Summer on the Horizon

This series begins with Lockets Full of Instructions. This story takes place shortly after the events of Hunting Upstream.

It's nice being the one on a bike. Sure, the others are going to see more action, and they aren't going as far, but they have to walk with all their gear. Me? I get to ride a bike through the rolling hills of Texas while a cool evening breeze lifts the hair from my shoulders and caresses my neck like a delicate lover. It would be perfect if I weren't heading straight into enemy territory.

I mean, what else are you even supposed to call people who poisoned your water supply with no provocation? I know Doc don't want to call them that, but it's what they are. They're the enemy. Thank God I don't have to get too close to any of them.

Adam gets to be the hammer, Robin and Auburn get to help him with any loose nails, and get to play Summer on the horizon in case anything goes to shit. Doc told me all about his worst case scenario plan in secret. Old timer just didn't want anyone else to know that he knows how fucked up all of this is. Sure, he gave Robin that pretty gold heart shaped locket with her instructions in it, but nobody ever asked about why he put all our missions in jewelry. Nobody asked about the coordinates he etched in all of them, either. I didn't have to because he told me that night. Said he knows we're not dealing with dummies if they've survived this long. So everyone gets their own little locket or pocket watch, and everyone gets their scraps of paper with instructions, and it's all resting at the end pretty gold and silver chains around our necks like bait. Because it's bait.

See, if anyone gets killed, the enemy is going to pick their corpse. That's what all of us do now. Sure, the town is great, but we still scavenge when we have to. We just don't kill anyone to do it, is all. So someone on our side dies, and the enemy sees a nice piece of shiny, and then the find the coordinates inside. If they're as smart as Doc thinks they are, they'll figure out how to get there, and if they're half as dumb as he knows they are then they'll try to scope it out. Pretty good bait if you ask me. A nice little spot just over the horizon, or at least over the tallest hill from the treatment plant they turned into a poison factory. Even if they think it's a trap it won't matter, because it'll be the only place for them to go when the hammers are done. Maybe all the hammers will get killed. Maybe I'm going to die out here.

I don't think so. I don't think the enemy is smart enough to kill us all. But I know I'm smart enough to kill at least a few of them. The bike will get me where I need to be long before nightfall, and unless there's some crazies out in the hills that we don't know about, that's plenty of time to set my traps and pick my spot. Easiest job out of the whole bunch. The best part is, if the hammers do their jobs right, I won't even have to do mine at all. God, I hope I don't have to do mine. Calling people "the enemy" doesn't actually make it easier to think about killing them, it just takes the sting away for a little while. Thinking about the people they hurt, though, that takes the sting away for a whole lot longer.

Summer's just over the horizon, mother fuckers. Come and feel the heat.

This series is continued in Orders Given Under Unfortunate Circumstances.

John Dodge started writing these short stories for a contest and now he doesn't know when they will end. If you like them, you can support him by clicking the heart button down below. There's also a tip button next to that. You know, just in case. You can find John on CBR.com writing about comic books, and on social media infrequently here, here, and here.