Pahnyakin Rising (17 page)

“Then
I
will,” she said confidently.  “And then I’ll kill them.”

-18-

Dodge, though infuriated, kept Dresden awake for four more hours, but the two did not exchange words in between.  Dresden knew he was angry, but if he couldn’t come up with another plan, she was left with no choice but to take matters in her own hands—even if it meant risking her life.  She asked herself a hundred times over if she honestly thought she had what it would take to end two creatures.  Each time she asked the question, she was more and more sanguine about the outcome. 

He was right, she knew, and she would use his words to her advantage.  Look how far she
had
come since arriving in this new Easton.  She was invincible, untouchable, and unstoppable in her mind.  And as long as she remembered that, she could win.  She could beat them.  Her greatest concern was her ability to translate the Pahnyakins’ conversations while fighting for her life.  It was hard enough to do while lying idly on the couch, but she vowed to be better after resting. 

Without saying a word, Dresden rolled from the couch to her feet and lifted Pierre in her palm.  She placed the bored bird back in his cage before walking to the back bedroom.  Dodge’s bed was calling her name, she swore it.  She was so exhausted she could not think of anything else but climbing in bed and bundling the blankets around herself.  Dresden removed her flannel shirt and tossed it to the bedroom floor.  She needed a shower and fresh clothes but didn’t have an idea of where to start.  The teenager wondered how much of her future self’s belongings Dodge kept around, though she began to suspect that he kept it all.  He couldn’t let her go then, just like he couldn’t let her go now.  And he never would be able to manage that feat, she could feel it as a hollow pit in her stomach.  The thought both comforted her and also scared her half to death at the same time.  Dodge could proclaim all day long that he would not be there to help her, but in the end, they both knew he would bend over backwards if he thought she could not save herself.  That could only mean that Dresden was risking his life as well as her own, something she hated herself for doing but knew needed to be done. 

The girl lifted the comforter from the bed but felt too grimy to crawl under.  She touched the top of her left hand and scraped a fine crust of dirt to the floor. 

Dresden lifted her eyes to the closet in the left corner of the room.  The right side of the 3 x 3 space was just a thick rod with her clothes hanging limply from copper wire hangers.  She looked down and scrunched her lips as she wondered if she needed to put on new jeans.  The jeans she had on then were already broken in.  She wasn’t sure that she wanted to risk immobility in a new pair.

She spotted a pair of loose black cargo pants hanging from the rod and grabbed them.  They appeared to be broken in and looked to rest on her lower hips, giving her a break from the jeans digging into her skin.  Dresden realized that nearly all of her clothes were tactical in some way, from pants with multiple pockets down the sides to hoodies with missing drawstrings.  There were no clothes with dangling threads or loops for a Pahnyakin to grasp.  She glanced down and saw two cardboard boxes filled with flat-soled running shoes and boots that would end no lower than her mid-shin. 

Dresden reached for a form-fitting black tee shirt with a shallow pocket above the left breast and a slate long-sleeved cable knit wraparound sweater that formed an hourglass where her abdomen would be.  It was held closed with an oversized black button at the side.  There was nothing tactical about it, but it looked warm, which was good enough for the girl.

She looked to the closet’s left.  Dodge didn’t have many clothes.  In fact, he could probably last a week with the outfits he had, unless he had to change for some reason.  He had a few sweaters that would match any of his dark denim jeans and one hooded sweatshirt.  There were two pairs of sneakers on the floor of the closet.  Only one pair looked used. 

Dodge’s clothes hanged at the back of the closet.  At its front, there were cubby shelves crudely nailed against the plaster wall.  Each cubby held a variety of knives ranging in size.  On top of the cubby were machetes and swords too big to fit inside the individual square spaces. 

The bathroom was disgusting.  A once-beige tile floor was streaked with dried black mud and it looked as if someone dragged a bloody paint brush from the door to center of the room until there was not enough on the bristles to complete the thick line.  The cream pedestal sink was filled with stray auburn hairs from Dodge’s beard, and toilet paper rolls were overflowing from the ceramic tan trash can next to the urine-stained toilet. 

“Dodge,” she complained under her breath.  “Gross.”

Dresden shut the lid to the toilet and placed her clothes down.  She examined the cylindrical shower.  It was the only clean section of the room. 

The girl undressed and stood on the shower’s circular pad.  Just like she had done at her own home, she pressed the black button.  The Plexiglas surrounded her with a squeal.  It was clear the shower could use maintenance.

Dresden closed her eyes and waited for hot water to soak her from head to toe.  She relaxed her nerves at the sound of the nozzles descending.

The water hit her from every angle.  She screeched in shock.

Dodge banged on the bathroom door.  “Dresden, what’s wrong?  Are you okay?”

“The water is cold,” she called while shivering. 

“Oh yeah,” he said.  “Forgot to tell you about that.  The water heater busted right after you died. I didn’t have power so I never fixed it.”

“I noticed.”

“Make sure to step on that towel on the floor when you’re done.  There’s all kinds of crap on the floor.  I haven’t really cleaned much.”

Do tell,
Dresden thought.

The shower was the longest three minutes of her life.  She scolded herself for internally griping about the condition of the home and the temperature of the water when it was becoming so clear to her that not everyone in Easton had the luxury of having either. 

At least the warm air blowers worked, she thought, even if they emitted an off-balanced, high-pitched buzz that left her somewhat fearful that she would be electrocuted by the device.  She couldn’t wait for the glass cover to fully lift to exit the shower.  She performed a naked limbo as the cover was receding back in the ceiling and she stepped to the lavender scrap towel on the tile.  Dresden threw on her clothes before standing in front of the toothpaste-splattered medicine cabinet mirror and examining the bruises on her temples, cheeks, and around each side of her nose.  She knew she was lucky to have escaped the fight without major damage.  She curled her lips like bat wings extending and looked at her teeth.  Not a single one was loose, something she was eternally grateful to notice.

