When We Shed Civilization

Chapter 30

Whitesnake didn't look as Beth remembered her. The fire had singed the woman's hair. And she stood unsteady on her legs.

"I found a bolt," Burt said. It ran through the bar, right next to one of the brackets, securing it. He pulled it out, then he pushed the bar once more, and it came free.

Together, they pulled at the door, and it moved on grinding hinges.

Before they left, Beth looked back.

The woman in the nightgown still sat by the man they had dragged away from the fire. Whitesnake was limping back towards the flames, but not to her companions. Rather, she headed for the bikes.

"Come, let's leave." Burt grabbed her arm.

The alley outside was deserted under the morning sun. They ran along it to the next crossing.

Burt, a couple of steps ahead of her, stopped, panting. "Where to now?"

"To the right, that's where the river is." Not waiting for him, Beth turned the corner.

The thundering roar of an engine echoed from the buildings behind them.

Together, they ran on along the road Beth had chosen. It went straight, with a thicket of thorny bushes on one side and a long, featureless wall on the other.

The noise of the bike got closer.

"Quick, we have to find a place to hide." The words interrupted the rhythm of her breathing, making her pant even more.

"It's that Whitesnake woman. She's alone. There's two of us."

Lacking the breath and the words for a reply, Beth just ran.

Ahead, the wall on their right side ended at a half-collapsed building of brick.

Heading for it, Beth glanced back and saw Whitesnake on her bike barreling towards them.

"Watch out!" She pushed Burt out the vehicle's way, just moments before it would have hit him.

Whitesnake braked and turned her bike, stirring up a cloud of dust. Blisters and raw flesh covered the shaved side of her head.

"We need to get away from this street," Beth said, but her words were lost in the bike's roar as Whitesnake revved up the engine again and accelerated, her face a grimace of pain or fury as she closed in.

Beth jumped to the left. She ran into the wall right before the handlebar caught her arm, making her spin around.

Carried by the momentum of her speed, Whitesnake raced on, hit the wall under a small angle, bounced off it, and fell to the side.

The engine died. Its driver lay pinned with a leg under her vehicle.

Beth's head was reeling. She touched her arm where the bike had caught her and found the sleeve of Leo's shirt bloodied.

"Are you okay?" Burt asked.

Beth shrugged. No, she wasn't okay. She was hurting and bleeding.

And she had killed the people at the depot.

Whitesnake moved, cursing. With a grunt, she pulled her leg from under the bike and stood, turning towards them.

Blood trickled from her scalp into her face. It didn't seem to bother her. "Bloody Gaters!", she said. "We saved you. And you kill us."

"You tricked us," Burt replied. "Pretended to give us shelter, but you just wanted to make us your prisoners."

"So what?" Whitesnake reached into her jacket and produced a short dagger. "That's not the same as killing. And this is not your place." She used her weapon to point at the ground she stood on. "You've got no business to be here. You should hide away in that gated village of yours, wasting water." Raising the dagger once more, she took a step towards them. "And now, I'll—"

She was stopped short by the sound of a violent explosion, which made the earth shudder under their feet.

Like a giant rising, a black cloud billowed over the roofs behind the biker woman.

Burt gestured at it. "Those must have been your precious tanks."

Whitesnake glanced back along the road. As she did so, Burt moved. He kicked the dagger from her hand. It flew away, landing a few yards away from them. As she tried to retrieve it, Burt swung his foot and hit her in the stomach. She went down. He kicked her once more.

The dagger gleamed in the sunlight. As if in a daze, Beth walked over and picked it up.

Its handle was still warm.

She turned towards Burt, who stood over Whitesnake. She groaned.

He kicked her once more, his foot hitting the side of her head. Her body tensed, and then it relaxed.

Burt turned towards Beth. "Give me the knife." He held out his hand.

She looked down at the dagger. Blood from the wound on her arm ran down her arm and trickled over its handle.

"Come, give it to me," he said.

Beth just shook her head and turned away from him.

As she set out down the road, her mind replayed how Burt's foot had hit Whitesnake's head, how it had made it jerk, sent her hair flying.

Another barbarian act. A deed of pure, needless violence, driven by hate and anger.

"Beth!"

None of this was them. They were the people of the gated communities, the last guardians of civilization.

"Beth, dammit!" He reached for her arm.

She swung the knife at him, missing him by mere inches.

Burt took a step back. "Are you out of your mind?"

She walked on, ignoring him.

Yes, they were both out of their minds.

Killers.