I grab Boom Boom’s arm. “C’mon, Firecracker, let’s wait this thing out. It’s not over yet.”
We walk back into the cave. Dorothy’s still crouched down with her fingers in her ears. She cracks open her eyes and shakily asks,” Is it gone?”
I nod. “Yes, we’re safe… for now.”
Dorothy exhales a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Those things freak me out.”
Boom Boom goes to check on Krystal. I take off my goggles and lay them on the ground. I press a button on the side and a dull light emanates from the lenses, illuminating the cave in a soft, white glow.
Now that we can see our surroundings I immediately wish I left us in the dark. Thousands of creepy, crawly critters are clinging to the walls and peeking out from all the cracks and crevices. Giant spiders as big as my fists hang from monstrous, intricate webs. The webs are also filled with dozens of other larger, dead insects. (I think I now know how the spider got so big.) There are giant centipedes with hundreds of legs scurrying all over the place. And glowing eyes peek out at us from the back. I don’t know what they are until one of the critters runs up to us for a closer look.
It’s a rat.
Boom Boom and Dorothy scream and run over to me, clinging to my arms.
“Ahh! I hate rats!” Dorothy shrieks, burying her head into my chest.
“So do I!” Boom Boom cries. “Kill it! Kill it!”
I burst out laughing. “Seriously? You can stare down an army of mass-murdering gangsters, but you see one rat and you freak out?”
Boom Boom slaps my arm. “Don’t make fun of us!”
Dorothy slaps my other arm. “Yeah. We’re girls. Rats are one of our worst fears.”
“And besides, it’s not one rat. There are thousands of them.” Boom Boom points a quivering finger at the dozen or so glowing eyes staring at us curiously.
I’m about to tell Boom Boom she’s exaggerating their numbers ever so slightly, but I bite my tongue. I really don’t want to get hit again.
Krystal flaps her wrist. “Y’all are crazy. Rats are harmless. I mean, yeah they may nibble on your toes if you fall asleep…”
Dorothy and Boom Boom shriek again and dig their nails into my hands and neck. I really wish Krystal would shut up.
“… but other than that… wait, is that… is that a giant spider?!”
Krystal whips out her gun and points it into the back.
I hold out my hands and shout, “Krystal, wait!”
She doesn’t hear me. “Eat lead and die, you eight-legged freak!”
Krystal unloads her gun. The spider scurries up its web and disappears into a crack. The rats squeal and run into cracks as well, as do all the other bugs.
The bats hanging from the ceiling in the back, however, are a different story. Hundreds of them flutter past us and explode out of the cave. I don’t know what’s louder, the bats’ high-pitched squealing, or the girls’ screaming. (Although to be honest, I may have screamed, too.)
The bats only take a few seconds to clear out, but the girls scream for a long time afterwards. They finally settle down once they realize the bats are gone.
“Omigod, omigod, omigod, I can’t take much more of this,” Dorothy gasps, waving her hands in front of her face. “Wild West gunfights, tornados, rats, bats… I’m about to have a heart attack!”
“Shh, calm down, Dorothy. Everything’s fine now. All the bats and rats and tornados are gone.”
I lead her back over to my ‘goggle lamp’ and sit down with her, rubbing her back in an attempt to prevent her from hyperventilating. I think it works because her breathing slows down and she stops shaking.
We all hunker down and wait for the storm to pass. Boom Boom keeps an eye on the weather report and gives us periodical updates. So far it’s estimated over 50 tornados have spun off from the storm, hitting cities and towns all across Western Canada and the central U.S. (There’s probably been way more, but since most of the interior of the country is nothing but desert, there aren’t a lot of people there to document them.) It’s too early for reporters to know the exact number of casualties, but so far over 100 people have been killed and hundreds more are wounded and missing. Thankfully the storm is nowhere near Sanctuary 7. Harpoon hates thunderstorms with a passion.
Dorothy leans against my chest as I stroke her hair. We talk quietly so we don’t make Boom Boom angry. It doesn’t matter, though. Even our whispers echo throughout the cave.
