by Chris Babu
There was one small problem, however. Steamrolling in and stealing these people’s food at gunpoint was wrong. Drayden was someone who treated people with empathy and respect, no matter their station in life. He would not sacrifice his own character in the name of achieving a personal goal, whether it be reaching Boston or holding on to the girl he loved.
These poor souls out here were starving, struggling. The privates’ lives weren’t more meaningful than the survivors’. Everyone’s lives mattered. Life mattered.
The same inequality poisoned New America, a society that decided his mother’s life wasn’t as important as a scientist’s, so it exiled her. Or a seamstress was expendable, while a Guardian wasn’t. It was revolting. Drayden refused to subject these people to the same abuse of power the Bureau wielded. Whoever remained in this PostCon world was bound together in the same battle to keep humanity afloat. They all needed to work hand in hand to achieve their common goal.
“No,” Drayden said. “Not only do we go in not-heavy, we go in unarmed.”
Charlie made a face. “Dray.”
“I’m serious. Otherwise, it’s stealing, and it’s wrong.”
Sidney held her palm up. “Shouldn’t we at least carry our weapons? We got ambushed once.”
“No. If we have weapons we’re a threat, and they may give us food but it will be out of fear, like that first time with Marty. We stole that chicken and moldy bread. We humiliated them, asserted our dominance, forced them to bow before us. I believe in the decency of people. If we treat them with respect, they’ll respect us back.”
Catrice remained silent. The others’ discomfort was apparent on their faces.
Eugene shook his head. “Fine, Dray, you’re our leader. You’ve never let us down. We’ll do it your way. I’ll stay unarmed, but I’m going to follow behind a bit, just in case. I’m hiding the weapons too.”
“Thanks, Eugene.”
Everyone disarmed and carried the weapons back to the beginning of the path near the bikes. Hidden off to the side, Eugene covered the pile of guns and knives with leaves and sticks.
“Follow my lead,” Drayden said as he marched back down the path toward the village.
The woman and her son lingered around the fire. Both were skin and bones, dirty, and sickly. Still, the boy was cute. He must’ve been around three.
They were fifty feet away when the boy smiled.
Drayden smiled back, and waved. He checked behind him, and Sidney trailed, followed by Catrice, and Charlie. Eugene hung way back.
The woman looked terrified as Drayden approached. She picked up the grinning boy.
Did she just shake her head slightly at me, or did I imagine it?
Drayden’s smile faded. The village was too quiet. The sense of being watched overcame him. The hints of peripheral movement, and the woman’s expression, caused his adrenaline to surge. He’d made a huge mistake.
Guns cocked all around them.
Drayden froze.
A gun muzzle pressed against the side of his head.
He began hyperventilating.
The hammer retracted with a click, cocking the gun.
He closed his eyes, trembling. Catrice. Sidney. I’m so sorry.
A gun fired.
Drayden shuddered and cried out. Then he opened his eyes. He was alive.
More gunshots in a flurry. Yelling.
“Get ‘em! Shoot that boy!”
The shots weren’t at Drayden. They were at Eugene, who was racing back up the path.
A few scruffy, bearded guys in dirty clothes chased after Eugene, firing revolvers at him. One man tore down the path with a shotgun.
Is he abandoning us?
Charlie, Sidney, and Catrice had their hands up, so Drayden raised his own.
They stood in a line, side by side now. When he glanced back, he found himself facing the man from the truck with the angular face and cold, vacant eyes. He wore a beige shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and was chewing something. His breath reeked of death.
Drayden swallowed hard.
The man sized him up before moving on to Sidney and repeating the examination. Many other men and women encircled them now. While some held weapons, they remained silent, watching their leader inspect the privates.
Finally, he spoke. “Well, well, today is our lucky day. We was told about you by your friends, the ones you tried to kill. But I thought they was lyin’. They warned us about you. We was ready. They gave us a deer they done killed too. Said they was headin’ to Boston so we showed ‘em the way.” He stopped in front of the girls and rubbed his dirty hands along Sidney’s chin. “Gabriel is gonna like you two,” he said with a creepy grin. “He’s gonna like you a lot. Uh-huh.”
