Man's Ruin - a Dark Fantasy Novella (The Seventh Seal Sequel #1) by J. Thorn & Kate Sterling

Author:J. Thorn & Kate Sterling
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781482601312
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2013-02-21T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

“Damn! I think they took down a few of the thieves.”

The sergeant held his hand out, waiting for the solider to drop the binoculars into his open palm.

“Yep. The leader crushed this fucker’s skull with a bat. Gramps can fight,” the soldier said before handing the binoculars over to his sergeant.

The grizzled warrior pushed his goggles up. He readjusted the lenses with a dial that felt like ice, and then scanned the highway where the fight had taken place. The five-hundred-yard distance was close enough to be viewed remotely, but not close enough to hear their conversation.

The members of the chapter had broken their circle. About half walked to the guardrail, where they pulled a man upright. He stumbled, and his legs appeared slack, but the sergeant saw his mouth move.

That kid is one tough son of a bitch, he thought, just like his old man.

The other half of the group crouched around another man. The sergeant could make out the back patches but could not differentiate between members. He thought he spied the clean-shaven head of the vice, but could not be certain. The sergeant scanned the ground and counted several bodies that were not moving in the snow.

“Body count?” he asked the young soldier.

“Which side?” the soldier asked in response.

“Either? Both? Quit making me ask for shit you know I need.” I’m out after this. I’m done with their fucking insubordination, the sergeant thought.

“Three of the ferals, at least. Not sure the animals took out any of the Keepers, but it looks like they got in a few good shots.”

The sergeant dropped the binoculars to his chest, where they hung from a worn, leather strap. He sighed and looked skyward, where dark clouds formed over the western horizon. “How far are we from Cleveland?” he asked.

“Forty, fifty miles from the old city. Maybe thirty from the outlying territories.”

“And which of those territories do we control?”

The young man paused to pull a crumpled cigarette from his vest. He had struck a match and moved it to his mouth when the sergeant smacked it away, snuffing the flame in a pile of snow.

“What the f—?”

“Are you that fucking stupid? You can’t strike a flame out here. If they were looking anywhere near our camp, they would have seen that. Use some common sense, would ya?”

The young solider snarled, leaving the unlit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. “I don’t see the point in all this clandestine bullshit. We can get rifles, and enough shells to take them out at a thousand yards. We could drop them all before they knew what the hell was happening.”

“That’s not how it works,” replied the sergeant. “We follow orders. We were told to make sure they don’t leave Pittsburgh, and if they do, they need to arrive in Cleveland. That’s what we’re going to do because that’s how we get paid. We don’t get shit if they die on the road. That’s the deal.”

“Fuck that and fuck you,” replied the soldier,

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