by Travis Brett
Ruby spat in his face.
“You whore.” Higgs grabbed her by the hair and flung her to the ground. Blood filled her mouth. Fighting dizziness, she clambered to her hands and knees.
Higgs grabbed her leg and pulled her back.
There was nothing she could do. Her hands floundered hopelessly to get a hold of something, anything. She grabbed the door frame as he dragged her inside, but he was too strong and she couldn’t get a proper grip. Higgs let her go when she was in the middle of the room. She only made it two feet away before his mass landed on top of her, sitting on the small of her back. A meaty hand grabbed her neck and pushed her face into the concrete floor.
Ruby couldn’t stop herself screaming. All her rage and fear escaped in one manic cry. She couldn’t stand being so powerless, so pathetically weak.
Higgs’ hand moved from her neck and instead smothered her mouth. Ruby did the last thing left to her: she bit his fingers. He howled, trying to withdraw his hand, but Ruby clenched her jaw and kept his index finger jammed between her teeth.
Higgs’ other hand cracked into the back of Ruby’s head. She still didn’t let go. He hit her again, then a third time. Burning waves of pain coursed through her skull. Finally, his finger ripped out of her bite, leaving behind the taste of blood.
He growled. “Bitch!”
For a moment, his weight on her lessened. This was her chance. Ruby put all her force into twisting herself onto her back. It worked. Now she was looking up at Higgs’ enraged face.
He grabbed her by the neck—
—and she grabbed the knife from his belt.
She buried it in his right shoulder. His eyes widened with shock as the blade pierced his skin. Ruby pulled down, feeling the blade slice through skin and muscle as it ripped through his bicep. It was like cutting steak.
His left hand lifted from her neck and moved to stop her. Ruby quickly pulled the knife out and twisted her arm away from his grasping hand. Then she buried the blade into his palm. He screamed.
Ruby pulled the knife out of his hand and pressed its now bloody edge against his throat. “Get off me. Now.”
He went silent, not moving. His face was curled in a mixture of rage, pain, and disbelief as he stared at the knife.
“I said fucking now!”
Slowly, he climbed off Ruby. She kept the knife firmly pressed against him as they both stood. Blood poured freely from the huge gashes in his shoulder and hand. Ruby could feel that blood on her — warm and disgusting. Higgs’ face was quickly turning white.
Ruby’s grip on the knife was so tight it hurt, but she couldn’t loosen it. She could kill him now; she certainly wanted to. And if she did, all she would have to do was sneak out of the Haven and she’d be free. The horror would be over. It would be the easy thing to do. It would even be the right thing to do. Every minute she stayed here was another minute Roman was out there without her to help him.
But she had already sacrificed her career for Roman. More than that, she had practically sacrificed the last three years for Roman.
Tonight, she was going to do something for herself.
Ruby pushed the knife forward, drawing blood. “You’re going to take me to wherever Gavin keeps his weapons,” she ordered.
Higgs nodded quickly.
“And you’re going to stay just as quiet as your friend outside is being right now. Got it?”
He nodded again.
“Good.”
Ruby pushed him forward, leading him out the door and into the rain. She smiled. Gavin was about to find out that she wasn’t so helpless after all.
23
Roman slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, lost in disbelief. He rubbed his hand across his throat; he swore he could still feel Sparks’ boot pressed against it. Tan stepped in front of him and offered a hand. Roman didn’t take it. Tan shrugged, then sat beside him.
They waited in silence for several minutes, both already too drenched to bother moving out of the rain. Roman’s heart gradually stopped pounding as he stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused.
Finally, Roman asked, “Why didn’t he kill me?” It hurt his throat just to speak. “He was activated. He was furious. And he . . . walked away. Why?”
Tan shrugged. “Maybe he just didn’t want to.”
Roman shook his head. “You know that an Adrenalite would never just walk away from violence.”
“You’ve got a strange definition of the term ‘never.’ Because, unless we both saw different things just now, an Adrenalite literally did walk away from violence.”
