by Dena Nicotra
“Please don’t hurt her, we are unarmed and we don’t mean you any harm.” I was surprised by the way Giz jumped to my defense. I would have expected him to be the last person that would give a damn what happened to me, considering our tenuous relationship. I collected myself and did my best to remain calm. The glow of the firelight exposed the severity of our situation. There were more than a dozen of them to our seven. We were defenseless, exhausted and outnumbered.
“State your business,” said Dallas. His weapon was pointed directly at Mic’s head, and I had to focus on the sandy ground beneath me to keep my composure. If anything happened to him, I would be next, because I would do everything in my power to exact revenge on the person or persons that caused him harm. I would also never forgive myself. Giz looked like he would buckle at any moment and Maude looked terrified. The guilt that riddled me at that moment, was almost unbearable. Once again I regretted my connections with these people. If I hadn’t joined up with them, they wouldn’t be facing this predicament.
“We’ve come here for refuge. We were overrun by simps in a hotel about thirty-five miles from here.”
“How’d you get here?” asked Dallas.
“I have a hovcar. It’s low on hydro. This was the closest destination I could find,” said Mic. Now it made sense why he’d brought us here. Hydrogen Stations were common in the city, but that was a long time ago. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen one in working order. No wonder he had brought us here.
“How many simps?” asked the woman with the braids.
“More than I could count,” said Mic.
“How’d ya get out alive?” asked Dallas.
“We were fortunate enough to be able to get to the hovcar, but not all of us made it. We’ve lost some of our people, and our friend Lee there is in need of medical attention, so we’d all appreciate it if you’d have your man take the gun out of her back,” said Mic. Dallas gave a nod and Tommy backed up —the others seemed to relax a little bit as well. “We don’t have any hydro here,” said Dallas.
“I understand, and we’re not looking to be a burden to you. Would it be too much to ask for you folks to put us up for the night, and if you have it to spare, the provisions to look after our friend here?”
“You can’t stay here. We got enough to worry about just trying to look after our own,” said Dallas.
“You can’t turn them out, Dallas. That would be cruel and inhumane. That woman’s injured. Hold your light down and look at the blood all over her feet. We could at least give them lodging for what’s left of the night,” said an older woman that had appeared from a tent beneath the water tower. Her back was severely hunched, making her appear frail, but she seemed to have some level of authority because Dallas conceded without further argument.
“All right, you can stay at Shep’s place. That’s the red one over there,” he pointed to a small house across from us. “The only way in or out is visible from here, and we’ll be watching,” he warned.
“Thank you, I appreciate your generosity. We’ll find our own way as soon as we’re rested,” Mic said, as he shook hands with the large man. The rest of us huddled together and made our way to the red house. Deraline came to my side and put her arm around my waist. I put mine over her shoulder and allowed her to assist me as we walked. I could feel the eyes of every one of those people on us, and I wasn’t entirely confident that we were safe amongst them, but I was out of steam and done throwing my opinions out for the day. We waited quietly on the porch for Mic to join us and bring the key to let us in.
Once we were inside, we shared a collective sigh of relief. The space was small and sparsely decorated, but it was clean and warm, and that was enough for me. There was only one bedroom and we agreed that Maude should take it. The couch had a fold- out bed, and Giz and Alice claimed it first, so that left a recliner for Ben and the floor for me and Mic. Mic pulled Deraline aside in the hallway to speak with her while I went into the bathroom to try and clean my hands and feet. I was happy when I located a bottle of rubbing alcohol, but I really needed a pair of tweezers and that wasn’t happening. I filled the bath tub with enough water to wash my feet and then carefully pulled out what I could with my stubby fingernails. Afterwards, I applied the alcohol to the wounds. It stung like hell but at least I’d stave off any infection.
