Coraset slowly approached the man, pointed the gun at his head and pushed at his leg with her foot. When his head came up, she noticed his dirty face was moist from tears, and his big blue eyes indicated desperation. He had a buzz cut. His skin was pale white like he hadn’t seen sun in years. He was a young man, lean in muscle tone, like a teenager’s body. Even though, he appeared to be in pain from being tied up, Coraset decided to be careful nonetheless.
She set one of the guns on top of a nearby box, and she worked to untie the rag from around his mouth. He coughed and started breathing heavy. Coraset wanted to release him completely, but it all depended on what he had to say.
“Where are they?” The boy asked as he rolled to his side.
“One is dead, and the other is chained to a bus.” Coraset answered.
“Can you release me?” The boy was trying to sit up.
“Are you with them?”
“Uh, no, I’m tied up.” He answered smartly.
Coraset didn’t let his smart remark bother her, and she shot off another question. “How many guys are here with you?”
“Only three,” Rudy answered. “Please, get me out of these things.”
Now, she understood why goggle man was looking around back at the bus. He was searching for the third guy. Coraset didn’t like this at all. One more guy and she had no idea where he was or what he looked like. He couldn’t be that far. There was nothing but desert for miles. There wasn’t water readily available and no food, unless he had those essentials with him.
“Is there cutters in here somewhere?”
“In that bag behind you,” the boy answered.
Coraset went over and pulled the black duffle bag open. She rummaged through it and found wire cutters. She went back to the boy, rolled him back on his stomach, and freed him. He rubbed at his wrists alternatively and then at his ankles. Coraset stepped back as he got to his feet.
“Thank you,” the boy said.
His kindness surprised Coraset. She hadn’t heard a ‘thank you’ in years.
“You’re welcome,” she responded guardedly.
The boy grabbed the bag Coraset got the cutters out of, and he put on his socks and shoes. He snapped out a shirt and put it on quickly.
“I’m so glad you came along. My name is Rudy.” He extended his hand.
“Coraset,” she answered, not reciprocating the gesture.
“Oh, so you’re Coraset,” he remarked as he zipped his bag closed.
“You know my name, too?” Coraset asked as she stood right in front of him. She had both guns in her hands again, but her stance wasn’t guarded.
“Those guys talked about you.”
“What did they say?”
Rudy hesitated before answering, “They were going to kill you.”
Coraset clearly understood what was going on. It was Warden Cobb. It had to be. He was seeking revenge for the murder of his two guards, and he was pissed about her being released. It was more than obvious he hired three guys from the prison to kill her.
“Do you know them?”
“Uh, heck no,” Rudy remarked with a shake of his head.
“Is there another place out in the desert someone can lay low?”
“No, this shack here is it. There isn’t anything else for miles.”
“That means the last guy is close by.”
Rudy shifted his hands to his side in clear worry and asked, “What should we do?”
“You’re not going to do anything. They’re after me. Are they all armed?”
“One of them had a gun,” he answered.
Coraset headed out of the shack.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the bus,” she answered.
Coraset liked the fact she could see for miles. The landscape was flat and rocky, and then it erupted into dark hills in the far north and east. She knew she had a better advantage of dealing with the unknown man if she saw him coming. If she stayed in the wooden hut, he could get close. He might even jump her when she came out.
When Coraset returned to the bus, the sun was baking the outer shell. The heat streams waved up into the atmosphere making the area around the bus much hotter. Goggle man was sitting up. He used his belt to try and cutoff the flow of blood to his bleeding wound. The dirt floated in the pool under his calf. Rudy saw how serious his wound was and crossed his arm in disgust. He gawked at the crashed bus, then out at the dead guy beside the road. He wondered if Coraset was responsible for all that damage.
Coraset asked goggle man, “Where is your friend?”
The man was sweating and had his goggles pulled over his eyes again. He looked away from Coraset.
“I asked you a question,” she said as she lowered towards him.
“I don’t know, but he’s going to kill you when he gets back.”
She threatened, “I’m going to put a bullet through your other leg if you don’t tell me where he is.”
He yelled with irritation, “I don’t know where he’s at. He’s out here somewhere watching, I guess!”
“Who hired you to kill me?”
“I can-”
Before goggle man could finish his sentence, the last guy ran from behind the other side of the bus and tackled Rudy. He was a huge, muscle bound guy, dressed with dark tattoos on his neck and biceps, and he wore a t-shirt, leather vest, and denim jeans. Rudy didn’t have a chance. He punched Rudy in the face knocking him unconscious. Muscle man was about to lay another shot to Rudy, but he stopped when he heard Coraset pull back the hammers of both guns. She was a good distance away from them, and she moved to get a good front aim at his head.
With muscle man’s attention fully on her, he stood slowly. He took mental note of her small frame. She was shorter. It was hard for him to believe that a woman like her was capable of killing two prison guards. Those men trained for prison riots, worked out, and they weren’t easy to square up against. How did she get the best of them? Muscle man eyed her from head to toe. Obviously, they underestimated this woman, but he was determined not to make that same mistake.
