Edge of Instinct: Rabids Book 1 (14 page)

“I’m sorry about that. Mother isn’t known for her kind soul,” she muttered, grabbing another glazed donut from the bag.

“Well, I figure anythin’ I can do to make that woman’s day just a bit brighter, I’m all for it. Even if that makes me out to be a jailbait chasin’ loser.” She laughed at his smug sarcasm, her dark mood lifting. It was hardly the first time her mother had said something like this about her daughter, despite the fact that Amiel was still a virgin in every possible way. Her mother, on the other hand, had played the grieving widow for all of three weeks before jumping eagerly back into the dating world. Even at the age of seven, Amiel had felt a deep betrayal of her father’s memory over that.

“The hurt don’t go away, but it gets easier.” She startled from her dour thoughts to find Tandy looking pointedly at the dog tags gripped in her hand. She hadn’t even realized she was holding them.

“Thank you,” she whispered, carefully tucking them into her t-shirt before sitting up and chugging the last of her coffee. It burned her tongue and throat, but it was a welcome distraction.

“So, we should probably leave soon, right? I doubt my mother will hold off much longer before she sends in the hounds.” Tandy’s dogs perked up their ears at her and she glanced at them, shrugging as though to imply she hadn’t meant them. They continued to watch her intently, seemingly waiting for the next profound thing she would say. Tandy stood and stretched.

“Yep, already got my side bags on my bike and yours. Packed ‘em up with all the provisions we should need between here and your new home a couple days ago, thank goodness. It’ll make gettin’ outta here that much easier.” Her heart did a little jump at the sound of ‘home’, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

“Something other than the frozen food, or are we bringing the microwave, too?” she asked with a wicked smile. He looked surprised for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh that warmed her heart.

“Alright get your stuff, smart alec.” Eager to be on the way, she crawled back into the car where she had left the duffle abandoned on the floor. Leaning toward the seat she’d slept in the last few days, Amiel drew in another deep breath, fighting to commit the scent to memory. She was going to miss it. Exiting the vehicle she felt strangely forlorn to be leaving it behind. She ran a hand over its matte paint job in a gentle caress, surprised at how quickly this heap of metal had become her security blanket. She cringed again as she closed the back door, little bits of glass tinkling from the gaping hole once more. With a silent goodbye, she rushed to the bathroom to finish her trip preparations. She heaved a sigh of annoyance at the giant rat’s nest of hair that greeted her in the mirror. It was a credit to Tandy that he hadn’t mentioned it. What a wild eyed mess she must have appeared when he’d first arrived. Brushing through her long dark locks and dressing in clean, albeit wrinkled clothes, she gave her teeth a quick brushing. Staring down the girl reflected in the mirror, she drew a deep, cleansing breath. Decked out in her biker jacket, gloves, and chaps, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit sexy and confident.

“You can do this,” she assured her reflected self. “You are a strong, confident, and smart woman. You have a competent guide, an awesome bike, and a sexy wardrobe to match it. You can totally ride that beautiful bike, and
not
kill yourself. And you are
not
going to end up on a Rabid’s dessert menu. When you get to your new home, you can start a brand new life and be whoever you want to be.” She smiled radiantly back at herself, forcing belief into the words. It was a daily ritual for Amiel, motivating herself to face each day. Granted the new goals she had set were a bit more staggering than the usual ‘go to work, go home, ignore mother, and get some sleep’ pep talk she gave herself before going to her job each morning.

The spa was the only ‘menial’ job her mother would allow her to hold. Amiel winced when she realized her employers would have been wondering where she was for the last several days. It rankled against her loyal side that she had never called to explain. But there was nothing to be done for it. Had she called in and quit, her mother would have found out and put a stop to her plan by now.

She paused, a thought tumbling through her mind. Perhaps
that
was why her mother had come home early. The old biddies at the salon had called Malinda to find out why Amiel hadn’t come in for her shifts. Slapping herself lightly on the face, Amiel forced herself to simply stop thinking at all. She could run circles around the ‘what ifs’ all day long, and she didn’t have time for that crap. She had an escape to make. Lifting the tags to her lips, she whispered a simple prayer to her brother.

