One Foggy Night: A DEAD MECH Prequel Short (Apex Trilogy) Read online

  Bisby stood up straight and kicked out, sending the man flying then sidestepped a kick from one of Legit’s other thugs.

  ***

  Stanislaw was the steel baton. He flipped it about, striking, blocking, sweeping legs, shattering bone. He had two men on him, both good size brawlers which is what Legit hired them for. He should have hired more brains since they went for every feint Stanislaw sent at them.

  After a while it almost became boring and Stanislaw let loose with a couple career ending strikes, making sure neither man would father children or be running from deaders anytime soon.

  He looked over at Bisby and laughed as the man, elbows flying, had the biggest shit eating grin on his face.

  ***

  The crowd grew restless as the two men circled Dog, looking for his weaknesses.

  “Come on!” some started to shout. “Kill them!”

  The tall man frowned, realizing no one expected them to survive. They were cheering on the kid. He now wished he could have watched the earlier fights.

  Dog stopped and the men looked at each other, wondering what the kid was up to.

  When the Boiler got on his knees, one leg crossed over the other behind him, the two men had to keep from laughing. They each took a side and nodded to each other then attacked.

  ***

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Rodriguez sneered. “You think you can make it over here and stop me before I pump two rounds into the fucking whore’s head, right?”

  Masters didn’t respond, just watched Harlow’s face as Rodriguez started to force himself in her. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Here was the most amazing woman he had ever met. She was the most bad ass creature alive as far as he was concerned, yet she wasn’t fighting as her husband started to rape her.

  Then he saw the look on Rodriguez’s face.

  “Let go!” the rapist screamed. “Stop squeezing!”

  ***

  Legit watched the boy just kneel there like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Kid’s going to get his ass kicked!” someone shouted from Legit’s right and he watched credits begin to change hands.

  He snapped his fingers and a waitress was instantly at his side. “Yes, Mr. Legit, sir?”

  “What are the odds?”

  “Shooting up against the Boiler,” the waitress said, fear in her eyes, hoping she was telling him what he wanted to hear. She sighed in relief when he smiled at her.

  “Good,” Legit grinned, watching, waiting for Hell to break loose. “That’s very good.”

  ***

  Jay slammed the metal jar against the dealer’s face, pulverizing his nose, sending bits of cartilage and blood flying everywhere.

  “You’re a disgrace to your profession!” he shouted, slamming the jar home one more time for good measure.

  The blow came fast and Jay was on his knees before he knew what had happened. He shook his head slowly and looked up to see Eights standing over him.

  “Forget about me?” Eights sneered, shoving his pistol to Jay’s forehead.

  “Forget about me, ASSHOLE?!?” Bisby yelled, kicking the gun away, grabbing Eights by the head and slamming it into his knee.

  ***

  Rodriguez, starting to loose feeling in his penis, raised the gun up, ready to strike Harlow in the back of her head. Masters took his opening and leapt at Rodriguez, slamming the man back into the dresser. Rodriguez screamed as he was ripped out of Harlow and before Masters could land one punch, Harlow had shoved him aside and was wailing on her husband.

  “Never again, Michael! Never again, you fucking waste of shit!” she screamed, a knife suddenly in her hand.

  Where did she get a knife from? Masters thought, stunned. Note to self: never piss this woman off.

  ***

  Even those that were watching every little move would swear later that one second Dog was kneeling on the mat and the next he was spinning up, arms and legs flying.

  Then it was over.

  But, no one actually could say how it all happened.

  No one could say they actually saw the Boiler rip off the tall man’s jaw and jam it into his throat.

  No one could say they saw Dog twist the heavy man’s head around so violently that it actually flopped down onto his shoulder blades, becoming pinned between body and mat when he toppled over.

  ***

  Stanislaw put a restraining hand on Bisby’s shoulder. “We’re not the criminals.”

  Bisby, about to slam his fist into Eights’s face for the tenth or eleventh time, looked up at his mentor. “No, but they are.” He rammed his fist twice more into Eights’s nose until the man’s eyes rolled up into his head. Bisby tossed the cheat to the floor, giving his ribs a swift kick.

  Stanislaw shook his head and helped Jay to his feet. “You about ready to go?’

  Jay blinked several times and stood on shaky legs. “Did we win?”

  “Of course we did,” Stanislaw smiled.

  ***

  “Whoa, whoa,” Masters said as he glanced down and saw the trickle of blood coming from the base of Rodriguez’s shaft. “Let’s calm things down a bit.”

  Harlow, her eyes ablaze, still keeping Rodriguez firmly immobilized, whipped her head towards Masters. “Three years, Mitch! Know why I love you? Not because you are Mitch Mother Fucking Masters, but because you are sweet and kind and know how to take care of me. You love me for me, not because I’m some trophy to be treated however you want!”

  “You love me?” Masters croaked. “Really?”

  “Yes, I love you!” Harlow cried.

  ***

  The crowd was silent. Not a sound could be heard from anyone. Only the thumping bass of the fight room’s sound system kept the place from true silence.

