Blood Cult (19 page)

We were a couple
of miles from Saratoga Springs when Chief Brody’s convoy came into sight. It
was parked up by the verge, one of the coaches towards the rear with smoke
rising from the front.

‘What do you want I should do?’ asked Shane, who had taken Dodge’s place
behind the wheel of the Raptor, Clive now driving one of the school buses.

‘Pull up alongside the Chief’s patrol car when we reach the front,’ I
replied, staring out of the windshield and noting a group of people digging by
the trees that were gathered along the roadside beyond the verge.

The Raptor began to pass the convoy, our own line of vehicles stretching
half a mile back. I looked through the window at my shoulder. Brody’s people
were in a bad way, skin drawn tight over bones, the shadow of death gathering
in the hollows as they stared back at me with desolate eyes.

Shane began to slow as we passed the tanker and fire trucks, putting on
his hazards to alert those behind. I set eyes on Brody’s cruiser. The passenger
door was open and I could just make him out. He was sitting with his feet on
the ground outside, doubled over and vomiting onto the roadside.

The Raptor came to a stop. The Chief turned and looked over his shoulder,
bile glistening on his chin. I nodded a greeting as he wiped it away with his
shirt sleeve, still wearing his uniform.

Climbing out, I left the door open and walked around the rear of his car.
‘Having trouble, Chief?’ I asked as I came to a stop a few yards from him.

He spat to the grass between his boots. ‘What do you want, Reverend?’ His
words were thick with phlegm and an unfriendly tone.

‘To offer an olive branch,’ I replied.

‘Yeah, and what is the branch you’re offering, forgiveness of our sins,’
he said with a mocking tone before retching momentarily, head bowing further as
his stomach clenched.

‘The cure.’

He laughed bitterly. ‘You say there’s a cure for this?’ He shook his head
and turned to me. ‘You see them?’ he asked, nodding back towards his convoy.

I glanced over, seeing the passengers from the smoking coach seated on
the grass in small huddles, a few people near the tree-line bent over as they
were sick. Beyond them was the group who were digging, their efforts laboured
as they were hampered by their weakened state.

‘Who?’ I asked, turned back to Brody. ‘The diggers?’

‘You know what they’re digging?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘Graves. You got
a cure for that?’

‘I can’t help the dead, but I can help the living.’

The Chief shook his head. ‘The most vulnerable, the old and young, ill
and infirm, are going quickly, leaving us to linger and watch the world come to
ruin. We’re beyond help, Reverend.’

‘You’re wrong,’ I stated with certainty.

He looked at me, narrowing his eyes as he studied my expression and found
no lie. ‘So what’s this cure?’

‘If you and your people drink the blood of those unaffected by radiation,
pure blood, then you’ll be purified.’

Brody laughed again. ‘Do you think I came down in the last shower?’

‘I’m serious. Ask all these people who’ve joined me,’ I replied with a
backward wave.

He glanced at the convoy stretching down the highway alongside his own.
‘What do you put in it?’ he asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

I was temporarily stunned by his insight. ‘Morphine,’ I responded quietly
after glancing over at the Raptor to make sure Shane was still behind the
wheel.

Brody nodded to himself as he tensed, another wave of nausea coming over
him and his mouth stretching wide. He gagged and bile dripped from his chin as
I waited.

‘There’s nothing left to come up,’ he said when his sickness subsided,
elbows upon his knees as he stared at the ground.

‘Do any of your people know you’re lacing the blood?’ he asked.

‘No.’

He turned to me as a look of realisation dawned on his face. ‘You’re
going to Montreal to kill them all!’

‘It’s God’s Will.’

‘And then you’ll let your followers succumb to the sickness.’ He stared
at me with newfound clarity. ‘You actually
want
the end.’

I nodded. ‘It’s been a long time coming.’

He continued to study me as he pondered a moment. ‘Want my help?’

I looked at him in surprise for a second time.

‘After what I’ve seen, I don’t think we deserve to carry on.’

