Kohl stood on top of the car and shouted toward the entrance to the town hall. “Bruce! I know you’re in there! And I know you have my man in there. You going to come out so we can sort this out, or do I need to force you out? You don’t want to make this any worse for the town, do you?”
It hadn’t taken Kohl long to find the town hall. There were more than enough terrified residents of Shade’s Rest who were willing to tell them in exchange for their lives. The group had been left alone for the most part once they started moving in. A few sniping attacks had occurred, but once they’d taken down the house with the rocket launcher, serious resistance from Shade’s Rest had fallen apart.
Now they found themselves standing before the town hall. Kohl knew that it used to be an old store, and the parking lot laid out at the store’s front looked like it was serving as a temporary shelter for most of the residents. Makeshift tents and other shelters sat quietly in the lot. It made sense to Kohl. As the people of the town slowly built it back into living shape, rallying around the central building made sense. Kohl smiled, realizing that whatever remained of Shade’s Rest after they were through would probably be spending more time than they expected here.
Kohl was pleased with how things had gone since they’d stormed the gate to the town. The only serious fight they’d encountered was right inside in the gate. That was crushed easy enough, save for a few surprise attacks from some flaming pots.
Kohl had changed his plans since he arrived in the town. He came not only to get Tim, Maple, and the girl back, but also to humiliate Bruce. He didn’t want to kill him. He wanted to tear him down in front of his people. Show them that they weren’t safe. Leave them shaking in fear and, of course, respect for Kohl and the rest of the Rotars. Now after being inside, Kohl decided that perhaps this place would better serve him and his people. He decided to add another punishment for Bruce. Once he was humiliated, he was going to put Bruce on the most brutal work detail he could find. There were likely many latrines or graves that needed to be dug once he’d taken over. Kohl had to admit that the nomadic lifestyle was wearing thin on him. Shade’s Rest might prove to be a place worth keeping for his very own.
But first, he had to take care of its current leadership.
“I’m not going to wait forever, Bruce!”
* * *
Bruce looked out through the shutters of the window at Kohl and the circle of vehicles. The situation wasn’t great, but Bruce realized that he wasn’t as nervous as he thought he should be. There had been some serious damage done to the town, and several people were dead and even more wounded. The realization of this weighed heavy on him. Bruce knew he was their trusted leader. He’d steered them clear of similar scrapes in the past. In all of those times, there had never been any fighting, any bloodshed. Now this time there was. People were dead. Fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, and even his own friends. People Bruce would make sure he would help bury when the time came. Despite this, he still felt the right decision had been made. All those times they ran, they’d let others control their fate. Bruce realized he didn’t want that anymore. The people of Shade’s Rest had to start controlling their fate. If they didn’t, they would spend their lives on the move. No, they had to make their stand, because anything worth having was worth fighting and even dying for. Bruce hoped the Rotars wouldn’t have gotten this far into town, but they were here and now he just needed his plan to work.
Bruce looked behind him. Several guards stood around the town hall, but three were clustered around Tim, who sat bound in the hall’s center. The Elders were nowhere near the building, having been moved to safety some time ago. Maple and Runner were hopefully far from here as well, along with the rest who couldn’t or shouldn’t be fighting.
Bruce took a deep breath to steel himself. “I’m going out. Get ready to bring him.”
The guards nodded.
“He’s going to kill you.” Tim spoke with a sinister tone.
Bruce turned back toward the chained man. “No he won’t. He’s never going to get the chance.” Bruce turned back around, checked the pistol tucked into the back of his belt one last time, and made his way out the door.
Bruce saw the smile on Kohl’s face instantly as he stepped out and took a few steps toward Kohl and his men.
“Glad to see you’ve made the right choice, Bruce. Where’s my man?”
Bruce gestured back toward the entrance. “Back here.”
“What about the girls and those two travelers?” Kohl’s voice started to take a suspicious tone.
“They’re gone,” Bruce lied.
“Bullshit.” Kohl called his bluff.
Bruce shook his head, and his voice took on a more sullen tone. “I wish. After you showed up, they got spooked and took off in the middle of the night.” Bruce started to move slowly closer, keeping his hands where Kohl could see them. Bruce took note of the several other gangers he could see crouched in defensive positions behind the ring of vehicles. “We were set to let your man go, but he decided to take out some of his frustration on our citizens, so we had to lock him back up. We can’t let him go now. What purpose would that serve?”
Kohl laughed. “It’ll save your life for one thing. Turn him over now, Bruce.”
Bruce continued to walk forward. He shook his head again, opening his arms wide. “I’m not going to do that, Kohl. He stays.” Bruce stopped. He swallowed hard. He could feel his heart pounding rapidly. Fear made him tense slightly and he felt his face flush red. Bruce locked eyes with Kohl, and lowered his arms. “And you’re going to leave. Now.” Bruce raced for the pistol behind his back but was too slow. Kohl already had his own weapon raised and aimed by the time Bruce had clutched his. Bruce felt a cold tingle wash over his body as he realized he was, indeed about to die. Shit.
Something hot and fast sliced through Bruce’s thigh, and his ability to stand suddenly vanished. Bruce didn’t even hear the gunshot as he hit the ground. A howl of pain escaped his mouth. He felt another cut of pain rip across his skull. His vision flashed white with pain . Bruce struggled to take control and rise above the pain, but it was too intense. The white quickly turned dark, and Bruce could feel the blackness begin to envelop his consciousness.
* * *
James and his squad moved carefully between two houses with purpose. Across the street, he could see the tent-filled lot with the town hall sitting squat behind. The Rotars’ vehicles stood in a dark circle. From this angle, James saw someone standing on the top of one of the cars. Others were crouched down, guarded, but almost all facing the front of the building. It looked like the standing man might be talking to someone, but James couldn’t be sure. Taking the time to make sure that the few that did face toward his side were not looking their way, James motioned his men forward toward a better attack angle. James knew his tiny group had no chance in a stand-up fight, but all they needed to do was cause enough disruption to the Rotars to get them to move. If the man standing was their leader, killing him alone might be just enough.
As they cut across the lawn of one house toward a grove of bushes at another, James kept an eye locked on the situation. The other man came into view and James’ eyes widened when he realized who it was. Bruce stood there alone, talking with the other man who must be Kohl, the Rotars’ leader. What the hell is Bruce doing?
Bruce never detailed all the plans for defense to James. In fact, James realized that Bruce hadn’t really told him anything that might happen if the Rotars got beyond the gate. ‘We’ll be ready for them’ and ‘Make sure they get to the town hall’ was all that was said.
As James and his squad took their cover positions, James watched in horror as he saw Bruce reaching for something only to be beaten to the draw by Kohl. It was like a punch to the gut to see Bruce hit the ground, but James didn’t have much time to digest it as the tents filling the lot erupted into action. People poured out from every corner, firing guns, bows or throwing rocks.
James let out a chuckle as chaos erupted in front of the town hall. Not bad, Bruce.
James didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go!” He shouted and he charged through the bushes toward the battle.
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