“But—”
“Let it go, Boss.”
“Huh?”
“You were wrong about the kid. He’s not some bloodthirsty lunatic, he’s a boy. Simple as that. Accept it, and let it go.”
Roman opened his mouth to respond but instead erupted into a fit of coughing. Tan gave him a hard thump on the back, then lifted him up by his arm, supporting Roman’s unsteady weight.
“Come on,” Tan said. “You’ve had your chance to be stunned shitless, now we gotta go.”
Roman shrugged Tan’s hand off him, moving to the sidewalk where the puddles weren’t as deep. One step at a time, he told himself, falling into a trance with the simple repetition of it. At each corner Roman half expected to find Sparks waiting for them. Surely the kid would change his mind and come back. But every turn only revealed more wet, crumbling streets. Every time it was a relief. Although Roman found himself almost wishing Sparks would return. That would at least make sense.
He ground his teeth, frustrated. Somehow it felt like Sparks had made Roman the villain. The asshole.
The monster.
Fucking hell, maybe that’s why he let me live. He wants me to feel guilty. It was working. Eventually, the thought disturbed Roman enough that he had to talk about it. “Hey Tan,” he began slowly, not sure how to word what he wanted to say. “Are you angry at Sparks?”
“Not really.”
“Are you angry at me?”
Tan turned away, refusing to meet Roman’s eye. “Yeah, a little, I guess.”
“Why?”
“You mean besides you dragging me into this mess and almost getting me killed? Besides probably getting Ruby killed?”
Roman hung his head. “Yeah, besides all that.”
“Well, I think that . . . maybe . . .” Tan trailed off, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “You could have gone a little easier on Sparks. He didn’t deserve the way you treated him.”
Roman had half expected that answer, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. “Thanks for being honest.”
“Being honest is probably the only thing I’m actually good at. That and stealing shit.”
They walked the rest of the journey in silence. An hour later, they entered the seventh district, which still had power. Even this far from the Haven the streets were mostly empty, the rain kept everyone inside except for a few drunks stumbling home, most still carrying drinks. The few that bothered to look at Roman and Tan retreated to the side of the road until they passed. The rain gradually lessened to a steady drizzle.
Roman let out a sigh of relief when the Mutt’s Tail came into view. The faint beams of light visible in the cracks of door beckoned him inside.
Tan pushed open the door and Roman followed him inside. Even the dimly-lit, smoke-filled room felt like paradise after being in the icy rain for so long. The pub was empty apart from Griff polishing glasses behind the bar and a trio of men sitting the corner, one of them collapsed over a table, snoring.
“Evenin’ Griff,” Tan said, shaking his head to dislodge a spray of water from what was left of his afro. “We’re gonna need drinks. Lots of them.”
Roman collapsed onto his seat at their usual booth. The hard wooden bench had never felt so comfortable. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and took a series of slow breaths. A part of him wanted to stand back up, pull out his gun, and go out searching for Candle. After all, he couldn’t be wasting tim
e like this, not while Gavin had Ruby. But his exhaustion kept him locked in his chair, drained, wavering on edge of sleep.
“Eventful night, gentlemen?”
Roman opened his eyes to see Griff placing a pair of whiskeys on the table. His blue tie was as clean as ever — how the hell did he keep it so unspoiled? By now, it should be smoked-stained like everything else in the bar.
“Ah, you’re my saviour.” Tan grabbed the first glass and downed it in one gulp. “Have I ever told you that? Because I really mean it.” He poured the second glass down his throat. “Oh, and we’re going to need some drinks for Roman too.”
Griff nodded. If he was shocked at the state of the two them, he didn’t show it. “There’s someone here, waiting for you.” He shuffled off, disappearing behind the bar and into the back room.
Roman groaned, not as much anxious about who it could be as annoyed that it meant he couldn’t sleep yet. He leaned forward and rested his head on his forearms, closing his eyes again. He was dimly aware of footsteps. Heavy ones.
