by R. Brewer
Billy didn't respond, except for emitting a deep, wheezing sound. He clawed at his neck.
"Does that mean you agree with me, Billy?" Chuck asked.
Billy nodded and wheezed, his face turning purple.
"Okay, then," Chuck said, reaching over and loosening the knot around Billy's neck. "I'm glad we can finally agree on something. So now you're gonna take me to see Christy."
Billy coughed and spat on the floor. He rubbed at his neck. "You want me to take you where?"
Chuck's patience was wearing very thin. He gave the wire noose a good yank, sending Billy to his knees. Chuck pulled him up by his shirt and loosened the noose again. "I said Christy. I know you know who she is. Your foul mouth was flapping away about her on the train. You knowing where she is might be the only use I have for you, so take me to her or I'll just give this line a nice tug and be on my way."
"Yeah. Oh, yeah. Christy," Billy said. "The dark-haired woman. Sure, sure, I'll take you."
Chuck gave Billy a shove. "Okay, let's go. When we find her, I want you to cover yourself up. She's a lady and no lady wants to see something like that," Chuck said, pointing at Billy's soiled backside.
Billy instinctively put his hands over his crotch. "Yeah, okay," he said. "It's this way."
Chapter 12
Well, then, I guess you're just gonna have to shoot me," Eric said.
"If that's what you want, Eric," Jodie said. "It's not really the route I wanted to take, but it's up to you." She pointed her gun at him. "Get out of the truck, now."
Eric stared straight ahead. "You won't shoot me. I know you won't."
Jodie weighed it in her mind. She couldn't wait any longer. If she just shot him in the leg, well, maybe he'd be able to hobble to safety. But then again, that made her no better than Gypsum, hurting and killing people to get what they wanted. She lowered the gun.
"Jodie, I think we'll get a chance to meet these Gypsum folks. It looks like we have company," Eric said, staring into the rear view mirror.
Jodie turned to see a white van in the distance, heading for them at what appeared to be a high rate of speed. "We have to go now, Eric. Right now or they'll kill us both. Do you understand?"
"Why don't we just to talk to them?" Eric asked. "I mean, have you even tried? Maybe they don't even know who you are."
"Eric, we have to move now," Jodie said. "They're not interested in talking. I'll explain more to you after we lose them, but we need to leave." Jodie was feeling her patience wearing very thin. She'd have to figure out a way to get him moving. She unbuckled her seatbelt, reached over for the gearshift on the steering column and pulled it down before Eric could stop her. Jodie shoved her foot down on the accelerator, sending them lurching up the road. She felt weak as Eric shoved her back toward her seat. Her foot slipped off the accelerator and he braked hard. The truck skidded to a stop in the middle of the road.
Eric, you don’t understand,” Jodie yelled. “We have to --” Jodie felt the spray of glass hit the side of her face as the back window of the truck burst, a bullet punching through it, passing between them and hitting the windshield with a loud crack. She looked over at Eric. “Go. Now,” she screamed.
Eric put the truck in gear and slammed his foot on the gas, sending them fishtailing across the road. “What the hell did you get me into?” he yelled.
“I don’t have time to explain. As soon as we’re rid of these people, I will, though.” Jodie unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around with her gun in her hand. Crawling as low as she could, she slid over the center console into the back seat.
"What’re you doing? Are you planning on shooting at them?” Eric yelled from the front seat.
Jodie took aim out the broken back window. “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, they’re not exactly friendly. If you have any other suggestions, I’d sure like to hear them.”
Eric was driving very fast. Fast enough to put some distance between them and the Gypsum van, but almost too fast, Jodie thought. If he lost control of his truck at this speed, the consequences could be horrific. “Eric, slow down a little. I mean, calm down, okay?”
Eric’s eyes remained fixed on the road and Jodie reached up to touch his shoulder.
“You have to slow down,” she said.
Eric shook his head. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I’ve never been shot at before, is all.”
“Do you know this area well?” Jodie asked. “Are there any back roads we could take? We need to get some distance between us and that van and get off of this road.”
