Apostasy
Chapter Eight
Nolan acted a fool for nearly two days after Irisa and I returned because he thought we went somewhere, and married. But after we promised him that didn't happen, he sat at his desk, arms folded, and then asked me about Rynn. He relaxed, and then placed his hands on his desk. Tapping his fingers on the desk like he lost complete patience with me, he said, "Ahem." His hands torn from hustling his way through the Badlands, and his scowl of a man who liked the taste of spirits. I looked over at Irisa, and she had her head on the desk, and I automatically thought she told him everything. For a moment, I became upset with her.
"Inyee kovac!" I exclaimed. I looked directly at Irisa, and accused her of telling Nolan about Rynn, and she immediately stood to her feet, fist clinched, and growled. Eyes wide opened, face scrunched, and then she yelled.
"I didn't say anything," she said, "Why would I tell?" She walked to the other side of the room, and said, "You're being a dick!"
"She didn't tell me anything," Nolan said with a scowl on his face. "Doc did." He rubbed the razor stubble on his face, and waited for me to say something. I looked back at Irisa, and she stood behind me with her arms folded, and then she placed them on my shoulders.
"She tell you we're married?" I asked. His visage didn't change at all, and I could smell the alcohol emanating out of his pores.
"Yeah," he said, "She told me every damn thing." He paused for a moment. "When we went after Rynn in that old mine, you purposely alerted her that we were coming, didn't you?"
"She's my wife," I said with energy. "I started the marriage ritual with her when I was sixteen. I've known her since I was five."
"You were never in a gang like Clancy thought?" He said, "Why did you let them believe that?"
"They assumed that because of my ways," he said, "Iraths raised me, and I carried myself like them. Instead of seeing me as me, they saw me as they chose to see me."
"You almost had everybody fooled," he said.
"Some knew. Datak Tarr knew," I said. "He said, 'I know an Irath when I see one.'" I laughed.
"So, did you help her escape?" He asked. Leaning forward on the desk, his visage changed, and now he looked serious, but I wasn't afraid of him.
"I tried, but she wouldn't take the key," I said. "I would have given it to her, and I make no apologies for that."
"I should fire you right now, Tommy," He said. "You're a freaking sneak!"
"And you're not?" Irisa asked.
"They killed her family, Nolan. I knew her before the scar," I said. "I knew her before all the pain. I knew her in her purest form. And if she hadn't killed them, then I would have. She's my wife, and she's taking care of my family farm." I looked back at Irisa, and said, "Irisa and I want to bond."
"Oh hell no," Nolan said. "I'm not comfortable with that polygamy shit."
I turned to Nolan, and said, "She's of age. It's her choice."
"She doesn't want to be in your polygamist bullshit," Nolan said.
"I do," she said in a strong voice. "Tommy is a liar like you, but better than you." She walked over to me, and placed my right hand on the desk, and pulled up my sleeve. "Look, Nolan? You owe Tommy."
Quickly, Nolan removed the bracelet, and turned it over to see Irisa's name. He gasped, and then Tommy said, "You're welcomed, old man."
"It was you?" He said in disbelief.
Irisa grabbed the bracelet, and then said, "It's Tommy's bracelet now, and he's part of our family now."
Nolan pressed his head up against the desk, and let out a long guttural sound, and then said, "You two go, and patrol. I need to have a man cry."
Irisa walked around the Bazaar, and I headed towards the Doc's office. I wanted to tell her to mind her business. Her coldness sometimes caused me to cringe, but I knew she had a kind heart for the needy. When I came to Defiance, she put in a good word for me with my landlord, Datak. But after a few months in the town, we had a huge argument over the treatment of a prisoner, Tol Val. She said that I fractured his jaw, and the reason I took him down was because he kicked over Rynn's boothe in the Bazaar. I realized I shouldn't have interfered because Rynn officially declared us as being apart. I heavily patrolled the area, and I kept a hawk's eye over her. When Tol Val kicked her booth, I took him out, and nearly beat him to death. I have to admit I went way overboard.
When I walked into the Doc's office, she sat across from the main entrance in a flimsy chair. Her bald, smooth head speckled with silver, and her eyes sunkened into her cranium like a monster. Her head protruded forward, and her smile seemed forced.
