by James Axler
It was dead quiet. Jak checked the outside hallway to make sure no one was up and about, then waved Ricky forward to the window at the end of the corridor. A knotted rope dangled off the roof, and Ricky looked up to see Tully, along with three other girls, looking down at them.
“Well, are you just gonna stand there, or are you coming up?” Tully whispered.
Jak clapped Ricky on the shoulder. “Go.”
Hand over hand, he shinnied up the rope in a flash, swinging his leg over the edge to roll onto the roof. One of the girls reached out and grabbed his shoulder to help him, and he flashed her a quick smile. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Jak popped up next to him. “Tully, sure not seen?”
Tully nudged him. “Relax. All of the guards on this watch are our relatives, and we convinced them to trade places with us for an hour. It’s fine.”
Below them, the entire Silvertide collective had crammed themselves into all of the motel rooms, with several also sleeping in what had been the former lobby. Out of respect to Jak and his group, they had been allowed to keep their rooms as originally assigned. Ryan had also set up guards on the buildings around the motel. Most of those were one story, while the motel itself was two stories, so the group wouldn’t be seen as long as they didn’t go too close to the edges.
Tully drew everyone close. “Okay, Jak and Ricky, this is Jael, Helah, Michal and Tamar.”
Like the elders, the girls were more or less of a kind. All somewhere in their late teens, they were lean and browned from the sun. Jael was a dirty blonde, like Tully. Helah and Michal were redheaded twins, and Tamar was even duskier skinned than the others, with long, raven-black hair that hung in a single braid down her back. Standing this close to all of them, Ricky felt a little light-headed, but he clenched his teeth and steeled himself, determined not to show any weakness or embarrass himself in front of the girls.
Apparently, Tamar was also the group troublemaker. “I snuck us out a little something, too.” She produced a clear glass jar three-quarters full of a clear liquid.
The other girls’ eyes widened and their mouths fell open in shock. Tully recovered first. “You didn’t!”
“Try some and see.” She held the jar out to everyone.
“Tamar, you are so bad!” Helah said with a giggle.
The girls shied away, but Jak took it from her. “What is it, skullpop?” Ricky also looked on with interest, a grin spreading across his lips as he saw the other side of the Silvertide collective—and their rebellious daughters.
“Let’s just say what Marijah got as punishment for just mentioning the water machine is nothing compared with what would happen if we got caught with this,” Tamar said. “It’s our real trade good. We’re forbidden to have any. They save every drop for using to get what we need at villes along the way.”
“How’d you get this out?” Tully asked. “Your dad watches every drop like a hawk.”
“He’s finally teaching me how to work the machines,” Tamar replied. “I just took the opportunity to siphon off a bit when I had the chance. This is from the last of the corn crop. It’s pretty raw, so it’s gonna kick like a mule.”
While she was talking, Jak had unscrewed the top and sniffed it, blinking at the vapors that drifted out. He took a healthy swallow and coughed loudly, turning away and trying to cover his mouth. Jak was no stranger to shine, but this stuff packed a powerful wallop.
“Jeez, Whitey, be quiet, will ya?” Tamar said. “I’ll be shoveling ox shit for a month on bread and water if they find us up here.”
“Tastes like poured gas down throat, then ate lit match!” Jak handed the bottle to Ricky. “Your turn.”
Ricky also sniffed the concoction, finding it to be as he’d suspected, pure distilled alcohol. “Back home, we would usually mix something this strong with something like coconut milk or fermented pineapple juice.” He took a cautious sip. It burned the roof of his mouth and the back of his throat, but not as bad as he had feared, and cleared his sinuses at the same time. “It’s not bad, although I wouldn’t drink too much too quickly.”
“Lemme try.” Tamar grabbed the jar back and brought it to her mouth, making sure everyone was watching. She tipped it back, taking a mouthful, then her eyes widened as the alcohol’s burn hit her. Ricky carefully relieved her of the bottle as she looked at all of them with her mouth full.
