Naked

by Alexandra Christian

  “The girl, she has the medallion…”

  “Well, we knew that,” Machine growled. “That was the point of all this threatening.”

  “But there have been complications.”

  “What sort of complications?”

  “It’s the most ridiculous coincidence, really,” Manning stammered.

  “Where is she?”

  “Somewhere in Oklahoma.”

  “How the hell did she get to Oklahoma?” Machine shouted, slamming his fist down on to the table so hard that his untouched glass of wine tipped over. “She was told to go to the spaceport in Canaveral.”

  “All of our intelligence so far indicates that she got on the wrong train. Most likely she was set on the wrong path by the IU so that they could intercept the medallion before she made it this far. The good news, she managed to escape from them.”

  “How did she do that, I wonder?” Machine purred.

  Manning paused as if considering his next words carefully. “Perhaps the IU let her get away. Thinking she would lead them to the portal. Or us. It’s the only explanation for the ease of her escape. The news on the planet is reporting that she’s been kidnapped.”

  “The IU is covering their tracks.” Machine sighed. Stupid girl. He wasn’t sure if Jessica Addison was brilliant or a fool for sending that medallion back to Earth and her idiot sister. It was impossible to imagine one so intelligent could be related to a functional moron. “And how did you come by this information, Doctor?”

  “One of the IU agents is a friend. I told him you would pay handsomely for any information.”

  “Who is this friend?”

  “He asked to remain anonymous.” Machine snorted. “He’s an IU agent working for the Americans. They’d kill him if they knew he was leaking secrets.”

  Machine nodded. “Of course they would. Once a person outlives their usefulness, sweeping them under the rug is the only way to protect one’s interests, I suppose.” He looked pointedly at Manning. “So where is she now? I need an exact location, Doctor.” He gestured toward the goon in the doorway.

  “Go ahead and rough me up,” Manning said, cringing as the large man placed a meaty hand heavily on his shoulder. “I can’t give up information I don’t have.”

  “Perhaps your sister can help.”

  “Leave Eve out of this.”

  “I’d love to. But she has a way of sticking her adorable little nose in where it doesn’t belong.” Machine sighed and waved his goons over, who grabbed Manning by the arms and ushered him out the door.

  6

  Cage and Phoebe had been walking almost two hours before the bruised purple sky of evening gave way to a starless night. The woods were pitch dark, and he had to keep slowing down to let Phoe catch up. He tended to forget that others didn’t have the same night vision he did. Poor Phoe, she was a wreck. Every time she heard a noise, she would give a skittish gasp and try to crawl inside his coat.

  “I don’t understand why we have to traipse through the wilderness in the dark,” she grumbled.

  He sighed, clenching and straightening his fist. “As I’ve told you a thousand times already, we can’t move about in the day. We’d be spotted in seconds.”

  “Well, how much farther?” she whispered.

  “Not too far. The next town is someplace called Meridian. It’s not big, but there should be someplace we can get food.”

  “Oh thank God. I’m starving.” Phoe sighed. “Those crackers from this morning are long gone. What about you? I know about the blood thing, but do you actually eat?”

  “I can eat regular food too, it just doesn’t give me that special something.”

  “You really are a vampire, huh?”

  “Ugh. Don’t insult me. Vampires are grubby little parasites with no conscience or free will. I’m what they call an Ultra. I’m everything at once really.” Cage sighed, climbing to the top of a deadfall of branches, then paused to help Phoe. “Vampires were the first of The Others to seep through and they spread the fastest. Vampire covens are like these vast beehives that spread out from their Sire.”

  “But you drink blood. And apparently you can’t go out in the sunlight.”

  “Good deduction.”

  “I went through a Sherlock Holmes phase in high school.”

  “I won’t burst into flames in the sunlight or anything, but it makes me weak and my strength is among our only assets at this point.”

