The Renegades (The Superiors) (9 page)

Chapter 20

Once
Draven had gone, Cali looked around the car. She had to crack the door a little
to see anything in the car’s dark interior. Without the blanket around her, the
wind cut through her clothes almost immediately. She climbed over the seat into
the area where Draven had slept and searched for something warm. When she found
his clothes, she unfolded them all and piled them on the seat. Then she climbed
back into the seat and pulled the pile of clothes on top of her, closing the
door to keep the cold wind out before she tried to sleep again.

The
seat had cooled in her absence, but once her body heat warmed it, it held her
warmth. The pile of clothes didn’t cover her very well, though, and parts of
her always got cold. After a while, she cracked the door again. She couldn’t
fall asleep, so she climbed over the seat into the Superior’s space. She
wondered whether he’d be mad if she got into his things, and then decided she
should pack the bag, anyway. Outside, night had fallen completely, though, and
she couldn’t see anything even with the door cracked. She had to open it all
the way, and then the icy wind stabbed at her as she moved around in the dark.
Still, she could see somewhat by the light from the moon and the city around
her. She put as much as she could in the bag, taking out a thick jacket to
cover her. Most of Draven’s things fit, but the bag was so heavy when she
finished filling it that she could hardly lift it. She didn’t think she could
carry it up a mountain.

Again
she crawled over the seat and lay down and pulled the door closed. The seat was
still warm. She’d had trouble sleeping all day, but now she lay awake, as if
waiting for something—maybe sleep, or Draven to come back, or someone to find
her. While trying to get comfortable, she found his paper book again. She lay
holding it and wondering about the story and why Draven said it was about human
sex, and how that was different from Superior sex. Maybe she could ask. But
she’d feel awfully silly talking to him about something so personal. He didn’t
seem to have any trouble talking about it, though, so he probably wouldn’t mind
if she asked. He didn’t get embarrassed over anything.

She
had always wondered what made Superiors so different, since they looked like
humans. Maybe they went about it a different way. Maybe under their clothes,
they were made differently. Except she knew Draven wasn’t, since she’d seen him
naked before. He wasn’t shy about that, either. He looked normal as far as she
could see, maybe tighter than most of the men she’s seen, but nothing
significant.

She
fell asleep for a while, and when she woke she wished she hadn’t, because she
had no way of telling how much time had passed. It could have been five
minutes, or five hours. She waited for what felt like five more hours, her fear
multiplying every minute. What if she’d sent Draven to die, and for nothing? If
he didn’t make it back with the baby, she would have killed them both, and
probably her best and only chance of escape. Her only hope was to make it to
the camp of the runaways, and they might not welcome her. They might think
she’d lead Superiors to them, or they might blame her if she told them she’d
been there the night their community members had gotten killed.

She
didn’t know if they’d all been killed. She couldn’t remember much of that night,
except some sort of dream apparition who glowed with light and beauty, who had
put his mouth right against hers but not in a kiss, and he’d sucked something
from her, some light and energy in her that she couldn’t see. For months
afterwards, she’d felt weak and tired. Sometimes she still thought she’d
dreamed the whole thing. If not for Draven’s memory of the same night, she
might have convinced herself none of it had happened.

She
heard a noise and tensed. Though she wanted to look outside, she didn’t dare
move. If a Superior came looking for her, would it hear her even if she kept
perfectly still? Hardly daring to breathe, she lay waiting, certain that the
very next second Master would rip the door off the car and yank her out by the
hair. Her scarred hands knotted into fists around the collar of Draven’s
jacket.

A
slow, metallic scraping sound wormed its way into the car, and then a bang
sounded that made her jump, and then she heard the scamper of running feet. A
dog began barking furiously, and, laughing at herself for her childish fears,
Cali relaxed. She lay in the dark, huddled under the pile of Superior clothes,
thinking how crazy everything had turned. She was free, but not free. She could
have run, but she knew she wouldn’t. Not yet.

And
somehow, she’d gotten a Superior to do what she wanted, even though he didn’t
want to. That had certainly never happened before.

