The Saffron Malformation (45 page)

             
Reggie came in through the front door and said, “We gotta move.”

Run and Hide

             
There was a car parked outside Natalie’s house.  She didn’t know why the sight of it tightened her throat but it did.  Maybe because it was out of place, no one in Northshire was wealthy enough to afford such a vehicle, or maybe it was what Quey had said before he left, “Have a way out.”

             
“Whose car is that?” Amber asked from beside her.  The girl had either sensed her mother’s unease or developed her own.

             
Natalie shook her head and replied, “I don’t know.”  Her only concern became getting Amber away from there.  “Listen, you think you can go to Lizzie’s house for a bit.”

             
Amber shook her head, “She has practice till six.”

             
Natalie nodded and tried to think.

             
“Mom, what’s going on?”

             
Natalie looked at her daughter, uncertain of what to say.

             
“Do you know whose car that is?”

             
“No,” she replied.  “I just,” she trailed off.  Amber was getting scared and she knew it was because of her reaction.  It was nothing, she knew, just a car parked along the street.  Could be someone visiting the person across the way, people parked like that sometimes, but her guts told her something about it was wrong.  Without thinking she drove slowly past the house.

             
“Mom, what’s going on?” Amber asked and this time her voice trembled.

             
“I just need a minute.”  She stopped the car two houses down and sat.  Quey had told her a lot that last night, about the Angels of the Brood running rabid, raiding cities, looking for him.  She remembered his words, “Have a way out.”  It wasn’t advice he gave when she refused to go with him—it was a warning.  What that warning was about exactly she might not be sure of, but she was willing to bet it had something to do with that car.

             
Amber’s eyes were full of tears as they watched her, waiting for something to make sense.  Natalie tried to reassure her with a smile, but it was hollow.  “I’m going to run over and make sure everything’s okay at the house.”

             
“Why wouldn’t it be?” her daughter interrupted.

             
“I’m sure it is, but I just want to check.  Afterward we can go inside and have a snack and a laugh.  Okay?”

             
Amber nodded, but she didn’t believe it.  Something was up, and not knowing was worse than whatever had her mother on edge.

             
Natalie stepped out of the car, taking her sheet—folded—with her.  As she moved toward the house she opened the emergency app and readied her thumb to tap the button to call for security.

             
The day was bright and nearly cloudless with a gentle breeze that shook the leaves overhead.  Down the street there was a group of children playing, shouting at one another with excited little voices.  She didn’t see them, even when she glanced briefly in their direction.  Her focus was on her house and her mind remained on the question, ‘Where is the owner of that car.’

             
Before she knew it she was at the door, her hand wrapped around the knob.  Her heart sank when it turned.  She’d locked the door this morning, of that she had no doubt.  Heart racing, she fought off the fear threatening to paralyze her as she opened the door slowly, trying to remain quiet.  It was only open a little more than a crack when she heard the sniveling and then the trembling plea.  “Please,” a voice said.  “I don’t know anything.”

             
Natalie opened the door a bit more and peered into the living room where a man was looming over Thomas, who was curled up in the corner.  Thomas was her landlord, a nice man who helped her out from time to time with the maintenance of the house and she remembered then that he said he was going to come by soon and check on some things for her.  He said he probably wouldn’t get to it for a few days but it seemed he had come by early.  Who the other man was she didn’t know.

             
“I need to find her,” the looming man said.  He was wearing a black long sleeve and black slacks.  “I’m going to find her,” he continued.

             
“I told you I don’t live here, I was just checking the pluming in the kitchen.”  That was when Thomas spotted her at the door.  His eyes betrayed her and Sticklan Stone turned and looked at her.  His eyes flared with excitement and as he turned toward her she saw the light catch on the edge of the knife he was holding.  It was the sort used in surgery and the sight of it sent the fear in her guts through her limbs.

             
For a moment she was stunned but when he started toward her she remembered the sheet in her hand and tapped the emergency button.  Sticklan was nearly on her when she held up the sheet.  “They’ll be here any second,” she warned him.

