Page 44 of Deathless
“The trailers don’t have much, but there’s bunk beds, sleeping bags, maybe some air mattresses you gotta blow up. But before you go.” He raised a hand and scanned the crowd like he was looking for someone. “Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on and where the hell Rori is.”
“We can do that.” Torr walked up to him with Santos at his side. The two of them looked beyond exhausted. They looked haunted.
I nudged Hudson’s shoulder. “You find a place to sleep. I’m gonna back them up, and I’ll find you later.”
He shook his head stubbornly. “I’m coming too.”
Slick led us all to a sectioned off area of the warehouse. There were folding tables and chairs set up to make it look like a small break room or office.
The older biker wheeled around on Torr. “Start talking any time,” he said, crossing his arms. “Starting with, where is my niece?”
Torr let out a big breath that seemed to deflate all his strength. “Rori’s been taken.”
“By who?” Slick demanded.
“A cult that really likes to murder people, especially men.”
“And you chose to bring all these former gladiatorshereinstead of fighting to get her back?”
Torr was silent for a while, as were the rest of us. We were waiting for his cue, knowing that he didn’t want to just tell anyone what we were really up against.
“You were with the Demons, right?” Torr asked quietly.
“Still am.” Slick lifted his chin proudly. He was in his late forties maybe, but only the graying at his temples and in his beard showed it. “What’s that got to do with my niece?”
“You were there?” Torr pressed. “During the war that saved Four Corners, yousawwhat the enemy did?”
“Yeah. Some kind of entity that had a bunch of people under mind control. Craziest fuckin’ thing I ever seen. Thousands of people moving in perfect sync, like some kind of hivemind.”
“That’s what has Rori,” Torr explained. “She’s under the control of this...deity that the cult created. It has her, and it’s going to use her to lead them.”
Slick went silent for a long time, his face draining of color. “You’re telling me it’s back?” he whispered.
“We think it’s something new,” Santos spoke up. “This thing has never possessed a human before. It wanted Rori. Like it was...waiting for her.”
Slick’s eyes snapped to him, then scanned over all of us. “You all saw this?”
The four of us nodded. “Rori had been fighting it for a couple of days,” I said. “But it had been breaking her down over weeks, giving her bad dreams so she couldn’t sleep.”
“Fuck.” Slick tilted his head back, eyes closing wearily. “We have to tell the Steel Demons.”
“I’m sorry, I disagree.” Torr lifted his chin, meeting the older biker in the eye.
Slick glared back, the two of them looking like they were getting ready to square off. “She’s theirdaughter.”
“I know. Exactly why we shouldn’t call them,” Torr said. “They’re going to rush in to save her, all four of her fathers. Probably her mom and brothers, too. And wouldn’t this cult justlovethat? At least four, maybe six, men to kill, abuse and torture. All while Rori has a front row seat to it all.”
“They won’t be rash,” Slick argued. “We’re all far more seasoned in war than you. We’ve seen our loved ones taken, tortured, controlled, and been forced to keep a cool, strategic head about it. You’re the one not thinking this all the way through, Torrance. You just don’t have the experience under your belt yet.”
“But we do.” I stepped up next to Torr and Santos did the same, the two of us loyal soldiers. “We’ve seen it all in the gladiator pit,” I went on. “And we support Torr. For their own safety, Rori’s family should not get involved. Not yet, at least.”
“This is our fight anyway,” Santos added. “The Steel Demons have done their part. Let the Vengeful Gods finish what they started.” Slick eyed each of us, even Hudson, who had come up to stand by me. I’d have to tell him later how much his quietsupport meant to me. He didn’t have to be part of this at all but was choosing to be.
“Alright,” Slick finally relented. “Come up with your plan then, and quick. I don’t want to tell my brothers you left their daughter behind to die.”
With that, Slick walked off. He still wore a Steel Demons cut, the old leather soft and worn, his patches faded and fraying. I tried not to think of that grinning horned skull on his back as mocking us.
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