He stayed awake all night.
From his hiding place, Ash surveyed the madness that unfolded in the wake of Brock M. Hoffman’s death. It was almost twenty minutes before a Riot Reaper returned to the silo after Ash’s departure. When the Reaper found Taz’s body, he alerted the others. Two minutes after the mass arrival of men, Brock’s corpse must’ve been discovered too.
The panic seemed to flow freely from one man to the next. The Riot Reapers then spread across the town looking for the assassin, but Ash kept himself hidden. He predicted they would check every room in the town, every corner and car – but they hadn’t ventured out into the open.
By daybreak, the Reapers had started to retreat back into the silo; under the assumption the culprit was long gone. The town began to wake-up, opening its doors for the first time in almost twelve hours. Ash seized the moment to stand up from the ditch, making his way back to the pub.
Hands in his pockets, Ash had one main focus – get Ivy and get out of town. He arrived at the pub and tried the door handle. Still locked. Fortunately, the man behind the bar saw him and unlocked the main doors.
“Looks like you haven’t slept a wink!” cried the stranger. “What was the point in booking a room when you stayed out all night?”
Ash gave no response. He crossed the pub, ran up the stairs and unlocked the door to his hotel room. Ivy was still sleeping; in the same position he’d left her in last night, oblivious to the looming chaos.
Just as he prepared to pack his belongings, Ash glanced at his hands. He could still see traces of Brock M. Hoffman’s blood under his fingernails. He darted to the bathroom basin and began to scrub. There were probably traces of blood on his clothing too, which he immediately ripped off, but he would have to hold onto the items until he could dispose of them safely.
Ash frantically packed his belongings, aiming to check-out within the next five minutes. He stuffed his possessions into his backpack and tried to wake Ivy. She didn’t budge. The hysteria pills had hit her harder than he could’ve predicted.
As Ivy was still out cold, he had no choice other than to carry her downstairs and put her into the passenger’s seat. Ash checked out moments later. The man behind the bar felt the need to make another comment.
“Eager to leave, are we?”
Ash gave no reply, tossing his room key on the bar top and turning his back. He slipped behind the wheel, pushed the start button and pulled away from the kerb.
He precariously manoeuvred the car through the vacant roads, seeing Riot Reapers out on the streets, sitting in the gutters with their heads in their hands.
Once they were safely out of the town and back on the main highway, Ash turned the car into self-drive mode and closed his eyes.
He had never slept so peacefully.
***
A couple of hours later, Ash awoke to the sound of his name echoing in his ear.
“Ash?” cried Ivy, alarmed. “What’s going on? Where are we?”
Still drowsy, he stretched his back and gathered his bearings. Although he longed to close his eyes again, Ash pulled out his Skye-Scroll tablet and composed his reply.
He had already formulated a plausible lie.
“There were Baibots lurking only a few kilometres from the town. I made the call to get us out of there. We’re now back in the car, heading towards Broken Hill.”
“Wait, back up a second,” began Ivy. “I can’t even recall where we stayed last night. Why can’t I remember?”
Ash smiled. The hysteria drugs had worked wonders.
“We stayed in Tullamore. We both fell asleep after drinking from the water bottles – I suspect we were drugged in the process. I woke up before you and caught word that Baibots were on the horizon. I made the decision to leave.”
“What-? We were drugged?”
“I suspect so. Apparently, everyone in town was given hysteria pills.”
Ivy nodded, as if it explained everything.
“We have those pills in the air force too. They’re usually given out if you’re experiencing a post-traumatic stress disorder, so I reckon someone in the army gave a bunch to the Riot Reapers. Then those wankers drugged us.”
“I don’t want to trust Reapers anymore.”
“I agree with you there, Ash,” she replied. “I’ve never liked the idea of putting my faith in a bunch of bogans running around in Halloween masks, pretending they understand the first thing about combat. Honestly, I find it insulting.”
“Then let’s stick together – just the two of us. We’ll continue on to Perth.”
Ivy nodded and sank back into her seat. Of course, Ash had no plans to go to Perth. Once they reached Broken Hill, he would contact his army via the mobile phone and organise Ivy’s handover.
If all went to plan, he might be flying home by the end of the week.
“So how long before we reach Broken Hill?” asked Ivy.
“Six hours or so.”
“OK, good. Do you still have food with you? I could smash an oat bar.”
Ash opened up his backpack and handed her a few packets of assorted goods. She ripped one open and began to feast, before reaching out to the dashboard, searching for the radio dials. She fiddled about with them. There was silence.
“What’s up with the radio?” she asked, in between bites. “It’s not working.”
