by P. S. Power
There was a new person with the guy in charge, so Ryan didn’t run over. He stood on both legs and moved slowly. Trying not to scare the girl who was there. She had strawberry blonde hair, blue jeans and shoes that looked comfortable enough to be out there, he guessed.
Really, she was cute enough to get interest from him, not that he was going to bother with trying. Girls didn’t like rats, unless they were half insane. Then, most of those didn’t want to date one. They just liked to have them around to show how edgy they were.
Stepping out from behind the pillar he was using for cover, Ryan held his right hand up.
“Nero. Is something up? You don’t normally come out this way. When you do, you’ve never brought anyone else before. Is there news?”
The black man, who carried enough muscle that it was a bit unfair, shrugged.
“This is C. C. She’s here to act as our runner for the day. We were able to hook something up, which might keep the police off of our backs. If it works. If not, then we need to be ready to go into lockdown. C. C. this is Ryan Burgess. Some call him King Rat.”
Rather than act frightened of him, the new girl nodded and waved a bit. It was young seeming and not professional, but it also wasn’t acting like he had death cooties, so he was willing to let it go for the moment.
Her voice was deeper than his own, when she spoke. He managed to sound like a movie munchkin, so that wasn’t surprising.
“Hello! I can only tell the truth.” That would have sounded strange to most people, but when you met an Infected person, at least there, in the community, you told them first thing what your mode was. Your hang up, so that the others would know how to handle you, if at all possible.
“That’s a good one. I get hit with sudden waves of fear. It’s linked to precognition. So if you ever see me suddenly running away, you should try to follow me.” He grinned, knowing that it would look fairly cute on his fuzzy face. “The rest of it, me being a bitter bastard who’s hard to get along with is just me.” The Infection had caused it to happen, in a way, but it wasn’t outside of his control. His mode really was. When the fear came, he was running.
Oddly, it made him pretty good at his job there. No one expected him to fight, just alert them if something dangerous was coming. That really did happen, about once every few months. Mainly when kids or gang members tried to move in to one of their buildings. That didn’t last long.
Generally, that was because Ryan or one of the other guards would go and tell and one of the better fighters, or even a few of them, would come out and have a talk with whoever had shown up. If you weren’t Infected, you mainly had to leave. A few times it had gone differently than that, with people, normies, being allowed into the Underground. No one had ever told him why that was.
Then, he’d never asked after anyone, so it might not have been that the leadership didn’t trust him as much as that they didn’t know he wanted to be in the loop
The new girl, C. C. moved a bit closer to him, not seeming bothered by his fur coated splendor much at all. Then, he wasn’t trying to French kiss her. They were just talking. About half of the people there could fake their way through that kind of thing.
“Do I need a route to run or… I don’t know how to really do this. Are we splitting up, or…” She looked around, as if seeking a place to hide. Ryan got that. They were in a room so large that it felt like they were exposed, even if they weren’t, really.
Nero waved at the front of the place, where there were windows. Most of them were broken, but they were still good for observation posts.
“No. I want the three of us to stick together. If anyone comes, Ryan will put up the alarm, whistling. Then we’ll send you back with information, if it’s needed, C. C., so the others will have information if they need it. If it comes to a fight, then both of you should run. I’ll try to hold this section for as long as I can in that case.” The man’s deep voice sounded smooth. Like he’d had a good education, too.
Like the guy in that old movie. To Sir: With Love.
Ryan had seen it at the theater inside, on one of his days off. As long as he stayed toward the back it didn’t seem to bother anyone too much.
He grinned again.
“You mean, if you have to fight, you’ll take them all out for us? At least if they’re just regular cops. Any word on why they’re coming in the first place? We haven’t been having a lot of problems here, lately.” They had in the past, or at least his old group had, up in Seattle. It was supposed to be a progressive city, but that didn’t mean they were going to put up with giant talking rats or purple lobster men. Like most places, they’d eventually run the Infected off.
That had been over a year before. Underground was already a thing by then and had been growing. Or at least the number of people there had been. New things were added inside over time though, but from what he could tell, the whole thing wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
If it was, then the basement in the building he was in couldn’t exist. There were other places that had that going on. You walked down the stairs into the place, and it felt real inside, but it wasn’t taking up any real space, as far as he could tell. Then, Complex had never claimed that he’d dug the place out, just that it was there for anyone who really needed it. The man was good that way.
He hadn’t even blinked about getting a room set up for Ryan. His friends, either. Not that they lived together like some did. They were good sorts, but had their own lives. Now, anyway.
The all black man wrinkled his nose a bit, as if he smelled something. If it was there at all, Ryan had missed it. Covertly he sniffed as well, since he actually had some ability that way. He could tell a lot about the world, but nothing new was present. Not except for the two people with him. They mainly smelled like soap and food though. A thing that he hadn’t had that day. He wouldn’t until he got off shift. Probably after the danger had passed. That sucked, but he could manage for a few days and not really get desperate for food, if it came up.
