A Lawless Land

Be Wary

It had been a few weeks already. Leo was able to do more with himself now. The wall was finished, another woman was taking care of him. Only this time it was an older woman, who had once been a school nurse. Queen had showed her what to do, since she had only been used to performing basic first aid, not tending to an actual full-on wound. Queen was gone.

He walked along the wall, trying to recall every little thing she did, every word she said. He was dissatisfied. He had wanted to get to know her, be her friend, but she had done a hell of a job keeping to herself, while at the same time, showed him and his community mercy, and got them on the right track to being better prepared for the worst. It left him feeling like something was missing.

"Blanche, have you ever missed someone you never realized you needed in your life?" He asked the woman as he stared out the window.

Blanche was mending some shirts for him, but glanced over at him with a knowing smile, "I'm sure we all feel that way at some point in our lives. Providence introduces us to special people because they always have something important and unique to contribute to our existence, no matter how big or small that something might be. I've always believed that."

"Providence, huh? Do you think she'll ever come back?"

"Who knows? Providence might have a much bigger plan for her, more people to help," Blanche smiled reassuringly as she returned to her task.

Leo thought over it carefully, "perhaps, all the same though, I wish she didn't need to go."

>>><<<

Queen turned at another bend in the road. It was the middle of nowhere when she came to an intersection.

"No signs, of course" she glanced down at Duke, who was panting heavily.

They had been walking since early morning, the sun beating down on them the whole way. She pulled her mess kit from her pack and poured some water into the dish. She placed it on the ground in front of Duke. He lapped it up in seconds. He looked up at her, still thirsty.

Queen took a sip, then poured a little more into the dish, "you're lucky they gave us more water before we left or we'd be out of it by now."

Duke whined, as if to apologize. She smiled and scratched him behind the ears. It was time to start moving again. She pulled a compass out, trying to figure out which way she needed to go. She looked over her shoulder as she heard a loud motor sound coming up behind her.

There was a group of people on motorcycles coming up the road. They came to a stop a few feet away from her. She reached for her gun cautiously, not sure what they were after.

One by one, they dismounted their bikes and took off their helmets, "hey fellas, check this out. That's not something you see every day. Where'd you get the dog?"

Queen examined each of their faces. They were all men, they all carried guns, but they didn't bother pulling them out. Either they didn't see her as a threat, or their intentions were innocent.

"Is there a reason you stopped, or are you just being friendly?" Queen asked cautiously.

They all exchanged looks and smiled, "can't we just stop and say hello? It's been a long time since we've seen a woman like you."

A red flag went up in her mind. She shuddered at what they might be thinking of. She glanced over at Duke, her hand still resting on her gun.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked warily.

"Can we just skip all the talking this time and just take her?" One guy turned to his buddies impatiently.

The man who seemed to be the leader of the group, pulled his gun out and shot him in the face, then turned to his other men, "i***t. Grab her."

Duke started barking and growling as he jumped in front of Queen. His fur was standing up as he bared his teeth at the strangers. They were about to pull their guns on him.

Queen stepped in front of Duke and pulled her own gun out, "not another step closer."

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" One man asked with a taunting smile.

"Can you really afford to ask yourself that in times like these?" She taunted back.

"Mmm, a girl with a fight in her. I like that" the leader smiled pervertedly. "The last few were lacking in that, and submissive until the moment they died."

"So it is as I feared," Queen thought to herself. "These men are lethal."

She kept her gun aimed at them, then reached behind her back and pulled out another gun, immediately shooting them all down, except the leader.

He fell to his knees and put his hands up, swallowing hard, "please, let me go, I promise I'll leave you and your mutt alone."

She had both her guns pointed at him, "and leave you to prey on others?" She put her guns away, and knelt down in front of him, calculating her next move.

He thought for a second she might foolishly be letting him go. He thought she was letting her guard down, so he lunged at her.

She pulled a knife from her boot and thrust it into his chest, "I don't think so. I was thinking of the most painful way to kill you off, since you've taken so much pleasure in doing so to others. I'd have to be out of my mind to let someone like you go."

He fell to the ground, spitting up blood. She stood over him and watched him die. He had regretted ever stopping on the side of the road that day, and at the same time, took a sick pleasure out of it. Queen gathered their weapons, then searched their bodies and motorcycles for more things she could use.

She left the bikes there for someone else and dragged their bodies into the tall grass alongside the road. As long as Duke stayed with her, she would walk everywhere. She finally decided which way to go, completely winging it, unsure where it might take her.

