Lovely led Ludwig down the main street of an abandoned town. Boarded up shops and homes lined the streets. Trash collected in the gutters and flew across the cracked asphalt in a gentle breeze. Holy Holly hung over her shoulder, nestled under her left arm. It was comforting.
"You know, it makes you wonder, what with everyone gone and all, at least around here, why there's so much trash? You think the ones that left put garbage bags of their shit out on the road, thinkin' someone would pick it up?" Ludwig asked as he struggled to keep up with Lovely's pace. "And what about their homes? Y'know? You think they locked the doors in case they wanted to come back? Or just left 'em open? What did they do with their money? What did banks do? It'd all be useless, right? Should use it as toilet paper, really," Ludwig pattered on.
"Do you ever stop?" Lovely asked.
"It's usually better with Sanchez. He just kinda grunts. I wouldn't mind some back and forth though, you know. Good for the soul," Ludwig replied.
"He's not wrong, honey." Kyle suddenly appeared on the far side of Ludwig, squinting into the sun. Lovely shot him an accusatory glare that, surprisingly, made him disappear. She turned her attention to Ludwig; his nose was scrunched in confusion.
"Fine then. Where do you have to go?" Lovely asked.
"Not far from here, really. Could get there by myself now. I've got a little tracker-blood in me, you know? My pa used to hunt deer. Got a sense for sniffin' out trouble and knowin' where to go," Ludwig explained.
"That doesn't answer my question," Lovely replied.
"Right. Well, I don't know you that well, not really. 'Bout as much as you know me. But from what I've heard I'm not exactly comfortable divulging the exact whereabouts of my future rendezvous," Ludwig explained.
"What have you heard?"
"I'm not exactly comfortable divulging that either."
"Tell me," Lovely ordered.
"It's just...I've heard you talk to people who aren't there," Ludwig cracked.
She stared him down, not because she intended to do anything to him—he wasn't worth her time—but because she thought she heard something. A rumble in the distance.
"What? Is it—" Ludwig started, until she clamped one hand over his mouth and held up the index finger of her other for silence. The rumble grew into a low hum, echoing off the buildings. Lovely removed her hand and words tumbled out of Ludwig's mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, you're not a crazy lady. I just thought that if I put it out there it wouldn't be awk—"
"—Shut up!" she whisper-shouted at him.
The rumble grew in intensity. Lovely surveyed their position. They were standing in front of an old grocery store, its windows broken, door open, and leaves scattered about inside.
"Get inside. Be quiet," Lovely ordered, racing toward the building.
Ludwig reluctantly followed. The aisles had been picked clean, at least of the non-perishables. A few cans of cleaning supplies remained on one shelf, while lightbulbs and laundry detergent occupied others. Lovely dragged Ludwig toward the back.
"It stinks in here." Ludwig plugged his nose.
The stench came from the open refrigerator doors in the dairy aisle. Congealed milk dripped off the shelves and pooled on the floor. Flies buzzed around the greenish liquid. Lovely directed Ludwig behind the meat counter.
"Yuck. I'm gonna puke," Ludwig said, holding an arm over his mouth as he stared at a rotten steak in the display counter. Maggots crawled over it in a writhing mass. Following his gaze was a bad idea.
"Do that and you'll get us both killed," Lovely said, keeping her own urge to vomit at bay.
"Way to be over-dramatic much," Ludwig scoffed.
Further conversation was halted by a gun cocking. Lovely checked Ludwig's side to see what type of gun he carried. Except his hands were empty. Her eyes widened.
"Don't say a word," a voice trying to sound gruff, but failing, said from the shadows behind them.
"We're not here to take anything," Lovely said, her hand hovering above Holy Holly.
"You think I'm worried about that?" the voice replied.
She caught a glimpse of the man the voice belonged too. He was younger than she expected, late teens or early twenties. His arms were covered in tattoos and he wore a leather vest without an undershirt, showing his ribcage and skin drawn taut across bone. Purplish bruises sprouted up across his abdomen and chest, his lip was bleeding and he had a black eye. He was a member of the Heaven's Devils.
"Jesus kid, what the hell happened to ya?" Ludwig said.
"None of your business, seein' as you don't got the gun," the Young Man replied.
"Lemme guess, your friends call you Punchin' Bag, seein' as you don't got no balls," Ludwig said with a sneer. Lovely wished she didn't have to come along, even if the name fit.
Punchin' Bag cocked the gun.
"We don't want any trouble," Lovely said. It would take her a couple seconds to unsling Holy Holly and aim it at him; long enough that he could pepper her with bullets.