  Suddenly Phoe slipped, her injured ankle going through the precarious weave of branches. There was a creaking as everything started to give way. Cage grabbed her around the waist. In the blink of an eye, he picked her up and set them both on solid ground just as the whole thing collapsed.

  “Shit,” she whispered, still holding on to him. “Thanks.”

  He was holding her tight against his body, and he could see how beautiful she was. Her round, green eyes sparkled, even in the darkness. There was something sad about them, as if she were harboring some great tragedy. He knew that feeling all too well. She was lonely and afraid. Her small body curled against his as if it was meant to be there, and this time she didn’t shy away.

  He breathed in the scent of her as he said, “You’re welcome.”

  “Anyway,” she mumbled, coughing to cover the tremble in her voice as she quickly stepped away from him. “So you said that you had an accident. What do you mean?”

  Re-shouldering his pack, he started moving again. He wasn’t sure how many of her questions he wanted to answer. He wasn’t even sure if he could answer them, but it was evident that she wasn’t going to let it go. “Eight years ago, I was part of a government experiment. A friend of mine, Oliver Manning, was part of a team working on how to deal with the Others, the ones coming through the portal. He thought that if we could create a specialized type of operative to deal with them, then we could stop the influx.”

  “So the government knows about these…whatever-they-ares?”

  “Sweet pea, there are few things that the government doesn’t know about. Anyhow, I was—” Cage paused, trying to gauge how much he wanted to tell her. “I guess, chosen, for a human trial. My DNA was spliced with that of a vampire, a werewolf, a dragon, and I’m not really sure what else. They just basically injected me with everything they could to see what would work. The alien DNA gives me an ability to take different forms at will.”

  Phoe nodded, her expression suggesting that she wasn’t sure how much to believe, though she had seen some of the evidence. “So can you change into anything you want?”

  “Pretty much anything organic, yes. I can’t make myself into a chifforobe or anything. You never know, though. I can’t always control it.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Excruciatingly so. But I suppose one gets used to it. Of course, the benefits are a good incentive to suck it up, as it were. I’m faster and stronger than anyone else.”

  “Have you ever lost a fight?”

  “I’ve taken a fair number of lumps. Of course you have to know when to observe that most sacred of laws.”

  “Which is?”

  “Sometimes you have to fight to run away.”

  Phoe laughed. The sound of it was so feminine and unexpected, Cage found he was smiling in spite of himself. Soon they were both laughing.

  “It’s just so unbelievable,” she said as her laughter dissipated. “My whole life I’ve been immersing myself in books to escape into these otherworldly adventures. And now here I am in the middle of one.”

  “Is it all you dreamed it would be?”

  “Much more frightening. I feel like such a puss. Scarlett O’Hara wouldn’t be afraid of something so silly as a big dog.”

  “Well, in your defense, it was an awfully big dog.” She smiled and he couldn’t help it, he smiled back, and somehow everything was different. Better. Easier somehow.

  They continued down the path, slipping into conversation that covered everything from music to books to places they wanted to travel. The awkwardness of the pas
t hours seemed to evaporate, and they sounded like old friends as they made their way toward town.

  “I’m sorry.” His face flushed.

  “Sorry for what?”

  “For being so gruff. You must forgive me, Phoe. I’m not used to much company these days.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t apologize. I suppose I deserved some of it. Though I do wish you hadn’t thrown my suitcase away.”

  He laughed, nodding. “Only an American would try to drag her suitcase through the wilderness.”

  “Oh yes, only an American heathen needs her clothes.” She feigned annoyance, but the crinkles at the corners of her eyes gave her away.

  “Oh I don’t know, Miss Addison. I think I’d rather like to see what you’re like without them.”

  It took her a moment to process his innuendo, but he watched with pleasure as it dawned on her and again her face went up in flames.

  “So much for that English reserve we always hear so much about,” she teased.

  An hour later, they could see the lights of a distant town just beyond the tree line. Cage had fallen into a tense silence, a cigarette poised in the corner of his mouth and his hand occasionally palming the butt of his gun.

