Deadman

I awoke to the full moon shining down on me through green mist and crows digging into the gaps of my clothing that the bullets had torn through. I ignored the substantial pain and listened for a few moments. Nothing, no sounds at all. I sat up, pushing Jake’s corpse off me and scattering the birds. I looked around and took stock. They’d left me where I’d dropped. My weapons were still on me. I wasn’t sure if they were stupid or just in a rush. It’s not like they expected me to get up after blowing so many holes in me. They probably thought they could come back anytime.

I stood up and cracked my neck. JD was dead a few yards away. Walked over to him. Our interactions had been mixed, but at least he’d been relatively reasonable. His eyes were still wide open with surprise at the betrayal he’d experienced from his own community. I bent down and closed them.

My first instinct was to go back into the town, kill everyone, burn the place down, and leave. I swallowed that instinct. I’d stick to those who’d riddled me with bullets and killed the girl. Most of the town seemed ignorant of what had happened, and even if they weren’t I was planning on sending a message that would put them in line.

I walked toward the storage unit we’d found earlier that reeked of death. I bent down and pulled open the door. What I saw confirmed my suspicions. A bed, zip ties, a few bloodstains, and a very deep impression on the mattress. No body though. That must’ve been the trail heading back into the town. But why would they bring the body back inside?

I looked around for some rope. I had big plans for the big boss, and I’d need a lot of it for a man his size. Unfortunately I found none. I did however find a nice long roll of barbed wire. I unraveled what I thought would be enough, and tied the edges of it into a noose, doubling it up to make sure it would hold. Doing it made my hand bleed, but it healed quickly.

I took out my rifle, checked the magazine, and walked into town. The hole in the wall was blocked by a car they’d moved in front of it, but there were no guards nearby. I climbed up over everything and dropped on the other side, kicking up a bit of dust as I did. Most of the town was dark, but in the center of it I could see what looked like a large bonfire, with the shadows of townsfolk dancing across it.

I moved quickly to the nearest building. Looking, listening, and smelling for where everyone was. I could tell there were still a few people on the walls, but everyone else was concentrated in the middle of town. I began moving closer. Shifting from house to house, getting closer to the crowd that I realized was gathered outside the cantina. Once I was a little over halfway I pulled myself up on top of a roof and crawled to the edge. I looked down the the sights of my rifle and felt a rage build up inside me.

Boss was standing on the second level of the plane half. Gesturing widely to the crowd in front of him, while a half dozen of his cronies stood around him, one of which was holding a bandaged right arm. That was likely the one I’d managed to shoot before going down. There was a bonfire burning in front of the crowd, who looked either terrified or righteous, with parents hiding the faces of their children while others pumped their fists. Lying on the ground next to Boss was a figure covered in a white sheet that was slowly staining. In the middle of it all, hanging from a makeshift gallows on the top of the plane, was Tim.

I could tell even from where I was that he was long dead. The entire story was clear to me. I’d asked questions, and boss wanted to cover things up while ensuring questions wouldn’t be asked again for at least not for good long time. He’d killed Mary Bell, and likely a few before her. He had Mary’s body dragged back here so that he could frame his nephew Tim. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the entire reason he’d kept Tim around to begin with. Tim had mentioned his mother had gone missing a little after he’d been born. Who knows how long this kind of thing had been going on?

I didn’t really care what humans did to each other all that much. At least that's what I told myself. I hated slavers and wanted everyone to get a fair shake for the most part, but what happened to Tim... It was just another in a long line of situations where a deadman was used as a tool and tossed aside. Sure I'd warned the kid, but it was hard for me to blame him for being naïve when that was what he'd been raised to be.

I activated my ability and marked all of them on the second level of the cessna for arrest. The fire was between me and them, but it was much closer to where they were standing. I was hoping that between the firelight and the smoke they’d have reduced visibility. I lined up a shot, took a deep breath, let it out, and fired. The goon on the far left dropped, a fresh hole in his stomach. I lined up another before the others could react. I missed the first time, but killed the one with a wounded arm on a second try before he could get into cover.