“We’ve got a problem.” Caleb’s voice. He sounded pissed.
“Damn right we do,” Roman muttered, not bothering to open his eyes.
“Sparks has gone rogue.”
“I know. We met him on our way here.”
“I imagine he wasn’t too happy with you.”
“You could say that.”
Caleb sat down opposite Roman. The bench groaned beneath his weight. “Well, I can’t say I didn’t warn you. But at least you’re still alive.”
“Alive is quite a generous term for it.”
Roman heard the clink of more glasses being laid on the table, followed swiftly by a satisfied sigh from Tan. He opened his eyes and grabbed a glass. Taking a large gulp, he felt it burn his throat and ignite a warm smouldering in his chest. He grabbed the last glass before Tan could and drank that too.
“So what the hell happened with Sparks?” Roman asked Caleb.
“It started off according to plan. We cut the power. Well, technically, Sparks brought down the whole station.”
“Of course he fucking did.”
“Afterwards, I had to deactivate him, as you instructed,” Caleb growled the last word. “He didn’t like that so much. He got mad, screamed about how you promised him his own needle. And I didn’t give him one. Again, as you instructed.”
“That might have been a mistake,” Roman admitted begrudgingly.
“Damn right it was.”
“How did the kid get away from you?”
“He got hold of a gun.”
“Damn.” Roman punched the table. “Well, we can’t do anything about Sparks. Not anymore. Now all that matters is getting Ruby back.”
Caleb’s brow furrowed. “What happened to her?”
“She’s . . .” Roman’s voice caught in his throat. He motioned to Griff for more drinks — he needed them. “Gavin is holding her hostage,” he finally managed to say. Saying it out loud made it so much worse.
“Shit.”
“You can say that again. So, Gavin wants Candle,” Roman continued. “He’ll return Ruby in exchange for him. Caleb, we need your help for this. I know you’re pissed at me. And I know we won’t get paid. But . . . please.”
“I’ll do it.”
“You will?”
Caleb pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Ruby’s a friend, and friends are hard to come by in Legacy.”
A smile tugged on the corners of Roman’s mouth. “I underestimated you.”
“You always have.” Caleb blew out a smoke ring. “I respect you, Roman, I really do, but sometimes you can be a real dick, and you assume everyone else is as much of a dick as you are. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a good man, not in the least. But I’m not the kind of man who would abandon his friend.”
“I . . .” Roman couldn’t find the right words. “Thank you.”
Caleb grunted. “I’m not doing it for your thanks. And I do have one condition.”
“Anything.”
“You have to promise me that if we ever see Sparks again, you won’t try to kill him.”
Roman frowned. “I might not have a choice.”
“He had the choice to kill you, didn’t he? That’s my condition, take it or leave it.”
“Why do you care about what happens to the kid? He’s rogue now. No longer your responsibility.”
Caleb extinguished his cigarette against the tabletop. “I made a deal with him, and I don’t back down from a deal.”
“That much I can understand,” Roman said. “I accept your condition.” He offered his hand, and Caleb shook it.
Griff arrived with another round. He lingered for a moment, watching the three of them from beneath his bushy eyebrows. At first, Roman thought he was waiting for payment, then he saw the concern in the old man’s face. “I can’t help but notice the state of you gentlemen,” Griff said, “and I assume something went wrong tonight?”
Roman nodded. “Things went to hell, that’s for sure.”
“Well, I don’t mean to sound bold, but should I be worried about having you in my bar? If you folks—”
“Don’t worry about that.” Roman waved him away. “You’re in no more danger here than anywhere else in this forsaken city.” Although, that means nothing. Since all of Legacy is now under the threat of an army of Adrenalites.
Apparently satisfied, Griff walked off to resume his eternal job of wiping glasses. Tan helped himself to the new drinks while Roman used his arms as a pillow. Weariness overwhelmed him, and he felt himself slipping out of consciousness.
“You stay here and rest,” he heard Caleb say. “I’m going to go find a lead on Candle.”