"Yeah! I told, you little urchin," she snapped. With her legs crossed, she said, "You purposely hid that kid from me."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said with a grimace. "You threw me under the bus for nothing."
"You're just going to stand there, lie, and pretend like you didn't move the kid," she said. "It's all fun and games until he starts a cult that engulfs Defiance."
"Quit acting crazy," I said. "You didn't have to tell Nolan."
"I've known about you and that Spirit Ryder from the very beginning," she said with a smirk. "At first, I thought you were just infatuated with her, and she wasn't returning your advances." She smiled. "Then I realize you were married to her."
"How did you know?" I asked.
She walked over to her desk, grabbed out a picture, and threw it on the table. It was a picture of Rynn and me when we were little kids. "Oh my gawd! Where did you get this?"
"Rynn dropped it," she said. "It was an accident." She paused for a moment, and then said, "Look at the back."
Back of picture:
Thank Irzu for bringing Tommy back into my life. In a few weeks, we will start the wedding ceremony, and I pray he can always look past my flaws, and see my heart.
End of Picture
"I won't deny Rynn," I said. I sat in the chair for a moment, and then asked, "What would you do for love?"
She looked at me with a straight face, and then said, "I've excelled in every area, but that one."
"Rynn hated my lawkeeper position," I said calmly. "She wouldn't move to Defiance with me, and stayed with the Spirit Ryders."
"But you knew she was the one killing?" She asked.
"Does it matter?" I asked with a grimace. "She never asked me to do anything shady, but if I had known those were the men who killed her parents and cut her face, I would have killed them myself."
"I can't judge you, Tommy," she said. "We all have our skeletons."
"I thought I was upset with you, but I'm not," I said. "I'm glad Nolan knows Rynn and I are married."
As I walked through the Bazaar, I grimly watched Rynn's old spot, and stood in it for a moment. I don't know why she stayed on my mind for so long, but she did. Irisia and I planned on going home at the end of the week, and hang with her, discuss life, and possibly talk her into living in Defiance. The other vendors went about their day, and didn't pay any attention to what I was doing. Irisa walked up to me with a chocolate bar in her right hand, and raised it up to my mouth.
"Only a small bite," she said, "I'm starving." I took a small bite, and then she said, "You want to get a basket after work."
"Yeah," I said. "It's been awhile." I looked at her for a moment while she took a bite of her candy bar, and we had to exercise restraint because Nolan walked out of the lawkeeper's station, and looked in our direction. Irisa waved at him, and he just folded his arms, and scowled.
"Love you," she said. He walked back into the lawkeeper's office.
"He's acting like baby," I said.
"Oh he's mad because now he owes you," she said smilingly. "You saved his life. Honestly, I think he thought you were like an angel."
As we walked down the strip, I heard a roller honk several times, and when the car stopped, Rynn exited the vehicle with Ireena. I ran over to her, hugged her, and kissed her. "What are you two doing here?"
"I'm going to let her tell you," Rynn said. I held her left hand for a moment, and I could tell she had been working on the farm. Her rough hands felt hard to the touch, but I didn't mind. They were strong, but gentle, and no matter how tattered the dry air and heat made them, I felt good they would always become gentle when they touched my back.
"What's going on, Ireena?" I asked. She stood in front of me with wild, unkempt hair, and dingy clothes. She worked the farm with Rynn, and dirt filled her nails.
"My child is back in Apostasy," she said.
"Your child?" I asked. "How old?"
"Two," she said. "I have a little girl named Ivy."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"Everything happened so fast," Irisa said, "I see how we missed her."
"We have to go back," I said.
"Okay," Irisa said.
"No. Just Ireena and I," I said.
"Oh bull," Rynn said. She walked up to me, and said with an angry scowl on her face, "You need backup. I'm not hanging in the rear." She embraced my hand like it was the last hand in Defiance, and said, "We're family, and we work as such."
