Red Asphalt: Raptor Apocalypse Book 2

by Steve R. Yeager

  “Help! Help me!” she yelled.

  Jesse pulled down hard on the rope, drawing it taut. “Kate, I can't see.”

  The beam of the shotgun-mounted flashlight quickly climbed the shaft, illuminating Eve. She was holding on with only one hand.

  The flashlight blinked out.

  “The light!” Jesse snapped. “Hold that goddamn thing steady!”

  A quick glance told him it was not her fault. It was that damned flashlight again. He'd thought he'd fixed it earlier but apparently hadn't.

  Kate cowered and ran from him into the lobby.

  “Sorry,” he called after her as she disappeared around the corner. He scolded himself for yelling at her and refocused on Eve. Using his weight, he pulled on the rope to stop it from swinging, but he was forced onto his heels. It snapped him in the face. Stumbling backward, he tripped over the bundled packs lying on the floor while trying to hold onto the line.

  “Dammit! Come on. Get your legs around it!”

  “Don't let me fall!”

  He was buffeted again. Searing pain erupted from his shoulder, but he did not let go.

  Finally, Eve yelled, “I've got it!”

  The rope stopped shaking, and after a few painful minutes, she arrived at the bottom. Her eyeballs were goggled in fear, and she was gulping air. He found himself suddenly embraced. Gritting his teeth, fresh new shoots of pain from his half-healed shoulder rippled through him. They were enough to drive him to the floor weeping.

  He clamped his eyes shut and endured.

  Without warning, she let go with the same fervor she had gripped him with, doubled over, and began vomiting on the floor.

  Jesse dropped to one knee for a moment then spun the brim of his baseball cap around to face forward and went to drag the packs out of the elevator shaft. From one of the packs, he untied a well-scuffed metal baseball bat and leaned it against the wall then went back to see if Eve had recovered. Her head hung down, and she was resting her hands on her knees, but she was done throwing up.

  He placed a hand on the nape of her neck. “You okay?”

  “Yes. I thought I would fall.”

  “Well, you didn't.”

  “But he fell. He died.”

  Jesse pointed to a set of large footprints in the dust that led to the lobby.

  “Cory? No, he didn't. Those are his—”

  “Not him. Never mind,” she replied. She waved him away. Tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes. She turned and left him standing inside the shaft alone.

  What was that about?

  At least she had made it down in one piece. She was going to have to suck it up and do better than this if they were going to make it to Rose's. Eve had just shown him that she could lock up when faced with danger. Kate had proven she was not afraid, but she tended to run away. Both reactions were not good. He had a bad feeling about this trip, but he'd essentially made a promise to get her there and would keep it.

  He kicked random debris over the mess she had made and stared up at the elevator car above one last time. Things could have gone a whole lot worse. Shaking his head, he left the shaft behind.

  Eve was in the small elevator lobby, untying a long spear affixed to her bag.

  “I need—” he started to say, but changed his mind. He decided it was best to leave her be. He then went looking for Kate around the corner. She was nowhere to be seen. Snapping at her over the flashlight had been wrong, and he was frustrated with himself that he had.

  “Kate, I'm sorry,” he said loudly enough for his voice to carry. “Really. I need your help. We need to stick together. You can understand that, right?”

  Nothing.

  “Come on, please. It was my fault. I shouldn't have—”

  Kate mysteriously appeared as if she had materialized from thin air. Somehow, he had not seen her until he was less than three feet away from her.

  He stopped and held his hands up a calming gesture. “Again, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. That was wrong.”

  She looked at him calmly. She was clutching his shotgun tightly against her chest.

  “No, that's mine. Here.” He held out the baseball bat for her to take.

  She shook her head.

  “Kate, give me the gun.”

  She glanced at the shotgun and then at him.

  “I need it. When we have time, I'll show you how to use it. I promise. But not now. Please?”

  Kate visibly relaxed.