He asked with a panting deep voice, “You know how to use that gun?”
Coraset took one step backwards improving the accuracy of her aim to his forehead as an answer. She wasn’t going to give him the benefit of a conversation. That’s all she needed was for him to get the upper hand because she was complacent.
“You need to relax, girl. We don’t need guns, right?” He began moving his hands behind his jeans.
Coraset wasn’t about to wait and see what he was about to do. She fired twice with both weapons, and he dropped heavy to the ground next to Rudy. Muscle man’s face was a bloody mess as he lay dead.
Goggle man stared at the once giant of a man. He yelled and yanked his chained arm, angry that his friend was shot dead in front of him.
Coraset went over to Rudy to rouse him. Once he woke, she helped him back to his feet. Rudy was surprised to see the giant. He looked at Coraset amazed. She didn’t wait for his questions. She started back for the shelter, and Rudy followed behind her, every so often looking back at the damage.
He was grateful to have her there, felt relieved that those men would never bother him again, and he stumbled to his knees trying to stay his emotions. Coraset went back to his side, crouched beside him, and patiently waited for him to pull himself together.
She immediately understood Rudy was a child. He was definitely older than eighteen years old, but his mind wasn’t ready for him to be an adult. Coraset could tell he was unscathed and good at heart, and it was unfortunate that he was out there. Then the worse part, he was alone with those festers of society, and there was no telling how long he was out there with them or what they did to him. Coraset wasn’t going to ask Rudy. She wasn’t going to make him relive anything negative that could have or might have happened. The only thing she hoped in his case was that those men didn’t break his spirit. Coraset patiently and quietly waited with him as he poured his relief through sa
lty tears.
Once Rudy was ready to continue on, they walked side by side back to the shack. Coraset picked up her blue bag out of the circle and followed him inside. She sat down in a cleared corner and leaned her head back to close her eyes to rest and think. Coraset figured if Warden Cobb was sending another bus, it’d be at least another hour before it got there, and there was no telling what she had to deal with then.
Rudy sat across from her, bringing his knees up to his chest. He was nowhere near tired, and he watched her with questions brewing in his mind. He let her be but hoped to speak to her soon.
CHAPTER THREE
Coraset felt something strange in her hands, and she opened her eyes to find a ready to eat meal. She lifted it to read the black print.
“Dinner,” Rudy said as he scooped out the last of his tuna from a small silver tin.
The room was lit by two lamps. Coraset went to sit close to him and asked, “Where did you find this?”
“The boxes,” Rudy said as he pointed his finger around the room. He set the tuna aside and began eating the crackers.
Coraset opened the package, and she pulled out beef with black beans. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she started eating.
“Where did the boxes come from?” She asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe, the prison had people out here at one time.” He said as he reached for a small container of water that was behind him. He gave it to Coraset.
“Thanks,” Coraset said.
“Sure,” Rudy remarked. “Coraset, can I ask you a question?”
“I supposed so,” she answered.
“How did you kill all those guys and crash the bus?”
“I only killed the big dude. The bus driver and the guy up the road killed each other. The bus flipped when the driver was trying to get away from him.”
“You handcuffed Dewey to the bus?”
“Yes,” Coraset continued eating as she answered. “That’s the guy’s name? Dewey?”
“Yeah, did you shoot him, too?”
“Yes,” Coraset started drinking her water.
“They are idiots.” Rudy noted.
Coraset didn’t comment. She was starving and thirsty. Rudy watched her a bit, trying to figure her out. Why was she wearing the orange jumpsuit? She must have killed someone, and how was it she was still alive? The Federation was intolerant of murderers. He noticed her green eyes and long ponytail. He figured she was older than him but that didn’t take away from her beauty.
She happened to catch him staring, and Rudy reacted by standing and going to a box to get wet wipes. He sat back down, started pulling two out at a time and wiping down his hands and arms.
“How did you get out here, Rudy?” Coraset asked.
“I was released from prison with those guys early this morning. I thought we were headed to Baker, but the bus dropped us out here instead.”
“When did you find out they were going to kill me?”
“They talked about it after we got here.”
“Did they say anything about the warden?”
Rudy answered, “I heard them say that the warden wanted you dead, but they didn’t say why. They also said that the warden promised he’d get them out of here and set them up in Selatan once they took care of you.”
Coraset was satisfied that she knew the truth behind the inmates and the warden and decided to put those men out of her mind. They were no longer a problem anyway. She finished her food and cleaned herself up with the wet wipes Rudy brought out.
“You know, we’re stuck here. The warden isn’t going to send anyone to pick us up. I tried to tell those guys the same thing, but they wouldn’t listen to me.”
“I wasn’t depending on the warden anyway. I am getting out of here regardless.”
“How? There’s no bus coming, no taxi-”
“Walking, Rudy, that’s the only way.”
“Do you know how long the walk will take?”
“Probably 12 hours, and I figured if I leave at nightfall tomorrow, I’ll make it there before the sun rises.”
“I want to go with you, Coraset.”
“I figured you would.”
“Where are we headed?”