  From the information gleaned on his eSlate, Meridian was a relatively small town. They would stand out, but it was their best chance to find some kind of transport. Not to mention that Phoe was looking a little wilted after hours of walking, stress, and no food.

  But how would they be received? One suspicious person calling the police, and it could all erupt in chaos. And as much as Cage loved chaos, they couldn’t afford any more attention. “All right, when we get to town, just keep your head down and try not to talk to anyone,” he advised, and she nodded.

  They emerged from the forest on a dark, gravel road. The town was up ahead and seemed a bit like the kind of small town you see in those horror movies about psychotic children. Run- down old buildings that looked like they hadn’t been inhabited for years lined the street.

  A Chinese restaurant with the essence of salmonella radiating from the front door, a deep discount store, a clapboard church with peeling paint, and a gas station were all that was left of this gutted town. A few cars were parked along the sidewalk, but they looked like they hadn’t moved in decades. “I don’t like this, Cage,” Phoebe mumbled. “This place is creepy.”

  “I’m sure it’s not nearly so strange in the middle of the day.”

  “Still, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “I don’t like it much either, but we don’t have much choice.” He offered his hand and she took it, gripping tight. “It will be all right.”

  They walked along the streets for a while. Cage scanned the buildings, using his keen eyesight to search for any sign of life. There were no indications that anyone had been here in a long while. The thought unnerved him and he tried to put it out of his mind.

  He didn’t smell the telltale scent of sulphur and ash characteristic of a place that had been raided by dragons. There was something else, however. An earthier stench that got worse the closer they got to the town’s center. Something wasn’t right, but he didn’t want to say anything to Phoe, knowing she was already on edge.

  “This place seems abandoned. Like a ghost town, only everyone got up and left in a hurry.” She shivered and drew herself in closer to his side. “Where do you think everyone could be?”

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “My slate didn’t say anything about disaster or disease. We’ll be fine. Come on.”

  Phoe looked worried as she stared at the projected image hovering over his palm. Clearly his response did not ease her mind, but she kept moving. “Are you sure you’re using that thing correctly?” she asked, nodding toward the eSlate.

  “Of course I am,” he replied. “Just trust me. I haven’t gotten us killed yet.”

  “Yet being the key here.”

  They continued down the street until Cage stopped in front of a sign for an old diner. The sandwich board menu stood on the sidewalk announcing various sandwiches and cocktails for sale. The windows were dark, but there was a light on inside. As the wind blew, the screen door banged against the concrete wall.

  “Ah, here we are. I’m sure there’s something to eat in there.”

  She whipped around and stared as if he had sprouted horns on his forehead. “You can’t be serious.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You want us to go in there? Are you out of your mind?” She stopped in the street and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a defiant glare.

  “You were the one who wanted food.”

  “Does this place look like a five-star eating establishment? There is nothing about this street that screams five-star.”

  Cage sighed, throwing his hands in the air. For a brief moment he considered his gun, but now that they were in town, there would be witnesses. “We don’t have a plethora of choices, Phoe. I thought, perhaps stupidly, that you were in some kind of hurry.”

  “I am.”

  “Well, what exactly did you think was going to happen when you took off across the countryside? Did you think we would be picked up by a couple of good Samaritans and taken all the way to Canaveral in their nice clean limousine?”

  “Well no, but…”

  “Or perhaps that another train that wasn’t populated with government agents would just stop by and let us on?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well I must tell you, love, I’m out of ideas on how to make your great adventure more comfortable for you.”

  “This isn’t about being comfortable. This is about putting our life in danger more than we need to. Surely there’s another town nearby.”

  Cage gawked at her. Was she seriously suggesting that they keep going and hope for something better? “This is it, Phoe.” he spat. “The last piece of civilization unless you’d like to walk all the way to fucking Tulsa from here. That would only be another three days’ journey. Oh, and by the way, that burned-out town back there—that wasn’t exactly a natural disaster, so I’d like to get the hell out of here as soon as fucking possible.”