“Where are you going to look?” Roman mumbled.
“I’ll start questioning my old mercenary contacts. I’ll crack some skulls until somebody tells me something.”
Roman was barely listening. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
24
Ruby walked a step behind Higgs and kept the knife firmly digging into his back. One quick push and it would slide between his ribs and into his heart. She was almost looking forward to doing it.
Higgs kept his hands on his head as he led them through the compound. Blood poured freely from both of wounds, running down his back and arms before washing away in the rain. He stumbled, blood loss quickly taking its toll. Ruby didn’t help him, instead pushed the knife in harder. Higgs found his footing again and moved on.
From somewhere behind them, Ruby heard yelling. She couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was clear: they had discovered her escape.
The buildings around them didn’t look familiar. Although, every building here looked identical: grey, square and half collapsed. The floodlights spread around the compound were still off — a fact she was grateful for.
Was it just her imagination, or was the shouting behind her getting closer? More voices were joining in the mix. Ruby glanced behind her. The rain washed away most of the trail of blood that Higgs left, and, in the dark, it would be hard to spot what was left. But still . . . it would be possible, and it would lead straight to her.
“How much further?” she demanded anxiously.
“Not . . . far,” Higgs said between heavy breaths.
Ruby was tempted to just kill Higgs now and search for Gavin’s weaponry herself. She was impatient to get her hands on a bow. Once she had one, she could stop fleeing, and start hunting down Gavin. All she needed was one shot. In this darkness, he wouldn’t even see her coming.
The voices were coming closer.
“Down here.” Higgs turned to a side alleyway, his steps getting more unstable with each stride.
Ruby stared, uncertain, at the entrance of the alley. Her instincts told her it was a trap. But the voices behind her were close enough she could make out their insults and threats and taunts. At least the alley would get her out of sight. She pushed Higgs in first.
It was too dark to see more than five paces ahead. Ruby’s pulse pound
ed in her ears as she scanned the shadows for any sign of a trap.
Higgs stumbled again, but this time he didn’t catch himself and he collapsed, hitting the ground face first. He wasn’t going any further in this state. Cautiously, Ruby knelt beside him and sliced the blade across his neck. He died with a sickening gurgling sound. Ruby fought the urge to retch, quickly moving away from the corpse as if it might explode.
The shouts grew louder. Much louder.
“This way!”
“We’ve got her!”
Ruby swore, running deeper into the alley. She prayed for a door, somewhere to hide, but the walls were void of anything other than cracks. She sprinted around a corner and into a dead end.
Ruby kicked the wall in frustration. Why the hell did the Ancients build an alleyway that led nowhere? She looked for a way to climb up to the roof, but it was impossible. She turned and ran back the way she had come.
A large silhouette was framed in the mouth of the alley. The glint of steel alerted Ruby to an axe in her opponent’s hands. Her own knife felt like an awfully pathetic weapon in comparison. Breath catching in her throat, Ruby stopped, crouching low. She was hidden in the shadows, for now.
Ten yards away, the thug chuckled. “You think you can hide? I’m gonna—”
Ruby dashed forward. The thug saw her and fell into a defensive pose, pulling the axe back and preparing to swing. As she entered his reach, Ruby ducked and the axe sliced just above her head, hitting the wall with a sharp clunk. She darted to the side and thrust the knife into the thug’s chest.
He howled as blood poured from the wound and onto Ruby’s fingers. She tried to pull the knife out for another strike, but it caught on his rib and wouldn’t budge.
The axe came around for a second swing. Ruby let go of the knife, barely spinning away from the blow. She ducked past the thug and sprinted out of the alleyway.
She looked left and saw two more thugs rushing towards her. Both had nail-studded clubs. She turned and fled the other way. The thugs hurled threats as they chased her.
Terror washed over Ruby as she ran. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a third thug run out of a different alley and charge at her. She took a right and sprinted through the Haven, not knowing where she was heading. Unarmed and outnumbered, her only hope was to get the hell out of here.