Boom Boom finally stands up and walks past my goggles. The light briefly flashes across her anguished face, giving her a ghostly appearance.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
Without turning around, Boom Boom says, “My head is killing me. I need some air.”
“But the storm…”
“The worst of it has passed. I just checked the radar. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Get some rest. We have a long hike tomorrow.”
Boom Boom steps outside and walks out of sight. The rain isn’t coming down nearly as hard as it was, and the crackles of thunder have drastically decreased in frequency, but I still don’t like her being outside by herself. I’m tempted to go after her, but I don’t want to leave Dorothy. She’s still freaked out from the tornado.
Krystal sprawls out on the ground behind my goggles and starts snoring. Dorothy and I are alone.
“You don’t think Boom Boom is mad at us for… you know, talking… cuddling?” Dorothy asks tentatively.
“If she is, she shouldn’t be,” I say bluntly. “We dated several times in the past, and it never worked out. She’s the one who broke it off the last time. I think she’s just upset Arrow betrayed her. I don’t know why she was shocked, though. I’ve been saying for years the guy’s a total douche.”
Dorothy suddenly shivers. I pull her even closer to transfer some of my body heat. The storm brought in a cold front behind it. I’d build a fire, but I don’t think that would be smart to do in a cave with no ventilation.
“I just don’t want there to be tension between us,” Dorothy says, stifling a yawn.
“Boom Boom has a lot of personal demons,” I say. “You and she actually have more in common than you think.”
“How so?”
I bite my lip. I really shouldn’t tell her this. Boom Boom hates when it’s brought up, which is why Krystal and I never do. But I feel like I can trust Dorothy. I don’t quite know what it is, but there’s a certain raw innocence to her, despite all the terrible atrocities she’s had to endure. It’s like I feel the need to protect her from the evils of the world. I’ve never felt that way about any other girl, not even Boom Boom. (Although to be fair, Boom Boom is the last woman on Earth to need any protection.)
It’s then that I realize I’m beginning to have the same feelings for Dorothy that I once felt for Boom Boom. I’m falling for her… hard and fast. I decide I should try and trust her. If nothing else this will let me know if I can.
“Boom Boom used to be a sex slave, too,” I say.
“Really?” Dorothy asks, her eyes wide with shock.
“Yep. Uncle Dagger found her on the streets outside the slums of Chicago about five years ago. Her pimp approached his car while he was on a mission. Dagger was about to tell the pimp to buzz off, but then he saw Boom Boom standing off to the side, looking way too young to be wearing her skimpy outfit. Dagger got out of the car and made quick work of the pimp.”
“So what happened after that?” Dorothy asks eagerly.
“Well, Boom Boom wasn’t the first sex slave Dagger rescued, nor would she be the last. Whenever he came across children or teens working the streets, he usually killed their pimps and took the kids to a shelter. He was about to do that with Boom Boom when one of the pimp’s thugs came up from behind and fired several shots at his back.
Most of the shots were deflected by Dagger’s bulletproof best, but one hit his arm. Dagger dropped his gun and fell to the ground.”
Dorothy bites her nails. My story has her on the edge of her seat.
<
br /> “Dagger turned around to find the gangbanger hovering over him, pointing a gun at his head. A split-second later he heard Boom! Boom! At first he thought he got shot, but then he noticed two red holes on the gangbanger’s chest. The gangbanger spit up blood and collapsed into a dying heap. Dagger turned his head and found Boom Boom standing off to the side, clutching his smoking gun in her tiny, trembling hands. He decided to bring her home as payback for saving his life.”
“That’s so awesome!” Dorothy exclaims.
“On a side note, that’s how Boom Boom got her name, from the gunshots she fired. Her street name was Sapphire, but Dagger hated that, for obvious reasons.”
“Wow, our lives really are similar.”
“That’s why Boom Boom always feels compelled to help girls on the street, especially young ones like you and Sally.”
Dorothy’s eyes tear up when I mention Sally. I decide not to mention her again.
