Chapter 8

Ylva and Ben moved along, keeping everyone they had rescued in front of them. Despite the lagging pace they were marching at, it wasn’t concerning, with the immediate threat dealt with. It was maybe half an hour before the group spotted the town gates in the distance. Cries of relief went up amongst the refugees and their pace quickened.

“Halt! Who goes there?” came a call from the top of the gate.

“Refugees from the outlying farms! Let us in, please!” Donus cried out.

“Donus? Is that you?” came the reply.

“If that is who I think it is, you’d better open that gate, boy!” the old man replied.

Not even a minute later, they all heard the sounds of timbers being moved and hinges creaking. A few seconds later, the gates swung inwards, letting the refugees in. Cries of relief ran through the people as militia and townsfolk alike ran out to help the beleaguered people. Cries of joy ran through the crowd as they reunited some people with the family they believed lost.

“Donus, you’re OK!” the guard cried out, pulling the old man in for a hug. Donus returned the hug, just as happy to be back in town.

“Happy to see you too, Mahrkan,” Donus replied with a smile.

“Arenia?” the guard asked, almost fearful of the answer.

“Mahrkan!” the woman gushed, running straight to the man.

He ran to her, scooping her up in his arms, swinging her around as he laughed. Arenia was laughing too, but crying as well, before she brought her face to Mahrkan’s, kissing him. The man lost his balance and fell to his back, the woman landing right atop of him. Laughter rippled among the onlookers, but the young couple didn’t care, because to them, everything was all right in the world again.

“Her husband?” Ben wondered, eyeing the canoodling couple.

“Betrothed. Even though I didn’t like the boy from the start, he kind of grew on me. So I allowed him to ask her,” Donus grumbled good-naturedly.

“Ben, Ylva! You guys made it!” Denys cried out, rushing up to the pair.

“Of course we made it! You expected anything else?” Ylva questioned, cocking her eyebrow.

“No, it’s just that ... others have tried ... and failed. I hoped things would be different, but feared they wouldn’t be,” Denys replied, before his eyes snapped to the smoke in the distance. “What happened out there?”

Ben smirked and told the militia captain what exactly transpired out on the road. His eyes widened when he was told about the tactic the raiders employed. He was grateful for their help though and smiled at the carts full of weapons, armor, and food. Denys knew that the militia and the town would put them all to good use, and soon.

“So, from what we can guess, these raiders are well coordinated, which begs the question; who or what is leading them?” Ben finished.

“Likely a Slavemaster. A man who has spent his entire life collecting, selling and trading slaves,” Denys clarified, seeing Ben’s confusion.

“I’m guessing they’re real hardasses then? Tough to take down?” Ben wondered.

“Among the toughest of our kind. Because of their profession, they are not only effective at what they do, but are often brutal as well. They are the largest, strongest and most cunning of our kind,” Denys told him.

“Like Unktar?” Ben queried.

“Yes. But Unktar was a relatively new Slavemaster. He had yet to develop any real cunning, which he had hidden beneath his ruthless acts,” Ylva piped up.

“So, this guy, whoever he is, is likely worse that Unktar?” Ben guessed.

“If he’s cunning enough to have planned out how to put this town on its knees, then yes. Whoever he is, he’s likely got enough men to overrun this town straight on, if he wanted to. The fact that he hasn’t shows that he’s someone who plans things and doesn’t squander his resources. We must be careful in what we do next. I, for one, am worried about what will happen next,” Denys reasoned.

“What do you mean?”

“Since you and Ylva took out the camp that holds the south road, there will probably be an attack soon. The raiders will want revenge against us for killing their friends,” Denys grouched.

“I have an idea on how to handle that,” Ben smiled.

“What did you have in mind?” Ylva asked.

“If the raiders had a group watching the south road, they probably have people on the west road too, yeah?” Ben queried.

“Yes, but the road there goes into rocky territory, which is where the iron mine is located. Besides the mine, there isn’t much in that direction,” Denys told him.

“But if you gained control of the mine again, with the south road open, trade might resume. If that happens, then any hold these raiders have over you is lost,” Ben stated.

“The Slavemaster won’t just let us do as we please after that. He won’t let this attack go unanswered,” Denys reminded him.

