Free Tales of the Forgotten by W. J. Lundy Page A

old home, knowing that he’d never see it again.
    The
vehicle bounced on the rough road. Brooks kept his speed slow enough so that he
could safely navigate the potholes and abandoned vehicles that occasionally
blocked his path. They drove silently until they were back at the intersection
to the Hairatan road. Brooks stopped the vehicle in the middle of the street
and looked at Sean.
    “Well
gentlemen, we seem to be at a cross road. Do we continue or head back?” Sean
asked.
    “We
go forward,” Hasan answered sharply.
    “Bro,
if we go back, I don’t think I will ever leave that compound again. Let’s just
keep moving until this is over with,” Brad said.
    “I
go where you go,” Brooks said, looking at Sean.
    “Well,
start it up and let’s get moving,” Sean said as he fastened his seat belt.
    They
drove forward and passed the Hairatan road. After a while they passed a sign
that indicated “ Kholm 40km”. Sean pointed to the sign. “What do you know
of this place, Hasan?” he asked as they passed by.
     “Kholm?
The town is Tajik, they are farm people, and they keep to themselves,” Hasan
said. “They have a good market, but there is little else in the city. I suggest
we skip the city and go to Aybak instead. If you will stay on this road, and
continue out of the city, it will only be another couple of hours. I know a
place we may be able to seek shelter. There is a safe house that is known to me
outside the village on the main road,” he finished.
    “Very
good. Brooks, you heard the man, follow the road,” Sean said with a smile.
    As
the vehicle sped along, Sean reached into his pack and pulled out the satellite
phone. Then he pulled out the box the new phone had come in. Digging through
the box, he found what he was looking for, grabbing a long twisted cord and a
charger for the phone. He plugged one end into the phone, the other into the
vehicle, and heard a beep as a green light indicated the battery was charging.
“And now as long as we have this ride we can charge our phone,” Sean laughed.
    The
vehicle continued on and entered the city of Kholm. They stuck to the main
road, being careful to go around abandoned vehicles. To the sides, they could
see the same signs of struggle and violence they had witnessed in Hairatan.
Many of the storefronts were burned out; there were corpses on the sidewalks.
The city was eerily quiet and they had yet to spot a primal in the city limits.
    Brooks
drove slowly as he weaved through the idle traffic, braking only if he had to
drive over a curb to avoid a downed vehicle or a barrier. Kholm was small and
it didn’t take long to clear the city center. As they began to pull away, they
heard the crack, crack, crack of automatic gunfire. Alarmed, they
all began to look around but saw nothing. A loud metallic impact smacked the
vehicle; a hole appeared in the back of the cab, and another pierced the rear
window, spiderwebbing it.
    “Floor
it!” Sean yelled to Brooks as he lowered his window and readied his rifle.
Brooks gunned the vehicle and they raced away down the road, taking no more
shots as they left the city behind.
    “What
was that, Hasan?” Sean shouted.
    “Kholm
is obviously not a friendly place these days. They can be very territorial. If
you ask me, that was a warning,” Hasan said. “If they had wanted us dead, they
would have ambushed us on the road into the city. Those were warning shots;
they let us clear the city and gave warning for us not to return,” he
continued.
    “Fair
enough, but if they shoot at me again I will park this car and sneak into that
shithole in the middle of the night. They will have more to worry about than
just the primals!” Sean snapped back.
    They
continued down the highway and once again found themselves on open road. The
terrain was rockier and more mountainous here than it had been in the north.
    “Where
is this hideout of yours?” Sean asked.
    “Soon
you will see it, but we still have a ways to drive,” Hasan