Edge of Instinct: Rabids Book 1

by Amy Cook

  She sat a little taller in her chair as one male stopped just short of the blacked circle, staying in the shadows. He cocked his head from one side to another, before the glimmer of his eyes slid to land on the camera she was watching. Amiel jumped as his eyes seemed to lock on her own, though she knew that was impossible. Despite the shadows of the night obscuring most of his features, she could see those eyes. She could feel them. And she found that they held not the dead glazed over look she had imagined, but a chilling intellect and calculating predatory depth. She stared into these eyes and came to a grim acknowledgement. They were smart, they were fast, and they were utterly human in appearance. They were nothing like she had imagined. And that somehow made them more terrifying.

  Goose bumps erupted across her skin as a demonic smile stretched his thin lips, eyes still boring their way through her. It was almost as though he knew she was watching, as though he could sense her fears. But of course that was ridiculous. Wasn’t it? She jumped a foot off her chair as he let out a garbled shout, motioning toward a nearby female Rabid. The female released a hideous scream, charged the fence, and sizzled away to lumps and ash. It happened so quickly it took Amiel’s brain several moments to catch up to what she had just witnessed. By then, the frightening male was sending another crashing into the invisible field.

  The male never took his eyes off the camera, never glanced at the ashes piled at his feet, though his smile widened in a silent challenge. A challenge that said, “Look what I can do to those of my own kind. Imagine what I can do to you.” One word came to mind as she stood frozen, staring at this strange being. Raider. The rest were different, they obeyed this one. They were still far too human in appearance, yet watching their twitchy untrained movements she recognized them as mindless Rabids. But this man, their leader, had to be like the Raiders Jaron had mentioned in his book. She couldn’t see his features in the cameras, but she could tell he was rather good looking; handsome, feral, cold and calculating, killing his own just for the enjoyment of the fear it would strike in those he somehow knew to be watching. It was just like Jaron had said. This Raider was playing with her. As though answering her silent speculation, the Raider’s hand lifted and he waved.

  Amiel surged to her feet with a horrified gasp, knocking the chair over behind her with a loud crash that scared her again. She quickly backed away from the screen, running down the steps to escape the horrible view of the laughing Raider. She tossed her half empty meal on the floor for the dogs, who were more than obliged to devour the contents. There was no way she could stomach it now, and maybe it would fill the dogs up enough that they wouldn’t eat her. Grabbing up the shotgun and her duffel, she launched herself into Harley’s car, slamming the locks down. Back pressed against the far door with both guns at the ready, Amiel’s body trembled as she fought against the debilitating fear surrounding her. She searched desperately for her anger to dissipate the fear. It wouldn’t come, her heart pounding against the walls of her chest like a terrified humming bird.

  She stared out into the dim lighting of the garage, vaguely aware of the dogs taking up their sentry positions on either side of the car. She squeezed her eyes shut as the muffled scream of another Rabe’s death cry filtered through the thick glass of the car windows, hot tears leaking from her lids. Her eyes flew back open, the fear of the unknown keeping her from closing them again. The hours slipped by so slowly that Amiel thought she would go insane with the waiting. Or have a heart attack from the constant wild skittering of her heart. As the sun began its slow accent, chasing the shadows away, the screams lessened and she finally began to relax. Ever so slowly, Amiel’s eyes slid shut.

  She jerked back against the door when something slammed into the opposite side of the car. A strangled scream surged from her throat when she saw the creepy Raider pressed against the glass. Shadows still concealed most of his features, yet a maniacal smile graced his face as he slammed against the glass shattering it and crawling in toward her. She screamed again, raising the shotgun to fire directly at his face. The sound of the gun startled her awake and she found herself in the safety of the car. The back passenger side window was blown out, the shot gun still smoked in her hands and Tandy’s dogs were quickly fleeing from the vicinity of the car. Her pounding pulse was like a throbbing roar in her ears, eyes wild as she tried to separate dream from reality. Either the rabid was lying on the ground outside the door, or she had just about killed Tandy’s dog.

