The Dark Rift: Redemption (13 page)

Billy pushed himself up from the floor.

"Fester, do you need help with that gurney?" Chuck asked. "We should be on our way so we can get your mom some help."

Fester shook his head.

Chuck stepped back toward Fester and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "She'll be okay, son," he said. "Let's go."

David woke up shivering. His body felt cold. Not the kind of cold that comes from being outside, but a damp feeling that penetrated him to the core. He realized his head ached. He couldn't see anything and reached up to rub his eyes, but his hand hit something solid just above his body. A few seconds ticked by before he realized he was inside something. He touched the wall above him, feeling smooth metal no more than six inches above his face. He tried to slide down, meeting resistance at a few inches below his feet. Twisting his arm, he reached above his head, but there wasn't enough space, so he scooted his body up, hitting a wall again. Panicking, he felt the walls to his sides, his fingers running over a cluster of holes in the metal. Air holes, he thought. Just like the steel boxes we put the hybrids in. With the realization of where he was, an involuntary scream escaped his mouth.

Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to remember how he'd ended up in the hybrid containment area. His head ached deeply and he reached up, feeling a sticky patch of matted hair just above his left eye. Someone had hit him. He remembered leaving his wife and son in a room where he told them to wait. He'd gone to meet with Ted Renfro to keep up the facade of being a willing participant in Gypsum's plan. But, Renfro already knew what David's real intentions were. To rescue his family and get the truth out about Gypsum. Somehow, Renfro knew it all. David realized the room where he'd talked to his wife and son must have been bugged. He cursed himself for not knowing better.

He lay still for a few moments, trying to calm himself, breathing deeply. David slid his hand into his pockets, finding them empty. One thing could save him. If only he could find a way to get to it. He could still feel the leg holster strapped to his calf and shifted his foot as best he could to feel if the holster still held his gun, but he couldn't reach it. He bent his leg as far as possible and twisted his body, grabbing at his pants, pulling his leg toward his hand.

Sweat streamed into his eyes and he struggled to breathe. The little amount of air provided by the holes in the side of the box seemed thick and stale and, for the first time, David realized that the ventilation system in the containment boxes wasn’t turned on. He could well run out of air completely before reaching his gun. He kept stretching, until he could feel the gun underneath the fabric of his pants. Inch by inch, he pulled his pants leg up, exposing the grip. Finally, it was in his hand and he brought it up to his chest.

That was when he felt the vibration. A low rumbling that shook the metal in the cabinet ever so slightly. Something didn’t seem quite right. The installation had been built by boring through solid rock a mile beneath the surface of the earth. What kind of force could cause the walls to vibrate? Whatever the source, David knew only one thing. He didn’t want to be here to find out what it was. He’d shoot the locking mechanism on the containment box. Then, once he was out of this tomb, he could worry about finding his family and escaping. He shifted up on his side the best he could and took aim.

* * *

Jodie zipped up the front of the combat uniform. Certainly not a stylish look and not exactly the best outfit for the desert heat, but concealing, which was what she needed. She watched as Eric buttoned the front of his shirt and smelled the armpits.

“RJ, you need a bath,” Eric said.

RJ groaned something unintelligible in response. He’d fallen asleep shortly after removing his shirt and lay in the back of the van, subdued by the pain medication.

“Jodie, I’m sorry about earlier,” Eric said. “I didn’t know --”

Jodie waved her hand at him, as if to wipe away the apology. “Of course you didn’t know. You can’t blame yourself for questioning." Thinking about how everything started only a few weeks ago, she said, “I didn’t believe it, either. The scale of this, the Gypsum installations, the decades of building and planning, were almost incomprehensible to me at first. Not to mention the sheer insanity of it all. What they’ve done so far to the earth, well nothing will ever be the same.”

"I still don't understand why they would torch a fire station," Eric said. "A lot of people were depending on help from our guys."

"Unfortunately," Jodie said, "That's exactly why they torched it. They don't care about anyone and they want everyone out of this area."