Just
when she’d managed to calm herself completely, she heard the sound of a car
door slamming. She lay still, terrified someone would find her even though she
had closed the car door tightly. What if they could hear her, could smell her
hiding in the car? What if somehow they just
knew
, the way they’d known
to find her and the runaways the last time. Or suppose they had caught Draven
and he’d told them where to find her, the way she thought the runaway who’d
been caught had probably told them the last time.

A
voice called from somewhere and Cali started, her heart racing. From inside the
car, it sounded so far away. Had Draven carried her so far back into the lot?
It hadn’t seemed far at the time. But somewhere nearby, two men had struck up a
conversation, and their muffled voices carried back to her, though she could
only barely hear them.

A
grinding sound followed, a loud motor started up, and something metal began
crashing so close that she could feel the earth shaking beneath her hideaway.
It sounded like a giant was tearing the lot apart looking for one little human
girl. As the sounds continued, she held herself still, even though she wanted
nothing more than to rip out of the car and go tearing through the night
blindly until she couldn’t hear the terrible grinding, crunching, grating
noises anymore. This wasn’t dogs searching for scraps, or even Superiors
searching the cars. It couldn’t be. It had to be gods or monsters. She curled
up in a ball and started praying.

After
what seemed like hours, the giants quieted to a constant rumble and then
stilled. Cali cringed and hugged herself tighter even after they’d left. Her
stomach growled and growled, and she needed to pee, and she needed to change
her cup.

Silence
fell again on the lot, but she couldn’t relax. Again she waited, her shoulders
knotted with tension from lying stiff for so long. Finally she heard it, a
scuffing sound very near and so quiet she almost thought she’d imagined it. But
she could feel something, someone, coming near. Her skin prickled and she held
her breath and didn’t even blink. She’d been found.

The
door scraped.

She
wanted to scream and scramble away, but some very last part of her still
thought if she kept quiet enough, no one could see her. She covered her mouth
and stared wide-eyed into the dark, waiting.

The
door moved aside and a figure filled its place. He slid inside smooth and fast,
moving on top of her. She scratched his face, struggling in silence as his body
pressed down on hers.

“Cali, stop,” he whispered, catching her hands easily in one of his. “Awaken, Apsen, my
jaani.
Se moi
.”

“Lord
and master, you scared me to death,” she whispered, her voice just a breath.
Her heart, which had been slowly trying to pound its way from her ribcage, took
off so fast she thought it might burst, and even in the cold, a thin film of
sweat covered her skin.

“It’s
alright,” Draven whispered, stroking her cheek. “Still your mind. You’re safe,
little pet. Are you awake now?”

She
didn’t tell him that she’d been awake, that she hadn’t been surprised out of
sleep but only terrified. She turned her face from his cold, gentle fingers.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I
retrieved your baby. He’s sleeping.”

“Where
is he?”

“Here
in this sling. We must leave quickly.”

“Where
are we going?”

“Onto
the rooftops for the rest of the night. It’s too dangerous to stay here. We are
fortunate no one has come to collect you yet.”

“Are
we going to live up there?”

“We
will leave in the morning.”

“Can
you go out in the daytime?”

“We
have to.”

“Wait,
you can go out during the day?” Cali tried to pull back to look at him, but she
couldn’t see anything with the car doors closed, even a face just inches from
hers.

“If
I must. I cannot carry you all day, though.”

“How
can you go out? I thought you had to sleep all day.”

“Do
you have to sleep all night?”

“Well,
no, but…”

“I’ll
be weaker, and tired, but we must go nonetheless.”

“Can
I ask why?”

“Superiors
are active at night.” His cold breath, or maybe the thought of all those
Superiors looking for her, sent a chill crawling over her skin.

“Okay,
I’m ready,” she said. “I packed your bag.”

“Good
girl.” When he kissed her forehead, his lips were like ice. “Thank you. Are you
better now?”

“Oh,
well, yeah. You just scared me.”

“I’m
sorry. I did not intend to awaken you. I’m glad I’ve not frightened you.” He
moved off her, and she pushed his jacket at him.