             
Sticklan glared at her and she thought for a moment he might just slice her open anyway, right there on the steps.  Her hands were numb and the sheet felt heavy as she backed away from him, keeping her distance from the end of his knife.

             
“Where’s Quey Von Zaul?” he snapped at her.

             
She didn’t bother to lie.  “He was here a few days ago, told me my father died in the raid in Fen Quada, but he left.  He didn’t tell me where he was going.”

             
“Do you know who I work for?” he asked.

             
She shook her head.

             
“The moonshiner is a wanted man at present,” he informed her. 
“And when that security gets here my credentials will hold up to scrutiny.  After that I’ll tell them about how you were visited by a wanted man, a terrorist and his crew, just a few days ago.  I’ll throw words like aiding and abiding around and tell them about how I need to take you in for questioning.  Then no one’ll see you again.”

             
Her eyes flared and she turned and ran from him.

             
Sticklan pulled his sheet from his pocket and selected an app.  He used it to scan for nearby devices and found hers, foolishly named Natalie’s sheet.  He tapped the button at the bottom of the screen and began a trace on it.  She’d go to the moonshiner now, or at the very least she’d call him, either way he’d have him.

             
Trembling, Natalie climbed behind the wheel and drove away fast, honking her horn at the group of children playing in the street as she zipped by, catching an angry shout from a nearby parent.

             
“Where are we going?” Amber asked.  She was crying now.  “Who was that man?”

             
Natalie looked over at her daughter and saw the fear radiating off her.  She’d neglected to realize that the girl would have been watching everything from the car, that she would have seen the man and the knife.  She may have even heard a bit of the shouting from inside the house.

             
“I don’t know,” she answered.  “Someone bad.”

             
“What did he want?”

             
“I don’t know,” she felt inept when she had to say those words again.

             
“What’s going on, where are we going?” Amber asked between sobs.

             
Natalie felt better because she had an answer:  “Far away from here,” she said, eyes darting left and right as she drove through the narrow streets at a speed greater than she should have.  Quey had warned her and for that she was grateful because she’d done as he said.  She’d had a plan.  She had a way out.

Hide and Seek

             
The convoy was stopped in the middle of the road, between the rows of businesses lining Vernire’s main street.  The stopped vehicles were longer than the strip of buildings itself.  Quey and Dusty stood looking at it for a spell while Reggie distributed guns and ammunition.

             
“This is it,” Dusty said and Quey looked at him.  “No going back on it now, we roll out with them and we’re stuck with ‘em.  There won’t be any convincing the Brood of anything else.  They spot us with them now and they’re going to go ahead and assume we’re cohorts through and through, and that makes us cohorts who gave them the slip and played them as fools, which is the worst kind to be.”

             
Quey smiled and nodded.  “I reckon that ship’s already out to sea.”

             
Dusty looked over his shoulder to the car where Rain was leaning in through the back passenger’s side door talking to Leone.  He loved Rachel but that didn’t keep him from admiring her ass.  It was well worth a gander.  Quey smiled slightly and nudged him.

             
“What?” Dusty asked.  “I’m engaged, not dead.”  He glanced back at her for a split then turned away.  “’sides, she’s not really my style.  You know I’ve always been more of a boob man.”

             
Quey laughed.

             
There was a brief moment where they stood listening to the wind pass through the tall grass in the surrounding fields.  Then Dusty asked, “She worth it?”

             
Quey took a long breath.

             
“Because you know she’s been with Arnie for like four months and if things are going to get complicated-”

             
“They won’t,” Quey interrupted and the hard gaze he gave the road below vanquished any remnants of a smile.

             
“You sure you want to take this on?” Dusty asked looking down at the long line of vehicles.

             
“All set,” Reggie called from the car.  He’d given Rachel one of the rifles, her time practicing on the road had turned her into quite the markswoman and put some serious wear on Dusty’s prick, but you’d never hear him complain.  He’d also handed her a pair of pistols and ammo for each of the guns.

             
Looking back at the group in and around the blue four-door Quey said, “Are we ever sure of anything out here?”  He looked at his friend and clarified, “They’re our crew.  And they need us.”

