“It’s only a little water. None of you will melt,” she said, ushering them along.
“Hold up,” Lito said, stroking his horse's palomino coat. “It’s not like we have a specific time frame we have to hit. I think we should find some shelter for the night and give these guys some much-needed rest for the day. What can it hurt?”
“I hate to admit it, but he’s right. We all need a breather,” Marisha agreed.
Without looking back, Colleen stepped up into the stirrup and pulled herself onto her horse. Still looking straight ahead and in a deadpan voice, she spoke, “While I appreciate your suggestions. I'll pass. If I want your opinion in the future, I will ask you for it. That should save us from any future confusion.”
“Listen, I was only trying to help, you know. Maybe you should—" Lito started to say, but Colleen cut him off.
“Sorry, being on this road trip brings back memories I’d rather not stir up again. Not everything turned out as I would have liked that last time, I went on some wild goose chase.”
“We get it. We really do.” Marisha said as she moved closer. Seeing that Colleen was still sitting bolt upright, she reached up and placed a hand on her lower back. Quickly, the muscles in her back tensed up through her well-worn t-shirt, but only for a moment.
“My parents are buried in Seattle, so you can guess why I might not be in a huge hurry to get there either,” Marisha scrunched her face into a flat smile.
Colleen looked back, her mouth agape, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Everyone has a lot on their plate right now. I just figured you were like all of us, on autopilot, trying to block out the reality of this trip.”
Colleen relaxed and let her arms fall to her sides, letting out a vast sigh. Marisha grabbed her hand and squeezed, helping her down. Wiping her tears away, she ran her fingers through her hair.
Stroking her chin as if contemplating something, Colleen yelled to Lito, “We camp here tonight. I’m tired, she’s tired, and they,” Colleen slapped Mr. Butters hindquarters with a firm hand, “are too. Lito, why don't you gather up all the dry wood you find, and we’ll locate a dry spot with cover for the night.”
Colleen
For all the talk of getting rest, Colleen was the last to sleep and the first to rise. It didn’t take long for everyone to follow suit once she had a pot of tea brewing in last night's still burning embers. She was impressed; Lito had done a far better job of gathering firewood than she would've expected him to.
There had been an attempt at conversation when everyone went to sleep, but with the wounds still fresh, it was becoming clear that they might never heal.
They stayed at their makeshift camp for another day, deciding to leave the next morning. Lito had hardly unpacked a thing, leaving most of his possessions still strapped to his horse. Once he woke, he was rearing to go. With everyone still gearing up, he paced about the camp, making the girls nervous. The extra day of rest was apparently too much for him to handle.
“If you need something to do, go take Jackson out with you so he can do his business,” Colleen mumbled, not ready to wake up.
Five minutes later, they returned, and Lito was back to wearing a path from the fire to his horse, checking and rechecking everything.
“Psst! Col-leen,” He whispered at a level much louder than he might have realized, “Psst, Col-leen.”
“Yes, Li-to,” she said, emphasizing the syllables as if the words were being pulled from her without consent.
“I know it’s kind of early, but I was just wondering when we might leave this morning.”
“Well,” the word rolled out of her mouth, lingering on the tip of her tongue, “I was,” She inhaled, then coughed a phlegmy sound as she turned away from Marisha. Her eyes squinted as she struggled to take in the early morning light.
“You were?” Lito said, waiting patiently.
“Planning on leaving after we had breakfast, packed, etc. But first, I wanted to wake up—”
“I mean, you kind of already are... you know, already awake.”
“—and let you guys rest a bit,” she finished.
“Oh, I’m sorry, it's just that the other day you were all about keeping going, and today…”
“How about you make us some breakfast,” Colleen motioned him away. Almost instantly, she recognized what she had said. The memories of a New Estes breakfast prepared by him still haunted her, “Scratch that. I’ll make my own.”
With everyone fed and camp packed up, the trio got back on the road. The first hill they came up over put their next destination city in sight. According to the sign they had passed a mile back, Tacoma was only five more away. They discussed amongst themselves, spending no more than an hour in town. Priority number one would be searching for supplies and anything they just couldn’t do without.
As the group made their way up along interstate 5, a beautiful sheet of blue stretched to their left, only broken up by lush emerald islands. Towering evergreens sprung up, nearly covering the once palatial homes while luxurious yachts littered the shore, stacked like discarded children's toys.
“Is that the Ocean?” Lito said, pointing over the horizon.
“Technically, no, but it leads to the ocean,” Marisha said, “It’s called an inlet, and then that leads to the sound.”
Lito cocked his head, “The sound?”
“Yeah, a sound is where the ocean narrowly stretches into the land, but the water is incredibly deep all throughout. It’s as if the ocean floor just drops off only a few miles out. My dad said it was formed by glaciers cutting away at the rock over millions of years.”
He tugged on the reins and angled the horse closer to her.
“How do you know all this?” Lito asked.
“I grew up in Vancouver; it’s on the northernmost part of the sound, and it is absolutely gorgeous.”
