“Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Like you did today?”
“I deserved that,” she smirked, “but no, by helping you find your family.”
“I appreciate you wanting to clear your conscience, but I think it would be best if I go it alone.”
She pushed her desire to force the issue down by will alone. Her rash decisions had gotten them into enough trouble without adding to it.
Marisha felt betrayed every time she tried to think back to who she had been a week earlier. Only two days ago, she was sure what Garrick had told her was the unmitigated truth, the reality of where she had been and why she had been there. Yet around every bend, that story had fallen apart from what little memory she had dug up.
Swallowing her pride and desire to fix things, she offered the one thing she knew could be to do. “If you won’t let me help you, what if I just listen?”
Fifty-Three
Colleen
“We’re safe in here for now,” Yamuna said. “They aren’t getting through those doors anytime soon.”
The room resembled the same domed theater she had come crashing through just a few days earlier, only much smaller. White bench seats lined all along the circumference of the dome, each reclining flat. A circular recessed area filled the middle of the room, and in that a massive table with a camera at each corner. The top was littered with old computer equipment, files, and discarded paperwork. Everything looked new, undamaged by age and abuse. The room was a veritable time capsule of a time long gone.
Three muffled thuds in rapid succession came from the direction of the doors, rattling the glass doors.
“Let me guess, there’s not another way out of here either, is there?” Colleen said.
Colleen felt an excruciating burning feeling deep in her chest. The pain so horrible her eyes watered as she doubled over, nearly collapsing to her knees. She didn’t think it was the baby based on location alone, but that didn’t rule out her passenger messing with her already digressing body chemistry. Even if the explanation was that simple, Colleen felt far more anxious for the life inside her than she had only a few days ago. She honestly did not know what to expect, or if any of this was even normal. Her heart welled up with joy, thinking about their future meeting, but it quickly soured knowing the baby deserved so much more.
Lito crossed the room, looking more concerned for her than she thought was needed. “Is everything okay? Something wrong with the…”
“Baby’s fine,” she said, her chest loosening as the pain subsided. She used one hand to cradle and the other to gingerly rub her taut, expanding belly. “It must have been something I ate or, he’s mad about something I did.”
“You need to—”
“No, Lito, we need to find a way out of here. There is another way out of here, correct?” She said, turning to Yamuna.
“There is, but before I do anything for anyone here, I need to know what the heck is going on. I just met you all, what, 15 minutes ago, and I'm already running for my life from giant dogs. That’s not how I expected my morning going.”
Colleen wiped her eyes and smoothed out her features. There’s another crash against the door and the faint sound of rending metal.
“Doesn’t sound like that’s holding them as well as you had expected.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “So, how about I just give you the short version now and the full story later? Will that work for you?”
Yamuna threw her hands up and timidly nodded
“Your aunt is psychotic. Another way to put it: she’s crazier than an outhouse rat. That’d be fine if it was just her, but she’s in charge of an entire community. Want to know how I know this? She’s using shock collars on wild dogs to make them even meaner. Then she tried to kill me with those dogs.”
Yamuna let out a quick scoff, unconvinced. She looked to Lito, who seemed utterly unphased by the story.
“Can you believe what she’s saying?” Yamuna snorted at Colleen.
She looked back to Lito as he raised an eyebrow and slightly shrugged a shoulder. Yamuna’s mouth dropped open.
“You can’t honestly think I’m going to believe that story, do you?” Yamuna said, studying everyone's faces. “My dorky aunt, a killer?”
“You saw the demon dogs from hell chase us up here. Is the other part really that far-fetched?”
Yamuna mouthed the words “No” and put her head in her hands. Lito reached out to comfort her, but she drew back and put up a finger.
Boom… screech
The doors rattled again, only this time a little louder. At this rate, they only had a few more minutes.
“We’ve got to go,” Colleen proclaimed, startling Yamuna. She put her hands on Yamuna’s shoulders and bent down to look into fearful eyes. “We need you, I need you. There’s someone out there who means more to me than life itself, and I have to find her. She’s scared, she’s lost, and they’ve taken her, and I need to get back to her. Can you help me?”
Yamuna wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and gave Colleen a tempered smile.
“You see the projectors in the middle of the room?” She said, pointing to the center area.
“You mean all the old cameras?” Lito asked.
“Yes, those,” she said, “Under there, that’s our way out.”
Colleen raised an eyebrow.
Yamuna stepped down into the center and motioned for them to join her.
“I’m going to need you two to help me push this table as far to the side as we can.”
The three of them pushed, enjoying only limited success.
“It’s not moving,” Lito complained.
“Shut up and push,” Colleen grunted.
The massive table moved as it stuttered across the red carpet, revealing a secret door. Yamuna reached down and tugged on the latch inset to the floor. The door flung open and slammed against the table.
“How did you find this?” Lito said, amazed.
“Hide-and-seek.”
Yamuna got down on her knees and peered into the black space.
“Does anyone have a lighter?”