“We have to get to the prison first.”
Rudy jumped in front of her with renewed hope and asked, “Okay, so after we get to the prison, then what?”
“I’ll get us a ride and we’ll head to Baker.” Coraset answered.
“Where are we headed after we get to Baker?”
“I’m going to the Barat Region,” she answered before scrubbing her face.
“That’s where I need to go, too. Why don’t we just drive all the way there?”
“Because I plan on stealing a car, and we don’t want to be caught with it,” Coraset answered as she cleaned up the mess she made. She tossed everything in an open box of garbage. “I have another way back to Barat. It’s safer. We just need to make it to Baker before the late morning.”
“But how are you going to steal a ride? Everyone working at the prison parks their cars inside the prison, or they take a shuttle bus out there.”
Coraset smiled, but she never answered his question.
“I don’t know about this, Coraset.”
“Don’t worry, Rudy. It’ll work out.”
A silence fell between them. Coraset went outside to stare up at the star filled night sky. She hadn’t seen such a sight in over a year, and she suddenly realized how much she missed the stars and the moon. Something so far away, never to be touched, only to be seen, and she adored it nonetheless. The celestial bodies were the only sure thing to remain familiar despite everything else that changed in her life.
Rudy joined her. He shoved his hands in his pockets taking in the view, as well.
CHAPTER FOUR
The morning arrived and Coraset stood outside the hut holding a packet of lukewarm water. She felt well rested, and she was in somewhat of a good mood despite where she was. She looked out onto the desert. The earth was already radiating heat.
Rudy came out stretching and yawning. He scratched at the sand stuck to his back and stomach.
“Good morning, Coraset.”
“Morning, Rudy,” she answered.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking in the moment,” she said as she glanced quickly at him.
“Are we still leaving tonight?”
“That’s the plan. We have to go through the boxes to see what we can take, but we have to carry light.”
“I can tell you what’s in most of them. There are bandages, gauze, aspirin, and some kind of ointments. One has nothing but ready to eat meals. There are snack packs in there, water, and some other stuff.”
Coraset turned and went back inside. She asked Rudy who was following close behind her, “I’ll have to use the other bag. Who did it belong to?”
“I believe it belonged to the big dude you shot yesterday.”
“Well, he won’t need it now.” Coraset commented as she went over to the far corner to drag out the bag. She placed it in the center of the floor and unzipped it. Inside were muscle man orange prison jumpsuit, his clean underwear, and a shaving kit. Coraset tossed all of those things except the shaving kit back into the corner and started searching through the boxes, only taking things they needed for the trip. They quietly packed for a while until Rudy couldn’t take the silence anymore. His increasing curiosity about Coraset was eating at him.
He asked as he sat in front of his bag crossed legs, “Coraset, do you have family?”
“No,” she answered without interest. “Actually, I do. I have a stepfather.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in Barat.” Coraset answered quickly.
Rudy noticed her answers were short, and he got the feeling she didn’t want to talk about her family. He let it go and returned to straightening the items in his bag.
Coraset finished packing, satisfied with what she had. She saw that Rudy craved convers
ation. It was understandable. He was like a kid, eager to be heard, eager to listen to something interesting. Even with the both of them there, he was lonely.
She sat down across from him and asked, “What about you? Do you have family?”
Rudy’s face lightened up, and he answered, “I have my sister, thank God. Her name is Alice. She lives in Barat, too.”
“How old is she?” Coraset asked.
“She’s thirty something. That’s what she tells me. I don’t get the something part.”
Coraset laughed understanding what his sister meant and explained, “It simply means she’s over thirty but below forty. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty years old,” Rudy stated.
“Only twenty,” Coraset said as she smiled, thinking back to when she was that age. “I was in college studying international law when I was twenty.”
“What did you do after you graduated?”
“I started working for Erato Biotrade in charge of its worldwide humanitarian efforts.” Coraset felt a little pride, but it quickly fizzled to a dull feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Sounds really important,” he stated.
“It was.”
“Is that what you used to do before you went to prison?”
Coraset wasn’t expecting so many questions, but she didn’t mind. It was refreshing to speak to another person after being in solitary confinement for a year and a half. She answered, “No, I was a horticulturist.”
Rudy gave her a strange look. “So, you went from having an important position at Erato Biotrade to being a gardener in the Federation to a dangerous inmate in the Mojave Prison?”
She laughed and answered, “Well, I was accused of murdering a police officer. That’s how I ended up in the Mojave Prison.”
“Did you really kill a police officer?”
“No.”
“So, why didn’t you stay a humanitarian?” Rudy shifted intently listening.
“There is no such position in the Federation, and if it did exist, I wouldn’t take it. Before the outbreak, Erato Biotrade was the leading company in the world when it came to altruism. Then it was like they stopped caring. They did nothing to stop the N12 Virus. I believe they had the vaccine all along. I used to have so much pride working for that company. Now, I really don’t want anything to do with them. That’s why I’m a gardener.” Coraset spoke with a bitter attitude, and she gave a quick angry smile.
The Secret Weapon Page 3