by Mac Flynn
“What’s that?”
“Our desperation, now let’s go.” Luke loped away. I rolled my eyes, but followed him.
24
Without a taxi and with only our noses to guide us, the trip back to the dingy apartment building took an hour. We came to the last corner and Luke stopped there. I stopped against his hip and growled at him. “Quiet,” he warned me. He stuck his head around the corner and I heard his sniffer going. “It’s clear, but keep your ears and eyes open. They may have that de-scenter,” he reminded me.
We slunk around the corner and across the dark street to the apartment. The door hanging by its hinges wasn’t even hanging by its hinges anymore. Someone had bashed it in, and didn’t stop there. The crummy interior was now a wrecked crummy interior with fist holes in the walls, feet prints in the floor boards, and a couple of dead men around the front desk.
Wait, that wasn’t right.
I blinked to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Yep, there really were three dead men around the front desk. They had shotgun pellets to the face and chests, and their clothes were torn. Well, except for the distinctive red armbands on their arms. Those matched the color of their blood that stained the floor around them.
“Um, I don’t think I’m that desperate to be here,” I quipped.
At that moment a figure arose from behind the desk and leveled a shotgun at our faces. “Not another step, ya dogs,” Rick growled.
“Rick, it’s us!” I yelped.
“We’re Stacy’s friends,” Luke reminded him.
The man peered closely at us and furrowed his brow. “Prove it by getting out of those skins.”
With that barrel aimed at us I barely wanted to breathe, much less de-transform. “Can’t you just smell us?” I asked him.
“I’m a human, not a hairball, now get back to your human selves,” he demanded.
“Did you go to the station like I asked?” Luke spoke up. “I asked you to pick up something for Smithton. Was there anything there?”
Rick paused, and he slowly lowered the gun. “Ah guess you’re who ya say ya are, but why didn’t ya ask me that sooner?” he scolded.
Luke breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. “It’s hard to think with that shotgun aimed at us and the evidence of your work on the floor.” He nodded at the bodies. “What happened here?”
Rick sneered at the corpses. “These guys came in here after you left and tried to mess the place up. Guess they weren’t expecting me to have silver in my shotgun because they dropped without a fight.”
“Did you find out what they wanted?” Luke asked him.
Rick pointed the barrel of his gun at the ceiling. “There’s only one thing they’d want in this place, and it wasn’t the termites.” He glanced past us at the door. “Speaking of which, where is she? And what about the other two with you?”
“We were hoping they’d be here already,” I chimed in.
“You get into trouble somewhere?” Rick guessed.
“They almost pinned an assassination on us,” Luke replied. He stretched himself and changed back into his human form. Underneath his baggy costume he wore the spandex suit. I followed his lead and showed off my own stretchy suit. It still fit comfortably as advertised, but my tender feet wished the material stretched over the soles.
Rick pursed his lips and shook his head. “That sounds like a mess. So you got separated on the run-out and haven’t seen them since?”
“Exactly. Is there a place you can hide us until we hear from our friends?” Luke wondered.
Rick leaned over the desk and looked past us. “Ya might not need to do that. Here comes a messenger.” We turned around and saw a young boy of sixteen hurry up the stoop and into the lobby. He noticed the bodies and stopped dead in his tracks. “It’s all right, Steve, they were attacking me,” Rick comforted him.
Steve’s eyes narrowed when he noticed the armbands. “The reds?” he guessed.
“Yep, but have you got anything for me?” Rick asked him.
“Oh, right. This just came.” Steve fished out a crumpled note and handed it to Rick. “And I’ve got another one. It’s for some Luke guy who’s supposed to be here,” Steve replied. He glanced at Luke. “You Luke?”
“Yes, but who’s it from?” Luke questioned the young boy.
“Miss Stacy,” he told us.
I frowned and turned to Luke, who had a small smile on his lips. “How’d she know we’d be here?” I asked him.