Ash had already manually disabled the radio while she had been sleeping. He had snipped the wires intentionally, as he didn’t want Ivy to hear any news regarding Tullamore. Ash predicted the nation would’ve learned about their president’s demise by now, and if Ivy learned the truth, he could potentially blow his whole cover.
“I think the system is shot. I haven’t been able to get it to work for hours.”
“So, we’re stuck listening to nothing for another six hours?”
“Yes, or we could play a game to pass the time.”
“Sure, how about I-Spy? Though, I might need a bit of a handicap.”
Ash smiled. Admittedly, he had grown fond of her sarcasm. He gave it some thought, and then suggested another game.
“We could play Twenty Questions.”
“Ugh, I hate that game,” she winced. “If we had a bottle of whiskey I’d be suggesting we play Never Have I Ever, but it’s no fun without the booze.”
“How about Would You Rather? I haven’t played that game since I was a kid.”
“Yeah, alright. But it’s my turn first,” she said, adjusting her seat. “Would you rather be a hippopotamus with erectile dysfunction or a donkey with a micro penis?”
Ash knew the next six hours would not go quickly enough.
***
The game only lasted half an hour before Ivy’s questions became too obscure to answer.
Ash announced he was feeling ill and tried to fit in a few more hours sleep. They pulled over once for a toilet break and to stretch their legs, but Ash slept for the majority of the journey.
However, on the final stretch into Broken Hill, he was rudely awoken by the sound of a loud bang. The car then juddered and automatically began to slow down to a halt. A red warning light started flashing on the dashboard, indicating a tyre had blown out.
Ash mouthed a curse word.
“What the hell was that?” asked Ivy, grabbing her seat at the sides.
“We’ve burst a tyre, but don’t worry. We’ve got a spare in the boot.”
“Do you know how to change a tyre?”
“Yes. Of course, I do.”
The Skye-car then pulled away from the road and came to a gentle stop. Ash ejected himself from his seat and went to investigate. Just by taking a quick glance, he could see the front driver’s side wheel had completely deflated, and was clinging to the rim by just a few strands – like flesh falling off a bone.
Ash then walked to the back of the car and opened up the boot just as Ivy climbed out of her own seat.
“How far are we from Broken Hill?” she asked. “It feels like we’ve been driving for a friggin’ lifetime.”
Ash had left his tablet on the driver’s seat. He gave her a reply by tapping on the roof of the car.
20km. Not far to go.
Ivy, satisfied with his reply, started stretching her legs by the side of the road. Ash pulled the spare tyre out of the boot and began rolling it to the front of the car. Next, he grabbed the tools and prepared to put himself to work.
However, as he crouched down to examine the full extent of the damage done to the front tyre, Ash noticed something highly unusual.
He spotted tiny silver studs littering the rubbery mess. Ash then glanced towards the other wheels. A disconcerting thought burrowed deep within his brain.
Although only one tyre had burst on impact, the other three were littered with silver studs too and were slowly deflating with every second.
A lump growing in his throat, Ash turned his head and looked down the empty road. He could see thousands of silver studs left scattered across the gravel. They had been left there deliberately with one sole purpose – bring a moving vehicle to a halt.
Then, Ash heard the sound of a car approaching from the opposite direction.
There had been no sighting of another car the entire day. It was too much of a coincidence to simply dismiss. Fists tightening, Ash felt his mind light up like a wild fire.
“Ash?” asked Ivy, sensing something was wrong. “What’s going on?”
Jumping to his feet, he darted towards her, grabbed her body and helped her into the boot of the car. Feeling the urgency, she climbed in without complaint. Ash then closed the trunk and tapped out a message on top of it, so that Ivy could hear. The direction was abrupt, but necessary.
Stay put. Do not speak.
Ash thought he heard a faint whimper from inside the boot, but that was the least of his concerns. The car was approaching rapidly, less than a hundred metres away.
Buzzing with nerves, Ash pulled himself together and stood by the open driver’s side door. Still looking ahead, he discreetly put a hand behind the driver’s seat and rested a hand on the shotgun. He kept it there. Just in case.
The car began to slow and then pulled off to the side of the road, just a short distance away from Ash. Six men then climbed out of the car before putting Riot Reaper masks over their faces.
Ash kept still, breathing heavily, but damn well focused.
Weapons were pulled. Knives and machetes gleamed under the amber sun. Ash didn’t even flinch. He was already mentally concocting his first move.
The shortest Reaper stepped forward and started talking.
