Kumi stared at her, blood trailing from the corner of one eye. Her lower lip had taken the brunt of the fall to the floor earlier and looked like mangled sausage. Blood soaked her teeth, staining them the color of merlot. She was suddenly a lot less formidable and more like the young Asian girl who'd introduced herself to Rebecca in the retro-faux apartment where they'd first met.
"Why didn't you let me go?" Rebecca finally asked.
"I can't."
"I thought I was free. I thought you said I'd served my time."
Kumi tried to push Rebecca off, but didn't have the leverage. "You'll never understand this world, Rebecca." She gave up in exasperation and stared with hate-filled eyes. "There's so much going on that you don't know anything about. You're too naive to survive."
"Is that why you killed my brother?" Rebecca spat.
"He died so we could get you away from the police."
Rebecca's eyes widened as she realized the meaning of those words. "But how could you have him killed? You work for the police."
Kumi explained with all the disdain she could muster. "I might work for the police, but that's not who I am. We would have killed a hundred more people if that's what it took. We needed you and there was nothing that was going to stop me."
"Me? Why me?"
"To save my father," Kumi said, the words delivered in a reverent whisper.
"Your father?"
"He's dying. Through some quirk of genetics, you're as near a match as they come. Without your organs, he'll die."
"Without my organs I'll die," Rebecca said trying to reason with the absurdity of the situation.
Kumi shrugged and turned her face away. "This is my father I'm talking about. If there's any chance at all, I have to try to save him, no matter what it takes. I'm sorry it turned out to be you, Rebecca. I liked you as much as one like me can like another."
"You sure have a lethal way of showing it. First my brother, and now me. Was it you who killed him?"
Kumi regarded Rebecca. "Do you mean did I wield the instrument that killed him? No."
"But you were involved."
Kumi didn't speak but the answer was in her eyes.
Catastrophic emotions of murder and revenge swept through Rebecca. She wanted nothing less than to kill Kumi. The part of her that had raised the little boy named David wanted to exact retribution for his death as an adult. Rebecca felt her humanity sliding away with each heartbeat, as desires to rip and rend the other woman sent tendrils of control through Rebecca's arms and legs. She couldn't help herself. She reached out quickly and snatched the nearest baton from the ground. In one angry move she placed the working end against Kumi's left breast and pressed. The effect was instantaneous as the current shot through both of them locking them in a jittering dance, teeth gnashing, tendons rippling, muscles clenching. Even if Rebecca had wanted to, she was unable to let go.
Kumi rocked and rolled beneath her, eyes bulging and spittle flying from her mouth. The agony being electrically etched onto the once beautiful woman's face was almost payment enough for David's death. But nothing would be enough. Nothing would ever bring him back. Not even her own death. The current had an irredeemable hold on each of them and would not let go. Kumi screamed first, her voice ragged with pain, screeching beginning from deep inside her that rose in decibels until Rebecca joined in, hers a wounded tenor of loss and regret, scraping past each death on the way out and reopening the wounds. Their voices merged into a fantastic song of agony, every rising, ever ragged.
Then Rebecca was flying through the air. She landed against the wall hard enough to dislodge the baton from her grip, but she felt no pain. Her body was still abuzz with electricity, the power short-circuiting her nerves as it coursed back and forth through her nervous system.
Through blurred vision she saw Andy kneeling in front of her. "Rebecca, speak to me." He smacked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Rebecca, are you okay?"
She tried to answer but her mouth ignored her command.
"Jesus." Andy wiped her forehead. "What have you done to yourself? Are you crazy? You could have died!"
"Don't care," Rebecca managed to say through cracked lips.
"Bull. I know you care. You're just pissed off."
"Pithed," she said, her tongue refusing to lift from the floor of her mouth. Pain climbed from her spine, then spread into her limbs. She arched her back and moaned. "Owwww."
"What is it?" Andy's eyes searched hers.
