Internet Kill Switch (19 page)

Scarlett jerked her hand away. Then the next instant
, Bly was on the ground, screaming, his hands over his face. Tony had suddenly closed the distance and punched the old man in the nose. He stood over him in a rage as Bly howled in pain. “Leave her alone!” Tony roared, drowning out Bly’s shrieks. Blood seeped through his fingers. The same blood was on Tony’s knuckles. He stood over Bly, red-faced with rage.

Scarlett and Rick looked at Tony, stunned at the eruption. Rick had never seen him do anything violent, ever. Tony wiped his knuckles on his pants.

At that moment, they heard barking from outside. “Chief, get ‘em!” Bly croaked through his fingers. They turned toward the door and saw one of the biggest dogs any of them had ever seen. Chief was grayish-black, tall and seemingly as long as a submarine. He charged directly at Tony, who still stood over Bly.

Just as Chief
started to leap at Tony, he was knocked off course by the wheel of Rick’s bike. The only weapon Rick had, he’d swung it with huge force at the dog.

Chief let out a
howl of pain as he flew sideways, crashing into a chair and knocking it over. He lay there motionless, whimpering.

That was all they needed. Tony, Rick and Scarlett raced outside and jumped on their bikes, speeding out of the parking lot. As they got to the road, they heard
crazed barking, as Chief came blitzing out of the lobby after them. Terror fueled their pedaling as the gigantic, frothing missile of fur homed in on them. Tony’s pain was forgotten as he pumped his legs furiously on the pedals, with Rick and Scarlett behind him. They tore down the road, imagining the dog closing the gap and sinking his teeth into their leg or butt. That image gave them a shot of adrenaline that fueled their escape from the hellhound.

But
Chief didn’t have more than one big burst in him. The injured dog soon ran out of steam, gave up, turned around and limped back toward the Anderson Inn.

49

"Damn, this country's getting more dangerous by the hour," Rick said as they slowed their pace. Chief was well behind them now, but the
ir fear continued to drive them down the road.

They passe
d another motel on their right, about a quarter-mile down from the Anderson Inn. Called “Stay Awhile”, it looked shabby, but no worse than the Inn.

"Do we try it?" asked Scarlett.

"I don't know," Tony said. "I can't get Bly out of my mind. What if it's like that all over?"

"Only one way to find out," Rick said, pulling into the parking lot. Tony and Scarlett followed him, reluctantly. They kept their ears perked
up for the sounds of barking.

At the entrance to
Stay Awhile, three armed men greeted them. They were large, beefy men with matching bald heads and goatees, holding machine guns. In any other situation, Rick would've immediately asked a smart-aleck question: Was the Skinhead look a security guard requirement or something? Today, though, he just nodded at them. None of the triplets returned the nod.

"So, can we, uh, go in?"

"Cash only," said the triplet in the middle. "It's $1,000 a night, no matter which room. No electric, of course. No food. Nothing but the room, unless the power comes back on. There's a couple of buckets to use, with the toilets out. You need to dump those yourself, at least 500 feet away from the property." He spoke with all the warmth of a prison guard.

Tony, Scarlett and Rick walked a little bit away to discuss things, as the triplets watched.

"I don't know," Scarlett said. "I don't like the look of those guys at the door. And I
sure
don't want to pee in a bucket."

"I think it's great that they're there," Rick said. "They're keeping out the loons
, making it safe. There won’t be any flashers in robes inside, or any dogs taking dumps on the floor. It's got to be safer than the last place."

Scarlett looked to Tony, plainly hoping he'd take her side. It made Tony uncomfortable; he
hated being caught in the middle.

In the end, he agreed with Scarlett, so he went that way. "I'd rather find a place to camp," he said. "People are just getting too weird."

"C'mon, Tony," said Rick. "I know there's no light or anything, but at least it's a soft bed and walls and ceiling. You'll probably sleep better, which will be better for your leg."

Tony felt like a lemon, squeezed between the Rick finger and Scarlett finger. "Maybe, but I think I'd rather just put up the tent and get away from people for now. These guys with guns make me nervous."

Scarlett employed her new "don't challenge Rick directly" tactic. "Besides, Rick, it'll save you a bunch of money. It has to be running low by now."

Rick considered. "Yeah, that's true. I've only got like five grand left. We may need it for more important stuff eventually. Alright, you've convinced me. Let's go find a camping spot."

