Billie the Kid: The Sky Fire Chronicles Book 1 Read online

  If I die, so do you!

  Billie squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened.

  A misfire?

  She glanced at the revolver and her eyes widened—the gun’s hammer was still descending. Time slowed and in that instant she knew she must be already dead and watching her last moments alive—all being played out in slow motion.

  I hope death is not painful…

  Billie looked up. The monster was bearing down on her at an impossibly slow speed. It raised a hand as large as her chest to strike her dead. Heat radiated from its enormous body and the smell of its animal musk was almost overpowering.

  The hammer struck home and the revolver bucked in her hand, followed by a drawn out boom. Blue light highlighted the alpha’s body as small flashes of lightning accompanied the bullet from the end of the gun barrel toward its intended target.

  Billie’s mouth opened in amazement. Lightning?! From this gun as well!

  The bullet and the lightning struck the center of monster’s chest in unison, vaporizing hair and scorching flesh. The force of the impact blew the alpha off its feet and threw it through the air. It crashed heavily, with part of its leg landing in the fire.

  An inhuman scream of rage split the air as the smaller bat-creature leapt over the alpha, extending talons toward Billie. It, too, descended in slow motion as she thumbed the back the revolver’s hammer and squeezed the trigger. Moments later the gun jumped in her hand, followed by another flash of blue light. Lightning arced from the bullet as it sailed through the air, striking the bat-creature’s head and exploding it in a cloud of crimson mist and meat. The lightning subsided and the bat-creature fell like a falling feather, landing on the smoldering alpha.

  Billie regarded the revolver in her hand. Blue smoke twisted and turned as it escaped lazily from the barrel—when all of a sudden time sped up, roaring in her ears like thunder.

  “Oww!” She clenched her eyes, momentarily disorientated.

  “What the fuck?” said a voice nearby.

  Billie turned.

  Carter stood motionless at the firelight’s fringe, his clothes splatted with gore and a bloody sword in each of his hands. His eyes were locked onto the two dead monsters piled on top of each other. Then, he glanced to her and for a fleeting moment Billie thought she could see fear in his eyes.

  He feared her.

  Billie stepped toward him and he shook his head. “No. Keep back!” He retreated a step and raised a sword in defense, dark blood dripping off its blade.

  She stopped.

  The night fell silent. The shooting had stopped and even the horses had quietened.

  A sudden weariness washed over Billie and she dropped to her knees.

  What’s happening to me?

  A pungent stench filled the air—the bat-creatures were burning. Small orange flames flared as the monsters’ fur caught on fire.

  “What’s that smell?” It was Pat. She strode into the camp, stopping beside Carter. Her eyes swept the camp, rapidly assessing the situation.

  Carter still stared at Billie, but he had lowered his swords.

  “Billie, are you all right?” asked Pat.

  Billie nodded and let the revolver slide from her hands. Pat knelt beside Billie and put an arm around her. “We safe now. They’re gone—”

  “Did you see that?” asked Carter. “Did you…”

  “What are you saying, man?” said Pat. “Spit it out.”

  “She…she’s one of—”

  Roberts and Tommy walked in from out of the darkness and Carter stopped speaking.

  “Shit! Get those things out of the fire,” said Roberts. “Their stink will send a signal to every monster in the district.”

  Tommy secured his weapons in his belt and moved to the fire.

  “You, too, Carter,” ordered Roberts. “This is not a church outing.”

  Carter seemed to become himself again and stuck his swords into the sandy soil. He assisted Tommy in pulling the creatures out of the fire, but he kept an eye on Billie.

  “Good work here, Garrett,” said Roberts.

  “It wasn’t—”

  “Where’s Joey?” Billie interrupted, surveying the darkness. Her brother had not returned.

  “Don’t worry, kid, he’s alive,” said Roberts. “He just got a scratch.”

  “What?!”

  “Relax, kid.”

  Roberts moved to the horses and the two men dragged the monsters out of the fire and out into the darkness. Pat guided Billie to a log and forced her to sit. The tall woman handed Billie a canteen and pushed it to her lips. The water felt cool in Billie’s mouth, but she scarcely noticed.

