The Rabid: Rise (14 page)

“Careful,” Katia urges as Ruiz crunches his way through the wreckage.

“I got this.”

I stand, holding Katia and Bethany on either side of me. “So, what do you see?” I ask after a few tense moments.

“Looks like I found our guns and ammo. Tell the boys. Let’s get this shit packed up and get the hell out of here.”

17

“How’re you feeling?” Katia’s eyes look heavy. There is a bandage plastered to the side of her head. It’s bright white. Fresh. Unstained.

“Like I got hammered in the side of the head by a rifle stock.” Her smile is weak, but genuine. She’s stretched out on the clubhouse couch with an old magazine propped across her chest. “What about you?”

“I’m good. Nose isn’t broken. Just bruised and battered; I think I’m getting used to it.”

“If you came looking for me to try to get some ass you’re going to be sorely disappointed. I’m not moving from here for the rest of the day.”

“Jesus, no, I came to see how you were feeling.”

She reaches out and grabs my hand. “Such a sweetheart. I just know how you virgins can be after your first go around. You wanna fuck like rabbits.”

“Shit,” I hiss, kneeling down beside her, “can you please keep your voice down.”

“Oh,” she laughs and puts a hand against my cheek, “he’s embarrassed. I’m sorry, Tim, I wasn’t trying to upset you. I’m just tired, that’s all I was trying to say.”

“You could have just said it like that. You’ve always got to be so crude. Why can’t you just try being sweet? No profanity. No sexual innuendos. Just a sweet girl.”

She laughs again, harder this time, wincing a little and pawing at her head. “Tim, have you met me?”

I sigh. “Yes, Katia, I have.”

She leans up a little and pecks me on the lips. “You’ll learn to love me. Sexual innuendos and all.” She grabs my hand and holds it against her chest, smiling. “So, is Bethany okay?”

“Yeah,” I shrug, “she’s a little bit shaken up. She’s resting back at the apartment. I’m sure it’s nothing a little sleep won’t cure. It’s not the first person she’s killed
, but she’s never gotten that close and personal, know what I mean?”

“Totally,” she
runs her tongue over her lips, “I still remember my first kill. It’s not pleasant. It gets easier though. Not sure if that’s really a good thing.”

“Guess it depends on your reasons. If it’s them or you, then, you
gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Absolutely.”

“So, what’s the prognosis on Tyrell?”

The smile fades from her
lips. “Well, he’ll live, but not sure how much that’s really worth. He’s not going to be doing much getting around without crutches.”

I shake my head. “Damn, man, that sucks, really. That’s as good as dead around here.” She nods knowingly. “Yep, he’s taking it pretty hard.”

“I bet.”

She curls her legs up, allowing me to sit down next to her before spreading them back across my l
ap.

“So, that call your brother made...” I trail off, letting the words linger, careful to broach such a sensitive topic.

“It was sloppy, tried to tell him. He’s just so damn set on his path and where it is he wants to take us.”

“Worry you at all?”

“What the hell do you think? Of course, it worries me. He’s my brother. Aside from that,he’s in charge of this place. All of these lives. It worries me every day. We’ve just got to trust him.”

“That’s just it,” I say, turning my head towards her, “we don’t just have to trust him. This isn’t a dictatorship.”

“No one ever said it was.” She’s starting to sound a bit testy. “But, a crowd this large, you need leadership. Without leadership things turn into chaos.”

“Things have already turned into chaos.”

“You know what I mean, Tim. Don’t play word games.”

“Sorry
.”

“You know,”
she sits up and grabs my hand, a look of concern playing around the corners of her eyes, “things are good. They’re not perfect, but they’re good, at least compared to the alternatives. We have each other. We’ve got food and shelter, protection. We’ve beaten the odds. What are you trying to get at here?”

She’s right. Things are better than they’ve ever been. Better than I ever thought they’d get agai
n. Bethany and I somehow managed to break out of the constant spiral of shit. I should be happy. I should be...content, but there’s a gaping wound that, no matter how hard I try, just won’t seem to close. Needle and thread, superglue, prayers and chants, nothing seems to work; it just tears right back open again. It’s Momma. She’s still out there. Still waiting for us to come save her. “You’re right, Katia, everything...it’s better than I ever expected. Finding you, it’s one of the greatest things to ever happen to me, and that includes back before all this, back when everything was still normal.”

She smiles.

“But, she’s still out there somewhere.”

“Tim, you don’t...”