“Which is why we have to keep hitting these bastards. Bleed them of what they have and what they’ve taken. If we do that, they will have much less to work with when it comes to attacking the town. Which is why I propose that Ylva and I head down the west road and see if we can find a camp down in that area,” Ben suggested.

“You two going off alone again?” Denys wondered.

“No. We got lucky on the south road. That group wasn’t overly skilled in dealing with people who knew how to fight. They relied purely on numbers to overtake the riders you sent out. We may not get so lucky on the west road,” Ben told him.

“What do you need?” Denys asked.

“I know that everyone who can fight is needed here in town, but if you could spare me three of the militia, that would be a big help,” Ben replied.

“Our best and biggest?” Denys queried.

“More like the smallest members you have. They need to be experienced, though,” Ben told him.

“Why do they need to be small?” Ylva asked.

“It would make it easier for them to move through the forest, the smaller they are. They’ll be able to go places that bigger folk can’t go,” Ben explained.

“Ah! I understand now!” Denys exclaimed. “Well, three of my smallest, I can lend you. Mishele, Dynah, Tanny!”

A trio of the militia marched up to Denys, standing right in front of the man. The three of them were small next to Denys and even smaller than Ylva. They still dwarfed Ben in size and height, standing well north of six-foot six. Ben recognized the two women, Mishele and Dynah, as they were the two women he’d saved when they arrived at the town.

“What do you need, Denys?” the man called Tanny replied.

“You three are with the pi ... Ben, for his next foray out on the west road,” Denys told them. The three of them looked over at Ben in disbelief but remembered the fighting display they saw earlier.

“Are you three ready to make those raiders hurt?” Ben asked.

“They’ve made us hurt, so we’re more than ready to make them bleed!” the woman with brown hair stated.

“And your name is?” Ben asked.

“Mishele.”

“OK. It’s just so I know who is who. Anyway, the three of you will need to ditch those uniforms and wear something else for our little excursion,” Ben told them.

“What would you have us wear?” Dynah responded. Unlike Mishele, who had brown hair and brown eyes, Dynah possessed black hair and blue eyes.

“Anything that is brown, gray, or green. Preferably colors that fit in with the forest. If we’re going to sneak up on the other camp, we’ll need to blend in,” the smaller man informed them. Their faces lit up in understanding and they left to change, but not before Denys told them to report to the west gate when they were done with their weapons.

“You really think clothes that blend in with the surrounding forest will be enough to change the outcome of the fight?” Denys asked skeptically.

“Not that alone, no. Combine blended clothing with smaller people and the ability to move somewhat silently, which I hope they do, it will give us the element of surprise. I don’t think I need to tell you how important that is in a fight,” Ben replied as they walked over to the inn.

Denys nodded, agreeing with the smaller human man on the matter. Having fought in the militia for the better part of a decade, the man knew that surprising your enemy could often turn the tide in a battle. He even smiled, as he remembered the shocked look on the faces of the raiders at the gates of the town. They were so damn terrified that some of them even stopped fighting as they took in the new surprise.

Denys himself had cut down at least three of the raiders before they realized they were still in a fight. He hoped that what Ben had planned would work. Sure, he was much smaller than he was, but Denys could see that Ben had a fire within him. Whatever drove Ben to keep going like this, Denys could only imagine. They ambled up to the inn where both Mellany and Tasya were waiting outside with Lawrie.

“What are you three doing here?” Ylva asked.

“Here to give you what I’ve been working on since we met,” Mellany smirked. In her hands lay a couple sets of clothes, which were folded neatly. She handed one set to Ylva and another to Ben.

“When did you have the time to do this?” Ben wondered.

“For Ylva, it was easy. I had some old dresses that I hadn’t worn in a while, so I just made a few adjustments for her,” Mellany stated, handing her a bundle.

“I’m ... not really a fan of dresses. They hamper my movement,” Ylva replied with an apologetic smile.

“I figured as much and made some additional adjustments, which will let you move just as freely. As for you Ben, you’re much smaller than Lawrie or any of us, so making your stuff was easy and quick,” Mellany told him, giving him his new clothes.

“Thank you!” Ben replied, before he headed into the inn to get changed, with Ylva a few seconds behind him. The four mutants chatted idly while the other two were busy getting changed. The lovers came out maybe ten minutes later, decked out in their new clothes.

