THE ONLY EASY DAY IS YESTERDAY
"The Journey of Jeremy Keller"
by OldScout
Part 31
The old truck garage was wedged into one of the more
dilapidated parts of town. It had two large vehicle doors tall enough to
admit a large semi tractor, and one standard size vehicle door. The truck
doors had been rusted closed years ago, looking like two large blood-
shot eyes on the old blue-gray building. The standard vehicle door was
securely pad locked, but the man door next to it opened at the turn of the
knob.
The blond man stumbled into the building, still shaking from his
encounter. He removed his leather coat and looked at the cut under his
right arm, it was just a scratch, but the cut in the jacket was much worse.
"Bitch." he muttered under his breath.
"One of your whores turn on you again?" came a voice from the
darkness.
Lynx looked up startled "Jesuschrist," he cried, his eyes going
wide at the familiar gruff voice, and the equally familiar face emerging
from the back of the garage.
"Not quite." Lance said as he approached Lynx. Lynx was
slightly taller then Lance, but looked smaller. Lance's full beard, long
hair, large gut and very wide shoulders made him appear a giant next to
most men.
Lynx stuttered "I...I thought you were dead."
Lance laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If you really thought
that, you wouldn't be here."
"You once said if something happened to you, short of
beheading, to come here. You'd meet me here as soon as it was safe. I
came, but after that explosion I really didn't think you'd actually be
here."
"Even after that puke, you and Rita attacked, killed two of your
friends, and me, you didn't think it was possible to come back."
Lynx shook his head in disbelief then rambled on. "How can I
stop them, they followed me to the city. I barely got away with my life."
A look of anger crossed Lance's face. "They followed you?
Who's they?"
"The Puke and his whore." Lynx's face went white at the thought
of the incident at the bar. "When the rest get here, we'll show them a
thing or two." Lynx said trying to smile.
"You don't know, do you?" Lance's words were almost a
whisper.
Lynx looked at him.
Lance continued "They're all dead. Somebody ambushed them in
camp. It had to have been Him, but I didn't think he was the type to
attack unless provoked." Lance then looked more closely at the younger
man. "What whore? He was traveling alone."
Lynx hesitated as the shock from the news set in. He dropped
into a nearby chair. "We found my bike not too far down the road. Rita
figured it was where he'd been headed. So we went after him."
Lance sighed "You attacked him again, what a bunch of stupid
sods."
"But he wasn't there." Lynx put in. "So we took care of his
family, did them good."
"You killed his family?" Lance said in disbelief. "What the hell
came over you?"
"Rita said 'an eye for an eye'. She was the one who finished the
whore off too."
Lance threw up his hands "Rita, Rita, Rita. I told you she was
trouble. Now they're all dead. They were our friends."
Lynx's eyes were glazed over recounting all of the events. "At
least we thought she finished her." he mumbled.
"What, you killed someone else who came back?"
"The whore Rita killed at the farm house attacked me down at
Fat Fred's. I know it was her, God, I know it was her."
Lance shook his head. "Now there's two I have to take care of.
Don't you dare leave this place until I get back." Lance saw something
familiar sticking out of the pocket of Lynx's jacket. "What's that?"
Retrieving the dagger from his jacket, Lynx said "That bitch
threw this at me when I was leaving, ruined my jacket."
Lance took the dagger and examined it. "She threw this at you,
your sure the woman did?"
Even more color drained from Lynx as he recalled the woman's
bloody face, just as he had left her in the farm house. "She threw it." he
choked.
Lance slammed it into a table "DAMN!" he threw his sword
across the room. "I can't help you. Your on your own with this one."
"What?" Lynx cried weakly.
Lance walked across the room and started gathering his stuff.
"Someday, when The Puke isn't traveling with her, I'll get him. I
promise you that, but I can't protect you against her. May God help
you."
Lynx ran to the other man, grabbed him by the shoulders, and
spun him around. "What are you talking about? You said we were a
team."
Lance back handed the younger man, knocking him to the
ground. He stood looking down at the boy he had found not so many
years ago. "I told you Rita would be your ruin, I know how a wrong
woman can ruin a man." The big man's thoughts drifted back and in the
blink of an eye it all came back to him like it was yesterday........
The stable smelled of horses, and hay and other things. The
large man walked through the motionless building admiring the fine
horses standing in their stalls. His body was lean and solid like a
warrior should be, he was clean shaven with shoulder length hair pulled
back in a tail. The man's cloak was simple and dark, covering the Grand
Crest on the jerkin beneath it. He tried to conceal his nobility, if a
stable boy should spot him, he could not complete the rendezvous in the
secrecy he needed.
A sharp pulse raced through his temple, telling him that the one
he was here to meet had arrived. He watched the storage shed in the
back of the building and saw a figure disappear into it. He followed her
in.
Inside, the figure was illuminated by the moon through the slats
of the shed. She dropped the hood of her cloak revealing her beautiful
face and long, flowing, dark hair.
She nodded toward him "Sir Knight, how can I serve you?"
"Lady Ophelia," the man stated "your the only one I can trust. I
wish you to carry a message for me to the queen."
She looked at his rock hard face and deeply into his eyes. All
she saw was desperation. "A message to the queen?" the woman
repeated "What sort of message would a knight need to have spirited to
his queen?"
He hesitated then replied "It's personal." He laid a small scroll on
a crate that stood between them.
Lady Ophelia looked down at what was obviously a message of
love laying before her. She loosened the sword hidden under her cloak.
"What your asking of me is treason. I protect my lady, the queen, but I
am sworn to the king."
"This is love, I beg of you, it's bigger then either of us."
"Your asking me to betray my king and my oath, I've killed many
for much lessor offenses."
"Your oath is to a mortal." the man whispered "Even if he dies of
old age, it is but a blink of an eye to you and I."
"The same can be said of your love for our queen."
"Love can live forever." he returned. "This love is forever, I
know it."
"If this is so important." she pressed "What do you offer me that
is more valuable then my oath to my king?"
The great knight opened his arms. "I have nothing as valuable as
the oath I ask you to break."
"I'll have YOUR oath." the woman said.
The man smiled she would carry his message to his love.
"Anything."
"Your oath, that you will never again be part of my life. No
matter what, you will not call me out, pursue me or in any way effect my
life, the paths I will follow or the people I know, mortal or otherwise;
until we are the last two."
He knew what she was asking. "I give you my word, that I will
never be a part of your life or purposely effect it in any way. I give you
my oath to follow the words and the intent of what you ask; unless we
are the last two."
Lady Ophelia picked up the scroll with her right hand and
slipped it under her cloak. At the same time she offered her left hand,
palm down to seal the oath. The man was not familiar with this custom
but offered his the same way, covering her hand with his. Before he
knew what she was doing, she brought a dagger out and slammed it
down impaling both hands to the top of the crate. He yelped in pain and
shock, but she didn't even gasp at the pain.
"Now it is sealed." she said. Then wrenched the dagger loose.
The knight wrapped his hand in a scarf that had hung in his belt,
as did Ophelia. "Sir Lancelot," she said as he started to leave. He
turned back and looked at her. "Don't break this oath, I am not as
forgiving as the King would be."
"So I've heard, Lady Ophelia." Lancelot replied then slowly
walked from the small shed.........
"I don't understand you, Lance. I've never seen you run from a
fight." Lynx pushed bringing his mentor out of his memories.
Lance shook his head. "You'll never understand me, my friend.
Take my advise, leave town, avoid these people, I will take care of them
in due time."
"Fuck you then!" Lynx yelled "I'll take care of it, I'm capable of
defending myself."
"I wish you luck then." Lance said and headed for his bike.
to be continued........