‘In the Bronx?’

‘And not just since the bomb,’ he said, giving a nod. ‘Civilisation, the
word’s a joke. Under the skin we’re just the same as we ever were.’

‘So you want the end too?’

‘I do now. It’ll be a relief in a way. The whole damn mess will be over.’

‘Then why did you try and help these people?’ I asked.

‘Some vague hope we could start again, we could build something better,
but after what I’ve seen…’ He shook his head. ‘No chance.’

There was a moment of silence as I contemplated what he’d said. I
recalled my thoughts when we’d first met. I’d known we would meet again, that
he was somehow important to the quest, and now that inner knowing had been
proved correct. God’s guidance had again been shown to be at work in my life
and I felt honoured by His presence.

‘How you doing on morphine supplies?’ asked the Chief.

‘I need more,’ I replied. ‘I was planning on leading a small group on a
search when we reach Plattsburgh later today.’

‘There’s some in the prisoner transport,’ he stated, looking along the
line of stationary vehicles. ‘There’s some grass in there two.’

‘Marijuana?’

‘Yeah, my grandpa used to swear by it. He’d arthritis and said it
relieved the pain. There’s two keys of it in the wagon. It was seized in a raid
a couple of days before the blast. There’s also a load of weapons and even a
few grenades. We emptied the station’s armoury before heading north.’

I looked at the prisoner transport thoughtfully. ‘That could work,’ I
said to myself as an idea came to me.

‘What?’

‘I’ve been sneaking the morphine into the blood,’ I replied, turning back
to him. ‘Last night someone noticed and it won’t be long until more discover the
truth, but the people were fed before the sacrifices were made and I could get
it into the food easily enough.’

‘It won’t take much to persuade my people to take your cure. They’re
desperate.’ He took a deep breath as he fought the sickness once again. ‘I’m in
better shape than most, and as you can see, that ain’t saying much.’

‘You all right, Rev?’ called Shane.

I looked over the patrol car. ‘Fine,’ I replied. ‘Looks like these good
people will be joining us.’

He glanced back over his shoulder. ‘We got ourselves an army,’ he said
with a grin. ‘Montreal won’t know what the fucks hit ‘em.’

‘You fancy riding up the road with the Changs and rounding up a few pure
bloods? I thought we could put on another show to welcome the Chief’s people
into the fold.’

He nodded. ‘Fine by me. You want we should take the float?’

‘They can take the patrol car too,’ offered Brody. ‘It’ll look more legit
and the sirens should draw some attention.’

‘You catch that? You can take the Chief’s cruiser.’

‘Sounds good to me. Where we going to have this show?’

I looked around and held my arms out to the sides. ‘Right here.’

Shane looked at me in surprise. ‘On the interstate?’

‘Why not? There’s six lanes and the central reservation is just grass. There’s
plenty of space and if anyone comes up the road while we’re in full swing,
well, they can join in.’

‘You’re the boss,’ he responded. ‘I’ll pull up ahead and walk the convoy
to let everyone know what’s going on.’

I gave a nod as he reached over and shut the passenger door before
driving forward and pulling onto the verge, the trees gathered at the side of
the highway shivering as the wind moved through them. He climbed out and walked
to the first of the school buses, going round the far side to the driver’s window.

Looking along the line of vehicles parked on the verge, an idea came to
me with astounding clarity and I was sure the vision’s source was the Lord.
‘Shane!’ I shouted, turning to the school bus twenty yards away.

He stepped into view, pistol held at the ready. ‘You okay?’

I held up my hand disarmingly. ‘Fine. I’ve had an idea for the show. Tell
everyone to bring their own cups, mugs or glasses, they’ll be helping themselves
to the blood this time around. Oh, and see if you can rustle up a load of pots
and pans.’

‘Anything else?’ he asked while tucking the gun back into his belt.

‘That’s about it.’

‘You got it, Rev,’ he said with a salute before stepping back to the driver’s
window of the bus.

‘I can tell you right now, I ain’t drinking any blood,’ said Brody.

