walker saga 07 - earth (2 page)

“No,” she answered, just to quiet the female.

Sometimes her answers were truthful, others flat out lies. It really didn’t matter. She only held one secret that was worth anything, and that was not one she would ever reveal.

“No tags? No rubble? You can’t be from the city then; you from another country?”

More questions, Janice’s tone acting uninterested, but Eva could sense that she desperately wanted to know.

“No.” Eva reached back and rubbed the hilt of her sword, taking comfort in the fact that if Janice didn’t shut up soon, she could remove her head in one swift movement.

The reality was that she was from the country, upstate New York. Her life had been green rolling hills, trickling streams, small weatherboard houses. No high-rises, no gangs, no violence.

Until that one day.

One moment could change everything. Take everything. Now, though, Eva had no more vulnerabilities. It was nice to know that there was nothing else for her to lose. It allowed her to fight without fear.

Their group had split into two. One half went toward Central Park, the massive expanse of dead grass and shelled out structures which was all that remained of a once beautiful nature reserve. The Central Park vigiladies were going to infiltrate a stronghold rumored to be operating on the eastern side of the park.

Eva was in the other group, the one going to intercept a shipment of smuggled humans. Trafficking was out of control. None of the humans who were taken were ever seen again, and no one had any idea where they ended up. All they knew was it was sure to be a sucktastic life. Kata in particular had a hate-on for this crime, and she focused much of the vigiladies attention on it.

From the moment they split, there was no way for the two groups to communicate. All of the females knew the plan, and Kata expected that they would carry it out to the best of their ability. Rendezvous was scheduled for nightfall, which was about twelve hours from now. Any that were absent would be left behind. It might seem harsh, but if one fell there was no point in all of them meeting the same fate.

The ten in Eva’s group were silent, stepping along the desolate streets, sticking to the shadows, using the rubble to hide their movements. Eva knew better than to relax her guard, despite the clear lack of human life in the area. If it was quiet, then generally the gangers had cleared the streets, and that was never a good thing.

They had just crossed through what was once the humming hub of the city; all that was left now were the broken shells of technology. Shattered glass which used to flash advertisements: perfume, lingerie, blockbuster movies. The glitter of lights had enticed humans to spend their hard-earned money on stupid luxuries. Things they believed they needed for happiness and fulfilment. Ironic, when they already had everything they truly needed: food, water, and clean air.

Eva stepped lightly, her scuffed boots so worn in they barely made a sound. Sensing eyes on them, she decided it was time to tap into her abilities. Never hurt to keep an extra “eye” out.

It took no effort to lift the barrier she’d learned to keep tightly encased over her mind. Her sight flashed once and then twice, before settling down. A stream of mist caught her attention, the whiteness partially obscured by an upended dumpster.

Two of them stood there. Not moving. Staring out into the alley beyond them.

They didn’t scare her any longer, but these two weren’t worth lingering on. They would be no help to her. There wasn’t enough resonance there, just wispy memories of the humans they had been.

For as long as Eva could remember, she had seen ghosts. The first time she’d realized she was a freak was when her friend Jolene had drowned. They’d been six, sneaking off to swim in the river. Of course, no one had known that a massive storm had blown up upstream, and the gushing torrent of water took both girls by surprise. Eva was pretty sure she had died too, but for some reason her body had managed to wash up on the bank and still be breathing. Eva was like a cat: she’d escaped certain death more than once. Jolene’s body had been found three days later.

Eva hadn’t been devastated to start with, mainly because Jolene was sitting in her room. Sure, the sad, pale little girl hadn’t said anything to Eva, but to a six-year-old, that had been okay. She’d just played quietly beside her friend, all the time wondering why everyone was still searching, so distraught and panicked.

When her parents had come to her room to explain that Jolene’s body had been found, that she was no longer alive, Eva had tried to tell everyone they were mistaken, but before she could show them Jolene, the solemn, confused little specter had disappeared.

It was then Eva realized that there was something wrong with her. Even at six she’d known better than to speak about ghosts.