“Well, it might help if you would tell me just where the hell we’re going,” Eric said, his face reddening.
Jodie looked at him, realizing they were stuck together for the long haul now. He’d need to drive her all the way to her destination. Then, he’d need to disappear. He’d never be safe again until Gypsum was gone. “We’re headed around Nellis Air Force Base. The Nevada Test Site area, specifically,” she said.
Eric stared at her, gritting his teeth. “We can go through the mountains and into the high desert . . . follow some of the old ATV tracks,” Eric said. “They’ll never make it in that van.”
“How far until we get to somewhere we can turn off?” Jodie asked, glancing at the speedometer. The needle vibrated around 95 mph. They might be putting distance between them and the van, but could be driving right into a trap at a very high rate of speed. She hoped Eric knew of something coming up soon.
“I have a buddy who’s got a truck not too far from here,” Eric said. “I can take you there and you can borrow it, okay?’
Beads of sweat rolled down Eric’s neck. Jodie noticed his clenched jaws and white knuckles. He was obviously very scared. “Yeah. Okay, let’s get off this road,” Jodie said. The truck snaked through the foothills as the road began to twist and turn, rising into the mountains. They had very little tree cover, but the rolling topography shielded them to some extent. Eric maneuvered around a sharp curve, reaching the top of a switchback, where he turned off onto a gravel road, immediately sending up a cloud of dust.
Jodie spied some large boulders ahead. “Pull over behind those rocks. All that dust is gonna give us away.”
Eric pulled up behind the rocks and shut the engine off. As he wiped the sweat from his eyes, Jodie reached over and grabbed the keys from the ignition.
“I’m going to walk back about fifty yards or so, in case they follow us up here,” Jodie said. “In the meantime, I don’t want you leaving me behind. Wait for me here.”
Eric slammed his hand down on the steering wheel and said nothing.
Realizing there wasn't anything she could do at the moment to make him understand, Jodie opened the door and cautiously stepped out of the truck to avoid irritating her wounded knee. The turn-off was about two hundred yards back. Hopefully, the dust Eric’s truck had stirred up would settle before Gypsum caught up to them. She hobbled down the road, hid behind a boulder and waited, hearing the engine straining as the van crept up the mountainside. The engine wound down as the van turned onto the gravel road and crept forward, stopping about twenty feet from where she hid. Jodie could only hope Gypsum hadn’t seen Eric’s truck. She stayed low and listened as the van door opened, someone jumped out and the door slammed shut.
"Great. You lost them," a man said. "You don’t even know if she was in that truck and now, we’ll never know. You shouldn’t have shot at them. Now we’re up here in the middle of bumfuck USA and can’t even get a signal to call for backup."
Jodie could hear someone else get out of the van, their feet hitting the dirt. Footsteps were coming in her direction.
“I have to take a leak,” the man nearest her said, apparently headed toward the rock she was hiding behind.
“Oh, no,” Jodie mumbled, standing up slightly, ready to spring on the man. She backed up further behind the boulder and waited while a steady stream of urine sprayed past her, making a pool in the dusty sand.
“C’mon, Tommy. We better get back down and check in,” the m
an by the van said.
Jodie knew she couldn’t wait any longer. She didn’t want to confront the Gypsum men, but felt it was her only option. She couldn’t let anyone know where she was and as soon as they returned to their base, the men would bring down the wrath of all of Gypsum on her. She stepped around the boulder, holding her gun on the urinating man. “Don’t make a noise or I’ll shoot you in the head. Put your hands up, now,” she whispered loudly.
The man jumped back and grabbed for his zipper, quickly yanking it up.
“Hands up, now,” Jodie commanded again.
The guard complied, his mouth still open in an expression of shock.