When I came out, I found Mic had made us a pallet using the cushions from the couch. He’d even managed to find us a blanket. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about the way he’d treated me back at the hotel, but I decided to sort that out later. For now, I just needed to lie down beside him, feel his arms around me, and sleep. I hobbled across the room and joined him. He sat up, clicked off the small lamp on the end table, and then adjusted the blankets over the two of us. We faced each other and I let him kiss my forehead. It felt so good to feel his body so close to mine. We were both too tired for anything extra, but it didn’t matter. I’d missed him more than I wanted to admit to myself.
“I was going to help you, but you didn’t give me the chance. What happened to you back there?” whispered Mic.
“It’s nothing, just some broken glass.”
“Did you get it all out?”
“Most of it. It looked worse than it was.”
“I’m relieved to hear that,” he said, brushing my hair from my face. “I thought I’d lost you, Lee.” I didn’t want to talk about that. “Where’s Deraline?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I have her on patrol. Don’t worry, we’re safe. Get some sleep.”
The first traces of dawn were peeking through the curtains as I drifted off to the sound of Giz’s snoring. Even in my exhaustion, I couldn’t avoid my nightmares. I dreamed Sonya was screaming, and Two was ripping her arms and legs off while she begged for her life to be spared. The worst part of the dream wasn’t the violence being doled out to that bitch, it was the fact that she wouldn’t die. She just kept screaming that she had rights, that she was a human being, and that she never meant to hurt anyone. I wanted her to shut up so badly it hurt. I woke up abruptly and realized that the screaming I’d heard wasn’t in my dream. Looking around, I realized that I was alone in the small house. I got to my feet as quickly as I could and went to the door. There was quite a commotion going on by the time I got to the porch, and it was difficult to see who was in the middle of it because there were several people from the town blocking my view. I hadn’t noticed Maude was standing near the steps until she called my name.
“Lee! Oh my goodness, you are not going to believe it!”
“Maude, what the hell is going on?”
“Deraline found Two!”
“What? Where?”
“Somewhere near the hotel, but that’s not all…” A gap in the crowd broke and I saw for myself. Two was dragging Sonya by the hair. Her dark cotton leggings were now caked with dirt and her feet were flailing wildly.
“She’s a danger to all of us, Maude! She shouldn’t have brought her here!” Disregarding my feet, I bounded toward the crowd. Mic and Dallas were in a shouting match, and it sounded as if Dallas was defending Sonya. If he only knew what kind of a beast he was defending, I was sure he would feel differently. I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loud as I could. This got the attention I was after. I seized the opportunity to clear the confusion. “Before any of you decide to defend her, you should know that she is a simp sympathizer. She works for them, and she deliberately led them straight to our group, which cost two people their lives last night.”
“That’s not true!” Sonya went on a roll of lying and groveling from there. “I was with them and they abandoned me! This one doesn’t like me because she was in love with my boyfriend, so she tells these lies to be rid of me! Please, you have to help me. She’s turned everyone against me and now she wants me to die!”
“If that’s true, then why would my sister go to so much trouble to bring you here, Sonya? Why not just leave you back at the hotel with the simps?”
“Somethin
g isn’t lining up here,” said Dallas.
“I don’t know why! I tell you I don’t know why! Sonya digressed from English to Spanish, but regardless of the language, she was clearly full of bullshit.
“Speak English if you expect us to understand you, woman!” said the hunchbacked woman.
“Momma, stay out of this. Go back to the tent, you don’t need to see any of this,” said Dallas.
“Boy, I was wiping your ass before you knew you had one. Don’t you tell me what to do! I’m not going to sit by and let an innocent woman die!”
“She’s by no means an innocent woman,” I said.
“Can you prove it, girl?” This tough old bird wasn’t going to let this go that easily, and I needed to be careful not to expose Two or Deraline as simps. I still believed in Mic’s work, and I knew the rest of my group did as well. Just the same, it was only a matter of time before Sonya would expose them both, because there was no way she didn’t know by now what they were. Two looked up at me with all of the coolness I’d like to think I have under pressure. “I could snap her neck right now. Give me the word and I will,” she said.