The power of the next collision was more akin to something they had seen downstairs. They all looked back to see the outside doors through the glass, bowed out on the bottom as several red claws scratched all along the bottom. Wet, black noses peeking through, letting out hot breath to fog up the glass.
Colleen tossed her the everspark.
With a quick flick of the lighter, Yamuna illuminated the dark, revealing wires and what looked to be too tiny of a space for any adult to fit.
“I hope you aren’t afraid of tight spaces,” Yamuna said, unsuccessfully holding back a grimace on her face.
“You said you played down here?” Colleen asked, her tone full of doubt.
“I was seven. I guess I forgot how small it was.”
Lito punched the wall in disgust, immediately regretting it.
Colleen pushed him with one hand, pressing him against the table. “Don’t be so dramatic, Lito.” We're getting out of here, even if this is the only way out. You shouldn’t be the one mad; you’ll fit better than I will.”
Colleen pushed a mischievous smile up on one side of her mouth and bugged her eyes out, maintaining eye contact just long enough to make everyone loosen up. Lito rolled his eyes.
She slapped him on the back and pointed to the opening. “After you.”
Yamuna bent down and attempted to fold herself into the tight space. She was only up to her shoulders when she squeezed herself back out.
“Colleen, give me your knife. I need to clear some room.”
“How did you…” Colleen reached in the back waistband, producing her largest serrated blade.
Yamuna sawed on the wires and insulation, making progress, but not enough to relieve the building tension.
Boom!
Crackle!
Colleen looked back to see the glass doors had begun to spiderweb. The metal doors had crumpled like wet cardboard.
The cracks spread with each push from the determined intruders.
Lito jumped down and yanked on the wires, giving Yamuna more room to cut. She could saw much faster now, clearing most of the obstacles.
“It’s good enough,” Colleen said. “Yamuna, you in first. You know where we’re going.”
“I’ve never—” Yamuna’s chest panted, her mouth wide open.
“It’s just like hide and seeks for adults,” Colleen said.
“And the seeker is a nasty dog trying to eat your face,” Lito said.
Yamuna narrowed her eyes at Lito, “That’s not helpful,” spitting her words through gritted teeth. She knelt and slithered into the hole, wasting no time. As soon as her feet disappeared from view, Lito was down on the floor with both hands, bracing both sides of the confined entry. After a few seconds, Colleen could see he wasn’t moving.
“You’ll fit,”
Boom!
The metal doors had been torn from their hinges. The only thing between them and the Kutta was the rapidly disintegrating glass door.
“How do you know?” He snapped.
“Lito, I don’t think you’re the one who has to worry about getting stuck in there. And if you do, I’ll just push you with my foot.”
“Very funny,”
Lito got down on his belly and slid, grabbing the sliced wires to pull himself in further. He was halfway inside before the next collision sent glass flying across the room. It was like an explosion of glass buckshot painting the carpet. With one more swift action, he was inside. Jackson followed closely behind without even being told what to do. He wasn’t about to spend any more time with those dogs than he had to.
Even with both sets of doors now looking like a bomb had gone off, the pack wouldn't fit all at once. The jumble of metal and glass had created a tight bottleneck, and the Kutta weren’t working together to avoid it. Colleen saw the smallest one as it twisted its body, first getting a single paw underneath, then another. With another crash, the other Kutta pushed the small one further through.
Its mangy head popped out, their jaws snapping at the air. She couldn’t panic, she’d beaten them before, and she’ll do it again. Colleen dropped to the floor and put one arm in and then another.
“This is going to be a tight fit.”
She bent her knees, put her butt up in the air, and pushed off, hoping she could wedge herself inside. Her head was now in, but her shoulders were keeping her from going any further.
A painful squeal erupted as the Kutta hit the doors once more. Claws feverishly scratched at the floor.
The squealing became sickeningly louder, chilling her blood. An angry, painful sound assaulted her eardrums. If she didn't know better, it sounded like they were killing each other.
Colleen pulled herself out and dug into her pocket and clicked the button one last time. Everything stopped, no sound.
Nothing.
She turned back to see the Kutta staring at her as if unphased.
She let go and dived back into the hole and braced for the pain. Almost immediately, she felt the pain explode from her shoulders and up her arms. But it worked—she was through. Using her legs, she pushed again now that her shoulders had cleared the opening. There was no preparing her for just how tight it would be and how the narrow tunnel seemed to push down on her from every side. Not only were her lungs constricted, but the fear made it feel even tighter.
She was being squeezed to death.
Up to her waist now, Colleen sucked in her chest and pushed hard, sliding a few inches at a time. She had never been so happy that her mom's genetics hadn’t passed on to her in that area.
The collars had lost their effectiveness. The next thing she heard was that of both glass doors skittering across the floor. The Kutta let out a howl of victory, echoing in the room's confined space.
Colleen pushed herself harder, digging her nails into the seams of the metal, pulling her sore body further inside. Her feet were at the edge of the hole. With one last effort, she wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.
She wouldn’t be so lucky.
