Warlord – Chapter 27
“Every now and then you’ll nail one that’s really special which is what you live for!” - Bob Seger.
How many times a person have to look at the sky? How many ears should he have to listen to the public? How many lives does he have to sacrifice? How many people will die? My friend, the answer floats in the air.
A green colored modified car was driving on a broken highway. The front of the car was strengthened with steel baffle which could pierce a bear. Spike like sharp edges welded and extended from the centers of the tires. They rotated along with the wheels and could crush flesh of anything as the car moved.
There was a machine gun on top of the car. The bullets were hanging from its side. Although the machine gun wasn't from the new era but it could fire up to 200 rounds per minute which was enough to threaten mutant beasts and monsters.
An ear deafening music was broadcasting from the car. It was called 'against the wind". A rock music from the old America. The silence of the wilderness was dormant even though music floated from the car.
It was afternoon and the sun bitterly grilled the earth. The surface had turn into a burning stove. The hot air rose from the ground producing a distorted sigh. No creature would roam in the afternoons so it was the best time for the travelers to move.
No one was willing to face a crowd of creatures in the wilderness even if they had the top equipment.
There were about a dozen passengers in the car in addition to the driver. There were two children and the rest were adult males and females. Obviously the traveling party wasn't a family. All of them had different skin colors and face structures. They looked like a group of people fleeing away rather than a peaceful family. Their slim faces and ragged cloth were proof that they were far from being rich and had enough food for daily life.
“Ted! Damn it! If you don't switch of that old freaking music I'll smash it down!"
The only one who enjoyed the music while shaking his head right and left was the driver. The others didn't share his enjoyment. Moreover it seemed that they were annoyed by the music. A black man stood up and waved his fist while shouted.
Ted, their driver, was a 20 year old guy. He was wearing a yellow checkered shirt and worn down jeans. He replied: "John, this song is fantastic! Bob was a freaking genius. You guys don't understand music!"
“I think that shitty music of yours will attract the monsters. Those zombies would be more than happy to listen to the damned music on the side while they dig out and eat up your heart!” The black man replied in a sarcastic tone. His words were approved by others as they nodded.
Ted shook his head as he muttered: “A group of idiots who don't understand what a good music is!” He reached out with his hand to switch of the music player.
“Dude, even the zombies refuse to come out at this time of the day! Why do you think we picked up this time of the day to move?” Ted laughed as he took out a wrinkled cigarette from his pocket. He put it into his mouth and lit it up. The poor taste of tobacco began to float in the compartment.
The car continued to move on the road that seemed endless. Passengers were drowsy and almost all of them went into sleep. Safe sleep was a luxury in this turbulent age.
The car reached 150km per hour speed as the road was uninhabited. The road that they took lead to Silver Tree City. There wouldn't be any obstacles on the way so Ted wasn't planning to drop down the street.
Originally they were from a small settlement called Dahl. Like Z7 Base, Dahl was also located at the edge of Nakasu continent. The water sources close to their settlement had dried up so they had to choose to die there or move to other places.
As a result the people of the settlement had decide to collectively leave the Dahl. They had divided into seven or eight modified cars and went towards different settlements. If a person wasn't infected with a virus and had no disabilities then that person had a chance to be accepted to other settlements or bases. But except large bases or headquarters of the conglomerates no other settlement would be willing to accept hundreds of people in one go. That was why the people of Dahl decided to divide into groups and take their chance.
Ted and others were going towards a settlement called Remit which was three thousand kilometers from Silver Tree City. That place was a medium-sized settlement which occupied a corner of a city. It had been there for many years and had restored some of the urban facilities. They hoped that Remit would accept them.
The people in the care didn't know how many of them would be able to survive if they weren't accepted into Remit.
The life and death had a slim difference in the wilderness.
Ted's eyes were narrow because of the hot air that hit his face. They were passing through the corner of the canyon. Ted saw two people on the road. One of them was wearing a soldier's uniform while other was covered in a hooded robe. No matter how he looked at it they didn't seem like monsters. Ted believed that zombies wouldn't come out under the sun too.
The car was running straight at the travelers.
“Damn it!” Ted pressed the horn while he desperately tried to brake (stop) the car.
It wasn't easy to stop a car that was moving at high-speed. The braking system wasn't working properly so the car continued to move towards the travelers.
Ted was tightly biting his lips while the car screamed to stop. The man wearing the uniform grabbed his companion and jumped sideways while the car passed by them.
The car finally came to stop at the edge of canyon's wall. Ted quickly opened the door and shouted towards the travelers: "Are you alright?"
The soldier shook his head. He grabbed his companion and came towards Ted's car.
Ted was able to see the soldier's appearance as they approached them. The soldier was a yellow man. His right eye was covered by a patch as if it was injured. On top of his shoulder there was a strange ball like creature. It had a pair of 'Z' shaped ears. The creature appeared to be weak because of the sun rays.
A petite woman was walking by the soldier. Ted could see the curves of her body even though she was wearing a cloak. Although the hate had deeply covered her face but he believed the woman to be beautiful because of the elegant blonde hair that she had.
The soldier asked in a hoarse voice: "Are you going to Remit?"
“Yea.” Ted nodded.
“Please take us with you. I'll pay.” Soldier took 20 dollars form his pocket.
ted's eyes lit up. 20 dollars wasn't a small amount. It was enough to buy water for three days to support the people in the car. He was about to agree when another voice echoed: "Sorry, but we don't take people into the car whose identity is unknown to us."