Johnny Apocalypse and the Fight for a New World Page 2

  "They seem to be having a party," Starbucks said. "I hope we're not the main course.

  "I just hope their crazy king didn't find the Tribe. There are so many of them now. I don't think we can fight our way out," Johnny replied.

  Johnny and Starbucks walked back inside the Capitol and down the same hallway towards the room at the end where they first talked with Lord Algon. Johnny kept his eyes peeled, looking for trouble. This time the Wildies didn’t take them into that room but directed them to a door on the right side. As soon as they entered the dining room, Johnny saw the trouble he dreaded. In the corner of the room Leader Nordstrom glared at them with a look of pure hatred.

  "Johnny!" Starbucks whispered to him.

  "I see him," Johnny replied in a quiet voice, a dark frown on his face. "I wonder what that snake has been saying about us."

  "Nothing good, I can promise you that," Starbucks whispered back.

  Leader Nordstrom swallowed hard, though it was difficult for his throat was parched. He started to tremble, despite his best efforts to stand still. Lord Algon saw Johnny and Strabucks as soon as they entered. He smiled, drunk from the red liquid he’d been drinking. Then he put a stern look on his face. His face was flushed from the red liquid and with excitement and his eyes held a wild look.

  "Lookey here, lads, here cometh our two steel beastie riders now." The Wildies peeking in through the hole in the wall laughed at Lord Algon’s joke. Lord Algon pointed to Leader Nordstrom. "Yon jester tells me the tale ye spun me afore did not parlay the whole truth, but only a portion of it Ye seemed to leave out the most important details, about a certain tribe that ye belong to who’ve come to our harbor. This makes me wonder if ye be friend or foe and have plans to make us widows in our sleep. I hope yer tongues will wag a little more freely this time."

  "Watch them, Your Majesty, they are very tricky!" Leader Nordstrom tried to back up a step, be he was already in the corner of the room. He pointed an accusing finger at Johnny. "They will tell you only what you want to hear, and then they will stab you in the back!"

  Johnny approached Lord Algon, Starbucks behind him. He looked Lord Algon in the eye with confidence. Lord Algon noticed his bravery and frowned, for real bravery scared him.

  "Your Majesty, it is true, we did not mention our tribe. But it was not because we intended to do you or your people any harm. We only did it to protect our tribe. We came here, seeking medicine for a sick member. Once we had the medicine, we will be on our way.”

  Johnny knew he was lying; their plans were to make a new Sanctuary in the city. Johnny hoped Leader Nordstrom didn’t tell them all the Tribe’s plans, or he’d be exposed as a liar. That most surely meant their death.

  Lord Algon. “And yet lie ye did, with much skill and cunning.”

  Suddenly there was a commotion outside. The whole assembly turned to the door in curiosity. The door opened and a crowd of Wildies came in. At the head of the crowd an old man stood, and it appeared that the crowd was following him and watching him. The man wore a big smile of pride, as if it was the first time he had been ever been honored in such a fashion. Leader Nordstrom frowned with confusion. What was going on?

  The old man walked to stand in front of Lord Algon, who wore a confused look, for the red liquid made his mind work slowly. “Gragnok, the old, useless and gray. For what reason come ye like a pesky fly-beastie to buzz in me ear, ye who have no more use than a torn sail. Have ye finally found a purpose in this world besides eating food and using precious air? Were ye not so tough of skin, ye would have been cooked and fed to your mates long ago. And ye come with a whole crew sailing alongside thee. What be the meaning?”

  The old man knelt before Lord Algon and bowed his head in reverence. “My Lord, I beg ye forgive me for the arrogant act I perform, but I come with news ye will find of good interest.”

  Lord Algon waved his hand. “Speak on then, err I grow impatient and run me sword through your mangy heart for sport.”

  Gragnok smiled and told Lord Algon all about the buses. Johnny and Starbucks looked at each other, dismayed. The Tribe had been discovered.

  As Misterwizard and the rest followed the old man, he picked up a smoky torch from a wall. He started down a dark, narrow passageway of stone that sloped downwards.

