Dead Man Running (Raised Book 1)

by Stevenson, Sharon

  “How’d she get you to sign, anyway?”

  He sighed. “She’s high level, she made me want it. It wasn’t like I was thinking straight.”

  “Right,” I said, pondering on it. “How’d she find you?”

  “One of her stupid clones caught me on the strip. Does any of this really matter? How are we getting out of here?”

  “I’m thinking,” I told him. “Keep your pants on.”

  He looked at me, face contorting into something vaguely excited. “Have you got a phone?”

  “Eh, aye, who doesn’t?”

  “Gies it, then.”

  I checked my pockets. The little plastic thing wasn’t on. My battery had a bad habit of running out. Normally, I magically charged it in an emergency. I passed it over anyway.

  “It might be dead.”

  “Damn! I could have called Mickey.”

  “You don’t have a phone?” Britt had probably taken it, right enough.

  “I left it in my room.” He was back to looking gloomy again.

  I took the phone back. “We can’t break the bitch’s spell until we face up to our fears anyway. We can’t just wander around scared out of our minds until the day we die.”

  “Crap, there goes my plan,” he muttered.

  “We need to just man up and see what happens. I get my magic back if I face my fear. Then we can get the hell out of here.” I really hoped it was going to be as easy as it sounded.

  He pushed at the door. “We’re locked in.”

  “Right, cover your ears and start screaming,” I said, kicking at the door.

  He didn’t look overly enamoured at the prospect. Can’t say I was either. We screamed at the top of our lungs on and off for maybe twenty minutes before marching feet approached. My throat was hoarse, and he looked ready to pass out. Wait, he was blue already so maybe not.

  The sound of deadlocks being undone was followed by the door creaking inwards. Four Guards stood before us in their military uniforms, staring blankly. They didn’t speak. I’d heard they didn’t ever. Rumours about tongue docking were rife.

  “Eh, we got lost,” I said, wondering why the hell I hadn’t thought of a proper plan before we started screaming the castle down. Pete was rigid beside me. These guys freaked him the hell out. I won’t lie they didn’t exactly make me come over all warm and fuzzy either.

  Blank expressions followed by grasping hands, and we were yanked from the landing into the castle passageway. They manhandled us down the long dark corridor. The only light was from fire-lit torches set onto the walls at irregular intervals. I glanced at Pete. If he was trying to be stoic, he wasn’t doing a very good job. I think if he could have cried he would.

  “Where are we headed to, exactly?” Our arrival would be deemed suspicious at least. The King would need to determine if we were some kind of threat. I hoped he was as intelligent as he was rumoured to be. If not, we might just end up with our heads on chopping blocks. Well, I might. He’d probably just make Pete sign a contract to join the Guard.

  “They won’t tell us,” Pete said quietly.

  “I know. The silence is just creeping me out.”

  “I think this might have been a bad plan,” Pete said, tripping over his own feet in the dimly lit corridor.

  “Well, it’s the only one we’ve got so we’re stuck with it for now.”

  “I was worried about that.”

  The staircase at the end of the corridor had two options, up or down. When we were hauled up, I breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t going to just toss us down into some nasty little jail cell. We were getting some kind of hearing, at least. We weren’t out of time yet.

  Thirty-Two - Kit

  I resigned myself to the capture when the Britt-bot knocked me out in the lift. Feeling sick, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The bed was insanely comfortable, so much so that under virtually any other circumstances I would have given in to sleep. I pulled back the covers and sat up. My head pounded. The room swam, but not any more than when I was badly hung-over, so I took that as a good sign. Someone had taken my shoes off. My feet sank into the plush carpet as I stood up.

  “You’re awake.” The voice came from the open doorway. It was the robot. At least, I assumed it was since she was still wearing the same clothes. I looked around, trying to find my shoes. Making a run for it probably wasn’t advisable, but I didn’t have a whole hell of a lot of other options. I wasn’t going to wait around here for that crazy bitch to make me into one of her living-dead slaves.