Sleep was harder on him, since he really needed to be in bed a good fourteen to sixteen hours a day. Less than that would leave him feeling exhausted the rest of the time.
There was no real answer to his suggestion from the other two there, so he just moved back to his chosen window. It allowed him to see two of the long streets running away, with reflections in the glass of a building providing a second angle, off to the left. He kind of figured that something would happen as he stood there, the others distracting him, but it didn’t.
Most of the time things didn’t take place when he was on shift. People coming and going, but that was all. It was a bit boring, but no one ever said that the work had to be enjoyable. Just done.
After several hours, with C. C. starting to become restless, he pointed, his whiskers twitching, even if no one was there yet. He whispered, even if that wasn’t going to be needed. The others heard him, anyway.
“We have incoming. A lot of them, I think. From the north.” He pointed, so the others could orient themselves. He always knew which direction was which, but not everyone could manage that trick.
Nero didn’t bother doubting him, even if he didn’t send the runner back with the news yet, either. They had a plan and that wasn’t, strictly speaking, part of it. The all black man did duck down, waving for C. C. to do the same, as the police vehicles, at least twenty of them, including three large vans, turned down the street. Heading straight for them.
Then, as if it made any sense at all, there was a left-hand turn and they all moved away. Only to come back fifteen minutes later, from the other direction. They didn’t stop at any point, simply driving, in what seemed like circles that kept tracing out a different set of streets. They didn’t stop for several hours, but, finally, at about three in the afternoon, they drove away and didn’t come back.
Not that he wasn’t waiting there, just to make certain of it.
C. C. clapped her hands together, softly.
“Neat, so the wish worked?”
That didn’t make a lot of sense to Ryan, not that he had anything against wishing. It didn’t work, but hope was an important commodity to someone like him. The idea that he could blow out a candle or rub a lamp and get what he wanted seemed like a nice dream, really. He never asked for much. A second piece of cake or a good night’s sleep.
It meant he actually got what he wanted, occasionally.
Nero seemed to be thinking that what had taken place was related to something more than seeing the first star at night.
“Gift’s powers do seem to have done the trick. Now, of course, we have to be wary about them returning. We should stay here for a while longer, then send you back to speak to your friend, Pod. She might be able to confirm that we’re safe now. Or not.”
That kind of thing wasn’t for Ryan to worry about. He didn’t do much with other people, day to day. It felt odd, having the two almost normal people with him, as it was. Nero was good looking if strange and C. C. could have gotten a date to the prom with the captain of the football team, if she hadn’t been there with them. She was too honest for the real world, at a guess. At least she hadn’t started to glow or turned into a bat or anything wild like that, which would give her away as being a Dirty Infected to the normies.
He paced a bit, since something still wasn’t right in the situation. That wasn’t normal for him, since holding still was actually something he was pretty good at. There was a strange tingle though, near the end of his nose. That was pink and twitched a bit outside of his control. There was no fear though, which was different. If anything were going to take place, he really should have been.
After ten minutes, with no one talking, he pointed.
“There. That guy. What’s he doing?”
The man was dressed like a SWAT guy, in a tan uniform that didn’t say anything on the back. He didn’t have ten buddies with him, which was different for one of those types. His face was pale, but that could mean a lot of different things. Latino guys were that color, so were tan white guys, sometimes. It wasn’t a nice rich brown, like Ryan had going on, of course.
The man walked, then stopped, pointed at the location of Underground, then walked again, taking no more than ten steps at a time. His eyes were closed as he did it, which was unusual. Most people didn’t walk around that way. It could be that he was Infected and using some other kind of power to find them. It was kind of working, it seemed.
Nero tightened up then growled, softly.
“You are not welcome here. Leave, now.” The words were too soft for anyone that far away to hear, unless they had superior abilities. This guy didn’t seem to hear them, but after a few seconds he spun in place and walked away, anyway.
They watched in silence, until he was around the corner, down the street, out of view.
“What the hell was that?” Ryan stared at Nero, wondering if the man had any powers that hadn’t been disclosed to him yet. Mind control or something like that. It didn’t fit with the rest of his abilities, but that didn’t mean much. People had powers that didn’t always match up all the time.
It was the new girl who spoke to him, answering the question.
“The wish Complex made. Anyone that isn’t welcome here can’t come. I get that. How was he able to come back at all? I don’t get that part.” She sounded a bit baffled by it, but Ryan couldn’t help her with that one.
Not really.
“I dunno, he might be Infected or something like that? I’ll hang here, in case he returns.” Not that he wasn’t expecting to be relieved soon. That was good. He needed to eat and then climb into bed, before he fell down. It had been a full day for him already. Ryan normally worked six-hour shifts, since that was about all he could take before he had to rest.
It wasn’t a long time, but they worked four shifts per day, with at least two people having eyes out, constantly. It was a thing that Nero would know, since he made up the schedule for them that way. People volunteered for the job, since it was useful and got them outside, even if they weren’t going into the city or to fancy parties. He liked to see the sky, personally.