  “Welcome to the President’s Emergency Operations Center, or Peacock, as I like to call it.” The old man chuckled loudly, his voice echoing off the narrow walls. “I’m afraid it’s a little drafty and dark. The power source lasted for quite a few years, but, my, it’s been dark in most of the facility for at least, well, how long has it been?” The old man pulled on his beard and looked up at the ceiling. “Well, it was before I got the rheumatism in my legs, and that was at least five years ago, but then it was dark long before that. At least it’s warm down here!” He hooted but kept walking. “The thermal heat from below takes care of that. It does get a little stuffy, however, on the lower levels. I did manage to restore some power, but I can only spare it for my living space and the essentials, such as the food storage units.”

  “May we ask your name, good friend?” Misterwizard asked pleasantly.

  The old man looked back at Misterwizard with a frown of embarrassment as he continued to shuffle along. “My yes. Dear me, where are my manners? You’d think I had no training in diplomacy or tact at all. And in fact, I haven’t, really!” The old man cackled again. “It’s been years since I’ve had a decent conversation. Everyone else is so quiet lately. I guess we all just ran out of things to say.” He laughed again, hooting with hilarity.

  “You were going to tell me your name,” Misterwizard reminded him.

  “Oh yes. Rumpelstiltskin in my name. Ha, ha, ha, ha!” The old man chortled, and Misterwizard smiled and shook his head. “Just pulling your leg, Sonny. I can call you Sonny, because everyone is younger than me! My name is Reginald, or at least that’s what people used to call me.

  He stopped and put a finger to his chin, frowning. “Or is it Ralph? No, no, I distinctly recall it being Reginald. Or was it Rebecca? No, don’t be silly, that’s a girl’s name!”

  He started down the passageway again. “Reginald it is, unless I remember something else. I’m the son of the son of the President. Can you believe that?”

  “Why, of course,” Misterwizard said. “What happened to everyone else, Reginald?”

  “They’re all down below. You will meet them soon.” Reginald cackled again. “Except for the Secretary of State. He choked on a peanut. Can you believe it? He survives a nuclear war, and one year later, chokes on a peanut!” Reginald hooted and slapped his knee. Misterwizard chuckled. “Then there’s the Vice President. He only lasted six months, just until the power went into power saving mode. One day he started saying, ‘It’s all over! It’s all over! We’re doomed!’ and hung himself in the Ready Room. Reginald laughed again. “Quite a Gloomy Gus, he was.” Reginald turned to Wizard. “Lots of funny stories, most of them tragic as well. And what’s your name, Young Man?”

  “Misterwizard laughed. “I must say, I appreciate your calling me young, though I can’t be more than ten years younger than you. Everyone in my tribe simply calls me ‘Misterwizard.’ My real name is Adam.”

  “Adam the Wizard, eh?” Reginald cackled again and shook with laughter. “Well met, Misterwizard. If I need any magic potions, I know who to go to now!”

  They reached the end of the passage. In front of them stood the doors to an elevator. On the right they could see a metal door. “I’m afraid we’re walking, Wizard, unless you have a broom to ride, heh, heh! But then, that’s a witch, isn’t it, not a wizard! Fortunately, it’s all downhill from here. Twenty stories downhill!” Reginald chuckled as he led them to a door. He opened it to reveal a dark metal stairway. “You’re not afraid of the dark are you, Misterwizard?”

  “Just hurry, please,” Thegap said. “Deb needs the medicine.”

  “Oh, all right,” Reginald said grumpily. He led the way through the door and they started to descend th
e staircase. Misterwizard looked down. There was nothing but a black hole as far as he could see. Reginald was moving fast, and it wasn’t long before the light grew to a small flicker. Misterwizard and the rest hurried to catch up.

  Chapter 2

  Super ran down the street, hiding whenever she saw any Wildies, searching for any sign of the buses. She looked ahead and saw a strange stick-like building with the top half broken off. Ahead of the stick building she saw a big rectangular grassy field. On either side of the grassy field, tall, square white buildings stood, one after another. She decided she should probably avoid the big grassy area, for it would be easy to see her there. She walked to the left of the stick building and around the back of the first big white structure.

