Free Last Fight of the Valkyries by E.E. Isherwood Page A

forcefully by Victoria.
    4
    They were halfway back to their temporary house when Liam finally
stopped.
    “All right, that didn't go as planned.” He looked at
her and couldn't help but smile in her presence.
    “What? What's so funny?” A crooked smile hung on her
face.
    Liam's smile grew bigger. Most of his smile was because he just
liked being around her, but a not inconsiderable part was because of
what he saw in the yard behind her.
    “You know, you may regret joining up with me for the
Apocalypse.” He nodded to the pile of bikes under the massive
tree in the unkempt lawn behind her. “I'm going to take one of
those bikes and go look at this ditch they're digging. I'm not going
to spend my life lounging in a house like those kids back there and
I'm not going to push a shovel either. Not when there are bigger
problems facing us all...” His speech petered out.
    Her smile didn't diminish. “So, what I'm hearing is that you
suffer from ants-in-the-pants syndrome, and it just won't let you
settle down and watch the grass grow. Maybe enjoy a lemonade on a
quiet patch of backyard? Stuff normal people do?”
    Liam wanted to be a writer. He had more or less took an oath at
the dying figure of Agent Duchesne that he would document the
destruction of the world, if for no other reason than ensure the
proper people were blamed when the history books were finally printed
again. He couldn't tell a story if he was thumbing a smartphone with
other teens, or “shoveling shit in Louisiana” while a war
was going on. He would have to give credit to General Patton for that
bit, if he remembered.
    They walked through the yard and Liam reached out and touched
Victoria's side. “You're it!” He took off running through
the tall grass, laughing. He made his way to the bikes.
    She sauntered along to the pile as he was pulling one out. “Not
in the mood for games?” He grinned.
    “You'll know when I'm in the mood for games, mister.”
She was stern, but she was seldom able to pretend to be angry or mad,
which was something Liam loved about her.
    Fortunately, the bikes they selected hadn't been there for very
long. The tires were low, but not flat. Liam didn't even flinch at
the need to ride a bright lime green women's cruiser. Victoria's was
pink.
    The town of Cairo was smaller than he thought it would be. He
could see most of it by looking in all directions along the gridded
road system. The central building they'd just left was about midway
between the north end of town where there was some kind of metal
gate, and the south end of town where there were lots of trees.
Beyond and above the trees he saw two metal-trussed bridges. It was a
mystery where the bridges went, or what they crossed. He assumed it
was the two rivers.
    Riding through the town, he saw many more refugees. If he didn't
know they were there, he might have missed them. Most were faces
inside the dark interiors. Hiding.
    Others were bolder, like them, and stood on the stoops or walked
in the nearby yards. Some waved. Most kept to themselves. By and
large, they were white with a few rare other assorted races, leaving
Liam to wonder whether the woman back at the building was telling the
truth. Did all these people come in and kick the native residents to
the curb? He didn't doubt it would be done by "the authorities,"
but the biggest question was why. Why go through the trouble of
kicking people out? Why not just have refugees live with the natives?
    Once again he turned introspective, remembering how he felt when
those refugees came up his own street. Or when they were on the
highway. Everyone wanted the refugees to keep going . For
several minutes, he churned the pedals as he followed Victoria.
    She pointed to her left. "Let's go that way. It looks like
there's a way to get up on that levee."
    The levee wasn't obvious from inside the town, but as they neared
the edge he was struck by how big it was. It was basically a
miles-long huge pile of dirt, covered by grass.