Dresden opened the medicine cabinet and felt her heart flutter at the sight of a tube of liquid eyeliner.  She snatched the tube and closed the hinged door with a light slam.  It was such a petty thing to feel excited about, but as she applied a thick layer of midnight oil around the tops and bottoms of her eyes she felt normal again.  She blinked to judge the accuracy and evenness of the makeup before shoving the tube of makeup in the uppermost side pocket on her left.

Without her boots, the hems of her pants dragged lightly against the floor.  She scraped her bare feet on the hall carpet, disgusted by the thought of what was on her soles. 

Dresden returned to Dodge’s empty bed and wondered if he was still mad at her, but she already knew the answer was yes.  It didn’t mean much, anyway.  He could feel anger towards her and her decisions, yet it wouldn’t complicate his decision to plunge a knife in the heart of anyone making a threat against her life.  She knew that about him, could feel it, now.

The girl turned off the light switch and made her way to the bed.  She couldn’t remember even closing her eyes before she was out cold.



The house was dark and Dodge was asleep on the couch when Dresden woke.  Without a clock she had no idea how long she had been asleep or what time it was, like it mattered anyway.  She laced her boots up and tied them around her calves.  The girl crept to the closet and reached out in the dark, grabbing the first knife her fingers touched.  On her way out of the bedroom, she nearly fell as her right foot became caught on something that rolled under her heel.  She knelt to the floor and her fingers followed a six-inch piece of metal to the sharpened tip of a Phillips screwdriver.  Dresden placed both weapons in her right pocket and hurried to the hall.

  Dodge was snoring lightly as she crept through the living room and out the front door.

She shielded her eyes from the light shining from the porch light and was thankful she chose the sweater to wear when a gust of icy wind nearly knocked her down. 

Two guards stationed at the edge of the yard turned in her direction.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked the one on the right.  He was short and stocky with cheek dimples that grew deep with his every word.  His green eyes shimmered in the porch light and tufts of brown hair poked out from under a navy knitted stocking cap upon his head.

“I need your help,” she announced in a low whisper.  She turned her head towards the house to make sure the living room lights didn’t come on.

The second guard shifted his weight and appeared nervous.  His blonde beard was tinged with chestnut hairs and grew in uneven patches.  He flexed his forearms and held his gun closer to his puffed-out chest.  There was no way he could have been a day over 18.

“With what?” he questioned.

She nodded to the gates.  “I need to capture two Pahnyakins.”

The man on the left laughed.  “You hear that, Brady?  She
needs to capture two Pahnyakins.
”

Dresden folded her arms over her chest.

“Zane,” said the second guard, “I don’t think she’s kidding.”

“Why do you want them?” Brady interrogated.

Dresden flipped her hair with her hands.  “I panicked at the Trial.  And now I want another chance to show everyone what I can do.”

“So why ask us?  Why not have Dodge get a group together like usual?”

“I want it to be a surprise,” she lied. 

Brady looked confused.  “It’s not gonna be much of a surprise when you walk them through town and people hear them.  You’re gonna cause a panic.”

“Then we’ll tell them the truth:  we’re gearing up for a morning Trial.”  Dresden stepped forward.  “I want this, and I want it tonight.”

“How do we know you’re not walking us out to our deaths?  You have a history of that, you know,” Zane boldly said. 

Dresden stepped forward.  “If I wanted you dead, I’d do it with my own hands.”

She had to admit, the pretend power trip was somewhat amusing.

The guards, though armed and larger than the girl, took a step backwards.  Brady tripped on the dipping curb and tumbled to the asphalt street. 

“I’d like to let these people know who had my back and helped me climb to the top again,” said Dresden.  “But maybe I need to find someone more coordinated, better trained for what I want,” She thought aloud with the sole purpose of guilt-tripping the guard.

Brady hopped to his feet and wiped dust from his black pants. 

“No,” he gushed.  “I was just startled, that’s all.  We’ll help you, right Zane?”

“Three people aren’t going to be enough,” Dresden commented. 

Zane thought.  “I could probably get AJ and Phil.  They won’t say anything to anyone.”

“And we need to figure out where to find them and how to bring them in.”

Zane raised his brows.  “What do you mean?  We’ll distract them and you’ll get the chain around their necks.  Isn’t that how you did it when you went with Dodge?”

She hesitated.

“Yeah.  I just don’t remember where the chains are.”

Zane bugged his eyes.  “In the run-supply house.  Where else would they be?”

“What about the guards at the gate?” Dresden asked.  “Are they going to cause problems?”

“Not if we go out the north gate.  Shep has the south gate loaded to protect the towers.  Anne and Jamie are on the north gate tonight and don’t care what anyone does.”

“Wouldn’t it make sense to put more people on the gate with no towers?  If they take out the towers on the south it’s going to be a diversion to get in anywhere else.”

Zane pointed at her and clicked his tongue.  “And that’s why everyone’s waiting for you to take over again.  We’ve been scared out of our minds.  You know Sarah left me for a freakin’ gardener that came up from Mississippi because she started to freak out and think you were right about how there was going to be an attack on the guard houses?”

“Was there?”

“No,” he exclaimed.  “Not yet.  But with the way they’re hitting the perimeter lately, it wouldn’t surprise me if it happened soon.”

Dresden could hear Pierre’s squawks all the way from where she was standing in the yard.  She still had a light headache and felt drowsy, but she was ready to make this happen.  She needed to hear what the Pahnyakins had to say, and she wanted to get a move on it before Dodge woke up and tried to stop her.