Monster of the Apocalypse (7 page)

“W
here did Toshi die?” Deo suddenly asked. He turned and looked at Hal, leaning on the bar, his empty plate pushed to the side. “You said that you moved her body. Where did she die?”

Noticing the sudden intensity of Lecti, Hal took his time replying. Was this his opportunity? He could lead them to another room that was set up as a trap. But knowing that Lecti was already on guard, he decided to pass up an attempt that he was reasonably sure would fail. It would just make her even more suspicious.

“Okay kid, I’ll show you the room I gave them. It’s not pretty.”

Deo didn’t like Hal. He really had no reason to suspect Hal other than having a feeling of unease whenever Hal was around. Lecti hadn’t discussed her earlier conversation with Hey You, so he didn’t know that Hal was not involved in the killing. Even without a conversation he could feel that Lecti loathed Hal. Beyond that, well, Deo just didn’t like him.

Behind the door Hal opened was a large room. He would have cleaned it today if Lecti and Deo hadn’t shown up so early. The beds were a mess. One was a bare mattress and the other looked like it had been slept on without the covers being pulled back. A floor lamp and a chair were overturned. A bottle, empty, lay on the floor next to a bloody sheet. There wasn’t a lot of blood, but any blood was too much.

Deo moved about the room, slowly, deliberately, gathering his thoughts as he gathered information. He could believe now that the bikers were responsible.

Motioning Hal to enter the room, Lecti stopped at the doorway just as she did at the other room. She read this room, too. Her first concern was the lock on the door. It was a lock normally found on an office door. It only locked from the inside unless you used a key from the outside. If need be she could break it with her wrecking bar. The room confirmed what Hey You had told her. If Hal wanted to trap someone, he would not put her in this room.

Stooping to pick up a trashcan, Hal moved to the sheets on the floor. He picked them up and stuffed them into the can.

“Sorry, sorry you saw this,” said Hal. “I was going to clean it up. I didn’t want you to see it.”

If they liked Hal and were not already watching him closely, they might have bought his show of sympathy.

Deo looked at Lecti, “We’ll sleep here tonight. Tomorrow we’ll figure out the rest.”

Lecti acquiesced without a word. She did not believe in ghosts or spirits so found no reason to deny Deo the chance to take this last night to feel close to Toshi.

Hal would not have spent the night here for anything. He kept his bedroom fortified in order to keep the ghosts out as much as the living. Symbols from Christianity to the arcane crowded his safe room. More and more it seemed that spirits still found ways to come to him.

Hal wished he had a way to contain the kids in the room as he left them. Closing the door softly, he was already deep in his fantasies.

The night passed uneventfully.

Lecti let Deo sleep in the morning and went to make coffee in the hospital atrium. She thought she knew what Deo’s plan was, and figuring out how to avoid it was her only option.

Arriving soon after Lecti, Hal brought forth a full plastic bag and a hotplate. He decided to splurge this morning. It came to him in the night that good food might soften Lecti up.

Chickens had managed to survive in Carson City. Finding them, Hal encouraged their survival with feed during the winter months. He caught a few using a trap baited with corn from his garden. They tamed quickly, though not completely, gave him eggs, and then fresh meat when they stopped
laying. They were ferocious bug killers and protected more garden produce than they destroyed.

The eggs were one of Hal’s true joys, and he loved to cook them. Sharing them this morning actually made him feel good. Bacon, bread, and butter in sealed, irradiated packaging from his freezer completed his menu.

Surprised, Lecti sat opposite the chef. She watched Hal pull bacon strips apart as they thawed in the pan. Soon the air was filled with an aroma that she missed. The road was not a good place to find food like this. Hal pulled the sealed bread packages apart and placed the buttered bread on top of the bacon to warm. Immediately he cracked perfect, small eggs into a skillet of hot butter.

“Go get your brother, Lecti,” he said joyfully. “It’s going to be done before he can get here.”