Sidney snapped her head back and turned away.
The leader man stepped in front of Charlie and squeezed his arm, shaking it. “Check out this big boy. He’ll feed us for a month.” He inched closer and stared directly into Charlie’s eyes. “And I ain’t talkin’ about workin’ in the fields, boy.”
Charlie was unwavering, full of pride.
The leader man cackled, and the crowd assembled around him joined in.
A chill ran down Drayden’s spine. He’d never been so scared in his life. This was his fault, and unlike other times he’d screwed up, this time there was no fixing it.
The band of bearded men hurried back down the path into the clearing, their guns hanging by their sides. They doubled over out of breath when they reached the leader.
“Well? Where is he?” he asked.
“He…got away,” one of them said. “But there was blood on the bushes. We hit that sucker. He’s as good as dead.”
Drayden fought to free his hands, struggling against the rope binding them behind his back. It was no use. In the movies, people always managed to magically untie themselves and escape. After a few hours of trying to work them free, all he had to show for it were gashes on his wrists.
He sat in a chair with his feet bound to it, beside Charlie, Sidney, and Catrice, each restrained the same way. They were being held captive inside one of the many huts in the village. A piddling fire in a makeshift fireplace in the corner provided light now that it was nighttime. The light rain had escalated into a major thunderstorm. Rain and wind pounded the hut, and thunder cracked periodically.
Billy, their guard, walked in carrying an antique-looking silver revolver. He wore his brown hair in a mullet—short in front, long in the back—which was matted to his head from the rain.
After a few hours with Billy, Drayden had determined he was a total idiot.
He was a scrawny guy, with a face a little too small for his head, all scrunched up, with a pig nose. Like most of the men in this camp, Billy had a scruffy beard. He alternately guarded the door outside in the rain and ventured inside to taunt the privates.
As with some of the Guardians in New America, if you granted someone an inch of power they took a mile, abusing it. It was especially true for someone who didn’t deserve it to begin with.
This time Billy came inside just to make sure everything was in order. He flashed a grin that revealed few teeth, and sauntered back out the door, which remained open at all times. A streak of white flashed outside, and the crack of thunder rattled the ramshackle hut.
Drayden had already effusively apologized to his friends, begging for forgiveness. He couldn’t say he was sorry enough for entangling them in this mess. It was one-hundred percent his fault.
He couldn’t reconcile it in his mind. He’d done the right thing, stayed true to himself, and approached these people with respect. It wasn’t right to steal, bully, and dominate. What had he earned in return? They’d almost certainly lost the race to Boston, but that was the least of their problems. They might never reach Boston at all. Their families would suffer the consequences. And God only knew what these s
avages were going to do to them.
Throughout the Initiation and expedition, he’d encountered problem after problem and solved every one. With plenty of support, no doubt. This time was different. There was no way out.
Drayden sighed. “Guys, I’m sorry, again.” He considered the possibility he was repeating it so he could hear Sidney tell him it was okay—that it wasn’t his fault. She was dogged in her defense of him. Resolute.
“Dray, stop,” Sidney said. “We don’t blame you. We would have died by now if it wasn’t for you. We’re with you, all the way.”
“Yeah, bro,” Charlie said. “There were so many dudes with guns, it wouldn’t have mattered if we had ours. Heck, if it turned into a gunfight, we’d be dead right now. Probably best we ditched our weapons.”
Even so, they should have heeded Eugene’s advice about heading straight to Boston. They had an insurmountable lead. How could Drayden have been stupid enough to inject the one variable that relinquished it?
Only Catrice hadn’t absolved him of his guilt. One glimpse of her suggested it was due to shock, not because she faulted him. She was quivering, her eyes swollen from crying. She was clearly petrified, and with valid reason.