After days of walking along fields, with the sun beating down on them, they finally reached a wooded area and sat down to rest. There didn't seem to be any sight of a town or residence anywhere, she didn't know places like that still existed. She pulled out her beef jerky again and shared it with Duke. She sighed, missing the home-cooked meals she had so long taken for granted.

With a shake of her head, she stood up and brushed herself off, then turned to Duke, "you ready to start going again?"

Several more hours had passed and she finally treaded onto a main road, there was a gas station, a mini-mart, and a roadside motel. It was dead, and she was certain she wouldn't find anything, but decided to look around anyway. She kept her eyes peeled and her ears tuned, in case there were people hiding out there.

She checked the perimeter, then started exploring the inside of the buildings. She first checked the mini-mart. She had to break through the door to get in, and was able to pick up more beef jerky and other small snacks. Then she found some water and matches, never knowing when she might need them.

Finding nothing else, she made herself comfortable in one of the motel's rooms. The sun was setting and it was getting darker faster. She covered the windows and made sure everything was locked. She knew never to take any chances, especially after all the sick men she had the misfortune of crossing paths with.

Duke jumped up on the bed next to her and stretched himself over her legs with a yawn. She rested her head against the headboard and scratched his head while she rested her eyes. She could never fully go to sleep, that's when her senses went into overdrive the most.

She was up before sunrise when morning came, she fed Duke, drank some water, then they were off again. Several days had passed without incident. As she sat at the base of a tree, she sighed heavily, weary from her travels, but she couldn't allow herself to stop for too long, she had to keep going.

As they got up to start going again, Duke perked up his ears as if he heard something. Queen rested her hand on her holster as she glanced around. A twig snapped, she pulled a gun and spun around, finding herself standing face to face with a man holding a crossbow.

A look of alarm crossed his face and he threw his hands up, "whoa, easy, I'm just trying to find a way out of here. I was only going to ask for directions."

Queen eyed him suspiciously, but refused to put her weapon away, "and what destination are you looking for exactly?"

"Any town that's close to here to look for supplies," he answered desperately.

"There's no town for miles around here, which way did you come from?" She demanded sharply.

He glanced around and shrugged, "I'm actually not sure, I'm a bit lost. That's why I was hoping you could direct me somewhere, anywhere, please. You seem like you know where you're going."

Queen threw a glimpse at Duke to see how he reacted to him. He seemed neutral, so she holstered her gun and looked the man over more observantly. He was tall, with awkwardly long limbs, and left his crossbow loosely hanging over his shoulder.

"What's your name?" She asked him as she crossed her arms defensively.

"Darren, are you going to help me?" He asked warily.

She ignored his question, "do you know how to use that thing?"

He hesitated, unsure if he should answer, "sort of, why?"

"How have you even made it this far?" She said with a shake of her head, "alright, I'll get you to a town. Follow my lead and do exactly as I tell you."

She still wasn't able to trust him. She kept her hand by her holster to stay on the safe side.

He followed her in silence, until he became bored, "so, you didn't tell me your name. Since we are traveling companions for the time being, perhaps you could tell me?"

"We're hardly companions, in any form of the word, I'm simply helping you for a brief time, so don't get attached," she answered coldly.

"So that's a no?" He sounded disappointed.

She peered over her shoulder at him and let out an irritable sigh, "I've been given the nickname Queen, if you really want a name. I don't tell anyone my real name."

"That's probably wise, with all the psychos running around these days... Wait, I've heard stories about a Queen, are you her?" Darren examined her appearance carefully.

She matched the description, he instantly spotted the scar on her forehead, and she had a German shepherd as her traveling companion, just like in the stories he had heard. He wanted to see her in action to be sure.

She continued looking ahead, but replied without hesitation, "probably, does that concern you?"

"No, I think it's awesome. You're like a superhero to people," he said excitedly as he reached her side to see her expression.

She rolled her eyes and avoided his gaze, "but I'm not a superhero, I'm just a person trying to survive in this lawless hell, just like everyone else."

Darren caught sight of the haunted look in her eyes, wondering what horrors she must've seen, "I guess you've been through a lot of s**t, haven't you?"

Her expression remained cold and blank, but she looked at him, "everyone has, this is not about what one person has been through."

He started to slow down, remembering his own struggles so far. He sadly glanced down at his crossbow, then matched her pace again. He was about to ask her more questions, then without warning, she yanked him down behind some bushes and pulled some binoculars out of her pack.

"What is it?" He asked with concern.

She shushed him sharply, then handed the binoculars to him, motioning for him to look. As he glimpsed through them, he heard her pull out her gun and c**k it. He looked through and saw an encampment in the clearing. The occupants were heavily armed and dressed in military gear.