Lecti could see the makeshift kitchen from the hallway and she kept an eye on Hal as she walked to their room. Opening the door, she was startled. Deo was already pulling the door open. He was startled, too, and they laughed. Perfect timing. He would not be late for breakfast.

It was the first time Lecti felt relaxed since they had arrived here. Deo, too, seemed to be comfortable although somewhat introspective. The food did its work, and the mood was much lighter. Hal tried not to say too much, but he was enjoying himself and allowed himself to be part of the conversation. Gradually there started to be small silences. It was not awkward, just time to step the conversation up to more serious topics. They all knew this and avoided the change for a short time. Finally, Deo, being the most intent on making progress, turned the discussion.

Looking at Hal, he stated, “You said something yesterday. Something about having resources. About being able to help us catch up to the bikers.”

Lecti started. She had forgotten all about that. Damn.

It was hard to control himself. Hal suddenly knew he had the opening he had been waiting for. He kept his face lowered, trying to be nonchalant.

“Yeah, yeah, I might have said something like that. I know what you need if you want to catch them.”

“Well, give it up,” Deo suggested, still lost in the camaraderie they had been enjoying. “They were riding motorcycles. How do we catch up?”

Playing it out, Hal seemed to hesitate as though he wanted to save Deo from a harsh reality.

“Look kid, are you sure you want to do that? You know Toshi deserved what she got.”

He had almost gone too far, but he had also managed to set the hook.

Deo’s eyes got cold and hard. Good humor was no longer in the building.

“Nobody deserves what she got,” said Deo, ice in his voice, “and who are you to make that kind of remark?”

Hal did not look at Lecti. He was afraid to give himself away.

“I’m the guy who’s going to help you catch the bastards.” He looked up and met Deo’s eyes. “I’m the guy with what you need, the guy with resources.”

“So give it up.” Deo’s hand moved to his pistol grip.

“No, kid, no.
It doesn’t work like that. Information like this is worth something. You’ve got to give me something. Something of value.”

Hal moved his hand beneath the counter. His finger caressed the trigger of the Uzi as he pointed it at Deo. The thin wood of the bar would not hinder the deadliness of the weapon. It was now or never.

He turned his head and met Lecti’s frightened gaze.

Lecti knew what Hal wanted. She knew it all along. The unwavering stare let her know that she had lost. When Hal dropped his hand under the counter top Lecti knew he had something poised to kill Deo. If she didn’t give Hal what he wanted, Deo would be dead within seconds.

“I’ve got something. Something you can have,” she said without dropping her eyes.

Not realizing that a weapon was pointed at him beneath the counter by a psychopath with every intention of killing him, Deo was puzzled. He didn’t know what Lecti was talking about.

“What, what do we have that he could want?” Deo asked, motioning toward Hal with his head.

Still maintaining her focus on Hal, Lecti replied, “The camcorder. I’ll even show you how it works.”

“Deal,” replied Hal, barely able to control the grin forming on his face. He glanced at Deo and back to Lecti. She still met him with an unblinking regard.

“I’ll be right back.” Lecti rose from her seat and disappeared into their room.

She emerged seconds later with both of their packs, the rifle and the shotgun tucked under her arms. Dropping the packs she propped the rifle against the bar and placed the shotgun on the counter in front of Deo. She pulled the headset out of her pack nonchalantly.

Lecti did not want Deo to know what was happening. She feigned an aura of unconcern and tried to figure out how to throw Deo off the trail.

“Listen, brother,” she said evenly, “I’m going to give Hal something special. I figure that he’ll give us better information if he gets something of more value.”

Deo looked puzzled.

Hal couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did she expect her brother to go for this? His finger tightened on the trigger.

“I’m going to let him take some pictures of me.” Lecti tried to look coy. “I don’t mind. We’ll never see him again, and he’s an old man. It’ll make his day.” She grinned.

If Deo had been in his normal frame of mind he might have objected, but he wanted the information, and he saw no real harm.