The crowd scattered with the first gunshot. There was screaming and yelling, all of it creating a nice cover of chaos for me. I leapt across a couple roofs quickly while the noise could cover my movement and crouched back down. Boss still had four men with him, all pointing their guns wildly, trying to figure out where I was shooting from. Boss himself was huddled behind a flipped over table. Bits of him were poking out around it, but I held off. I was saving him for last.

Once the square was clear two of the men broke off from the others and went downstairs. When they were single file on the bottom floor steps, I unloaded four more shots. My aim wasn’t perfect, but they dropped nonetheless. Unfortunately, without the element of surprise and the chaos of the crowd I gave up my position with those four shots.

The two goons at the top of the plane started to fire on me, and I rolled off the roof onto the hard ground, landing on my back with a thud. I pushed myself up with a grunt, slid my rifle onto my back and drew my pistol. With my ability I could tell that Boss and his men were staying put where they could hole up. I wasn’t sure how long I’d have before more men with guns showed up.

I moved quickly through the narrow alleys between scrap metal buildings until I was at the side of the plane. I pulled myself onto a roof and then slowly moved across it until I was touching the plane walls. I heard Boss’ men take a few potshots, but they were well off the mark, and I was certain they were panicking. Unlike the raiders, these were men used to being protected by walls. Men used to wearing a cloak of authority to get their way. With those things stripped away, they were cowards.

I climbed the wall of the plane. Broken panels and a window providing me with hand and footholds. I had to move slowly and quietly. When I reached the makeshift gallows I took one end of the barbed wire I’d gotten and tied it tightly to it. After that I crawled over to the edge of it, where I could still see the highlighted forms of Boss and his men, pointing their guns downward, looking around for me while their leader cowered behind a table.

I secured one of my feet to a loose panel, readied my pistol, and swung my top half down. As I hung there upside down I emptied half of my magazine, killing the last two guards who’d been too busy looking down for me rather than thinking to look up. I flipped the rest of the way into the room, toward the quivering form of Boss.

Before I could close the gap between us, he popped up, trying to aim a revolver at me, but thanks to my ability to see his highlighted form behind the table, I was ready for it and shot his arm, causing him to drop his gun. I closed in on him and smashed the butt of my pistol into his face. I heard a crack, and there was a spray of blood from his nose.

A gunshot sounded off behind me and I dragged boss in front of me, back to where he’d so recently stood to give his people a speech. I threw the barbed wire noose over his neck and tightened it just enough for the barbs to dig into his skin. He whimpered.

I looked down at a dozen men and women with guns who’d come to help their mayor. I held my gun to his head. “Tell them.”

He sobbed a little. “Tell them what?”

“Tell them what you did, and I may spare you,” I lied.

He looked out at them, he was terrified. “Please.”

I pushed the barrel of the pistol harder into the side of his head. “Tell. Them.”

“I killed the girl,” he whispered.

“LOUDER!” I yelled.

“I killed the girl!”

There were gasps from the crowd.

“Tell them everything. Tell them about your sister, and Thomson’s daughter, and all the rest.”

“She wasn’t the first… I killed my sister too, and Lillian, Hailey, and Luisa. I blamed outsiders, people crawling into our walls to take our people, but it was me. I… I couldn’t help myself.” He started weeping, his body shaking as blood dripped down from where the barbed wire sat on his neck. “I’ve protected you all my whole life. Am I not entitled to the sweet fruits that are grown under my leadership? The food you grow? The daughters you rai-”

I tightened the noose and pushed him off the edge. Boss’ neck was sliced halfway through almost immediately, the soft flesh of his neck and weight of his body combining to gruesome effect. His body twitched for a few moments as it rocked back and forth before the makeshift gallows broke down, and his body crashed into the bonfire below. The smell made my mouth water.