The sound of the gravel being ground into the dusty lot by two sets of
tires was almost inaudible under the residual drone rattling between
his ears from hours of riding. That drone radiated out, far beyond his
ears, extending down his neck, spine, and into his limbs, rendering
them all but numb. He lived on his bike now. They both did. Stopping
only to sleep for short periods to sleep, since he & Tig had both
decided that stopping for any extended period of time just lead to
bullshit.
He glanced at Tig, who returned the look with a silent nod. This would
do. Another deserted gas station. Another few hours before they
continued their journey without destination.
He dropped the stand & reached into his kutte to draw one of the guns
he had stowed in his shoulder holster as he motioned with his head for
Tig to cover him. Wincing at the pins & needles in his lower half, he
rose off his bike & made his way to the corner of the building, Tig as
his shadow. They'd stow the bikes once they knew they wouldn't be
sharing the area with anyone, alive or dead.
"Right behind you." Tig mumbled.
They sidled up to the building and Chibs peered over his shoulder into
the filthy window. The setting sun and the layer of dust on the glass
cast a dim, grimy filter on the inside of the little building, its
contents, and its occupants. He turned back to his friend, and
silently mouthed, "Two" before moving towards the entrance.
The shambling shells of humanity that lie in wait inside were
definitely stirred by the sound of their bikes. Now all they had to do
was get them to focus their attention so they could draw them out &
dispatch them. Chibs gave the glass door two strong kicks with his
heel. Within a few seconds, the unmistakable growls of the dead became
clear. Soon after that, the sound of teeth scratching their way across
the glass came. Tig moved past Chibs to stand in front of the door and
holstered his gun in favor of a knife. Chibs reached for the door's
handle when Tig gave him the go ahead and pulled it open, allowing the
trapped monsters to spill out, clumsily, into a pile of rank bone &
rot. Tig caught the second's face with the blade of the knife as it
fell, allowing gravity to do all the work. Chibs let go of the door,
allowing the other writing corpse to hold it open, stepping around it.
It reached up at him, gnashing its decaying jaws and staring blankly.
He moved to cover its drawn, discolored face with his boot and slowly
applied pressure until he felt a crunch and the snarling stopped.
He looked up from the puddle black, fetid blood and skull fragments,
gazed up the road & back behind Tig and then peered into the small
store as he kicked some of the liquid rot off his foot.
"That was easy." Tig said lightly as he made to pass Chibs and enter
the building.
"Aye", came his gravely reply as his free hand reached in his pocket
for the pack of stale Marlboros and his Zippo. He lit it, drew the
smoke into his chest, exhaling after a beat, "Corn Nuts?!"
"Yea, I know!" Tig sqwaked impatiently, likely exploring the rest of
the store. Chibs gave one more cautious look around noting some
barrels, a trailer, & some other refuse nearby & then headed inside,
cigarette between his teeth. He stepped over the dead & looked around
the dingy shop, trying to locate Tig. His friend popped up from behind
a shelf, arms full of small bags of odds & ends snack foods, a look of
feigned indignation on his face.
"Hey, man," he said around a bag of chips hanging from is mouth, "Sign
says "No Smokin'"
Chibs regarded him with a sarcastic sneer before nodding his head to
Tig's cache of newly looted junkfood & raising a hand to catch
whatever Tig decided to throw his way. Tig grinned before lobbing a
bag his way & as it sailed through the air, Chibs realized what it
was.
"Yeeeeesss", he laughed victoriously, catching the bag of Corn Nuts
easily with his free hand. He tucked his gun back in the holster that
hung under his left arm and tore into the bag triumphantly.
"Savor it, brother. It's the only bag, and you're only getting it
because I'm feeling particularly magnanimous," Tig teased as he tossed
the handful of other bags onto the counter.
"Wha' would I do with'oot yuh, Tiggy?" Chibs burred with a tired
chuckle as he stuffed some into his mouth.
The meager revelry was bought to an abrupt end by the sound of an
approaching engine. Chibs froze & looked at Tig, who confirmed he'd
hear the same thing by going wide eyed, himself. Chibs spat the
mouthful of food onto the filthy floor.