  Her eyes shifted to find the dogs, who now stood by the garage door, barking. Then she heard it; a horn blaring in the distance. Tandy’s horn! She fought to untangle herself from the strap of her duffel, and shoved open the door, cringing as more glass tingled to the ground. No Rabid on the ground. She felt relieved and guilty at once. No one was going to eat her, but she’d just wrecked Harley’s car.

  Taking the steps of the catwalk two at a time until she reached the switches, she scanned the surveillance camera and saw Tandy’s truck waiting. She prayed he hadn’t been waiting out there for very long. She pushed the blue button, and the field flickered out. Immediately the truck pulled across the blackened line, and she pressed the button again. Racing back down the stairs, she forced her way through the leaping dogs, and unlocked the doors. She sent them running out, then ran back up the stairs. The camera’s revealed Tandy had stepped from the truck and was now standing next to it, leaning casually against the hood. Breath catching in her throat, uncertainty assailed her. The Rabids last night had seemed too human. Would she be able to tell if Tandy was? Would the dogs?

  With an anxious breath, she twisted the red lever just enough to allow the dogs to exit the gate, then watched the screens with tense anticipation. The dogs took off out of the gate, racing toward Tandy. Were they racing to him in happiness, or racing in to tear him apart? Tandy dropped to his knees, arms wide open and the dogs slid to a halt right in front of him, tails wagging, tongues covering his face in kisses, not bite marks. Climbing to his feet, he turned and waved at the camera before moving back to the truck. Though she knew the action had been meant to console her, just his wave had sent a shivering flash back through her mind of a handsome savage toying with her mind.

  Freeing the vision from her head with a quick shake, Amiel opened the gates, allowing the truck to drive through. Tandy’s truck stopped just outside the doors, and she could hear him calling out her name. Her feet stayed rooted to the stairs, tongue frozen to the roof of her mouth. He pushed through the doors, eyes searching until they found her at the top of the stairs.

  “Ah, there you are.” He walked over with a bright smile, a cup in one hand, and white baggy in the other, arms open wide to show them off. “I bring gifts.” His cheerful smile faded as his gaze honed in on her fully, especially on her hand where it twitched just above the gun strapped to her thigh. He paused, searching her face. “Amiel? Ya alright, honey?” One look in his clear, penetrating but friendly eyes, and her feet finally unglued themselves. She surged down the stairs, tears streaming down her face as she threw herself into his wide open arms. He awkwardly patted her on the back with the hand that held her drink.

  “There there now.” He cleared his throat, obviously at a loss as to what else to say. “I’m alright. No teeth marks, scratches, or nothin’.” When she sobbed harder, his consoling tone changed to a more protective one. “What happened?” She clung to him, spilling out everything, ending with her dream. At the end she cringed as she glanced over his shoulder at the car.

  “Um…I’m pretty sure that I wrecked Harley’s car. Oh, and almost shot one of your dogs.” He pulled back, brow lifting. She bit her bottom lip, wincing. “I think they were jumping on the car to let me know that you were waiting outside…and…I was still dreaming, so I thought it was the Rabids trying to get in.” She shrugged with guilt. “It may not be such a great idea for me to sleep with guns anymore.” Tandy stared at her for a long moment, before bursting out laughing and hugging her in that one armed man hug men do.

  “There’s
never a dull moment with y’all around, girl. I think I’ll miss that when ya settle in down in Texas.” With a shake of his head, he handed her the cup and bag. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she dropped to the couch. She was dead tired.

  “You aren’t mad?”

  “Why’d I be mad at ya for defendin’ yourself? Even if it were just a dream, it’s a good thing that your instincts kicked in.” He glanced down at his dogs and grunted when one of them cowered as though it were in trouble. “That one there’s the one that should be worried. They know better than to jump on that car.” He gave another stern grunt, but bent to pet the cowering dog on the head. It immediately rubbed its nose into Tandy’s hand, grateful for its owner’s forgiveness.