Ylva’s dress was modified from what Mellany normally wore. She wore a brown blouse, and a khaki-colored skirt, complete with a green bodice which went over the top of her blouse. The skirt was divided in four places, giving Ylva plenty of room to move. It had also been shortened, so that her feet didn’t get tangled up beneath the skirt. The armor pieces that Ylva had adapted for her use went with the outfit perfectly.

Ben’s clothes were reminiscent of Lawrie’s outfit, but with its own flair and style. Instead of a shirt, Ben wore a green tunic which overlapped in the front. Thick leather decked his chest and shoulders, giving him some level of protection. His pants were a khaki color like Ylva’s, but baggy, giving Ben’s legs enough room to breathe and move about. His boots went well with the outfit, as did Ylva’s shoes with hers.

“Well? How do you like it?” Mellany asked, after looking the couple over in their new clothes.

“I’ll say this much, you did great with the sizes!” Ben enthused, admiring the mutant woman’s handiwork.

“I would be inclined to agree! This is some outstanding work, Mellany!” Ylva agreed, smiling as she felt the cloth on her skin.

“I’m sure it’s also nice to not have your tits and ass hanging out all the time now,” Mellany giggled.

“I will admit that it is nice. I think the only one who loses out on that outfit is Ben,” Ylva snickered.

“Not so. It’s nice seeing you in a dress. You look amazing!” Ben told her. Ylva blushed and hugged her lover close, still not used to hearing such compliments. Ben hugged her back and whispered something in her ear.

“It also has me looking forward to peeling you out of these clothes. Slowly.”

Ylva shivered and hugged her lover tighter, needing and wanting to have him right there. If it had been just them, she might well have done so. But they still had work to do, and there were children mucking around in the town. She’d have to show her appreciation for him later.

“Well, let’s get going to the West Gate,” Denys stated, reminding them of what they were doing.

Coming apart from their embrace, Ben and Ylva took up their weapons and marched along behind the militia captain. It was a few minutes before they reached the gate and Mishele, Dynah, and Tanny were waiting for them. They were all garbed simply, their clothing much like their uniforms, but looking more like working clothes.

“OK, what’s the plan?” Dynah asked.

“The long and short of it is we walk through the forest as quietly as possible. Search for any signs of anyone being there, so we can find the camp. If we’re lucky, we might just catch the camp lightly defended. If that’s the case, we take down its defenders and rob them blind,” Ben told them.

“Leaving them ill-equipped and angry,” Tanny replied, catching on.

“And when you’re angry, you do stupid things,” Mishele stated with a smirk, seeing where this plan was going.

“With the five of us, I think we could do this just as easily as when we hit the first camp,” Ylva grinned.

“That’s the idea. Everyone has their weapons?” Ben asked, hefting his bow and checking his knife and machete. The rest of the group nodded, with Ylva hefting her spear and axe, while the members of the militia hefted their weapons. They each carried a single-bladed axe, with a pair of long knives that could be considered machetes, along with a trio of hatchets, each.

“Let’s go!”

“Open the West Gate!” Denys called out.

Seconds later, the gateway creaked open, allowing the group to leave through it. They headed out along the road for a few hundred feet until the five of them reached the treeline. From there, Ben led the way into the forest and, in less than a minute, they were gone from sight. Denys watched as they left, hoping they would succeed and feeling that he would see them again.

Most of the second raider group walked out of the forest, coming onto the south road. It took them a while to get there, with the forest being much denser than they expected. They noted the pile of burning corpses and drew near, unsure of what to make of it. The moment they drew near, they could tell that the pile of bodies were those of their friends.

“What the fuck?!?” one raider cried out.

“Who did this?? How did they do this?!?!?” another roared.

“I don’t know, but it’s a safe bet the townsfolk had something to do with this,” the raider leader replied.

“What makes you so certain of that?” the first man asked.

“We all know the attack on the north gate failed because of a surprise attack from travelers. Maybe this attack gave the militia the balls they needed to come at us,” the leader reasoned.

“Must’ve grown an enormous pair!” the second man grumbled.

“Let’s get them now!” a third raider shouted, which was greeted with much enthusiasm among the others.