“You better tell your sister to calm down right now! I’m not having this in my town. You can either prove she’s a sympathizer as you say, or you can leave her here, and the rest of you can pack up and go,” said the old woman.
“I can prove it,” said Deraline softly. The people around them fanned out to make room, and stood back just enough to see what would happen next. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that there were others coming out of their houses and moving in to get a better view. It was as if they were expecting a performance. It occurred to me that these people probably didn’t get many outsiders, so this was either exciting or terrifying to witness. Deraline looked so innocent. As long as you didn’t know she was a simp, you’d never expect the brutality she was capable of. I hoped that her youthful façade would work in our favor now.
“Before I do, I need to ask you all to be calm and open minded.”
“What are you planning to do, Deraline?” asked Mic. There was an undercurrent of caution in his voice that was obvious to those in our little group.
“It’s okay, trust me,” she said. Deraline pulled a small knife from her pocket and bent down to the dirt where Sonya now sat.
“Oh no, please! Don’t let her hurt me!” Sonya got on her knees and began crawling toward Dallas as fast as her portly knees would move. Seeing she wasn’t getting the sympathy she was after, she went the other route. “Both of these girls are simps! They will kill you all!” she shouted.
“That’s pathetic, Sonya. First I want to screw Kyle, and now you’re going to try to convince these good people that my sister and this poor young girl are simps?” Taking my queue, Maude joined in to assist. “Deraline is my granddaughter, so that’s a bold faced lie!” I had to give Maude some credit. She was quick, and she sounded more than a little convincing. I was just thankful it wasn’t dark, because a flashlight stood between us and the truth.
“Do what you set out to, child,” said the old woman. Deraline moved swiftly, ignoring Sonya’s blood curdling screams. Two was doing a fine job of holding the bitch still, so there was no way she was going anywhere. When she was finished cutting, Deraline held up a small cylinder-shaped object no larger than a grain of rice for everyone to see. Silent now, Sonya clutched her bleeding hand and writhed around in the dirt. Her plans were ruined. She would not convince anyone in this crowd to take her side now. Deraline surveyed the faces of the people now staring at this small bit of proof between her thumb and index finger, and then she addressed the people. “This is a micro-chip, designed to transmit data. It gives off a low-frequency radio wave, and that is how she is tracked. She also had a scanning device that she used to call them.”
“How do you know she had a scanning device? Where is this device now?” asked one of the onlookers.
“I destroyed it last night,” replied Two.
“Is that thing you pulled out of her still transmitting?”
“It is,” replied Mic. He pushed his way through the group and moved to stand next to Deraline. Anxiously, the crowd began to shout out questions, and seemed no longer interested in the fate of the woman on the ground. The threat of simps coming to attack them outweighed their former concerns. Demands to destroy the chip echoed and escalated through the crowd, and I was finding myself in agreement with them. I had to wonder why Two and Deraline would bring her here in the first place if they knew she was transmitting a signal that could bring the simps right to us. Mic raised his hands up, “Listen to me! I’ve got a plan, and if we work together we’ll be fine, but you all need to calm down and listen!”
“Why did you bring her here?” Dallas asked, turning his frustration toward our simps. Two’s eyes narrowed, and I knew instinctively that she had a reason. Her logic wasn’t rooted in emotion, so there had to be a viable reason why she carried that sorry piece of shit thirty-five miles. There was no way that lazy woman walked that distance.
“Because in order to end this, we need to kill Aaron, and she’s our ticket to drawing him out,” said Two.
“Aaron? Who’s Aaron?” asked the old woman, her face puzzled.
“Ma’am, Aaron is a simp,” I said, moving forward to join Mic. My pace was sluggish because I was still lacking shoes, and the rocky ground hurt to walk on. Seeing my predicament, Two removed my backpack from her shoulders and handed it to me when I got close enough. “I got this for you. Your boots are in there,” she said. I smiled and took the pack from her. “Nice looking out,” I said with a nod. Mic took my hand and gave it a light squeeze as I stood next to him. I could tell that he appreciated the support, and from the sweat in his palm, I could also tell that he was nervous.