  A scratch? Where is he?

  Two shapes moved in from the dark and Billie sprang to her feet. Joey! Her brother leaned on Bartlett, he was limping. Billie ran to him, hugging him fiercely.

  “Hey! Settle down, Billie,” said Joseph as he grimaced. “You’re hurting me.” Blood splattered his shirt and his pants were dark and shredded. There were deep lacerations in his thigh where he had been clawed.

  “Sit over here, Joey,” Billie said and assisting the sheriff, helped Joseph hobble to the fire.

  Joseph dropped against a rock, laying his leg out straight.

  “We better clean that wound,” said Bartlett. “You don’t want an infection here.” The sheriff went to work cleaning Joseph’s wounds. He started by pouring alcohol over Joseph’s leg. Joseph paled and sucked in his breath.

  I wish I could help. But she could do nothing but hold her brother’s hand.

  Bartlett finished the treatment by wrapping Joseph’s leg in a clean cloth.

  Roberts looked over the sheriff’s shoulder. “How is he?”

  “He won’t be going anywhere for a while,” replied Bartlett.

  “And the others?”

  “Campbell and Stein are dead. The monsters got them. What about the horses?”

  “Three dead, the others are spooked.”

  “What now?”

  Roberts glanced around at the people’s faces, lingering on his two marshals. “We’ll make two watches. Three armed people per watch. The boy can rest tonight. Then we’ll see what the morning brings.”

  Sheriff Bartlett, Pat and Billie took the first watch. They would wake Roberts, Tommy and Carter after midnight. The two women sat beside the fire, with the sheriff across from them. Nearby, sweat glistened on Joseph’s face as he tossed and turned in his sleep—no doubt, reliving the bat-creatures’ attacks.

  Pat’s carbine lay against her leg and Billie had Karl Stein’s revolver beside her so she could grab it fast. The sheriff sat with his repeating rifle in his lap, with a finger near the trigger. The old man looked tired, but he never stopped scanning the darkness.

  Billie watched the fire’s shadows dance on the gully walls. To her, their shape formed into bat-creatures and other hideous things. Monsters are real, she thought, imagining hideous fanged creatures in the darkness surrounding them, waiting to drink their blood. A coldness ran up her spine and she looked over her shoulder, certain something was watching them.

  What’s there we can’t see?

  The people who explored this devastated land after the sky fire all went missing. Rumors of monsters roaming the wastelands and deserts spread throughout the small towns that had sprung up along the borderlands. Billie always thought those stories were to scare children—how wrong she was. Mutants had killed Harrison and poisoned her mother with magic and she had narrowly survived being attacked by rabid coyotes and bat-creatures.

  I’m going to have nightmares forever.

  The world she knew was gone and in its place was a darker one.

  She studied Pat’s face, highlighted yellow from the fire. This woman worked for the government, an agency that hunted mutants. Hunted them! Why would anyone hunt these…things?

  “Miss Garrett?” said Billie, breaking the long silence.

  “Call me Pat.” She smiled at Billie. “We’re like sisters now, you and I.”
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  “Pat…why…”

  “Why? Why do I do this job?”

  Billie nodded.

  “You probably won’t understand this, but a few years ago I started to feel different. I didn’t fit in at school and the ladies’ circles. In time I came to realize that I could do things that others couldn’t. I felt…stronger or more powerful than my friends.”

  I’m like her. I’ve always been different.

  “One day the agency tracked me down and I was recruited. The rest is history.”

  “How many missions…?”

  “How many?”

  “Yeah. How many missions have you completed?”

  “I’m still new to this.” Pat glanced at Sheriff Bartlett, but he wasn’t paying them any attention. He focused on the surrounding darkness. “This is my second mission with Marshal Roberts and Tommy.”

  “Are the three of you mutants?”

  “The agency doesn’t like that term for us. We only use ‘mutant’ for the law breakers we hunt. We prefer ‘gifted.’ It doesn’t sound as bad as mutant.”

  Maybe I’m gifted as well. Should I tell her?