It was as if a vice had clamped down on her foot, instantly stopping her movement. In one violent motion, she was pulled back, her fingers dug into anything she could, scrapping against the metal. The squealing of her skin against metal was earsplitting as she was pulled back. Colleen kicked back against her attacker but missed, coming up with empty air. The grip tightened, grinding the bones against each other. Any tighter her tendons would snap, and bones would crack. She gave the animal another kick, this time connecting with a satisfying crunch. Stunned, it recoiled from her and let go.
While the dazed animal snorted and shook its head, Colleen had squeezed her body back inside the tunnel. In seconds, her feet had cleared the opening. No matter how much it gnashed at her, it wasn’t going to catch her.
She slowed her progress once there was no way the beast was pulling her back out. Her next breath felt like something was sitting on her chest again, the tunnel shrinking with each push forward. The light soon faded, and in just a few more feet, Colleen would be in complete darkness. She tried to yell for help, but it only came out as a whimper. They had left her.
Fifty-Four
Marisha
Pine branches always burned fast, smoking up the whole camp in a matter of seconds. If they were to keep the fire going, they would need something thicker. They were surrounded on all sides by some of nature's enduring wonders. For example, Giant Sequoia had been the most prominent living creatures to have survived The Shifting. It might have worked well as firewood, but they weren’t about to find one felled and dry enough to burn. They would have to look elsewhere.
“I’m not asking you to agree or to even to understand why I had to do what I did,” Jude said as she stoked the coals of the dwindling fire. He bent down and blew on the coals, eventually getting them to flame back up again. “Just remember the next person you meet who does something desperate, that you don’t understand, only did it because they felt they had no other option.”
“I’m sorry. I think I get it now.”
“For your sake, I hope you do.”
It was still early but the temperature had dropped several degrees in just the past few minutes making it cold enough to toss her jacket back on. Marisha scouted outside of camp and looked for some branches to make her sleeping arrangements at least a bit more comfortable. She knelt and tried fashioning a pine branch mattress; unfortunately, her mind just raced, trying to process the details of the day they just had.
“I know I said I wouldn’t ask but, why’d you do it?”
Jude ran his hand across his hairless scalp, then rubbed the back of his neck as if trying to massage out frustration.
“Love.” He said as he bit the inside of his lower lip.
“Love, what?”
She knew what he meant, but hoped to probe him further. She stacked the branches up to her chin and carried them back to her spot.
“You want to know why I sold myself, and I did it for the oldest reason known to man, Love. Pure, dumb, irreplaceable love.”
“I don’t think that’s dumb,” she said.
“Oh, it isn’t love that's dumb,” he smiled. His smile quickly took over his severe front, letting down his guard, “The dumb part is how fast you get wrapped up in it before you can process it all.”
“You sold yourself only because of love? That makes little sense. There had to be more behind it.” Marisha said, genuinely puzzled.
“I never said it made sense, but love rarely makes sense when viewed from the outside. It looks irrational, wild, and fleeting. Especially when you die just when it gets good.”
“She was worth all the hassle?” Marisha quizzed.
“Definitely,” Jude said. His eyes softened, then went up as if trying to remember something. “She didn’t like me at first, not in the least bit. I think her sister had put it in her head that
I was just some dumb oaf… I mean; I am a big dumb
oaf, but there’s a bit more mixed in there too. She was gorgeous, but the laugh, oh, that laugh, was something that made her irresistible. Every time I would get around her, my mouth would go numb, my tongue would feel ten sizes too big, and I would freeze.”
“Smooth.” She teased, “but then you learned how to not be awkward?”
He playfully grimaced.
“Slowly, very slowly. It just took something to speak to her primal desires.”
Marisha turned up her nose. “Gross! I really don’t want to hear about that.”
“Not that,” he said, his cheeks reddening. “You know that saying the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? That applies to anyone who likes good food, so everyone on the planet. I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like good food.”
“You won her over with food?” Marisha kneeled down and started spreading the branches out, stacking them in a crisscrossed pattern.
“Not just any food, mind you. I make the best grilled salmon, a perfectly flaky texture that just melts in your mouth. She was helpless after that.”
“Oh my. That sounds like heaven.” She smacked her lips and put a hand over her stomach. “So, I guess this was the only way to get to be with her again?”
“Not the only, but definitely the fastest.” He shook his head, “Kisney got herself in debt to the wrong people and was sold off to cover for them. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t earn enough credit to get back to her. Vancouver might only be a hundred miles away, but in that place, it might as well be a million. No one wanted a washed-up twenty-seven-year-old.”
“You’ve got plenty of—”
“I can only hide my Terror signs for so long. Quinn did me a favor by taking me with him.”
She couldn’t believe the risk he was taking in leaving. He had risked it all, knowing he could turn at any minute. She rolled out her blanket on top of her new bed and sat down, testing it.
“But he was—”
“Trying to kill me? I never said he was a good guy. He’s a real piece of… well, you know.”
The Maddening: Book 2 in the Terror Saga Page 30
