The Lands of the Rising Sun

Dead Ends

We came to one of the hills overlooking the town. Johnny looked through his scope and scanned the outside. "Let's get a closer look," he said. The town was hardly approachable; in front of the hills was a long dirt field. We crept out of sight as far as we could around to where the land dipped below eye level. Johnny slightly crested the hill to view the town through his scope again. "There's definitely Pensingtons here," he said. "Fuck," I said rolling over to my back. The clouds blew so gently.

"It's me they want," I said, "I'm not worth all this trouble, I'll just let them take me."

"Absolutely not," Johnny said. "Yeah no way we're letting that happen," Pickle reinforced. A warm contentment filled my spirit. "Besides, even if you turn yourself in the Pensingtons are going to know who hid you and who you were friends with here," Johnny said. "So what are we gonna do?" I asked. "You, Ruby and Pickle if he wants, will go find Mur'ring," Johnny replied. "Mur'ring and me have nothing to do with them, this isn't their problem."

"Of course it is, you see those fires?" Johnny asked. I hadn't paid much attention to the stacks of black smoke starting to pour into the sky. "That makes it their problem."

"I-I jus-"

"They won't stop until somebody stops them, a war can't stop them, I can't stop them believe me I tried, and Mur'ring knows where he and his father went wrong, so if there's anyone in this world that can make it a better place, it's him..." He glared at me and for the first time I saw pure emotion possess him, his eyes conjured a new glare like a polished marble. "But you told me to be careful with Mur'ring," I said. "Yes, and you must be careful, I don't know his intentions but he's the only one with the potential to change things."

"Can y'all shut up for a second, what are we gonna do right now?" Pickle asked. Johnny continued observing things through his scope. "By the look of things it looks like they're just riding through the main street, those fires keep building near each other, I'd say they're going door to door looking for you Ma'tuk," Johnny said. "So they're just burning down the whole town? Am I really worth that much trouble?" I asked. "Looks to be that way." The question seemed to bother Johnny. "Those fires are all on the main road through town if we cut through the alleys and fields we can make it to a truck or something and leave," Pickle said examining the town through his rifle's scope.

"We have to get Ruby first," Johnny said. "Why don't you want her to leave with you?" Pickle asked. "She's going with you two, I have nothing left to teach her I'm sure they've figured out she's with Ma'tuk and I'm sure she's where I think she is," Johnny said. "Where's that?"

"The Trade Caravan, it's the only thing the Pensington's wouldn't search or burn down, at least not at first."

"That's on the opposite side of town, and how would you know she's there?" Pickle asked. "What are we gonna do when we find her?" I asked. "Will you two quit asking so many fucking questions, goddamn, let's go."

We headed toward the homeless section of town. I had been there once with Ruby while she was showing me around. The people lived in huts held together by sticks, metal pipes and blankets. At night they huddled around fires they built in metal kegs. I would see them in the market everyday, asking every passerby for anything they could get, sometimes they would catch a break but for the most part people just ignored them or kicked dirt in their face proclaiming them to be 'Lazy bastards'. We entered the compound; the broken homes littered the field. The people lied around on the dirt floor inside their tents or walked in aimless circles around each other. Our dirty clothes allowed us to blend in enough to trick the Pensington's men walking about but every step we took lifted another heavy head a glare in our direction. We walked our way toward Market Street, which led to Main Street where the Pensington's were terrorizing. The field was a mile long, occasionally we changed course to avoid an oncoming Pensington patrol, but with all the people limping and dragging about we easily made it to the alleyways parallel to Market Street. The alleys between shops were usually filled with people sitting on trashcans and leaned against the long wall that separated the poor district from the rest of the town. There was no one blowing smoke in the air and rolling dice. The town seemed to have disappeared. We cautiously crept passed every alley entrance toward Main Street. I stopped at one of them when I heard a women screaming for help, on top of her was a Pensington man with a group watching him tear her clothes off and beat her face, yelling 'shut the fuck up bitch!' I watched for a second thinking of a possible way I could help. Johnny peered around the corner; he digested the sight and pulled me along with him, only a few more alleys until Main Street. Every step deafened me further as Main Street approached. The roar from the bikes pulled with it an orange dust that slowly devoured the town.