Rebecca clenched her fists, then her toes. She shook her head and flexed her shoulders and the pain returned like a freight train and slammed into her. She gasped, but when Andy sought to hold her more tightly, she pushed him away. "Need to breathe," she finally managed to say.
A scream erupted from the hallway. Other fighting had occurred while their drama took place. Pitched battles still raged in the hall. Andy glanced hurriedly towards the doorway, then back at Rebecca. "Come on, Bec. We need to get out of here." He shook her shoulder. "Snap out of it."
"All right." Rebecca managed to shove him aside as she tried to get to her feet. Using the wall she made it on her second try.
She looked down at her hand. Where she'd gripped the baton, the skin had blackened and peeled back; beneath was raw red oozing muscle. Reaching down, she ripped a piece of material from a sheet pinned to the floor by the overturned bed, then wrapped her hand. She wasn't going to get it fixed anytime soon, but at least she could keep it from getting any worse.
Ready, she turned towards Andy, who stared at the floor across the room. She followed his gaze and noted the empty space. Kumi was gone.
They looked at each other and read the fear in each other's eyes. Based on what Kumi had said, she wouldn't be done with Rebecca until she was dead. There was no telling what Kumi was planning, or whether she'd already regrouped and was coming back with reinforcements. They needed to get out of there.
"What's the plan?" Rebecca asked.
Andy ripped his POD free from his waistband and noted the look from Rebecca as he began to place it over his eyes. "This was shielded from the EMPs." He set it in place and flicked the switch. Ten seconds later he removed it and reattached it to his belt. "Good news or bad news."
"What?"
"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"
She'd noticed that the sounds of the fight had died down to almost nothing. No, they had completely disappeared. What happened to everyone? She had a bad feeling. "Give me the bad news."
"The police have the building surrounded and are mounting a charge. Here, give me a hand, will you?" Andy dragged the door that had been ripped from its hinges over to the corner of the room. Pushing Rebecca into the corner, he placed the composite polymer barrier across the two walls, effectively blocking her in. "Get down and wait for me."
Rebecca did as he said, the agony in her hand rendering her incapable of arguing. She tried to cradle her hand, but the pain raged from within. Nothing she could do could make it stop. She tried to think of something else. Anything. She placed her hand ever so gently on her lap, then asked through clenched teeth, "What's the good news?"
"Thought you'd never ask," came his response from the other side of the door. "The good news is that we don't have to go out. We need to go down." He ran and leaped over the door, all but falling on her as he struggled to turn and bring his hands and arms over both their heads.
"What are you—"
An explosion jarred the room, stealing the air from Rebecca's lungs, leaving the rest of her question unasked. Debris and dust ricocheted off the walls and the ceiling, raining down on them, coating their skin and getting into their lungs. She coughed and managed to suck more dust into her lungs. After a few seconds, Andy pushed the door away and stood. Helping Rebecca to her feet, he hurried to the gaping hole now in the middle of the floor. As Rebecca joined him and looked down, the face of a Day Eater came into view, laughing eyes above a black and white plaid face scarf. Another joined the first, each of them holding a blanket betwe
en them.
Andy coughed into the crux of his arm, then gestured towards the hole. "You first."
She didn't hesitate.
She jumped.
Chapter 26
Running as fast as they could, Rebecca and Andy couldn't keep up with the Day Eaters whose loping gait ate up the loose dirt path in front of them. The fresh dirt of the tunnel gave way to concrete, and as they passed a needle-shaped construction machine with its halogen lights pointing the way they'd come, Rebecca saw how'd they'd moved the earth beneath her prison—some kind of underground earthmover capable of creating burrows and tunnels.
But they passed this and kept going, deeper beneath the city where the subways used to run. Over cracked cement, and across great spans of cobblestone floor, with Rebecca struggling to keep up. Twice she fell, waving Andy off and getting back to her feet herself. After twenty minutes the two rag-clad men generously paused for a rest at an abandoned subway turnaround, a single rail continuing into the earth like the spine of some great beast. Rebecca and Andy fell to their knees, gasping for breath.
