Tsunami Blue

by Gayle Ann Williams

“She does not.” Nick.

  “She’s no bitch.” Alec.

  I turned the boys around and gave them a friendly but firm push down the street. “I’ll catch up, guys.”

  Nick looked at me with worry in his eyes.

  “We shouldn’t leave you,” Alec said.

  I gave the boys a pat on their heads. “Don’t worry.” I winked. “I’m the grown-up, remember?”

  “A scrawny one,” I heard Sam say under his breath.

  That word again.

  And just when I was trying to keep my temper.

  I gave the boys another little nudge along with a carefree smile.

  “Okay.” Nick went, but not without hesitation.

  “Come soon,” Alec said. “Like, in a minute.”

  Nodding, I waved, then turned to face Creep One and Creep Two.

  I was twirling a knife when I did. Fast. The silver gleamed in the light from a smoldering burn barrel. Suddenly flames played off the steel as the debris in the barrel caught fire: orange, blue, then red. More red dripped off the blade. The men screamed in pain, grabbing their throats as crimson spilled onto the dirty pavement.

  I didn’t slit their throats. Almost, sure, and they’d have scars, but all in all, a survivable wound. But it was the “p” I carved into their foreheads for the entire world to see that would ultimately be their undoing.

  In this new and dangerous world where kids were more at risk than ever before, the Uplanders, at least the ones who cared about children and futures and sanity, had taken to a form of branding.

  The carved “p” was a death sentence. It stood for pedophile.

  I wouldn’t have known about this particular brand if Gabriel had not told me. He had told me a great many things about New Vancouver, mainly not to enter the city without him. Well, he hadn’t given me a choice.

  As I walked away from the lowest form of humans on this blue, blue planet, I gave the men two weeks, tops, before someone took them out.

  And I couldn’t say I felt bad about that.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  I walked down the dark, damp, and dangerous streets of New Vancouver between Nick and Alec. None of us spoke. I had found out they hitched a ride to New Vancouver on a supply junk. And there just wasn’t enough time to lecture them properly on the dangers of that. I might have overreacted with the “what in holy hell were you two idiots thinking?”

  “Cage fight.” They had said. Great. How was I gonna deal with that?

  So for now we just shuffled in silence with a swelling, pushing crowd. With the crush of bodies ripe with filth, the air was suffocating. It was almost hard to breathe. What, I asked myself again, were the boys doing here?

  The boys, just as I had feared, had seen me at my worst. Instead of walking down the street, they’d cut across it to stay closer to me. And, let’s face it, to have a better look. I shook my head. Kids. Like they would do what they were told. Some things, even in a ruined and wet world, never changed.

  I glanced at my moon clock, a tiny wristband that measured time by solar power, wind, and the phases of the moon. It had been on Gabriel’s boat—another one of his top-quality toys. But now I figured it was mine.

  With batteries so scarce and the self-wind wristwatches corroded in our new salt-ridden world, the moon clocks started to crop up. They worked best in summer, when we had sunlight for solar energy, but there was also some kind of magnetism built in and the moon pulled at the hands like it does the tides. Ingenious, really. Too bad Runners had killed the man who had invented them. Now the bands were in short supply, which was why I kept mine hidden. I’d seen men killed for far less.

  The way I figured, I had an hour and twenty minutes to find the cage, figure out how to get Gabriel out of it, run far away from a wave no one believed was coming, and most important? Get Nick and Alec out of here. Before the wave did it for me.

  I also had a strong feeling it wouldn’t go down well with them if they knew about Gabriel’s little dilemma. Okay. Not so little; he was supposed to die. And if I knew the boys—and I thought I did—they’d get right in the middle of it. I’d be damned if, should there be a body count tonight, two of them would be theirs.

  “Um, Bambi?” Nick said. “You were kind of, well, awesome with those two scumbags tonight.”

  “Yeah, amazing. Can you teach us how to twirl knives like that? Next time Nick and I get some sicko after us, we can just kill him ourselves.”

