Rubberman's Cage

by Joseph Picard

  Diane yelped. Maybe as she attacked, maybe as she was cut. In the near darkness, and cramped space, Lenth couldn't make out much more than a struggle.

  The sound of a fierce thrust came once, twice. Diane stopped moving after the second, but the sound came once more.

  Stunned, Lenth froze. Quiet quickly returned, leaving only the attacker's heavy breathing, laced with hint of laughter with every exhale. Sounds of a little more movement, and then the voice came, now much calmer. “Ooh, handy!”

  Diane's headlamp, now being held in a hand, was turned back on. It flickered past the attacker's face before being pointed right at Lenth.

  “Hey! It's you!” The attacker said. “Were you after this one? Sorry if I spoiled your fun. How many have you gotten? I'm now up to six. If I want to kill any more, maybe I need to grow more toes! Get it?”

  “Seven,” Lenth said quietly.

  “You're beating me, then! Knives sure make it easier than smashing their heads. Like this female, here? It would have been a real pain to find a good spot to bash her head against in this cramped space, or get a good angle.”

  “No. I mean you've killed seven, I think, not six.” Lenth spoke quietly, but tried to not let his voice betray his fear. Or was it hate? Either way, his nerves were trying their best to make him tremble. “I heard someone say you'd killed six. I can't remember if that was before or after Eyes was found.”

  Six was quiet for a moment. “Oh yeah. Eyes. But he doesn't count; he wasn't a Provider.” Six reached forward to smack Diane's rear end. “Well, her problems are just as over as Eyes'. I'm going to go grab a bite. I'd ask you to come with, but I've taken a liking to travelling alone, you understand.” He took a moment to give Diane's rump a little squeeze before he turned to leave. “See ya, Lenth.”

  Lenth stared as Six crawled away, his looted light waving around in front of him. Six's movements were making enough sound that Lenth barely heard a soft gasp. He turned to look at Diane. In the dark, he couldn't make out a lot, but he saw movement, most importantly, breathing.

  “Diane!” Lenth said, barely suppressing a shout.

  “Shh,” was her reply.

  Six's light could still be seen, but he was a good distance away and still moving. Lenth got his mouth close to Diane's ear. He could smell the blood. “Stay quiet, I'm going to go get help,” he said.

  Diane just grabbed Lenth's wrist. “Wait,” she whispered. “I can go with you, but wait.” Her voice had a whimpering tone to it. Lenth obeyed and waited with her. Before long, he realized that she was trembling, and maybe crying.

  “Shh,” Lenth told her, putting his hand on her back. She flinched and tossed his hand off. She squirmed around, sniffling, getting herself under control.

  “Let's go,” she whispered, leading the way back out. When they climbed back down from the crawlspace, Lenth got his first look at her injury in the light. The deepest cut was across her left eye. Her eyeball and eyelids were intact, but the tissue above and below was badly cut and still bleeding. There were several other cuts on her face and a couple around her shoulder. Thankfully, bone had been in the way of any vital tissue. Either the struggle or her efforts to clean up before getting out into the light resulted in the blood being smeared across her face, onto her hands, and forearms.

  “D... doctor, we need to go see the doctor,” Lenth said, taking lead towards an elevator. Diane only gave a small nod.

  “I thought you were dead!” Lenth said once they got into the elevator, and began moving up.

  “I wasn't going to win that fight,” Diane said. “Snagged my knife on my clothes before it really even got started. I decided to play dead.” The tired expression Lenth had seen on her face before was now all the more defeated. She closed her eyes and leaned into the corner of the elevator.

  “Diane! Wake up!”

  Diane just huffed in response. Lenth stepped towards her, and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Diane, we'll be to the doctor's soon, don't worry.” Diane opened her eyes again, but just looked at the floor. A few sparse drops of blood marked her path from the door.

  The elevator stopped before reaching the desired floor and another Provider came on. He stopped in the doorway in shock. “What's going on here?”

  “We were attacked,” Lenth said, “by a guy named Six.”