             
Dusty smiled at him, nodded, and clapped him on the back.  “All right then.  Lets get the fuck out of here.”

             
Dusty was halfway to the car when his sheet began to buzz.  He looked at it and saw Natalie was calling him and he answered, curiously.  When she appeared in his screen she looked frantic.  “Natalie?  You okay?” he asked.

             
“No,” she snapped.  “I came home today and there was a man at my house.  He asked me where you were and I told him you left days ago.  I tried to call security but… this is all such a fucking mess,” she blurted.

             
Quey sighed.  He knew who’d found her.  He took Dusty’s sheet and looked at her.  “You got out though?”

             
She nodded.  “What the hell are you mixed in with?”

             
“I told you it was heavy.”

             
“Security was on its way and this guy wasn’t even nervous.  He said no one would see me again.”

             
“Yeah, he’s got a real hard on for the likes of us and the whereabouts of someone I’m helping.”

             
“Who?”

             
“People you haven’t met, doesn’t matter.  Anyway, where are you now?”

             
“The road.  I just ran.  Amber’s using the bathroom, I can’t even think what to tell her.”

             
“The truth,” Quey replied.  “She’ll handle it better than any story you make up.”

             
Natalie was crying, not weeping, just draining water from her eyes.

             
“Your sheet still have its UD chip?”

             
Her expression faded into worry and she said, “Yeah.”

             
“Then you need to ditch it now.  Probably this guy let you go hoping to track you to me.  Head southeast as best you can.  We’ll meet up as soon as possible.  I got an errand or two to run first.  And either get a new device or borrow one.”

             
She nodded.

             
Quey thought for a moment then told her, “There’s a town you should come across, if you follow the sixty-one called Broge.  Stop in at the thunder roof bar and ask for Kip.  Drop my name and tell him you need a clean device, he’ll hook you up.  Probably won’t be but a band or some other cheap shit but it’ll do in a pinch.”

             
Natalie nodded then looked up at Amber returning from the restroom.  “All right. I have to go.”

             
“Natalie?” Quey said.  She looked at him and he said, honestly, “I’m sorry.”

             
She nodded and the signal cut.  He tossed Dusty his sheet back and stood contemplative for a long moment before hurrying to the others.

             
Rachel took to keeping an eye on the brood while Quey, Dusty and Reggie stood around the hood of the car searching for another road.

             
“This has to lead somewhere,” Quey said, indicating the strip of pavement the house stood next to.

             
“Arnie, you know the area at all?” Dusty shouted.

             
The young man shook his head and told them, “We just arrived a few days ago.  Hell, I was still half a day out when I sent you that message.”

             
“Right, well there’s not much choice then.  We have to just roll on out and hope it leads somewhere.  The other option is head back toward town and I don’t like that even a bit.”

             
“We don’t have a marked truck this time,” Reggie offered and Quey shook his head.

             
“In Fen Quada that might fly, but a town this small they can afford to stop everyone and they mean to, bet my right nut on it.  Not to mention if they do take to moving before we get back to the main road and start on out of here they’re likely to recognize me, her,” he said indicating Rain, “the boy.  Hell,” he told Reggie, “They’ll probably even remember you and Dusty.”

             
“So let’s call the matter settled and get rolling,” Dusty said and started for the driver’s side of the car.

             
“Hold up,” Reggie injected.  He was staring at Arnie.  “He drives.”

             
Arnie looked from Reggie to Quey to Dusty and replied, “Sure,” hesitantly.

             
“I can drive,” Dusty told the big man.

             
“I know you can,” he answered back.  “But he can’t shoot.”

             
The acknowledgement of this fact came in the form of silence as they took a moment to remember what had happened in Bravette.  It was true, the last time Arnie had to hold a gun he’d freaked out so bad he’d vomited and set off on his own afterward.  Driving, however, had been another story.  During the first encounter with the brood he’d handled himself brilliantly behind the wheel of the very car he was being asked to drive now.

