“Right,” he said. “Our home.”
“Anyway we’ve got Rachel,” Rita said. “And we’ve all seen what she can do.”
“Poor Rachel,” Nick said, shaking his head.
“I don’t like it any more than you do Nick,” Cody said. “But I saw her that day in the park. When she fought them off, it was incredible. We’ve got a chance.”
Rita shivered and then pulled the collar of her coat closer together. Her teeth chattered, making a clicking noise.
“That must have been something,” she said.
Cody nodded. “It was,” he said. “And what’s even better is that she took something from them that day. All that power. They were trying to steal her away and she beat them at their own game. That’s my girl.”
“She beat them from afar,” Nick said. “But now they’re coming here. They’re doing that because they must know it’s going to make a difference. Now I wouldn’t say it in front of Rachel but I gotta tell you – that’s been giving me a lot of sleepless nights.”
“Yeah,” Marv said. “Me too.”
Rita took the cigarette out of her mouth. She looked at it with the expression of someone who loathed everything about smoking.
“Damn,” she said. “Are we fooling ourselves into thinking we’ve got a chance?”
“I hope not,” Cody said. “For Rachel’s sake.”
Rita let the cigarette drop out of her fingers. She stamped it out and rubbed her gloved hands together.
“I suppose we’d better get some sleep,” she said, looking at Cody. “We’re up bright and early as usual. Gotta take the kid to school. I sure hope she isn’t going to have a birthday hangover after all those peaches.”
There was a sad smile on Cody’s face.
“She never was much of a morning person,” he said.
He looked up at the three gates.
“You know,” he said. “When all this started, I was supposed to be the one protecting her.”
Marv dropped his cigarette onto the black snow and there was a faint sizzling noise at his feet.
“Hey Cody,” he said. “I never asked you this but did Rachel ever, I mean was she special before this? Was she gifted in any way?”
Cody had spent nights lying awake thinking about that. Searching for something – anything that might have been a hint that Rachel was different or special in any way.
“I don’t know,” Cody said. “As far as I’m aware, there was nothing until the Black Widow.”
“Right,” Marv said. “Well she’s a helluva brave kid.”
“She is that,” Cody said.
“What do you say we get back indoors?” Marv said, looking at the other three faces hidden underneath their hoods. “It’s a little less cold in there than it is out here. And I’m pretty sure I can hear my sleeping bag calling.”
Chapter Two
Rita was waiting for Cody and Rachel in the morning. She was standing at the door on the first floor, pointing her flashlight in their direction as they walked towards her with a sluggish stride.
Cody’s flashlight met Rita’s halfway and the two light streams formed a cross shape.
“First up again?” he said.
“What can I say?” Rita said. “I’m an early riser.”
Rita’s energy levels in the morning never failed to amaze Cody. She looked fresh and raring to go, like she’d had a full eight hours sleep in a king sized bed. Her brown skin was glowing as if she’d been scrubbing it clean with a bristle brush. A green parka jacket was zipped up to her neck and with matching khaki pants, as well as her beloved Savage rifle slung over her shoulder, Rita looked like a G.I. Jane doll.
“Morning Rachel,” Rita said.
Rachel trudged along at Cody’s side in silence. Cody had a hand placed on her back, trying to encourage her legs to move faster.
She grunted in response to Rita’s greeting.
“You think it’s actually morning?” Rita said. She put a hand on Rachel’s hair and gave it a playful shake – that was their regular morning greeting and it required little effort on Rachel’s part.
Cody opened the door and peered onto the street. A gust of cold wind swarmed around his face. Apart from the distant glow of the three gates, it was pitch black out there.
“God knows,” Cody said. “It could be midnight for all we know.”
Rita laughed. “Let’s get this kid to school.”
Cody put Rachel’s hood over her head and directed her towards the front door. She staggered forward.
“Gloves on,” Cody said.
Rachel pulled the gloves out of her pocket. She slipped them over her fingers in slow motion like she was trying to solve a puzzle.
Cody and Rita put their hoods up and with Rachel tucked in between them, they walked through the door.
“My God,” Rita said, pausing to take in the weather. “I swear man, it’s getting colder every single day. Anyone else notice that?”
Cody nodded.
“The first steps are the hardest,” he said. “Don’t think about your sleeping bag. Don’t think about being warm up there on the seventh floor with everyone else. Just remember that life sucks and here we are.”
“Comforting words,” Rita said. “You know Marv was awake when I got up. He wanted to come, said I should take the morning off. Wish I’d taken him up on it now.”
“He’s right,” Cody said, looking at her. “You deserve a break for God’s sake. It shouldn’t always have to be you that comes with us.”
Rita shook her head. “Nah it’s alright,” she said. “I kind of like tagging along with you guys. It’s something do at least.”
She glanced at Cody and smiled. He caught her eye, felt a jolt of embarrassment and looked away quickly.
“Hey Rachel,” Rita said, giving the little girl a gentle nudge with her arm. “That was some party last night, huh?”
Rachel groaned.
“You alright?” Rita asked. “Feeling it today?”
Rachel shook her head. “I’m just tired.”
Rita laughed. “I hear ya.”