  “Got any aspirin?” My head felt too small for my pulsating brain. I wasn’t sure if I’d use the excuse to run or actually take painkillers if she could get them. My shoulder hurt too, I noticed, when I kneeled down to pick up my shoes.

  “I can get some. Stay in bed.”

  “I’d rather not.” I wasn’t sure if she’d try to enforce it.

  She just shrugged and moved away from the door. I went out into the main room. It was huge and luxurious, and I couldn’t believe I was getting to see what it even looked like. I fell to my knees and threw up on the floor. My head spun. I wasn’t so sure aspirin was going to help.

  I wanted to curl up in a ball on the floor and not move for a while. I got up and made it to the couch. The robot came back into view and put a glass of water and two pills on the coffee table in front of me. She patted my head like I was a dog or something.

  “You’ll feel better soon.”

  It took me ten minutes to reach for the pills and dry swallow them. I wanted the water, but I couldn’t make myself sit up. I wanted to ask what Britt wanted with me. I wanted to know where Mickey was. The robot eventually came back over.

  “Better yet? I cleaned up your mess.”

  “Thanks,” I managed, more out of polite habit than genuine gratitude. “Where’s Mickey?”

  “Who?” She frowned, looking to the right as if trying to think who I might mean.

  “He came to have his cousin’s contract voided.”

  “Oh,” she said. I still wasn’t sure she knew what I was talking about.

  “I’d like to see him.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

  “Why not?” All the horrifying possibilities ran through my head—from being captured to being made like Pete, to being killed.

  “He left.”

  “What do you mean, he left?”

  “Britt says that’s all I’ve to tell you. So…” She made a zip-lipping motion.

  I sighed. “What am I here for?”

  She unzipped and smiled. “Britt wants to speak to you.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Photo-shoot. She’ll be back. She said to keep you company.”

  Mickey had left, and Britt wanted to speak to me? I didn’t know what to think. He wouldn’t have told her about me, so how did she get my name? The simple answer was probably using her magic. She’d figured out we’d come here together, maybe.

  Where Mickey had gone was what was concerning me.

  “What about Nick? Where’s he?”

  She shrugged. “He left too. Same time.”

  “Can I see Pete?”

  “No, he left too.”

  “Same time?”

  She nodded, smiling brightly. I think she was pleased she was being helpful. If I could think better with this headache I might be working out how I could use that against her.

  “I don’t know why I’m here then.”

  If they’d left what did she need me for? It hit me hard and fast and I closed my eyes, cursing internally. She hadn’t let them leave. They’d escaped. My wandering around the damn MGM had gotten me captured after their plan had worked. Britt was probably using me as a bargaining chip to get Pete back.

  I felt the robot pat my head again. “Aw, you’ll feel better soon. I promise.”

  Thirty-Three - Mickey

  What had I done? Horror always crashed down on me after the sex. The taste of cherry lube was still in my mouth. I lick
ed my hand to try and remove it. What the hell had I been thinking? I had to steady my breathing just thinking about the depraved shit I’d caved into doing with him, again.

  Tim gave me a dark look. “Don’t,” he warned.

  I sat up quickly. What was I doing? I wasn’t even drunk. There was no excuse for this kind of behaviour. “Why do I let you do this to me?”

  “Let me? Please.” He pushed back against the pillows. “You only ever complain when we’re not touching.”

  I hauled my clothes back on quickly as if I could deny what had happened if I wasn’t naked. He didn’t move. I could almost pretend he wasn’t there until he decided to get yappy.

  “You’re gay, Mickey. Admit it already.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “I’ll fuck off when you admit it.”

  So that was his game, was it? He’d always been twisted, but this was taking it to an extreme I wouldn’t have thought he was capable of. “I’m not gay, you freaking weirdo.”

  He laughed. “So what is it that’s really bothering you? That you’re gay or that I turn you on?”

