Holding Their Own XI: Hearts and Minds by Joe Nobody

Author:Joe Nobody [Nobody, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Dystopian, Action & Adventure, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Kemah Bay Marketing LLC
Published: 2015-11-20T08:00:00+00:00

By the time Bishop returned to retrieve his gear, the basin was unoccupied.

He’d heard Katherine Baxter instruct her foreman to take their captive back to the bunkhouse and assumed her victorious cowpokes had retired to that location.

Retreating back into the rocks and out of sight, the Texan inventoried his kit, made a quick meal, and pondered the next move.

Only a few miles away was a man being held prisoner… and most likely either about to face his maker or find himself a pawn in hostage negotiations with the Alliance. A big part of the imposter’s predicament was due to the fact that his captors thought he was Bishop.

The real Bishop was troubled by that detail.

Like most men, he didn’t embrace the thought of leaving enemies in his path’s wake. Sure, the men who are forced to live by the gun aren’t going to navigate their days without impacting others. Bishop, however, carried a clean conscious that his acts had been justified, either for his personal protection or for the greater good of society.

Taking human life isn’t a natural act, and virtually every aspect of the Texan’s existence was affected by his past. He’d left more than his share of widows and orphans… had been forced to pull the trigger far too many times for any one man.

Yet, in every single case he’d eventually resolved his damaged, nagging soul. It had been his life or theirs. His choice had been to let innocents die… or put down the man in his sights. Terri, Pete, Diana, Nick, or people he didn’t even know would have died… or been subjected to some variation of hell on earth.

The Texan’s mind drifted back to the bugout from Houston and the bridge over the Brazos River. He’d killed some of the men holding that bridge, and he had no regrets. They were the few preying on the many, evil souls who had lost their humanity. Wolves, really, nothing but guiltless predators harvesting the game animals around them. Should he feel remorse over eliminating such beasts?

He remembered Sarah Beth, the college girl he stumbled across in Alpha, living off of dove eggs and whatever she could scavenge. The Goulish had tried to gang rape her. After satisfying their needs, she was to be sold as a sex slave to convicts who ran the town. The Texan had ended their lives and felt no remorse over the bloodletting.

Bishop shook his head, squelching the parade of memories. He’d already watched each episode a dozen times, already replayed the events where blood had stained his hands. It wouldn’t do any good to repeat the process again.

Still, the revelation that his fellow citizens hated his name and reputation bothered the Texan. Why did they think he was some sort of monster? What was driving their anger to the point of violence? As far as he knew, his path hadn’t crossed any of those involved.

For a moment, the Texan thought he knew the answer. Fear. It was the only piece that made the puzzle whole.

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