by D. S. Murphy
“So, cupcake,” Bruce said when they were out of sight, “seems like it’s just you and me. You’ve got something really sweet about you, innocent. I like that.” He grabbed my hand and put it down on his crotch. I could feel him hard through his pants. Bile rose up in my throat and I retched in disgust. I pulled my hand away.
“Touch me again and I’ll scream,” I said.
“You’ll just attract the mods,” he said with a sneer. He smelled sour, like he hadn’t bathed in weeks.
“We could just leave you tied to a tree tonight, a gift for the mods. We’ve done that before. It’s a waste of something so soft, so juicy, if you ask me. But instead, we’re taking you to Zamonta. It’s the closest thing left to paradise. Man, I wish I could live in there. Hot showers, good food—you don’t know how lucky you are. And I think it’s about time you show me some gratitude.”
I struggled against my bonds as he pushed me back against a tree. I kicked him away from me, but he came back holding a knife under my throat. “Now, you’re going to be a good little girl, and please your daddy. Right? Who’s your daddy?”
He pressed his mouth against mine, his bushy moustache scratched my face raw. This couldn’t be happening. I willed myself to see pink, or tell myself this wasn’t real. I tried to go into a safe place in my head. But my whole body was screaming with revulsion as he reached under my shirt and rubbed his calloused palms over my bra. With my hands tied, I reached up and grabbed his hair, then jerked his head down into my knee.
When he raised his head, his nose was bleeding.
“You bitch, you broke my nose!” he drew his arm back and I flinched, waiting for him to strike me. Instead, there was a loud crack and his head jerked to the side. A trickle of blood ran down his face. Behind him, in the shadows, was the boy I’d met last time, holding a crowbar. His eyes were smoldering in anger.
He held up a finger to warn me to be quiet, then took Bruce’s knife and cut the ropes around my wrists. Blood from the knife soaked into the rope and stained my palms red. He made a “follow” motion. Should I trust him? It was getting dark, and I was alone and unprotected. Tom had taken my gun, and even if I had it, I doubt I’d be lucky enough to survive another mod attack.
What was I still doing here? It had been several hours already. Something must have gone wrong. I never planned to be stuck here at night time. All I had to do was make sure I survived long enough to make it home. This kid seemed safer than whatever Bruce and his friends had planned for me. And he’d protected me last time. Somewhere in the distance I heard a screeching noise. The sun was setting. I didn’t have much choice.
I followed him and we got away from the building quietly, sticking to the shadows. He led me down a few streets, then stopped in front of a manhole. He used the crowbar to pry it open, sliding off the metal cover.
“Get in,” he said.
“Seriously?” I looked down at the dark hole.
“Suit yourself,” he shrugged.
He started climbing down into the sewer. I heard the screeching again—it sounded like it was getting closer. The mods were coming. I climbed down after him.
“Pull the top closed,” he said. I reached up and grabbed the metal disc. It was heavy, and the rumbling sounded far too loud as I dragged it back across the hole. For a moment, it was pitch black.
Then there was a warm light coming from below. I climbed down the ladder. The boy was lighting candles with a lighter.
There were dozens of them, all different colors, melted into the wall creating a halo of light. There was a walkway, about five feet across, and even a mattress. It smelled bad, but not as rank as I expected. The sewage had mostly dried, and the tunnel gave off an earthy smell, like a farm pasture.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“One of my crash pads. I have a few in the city. The mods rarely get in down here. If you stay in a house, they’ll see the light. You have to hide out in the dark, and even then, if they’re hungry, they’ll find you. They’re afraid of fire, like other animals, but then other humans will find you. They’ll rob you as you sleep, or worse. It’s safest down here. It masks my smell.” He set down his gear, then sat on the mattress with his back against the wall.
“Okay, my turn,” he said. “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?”
I stared at him blankly.
“I thought I’d seen everything,” he continued, “I mean, everything. But then I find a girl in an abandoned house who seems like she’s from another planet, and just as she’s getting interesting, she disappears. Vanishes. No trace. I thought I was going crazy.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “I just, I took off. I’m better on my own.”
“I’ve gone over it a thousand times,” he said. “You were standing by the car, then the mods were coming. I shouted for you, but you didn’t come. I couldn’t see you. I thought one of them had gotten you already. I just barely escaped with my life.” He lifted his shirt and showed me an angry red cut across his abdomen.
“How did you find me again?” I asked.
“I didn’t. I went back to that house. Stayed there a few days, thinking you might show up again. Then today I heard a gunshot. It happens, but I thought I’d check it out. Most people are smart enough not to fire a gun in the open. I saw those mercs tying you up. My guess is, you just gave me the slip somehow, right? And you’ve been around this area? That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
I nodded, a little too eagerly. For the moment, I was safe. But I was also exhausted. After all the walking around, and excitement, and adrenaline, I felt drained, and I could barely think straight. Still, I couldn’t miss this chance to gain more intelligence.
“I saw the mods and I just ran. I’m really sorry you got hurt. And thanks for taking care of that creep. That’s twice you’ve saved me.”
“Yeah, well. Not everybody is an asshole.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jake. You?”
