Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

lucky.”
    Jerry spoke up.
“We’re looking for a fuel pump for a …”
    “It doesn’t matter
what you’re looking for. If you don’t have king’s gold, I can’t sell you
anything.”
    “I’ve got gold,”
Jerry said.
    “If it doesn’t have
the king’s face on it, it doesn’t matter.”
    “That doesn’t make
any sense,” Erica said.
    “They do it every
once in a while. Every time they feel there’s too much money out there, they
try to draw it back in. Works great, too. As you can tell by my sleeping and
everything.”
    “We need a fuel pump
for a Cummins B-series,” Jerry said.
    “I’ve got it. And I’d
love to sell it you. But you see that guy over there?” He pointed to one of the
knights. “If I trade with you for anything but the ‘coin of the realm,’ we all
go to the mines. So get yourself some proper coin or get lost.”
    “And how do we do
that?” Jerry asked.
    The man pointed
across the marketplace to the wall of the old train station. “Get a job, you
bum. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He laid back and pulled the hat back over his
face.
    Erica huffed. “Sorry
to have bothered you.”
    “That’s okay. The
jugs were worth it.”
    Jerry hooked her
elbow and walked her towards the board. “I told—”
    “Yeah, you told me,”
she said. “Next time I’ll ugly up before leaving the truck.”
    “That’s all I ask,”
he said as they crossed the parking lot.
    The wall of the train
station was littered with fliers and served as an information exchange. Any
town that welcomed outsiders had a similar board. Initially these boards had
been covered with messages and letters attempting to reconnect with loved ones.
Photos of family were left with rendezvous instructions.
    The board served as a
news center where unreliable information was shared and rumors were spread.
Travelers posted the locations of danger zones, clean water and friendly
communities. A modern day version of the hobo code, the boards were meant to be
helpful but were soon corrupted. Follow a post to a safe area and you’d be jumped by bandits . Hazardous areas were more likely
groups of people wanting to be left alone.
    As the apocalypse
wore on, these bills turned from missing persons and thinly veiled traps to
opportunities. As people got it in their heads that there was no corner of the
world untouched by the horror of the holocaust, they tried to rally parties to
make their trek across the wasteland safer. Headlines full of promised lands
and nirvanas led the bills. Locations were never given. There were just
instructions to meet well provisioned and heavily armed.
    They stepped onto the
wooden platform and Erica scanned the board looking for legitimate job offers.
As trading routes became established, the traders often hired muscle to cart
goods between established towns and guards to keep the goods safe. There were a
handful of these. but a host of less savory “jobs”
cluttered the board and kept them hidden. Most contained colorful language and
sordid details while another just said, “Wink. Wink. Top dollar!”
    The remaining fliers
created the biggest concern for the couple. Blood money notices weren’t all
that common. Grudges certainly weren’t rare, but finding a person with both a
grudge and the money to offer a bounty was. Only the larger governments could
afford the luxury of spending resources to hasten an individual’s death.
    Erica always kept an
eye out for these and she spotted a flier starring them. Jerry “The Librarian,”
Erica and “Big Dog” were wanted persons. She put her hand on Jerry’s shoulder.
“Jerr … Michael.”
    “I see it,” he said.
“Don’t point.”
    They had made a
nation of enemies protecting a Texas town from raiders. Jerry had cost the east
coast nation of Alasis a death truck and many men. They had not forgotten. The
$100,000-reward made that clear. It was the largest bounty on the board.  
    “How far do we have
to go?” she asked. “How far until this