"You shouldn't have come here," Punchin' Bag said, nodding toward the rumble outside. The bikes were approaching.
"We're just passing through," Ludwig explained. "And if you let us keep on passin' you won't see us again because we'll have, well, passed."
Punchin' Bag screwed up his forehead. "Stay there."
"Listen, kid, I don't know what's goin' on or who you think we are, but we mean you no trouble," Lovely reminded him.
"You can't let them get me," Punchin' Bag said. He leaned forward and light from the windows reflected off wet cheeks. He was crying.
It all clicked as the rumble crescendoed into the constant pop of pistons as the bikes arrived. First one bike streamed by the front window, followed by a few more. Lovely tried to count the number but lost track at twenty. One thing was certain: they were slowing down. Meaning they were looking for something. Or someone.
"We're not in any position to fight," Lovely said, and then pointed at her stomach.
Punchin' Bag softened at that. Slightly. "Then get me out of here."
"Get down and stay quiet. Our best bet is if they move on without finding us," Lovely cautioned.
She turned back to the front of the store, where the last of the bikers stopped. They must have taken up most of the main street. One by one the engines died, replaced by muffled voices.
"What if they come in here?" Ludwig actually looked frightened now.
Lovely's response was unslinging Holy Holly and aiming it in front of her. She exhaled when she noticed that the young man shifted the aim of his gun as well, off her and toward the front of the store.
"It's that biker gang, ain't it? The Heaven's Devils or whatever," Ludwig stated, obviously slow on the uptake.
"You keep talking and you'll find out," she said, and then held a finger to her lips, signaling the end of the conversation.
Footsteps approached the front doors, crunching the broken glass on the sidewalk and leaves in the entryway. Then they stopped. A few excruciatingly slow second passed as Lovely took in long, slow breaths. Holy Holly felt heavy in her hands.
"Nothin' in here," a gruff voice finally said. The footsteps receded.
"Oh thank God, not that I believe in him," Ludwig blurted.
The shoes stopped. Then, more rapidly, they stomped down the aisle to the meat counter.
"Shit. Sorry," Ludwig added.
Lovely and Punchin' Bag looked at Ludwig in dismay. Then Lovely closed her eyes, focusing on the canter of the steps.
"He's ten feet away, maybe twelve," Kyle advised. He perched on the counter, his head swiveling from the approaching man to Lovely. "Five feet now, better act fast," Kyle warned as the shadow of the approaching man passed over him.
"Well whadda we -" Gruff Voice started to speak, eyes locked on Punchin' Bag, but he was cut short when Lovely sprang up, slamming the butt of Holy Holly into his nose. There was an audible crack.
"Ouch!" Ludwig said, twisting his face in disgust. He brought his hand up to his nose as if to register the pain.
Lovely tucked Holy Holly under her arm and put one hand on Ludwig's back and the other on Punchin' Bag's shoulder and yanked them toward the rear of the store.
"Hey! Hey guyth, I found him! He'th not awone!" Gruff Voice shouted, although the gruffness was distorted from the blood dripping from his nose.
"I told you to shut up," she said, pushing Ludwig along a service hallway that terminated at a large steel door. Punchin' Bag brought up the rear, aiming his gun haphazardly behind them.
"I can't help it. I was relieved! You know me, I can't stop talking, it's like. Oh," Ludwig said, shutting up when Lovely shoved him again.
They arrived at the door and pushed. It didn't budge. Footsteps sounded behind them as more men entered the grocery store.
"Shit...shit!" Punchin' Bag panicked, pacing back and forth, fresh tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Step back." Lovely told Ludwig and aimed Holy Holly at the handle.
"That's gonna be really—"
BOOM
The reverberation was deafening. Any of the bikers that didn't hear the man with the bloody nose's plea for help certainly heard that. But it accomplished her objective: the door flung open, revealing an outdoor storage area. A short fence separated it from an alleyway.
"You good at hopping fences?" Lovely asked the others as she tossed her backpack into the alley.
"I can climb, ya." Ludwig sounded a little insulted.
Punchin' Bag nodded, still covering their rear.
"Good. Then go," Lovely ordered.
Ludwig didn't miss a beat. He jumped onto the fence, scrambling up the side with his feet kicking at it, searching for purpose. Punchin' Bag remained rooted by the door. "You go first," he said, a furtive glance at her belly.
The men inside had found their compatriot and their voices raised in frustration. A few of them were laughing. Ludwig continued to flail on the fence, his feet clanking and clinking with each attempt to pull himself over. Lovely gave him a push and he vaulted over the top, falling hard on the other side. He rolled over with a grunt as Lovely scaled the fence in three swift strides.
