Reintegration

by Eden S. French

  The emotions swirling from Riva were impossible to tune out—relief, tenderness, battered dignity.

  “I don’t hate my body,” she said, “but I hate the way I’m treated because of it. And sometimes it’s hard to tell those two things apart.”

  “I’ve never seen the big deal. If I play with a girl’s finger, stroke it or suck it, that’s obviously fine. So if I do the same with her dick, what’s the difference? I hope to pleasure women, not body parts. I’m attracted to people, not organs. I’m sure there are some who see their partners as a collection of fleshy bits. They can keep the hell away from mine.”

  “Have you ever been with a woman like me?”

  “Twice. They were nervous too, but you’re something else.” Lexi looked back to the sunrise—it was well and truly underway, a radiant birth of light on the ruptured city skyline. “You’ve had it bad, haven’t you?”

  “I just wish I’d trusted you earlier. When we had more time.”

  “Stop thinking like this was some dark, guilty secret. If I don’t mention that my left nipple is a little smaller than my right nipple, that’s not a secret. That’s just me not telling strangers about my nipples.”

  Riva smiled for the first time since her confession. “I’ve seen your nipples. I didn’t notice any difference.”

  “You won’t notice until you get to play with them. I plan to sex you up, if you hadn’t forgotten. We just have to find our moment.”

  “In the back of Callie’s van, maybe? Or we could just do it in the galley.”

  “Not in Callie’s van. She wouldn’t speak to me for another three years.”

  Lexi gazed at the sun swelling on the edge of the world she knew, and nostalgia took hold of her—a lazy sense of solace accompanied by inarticulate regret. “There’s something pure about a sunrise. We can’t fuck it up the way we’ve done everything else. Can’t deface it, can’t tag it, can’t break it just for fun. The sun’s going to keep on being beautiful, if only to spite us.”

  “For about five billion years. Then there’ll be nothing but vacuum.”

  Lexi grinned. “Let me enjoy a bit of sentimentality. I don’t do it very often.” She hugged Riva more tightly, and Riva squeezed back. “I had a cousin once. Ash. My only family. I lost her some years back.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  The sunlight gleamed on the antennas atop the buildings, turning them into unearthly rods of white flame. “She loved watching sunsets and sunrises. Forced me and Kade to watch them with her.” Lexi hesitated. “We grew up together, by the way. Me and Kade.”

  “I know.” Riva caressed Lexi’s side, touching her neck, stroking her hip. “Last night, he came to my room to comfort me, and he told me that he loves you. That he misses you. And he said it with as much pain and grief as I felt when I confided in you just now.”

  Lexi closed her eyes. She’d had enough sunrise for one day.

  * * *

  An hour later, Amity strolled up to the wall and glared at its cuddling occupants. “I see you two are quite comfortable.”

  “Good morning,” said Riva, her feet swinging. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Let me guess,” said Lexi. “With a knife in your teeth.”

  Amity wrinkled her cute little nose. “Very amusing. Less amusing is finding you two sitting atop that wall like trophies on a pedestal. You’re supposed to be in hiding, remember?”

  “And we are. From you boring people.” Lexi winked. “How are they?”

  “Awake. Zeke complained to me for ten minutes about his sleeping arrangements.” Amity broke into a perfect Zeke impression, bugging her eyes and waving her hands. “Amity, I couldn’t sleep! That fucking junkie smells so bad! C’mon, give me another fucking room!” She grimaced. “Idiot. I offered him the toilet facility as an alternative sleeping quarters. Now he’s sulking in the galley.”

  Lexi almost laughed herself off the wall. “I keep forgetting you have a sense of humor.”

  “She hides it well,” said Riva. “When she’s drunk, she’s hilarious.”

  “I have more sense than to get drunk around Lexi Vale.” Amity extended her hand to Riva. “Come down from there. I’ll help you with breakfast.”

  “I’ll push her, and you catch,” said Lexi. “Ready?”

  Chuckling, Riva let herself be assisted to the pavement.

  “Me too,” said Lexi. “Please. I can’t do it alone.”

  Amity sighed as she offered her hand. Lexi took it, touched its knuckles to her lips and gazed into Amity’s eyes. “You have the most enchanting nose, comrade. So petite.”

