'Shit, Omarosa…'
'You've got a decision to make. I won't be back again. There's too much blood on my hands. It may take decades to wash clean.'
'Blood?'
'Tick tock. Me or the crews. You can't have both.'
'Damn it, Omarosa. I ought to take you in.'
'You could try.'
A steeliness hardened in her voice. He'd heard it before though she attempted to keep it hidden beneath the velvety lilt of her voice and honeyed measure of words. But it was always there, sharp as a sword's edge. Just once he wanted to test her. To take her full measure. His weapon lay on his jacket in the chair, never far from him, especially when he was with her. Just once. Not that he knew what he'd do with her. Shit. Maybe Cantrell would know. He couldn't let her walk away. Not like this. He wanted to taste her one more time. Just once. He turned from her and scooped up his gun in the same movement.
When he turned back around, she was gone.
'Camlann,' Lee said, hoping she could still hear him. 'I'll see you there.'
Rain drizzled, splattering on the oily surface of the street. They were within eyeshot of the Indianapolis Zoo, its trees lit with blue lights. Wayne turned the van off of Washington Street onto a little used drive under the bridge along the White River Parkway. The White River itself created a zone of relative peace, separating one world from the next. A nexus point, a natural ley line as Merle had once explained to them. The overcast sky drove a miserable chill into their bones. A mural decorated the wall, in a faux children's painted style. Blue, pink, and violet stick figures held hands while walking along grassy knolls toward a crude cityscape. On the other side, similarly painted rainbow-colored figures hung outside the windows of a school bus under a picturesque blue sky lit by a bold yellow sun.
The abutment of the bridge formed a concrete shelf littered with bags of trash and Styrofoam cups and plastic bottles mixed among the scattered leaves. The number 1516 etched into the concrete had eroded to the point where it read more like ISIS. The words 'eat you good' had been spraypainted higher up along the embankment. And Wayne thought about trolls as a train rumbled above them.
Overgrown bushes obscured the trail beside the bridge, a leaf-strewn path of brown and yellow. Little more than ragged scruff known mostly to those who lived in the other Indianapolis. Away from the gleaming buildings of downtown and the bright light of tourist attractions. The invisible Indianapolis. Beneath bridges. Under the city. In abandoned lots. A wire fence provided an illusion of security, but the links on one side had been severed and it was drawn back as easily as a curtain. They entered a mini wilderness of brown grass, scattered bushes, and vine- choked trees. They weaved their way between the trees until the path opened up into a field. Then they came to a second ley line as the railroad tracks created a buffer, cutting off the outside world from the secret things kids enjoyed exploring and fantasizing about. Magical things. A world which made perfect sense to those still able to wonder and dream. This site was well chosen. Secluded. Cut off. The city fathers planned on dumping low-cost housing according to the Not In My Back Yard crowd. For Dred, it was an abandoned warehouse of stored magic.
A dull thud reverberated as Percy beat the train track with a tree branch with each step. Part of him wanted Had and Kay with them, but he knew they were better off with Big Momma. Safe. Despite how they had proved themselves, this was no place for so young a kid.
Plus, it was a school night.
In the distance, a train whistle blew as if conjured by force of will.
Standing at the convergence of the footpath and the train tracks, King stopped. A sea of rocks separated one stretch of woods from the more foreboding underbrush. He scoured the trees, the skyline, the railway. He brushed his forehead with the side of his hand, wiping away the sweat, and closed his eyes.
'Now's probably not the best time to catch a nap,' Merle said.
'Merle.' King's heart rejoiced at the familiar voice. 'Are you a dream?'
'I've been called that.'
'I've been tormented by dreams before.' The dreams of he and his people were too coincidental. They harried their nerves and frayed their temperaments. His whole group was on edge for months. During that time, King had joined forces with Dred; Lott and Lady G… It was yet another thing King needed to pay Dred back for.
'Torment is being trapped in a barrel of eels without any soap.'
'You're crazy.'
'As are you. The story's about to come full circle.'
'I can't tell anyone else, but I'm scared, Merle,' King said. 'They're all looking to me as if I know what I'm doing.'
'You'd be a fool not to be scared. You don't really have much of a plan beyond marching in there and saying 'I'm King. Boo!''
'I didn't have my wise counsel during the planning meeting,' King said. 'Besides, I got a few surprises left in me.'
'Moving on in the face of fear, fighting for what's right, that is the definition of bravery.' Merle took King's hand, first as insubstantial as a breeze, then solid as remembered flesh. 'It's your cup. Drink its fill and don't be afraid.'
King opened his eyes. Merle wasn't there. Lady G struggled on the slate-gray rocks. Her ankle gave out beneath her, but Lott caught her before she fell. Regaining her balance, she absent-mindedly reached for his hand. He took hers without reassurance. Whatever antsy dance stirred in Lott stilled at her touch. She quelled his disconnect.
There was no unhappiness in King. It was their life. She deserved the best. Someone stable, nice, who treats her well. Someone with a future.
'Hawk's out.' Wayne broke the tension. 'Looks like a storm's moving in.'
''Bout time. Been building for a long time,' King said.
'What's the plan?'
'This is it.' King gathered them around him. Lott, his right hand. Lady G, his heart. Wayne, his conscience. Percy, his faith. He could walk into Hell knowing they had his back.
'What? We show up,' Wayne said. 'Ain't but five of us. Ain't like we leading an army.'
'Look, Dred's called for a summit meeting. He needed to pull together his whole crew to see what he was working with. It's all his top people plus his crew. They got numbers.'
'What we got?' Lott asked.
'Five cold, wet fools,' Wayne said.
'Six.' A voice came from the underbrush. Lott and Wayne flanked King, ready for an attack. Her hand pulled back the branches, allowing Tristan to come into full view. 'If you don't mind the company.'
'Where you come from?' Wayne asked.
'Been here waiting. Saw you pull up.'
'Waiting for what?' Wayne asked.
'Waiting to figure out my next play.'
'What'd you decide?'
'Didn't. You all pulled up. You decided for me.' Tristan came alongside them. 'Time comes, a person's got to stand tall and do right.'
'Way I figure it, we just need to take out Dred.'
'Take out?' Tristan gestured a throat-slash.
'No, that crosses a line. But if he can be humbled before his people… challenge him for the right to lead…'
'You ain't exactly one hundred percent there, chief. Why not let Lott? Or Wayne?'
'Because it's my fight.'
King no longer knew what was normal. In his gut, he knew exactly what he was doing, but had little idea why he was doing it. Things just needed to play out. All he needed to do was reach Dred, the rest would take care of itself.
At first glance, the greenery formed a smooth, thick grove, fairly impenetrable to incursion. Wayne formed a