"The bikes!" he ground out as he turned back toward the filthy window,
drawing his gun again. Tig crossed behind his back, going to the far
side of the room to the other window that faced the bikes. They
watched as a Jeep tore down the desolate rural road, and for a moment
Chibs thought they might be fine. Maybe they wouldn't spot the bikes,
as it was getting dark out. They probably had someplace to be& not
many people, these days, had the balls to be out after sunset.
The brake lights we visible, shining as the Jeep slowed just before
reaching the gas station. No such luck, apparently.
"Shite!" Chibs hissed as the Jeep rolled up behind the bikes. They
watched as two men hopped out of the Jeep, one immediately running up
to the bikes, putting a hand out to check for warmth radiating off the
engines. He nodded to the other man, who slid out of the vehicle with
an assault rifle of some sort. It was dark; Chibs couldn't tell what
it was. The first man moved one that had been slung around his
shoulder to his front.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Tig chanted. The rest of their weapons,
including those of equivalent firepower were still on their bikes. The
second man; the driver, said something to the first guy who was
starting to rummage through the saddlebags on Tigs bike, & then nodded
over to the far end of the building. The trailer.
"They're gunnae take tae fuckin' bikes." Chibs growled to Tig. Just
then the driver stopped & looked over at the gas station. He knew they
were in there. Chibs & Tig knew the guy knew they were in there. He
confirmed it as he called confidently to them.
"We got your bikes & your guns! You might as well just come on out &
hand over whatever else you have! If you try to run or try to fight,
we'll just kill you!"
Chibs turned & looked at Tig. Tig grit his teeth.
"Tigger" Chibs said in a low, warning tone.
"C'mon now! Come on out so we can collect. If you play your hand
right, we may even be able to put you to work. Help you out!"
The first man was now moving to Chibs' bike. He was going through the
ammo & the bottles of water he had tucked in one of the bags.
"Hello in there!" the driver shouted aggressively. The other man made
to pop the stand on Chibs' bike & roll it towards the small trailer.
Out of the corner of his eye, in slow motion, Chibs watched Tig aim
out the window and start firing. "TIG!"
"YOU AIN'T TAKIN' OUR BIKES, ASSHOLE!"
The men returned fire immediately, showering the little gas station in
bullets. Glass rained down on Chibs from the dirty window as he
hunkered against the concrete wall. Bottles exploded & long settled
dust went airborne.
"ALRIIIGHT ! ALRIGHT ALREADY!" Tig hollered as the shooting continued.
After a few more seconds of excessive show via gunfire, it finally
abated. Chibs looked up, looked around, looked over at Tig. They were
both in one piece, but who knew how long that was going to last now.
"If these bawbags don't kill us, Tig, I will." Chibs spat.
These guys were clearly holed up somewhere with a seemingly unlimited
supply of ammo. They likely had friends. Chibs realized they were
likely infinitely out manned & out gunned. Perhaps a few years before…
Before everything society ended & before everything else…Yeah, they'd
have been able to hose these guys, but not now. They were, very
likely, the last living members of the Sons of Anarchy MC, from their
charter or others, & this was likely how they were going out. If these
assholes didn't blow them away, the goddamn corpses that just heard
the fracas would.
"Now, we both know the dead just heard all of that & they'll be on
this place like flies on a mule's asshole real soon! So my suggestion
is you come out now. You're dead, anyway!" the man called.
Chibs looked back over to Tig. He shrugged & shook his head. He was
supposed to be the President, the leader, & he had no idea how to get
them out of this. There wasn't a back door. There was no way out, they
were just-
"Hey. Look, look! Shit!" Tig said peering out the still open door.
There was a thud. The sound of a body hitting the ground pulled Chibs'
attention back outside. He stood to peer back out the window. There
were two more men now. One was standing over the first man, by the
bikes, the second with a revolver to the driver's head.
"No, you're dead." The grizzled, wiry man growled, before pulling the
trigger, spraying a red mist of blood & brain matter on the jeep.
"This is some Mad Max shit," Tig turned to face him, exasperated.
Chibs continued watching the two men out the window. They were still &
quiet. And both had turned from their kills to look right at him.
"C'mon, Tiggy. Time ta go."