“In or out, it has to go somewhere,” he said.
Eyes watering, she swallowed it and sucked in a breath, then let it out with a faint squeak while fanning at her mouth. “It’s...good...” she managed to choke out.
The other girls clamored to try, and each had similar reactions, with one of the twins—Michal, Ricky thought—almost throwing up her mouthful. After that, no one was willing to go for a second round, so Ricky suggested they take a few minutes, then try it again later, and asked about his original goal—besides seeing the girls, of course. “So the water machine is on this roof, yes?”
“Sure, though I don’t know why you still care about that thing,” Tully replied. “But if you wanna see it, come on.”
She led them down to the far end of the building, where a large cube, half again as high as Ricky and twice as wide, sat on the roof. A large white pipe ran from it into what looked like some kind of main water pipe a few feet away. “Stay on this side, away from the other buildings.”
“What is it?” Ricky asked. “Marijah said something about it being sun powered.”
“It is. Let me see that jar.” Tully took another swig. “Not so bad the second time.”
“It’s a solar-powered water-condensing system,” Jael said. “My brother works on it from time to time. When the elders found it, they thought it was supposed to purify water, but it actually creates it instead. It’s good for drinking, of course, and also supplies the water for the shine.”
“Fascinating,” Ricky said, which was the absolute truth. He found machines of all kinds, whether they were vehicles, weapons or tools for survival, intensely interesting. “Can you tell me where you found it?”
The girls exchanged a conspiratorial glance. “The elders never said exactly how they got it,” Tamar said after another swig of liquor. “All I know is that they brought it back with them from a trade trip a couple months before we set out west.”
The twins had another go at the jar, and then Jak and Ricky took a second pull, as well.
Meanwhile, Tully had carefully maneuvered herself to be standing right next to Jak. “Ryan said I’d be learning how to shoot a handblaster tomorrow.” She stared into his eyes. “Mebbe you could teach me a few things.”
Jak stared back at her for a moment. He opened his mouth as if to reply, then quickly began closing it, but not before a loud belch escaped.
The teenagers all stared at one another, then Tully was the first to dissolve into a fit of giggles. The twins were next, turning away from the group in an attempt to stifle their mirth, followed by Ricky, then Tamar, then Jael, with Jak grinning sheepishly.
“All right, all right, damn it, keep your voices down!” Tully said when she had finally regained control of herself. “And give me that jar.” After a third healthy swallow, she fixed her gaze on Jak. “So whaddaya say?”
“Sure, teach how shoot,” he replied.
“Not that...jeez.” Tully came back over to Jak and threw her arms around him. Before he knew what was happening, she planted a long, wet kiss on his mouth. Jak stood there for a moment, then brought his arms up and around her as he returned the favor.
Ricky watched in amazement until he realized he was staring, and quickly looked away. He caught Tamar’s gaze as she lowered the shine jar again, and she sidled toward him. “Been wonderin’ if you kiss as good as you look, Ricky. Think it’s time I found out.”
Ricky was torn between staying where he was and saying or doing someth
ing to deflect the very intent-looking girl. Only a step away now, she was stretching out a well-muscled arm to snake around his shoulders, her lips coming closer and closer, until they alighted on his.
For Ricky, the sensation blew the fire of the moonshine away. It was kind of like being electrocuted; his body felt tingly and numb at the same time. Her mouth was soft and wet, her warm breath redolent with the shine’s sharp tang. He was acutely aware of her arms clutching his back, and her body molding itself to his, the press of her breasts against his chest. Belatedly, he brought up his own arms to wrap around her, as well. At the same time, he was also conscious of a particular part of his anatomy swelling in response to the girl in front of him, and he shifted his hips so it didn’t press into her.
But even through the sexual fog that enveloped him, Ricky’s combat reflexes were sharp enough to still maintain awareness of his surroundings. So when he heard the odd noise in the distance, he had enough presence of mind to come up for air and look to the north, toward where he thought the sound had come from.
