Instinct Ascending: Rabids Book 2 (28 page)

Harley

“Toss the grenade; I’ll cover ya from here!” Harley shouted above the screams. Tandy nodded, coughing as smoke filled the room. Harley laid down fire as Tandy edged into the open, cocked his arm back and sent the small explosive hurtling toward the mass of Cutthroats and Rabids below them. The heated force of the explosion washed over their faces as they hit the deck, Rabids and Cuts screaming as they were engulfed in the explosion and debris.

Harley tapped Tandy on the ankle, signaling it was time to run. The older man stumbled to his feet, running in a limping gait across the catwalk, Harley following closely behind. They reached a window that led out onto the roof of the old building, and Harley sent up a silent prayer as they climbed out onto the rickety wood. They crossed the roof without incident, minus the time Tandy’s foot broke through a small hole in the roof. He wasn’t hurt, and it didn’t slow them down much. They finally made it to the edge, where they hunkered down, still shouting over the noise in the building beneath them.

“There’s some caves up in them dunes over the hills. There’s supplies stashed there. If we’re quick, we can make it to ’em, hopefully before anyone sees us.”

Harley thought for a moment, glancing to the west where he’d hidden his bike in a huge brush pile. He wished he could get to it and ride the hell outta here, but they had little other choice than to try for the dunes. The bike was too far and wouldn’t carry the both of them.  They’d have to get to the dunes and hope they either had enough supplies there to hold them over until the Cuts and Rabids left, or enough weapons in those supplies to help them plow a path through them.

Jumping off the first-story roof, they rolled with the landing, taking most of the force from their fall. Immediately they took off running, Harley with his arm around his pop to help him. Harley glanced over their shoulders a few times, but there was no sign of pursuit. They ran for what felt like forever before the dunes loomed in the distance. In reality, it was likely only fifteen minutes. But when your heart is in your throat, with your back fully exposed, time moves an awful lot slower.

Tandy took the lead as they reached the dunes, stumbling along until they reached a wall of sand. Harley stared in awe as Tandy shoved a curtain aside, stepped inside and held it for him to follow. The curtain was painted to look just like the flowing sand around them. Had Tandy not pointed it out, Harley’s eyes would have skimmed right over it. Tandy led the way deep into the cave before a light finally filled the space around them. Harley’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked around.

“What the hell is this place, Pops, the bat cave?”

Tandy chuckled dryly. “For now, it’s our sanctuary.” He placed the lantern on the ground, slumping tiredly next to it.

“What’s that smell?” Harley groaned, pinching off his nose.

“Skunkroot. Masks our scent and keeps the Rabids away.”

“I can see why,” Harley muttered, eyes watering. Curious, he took the opportunity to look around. They were deep into the dune, the cavern pitch black, minus the lantern’s light. Several bends in the path they’d followed kept the lantern light from reflecting down to the entrance to give them away. Picking up the lantern, Harley made his way deeper into the vast room. He came across multiple boxes, crates and covered items. He approached a suspiciously shaped, tarp-covered object.

“Who’d ya say stashed this stuff?”

Tandy reached into a nearby crate and tossed him a dust mask to cover his nose. Harley grabbed it, gratefully stuffing it over his nose. It helped ward off the smell of the skunkroot, a little. Harley lifted the corner of the tarp, finding his answer.

“Did I forget to mention it was me?” Tandy chuckled quietly at Harley’s expression as he uncovered his car.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Your first experiment?” Tandy adjusted his bum knee with a grunt. “Of course it is. I ain’t never left it behind in a move before; I sure ain’t gonna start now. Besides, I think Amiel would kill me if I did. She’s rather attached to the thing.”

Harley’s insides squeezed at the mention of Amiel. “That so?” He made his way back over to his pop’s side, kneeling down to rip open the denim and inspect the damage to his old man’s leg.

“Couldn’t get the girl to stay outta it; slept in it every night. Thought she’d cry when she had to leave it behind. Damn near bawled when she told me she blew out the back window with a shotgun.” Tandy winced when Harley prodded the swollen knee. “Hope she’s not sleepin’ with guns, still.” Harley grinned, grabbing out a wrap and binding up Tandy’s knee.

