“You have chosen not to cooperate, then?” Sewell’s voice was flat. He looked directly into her eyes.
“I have nothing to say.”
Sewell put the file with what appeared to be a blank page back into his briefcase. “That’s too bad. If you had given me anything, it would have been a help to secure your release. Instead I have a blank page and you have the rest of your life to spend in prison.” Sewell closed the briefcase and stood. “If you have sudden recall of information, let the guards know and I’ll be back.” He walked to the door.
“Sewell,” Sturgis called out.
He had his hand on the doorknob but stopped. “Yes?”
She wanted to say thank you, but it was difficult for her to show gratitude. She nodded once, her eyes soft. Then she forced a sneer to her face. “I hope that Croft gets what he deserves.”
Sewell opened the door and nodded once to her. “He will. And so shall you.”
54
ERIKA
Erika had hoped that she’d be able to get Tex off the school grounds without further bloodshed. “Stay close to me,” she said. Tex had been acting more like her prisoner than her friend. Given how unpredictable his actions had been, she took his hand. I’ll drag him out of here if I have to.
She had scoped out the security situation after she’d left Tex and Dr. Randall. Makeshift barricades like the ones used on the highway during construction had been placed around the school perimeter. It was only waist high and wouldn’t keep people out, but it gave a clear signal that people weren’t supposed to come in either. The perimeter was further reinforced with armed guards. Some of the patrols had dogs.
Erika had intended to leave, get the four-by-four and return to get Tex. But they’d erected a makeshift guardhouse on the road into the school. Guards stationed there checked the credentials of everyone going in and out. She and Tex would have to get off the school grounds and make it to Ian’s house to pick up the truck before they could even attempt to get out of town.
Tex’s thin hand was cold in hers. “We’ll have to walk to the truck,” she whispered. “It’s about a half a mile from here. Can you make it that far?”
He didn’t respond.
It was the middle of the night, but with a three-quarter moon in a cloudless sky, it was like someone had plugged in a giant night-light. She could see clearly, but that also meant the guards could as well. Erika wondered if she’d ever have a normal heartbeat again instead of the galloping horses that seemed to have taken up residence in her chest.
She stayed close to the brick walls of the building where Tex had been kept and walked as quickly as she could to the northwestern perimeter of the grounds. A dog’s bark pierced the otherwise quiet night. Soon there was a chorus of woofing and yipping.
Erika stepped up her pace to a jog and tucked behind the next pod building. Tex was quiet but able to keep up with her.
As she turned the corner of the building, they nearly ran into two guards that were running in the direction from which Erika and Tex had come. They were clad entirely in black from head to toe and had the strange, gold embroidered emblem of two snakes eating each other’s tails against a pyramid background. The symbol was familiar, but though Erika had tried, she couldn’t recall where she’d seen it before.
“Stop,” one of the guards said. “Hands in the air.” His gun was raised and only a few feet from Erika’s face.
She had no choice but to stop. She didn’t want to let go of Tex, but she complied anyway. Her relationship with him felt like a thin thread of a tether that was weak and would break at any minute, Tex flying off like a helium-filled balloon.
As soon as their hands were in the air, the second guard took the guns Erika had pinched from the two guards they’d put down in Tex’s makeshift hospital room. Erika felt naked and vulnerable without the gun.
“Don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you’re not leaving.”
“This is a hospital, not a prison. You can’t keep us here.” Erika knew she couldn’t argue her way out of the situation, but she wanted to get them talking and buy time until she could think of what to do. She hadn’t seen General Bardsley after he’d left Tex’s room, but she had the feeling that if these guards got her and Tex back into the pod, they’d lose their only chance to be free. Tex, what should we do? She hoped he could read her thoughts despite the fact that he’d denied that he still could.
The guard scoffed. “Rumor has it you’re a terrorist. We can hold you as long as we want. And this one isn’t even human.” He pointed the rifle at Tex. “It’s property of the Makers and due to be delivered to Mr. Croft tomorrow.”