  It was all him, it was only ever him. He had to be making me feel this way. He was the only person I’d ever felt completely attracted to. That just couldn’t be right. What kind of person gets that obsessed with someone? “I’m not gay.”

  “What are you so scared of? No-one cares,” he said, opening his bedside drawer and coming out with a lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

  “I care.” I grabbed my slightly tequila stained trainers and shoved them on.

  He reached over and put a hand on my arm. “Don’t leave. I’m sorry I pushed it.”

  It was the apology that made me hesitate. He’d never said sorry before. I shook my head. “I can’t deal with this.”

  “You’re too hard on yourself.” I could hear him lighting up behind me. He tapped my arm.

  I took the cigarette and took a long draw. I could hear him doing the same behind me. I knew he’d be lying there, chest-bared against the black silk and I couldn’t turn and see that without feeling things I didn’t want to.

  “Did you ever have sex with a girl?” He sounded as calm as ever. It wasn’t a trick question, I didn’t think.

  I could have lied. He’d never have known. “No.”

  “Doesn’t that one from the pub want in your pants?”

  He was talking about Kit; she’d been my best friend for the last ten years or so. I might even love her. “I don’t want her.”

  “What about celebrities?”

  It was going to sound bad. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t fancy women,” he told me as if it was the blatant truth. Maybe it was. Fuck.

  “I guess not.” I took another draw, fingers shaking.

  “So what are you doing later?” He sounded casual, but I remembered the diary drawings and the barrage of text messages every time I left him. He wasn’t fooling anyone.

  “I’m kind of in the middle of rescuing Pete from a psycho User.” I wondered if a loose screw was a requirement for a User or if the magic just turned them that way. How could I actually be attracted to this guy?

  “Back up, what’s happening with Pete?” The bed creaked behind me, he was sitting up.

  “Pete’s an Animate now.” I had to watch what I was saying here. We were inside the castle. God only knew who could be listening. “That bitch Britt made him sign a contract in Vegas.”

  “Fuck,” Tim swore, sounding properly pissed.

  I glanced at him. The frown didn’t sit well. He got up quickly and put his cigarette in the bedside ashtray. I’d never seen him so harassed. Something was up. I leaned over and put the rest of my cigarette beside his. “What?”

  “I’ll get my ass kicked for this. One of ours got taken by that American bitch. David’s going to be pissed.” He rushed around, getting dressed in my usual haphazard style.

  “You’ve missed a button.”

  “Shit,” he said, absently, undoing his shirt again.

  I kicked glass out of my way and walked around the bed. “Don’t panic. I had a plan to get him back. Something went wrong and I ended up here instead. We’re getting him back, though.”

  I did his shirt up for him. The corners of his mouth twitched, but he didn’t break a smile. I kissed him impulsively. The little gasp it drew from him was worth it.

  “I’m gay,” I said, only slightly petrified before the thought left my lips. It didn’t feel so bad once it was out there. He didn’t laugh. For some reason, I’d thought he might.

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” He smiled. “Right. I need to get to work and you need to get out of here.”

  “But…”

  He touched me one last time. I blinked and found myself in Pete’s flat.

  “Shit!” I didn’t know where Pete and Nick had gone, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t here. Walking through the flat confirmed that thought. I went into my pockets to check my phone and found Kit’s A.I. He wasn’t activated. I wondered if he’d heard anything and shook that thought off before I could make up paranoid daydreams about him flying around town telling everyone.

  My battery was low, but my phone was working. I called Kit. The call wouldn’t connect. I called Pete and the same thing happened. I didn’t have Nick’s number to try calling him. I switched the phone off and on again and made another few attempts; same thing, every time. With a sigh, I picked up the land line and dialled Pete’s mobile. That wouldn’t connect either. They had to still be in Vegas, along with my passport.

  Cursing until the air turned blue, I paced about the flat. My neck was itchy. The bite wound would heal up if I didn’t go for another draining soon. Right now, I had other things to worry about.