“Love you, Jaron. Watch out for me, if you can. I’ll try to make you proud.” Heaving an overly peppy sigh, she flung the door open and strode out to meet her new fate. The garage door was open wide, their bikes glinting in the morning sun. Tandy walked out of his kitchen with a few more things that he shoved into the saddle bags on the back of his bike. She cleared her throat, embarrassed.

“Hey, Tandy…I just wanted to say sorry for being such an emotional mess lately, especially in the mornings. You’ve been a lifesaver, and that was pretty rude of me.” He seemed surprised by her statement, but his smile lit a spark in his eyes.

“Bred the manners bone deep didn’t they?” He laughed softly. “I’m not used to teenagers bein’ so polite. However, I am use to the fact that most teenagers are allergic to mornins. So don’t go worryin’ on my account.” He winked at her, before gesturing to the bikes. “Ready to head out?” Her smile wavered a bit, but she nodded and flung her duffle over her back. Tandy leaned against his bike and ran through his entire travel speech. He’d already explained almost all of it to her while she was learning to ride the bike, but now it was different because he added an extra tidbit of information into the equation.

“While we’re riding, y’all stay right with me. If ya need to stop, just talk into the mic in your helmet, and we’ll pull off at the safest place. There’s designated safe zones for us to stop along the way. But there’s only three stops between here and Texas. Which means we’ll be on the bikes six hours straight between stops. The solars will help to supplement our gas usage, so we won’t have to stop too often, but the roads are pretty bad in some spots. Provided we don’t run into any unexpected issues or fights, we should be able to make six hour straight runs. We need to avoid stoppin’ anywhere but those safe zones, if possible, and not stay longer than necessary.” He handed her a black bag with a clear tube connecting to a silicone scoop shaped cup. Her brow rose in question, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“The bag hooks onto the side of the bike. Run the tube up the inside of your pant leg, and the uh…cup thing goes up against…” He coughed again, his cheeks flushing. “It’s so y’all can relieve your bladder while
on
the bike.” Her jaw dropped, looking at the thing in her hands as though it were a dangerous creature.

“You mean…if I have to pee, I pee in this thing?” She held up the cup, and Tandy’s cheeks flushed an even deeper color. He nodded, quickly busying himself with his bike.

“No place to stop for six hours at a go,” he reminded her gruffly. She noticed the black bag resting at his own feet, and rushed to the bathroom to put the torture device in place and cool her hot cheeks. When she came out, he was seated on his bike, and ready to go. She climbed on her own bike, fastening the bag to a similar hook tab on her bike as Tandy had. He immediately jumped back into his prep speech, which she was grateful for as it alleviated the awkward air hovering over them.

“If we come across a horde of Rabes or any Cuts, stick close by me and do as I say without argument. It could save your life, honey, so no second thoughts, just actions. I’ve upgraded the stuff on your bike so that it’s nearly as good as mine now, though it don’t got as many provisions which makes it lighter and faster. Should somethin’ happen to me, y’all ride outta there like a bat outta hell, ya understand? Don’t so much as think about me. Y’all just concentrate on getting’ where ya need to go. The nav system will guide ya.” She swallowed hard, nodding stiffly.

“Don’t worry, honey, I don’t plan on anythin’ happenin’ to me, but just in case, we have to be prepared, right?” She nodded again. He pointed to the gun strapped to her thigh.

“Remember, semi-automatic, a cartridge already in the chamber. Aim and pull the trigger. Ya only got 11 cartridges before ya gotta reload. No wasted shots.” She nodded again, remembering the training from the days before.

“Good. Now, these bikes are modified to run the most fuel efficient I can make ‘em. We’ll be runnin’ on a mix of gasoline and solar energy. Y’all remember how I showed ya to release and stow your solars?” She nodded, remembering the way the little black disks slid from the inner workings of the bike at the touch of a button, but were in a position so as not to interfere with the rider. “Good. There are fuel stations in each safe zone, so there should be plenty of gas for us to make it safely. We’re gonna be travelin’ at high speeds, so we can make it to each safe zone with plenty of time, and the Rabes are a bit lazy when it comes to chasin’ a fast bike in the hot sun. Stay right beside me, no droppin’ back, or shootin’ forward if y’all can help it. The Rabids see it as a sign of weakness if someone travels at the back. Side by side.” She nodded again, forcing down the panic once more.