"I know I messed up, brother," Ireena said, "I'm sorry." Without the makeup, I could see the years of abuse in her face, and it bothered me. I think deep down in my soul I feared knowing exactly what she endured. She gave Rynn and I the superficial story, but I didn't know anything about Ivy. If I had known a baby existed, I would have made retrieving her top priority.
"Who's the father?" I asked calmly.
She placed her spotted right hand over her heart, and with an emptiness that I hadn't seen in her, she said, "Deputy Frank." I tried not to show any negative expression or a change in my visage, but I faced Rynn for a moment. "When he snatched me from the farm, he raped me several times a day." I looked over at her. She stood in the middle of the street, and tears formed in her eyes. I embraced her, and then Rynn embraced me.
"I'm so sorry this happened," Irisa said.
"Frank's daughter ties a collar around Ivy's neck, and treats her like an animal," she said with a grimace. "I must take her out of that environment."
"We need to do this immediately," I said. Irisa squatted down in the middle of the roadway, chewed on a straw that she pulled from her pants pocket, and then I said, "I have some leave accrued."
"How much do you have Irisa?" I asked. She counted on her fingers for a moment, and then held up both hands, palms faced outwardly, and that indicated ten days worth.
"We'll need to find another roller," Irisa said as she looked back at the lawkeeper roller. "Nolan will need that one." It was true. We only had one roller for duty, and the last time Irisa and I took off in it, Nolan needed it for work. Fortunately, I knew of a source that had a sturdy roller with armor plating, and she kept it in the Hollows.
Irisa took Ireena to explain the situation with Nolan, and Rynn and I took a trip down to the Hollows, passed the Needwant, and to Sophia Staples' house.
Most people in Defiance didn't know much about Sophia Staples except she sang in the Needwant. I knew her from a long time ago, and I talked to her on occasions, but I tried to stay out of her face. She was in her mid-forties, an Irath, and had several kids, but they lived with their father. About ten years ago, she left her husband because he continued to kill people who stood in his way and in the way of his business. When Rynn and I arrived at her house, I could tell she paid people to keep it looking nice. Everything had a place. A flower bed set right outside her house, and it had exotic flowers in it. We were only on her front porch when Rynn nearly tripped over her own feet.
"Be careful, baby," I said.
"I'm good," she said. She looked back like something tripped her, but I didn't see anything. The porch didn't have any grooves, hills, or anything that should have caused her to stumble. The residents had a back-to-nature-feel that I liked. It reminded me of my childhood when my family went camping. It was easy to tell that no children lived in the house; however, it should have been teeming with little ones if not for her pacifist ways.
As soon as I went to knock on the door, Sophia answered. Older, about the same age as Iroza, and strong, but pleasant Irathient features, without her makeup, it was easy to see she had seen a lot of pain throughout her life. She had three adopted children much older than me, at least by five to six years, and three younger kids fifteen, fourteen, and twelve-years-old that lived with their father.
"What, Tommy?" She asked. She clasped her hands, and placed them in front of her body, and leaned against the door entrance. I hadn't spoken directly to her in awhile, but she changed her name when she arrived in Defiance. She grew tired of her husband's ruthlessness, but if not for him, I probably wouldn't have survived.
I looked at her for a moment, and said, "Do you remember my sister was kidnapped?"
She grimaced for a moment, and then stood up straight, and said, "Yes. Irocuz was quite distraught." Folding her arms, her visage changed to one of seriousness.
"I found her in Apostasy, and brought her back to Momma's house. The entire town was nothing more than an Irathient slave farm," I explained with enthusiasm. I stood with my hands behind my back, and Rynn stood right next to me, and at an equal distance from Sophia. "But I need your help. Ireena didn't tell me she had a daughter."
"What?" She asked. "I heard about what happened to the town." Her yellow eyes teared up a bit, and she looked down at the ground. "How did she not tell you about the child?"
"We moved quickly. I think she was just excited to see me, and didn't think about telling me about her," I said calmly. "We had to exit the city as fast as possible."
"How many will you kill this go around?" She asked. "Yeah, Tommy. There's news of the black Irath who wrecked Apostasy rumbling all over the Badlands."