  “Six?” The Provider gave Lenth a suspicious glance and walked over to Diane. “Is this true?”

  Diane nodded, but refused eye contact.

  The Provider pressed buttons on the elevator control panel that had already been pressed. “We have to get her to a doc...oh that's where you're headed, isn't it?”

  “Yeah. She...I mean, her injuries look bad, but it could have been much worse.”

  The Provider nodded. “And where's Six?”

  “Still in the crawlspaces, he got away. I...I should have stopped him, but I...”

  “No, you had to get her out of there; you did the right thing. You're Gabe's little pet project, aren't you?”

  “Lenth,” he corrected. 'Little pet project'. What an odd thing to call him, but maybe that's how he was seen by most Providers. The lowly Subject, up from the Units, being taught to learn a trade in the Provider's domain.

  The elevator opened again and Lenth urged Diane forward, with the other Provider tagging along.

  The doctor reacted with professionalism and hidden panic. Questions about the attack, the weapon used, how long ago it was, all came quickly. Diane wasn't talking, slipping further into a state of shock, so Lenth did his best to answer.

  Meanwhile, the Provider that they met on the elevator had summoned Gabe and three other Providers. They spotted Diane's blood trail right away, and the extra three Providers left to follow it.

  “Lenth, exactly where was Six?” Gabe asked Lenth.

  “In the crawlspace!”

  “Ugh, we need to be a little more specific.” Gabe brought Lenth over to the clinic's computer and brought up a map. Lenth was paying more attention to Diane. She was still silent as the doctor cleaned her wounds and applied bandages. She was a mess of red.

  “Lenth, look here. We need to know fast, if we're going to catch him.”

  Lenth had never seen a map before. “What am I looking at here?”

  Gabe sighed, and explained the map, and after more time than Gabe was hoping, they decided on the location where the attack happened.

  “I'm going to catch up with the others,” Gabe said. “You're okay?”

  Lenth nodded. “I want to help.”

  Gabe was already jogging off, and called back, “Let the doctor check you over, I'll talk to you later, don't worry.”

  Obediently, Lenth stood there. The doctor had just settled Diane into a bed. Diane was still silent, sitting up, staring into her lap. The largest bandages were across her eye and over her shoulder. A few smaller ones were placed in other spots on her forehead, cheek, and upper arm. Most of the blood had been cleaned off her skin, but she was still in her stained clothes. Lenth went to her.

  “Diane?”

  She didn't even blink. The doctor returned and motioned for Lenth to follow him. They ended up in the back of the clinic, where the doctor prepared two syringes.

  “What are those?” Lenth asked.

  “One will make her injuries hurt less; the other, I'm hoping, will help her snap out of it.”

  “Out of what?”

  The doctor looked over in the direction of Diane. “How she's not talking. Catatonia. She had it before. Hopefully this is a relatively minor relapse from the stress of the attack.”

  “She was like this before? Was it after her trip to the Citizenry?” Lenth asked.

  The doctor raised an eyebrow and nodded, picking up his tray of syringes. “Lenth, you're all right?”

  “Yes, I think so. Gabe told me to let you 'check me over'.”

  The doctor looked down at Lenth's feet and up to his face. “Alright, done. Go home. Diane needs quiet.”

  Lenth nodded and headed out. As he passed
by Diane's bed, he paused and looked at her. The urge to go talk to her was strong, but he resisted. He waved to the doctor and left.

  He felt like he should go back to the crawlspaces and try to help, but the idea of going back into that darkness with a killer slowed his stride. The Providers know the terrain better anyway. He would just get in the way.

  And these were perfectly good reasons not to go.

  Excuses. But he accepted them.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Idiot

  Karen had just supervised her Subjects' shower and sent them to bed. With their cuffs on, they talked to each other about the day's events, which were always the same overall. An in-joke that Karen didn't understand caused them all to laugh. Karen loved to hear them laugh.

  She stood far enough away from the sleeping room that she wouldn't be seen. The visage of the black suit tended to make them silent, even if there was a smile under the mask.