‘In that case, you’d better come up on stage with me, because this show’s
going to be a doozey.’

He regarded me curiously and I smiled.

‘Besides, with you up on stage those that have followed you north are
much more likely to take notice of what I’ve to say. It’ll be your seal of
approval.’

‘True enough,’ he responded, stomach tensing as he retched again, eyes
watering and a pained look on his increasingly drawn face.

‘Let’s head on over to the Raptor. I’ll give you a morphine shot.’ I
stepped forward and offered my hand.

‘I don’t need help,’ he said with irritation, batting it away weakly as
he took deep breaths to compose himself.

I waited, watching as he reached for the top of the door before him and
used it to haul himself to his feet. He staggered around it, having to breathe
deeply and briefly putting a hand to his forehead while trying to blink away
his dizziness. Forcing himself forward, he walked with staggered and unsteady
steps, arms limp at his sides and shoulders sagging with the weight of his
sickness. I followed a few steps behind, expecting him to stumble and fall.

The Chief made it to the tailgate of the Raptor, leaning against it and
his strength clearly sapped by the short walk. I moved by him and opened the
passenger door, crouching to look through my bag. Taking out a packet of
tablets, I popped four onto my palm, believing Brody was in need of a double
dose.

I stepped over after taking a bottle of water from the pocket on the
door, holding my palm open towards him.

‘A moment,’ he said, bending as he rested against the wheel arch, hands
on his knees as he battled with the churning of his stomach.

As I stared at him, I knew this was what awaited us all, this and worse.
I felt the presence of the gun in my robes. When the time came, when I was the
last, I trusted that the Lord would grant me the strength to take my own life
so that I could take my rightful place at his side.

I stood on the
grass in the centre of the highway and surveyed the arena that had been created
in readiness for the show, a freakishly wide smile on my face. Across from me,
parked on the side of the northbound with the woods as their backdrop, was the
parade float with one fire truck behind and the other in front, nose to tail.
To the left, two of the school buses blocked the highway and to the right a
pair of the coaches from Brody’s convoy marked the southern side of the wide arena,
all the other vehicles parked beyond them with the rigs blocking the road to
the rear and a small guard posted just in case anyone approached.

The thick clouds acted like a roof as they laboured low overhead and I
was reminded of the stadium performances back in the day. I was also gladdened
by the dullness of the early afternoon, knowing that the lights atop the
speakers would still have an effect.

I caught movement in the periphery of my vision and turned to find Clive
approaching after passing between the coaches. He’d been sent to hunt out the
Chief and ask for the keys to the prisoner transport and my smile remained as
he walked from the asphalt and onto the grass at the centre of the interstate.

‘I’ve got them, Reverend,’ he stated as he came to a halt and held a
small bunch of keys out to me.

I glanced at them, but made no move to take the keys from him. ‘You’re
going to be Pure Blood Control for this event.’

He looked at me with a lack of understanding and lowered the offered keys.

‘Gather up twenty or so of those who came north,’ I instructed. ‘You’ll
find plenty of guns in the back of the prisoner transport.’ I glanced at the
keys in his hand.

‘When you’ve armed them, get onto the school buses and wait. Be sure to
keep the weapons hidden.

‘Once the new arrivals have got out of their vehicles, you and your group
round them all up on the highway on the far side of the buses. Shane and the Changs
will see to the binding and gagging while you hold them at gunpoint.’

‘Aren’t we going to find out which ones are feeling okay?’

I shook my head. ‘The further north we head the purer everyone is. This
time it’s all of them for the slice.’

The muscles about his eyes tightened slightly in reaction to my turn of
phrase.

‘Their sacrifice will bring healing,’ I said, adopting a conciliatory
tone to undo his tension. I knew we couldn’t afford to add many more people to
our ranks. If we hit a snag and the journey north took longer than expected,
then swelling our numbers would result in possibly running out of food and gas.
As it was, there would already be over a thousand people once Brody’s group
took the Holy Communion and were converted.

