Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) (23 page)

JJ looked at
the gun in his hands. “What’s this?”

Kyle rolled his
eyes, “That’s a shotgun, moron.”

JJ slapped the
gun with the back of his hand. “Well, I don’t want this then.”

“Then why’d you
pick it?” Kyle asked.

“It looked
cool.”

Jerry moved up
on the creek bed until the group was behind the building complex neighboring
the courthouse. He moved up behind one of the buildings, peered around the
corner and waved to the other two men to follow.

He ran to
another building before they caught up and repeated the maneuver until he could
see the entrance and the five guards in front of it. JJ and Kyle arrived next
to him and put their backs against the wall.

Jerry spoke
softly but did not whisper. He did not want to be misunderstood. “There are
five knights in front of that door. Each is armed and ready to kill. Are you
two ready for this?”

Kyle nodded his
answer. JJ grinned.

“I’ll step out
first and take the two on the left and work my way right. JJ start on the right
and work your way in.”

The big man’s
grin grew even bigger.

“Kyle, you
focus on the middle. After that take anything left standing.”

The two men
nodded.

“Let’s go.”
Jerry stepped away from the building and swung wide, giving the men behind him
room to get clear. He dropped the knight on the left before they could respond,
targeted the man to his right. He pulled the trigger twice and put him down.
The knight in the middle had raised his gun but fell before he could aim. The
one next to him had the stock to his shoulder before feeling the impact of two
of Jerry’s bullets.

Kyle and JJ
came around the corner. JJ screamed a battle cry as Jerry dropped the final
knight at the door.

JJ kept
screaming and waved the barrel of the shotgun looking for anything to shoot.
His war cry turned into profanity when he realized there was nothing left to
point his gun at. “Aaaaaaaaahdammmit!”

Kyle looked at
the fallen guards. “Damn, you are good at this.”

Jerry said
nothing and crossed the lawn to the door of the courthouse. He examined the
knights quickly and didn’t recognize any of them. He put his ear to the door
and heard nothing. “Are you guys ready?” He turned around and found JJ holding
one of the knight’s rifles by the barrel.

“This is a rifle,
right?”

“Yes,” Kyle
said.

JJ strapped it
across his back and picked up another. “And this?”

Jerry nodded.
“Also a rifle.”

“Good.” He
dropped the shotgun on the ground and started back towards the neighboring
buildings.

Kyle ran to
stop him. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going back
to the creek.”

“But …”

Jerry waved
Kyle back over. “Let him go, Kyle. We could use the distraction.”

Kyle shrugged and joined Jerry on the steps of the courthouse. They
nodded to one another and stepped inside the door. Once the prince was
captured, he could get Erica back.

TWENTY-FIVE

They had heard the train crash and the
explosion. The boom bounced off the five peaks and played on for a while. It
stopped all of them mid-stride. Even Chewy’s ears perked up.

“What was that?” Erica had stopped running
and turned toward the sound.

“They probably blew the mine,” Brae said.
“Shane always told me the mine was wired to blow in case there was an uprising.
Kings hate uprisings.”

“If it was in the mine, do you think we’d
hear it like that?”

“I don’t know. But obviously we did. Come on.
We have to keep moving.”

They’d run for miles. Erica wasn’t
unaccustomed to it, but the terrain made her legs weak as they dodged trees and
ran over hills. They had dashed down the mountain and made their way to the
Animas. The trio had followed the river until finding a shallow enough place to
cross. Her feet were still numb from the water. Now they ran through the forest
like rabbits scurrying from prey.

She could barely catch her breath, but
managed a gasping, “Are we almost there?”

Brae slowed and panted for a moment before
she could even answer. She gave up and nodded the response. The girl put her
hands on her hips and stumbled on.

Erica and Chewy followed her into a clearing
where Brae opened her arms, smiled and collapsed to the ground. “This is it,”
she managed as she heaved breaths full of cold air.

Erica found a rock that had managed to keep
the snow off and sat. She put her hands on her knees and leaned back to
breathe. The sun was losing its power over the trees. It would be dark soon.

“Come here, Hannah,” Brae clicked her tongue
and called to Chewy.

As the dog answered the call, Erica began to
wonder if the dog had learned her alias or would simply go to anyone willing to
pet her.

Brae wrapped her arms around the tired animal
and gave her a big hug. “You’re such a sweet girl. Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”

Chewy licked at the girl’s face causing her
to laugh.