He turned his gaze back to her in alarm, "are you seriously going to take all these guys on?"

"I don't expect you to understand, just wait here. This shouldn't take long," she crept forward and ducked behind a tree.

Duke stayed low to the ground with Darren. He seemed to trust his friend to know what she was doing. She continued to keep inching her way closer. He held his breath as he anticipated her next move.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, returning the gun to her holster. She had no idea what she was doing. After all the fighting and killing, she wanted to give the strangers a chance to show if they were actually friend or foe.

She stepped out, keeping her hands visible to them, "excuse me, do you guys know the closest town to here?"

One clutching a rifle and puffing on a cigarette turned to face her with a smirk, "you lost honey?"

Queen felt herself cringe inside, but stayed calm, "I guess you could say that, I'm not familiar with the area. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?"

"Name's Trent, I could point you to my tent," he said as he checked her out lustfully with his gaze.

Another soldier came over, "don't listen to Trent, he's just teasing you. I'm Jerry, I can tell you which way to go."

As she followed him to the road, he suddenly seemed noticeably uneasy, he lowered his voice, "get out of here fast, these guys aren't what they seem. I've seen them do a lot of terrible things."

"Then why stay with them?" She asked bluntly, "why let them live? Why are you even telling me this?"

A look of shock crossed his face, "I could never betray them like that. There's a town about 20 miles from here, keep going this way, get what you need and get going. Don't let them catch up to you."

Queen nodded and let out a shrill whistle, "very well then. Thank you Jerry."

He quickly looked around, wondering if she had an ambush coming, but once he spotted Duke and Darren coming her way, he relaxed. Before she walked away, he firmly grabbed her hand, placing something there.

She pretended to shake his hand, then discreetly pulled it away, glancing down at it. He had handed her a key with a number engraved on it. She saluted him, and took off at a run.

"Jerry! What are you doing?!" Someone had yelled to him.

They heard it as they jogged down the road. It wasn't Trent, it was a different soldier. Queen didn't wait to see what happened after that.

Darren struggled to keep up with her. Her stamina was unmatched. He was curious if she ever got tired, he was already exhausted from the short distance they had traveled so far. He assumed she had already been going for hours.

When he finally caught up to her, he was breathing heavily. Her breaths were lighter, but he could tell the running took a lot out of her too.

"I've never met a woman as strong as you Queen, though I suppose that's why you're so well-known," he said between chuckles and gasps of air.

She wasn't listening to him, or at least didn't show she was. They entered the town and she made a beeline for a storage facility. Jerry hadn't told her what the key was for, but she recognized what type it was.

The sun was setting as they stood in front of the iron gates that kept them out. Queen put her hands on the bars and shook it to see how secure it was. There was a heavy chain on it, it wouldn't budge.

She glanced up to the top, which had barbed wire, but she could see where it was weakest, "your wool shirt, hand it to me please."

He was reluctant to take it off, but did as she said, blushing. She threw it over the barbed wire, jumped, and pulled herself up and over.

She looked at his red face and cracked a smile as she looked at his bare, pale torso, "relax, I'll find you a new shirt."

The sudden smile surprised him and filled him with wonder, "you have a beautiful smile."

He let it slip before he could stop himself. Her face went blank and she turned away to hide her flushed cheeks.

"Wait here with Duke, I'll be back in a bit. Holler if you see anything suspicious," she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

He nodded and looked down at Duke, who stared up at him with a tilted head. He crossed his arms across his chest awkwardly and focused on keeping watch. Queen walked down the rows of storage units looking for the one matching the number on the key.

She finally found it and an eerie feeling took hold of her, "this is no time to chicken out. Why did he even give me this key?"

She put it in the lock, exhaled, then turned it. The door creaked and shrieked as it went up. It was dark, so she dug a small flashlight out of her cargo pants and turned it on.

At first, all she could see were large wooden crates, she peeked into them finding weapons and ammunition, some military rations, as she went deeper into the large unit, something caught her light and reflected it back at her. She stepped closer to it and was suddenly hit with an overwhelming stench.

It was a smell she was all too familiar with. She shone the light, and it was even worse than what she had expected. Three bodies were slumped against the wall. Bound, naked, decaying... Women. What had caught the light were their dog tags. They were soldiers.

She fell to her knees and covered her mouth as her PTSD kicked in and sent her into a series of flashbacks. One thing that she always faced, that would never change. These men, no, monsters, who took so much pleasure out of such vicious and disgusting acts.

She pressed her forehead against the cold ground, clenching her fists painfully. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, when the distant sound of Duke's growling, and Darren's voice calling out for her, brought her back to the present.