“Turn around,” she said, gesturing with her hand. The man turned and Jodie grabbed his arm, wrenching it up behind his back. With her other hand, she reached around to pull his gun from the holster strapped across his chest. She shoved his gun in the waistband of her pants and pressed the nose of her handgun against his neck. “We’re going to walk over by the van. If you say anything to warn your buddy, I’ll pull this trigger. Understood?” Jodie looked around the side of his face and could see his expression. He looked angry, yet, she could feel him shaking as she held his arm. “I didn’t hear you. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. Sure,” the guard said. “Where do you think you’re gonna go? You know you’re gonna die, don’t you?”
Jodie felt a chill run down her spine. She was becoming ever more aware that this might be the last mission of her life. But she didn’t want it to end here, of all places. “Shut up,” she said to the man, pushing him ahead.
The man near the van, seemingly unaware that the other guard was in trouble, got in the driver’s side and turned the radio on.
Jodie pushed the guard toward the passenger side door. “You’re going to open that door. If you say a word, I put a bullet in your head. Do you understand?”
The guard nodded, stepped toward the door and opened it.
“Tommy what the fuck took you --” The driver stared for a moment, then reached for his weapon. Jodie fired once, hitting him in the cheekbone, sending a spray of blood across the driver's side window.
The man Jodie held started to struggle and she pushed him away from her and leveled her gun at him. “It’s your choice. Live or die, I don’t care. I’m in kind of a rush, so make up your mind.”
In her peripheral vision, Jodie could see Eric running toward her. “Stay there, Eric. Don’t come any closer.” The last thing she wanted was for Eric to get mixed up between her and the Gypsum guard. “Go back to your truck,” she said.
Eric stared at her. “What are you gonna do? Are you gonna shoot him, too?”
“She murdered my friend,” Tommy called out.
Jodie decided she’d had about enough of Gypsum. She aimed at Tommy’s knee and pulled the trigger. His knee exploded in a spatter of bone and blood, painting the side of the white van.
Tommy dropped to the ground, grabbing at his knee. “You bitch. You bitch,” he whimpered. “Why’d ya have to do that?”
Jodie glanced over at Eric, who stood completely still, staring at the scene, his face betraying his shock. She stepped over Tommy, who was writhing on the ground next to the van, reached in and took the gun from the dead guard’s hand and slid it in her pocket. "Get whatever you need from your truck, Eric," Jodie said. "We're taking the van."
* * *
About fifteen minutes had passed since Fester and his mother were separated. He paced back and forth in the room he was locked in, stopping to yank on the doorknob again. He tried to turn it with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. Fester knew his mother was in trouble and pounded on the door, screaming for help as loud as he could. No one responded, not even his father.
He slid down the wall next to the door and sat, the pain from the sores on his legs reminding him that they weren’t completely healed yet. Try as he might, Fester couldn't stop himself from crying, so he gave in, sobs choking him. After a few minutes, he felt nothing other than a numb ache in his chest. The events of the past few days had left him exhausted and he leaned over and curled up in a ball. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt the floor begin to vibrate ever so slightly.
At first, it felt like a gentle shaking. Then, it started to increase in intensity, both in vibration and in loudness. He sat up, listening. He could hear whatever it was, coming closer. Fester slid away from the door and stood up, backing up to the wall opposite the door. Even the wall behind him shook. Fester realized what he was hearing were footsteps. But what could make that much noise walking? He looked for somewhere to hide, backing up and accidentally knocking over a gurney. He lay on the floor and pulled it in front of him.
Closer and closer the footsteps came until Fester knew whatever was walking his way had arrived. The doorknob rattled and shook, yet the lock held. Everything was quiet for a moment until the shrieking sound of tearing metal echoed across the room. Fester covered his ears and cowered behind the gurney as the door was ripped off its hinges and landed in the hallway.
"Anyone in here?" a voice called out.
Fester thought it sounded like a mechanical man he’d heard on a science fiction show on tv. He peeked around the edge of the gurney. What he saw made him very confused. A mostly naked man stood just inside the door. The man’s knees shook and Fester thought he looked like he’d been crying. His neck was very red. Something that looked like a leash was wrapped around it. He strained to see more and suddenly the gurney was torn from in front of him and sent flying across the room.
