Rann didn’t give him a glance. She was on her knees scrubbing out one of the bottom cages. She wiped perspiration from her forehead with her forearm.
Looking at Rex, Gabe said, “If I told you that I was sorry, you’d forgive me too, wouldn’t you, Rex? Is that a nod I see?” The dragon curled up underneath the heat lamp and shut his eyes. “Yes, you would forgive me. You are a true friend and a good dragon.”
A metal pail hit Gabe upside the head. Dragon excrement spilled all over the floor.
“Shut up!” Rann said.
Red-faced and rubbing his head he said, “You’re going to clean that up!”
“No, I’m not, you idiot!”
“Fine!” Gabe dusted off the dried crap, grabbed a broom, and started sweeping. “At least you are talking to me.”
“Shut up!” Rann moved to a workbench, grabbed some leather gauntlets, and slid them over her fingers. She opened a cage to a girl dragon named Piper, who had a little pink in her eyes. With a heave, Rann ripped the dragon’s claws from the cage it clutched and stuffed it inside the one she’d just cleaned. “I wish I could stuff you in one of these cages.”
“If it would make you happy, I’ll do it.” Gabe finished sweeping the excrement into the bucket and emptied it into one of the bins. Setting the tools aside, he tried to fit inside a cage.
“No,” Rann said, “not that one. One of the dirty ones.”
“Okay, if you insist. Why don’t you pick one out?”
Rann marched along the cages and looked into Hoss’s empty cage on the upper shelf. It had been cleaned a day ago, but it was already rank with filth that clung to the bars. “This one.”
Gabe made a sour face. “Have it your way.” He started to stuff himself inside the cage, which would be barely big enough for him to fit in, but he could do it. The cages were roomier than they appeared. He made it belly-button-deep inside when Rann grabbed him.
“Stop. You disgust me enough as is. Climb out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Climb out, idiot!”
Gabe scooted out and looked her right in the eye. “I am very sorry.”
“Well, you hurt me, you know. I’d never hurt you, so you shouldn’t hurt me.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He looked away.
“I’m not stupid, Gabe. I know there is something else going on. I can feel it in my fingernails. It’s hidden in your eyes. You need to tell me what’s eating you.”
He reached for the broom. “Nothing is eating me. It’s just been hard not talking to you.” He wanted to tell her about Mabel, and it was eating him up not to. “I just want to see Squawk.” He started sweeping. “And things are going on around here. There are more guards outside, and the Dragon Games are soon. But I don’t have Squawk. That’s weird.”
“Gabe, you’re making me mad again.”
“What did I do now?”
“Nothing. I’m forgiving you, and you start sweeping. Come over here, and hug me.”
“Oh.” Gabe leaned the broom against the cages. He gave her a hug. She squeezed him tight in her strong arms.
“Gabe, don’t piss me off again. Or at least try not to, okay?”
“Okay.” He held her tenderly but tight. Their bodies felt like one.
Rann broke it off. “Now are you going to tell me what is going on?”
“I-uh.” Gabe rubbed the back of his neck. Everything about Mabel was about to explode from his lips. I’ve got to let her know. “Yeah—”
CLANG!
The ear-jarring sound on the other side of the vault doors returned. It had been dead silent for the past two days. Something shook and jerked the wheel. Gabe’s eyes searched the ceilings. There was ductwork above big enough for him to crawl through that moved from one section of the concourse to the other. He climbed up on top the dragon cages. “Hand me that stepladder.”
“No, Gabe. Don’t you dare.”
“Just do it, Rann. Trust me. I have to know what is going on over there.”
“Tim will catch us, Gabe.”
“No, we just got here. He won’t check for hours. Come on, Rann. I only need a couple of minutes.”
She lifted the stool up to Gabe, looking over her shoulder. “Please, don’t do this. If something happens to you, I’ll die.”
Gabe climbed up on the stool, opened up one of the vents, and locked his hands inside the rim. “I’ll be back.”
“You’d better make it quick,” she said in a heavy whisper, “or you’ll get the both of us terminated.”
CHAPTER 45
Gabe wormed his way into the pipe and headed toward the other side. The metal popped under his knees. He moved slowly, elbow over elbow. Twenty feet into it, he got the hang of moving quietly, so he slithered ahead with his shoulders rubbing against the sides of the ductwork.