“No,” the leader stated. The rest of the raiders grew quiet, almost like they couldn’t believe that he was saying they shouldn’t go after them. Noting the incredulous looks on their faces, he clarified.

“We shouldn’t go after them. Not without the breaching bombs the boss gave us. Their walls are too damn tall and thick for us to cut through. Those bombs, though, will get us in and we can get ourselves some good plunder!” the leader promised.

“That’s a better plan! Let’s do that plan!” the first raider said, and the entire group voiced their agreement, nodding eagerly.

“Let’s head back and get those bombs then!” the leader told them, and they all turned tail, heading back into the forest.

Ben, Ylva and the militia had been combing through the forest at a decent pace. The density of the forest wasn’t as bad as Ben had feared, as even Ylva was making good time through it. They’d been searching for over an hour when they heard raucous laughter just west of their position. Using hand gestures, Ben commanded everyone to be silent and move in slowly.

As they approached, Ben noted how this second camp was in a clearing. There were four guards standing at their posts, watching the surrounding forest. Two of them were sitting by the fire in the middle of the camp, eating something out of a pot that hung over it. They appeared to be finishing up with their food, but one man got up and walked away from the camp, heading toward the approaching group.

Ben signaled for everyone to get down and hide, and they did. Despite Ylva’s and the militia’s size, they were able to get behind a small cluster of trees. Ben had climbed a tree and hid in its branches, while Ylva was sitting in a clump of bushes. The man came out of the camp, unaware that he wasn’t alone out there.

He walked along, without a care in the world, whistling to himself as he stopped at the cluster of bushes that Ylva was hiding in. He then dropped the front of his pants and whipped out his dick before he urinated on the bush. Ben almost laughed at this, thinking this funny. Ylva would beg to differ, so Ben thought to keep the levity of it to himself.

The man stood there for nearly a minute as he emptied his bladder. He finished up his business, then turned away to return to the camp. He walked not even a few steps before a spearhead burst out of his neck. All that came out of the mutant’s mouth was a strangled gasp as he died. The man spasmed for a few moments, before he went limp and slid downwards, off Ylva’s spear.

“Damn! I’m glad you’re on my side!” Ben breathed as he dropped to the forest floor.

“The bastard just missed me, but enough sprinkled on my new dress!” Ylva griped silently as she wrinkled her nose.

“Either way, we’re down to three now. Think we can overwhelm them?” Ben queried as the trio from the militia came out of their hiding place.

“I think so. Think you can take down one of them?” Mishele asked, hefting her axe.

“Without missing a beat!” Ben scoffed as he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Needing no further encouragement, the quintet moved quickly, heading straight for the camp. The other guards looked up at the forest and saw the group coming instead of their friend. They scrambled, hands fumbling for their weapons as the incoming attackers howled with their assault.

Ylva engaged the nearest guard with Dynah, while Tanny and Mishele crossed blades with the second one. Ben ran to the side, loosing an arrow in the first guard’s neck, dropping him almost instantly.

“Hey! That one counts as mine!” Ylva shouted, as she disengaged from the first guard and closed in on the third by the fire.

“Nope! That one’s mine!” Ben argued as he nocked another arrow, bringing it to bear on the second guard. He looked Ben’s way for just a moment, but that was all the opening that Mishele needed to bury her axe into his face. The third guard had his weapon in hand, but then threw it away and hit his knees, putting his hands above his head.

“Don’t kill me! I surrender!” the third man shouted.

“Ylva, stay your blade!” Ben shouted as she raised her spear.

“Why?”

“He may be able to give us information! If he wants to keep his head?” Ben asked, while giving him a pointed look.

“Yes, please! I like it where it is!” the man told him gratefully.

“Well then? Start talking, raider! What do you know about what’s going on here?” Ylva demanded, placing the spear tip by the hollow of his throat.

“First off, I’m a mercenary, not a raider. As far as what’s going on here, I know a bit. The general plan at least,” he started.

“What is this plan?” Tanny questioned.

“The big plan was laid out by Gor’thaka, the Flesh Render. It’s simple, but I’ve seen work well enough. Take over the town and make it into an outpost that outlaws, slavers, mercs, and such can go to and not be worried about the authorities. The first step was to choke off the supply and trade lines to the town. That was accomplished by the raiding teams here and the Beastmaster that now guards the iron mine west of here,” the merc told them.

