out of his cab, keeping both hands up. He had a Glock on his right leg, and had intentionally left the rifle out of sight.
The woman with the shotgun came towards him, scared and desperate. He started to talk but she screamed at him to shut up. "You tell him we are not his property!" She said, confusing Joe.
"Who?" He asked.
"You know full well who I'm talking about. That bastard wants girls, no amount of threats will make us get on our backs for him. Now fuck off and tell him that" she snarled at him.
"Look" he said reasonably "I'm nothing to do with anyone here, I've come from miles away looking for more survivors." She glared at him, considering the possibility that she had been wrong.
"Seriously" Joe said "I've never been here before and you are the first people I have spoken to since I left home today"
She thought about this and asked "How many of you? Where?"
"Feel free to put that down and I'll tell you everything" he countered reasonably.
"No" she snapped "you're still armed"
"Fine" said Joe, turning his right leg towards her "take it, but I'm not your enemy"
She studied him for a bit longer, then abruptly lowered the shotgun.
"Talk then" she said impatiently.
Joe told her his story from the start, quickly catching up to today. As he spoke, the two women from the car appeared and listened intently.
The woman gave a gruff account of how they had found each other in the days since, and had lived off the village in this campsite until winter forced them to look further away. That led them into a neighbouring town where they first met 'King' Pat. He had a dozen followers, shabby little boys really, but they did whatever he told them to do.
"We call him Fagin. You know, like in Oliver Twist?" She said. Joe knew.
"He told us we had trespassed in his kingdom and that we had to serve him or pay the price."
The price turned out to be that they ‘work’ for him. She refused, and they had been hunted for nearly two weeks.
"We can help" Joe said "come with me"
FAGIN
Joe made two mistakes.
First, he didn't notice the vehicle that had followed him.
Second, he didn't tune in to the sound of another three vehicles approaching as they talked.
By the time he noticed, it was too late. They were in the campsite.
The woman screamed that Joe had led them to her. He ignored her and took action to make up for his failure in observations.
He drew the Glock and emptied the magazine into the radiator of the lead vehicle, sure that he was right to resist this self-proclaimed King.
The car stopped, blocking the gateway, as water poured from the underside of the engine. That wouldn't be moving anywhere soon. The woman fired her remaining loaded cartridge into the windscreen, peppering it with spider webs as the shatterproof glass held.
Joe yelled at her for another way out.
"Field" she yelled, pointing behind the buildings "yours will make it, ours won't"
"Get the girls in. Now" he said to her as he retrieved his rifle from the cab.
As he rounded the Defender and levelled the gun, a voice rang out from behind the crippled road block.
"You in there with the gun" it bawled, full of scorn and cruelty.
"Those women are my property. Everything here is my property and you are trespassing on my sovereignty"
He turned to see the three women dragging another with handfuls of possessions. The one with the gun bundled the others inside and turned to Joe.
"That's the bastard" she said angrily.
"Tell me about the way out" he said.
"Field. Leads back to the road. About a mile but rough ground"
Joe's thoughts were pulled back to the blocked entrance, where King Fagin began shouting orders which would leave them flanked.
He fired ten carefully placed rounds at the other cars. Some ricocheted off wheel rims, but most connected. He put two into the only other exposed grill which was the one furthest away. Satisfied that they would not be chased, not by these cars anyway, he jumped in and started the Land Rover. The
The woman with the shotgun came towards him, scared and desperate. He started to talk but she screamed at him to shut up. "You tell him we are not his property!" She said, confusing Joe.
"Who?" He asked.
"You know full well who I'm talking about. That bastard wants girls, no amount of threats will make us get on our backs for him. Now fuck off and tell him that" she snarled at him.
"Look" he said reasonably "I'm nothing to do with anyone here, I've come from miles away looking for more survivors." She glared at him, considering the possibility that she had been wrong.
"Seriously" Joe said "I've never been here before and you are the first people I have spoken to since I left home today"
She thought about this and asked "How many of you? Where?"
"Feel free to put that down and I'll tell you everything" he countered reasonably.
"No" she snapped "you're still armed"
"Fine" said Joe, turning his right leg towards her "take it, but I'm not your enemy"
She studied him for a bit longer, then abruptly lowered the shotgun.
"Talk then" she said impatiently.
Joe told her his story from the start, quickly catching up to today. As he spoke, the two women from the car appeared and listened intently.
The woman gave a gruff account of how they had found each other in the days since, and had lived off the village in this campsite until winter forced them to look further away. That led them into a neighbouring town where they first met 'King' Pat. He had a dozen followers, shabby little boys really, but they did whatever he told them to do.
"We call him Fagin. You know, like in Oliver Twist?" She said. Joe knew.
"He told us we had trespassed in his kingdom and that we had to serve him or pay the price."
The price turned out to be that they ‘work’ for him. She refused, and they had been hunted for nearly two weeks.
"We can help" Joe said "come with me"
FAGIN
Joe made two mistakes.
First, he didn't notice the vehicle that had followed him.
Second, he didn't tune in to the sound of another three vehicles approaching as they talked.
By the time he noticed, it was too late. They were in the campsite.
The woman screamed that Joe had led them to her. He ignored her and took action to make up for his failure in observations.
He drew the Glock and emptied the magazine into the radiator of the lead vehicle, sure that he was right to resist this self-proclaimed King.
The car stopped, blocking the gateway, as water poured from the underside of the engine. That wouldn't be moving anywhere soon. The woman fired her remaining loaded cartridge into the windscreen, peppering it with spider webs as the shatterproof glass held.
Joe yelled at her for another way out.
"Field" she yelled, pointing behind the buildings "yours will make it, ours won't"
"Get the girls in. Now" he said to her as he retrieved his rifle from the cab.
As he rounded the Defender and levelled the gun, a voice rang out from behind the crippled road block.
"You in there with the gun" it bawled, full of scorn and cruelty.
"Those women are my property. Everything here is my property and you are trespassing on my sovereignty"
He turned to see the three women dragging another with handfuls of possessions. The one with the gun bundled the others inside and turned to Joe.
"That's the bastard" she said angrily.
"Tell me about the way out" he said.
"Field. Leads back to the road. About a mile but rough ground"
Joe's thoughts were pulled back to the blocked entrance, where King Fagin began shouting orders which would leave them flanked.
He fired ten carefully placed rounds at the other cars. Some ricocheted off wheel rims, but most connected. He put two into the only other exposed grill which was the one furthest away. Satisfied that they would not be chased, not by these cars anyway, he jumped in and started the Land Rover. The
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