  Alec sounded way too pumped on that last note. This was just what I was afraid of. The boys being, well, boys, had glamorized the bloodletting and violence. Gabriel had done well in keeping them safe and sound. And yet after ten minutes with me, they were ready to don weapons and start slicing and dicing? I didn’t think so. Not on my watch. I had to turn down their adrenaline, fast.

  I saw my chance and took it. A Dumpster stood off to the side, large, rusted, and—oh, I wanted to gag—smelly. But the space behind it looked private enough. I grabbed the boys by their fleece collars and yanked them behind it.

  “What gives?” Nick said.

  “Hey, watch the neck,” Alec complained.

  The crowds pressed past us, fanning out and filtering into a wide area leading to a distant stadium. Or at least, what was left of it. It had to be where the cage was; everyone seemed just a little too eager to get there. Why did I feel this was a spectator sport? A big one.

  I turned to face the boys, their expressions open and honest and—this was what got me the most—innocent.

  I had their full attention. Which, given that they were ten-year-olds, was a small miracle.

  “First, what the holy hell are you two doing here?”

  I didn’t mean to sound mad, but the fear just seeped into my voice and so I had disguised it as anger.

  The boys looked shocked at my tone, and then—and I didn’t want this—defensive.

  “Gee, don’t get all mad. We just came to see the fight.”

  “Fight?”

  “Yeah,” Alec said, “the cage. It’s like the biggest fight of the year. We heard about it clear in New False Bay.”

  The cage. A fight. To the death. Oh, Gabriel.

  I stuck my trembling hands in my pockets and steadied my breathing. I had to get these guys out of here; I had to. But how? And then it came to me. Was it the right thing to do? Would it work? I had to try. But first…

  “Look, guys.” I spread my hands out in front of me. “Have either of you taken a life?”

  The boys looked sheepish and shook their heads no.

  “Have you ever seen anyone die?”

  Again, no.

  “Well, I have.”

  “You have?” Nick asked. “Did you kill them?”

  I was silent as I thought of the two Runners who had died by my hand less than twenty-four-hours ago. And I thought of the Runner scum I’d killed when I was close to Nick and Alec’s age. That death had changed my life. I didn’t want it for them. I wasn’t sure how the boys were being raised. But I’d bet all the Starbucks on Gabriel’s boat it wasn’t with Runners. These kids were too naive to survive in a Runner camp. And if they saw Gabriel die? Frustrated, I slammed my fist into the metal of the Dumpster, making the boys jump as the sound echoed around us.

  Between the stench and the memories and the pain, it was all I could do not to grab the kids and shake them. Run, I wanted to scream at them. Run, guys. Run away from here. But instead I answered them.

  My voice was as hard as ice and I glared at the boys. “Don’t glamorize it, kids—don’t you ever. Death is death. And there’s no coming back. Until you have the blood of a human being—a once living, walking, talking, human being—on your hands, and until you see someone gutted, with intestines hanging and the sea crabs feasting on their insides, you have no idea.”

  They looked at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was. Was this what caring about someone did to you? Made you nuts? Made you relive the most horrific death you had ever seen? I had just described finding Seamus O’Malley, my la
st living relative. I had thought I didn’t care. But I did. Just as I cared about the boys. And damn it, I cared about Gabriel. Lord help me, I didn’t want to, but there it was.

  Taking off my glasses, I lowered my hood. I reached back and yanked on the band that was holding my dark mass of hair in my traditional ponytail. My hair tumbled around my shoulders. I felt better, more like myself, less like Bambi. And right now, in this dark and slimy place, I needed to be myself.

  Because I was going to tell the boys that I was Tsunami Blue and a wave was coming. And they had better run.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “What the hell is all the damn noise? Can’t ya see we’re playin’ here, bitch?”

  I slid my sunglasses back in place as the boys and I turned to face a giant of a man. He smelled almost as bad as the Dumpster and was certainly as ugly. The missing teeth didn’t help. But on a positive note, if we got into a fight—and I had a feeling we would—he wouldn’t be much of a biter.

