End of the Suburbs

Chpt 17: Texas

I drive up slowly.
The entire city is surrounded by a wall with one entrance.
There's one guard.
He's standing out front near the gate.
All I can make out is his silhouette.
He's wearing a hat just like Bill's.
He holds out his hand signaling us to stop.
I slam on the brakes.
V and I exchange a look.
He pulls out his mask and puts it on.
I do the same.
The guard approaches slowly.
H walks slowly taking commanding steps.
He finally reaches the window on my side.
He bends down and looks inside.
I let my window down to speak.
"We're just passing through." I say.
He looks at me then back at Casper and Sage without saying a word.
He looks back to me.
"Follow me."he says
He turns and walks through the gate.
He walks at a normal pace.
I drive the car behind him.
As we cross the threshold I look up at the wall.
There's at least 4 people with bows and arrows posted.
It's a good thing we weren't attacking.
He turns right leading us down a road closed in by fences on both sides.
He leads us into a fenced in building.
He waves his hand signaling me where to park.
By the time I park he's already started to walk away.
"What now?" Sage asks.
A second later someone appears outside my window aiming an arrow at me.
Another comes up from the right side.
I raise my hands to surrender.
They hold us there as another man approaches.
He's older.
His hair is gray and he has a thick gray mustache.
The sound of metal clinks with every step.
He's wearing a long leather coat with matching cowboy hat. Both are decorated with metal badges.
"What brings you 'round these parts?"the man asks.
I lean forward to look into his eyes.
"Just passing through, sir. Looking for a radio and a place to sleep for the night."
He stands there with a toothpick dancing in his mouth as if he's contemplating a choice.
"Well in that case, welcome to Texas."he says with a smile.
He opens my car door.
He reaches to open the back but is startled when Casper pops his head up in the window.
"Nice dog you got there."he says backing up.
Casper growls softly.
We all get out of the car.
The man introduces himself as Wayne Hardin, mayor of the Texas township.
"Before you come in we do have a rule. I know it might seem inconvenient but we don't allow our guests to have weapons."he says.
I exchange a look with V.
"That's not gonna be a problem, is it?" Mayor Hardin asks.
"No."V says aggressively as his hand grips his sword tightly.
The archers draw back their bows and aim at us.
"It's no problem." I interject.
I take both my swords out and leave sit them on the seat of the car.
Sage is looking at me intensely.
I can tell by her expression that she's uncomfortable.
I nod telling her to trust me.
She takes out her dagger and sword and puts them in the car.
V follows along reluctantly tossing his sword into the car.
"One more thing Jack Frost,"Hardin says.
That was a reference to my short white spiked hair.
He points at my armor.
He tells me that I'd have to leave it too.
"Those spikes are awful sharp, they could put and eye out." he says.
I undo my straps and leave it behind.
"Great." Hardin says with a smile.
He tells us to follow him as he turns and walks into the building.
The building is dark.
As we walk Hardin starts to make small talk.
"So where are y'all from?"he asks.
Neither V and Sage speak.
"I'm from a township in Ohio." I say.
"Ohio?"he says.
"Don't believe I've had that pleasure of visiting."Hardin says
"Maybe someday." he adds.
We're deeper into the building.
Hardin calls back, "Stay close."
We walk straight through.
Exiting the back of the building we can see the rest of the city.
It's incredible.
The entire city looks barely touched.
The multicolored lights on the building shine.
People driving bikes fill the streets.
It seems perfect.
It's like the stories of what the world was like before the virus.
He leads us bikes parked out back.
Just as we go to get on a man comes up and whispers something to Hardin.
He has to step away.
He assures us he'll meet us to talk about using the radio tomorrow.
He calls to a woman named Liz riding her bike past.
There's a lantern on the front to guide her way.
She has long blonde hair and is dressed in a bright shirt.
She's clean.
Hardin asks her to escort us to the plaza.
She agrees.
I get on a bike.
So does Sage.
V goes to get on the third.
He tries to push off and falls over.
He doesn't know how to ride.
He refuses to admit it.
He hops on and tries to ride again but falls.
He hops up and is about to try a third time.
Before he does Liz stops him.
She offers to let his ride with her.
She phrases it in a way to not embarrass him.
We ride a few blocks through the city to the plaza.
Casper runs alongside us.
People are in awe of him as he passes.
We reach the plaza and park the bikes out front.
It's a tall building with hundreds of windows.
She walks past and straight to the back.
V, Sage and I stop at the front.
The inside is as bright as daylight.
There's a man at a desk.
He greets us with a smile.
"Welcome to the Plaza"he says.
Sage steps forward.
"We're visiting town for the night and-"she says before he interrupts
"Yes, Mayor Hardin already informed me you'd be coming"he says.
Sage stops and a look of confusion flashes across her face.
He hands her a key with the number 716 on it and directs us to the back.
Liz is waiting in the room with the metal doors.
She waves us over.
It's just a small metal room with mirrors on the wall.
On one of the walls theres a panel with numbers 1-14 on it.
Liz looks at the key.
"Looks like we're neighbors"she says
She presses a button on the wall next to the number 7.
There's a bell sound.
The metal doors close trapping us inside.
The room starts to shake.
This is a trap.
Casper starts to claw at the wall.
Sage charges her.
She swings.
Liz dodges the punch but falls in the process.
Sage grabs her by the collar of her shirt and drags her up.
She pins her to the wall with her hand on her throat.
Liz closes her eyes and gasps as she cries begs for mercy.
All of a sudden there's another ding.
The metal doors slide open.