Erica laughed, too. “She really likes you.”

Brae smiled and stood. “I know.” Brae stepped
away from the mastiff. “She’s as dumb as you are.”

Chewy began to growl and Erica noticed that
Brae had slipped a rope around the dog’s neck during the hug. She started to
stand.

“Don’t bother, Erica,” Brae said as she
pulled a gun from behind her back.

Erica’s hope sank as she sighed her
disappointment at the situation.

Brae smiled and called into the woods, “Dom!”

There was the crunching of snow from
somewhere beyond the clearing and one of the knights stepped out from behind a
tree.

The man had dark hair and a darker smile.
“You got her.”

“Of course I’ve got her. I told you she
trusted me.”

“You bitch,” Erica said.

“Don’t be mad at me. It’s not my fault you’re
gullible. You bought my story right from the start.”

Erica shook her head. How had she fallen for
this? She didn’t trust anyone. But the town and this girl—everything had
worked together to get her to let her guard down. “How much of it’s true?”

“Let’s see.” Brae put a finger to her lip and
paced around the clearing. “I’ve told you so much, it’s kind of hard to keep
track.”

“Did you know Jerry from before?”

“Well, that part is true. Except
,
I fibbed a little. I dumped him. And he
never got over it. If we’d have had more time here, I’m sure he would have
dropped you in a week. He could never get enough of me.”

Erica hung her head.

Brae laughed. “See, Dom? I told you she’d
believe anything.”

Dom laughed as well.

“I saw your pictures, stupid. Everyone is
looking for you.”

“Are you even really a whore?” Erica smiled
back and saw the flash of anger she was hoping for.
 

“Oh, that part’s true,” Dominic said and
began to laugh even harder.

Brae turned and screamed at the knight but
kept the gun leveled at Erica. “Shut up, you pig!”

In two giant steps, Sir Dominic crossed the
clearing and backhanded Brae into the snow.

Erica tried to leap, but Dom covered her
instantly with his own gun. He shook his head at his prisoner but spoke to the
girl on the ground. “Don’t let your tongue get you into any more trouble,
whore. This is your big chance. You don’t want to screw it up now.”

Brae wanted to sob. Erica could see it on her
face. But she’d spent too many years pretending to be tough to let that happen.
She rose from the ground and found a seat. She kept the gun leveled at Erica.

Chewy strained at the rope until it began to
choke her. The mighty dog reluctantly sat and growled with less intensity.

“So, what’s next? You just wait for the boys
to show up and jump Jerry? It won’t work.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Brae cooed and looked at
Dom. “The boys are dead. Nobody is coming.”

Erica looked at the knight. “What is she
talking about?”

Brae didn’t let him answer. “The Dog killed
the princess and left Shane and Jerry in a town full of crazed cannibals
between two armies that would be trying to kill them.” She shook her head.
“They’re not coming back.”

Erica tilted her head. Now was the perfect
time to stop believing this whore.

Brae insisted, “It’s true.”

“So what’s all of this about? Without Jerry,
they’ll never pay.”

Brae shrugged. “Half is better than none.”

“What happened to this girls stick together
shit?”

“Oh, we’ll stick together, E. All the way
back east.”

“Don’t expect me to do your hair.”

“You’re so funny, E. I always liked that
about you.”

Erica would normally sit in silence, but the
smug look on Brae’s face drove her to talk.

“I don’t believe you.”

Brae gasped and put a hand over her mouth.
“Oh, no. What will I do?”

“If Shane was dead, you’d be in tears. Unless
you’re just a cold heartless bitch.”

Brae chuckled. “You were thinking I was the
hooker with a heart of gold?”
 

“If Jerry was dead, you wouldn’t be sitting
around here waiting to spring a trap.”

Brae beamed a smile Erica wanted to put a
fist through. “We’re not waiting to spring a trap.”

Dominic sat on another rock well away from
the snarling dog. “We’re waiting for someone.”

TWENTY-SIX

Blood mixed with purple tunics in heaps on
the floor. There had been enough knights waiting inside the courthouse to empty
the rifle magazines three times and enough left over that Kyle had to start
shooting as well.

Jerry dropped the empty rifle and drew a .45
from inside his coat. He pulled the hammer back and stepped around the corner
towards the great hall. The doors to the chamber were open. There was no guard
at the entrance.

“Do you think he ran?” Kyle asked.