  “Eat up girl, we gotta move out.” She mmm’ed in appreciation as the scent of coffee and donuts greeted her nose.

  “Thank you so much for the food and coffee.”

  “Well, I’ve noticed y’all ain’t much a mornin’ person. Figured ya didn’t sleep much last night neither, based on how jumpy y’all was when I left. Thought this might help. Guess I was more right than I knew.” He settled a hip against the couch, arms folding over his wide chest. A sigh of pure pleasure escaped her lips as she bit into the fluffy goodness of a glazed donut.

  “Your ma’s real unhappy with ya right about now.” She nearly choked.

  “You saw her?”

  “Listened in on the gossip mill at the coffee shop. She’s got everyone in town hoppin’ like they was on hot coals. Was a lady in there jabberin’ away to her gal pal, all about Malinda callin’ everyone ‘bout her ‘disobedient daughter who is probably shackin’ up with some loser right about now’,” he quoted. Amiel squeezed her eyes shut with a groan. Leave it to her mother to start spreading around rumors like that. “Don’t worry yourself none, honey. I didn’t take it too much to heart.” He winked at her jovially, before walking toward his bike, and starting his travel prep.

  “I’m sorry about that. Mother isn’t known for her kind soul,” she muttered, grabbing another glazed donut from the bag.

  “Well, I figure anythin’ I can do to make that woman’s day just a bit brighter, I’m all for it. Even if that makes me out to be a jailbait chasin’ loser.” She laughed at his smug sarcasm, her dark mood lifting. It was hardly the first time her mother had said something like this about her daughter, despite the fact that Amiel was still a virgin in every possible way. Her mother, on the other hand, had played the grieving widow for all of three weeks before jumping eagerly back into the dating world. Even at the age of seven, Amiel had felt a deep betrayal of her father’s memory over that.

  “The hurt don’t go away, but it gets easier.” She startled from her dour thoughts to find Tandy looking pointedly at the dog tags gripped in her hand. She hadn’t even realized she was holding them.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, carefully tucking them into her t-shirt before sitting up and chugging the last of her coffee. It burned her tongue and throat, but it was a welcome distraction.

  “So, we should probably leave soon, right? I doubt my mother will hold off much longer before she sends in the hounds.” Tandy’s dogs perked up their ears at her and she glanced at them, shrugging as though to imply she hadn’t meant them. They continued to watch her intently, seemingly waiting for the next profound thing she would say. Tandy stood and stretched.

  “Yep, already got my side bags on my bike and yours. Packed ‘em up with all the provisions we should need between here and your new home a couple days ago, thank goodness. It’ll make gettin’ outta here that much easier.” Her heart did a little jump at the sound of ‘home’, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

  “Something other than the frozen food, or are we bringing the microwave, too?” she asked with a wicked smile. He looked surprised for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh that warmed her heart.

  “Alright get your stuff, smart alec.” Eager to be on the way, she crawled back into the car where she had left the duffle abandoned on the floor. Leaning toward the seat she’d slept in the last few days, Amiel drew in another deep breath, fighting to commit the scent to memory. She was going to miss it. Exiting the vehicle she felt strangely forlorn to be leaving it behind. She ran a hand over its matte paint job in a gentle caress, surprised at how quickly this heap of metal had become her security blanket. She cringed again as she closed the back door, little bits of glass tinkling from the gaping hole once more. With a silent goodbye, she rushed to the bathroom to finish her trip preparations. She heaved a sigh of annoyance at the giant rat’s nest of hair that greeted her in the mirror. It was a credit to Tandy that he hadn’t mentioned it. What a wild eyed mess she must have appeared when he’d first arrived. Brushing through her long dark locks and dressing in clean, albeit wrinkled clothes, she gave her teeth a quick brushing. Staring down the girl reflected in the mirror, she drew a deep, cleansing breath. Decked out in her biker jacket, gloves, and chaps, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit sexy and confident.