“I don’t know that, yeah, I get it. There’s no guarantee, but if she is out there. If the General is keeping here alive, it’s because he wants what’s on that data stick. I gave it to your brother thinking that he could somehow help me and all he’s done is tried to turn it into his own little Pandora’s Box.”

She reaches for my face and I lean beyond her touch.

“No, listen to me. If Bytes manages to get this place back online, if he’s able to connect with whomever is listening out there and he dumps this shit on them, that’s it, for all of us. For my ma, because the General will have no motivation to keep her alive anymore with their secret out. It’ll be the end for this country, because the rest of the world will make sure we are a fucking crater. Your brother is not thinking long term. That’s what I was trying to say a couple days ago when he pulled a gun on me.”

She crosses her arms and falls away from me. “So, wh
at? What would Timmy do with it?”

I
shrug, as if it should be obvious. “I’d give it to the General. Let him destroy it. Or, if I can pop the bastard before handing it over, I’ll destroy it myself. That stick shouldn’t exist, no good can come of it.”

“Just like that, you’
d let them sweep it all away? Let them get away with all of this? No accountability?”

“
They’ve gotten away with it. Maybe you’ll hurt them by transmitting that data, but you’ll be killing any chance we’ve got of rebuilding the moment that button is pressed. That’s not revenge or justice, that’s blowing yourself up in a crowd of innocent people and hoping that somehow you hit your mark. The damage is done. Let’s move forward and try to make something good out of it.”

She looks across the clubhouse lobby
at her blurry reflection in the face of the lifeless television, trying to blink away the tears. Her chin trembles with the effort. “Ruiz, he’ll never hand over that data.”

“Then you need to help me convince him.”

A single tear slides slowly down her cheek. She sniffs and shakes her head. “There’s no convincing him, Tim. He’s not going to do it. The things he saw...there’s a hatred burning in him. Only one thing is going to put that fire out and that’s broadcasting the truth. Tearing their fucking house down. I understand it...his...passion.”

“
Passion fueled by hatred can only lead to destruction; his, yours, these people...the world if he manages to pull off what he’s planning. You have to help me stop him.”

Her sorrow turns to anger. “Really, Tim? So your passion to get the General, what’s that going to lead to?”

“I want my Ma back. Killing him, yeah, it’d be a bonus. But, I’m not going to kill myself or get anyone else killed in the process. I’m happy to let him go on breathing at that price.”

She’s quiet for a long time
, looking through me. Finally, her face hardens and her eyes lock onto mine. “You won’t get me to turn on my brother,” she snaps. “That’s my blood, Tim. You’re with us or you’re against us.” There’s a little crack in her voice as she hands down her ultimatum. Nerves. Still, she steels herself up and sets her jaw, doing her best to look certain. Unwavering.

I
push her legs off me, and stand. “Then I guess I’m against you.” I turn my back and make quickly for the door. “It’s been swell, Katia.”

“Fuck you!” She throws something at my back
. It misses and bounces off the wall next to my head. It sounds hollow. Some inconsequential tabletop decoration, no doubt. Still, I wish it’d hit me. Anything to dull the pain burning in the pit of my stomach.

***

Bethany is practicing her swordplay in the living room when
I come through the front door of the apartment. She startles at my abrupt entry. “Damn, Tim, almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Yeah, listen, I need you to make sure you’re all packed up and ready to go by this evening.”

Her eyes narrow. “Why?” She sheaths her sword and places her hands dramatically on her hips. “You and Ruiz have another lover’s spat? Have we been exiled, again?”

“No, Bethany, this is voluntary.” I start moving across the floor towards my cot, gathering discarded pieces of clothing to stuff into my duffel.

“Well,” she huffs, “maybe for you it’s voluntary. It’s shit to me. Why should I have to leave just because you can’t get along here? I like it here. There’s food and water. My chances of getting bitten by some drooling monster have gone way down.”

I stand with a pile of clothes in my arms, a bit more out of breath than I should be. “Have you just totally forgotten about Momma? Or, do you not care at this point?”

She’s taken aback. “What the hell? Of course, I haven’t forgotten. Of course, I care. Ruiz is helping us with that. He said he would help us.”

“Yeah,” I drop the clothes on top of the cot and pull the duffel from underneath, “
He says a lot of stuff. Maybe he’s got guys out looking, I don’t know. But what I do know is that he and that lab rat, Bytes, are going to get her killed when they upload what’s on that drive.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying they’re stalling us for time, placating us until they can complete their little master plan.”

“But, you don’t know that for sure.”