“What’s wrong?” Tamar sounded disappointed.
“I heard something,” he said, straining to listen.
“Probably just an open door swinging in the breeze,” she said as she grabbed his chin and tried to move his mouth back to hers. “C’mere.”
“There’s not enough wind to move a door.” Even with his suspicion, Ricky was on the verge of giving in when he heard it again—like something scraping against a wall. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound natural. Gently twisting his face out of her grasp, he looked in that direction, noticing that Jak was, as well.
“You see anything, Jak?”
“No—that’s problem. Not see guard on building.”
“When’s changeover?” Ricky squinted, trying to see through the moonlit night, but his night vision wasn’t as good as Jak’s.
“Not ’nother hour.”
“Should we check it out?”
The albino was already moving toward the edge of the roof. “Yup.”
“Wait—where’re you going?” Tully asked.
“Guard’s missing,” Jak replied. “Mebbe takin’ a piss, or mebbe the people-stealers coming back. Gonna go see.”
“We gotta come with, then,” she said. “You all don’t know who’s who, and if people from our ville are there, we wanna catch them alive.”
At the roof’s edge, rope in hand, Jak paused. “Not guarantee can do that, but try. Better come, Tully. Rest stay here and watch that building. If see us come out and wave arms or you hear shots, wake everyone, Ryan first.”
“Won’t the shots do that anyway?” Jael asked with a pout of tipsy confusion.
“Yeah, but you’ll tell them what’s going on,” Ricky said. “And get them moving in that direction.”
“Wastin’ time—come on!” Jak climbed down with hardly a sound. Ricky had Tully go next, then climbed down after her. Doc was still snoring in their room.
“What about a blaster for me?” Tully whispered.
Ricky and Jak exchanged glances. “Wait here,” Ricky said. He slipped back into his room, picked up his De Lisle carbine and chambered a round. Coming back out, he drew his Webley revolver and offered the butt to the girl. “Six shots. No need to cock it, just point and pull the trigger.” He paused. “Por favor, don’t shoot either of us.”
She glared at him. “Well, I’ll try not to shoot Jak, at least.” She turned away from him and waved Jak forward. “Let’s go.”
The albino trotted to the end of their sleeping quarters, where a concrete stairway led to the ground. Blaster in hand, he crept down and headed toward the building in question, hugging the wall and checking around corners before flitting across a narrow alley choked with dirt and mummified garbage.
Knowing Jak had the front covered, Ricky divided his attention between Tully ahead of him and checking behind them every few steps.
The target building had been an automotive garage long ago, with a pair of large doors covering the vehicle bays. A row of glassless windows revealed pitch darkness inside. A smaller, boarded-up door stood next to the two big doors. There was no sign of any guards out front, and Ricky couldn’t see anyone looking down from the roof either.
“Stay close,” Jak whispered to the other two. “Move when I do.” He checked right and left one last time, then ran to the smaller door and put his back to the wall next to it.
To her credit, Tully knew how to move. She gave Jak a two-step lead, then followed him, taking a position behind him, blaster held in both hands in front of her. Ricky brought up the rear again, putting himself behind Tully. Jak signaled him to look through the garage window, which Ricky did, but he saw only darkness.
Ready? Jak mouthed to Ricky, who nodded. The albino reached for the steel door handle, eased it open a few inches at a time and slipped inside. Tully followed him, with Ricky entering after a last glance around, carefully pulling the door shut behind him.
This part of the garage had been divided by thin slabs of drywall into a small office. A doorless entryway on the back wall led to what had to be the main garage area. The remains of a shattered counter were strewed over the floor, with the laminated counter leaning against the wall. On the other one was a calendar faded to near illegibility. Ricky could just make out what looked like a small green lizard under the word Sinclair, which had faded from bright red to a dusty rose. The displayed month, with the bottom two weeks torn away, was November 2000. It was completely silent inside.