  “There. Now give me the gun.”

  She looked at the shotgun again then gave it up. He nodded in appreciation and handed her the baseball bat. She clutched it closely, much as she had been doing with the shotgun.

  Gun in hand, he began fiddling with the flashlight. He gave it a solid whack and the light came back on. “Damn thing,” he muttered. He clicked the button on the flashlight, turning it off and slung the shotgun over his good shoulder. He then checked the retaining strap securing the Beretta in a holster on his hip. He was apprehensive about wearing the gun again considering he'd almost taken his own life with it, but it felt somehow reassuring.

  Kate was testing the swing of the bat when Eve came alongside him.

  “All better?” Jesse asked.

  “Yes, I'm sorry. Thank you,” Eve said as she brushed a lock of hair over one ear. “Do you think she should have that?”

  “The bat?” he asked. “Yeah, I think she can handle it.”

  Eve rapped the butt of her spear on the ground. The sound echoed inside the cavernous lobby. Birds nesting high above took flight and flapped out through the empty windows. The sounds caused Jesse's nerve endings to all prickle at once. It was daytime, but even so, making a noise like that was just tempting fate.

  “Don't do that again,” he cautioned her.

  “Why?”

  “Just don't, okay?”

  She said nothing.

  Although both Eve and Kate appeared ready to go, he wondered if he was. One wrong step, one mistake, meant death, a painful death. He'd survived so long on his own precisely because he was on his own. Now that he had others to protect he wondered if that would get him killed. Or, would he have to watch them die? And what if things just went wrong and he had to abandon them? Could he do that?

  Damn, he sure hoped not.

  “Last chance,” he said. “You sure you want to do this?”

  Eve nodded slowly.

  Thinking aloud, he added, “Always know what's behind you. They are fast. You are slow. So, don't ever let them catch you in the open. Keep in the sunlight. If clouds block the sun, well, don't let that happen.” Both Eve and Kate surely knew this, but it never hurt to repeat the warnings, even if doing so was more for his own reassurance. He realized he'd been stumbling on his words, and thinking anyone could change the weather was crazy talk, so he shut his mouth and kept it closed.

  A slight breeze brought the pungent smell of decay on the wind. It was not the smell of rampant death, however, just the simple musty smell of an abandoned city. He threaded his arms through the straps on his pack and adjusted the fit.

  Together, they made their way outside and into the morning sun. When he stepped onto the sidewalk, of all the different things littering the street, a single item caught his eye. Lying not fifty paces away was the leather pouch he'd worn around his neck for the past five years. The pouch that contained a single nine-millimeter bullet meant to end his life. He sensed the weight of the Beretta on his hip and suddenly wanted to rip the gun from its holster and toss it as far away as he could.

  “Raptors?” Eve asked.

  He did not answer. Instead, as if he was now inexplicably drawn to the pouch and the chance of him running away from it long passed, he took a step toward it. The tiny thing seemed so important, so critical. It was the only thing he could see. Everything else was lost in a blurry haze.

  He squatted down next to the pouch and reached out to it with a shaking hand, wanting to touch the worn leather. The instant before he made contact with it, he ya
nked his hand away as if it had burned him. A painful grief overwhelmed him in a sudden emotional flurry. He began to rock on his heels, too stunned to do anything but stare at the thing.

  “What's wrong with him?” Eve asked. The sound of her voice was distant in his ears.

  He reached for the worn pouch and again withdrew his fingers from it. He pointed at it, afraid to touch it.

  “What, this?” Eve said. She casually picked up the pouch and dangled it in front of her eyes.

  Jesse opened his hand and reached for it. “No. Not yours. Give it here,” he whispered.

  She held it up for him to take. He shuffled uncertainly and rose to his feet. Hesitantly, he brushed the aged leather with his knuckles.

  He felt nothing.

  He slowly extended his fingers and wrapped his hand around the pouch.

  Still nothing.