The second guard tapped his Bluetooth earpiece and spoke. “We’ve secured the package. Yes, sir, both of them. Alive? Yes, sir.” The guard tapped his Bluetooth again. “Boss says we’re to bring them in alive.”
“Even the girl?” the first guard asked. He sounded disappointed.
“Yeah. Apparently her blood’s got the antibodies Croft needs to synthesize an antidote.” The guard’s eyes bored into Erika’s. “Looks like you’re going to live after all. At least until they suck what they need out of you.”
The first guard moved closer to Erika, his six-foot-tall frame looming over her. He was so close Erika could smell his garlicky breath and see the hairs up his nose. “Too bad. I was itching to put a hole in her chest.”
The way the man pushed himself against her, she was reminded of how Joe had treated her all those months ago in the desert. She expected the guard to make a lewd comment. But instead he confessed wanting to kill her. It was strange, but she had been less disturbed by Joe’s gross come-on than the idea that this guy, who didn’t even know her, wanted to kill her. I haven’t even had a chance to piss him off yet. She knew very little about the Makers, but the more she knew, the more she thought they were a bunch of lunatics with far more money than morals.
Erika had focused on getting Tex away from the Makers while trying not to think about her mom and Jack. It hadn’t occurred to her that she was in danger as well. An image came to her mind. She was strapped to a bed, an IV line coming out of her arm, draining her of blood. It was such a vivid vision that it felt more like a memory than her imagination. But that hasn’t happened to me. Yet.
She’d hoped that Tex was being disingenuous about no longer having the abilities he’d had before. But he remained silent and passive, showing no evidence that he still had the power to use telekinesis as a weapon.
The guard spoke in a low, surly voice. “Turn around and go.” As soon as she turned, he shoved the nose of the gun into her back.
Erika walked but was in no hurry.
“Move it,” the guard said. He nudged her in the back again for good measure.
Tex reached for her hand and she took his. It was still cold and dry. Her hand was a sweaty mess.
They’d gone less than twenty yards and had not yet reached the central courtyard. Tex tugged hard on Erika’s hand. He pulled at her, causing her to trip and fall to the ground with him. She fell onto the hard-packed earth and scuffed up her palms on the loose rocks. She was splayed out on the ground, her legs twisted up in Tex’s arms. Tex stared at her intently. He had tripped them on purpose. He was trying to tell her something, but his eyes were, as always, impassive reflections, unable to communicate in the unspoken language humans used all the time.
“Get up,” the first guard said. He kicked Erika’s leg with the toe of his boot.
Erika turned over and sat on her hind end but didn’t make any move to do as he commanded. “Make me.” She’d likely pay for her sarcastic tongue. She usually did, in some form. But it felt good to defy the guy anyway.
The man pulled his rifle back. “They said alive. Didn’t say nothin’ about not beatin’ the snot out of you little shits.” The butt of the rifle came at Erika’s face.
She grabbed the end of the rifle before it made contact with her jaw. She tried to yank the rifle from the man’s hands, but he was strong and ha
d a solid grip on it.
Erika didn’t let go. She dug her feet into the sandy ground to get leverage and yanked as hard as she could with her whole body. Being in the downward position, she had gravity and leverage on her side. The guard toppled and nearly fell on her, but still he held the rifle tightly.
Erika kept her hands on the gun but threw her elbow up and caught the man’s chin. The pain was enough to make him lessen his grip, and Erika got the rifle away from him.
Before she got a chance to point the rifle at the man she’d taken it from, the second guard put the point of a gun barrel against the back of her head. “Don’t even think about it. Drop it or, so help me, I’ll put a bullet in your skull, to hell with orders. They can get blood out of a dead body as easily as a live one.”
As Erika had told Tex, fear of dying has a way of trumping orders. She believed the guy would do as he threatened. She dropped the gun to the ground. As soon as the rifle hit the dirt, the first guard’s meaty fist found her face. He punched her squarely in the cheek, sending rockets of pain threading through her head. Blood trickled down her cheek, wet and cold. Burning tears stung at the corners of her eyes. She was near to passing out as a wave of nausea washed over her.
“Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?” the guard said. He grabbed his rifle from the ground where Erika had dropped it. “Now get up and move or a bloody face will be –”
The man didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. He fell to the ground, his face beet red, his eyes bulging as he struggled to breathe.
“What the – ?” The second guard coughed and pulled at his neck.
Tex’s voice was a low monotone. “Take their weapons.”
Both men writhed on the ground now. Erika was able to easily get their weapons away from them and grab the guns they’d confiscated from her and Tex. She handed two to Tex, strapped one across her shoulder and held the other with both hands.
“Run,” Tex said.
“Not without you.”
He shot her a look that could wither a delicate flower. “If you want to live, do as I say.”
Erika didn’t know if Tex was issuing a threat or a directive. She was glad of the help his renewed abilities gave them, but fear wound around her. He had been so unstable since Dr. Randall unhooked him from the Conexus interface. What if he turns his weapon on me?
Erika pushed her fear aside and decided to trust in Tex. She ran as fast as she could toward the perimeter of the school grounds. They’d been close when they’d run into the guards. The barricade was ahead of her. Nearly there. Someone was running behind her. She hoped it was Tex but feared it was a guard. She wanted to look but was afraid of what she’d see. Curiosity got the better of her and she tossed a look over her shoulder.
Tex’s legs were a blur beneath him. His upper body was entirely still as though he was not moving at all. He quickly closed the gap between them.
She’d once pled with him to spare the lives of Sturgis’ guards and Joe, the man who had attacked her. But she now hoped that Tex had put the two guards they’d struggled with out of commission. The man she’d elbowed had taken a dislike to her. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if he caught up to them.
They were less than five feet from the barricade, but the dogs had their scent. The barking grew louder as Tex overtook her. A small breeze wafted over her as he passed.
Erika’s toe caught a large rock and she was tumbling toward the ground. She stumbled and nearly fell, but she refused to give up and righted herself within a few steps.
Tex jumped the barricade gracefully. He looked like a gazelle, his movements quick and effortless. Erika’s legs were shaky beneath her. She wasn’t even going to attempt to jump. She knew she’d end up splatting against the concrete barrier.
The dogs’ paws crunched on the rocky ground. They growled and snarled behind her. She looked back and there were at least three large, dark-haired dogs barreling toward her.
Tex was over the wall and Erika could see only the top of his head. There must be a drop-off on the other side.
“Make haste,” he said.
Erika hitched a leg up over the barricade, the other dangling behind her. Pain erupted in her heel as sharp teeth clutched her ankle. The dog’s powerful jaws had her in its grip and yanked, nearly pulling her back over the barricade. She was straddling the concrete half-wall and gripped it with both hands. She tried to pull her leg away, but the dog pulled too, ripping a chunk of her flesh off.
Two other dogs joined the one that had its teeth in her. They jumped at the concrete barricade and barked and yowled. Guards ran toward them and one spoke into his comm link. “Got ’em pinned on the barricade.”
She pulled one of the rifles off her back and mashed the butt of it down onto the dog’s snout. It yipped in pain and released its jaws. “Sorry, buddy, didn’t want to hurt you. But my leg’s not a chew toy.” She pulled her leg free and threw herself over the wall without a thought as to how far down she was going to fall.
She braced to impact the hard ground. Instead she fell into Tex’s thin, wiry arms.
He held her with surprising ease. For an instant their faces were inches apart, their eyes locked as Tex cradled her against his chest. And for a fleeting moment, Tex’s eyes seemed less dark, his lips less thin, and his cheeks less gaunt. He looked like he was ready to kiss her and she was near to letting him.
But the dogs snarled and threw themselves against the concrete barricade. Men yelled and somewhere a siren whooped.
Tex put her down gently. His voice was softer than it had been before. “Lead the way.”
She took his hand, though not because she was unsure if he’d follow but because she needed to feel connected to the world so she could push through the pain and keep moving. Erika ran down the hill and tried not to topple. She fled the school, a place that had once been her home away from home and most recently the site of her mom’s deathbed. She was glad to say good-bye to it.