Luke shrugged. “We’ve been friends for a long time. I’m sure she thought I would outsmart-”
“She said you’d be the only one stubborn enough to come back here,” Steve interrupted.
I barked out a laugh. “Well, we don’t have to doubt it’s from her,” I quipped.
Steve held out a note, and Luke took it and read the contents. I glanced over his shoulder and read it myself.
* * *
Luke - We left our troubles behind and regrouped outside the maze. Callean and Leonor are going into hiding, but will provide financial support for the greens and try to free my father. Meet us at the plant in two weeks. - Stacy
* * *
P.S. To prove this is really from me, Baker sends his regards and says you two attract trouble.
* * *
“That sounds like Baker,” I commented.
“And like trouble,” Luke added.
“Then you might not want to read this,” Rick spoke up. He pulled a crumpled letter from his pocket and held it out. “I got this from the station like you asked.”
Luke took that letter, but this time he summarized the note. “It’s from Brier. He says there is a Protector missing and Baker is wanted for questioning. Simpling is blaming the Green Party. He’s agitating for a ban on the party, and Burnbaum has already left Wolverton to avoid arrest on charges of treason.” Luke crumpled the letter and ground his teeth together. “They’re closing the trap on all of us.”
“Your trap’s worse than your friends,” Rick spoke up. He held his own note tightly between his fingers. “Cranston’s called for your arrest for attempting to assassinate him.”
“I wish. . .” I grumbled.
“Is it a command to the patrols or the reds?” Luke asked him.
“Both, and he’s spreading your face through the news to try to get others to turn you in,” Rick replied.
Luke pursed his lips. “It won’t be easy hiding from an entire city to get to the plant,” he mused.
“What plant are we trying to get to? A dandelion?” I quipped.
“The main plant in Mullen’s district. Stacy no doubt has her suspicions about chemicals being used on her father to control his mind.” He shook his head. “But I don’t know how we’ll avoid an entire city to get to the train.”
A grin slipped onto my face. “We can always bring back Lucretia,” I teased.
His face fell and he looked to Rick. “Do you have a truck we can buy?” he pleaded.
Rick shook his head. “Nope, but he does.” He nodded at Steve, who’s face drained of its color.
“I-I don’t want to get into too much trouble,” the boy stammered.
“It might be a good idea to give these two a lift to get yourself away from here,” Rick suggested. He strode around the desk, shotgun still in hand, and walked over to stand beside one of the front broken windows. His eyebrows crashed down and he frowned. “Yep, just as Ah thought. Reds are out there watching the place. Probably wondering where their buddies are.”
“Then our best chance to get out of this is to use your truck,” Luke told Steve. “Is there room enough in the cab for us?”
“Ah think you’d be better in the bed while he drives off,” Rick spoke up. “Where’d you park the beast, Steve?”
“Where I usually do. Out back,” Steve replied.
“Then ya three better go out the back way and get out of the city before the fellows in the front decide they’re tired of waiting,” Rick insisted. He strode past us and down a hall that led to th
e rear of the building. Steve followed, but Luke turned to me.
“This might not be easy,” he told me.
I snorted. “Is anything we’ve done tonight easy? What’s one more adventure for the night?” I returned.
“No, but we didn’t have the entire city looking for us,” he pointed out.
I smiled and bumped my shoulder against his. “So you and me versus a city? I like those odds.”
He grinned and wrapped his arm around me. “I promise when this is all over I’ll take us on a really long vacation.”
“I’ve always wanted to see Ireland,” I mused.
“If you two are done with your travel plans, you’ve got a truck to catch,” Rick called from the hall.
Luke stepped back and offered me the crux of his arm. “Shall we?”
I looped my arm through his and grinned. “My pleasure.”
