The Last of the Freemen Read Online Free

before this line starts to move.”
    Faintly at first, then more loudly, the hum of engines could be heard as a procession of unmarked vans, all windowless at the back and sides, poured into a street parallel to the square, behind City Hall.
    “I’ll bet that’s the generators now!” Leon beamed.
    Harm was frantic, and stepped out of line to look down the nearest alley.
    “ Scheisse! ” he yelled, bounding back; he placed a firm grip on Erin’s arm.
    “We have to go!”
    “Get your hand off me, you psycho!” she cried, pulling away.
    “Cool it, man,” Leon interjected, “everything's gonna be okay.”
    Suddenly there erupted an overwhelming clamor; hundreds of terrified screams mixed with the murderous bellowing of nearly a hundred men, all shirtless and tattooed with Cull symbols, shaven-headed and bearded, variously armed with baseball bats, machetes, and swords.  They charged from the alleys like berserkers, screaming and setting upon everyone in their path; though Hughie wailed with the onset of the terrible noise, Erin felt paralyzed, and watched helplessly as a wild-eyed maniac – brandishing a machete over his head - locked eyes on her and sprinted in for the kill.
    With a remarkable leap before the machete descended, Harm intercepted him with a punch to the face of such force that he slammed unconscious to the ground.  In one fluid movement Harm then whirled around, retrieved the fallen machete, and rammed it through the neck of another Cull who was beating the head of a prostrate woman; Harm snatched the bat from his grip as he fell to the pavement.
    Leon stood bloodied and staggering, trying to block a pickax-handle attack with his arms and roll with the blows as would a boxer. When his assailant glanced over, in fright, at Harm, Leon took advantage and landed a well-schooled right hand to the chin, dropping the Cull onto his back; the man quickly rolled over, and was scrambling to his feet, when Harm closed the distance and finished him with a single crack to the head.
    The rest of Cull men had now bypassed them in pursuit of those who fled across the square; as the droves neared the other side, a second phalanx of Cull warriors poured forth from there, cutting off their escape and continuing the slaughter. Some fleet-footed victims ran toward the public parking lot on the far side of the courthouse, from where the sound of automatic gunfire commenced.
    Harm scooped Erin up - and Hughie along with her – into his arms and headed for the nearest alley, which was guarded by a single Cull man with a samurai sword.  As Harm set them down and moved in, predator-like, with his bat, the man looked uncertain and held out his blade in a defensive posture; Harm quickly knocked the sword aside and jabbed the bat into the man’s face, then, before the Cull could regain his balance, delivered a second, crushing blow across the side of his head.
    Glancing back at Erin, who was still immobilized with fear, he saw that Leon had followed and was guiding her along behind; the men nodded to each other and Harm darted down the alley. At the far end stood a man clad in riot gear and armed with a tactical rifle, looking down at his cell phone; hearing Harm’s approach, he raised his head as he was tackled, and for a few moments they struggled, until Harm unholstered the man’s pistol and fired a single shot under his helmet.
    He jumped up and cautiously peered out into to the street, where numerous vans were parked with their doors left open; then he went back to Leon, Erin, and Hughie, who had all traversed the alley.
    “We have to run across,” he told them. “If we get to the next alley without them seeing us, we might make it.”
    Erin shook her head in terrified refusal.  Leon looked down at the dead man.
    “What’s goin’ on here?” he asked.  “I... I...”
    “What’s it look like?” Harm asked.  “Don't call the cops.  They’ll be here to do the cleanup. No survivors.  Watch