They headed out of town and turned into some woods off the side of the road. The trees weren't very dense, so they could stay on their mountain bikes. After a few minutes, they figured they were far enough from civilization to be safe. Rick and Scarlett set up the tent, which didn't take long. Rick had been a Boy Scout back in the day, which struck Tony as funny.

"Doesn't seem like you," he
said. "They believe in rules, order, duty, stuff like that."

"Are you saying I don't?" Rick said with a grin. "Actually, I just joined for the camping. I didn't care about getting merit badges or any of that junk. I also wanted to meet Girl Scouts."
That made Scarlett laugh.

"My favorite part of camping," Rick said, "was building fires. Man, I loved that. Still do."

After the tent was up, Rick left to gather some firewood. Tony unrolled his tightly-wound sleeping bag and lay on top of it, grateful for the chance to stretch out and get off his leg. Scarlett watched his painful exhale as he straightened it out.

She unrolled her sleeping bag next to his, which made Tony's heart beat a little faster. She lay down on it, exhausted from the day's events.

The two of them were side-by-side, almost touching shoulders, excruciatingly aware of how close they were to each other. Despite their weariness, they both felt incredibly alive, energized by the body only inches away.

"How are you feeling?" Scarlett asked.

"I'm OK," Tony answered, as usual. What he wanted to say was, "I'm in a great deal of pain, but delirious with joy, because I'm so near you."

"We should sleep well tonight," Scarlett said with a huge yawn.

Tony yawned in return. "Yup." He debated in his mind whether or not to grasp her hand. If he tried and she pulled hers away, he'd be humiliated. But he also knew that if he didn't do it now, when they were alone and so close to each other, that he might not have the opportunity to do it later.

Plucking up what courage he had, Tony
closed his eyes and lifted his hand, hovering it over Scarlett's for a minute; then, taking and holding a breath, he placed it gently on hers. He continued to hold his breath, waiting for her to pull away.

Scarlett's hand stayed motionless for a moment. Then she grasped his hand back and gave it a squeeze.

A
t that moment, Tony didn't care that the country teetered on the edge of breakdown, or that his leg and forehead were on fire, or that he'd been chased by a nightmare dog. At that moment, the world was perfect.

He felt Scarlett stir, but didn't look at her. Then he felt her lips on his cheek, tenderly kissing him. And the world, which he didn't think could get any more perfect, suddenly did.

Tony turned his head toward her face, lifted his mouth, and pressed his lips to hers. Scarlett didn't resist, and they stayed that way for a few seconds, before hearing footsteps. Immediately the mood was broken, as Rick returned with an armful of wood. Tony blushed, but didn't think Rick saw it.

Rick dropped the wood and looked at the two of them on their sleeping bags. "Who's ready to get warm?
" he said, giving no indication whether he suspected anything.

"I am," said Scarlett, getting up to help with the fire. Tony didn't move from his spot, but watch
ed Scarlett as she worked. She looked at him a few times, once giving him a secret smile.

Tony wasn't angry at
Rick’s interruption; instead, he was as giddy as a kid with a fever and throbbing leg could be.

As Rick and Scarlett worked to get a healthy fire going, Tony got some Motrin for his leg, and Tylenol for his fever. As the pills started working and the fire warmed his arms and legs, he drifted off to sleep before he knew it.

An hour later darkness had fallen, and Rick had joined Tony in sleep. Scarlett, unable to do the same, stared at the fire, watched it fade, then added some wood. She thought a lot about Tony, and how good his hand felt on hers. She could tell right away that he didn't know how to kiss, but that was all right; she’d be happy to teach him.

What she really wanted to do right now, more than anything, was update her status on Facebook. She smil
ed as she imagined changing it to "In a relationship." Her friends would start to call and text as soon as they saw it. The last time she changed it -- after the breakup with David -- they flooded her with texts and calls of concern. Scarlett had great friends who were sad with her, and happy with her. Facebook was their hub, their coffee shop. And now it was gone.

She went from happy to miserable in the space of a minute, and
wept a little. Her emotions were so up and down these days; happy to be with Tony, terrified at what was happening around -- and to -- them, missing her online life. Rick would no doubt have thought her nothing but a foolish little child. In some ways, it’s exactly how she felt.

As Scarlett added another branch to the fire, she heard something in the distance. A faint sound, like some animal caught in a trap. No, that wasn't right. She walked to the edge of the firelight, listening more carefully. It almost sounded like someone crying.