He didn’t think so. The gunfire outside was
getting closer and closer to the building and it couldn’t all be JJ. The prince
could have fled within the building. But he couldn’t picture the kid giving up
the throne that easily. “We’re just going to have to look and see.”

“You should totally do that,” Kyle agreed and
waved a hand toward the door.

“You’re not coming?”

“Oh, I’ll come, but you should go first.”

“You’re sure?”

“Very sure. You should.”

“Because it’s usually the second guy in the
door that gets shot,” Jerry explained.

“Really? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Really. It happens all the time. Are you
sure you don’t want to go first?”

Kyle looked down the hall at the open doors
and back to Jerry. “No, it’s fine. He’s … he’s probably not even in there,
right?”

“No. I think he’s in there. And I’m pretty
sure he’s got his Dog with him.”

“What kind of dog?”

“No, the Dog is a man. He’s the prince’s Dog.
That’s what they call him.”

“Why? Did he piss on the prince’s rug?” Kyle
asked with a smile.

“That’s not funny, Kyle.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m just saying that there are probably no
less than two men in there waiting to shoot anything that comes through that
door. And I just want you to make sure you want me to go first.”

“I …”

“I wasn’t done yet,” Jerry said.

“Sorry.”

“Knowing full well that it’s usually the
second person through the door that gets shot at. Because I’m not going to feel
guilty.”

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“And you still want me to go first?” Jerry
asked slowly.

“Yes. I
think …,
”
Kyle thought some more, “… I think I do. Yes.”

“You don’t sound too sure.”

“I’m sure.”

Jerry looked into his eyes. There was the
sharpness that he couldn’t find in JJ’s earlier. Kyle was bright enough to
think things through. He had thought this through and figured Jerry was wrong.
There would be no convincing him, so he nodded and turned towards the door.

He began to pick up speed. He wasn’t lying.
It was almost always the second guy through the door that drew the gunfire.
Almost always.
Jerry sprinted to the doorway at an angle and
slid across the polished marble floor, only it wasn’t that polished and he
didn’t actually slide. He skidded to a stop in the middle of the doorway and
looked into the throne room. The prince sat on the throne. The Dog stood before
it with two revolvers drawn.

The Dog laughed and raised the weapons to
fire.

Jerry said, “Shit,” and tried to kick his way
to cover.

Kyle screamed as he came around the corner.

The Dog fired twice and knocked Kyle to the
ground.

Jerry got his feet under him enough to dive
in the courtroom’s audience seating. Blue fabric and white foam exploded all
around him as the Dog turned the guns on him.

Kyle moaned and got to his feet long enough
to collapse behind what little cover the chairs offered. He left a trail of
blood behind him as he dragged his way towards the wall. He bumped a chair and
the chirp it made drew a moment’s gunfire from the Dog.

Jerry jumped to his feet and began to fire
back.

The Dog dropped to the ground and slid behind
the partition that separated the
audience
and the
court.

Jerry fired at the wooden panel trying to
guess where the Dog would be. Wood splintered and cracked and he blasted
several holes along its length.

The prince hadn’t moved. He sat laughing in
his throne.

Jerry kept an eye on the young man, but he
made no move for a weapon. He didn’t move at all. He kept his hands on the arms
of the throne and a smile on his face.

The Dog’s voice was ragged but it carried
fine in the courtroom. “I must admit I’m a little surprised to see you again. I
can’t even begin to imagine how you made it back here.”

“I caught the 10:20 from Durango,” Jerry said
and loaded a fresh magazine into the Colt.

“I’m sorry to say I don’t remember your
name.”

He didn’t? He had to be lying. He had to know
who he was.

“I do remember telling you, you might be
worth a bullet.”

“I’m touched.”

“I’m thinking I was wrong.” The Dog’s hand
appeared around the corner of the partition briefly as he slid an object down
the center aisle of the courtroom.

It came to a stop a few feet from Jerry. The
sword wasn’t ornate. It wasn’t designed to hang on the wall of a study or man
cave. The scabbard was built to be functional. Jerry suspected the blade was
built to kill.

“I think I’d rather kill you up close where I
can see you.”

“I see. You must be out of ammo.”

Another volley of gunfire tore up the chairs
around him and Jerry dropped flat to the floor. Once the firing stopped, he
heard the empty casing dropped to the floor. “Nope. I’ve got plenty of bullets.
I just want to remember this.”