“Most of it is a straight shot from here to there, so ya’ll should do just fine on your bike, even at the high speeds. Some parts we gotta pick our way through real slow, cause the roads ain’t real great after misuse for so long and zero maintenance. But if we travel throughout the day, we can make it to each safe zone before night fall when the Rabid danger is at its peak. Keep in mind, this is the Vasts and the Rabes ain’t gonna be as cautious out there. It’s likely we’ll see some of ‘em durin’ the day. Certain times of the day when the sun ain’t as focused, they like sunnin’ themselves on the rocks.” She swallowed hard.

“Like lizards.”

“Like lizards.” Tandy nodded grimly. “Just keep goin’, don’t stop unless I say so.” He leaned close, pointing to the sleek screen on her bike.

“Remember this screen here shows ya the map of the land from here to our destination. Here’s how much gas ya got. This shows ya if there’s any problems with the bike, where the stop points are, what time it is, the heat index on your mother’s temper…” He paused and waited for his words to sink in. Looking up at him blankly for a moment, she burst out laughing and he smiled back at her.

“That’s better. I know this is a lot to take in, but y’all can’t let it overwhelm ya, honey. We’ll get ya there in one piece. It’s my job to protect ya, and y’all better believe I’ll do it.” She smiled at his strong assurances, and nodded with a sense of relief this time. He pointed out a few more important things she needed to know, where to plug in the coolant system in her jacket, and had her try on the helmet to test out the mic connection between them.

“Is there anythin’ else ya need to know, honey?” he asked her through the mic as he sat on his bike.

“You never told me what your dog’s names are.” He laughed gently, humoring her, knowing she was trying to distract herself.

“Lugnut and Ratchet back at the shop in town. Wrench and Bolt here.” At her disbelieving laugh he shrugged unapologetically. “I am a simple man, with simple ideals, honey. The names suit just fine. Sometimes I think the names even suit the size of their brains.” She smiled in agreement. Turning back to said dogs, Tandy gave a stern command for them to stay and protect the garage while he was gone. She noticed he had left out several large bucket dispensing systems of food and water for them, and she was sure he had done the same at his shop in town. The dogs lay down lazily, and she realized this was a common place occurrence for Tandy and his dogs.

Nodding for her to start her bike, he waited until she was ready, then closed and locked the garage door. Pulling out slowly, she shakily followed him. They exited the gates, and headed for the electric field. Tandy dropped the field, and they shot forward. She ignored the surge of panic that rose at the snapping electricity behind her, signaling that her safety net was officially cut off. They made it to the Outer Gates without incident, and she was pleased to see they were the only ones waiting to leave. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Not many people were anxious to leave the gated safety of their small haven.

Amiel wobbled slightly as they pulled to a stop at the gate, and Tandy talked to the guard. Apparently the guards were used to seeing Tandy going in and out of the gates, as they were instantly laughing back and forth over one thing or another. She couldn’t hear over the roar of their bikes, and even if she could hear, her pulse was pounding so fast it would have drowned out the conversation. The guard looked over at her, and she fought the urge to jerk her face away. That would be too obvious, wouldn’t it? She gave a careful nod in his direction, grateful for the black visor that closed off anyone’s view of the details of her face. Instead, she focused on calming the staccato rhythm of her heart so that she didn’t pass out. A siren went off on the giant wall rising far above their heads, and the guards motioned them to back off to the side of the road. Amiel panicked.

“What’s going on. What’s wrong?” she hissed into the mic. Tandy’s voice echoed calmly in her ear.

“Easy, honey. Y’all look wound so tight you’re gonna snap.”

“Sorry, I’m trying for casual, but it’s just not happening. The freakishly loud siren isn’t helping either. What’s going on, did they figure it out?”