“Beastmaster?” Ben queried.

“Yeah. Gor’thaka brought him along to help with taking this place over. Don’t really like Beastmasters and this guy even less,” the merc went on.

“Why is that?” Ylva asked, curious.

“Because he trains scorpions. Those things always creep me out,” the merc shivered.

“Fuck! Scorpions at the mine complicates things,” Dynah groused.

“What? Those little things that maybe fit into your hand?” Ben asked, bewildered that everyone would be put off by such small creatures.

“Ben, scorpions here are much bigger than what you think,” Ylva informed him.

“How big?”

“Most are half the size of a Thunderer, though some can grow to be just as big,” Mishele told him.

“Oh ... fuck me!” Ben swore.

“That’s about the size of it. What else merc? Surely that’s not the end of it,” Tanny pressed.

“Nope. The idea from that point was to harass the town constantly, make everyone inside afraid to come out. Make everyone so afraid that they’d pressure the mayor into doing something. After enough attacks, we’d tell them to surrender half the town and the rest could leave while we take it over,” the mercenary finished.

“No way that could happen!” Ylva growled, pressing the point harder on the man’s neck.

“It was happening, Ylva. The people were complaining and demanding that the mayor do something about these attacks. People were missing from the farms and food stopped coming in. Patrols were sent out, but they were often ambushed, with some militia killed. Plus, with the trade lines choked off and our ability to make new weapons hampered, things were getting bad there,” Dynah told her.

“What if the town could hold off your attacks? If they proved to be more resistant than expected?” Ben questioned.

“That’s where the breaching bombs would come into play. We would use them to hit the town and raid it, taking whatever and whoever we could. From there, it would be easy enough to convince the mayor to surrender,” the mercenary replied.

“Sounds like this Gor’thaka had a good plan and since you laid it all out, I think it would have worked,” Ben agreed.

“What about the breaching bombs?? Where are they?!?” Mishele asked.

“They’re right over there, in that tent,” the merc said, pointing to a nearby tent.

“Are you the only one here?” Ben asked, raising his bow and drawing the arrow halfway.

“Yes! Go check the tent! Put that arrow in my eye if I’m lying!” the merc demanded.

“Ylva, you and Dynah check the tent. Mishele, Tanny, stand ready,” Ben ordered.

Nodding, the quartet of mutants took their positions and moved forward. Ylva and Dynah lifted one flap, ready to stab any hidden guards, but there were none there. Mishele and Tanny saw what they did and breathed a sigh of relief. Happy to see the merc was telling the truth, Ben lowered his bow, but kept the arrow nocked.

“See? I know enough to co-operate when my life hangs in the balance,” the mercenary told them.

“Evidently. So, the only question now is what to do with you,” Ben queried.

“You could let me go,” the merc suggested.

“Absolutely not!” Ylva griped.

“Why should we let you go? I’ll consider it if you give me a legitimate reason,” Ben told him, giving him a sidelong look.

“Ben, are you crazy?” Ylva questioned. Mishele, Dynah and Tanny also voiced their concerns, not liking the idea one bit.

“No, just being pragmatic. Say we let you go, what will you do?” Ben asked.

“I’ll give you and the town no more trouble. First thing I’ll do is leave and head south, back where it’s warm. I took this job for the money, because Gor’thaka was paying well, and I thought it would be a simple way to claim some good booty. Right now, this job is more trouble than it’s worth. Besides, I didn’t sign on to become a slaver. If you let me go, I’ll also tell you where the main camp is,” the mercenary replied.

“Hmm. Sound reasoning. Tell us where the camp is and you can go,” Ben told him.

“Can I pick up my weapon before I tell you?” the merc asked.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not sure if you’ll just kill me after I tell you,” the merc reasoned.

“OK. That’s fair. Pick up your weapons and something to keep you going for when you leave. The rest of what’s here is ours,” Ben told him.

“BEN!” Ylva almost shouted.

“Ylva, enough,” Ben told her with a sense of finality.