“I’m really glad you told me that story, Lance. If Boom Boom can go through what I did and turn out so brave and awesome, then maybe I can, too. She’s such an inspiration.”
I grab Dorothy’s hands and give them a gentle squeeze. “You are brave and awesome. Just for surviving and persevering.”
Dorothy leans forward and kisses me on the lips. I kiss her back. The kissing soon turns passionate. We close our eyes and run our fingers through each other’s hair, all the while keeping our lips pressed together. I haven’t made out with anyone since Boom Boom and I broke up. I forgot how much I enjoyed it.
My eyes snap open when Dorothy tries to undo my belt. Her other hand is behind her back, as if she’s trying to take off her blouse. Part of me wants this to continue, but my conscience won’t allow it.
I back away and pull Dorothy’s hand off of my buckle. She slowly opens her eyes and frowns.
“What’s wrong, Lance?”
“I… I’m sorry, Dorothy. I really like you… a lot… but this is all wrong. We’ve moving way too fast.”
Dorothy looks confused. “But I thought all guys like this.”
Now I’m really glad I stopped things. She’s only doing this because Big Daddy brainwashed her into thinking all guys were like him… a sleazy, perverted scumbag.
“No, Dorothy. That part of your life is over. You deserve a good guy who respects you, who likes you for the person you are inside, not what you are on the outside. This is not how normal relationships work. How about we take things a bit slower?”
A smile slowly materializes across Dorothy’s lips.
“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
“Good,” I say, smiling back. I hold out my arm and she snuggles against my chest. We both lay on the wet blanket and close our eyes. Moments later she’s asleep.
I don’t move for quite some time because I don’t want to disrupt her. I try to fall asleep, too, but my mind won’t stop racing. I keep thinking about so many things… our insane mission to hunt down Mikhail, Arrow and Machete ditching us, the prospect of war between China and the U.S., the hit Caesar put out on us, how much I miss Dagger, how much I miss my parents, whether Blade and Harpoon are behaving for Ms. Madison and Beverly, and whether or not Boom Boom will ever overcome her addiction… an addiction she still doesn’t think I know about.
After a while I begin to get concerned that Boom Boom hasn’t returned from her walk. I slide out from under Dorothy and lower her head onto the blanket. Then I check the time on my goggles. She’s been gone for well over an hour. I’d better go look for her.
I step outside, side-stepping all the tree limbs the tornado dumped in front of the cave. The rain is now just a light drizzle, but the ground is soggy. My boots sink into the mud every time I take a step. The dark clouds have started to move out, allowing moonlight to filter through the cracks. The twister is long gone, but its path of annihilation remains.
At first I’m not sure where Boom Boom could have gone, but then I notice a trail of footprints leading up the side of the hill that the cave is part of. I follow the trail up the hill and immediately find her. She’s leaning against a tree stump, facing me, but she doesn’t say anything. Her goggles are still on, so I can’t tell from her eyes, but I’m almost positive she’s asleep. I can tell from her slowed breathing and the fact she’s not hurling insults at me.
I go to carry her back inside the cave. That turns out to be a horrible mistake. As soon as I touch her, Boom Boom jumps up and punches me in the face. I fall flat on my butt and clutch my nose. Blood trickles through my fingers.
Boom Boom kneels beside me. “Lance, I’m so sorry! You startled me.”
“It’s my fault,” I say in a nasally voice. “I should know better than to wake up a hormonal teen girl who knows karate and Kung Fu.”
Boom Boom plops down next to me. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep out here. I just had to get out of that dark, rat-infested cave. My claustrophobia was off the charts.”
I nod but don’t say anything. We both sit there for quite some time, neither of us saying a word. I find the silence unsettling. Usually we talk to each other nonstop. (Most of the time we bicker, but we we’re still talking.) Boom Boom puts her head in between her knees and starts shaking again. She’s in rough shape.
I open my mouth to say something when Boom Boom blurts, “Do you love her?”
I’m taken aback by the question. “Who?” I ask, even though I know precisely what she’s talking about.
Boom Boom glares at me over the edges of her shades. “Dorothy. Do you love her?”