I throw the first batch of clothes into the bag with frustration. “No,” I sigh, “I don’t know that for certain. There are very few certainties in life. That’s why you use evidence and common sense. Just think, for one minute. Ruiz is not the most stable guy we’ve ever met and that’s saying a lot at this point. He’s pissed off. He’s already told us what he plans to do, right? He knows we’re against it. I mean, for Christ sake, he’s already pulled a gun on me over it. He wanted us gone, and fast, but he didn’t count on me saving Katia...so what, he feels a little obligation towards us over that, so he allows us to stay and he wards us off by saying he’s going to help us.” I throw the next batch of clothes in the bag, harder this time. “Whoopty-fucking-doo, it’s all words. All while he’s still arming his nuke and hoping we’ve forgotten about the implications. Well, I tell you what, I haven’t forgotten. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit around this place on my ass doing nothing, nope, not one more day.”

Bethany sits down on the cot, her back to me. “Okay, you’re right. It’s just...I got comfortable here
, you know? It’s a nice change of pace from...well, everything we were doing before.”

I place the final batch of clothes in the bag, gently this time, my aggravation quickly subsiding. “Yeah, I know. Me too, trust me.”

“What about Katia?”

“What about her?”

“It’s obvious you two have gotten really close. That you really care about her. I mean,” she turns around with a mischievous little smile on her face, “your first girlfriend. Kind of a big deal.”

In spite of everything
, I can’t help blushing like a school boy. “Yeah, yeah, my first girlfriend. I care about her, sure. I’ll be lucky to find another girl like her, but I tried talking to her about this already. It didn’t exactly go well.”

“How so?”

“Ruiz is her brother. He’s blood. She’s not going to turn her back on blood. That’s something I understand. Momma, she’s out there and nothing is going to come between me and finding her.”

Bethany reaches out and grabs my hand, swinging it gently back and forth between us. “Me neither.”

“There is one problem though.”

“What’s that?”

“That data drive. We’re not leaving here without it.”

Bethany shakes her head. “How do you plan
on accomplishing that?”

“With your help.”

“Okay...so what does that involve?” she asks, her voice dripping with dread.

“I’ll walk you through everything. Don’t worry.” I reach
into the duffel bag. “We are going to need this.”

“Duct tape?”

“Haven’t you heard? Duct tape fixes everything.”

18

It’s just after sunset when
I start out across the complex, duffel bag over my shoulder, an HK Tactical USP .45 hidden away beneath my shirt with an 8-inch suppressor secured away in my back pocket. The sidewalks and small stretches of grass are empty, as they usually are during this time of the day. The windows and balconies of the complex are bathed in a romantic orange glow from the lamplight and candles beyond the glass. It’s achingly romantic, lacking only a light dusting of snow and a picture frame.

I pass one of the guards out on patrol. He’s a familiar face, but his name escapes me. He nods as I pass by, stifling a yawn, seemingly uninterested in my affairs. To him
, I’m simply a bored resident out for an evening stroll. My main concern is running into Ruiz or Katia. No doubt, Ruiz has caught wind of my dissatisfaction with the current leadership structure and I’ll be under more scrutiny from him than ever. And Katia, well, I’m sure she’d be very interested in knowing why I’m hustling my ass across the complex with a loaded pistol in my waistband at this time of night.

I’ve
thought of some possible excuses.

Just out for a stroll
.

Trying to clear my head
.

Or, the most despicable of the bunch,
I was just out looking for you
.

None of them would work. Katia is a girl with one hell of a bullshit meter. She’d know I was up to something. She may not know exactly what that
something
is, but she would eventually connect the dots and then I’d be screwed.

This is a one shot deal. If something goes awry, if the winds aren’t blowing in my favor, I’ll be exiled at best, or maybe even killed.

Bethany too.

I really hope she’s on schedule. If she’s not where she’s supposed to
be, then it’s over and done. She’s the most important piece of this entire puzzle.

I make
it to the pool area and ease my way through the gate, pulling it open on its spring-loaded hinges and then easing it back into place once I’m on the other side. The clubhouse is blacked out. The curtains are pulled. The kitchen has closed for the evening.

They’re about to get one last customer.

I pull the roll of duct tape from the bag, biting off strips with my teeth and placing them across a small pane of glass near the door handle. It takes less than a minute. I leave a small circle uncovered at the center of the strips. I check that the coast is still clear, remove my pistol, and ram the butt against the small portion of glass left exposed. It’s damn near silent apart from a few small shards of glass sprinkling against the tile on the other side of the door like ice chips. I fold the square of broken glass and tape in a bundle and pull it through the empty wooden frame. I set it poolside and place the roll of tape back in the bag before reaching my hand through the empty frame to unlock the door handle.