  “Who goes there?” Dave called out from the kitchen, sounding like a scared little bitch.

  “Fuck off, Dave,” I shouted at him.

  “I didn’t hear the door go. How did you get in?”

  I didn’t have time to deal with dead Dave’s suspicious questions, so I ignored him. He blasted random white noise at me. I closed the kitchen door. I’d have to ask Tim for help. He was the only User I knew besides Nick. I sent him a text asking him to call me as soon as he could.

  Thirty-Four - Pete

  They left us in a room with one Guard at the door. I had no idea what was going to happen; I only knew I wasn’t going to like it. Nick had remained surprisingly chipper, in spite of losing his magic. He was glancing about at everything and making ‘Hmm’ noises. When the door finally opened again, I turned to see a big beast of a man in a military uniform with different coloured stripes from the Guards. I wish I could say I knew what the stripes meant, but I didn’t have a clue. Maybe it meant he was scarier than the Guards. I found that hard to believe, but he did sort of look like the type to be hiding a necklace of human ears under his jacket.

  “How did you break the perimeter?” he asked as he sat down in front of us.

  “We didn’t, exactly.” Nick was taking the lead, and I was more than happy to let him.

  “What does that mean, boy?”

  “It means we teleported here by accident.”

  It was true enough, at least. I got the feeling he might leave out the part about Britt messing with us. I didn’t need everyone knowing I was shitting it, and he didn’t need everyone knowing his magic was on the blink either.

  Big and scary went quiet. I did my best not to look like a rabbit caught in headlights. It was a bit like being told off by the headmaster as a kid, only my headmaster never had the power to make me join the military.

  “Well, well. What sort of accident?”

  “I don’t know, it was my first time,” Nick said, sounding sheepish. He was doing a good job of appearing incompetent. Just as well since our futures depended on it.

  The guy didn’t seem at all surprised. He gave Nick a derisory glance and turned his attention on me.

  “Ever thought about joining the Guard, son?”

  “Uh, no…” I
couldn’t believe this was happening. Could he make me sign like Britt had? My fingers dug into my arms. I wasn’t uncrossing my arms for anything.

  “You should. A young, fit man like you would go far…”

  “I don’t want to be in the Guard,” I said quickly.

  He wasn’t impressed. I didn’t need him to be.

  “Well, now. I have a little problem here, don’t I?”

  “You do?” Nick’s eyes widened.

  “How do I know this was all just an accident?”

  “It was!” I was seriously impressed by Nick’s acting. He looked ready to crack from the unfairness of it all. His eyes watered. “I didn’t mean to bring us here. Swear to the King.”

  “This Animate yours?”

  He nodded and then shook his head, tears spilling down his face. If I was him I’d be worried about rusting all that face metal. He just bawled, putting his head into his hands and sobbing loudly. I was starting to worry the act wasn’t just an act. He sounded hysterical.

  “An incompetent User is a useless one,” big and scary said, staring at me. “Are you his Animate or not?” My urge to lie died with his eyeballing me so roughly.

  “I… haven’t signed the contract yet.” Wrong thing to say and I knew it instantly.

  “Oh.” He perked right up. “Let me get the recruitment video, then.”

  He pressed a button on his desk and a woman asked him what she could get him. She called him General Stewart. One of the Guards walked in with a TV/DVD on wheels about two minutes later.

  Nick’s sobs started to die. I’d said the worst thing I could have, and I knew it. They really were going to try to sign me up regardless of what I wanted. My worst nightmare was about to be realised. Why did Nick and Mickey have to try to rescue me? I was perfectly fine right where I was in that fancy hotel with that fully stocked mini-bar.

  “Eh, I don’t want to be in the guard.”

  He ignored me and played the insanely loud recruitment tape. I covered my ears. Eventually, something happened. I got used to the noise; the weird frequency was like a kind of music I’d never heard before. I liked it, it sounded better than stupid human voices. By the end of the tape I’d made up my mind.