  With a swift yank, Amity pulled Lexi off the wall and sent her stumbling to the pavement. “Be quiet,” Amity said to Riva, who had succumbed to a fit of giggles. “Some lowlifes may hear you.”

  “And lowlifes hate the sound of laughter,” said Lexi. “It’s blood in the water to them. There’s a noseless monster in an alley right now, hunting around while growling, ‘Is that some punk laughing? In my hood?’”

  “Enough nonsense. Come have breakfast.”

  Upon descending into the galley, they found Zeke and Callie arguing around a table while Kade listened.

  “He can’t help it,” said Callie. “The guy’s been living on the street.”

  “But it was like sleeping inside an ass,” Zeke said. “The ass of a dead man.”

  “Well, what did you expect from the guy? Spearmint?”

  “Sure, be sarcastic. You didn’t have to sleep holding your fucking breath.” Zeke waved at the arrivals. “Lex, Riva. You guys been outside all this time?”

  “I bet they were watching the sunrise,” said Callie. “They’re in love.”

  Amity nodded. “Confirmed. It looked very romantic.”

  “Guilty as charged,” said Lexi. “If you’d only come out a little later, you’d have caught us fucking.” She dropped into the chair beside Zeke, put her boots on the table, and yawned. “Where’s that breakfast?”

  “I’m on it,” said Riva. “Amity, would you mind heating two pans for me?”

  While Riva and Amity clattered in the kitchen, Lexi glanced at Kade. After years of avoiding him, it was still jarring to see him so close. He noticed her looking, and they stared at each other.

  “Morning,” said Lexi.

  “Good morning.” Kade gave a tentative smile. “You doing okay?”

  Even though he’d changed so much, Lexi still knew that smile, but she couldn’t yet bring herself to return it. Instead, she shrugged. “It was a good sunrise. She’d have loved it.”

  That emotional wall of his wavered—only for a moment, but enough to get a sense of how much he was hurting. Lexi looked away. She couldn’t put herself through this. Not now. She needed to find that old resentment again, yet right now, it was hard to grasp…

  A phone trilled. Amity plucked it from her trench coat. “Amity. Oh, it’s you. Did you—” Her eyes narrowed. “I see. Yes, we’re east of the University. Yes. Just the one, you said. No, it’s not your fault. I understand. Did you want to talk to—I see. Very well. Thank you. We’ll let you know.” She lowered the phone. “That was Blue.”

  Callie jumped to her feet. “Is she in trouble?”

  “We may be the ones in trouble. She’s spotted a Codist chopper headed east, and intelligent woman that she obviously is, she’s assumed that it’s headed our way. We’re certain they can’t know about this bunker, but last night, she made a radio call.”

  “Damn it,” said Kade. “Lachlan. He knew about the phone and used her to get our location. If there’s a helicopter, that means there’ll be agents on the ground soon. We have to leave now.”

  “What about Isaac?” Riva set down a half-opened plastic packet of food. “We can’t leave him.”

  “He’s an innocent bystander, not to mention near-incoherent. Lachlan won’t trouble him.” Kade took a pistol from his coat and inspected its safety. “You have maybe thirty seconds to grab whatever you’ve left in your rooms.”

  “We’re
fucked, aren’t we?” Zeke wrung his hands. “A fucking shut-in helicopter, how do we get away from that?”

  “By leaving as soon as possible,” said Amity. “Lexi, stop lounging. It’s time to move.”

  “But I’m hungry.” Lexi held out her hand. “Riva, toss me one of those protein bars, will you?” Riva obliged, and Lexi caught the foil-wrapped bar with augmented ease. “What would breakfast have been if you’d had the chance to keep cooking?”

  “Scrambled tofu,” said Riva. “With my own special chili sauce.”

  “Motherfucker.” Lexi stared at the unappetizing bar in her hands. “Lachlan Reed, you are a dead man.”

  * * *

  Waite Street wasn’t pretty. On its left side ran a long row of collapsed storefronts, while on its right loomed the steel skeletons of buildings picked apart by time.

  Among the dreary scenery, the garage was easy to spot. It boasted a bright blue facade, and a cartoon animal had been emblazoned on its door. Maybe a pig, judging by the pink tint, though peeling paint had given it a rotted appearance. A zombie pig, then.