When Rebecca had recovered enough to speak, she asked Andy, "Did you hear what she said?"
"She killed David." Andy accepted the water passed to him from a Day Eater, took a drink, and passed it on to Rebecca. As she drank, he continued, "She was after you from the beginning. The Black Hearts. The police." He shook his head. "She even tried to make you believe I was after you."
Rebecca finished and passed back the water flask. She shrugged as she spoke. "She manipulated me well. I'm sorry Andy. I should have believed you in the first place."
"I don't know about that. She was good at what she did."
"Did you hear what it was about? Organs. She wanted my organs for her father." Rebecca rubbed her eyes. "I hate this world, Andy. I hate the fact that our bodies don't belong to us."
"Maybe we can change all of that, Bec."
She didn't reply just peeled back the bandage on her hand.
"Let me take a look at that." Andy got the water back and doused the wound liberally, cleaning away debris that had found its way past the bandage barrier. Rebecca hissed as the liquid hit the wound and made it throb all over again. When he was satisfied, he rewrapped her hand. "We need to get this taken care of when we get there."
"Where's there? You haven't told me where we're going. Don't we have Panchet to save?"
Andy grinned. "Panchet doesn't need saving."
"Why were we looking for him, then?"
"We wanted the police to think that he'd gone missing and that we didn't know where he was. Truth be told, he left for Mammoth Cave three days ago to put the finishing touches on the hardware. We needed to confuse the powers that be. The last thing we needed is for them to find out about Mammoth Cave."
"And you didn't tell me because—"
"You had enough stuff to deal with already. Plus you would have found out when we got there anyway."
"You still haven't told me where there is."
"Haven't you guessed? We're going to Mammoth Cave."
"When?"
"Now." He gestured at the two Day Eaters, "Abraham is the one who organized your rescue. We had two dozen fighters up top and these guys down below for Plan B. The police had you for three days. We didn't know what they were doing to you. Abraham was a worried mess, let me tell you."
"Did you say days?" Rebecca shook her head. "Kumi told me I was in there for weeks."
"Naw. Three days. Do you think I would have let them keep you for so long without me trying to get in there?" He cupped her cheek in his palm. "I couldn't have waited one more day."
"Kumi played everyone. She told me she wanted to know about Abraham, but that was for the police, I suspect. Just like reintroducing me into society she needed a valid legal reason to be with me, to be around me. What she really wanted was the opportunity to take me apart so she could save her daddy. The more I think of it, the more it pisses me off."
He placed his hand on her cheek. "Then don't think about it."
She shrugged Andy's hand off. "I have to. It helps me concentrate. The responsibility for David's death is squarely on my shoulders and I need to find a way to square it." But even as she said the words, she knew she'd never find a way. They were just words. Well meant, but still words. Changing the subject she asked, "Where's Abraham?"
"He went underground as soon as they caught you, but he's been in full coordination the whole time. I give him full credit for your rescue. He's really a brilliant mind."
The Day Eaters let them know that it was time to move out. Grudgingly, Rebecca and Andy got to their feet and trudged after them. Her hand hurt like the devil, but she wasn't about to complain. The chase was almost over. All they had to do was get to Mammoth Cave and she'd be left to her own devices, constructing methods to bring Velvet Dogma home. She looked forward to it. Everything she'd done up until now she'd done as a fish out of water. Except for hacking, which was the reason they'd locked her up in the first place. What they'd done to her world in her absence was absolutely criminal. All she wanted was the chance to change everything, and if she couldn't change it, she'd do the next best thing. She'd break it. What she'd created those lonely nights twenty years ago would be the weapon of the world's destruction.
As she walked, she planned, ideas forming in her mind.
An hour later the path inclined towards the surface. They scrambled up the slope, then crawled through the broken wall of a basement. The room on the other side had been cleared except for a low slung sofa and several hundred bottles of water. The two Day Eaters grabbed water and plopped down on the sofa.