“I
used that for a blanket. Sorry.”

“Use
it.”

“Aren’t
you cold?”

“It
only slows me. When it’s below freezing, it will matter more.”

She
didn’t really understand him, so she just said, “Okay.”

They
readied themselves in the dark, and when Draven slid the door back and they got
out, Cali looked around in surprise at how much darkness remained in the sky.
The inside of the car stayed so dark she couldn’t tell night from day. She had
expected morning, but it looked like the middle of the night. When she
stretched, the pressure in her bladder was almost painful. “I have to pee,” she
whispered.

“Go,”
Draven said. “We’re leaving in a moment anyhow.”

Cali
went behind a car and relieved herself. She was glad to see her woman’s days
had nearly ended. She hated how Superiors could always tell, and how they
always had to comment on it, like she didn’t know she bled. She didn’t have
anywhere to wash her cup, so she wiped it off as best she could on her
underwear, which needed washing anyway. She needed an extra pair, too, but she
couldn’t complain about something so personal to a Superior. Even a woman
Superior probably wouldn’t understand, and Cali would never mention those
things to a man as refined as Draven.

As
soon as she rejoined him, they set off walking in the opposite direction from
where they’d come. They neared the back fence of the lot, then followed it and
squeezed through between the end of the fence and a big brick building. Draven
had to maneuver through with Leo in his arms and the pack on his back. When
they made it through, they circled the building. At the corner, Draven jumped
back and flattened himself against the wall, reaching back to prevent Cali from
stepping around him.

If
he hadn’t stopped her, she would have missed the sound of tires in the parking
lot and stepped out for anyone to see. The car door clicked shut, and footsteps
approached. “I savor a sap,” a man said, his accent so familiar that Cali’s
heart caught with the power of her sudden homesickness.

“No,
man, that’s your own face,” a second voice said. He talked like everyone here,
not like the first man, who talked like the people back home. “You eat like a
heathen. Sap all over your face…” They were both laughing now, and then a door
on the side of the building slammed shut behind them, and their voices
disappeared. They had sounded so normal, like they could have been anyone,
human or Superior.

What
if Cali had run just then? Maybe she could have escaped with the man who talked
like people back home, and he’d have taken her home, and everything would have
been like it had been… But that was silly. Draven came from back home, and he
hadn’t made her a kid again.

Draven
took her arm and pulled her along. She had to run to keep up. But soon he’d
ducked into a side alley, and minutes later, they were on the roofs again,
moving across them as they had all the last night. “How long were you gone?”
Cali asked. “When will it be morning?”

“Not
long,” Draven said.

“Are
we going to do this all night?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,”
Cali said. “It felt like you were gone for a long time. There were these awful
noises outside, like something was ripping the car-yard apart…”

“They
pull the cars into that building and strip them for parts. I told you that.”

“Oh,”
Cali said again, feeling foolish. Of course dragging cars through the lot would
make an awfully big racket. “Well, when it stopped, I thought it was morning.”

“No.”

“So
why’d they stop? What time is it?”

“To
eat, I imagine.”

Cali gave up on talking to him. He did have a lot to do, what with carrying her and Leo
and a backpack. So she tried to ignore the pain in her muscles, and instead
focused on formulating an escape plan.

Chapter 21

Byron
swore up and down, paced and threw things like a child. He didn’t care. What
the hell was the world coming to? He’d lost his sapien, the one he liked, the
good one. And now the sapling. It hadn’t taken him long to beat that out of Shelton. At least the male had loyalty like a good sap. So what if it was infertile. Byron
would take it any day over the bitch he’d brought all the way from back home.

Cali had run away
twice
. Twice in as many years. Sure, he knew it’d run twice
before, but he’d always prided himself on his well-behaved sapiens. And now
this, on top of Meyer Kidd, and his unsolved case, and the man in charge of the
assignment telling him he’d be taken off it if he didn’t quit harassing
innocent citizens. Meyer, an innocent citizen? He’d bet his ass Meyer was
anything but innocent. But he had the act, all right.