“Alicia. Do you know what they were going to do with me? Where they were taking me?”
“They’d trade you. Take you to the plant.”
“Zamonta Corp?”
“That’s the one. They pay in supplies and money for young kids.”
“What do they want kids for?”
“Nobody really knows. Human experimentation. Mad science. Some say they’re looking for a cure. Some say they want to make something worse. Maybe they’re trying to breed something new.”
That didn’t explain why they had a picture of me in their camp. It’s like they were expecting me, like they knew I was coming.
“Were you here when it happened?” I asked. “The Modification?”
“No. But my parents were.”
“How did they survive?”
“When it happened, they were in Defiance. It’s a small town, on a piece of land surrounded by rivers. The water kept most of the mods out. Once they killed the ones inside, they were able to get organized. Grow their own crops. Build a wall. It’s as close to civilization as we have left anymore. At least that’s what the commander says. It’s still tough, but we survived. Zamonta was quiet, while I was growing up. We didn’t even know anybody was still in there, but we’d see lights, sometimes smoke. We left them alone, they left us alone. Then they expanded, took over the airport as well. It’s like a little military state in there, electric fences all the way around. Their own generator. Then kids started to go missing. We’d always lose a few a year to mods, or sickness. But Zamonta was sending out trucks. Collecting. They hit all the cities in the area. Defiance is protected because they can’t get their trucks across the river. But the commander is worried it’s just a matter of time.”
“Listen, Jake, I need to find out what really happened back then. Exactly. Is there anybody I can talk to who has more information? Records, newspaper articles, anything?”
“I know a guy,” Jake said. “He’d have what you’re looking for.”
“Can we go talk t
o him?”
“What, like now? It’s already dark outside. In case you hadn’t noticed, mods are carnivores,” Jake said.
I shuddered.
“You mean they eat people?”
“How do you not know this stuff?” Jake gave me an incredulous, apprehensive look, like he didn’t believe me.
“Okay, listen carefully. Mods are more active at night. During the day, they’re mostly relaxed. They’ll still kill you if you surprise or threaten them, but they probably won’t make the first move. They’re smart, not like humans, but smart like apes. Only stronger. Crazy strong. I’ve seen one modified tear through a group of ten armed soldiers. But shooting them isn’t smart, because you’ll just attract more and more. So we use arrows, knives, spears—anything quiet. Better yet, don’t go out at night, ever, if you can help it. Got it? We’ll go first thing in the morning.”
I looked at the dirty mattress, then back at Jake. The mattress looked like a twin. We’d have to spoon to both fit on it. The thought of it made me blush. It’s not like he wasn’t cute, behind the scruffy clothes and the dirt. With the dark stubble on his chin, he was pulling off a sexy homeless guy vibe.
I didn’t want to spend the night, and I needed to make use of every minute I was here. But what else could I do? It probably wasn’t worth getting killed for—if I died, I wouldn’t be able to help anyone. Plus I was exhausted. And the Phylia should be wearing off any minute anyway. If I lay down to sleep, I’d probably wake up back in the library in my own time. That temptation was too great to ignore, so I sank down on the mattress. It was the most comfortable thing I’d ever felt.
***
I woke up in total darkness, and felt something cold and slimy on my cheek. I reached for it and felt a hard shell. That woke me up quickly. My heart was pounding as I pulled on it, feeling the snail’s sticky body peel off my skin. Yuck.
A rough woolen blanket scratched my skin. Jake must have put it over me last night. I was still in the sewer. What the hell was I still doing here? I was panicking. The candles had gone out and it was dark and chilly. I felt claustrophobic, and scared.
“Morning,” Jake said, rolling over to look at me. I could barely make out his face in the dim light, but I felt his warm body next to mine. “Ready to go?”
We walked almost an hour, hugging the side of the roads. Despite roots breaking up through the pavement and a thick layer of dirt, the streets were pretty clear of trees. The houses and buildings we passed were abandoned, and most of them had broken windows and doors. We passed dozens of “remnants” as Jake called them—the remains of people who had died in the Modification.
We headed uphill into a residential area, and Jake finally stopped and pointed at a gate. The wall around the property was too high to see over. Jake pressed a button and waved at a camera. The gate swung open with a hum.
“This place has electricity?” I asked.
“And a whole lot more,” Jake said. We walked up a long driveway through the trees. When we got closer I could see that a building that looked like a giant black cube. It looked absurdly out of place, like something from a video game.
When we got close, a door opened and a man came out, dressed in shorts, a bath robe and flipflops. He had long gray hair that was pulled into a ponytail. His eyes widened when he got closer.
“I’m Tracy Kettleman,” he said. He held up a hand to greet me. I could have sworn it was shaking. “It’s a pleasure—an honor—to meet you.”
I shook his hand warily. He held on to my fingers for too long and I had to pull away.
Then we went inside. It was surreal, after spending the night in the sewer, this seemed like a palace. The kitchen was wide and open, with gleaming white titles and polished metal. Everything looked so clean and modern, I wondered if he had a housekeeper. Tracy put on a pot of hot water.
Something was weird about this place. How come it was still standing when everything else had been ruined?