She left the warmth of the f
lames and went to investigate. She grabbed Max and used his surprisingly bright light to follow the sound. "Be careful, Scarlett," the phone warned. "There's no such thing as ‘ordinary’ anymore. We just don't know what to expect."

"I will, Max. But someone could be in trouble."

"Maybe you should wake up Rick or Tony."

"I will, if necessary. I just want to see what's happening. Don't need to wake them up
yet."

The
light undergrowth didn’t slow her as she walked, and soon the crying got louder, along with a new sound -- rushing water. Within a couple of minutes, Scarlett found herself at the bank of a wide, swift river, swollen with the recent rains. Trees lined the banks. She heard the crying clearly now; it was up high. Confused, Scarlett looked around. She pointed Max up, using its beam to search the trees.

That's when she saw the girl. She was
young, certainly no more than 13 or 14, and high in the branches; Scarlett estimated more than 15 feet up. The girl was out near the end of an enormous branch, which extended far out over the river. She had short, dark hair (Scarlett couldn't tell in the dark if it was black or dark brown) and glasses. She wore skinny jeans and a light-colored t-shirt. She cried as Scarlett looked up at her.

"Are you OK?"

The girl sniffed and cleared her throat. "I came out here to be alone, and of course what happens?" she said in a deep voice that surprised Scarlett. "Someone wanders right over. That's my life."

"I don't want to bother you," Scarlett said. "I can leave."

"No, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters. Stay or go, I don't care."

From her tone, Scarlett
knew something was seriously off with the girl.

"What's your name?"

"Abby."

Scarlett smiled, trying to comfort her. "Hi, Abby. I'm Scarlett."

"Hi."

"You're up there really high."

"I love to climb. Only fell once. Broke my arm pretty bad, but it healed up OK."

"Is something bothering you, Abby?"

"You heard me crying?"

"Yeah. Me and some friends are camping, just a little away from here."

"Camping?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds silly. We're on our way to Maryland, and stopped here for the night."

Abby looked at her curiously, and stopped crying. Scarlett assumed that was a good sign.

"How're you getting there?"

"Bikes."

Abby nodded. "I've seen more bikes in the last week than I've seen in my whole life."

"Me, too."

"Nothing's the same anymore, is it
, Scarlett?" Abby said in a weary voice, a voice too sad for such a young girl.

"No, Abby, it isn't. I was thinking the same thing a little while ago."

"That's why I was crying. I miss Facebook."

"You know, Abby, I was
just missing the exact same thing."

Abby craned her neck a little toward Scarlett. "Do you miss texting, too?"

Scarlett nodded. "A lot."

Abby grabbed a small nearby
branch, broke it off and tapped it absently against the huge branch that supported her. "My Mom tried to tell me this would all be good for me. Get my mind off my phone, iPad, computer. ‘See a little bit of life now, girl,’ she said." Scarlett thought of similar things Rick had said to her only yesterday.

Abby sighed loudly
and tossed the stick in the water. The current swept it downstream quickly. "But that
was
my life, Scarlett. Mom doesn't understand. That was the life I wanted."

Scarlett got more nervous as she listened. "I know, Abby. Me too. But it's going to come back, you know. Probably very soon."

Abby shook her head. "You don't know that. Nobody does. It might not ever come back. I don't think it will."

Sca
rlett couldn't tell her what they were planning to do, and why she was going to Maryland; but she needed to say something. "Well, I think it will. I know that lots of really smart people are working on it right now. They say they're getting closer to fixing it."

Abby's tone turned bitter. "Lies, just lies. That's all it is. If they could fix it, it woulda been fixed by now. They're just saying that 'cause folks is rioting and looting and killing each other and all. They need to get people to calm down, so they say it's gonna be fixed soon."

Abby was smart, Scarlett thought. So she changed tactics. "But even if it doesn't, the power won't stay off forever. We had power before the Internet, remember, so that can be fixed."

"So what?!" Abby said shrilly. "That ain't the Internet, and that's what I want back!"
She slapped her hand on the branch as she spoke. Then her tone suddenly went flat. "It's what I did. It's what I was. My friends, the ones I had, were all online. I don't have any friends around here. Nobody likes me, and I don't like them. But I had lots of friends on the Internet. We talked for hours and hours. We shared secrets and talked about who we were gonna marry and what boys we liked and who had the best hair."