Jak hissed to get Ricky’s attention. On the floor were boot tracks heading into the bigger room inside—new boot tracks, complete with a clear tread pattern. The albino leaned over, studying them for a moment, then straightened and signed to the other teen with one hand: three or four inside. His other hand now held a throwing blade.
Ghosting over the dirty, littered ground, Jak crept to the empty doorway at the back of the room, putting his back to the wall on the left side. Fingers white on the Webley’s butt, Tully walked to the other side. Ricky stayed by the door they’d come in for the moment, his De Lisle held at the ready.
Jak poked his head through the door whip-quick, then pulled it back. He shook his head at Ricky, indicating he didn’t see anyone inside. Ricky nodded. Jak held up a hand to Tully in a clear message—stay here—then stepped through the door, blade held at his side to throw underhand.
The moment he disappeared, Ricky crossed the room to Jak’s previous position and rested his back against the wall. Through the doorway, he could make out a portion of the rest of the old garage, including two large wag lifts, both raised, in the bays. He strained to hear any sounds, catching what he thought was the scrape of Jak’s boot on the stained concrete. A bit of drywall dust trickled down onto Ricky’s shoulder, making him glance at the ceiling, but he didn’t see anything unusual there. His blood pounded in his ears, and even with everything that was going on, he could still taste the faint flavor of Tamar’s lips on his.
A soft whistle made Ricky peek in to see Jak standing by a wooden staircase, waving him over. Ricky nodded at Tully. “Go,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
She entered the larger room, crossing the open space to Jak in a half dozen steps. When the albino waved him over, Ricky took two steps before he was suddenly bowled over by a heavy weight crashing down on his head and shoulders.
The carbine flew out of his hands, skittering across the floor with a clatter as he went down. Stunned but not out, Ricky rolled over to see a grim-faced woman in a black jumpsuit standing over him, aiming an equally deadly looking blaster at his heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Hearing noises from the far side of the garage, Ricky glanced over just long enough to see two more jumpsuited assailants drop from their hiding places atop the wag lifts. They both landed at the exact same time and straightened, longblasters aimed at
the three.
Ricky then looked at Jak in time to watch him shift his body just enough to hide his throwing knife. The two exchanged a glance that carried an entire conversation about what they needed to do.
“Do not try to shoot any of us, or we will be forced to kill you,” a blond-haired man said to Tully, who had turned and was aiming Ricky’s blaster in their general direction. “Set the weapon down and step away from it.” At Jak’s nod, she did so, then stepped closer to him. “You too, White-hair. Remove the weapon from your belt and set it on the ground. Any resistance will be met with force.”
With a frown, Jak did so. “Any collective members?” he asked Tully.
“I can’t tell. It’s too dark in here,” she said. “He doesn’t sound like one, though. She doesn’t neither.”
The intruders, however, didn’t seem to have any problem seeing in the darkness. All of them were examining the teenagers with interest.
“Subject verified as first located by Kenneth approximately seventeen point seven miles south-southwest of this location is now here,” the first man said as he and his partner both stepped toward the three, moving in lockstep while sighting them down the barrel of their carbines. “Probability of error in confirming identity one point eight percent. Assimilation potential high. Subject is top capture priority.”
“You talkin’ me?” Jak said, then spit into the corner. “Not goin’ with you!”
“All three appear to be suitable subjects for joining us,” the woman stated. “Together with the one we have already secured, this trip is rated successful. Let us secure these and depart.”
“Wait! Don’t take me!” Ricky said. “I can get you more than just us—lots more!”
“Ricky, no!” Tully said.
“I’ll take you to all of them! Just let me go, and I’ll leave here and never come back!” Ricky’s terrified whine wasn’t entirely made up, but he was still in control of himself. Any way he could give the other two a chance to either run for help or get to weapons to take these people out, he’d do whatever he had to, including appearing to sell out the collective to save his own skin.