A light drizzle of black snow fell as they walked. There was a pleasant crunching noise underfoot, as if they were walking on regular freshly fallen snow. Cody closed his eyes for a second and allowed his mind to wander. He envisioned the short winter days of old – the holidays, snowball fights and the gleaming frost that lingered on the windows of the buildings…
He opened his eyes and shook his head.
Those memories were a waste of energy.
It was a short walk to the Robert E. Lee apartment building on West Travis Street. It was an unspectacular looking ten-story block with easy access to the roof and which offered a solid view of the three gates up above. There was a massive neon sign fixed to the top of the building – Hotel Robt. E. Lee, a reminder of the building’s early days as a hotel, not to mention of San Antonio’s historical links to the Civil War. The sign’s gaudy colored light had long since extinguished. Underneath the main sign was a smaller one. It simply read, Air Conditioned.
Cody, Rachel and Rita walked into the dark building with their flashlights leading the way. They climbed the staircase to the roof like they’d done many times before. Cody figured he could probably get up there without a flashlight, not that he wanted to try it anytime soon.
This was usually the point where the cobwebs in Rachel’s mind were swept away. Perhaps it was the reality of getting closer to the three gates that did it. Cody wondered if she felt like a soldier, approaching the field of battle.
Whatever it was, a switch was turned on.
They stepped onto the roof and walked to the far edge of the building. The three gates towered above them – distant sun-like orbs that were always getting closer, bringing not heat but the promise of a bitter, unbearable cold.
Rachel’s expression was calm as she looked up at the gates. Cody didn’t know if that was because she was still half-asleep or if she’d become hardened to the task at hand. Maybe she was just good at h
iding it. If so, then she’d truly surpassed Cody’s abilities to put the terror aside.
“They’re getting bigger,” Rita said. “Closer.”
She glanced at Cody. There was a look of defeat in her eyes.
“Don’t you think?”
Cody didn’t disagree but he wasn’t going to say it in front of Rachel. So he shrugged his shoulders and looked away.
They turned towards the city – to the buildings that populated the downtown San Antonio region. Most were hidden, lurking in the long shadow of the Black Storm. While the three gates were radiant and drowning in a wealth of light and color, the poverty of the dark Earth below stood in stark contrast.
“We ain’t the alpha species anymore,” Rita said. “Guess we never were, huh?”
Rita aimed her rifle at the gates. She made an explosive sound with her mouth, imitating the crack of gunfire.
“If only,” Cody said.
Rita lowered her rifle and sighed. “If only.”
She kept her eye on the gates and took a step back from the edge. At the same time, she shook her head.
“Have we lost our minds?” Rita said. “What are we thinking? How the hell is a ten-year-old kid supposed to stop this?”
Rachel turned around and peeled the hood back from her head. Black snowflakes landed softly on her long blonde hair.
“I’m eleven,” she said.
“Sorry,” Rita said. “That makes all the difference.”
“I can do it,” Rachel said, turning back to the gates. “I did it before, right Dad?”
Cody grimaced at the memory of Brackenridge Park. The cuts and bruises he’d suffered that day had long since healed but the terror he’d felt at the thought of losing Rachel to the Exterminators still stung.
“Yeah,” he said. “You did.”
Rita held a hand up in the air like she was calling a sudden timeout. There was an apologetic look on her face. Or maybe it was embarrassment.
“Damn I’m sorry you guys,” she said. “Don’t listen to me. I don’t know why I’m being such a wuss this morning. It’s just that sometimes when we come up here it’s like I’m reliving my holy shit moment. Like I’m seeing those gates for the first time. Other days, I don’t bat an eyelid.”
“I know,” Cody said. “It’s alright.”
Rachel had her back turned to the adults. She was standing at the edge of the building, something that always gave Cody the chills considering how slippery it was on the roof. But that’s where she needed to be, so she’d said – as near to the gates as physically possible.
She took off her gloves.
Meanwhile Rita patrolled the edges of the rooftop. The Savage rifle was locked onto the streets below, primed to respond to the first sign of movement.
Rachel held both arms out at the sides, so that she was forming the position of a cross. Above her, the three gates towered in the black sky, their insides like giant eyeballs swirling with vibrant colors. With her arms raised like that, it looked like Rachel was challenging the Exterminators to come and get her.
There was a sudden sound – the sharp crackling hiss of electricity. Cody watched as the first spark of colored light appeared on the tip of Rachel’s fingers, just like magic. The colors were vivid – red, green and blue – but so much more. Cody could see these same colors inside the three gates. The light skipped and danced down Rachel’s hand, working its way along her forearms, spreading out from head to toe like it was drawing an outline of her body.
Cody felt a combination of awe and wanting to throw up. She was his little girl for Christ’s sake.
The light formed a shield around Rachel.
She pointed towards the abandoned buildings, stretching over the horizon like relics of another era.
A few moments passed.
Something blinked in the distance.
Tiny pockets of yellow and white light appeared in several of the far-off buildings. Distant light bulbs flickered on and off in various rhythms, like a tangle of Morse code signals coming back across the city. Cody had seen Rachel do this many times before but it still wowed him every time.