“Hot chocolate, right?” Tracy asked. “With marshmallows?”
How did he know what my favorite drink was?
“Jake said you might have answers, about what happened during the Modification. What really happened.”
“Of course. I’ve kept everything. Everything is prepared. I can’t tell you how excited I am that you’re here, Alicia.”
Did Jake tell him my name, or that we were coming? I couldn’t see how, it’s not like anyone had cell phones. Something about this situation felt wrong.
“Um, can I go to the bathroom?”
“Sure, of course,” Tracy said. “Jake, will you show her where it is? That’ll give me the chance to put on something more appropriate.”
The bathroom was upstairs, the first door on the right. I’d been holding it since I got here, yesterday, so I was relieved to find a working toilet. When I was done I opened the door quietly and tiptoed out into the hall. I needed to explore. I opened the doors to the rooms upstairs one by one. Bedroom. Office. Then another room that looked like a command center. Bingo. On one wall was a massive bulletin board with newsclippings and photos pinned to it, connected by different threads of red string. In the center of the madness was a picture of me. It was almost like some kind of shrine. What the hell?
I went downstairs carefully, pausing when I heard voices.
“Why’s she so important?” Jake asked.
“Not your concern,” Tracy said. He was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“What are you going to do with her?” Jake asked.
“What do you care? You’ll get your credits.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. That bastard. Jake was trading me in for some kind of bounty. I can’t believe I trusted him. I don’t know why everybody in the future was so obsessed with me, but it couldn’t be good. I had to get out of here. I crept past them and opened the front door. I pushed the button to open the main gate, then ran. Jake shouted my name. They weren’t going to catch me this time.
I ran into the woods behind the house. I had to find somewhere to hide and wait this trip out. It couldn’t last forever. The trees stopped. I came to a halt next to a deep ravine with a fast river. There was an old pedestrian bridge not far away. I was halfway across when one of the boards broke and I stumbled.
“Don’t move!” Jake yelled, standing on the bank behind me. “That bridge is rotten.”
I looked down at the rushing waters and rocks, about thirty feet below me. I got to my feet carefully, but didn’t run.
“Everything you told me was a lie,” I said.
“I’ve known Tracy a long time, I knew he wouldn’t hurt you.”
“So you were just protecting me then? Bullshit, you brought me here for the reward.”
“Tracy’s had that picture up for years, he said if I ever saw a girl who looks like you, I should bring her to him right away, for her safety. Trust me, better Tracy than Zamonta.”
“But who is he? How does he know who I am?”
Jake shrugged. “Look, I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me everything. You’re right, Tracy promised to give me some credits. More than I could earn in six months scavenging. But I wouldn’t have brought you here at all if I thought you’d be in danger. Tracy’s house is a fortress. If Zamonta is after you, it’s the safest place you can be.”
Jake looked worried, but earnest. And running into the wild by myself might not be the best idea. I turned slowly, feeling the rotten wood sift beneath my feet. All I needed to do was find somewhere to wait this out, without getting killed. Why was that so difficult?
I started walking carefully back towards Jake. I’d almost reached him when the boards gave way. I saw Jake dashing towards me as I scrambled for a grip on the rotting wood. I tore up clumps of it with my fingertips before Jake caught my wrists. The adrenaline made my hands sweaty. I saw a flash of fear in Jake’s eyes as he realized I was slipping. He tightened his grip, trying to pull me up. That’s when I saw the pink flames again. Finally. I was so relieved I smiled.
/> “It’s okay, Jake,” I said. “I’ll be okay.”
He said something but I couldn’t hear him. My vision was almost completely gone when I let go.
10
I woke up gasping for air, flailing my arms. I almost screamed but Crys held a hand over my mouth. Brett and Cody were hovering nearby. I was so relieved my eyes teared up. I was back. I gave Crys a big hug and smiled at the boys.
“How long was I out?”
“It’s almost 6pm,” Brett said. “You’ve been out for two and a half hours.”
“We were really worried,” Crys said. “We weren’t sure whether to tell someone.”
“I was there for a full day. I spent the night there,” I said.
“You must have inhaled more this time,” Cody said. “We got the dosage wrong.”
“That doesn’t matter,” I said. I tightened my grip on Crys’s arm. “There’s going to be a bomb at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” I said in a hushed voice. I reached for my pockets, but the newspaper clippings were gone. I closed my eyes to remember what I’d read. “The bomb blew up one of the floats, a giant mermaid. The police thought it was either dropped in front of the float or somehow hidden inside during construction. Twenty-three people died. Will die.”
Brett was shaking his head. “You were only supposed to bring back proof. We still don’t know if whatever you’re seeing is real.”
“Of course it’s real!” I spat at him. “Or where do you think I got this?” I pointed at my lip, which had a split in it from where I’d punched myself on the recoil. I also had some minor scratches on my body.
“Yeah, that was crazy,” Crys said. “It just came out of nowhere.”
“Alright, look, I’m not saying I don’t believe you. Something weird is clearly going on. But that doesn’t mean it’s objectively true, or that the things you saw in your vision are actually going to happen. We haven’t proved that yet.”