Now, Eva understood that Jolene had moved on. To wherever the dead go. On to the next life. Every soul is different. Some take a few hours, others linger for weeks before finding their way to the afterlife. And some never leave. In particular, those who had suffered greatly in the moments before death.

The little Eva knew came from a few books she’d found on spiritual teachings. Teaming this knowledge with quite a lot of guess work, she sort of managed to understand the dead. For example, she knew that those two souls – also known as spirits and energy entities – which she had seen at the dumpster were nothing more than holographic projections now. Barely even there anymore. For the most part they had moved on. Only a faded resonance of them remained.

But others … well, they could talk to her, warn her about things. It was how she kept her wits on the streets. It was why she was so valuable to Kata. And right then she was looking for a sign of what they were walking into. Where this smuggling ring was going to appear. Of course, that day there were no useful spirits around. Nope, they were never around when she needed them.

Kata silently raised her right hand, palm vertical, indicating that they must halt their movements. The females reacted immediately. On these streets you had one chance, and Kata seemed to be blessed with a second sense of when danger was approaching. Eva often wondered if their leader harbored a secret similar to her own. Or she just possessed really advanced senses.

The vigiladies were like shadows, their dark clothes blending into the rubble of urban landscape which surrounded them. The girls were great at silence. Damn, Eva couldn’t even hear them breathing. And they stood within five feet of her.

After about a minute of tense silence, Kata finally lowered her hand. She then jabbed a two-finger gesture to the left. Seems they were getting off the main drag. Eva fell to the middle of the pack, reaching back to rub her hand over Mortem again. The sword was definitely a comfort for her. Lain, an African-American female to her left, lifted her arm up to retrieve an arrow. As they continued to step through, Lain slowly fitted the razor-sharp shaft into her composite bow.

Eva really liked the quiet and beautiful archer. Lain was in her mid-twenties, wore her hair in rows of braids and had stunningly regal features arranged around beautiful dark eyes. More importantly, she was solid; she had your back and could be counted on in any situation.

It didn’t take long to learn that you couldn’t really trust anyone but yourself. Still, there were others that could at least be looked to for assistance should the crap hit the ceiling. Lain and Kata were at the top of that very small list.

The vigiladies crept along the street, the cracked pavements allowing slivers of greenery freedom to try to overgrow the cement jungle. One day Mother Nature would take this place back.

A low bird call rang through the eerie silence.

Eva’s head swiveled to the left, and she wasn’t the only one. All of the females knew what that call signified. Smugglers alerting the convoy to the presence of possible targets. Eva did not hesitate; Mortem was already in her hand. The others also held whatever weapons they favored. They were in a shit-ton of trouble. The only targets on the streets right now were Kata and her ladies.

The girls fell in back to back so that none could come at them unawares. Seems that today, they would not have to find the smugglers; the gangers were going to come straight to them. A dozen males bled out of the various dark alleys which surrounded them. Eva had no idea why gangers were always male – women could be just as evil in the right circumstances – but she’d never seen a female ganger. Maybe they had them ferreted away somewhere popping out little ganger babies. Keeping the great evil-circle-of-life functioning.

Eva’s pulse kicked into high gear. Blood started to rush through her body as the truth of what she was seeing sank in. The vigiladies were out-numbered, but that wasn’t her main worry. No, the thing which had all the moisture fleeing from her mouth was the sheer number of spirits following these gangers around. Angry, vengeful spirits.

The otherworldly beings were almost all female, with silent howls of agony still clear on their features. Eva knew something for certain: these particular gangers were responsible for many deaths. Horrific deaths.

“These are the leaders of this smuggling ring,” she said, her voice low and directed toward Kata.

There was no other explanation for the sheer blood on their hands.

Kata grinned. It was the sort of cold, empty gesture that had actually sent plenty of individuals running for their lives. “Excellent, I like to start these sort of cleanses at the top.”

