Hollow World

Book 2 Chapter 19

"Tell you what," Sam said to the three men standing in front of him, "I'll give you each five bullets for your guns," he said, pointing at the rifles slung across their backs, "if you watch the car and make sure no one steals anything." 

For a moment, the men looked confused, and then the largest of the three, a rather tall and rotund white man, responded. "You want us to guard the car?"

"Yep," Sam said in response.

"For how long?"  Said the smallest, a black teenager, probably no more than seventeen by Sam's estimation.

"Until I get back," Sam said, looking at the small crowd that had begun to gather outside the doors of the former Walmart. 

He had spent the better part of the night sitting on the ridge, watching the lit parking lot, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.  In that time, he had watched  two patrols of five people each come and go, the second of which leading what looked to be a cow back into the building, the clang of the beasts bell reaching him as a low din.  When the sun had begun to rise, more details became clearer, such as the wooden wall that was outside the perimeter of the lamps, and the wind turbines spinning in the frigid wind.  Steeling himself, Sam had gotten into his car and drove it towards the structure, noting the solar panels on it’s roof.  He drove past a fenced in pond before being forced to halt at a wooden gate, waiting for the guard, an over weight African American woman, came out to greet him.  The woman had questioned him about his intentions, all the while keeping what looked to be a semi-automatic pointed at him.  She forced him to open the back of the car, and let out a long low whistle at the amount of ammo that he carried.  With that, she slammed the trunk shut, pat on it twice and wished him luck.

Sam double checked the locks on all the doors on the car, made a show of hanging the key on a chain around his neck before saying farewell to his hired guards.

“You should go see Anna before she comes to find you,” said the largest.

“Too late,” came the reply from the crowd, which parted to reveal a pair of hispanic men with shaved heads, flanking a small woman who looked old enough to be their grandmother, leaning on a cane.

“So,” the woman said, “You’re the one with the car?”

Sam saw the deference that the crowd gave the woman, and decided to play it safe.  “Yes ma’am, my name’s Sam, and you must be Anna.”

“Damn gringo,” she spat, “name’s Anna Maria.”  She walked forward, and her two bodyguards followed at arms length.  She moved rather slowly, the cane snapping out ahead of her with every other step, but Sam watched as the crowd collectively held it’s breath, until she stood before the one who had told him to go see her.  “Maria, me llamo es Anna Maria, it’s my name.  Anna Maria!”  She switched between the languages fluidly, and with each word she prodded the man in his massive gut with her cane.   Finally, to emphasize her point, she reached up and smashed the end of the cane into his face.  Sam heard a crunch as the cartilage in the man’s nose shifted and blood began to pour out.

“I’m sorry, Anna Maria…” Sam began.

“Yes, yes, what could you do, if the damned gringo,” she spat again, “had told you correctly, I’m certain you would have gotten it right, now what can The Bazaar do for you?”

As she asked the question, a blast from what Sam could only describe as a train whistle sounded, and the crowd hurriedly dispersed.

“Ahh, been waiting on that sound all week.”  Anna Maria smiled.

“What’s going on?” asked Sam, glancing at the three men still guarding his vehicle, the blood still flowing from the one’s broken nose.

“When was the last time you had bacon?”  The old woman asked.