  He took it from Eve and thumbed the lump created by the single bullet, worried that Hannah might reappear, and he would again slip into madness. He looked for her. Spun a complete circle. But she did not appear. All he saw were Eve and Kate staring back at him as if he'd gone mad. He closed his eyes and held the pouch against his chest.

  Christ, he missed them both so much, so goddamned much.

  From his left came the tinkling sound of glass hitting the pavement.

  “What was that?” Eve asked. She shielded her eyes and looked up.

  He let his stupor fade and glanced at the building where the sound had come from. He followed the broken facade up story by story. Something was moving inside the seventh floor.

  Hannah? Couldn't be. No, please no. Not now.

  He forced his eyes shut then opened them. The movement was still there. He squinted for better focus while absently shoving the leather pouch into his shirt pocket.

  With a cry that shattered the stillness, a single crow flew out of the broken windows on the seventh floor. The solitary bird was followed by a black mass that came streaming from the opening. The birds cleaved the wind and cawed in warning.

  “We have to go,” Jesse said. He grabbed Eve's arm and pushed her forward.

  “What? What is it?” she asked.

  “Raptors,” he hissed. “Follow me. Whatever you do, don't fall behind.”

  -11-

  AIN'T NO REST

  “HURRY,” JESSE SAID. Eve and Kate were following directly behind him, but Eve had begun to slow.

  A sign on a bent light post at the corner read 14th Street. Shadows from the tall buildings on the opposite corner stretched across the street. One building in particular, a flat-sided office structure to Jesse's right, was missing every window. A tremendous explosion had scooped a deep crater out of the sidewalk and part of the roadway. Inside the depression, green and yellow weeds shivered in the breeze.

  “We have to stop,” Eve said from behind.

  “No,” he said forcefully. He was tired, too. His body was sick with fatigue. He also needed time to recover. The pace he had set was taking its toll, but he knew he could not stop.

  Not quite yet.

  “But, I only need a couple of minutes. Please?”

  “Just a few more blocks,” he said. “Then we can all rest.”

  He slowed and matched his pace with Kate's. He put a hand on her shoulder and took comfort in the close physical contact. She was indeed real, and he had to keep reminding himself of that. The entire time he had been seeing Hannah in the city, he had never actually been able to touch her. He'd never been able to feel the simple human closeness he now felt with Kate. She was solid, real. His senses told him that, all of them. He felt himself grinning and wondered at the oddity of that, too.

  She dipped one shoulder and sped up to get ahead. Her gaze seemed to flicker from shadow to shadow, and her head never stopped moving. Smart, he judged. She was a survivor. The thought came to him cloaked in an aching sadness. They had been together for only a few days, and yet he knew she would soon die. It was only a matter of time.

  He glanced at Eve. She was completely unprepared for this world. The way she walked. The way she paid more attention to where she put her feet than her surroundings. The way she dragged her spear along behind her, leaving a trail to follow. All of that told him it was a blessed miracle she’d survived for so long.

  A screech reached his ears and cut off his thoughts. It had come from somewhere far off. He stopped Eve and pointed in the direction he estimated the sound to have come from. Kate halted on her own and continued to scan the shadows.

  “What is it?” Eve asked.

  Jesse knew that sounds could carry for many blocks in the city, or they could also be muffled by the various buildings and only seem to be coming from far away. He released Eve and glanced at the sky. No birds. And no birds meant no raptors.

  “It's only raptors hunting other raptors,” he said with forced certainty. “They're a long way off from us.”

  Kate gave him a slightly quizzical lowering of one eyebrow.

  “Good,” Eve said. “But can we stop now? Please?”

  “No. Not yet. We need to keep going.”

  After continuing for another few blocks, they reached a small office building Jesse had once used as a shelter in the city. He'd left a small cache of supplies hidden inside. Things he'd planned to trade with Rose at one point in the past. The windows of the football-shaped building were all missing or in shards. Metal slats lining the front looked as though they could hold out all but the smallest raptors. It was safe compared to most places he'd scouted, but not as good as the former bank building he called home.