A brawny male stepped in from Eva’s right. He moved with a panther-like gait, his expression calm and even. He wore a suit of sorts and if it wasn’t for the dark-blue markings which spanned almost his entire face – identifying him as a Brawler Ganger – then he’d look almost respectful.

Eva was surprised to see that there were other ganger groups amongst the dozen. Red marks, like spatters of blood, identified the Crimz, and black skulls were reserved for the Brutals. This partnership was even more evidence that this was some sort of higher management group.

Usually the different ganger groups did not mix, and in fact the way they liked to fight each other was a great help to the female vigilante group. It was much more annoying to know they could work together like this – not to mention a much more dangerous situation than originally anticipated.

“They’re working together, Kata.” Lain’s voice was low and melodic. But Eva heard the undercurrent of nerves. “Are we in over our heads?”

Kata didn’t answer. She was in a stare-down with the brawny Brawler, who had stepped forward. She twirled her fighting sticks; Kata liked to use a pair of short wooden jos, and Eva had seen her break more bones and end more lives than she’d ever expect possible using a piece of wood.

Lain’s question was forgotten as the rest of the gangers advanced, forming a much tighter circle around the females. The vigiladies allowed enough distance between them so that they would not be hindered when weapon-fighting, but they were close enough that no one could easily separate them.

“Don’t let them take you alive,” Kata said as the first males struck.

Lain was fast. She’d already taken out one with an arrow to his throat and nocked a second shaft before Eva’s sword tasted blood. The gangers had weapons also, a variety of knives, swords and mallet-type crushers.

Guns, as always, were pretty much non-existent. Although, with this sort of setup, the higher members could have guns – they’d just be waiting until there were no other options before they used them. Bullets were highly prized on the streets of New York. Their value had increased ten times in the last fifteen years. Kata had sent their only gun with the other group, but Eva preferred her sword anyway.

She swung out with Mortem as a Brawler lurched in her direction. The blade cut through him like a knife through butter. There was almost no resistance, the razor sharpness severing bone, tendon, muscle, and flesh with ease. He howled for a moment, but the noise ceased as her blade met flesh again. This time the head flung free.

Eva retreated to avoid the blood spray, but had no time to wipe her blade before another was on her. A Crimz this time, and more wary than the previous, clearly having just watched his smuggling buddy lose more than one appendage. But he still had a mouth on him.

“Come at me, bitch. You think you’re so tough with your sword. I’m going to remove that, and then you’ll know what it feels like to be skewered.”

She sighed. Nothing annoyed her more than men who wasted her time with their bullshit. Threatening rape amongst other things. She wished he’d just shut up so she could kill him.

In that moment Lain distracted her. The archer was vulnerable in close-range fighting, and right then her quiver was empty and the gangers were taking advantage of this.

Eva lurched to the left and took a few hurried steps to stand side-by-side with the archer. The ghosts drifted closer. They had been lingering in the background, but it seemed that Eva was a magnet for their kind. Her energy drew their energy and their distraction was not welcome right then.

Lain and Eva fought, their movements in sync. Lain pulled a short-bladed army knife from her leg sheath, and between the two of them they took down a few more gangers – including the loud-mouthed one from before. Of course, those males were soon replaced by three more. The gangers did not stop coming.

One or two of the girls had fallen, but none had been taken alive yet. Capture by the smugglers was a fate worse than death. You’d still die, but there’d be months of torture before that happened.

“What are they doing?” Kata had worked her way closer to Eva. “They’re trickling across in such small numbers, instead of taking us by force. It’s as if they’re simply distracting us … place-holding until something else arrives.”

Eva’s eyes scanned the surroundings again, trying to discern the ganger’s plan. “What do you think they’re waiting on?” she asked, her senses not able to detect anything out of the ordinary.

One of the closer Brawlers who hadn’t yet engaged with them must have heard her question. He grinned, showcasing his full set of nicotine-stained teeth. “We have something new that we were hoping to test out. Just our luck that we run into the very group which have been a stain on our existence for the past few years.”