“You people are not in any immediate danger. I assure you that if you were…I would be the first to know.” I was surprised at how humble he sounded. I guess I still had some preconceived perceptions of Micah Keenan, the almighty digital era deity. I’d sort of expected a more self-righteous style of communication.
“How and why would you know anything first?” The old woman crossed her arms and eyed him skeptically. I could see our welcome mat rolling up by the second. It was only a matter of seconds before they turned on us and kicked us out. Without hydro, we’d be stuck in the middle of the desert with no supplies, no shelter, and simps on our asses.
“Because he’s Micah Keenan,” I said loudly. So much for Mic’s subtle approach. He shook his head, and I knew he wasn’t happy with me for throwing it out there like that, but he was in it now, and there was no turning back.
“You sonovabitch!” Dallas sneered.
“Watch your words, Dallas,” shot the old woman.
“Momma, do you realize who this man is?”
“I do now, but that don’t mean he’s the devil. It might just mean we’ve got a chance against what’s surely coming.”
“Oh c’mon, Momma, you can’t be seriously considering listening to anything he has to say!”
“Indeed I do, and so will all of the rest of you. What other chance have we got?”
“Thank you Mrs…?”
“You can call me Idella. I knew there was something familiar about you…just couldn’t put my finger on it.” She shook a crooked finger at him, and I could swear she winked.
Was it possible that we actually had some favor with the matriarch of this little community? I prayed it was because I seriously needed something to go right for a change. Her son Dallas wasn’t looking too happy at the moment, but he was minding his mother, so I figured we were golden. Some of the tension lifted once the people saw that Idella was willing to at least hear Mic out.
“Well, now you all know who I am, so I won’t beat around the bush. My colleague and I have developed the capability to track any mobilized simp within an approximate ten-mile range. We also have the ability to immobilize them — albeit, that only works temporarily. My colleague, standing over there, is Leonard O’Malley, a
nd though you may not have heard of him, I can tell you that he is the very best at what he does. He developed a great deal of the technology behind these abilities. Before we go any further, I’d like to ask that you allow him to set up our equipment so that he can continue his work and monitor our safety while we discuss what to do here.”
Giz smiled and gave an awkward little wave. From the blush in his cheeks, I could tell he appreciated the compliments, but wasn’t very good with crowds. Given the choice, Giz would have probably preferred to distance himself from this situation, but the geek within him wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to set up his equipment and fight the good fight from the keyboard.
“You can set up in the church. It’s up on the hill,” said the old matriarch. She then turned to Tommy. “You go get the golf cart and drive him up there.”
“You got it,” said Tommy, as he quickly headed off to do as she’d asked.
“Show him where everything is and give him the help he needs to set up,” she trilled. Tommy waved his acknowledgment as he jogged off to get the golf cart, with Giz and Alice close behind. It seemed as if we were on our way to a plan to take a stand in the old west — just us against the machines. With more people to back us up, we might even stand a chance. I should have known not to get too encouraged.
“Hey, look!” Dallas exclaimed, pointing in horror at Deraline. “That girl’s eyes are blinking in a pattern. I’ve been watching her this whole time, and there’s a definite pattern!” He advanced slowly, drawing the attention of the crowd. Mic reacted quickly, stepping forward with his hands raised in a calming manner. “Wait! Please calm down, everyone! I assure you that there is an explanation for this, and there is nothing to be afraid of!”
Naturally, Sonya seized her opportunity. Though she was still on the ground with Two’s boot planted firmly in her back, she raised up as far as she could and shouted, “I told you! I tried to make you all listen to me! This one standing on me is a simp, too!” Two didn’t hesitate; she raised her foot up and stomped on that woman hard. It knocked the air out of her, but a few seconds later she raised up on her elbows again and a slow smile spread across her dirty face. It was as if her evil mind just had an orgasm. “God help me, what is the matter with you people? They’re ALL simps! Kill them now, before they kill us!”