  “It doesn’t matter what you people call yourselves,” said Bartlett, now looking at the women. “You will always be mutants to the rest of us.”

  “Well some of us ‘mutants,'” replied Pat, “will probably have to save your ass before this is over.”

  “I meant no offense,” Bartlett muttered, looking back out at the darkness.

  Billie glanced up at the stars, wondering how her mother was. Hold on, Mom, these mutants have a cure and I’ll find it. I’ll make you better, just…be there when I get back.

  Sometime after midnight, Bartlett woke Roberts and the others and Billie lay down beside the fire near Joseph. She listened to the crackling fire for some time before drifting off into an uneasy sleep, dreaming that someone was watching her. But who or what it was, she couldn’t tell.

  Chapter 11

  Something brushed Billie’s shoulder, jolting her from a fitful sleep. Monsters?! She reached for her revolver, but realized the shape standing over her wore a hat.

  “How did you sleep?” asked Pat.

  “I’m not sure I did.” Billie sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her head felt heavy.

  The fire had died down to glowing coals, leaving the gully in deep shadows. Above the gully bank, the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing the lower sky in a dull light. All too soon, the sun’s merciless heat would bake all who travelled this barren land.

  They planned to leave before sunup. People gathered their gear, checked and packed supplies on the horses. The animals were skittish and moved from the men. She didn’t blame them, after last night she was a little skittish herself.

  Pat wandered off to help with packing and Billie stood, stretching the kinks out of her back. Joseph lay in the bedroll beside her and gave her a weak smile. He was pale, but thankfully there were no red veins on his exposed skin.

  “How do you feel?” she asked, knowing he must be in pain.

  “Like a three hundred pound bat chewed on my leg.”

  “Then you’re all good,” said Billie, trying to make light of the situation—and failing.

  Joseph’s smile disappeared. “Billie. They got me good. I-I’m afraid I can’t walk far.”

  “You’ll be fine…you only have to sit on a horse. I’ll make sure you don’t fall off.”

  “I know you are a good sister—”

  “Hey, we’re family. That’s we do. Now, let’s have a look at that scratch.”

  Billie peered under Joseph’s make-shift bandage. His flesh was red and inflamed and the wound oozed a clear liquid.

  That doesn't look good.

  “It’s not so bad," she lied. "We’ll be going soon. I’ll get you something to eat.”

  She walked to the fire where Bartlett was dishing up bacon and beans onto plates. Her mouth watered.

  “How is he?” Bartlett asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Billie softly so her brother couldn't hear. “Not good. He needs a doctor.”

  “I feared as much.” Bartlett handed her a plate. “Get him to eat this. He’ll need his strength.”

  Billie nodded her thanks and returned to her brother, handing him the food. She had an odd sensation of being watched and looked around. Carter stood across the camp. He was eating, but his sight never left her. His scrutiny made her nervous.

  Why is he watching me?

  “You all right?” asked Pat.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Attention,” Roberts said, addressing the group. “Get your shit together, we leave in ten minutes.”

  “Pack your stuff, Billie, you can ride with me.”

  “No,” said a deep voice. Billie met Roberts’ unsettling yellow eyes. “We have five horses and seven people. You and your brother will stay here. You’ll only slow us down.”

  “What?!” Billie exclaimed. “You’re going to leave us here? We’ll die.”

  Joseph and the others stopped what they were doing and looked at Roberts.

  “No offense, boy,” said the old marshal. “But bringing you along like this will likely get us all killed.”

  “Then take us back to the Outpost,” said Billie, her voice emotional. “It’s only a day’s ride from here.”

  “And let these law breakers get away? They have the little Stein boy. If he’s still alive, we owe it to rescue him.” Roberts’ face was expressionless. “We work for the government and we still have a duty to perform. And I intend to do it. We can’t waste time looking after the wounded. We’ll leave you food and water and pick you up on our way back.” He walked off before she could respond.

  “I’m sorry,” Pat said, concerned. “I’ll see if he’ll change his mind. But don’t get your hopes up, the man is a callous asshole.” Pat followed after Roberts.