  Amity unlocked the garage as Lexi stared down the street. A pair of dots were accelerating closer. They clarified into menacing shut-in bikes, two nasty pieces of work: shining white chassis, complex black under-bellies, sleek insect-like frames.

  “Two riders coming,” said Lexi.

  Callie frowned. “I don’t see anything.”

  “I have 20/5 vision. Trust me.” A hundred meters back, three vehicles closed the distance. Low, black, sinister. “There’re cars too. Three of them.”

  The door rattled upward. The garage had been intended for larger vehicles, transport trucks maybe, and Callie’s van looked small and lonely parked at the back.

  “I hear the helicopter,” said Amity. “Do you see it yet?”

  Sure enough, a repetitive thumping sound was drawing closer. Turning her head toward the noise, Lexi spotted a speck moving across the sky. “Yep, it’s coming. Do you think that Lachlan guy is inside?”

  “I hope so. I’m eager to put my fist through his face.” Amity spun on her heel. “Let’s get moving.”

  The group piled into the van—Zeke, Kade, Amity, and Lexi in the back, Riva in the passenger seat, and Callie behind the wheel. Amity pulled one of the rear doors shut, leaving the other ajar.

  “All aboard?” said Callie. “Then hold on!”

  She reversed while turning the wheel, and the van whirled to face the road. With a roar, it shot forward and took a sharp left, bringing it onto the street in the opposite direction of their pursuers.

  “I see them!” said Zeke, pointing out the open door. “I see the fuckers!”

  “Perceptive of you,” said Amity.

  The road became a blur beneath their wheels, yet the bikes continued to gain, as did the black vehicles cruising behind them.

  “Not looking good,” said Callie. “My baby here is quick for a van, but she’ll top out a lot sooner than those shut-in cars will.”

  “What do you have back here?” said Amity. “Sniper rifle? RPG?”

  “Um, no. Shotgun’s under the seat, and that’s it. If you wanted an arsenal, you picked the wrong smuggler.”

  “That’s a pity.” Amity took a pistol from her coat and offered it to Lexi. “You keep this. I’ll use the shotgun.”

  She snatched the shotgun from beneath the seat, snapped back the handle, peered into the barrel, and slammed the handle shut, becoming ten times more frightening in the process. “We have a strategic advantage. They want Lexi alive, whereas I don’t care if every single one of them dies.”

  Lexi brandished her unexpected pistol. “I’ve never fired a gun before.”

  “With your augmented vision, you should have learned.” Amity glanced at Zeke. “I don’t suppose you’re secretly a crack shot.”

  “Nah,” said Zeke. “Closest I ever get to crack is… Well, I can tell this ain’t the time for jokes, so I’ll just shut the fuck up, huh?”

  Kade stood before the open door, his pistol drawn. The wind fluttered the hem of his trench coat and blew through his shaggy hair. All he needed was a pair of sunglasses to complete the image of a stern, gun-toting pain in the ass.

  “Shoot the gas tanks on the cars,” said Zeke. “Blow the fuckers up.”

  “Only in the movies,” said Callie. “Sorry.”

  With a sudden burst of speed, the bikes tore up the remaining distance and drifted behind the van, separated by a distance of perhaps five meters. One of the riders held up a dark sphere.

  “What’s that?” Lexi said.

  “Trouble,” said Amity. “Kade.”

  Kade aimed. A gunshot erupted, and the rider slumped against their handlebars. The bike toppled, throwing the tumbling body to the road.

  The other rider hunched, and their bike screamed as it veered to the right and shot past the van.

  “He’s in front of me,” said Callie. The van swerved hard enough to send everyone in the back scrabbling for support. “He’s putting down caltrops!”

  Amity sighed. “So avoid them, Callie.”

  “I know that, you grumpy bitch!”

  The slicing sound of rotors built to an immense volume, and a shadow rippled over the asphalt. The helicopter—black, of course—descended to hover above the road.

  A dark figure hung out of its door and raised a megaphone. “Good morning, everyone. I regret to inform you that you’re all on a Codist wanted list. Oh, and one of you is now charged with murder. Pull over and put down your guns, and some of you may enjoy lenience.”