  “What is it with this town?” I asked, stepping out of the shadows and pushing the boys behind me. “Are all the women here named ‘bitch,’ or is it just me?”

  He actually had to think about that for a moment, which gave me a clue we weren’t dealing with the fastest ship in the harbor. No. He was more on the scale of a paddleboard. He was still thinking. Make that water wings.

  I could see now that he had come from around an open fire pit in the alley. I hoped there weren’t any more of them.

  No such luck.

  When his buddy came up behind him, the hairs on the nape of my neck stood up. This man was danger, wrapped in a short, thick package of sheer muscle and bone. He took one look at the three of us and hunger flared in his eyes. This man was pure evil.

  The boys must have sensed it too, because they flanked me protectively. I admired them for that. This man would chew them up and use their bones for toothpicks, and yet there they were, ready to fight alongside me. I was so proud of them. I was so afraid for them.

  “Thanks, guys,” I whispered.

  A third man came and joined them, this one tall and so thin he looked skeletal. With sunken eyes and matted hair, he looked like a zombie from a George Romero movie. Not that I’d seen one. I’d only seen a picture of a zombie in a black-and-white glossy photo in a vintage movie store. The zombie scared me then, and this guy, who looked like he had just walked out of the same grave, scared me now.

  “How about you and your little friends join us for a wager, bitch,” the man with no teeth said. He pulled out a nasty-looking blade. Serrated.

  “Bambi,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Bambi. The name’s Bambi. You know, like the deer.”

  “You mean like the pole dancer,” the dangerous man said. His voice had a mean quality to it. Real mean. He licked his lips. Great. Just great.

  I opened my fleece and pulled out the biggest knife I’d brought. They pulled out three bigger.

  “What, boys?” I asked as they laughed at my blade. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that size doesn’t matter?”

  I twirled the knife and then, in a blink, I threw the razor-sharp blade through the air, grazing Zombie’s cheek. A trail of scarlet seeped to the surface of his white flesh. So the man could bleed. Good, ’cause I’d like to make him bleed more.

  The knife found its mark in Water Wings’ shoulder. All the way to the hilt. His knives clattered to the ground as he howled in pain and reached to pull it out.

  “Make that a life lesson, big guy. Don’t pull a knife on a girl. It’s just rude.” Water Wings was not my first choice to knife. I had my sights set on the short, dangerous man with the dead eyes. But I knew better than to take out the brains of the group. Without leadership, the other two were unpredictable psychos, loose canyons who would charge without thinking. And they would go for the weakest targets. They would go for the boys.

  I crossed my arms, tapped my foot, and waited. Show no fear, Blue, my Uncle Seamus had told me time and time again. These kinds of men will respect you for it. And you will live longer.

  The dangerous man looked impressed. He shrugged and nodded our departure. Guess we could go. Still, I wasn’t about to turn my back on these animals. Zombie was still holding his cheek, blood now dripping from his fingers. Oops. Maybe not the scrape I had thought.

  “Come on, guys,” I said to Nick and Alec. “Let’s go.” We backed up in a line, moving away from the Dumpster. Circling our way around it.

  And that was when I saw her.

  A small child huddled by the fire, crumpled forward in a ball. A girl? Her hair, thick and tangled, hung just inches from the open flame. She played with a long strand, sweeping it back and forth as if she wanted it to catch fire. As if she thought that might be a better alternative to hanging with these men.

  Or was I just overreacting? She could be a daughter. Couldn’t she? I looked at these men, filthy and evil, and I knew, just knew in my gut that this little girl shouldn’t have been here.

  Well, shit.

  Just at that moment, she turned and looked at me. Her pale features were soft and delicate. Even through the grime, I could she how pretty she was, how tiny and petite. Petite like me. And didn’t I just know how it felt to be small in a world so much bigger than you.

  I shook my head. I didn’t have time for this. I had a fight to catch, a wave to outrun, two kids of my own to save. A tear glistened down her cheek.

  Double shit.

  “Hang on, boys,” I said to Nick and Alec. They stopped and looked at me in question.

  “Your daughter?” I asked the man who gave us the green light, the one I feared the most.