  Then in one giant wave the people exploded. Whoops and calls, cheers and roars, shook the rafters and Legit wondered if the whole place might come down.

  Those that lost everything they had on their wagers threw glasses and bottles at the fight cage.

  Dog, ignoring the crowd, reached down and picked up a jagged piece of glass and knelt next to the tall man and started to cut along the hairline.

  ***

  The two mech pilots and Chief Mechanic slipped from the back room into the chaos that was the fight room.

  Jay wobbled a bit, but held out his hand. “What the Hell happened out here?”

  “Ahhh, man,” Bisby whined. “I knew I was going to miss something good.”

  “Come on,” Stanislaw said. “We should get out of here as fast as possible.”

  They hadn’t made it more than a few steps towards the front door when Legit’s men blocked them.

  “Legit wants to talk to you,” one of the giants said. “Wait here.”

  “Sure,” Stanislaw smiled nervously. “Not a problem.”

  ***

  Legit watched Dog grow frustrated as the glass wasn’t sharp enough and began to mangle the tall man’s skin. He pushed past people and stepped to the cage door.

  “Hey! Boiler!” Legit yelled, hoping the kid could hear him.

  Dog looked up, madness in his eyes, but they softened as he saw what Legit was holding through the bars of the door.

  A pearl handled straight razor.

  The kid leapt to his feet and snatched the razor from Legit’s fingers.

  “I want that back when you’re done,” Legit said.

  Dog looked from the razor to Legit and back then nodded.

  ***

  Harlow’s and Masters’s eyes stayed locked for an eternity.

  “You really love me?” Masters said, a huge grin spreading across his face. “Like, really love me?”

  “From the second I met you,” Harlow said, her knife cutting a little deeper into Rodriguez’s flesh. “I never stop thinking about you.”

  Rodriguez looked from one lover to the other, unsure if he should be enraged or terrified. “Let me go-!” he started to say, but was cut off immediately by the increased pressur
e of the blade.

  “So, what now?” Harlow asked. “Do I cut him and let him bleed out?”

  Masters shrugged.

  ***

  Legit walked up to Stanislaw. “My men say you did a number on my guys.”

  “Yep,” Stanislaw said calmly. “Seems there was some kinda miscommunication. Some folks were cheating and decided to pin Jay with it. I’m sure you knew nothing about it.”

  Legit didn’t respond, focusing on Jay instead. “I know you. You always lose your shirt.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Jay stammered.

  Legit smiled and nodded to Stanislaw. “Yeah, he’s no cheat. You folks take care. Come back and see us.”

  “Doubt it,” Bisby growled.

  The crowd swelled into a bloodthirsty frenzy and Legit turned away dismissively.

  ***

  The door slammed shut and the two lovers found themselves in the hallway, naked.

  “Probably should have grabbed some clothes,” Harlow grinned.

  Masters shrugged again. “I don’t see why. You’re wearing my favorite outfit.”

  Tears welled in Harlow’s eyes, but Masters stopped them by grabbing her and kissing her with such passion that she forgot herself, her former life and anything else that wasn’t that very moment in time.

  After an eternity their lips and bodies separated.

  “So, we’re going to be mech pilots?” Harlow smiled, breathless.

  “That’s the plan,” Masters said, pulling her to him again. “No hurry though.”

  ***

  “Fuck!” Jay yelled as he sat down in the SUV’s backseat. “I left my shine!”

  “You’ll make more,” Stanislaw groaned. “Let it go.”

  Stanislaw drove the SUV up and around the bottom levels of the parking garage until they were out on the streets of Foggy Bottom.

  “Well, I had a fucking blast!” Bisby shouted, rolling down his window and letting the night air rush against his flushed face. “But, next time I want to see the main fight!”

  “Yeah, what were they starting to yell when we left?” Jay asked. “Ray gun or something?”

  “Doesn’t concern us,” Stanislaw sighed.

  ***

  Dog, the blood covered razor gripped in his hand, slapped the sheet of skin to his face.

  “Razor! Razor! Razor! Razor!” the crowd chanted, even those that would be scrambling to pay their debts before the night was through.

  Dog, now Razor, gazed out from behind a dead man’s face, fresh blood that wasn’t his dripping into his eyes. He looked down at the corpses at his feet, the skinned skull of one staring back at him with dead eyes. Dog knelt down and plucked the orbs from their sockets, popped them in his mouth and chewed with hungry relish.

  Read more about the world of DEAD MECH in the Apex Trilogy! More information here http://jakebible.com/buy-dead-mech/the-apex-trilogy/

  Jake Bible lives in Asheville, NC with his wife and two kids. He is the author the Apex Trilogy (DEAD MECH, The Americans, Metal and Ash), Bethany and the Zombie Jesus, Stark- An Illustrated Novella, and the forthcoming YA horror novels Little Dead Man (November 2012) and Intentional Haunting (2013). Check out Friday Night Drabble Party every week! Free drabbles for all! Find him at jakebible.com.