“An appointment with a child? The Empire will not suffer such an insult!”
“Take it however you wish. You are in my city, so you play by my rules.”
Rex frowned. “I see. I’m sorry we could not come to a settlement that was more agreeable.”
Char said nothing. He only stared at Rex, willing him to go away — not just from his presence, but from his city.
“What am I to tell the Proconsul, Alpha Char?”
Char narrowed his eyes. At this point, Anna left my side and stood by Char, keeping her right hand over her sheathed katana.
“Raider Bluff will not become part of the Empire,” Char said. “Our freedom is not something to be bandied about. We bow to no one.”
Rex frowned. “I was afraid you might say something like that. Very well. I am afraid I must leave immediately. The Proconsul is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.”
Several Raiders flanking the doorway stepped behind Rex, barring his exit. Rex took a step back, running right into them.
“I don’t think you understand how things work in the Wasteland.”
Rex’s face reddened. Slowly, he realized what was happening.
There was fear, and not superiority, in those eyes.
“If I am not back at Colossus at my appointed time, you will rue the day you did injury to me. By killing me, you will make a mortal enemy of the Empire.”
Char eyed Rex up and down, and laughed. Rex paused, unsure. That’s when Char snapped. He drew Anna’s katana from its sheath and swung the blade to within an inch of Rex’s neck.
Finally, Rex spoke. “Very well. You will have your war. By next year, the Mojave will be part of the Empire, not as citizens — but as slaves.”
With a roar, Char drew the blade back and swung it at Rex’s neck. Rex’s eyes widened the moment before the blade made contact, slicing through the flesh and bone. The head flew through the air as a fountain of blood spewed from the neck. The head arced through the air, bouncing off a stone column. Rex fell to his knees and onto the stone floor.
Rex’s expression on the severed head was a horrible etching of fear and pain. The eyes remained open, staring vacantly ahead.
Char handed the blade to Anna, who, without batting an eye, wiped it on Rex’s clothes. Char turned, facing everyone in the room.
“Throw this scum’s body off Vulture Rock.”
The Raiders nodded and lifted the headless body. Another took the head — probably to find a nice pike to stick it on.
I didn’t say anything. Char was eerily calm. I was anything but. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.
Makara entered the room.
“What the hell is going on?”
Char didn’t answer her, but Makara got her answer when she saw Rex’s head and body being taken from the room.
“Who was that? That wasn’t Rex, was it?”
Char gave a slow nod. “It is done.”
Makara’s face went white. “Char…”
“He wanted to make us slaves of the Empire,” Char said. “That is something that will never happen.”
“Yeah,” Makara said. “I can see that.”
“Both of you, come with me,” Char said. “Since you are both here, I might as well make use of you.”
Makara walked forward. “What do you need?”
“Answers.” Char gestured toward a long table in front of a fireplace. We followed him there and sat down. It was all I could do to stop myself from shaking at the barbaric display I had just witnessed.
The same servant who had brought us food earlier came, offering water and some flatbread. I grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite. Even if I felt guilty knowing how the food was prepared, I was starving.
“Tell me, Makara,” Char said. “What became of you since last you left Raider Bluff?”
Makara told him everything that happened — her escape from Brux and the raid group, meeting me, and finding Samuel. She also told him about our mission — to head to Bunker One to discover the origins of the xenovirus, and how we hoped to find a cure for it. It took almost an hour of continuous talking. Char ate and drank, nodding from time to time, and only interrupted with a few questions. Finally, Char was up to speed as much as any of us were.
“We have noticed the Blights,” Char said. “There are several growing near here. Last you were here, Makara, there were none. But we have lost some men to attacks. Monsters that look like lizards, with sharp teeth, that can run as fast as a vehicle.” Char sighed. “The men have taken to calling them ‘crawlers.’ There are much worse that have no name. And there are also the Howlers. They are the human kind, and are the newest addition to Ragnarok’s bestiary, named for the awful howling sound they make upon attacking. We don’t send patrols that way anymore. In the east is death. And the farther east you go, the worse it gets. The monsters only get bigger.”
Makara did not say anything. “We have to go there.”
“Say you do find the answer — the cure to the xenovirus,” Char said. “What then?”
Makara shook her head. “I don’t know. But we have to try something. Samuel will not stop until he has answers. This is his mission, really. Alex and I are just along for the ride.”
Char looked at me, his eyes weighing us. “If that is true, there’s more to you than meets the eye, Alex. I could use someone like you around here.”
I accepted the compliment, but didn’t show any outward sign of appreciation. “We have to leave as soon as we are able. Winter will be coming on soon, and if what you say about the Blights is true, we will have to be even faster.”
“When you leave these walls,” Char said, “you both know you probably will not be coming back, right?”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Even if you make it that far, against all odds, what are the chances you can make it back?”
“Yes,” Makara said. “We know.”
I gave no reaction, but it was not something I had given much thought. It made sense, though. We would not be coming back. It seemed strange to think that. We might not even make it in the first place.
“The only reason I say that is because of the Great Blight — the one that starts, and doesn’t end.”
I frowned. “What is the Great Blight?”
“Just like it sounds,” Char said. “It starts at Ragnarok Crater — or at least I assume it does — and spreads hundreds and hundreds miles outward in each direction. It grows every year — our last patrol reported it starting somewhere a little ways into what used to be New Mexico. It’s probably farther by now; that was last year.”
“If we don’t do anything,” I said, “one day everything will be the Great Blight…Raider Bluff included.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Char said.
He sat quietly for a few minutes, thoughtful. It was hard to read what was going on inside his head.
“I hate to see you go, so soon after getting back,” Char said to Makara. “It’s good, what you did to Brux. No one liked him, anyway. He had it coming, although you should probably keep what really happened between us. Mutiny is mutiny, and someone who has it out for you could make trouble if they found out.”
“Humph,” Makara said. “You think I don’t already know that?”
Char rose from the table. “Thank you for your information; it was most useful. I’ll go check on Samuel.”
Before Makara could answer, Anna rushed in, her eyes wide.
“What is it?” Char asked.
“Trouble, at the Bounty,” she said.
Makara stood. “Why? What happened?
“Some men loyal to the Empire heard about Rex,” Anna said. “They’re holding Lisa hostage. They’re hoping to use her to get out of Bluff somehow.”
“I have to get down there,” Makara said.