Impressed and relieved, Hal could not fathom how Lecti had managed to divert Deo.

As Lecti came around the bar carrying the camcorder, Hal told her to lay her knife on the counter, framing it as a request. He picked it up, twirling it blade up and admiring it.

“Don’t want you to stick me after I give you what you want.” Hal said, smiling.

Taking her arm and still playing with the knife, he led her toward the room she had spent the night in. Things were finally going his way.

Lecti stopped at the door and turned. For a moment Hal thought she had changed her mind, and he might have to gut her here.

“Deo, pick up the shotgun. If I take too long, shoot the dogs. Watch the door, and if Hal comes out first, shoot him.” She grinned at Hal. “Can’t be too careful.”

The knife was useless now. Before Lecti’s instructions to Deo, Hal had every intention of using it. He had a hidden stash of restraints and a gag to minimize noise in every bedroom, along with a loaded pistol. His plan was to enjoy Lecti and stroll out of the bedroom as though she was bringing up the rear. His weapon would take care of Deo before he knew what was happening. Now he would have a shotgun waiting for him.

Considering, he decided he might not get everything he wanted, but at least he would get something.

Deo pondered the situation. He really had no clue that Hal had ulterior motives, but his sister was asking him to do something strange. Deo at least understood that she must not trust Hal. Placing a chair at the hall entry, shotgun at the ready, he waited as he was told.

Hal was good to his word strangely enough. He did have information of value in regard to moving fast and far. He quickly gave Lecti instructions in a simple concise way, a way that she would remember easily. Then he threw the camcorder in the corner and they got down to his payment.

The door opened just as Deo started to wonder if he should be concerned.

“Coming out.” Hearing Lecti’s voice relieved Deo.

Lecti, her expression dark, emerged at a fast, purposeful pace. She was all business. Deo mistook it for either embarrassment or a resolve to get after the bikers now that they had what they needed. She marched to the packs, slung hers to her shoulder and picking up the rifle, strode out the door without waiting for Deo.

Deo hurried to catch up. He grabbed his pack and spinning to see if Hal had emerged behind him, he pushed his way through the doors. Hal had not shown his face.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, but there was a dark cloud over Lecti.

Deo usually had no trouble keeping up with her. Today he had to lengthen his stride, and even so, she managed to keep ahead of him. Lecti didn’t want him to see her tears.

A
rrowhead Drive leads through Carson City along the north foothills. It once carried a large volume of traffic as a shortcut between the highway from Reno to Highway 50 east. After the freeway bypass through Carson was built, it lost much of that traffic. Used heavily by pre-plague residents, it led past an older, upscale residential section, an industrial area and the old airport.

Ancient aircraft, huge hulking cargo planes and obsolete seaplanes moldered into the tarmac as Lecti and Deo passed. Years of abuse fighting high Sierra Mountain forest fires had been reversed by timely maintenance, baling wire, and chewing gum. Dedicated and, some would even say, obsessed men used skill and duct tape to keep these monsters in the air. Though the planes had survived hard use, time and neglect had now left them ravaged. They sat tilted on flat tires, some with wings partially or completely separated from their hulls. One looked as though it had been smashed by a heavy object, its hull collapsed unevenly on one side, its wing flattened to the ground. Weeds grew high around all of them.

Normally they would have stopped and investigated a place like this. Deo in particular was always interested in pre-plague technology, especially older technology. The size of these unusual aircraft piqued his curiosity as well. He didn’t have a chance to suggest it because Lecti was too far ahead of him, and he was too out of breath to shout.

At this point Deo wondered why Lecti was in such a snit. He didn’t feel overly comfortable with Lecti posing for Hal, but it was her idea. Maybe she was more embarrassed than she thought she would be. Deo would lay low and let her work it out.

Lecti was in a dark place. She was trying her best to concentrate on the task ahead. It was the only way to keep from thinking about the ugliness of the past hour. She knew her mind had been injured even more than her body and that only time would give her any comfort and peace. Memories would dim. Sensations would diminish. She was anxious to start the process.

