{"id":904,"date":"2016-11-29T12:14:49","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T20:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/?p=904"},"modified":"2016-11-29T12:14:49","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T20:14:49","slug":"dooms-daughter-chapter-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/?p=904","title":{"rendered":"Doom’s Daughter, Chapter 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201c…guy?\u201d I venture. The door has been left wide open, but our guest is nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, he didn\u2019t steal any of my CDs. \u201cWhat a jerk,\u201d I mutter. \u201cI told you we\u2019d scare him off, dad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cDid he steal something?\u201d Dad asks anxiously as he rapidly takes a visual stock of the RV\u2019s contents.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t…\u201d I am interrupted by gunshots. The telltale <\/span>ping<\/span> of ricochets and perforations of the RV\u2019s stainless steel hull reaches my ears.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cShit,\u201d Father and I both say. Like a spooked spider he\u2019s up the ladder, scanning the area with the periscope. I resume my position against the wall with my shotgun. Father flashes me a series of signals: <\/span>Two men. <\/span>Armed.<\/span> <\/span>50 metres east.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Mister Disappearing Act returns, vaulting himself into the RV and slamming the door. \u201cIt\u2019s the League!\u201d he wails.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d I scream. \u201cYou\u2019re screwing up the contingency plan!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cThe what?<\/span> Quick, give me my rifle back, they\u2019re coming!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Auugh<\/span>,\u201d I moan.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cRegan!\u201d<\/span> Father shouts. \u201cDrive.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cToward them, or…?\u201d I ask as I rush up to the cockpit.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cNobody puts holes in <\/span>Charlotte<\/span>,\u201d he says. I chuckle as I start up the vehicle. Dad is back up the ladder, getting ready to unleash precision justice on the League jerks or whoever they are.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>I see them down the road, two men with assault rifles. They make for the ditches when <\/span>Charlotte <\/span>begins picking up speed, and I thank pre-Doom engineering for bullet-proof glass.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cSorry boys,\u201d I say. \u201cWhen you shoot first without asking questions…we shoot back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>I feel a tug at my belt holster and <\/span>I <\/span>tense up. In my right ear I can hear the telltale <\/span>click<\/span> <\/span>of the <\/span>safety and the <\/span>mechanical grind of the hammer pulling back<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cYou sly asshole,\u201d I say. My knuckles are white on the wheel.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cThose are my friends your dad is about to shoot at,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cThey shot first,\u201d I say, cursing myself for having more wit than sense. <\/span>Charlotte <\/span>continues rolling toward the shooters, who have begun firing at us from their entrenched position. \u201cPlus it looks like they\u2019re trying to hit you, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cThey know what they\u2019re doing. If you know what\u2019s good for you, you\u2019ll drive exactly where I tell you to drive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>I can hear my heart thumping in my chest. If Father is aware that something is amiss, he has made no sign. However I haven\u2019t heard any shots from the hatch yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cYou might <\/span>put<\/span> <\/span>a hole in my head<\/span>,\u201d I say. \u201cIt\u2019s a chance you could take. But seeing as how my hands are on the wheel, when I go, this RV is going to careen out of control and you\u2019ll fly around like a pinball.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019s a…?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cPlus <\/span>there\u2019s still this scattergun in my lap. I hear people\u2019s nerves twitch quite a bit when they get their brains blown out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cPlus,\u201d I hear Father say behind me, \u201cIf you do anything other than put that gun down, you\u2019re dead anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>My sigh of relief and the hum of the engine are the only sounds for a moment. I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s possible to feel shaky when my hands are so tight on the steering wheel.<\/span> I can see him lower the gun out of the corner of my eye, and I\u2019m expecting to hear Father\u2019s rifle next.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The guy gets the butt of the rifle in the back of the head instead. His face strikes the glass and he falls backward, howling. There is a bloody spot where his nose smashed against the windshield. Then Father lays into him, fists swinging.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cYou fucking bastard!\u201d he shouts, his voice at a fever-pitch.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cDad!\u201d<\/span> I shout. The road ends in a cul-de-sac, and the other two assailants are still behind us.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>\u201cWhat?\u201d He looks up, fists bloody. Our prisoner is still alive, sobbing again, blood and tears and snot all mixed up on his face.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWe still have two guys with guns out there,\u201d<\/span> I remind him.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cRight.\u201d<\/span> The utility cable is out of his pocket in a flash. He ties knots around our prisoner\u2019s wrists, then loops the wire through the passenger seat\u2019s frame, pulling it tight. Meanwhile, I start turning <\/span>Charlotte<\/span> around, scanning the road we\u2019d just come down for signs of the other two men. All I can see is the cloud of dust and debris we\u2019ve stirred up.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019s the plan, Dad?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWe <\/span>go<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Umm…the truck?<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not sticking around for a pointless gunfight, kiddo.<\/span> We can get a new one in the city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWhat about Mr. Backstabber over here?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Father spares a glance at him. He\u2019s breathing through his mouth because his nose is smashed in, staring at us like we\u2019re horrific monsters of some kind.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Lay off it,<\/span> I think. <\/span>It\u2019s not like we\u2019d leave you for the wild dogs.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cHe stays with us until I get all the information I want out of him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>I hit the gas. The men are lying in wait in the ditches up ahead. They take another few pot-shots at the RV, to little effect. One of them heroically attempts to run alongside us and make a leaping grab for the door handle, but his attempt fails. I don\u2019t hear the crunch and scream when his leg goes under the back tire, but I imagine it in my head and grin.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cNice people, the <\/span>Kawitzen<\/span> Tribe,\u201d Father <\/span>remarks<\/span> as we reach the intersection and turn the corner.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not with them,\u201d the guy manages to mumble between the bloody froth and spittle in his mouth.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWho are you with, then?\u201d Father asks. <\/span>\u201cThe League?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Our young captive stares at the floor, as though he thinks we\u2019re going to torture him or something.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cHey what\u2019s your name, guy?\u201d I ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cMason,\u201d he says. I\u2019m surprised he actually told me.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re named after the jars? Or like…someone who builds walls?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Mason doesn\u2019t answer. He\u2019s too busy blubbering again. For a moment, I almost forget that he\u2019s a back-stabbing, CD-crushing gun-thieving liar.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cCheer up, you\u2019re not going to die,\u201d I tell him.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cYes I am,\u201d he insists.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c…guy?\u201d I venture. The door has been left wide open, but our guest is nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, he didn\u2019t steal any of my CDs. \u201cWhat a jerk,\u201d I mutter. \u201cI told you we\u2019d scare him off, dad.\u201d \u201cDid he steal something?\u201d Dad asks anxiously as he rapidly takes a visual stock of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,40],"tags":[35,43,42],"class_list":["post-904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dooms-daughter","category-serials","tag-dooms-daughter","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":905,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}