  “But you said…”

  “Amazingly, I lied. Yet another little something to make your adventure more palatable. Would you have been able to sleep in that house last night knowing that the reason the entire town burned down around it was a fire-breathing dragon straight out of a fairy tale?”

  “No, but…”

  “I didn’t think so. So for now, we’re going to continue doing things my way.”

  Phoebe stood rooted to the spot, her arms crossed over her chest and looking for all the world like a naughty child. With an exasperated sigh, he started into the restaurant and then realized she wasn’t following. Looking back over his shoulder, he could see her there, watching him go. Her eyes darted here and there, and he could tell that she was trembling, but she wouldn’t move.

  “Come on, Phoe.” he called. “I don’t think you should be standing on the street alone.”

  “I’m not going in there,” she shouted back.

  Cage could feel his blood boiling. Obviously his approach wasn’t working. So much for this talking thing he’d always heard so much about. He stalked toward Phoe. She stood her ground, a smug grin on her face, thinking that she had won. Without a word he walked up to her, grabbed her around the waist, and threw her over his shoulder.

  “Put me down.” she shrieked, pummeling his back with her fists. “Let me go. Fucking asshole.”

  Interesting. Not exactly librarian language. “Quiet,” he said. “You’ll wake up the whole town.”

  “Good. Maybe they’ll call the police.”

  “Yes, to investigate the scene of the murder,” he said through clenched teeth. “And please believe that I am not above using gags and other means to shut you up.”

  Cage walked into the dilapidated cafe with Phoe kicking and squirming. “Can I get down now?” she asked.

  “Only if you’ll promi
se to be a good girl and keep your mouth shut,” Cage replied.

  She sighed. “Fine. But if there’s a bunch of kids in here wielding knives and talking about corn deities, I’m leaving.”

  He put her down and they wandered into the dining room. Like every place else in Meridian, it was completely devoid of life. And what was worse, judging by the plates and remnants of food on the tables, it looked like the inhabitants had just gotten up and left in the middle of their dinner. Chairs were overturned and there was a thick layer of dust over everything. The stench of rotting meat and spoiled milk created a foul funk. “Bloody hell,” Cage murmured.

  “Believe me now?” Phoe said, holding the collar of her shirt over her nose. “This place is deserted.” As if to emphasize her point, a fat brown rat waddled across the floor to nose at a fallen napkin. Phoe gasped. “Can we just get out of here?” Cage hesitated for a moment, letting Phoe push past him to the door. When he didn’t come, she reached out and jerked him through the foyer. “Let’s go.”

  They walked slowly down the road for a few more blocks. The rundown town sprawled out before them. The farther they walked, the worse it got. The storefronts looked out of date. Even some of the mannequins had been overturned, their blank eyes staring from beneath askew nylon wigs. The church’s signboard announced with fervor, “Jesus said it. I believe it. That settles it.” The date on the sermon was six months previous.

  A chill rolled down his spine. As much as he hated to agree, Phoe was right. Something bad had happened in Meridian, and if they weren’t careful it was going to happen to them too. Cage took Phoe’s hand, gauging her body language, and hoped she would be able to hold it together. She definitely had the expression of someone capable of fleeing from danger, but now was not the time to get separated.

  They continued down the deserted street, looking for any signs of life. Surely they would see a light in a store window or the flickering neon of a bar sign. Something that would give some clue that this place was inhabited.

  “What the hell is wrong with this place?” Phoe whispered, clutching his hand tighter.

  “I don’t know,” he replied, pulling out his eSlate and ticking through images and information. He’d tried to query Meridian, but no entries were coming up. It was as if this town and its people had suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet. “But the sign on that church was six months old. Maybe there’s still someone here who can help us.”