Danger’s Vice

by Amanda Carlson

  Satisfaction at his pain welled in my chest, even though I was pissed I hadn’t taken him out completely before he’d regained his strength.

  “Let her go!” Daze charged us, the too-big-for-him weapon bobbing up and down as he ran.

  I tried to respond, but Hutch clamped a hand over my mouth and rolled us over. I felt the needle prick my neck the instant before he announced, “Stop, or I infect her.”

  Daze was too emotional to think straight. He kept right on coming until a figure stepped in his way, causing him to pull up short.

  Case brought his pulse gun up, aiming it at Hutch and me, and said, “Daze, go sit down,” he ordered the kid. “Do it, or she dies.”

  “See that?” Hutch chuckled as he hauled me up off the ground. “You can’t kill us all.”

  I couldn’t speak, because Hutch’s hand was still tightly clamped over my mouth, the needle sliding in and out of my skin as we moved.

  Daze seemed unsure what to do.

  Behind them, Lockland and Bender were still engaged with the others. More men had run through another doorway. But I had no fear of them losing this battle. It would take only a few more moments.

  Case’s voice was like ice as he said to Daze, “Go. Sit. Down.”

  I began to struggle, causing the needle to scratch along my neck, drawing blood. Rivulets dripped down my neck. I didn’t want Daze to sit down. I wanted him to get the hell out of here. This was no place for a kid.

  Plus, I didn’t want him to watch me die.

  Before I could make my displeasure known in a much more concrete way, Darby barreled through the doorway, skidding to a stop once he saw me.

  The pure, unadulterated look of confusion on his face said it all. He immediately rushed forward and grabbed Daze, steering him away, reading the look on my face accurately.

  “If anybody moves, she dies,” Case announced to the room as he leveled his gun at my head, his finger engaging the trigger.

  My eyes darted around. Lockland and Bender had finished. Bodies were strewn around the room. They could each take Case out, but if he let go of the trigger, it would be over for me.

  They stood a few meters behind him, both of their faces set.

  More people were going to die in this room before this was over. I just hoped it wouldn’t be me or my crew.

  “We’ve regained the upper hand,” Hutch said to Case, panting. “We have the girl. We can take care of these guys. They won’t do anything to harm her. Then we infect her and resume our business. We can get more recruits on board. People in this city cave easily.” He was delusional if he thought he would win a battle against my crew. He’d basically just told them he was going to make me a Plushie.

  “You can’t infect her,” Case said, his tone eerily calm.

  “Oh, I think I can.” Hutch plunged the dart farther into my neck. All it would take now was for him to depress the button on top, where I knew his thumb was hovering.

  “What I mean is you can’t do it here. Once she’s injected, her crew will take us both out.”

  Bender grunted an affirmative.

  It was only a matter of time. Case and Hutch were outmatched, and Case knew it.

  Hutch shook his head. “I infect her, then we take them out.” The tenseness of his tone was clear. He was grasping for anything.

  “No,” Case said. “The only way we’re going to get out of here alive is if you let her go.”

  “As soon as I let her go, we’re dead,” Hutch snarled. “She’s the only thing we have.”

  “I said let her go.” Case slid his gun a few centimeters to the right, finding a new target.

  Hutch’s rage took a physical form. He quaked with it. “It seems you found a taste for her after all.” He’d uttered the words like bile had coated his throat. “I can’t let that happen.”

  “Let her go.”

  “I’m a dead man anyway. Why shouldn’t I end it with a little fun?”

  “If you release her,” Case said, “you can walk out of here. You have my word.”

  Hutch snorted. “Your word? I don’t think so.”

  The dart plunged deeply into my neck, and the searing liquid shot into my bloodstream.

  I tried to get away, arching forward, my brain racing with the implications. The fucker had just given me a dose of Plush.

  Case’s bullet entered Hutch’s forehead a moment after the bastard jammed the button down. Hutch collapsed to the ground as his body began to liquefy.

