Page 49 of Fearless
“What do you need?” he asked.
I pulled a handgun out of his holster, turned to Python, and shot him in the chest.
Nineteen
MARIPOSA
Reaper retreated into the house moments after he put Python out of his misery. People worked quickly to break down the platform and move the body. With the show over, everyone started dispersing to their own homes and workplaces. They all wore the same shocked, harrowed expressions. This event would stay in people’s memories for a long time afterward.
In that regard, hopefully Reaper accomplished what he intended.
Heather swam against the current of people leaving, crying and wailing, to get to Python’s body.
“What will they do with his body?” I asked no one in particular.
“Wrap it in a sheet and dump it just outside of Razor Wire’s turf.” The answer came from Jandro, who I didn’t realize had come to stand next to me. “They’ll see what we did to their informant and send the message up to General Tash. Hopefully he’ll think twice about fucking with us again.”
“I need to lay down,” Tessa announced suddenly, pushing herself to stand.
“I’ll walk you home,” Noelle muttered, taking her elbow.
“Need me for anything?” I asked.
“No. Thank you, Mari.” She gave me a strained smile. “I’ll see you for my next appointment, if not sooner.”
I nodded, giving her a wave goodbye as she walked off, Noelle holding one arm and her oldest boy holding the other. Everyone had to be in a state of shock. We all acted like we gathered for some routine announcement and didn’t know how to process what we just saw. I wasn’t affected by the blood and gore itself, but still needed to come to terms with what I just witnessed.
That, and the fact that Reaper was the one who did it.
“You okay?” Concern etched through Jandro’s features as his hand caressed over my lower back.
“Yeah, I think so.” I leaned into him slightly as I looked up. “I’m a little worried about Reaper, though.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t try to see him right away.” He looked toward the house as he pulled me tighter against him in a protective embrace. “He needs some time too. Everyone does.”
I rested my cheek on his chest, leaning into his solidness and warmth as he brushed a kiss along my forehead.
“You hungry?”
“Are you kidding me?” I barked out a harsh laugh.
“Yeah, me neither.”
The platform had been broken down and disassembled as we watched. Python’s blood that had run off into the street left behind dark puddles that started to congeal and stick to people’s shoes.
“Is there any way to clean the blood off the street?”
“It’s not worth wasting the water,” Jandro replied with a shake of his head. “We never know when we’ll see rain again, so we have to keep our water stores for us.” His fingers created gentle, soothing pressure on my back. “It’ll be gone in a few weeks. The wind, sand, and wildlife will make sure of that.”
I knew he was right. The dark stains on the ground, the only evidence of what happened here, would break down and dissolve into nothing over time. Python’s screams and the grotesque imagery of his mutilation would soon fade from our minds in much the same way. It just felt so permanent now. My ears rang and the dark blood soaked into the ground like a tattoo. But every second that passed moved us further away from this event.
Python, his pain, and his crimes would eventually be forgotten. Someone else would betray their community in a similar way. History had a tendency to repeat itself. What did that mean for the message Reaper wanted to send? Hell, what did it mean for post-Collapse life in general? Were we stuck in a hamster wheel, never making any strides toward progress?
I wasn’t sure what got me on this train of thought. Python’s death didn’t exactly sadden me, but it got me thinking. Not long ago, an execution like this would be considered barbaric. But if the past was what put us on the hamster wheel, we had to do something different to stop it, right?
“I want to check on Reaper.” Slowly, I pulled myself out of Jandro’s embrace.
He allowed it, but closed a firm grip around my hands. “I’m coming with you,” he insisted. “Just in case he’s, I dunno, not really himself.”