25
We strolled down the hall arm-in-arm and followed Rick to the end of the hall where stood a rickety old back door. It stood open and showed rotten steps that led to a dank alley and a parked truck. Correction, monster truck. The thing had huge wheels with suspensions raised sixteen inches higher than it needed to be. The frame was a fortress of metal reinforced with steel, and the glass was thicker than Leonor’s glasses. Steve sat in the tank-like cab and behind the cab was a long bed with high sides. Luke led me around to the rear where we found there was a flimsy strip of wood for a tailgate and a large tarp in the wet bed.
“You can hide under there,” Steve called to us.
Rick stood on the top of the stairs with his gun in hand. He stiffened and swung around to point the barrel down the hall. “Better hurry! Ah hear yer friends getting impatient to talk with ya,” he told us.
Luke and I jumped into the back and quickly covered most of ourselves with the disgustingly filthy tarp. “Go!” Luke shouted at Steve.
Steve looked to Rick. “Get in!” he ordered the old man.
Rick fired off a shot and scuttled down the stairs. He jumped into the cab, shoved Steve aside, and slammed the door. “Hold on!” he yelled at us.
I heard his foot stomp on the gas pedal and we shot forward so fast I slid down the bed. My feet hit the flimsy board and cracks appeared beneath my bare soles. Luke grabbed my hand and yanked me back up against the rear of the cab. “I wouldn’t try that again,” he advised.
“I didn’t want to try that the first time,” I shot back.
We were interrupted by movement behind us. A half dozen werewolves in all their furry glory tore from the back door of the apartment building. They skidded along the damp mud of the alley and sped after us. My eyes widened when I realized they were also catching up. “Must go faster! Must go faster!” I yelled to Rick.
We bounced along the alley and turned a right corner onto the main street. Luke and I slid into the left side of the bed and he winced when I slammed into his side. “Don’t you dare make a crack about my weight,” I growled at him.
He sheepishly smiled and shook his head. “Never entered my mind,” he swore.
The truck sped faster along the traction of the paved road, but that didn’t stop the pack from catching us. The lead werewolf jumped onto the rear bumper and grabbed the makeshift tailgate. He was a little surprised when it broke under his clawed hands and he tumbled back onto the street. The lead took out two others like they were bowling pins, but the other three dodged and caught us. A pair of them jumped onto the sides and climbed their way into the bed.
Luke flung the tarp over me and leapt at the intruders. I grappled with the plastic cloth while through its holes I could see Luke grapple with the pair of werewolves at the edge of the truck bed. He knocked one off, but the other one grabbed him from behind and pinned Luke’s arms to his sides. I flung off the tarp and threw myself at my enemy’s legs. My heavy body knocked his legs out from under him and he tipped over the back of the truck.
Unfortunately, he didn’t let go of Luke, so they fell together. I reached out and grabbed Luke’s hand before he hit the pavement. The lone wolf swiped at his feet, and Luke gave him a good kick to the face. I pulled him back into the bed and we both fell to the bed facing our foes. “You’re heavy,” I wheezed. He really was heavy.
He snorted. “And you should be under that tarp,” he scolded me.
“And miss all this fun?” I countered.
While we talked the two bowling pins and the former lead were back in action and passed our three defeated ones to overtake the truck. They were lined up shoulder to shoulder five yards away from the rear of the truck, and that gave me an idea. I rolled around and scrambled toward the cab where I picked up the filthy tarp. I grabbed it and turned around to see Luke standing at the edge of the bed prepared for their attack. The other half of the pack were catching up behind them and they made two neat rows twenty yards apart.
I raced to the edge of the bed just as the first row of werewolves jumped us. I flung the tarp across the rear of the bed and they flew face-first into the filth. They tumbled onto their backs on the pavement, and struggled to free themselves of each other and the tarp. The other three werewolves jumped over them and raced at us. I turned to Luke. “Um, we’re all out of tarps,” I told him.
“Then get ready to fight,” he replied.