“Not that I know of. But she likes knives well enough.” Harley smirked, purposely letting Tandy wonder about that one.

“Heaven help us,” Tandy muttered.

“That should help the swellin’ go down if ya keep it elevated for a bit.”

“Gonna be here for a while anyways. Might as well,” Tandy grumbled. Harley looked at the ground, picking at a rock embedded in the sand.

“Care to fill me in on what the hell I just walked into back there, Pops?”

Harley had ridden for three hours into the desert, northeast and far from any of the waypoints his pops usually would have taken if he were on a run. Harley had stashed his bike when he’d seen what was in the distance: a small ghost town with crumbled buildings aside from one big hotel smack dab in the middle. And a whole lotta ruckus was coming out of that building. Cutthroats walked back and forth, standing guard outside. Harley had known for a fact that Tandy was in there; he’d told him so on the phone when he’d given the coordinates. Which only left Harley one question: how was he going to get in there without bringing them all down on his head?

An idea forming, Harley had grabbed a couple of the gadgets from his side bags and snuck closer to the hotel. Pulling out three of the disks, he’d activated them, teeth clenching against the noise they emitted as he set them up at a nearby abandoned building. Then all that was left to do was hide and wait, hoping there were Rabids nearby, and enough of them to do the job.

The gadgets were an invention he used on occasion, to draw Rabids to him. It came in handy when he sensed a possible ambush ahead and didn’t dare venture closer. He’d set off one of those doodads and the Rabids would hear it and come outta the woodwork.

The sound was too high-pitched for Clean ears to consciously recognize, though eventually it gave them headaches. Hybrids and Rabids were a different story. It was a high-pitched screaming sound, meant to give off the impression of distress — worked a lot like the distress calls hunters used when looking to draw in wildlife predators to target. Only this hunter was hunting Rabids. And this time, the hunter was looking for more of a distraction than a hunt. He’d used three in hopes that the increased number would cause the sound to travel farther and draw more attention.

A full hour had passed, and by the time the first Rabid had shown up, Harley was ready to claw his ears off. The Cuts had started shouting the alarm as a whole drove of Rabids came over the hilltops. And of course, once the Rabids had seen the Cuts, they’d lost all interest in the sound of his doodads. And then all hell had broken loose. While the Cuts and Rabids fought, Harley had climbed the hotel walls, searching the windows as he scaled the multilevel roofs, scenting as best he could. Finally he’d found his pop’s scent and climbed through a window. Following the scent had led him to find Tandy holed away in a crawl space at the top of the hotel. The fight had moved inside by then, where more hell broke loose. Which had led them to where they were now.

“I got run outta town.” Tandy sighed heavily. “Luckily, I had some warning ahead of time and sent my stuff on before me. But it was a hell of a fight gettin’ outta there.”

“Who was it?” Harley growled, eager to send heads rolling. Tandy’s eyes turned guarded.

“Don’t matter. Suffice it to say, I got enemies everywhere, and this particular enemy has connections.”

Harley sighed, knowing he wouldn’t get any more answers on that part of the story. He let it go for now.

“Anyways, I managed to get out, though I was worse for wear on the way out. Fought my way across till I got here. It’s a safe house for travel agents. Or it was. My enemy hired Cuts to look for me; knowin’ I was too far for their grasp, they sent someone else to do the dirty work.” Tandy spat in disgust.

“They found us here, and attacked, killin’ everyone off or tryin’ to torture ’em. Cuts wanted more than just me. There’s plenty of other bounties out there for agents. I hid myself away in the rafters and called ya in for help.”

“So what now? When we get ya outta here. You comin’ back to Dallas with me?”

“Naw, too dangerous. I ain’t leadin’ my troubles your way. Got a place over in Colorado I can hide out in. At least till this all blows over.”

“I’ll help ya get there.”

“Y’all can’t be away much longer, or they’ll get down on ya,” Tandy argued. “Just help me get an hour or two away, and we’ll be good.”