The lone siren became a chorus that rang out in the cool, desert night. Erika darted down an alleyway of crumbly pavement in need of repair and through backyards of dried grass. The low-slung slump block houses were silent sentinels of the town in its death throes.
The sirens wailed, getting closer and closer and seemingly from all directions. They rounded a corner, and Erika’s heart, already beating madly, leapt into her throat. Ian’s house. It was dark and still, but it was familiar. The sight of it flooded her mind with memories of eating dinner with Ian’s family at a crowded table in their tiny, cluttered dining room. Hot tears played at the corners of her eyes again, her throat tight.
Erika pulled Tex into the partially enclosed carport and let go of his hand. Her fingers shook as she pulled a rusty can off the top shelf of Mr. Frew’s rickety homemade workbench. She dumped the contents of the can out onto the wood counter. A spider tumbled out and beat a hasty retreat across the wood. Amongst the handful of dirty coins was a plastic Corona beer keychain with a single key.
She dangled the key in the air for Tex to see. He said nothing, his face again stoic. It made her miss Ian terribly. If Ian were there, he’d have eased their tension with amusing comments or at least traded insults with her.
The truck was at the back of the house, and as she ran toward it, she passed her Yamaha that still stood where she’d parked it before that fateful night in the desert. She wanted to hop on it and ride east, Tex’s arms wrapped around her waist, the cool night air snarling her hair, the rattle of the engine beneath her. She never felt more alive than when she rode, as if the roar of the engine powered her, her hands on the throttle giving her a sense of control over her destiny.
But they were headed to four-wheel-drive country. The bike would be no use getting them there.
“Wait here. I’ll get the truck.”
Mr. Frew’s fifteen-year-old truck was jacked so high, Erika had to jump to get into it. She cranked the key and the engine whined and spit. She’d ridden with Ian in the truck before. She knew it was a
finicky fella. She waited a few seconds they didn’t have, turned the key again and tapped the gas pedal a few times. The engine turned over and choked out a plume of smoky exhaust.
She spun out and turned the truck around on the lawn. Mr. Frew’s grass had once been as green as a fairway, an anomalous sight in their desert town. “Just add water,” he’d said in answer to how he got such a lush backyard in a place where lawn grass didn’t want to grow. Sorry, Mr. Frew. She hoped he survived his illness so he’d have a chance to come home and get blazing mad at her for what she’d done to his lawn.
Erika pulled the truck around and stopped for Tex to get in. As she looked at the bike, she decided she could leave a lot of things behind, but her Yamaha wasn’t one of them.
“Help me get it into the back,” she said.
Tex seemed to do most of the lifting while Erika guided it. It was another demonstration that Tex’s strength was returning.
Erika pulled onto the main street that led out of town, back toward the jumble of rocks where Jack had turned off so long ago and taken them to the place where they met Tex. But they hadn’t gone a quarter of a mile before flashing lights bounced off her rearview mirror and sirens wailed behind them. There was a barricade of cars ahead of them too.
“Crap, they’ve got us cornered,” Erika said.
“Turn hard to your right.”
“But there’s no road.”
“We need to stay off the road. At least until we lose them.”
“We need to head east,” Erika said.
“Then do as I said. Hard right.”
Erika followed Tex’s direction. They jostled as she drove over a curb and into the desert. She mashed the pedal to the floorboard as they bounced high off their seats, taking out cactus and bushes. I hate off-roading. “This will make for one long trip to New Mexico.”
Even with a jacked-up four-wheel drive, the fastest she could go was about twenty. But the truck had an easier time of it than the police cars. The sound of the sirens faded. She could no longer see lights in her rearview mirror. She drove over the rough ground, dodging palo verde trees and avoiding the large columnar saguaro and squatty barrel cactus. Tex navigated, telling her to veer this way or that. She had no idea how he knew what direction she should take, but she followed his directions and focused on not hitting anything big.
H.A.L.F.: The Makers Page 36