He couldn’t help but smile.
Cody watched as the tallest, most distinguished buildings were at his daughter’s command. He could see the Weston Centre, one of San Antonio’s tallest skyscrapers, blinking on and off like a faulty toy.
“I wish I could do that,” Rita said. “I remember when you could only do one building at a time Rachel.”
Cody nodded. “You’ve done well kid.”
Rachel turned around.
Her eyes were as black as the sky.
Cody shivered, but not from the cold.
“Dad,” she said. “I asked you not to call me kid anymore.”
Rachel’s eyes, combined with the city still blinking behind her, made Cody feel like he was looking at a creepy work of three-dimensional art. His little girl looked like a demon child who’d stepped out of the shadows, her ghoulish features caught in a split second of fleeting light.
“Uh sorry,” Cody said. “I forgot. Old habits die hard and all that.”
Rachel turned back to the front. The lights blinked faster now, more urgently. Watching Rachel whip the city into a frenzy was like watching a highly skilled conductor leading the orchestra towards a thrilling and heart-stopping climax.
“Looks like you’re about ready to take off your training wheels,” Cody said. He glanced up at the gates. “Just in time too.”
“I sure hope it’s going to be enough,” Rita said.
Cody looked over at her.
“She’s getting there,” Cody said. “Whatever this thing is – whatever the power is, it’s in Rachel’s mind. She has to exercise it just like any other muscle.”
Doubt lingered in Rita’s eyes.
“Not feeling too good about things today are we?” Cody asked.
Rita looked up at the gates. She peered through narrow eyes, as if the sight was too much for her.
“Can’t we just close them now?” she asked. “Might save a whole lot of trouble down the line don’t you think? When the Exterminators get here they’ll find that Rachel has already slammed the door shut in their faces. Who knows? Maybe they lose heart, turn off the Black Storm and bingo – it’s over. Party time on Earth all over again. What do you think?”
“I don’t think it works like that,” Cody said.
“Me neither,” Rita said, resuming her rooftop patrol. “Tell me something Cody. Why does everything in life have to be done the hard way?”
“Beats me,” Cody said.
Rachel was still standing at the edge of the rooftop. She lowered her arms back to her sides slowly and the dazzling shield began to fade out. There was a brief electric hiss that dulled to a whisper.
The flickering lights across the city went out.
Rachel spun around quickly. She was looking at Cody with a mischievous smile on her face.
Her eyes were still black.
The shield reappeared in a flash, wrapping itself around her body. Rachel clenched a fist and pulled her arm back like she was tugging on a stiff lever.
There was a crashing noise. It came from the street below.
Cody drew his pistol from the holster at his hip. He ran over to the edge of the building and Rita was right behind him, her finger locked onto the trigger of the Savage rifle. They looked down onto the road, scanning left and right. At first they saw nothing, but when Cody looked further to the right he saw an abandoned car had flipped onto its back in the middle of the road. The car was swaying back and forth like it had crashed just seconds ago.
Rachel stood at the edge of the roof, watching her handiwork. She giggled into the back of her hand.
The shield was gone again. Her eyes had reverted back to their normal blue.
“Don’t show off,” Cody said. He could hear the irritation in his voice. “You’re not here to play around.”
“I’m practicing,” Rachel said with a smile.
“Su
re you are,” Cody said.
“That’s me warmed up now,” Rachel said. She took a look at the gates and the smile faded from her face.
“Can you sense anything?” Cody said.
She nodded.
“They’re close,” Rachel said. “Real close.”
Cody rubbed his hands together. It was anything but gleeful anticipation. The cold breeze on the rooftop felt like a sharp stinger on his skin.
“How long?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Rachel said. “Not long.”
Cody nodded. “Do you know how far they’ve…?”
He was cut off by a noise coming from the street.
Footsteps. They were light, a gentle pitter-patter skipping over the snow. It sounded like someone who was trying to sneak through the city undetected, but doing a terrible job at keeping quiet.
Rita hurried along the rooftop, trying to catch a glimpse of the runner. She leaned her head over the side. The rifle was pointing streetside.
“You see anything?” Cody asked.
Rita dropped to her knees, her fingertips grabbing a hold of the edge for support. She leaned over a little further.
Her jaw dropped.
“What?” Cody said, noticing the shocked expression on her face. “What is it?”
“I think it’s a kid.”
“A kid?” Cody said.
“Yeah,” Rita said. “I think so.”
Cody turned to Rachel. He felt a surge of anger swelling up inside.
“You see what you did with your stupid stunt?” he said. “You scared the crap out of some street kid who was hiding out down there. Maybe he was sleeping in one of the other cars when you flipped that one over for kicks.”
Rachel glared at Cody. She had the same penetrating scowl as her mother.
“We need to go after that kid,” Rita said.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Cody said. “We’ve got work to do here.”
Rita stood up and dusted a layer of black snow off her coat.
“And what if it was Rachel wandering the streets by herself?” she said, looking at Cody. “What if she had no one to look out for her? Wouldn’t you want someone like us to help her if they could?”
Cody looked towards the street. He shook his head.
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