  The lobby inside the building lay in ruins. Yellowed paper was strewn everywhere, and fake leather office chairs were torn and overturned. Collapse partitions rested against overturned desks. His gaze swept the areas of darkness and light, closely followed by the shotgun. Gradually, his eyes adjusted to the change in brightness until he could see into the darkest recesses. It was just as he remembered. Much of the room he'd staged to look abandoned, but was actually laced with traps. Two of those traps had been sprung, and there were raptor bones tangled up in one.

  “Clear,” he finally said.

  Eve and Kate joined him inside.

  “Are we resting here?” Eve asked.

  Ignoring her, he flicked on the shotgun-mounted flashlight.

  “Stay here. And I mean right here. I'll be back soon.”

  “Can't we—”

  He cut her off. “Stay here. There are things in this room that will kill you if you are not careful. So don't move from where you are now.”

  “What are you after?” Eve asked.

  “Stuff. I stashed some things here we can trade with Rose.”

  “You haven't told me much about her. What's she like?”

  “Dangerous,” he said as he went to pry open a fire door.

  Closing the heavy steel door behind him, he descended the stairwell into the basement, stepping over tripwires along the way. Anyone carelessly entering the corridor would probably lose a foot or maybe a leg. He stopped at the next to the last door. On the door, painted in white, was a skull and crossbones. He had put the symbol there thinking that if anyone made it this far, they might reconsider entering the room. The whole thing seemed silly now, almost childish. His drawing looked more like two penises stabbing a bowling ball. It probably wouldn't scare away anyone.

  Inside the room, hidden under an overturned filing cabinet, was a small cache of items he'd collected: a can of fruit cocktail, a power inverter to convert DC to AC, five bottles of expired prescription drugs, an electric drill, three .308 rifle cartridges, and a small, unopened bottle of whiskey. He'd forgotten about the last item.

  Rose should be willing to trade for at least one of these, maybe two, he thought. Although, with her, it was difficult to tell what she really wanted. He packed the fruit and the power inverter. Already in his pack were two rolls of toilet paper. All together, the items should be enough to trade for any information she might have on Cory.

  He hid the rest, t
hinking the items were just too valuable, and then returned to Eve and Kate.

  Eve was waiting by the doorway, resting against a desk with her back to the outside opening. Good, she'd listened to what he had said and had not come into the room. It took longer to spot Kate. He grew more and more concerned as he scanned the room for her.

  “Kate,” he said quietly.

  She slipped out from behind a partition next to an open office door. From there, he realized she must have thought she could keep watch on the entire room and duck inside the office if necessary. But if she had gone through the door, she'd be dead.

  He exhaled between tight lips, making a puffing noise.

  “You get everything we need?” Eve asked.

  “Kate, come here please,” he said, ignoring Eve.

  “So did you get everything?”

  He held his hand up to silence her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Kate, please.”

  Looking puzzled, Kate climbed over a desk and hopped down to stand in front of him.

  He stared at her for a beat. “Don't do that. I said the room was trapped, and I meant it. If you would have gone in there—”

  “Why did you say Rose was dangerous?” Eve asked, interrupting again. “I've been thinking. You sure going there is a good idea?”

  What? He couldn't believe she could be this self-absorbed. She had completely ignored the danger to Kate. He clearly remembered saying they needed to stay near the entrance.

  “Ah, I—” He stumbled on his words. “I don't think we have a choice. If Cory came south, Rose knows about it.”

  She seemed to be holding something back. He twisted his hand on the cocking mechanism on the shotgun.

  “I—” Eve brushed something from her eye. Dust? “I wanted to say, I'm sorry.”

  “Sorry? For what?”

  “For doing this. For making you take us along. To Rose.”