The moment was about to end.
Chapter 32
Hayden had taken the car off the highway two miles from town and driven through a field to the west end. He waited until most of the color had vanished from the sky, and then set off into Brayburne on foot. There were half a dozen controlled fires along the perimeter that he could see. He headed for the largest—the one directly behind the closest green tent.
Last tent on the west end of Main Street. Where all the new recruits stay.
There were a dozen of them seated or standing around the steel barrel fire. None of them gave him a second look as he stood amongst them and warmed his hands. I’m just another soldier none of them have had time to meet. The kid that had given them directions to the supply tent—the skinny fucker that liked pissing on burning debris—was directly across from him. Hayden lowered his face a little. To Hayden’s right—three volunteer army assholes away—was the biggest asshole of them all. He hadn’t been wearing a shirt the day he’d driven a tank into MacDonald’s farm, and he wasn’t wearing one now. The kid was maybe twenty years old, and he was built like a brick shit house. He wasn’t impressing the girls with those massive pectorals and six-pack abs anymore, Hayden thought. But then again, maybe he wasn’t trying to attract women. Perhaps it was a show of dominance—a warning to all the other post-Apocalyptic jerk-off macho wannabes. He was still wearing the shades as well, even though it was almost completely dark.
Not all the men gathered there were responsible for Trixie’s death. Perhaps the two Hayden had recognized were the only members of that horse-murdering squad standing around the fire. Hayden didn’t care. He would take down all of them if it came to that—so long as he got his hands around the shirtless wonder’s throat.
I’m going to kill that fucker.
“Hey! When did you sign up?” The skinny kid was staring at Hayden. “And how the fuck does a guy that wandered into town less than eight hours ago get promoted ahead of the rest of us?”
Hayden had been openly glaring at the one in sunglasses too long. He thought about his son one last time, and prayed he would be safe with the women he’d left him with. He kicked out, spilling the barrel’s burning contents over the kid that had recognized him. The front of his pants and the chest of his olive-green tee-shirt were covered in sparking embers. He howled and stumbled back, smacking stupidly at his clothes with his bare palms instead of diving into the dirt all around him.
Hayden pushed the first soldier to his right away, and lunged at the kid without a shirt. He slammed his forearm into the big chest, and both men fell to the ground in a tangle. He was almost half Hayden’s age, and within seconds he wrestled himself on top of the older man.
He’s younger than me. He’s faster than me. The kid punched him, and Hayden felt his nose break for a second time that week. He might even be stronger than me. He saw the next hit coming in through a layer of stars. Hayden moved his head to the left, and the fist connected with his cheek bone and scraped off his ear. But I’m madder… By God, I’m a whole lot fucking madder.
He blocked the third swing with his arm, and bit the kid’s knuckle. He tasted blood in his mouth, some of it his own, some of it not. He bit down harder and the kid screamed. Hayden punched him in the chest, forcing him back. He pulled a leg up and wrapped it around his throat. He pushed the leg back down, pounding the young man’s head into the ground at the same time.
Hayden was on top now, and he wasn’t going down again. He hammered the sunglasses, shattering hard plastic into both eyes. He broke the kid’s nose, he shattered his jaw, and he emptied his mouth of most of its teeth. He was still swinging wildly as the others dragged him off.
“Easy, guy,” one of them said. “He’s done. What the fuck did he do to you?”
“My horse,” Hayden gasped. “He killed my horse.”
Some of the other men gathered around the spilled remains of the fire looked at one another.
“Yeah,” Hayden shouted. “You’re the ones that did it! Useless cowards. I’ll kill you all.”
“You’re not gonna get the chance.” The kid that had been sprayed with embers walked out of the smoke towards Hayden. A pistol was gripped in his hand. “I’m gonna fill you with fucking holes, just like we did to your horse… you crazy bastard.”
The other men held Hayden’s arms as the kid stepped in and rested the gun’s end between his eyes. There was a blinding flash of white light, and the gun fell away. Hayden felt the arms restraining him let go. The light started to fade and Hayden looked to the east.
A mushroom cloud sprouted on the horizon, It billowed upwards, pushing the night sky away in a brilliant display of orange and red.
Caitlan had said it was beautiful. How could she have thought that? It’s an abomination.
A second flash of white followed, and a second mushroom cloud was born next to the first one.
“No,” Someone said. “Not again.”
By the time the third bomb hit a minute later, no one had seen Hayden slip away.
“This is it,” Caitlan said as the second white glow that had burst above their heads and lit the entirety of the gravel pit started to fade away. “They dropped more bombs.” She scrambled away from the fire and climbed up a steep grade of loose shale and crumbling dirt.
Angela shouted at the children to stay below. She started after Caitlan, and moments later all three children followed. Michael and Amanda helped Nicholas up the last bit, and they joined the women on top, sitting at the quarry’s edge, staring east at the monstrous columns of orange rising out of the earth.
Nicholas leaned against Caitlan’s back and rested his small arms on her shoulders. “What is that?”
“Round two,” she replied sadly.
Another blast of white light forced them to cover their eyes. Angela looked again first and saw a third cloud join the others. “My God… why?”
“Because some of us are still living,” Amanda answered. “They won’t stop doing it until we’re all dead.”
Michael shook his head. “Then why aren’t they dropping them all over the place? Why are they just exploding in the east?”
The twins were both right, Caitlan supposed, but Michael’s questions troubled her even more. “We’re a hundred miles from what was left of Winnipeg. Those nukes are atomizing anything and everything left… Why?”
A fourth white flash lit the sky, and a fourth mushroom cloud was born.
Nicholas whimpered into Caitlan’s ear. “I want my Daddy.”
“Mother… Fucker!” Roy exclaimed as the mushroom cloud rose above them. The sky surrounding the immense yellow tower glowed red. Seconds later an explosive crack ripped through the air. It almost knocked the big man to his knees. Louie was already on his knees somewhere behind him, crying into the dirt of the field they were crossing.
There was a second flash of light—a second detonation. It made another awful sound deep inside Roy’s brain, like a single string on a base guitar being plucked too hard. A horrible, reverberating twang.
A wall of dust and smoke was charging their way. “We’re going to die,” Louie blubbered.
Roy figured they were less than thirty miles from the city’s perimeter. The bombs were big, but he figured they still might have a chance. He grabbed his companion and dragged him to a low spot in the field. “Lay on your gut, and keep your face planted in the ground.”