CHAPTER 16

The next morning Brannigan had me put on the power suit. I sleepily slid into it before riding out with the smoke eaters to search the immediate vicinity for Nusies. We ran into a pair of Wyverns digging through a wrecked candy store, but they went down without much of a fight. I didn’t even get out of the truck.

We headed back to the Field and helped everyone gather their belongings. Food and water were the priority and if anyone wanted to bring anything else, they had to be able to carry it in their own two hands. Lot had designed a series of large metal hover carts that attached to the back of Cannon 15 like train cars. They looked like floating apocalyptic paddy wagons to me, but they were roomy inside and had seats, seat belts, and plenty of safety bars. Lot had been thorough.

Tamerica was nervous. I’d pass her while carrying packages of water pouches and she would be pacing back and forth in front of the truck. She didn’t believe Calhoun had just decided to leave us alone. She asked me what our protocol had been in the Army and I told her if they weren’t going full force at us and trying to get in, they were probably long gone. But I added the caveat of that being the case pre-dragon-riding. They could still be close. But we’d run out of time and the Nusies’ assumed absence had to be good enough while Tamerica’s people loaded onto the metal cars.

The sun was rising over Wrigley Field as I climbed into the truck beside Brannigan. I watched the stadium disappear behind us, saying, low enough the old man couldn’t hear, “Go Cubs.”

Brannigan turned to me. “What you say?”

“Nothing.”

He looked to make sure Tamerica wasn’t paying attention. “Hey, just between you and me, in your humblest opinion, is this rescue mission a dead end?”

“Only if we don’t try,” I said.

Brannigan nodded and leaned back, seemingly satisfied.

I didn’t mention that I was still scared of getting eaten, burned, or shot. But I’d read somewhere a long time ago that bravery was doing what needed to be done even when you were afraid.

“What’s your deal with Captain Jendal anyway,” I said.

Afu, across from me, laughed.

Brannigan glared at the big Samoan, then rubbed at his wrinkled face. “There is no deal.”

Afu leaned forward. “Remember that time we broke into Cedar Point?”

The truck hit a bump.

Brannigan groaned. “Yeah, I remember all of you were popping those holo pills. You may not remember the events correctly. So we don’t have to reminisce.”

“And you were drunk on whiskey,” Tamerica said from up front. “I might have been high, but I remember everything. We got on that carousel and that old song started playing. Me and Afu were getting busy in the cushy chair and you and Naveena were riding horses side by side. I broke away from Afu and saw you both kissing.”

“She kissed me!” Brannigan said. He slammed a fist against his armored thigh. “I loved Sherry. I still love my wife.”

“No one said you didn’t,” Renfro said.

“I’m old enough to be Naveena’s father,” Brannigan said. “It’s gross. She was inebriated and I slipped. We’re good friends. We’re all good friends. That’s why we’re going to go get her out of that goddamned base. Can we talk about that instead of one accident I had ten motherfucking years ago?”

I turned to Afu. “He’s still got a thing for her, doesn’t he?”

“Yup,” Afu said.

“Fuck you all,” said Brannigan. He crossed his arms and pouted like a four-year-old.

We all laughed.

Every so often, Tamerica would check in with Lot and the people in the back. She scheduled bathroom breaks every couple of hours and made sure the kids and older people were staying hydrated and fed. We were heading to a settlement on the Indiana/Ohio border. Tamerica had family there, and it was supposed to be secluded enough that the Army wouldn’t know about it.

I spent my time listening to the smoke eaters talk about old scaly fights and unfathomable situations. I heard about the dragon worshippers in Canada sacrificing young women and how Brannigan and Naveena had tried to stop it, but ended up getting them all kicked out and banned from the country. Renfro suggested that we try to get in contact with the Canucks to help us fight the Nusies but Brannigan answered with a quick, “Fuck that.”

It felt like we reached the settlement in no time. Unlike how I was treated outside Brannigan’s castle in my spider tank, this town opened its gate immediately when they saw Cannon 15 rolling up. It seemed like this had all been planned for. It was impressive. I’ve never planned any of my meals let alone a disaster strategy.

This settlement was surrounded by shrubs and trees and vines – a veritable jungle in the middle of the ashes. I guess Tamerica saw me silently oohing and ahhing over it.

“It’s fake,” she said.

“What?” I looked more closely at the mass of greenery creating a canopy over the truck and all the brown, wooden buildings of the town.

“Half of this shit was taken from a garden center,” Tamerica said.

I rolled down the window and poked my head out. I still couldn’t tell the difference. It had been a long time since I’d seen anything close to real vegetation outside of my dinner plate, but took her word for it.

People began to trickle out of the buildings and I saw a few climb onto the roofs and swing down from the vines like Tarzan. Then I realized they weren’t people at all. The town was full of droids.

“Where the hell did you bring us?” Brannigan said, squeezing beside me to look. “It looks like a goddamn tin man convention out there.”