Every twenty feet, he passed one of the vents like the one he came through. He looked down and saw Rann’s worry-riddled face looking up at him. He kept going another twenty feet. Grunting and snorting caught his ears. He froze. His hairs prickled on his neck.
I don’t like the sound of that.
The weird snorting reminded him of chewbas. He could still see them gnawing on paralyzed men’s limbs. He almost started back, not wanting to see what horrors might reside on the other side. Pushing up on his elbows, he forged ahead. He came to a vent opening and peered down. He could see the other side of the vault door. It was secured by a huge padlock and key that locked the wheel.
CLANG!
The sound of metal striking metal sent a jolt through his body. He jerked up, banging his head on the ceiling. It made a noticeable pop inside the hollow metal. The sound of metal chair legs scraping over the floor caught his ear. A man or woman was among the animals on the other side of the den. Hard-soled shoes walked over the floor, echoing. There was loud sniffing.
Gabe didn’t have a good view of much from where he was. He needed to get farther down. He waited until the animals stirred again.
“Shut up, y’all!”
CLANG!
Envisioning a brutish man wielding a length of iron, Gabe slunk ahead to the next opening. He peeked through the vent. Between the louvers, he could make out huge cages, big enough to store a car. Sticking out of one of the cages a tail, ten feet long, swished back and forth with lizard scales on it. It looked like the tail of the dragon he’d slain with the help of Buggy when he left Newton the first time. Maybe it was even bigger. It coiled up and vanished back inside the cage.
With his heart pounding inside his ears, Gabe pressed his face closer to the vent and eyeballed the floor from another angle. He spotted a wooden desk loaded up with papers. Behind the desk was a person with a man’s build. His feet were propped up on the desk, but Gabe couldn’t get a good look at him. All he saw were hard-soled boots and denim pants covering stout legs. A black pipe lay on the desk beside his feet.
A creature let out a wild cry.
“I said, shut it!” The man’s voice was as hard as iron. “I don’t have time for this, you hyenas!” The chair squeaked on the floor as he stood. He came fully into Gabe’s view.
Swallowing, Gabe spied the most beastly man he’d ever seen. His face was rugged with scars. Shaggy braids of straw-colored hair hung over his broad shoulders. He wore denim overalls, and his bulging arms were as hairy as an ape’s. Taking the club in hand, the bestial man moved out of sight, but his heavy footfalls carried. He stopped a few down feet away from Gabe, and another loud clang rang out.
“Shut up, you filthy mutants! They ought to put you all in the incinerators! Dirty things!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The man resumed his seat behind the desk. Again, all Gabe could see were his feet. Scared to move, he waited several long minutes. Every time one of the caged beasts huffed, growled, or moaned, he inched back several feet until he finally made it to the other side. He popped out of the gap in the vent, put his feet on the stepladder, and climbed down.
“See, Rann, I told you I wouldn’t be so long.�
�� He fastened the vent door back on. “Rann?”
Tim was on the floor with his hands around Rann’s shoulders. Her eyes were misty. Clovis stood beside him.
“You’ve been a bad boy, Gabe,” Clovis said. “The Count will be disappointed.”
CHAPTER 46
Gabe and Rann were brought to the Count’s office. The Count sat behind his desk, writing notes on a sheet of paper. He folded over the sheet, slid over a candle burning on his desk, and dripped hot wax on it. With a metal stamp, he sealed the letter and handed it to the Blue Guard behind him. “Take this to the carrier.”
Without a word, the Blue Guard left through an exit hidden in the curtains behind the Count’s desk.
With red and puffy eyes, the Count looked at Gabe and held up a finger. “I’m a very busy man. I don’t have time to deal with distractions. Clovis, what happened?”
Clovis shifted away from Gabe. He’d escorted Gabe and Rann into the room alone while Tim remained outside. Two Blue Guards at the main entrance remained. “I went to check the Dragon Den this morning and discovered that Gabe was not present. He had crawled up into the vents. Apparently, he was curious about what lay on the other side of the den.”
“Which side did he breach?” the Count asked.