Looking up at the gray clouds, he smiled. It was pretty. The world was, if you didn’t get bogged down in the little details.
The other two left about then, with his own relief coming not too long after.
“Grady.” The man had goggles on and an old-style aviator’s cap. The air around him buzzed a bit, with some kind of energy that most people couldn’t hear. When he wanted, the man could send out blasts of energy that would act a lot like a taser if it hit you. It was invisible though and could hit a person several hundred feet away. It wasn’t a great power, but it was real enough to count.
“Hey, King. I have the next shift. Any word?”
He nodded, since there really was.
“Yeah. We had a police train show up. They left, not being able to find us. It seems like that was down to the plan our higher ups worked out. Then one of them came back. A SWAT guy, just walking toward us with his eyes closed. Nero said he wasn’t welcome, just standing up here, and the man left. I guess one of the others is using a power for it. Gift? I don’t know him. Do you?”
There was a head shake, but it stopped after a few seconds.
“You know, I think he might in Clover’s new group? He kind of lucked out there, didn’t he? Half of them are normie looking ladies. Cute ones, too. Eh… Pam-Pam, that one girl that makes diamonds and the old one with the long face. Gift is one of their dudes. That Dan guy who’s always helping out, too.” It sounded like he might know more than that, but if so, he wasn’t going to simply share. Then, Grady didn’t, normally.
He wouldn’t have mentioned that much, except that Ryan went back years with the man. They’d been in Seattle together. Before the move.
He just nodded.
“Ah. Cool. I need to get some food, if there’s any left. That should be it. Keep an eye out though. Something feels off. Even if an attack isn’t coming. Be ready to move.” He meant it, even if he didn’t have a reason to say that kind of thing.
The other man rubbed at his black goatee.
“Always, brother. What do you think, is it time to get the old crew around and have go-bags ready?”
Ryan stopped for a moment, going still. He didn’t really want to abandon Underground, but it really did feel like something was going on. A big thing. He couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. What he could tell was that he wasn’t afraid, really.
“I don’t know. We should try to get everyone ready, if we can, I think. This, everyone, is our crew here. Well, your crew, you good looking goon. I’ll talk to you later, but pass the word on getting ready?”
Grady wasn’t actually good looking, but if you didn’t see his eyes, which looked like pink pits, moist and empty, even if he could see perfectly well however that worked, the man seemed more or less normal.
There was a pat on the arm then, to send him on his way. It was tempting to run straight to the food that night, then go and climb into bed. He didn’t, since there really was something off about things. He couldn’t put a finger on it, so headed inside. That took a bit, since he had to feel his way inside through the pitch-black tunnel, then move into the main section, past the smooth stone buildings that ran all the way up to the ceiling twelve feet overhead.
The food being served in the dining area, near the middle of the space, smelled really good. Some kind of meat with gravy and potatoes, he thought. There was bread in the mix, too. When he walked up, he saw that it was actually freshly made rolls. He grabbed a tray, moving down the line alone, since almost everyone was already eating. His food buddy, Grasshopper, was dishing the food up, along with a normie looking man in nice clothing.
“Hey! How are you doing today?” He tried to be nice to Grasshopper, since she had things nearly as tough as he did. People didn’t love insects and she looked a bit too much like one of those to be hugely popular.
The green woman smiled at him, and took his tray.
“Hi,
King Rat. Things are good in here. I heard there was a bit of activity out on the guard line earlier? C. C. came through and told Gift here all about it. They’re on the same work crew.”
It took a second to put the names together, but he nodded, letting both of the people load his tray up, agreeing when they asked if he wanted some of everything. He always took all the food he could. He didn’t have to eat every meal, but as far as he knew he wasn’t able to get fat, either. He’d tried pretty hard and it hadn’t happened yet, at any rate.
When the man handed him his tray, well loaded with grub, Ryan let his head bob a bit.
“Yeah? I heard about you then. You did the work on the shield thing we had today? That was nice. The cops just left. They couldn’t see us, I don’t think. There were enough of them to make problems for us. That one guy came back, but he went away too. I… The kid mentioned that to you?”
“Yes. I’m glad it worked.”
So was he. Ryan hefted his tray a bit.
“So, um, I get feelings about things. Fear mainly. Right now, everything is telling me that we all need to be ready to pick up and go. I don’t know who to get with for that. I have some friends here, but not a lot. A few guys. Grasshopper here. I could be wrong, so… Yeah, I don’t know what to do with that.” He sounded just a bit lost for a moment.
Instead of brushing him off, the regular looking guy just nodded.
“You should talk to Pam on that… Let me…” The man waved, then yelled, if not all that loudly.
“Pam!” That got a girl to look over. She had blonde hair and enough curves to be interesting. She wasn’t skinny or anything, which was good to see. Too many of them there really were.
After a second she waved back, seeming confused.
“There you go, tell her about it. She’s a bit prickly at times, so don’t take it personally. She’s good at getting things done and I don’t think she really means to be upset seeming, inside. It just comes out that way.”