And
now Byron came home to find the sapling gone. He had lost two saps in two
nights. All he had left was the male, which said it had ‘lost’ the sapling.
That’s all it would say when Byron beat it, until it couldn’t say anything
anymore.

Byron
didn’t have much to lose at this point. He’d already lost two sapiens, and he
knew Shelton had told the truth about the female, that Draven had stolen it
from the garden but the male hadn’t seen it happen. It couldn’t say how Draven
had climbed the building, but apparently he’d done it before, something Byron
would have noticed had he not been so distracted by the souldamned case. He’d
never imagined the skinny Indian cocksucker would come back for another one,
something so far beyond humanoid that he knew Meyer had sent Draven to taunt
him, show how easy it was to lose two saps, as Meyer had. But Byron had lost
his to theft, not stupidity.

But
where the hell had Draven taken them? Byron couldn’t find any trace of him
outside the apartment building, although he circled it a dozen times. He’d sent
a catcher after his sap, too, but by morning, the catcher had turned up
empty-handed. After Byron’s authorization, she had connected her pod to the
sap’s locator chip. She’d watched as the chip wove haphazardly through
buildings all over the city, but when she began to intersect the course, the
sap wasn’t there. Either Draven had stopped to remove it before the catcher set
out, and somehow attached it to some other moving object, or more likely,
someone had hacked into the chip’s footprint and scrambled it.

With
dawning fury, Byron realized that this had all been set up and planned far in
advance. Draven was too humanoid to figure out how to tamper with a locator
chip even after working as a catcher for many years. Meyer certainly wasn’t.
And he was just sneaky enough to write a new footprint that would lead a
catcher all over the city and waste an entire night of searching. By now, he’d
probably hidden Cali away somewhere, maybe letting Draven feast on the spoils
of his labor as a reward.

A
flash of memory shot through Byron, his sap on the balcony with the scent of
fresh sap all over her. Irritated with her brainlessness, he’d given it little
thought, had assumed she’d had her cycle. But it had been the scent of fresh
sap, not the foul odor of discharge. Draven had been there that night, already
feasting on Byron’s sapien, stealing from the very man who had once encouraged
him to purchase livestock and honored him with the opportunity to earn enough
money to do so. Worse still, Byron had actually enjoyed Draven’s company, had
taken a genuine interest in his life despite his lowly station. He had seen the
wasted potential in the Third that now Meyer had harnessed and turned against
Byron.

Byron
should have known a Third Order scumbag would never understand something as
evolved as loyalty. Thirds were little more than saps, only after their own
hedonistic interests and never looking to the good of the people. They were
easy to use, as long as the cause suited their interests. Once, Byron had been
Draven’s greatest ally. Now Meyer’s cause now suited Draven’s interest, so he
turned his back on Byron without a thought for the man who had nurtured his
career so selflessly.

Meyer
thought he’d have the last laugh, steal Byron’s favorite sapien and rub his
former friend’s betrayal in his face at the same time. He’d even taunted Byron
about it the last time they’d talked. If only Byron had known the smug little
shitstain’s plan.

He
didn’t plan to sit back and let it unfold before his very eyes. If Meyer wanted
a fight, he’d get a fight. He may have the whole Enforcement agency fooled, but
he couldn’t fool Byron. Byron was too smart to fall for the kid’s act.

So
he’d go find them. What did it matter? Everyone thought Byron had lost his mind.
Suspension from the assignment altogether would come next. No one would miss
him. He had no friends. It had only gotten colder with winter coming, and Byron
had no desire to spend another winter holed up in the mountains hiding from the
cold. So he’d take a little break from the case, come back with fresh eyes. Or
a fresh kill, if he came across Draven, or Angel, or Meyer Kidd, on his way.

He’d
sleep before he packed up his things, took his sapien, and went hunting. He’d
follow that thieving rat-bastard to the ends of the earth to exact his justice.
No one mocked Byron and got away with it, no one crossed him or got the better
of him. And he’d be damned if he let someone make a fool of him. If Meyer
thought he could send that third-rate
backar chodu
to make a fool out of
Byron, Byron would show him. He’d make a meal out of Draven.