“I thought you said your parents lived here,” Renfro said.

“They do,” Afu and Tamerica said at the same time.

The droids watched us from where they stood or hung from rooftops and doorways. One of the bots had gotten tangled in fake vines just above a wooden house with a long, steeply pitched roof. It reminded me of ancient Viking houses. When we came to a stop, the droid hanging above us ripped itself from the vines and dropped into a kneeling position. It rose and showed us its green eyes. A smile had been drawn onto its face with what looked like red paint.

“Come on,” said Tamerica. She radioed back to Lot and the doors to the hover carts dropped open. People began to file out with their things.

I followed behind Tamerica and Renfro. Brannigan took his time getting out and when I looked back to check on him, he was walking with his arms bent at his sides, looking from side to side as if one of the droids was going to try to tackle him.

I held back until he caught up to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I hate droids.”

“I’ve had bad experiences too, but they’re just machines. They follow their programming. I say if Tamerica trusts them, we should, too.”

Brannigan grumbled and kept walking as the bots moved in closer, curious. I hoped I was right.

Tamerica put a hand against the shoulder of the droid with the red-painted smile. “Guys, this is Happy.”

“Please come in,” Happy said with a flat, emotionless voice. He marched up to the Viking house’s front door and pushed it open.

When we entered, a large fire flickered in the center of the room. It was giving off generous waves of heat but no smoke. As we moved around it, the flames looked flat from one angle and I knew it was a hologram.

The inside of the house wasn’t what I’d expected. I thought I’d see tables covered in ale mugs and turkey legs lying on plates with a huge bite taken out of them, baskets of bread and axes, horned helmets. Instead, I saw a clean space filled with neatly-made beds and droids pouring water into a pitcher or unpacking a first aid cart.

A large machine zoomed around the corner and stopped in time to bump my armored knees. An old black man’s head was sticking out of the top of the contraption. I yelped and jumped back. The head started laughing.

“Best watch yourself before you get run over!”

I stumbled backwards into Brannigan. “What the hell is he?”

“Relax,” Brannigan said, pushing me back to stand straight. “This guy I do trust. This is Tamerica’s father, Carl Williams.”

“Chief Brannigan?” Carl said. “I thought you were dead! You look good.”

“You don’t look half bad yourself, Carl,” Brannigan said. “No, I’m still kicking. Just a little miscommunication on my status.”

“Is that what you’re calling it?” Tamerica said.

“Tammy,” Carl snapped. “Respect your elders. And come over and give me a kiss.”

She walked over to him and kissed his cheek.

“Chris,” Carl said to the man with the red eyes, “you look tired.”

Renfro nodded. “I’ve been driving a long time.”

“Go on and grab one of those beds over there.”

Renfro gave a mock salute and began removing himself from his power suit.

Carl turned his machine toward the big Samoan next to me. “Afu.”

“Hey, Dad.”

“Damn it, don’t call me that! You sure as hell didn’t come from my loins. Rebecca would have split right open! Hey, where’s that Harribow boy at? He owes me a bag of jellybeans.”

Tamerica shook her head. Renfro and Afu looked away.

“Aw shit,” Brannigan said. “I forgot about Harribow. What happened?”

Tamerica shrugged. “Lindwyrm emerged right under him about two months ago. He didn’t make it.”

“Lord,” Carl said. “He was a good kid.”

Everyone was quiet for a second. I assumed Harribow was another smoke eater. Carl shook away his grief and turned his attention to me.

“And who’s this? New recruit?”

“This is Gilly.” Tamerica winced. “Sorry, I mean, Guillermo Contreras. He’s with us now.”

“Gilly?” Carl said. “You good at swimming or something?”

“It’s a family nickname, sir,” I said.

“Sir?” Carl widened his eyes, tightened his chin. He looked impressed. “Well, you have to be the most polite young man I’ve encountered in a long time. You military?”

“He used to be,” Brannigan said. “He’s going to help us break into the Nusie base in Ohio.”

“They’ve got Naveena,” Tamerica said.

“That Indian girl Chief is sweet on?” Carl asked.

“I’m not sweet on her!” Brannigan’s voice filled the long house.

“Oh, my goodness,” an older black woman gasped as she’d come around the corner, a hand held to her mouth. She wore a cream-colored dress that reached down to a pair of Jesson hightops.

“Mama,” Tamerica said. The two women ran to each other and hugged. But Tamerica’s mother had her eyes on Brannigan.

“You…” She broke away from Tamerica’s arms and took three heavy steps toward the old man.

“Hello, Mrs Williams,” Brannigan said. The way he looked at the floor suggested he knew he should have said more… or better.

“You’ve been alive this whole time?”

“Yes,” Brannigan said.

“You’ve caused my baby more heartache than I’ve ever seen.” Tamerica’s mother said. Her eyes glistened, but there was more anger there than sadness. “I’ve hated you for a long time.”