  And then she saw the buses! All three sat right behind the first building. Her heart soared with relief. Her legs ached from the long walk and she couldn’t wait to see MIsterwizard and Deb again.

  She heard a noise in the distance and looked. A whole crowd of Wildies approached. At the head of the crowd stood a strange man in a long fur coat with gold things dangling from it. And Leader Nordstrom walked next to him! Then she saw Johnny and Starbucks! The walked next to the funny looking man, hands tied. They’d were still prisoners. Super had to get inside the building and warn the Tribe. As fast as she could she ran for the door before the strange man and his army spied her. When she tried the door it wouldn’t open. She yelled as loud as she could.

  “Misterwizard! Misterwizard! Let me in! It’s Super!”

  In the Museum, the Tribe had gone back to exploring. They broke open the cases and played with the items inside, and soon a party-like atmosphere developed as they tried on clothes and played with all the strange and fascinating objects. They laughed at each other as they paraded around, looking silly in weird outfits and wearing the strange artifacts.

  Suddenly they heard a yelling from outside. The tribe members looked at each other fearfully.

  Foodcourt turned to Johnny’s mother, Teavanna. She frowned back with concern and shook her head, indicating he shouldn’t open the door. The Tribe rushed to back door and stood all around it, listening. Then they heard Super’s voice. Foodcourt smiled and carefully removed the bench, opened the door and peeked outside. There he saw Super, her long black hair framing her long slender face and her brown eyes staring at him.

  Super peered back at him, looking frantic. “Let me in! There’s a crowd of Wildies coming. Some weird guy is leading it. Leader Nordstrom looks like he’s with the guy, and they have Johnny and Starbucks captive!”

  Super’s words put the whole Tribe in a panic once again. They all talked fearfully as Foodcourt let Super in. Then as many as could fit peered out the door and down the street. The crowd of Wildies marched down the street, all yelling with excitement. As the Tribe members at the door watched with dismay, the Wildies swarmed the buses and piled inside them. They saw them through the windows searching the seats and grabbing all of the Tribe members’ possesions.

  Super closed the door and she turned back to the Tribe. “They’ll be coming after us next. We have to block these doors again with everything we can find!”

  The Tribe burst into fearful yammering again. “Quiet!” Super yelled. Slowly the Tribe members stopped talking. “Hurry, we don’t have a lot of time!”

  The members of the Tribe split up, grabbed benches and chairs and pulled them to the door for a barricade.

  Foodcourt turned to Super. “What about Johnny and Starbucks? What if they want in?”

  Super shrugged, frowning sadly. “I don’t know, Foodcourt. I just know we can’t let that mob in.”

  Foodcourt nodded glumly. “We have to tell Misterwizard.”

  “I’ll go,” Super said, “I’m faster than anybody else in the Tribe.”

  “Go, Super, find him. Let him know we need him badly! Around the corner you will find some stairs. Go to the lower floor and you will see a door leading into the darkness. Misterwizard is somewhere down there!”

  Super nodded and took off running. Foodcourt turned to the Tribe. “Listen up now! Bring everything that is heavy to the door! This is our new Sanctuary, and we must defend it!”

  The Tribe brought the stone benches and wooden chairs and soon a pile formed in front of the back door. When they were done the pile reached higher than their heads.

  “There!” Yelled Foodcourt. “It would take a whole mob to open that door now!”

  Super ran, as fast as a deer-beastie, down the stairs into basement. She saw the strange opening leading into darkness. She stopped just outside the door and peered in. Then slowly she walked down the gloomy, unlit passageway.

  After what seemed an eternity of walking, down, down, down, Reginald, Misterwizard and the others with them reached another door. This one said, “President’s Emergency Operations Center. Entry by Authorized Personnel Only. Proper ID required. Deadly Force Is Authorized.”

  “Just ignore the sign,” Reginald said. “I’m in charge now, and I say you’re authorized.” Reginald laughed crazily again. He pushed open the door, which turned out to be unlocked. They entered dark room stretching as far as they could see. Dark shapes filled the room. As they slowly entered they discovered long couches and tables. In one corner of the room stood a curved counter with a dark mirror behind it and shelves full of bottles.