  When the Subjects settled down for sleep, Karen walked as quietly as she could towards her room. Once at the control panel, she closed the door, and dimmed the lights for the entire Unit. She took off the rubber suit and mask, piling it in the corner. When she got to her bedroom, she saw her closet open and a couple of feet sticking out.

  Someone was sitting in her closet.

  It had Provider pants and shoes, though not a containment suit. Was it this 'Six' she'd been warned about? Or a victim?

  Lacking something to strike a foe with, she silently walked back to get her rubber suit. If she had to, she could use it to wrap Six, tackle him down with luck, and then...then what?

  Would she win? Would she have to kill him? As she picked up the suit, she heard the invader getting up. She quickened herself, trying to remain quiet.

  The footsteps were getting closer! Abandoning stealth, Karen pulled the suit up in front of her and charged around the corner. She saw empty hands around the suit as she tackled, glad there was no knife. They stumbled together against the corner of her bed, and after a moment on the very edge of it, they tipped over, with Karen on the bottom. She pushed up through the suit and found no resistance.

  It flopped off of her, revealing her opponent.

  “What? Lenth?” Karen wriggled to sit upright on the floor, with the suit mostly on her lap. “You scared the crap out of me! I thought you were Six!”

  “Oh. Well, sorry. That's kind of why I came. I wanted to make sure you were all right, and to warn you, I guess.” He put out his hand to help her up, and she accepted.

  Lenth remembered touching her like this before. The moment he did, time seemed to slow down to allow him a chance to appreciate every detail. Her hand was much slimmer than his. Softer, too. His attention flowed from her hand, up her arm, and all over her body as she moved to stand.

  She spoke, forcing Lenth back into real time as she reclaimed her hand. “I know about Six. Well, obviously. A Provider came to fill me in.” She sat on the end of her bed and idly kicked the door of her closet shut. “What were you doing in here?”

  Lenth cracked a little smile. “Reading!”

  Karen looked to her closet, where she kept her little collection of books, then back to Lenth. “You...you can read now?”

  Lenth beamed. “Yes! Well. A little. I remembered your books, and I hope you don't mind, but I started reading one. It's difficult.”

  Opening her closet back up, she saw a book of “Nursery Rhymes” on top. She picked it up to show Lenth. “This one?”

  “Yes. There's a lot of words I don't know, though. I'm learning.”

  “There's a lot in here that I don't know too,” Karen said.

  “Really? I figured you were really good at reading, Carin'!”

  “Yeah, well, a lot of books have...I have to say, mistakes. Or the person who wrote them was just being silly.” She flipped open a random page. “’Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?’ What is that supposed to be? Baa? I have no idea about that. As far as I can figure, Sheep is a Subject name, taken from 'sleep', like your name is taken from 'length'. Okay, fine. So Sheep is black. Oh! I just realized. 'Baa' is the writer trying to write 'black', but making mistakes that just stayed in. Stupid. But 'wool'? Wool?”

  “What's wool?” Lenth asked.

  Karen blew a raspberry as she tossed the book back into her closet. “Your guess is as good as mine! There's a lot of crazy stuff in books that doesn't make any sense. I heard that there used to be a lot more books running around that made even less sense, and we got rid of most of those.”

  Lenth shrugged, then pointed at the ceiling. “This part doesn't look like it opens. No entrance through the crawlspace.”

  Karen nudged her little book stack into order at the bottom of her closet and closed it. “Yeah. I keep the door to the rest of the Unit locked when I can. He could get in the other way, and for that matter, I can't do my job camping out in here.”

  “It's got to be stressful.”

  “Yeah,” Karen nodded, “but I don't think I have a lot to worry about. He's mostly going after Providers I hear. In your new clothes, you have more to worry about.”

  “Well...yes and no. I saw him, just a while ago.”

  Karen's eyes went wide. “What? Where?”

  “There's Providers looking for him. I told them what I could. I was with a Provider named Diane in a crawlspace, and he came and tried to kill her. Then he talked to me as if I was like him. I...”

  “Diane! What? How is she?”

  “You know her, Carin'?”

  “A little. But everyone knows of her.”