Rebecca looked up the rickety wooden stairs to a door at the top. Light seeped from beneath it. She could hear the sound of someone walking across the floor overhead, kitchen sounds of dishes kissing dishes and the tinny background jingle of an old stereo playing school music.
She caught the eye of one of the Day Eaters. He jerked his head towards the stairs. Rebecca shrugged and began climbing. At the top she pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear who was making noise. The last thing she needed was to walk right into a trap set by the police.
Suddenly the door opened and Rebecca found herself face-to-face with a veiled woman. The other's eyes widened in surprise, but instead of screaming or slamming the door, the woman reached out and tried to throw her arms around Rebecca's neck. But Rebecca blocked them, shifting into a defensive stance. The other woman merely laughed and lowered her veil.
"Rebecca. Don't hit me."
Maria! Rebecca had been too surprised to recognize the woman's kohl-lined eyes. Rebecca grinned and held out her hands, and Maria pulled her up the last step and into her embrace.
"So good to see you." She examined Rebecca, tsking at the dirty clothes and bruises. "They didn't hurt you, did they? What's this?"
Rebecca gasped as the other woman gripped her hand. Maria frowned and unwrapped the bandage, then her eyes widened. "What have you done? This needs medical attention right away!"
She pulled Rebecca into the kitchen and placed her hand over the sink. Maria ran the water, checked the temperature, then began to wash the wound. Even with her delicate touch, a sizzle of pain radiated up Rebecca's arm making her grind her teeth to keep from crying out.
Andy came over to the sink and watched, but Maria ignored him while she cleaned the wound. "Where's Abraham?" he finally asked.
"I'm here." A muscular Day Eater pushed a baby carriage from the living room into the kitchen. Abraham lay propped up on the back edge with the aid of pillows.
"Abraham!" Both Andy and Rebecca said the name simultaneously.
"Glad to see you made it, Rebecca. We were worried for you."
Pulling her hand away from Maria, Rebecca rushed to Abraham and knelt down beside him. She kissed him on the cheek before he had the chance to refuse. "Thank you for saving me, Abraham. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."
"Change the world and save us all," he said simply.
"You
say it like it's such an easy thing to do."
"For you, I believe it is."
"I'm glad you believe in me. I wish I shared your dream."
"Don't you? Just wait. You'll see, things won't be as hard as you think they are."
"You say it like you've already seen it happen."
"Abraham is a prophet," the Day Eater pushing the cart interrupted. "If he says it is so, then it is true."
Rebecca appraised the limbless man and his broad, bright smile. A prophet? Could he tell the future?
As if to answer her unspoken question, Abraham shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I am many things to many people. To you, I am a friend. To others, I am more of a father. To still others, I am magic."
Rebecca smiled and bowed her head in acknowledgement of the friendship. "You are a friend to me as well, Abraham."
"Good. Then before we send you off to your destiny, let me give you something that only I can give you."
She nodded, although she had no idea what it could be. The Day Eater who'd called Abraham a prophet reached beneath the carriage and brought out an oblong wooden box. With a nod from Abraham, he handed it to Rebecca. As she took it, she noted how light it was.
"Go ahead, open it."
She stared at the small ruined man for a long moment, then unlatched the box and opened it. A syringe containing a bright yellow substance lay upon a piece of black velvet. Oh my God. "Is this what I think it is?"
"It is."
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Whatever you want."
She set the box on the floor and picked up the syringe. She brought it to eye level and watched as the light caught the yellow swirls. "Does it hurt?"
"Not at all. It is virtually undetectable during initial contamination and takes seventy-two hours to become active."
Andy hissed from behind her, "What are you doing? You can't be serious, Rebecca."
She turned to look at him, but Abraham spoke for her. "She can do whatever she wants, Andy."
Velvet Dogma About 3300 wds Page 20