In order to start that healing, Lecti refused to be a victim. She had bought Deo’s life with her body. It was her choice, and she accepted it as such, regardless of Hal’s threat. But that didn’t mean she had to quell her anger. She seethed, her tears, rage driven. She promised herself that there would be a reckoning.

The road twisted south and met Highway 50 at an intersection that was originally far outside the city. Now large buildings surrounded it on all sides, a convenience store on one corner.

Turning right, back toward the city center, Lecti marched on. Deo didn’t have a clue about what she knew because she wouldn’t confide in him, wouldn’t say a word to him in fact. He followed behind. He noticed that she started to focus on the right side of the road.

It was not far. A large cement parking area with an L-shaped, brick building fronted by large, roll-up doors adjoined the highway. Compared with most of the buildings they experienced, this one almost appeared new. Even the cement was fairly free of the usual windblown debris. A man door sat nestled in with the larger roll-ups, and Lecti approached it directly.

She hesitated as she got close. Searching the ground, she veered off to bend down and pick up a rock nestled in the corner of a doorframe. Turning it over produced a hidden slider, which, when opened, exposed a key. She dug it out. Deo caught up just in time to see her turn and throw the rock across the road and into the weeds.

The dim light inside exposed a long, open space crowded with vehicles. Dust lay heavy on gleaming paint and chrome.

Brother and sister moved slowly together, looking at each vehicle in turn. They knew this was a special place filled with someone’s heart, their blood and their sweat, and even their tears. Their father had told them stories about before, and one of his favorites was about the classic cars and the shows where hundreds would congregate.
They remembered seeing several individual vehicles in garages as they explored with their dad after settling in Roseburg.
He would look, always without touching, explaining that these were works of art. Sometimes they found vehicles in the process of being restored and modified. From the cars and the stories, they learned how much work went into the final result.

Lecti and Deo were not brought up in an age of ready vehicular transportation. Older vehicles were some type of internal combustion powered system and the later electric vehicles built before the plagues needed recharging. After the plagues hit, most of the power grid was lost in a few months. Public transportation systems were the first to go. The combustible petroleum-based fuels had a short shelf life. By the time Lecti was old enough to remember seeing anything operational, everything except solar powered vehicles were extinct. Even the solar-powered cars became scarce. After the plagues, there were so few people that when the cars broke down, drivers would just find another and use it until that one broke. Without learning how to repair them, the technological skills became scarce and gradually fewer and fewer vehicles survived in operating condition. Still, as kids, they had both had a chance to learn how to operate what there was, thanks to their father’s insistence on learning anything worthwhile.

The majority of the vehicles that Lecti and Deo were looking at were vintage. Deo wasn’t very good at identifying cars, but three were familiar due to his father’s particular interest in them. These were AC Cobras, or at least very good replicas. Another was a later model Shelby Cobra, a dark blue GT 500 fastback built on a Mustang chassis.

The fastback drew Deo’s interest because it had an unusual fitting on the left front fender. Overcoming his aversion to touching the car, he opened the hood and found a beautifully fitted electric power plant. This car was rechargeable. Unfortunately they had no way to charge it. They would have also needed the capacity to charge it somewhere down the road in order to catch up with their prey.

They kept looking.

The last two bays were filled with what their father called “big-boy toys.” Most of them were state-of-the-art, built just before the plagues. Many of them were also solar-powered. Two full-dress road bikes, six bikes built for off-road use, five quads, and a four seat dune buggy on a trailer.

The last vehicle was a new looking, three-wheeled, off road motorcycle/dune buggy hybrid. It had solar panels mounted within the top of the roll cage, as well as on all other sun-facing surfaces. A rack of small, rechargeable vanadium batteries sat behind the two seats. Two rifle mounts graced the front cage supports. A pair of goggles lay on each seat. The two smaller front tires and the wider rear tire were made for off road use but had a solid center rib for smooth highway use. Although Deo and Lecti didn’t know it, the tires were also filled with foam. You couldn’t flatten them even if you stuck them with a knife.