Two of the werewolves raced up either side of the truck and jumped into the bed. I took the left one and Luke took the right. He tried to punch his off, but his foe ducked and got a fist into Luke’s gut. Luke winced, but grabbed him and they wrestled to the bed. Mine tried to wrap his arms around me in a not-so-friendly hug, but we hadn’t been properly introduced, so I stepped aside and he caught air.
That’s when Rick decided to take an extra-sharp turn and nearly flung me over the bumper. My hands wildly clawed at the air and caught the only thing tall enough to reach: my werewolf opponent’s waist. We both toppled over the end of the bed. I landed on my feet, but nearly had my legs torn from under me by the speed of the flying ground beneath me before I used my super speed to go with the flow.
My enemy wasn’t as lucky. He managed to grasp the edge of the bed, but he didn’t land on his feet so his legs dragged along the pavement. I grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and used him as a prone ladder to crawled onto my knees back into the truck. I turned around and smiled sweetly at him. “Thanks,” I told him. He growled at me. Then I kicked his hands with my bare feet, and he fell face-first onto the pavement. That guy didn’t get back up.
Luke was finishing off his fun with his opponent, so I hurried to the cab so I wouldn’t again fall off the back on a turn. Luke tossed his guy over the side of the side of the truck and turned to me with a dashing smile. Neither of us noticed the third guy climb over the rear of the bed until a shot sounded. The werewolf was hit with a barrage of shotgun pellets. He clutched at his face and howled in pain. Luke took his chance and shoved his shoulder into our foe’s chest. The werewolf went sprawling over the back of the truck, and a moment later we drove around a corner and out of sight of our defeated enemies.
Luke and I turned around to find Steve holding the gun through the cab rear window. His eyes were wide, his face was pale, and his hands trembled. Luke smiled. “Thank you,” he said to the young lad. Steve could only nod. Luke shuffled over and collapsed beside me.
I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed. “Well, that was fun,” I quipped.
Luke chuckled and brushed back some wild strands of my hair. “You’re getting to be a better fighter,” he commented.
“I’d rather be a magician and disappear myself out of these messes,” I countered.
Rick slowed the truck and glanced over his shoulder at us. “What direction do you want out of this city?” he asked us.
Luke opened his mouth, but I clapped my hand over it and leaned toward Rick. “We want to go to Lord Stevens’ house,” I told him.
Luke’s eyes widened and he tore off my hand. “What? Why?”
I glared at him. “Because for the last week we’ve done
nothing but run. Well, I’m tired of running away without some sort of victory, so let’s go rescue Stacy’s dad,” I insisted.
“That’s a suicide mission, lady,” Steve spoke up.
“Then you two stay in the truck while Luke and I get ourselves killed,” I snapped at him.
Luke’s face fell and he raised an eyebrow. “I’m getting dragged into your crazy plan?”
“Do you want to stay in the truck while I go inside the house by myself to certain death?” I asked him.
“No, I just wanted to know if I had a choice.”
“You don’t, so stop whining. Besides, this is the least we can do for Stacy’s helping us out all this time.”
“Well, we have a goal, but how do you intend for us to get in there?” Luke asked me.
I flinched. “I hadn’t really gotten that far yet and was kind of hoping you could help me.”
Luke chuckled. “I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Why?”
“Because it involves damp walls and some foul-smelling water.”
The color drained from my face. “Oh goody,” I mumbled.
“Still want to kidnap him?” he wondered.
“We’re rescuing him,” I corrected him.
“That’s not how Cranston’s going to show it to everyone,” he pointed out.
“I think our image is pretty well shot already. What’s a little kidnapping added to our attempted assassination?” I countered.
“Good point.” He looked to Rick. “Stop the truck two streets off Stevens’ place.”
Rick shook his head, but stepped on the gas to our next suicide mission.
26
Rick stopped the truck two streets down from Stevens’ mansion, and Luke and I hopped out the back. Luke scoped the ground while I looked around the neighborhood. “I haven’t seen any of Cranston’s goons for a few blocks,” I whispered to him.