Drayden yearned to hate her for everything that had happened between them on the expedition. But he couldn’t do it. It wasn’t his shame for their current predicament either. He still cared about Catrice and felt the need to protect her, like in the Initiation. He desired her affection too.
His expectations might have been misplaced regarding their relationship. They’d only been a couple for a few weeks and weren’t close before the Initiation. There was much about her he didn’t know. He’d filled in those blanks with his idealistic vision of what the perfect girlfriend would be like, setting expectations she could never live up to. Nobody could. It was a recipe for failure. Catrice was her own person, not a robot built specifically to cater to his needs. Perhaps she didn’t want a boyfriend, or wasn’t ready for one. Or she desired a different one.
“I’m concerned about Eugene,” Drayden said.
“Huh, Eugene,” Sidney scoffed. “He abandoned us. I guess he’s not so great after all.”
“No way,” Charlie said. “He might be plotting our rescue right now. He said he was going to hang back just in case. Well, ‘in case’ happened.”
“He got shot, Charlie,” Drayden said. “If there was enough blood to splatter on bushes, it was serious. He’s probably dead.”
Add Eugene’s death to list of things that were his fault.
Catrice stayed quiet, save for the occasional sniffle.
Billy the idiot entered the hut and shook his head, spraying water everywhere. His boots dragged mud over the floor as he strolled over to the privates, where he squatted in front of Catrice. He touched her on the cheek, running his filthy fingers down to her lips. “You sure are purty. I hope y’all are excited to meet Gabriel tomorrow. I think you’re gonna like Gabriel. All the ladies do.” He smiled wide and snortled.
Drayden’s anger and frustration boiled over. He flailed and tugged to loosen the ropes binding his wrists, to no avail. “Leave her alone, Billy.”
He shot up and marched over. “Oh yeah? You don’t tell me what to do. I’m in charge. You got that?” He cracked Drayden in the shin with the toe of his boot.
The sharp pain radiated through Drayden’s whole leg. Although he fought to conceal his anguish because he didn’t want to give Billy the satisfaction, his face contorted in pain.
“Yeah,” Billy grunted, “that’s nuthin’. Wait till Gabriel gets here.” He spun around and walked outside again.
They needed to get out of here, immediately if not sooner. These people were barbarians. No better than what he was trying not to be, refusing to steal from them. No better than the Guardians, the Bureau, Nathan Locke, or anyone else who abused their power. Drayden had always believed people were inherently good, but he wasn’t convinced anymore. When pushed by desperation or greed, people succumbed to their basest desires, their animal instincts, and downright savagery. The privates needed to hatch a plan to escape before this Gabriel guy arrived tomorrow. Apparently, he was the real leader, not the sharp-faced guy with the vile breath.
Drayden sneezed a few times in a row. His nose was running, and it needed blowing. Man, he was miserable. Life couldn’t get any worse than this. “Guys,” he said, quiet enough that Billy the idiot wouldn’t overhear, “we have to get out of here. Any ideas?”
“I just want to be back at home.” Sidney’s eyes welled with tears. “I want to go home,” she sobbed.
“It’s all right, Sid,” Charlie said, “we’re gonna figure something out, right, Dray? We’ll be home before you know it. Back in our apartments, living next door to each other.”
Drayden coughed up phlegm and spat it out. “I wish I had Shahnee here. I need some medicine.”
Charlie snickered. “I’d throw my arms around my nurse Jeff if he was here. I’d even let him give me that blue–green shot that scared the crap out of me.”
“Yeah,” Drayden said. Wait, what? “What did you say?”
“I’d throw my arms ar—”
“No, after that. What about a blue-green shot?”
“You know, the Aeru vaccine, or booster, or whatever it’s called,” Charlie said.
Drayden wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but yours was blue-green?”
“Yeah. What color was yours?”
“Like, white, opaque,” Drayden said. “How about yours, Sid? Catrice?”
“Blue-green,” Sid said.
“Blue-green,” Catrice squeaked.