I can’t believe that worked.

A kid at school had once bragged about how he’d broken into a local sandwich shop using that exact technique.

I thought it was bullshit.

It’s funny, the things that stick with you over the years.

I’m careful to step around the glass once I’m inside and have shut the door softly behind me. There’s nothing moving in the shadows except for the shadows themselves. Drawn by the fierce moonlight. Manipulated by fickle gusts of wind.

I stay low
, breathing shallow, feeling my way across the floor and along the walls to the breakfast bar where I’d eaten my first meal with Katia. Everything has been picked up and wiped down for the evening. The faint smell of bleach wipes still hangs heavy in the air. I move around the bar, praying that the single door leading into the kitchen area isn’t locked.

My prayers are quickly answered.

Inside the kitchen, I drop the duffle onto the floor and begin rooting around for a flashlight. There are no windows in here and the darkness is smothering.

I click the flashlight to life and turn down the intensity of the beam. I don’t have
to go far to find the shelves of non-perishable items. It’s right in front of my face. There are more cans than I could ever hope to carry. It’s just as well. I’m not looking to eat these people out of house and home or to put them in a tight spot, I’m simply looking to survive.

Green Beans, Lima Beans, Black Beans, Bean Salad, Chickpeas, Green Split Peas.

Jesus, these people like their beans.

I begin scooping canned goods
into the open bag, along with some disposable silverware and Styrofoam bowls and plates. Enough to last Bethany and me a solid week on three square meals. We’ll scavenge the rest and rebuild our supplies, just like we’d been doing before these people had come along and knocked us off our course.

We just need a little push start
to get us back on track.

Further down the
line, I find bottled water. I grab a few fistfuls, drop them on top of the cans, and turn to leave.

I move briskly. Back the way
I came in.

I don’t bother locking up. What would be the point?

Bytes’ building is only a few strides away from the pool area. The shadows are thick and welcoming around the base of his lair. I scurry into the darkness and hug the wall. Sliding against the red brick. I duck beneath the windows and avoid lingering too long in front of doors. I reach the bottom of the stairs, with its black metal railing and cobblestone steps.

Should I even bother with the sneaking bullshit?

There will be two guards stationed outside of Bytes door. They know me by name at this point. Will they let me pass without Ruiz, given the right line of bullshit?

I don’t know. For all I
know, they’re expecting me and are under orders to drop my ass on sight.

I guess there’s only one way to find out.

Can’t hit if you don’t swing, right?

They see me coming. Their heads turn on me as soon as I crest the steps. I swear that I can see their
fingers inching towards their triggers.

Perhaps I should go down fighting. Pull my pistol and get
a few rounds off before I’m blown back over the railing with a belly full of brass.

As I get closer, the
guard on the left smiles. “Tim, my man, never seen you out this late. I figured you’d be bunked up for the next day or two. Heard you guys ran into some heavy shit out there during that last run.”

“Is it true about the heads
all being chopped off and lined up and shit?” the other guard asks.

My heart is slowly working its way back down into my chest. “Yeah,” I remove my hat and run my fingers through my hair
nervously, “it was a mess. Shit got real crazy. Lucky the cavalry showed up when it did.”

The first guard sighs longingly. “I wanted to be a part of that crew
. Instead, I get stuck here guarding nerds-R-us.”

“Here-here,” the second guard says, chewing at a fingernail.

“You know, I haven’t fired a single round since all this shit went down, not even when I was running. I didn’t own a gun. I had a high school track record and luck on my side. When Ruiz slapped a rifle in my hands, I was sure I was going see some action. Nope. Even when those bastards jumped the wall the other night, they had me back in a reserve unit, watching the other points of entry just in case things spread out. They didn’t. So, here I am.”

“Damn man,” an idea is starting to occur to me, “that sucks
. It’s definitely a rush, being in the thick of it.”
I’ll trade you spots any day
. “So listen, Ruiz told me to come up here and work with Bytes on this data. You know, just bounce some shit around with him and see if we can come up with something useful. I’ve got a piece,” I pull up my shirt to prove it, “I can hold down the fort from inside if you guys want to go for a walk, smoke a cigarette, or whatever.”

They look at each other and smile wide.

“What about Ruiz?” the second guard asks.