  “You can do this,” she assured her reflected self. “You are a strong, confident, and smart woman. You have a competent guide, an awesome bike, and a sexy wardrobe to match it. You can totally ride that beautiful bike, and not kill yourself. And you are not going to end up on a Rabid’s dessert menu. When you get to your new home, you can start a brand new life and be whoever you want to be.” She smiled radiantly back at herself, forcing belief into the words. It was a daily ritual for Amiel, motivating herself to face each day. Granted the new goals she had set were a bit more staggering than the usual ‘go to work, go home, ignore mother, and get some sleep’ pep talk she gave herself before going to her job each morning.

  The spa was the only ‘menial’ job her mother would allow her to hold. Amiel winced when she realized her employers would have been wondering where she was for the last several days. It rankled against her loyal side that she had never called to explain. But there was nothing to be done for it. Had she called in and quit, her mother would have found out and put a stop to her plan by now.

  She paused, a thought tumbling through her mind. Perhaps that was why her mother had come home early. The old biddies at the salon had called Malinda to find out why Amiel hadn’t come in for her shifts. Slapping herself lightly on the face, Amiel forced herself to simply stop thinking at all. She could run circles around the ‘what ifs’ all day long, and she didn’t have time for that crap. She had an escape to make. Lifting the tags to her lips, she whispered a simple prayer to her brother.

  “Love you, Jaron. Watch out for me, if you can. I’ll try to make you proud.” Heaving an overly peppy sigh, she flung the door open and strode out to meet her new fate. The garage door was open wide, their bikes glinting in the morning sun. Tandy walked out of his kitchen with a few more things that he shoved into the saddle bags on the back of his bike. She cleared her throat, embarrassed.

  “Hey, Tandy…I just wanted to say sorry for being such an emotional mess lately, especially in the mornings. You’ve been a lifesaver, and that was pretty rude of me.” He seemed surprised by her statement, but his smile lit a spark in his eyes.

  “Bred the manners bone deep didn’t they?” He laughed softly. “I’m not used to teenagers bein’ so polite. However, I am use to the fact that most teenagers are allergic to mornins. So don’t go worryin’ on my account.” He winked at her, before gesturing to the bikes. “Ready to head out?” Her smile wavered a bit, but she nodded and flung her duffle over her back. Tandy leaned against his bike and ran through his entire travel speech. He’d already explained almost all of it to her while she was learning to ride the bike, but now it was different because he added an extra tidbit of information into the equation.

  “While we’re riding, y’all stay right with me. If ya need to stop, just talk into the mic in your helmet, and we’ll pull off at the safest place. There’s designated safe zones for us to stop along the way. But there’s only three stops between here and Texas. Which means we’ll be on the bikes six hou
rs straight between stops. The solars will help to supplement our gas usage, so we won’t have to stop too often, but the roads are pretty bad in some spots. Provided we don’t run into any unexpected issues or fights, we should be able to make six hour straight runs. We need to avoid stoppin’ anywhere but those safe zones, if possible, and not stay longer than necessary.” He handed her a black bag with a clear tube connecting to a silicone scoop shaped cup. Her brow rose in question, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

  “The bag hooks onto the side of the bike. Run the tube up the inside of your pant leg, and the uh…cup thing goes up against…” He coughed again, his cheeks flushing. “It’s so y’all can relieve your bladder while on the bike.” Her jaw dropped, looking at the thing in her hands as though it were a dangerous creature.

  “You mean…if I have to pee, I pee in this thing?” She held up the cup, and Tandy’s cheeks flushed an even deeper color. He nodded, quickly busying himself with his bike.

  “No place to stop for six hours at a go,” he reminded her gruffly. She noticed the black bag resting at his own feet, and rushed to the bathroom to put the torture device in place and cool her hot cheeks. When she came out, he was seated on his bike, and ready to go. She climbed on her own bike, fastening the bag to a similar hook tab on her bike as Tandy had. He immediately jumped back into his prep speech, which she was grateful for as it alleviated the awkward air hovering over them.