  “Because she went up to Citizenry?”

  Karen nodded. “And how she was when she came back. Didn't talk for months, I heard.”

  Lenth exhaled a sigh. “She's kind of like that now. She got cut up some. Six thought he'd killed her. That's why he left. He knew I had been a Subject, I guess he figured I stole the Provider outfit. When I first met him, before I knew how he was...he was nice to me. Gave me a Rubberman suit to help me out. Now I know where he got it.” Lenth picked up Karen's Rubberman suit, and held it close. “You be safe, Carin'. You have to stay safe. Is throwing your suit your only way to fight?”

  Karen stepped closer and put her hands on the edge of her suit, looking Lenth in the eye. “There's a solid chunk of pipe I could keep with me.”

  “Strange. You can shock and gas people in the Subject areas, but up here, you're going to rely on a pipe?” Oh, but it was nice just staring into her eyes.

  Karen shrugged with a meek smile. “A pipe is what I have.”

  “I might be able to get you something better. Have you heard of a knife?”

  “Yes, I know what knives are.” Karen smiled. “I'm a big girl. I could get myself a knife from a Provider if I wanted.”

  “Then why not do it, Carin'?”

  “I already told you, I don't think Rubbermen are his main targets. You don't have to worry about me.”

  Lenth scrunched the side of his mouth up and stared for a moment. “Well, maybe I'll worry anyway. I'll try to get you something.” Leaning against the wall, he looked up. “I'm planning on going there.”

  Karen reflexed to look at where Lenth was looking for a split moment before she clued in. “Citizenry? Why?”

  “Ha, Gabe asked that too,” Lenth smiled to himself. “No one in the cafeteria seemed to get it either, but none of them knew much about Citizenry at all. So, that's why. No one knows, and no one seems to care that they don't know. That seems stupid to me.”

  “But Diane—”

  “Maybe Diane just got unlucky up there! Yes, I know there have been others who went up there and never came back. Maybe that's not a bad thing! Maybe they went to Citizenry and found an amazing new life!”

  “Maybe they died,” Karen said quietly.

  Lenth shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe they did. I don't know. That would be something worth finding out, don't you think?”

  “Don't,” Karen said, staring at the floor.

  “I'll bring a pipe,” Lenth joke
d. “I'll tell you what. I'll bring back information. If I see danger, I'll run right back down and hide. If I see something perfect and amazing, I'll leave that alone too, and come back to tell you. To tell everyone.”

  Karen shook her head slowly. She took his hand and muttered, “Idiot.” before letting out an exasperated sigh and pulling him close to hold him.

  Lenth was stunned. Unmoving, he looked around as if someone would tell him what to do. Feeling her pressed against him was incredible...or it would have been if his brain would come out of shock and appreciate it. “Idiots get hugs?” He asked.

  Backing up and taking both of Lenth's hands, Karen smiled with a bit of sadness in her eyes. “You missed out on a lot, living in a Unit.”

  Looking into her eyes, Lenth noticed his breathing was heavier. He had a lot of questions, but dared not speak the ones that he wanted to ask most. “You can tell me all about what I've missed when I get back, okay? Hey, I've been wondering... you came down to be a Manager. You were a Provider. Why not anymore?”

  Karen forced a meagre smile from under sad eyes. “I was better for the job than the Manager who was going to do it. I was needed.”

  “What was wrong with the other Manager?”

  Looking to the door towards her Subjects, Karen's expression grew a little bit angrier. “Subjects are vulnerable, you know? Some people are the kind to take advantage of that. I had to protect those girls.”

  Lenth put his hand on Karen's arm. “I'm not sure I totally understand.”

  She took his hand off her arm, and held it close to her chest. She squeezed it, and smiled into his eyes. “I don't suppose you would, Lenth.” She broke eye contact and shook her head a little. “You really want to go see Citizenry, don't you?”

  Lenth nodded.

  She squeezed his hand a little harder. “I don't think you're ready. Be careful. Always. Careful. Don't get hurt, don't get killed, and don't end up like Diane.”