  The sounds around me became muted as the blood in my ears pounded like an unforgiving drum. I stumbled forward, falling to my knees, my palms hitting the floor. My nerve endings were on fire, tingling like I’d been electrocuted. My fingertips didn’t even feel like they were attached to my body. I wanted to retch, but nothing came up.

  Someone picked me up.

  Muted voices erupted around me. “Get her into one of the rooms.” I think it was Lockland. His voice was beautiful. How come I’d never noticed that before? It was attached to vibrant colors like green and orange. The colors erupted like starbursts behind my eyes. It made me smile. Lockland was nice. He’d been like a second father to me.

  “I have the pico,” Darby said. His tone quaked, but it was also warm and pink. It made me want to hug him. I tried to reach out, my arms extending, my back bending. I couldn’t find him. It made me sad.

  A voice in my ear commanded, “Stay still.” The voice exploded blue, like a blast from a bomb. The color of the sea in my dreams rippled through me, igniting something deep within. I tried to open my eyes to see who had spoken, but my eyelids were too heavy.

  Why couldn’t I open them?

  My hands groped in front of me, bound by something. Warmth flooded through me as I tried to reach out and touch the blue. “She’s losing control,” the same voice said. “I won’t be able to hold her for very much longer.”

  “Set her here.”

  The arms cradling me laid me down.

  I was alone…I didn’t want to be alone. It was so cold. I wanted to be warm. I cried out. The blue words were magnetic. I wanted to hear them again. So many sensations. I tried to grab on to something again. This time, I wouldn’t let it go.

  “The drug works in stages.” Darby’s voice penetrated my desires, grabbing my attention. Why was Darby here? Where was I? Everything was so beautiful. I just wanted to let go. If I let go, I could feel all the colors, let them run free. “We need to get whatever they were using to calm the seekers into her before she reaches the final stage. Can you move so I can see her pupils?”

  “She has a death grip on my arm,” the blue voice said, stroking my mind, enticing me with possibilities.

  “Then just check yourself. Are her pupils dilated?”

  “I can’t tell, they’re closed.”

  A few moments later, rustling sounded in my ear, and the warmth tried to escape. “Holly, Hol, I need you to open your eyes,” Darby called. His pink tone was pleasant, but not nearly as intense as the blue one. “Can you hear my voice? The data says if you focus hard enough, you can.”

  “That asshole gave her a full syringe.” Bender, I knew Bender. His voice was scarlet mixed with ice. Hot and cold. He was strong, he could save me! He’d done it before. “Was it a single dose or more?”

  I clawed myself back to the surface, past all the colors, through the tingling, locked on Bender’s voice. I licked my lips, my hips rolling as I spoke. “Can’t…want…more…”

  “That’s okay, just open your eyes for me,” Darby coaxed.

  It took everything I had to do as he asked. I couldn’t focus. Only the feelings undulating inside me were crystal clear. They needed a release. “Want…out…”

  “I know,” Darby murmured, patting my shoulder. “We’re going to get you there. I promise.”

  Another wave of nerve-ending explosions filtered through me. My eyes fluttered shut, my head lolled from side to side. The only thing that kept me from floating away forever was the warmth that I was still grasping on t
o. I dug my nails in.

  “Is she going to be okay?” a small voice asked. “Can you cure her?” All the colors of the rainbow exploded in my mind at once. The voice was fragile and innocent. Have to help it. I began to thrash. Nothing can happen to that voice. Have to protect it.

  My mind was inundated. Everything was intermixing, confusing me. I couldn’t hold on.

  “Get him out of here,” the blue voice commanded. “She’s reacting to him.”

  “Daze, I’m going to do my best to help her.” Darby’s pink rose to the surface. “If you want to help, go and find me some of those darts. The ones Holly said they used on that seeker. Check everyone’s pockets. There has to be a few out there.”

  “And shoot anything that moves,” Bender grumbled in red. “Use the gun the way I showed you.”

  My grip on the warmth tightened. Can’t be alone. Never be alone. My reality was breaking apart, but I wanted to stay. I had to stay. Struggling, I lifted my head. “Help…me…” My voice sounded breathy in my own ears.