Fester screamed. A large metallic creature stood in front of him, staring at him. He pushed himself against the wall, willing it to move so he could get farther away from the thing.
“Are you okay, boy?” it said.
Fester found he couldn’t speak. He looked at the thing closer, seeing a Hello Kitty bag hanging around its neck. The bag swung back and forth as the thing bent over and extended its hand. He looked at the thing, wondering if it had eaten a little girl, or something.
“Take my hand. Let me help you up,” the thing said. “My name is Chuck, I mean Officer Charles Wending.”
The name sounded so familiar. Suddenly, Fester's memory took him back to the dam. Back to when he clung to a corpse on an old tree to keep from falling to his death. The officer Noah had brought to help him was Charles Wending. Could this really be the same person? Fester didn’t know what to do, but he knew he didn’t want to touch the thing. He pushed himself up off the floor and stood, looking back and forth between the thing and the naked man on a leash.
“Are you okay?” the thing asked again.
Fester nodded. “I think I know you. Do you remember the dam? And, the dead man?”
The thing stared at him for a moment. Then, a look of acknowledgement came over its face. “I remember," he said with excitement in his voice. "I remember you. You’re friends with Noah. You got knocked over the dam by that dead guy.”
“Yeah, that’s me, my name is Tim, but my friends call me Fester” he said, starting to feel a little more comfortable now that he was thinking the thing might not mean him any harm. “What happened to you?”
Officer Wending got a funny look on his face, almost like embarrassment and Fester wondered if he’d said the wrong thing.
“I used to be human. Now, I’m this. I don’t know why.” He rummaged in his Hello Kitty bag and pulled out two candy bars, offering one to Fester. "Go ahead, take it. It won't hurt you. Seems to be the only thing keeping me going. I like the taste of the wrapper a lot, for some reason."
Fester tentatively reached out and grabbed the candy bar. “Thanks.” He looked over at the pantsless man on a leash. “What is that?”
Officer Wending turned around. “That, Fester, is my prisoner. He’s been very bad. I brought him here to show me where I can find your friend’s mom, Christy. I’m looking for Jodie Watts and I thought Christy could tell me where she is.” Officer Wending bit off a half of the candy bar and chewed.
“My mom a
nd me were with Noah and his mom before. At least until my dad came and took us and put us in this room. Then, a guard came in here and took my mom,” Fester said, thinking it couldn’t hurt to tell Officer Wending. “I’ve been trying to get out and find her, but they locked me in. I think she’s in trouble.”
Officer Wending stopped chewing. “In trouble, you say? We’d better go have a look then. "He gave the leash a tug, “Whadya say, Billy? Wanna show us where we can find everybody else?”
Billy nodded and wheezed, clawing at the line around his neck. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll show you. No need to pull so hard. C’mon.”
“Okay, Billy, you lead the way. Fester, stay behind me,” Officer Wending said. “I don’t want you to get hurt if we run into any more of those guards.”
Fester slipped his Three Musketeers into his pocket and followed the officer. The thought of his mother being in trouble made him a little nauseous, so he decided to save the candy bar for later. He didn’t know why, but he already felt safe around Officer Wending. Almost like things were going to be okay.
Chapter 13
“I still don’t see why you had to shoot them,” Eric said.
Jodie ignored Eric and moved over to the driver’s side of the van. She opened the door and stepped up on the side rail so she could reach the driver’s seatbelt. Once she had it unbuckled, the dead man slumped forward. She pulled and his body slid out the door. She let it drop, watching the man’s face hit the dirt. Then, she grabbed his belt and pulled the rest of his body out of the van. She reached up and took the keys from the ignition, noticing that Eric was bent down over the other guard, trying to help him with his wounded knee. “Leave him alone,” she said.
Eric looked up at her. “He needs medical treatment. He’s in pain.”
Jodie didn’t feel like explaining herself at the moment. She’d had to kill so many people just to save her life and those of her friends. She knew she’d probably have to kill more, too, but needed to save this guard for just a little while longer. “Help me get him into the van,” she said. “You can take care of him in there.”
