sigh of relief. She turned Ree around to watch the progress of her companions. Dia had followed Hado’s instruction and was looking up, her face pale and her eyes wide. Her hands shook.

  “You’re almost here.” Hado waved her forward.

  Dia, Piva, and Decker made it over the bridge, and Dia exhaled.

  “I told you we’d make it across.”

  “How many more times are we going to have to do that?”

  Hado shook her head. “I don’t know. We will take them as they come.”

  They continued on. A hundred or so feet ahead, Hado checked the sky again.


  “We’ve only got about another half hour of daylight, so we should stop and—”

  A crash caused Hado and Dia both to jump. Decker let out a whimper, and Hado looked back.

  A cloud of dust billowed into the air as the river behind them was briefly silenced by the deafening roar of the bridge crashing into the water below. Twisted metal pointed into the sky while the river swallowed everything that had been on the roadway. Hado turned her head and waited for the dust cloud to pass before looking again at the empty space where the bridge had been only moments before.

  Dia looked at Hado, her jaw slack and her eyes large. Her lips trembled, but she said nothing.

  “If anyone from Erehwon is following us,” Hado said. “That’ll slow them down.”

  The decades had ebbed and flowed, the vestiges of the past crumbling away like the roadway over the bridge. No longer could the edifices of the old world support those left in the new.

  With Decker’s help, Hado was able to track down and kill a few rabbits. They then found an abandoned building to make camp for the night. They tied the two horses to posts, and Hado made a fire behind the building. She skinned the rabbits while Dia found sticks nearby to use as a spit. They then sat around the fire, Decker at Dia’s side, and cooked the meat.

  “Looks like he came in handy after all.” Dia smiled as she rubbed Decker’s ears, holding their makeshift spit with her other hand.

  Hado laughed. “I guess so. He sure made finding these rabbits easier.”

  The game finished cooking, and Hado and Dia ate. They each shared some with Decker, who was more than willing to accept what they offered. Hado rationed out water for them both. When she was done, she shook the canteen.

  “We have to make finding water a priority tomorrow. We won’t survive long without it.”