"You sure you're supposed to do that with, you know." Ludwig rubbed his belly as he rose to his feet.
Lovely ignored him and aimed Holy Holly through the fence. "Your turn now, kid."
Punchin' Bag nodded and tucked the revolver in his waistband but as he stepped forward a big pair of hands reached out from behind the door, wrapping around his waist and neck. He yelped in surprise and pain, trying to pull away but Big Hands held him tight. He was six inches taller than Punchin' Bag, his bald head gleaming, accented by a thick beard. His gut extended in front of him.
"Help me!" Punchin' Bag gagged.
"I think it best you move on, lady." Big Hands' voice was deep and strong.
"Please," Punchin' Bag pleaded.
"I ain't gonna make this offer again," Big Hands said, squeezing Punchin' Bag even harder.
"Let's go, you heard him," Ludwig said, tugging at Lovely's arm.
Lovely's gaze met Punchin' Bags. She couldn't leave him. But she had no choice. It was her life or his and she had too much to live for. She mouthed I'm sorry and turned away. Punchin' Bags screams of protest were muffled by Big Hands' meaty palm covering his mouth. Lovely wiped away a tear as she followed Ludwig down the alley and toward the crescent of a subdivision. They darted through the backyard of one house and around the corner of another. She expected footsteps pounding the pavement behind them, but they never came.
"You didn't have to leave him," Kyle said. He sat on a stalled car across the street as Lovely scanned for shelter.
"I know," Lovely replied.
Three of the houses were boarded up, graffiti covering the siding. Dead weeds and leaves littered the lawns and there were bare patches in the roofs where shingles were torn off from storms.
"What do you know?" Ludwig asked.
"Shut up," Lovely told him. He sealed his lips.
"Then again, you'd be in a lotta hot water right now if you did do something, so maybe you made the right decision," Kyle pointed out.
"I said shut up," Lovely replied, turning toward Kyle and the car.
Kyle raised his hands in surrender and disappeared. Ludwig's eyes widened as he realized she wasn't talking to him. She then turned to a house with an open front door and guided a hesitant Ludwig inside.
"Listen, lady, I didn't mean it before, but now I gotta say it. You're even a little too crazy for me," Ludwig began.
"Shut up and get in the basement," Lovely ordered, closing the door behind them.
The house was a pigsty, with more trash and leaves blown in through the open door. That was a good sign; it was the clean homes that you had to worry about. Lovely pulled out a mag-light and issued Ludwig down a set of stairs and into the basement.
"How long will we havta hide down here, you reckon?" Ludwig asked.
"As long as we need to," Lovely replied.
"But they got what they wanted, probably will just move on, don't ya think?" Ludwig said.
"That's not a chance I'm willing to take."
The basement was much like the upstairs: unfinished with exposed pipes and support beams. It was used primarily for storage. Except all the tubs and chests were open, their contents strewn across the basement. She shone her light over the three small windows that sat high on the basement walls. Two of them had metal grates covering them, with potted plants for decoration. A third offered an escape to the backyard. None showed a sign of their pursuers.
"I'm afraid I can't. I got that guy to meet, remember," Ludwig said.
"Right, that guy you won't tell me about."
"It's better if you don't know," Ludwig added.
The distant sound of multiple engines firing up drifted through one of the windows. Lovely climbed over a Rubbermaid tub to push it open, magnifying the sound.
"I was right, they're leaving!" Ludwig exclaimed. "The mean lookin' one was tellin' the truth!"
Other bikes started up and then receded, as the Heaven's Devils headed east to the next town. With Punchin' Bag. A failed escape.
"Well, guess that does it. We can go out now?" Ludwig headed for the stairwell.
"We don't know if it was all of them," Lovely cautioned.
"My god, you never stop, do you?"
"It's kept me alive this long. I'm staying," Lovely decided.
Ludwig gazed around the room as if she were delusional for entertaining the thought. "There's better places than this. I got a nice one cornered away myself. You can come if you want. It's got a single bed but I think we can manage."
"I'm not leaving."
"Suit yourself. It was nice knowin' ya, toots," Ludwig said, winking at her before he jumped up the stairs three at a time.
Lovely basked in the peace and quiet for a moment before finding a box full of old winter jackets. It appeared mice had found them too. She laid them on the ground as a make-shift mattress as she tried to convince herself that there was nothing she could do to help the Young Man. That he was just as dead as they all were.