Zombie Road , Simpson, A. [best authors to read TXT] 📗

“Uh, no problem.” The man said, still not sure if he was about to be ripped to shreds, still dumbfounded at the boys raw strength.

“Bob, to me.” Jessie said and the rumble under the table ceased instantly as the black Shepherd jumped on the booth seat and panted in the man’s face. He looked like he was smiling, if dogs could smile.

The people watching let out a collective sigh as Jessie gently pushed him off his table and took a sip of the moonshine Stabby and Scratch made out back.

The man stood there for a moment, still unsure what had happened but very, very glad it hadn’t gone any further.

The tale that made the rounds a few days later had Jessie directing his dog to attack innocent strangers at a bar. It didn’t matter that thirty people said that was complete nonsense, three thousand people on Facebook and Twitter believed it and clamored about wild men running rampant in the civilized cities.

He was a relic of the past and some of the comments about him on Twitter were vile. He had outlived his usefulness. The walled cities didn’t need trigger happy killers anymore.

He sat on the sofa in his converted warehouse and watched the flames dance in the fireplace. He was doing what he’d done a lot of the past few months. A whole lot of nothing. Hiding out. An empty bottle of Jim Beam was on the coffee table along with a quart of six-week-old rotgut that was still mostly full. He sipped slowly from the mason jar as the neighborhood finally quieted when the clock chimed two in the morning. He needed to get away, he didn’t belong here anymore. He’d tried so hard to get back and now he couldn’t remember why. Why he’d sent the other Jessie away. Why he hadn’t given up on the madness of time jumping and made a life with Maddy. She would have made a badass partner. They could have been bounty hunters or picked up odd jobs from the Queen of the Outer reaches, she seemed to like him. Or at least she hadn’t hated him and that was good enough.

The hunger, the endless aching need for Scarlet had driven him, he knew that, but he didn’t feel it anymore. It was only a vague memory. The moment he’d sent his younger self back to be with her the desire started fading. He’d tried to hold on to the link but his very blood betrayed him. It knew she was a trillion miles away and it knew she was safe and it knew she was with him. It quit loving her even though his heart and mind tried not to. He was in love with being in love but he knew the raging bonfire had burnt down to a faintly glowing ember. She was with the other Jessie. He still hadn’t opened the locket hanging around his neck. He fingered it and wondered what was inside.

He swirled the ice cubes in the jar that diluted the harsh burnished amber liquid and remembered the days of teaching Maddy how to be human. A slow smile crossed his face when he recalled their arguments, their travels and the long hours spent learning from each other. It wasn’t unlike traveling across the country in the old Mercury with Scarlet. The modified Glocks Griz had given him were on the table next to the empty bottle and he missed his Mark Seven blasters. They had been a gift too. From her. The perfect machine with all the little imperfections that made her seem almost human. The whiskey put him in a melancholy mood and he settled a little deeper in the overstuffed couch. He watched the fire burn low and remembered the girl he sent away and the girl he left behind.

23

The Girl He Left Behind

"I haven’t seen any kind of weapons systems" Jessie said as they ate dinner after long hours working on the jump ship. “This is a military vessel, right? A warship? It didn’t have giant space guns?”

“More of a troop carrier.” She said, searching through the alien memories in her to find the terminology he could understand. “We had laser cannons and other heavy armaments but they were targeted in the attack. A ship of this size isn’t very maneuverable, the weapons were for long range warfare. The little ships were on top of me before I knew they were there. The arms room and all the soldier’s personal weapons were destroyed, same as my propulsion drives and energy reactors.”

“There is something, though.” She said, and left the table.

She came back a few moments later with a pair of shiny pistol shaped guns.

“These were the Captains weapons he kept displayed in his quarters.” She said.

“Nice.” he said. “Thanks.”

They were awkward in his hands, the grips a little too long and the frames a little too big. The humans of the future were taller, seven feet was probably the average height. Sometimes he felt like a little kid. His feet didn’t touch the floor when he sat, the forks and spoons were too big and all of the clothes he wore had to be taken in or shortened. The waist lines were similar though. It was like everything was built for a bunch of tall skinny people and he was the shortest guy on a basketball team.

“What’s it say?” He asked, indicating the squiggly writing down the sides of the barrels.

“They are ceremonial weapons, presented to the captain of this vessel when he took command. The words are written in the universal tongue and roughly translated it says I prepare for war though I strive for peace.”

“They do a lot of fighting?” he asked “Were they always at war with somebody?”

“Not particularly.” She answered. “I was a deterrent. All of our war ships were. We were built at the behest of the supreme council to patrol the galaxies. We were peacekeepers