Jerry looked over to Kyle. The man wasn’t
moving. If the Dog or prince tried something while he was unarmed, Jerry would
be on his own. He looked at the sword and the gun in his hand. He sighed. He
had to end this quickly.

“All right,” Jerry said. “I’ll kill you up
close.”

The Dog laughed. It was a terrifying
laugh—full of humor but devoid of life.

Jerry crawled to the sword and pulled it to
him. He rose slowly.

The Dog stood from behind the partition with
his guns at his side. The man was a beast and the sword on his back could reach
him from halfway across the room. Jerry didn’t stand a chance.

The two men held out their guns, barrels to
the wall and dropped them at the same time.

The Dog walked to the base of the throne and
pulled the massive broadsword from his back. Swinging it around his head, the
thrum of the blade caught the acoustics of the room and boomed. The Dog brought
the blade back over his shoulder and waved for his opponent to approach.

Jerry pulled the scabbard from the sword and
threw it into the row of chairs. He tested the weight of the sword in his hand.
It wasn’t for show. It was for killing and nothing else. Jerry set the sword in
his left hand and flourished the blade. He then stepped towards the Dog, drew
the other .45 and put two bullets in the brute’s chest.

The man was still standing when Jerry reached
him, but all the fight and most of the life
was
gone
out of him. The man in black dropped the broadsword as Jerry arrived at the
base of the throne.

“I figured I’d just go ahead and waste the
bullet.” He fired once more, pushed the man to the ground and pointed the gun at
the prince.

The prince jumped and tried to stand but he
put his head through the ceiling tile. His crown fell from the throne while he
tried to get out of the ceiling. He sat back down and quickly scooted a few
steps down the throne. Once free of the roof, he stood and shouted, “Don’t
shoot.”

Jerry shot him in the right shoulder.

The impact and the prince’s flinch threw him
over the arm of the throne and brought him crashing to the ground. He stood on
shaky legs and tried to get his bearings.

“Where is she?” Jerry shouted.

The prince oriented himself and turned to
face Jerry with a stunned look on his face.
“Who?” he asked.

Jerry fired again. It was the right arm
again. The bone would be ruined. He would never shake hands properly again.
“Stop shooting me!”

“Where is she?” Jerry screamed. “Where is
Erica?

The prince moved to his right and began to
whine. “I don’t know who Erica is! Please stop shooting me.”

Jerry put another bullet in the left arm.
“Where’s Jennifer?”

The prince fell back against the wall but
stayed on his feet. He was now in tears. “Why are you looking for all these
women?” The prince drifted to his right, leaving a trail of blood on the wood
panels.

“Where’s my wife
?!
”

“I don’t know who you are!” the prince cried
and rounded the corner. “You’re the miner from the train. I don’t know your
family tree!” He slid along the wall until he was standing in front of the
tapestry.

“You really don’t know, do you?”

Shaking his head violently, the prince took
half a step back.

“How can you not know?” Jerry asked.

Prince Robert’s face twisted in pain as his
chest puffed out. He tried to grab at his heart but his arms were useless. A
silver blade shot a foot through his ribs. The prince’s face went slack and he
collapsed to the ground. The sword stuck through his back pulled the tapestry
with him, revealing the doorway.

“Because I never told him.” Elias’s large
frame filled the doorway. A knight stood on each side of him with a rifle
leveled at Jerry’s chest.

Jerry had never lowered the gun and he wasn’t
about to. He made this clear by leaning closer to the king who was now looking
down the barrel.

Elias didn’t move. “Erica is safe. She took
refuge in the woods. My men saw where she entered and they can take you there.”

Jerry lowered his gun. “I’m pretty sure I
don’t owe you a thank you.”

“No. You need to thank that buffalo of yours.
She found us in the mines. She and a woman named Brae. She’s with her now.”

Brae! Erica couldn’t know not to trust her.
“She isn’t safe. Take me to her now.”

Elias looked surprised, but he didn’t
hesitate. “These men will go with you. Go, now.” He gestured for the two
knights to lower their guns and stepped aside to let Jerry through the
passageway.

“You shouldn’t have killed him. He could have
confessed and stopped the war with Rodney.”

“No,” said Elias. “I’ll talk to Rodney. Even
if it means my life.” He looked at the dead man on the floor in front of him.
“I like the prince better this way.”

Jerry turned to the knights. “Show me.”

They raced out of the building into the snow
and he followed.