Naught and the Circle

Chapter 15 - Price and the demon

I

The creature had been staring at Gavin all day. Its beady, red eyes locked on his every movement. Shelby watched their interactions as the convoy marched east.

The operation had been a complete shitshow from the get-go, yet Private Lucien had somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He had lured a creature to an abandoned shaft. Then slipped through the cracks and while the beast tried to claw its way through, the others sealed the exits with salt. The engineers in Fourth Platoon had gone straight to work on a make-shift cage to contain it.

It reminded Shelby of one of those old-timey circus wagons they kept lions in. Bars of thick metal rods. Wooden wheels underneath. Salt lining the cage floor. 4 ropes dragged it along the path. The soldiers took turns.

The creature sniffled and huffed. Mucus dripping from its mouth. It held its gaze on Gavin's every footstep. A few soldiers had noticed it and whispered among themselves.

Shelby wanted to get to H-City as quickly as possible. They had pulled their weight with this group. He was done serving in some toy-army. Two of the platoons from Charlie-Company were dispatched to bring home the creature, alongside Shelby's band of outsiders. And now they found themselves heading to the city. Atlas believed they would be detained for a few days, then if all went well, he would help them get a room at the hostel in The Hammerhead sector. Shelby knew better. As soon as anyone with a brain interrogated the Englishman, shit would hit the fan. Gavin would be killed or exterminated. And Shelby, if he was lucky, would be punted into the wasteland with nothing but his underwear.

If he could just get to Strawberries, make sure that she was alright. Katherine and Gavin were the least of his worries. As a gun-for-hire, Katherine had eased into her life as a soldier. She hung out with the platoon more than Shelby. Shared tips and tricks with them. As long as she could keep the Tunnelers from finding out about the bounty on her head, she would survive. And Gavin? He could get fucked.

*Grnt* the creature sniffled. It stood still, listening. Shelby shuddered. Even in captivity, it terrified him. In these rocky tunnels, one minor mistake could cause the cage to topple. The soldiers had glued the salt to the ceiling and floor. And the wagon was low and wide, but still. The thought of this monster had kept him awake many a night. How he could see the end of his life in the claws of one—like Barrett, or the poor souls on the train.

"The bug seems to have built quite the fancy to your blind friend," Atlas said. "You sure he's not smuggling dry meat or something?"

Shelby laughed it off, hoping he had not caught on. "Maybe the bugs know to sniff out the weakest."

Atlas smiled. He had mellowed after the capture, and the successful defence of the St. Peter's Cross, and now with their return home.

"Is there a word for nostalgia," Shelby pointed at the creature, "but when it's bad?"

"You mean PTSD?" Atlas replied.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"It's a miracle we survived that."

"Well, you're one clever bastard, that's for sure."

"You know," Atlas said. "We always view ourselves a bit smarter than we really are. And everyone else a bit dumber."

"Oh?" Shelby replied. "What ya mean?"

Atlas looked at Gavin, shuffling along in the convoy.

"I'm not gonna ask if you're not gonna answer."

The days on the outskirts seemed like years ago. Those of his youth felt like a folklore, a lie. It had been one gunshot after another since the Great Fuck-All. Running, breathing, fighting. Shelby's eyes were heavy. Dark rings around them. Just a few miles more, now. To the gates of the lone citadel of humanity. To the last child he had left. Then he would sleep. Sleep and dream of families, and a past long buried.