Eric reached out and touched Jodie’s arm. “Your mother . . . how could she be part of such a horrible thing?”

Jodie shook her head. “Greed, I guess. I don’t know. I can’t help but think she got involved because she thought she was doing some good, but that sure isn’t the way it turned out.” She shoved the tail of the shirt into her pants, which were a size too big, but would work. Jodie cinched her belt the best she could, tied back her hair and stuffed it under the cap she pulled down on her head. Eric handed her the aviator glasses RJ had given him. “Well, how do I look?”

Eric laughed. “Way too pretty to be one of those guards. Maybe you should wear the shirt I have on. At least you’d smell the part.”

“Well, thanks, but no thanks,” Jodie said, appreciating the light moment. She reached in and grabbed a map RJ had drawn for them. "Let’s look at our route again.”

“Good idea,” Eric said. “It should be dark in about two hours and then we’re on, right?”

“Right,” Jodie said. “We go in this entrance to the ranch,” she said, pointing to the map, “Where we’ll use RJ’s security card to enter a locked gate. Then, we drive up to this utility building, where we’ll encounter the first two guards. I’ll attempt to subdue them without killing them or shooting either one in the knee, as you requested.”

“I know you can do it, Jodie,” Eric said, a smile spreading across his face. “But if we don’t get in, the consequences will be terrible, won't they?”

“Right. Then we’ll be responsible for a lot more than just a few blown out knees,” she said. “On the bright side, we won’t be here to feel bad about that.”

Eric’s smile vanished and he looked at the ground. “You know, I’ve never shot at anyone before. I’ve been hunting, but I’m sure it’s nothing even remotely the same. Shooting at people, that is.”

“Let’s concentrate on getting in there unnoticed and doing what we need to do to stop them,” Jodie said. “You know, at this point, I’m not even sure what that is.”

* * *

“How much farther?” Chuck growled at Billy. They’d been walking for a good fifteen minutes and Chuck was starting to fear they were being led into a trap. There wasn’t anything he could do about it if they were, but he was second-guessing the idea of bringing Fester with him. He gave the leash a tug. “Hold up there, Billy.” He tied the leash to a pipe running along the ceiling, out of Billy’s reach. He turned to Fester.

Fester’s mother was awake and the boy spoke softly to her and held her hand. Watching the scene, Chuck felt that familiar burning in his eyes. He wondered what turned men into such monsters. If he had his way, they would all pay before he was done. Fester’s mother began to whimper a bit as he approached them.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” Fester said. “He’s okay. Remember Officer Wending from Mountain City?”

"Hello, Ma'am," Chuck said, looking down at Fester's mom. "I'm sorry if my appearance scares you. I'm not sure why I look this way." After the words came out of his mouth, he thought the whole statement was a little self-indulgent, given what she'd been through.

"Bonnie," Fester's mom said. "My name is Bonnie."

Chuck leaned down a little closer to her. "We're going to find your friends and get you out of here. First, I want to make sure that it's safe, so I'm going to put you and Fester in one of these rooms where you can hide. Is that okay with you?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Good," Chuck said, looking down the hallway for the next room. "There's a place just ahead. Follow me, Fester." Chuck walked up to the door, bent down and looked inside. Seeing no one, he entered and found a corner not visible from the doorway. The small alcove was partially illuminated by the exit sign above the door. When Fester wheeled the gurney inside, Chuck pulled it into the alcove and searched through the rest of the room coming up with whatever medication, food and water he could find to make them comfortable. Luckily, this room contained a hefty store of painkillers for Bonnie. He gently draped a blanket over her that he found in a cabinet. "Fester, I want you to stay here, no matter what you hear. You lock the door behind me and don't let anyone in, except for me or your friends. Got that?"

Fester nodded.

Chuck pulled his handgun out of the holster. "Ever use one of these?" he asked.

"No," Fester said. "But I target shoot at home. I use a rifle, though."