Lito pulled his reins and waited for everyone to catch up. He pointed to Marisha and motioned for her to lead, “Since you know this area better than any of us, I suggest you lead, at least until we get out of Vancouver. I can get us the rest of the way once we get into Canada and along the coast.”
“I don’t know it that well,” Marisha said, trying to sound humble.
“Better than the rest of us here. You agree, Colleen?”
Colleen was staring off, looking toward the islands. Lito snapped his fingers, trying to get her attention.
She smiled and gave them both a thumbs up.
A spirited discussion she overheard between Marisha and Lito resulted in them diverting a few miles north. Colleen trailed behind as she stroked her stomach with her free hand. The nausea was increasing with each step, but she didn’t want to tell them for fear that they might treat her as a liability. She reached back to stroke Jackson’s ears. As a kid, when she had felt sick, stroking his soft ears would always give her a sense of comfort and take her mind off whatever was ailing her. Right now was no exception.
Fifteen minutes later, Marisha hollered back, letting her know it was only a quarter-mile until, as she put it, ‘her mind would be blown.’
Colleen
A glass pyramid might have been the last thing Colleen would've guessed that she would see on their trip. This was no ordinary pyramid, though, looking more like an abandoned theme park attraction than its ancient namesake. Rising hundreds of feet into the sky stood the vast building made of glass and steel. The dreary weather did it little justice to show off its majesty. Instead, it made the structure appear more like an obsidian obelisk than a blue tempered glass wonder of the world. The facets were checkered with thousands of individual windows, most appearing undamaged and complete. From a distance it was awe-inspiring, but they were still too far away to know what shape it was really in.
“So,” Marisha said, rubbing her hands on her pants, “What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?”
“This has got to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Lito said, his mouth agape in wonder.
“Really?” Colleen questioned, “It
is pretty freaking incredible, but I fail to see how this is where we need to be.”
“What? How do you not? It’s a giant fishing and hunting store, but so much more. This was where my parents and I would hide out when times got tough, or the weather took a turn. It’s a labyrinth inside there. It would be generous to say we’ve explored 25% of what's inside.”
Colleen’s eyes lit up. Her face shedding all remnants of the sour expression she had.
“A labyrinth?” Lito’s said quizzically.
“Yeah, you know, like a maze, with the Minotaur and all,” Marisha explained, “Everyone know’s about that.”
A blank expression was plastered on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.
“I can’t believe your parents never told you the story,” Marisha said, clearing her throat, “Long story short. Greek gods sent a bull as a sacrifice, but the king didn’t sacrifice it. I can’t remember why exactly, but… it's not relevant. The wife of the king fell in love with it. They had a baby known as the Minotaur.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s a lot to unpack in one story,” he interjected, his face frozen in shock. “How does, what does, how did she…”
Colleen giggled at his confusion, intently listening to her story.
“Eh, try not to overthink it,” Marisha waved it off, continuing, “So, the king was livid and built a labyrinth, or an unsolvable maze, to imprison the minotaur. I guess he was too dangerous. They sent people inside as a punishment and he would eat them." Marisha looked between the two of them, waiting for a response.
"Don’t ask me why, but the gods, or Greeks, found some weird lessons in sadism. If you really think about it, it’s a pretty disturbing story. I mean, it wasn’t the kid's fault for being born,” Colleen added.
“Did anyone ever escape?” Lito questioned.
“I don't think so, but I never asked. Too late to ask now,” her smile waned.
After tying up the horses and letting Jackson stretch his legs, they pushed the solid glass double doors open and stepped into the cavernous building. The outside had done little to prepare them for the sheer magnitude of the space inside. The bottom level was littered with retail racks leaning like discarded dominoes, and a shallow pond that weaved through the floor was coated with a thick layer of algae. In the middle was a tall, steel structure with criss-crossing beams surrounding an eight-foot-tall glass box. It reached from the bottom to the absolute top of the pyramid. At the pinnacle, was several floors of hotel rooms and an old restaurant. The glass windows, doors, and even the floors were shattered and broken into bits. Putting any weight on them would cause them to collapse.
Colleen's mouth fell agape as she slowly spun around, looking up to the ceiling. After only a few turns, she wobbled; her footing grew unsteady. She put her hands out, hoping to grab ahold of something. Two hands caught her by her armpits, stopping her before she slammed into the ground.
“Careful there,” Marisha said while laughing. She snorted but slapped her hand over her mouth and in the process, dropped Colleen.
“Ouch,” Colleen yelped, “I don’t weigh that much.”
“I’m so, so sorry. You don’t, I promise. I just couldn’t help myself,” Marisha said, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.
“It’s okay. If you ask me, it was kinda cute. Haven’t seen that shade of red in quite a while,” Colleen winked.
Marisha lifted her up and dusted her off, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Colleen pulled her closer, brushing a wayward lock of hair from Marisha’s face. She moved in slowly until their lips touched into a gentle kiss.
“I guess this means you aren’t mad at me anymore?” Marisha said, pulling away ever so slightly.
“I never said that,” Colleen said with a smile.
“Hey, you two, do I need to separate you? We are here for supplies only. You’ve got time for that later,” Lito said. They slowly separated, and Colleen shot him a dirty look.