I gave her a blank stare for a moment, and didn't know how to answer, and then Rynn said, "Rota, you know we did what we do. We do what we do for family. Just like Mister Shooty taught us. Mister Shooty gave me the gun to shoot one of the guys who killed my parents."
She grimaced for a second, and then said, "That's why I left him. All the kids wanted to stay with their father, and that broke my heart, but I couldn't be around all that."
"It's not a nice world, Rota," I said, "But I wasn't about to let Ireena's rapist get away with what he did to my family. My father died longing for his daughter."
"It's Sophia now," she snapped. "Call me Sophia, Tommy. Please! The same way I didn't tell anybody about you and Rynn I expect the same anonymity."
"Okay, Sophia. Your husband kept all of us afloat," I said, "If not for Mister Shooty, Rynn wouldn't have made it and we'd lost the farm." I tried to keep calm, and then said, "She's my only niece, and I need your roller, please."
"Promise me something?" She asked.
"What's that?" I asked.
"That you'll act diplomatic," she said, "You don't have to do everything by force."
"Of course I will act with diplomacy until it's time not to," I said. "Right, Rynn?"
"Exactly," she said smiling. "This town preys on Irathients. We're just going for the child, and leaving."
Lawkeeper's Office…
Nolan sat behind his desk with a look of horror on his face, and he had a bottle of whiskey atop his desk. Ireena sat in the chair directly in front of his desk, and when Rynn and I walked into the office, he immediately looked over at us. We sat behind my desk, and she sat on the floor next to my chair, and I placed my hand on the back of her neck. Irisa walked over to me, and sat on the edge of the desk, and then said, "Did you get it?"
"Yeah," I said, "I have the armored roller." Nolan took a swig of his alcohol, and then made an ahem sound. He looked raggedy, and the Badlands beat his face through the years. The razor stubble on his face looked rough. The leather jacket he wore looked faded, tattered, and the zipper didn't work. "I'm going back to Apostasy," I said with a grimace. "What say you, Nolan?"
"I'm not trying to stop you, Tommy," he said, "I do have a problem with you taking my daughter. That I don't like."
"I asked her to stay," I said.
"I'm not staying, Tommy," she said. "You can hush that noise right now."
"We go as a family," Rynn said.
"She's not your family. She's my family," Nolan said.
"We're all family," Irisa said. "I love Tommy."
"Listen. There's already a hunt for the Black Irath," Nolan said, "There's only one black guy who's speaking fluent Irathient." He looked directly at me, and said, "Inyee!"
"It's just an in and out operation," Rynn said. "In and out."
Ireena stood up, and said, "The child is mine. I'll just walk in, pick her up, and leave. Nobody else needs to enter the town." I looked over at her, and she didn't seem to have any problems at all.
"What's your relationship with Frank's wife?" I asked.
"She knows what her husband did to me," she said calmly. "She doesn't care as long as he brings home a check."
"Well. He's dead now, so maybe we should put a bullet in her too," Irisa said.
"Let's just go, and get the kid," Rynn said. "Nobody needs to die."
"Rynn's right," I said. "Let's get my niece without any ruckus."
Rynn and I drove in the souped up roller, and Irisa and Ireena drove in the other roller. Rynn rested her eyes a bit, and when I looked over at her, she opened her eyes, and asked, "What?" It was like she had a sixth sense because she always knew when I was admiring her beauty.
I smiled, and winked at her. "Can't I just look at you every now and again?" I asked. She laughed a little.
She smirked. "You make me feel like a princess," she said softly. "It's not necessary to treat me like a princess."
"Rynn, it's not an effort," I said, "What I feel for you flows as natural as a river."
She stuck her right hand into her bra, and pulled out a plastic baggy with some paper inside of it. I didn't know exactly what she had, but she had a somber look on her face. When she carefully pulled the folded up paper out of the baggy, she said, "This piece of paper means a lot to me." She gently unfolded it, and smiled. "Do you know what this is?" She asked. Holding the paper up for me to see it, it was a crude drawing of Rynn and I.
"I gave that to you right before you left," I said, "It was the saddest day of my life."