  Lush, green carpet covered the floor, but it was covered with dust and stains. A huge glass screen filled one wall on another side of the room. The visitors stood behind Reginald and peered into the dark, trying to let their eyes adjust.

  “You’ll have to excuse the mess,” Reginald said, his voice full of mirth. “The maid died a hundred years ago.” He cackled again. “This was the Situation Room, where they talked, but mostly drank. And the situation was very dire, indeed. Ha ha!”

  Misterwizard and the rest of his group stopped, mouths open in horror, for as their eyes adjusted, they saw dark shapes sitting on the couches. As they looked more closely, they realized they were the skeletons of people in ratty, moldy clothes. Misterwizard looked at the remains and counted the number in his head. Six men and four women, all sitting they died. Some lay slumped over, others sat upright, as if having died in the middle of a conversation. On man held a gun in his hand. His head lay on the back of the couch, a neat round hole in the side of it. A woman’s skeleton still held a martini glass, as if she died in the middle of taking a drink.

  Reginald walked to where he was standing in the middle of the corpses and smiled happily. “Ladies and gentlemen look what I’ve brought! New friends! Please stop sulking and greet them!”

  None of the skeletons responded, they just kept staring into the darkness, seeming to smile in a macabre fashion. Reginald frowned grumpily and walked up to one corpse sitting on a couch. It wore a tattered green hat with a black brim, a green coat with colorful ribbons on the left side of its chest and green pants. Reginald scowled crossly in the skeleton’s face and put a hand on its shoulder. He shook the shoulder roughly. “Roger don’t be impolite. I know you think you’re important, being a four-star General, but the least you can do is say hello.” The skeleton didn’t respond, just sat, staring off into space. “All right, General Halston. Are you happy now?”

  The skeleton still didn’t answer. Reginald let go of it and frowned, very unhappy. He strode over to the skeleton of a woman lying on her side on another couch wearing the remains of a shiny red dress. Wisps of her brown hair still clung to her skull, and it looked as if someone, probably Reginald, had slathered lipstick around her mouth where her lips would have been. Reginald sat her up and shook her. “Cheryl, I know you’ve had too much to drink, but please, you are all embarrassing me. Please don’t be rude to our guests!”

  Miserwizard saw Reginald was getting very upset so he said, “It’s all right, Reginald, totally understandable, really. We’re strangers. I’m sure they’ll, uh, warm to us eventually.”

  “Humph,” Reginald said. He turned from the skeletons as if ashamed and disgu
sted with them. “I apologize, Misterwizard. Over the last few years, they’ve become very sullen and moody. They rarely even talk to me anymore. I’m afraid it’s my fault. I did something about five years ago that upset all of them greatly, and they just won’t forgive me.” Reginald sat down on the couch next to a skeleton in a suit full of holes and sobbed. Tears came to his eyes and he wiped them on the skeleton’s sleeve. Misterwizard and the others stared at him, uncomfortable and creeped out.

  Carny pulled on the sleeve of Misterwizard’s short sleeve Hawaiian shirt. “Misterwizard, I can’t wait!’

  “Reginald, please, we must hurry!”

  Reginald just sat, lost in his own sorry, staring at the skeletons. “I’ve begged them to tell me what I did, but they refuse to even talk to me. I still treat them like my friends, hoping they’ll change their minds, but…”

  Misterwizard looked at the others. Carny was about to collapse and sweat covered her face. Deb lay unconscious in her mother Bathandbodyworks’s arms, for her father Thegap was too small to carry her for long. The others looked at Misterwizard, hoping he’d do something, for Reginald was scarcing them.

  Misterwizard walked up to Reginald and gently put a hand on his shoulder. “There, there, Reginald, I’m sure they will come around, eventually. Meanwhile, you have us now to talk to, don’t you?”

  A smile of joy spread across Reginald’s face and he stopped crying. He nodded. “Yes, I do. You don’t know what it means to me. I-I’ve been so alone. You have no idea.”

  Misterwizard patted Reginald on the back. Reginald gathered himself together, and soon he was his old smiling self again. “But what am I doing? You need medicine and a delivery room, and here I am prattling on like an old fool. Onward and upward!”