Page 52 of Swamp Kings 2

“Not goons like that, these looked like a sci-fi nightmare.” The tension in Spook’s voice gripped him through the phone. “Each of ‘em had this jet-black body armor, sleeker than anything I’ve ever seen. You could tell it was reinforced, not just by the thickness but these weird segments crossing their torsos and limbs—metal panels blended into fabric or maybe fucking skin. No helmet, no hair, covered in weird tattoos.”

“Weird how?”

“Just symbols--or patterns. And their fucking limbs looked like muscle grafts packed under armor, like they could punch through steel. And weapons?” he went on quietly but winded, “Not surplus rifles, that’s for damn sure. Sleek tactical guns, scopes and gear strapped across their bodies for long range, the kind of tech you only read about.”

“How the fuck you escape?”

“Oh, I didn’t. I saw their armored convoys as I passed them, hidden on the side of the road but something caught my spooky eye—Masters of Mayhem. Written on the vehicle, fat, blockhead font, there was nomissing it. I thought, fuck me. One glance in the rear, I see them mounting up and turned my ass right around, saving them the trouble of following. I’m just a dumb Cajun looking for a Chaos Point, wanting to know how to get some of this land for my peoples, that’s all. Need some directions and I also need as much info about these bastards as I can get.”

“Ballsy, brother.”

“No shit, and not gonna lie, mine were quaking when I stood before these giants while rattling off Cajun lingo and folk tales about swamp creatures and Jesus. Then they’re eyeing my bike like I'm obviously too stupid to own one. I told them I found it at a gas station when looking for food, asked if they could help me find where to put the electricity in it so I could charge the battery. But up close, it’s super obvious these aren’t just upgraded robots, they were a lot more like Quantum King’s offspring, only there was something missing in their eyes, something… rational.”

“Programmed?”

“Most definitely,” he assured. “Down to the eye blinks and jerky thoughtprocessing. And when they spoke—which they barely did—it was a hundred percent brain scrubbed cyborg sounding.”

“Fuck. How many you said?”

“Four. Driving two badass armored vehicles, black as the night. Matte, no shine, hard to detect. If anybody was wondering just how serious we needed to take that bitch in the broadcast, well, I’m here to tell you—very fucking serious.

“So, they obviously let you go.”

“They did, and I went straight to the Chaos Point like an excited futureEver Fallencitizen and obtained one of their Ever-Fallen Chaos Bibles.”

“Fucking perfect,” Bishop said, hurrying to the front of the rig to get their current location. He opened the cab door and stuck his head in. “Our current position, gentlemen?”

“Mile marker 216, heading north.”

“You heard?” he asked.

“Mile marker 216, northbound.”

“That’s it.”

“I can reach that in about fifteen. I’ll call you when I’m at your twelve again.”

“Stay safe, brother. I’ll tell Maggie you’re okay and she’ll see you at thehalfway point rendezvous. I want to see that fucking book you picked up. You look at it?”

“Not yet. Staying in motion.”

“Oui,” he said.

“Talk soon, Eveque. Dawn-tawn-druh tah-vw?.”

There was more than just fondness in his tone, but also a shitload of relief to be on the right side of the dirt. The feeling was surely mutual. “Good to hear you too.”

****

Mabel slowly looked around in sick disbelief. They were literally going to leave her out there in the dead of winter. She didn’t even have her cloak. The coarse material of the black Amish dress and required underclothes could buy her two hours before freezing to death. She needed to find shelter and attempt that road in daylight hours. Without light to see by, it was a death sentence. Andthen again, light might be the same.

She contemplated begging for mercy at their gates right as an owl hooted on her right, stealing her breath. She scanned the shadows, searching for the terrifying things as her legs got on the move with survival instincts. She kept her eyes trained on the forest, searching along every tree till her heart pounded in her ears while the icy air cut into her lungs.

She steered her mind to her three precious girls, needing the courage of her anger more than ever. She couldn’t leave them. There had to be shelter of some kind nearby, something that would protect her from the elements and hide her from natural and unnatural threats. Come daylight, she could possibly seek help, some sort of authority or police. She recalled the state of things when she was rescued… what if everything was worse? Behind those Amish walls, the only news was their news. They never wanted any part of the world and didn’t intend to start now—country collapsing or not. And naturally it was forbidden to even talk about. Nobody knew anything and if they did, they weren’t telling.

She neared the end of the community wall, and slowed her steps, her lungs already burning. Her eyes had adjusted to the night at least. She looked up and found the moon. It was bright. She glanced back and her blood froze at the three tall figures in black cloaks standing in the middle of the road. Maybe twelve steps away.

Oh God.

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