"And mine," she said, "This picture gives me comfort." She paused for a moment, and when I looked over at her, she said, "I love you, Tommy." Her voice became brittle, and then she said in Irathient, "Ni volaskia hena." Carefully, she folded the paper up, placed it back in the baggy, and put it back in her bra. She basically told me that she always loved me, and deep down through all the turmoil, I knew she always had.
"Ahiha," I said. "Inyee na oadi fualaha." That translated to, "Thanks. You are my princess."
When we arrived at Apostasy, the town bustled with activity. I climbed out of the car, kept an eye on the patrols, and I only saw two. Irisa decimated the lawkeeper's shack, and I burned the jailhouse to the ground previously. The smell of burnt wood permeated through the air, and tons of people roamed the streets throwing a party.
"Rynn, you and Ireena go," I said, "I'll keep an eye on you."
"In and out," Rynn said. She hopped into Sophia's roller, and then I handed her my automatic shotgun. I kissed Rynn on the lips for a long time, and then said hurry back. When Rynn drove off, Irisa opened up the trunk of the vehicle, pulled out my sniper rifle, and put it together.
"Wai hena popiana," she said. That translated to, "We have to prepare."
"Inyee na medano," I said. I simply told her that she was right, and it was true. I snapped the scope onto the weapon, and Irisa looked through her binoculars.
"Ireena's kun tro nadeecko," she said softly. I could see her at the door like Irisa said, but I had my eyes on the men walking by Rynn. One of them looked directly at her, and I wanted to keep an eye on that situation. He walked over to the car, and pulled up the handle, and then Rynn ran over to him, and pushed him away from the car. I put the red dot in the middle of the guy's chest, and when he reached into his shirt, I saw a black object, and put a round in his head. He fell on the ground, and the blood splashed on Rynn.
"Damn! Good shot," Irisa said. "It barely even made a sound."
When she handed the child over to Ireena, Rynn quickly got her in the car, drove away, and then people started gathering around the dead body. Once the vehicle exited the town, we quickly packed up, and prepared to leave. I waved for Rynn to continue to drive because it looked like several of the town's people hopped in vehicles, and headed toward us. I took my rifle out, and shot the driver in the first vehicle, and he flew off the road. The car went down into a ravine.
"Irisa, take the driver's seat," I said. I'll be the look out. Several of the men hopped into trucks, charged up the hill, and I began to snipe them. I hopped in the back seat, took out the back window, and kept my sights fixed on the next vehicle. As soon as he got close enough to us, I shot out his tires, and the vehicle came to a halt. The driver side occupant hopped out of the vehicle, and kicked the front tire. The driver hopped out, fired three shots at us, and I didn't think anything about it. He was too far away for his potech pistol to make a different. A small caliber handgun only had an effective range of about twenty-five meters. Unfortunately, it had a maximum range of nearly two thousand meters. I felt a sting in my stomach, but I didn't know what it was. I continued to watch the other vehicles, but they stopped their pursuit. When I turned around and couldn't breathe, I tried to scream. Finally, I said, "Irisa!" I could barely get the words out, and she looked back at me with her beautiful eyes.
"What's wrong, Tommy?" She asked. When she looked around at me, she began screaming. "Tommy! Stay awake. Irzu, please!"
Three days later…
"Dick! Dick! Hey, Dick! Wake up," Doc Ywell said, "I'm talking to you, idiot."
"What's going on?" I asked. When I tried to raise up, I felt nothing but utter pain in my midsection. "Oh that hurts."
"Don't get up," she said, "You've been shot in the midsection. Gawd, Tommy. Wear you freaking vest. What's wrong with you?"
"Is Rynn and Irisa okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said. Rynn walked into the room, and I could tell she had been crying.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" I asked with a smile.
"You scared me," she said. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and I wiped her face. "We drove back non stop, Tommy," she said. "You're my life."
"And you are mine," I said. "Have you gotten any sleep?"
"Not really," she said. I placed my right hand on her cheek. "Doc is taking care of me. Go home, and sleep."
"Yeah. I'm not doing that," she said. "I will sleep where I can keep an eye on things."
"Is Irisa here?" I asked calmly.
"Yeah," she said, "Everybody is here. Your niece is beautiful," she said, "Smart."