“Ah, man, that fool is asleep. When is the last time you saw him round’ here after dark?” The first guard slaps his buddy on the shoulder.

“You got a point.”

“Thanks
, kid, how long you gonna be?”

I wave him off. “Take your time. I’ll be awhile, I’m sure. Catch some sleep. Your secret is safe.”

And just like that, they’re gone around the corner, chuckling quietly to one another about their sudden turn of fortune.

I wait a few moments until their footsteps have vanished from earshot and the only sounds are the crickets calling out from
the brush below and the wind sweeping through the trees. I look over my shoulder, over the balcony, I survey the second story windows for movement, for prying eyes; all seems quiet.

Maybe, too quiet?

Nah, that’s just my paranoia. I’m sweating. Cold droplets of moisture that pull my clothes tight against my skin and hold them there.

I reach out
, ever so slowly, for the door handle, like a child testing a recently extinguished stovetop; tempting fate. Part of me expects it to be locked. Hopes it’ll be locked. Then I can terminate this ridiculous plan altogether, collect Bethany, and go back to the apartment. I’ll awaken tomorrow morning, another day in paradise. I’ll go find Katia, apologize for being an ass, and revel in this new newfound peace and happiness...

The door is unlocked.

The hinges protest slowly as I slide inside. The room is quiet, and pitch-black, except for the hum of the generator on the balcony and the blue glow from the screensaver dancing across the far wall like a neon specter. I shut the door gently at my heels and turn the deadbolt before sliding my pistol from my waistband and resting it behind my right thigh.

The bedroom door opens and a disheveled looking Bytes emerges
, with a thick batch of stubble on his face, tying his bathrobe and blinking sleep from his eyes. “Ruiz, that you? Come on, man, I’ve got to sleep at some point.”

“It’s not Ruiz.”

“Timmy? What the fuck, man? What are you doing here?” He squints his eyes as he stumbles towards me on the other side of the table, trying to see beyond the intense glow cast from the monitors.

I
raise the pistol, gripping it with two hands in order to keep it steady. “Give me the drive. Now. If you scream. If you call for help. I’ll drop you right here. I don’t want to, so don’t give me a fucking reason.”

“Hang on right
there, brother. Did you think this through? You do know that Ruiz will kill you over this thing, right? Why don’t you just lower the piece and we will talk about your concerns, eh?”

I kick the table, driving
it into the tops of his thighs and knocking one of the monitors on its face. “Give me the fucking drive, right now!”

“OW! Shit! That
hurt, man, come on.” He’s rubbing his thighs, looking at me with puppy dog eyes. “Okay, damn, you win.” He plops down in his chair and bends towards the CPU.

“You come up slow, anything else in your hands and you’re done!”

He moves like a sloth changing branches, rising back up, raising his hands to shoulder height, the cross shaped drive pinched between his right thumb and forefinger. “Happy?” He tosses it across the table. It slides to the edge and stops, waiting there for me to retrieve it. “Hope it’s worth it, man. Just remember, you wrote your own death certificate. Just take it and go.”

“Not so fast
, I may not be a tech guru like you, but I’m not a moron, give me the hard drive.”

Bytes makes fists and for a second looks as if he’s going to slam them down on the tabletop in protest. Instead
, he curls his lips and flares his nostrils. Either way, the message is clear. “Now just hang on a goddamn minute...”

“You could have easily copied the information off. Give me the hard drive, right now. I’m running on a schedule here. I’m not fucking around. I’ll blast that shit open, don’t test me.”

Bytes fixes me with a hard glare and then, slowly, bends back down towards the CPU and begins disassembling the case. “I knew you were a backstabbing little fucker the moment I saw you,” he fumes as he begins sliding one side of the white metal shell from its brackets. “Ruiz should have just left you and your sister to rot. You’re not going to get away with this, I’ll tell you that right now. I’ve never killed, but goddamnit, if I have to start, I’ll be happy to start with you.”

“Great story
, Bytes, really, I’m moved. Hurry your ass up, and don’t try slipping me a motherboard or some shit, I know what a hard drive looks like.”

“
Sonofabitch,” he grumbles as he pulls something loose. “Here!” He side arms the hard drive and it bounces off the wall behind me, clattering to the floor.

I shrug. “I was going to destroy the damn thing anyway.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing. No idea.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing.” I dig in
the bag and come out with a couple of zip ties that I’d lifted from maintenance. “I’m tying your ass up and then I’m going to shove a sock in your mouth.”