The Wastelands

Chapter 43

"Stop firing!" Harkin bellowed when it became clear their bullets struck nothing.

Once the shooting came to an end and the air calmed to an eerie silence, footsteps approached. They were quiet, stepping lightly along the concrete road. Her gait was calm and the gun hung in her left hand and an axe tight in her right. She strolled to the middle of the road and stopped ten feet from the slaves kneeling on the ground. She caught Casey's grateful stare and the anger in her heart intensified at the bloody bruise on his face.

Harkin rushed to the front of his men and stared at the girl. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight and her auburn hair burned like wild fire. The demonic look in her eyes meant to destroy him and he couldn't keep himself from smiling.

"You must be Blue." He said, lowering the aim of his gun, "I must say, I wasn't expecting to see a pretty girl like you show up. I'm happy to be wrong."

Her skin crawled at his remark, taking her back to a time she tried to forget. After a quick hesitation, she found the perfect spot right between his eyes to rest her axe.

"Let me guess, you came to help them. I'm afraid you're a little late." Harkin glanced to the two dead slaves. "What do you think of that?"

She refused to turn away from the man. She noticed the ones he killed and hated herself for not running faster.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Harkin teased and his grin spread from ear to ear.

Blue took a second to count the number of men standing with him. Two she took out easily. Nine remained standing and each one wielded a gun aimed directly at her. She was outnumbered, outgunned, but none of that mattered. The monster had already taken over her mind and she accepted the fate. She allowed it to take control knowing she would win the battle with the militia.

"For the love of God, bitch, say something!" Harkin demanded, growing weary of her unresponsiveness.

"I'm sorry," she replied, innocently, "I don't have much to say to a dead man."

He smirked, laughing shortly, then raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What makes you think I'm a dead man?"

"You all are. Give me about fifteen minutes and I'll prove it."

"You really think you can get through all of us?"

She nodded, "Of course I can. Nine is nothing."

He quickly grew to despise the calmness in her voice and the daunting assurance in her stance. He thrived on seeing the terror in the eyes of those he killed. Their pain and suffering made his life worth living. Blue carried none of those qualities and didn't wince when he raised his gun.

He pulled the trigger, enjoying the momentum of the gun in his grip. The bullet sped across the distance between them, but never made contact. She leapt out of the way just as the round whizzed inches from her shoulder. He fired again and was met with the same result.

Blue returned fire and took out one more of Harkin's goons. The body dropped, stealing his attention. He gritted his teeth then ordered his men to kill her. They took whatever aim they found and attempted to bring her down. She amazed them each time, darting out of the way at the last possible minute.

The townies quickly scattered, ducking behind buildings or hiding near parked cars. They valued their lives, yet also wanted to witness the event.

Frank used his remaining strength and ushered the slaves out of the street. Kyle helped him guide them away from the madness to keep them all safe from harm. They ducked behind Harkin's truck and Frank peered around the tailgate to watch what he'd been waiting years to see.