“Rebecca!” Carl said from his machine. “That ain’t no way to talk to people who’ve been dead. Or at least those who need our help. We thought Chief got blown up. Now he isn’t. So what?”

“So what?” Rebecca clenched her fists.

“It’s okay, Mama.” Tamerica grabbed her mother’s hands and held them to her chest. “I forgive him. You should, too. He shouldn’t have done it, but he did it for his family. And either way, he’s here now and he’s going to help.”

“Help with what?” Rebecca asked. Her eyebrows tensed as she looked at each of us one by one, skipping over Brannigan.

“We’re going to take on the New US Army,” Brannigan said.

“Lord Jesus help us.” Rebecca pulled her hands away from her daughter and held them to her own chest. “All of you must be crazy.”

“Fed up, is more like it,” Renfro said. “All of us are done hiding.”

“It’s the right thing to do, Mama,” Afu said. This guy really enjoyed having in-laws.

Rebecca looked at Afu and sighed. “Afu, oh, baby. It’s good to see you. Come on, all of you, let’s get you fed and bed.”

The droids brought us plates of tofu sausages and bags of corn chips that had expired a decade before. No one complained. Out on the road, it was a meal fit for a king. The rest of Tamerica’s people were having their own dinners in their designated houses, but Lot joined us in the Williams place. Carl told us how he, Rebecca and the Ash Kickers had ransacked the droid factory in Parthenon City when things went south. They drove out to the spot we were in now and set up a settlement.

“If it hadn’t been for these metal men,” Carl said, “we would have died already.”

“Don’t say that!” Rebecca smacked the top of his machine, which Brannigan had told me was called a psyroll. Brannigan had been forced to use the same one after he’d fallen from the back of a Behemoth. After the chief had healed up, he’d given it to Tamerica’s father, who’d been using an old wheelchair before that. The psyroll connected to the user’s spinal cord and all Carl had to do was think of going forward, backward, or spin if that’s what he wanted to do.

After we ate, the droids picked up our plates and marched in a line to the kitchen. I stood, ready to lie down and sleep for as long as the smoke eaters would let me.

“Where are you going?” Rebecca asked. “We still have dessert.”

I sat but blinked at her in confusion.

Happy, the droid, came out with a large plate stacked with a chocolate cake, smeared all over with dark brown icing.

“Is that real?” I said. My mouth was watering.

“Sure is,” Carl said. “We’ve been saving the chocolate for a special occasion. We figured if you all were going to get your asses blown off, this was as good a time as any.”

“Carl!” Rebecca said. “Language.”

“I can say ass all I want. It’s in the Bible.”

“That’s a different kind of ass.”

“See! Now you said it too.”

Rebecca flushed and ran out of the room, mumbling something about getting everyone fresh plates.

We all laughed.

I had two slices of that cake and there was still a third of it left after everyone had eaten their fill. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had actual, real chocolate. Or a cake for that matter. I was happy to consider it a late birthday dessert.

The year before, after our day by the lake, Reynolds had come by my pallet and lit a match. She whispered me a quick happy birthday song while everyone else was asleep. I must have mentioned it to her on the way back from the water. It was small kindnesses like that that made it hard for me to hate her. What was it going to take to wake her up? Maybe she was too far gone. Drowned in the big green camo ocean.

All of the smoke eaters picked a bed in the Williams house. Brannigan of course plopped onto the one beside me. As we lay there, Happy did a dance and played some old hip hop song from a million years ago. He kept saying, “Check it, check it,” as he would pop and lock his arms and legs, and then he’d turn his head, brandishing that creepy red smile. I couldn’t help but think of Sergeant 5-90, and how much worse my old superior would have been if he’d had an eternal grin.

Happy bowed and left the room.

Renfro was snoring, so we had to whisper over him.

“I’m working on a reverse patch,” Lot said. “I think we’ll be able to call Yolanda sometime tomorrow if it goes right. Whether she thinks it’s safe to answer is a different story.”

“All right,” said Tamerica. “You keep working on that. See if you can get me a map of our old headquarters. Afu and I will come up with a plan on infiltrating the base.”

“And what about me?” Brannigan said.

Tamerica smiled, savoring whatever she was about to say. “You’re going to train the rookie.”

Brannigan pressed his pillow over his face. “This serves me right, doesn’t it?”

“Wait,” I said, “I’m going to get real smoke eater training?”

“Who else, man?” Afu had grabbed another plate of cake and was talking with his mouth full as he lay on his side in the bed.

“And what am I supposed to train him with?” Brannigan said. “We can’t go chopping all your parents’ droids apart. Fun as that would be, anyone could do that. I can show him power jumping, but that’s it. We don’t have anything that will get him ready for what we’re up against.”

Tamerica’s smile hadn’t wavered. “When we left Parthenon City with all the droids and supplies, something told me to bring one more thing. Renfro said I was crazy or just sentimental. But now I’m glad I brought it.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”