‘What happens if there’s any trouble?’

‘Shoot the troublemakers,’ I replied matter-of-factly.

He gulped and looked a little faint.

‘It doesn’t have to be you doing the shooting, as long as someone does.’

He nodded. ‘I could use one of the tazers?’ It was more of a question
than a statement.

‘Yeah, that would be fine. Just as long as any threat is neutralised, it
doesn’t really matter how.’

The tightness in Clive’s expression dissipated. ‘What have you got
planned?’ he asked, looking over to the sides of the float and fire trucks flanking
it.

‘One heck of a show,’ I responded, not wanting to reveal the divinely
inspired vision that I’d had.

‘I heard we’ve got to bring our own drinking vessels,’ he said, clearly
intrigued and fishing for more information.

‘It’s going to be a kind of all-you-can-eat buffet,’ I replied, knowing
that my words would only serve to heighten his curiosity. ‘Walk with me.’

I began towards the tailgate of the rear fire truck. Clive fell in step
beside me and we made our way to the verge in silence. My smile remained.

When we reached the strip of grass before the low woods, we looked south,
seeing a number of fires burning beside the mass of parked vehicles on the
highway. A few camping stoves were also lit, pans of soup on the go as Cheryl
and Mark prepared food for the main event with the assistance of a few helpers.

‘I’ll see you later,’ I stated to Clive, indicating that he should get to
the task that had been given him.

He gave a nod of response and then walked into the gathered cars, hunting
out people to be Pure Blood Control. I watched for a moment and then walked
over to Cheryl.

‘How goes it?’

‘Fine. We should have enough for everyone.’

‘There’s an ingredient I’d like you to add, one that some people may get
a little bent out of shape about if they know it’s in the food.’

Her brow furrowed as she regarded me.

‘There’s marijuana in the prisoner transport.’

‘You want we should add that?’ She looked at me in surprise.

‘It’s pain relief. See it as seasoning, if that’ll help.’

‘But surely the cure should be enough?’

‘Anything that can help relieve people’s suffering is worth a try, don’t
you think?’ I replied, backing her into a corner with the angle of my question.

‘I suppose,’ she concurred with a frown.

‘Take Mark over there. I’ll keep an eye on the food. Clive’s got the
keys.’

She nodded and turned to the line of camping stoves behind her. ‘Mark,
we’ve got some more ingredients to get,’ she said, not wanting to announce the
truth in front of the handful of people that were assisting.

‘What?’ he asked while stirring the contents of one of the pans.

‘Just come along and give me a hand,’ she replied.

Mark looked at her curiously, the wrinkles on his face deepening as he
wondered at her snappy response. He straightened with the wooden spoon still
held in his hand. ‘Okay,’ he replied, ‘where are we going?’

‘Over to the prison truck.’

He glanced over at the deep blue vehicle amidst the cars towards the back
of the parking lot on the highway. Cheryl walked over to him and mumbled
something as she bent close. Mark glanced over at me before handing the spoon
to a middle-aged woman nearby, he and Cheryl then setting off.

I reached into my vestments and felt the package containing the tablets
I’d crushed while the vehicles were being manoeuvred. Making a show of bending
to smell the soup in the first of the pans, I moved so that my body concealed
my activity and withdrew the package. Unfolding the bulging paper, I tipped
some of its powdered contents into the soup, watching the simmering churn of
the thick liquid consume and hide its presence.

Walking to the next, I repeated the process as I thought about the show.
I’d talked to Shane before he left and arranged for him to pick up a few more
items, ones that had caused him to look at me in puzzlement, but he’d not
questioned me, only voiced his interest in seeing what I had planned.

I’d also spoken to him about holding those who were to be sacrificed
north of the school buses and how to dispose of them. It had pleased me to see
him smile when I’d told him, Shane getting an inkling of what was to come and
clearly liking the idea.

As I stepped to the next cooking pot, I couldn’t help but chuckle to
myself in self-amusement. It was going to be one heck of a show.