Tyler’s lip curled. “I would ask how Skye is doing but I hear…” As he was saying that Tyler’s eyes drifted over the group and that’s when he locked eyes with Alicia.
“Her name is Alicia,” Colby said quickly before he mistook her for Skye.
“Well shit on me. I must say, the resemblance is uncanny.”
Tyler strolled over to her, and swept his rifle behind his back to make contact with her. “Huh. Just as beautiful as she was.” He grabbed hold of Alicia’s face by the jaw.
Colby stepped forward only to feel a gun to the back of his head. “Ah, ah. I wouldn’t,” one of Boone’s men said.
He froze.
Tyler continued to speak as he squeezed Alicia’s face and turned it from side to side. He glanced at Colby. “The things I did with her mouth. Maybe I’ll do the same with hers.”
Alicia pulled her face away. “Fuck off.”
“Oh, she’s a feisty one. I would like to take you out back and break you like I did Skye.”
“You asshole!” Colby shouted. “How about you try and break me?”
“Tyler,” John said. “That’s enough.”
He sighed. “Oh brother, you really are a buzz kill.” He looked at Alicia one last time and winked. “Maybe later.” He brushed a finger over her lips and then put his finger in his mouth and tasted it. “Just as sweet.”
John Boone stood in front of Colby, staring as if considering his options.
“So are you operating here now?” Colby asked.
“Here, there, anywhere we choose. You see, while all of you are tucked away in Eureka, we’ve been making use of the surrounding area — area that you have retreated from. Which I must ask, why is that?”
“Wasn’t my decision.”
“But you went along with it. Moved out of the hills, I hear.” He tutted. “Your father would be very disappointed. You really should have stayed there.” He walked in front of them all. As he did, Colby lifted his eyes to the men pointing rifles at them from every direction. Fighting was in his blood. It wasn’t an option; it was the only option but against this… they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“By the way, how did you like the fire?”
“That was you?” Colby asked.
“Does it matter?” he replied, returning to Colby. “There’s something about fire that makes people stop and pay attention, isn’t there?” He lifted a gun to Colby’s head. “See. See your reaction to this. You barely flinched.” He smiled. “That’s because you know if I squeeze this trigger, it’s lights out. You won’t feel a thing. But fire. Oh, there are endless possibilities with that.” He turned around, sniffing the air while placing his handgun back in its holster. He clasped hands behind his back and strolled in front of them. “You know, when you are inside the pen there isn’t much to do. Some play cards, work out, watch TV or work. Not me. You see, the greatest asset a man has, is his mind.” He tapped his temple. “I read. Hundreds of books, I couldn’t tell you how many. I’ve lost count. That’s why I came here. The library.” He looked at it fondly like the way a parent might to a child. “While others are running to stores and pharmacies, hogging supplies, what use is that if you don’t know how to survive? Huh?”
He looked lost in thought as he walked before them. “Do you know what Greek fire is?” he said, turning back to Colby but standing at a distance. He waited for a response but when Colby didn’t say anything, he continued. “It was used by the Byzantine Empire, circa 672. They used it to destroy their enemies’ ships. It’s believed it was a flame-throwing weapon that could work even when it made contact with water. They called it sea fire. Liquid fire. A heated substance, pressurized and then delivered through a tube. Sounds like our modern-day flamethrowers, doesn’t it? Except to this day, they still don’t know what compounds they used. They think it was a mixture of petroleum, naphtha, pitch, quicklime, sulfur, and maybe saltpeter, to name a few, but it’s believed there were more ingredients.” He wagged a finger in the air. “But you know what is really fascinating? The fire was known to cling to flesh and was impossible to extinguish with water. Can you imagine the horrors of being burned alive on a boat while surrounded by the very thing that is meant to counter it?” He grinned. “What a delight it must have been to hold that secret.” He shook his head. “So, of course I set out to learn what those missing ingredients were. I became obsessed with finding out. And do you know what? I think I found it.”
“Well good for you. Maybe you can use it on yourself and save us the boredom of listening to you,” Jessie said.
Boone laughed and waved a finger in the air. “Or I can give you a demonstration. Would you like that?” He clapped his hands and everyone’s eyes turned as two of his guys broke away from the group and disappeared around the corner of the building. “And of course with today’s situation and bullets becoming so… scarce. I figured whatever better time to make Greek fire fashionable again. What do you think?”
“I think you’re an asshole,” Jessie said.
Boone turned away from Colby and stood in front of Jessie, eyeing him. His eyes dropped to Jessie’s hand. He was holding Nina. Boone smiled. “So sweet.”
A moment later, the ten from the other group were pushed out into the midst of them and forced to their knees. John motioned to everyone else to step back as two of his men appeared with flamethrowers attached to their backs. “Oh, you’ll want to back up for this one.”
“Don’t do this, John,” Colby said. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Oh but it does.”
“You piece of shit!” Nina said. “My family will hunt you down.”
He turned