Ylva was about to berate him for being stupid, but saw a stubborn look in his eye. She’d seen this look before in other men and knew that Ben had already decided. Ylva grumped, knowing that nothing short of death would change his mind. The merc had already gathered his weapons, some food, and a coin purse. He then stood and looked at Ben with a sense of curiosity before he spoke.

“The camp is straight north of the mine, just past a bog that has only one way in or out,” the merc told them.

“Numbers?” Dynah asked.

“We numbered over fifty, nearly sixty. I’m not sure how many are left, but I’m guessing that you’ve killed a few. Most are at the main camp, but you should also know they have prisoners,” the merc told them.

“How many prisoners?” Tanny asked, seeming anxious.

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been to the main camp in a while. Most are from the farmsteads outside of town, so there’s a fair bit. A good number of them are children,” the merc told them. “That’s all I know. I’ve told you everything. Can I leave?”

“You’ve held up your end of the deal. You can leave,” Ben stated.

“A Pinkskin with honor. A novel idea. I hope to see you all, never again,” the merc replied, before heading off into the forest, heading south.

“Was it really a good idea to just let him leave like that?” Ylva questioned, uneasy with the idea of letting a mercenary walk free.

“That guy may go to wherever the money takes him, but I know the type. The guy is a survivor who obviously enjoys life. He can’t very well enjoy it if he’s dead now, can he?” Ben asked.

“I suppose not,” Mishele figured, seeing the logic in that line of thinking.

“Besides, we learned what the plan of the Slavemaster, this Gor’thaka, is. It’s a lot more than what we had before we got here,” Ben stated. “Plus, we know where they are now, so we can start scouting the area, rather than search the forest, hoping that we get lucky.”

“Regardless, we need to get to work! This camp isn’t going to pack itself up!” Ylva commanded. Everyone hopped to, knowing that they had little time before the other team of raiders got back.

“These bombs will come in handy in defending the town!” Tanny enthused, as he helped the ladies with moving the bombs to a nearby cart.

“Oh, there’s a lot that can be done with these to disrupt those raiders,” Ben suggested as they worked.

Samara, Chelsea and Markie were traveling along in a southerly direction since leaving the vault. Though the plan was to reach Ben at the vault around Mulmur, there was no way they would risk heading down the Trans-Canada Highway. They discussed heading in that direction initially, but agreed the road would be broken up to where it had crumbled into ruins. If the roads themselves were a wreck, then it was likely that the many bridges were also little more than remnants of what they once were.

From what Samara had remembered of Canadian geography, much of the way through Ontario was wild forest and swamps. Though they could have tried braving it, it would have been a foolish endeavor. So, they headed straight south, along the rolling plains that led into what was the United States. As they traveled, the trio took in the surrounding scenery, marveling at how much had changed.

“Do you smell that?” Samara asked.

“Smell what, Sambo?” Chelsea wondered, sniffing at the air.

“Exactly! I don’t smell a thing! No exhaust fumes, no trees burning, nothing but clean air!” Samara replied, taking a deep breath.

“She’s right! I used to have wickedly bad asthma and even though I got over it, I would have a tough time breathing some days. Since coming out of the vault, I have had no issues breathing!” Markie agreed.

“Hunh. I suppose that’s one upside to civilization going down the tubes,” Chelsea agreed.

“How did it wind up destroyed? That’s one thing I didn’t have the time to learn about after I woke up. Not the details of it at least,” Samara questioned.

“I know a little, but even I wasn’t told much about what happened,” Chelsea stated.

“I can tell you what happened. That’s one thing I learned about soon after I woke up. Everyone was supposed to know and learn about it, until ... Jeremy,” Markie grunted.

“Would you mind telling us, please?” Chelsea asked.

Markie nodded and told them what she knew about what had happened. Since she saw a similar recording of what Ben had seen, it was pretty straightforward to tell. The girls were appalled that Darius Beauregard had been that twisted to just end all life on Earth! They were, however, thankful for Jason Adler’s altruistic ideals, which had directly saved their lives from being ended on N-Day.

As grateful as they were, there was still the fact that the Earth had changed. Advanced technology, modern living, speedy travel, all gone. The same held true with all the conveniences and food, such as ice cream, coffee, etc. Though both women were saddened at the loss of their friends, they understood the situation they were in now.