"Same thing, really," Chuck said. He pointed out the safety and other features of the gun. Afterwards, he took off his gun belt and strapped it around Fester's waist. "Any of those guards come near and you don't hesitate. Understand?"

Fester nodded again. "But, won't you need your gun?"

Chuck thought about it for a moment. He'd be better off not announcing his presence with a gunshot. Having his weapon would likely just get him into trouble. Then, he thought of how nice it would've been to have a son like Fester. A wave of sadness over what would never be hit him and the now familiar burn in his eyes made him think of Jodie, too. It was time to move. "No, I'll be okay. Go sit with your mom now. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Chuck walked from the room, closing the door behind him. He waited until he heard Fester lock the door, then walked back toward Billy, who was dangling from the leash, trying to climb to the pipe it was tied to. Unfortunately, for Billy, he'd twisted the leash so badly that he couldn't let go of the pipe he was holding onto or he'd be hanged. For a moment, Chuck thought about leaving him there, to die by his own hands. It would save him the trouble of killing Billy later. But, he thought, given what an idiot this boy was, he'd likely have other opportunities to do himself in. Chuck reached up and yanked the leash off of the pipe, sending Billy crumpling down to the floor. Lying there gasping for air, he looked not much older than Fester.

"Gather yourself up, Billy," Chuck said, towering over the prone man.

Billy scrambled to his feet, tugging at the leash, which had embedded itself in his neck. "I can't breathe," he coughed out, tugging at the wire.

Chuck reached over and yanked the wire in two with his hand. "Take it off."

Pulling the severed pieces of wire out of his neck, Billy looked at Chuck with a confused expression.

"How old are you, boy?" Chuck asked.

"Wha ... what?" Billy choked out. "Why would you want to know that?"

Chuck just glared at Billy in response.

"I'm nineteen, if you really need to know," Billy said, wiping the snot from his nose.

Chuck put his hand on Billy's shoulder. "Nineteen. Nineteen years old and you're already so morally bankrupt that you thought it would be fun to joke about abusing a woman? Nineteen years old and you follow these Gypsum people and do whatever they want you to, no matter how wrong it is?"

Billy lowered his gaze to the ground. "I already told you, I had nothin' to do with what happened to that woman," he said, gesturing to the room where Fester and Bonnie hid.

"Well, Billy, I'm feeling exceptionally generous right now, so I'm going to let you redeem yourself. I'd suggest you think about all the things you could do to accomplish that. You take me to Christy right now. I'll give you ten minutes. Then, we'll see if you've made any progress before I decide what to do with you."

* * *

For the past two hours, Isaiah had been exploring every corner and crevice of the room where they were being held, looking for weapons and a way out. He and Nick had managed to find little useful except for a pair of scissors. Christy had given up long ago and sat on the floor watching them, with Noah and Hunter at her side. Isaiah glanced over at Evan, who lay in the bed sleeping.

"You take them," Nick said, handing Isaiah the scissors. "I'll probably just stab myself with them, or something."

Isaiah slipped the scissors in his back pocket. "Okay, there's one more place we need to look," he said, pointing at a vent in the ceiling.

Nick's face paled. "I'm not sure if I can do that again. I mean, after our trip down here in the vent, and all."

Isaiah thought about what it must have been like for Nick and the rest of their group, having to jump down a vent in order to avoid gunfire when they first found the Gypsum installation. "Well, let me take a look first and then we can decide what to do."

Nick nodded. "Okay, I'll give you a boost."

Isaiah positioned himself under the vent and Nick knelt in front of him, his hands cupped. Isaiah stepped into Nick's hands and felt himself being hoisted all the way to the ceiling. "You okay, Nick?"

"Yeah, man, you're as light as a feather," Nick said.

Isaiah glanced down at Nick, who didn't even look like he was straining. Good to have a strong guy around, he thought. He reached up for the vent cover and pulled. It wouldn't budge. He gave it another yank and it came down quickly, dropping a pile of dust on him and Nick, who let out an exceptionally loud sneeze. "Sorry, man," Isaiah said.