“Hi there,” he said, taking a step closer. “I do apologise for destroying your tyres, but we were given strict orders to locate that exact car via its GPS and stop it by any means necessary.”
Good. Ash wanted the man to keep talking for as long as possible. He, of course, gave nothing away. The Reapers were none the wiser that he already had a hand on his shotgun, slowly sliding back the forearm.
“We received a call from Tullamore this morning,” continued the Reaper. “We were given a description of a Skye-car, a licence plate and a rough account of the male occupant. I’m sorry to say, you match all the criteria.”
The forearm was down. His gun was locked and loaded.
“Even though you’re driving his car and using his bankcards, we know your name is not Marshall Lennox,” said the Reaper, building with confidence. “So, can you give me a clue in? What’s your real name?”
Ash started smiling. It infuriated some of the Reapers, but the leader put his arm up and told them to fall back in line.
“This doesn’t have to get ugly,” said the Reaper, holding an open palm towards Ash. “If you come with us, right now, there will be no more bloodshed.”
Unblinking, Ash stared down the Riot Reapers.
“So that’s the way it’s gonna be, huh? Right. They warned me you were a silent one,” said the Reaper, lifting his machete in the air, “but when I’m through with you, I’ll have you screaming for mercy.”
Before the Reaper could take another step closer, Ash pulled his gun out and took aim. He opened fire, hitting the leader in the chest, killing him instantly.
“He’s got a gun!” shrieked a Reaper, cowering behind the other men.
A brave – yet foolish – Reaper charged at Ash, hoping to land the first hit, but Ash took off his head with just one blast.
He also knew he had used up the last shell in his shotgun. However, he held the gun steady and started advancing towards the remaining four men, hoping to force them to retreat. Although Ash still had two Compacta-Cuttas in his pocket, taking on four men would be difficult to say the very least.
One of the men raised an arm, challenging. Ash aimed the gun at him. The man chanced another step, trying to catch Ash in his bluff – and it worked.
When the Reaper realised he was out of ammunition, he ran forward. Ash dropped the shotgun, yanked the Compacta-Cuttas into plain view, squeezed the bars and let them morph into blades.
The attacking Reaper threw his arm back to make a full throttle swing, but it left Ash with the easiest option – jabbing him directly under the jaw. The blade went in cleanly. The second Ash pulled it out, the man dropped to the ground in a heavy thud. Lights out. Dead.
The three Reapers remaining were by far the weakest links, but now they were playing a game of strategy. They began to spread out, surrounding Ash.
In the back of his mind, he was certain he could probably outrun them and seek shelter elsewhere, or possibly attempt to hijack their car – but Ash wouldn’t leave Ivy. She was still hiding away in the boot, and hadn’t made a single noise.
Keeping his arms steady, Ash re-gripped the Compacta-Cuttas and followed each movement. Two began to close in on him. The other held his ground.
The two engaging Reapers seemed to be making eye contact with each other, and worked together to launch a synchronised assault. Ash jerked his body away just in time and put a leg out to knock one down. A Reaper stumbled over, falling flat on his face. The second Reaper managed to reposition himself and landed a clean strike.
The knife sliced into Ash’s arm. He didn’t yell, or even make a sound, but he gritted his teeth through the pain and fought harder. Keeping all three Reapers in his line of sight, Ash managed to weave his body away from further jabs and swiped his weapon across the neck of a Reaper. Another one went down. Two to go.
Suddenly, there was a bang from the boot of the Skye-car. Ivy must’ve accidently knocked into something, or maybe she was trying to flee. Regardless, she had given herself away.
One of the Reapers advanced towards the vehicle and pulled the boot door open.
“There’s a prisoner in the boot!” he cried, and then added, “Oh shit, I think it’s Ivy Adoni...”
Ivy didn’t squeal at the sound of her name, nor play the victim, instead she lunged herself at the Reaper, blindly throwing her body around him as he slashed the knife furiously, trying to free himself.
In a craven panic, the Reaper flung Ivy over his head and body slammed her into the ground. She gasped for air. Ash didn’t hesitate as he hurled a Compacta-Cutta from across the road, striking the Reaper in the sternum. He yelled, pulling it out of his body and then turned his attention back to Ash.
Just as he was preparing to take him on, the Reaper that had originally fallen was also now back on his feet and ready to fight again.
Ash found himself in yet another two against one predicament, but he’d never surrender. Not after everything he’d been through.
In a split-second decision, Ash took out the wounded Reaper first. He was already dripping blood from a cut in his torso, so Ash ducked down and made another puncture under the man’s rib cage, and he sliced it across. He went down.