“He came from Gunther’s side of the station.”
“I see.” The Count’s eyes shifted to Rann. “And this must be Gabe’s friend, Rann. You are a handsome young lady. Tell me, Rann, why didn’t you report this to the Blue Guard?”
“I-I don’t know. I tried to stop Gabe. He doesn’t listen well.”
The corners of the Count’s mouth bent upward. “No, he doesn’t. But Gabe is a clever young man. I’m certain he figured he could get away with it, but you didn’t, did you, Gabe?”
Gabe shook his head. “No, Count.” His fingernails dug into his palms. He started to blurt out an excuse but thought he better of it. He’d learned to not speak out of turn. The Count didn’t care for that.
The Count blew out the candle and watched the smoke rise toward the cathedral ceiling and fade away. He wrung his hands. “You both have been given a generous station, yet you are defiant. I’m dealing with enough defiant people already, and I have no desire to deal with any more. I’m very quick to deal with transgressions. I’d think you would have been clear about that, Gabe, after dealing with my sister… who you killed. Tell me, what did you see?”
Gabe swallowed. “I saw a man with arms like a hairy animal. He wore a leather mask that covered part of his face. He was ugly. There was the tail of a dragon too. A big one.”
“Yes, the man you saw is Gunther, Gabe. He is not some secret among us who reside in the Burg. He’s been around for all of my life. He is a trainer. The Maestro of the Arena. The Commander of the Coliseum. You would have been introduced to him and his gammas soon enough. But you had to spoil that, didn’t you?”
“He made the dragons uneasy. I heard loud banging. I feared.”
“Pah,” the Count huffed. “I know better than that. Besides, Gunther is known to toy with the occupants on the other side of the door. Even the gamers from the Dominion complain about his ploys and tricks. But you are the only one to seek out the source of his disruptions. I would commend you for it if it weren’t for your disobedience. It leaves a bad taste in mouth.
“This isn’t Newton, Gabe. Life is bigger and badder in the Burg. The citizens thrive on that image. The coliseum does too. Yes, the dragons and the gamers are a big part of the show, but they aren’t the only show. There are gammas brought in from the wild, the likes of which your eyes have never seen. We don’t turn loose little six-legged squirrels for dragons to chase. There is much larger game.
“The dragons are precious because they bond with the gamers. It’s a unique ability, as you know. But most of those cages are empty, and there’s a reason for that. They don’t always survive the battles in the arena. It’s a harrowing thing, seeing a dragon torn from his master. You’ve seen it, I’m sure. The chills and shivers. Young men and women sitting in a corner with their guts wrenching with emptiness. It’s a hard thing.”
Gabe felt longing pangs in his belly. His mouth became dry. The Count’s words were suffocating.
The Count straightened up the papers on his desk and held up his finger again. “We cherish life in the new world. The Blood Law protects it. But justice must be swift, and crimes against the Dominion are harshly dealt with. In most cases, I prefer to dispense justice by making an example of someone. I have a lot of leeway with that.” His chair wheels squeaked when he stood. His guns were holstered on his hips. He stepped around to the front of the desk and leaned his backside against it. He held a knife in his hand, the same one he’d shown to Gabe before, with a three-inch-long razor-sharp edge. “Gabe, you have crossed the line, but given your station, I can’t make an example out of you, so I have no choice but to make an example out or her.” He looked at Rann. “Guards, bring her to me.”
“No, wait!” Gabe said. Before he could move toward the Count, Clovis bound his arms up behind him in a swift wrestling move. Gabe strained against his captor. His struggles were muted by the stronger man’s surprising power.
The guards had Rann’s arms locked up. They dragged her kicking and screaming to the Count. The Count grabbed her by the hair and yanked her neck back. Her neck was exposed.
“Please! Please! Please! Don’t hurt me!” Rann pleaded. The Count grabbed her left earlobe. He cut it off. “Aaayeeee!”
The Count marched in front of Gabe, dangling the ear in the boy’s face. “Can you hear me now, Gabe? Can you?”
Gabe made a feeble nod.
“The next time you cross me, I will cut off more than just an ear! And you will watch every bit of it. Don’t be tricky, Gabe. I’ll catch you. She’ll pay for it!”