Hal had informed Lecti of two places that held possible transportation. Lecti knew they would not have to investigate the other.

Deo opened the garage door. Light flooded the interior.

The bikers were riding solar motorcycles so the dirt bikes were considered. They only had a range of a hundred miles or
so on a full charge, and they couldn’t be ridden while they were charging. The fact that they could ride separately was the only upside.

The three-wheeler looked like it could be driven as the batteries charged, but they would only have one vehicle to depend on.

Speed and range won out. With very little discussion, they decided on the trike.

Deo jumped in. A key was in the console, and when the ignition was engaged nothing happened. No charge. He put it in neutral and climbed out.

“We need to push it out into the sun,” said Deo.

Lecti was in no hurry. She hoped the batteries took a long time to charge. She really didn’t care if they ever saw the cyclists again. She would have liked to kill something, but her anger was more focused to their rear.

Lecti judged by the sun that an hour went by before the dash lights came on when the key was turned. It was a bright, warm day. Waiting to let it charge was pleasant. She and Deo both stretched out on the hard cement and soaked up the sun.

“What do you think, Deo? Should we try driving it now or wait ‘til it gets a bigger charge?”

Deo was anxious to go. He wanted to get started now, although his mood had gone from blind rage to cold determination.

“My biggest concern is that we might get down the road and something breaks, and we’re stranded without a vehicle. We’ll never catch them then.” Deo looked worried. “Of course there’s just no way of knowing, so we might as well give it a try. Yeah, let’s go. If we don’t like it right away, we can always come back and get the bikes.”

The shotgun found a place on the driver’s side and the rifle on the passenger’s side. Built-in baskets on either side in the rear accommodated the packs.

Lecti did not want to drive. As they slowly pulled out of the drive, she moved around, familiarizing herself with the space. Several times she pulled the rifle out of its sheath and sighted it through the cage at various angles before replacing it. Deo wondered at her sudden intensity.

The three-wheeler moved slowly. Something was either wrong, or it just wasn’t built for going fast. That did not seem likely from the look of it. The looming hill as they moved east slowed them even more. Deo kept the accelerator pressed to the floor and they crawled up the hill. Maybe the charge was low, or maybe the vehicle was just not going to work. It wouldn’t be the first time they would have to abandon a vehicle that looked operational. At the top of the hill, he turned the trike around.

“This is ridiculous,” he fumed at wasting their time. “We’ll use the bikes. As soon as we get back, we get them out and get them charging.”

Lecti agreed. This fine piece of machinery was a disappointment.

Deo picked up speed as they drifted down the long hill. It was fun, just as the skateboards coming down the hill from Tahoe were.

Deo and Lecti did not know that the brakes generated a charge as well as the panels. As they picked up speed he tapped them occasionally, and at the bottom of the hill he slowed. The next time he stepped on the accelerator he expected nothing more than what he got before. The rear tire was on a small drift of sand and the rooster tail that was suddenly thrown behind them as he floored it surprised them both. The power generated by the brakes had released the survival mode, which automatically kicked in whenever the power was too low.

The siblings looked at each other and Deo grinned. This was more like it. The road into Carson City was straight and broad and invited them to test their ride. Deo smiled as the acceleration pressed him back into his seat. Goggles that sat on top of their heads were pulled down and positioned for comfort. The wind blew through their hair, the suspension soaked up the drifts, and the double front wheel configuration made it corner better than anything else they could have found. Suddenly they were good. Dodging obstacles was fun at high speed.

When the overpass of the freeway loomed, Deo braked hard, and as they slowed he cranked the wheel. Stepping on the accelerator he broke the rear wheel loose and spun the three-wheeler in a one hundred eighty degree arc.

Now they had no decision to make. This was their choice of vehicle. The road led east again.

Deo latched his seat belt. So did Lecti.