However, as his concentration had not been evenly spaced between both threats, the final Reaper had taken full advantage of Ash’s mistake and prodded his knife into Ash’s shoulder in one quick thrust.
A fist then slammed into the side of his head. The colours darkened in his eyes. Shaking his head through the disorientation, Ash tried to retaliate but he was knocked down. He opened his eyes and found himself on his back, staring up at a knife-wielding Reaper. His rival raised the weapon and tried to stab it down on Ash’s face. He grabbed the Reaper’s arms in time and stopped him mid-air, but the Reaper began to force his body weight down, and the knife began to lower, resting less than an inch above Ash’s forehead.
No matter how hard Ash tried to shove him away, he was solid. The enemy had him pinned to the ground.
“Give in!” roared the Reaper, but Ash would not relinquish his grip.
The knife had reached his skin, slowly scratching the surface. In a last hope of desperation, Ash tapped his leg on the ground, rhythmically. The Reaper paid no attention to the sound and Ash’s cry for help was lost on him.
However, one person understood it.
A hand was thrown over the Reaper’s left shoulder. A second hand came in from the right, driving a blade through the masked man’s skull.
His eyes burst open, before rolling back into his head. Ivy pulled the blade out of the Reaper’s brains and then shoved the body aside. She then gently knelt down on the road, reaching a hand out into the open.
“Ash?” she asked, panting.
He grabbed her hand, trying to catch his breath himself. Ivy helped him back to his feet. Ash let his eyes wander to the ground for a moment, but after seeing the bodies strewn in all directions, he made the decision to move on as quickly as possible.
Still holding Ivy by the hand, he pulled her towards the Reaper’s open car. The wounds on his forearm and shoulder were beginning to sting, but he would tend to them later. Right now, he needed to get the hell away from the scene of the crime.
Ash reclaimed both of his Compacta-Cuttas and grabbed all of his belongings from the Skye-car, transferring it over to the new vehicle.
After avoiding death for another day, Ash counted his blessings and slipped behind the wheel. He switched the car to self-drive mode and set the coordinates to Broken Hill. The car began to move, leaving the massacre behind them.
When the car was finally in motion, Ivy placed a hand on Ash’s knee.
“What the hell just happened?” she asked.
Ash pulled out a first-aid kit from his backpack and began to clean up his wounds. Once he had the bleeding under control, he found his tablet and gave Ivy a reply.
“We were ambushed by six Riot Reapers. They tried to kill us.”
“We’re bloody Australian,” hissed Ivy. “Why would they attack us? Of all people?”
Ash wasn’t sure if Ivy had heard snippets of what the Reapers had said to him before their untimely deaths, but Ash knew how to spin it in his favour.
“When we checked into Tullamore, I used Marshall Lennox’s bankcards and signed the guestbook under that name. I have a feeling they worked out I had lied about my true identity and then they tracked me down.”
“So, they suspected you and I were infiltrators, is that it? Surely we could’ve explained it was all a misunderstanding rather than resorting to violence?”
“They weren’t giving me the chance, Ivy.”
She shrugged her shoulders and then nodded.
“And I guess you take a long time to explain things, you know, given you only communicate by using that dammed device.”
The truth is, Ash had opted to give them nothing. Ivy would never know. He had also started wondering about the Riot Reapers sent to kill him. How did they manage to unravel his lies? He suspected the hotel staff in Tullamore would’ve been the likely candidates to give a tip-off, considering he’d been locked out of the room all night and had fled abruptly the next morning. It was the only explanation he had.
Ivy stroked the inside of his leg. Ash saw it as another opportunity to groom her. He transcribed a new message and hit the enter button.
“I feel weird about killing Riot Reapers, but I don’t regret protecting you.”
“I appreciate that, Ash.”
“You also answered my SOS on the brink of death. You took a life for me.”
“Well, you’ve saved my arse a couple of times now,” she said, smiling slightly. “It was time to repay the favour.”
“Thank you, Ivy.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said, before adding, “and I mean that with all seriousness. I need your complete discretion considering I just murdered a Riot Reaper. My army wouldn’t take too kindly to me if they found out...”
“Of course, and by the same token, my misdemeanours are also strictly between us.”
“Mum’s the word,” agreed Ivy, and gestured zipping her mouth shut.
Ash leaned back in his chair and applied pressure over the wound on his shoulder. He closed his eyes for a moment, battling with the pain. When he opened his eyes again, the first signs of Broken Hill could be seen on the horizon.
Beyond the city’s skyline, there was a grey haze building from the west as smoke and debris began spiralling into the sky.