CHAPTER 47
Trooper and Dino came to a stop where the roadway ended in wilderness. For days on end, they’d been riding through the wasteland, stopping at places Jack had never imagined. There were trees that stood over fifty feet tall and forests laden with flowers and berry bushes. There were small towns and cities covered in overgrowth. Jungle had long overtaken concrete and metal. The rumbling of their vehicles’ engines sounded foreign in the unmolested wild.
Jack got out of Cookie’s truck and stretched his arms. Behind him, the new Deathriders were doing the same. They’d all taken up the motorbikes abandoned in the tunnel. They were a hard-nosed group. One of the riders wore a helmet that was painted like a skull with flaming eye sockets. Bare arms thick in muscle lifted off the helmet, revealing a shaven head. Her name was Shane. She never spoke to anybody. The rest of them were just goons who’d learned to ride pretty quickly. Jack hated them all. He wanted a bike, but at least Trooper had returned his gun.
Cookie sauntered up to Trooper and Dino. All of their eyes were fixed in the forest. The heavy brush and tide of trees had swallowed up whatever civilization used to be there. “You going to teach these young bucks how to hunt today?”
Jack rolled his eyes. For over a week, Trooper and Dino had been training the new riders to capture game. Learning how to survive was all that they’d been doing. Trooper showed them how to dig for water and set small snares and traps. They caught bugs, small lizards, and snakes that would be eaten. One of the new riders made a headband out of rattlesnake skin. He hung the fanged snake skull from his neck. They called him Skins.
Trooper lit a cigar. He puffed on it until the tobacco at the end showed red. “Listen up, Deathriders. If you want to eat tonight, you’ll have to find it in there. Don’t come back to camp empty-handed either. Remember, there’s game in there, wilder than anything you can imagine. It gets hungry too.”
Eight riders paired up and entered the wilderness. Shane entered alone, carrying a hatchet and the pack on her back. Trooper and Dino remained where they stood.
Trooper looked back at Jack. “What are you waiting for?”
“Me? I thought I was a rider already. I don’t need any t
raining.”
“You aren’t a rider. You’re still training. Now get your ass in there, boy.”
Cookie made a goofy laugh. “Yeah, get your ass in there, and bring me something to cook.”
Jack eased toward the expansive wall of twisted green and brown. He pulled his gun out from behind his belt.
“Nope.” Trooper drew a knife sheathed to the side of his thigh. “Leave that weapon. You’ll have to use mine.”
Jack exchanged the gun for the blade. With a sheepish look, he inched toward the forest and pushed his way through the shrubbery. Thorns and needles pricked his skin. He took a glance back and could barely make out the daylight that defined the forest’s edge. He forged his way deeper in the wilderness. His busy eyes searched the ground and trees. Mosquitoes bit at his bare arms and neck. He smashed them with his hands.
Carelessly, he chopped his way through the brush. Small creatures skittered through the branches. Jack knew he wouldn’t catch any of them unless he got lucky. He’d have to hunt something else, something slow like a possum. It was the only animal he could think of. He’d heard Trooper talking about how they slept in trees. He scanned the branches as he walked deeper into the forest. He cut away at some vines. He plucked berries from a bush. He tasted one and spat it out.
I hate this!
***
Night had fallen. Cookie leaned over a campfire and stirred a metal pot hung over the flame. “You know, it’s not very likely any of them will kill a varmint with a knife or hatchet. Snares won’t snag a critter for days. Do you aim to let them all starve tonight, Trooper?”
“It’ll be good for them,” the brusque man said. He dug a spoon into a bowl of beans and rice. “Besides, I’m certain someone will come out of there with something. It’s the only way to find out if there’s a real hunter among them.”
Dino sat crouched in front of the fire. He would have passed for a tree stump if he hadn’t started to speak. “I remember my first hunt. I came back with a wild pig in my bare hands.” He slapped his knees. “It squealed so loud I thought I’d go deaf. I kinda hated to kill the cute little thing. Then the mother busted out of the brush and sent me flying. I never ran so fast before. The she-beast had tusks like a boar. I’d have died if Trooper hadn’t shot it.”
Flight from the Dominion (The Gamma Earth Cycle Book 2) Page 14