  Joseph was silent and he looked as stunned as she felt. Billie dropped heavily onto her haunches beside her brother, putting her head in her hands. Shit! We’ll never survive out here by ourselves.

  A shadow fell across her and she looked up. It was Carter, his hand resting lightly on one of his sword hilts. “It’s a shame you’re not coming with us, kid. But I guess that means there’ll be one less mutant I have to kill.” He grinned smugly as he walked away.

  “What’s that about?” asked Joseph.

  “Not sure…” Carter must have witnessed the lightning.

  Pat returned, her face displaying Roberts’ answer. “I’m sorry, Billie. Roberts won’t budge. You’ll have to wait here, but don’t worry. I’ll be back for you.”

  Billie didn’t respond, but nodded silently, not making eye contact with the tall woman. She didn’t want the marshal to see her fear. Pat mistook Billie’s silence as acceptance and moved off to ready her horse.

  “We’ll be all right, Billie,” said Joseph.

  “I hope so.”

  Tommy stacked a pile of dry wood beside the fire before rigging up a rough shelter from a blanket and a few long branches. So long as it didn’t blow away, the blanket would shield them from some of the sun’s cruel heat.

  We ain’t going to make it, thought Billie.

  “Keep your guns by your sides at all times,” said Bartlett. He looked lost for words. “Rest during the day and be watchful at night. And don’t light any fires at night.” The sheriff tipped the brim of his hat. “Good luck.” He quickly joined the others and mounted his horse.

  The sun was above the gully’s bank as the posse headed south along the gully. Pat was last to leave and reined in level with Billie as she and Joseph sat under their makeshift tent. The marshal glanced at the others’ backs as they moved up the gully before she spoke. “Don’t worry, Billie. I said you’re like my little sister and I meant it. As soon as I can, I’ll return for you.”

  Billie mumbled her thanks and Pat tapped her horse’s ribs firmly with her heels and her horse headed after the others. She watched them until they rode around a bend and disappeared.
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br />   “Well, Joey…it’s just you and me now.”

  Pat glanced back at Billie sitting beneath the blanket with her brother. The girl looked scared and Pat didn’t blame her. We’re condemning them to death. Did they have a choice? Roberts was probably right. More than likely these two kids would die in any confrontation with what they would face. They don’t have the necessary skills to kill mutants. Exactly what they would be up against, Roberts wasn’t forthcoming with. No surprises. She and Tommy were on a need to know basis and Roberts deemed that they didn’t need to know any more than they were chasing kidnappers—mutants or normals, it didn’t matter to the old marshal. If the Agency assigned him a task, he did it to the best of his ability.

  There’s more going on here than a simple kidnapping. Why else would three marshals aid a small town sheriff in chasing criminals into the wasteland? Everyone knows nothing survives out here long. We are all risking our lives for a boy?

  “Don’t worry, my beauty.” Carter had pulled up alongside her and interrupted her thoughts. “We’ll travel faster without that little mutant and her brother.”

  “You’re all class, Carter.”

  “And so are you,” he said, grinning. He looked her up and down suggestively.

  He’s repulsive. “What do you mean by ‘mutant’?”

  “I saw that little bitch shoot lightning out of her eyes!”

  “Her eyes?” asked Pat, raising an eyebrow.

  “Well, from where I was standing I couldn’t see exactly. But she fried them two bats. And she shot so fast I could barely see her move. It wasn’t natural.”

  She’s about the right age for a gift to manifest…how would Roberts react to this information?

  “Lightning? You were drunk,” she said finally. “I’ve seen you taking sips out of that small flask you keep inside your vest. You were hallucinating.”

  “I know what I saw…maybe your boss would like to know as well.”

  “Don’t waste his time with your fantasies. He won’t be impressed.”

  “What ya going to do for my silence?” He grinned, exposing dirty teeth.

  “Carter, you dumb ass.” Pat couldn’t hide her repulsion for the man. “You forget that you’re in the middle of nowhere and in the company of three crazed mutants.” She leaned slightly forward, keeping her voice low. “And here, no one will hear you scream.”