“What do you expect us to find here?” Lito said.
“I doubt we will find any food, but it’s worth looking. It’s a camping and hunting store. The last time I was here, they still had some nonperishable food buckets up on the third level. The label said that they had a twenty-five-year shelf life. My family lived on those when times were tough. It’s basically rice, pasta, and some freeze-dried fruit.” Marisha motioned her head towards the stairs, “You want to go check it out while we grab some hunting and fishing gear?”
“Sure,” he said reluctantly, “Let’s meet back here in thirty minutes. I’ll get us some new packs too. That should give us enough time. Well, as long as you don’t get too distracted.”
They all nodded, and Lito bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. The girls bounded off in the opposite direction towards the big sign labeled Hunting. In the distance, off to the right would be their next destination; a department with what looked like hundreds of matchsticks littering the racks. As the two girls arrived, they split off, Colleen and Jackson went toward the archery section and Marisha headed toward the guns and ammo.
“Sweetie, I think it might be a good idea to find some new clothes too when you pass through fishing. Maybe pants with some elastic,” Marisha called. Colleen playfully narrowed her eyes at her, held up a finger, but decided to say nothing.
Marisha
Marisha wound through all the glass cases, doing her best to avoid the broken glass scattered on the ground. Most of the guns had absconded, with a few small-caliber handguns were strewn about. She picked up a revolver with a comically long barrel and rolled it around in her hands.
“Hey Colleen,” Marisha yelled across the giant room, “What do you think about this one?”
She waited for a response but heard nothing, “Hey, I think this might reach my knees,” she said, putting the gun down the front of her pants with the pearlescent handle resting against her appendix. Still no answer.
“Colleen? This isn’t funny!” A deafening clang rang out. Marisha spun her head around to investigate just in time to see several ceiling tiles crash into the rack next to her, causing her to jump back. Unfortunately, she hadn’t judged where the shelves behind her, and her head collided with the edge of one. A sharp pain injected into the base of her skull, instantly making her nauseous as a spotty veil of darkness washed over her. She tried to stay upright and awake, but her knees buckled as she slid to the ground. The last thing she heard was a low, wet, rumbling sound before she slipped off into unconsciousness.
Twenty-Nine
Colleen
Colleen grabbed the plastic package, feeling its substantial weight in her hands. She turned it over and stared at the back, trying to figure out how this could possibly be the same thing she had in her back pocket.
“There’s just no way,” she said to Jackson, ripping open the package. “This thing has a… laser sight. What even is that anyway? That just sounds like another thing to go wrong while trying to hit dinner, or a kneecap, from fifty yards out.”
She put it back on the shelf and grabbed another slingshot, this time one that more closely resembled her trusty companion. Pocketing a few bottles of round metal balls for ammunition, she started back in Marisha’s direction.
Clang! Colleen quickly reacted, taking cover behind a brick pillar. She peered around the corner, looking to see if she could make out what had caused the noise. Whatever it was, had come from Marisha’s direction, at least a few hundred feet away. Realizing it was too dark to see anything, she popped her head out again, checking and then snapping to the next solid piece of cover.
Clang! She popped out once more; this time, she saw a lone tile dangled from the ceiling, swinging back and forth above the towering shelves. The shelves teetered unsteadily against each other like a house of cards waiting for that one push to bring everything down.
From behind her, there came another crash, but this time it was much, much closer. Her stomach turned, feeling like she had swallowed a handful of river rocks.
Colleen spu
n around; Jackson was growling his low percussive growl, letting her know there was someone his heightened senses had caught that she hadn’t.
“Easy boy,” she said, stroking the underside of his matted chin. His hackles were on end. This wasn’t a false alarm, and danger was near. “Whatever it is, we’re prepared.”
Just as her eyes had focused on the sound behind her, there was a creak followed by a hollow thud. Colleen looked just in time to see the ceiling tiles come crashing down into the precariously placed shelves. What followed were the room-filling sounds of steel rending and collapsing under immense weight, causing her to spin around once more, but this time her head swam.
She placed her head in her hands, trying to calm the sickening feeling. What little she could see faded in and out, “Oh god, no, this can’t be returning. Of all the times…” she thought, trying to slow her breathing.
In a matter of seconds, her head felt like it was settling down. Unfortunately, everything was still blurry, and the lighting wasn’t doing her any favors. Jackson arched his back and pricked his ears up, beginning his low growl again. She reached down to calm him and brushed against his wet nose.
Does he see anything, or is he just on edge?
Rubbing her eyes to no avail, Colleen crawled on her hands and knees, slowly moving, all the while minding broken glass.
“Marisha,” she whispered, “Marisha, where are you?”
A wet, popping growl echoed throughout the room. She did a double-take towards Jackson, thinking it had to be him. Then it happened again, only this time, much louder.
The chills rolled down her spine, and her muscles hesitated to move. Every hair was on end as she tried to figure out what it was and how closely it was to them. If the last time she heard sounds like that were any indication, they would have to get to shelter and soon. Considering she was out in the open, that would prove to be incredibly difficult.
The Maddening: Book 2 in the Terror Saga Page 14