             
Dusty slowly nodded and shouted to Arnie, “Let’s go.”  He clapped twice and the young man climbed behind the wheel of the car while Dusty settled in behind him.  Rachel hurried back from the edge of the driveway where she’d been keeping her watch and settled into the passenger’s seat with her rifle in hand.  Quey and Reggie headed for the truck.  Without discussion, Quey went to the driver’s side and Reggie took the passenger seat.  The gun seat, in this case.

             
They started down the road.  This time it was the blue car leading and the truck rolling behind.  Reggie had a rifle across his lap and a pair of pistols sat on the seat between them.  Quey glanced from the car ahead to the mirror beside him and his heart jumped when he saw the convoy begin to move.  It skipped again when the car suddenly stopped.

             
Quey slammed the breaks and was about to start cussing Arnie when he saw the sign.  It was on the right hand side of the road and it read:

!Danger!

Lake Ariel ahead.

             
There had been more words below that once but time and neglect had worn them away.  Still, Quey was pretty sure what they’d find if they continued on to the lake.  It would be a refuge for animals and the sorts of people that didn’t mind drinking from the ground.

             
After rolling down his window Quey stuck his head out and looked behind him.  He peered down the road and was sure he could see the convoy rolling toward them.  Despite the discretion Rain and Arnie had used, Quey knew the town of Vernire was small enough that everyone in it was well aware of what house the new young couple was squatting in and it hadn’t taken the Brood long to convince them giving up the new strangers was in their best interests.  Now they were moving to check the house and if they remained stopped in the middle of the road much longer they’d be spotted for sure.

             
Looking ahead again Quey saw Arnie stick his head out of the window and look back at him.  “Go,” he shouted and the car began moving forward again.

             
“Keep a keen eye peeled,” Quey said to Reggie who was scanning the trees along his side of the road.  “Might be Once Men in them thar hills.”  The big man glanced at him and they exchanged a nervous smile.

             
The road took them to the lake but what they found was not what Quey had expected, suggested most noticeably by the furrow of his brow.  What they sped toward was a series of abandoned cabins surrounding a large glistening stretch of water, the surface of which crawled with subtle ripples the eastern wind pulled along with it.  What surrounded the water wasn’t lush foliage, however.  It was a waste.  The grass that grew up from the cracked earth was brittle and colorless, the trees that had once grown tall and filled the area with a canopy of green had fallen over and dried up.  Some had landed on the roofs of a few of the cabins, caving them in, while others simply lay across the dead surrounding yards.

             
“Never heard of a waste this far north before,” Reggie grumbled.

             
“Me either,” Quey replied.

             
As they continued along the road that curved around the lake and cabins Quey looked out the window.  They passed one of the decrepit structures and Quey spotted an object at the center of the lake that made him gape.  Standing tall on a small island in the middle of the lake was a tower.  They had seen one or two in their travels, usually near major cities or registered settlements and always guarded by fences and a slew of security officers.  This one was out in the middle of nowhere, with no one around it.

             
“We have to stop,” Quey said hastily.

             
“You can’t be serious,” Reggie replied snapping his attention to the man in the driver’s seat, his big dark brow furrowed by disbelief.

             
“We need to get into that tower.”

             
“Why?  It’s been abandoned.  Probably don’t even work anymore.”

             
Quey looked from the tower to Reggie and smirked, “Exactly.”  Then he stepped on the brake, slowing the truck but not stopping it.

             
“Quey they’re on our tail already-”

             
“And checking the house’ll keep em for a good ten or fifteen.”

             
The car in front of them gained ground then slowed to match their speed.  Ahead the road split, one way wrapped around the lake and cabins while the other snaked down a slight hill and vanished into the trees a kilometer or two ahead.  Quey stopped at the crossroads and the car did the same.  After a moment Arnie shifted into reverse and drove backwards, switching lanes and stopping beside the truck.

             
Staring at the road winding around the lake, Quey was lost to thought until the horn of the car beside him honked twice.  He rolled down his window and Dusty yelled from the back seat, “What the hell are you up to now.”

             
Quey pointed to the tower, “See that.”

             
Everyone in the car glanced toward the lake then back to him.  Dusty replied, “Yeah, so what?”