“I haven’t known her long enough to love her.” I pause for a moment, not sure if I should tell Boom Boom how I really feel. I finally decide there’s no sense in lying. Boom Boom can read me like a book anyway.
“I do like her, though. A lot.”
“Hmph. Well, I hope you two have a happy life together.”
I frown. Boom Boom’s addiction is messing with her head. She’s never this petty.
“You know it never works out when we get together, Firecracker,” I say quietly.
Boom Boom sniffles and adjusts her goggles. She doesn’t want me to see her tears. “I know. I didn’t mean to snap. I just wish I could find someone I could trust… someone I can fall in love with. I actually began to think Arrow might be that person. Last night he was saying all the right things. Now I realize he was playing me like a fiddle. What irks me more than anything is that you’re the only guy I’ve ever been able to trust. That’s why it hurts when I see other women clinging to you. It’s petty, I know, but…”
Boom Boom sniffles again. I grab her hands and say, “Things never work out between us because our personalities clash. We’re like water and oil… fire and ice. We’re terrific friends… best friends, even… but we were never meant to be a couple. That doesn’t mean you won’t eventually find someone you can love and trust. You’re smart, beautiful, a good, decent person… you deserve way better than that ass-clown, Arrow. Hell, you deserve way better than me.”
Boom Boom chuckles. “That’s one thing I love most about you… your self-deprecating humor. You really are too hard on yourself. You’re a great guy, Lance. Dorothy is lucky to have you. She deserves some happiness.”
“So do you, Firecracker,” I say, kissing her hand. “I will always be here for you. We may never end up as a couple, but I still l… I still lo…”
I shake my head and sigh. I don’t know why I can’t spit it out. Maybe it’s because I really don’t love Boom Boom. That shocks me. I thought I always did.
Boom Boom yanks her hands from mine. “Don’t hurt yourself, Lance.”
She then moans and grabs her head again.
“Alright, Boom Boom, I’m done pretending nothing’s wrong with you.” I pop open my belt buckle.
“What are you talking about?” Boom Boom asks.
I pull out a small bag of pills and dangle them in her face. She gasps when she sees them.
“You’re obviously going through withdrawal. I don’t like that you’re a
ddicted to these things, just like you hate that I smoke pot, but you can’t just quit your addiction cold turkey, especially when we’re on a dangerous mission. We need you at your best. Blade and Harpoon are counting on us to get back to take care of them.”
I place the pills in Boom Boom’s palm. “Take them. Please.”
Boom Boom falters. “I… I don’t know what to say. I mean, how did you know? I was so careful. I never bought pills while you were around. I certainly never took them in front of you.”
“You obviously weren’t too careful. I’ve known for about a year. I never gave you a hard time, even when you kept harassing me about my pot, because we all need a little something to help numb the pain.”
“So you take pills, too?” Boom Boom asks.
“No. I just bring them with me in case you need them. Like I said, I need you at your best.”
Boom Boom continues staring at the pills. I can tell she really wants them… that she needs them. So I’m shocked when she crumples the bag in her hands and tosses it into the flattened forest.
“Hey, those were expensive,” I gripe.
“Sorry Lance, but I decided I don’t want to be a pill head anymore. I decided to stop when Sally got shot and I actually considered not giving her my pills, even as she lay there in horrible agony. I didn’t like what I was becoming… a soulless monster. I may be hurting now, but in the long run I’m saving my soul.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” I grab my few remaining joints from my utility belt and hold them up in the air.
“If you’re quitting cold turkey, then so am I.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Boom Boom asks.
“I never have any good ideas,” I say with a smirk. I crumple the joints in my palm and toss them into the forest with Boom Boom’s pills. “There, now we can be miserable together.”
Boom Boom smiles. “You really are a good guy, Lance.”
“I always suspected I was, but I wasn’t completely sure,” I say, cracking a grin.
A branch behind us suddenly snaps. Boom Boom and I spin around and aim our guns at…
“Arrow?” Boom Boom cries.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I growl, cocking my gun.
Highway To Armageddon Page 21