  Far away, scared, yearning.

  “Can’t you do this any faster?” The blue voice was impatient, angry. I opened my eyes. When he spoke, something in me surged. I couldn’t control it. It made me furious and lightheaded at the same time. My hand reached for his chest. Once I had some material in my grasp, I pulled him closer. He moved downward until I felt his hair brush my lips. The soft tingles against my mouth sent waves of something I didn’t understand rushing through me.

  My rage anchored me, helping me stay rooted in the here and now. “You…fucked…me over…”

  “Never.” His voice was firm, making the blue reverberate inside of me. I shivered, grinding my ass into the platform. My mind screamed in protest, hating every second of not being in control of my body.

  This was hell, not ecstasy.

  Once again, the anger allowed me to stay coherent. I gritted my teeth, spitting, “Liar!”

  “Do more of that,” Darby encouraged. “When she’s angry, she’s fighting the effects. Keep her pissed off until I can figure out what we need to add to this formula.”

  “It shouldn’t be too hard to keep her pissed off,” Bender said. “You were playing both sides, Militia. Don’t think we’re going to forget about it anytime soon. I don’t care if you ended up killing that asshole.”

  When Case exhaled, I felt it spread across my cheek. My grip was like steel. I couldn’t even feel my fingertips. Anger roiled deep inside, penetrating my brain.

  “I wasn’t playing both sides.” Blue beamed forward. It was absolute. A jolt of sensation hit my inner core.

  “Then why didn’t you just kill them all when you had the chance?” Lockland argued. “You were in his presence before Holly showed up.”

  “I was going to once I had the final piece.”

  “Piece of goddamn what?” Bender asked, his voice harsh and unbending. Fire and ice.

  “The formula for the cure on the quantum drive is incomplete.”

  “I got it! I got it!” the small voice shrieked.

  I began to thrash again, tugging Case along with me. A kaleidoscope of colors danced in my mind. Reality was dimming as the sensations took over. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t stop it.

  “Quiet, kid,” Bender said. “You’re agitating her.”

  My head throbbed. The colors were building to a crescendo. They made me happy. Blissfully content. It wasn’t a familiar feeling.

  “Here’s the dart.” I had to struggle to hear the small voice. “I found it in that guy’s pocket. It was disgusting. Slimy stuff was oozing out of his eyes and mouth and everything.”

  Daze.

  The name floated in the space of my mind, the letters all spelled out, followed by an image of him. Smiling, tousled hair, innocent, forgiving eyes. I rolled onto my side. He wasn’t safe here. I tried to make myself see. I opened my eyes.

  Darby held something in his fist. He brought it toward me. Case’s hand shot out, stopping him. “No.”

  The blue light danced in my brain, going high, then crashing back down. Over and over again. I closed my eyes, my head rolling. The sensations beckoned me, taunting me, enticing me.

  “What are you talking about?” Darby argued. I struggled to focus. “According to what I’ve read, it could put her into a calmer state and inhibit the drug’s ability to progress.”

  “It doesn’t do that.” Case was firm. “I’ve seen it. The state she will go into is not one of calm.” My fingertips tingled, and I groaned. “I haven’t seen one seeker improved. Find a cure or nothing.”

  Darby sputtered, “But that could take days. Her genes could be permanently altered by then!”

  Colors, tones, and textures blurred. Like a thousand starbursts going off in my mind at once. I had to let go. The colors would make me happy. I knew they would. I deserved happiness. All I had to do was give in.

  “I said a cure or nothing.”

  Blue wavered and then exploded.

  I writhed on the bed. I struggled to pull my head up, whispering, “Cure…need cure…”

  “Darby.” Lockland’s voice was green and electric. “Can you figure it out?”

  “I…think so. I’ve only been reading the data for a few hours. I’d need to go to the lab to do it. If I can analyze the contents of this dart, I can find out what’s missing.”

  “It’s some kind of powder,” Case said.

  “How do you know that?” Darby asked. Pink pulsed like a heartbeat.

  Powder, powder, powder.

