Deadland's Harvest (part 2 of the Deadland Saga)

New Eden (Chapter 32)

Clutch practically dragged me through the store. I recognized a couple of the bodies lying motionless on the floor, but, thankfully, nearly all of the Fox survivors were nowhere in sight. I had to believe they'd made it out okay. No one was shooting at us. The fight seemed to have moved back outside, but rounds were still going off everywhere around us. When we reached the hallway under the Exit sign, Clutch took the lead.

We ran past a room where Mary's body lay crumpled next to a desk, her lifeless eyes staring at us. Not far from her, I saw our weapons in a big pile. The bandits must've dumped them there when they were in a hurry to prepare for the New Eden guys. I stopped and pulled Clutch back. "Wait. We'll need these."

He stopped but didn't let go until he noticed the weapons. We rushed into the room, and I picked through the pile to find my rifle and knife. I couldn't find my pistol, so I just started pulling out anything that looked like something I could use. The entire time I focused completely on the weapons and refused to look anywhere even close in the direction of Mary's broken body.

Clutch did the same. I noticed he kept his eyes focused on the weapons, looking at each one. We each took the best machetes, knives, spears, and sidearms. Clutch even grabbed an extra rifle, but I took only mine to keep the weight down. The last thing he picked up before he came to his feet was Tyler's sword, still in its sheath.

"He would've wanted you to have it," I said between slinging what I could over my shoulder and fastening everything else in my weapons belt.

His brows rose but he quickly regained his composure. "Let's go."

We hurried toward the exit. Clutch threw the steel doors open, and we found three soldiers aiming their rifles at us.

"Whoa!" Clutch yelled, holding his rifle up. "We're not bandits!"

They didn't lower their weapons, but one soldier nodded in my direction. "They don't look like bandits."

"Where are you from?" another soldier asked. "And you'd better answer quick."

"I'm with Camp Fox," Clutch replied. "Sergeant Joe Seibert with the 75th Ranger Regiment."

His answer seemed to suffice because the soldier motioned toward the parking lot. "There's a HEMTT by the road. You can join the rest of your group on it. You'd better hurry."

We ran around the corner of the building and the HEMTT came into view. It was surrounded protectively by Humvees. A soldier I didn't recognize was lifting five-year-old Alana into the back.

Our biggest challenge was getting to the HEMTT. The bandits had taken our keys and now had our vehicles, making the battle closely matched. Every few seconds, a bandit ran out from behind one of our Humvees and lobbed a grenade at the New Eden vehicles as another bandit drove slowly, using the Humvee as a shield.

Rounds went through the Humvee's window, blood splattered, and the Humvee sped forward until it ran straight into one of New Eden's Humvees. Red and violet flames burst from the ensuing explosion.

"Wait. Look!" I pointed to a bandit trying to reload the .30 cal on our Humvee.

"Son of a bitch." Clutch took off as quickly as he could run toward the Humvee. He lifted his rifle and shot the bandit in the back. Clutch handed me his rifle and we both climbed up onto the back of the Humvee. He manned the .30, turning it from the New Eden trucks to the bandits in the Camp Fox vehicles. Three bandits stood on the back of Camp Fox's HEMTT. One had a rocket launcher while the other two had rifles, laying down cover fire. Clutch and a soldier from New Eden zeroed in on the risk at the same moment. Two bandits fell with shots from different directions, but the bandit with the launcher fired before he fell.

I watched as the rocket shot through the air, leaving a smoke trail behind it. When I realized its trajectory, I cried out. "No!"

My shout did nothing to stop the rocket from hitting the HEMTT. The vehicle went up in an explosion. Fire engulfed the large vehicle. Debris flew twenty feet in every direction.

Every single person that was here from Camp Fox was on that HEMTT. Everyone we'd fought to protect over the past several months, everyone we'd saved from the fire, everyone we cared for, was gone in a single blast of heat. I don't know how long I stood there, numbly watching the HEMTT burn. All my senses seemed to shut down until the sounds of battle grew in volume.

The New Eden soldiers fired .30 cal rounds back at the bandits, but the sounds of gunfire were growing less and less frequent. Either they were running out of ammo or they were running out of people. Artillery and grenade blasts rang in my ears.

I looked at Clutch to find him staring at the burning wreckage. Slowly, his jaw clamped shut and his eyes and lips narrowed. He maneuvered the .30 cal and began firing relentlessly at the bandits. The sudden sense of loss was blanketed by adrenaline-infused anger. "Kill them all," I ordered, though my words were drowned out by machine gun fire.

Clutch turned to me. "I'm out."

I looked around. The store behind us had become a massive fire. The soldiers who had been around back came running around the store, and were gunned down as soon as they appeared. I twisted to find the source and then saw the bandit who'd given Clutch a black eye standing behind one of New Eden's .30 cals. The Humvee took off, and I saw Hodge in the driver's seat.

I jumped up onto the roof of the Humvee and took aim. I didn't account for their speed properly, and my first shot missed. My second clipped the bandit's neck, and he fell off the back. It'd been awhile since I'd killed a man, but the fact didn't faze me. In fact, I found pleasure watching the blood spray from his neck.

I aimed at Hodge, but he turned sharply, and I couldn't get a clear shot. He pulled out of the parking lot and sped onto the road. I fired off three shots, but I doubted any found their target. Even if we took off after him in our Humvee, we'd likely never catch up in time. So, Clutch and I watched helplessly as the bastard drove off.

When he disappeared behind the trees, I noticed that there were no more sounds of gunfire. Fires crackled everywhere, and I heard someone calling for help.

Unlike massive climatic scenes in movies where the bad guy got his due, this battle had simply...ended.

My ears were ringing, and my adrenaline numbed my nerves. I stared off at the burning HEMTT. Across the parking lot, no one was walking. There were bodies everywhere, but no one was standing. There was no one left except us.

"We're all that's left," I said emotionlessly, though I knew my emotions were still in there, too beaten down by hopelessness to dare rise. "There's no one left."

Clutch wrapped an arm around me and I found myself holding onto him like he was my lifeline. "We have each other."