  He laughed a low, nasty, guttural laugh. “Now, what do you think, Bambi?” I hated the way he said the name. It just sounded like a rape waiting to happen.

  “I think this kid shouldn’t be here, that’s what I think. Asshole,” I added, just because I was so infuriated. She was a kid. Just a little kid.

  Zombie walked up, glaring at me.

  “Don’t look so pissed,” I said. “I could have taken an ear.” Trace came to mind, and I kicked him right back out. I could handle only one bit of terror at a time.

  “We’re playing for her.” Water Wings came from the shadows with a towel so dirty it looked black. He pressed it to his wound. Good for him. That should get a nice infection going.

  “And you and Dumb and Dumber interrupted our game. Now get lost, bitch.”

  I turned and raised my eyebrows to the boys at the Dumb and Dumber comment. They both were trying not to laugh. Which was good. We weren’t out of this yet.

  “Just leave while you can, Bambi,” Dangerous Man said. “Leave her to us. We’ll take good care of her.”

  The men laughed. The little girl jumped up at the sound and dropped her blanket. I could see they had the child chained at one foot, like an animal.

  I wanted to kill them. Drop all three where they stood. But I had Nick and Alec to consider. And whereas I could take Zombie and Water Wings no problem, could I do it before they hurt one of the boys? And let’s face it, it was the short tank of a man that worried me. He’d fight dirty. And if he won, I didn’t want to think of the aftermath.

  Then I saw the cards. The men had dropped them when they decided to play with us instead.

  “So, I’m just a little curious.” I changed my demeanor; I was now friendly Bambi, just like the one on the pole. “What are you bad boys playing?”

  “Hold ’Em,” Water Wings all but growled.

  Hold ’Em? Hold ’Em? I could play Texas Hold ’Em. I could play great Texas Hold ’Em.

  “And the stakes?”

  “The girl, of course,” said Zombie. The mention of the girl was a turn-on for him. Just what I was afraid of.

  “What? You interested, Bambi? I didn’t think you rolled that way. Thought you had it bad for me,” Dangerous Man said.

  Oh, I had it bad for him. A-knife-through-his-miserable-heart bad.

  “What’s the buy-in
?” I asked.

  “What do ya got?”

  I immediately thought of the moon watch. I stuck out my wrist. Flaunting and showing off a little. Okay. A lot.

  He held out his. Damn. It was just as nice, only in blue. I liked his better. Okay. Time to get serious.

  I reached into my fleece’s inner pocket and pulled out two packets of Christmas Blend. I held the coffee in front of the men’s noses and I prayed Gabriel knew what he was talking about. It makes a good trade. His voice played in my head and I felt a tug on my heart.

  “Been a while, boys?”

  The reaction was fast and loud.

  “She’s in.”

  “No limit, winner takes all.”

  “I’m dealing. Let’s go.”

  “The coffee and the girl?” I asked. “Winner takes all, baby.” Dangerous Guy was actually excited. He didn’t look quite so murderous. Still…

  As the men walked away to set up the game, I turned to Nick and Alec, who were speechless at the turn of events.

  “Bambi,” whispered Alec. “Do you even know how to play?”

  “Some.” I raised my glasses and winked at him with my good eye.

  “What can we do?” Nick asked.

  “Watch and learn,” I said, lowering my glasses back in place. “And when I say game over, it’s over. Understood?”

  The boys nodded.

  “We take the little girl and walk out of here. Okay? Just walk. Like it’s no big deal.”

  “What makes you think you’ll win?” Nick said.

  Alec leaned in to hear my answer.

  I smiled and thought of my days playing Texas Hold ’Em in all those Runner camps summer after summer. The games were aggressive, vocal, dangerous, and, for me, lucrative. The men lacked patience. I didn’t. And I was willing to bet these guys were no different.

  “I’m the best,” I told the boys. “I’m the very best.”

  With that I turned and walked toward the fire pit to choose my place. I wanted Dangerous Guy on my right, Water Wings to my left, and Zombie right across from me so I could read every tell on his ugly face.