“I’ll take ya there, or I’ll hog tie ya and take ya. Which way’d you prefer?” Harley frowned. Tandy frowned back. They held those frowns for a good five minutes before Tandy waved him off.

“Ah, you’re a stubborn mule.”

“I come by it naturally.” Harley smirked.

Over the next twenty-four hours, Harley peeked out the curtain hourly, tracking the whereabouts of their enemies. They waited until darkness fell on the second day in hiding before they tempted their luck and snuck out of the cave. Tandy had packed Harley’s car full of supplies, and drove it out the entrance. Apparently, after taking Amiel to Texas, the old man had replaced the window she broke — and, while he was at it, put a new engine in, too.

“Reliving sentimental value of memories workin’ on a project together,” he’d explained to Harley with a proud smile. Tandy dropped Harley off at his bike, and together they started the trek toward Tandy’s hideaway in Colorado, managing to slip away under the radar of Cuts and Rabids alike.

Charleen

Charleen paused in the mess hall, nostrils flaring. Snarl on her lips, she kept walking, and her shadow followed. Finally having enough, Charleen spun, catching Greer by the neck and slamming him into the wall. The hand on his neck constricted while her free hand constricted an equally important area below the belt. Greer squeaked in protest, eyes flying wide as she threatened to turn him into a eunuch.

“Why are you following me, Greer?”

“I just wanted to ask you about some juicy gossip I heard, my QueenLeader.”

“I hate rumors,” Charleen snarled, squeezing harder. Greer’s legs spasmed and he jerked against her hold. It didn’t get him far.

“Kyree started it!” he gasped, trying to save his own skin.

“I don’t much care for Kyree, either.”

Greer struggled harder, knowing he wasn’t winning himself any battles here. “It’s about the girl!”

Charleen’s eyes narrowed, mind swiftly sifting through her options. “Keep your tone down!” Charleen growled, eyes flaring wider with an expansion of power that had Greer sniveling. “What girl?”

“The one your Second has been doting on for months now. The one that Kyree says is an unmarked Hybrid.”

“Are you on drugs, Greer?” Charleen sniffed him. “You know what happens to Hybrids discovered to be using drugs.”

“No! I swear! But your Second must be. What would Foundation say about him running all around town with an unmarked Hybrid?”

Charleen growled, slamming Greer against the wall again, much harder this time.

“If you so much as whisper a word about that girl, or my Second, if you even think their names, I will ram my hand down your throat and rip your stomach out from the inside. Do you understand?”

“I won’t whisper a word, my QueenLeader. But what’s to stop others from talking to Foundation about this? The rumors are circulating.”

Charleen’s hand grabbed the underside of Greer’s jaw, squeezing. “I wonder how easy it is to spread rumors without a jaw?”

Greer winced and whimpered at the increased pressure on his jaw.

“Now Greer, I have a job for you. Start circulating your own message, and rest assured there is no rumor to it. Everyone stays away from the girl. You don’t talk to her, or about her. You don’t so much as breathe in the same mile as her. Or I will eviscerate each and every one of you until you learn your place!”

Greer was a whimpering mess by the time she released him. He crumpled to the floor and she turned, taking in the entire room of Hybrids that watched with interest. She knew they had all been listening in on her exchange with Greer. She released an infuriated roar, making sure they all felt the power of her command and threat. She waited until each one of them shrank down in their seats, showing their submission, before her eyes sought out Kyree. The woman’s eyes widened, and she sank even deeper into the chair.

“If I hear so much as a whisper out of you again, I will personally leave what’s left of your carcass for the Rabids to pick at.”

Kyree instantly fell to the floor, silently groveling. Charleen’s gaze swept to take in the room.

“Anyone who gives that worm their ear will lose it!” Her growl echoed around the walls. Heads bobbed lower in a sign of fealty, and she turned her back, stoically walking from the room, showing she had not an ounce of fear of any of them. Leaving the cafeteria, Charleen released a heavy sigh. Harley had better hurry up and get back. The others were getting antsy to take his place.