Drayden hyperventilated. “Wait, but that…oh my God.” A tear rolled down his cheek. Maybe Nathan Locke had arranged it, or someone else who’d wished to dispose of him in the Bureau. He wasn’t administered the real Aeru vaccine like the others.
It wasn’t a cold.
I have Aeru.
CHAPTER 26
Seated in his chair, Billy tore into a loaf of bread in front of them, the crumbs falling into his lap. Chewing extra slow, he opened his mouth with food inside, making a show of it.
It had the intended effect. Drayden and the others were mesmerized, dreaming of the bread in his hands. Drayden actually felt drool forming. Although he’d stopped crying an hour ago, his cheeks were damp and his eyes felt puffy. He imagined his friends would forgive him for the meltdown. He had Aeru, and he was going to die. They were likely all going to die tomorrow, or sometime soon. But even if they somehow escaped, he would still die.
“Awww, what’s the matter, tough guy?” Billy asked Drayden, mocking him with an exaggerated sad face. “Cryin’ like a baby over there. Save them tears. You gonna need some for tomorrow.”
Drayden had never hated anyone as much as Billy the idiot. The fact that this puny, moronic, immoral loser had power over them was sickening.
Billy set his loaf of bread on the chair and walked back outside.
“Okay, this is it,” Drayden whispered. “Next time captain moron comes back in, we execute our plan. You ready, Sid?”
She pursed her lips and appeared on the verge of tears. “I’m so nervous. What if it doesn’t work?”
“You can do it,” Charlie said. “This guy’s a weakling.”
It wasn’t the best idea. She had legitimate reason to be worried. Unfortunately, it was all they could come up with. They also needed to attempt it, given whatever nightmare awaited when this guy Gabriel returned.
When they’d tried to execute the ploy earlier with Charlie, Billy shot it down. Charlie had asked to use the bathroom, and Billy told him to go in his pants. Sidney was going to make the same request, acting flirty in the process. They hoped he would assume she was weak. Little did Billy know that she was a tremendous athlete.
Still, the plan was fraught with shortcomings. Sidney needed to both incapacitate Billy an
d silence him so he couldn’t yell for help. The exact time was unclear, since the clan had snatched their watches. But it was sometime in the middle of the night, and the rest of the camp was quiet, the occupants likely asleep. If the attempt failed, the other privates couldn’t even come to her rescue. They would be tied up. If Billy got the upper hand, they would be forced to watch whatever he did to her.
Sidney, while strong, didn’t have any fight training other than the rudimentary amount they’d received in Guardian school before the expedition. So Drayden told her exactly what to do. Billy would most likely be behind her with the gun. He wouldn’t be expecting an attack and wouldn’t be mentally prepared to fire his weapon. If her ambush happened fast, it could work. She would throw a vicious elbow back into his gut and spin around. When he leaned forward from the stomach blow, she would wrap her hands around the back of his head and slam it down into her rising knee. After that, she would tackle him to the ground and choke him.
Drayden could understand her nerves. “Sid, it’s either this or we wait to see what Gabriel’s gonna do. You can do this. Don’t hold back. Hit hard. As hard as you can.”
She nodded, taking shallow, hurried breaths.
Billy returned and plopped down, dripping water. He grabbed his loaf of bread and bit off a chunk.
Drayden winked at Sidney.
She breathed deeply. “Excuse me, Billy? Would you be so kind as to let me use the bathroom? I promise I’ll be good.” She pouted her lips. “You can escort me, and we’ll come right back.”
Billy hesitated, apparently thinking. “You try anything and I’m gonna shoot ya,” he said through a mouthful of bread.
“Thank you, Billy, you’re the best. I promise I won’t try anything.” She flashed a sly smile.
Drayden’s heart thumped so loud he feared Billy could hear. He was terrified for Sidney, sure something would go wrong.
Billy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He got up and set his bread on the chair, blissfully ignorant about the impending assault.
Sweat dripped down Drayden’s cheeks. This was the moment of truth.