  I wanted to laugh. It was so funny.

  “Hutch had it.” Blue spiraled outward. “He wouldn’t share its location with anyone. Whatever supplies they had were limited at best, but the location was top secret.”

  “What’s the powder made from?” Bender asked.

  “Seaweed.” Blue lashed down like a laser.

  “The stuff that used to grow in the ocean?” Lockland asked. Greens and purples swirled.

  Everything began to fade.

  Bliss was on the other side. I wanted it. It was beautiful. I deserved it. My grip on Case’s arm slackened, falling away.

  “Hey, stay with us.” Blue shot directly into my ear as something shook me. It danced in my mind. “I almost let you die, remember?”

  I did remember. Case’s smug look filtered into my muddled mind. He’d been sitting there waiting for me. How could he do that? He was a traitor. He couldn’t be trusted. I growled, “Bastard…hate you…”

  “Good.” Blue pierced me, making me shiver and moan.

  “Sodium alginate.” The sound of Darby’s fingers on the keyboard tapped out blasts of light in my mind. “Of course. It’s a compound that binds drug remnants together and prevents them from being absorbed by the body. We have to find that powder.”

  I let go. There was nothing for me here.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “Holly? Can you hear me?” Darby’s voice sounded like it was at the end of a tunnel, far, far away. Hands prodded me. “Hol, it’s time to wake up.”

  I groaned.

  Just let me sleep, dammit. I tried to roll over.

  “Wake the hell up,” Bender growled. “Enough already.”

  “Give her more.” The tone was firm. Case. What was he doing here? He’d betrayed us.

  Oh, wait.

  I kind of remembered. It was hazy. There had been a lot of colors.

  “I’ve already given her more than the data states,” Darby sputtered. “There’s no precedent for this. We don’t know what it’s going to do to her.”

  “We can see what it’s doing. It’s curing her.”

  My brain was at war with my body, urging me to wake up. I was getting mad. I just wanted to sleep. Something pricked my arm. “Ow! What the hell, Darby?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I knew what I was doing.

  My brain had won.

  Laughter sounded. “Best back up,” Bender warned. “She’s about to come to, and when she does, she’s going to be pissed th
e fuck off.”

  My vision swam as my mind tried to make sense of what was happening. Everything felt heavy: my head, my arms, my legs.

  I squinted. The first thing I focused on were two innocent eyeballs less than a meter from my face. They were wide and full of fear. “Hey, kid.” My voice broke at the end, unused to uttering words. “Can you get me a drink of water?” I watched as a smile spread across his small features, a toothy grin replacing the uncertainty.

  Slowly, my vision completely cleared. We were still at the Emporium, in the room, ironically, that Hutch had called mine.

  “She’s awake! She’s awake!” Daze danced away from me, turning in a circle before hurrying right back to my side. “Darby didn’t know if he could do it, but I did.” His words rushed out. “I knew he could. And guess who found the powder? Guess, guess!”

  “My coin is on you, kid.” I tried to turn over and groaned with the effort as my body reluctantly obeyed my commands. “Now how about that water?”

  Lockland appeared in front of me, holding a cup. “How do you feel?” he asked, handing me the carbon cup full of cool, wonderful, life-giving liquid.

  “Like I crashed my craft into a graphene wall without a fucking harness on.” I struggled up on my elbow and took the water, bringing it to my lips, downing it in a single swallow. I handed the cup back to Lockland. “More.”

  He left, and Bender and Darby came into view. Darby’s face hovered above mine as he inspected me, his fingers poking and prodding. “You scared us, Hol. I wasn’t sure you would come back.”

  I ran a hand over my face.

  Lying back, I draped my arm over my eyes like a blanket. The room was too bright. “How long have I been out?” My mouth was still dry, my head pounding.

  Overall, I felt like a steaming pile of shit.

  “Almost thirty hours. I’m sorry it took so long. I had to analyze the contents in the dart, and my lab is not fully stocked. But if it wasn’t for Daze, you wouldn’t be here. He found the secret ingredient.”