  “That’s Lachlan,” said Kade. “Lachlan Reed.”

  “The guy that’s been messing with Min?” said Callie. “Lexi, shoot the prick.”

  Lexi aimed, held her breath and pulled the trigger. The shot was loud enough, but the result was disappointing: no deaths, no explosions, not even one of those wacky zing sounds. “Sorry. Missed.”

  “I’m grateful for your appalling aim,” said Lachlan. “As you prefer to do this violently, I suppose I must oblige you.”

  The helicopter hovered in retreat while the trio of cars glided forth beneath it. Lexi fired a series of shots, but despite her hitting the black windshields and tires several times, the cars didn’t so much as swerve.

  “They’re too heavily armored,” said Amity. “And the tires are airless, so save your bullets. Callie, we need to get off this road.”

  The van took a left, jolting Zeke and Lexi off their feet, and its engine thundered. Recovering her balance, Lexi turned to look ahead. Callie had swung them into a narrow side street littered with debris and shadowed by high buildings. As the van gathered speed, Callie worked the wheel, dodging craters in the asphalt.

  “You really know how to drive,” said Riva, and Callie grinned and took the van up another gear.

  The steady chopping noise of the helicopter pursued them, and two of the black cars turned smoothly into the side street and continued their chase. The third car zipped past the intersection, its drivers presumably intent on cutting the van off elsewhere.

  “I’d be careful if I were you,” Lachlan said, his voice echoing from above. “I can see the road ahead, and it’s not exactly in mint condition.”

  Zeke glared at the ceiling. “What an asshole.”

  Another sharp turn sent Lexi reeling, and she lunged for a handhold—Zeke, as it turned out. Callie had directed the van into an even narrower street, this one little more than an accidental bypass. Graffitied bricks flashed past, looking close enough to reach out and touch.

  “Slow down,” said Amity. “Let them get near.”

  Callie pulled a face in the rearview mirror. “If you say so.”

  The van slowed. As the first shut-in car neared the van’s rear bumper, Amity leaned out of the door and fired. The tremendous shotgun blast consumed every other sound, and a compact pattern of cracks appeared on the car’s windshield.

  Amity cracked open the shotgun and ejected the spent casing. “Shell.”

 
“Near the door,” said Callie. “At Kade’s feet.”

  Kade rummaged through a cardboard box and stood holding a shell, which Amity snatched from his hand. She pushed it into the barrel, flipped the handle shut, and fired again.

  This time, the windshield became a crazed mess of glass, unbroken but certainly impossible to see through, and the car braked to a sudden halt. The second car behind it swerved and scraped the wall.

  “Now speed up again,” Amity said, and the van hurtled toward the next intersection. “That should slow them.”

  “You’ve added vandalism to the list of your offenses,” said the obnoxious amplified voice pursuing them. “Do let me know when you feel you’ve sinned enough, won’t you?”

  The van shot onto a wider street, and Callie spun the wheel, reorienting them westward. The jagged teeth of the inner city dominated the skyline.

  “This road leads home,” she said. “I think we have a decent chance now, but I’d like to know where that other car is.”

  “Don’t say that,” said Zeke. “It’ll burst out of the nearest street if you say that. Don’t you know how car chases work?”

  The van flew by several blocks, one ruined neighborhood vanishing after another. Lexi stood behind the mesh partition and surveyed the road.

  “Burned out car coming up in the left lane,” she said, and Callie nodded and shunted the van to the right. Maybe ten seconds later, the wreck passed them by.

  “It must be incredible to have your eyesight,” said Riva.

  “It’s wasted on me. I’m mostly indoors.”

  The helicopter’s whir panned overhead. “Where exactly do you plan on going?” said Lachlan. “I can see everything from up here, you know.”

  Amity grimaced. “The bastard has a point. While we remain visible to him by air, there’s no chance of us escaping. He’ll already have agents setting up road blocks.”

  “Callie,” said Kade. “Do you have a megaphone, by any chance?”

  “Of course she don’t have a megaphone,” said Zeke. “Man, you might as well ask if she keeps a fighter jet or some dumb shit like that.”

  “Actually, I might.” Callie spoke without taking her eyes from the road. “Try the crate next to Amity.”